Trophy News from Blacktown, Austrailia

Will Wins the Scott Kalitta Trophy in Sydney

It took an extra day due to Saturday rain showers, but Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel star Hillary Will managed to win the inaugural Scott Kalitta Memorial Trophy Sunday by winning the Shannons USA versus Australia Top Fuel Showdown at Western Sydney Int’l Dragway in Sydney, Australia.

Crew chief Jim Oberhofer tuned Will to the best pass of the event in the final round Sunday afternoon when she roared to a 4.743 at 303.16 mph against runner-up Terry Sainty, who posted a 5.284 at 260.51 mph.

“This means so much to me and this team,” said Will, who has now claimed Top Fuel titles in three different sanctioning bodies (ANDRA, NHRA, and IHRA). “To get this trophy and take it back to the States is such an honor for us. Scott was my mentor, and he was like a brother to me. We miss him so much, but we are so happy to win this trophy for Connie, Doug, Scott’s wife Kathy, and his boys, Corey

Rewarding Mr. Ayer’s Courage

The original Disciples of Beethoven Award honors the street musician who has touched so many hearts.

They had every kind of trophy you could imagine at House of Trophies in Boyle Heights. Soccer, basketball, baseball, football, even fishing. They had trophies 6 inches tall and 6 feet tall, plaques and desk ornaments too, for retiring cops and transit workers and for great teachers.

But nothing for musicians.

Steve Lopez on Nathaniel Anthony Ayers:

I told a clerk I needed a trophy with something a little different on it, like maybe a string player.

It was an unusual request, I could tell, but he went to his computer and came back with a printed image of a conductor and a musical symbol.

“We could do something like this,” he said.

I decided to put my faith in House of Trophies and began making plans for the awards ceremony. The plan was to honor a friend I’m constantly asked about by readers and also to recognize two of my buddy’s pals.

Since I began writing about Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a street musician I met almost four years ago in downtown Los Angeles, I’ve been asked to speak at mental health symposiums, skid row fundraisers, universities and high schools and all kinds of award banquets.

I usually walk away with a plaque and a bad case of guilt. All those groups really should be honoring Mr. Ayers, not me. He’s the one who’s had to muster the courage to face each day. He’s the one who has given a face to the anonymous thousands in the same fight. And he’s the one whose story, I hope, is helping de-stigmatize mental illness.

I usually pass along the awards I get to Mr. Ayers, but I thought he should have his very own, which is how I ended up at House of Trophies.

Mr. Ayers had been telling me for months that he wanted to celebrate Beethoven’s birthday on Dec. 16. I don’t know a lot of people who walk around with Beethoven’s date of birth in their heads, but nothing about Mr. Ayers is typical.

Basketball Trophies - Wooden Award preseason candidates announced

The top 50 preseason basketball candidates for the Men’s 2007-08 John R. Wooden Award were announced last Wednesday by The Los Angeles Athletic Club’s Wooden Award Committee. The Award is named for the three-time college basketball All American, 1932 Player of the Year and ten-time national championship coach at UCLA.

The list is composed of 50 student basketball players who, based on their 2006 individual performance and team records, are the early frontrunners for this coveted basketball trophy. Players not on the preseason list are eligible for the midseason top 30 and National Ballot.

In January 2008, the Wooden Award committee will release the Midseason Top 30 list, followed by the distribution of the National Ballot to more than 1,000 voters in early March. The 10-player Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced the Tuesday after the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament is completed.

The 2008 Award ceremony, which includes the presentation of the Men’s and Women’s John R. Wooden Award, the Wooden Award All-American Teams, and the Legends of Coaching Award to recipient Pat Summitt of the University of Tennessee, will be held at The Los Angeles Athletic Club in April. One of these five players will be named the John R. Wooden Award Player of the Year at a live televised announcement from The Club where he is awarded the prestigious five-figured bronze basketball trophy.

Trophies News spotlights the Goat Trophy college basketball rivalry

Minnesota - St. Olaf College and Carleton College played the first of two games this season to determine if the Knights can maintain possession of the famed Goat Trophy. St. Olaf was the winner of last night’s game, beating Carleton by just 1 point (final score 61-60).

HISTORY OF THE GOAT TROPHY

• In 1914, Endre Anderson, a St. Olaf student (and later Oles coach) fashioned a makeshift goat out of a chair and hung it from the rafters of the St. Olaf gym. He was trying to “get the goat” of the Carleton players. Carleton won that game and claimed the Goat as a trophy. The two teams have traded the “Goat” ever since.

• The team not in possession of the Goat Trophy must be sweep the season series in order to wrest control away from the other team.

• After earning of the “Goat” with two wins in 1958, St. Olaf maintained possession of the trophy until 1989-90 when Carleton prevailed in a pair of close contests. The trophy has resided with Carleton every year since, except the 2002-03 season when the Oles pulled out a pair of overtime victories.

Trophies News spotlights the new Carolina Basketball Museum

UNC’s Carolina Basketball Museum, which opened to the public on Jan. 28, features more than 450 pieces of memorabilia and trophies from the celebrated basketball program. The museum cost $3.4 million and covers 8,000 square feet.

The new museum is an upgrade from the much smaller memorabilia and trophy room in the Smith Center, which was used for other sports as well. The only other university with a basketball-only museum is Kentucky.

The trophy room is filled with ACC championship, Final Four and NCAA championship memorabilia. The NCAA Championship trophy case still has room for four more trophies, should UNC win them someday.

The idea was formed roughly five years ago when Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith decided to donate his extensive collection of memorabilia to North Carolina.

“I think that Carolina fans are a pretty passionate group about the basketball team,” said Steve Kirschner, UNC’s associate athletic director for communications and a member of the museum committee. “We’ve been blessed with a great deal of success, both great teams, great players, great coaches. We’ve never had one place where we’ve been able to bring all that together in terms of the memorabilia and the trophies. We have that now with this museum.”

The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame announced the finalists in the competition for the state’s best basketball players on Monday.

Mississippi State teammates Jamont Gordon and Charles Rhodes and Ole Miss’ Dwayne Curtis are the finalists for the Howell Trophy. This trophy is given to the best men’s player in Mississippi.

The trophy, sponsored by Cellular South, is named after Bailey Howell, a former All-American at Mississippi State and a six-time NBA All-Star.

Jennifer Rushing of Delta State, Pauline Love of Southern Miss and Shawn Goff of Ole Miss are the finalists for the Gillom Trophy, which goes to the best female player in the state. The trophy is named for former Ole Miss standout Peggie Gillom.

The trophies will be presented next Monday at the BancorpSouth Conference Center in Tupelo

BURLINGTON, Vt.—

Three members of the NBA champion Boston Celtics basketball team are due in Vermont on Monday along with the championship trophy. The Vermont appearance will be the first stop on a team tour of New England with the trophy. Celtic starters Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo will be in Burlington along with reserve guard Tony Allen.

The three will appear in a rally from noon to 2 p.m. at the top of the Church Street Marketplace.

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, Celtics President Richard Gotham and other officials also are expected at the rally.

Fans who attend the rally will have a chance to have their picture taken with the trophy.

Let me first extend a special thank you to the selection committee for creating the Spirit of North Carolina Award. It is my distinct honor today to present the inaugural Spirit of North Carolina Award to NC State University’s Coach Kay Yow.

Coach Yow’s achievements have inspired honors for her players as well, with 13 former players going on to either coach or play in the Women’s National Basketball Association.

No one embodies the concept of this award better than Kay Yow. 

As she begins her 33rd season, we are blessed to have her guiding our basketball program and serving as an inspiration to our students, our staff and our community. As NC State’s women’s basketball head coach, she has averaged 20 wins per season, directing the Wolfpack to 19 top three finishes in the final ACC standings and five ACC Championships. She was the first women’s basketball coaching ACC history to reach 650 career wins and has coached the USA Team to gold medals in two Olympics.

Her incredible accomplishments have been recognized through several awards and hall of fame inductions, including the prestigious Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and the well-deserved ESPY Award for Perseverance.

But her legacy goes well beyond women’s basketball.

While we are all familiar with her athletic successes, it is her positive approach to life and her commitment to helping others that really sets her apart. Coach Yow has triumphed over adversity with a passionate and determined spirit, while helping others in the shared quest for excellence. She started the “Hoops for Hope” charitable basketball game at NC State, centered around hope — hope for early detection, hope for increased survival, and hope for a cure for breast cancer. 

Coach Yow is truly one of those special people who impacts others with her grace, humility and strength in powerful ways.

And today, we want to recognize just how special you are, Coach Yow.

Kay Yow is a courageous fighter, an incredible leader and a tremendous role model. And the State of North Carolina wants to continue her legacy by forever after naming this award, The Kay Yow Spirit of North Carolina Award.

Trophies News from Salisbury, Massachusetts

Hundreds of people were in line in front of the Winner’s Circle yesterday as eager fans waited to have their picture taken with the World Series trophies from 2004 and 2007.

The 2-foot-tall, 30-pound baseball trophies were displayed on a table in the restaurant’s billiards room. The line had already formed two hours before the trophies were scheduled to arrive.

Young Colin Murphy, age 5, watched eagerly as Red Sox officials announced the start of viewing. After the Winner’s Circle management had their photos taken, Murphy and Colin were the first to get up close to the baseball trophies.

Yesterday some fans waited more than an hour to have their pictures taken by Lottery officials before the trophies had to leave to make another scheduled stop.

Kingston, N.H., Little League pitcher Logan Gordon was elated to see the trophies for the first time in person. His favorite Red Sox player is David Ortiz.

It was only natural he visited the Winner’s Circle with his mom to see the trophies in person. “It was good,” Logan said after having his picture taken. “I only ever saw them on TV.”

After the 2004 Red Sox World Series win, the baseball trophy was shown at several local locations.

Nearly 1,000 people went to Newburyport High School to view it in April 2005, when some waited in line for more than 30 minutes to get their picture taken with the baseball trophy.

Trophy news from Concord, MA

The Sudbury “Big Red” C team represents Sudbury and Lincoln 13-year-olds in summer Lou Thompkins All-Star baseball league against communities throughout Eastern Massachusetts.

The Big Red team completed its first three-week Round one with an overall record of 7-1 and captured the C Division Gold Trophy by defeating last year’s champions Boston South End.

The season opener vs. Acton was a pitching and defensive struggle. Eric Reale and David Hall teamed up on the mound to hold Acton scoreless through six innings. However Acton’s Larry Chan was equally effective pitching holding Sudbury scoreless as well. After Acton scored to open the seventh inning, Sudbury rose to the occasion.

Sudbury entered Round one Trophy Weekend paired against Medford. This game was a gem and ended in dramatic fashion. Both squads held each other scoreless in the regular seven-inning game. Thanks to several putouts by Ryan Wolfsberg in the outfield, key Medford runners were thrown out trying for extras bases.

In the eighth inning, after holding Medford scoreless again, Sudbury leadoff batter Eric Reale got on base. Henry Cousins was able to bunt for a single and advance Reale into scoring position. Jeremy LeBlanc lined a key single up the middle to score the walk off run and send Sudbury Big Red into the Trophy weekend finals.

Colton Hiler laid down a key bunt to bring in another run. Jeremy LeBlanc playing in the third base hot corner, snagged several hard South End shots down the line. Eric Reale pitched to hold a powerful South End offense nearly scoreless for the four final innings. In dramatic fashion, Cam Waggener dove for a line shot at shortstop and was able to regain his stance to throw the South End batter out. Hiler ran down another drive deep into left field to seal the Sudbury Gold Baseball Trophy victory.