Colts

The Hagerstown Colt League all-star team begins another venture into postseason today in Struthers, Ohio at the East Zone West Region Super Regionals. Hagerstown will open play at 8 p.m. against the North Allegany (Pa.)-Cleveland (Ohio) Glaciers winner in the Super Regional Colt tournament. Manager Chris Abbott said his team is led offensivley by Garrett Blank, who led the league in hitting with a .472 average and with four home runs. He said the pitching staff is led by Ryan Abbott, who posted a 4-0 record and by Ben Holland, who led the league in strikeouts.

Even in the era of inflated ticket prices, it's a bit of a stretch to say there's $35 worth of entertainment value in a typical NFL preseason game. But put together the top two picks in the draft - both quarterbacks - and schedule it for the third week - the game considered the dress rehearsal for the preseason - and the teams involved figure it'll not only be worth the price of admission, it'll be worth a $35 T-shirt. The Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins have been pushing “QB Showdown” T-shirts featuring Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III ahead of their game Saturday, feeding on a frenzy of hope and hype surrounding two rebuilding franchises and the thought of witnessing the beginning of a match-up that could only flourish in years to come.

INDIANAPOLIS - Tony Dungy spent a quarter-century chasing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs before he finally earned it. He doesn't intend to let that reward slip away Sunday against his old team, Pittsburgh, in the divisional playoffs. "It's our opportunity to do something special and cap off a year that's been really good for us," Dungy said. "That's what it's all about. " Conventional wisdom suggests the RCA Dome is the Colts' ticket to Detroit. In past years, Indianapolis has contended with snow, wind, rain and cold weather.

andrewm@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Chambersburg girls basketball team used a strong second half at home Tuesday night to launch what the Trojans hope to be a stronger half of their Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division season. Herald-Mail sixth-ranked Chambersburg beat Cedar Cliff 57-28, outscoring the Colts 31-11 over the third and fourth quarters to pull away for good. The Trojans, who snapped a two-game skid, improved to 8-6 and, maybe more importantly, 1-0 in Commonwealth second-half play.

The end of the football season is here, and the Super Bowl has ended. And the winner was ... the rain. It rained throughout the entire Super Bowl, making the football and the natural-grass field slippery, and leading to numerous dropped balls and falling players. The first 20 seconds of the game was the fastest-paced of any Super Bowl I've ever seen (which would be about three). Chicago kick returner Devin Hester caught the opening kickoff and ran 92 yards for a touchdown.

DETROIT (AP) - Colts quarterback Peyton Manning set an NFL record by throwing at least four touchdown passes in a fifth straight game, getting four in the first half alone against the Lions on Thursday. Manning added two more TD passes in the third quarter to lead Indianapolis to a 41-9 win over Detroit. Dan Marino had a four-game streak in 1984, when he also set a league mark with 48 TD passes in a season, another milestone Manning is chasing. "When he's retired, they'll compare everybody to Peyton Manning, without a doubt," Colts receiver Brandon Stokley said.

By CURT HORNBECKER Staff Correspondent CLEAR SPRING - The Victor Cullen Academy basketball team was apparently unaware of the Bussard soaring above them here Wednesday night. Clear Spring's Shane Bussard poured in 22 points to match his career high, including 14 in the second half, and rallied the Blazers to a 64-56 victory between the two independent schools. It was a 10-footer from Bussard and four straight free throws from Tony Harnish in the final 36 seconds which allowed Clear Spring to clinch the win. "I just got into a groove," explained the Blazers' junior.

With almost half the season of football over, things begin to heat up. Teams begin to play harder to get into the playoffs. For others, it's just for pride. There are only nine weeks before the post-season and the unbeaten and winless are still out there. The best game this week was Jacksonville at Tampa Bay. The Jaguars came in 4-2 while the Buccaneers came in 4-3. Tampa Bay quarterback Jeff Garcia had not thrown an interception this season until halfway through the second quarter.

It's that time of year again. No, it's not quite time for the Super Bowl, but the NFL has begun its 2007-08 season. The Indianapolis Colts played the New Orleans Saints in the season kickoff game Thursday, Sept. 6. Indianapolis, winner of the Super Bowl in February, showed it's still a championship team with a 41-10 trouncing of the Saints. What will this season hold? I can only predict what could happen until it does happen. Last season, I made predictions every week as to who would win each game.

For his 30th birthday, John Beck received praise from Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan, a dinner out from his family, and several questions from a swarm of reporters. What the Redskins quarterback didn't get was an answer from Shanahan whether he or Rex Grossman will start against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday. “I haven't made that decision,” Shanahan said Sunday. “We'll see what happens during the week with our football team and obviously share with the players first.” Shanahan said he was pleased with the decision-making of Beck, whom the Colts sacked three times Friday in Washington's second preseason game.

When Tom Bikle was a boy, his father would drop him off at Baltimore Colts training camp on the way to his job in Westminster, Md. “I'd just spend the day there. Back then, it was very accessible to fans,” Bikle said of the camp at the former Western Maryland College. Players would lie under the trees and read their playbooks, he said. Most of the players, including the late quarterback Johnny Unitas and wide receiver Raymond Berry, knew Bikle by name at the time, he said. One time, Berry greeted Bikle with an autographed picture in response to Bikle sending him a letter, Bikle said.

Rufina S. Colt, 71, of Hagerstown, Md., died Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012. She was the beloved wife of the late William B. Colt Jr.; daughter of the late Daniel and Felisa San Miguel; stepmother of William D. (Ingrid) and Cindy Colt; stepgrandmother of Justin and Laura; sister of Florentino, Renato, Eduardo, Ernesto, Adelina, Myrna San Miguel and Lourdes Bayr; and sister-in-law of Fann Swift. She is also survived by 24 nieces and nephews, 12 great-nieces and great-nephews, and one great-great-nephew.  Relatives and friends may call at Collins Funeral Home, 500 University Blvd.

Even in the era of inflated ticket prices, it's a bit of a stretch to say there's $35 worth of entertainment value in a typical NFL preseason game. But put together the top two picks in the draft - both quarterbacks - and schedule it for the third week - the game considered the dress rehearsal for the preseason - and the teams involved figure it'll not only be worth the price of admission, it'll be worth a $35 T-shirt. The Indianapolis Colts and Washington Redskins have been pushing “QB Showdown” T-shirts featuring Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III ahead of their game Saturday, feeding on a frenzy of hope and hype surrounding two rebuilding franchises and the thought of witnessing the beginning of a match-up that could only flourish in years to come.

The Hagerstown Colt League all-star team begins another venture into postseason today in Struthers, Ohio at the East Zone West Region Super Regionals. Hagerstown will open play at 8 p.m. against the North Allegany (Pa.)-Cleveland (Ohio) Glaciers winner in the Super Regional Colt tournament. Manager Chris Abbott said his team is led offensivley by Garrett Blank, who led the league in hitting with a .472 average and with four home runs. He said the pitching staff is led by Ryan Abbott, who posted a 4-0 record and by Ben Holland, who led the league in strikeouts.

Had he lived a few more weeks, this would have been a big day for Richard Mackereth. He and his friends would be watching the Super Bowl in the basement of his Noland Drive home in Hagerstown. It was there, surrounded by all the comforts of his man cave - flat-screen TV, two recliners and two couches, a full-size refrigerator and memorabilia from his favorite teams - that he watched sports of all kinds. His longtime friend and best man, Dave Benner, for years joined Richard every Sunday to watch NFL games during the season.

Tiffany Rene Estep and Jose Juan Farias of Shenandoah Junction, W.Va., announce the birth of a son, Colt Juan Farias , Oct. 11, 2011.

For his 30th birthday, John Beck received praise from Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan, a dinner out from his family, and several questions from a swarm of reporters. What the Redskins quarterback didn't get was an answer from Shanahan whether he or Rex Grossman will start against the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday. “I haven't made that decision,” Shanahan said Sunday. “We'll see what happens during the week with our football team and obviously share with the players first.” Shanahan said he was pleased with the decision-making of Beck, whom the Colts sacked three times Friday in Washington's second preseason game.

They gathered behind the press box Saturday afternoon at Hellane Park in Hagerstown’s West End, under a giant oak tree that’s probably twice the size it was when they played baseball there 40 years ago. Members of the Hagerstown Colt League’s World Series championship teams of 1967 and 1971 trickled into the park, shaking hands with one another as they arrived. They took a few minutes to mingle and catch up until they were called to the field just after 1 p.m. “Well, let’s see if I can mosey on out here,” said a smiling Mike Brashears, a member of the 1971 team.

The combination of FritoLay and Sheetz made a $10,000 donation to the Hagerstown Colt League and provided several man-hours to help renovate the press box recently.  

YOUTH BASEBALL STRUTHERS, Ohio -- The Hagerstown Colt League All-Stars improved to 2-1 at the East Zone West Region Super Regional on Saturday with an 8-4 win over McCandless. Brad Spickler pitched a six-hitter for Hagerstown, while Riley Stephenson and Matt Daly each had three hits and Luke Toms, Jake Bachtell and Jordan Nicewarner each had two hits in the victory. One of Toms' hits was a home run. Hagerstown's second game Saturday evening was delayed by rain. No further information was available at press time.