Preparing Papp Park!

The Henry Ford Community College baseball team went to work preparing Papp Park!

     The Henry Ford Community College baseball team was supposed to be hosting Macomb Community College on Tuesday, but when I arrived at Papp Park, I noticed that there was only one team on the field.  I figured I would walk over to the bleacher section to catch some batting practice, but the players were swinging rakes instead of bats, in an effort to clean up the field.  Papp Park is the home of the Henry Ford Community College baseball team, and the park features several diamonds for softball, and youth leagues.  The Henry Ford Hawks will play their official 2014 home opener this Thursday, April 10th, at 2:00 p.m. against Lake Michigan College. Last Tuesday's game has been rescheduled for April 24th.
     The Henry Ford Hawks currently have an overall record of 11-10-2, and the team is riding a four game winning streak.  The Hawks are a NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) Division II program, and the school competes in the MCCAA (Michigan Comunity College Athletic Association) Conference along with 13 other local area colleges.  The Hawks have won 12 MCCAA Conference Championships, but have not claimed one since 1996.  The Hawks most successful season was in 1994 when the team won the Conference Championship, the Regional Championship, and finished 2nd in the Nation.
     The Henry Ford Community College baseball team plays all of their home games at Papp Park, in Taylor. The ball fields are located on the corner of Wick Road, and Westlake.  Click on the links below for more information about Henry Ford Community College, the Michigan Community College Athletic Association, or the National Junior College Athletic Association.  You can always leave a comment, and you can email the Mitten State Sports Report directly at mittenstatesportsreport@rocketmail.com    Scroll down to see exclusive photos of Papp Park in Taylor.  Click on past months to check out exclusive photos from some college baseball games.

The Hawks swung rakes instead of baseball bats last Tuesday in Taylor!

Check out this behind the scenes look of the bullpen, and picnic area at Papp Park!

Papp Park features several diamonds for softball, and youth leagues!

Papp Park is located at 9350 Westlake, in Taylor.  The fields are located at the corner of Wick Road, and Westlake!

For more information about Henry Ford Community College click on  http://www.hfcc.edu



For more information about the MCCAA click on  http://www.mccaa.org



For more information about the NJCAA click on  http://www.njcaa.org



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Click on past months to check out all of the Mitten State Sports Report's archived material!

Fly Emirates 7 - Yellow Team 3

The Fly Emirates (in blue) played an anonymous yellow team (in yellow) last night in Taylor!

Both teams compete in the men's indoor soccer league at the Taylor Sportsplex!

#11 from the anonymous yellow team wore some type of homemade neck brace!

The anonymous yellow team had trouble getting it going last night against the Fly Emirates!

The game was played on the boarded field!  The Taylor Sportsplex also has a non-boarded field! 

Indoor soccer matches are typically high scoring affairs!

The Fly Emirates defeated the anonymous yellow team 7-3.



For more information about the Taylor Sportsplex click on  http://www.taylorsportsplex.com



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Click on past months to access all of the Mitten State Sports Report's archived material! 

Midget Wrestling Photo Album

"Skinny Timmy" prepared to finish off  "Baby Jesus".

Even a bowling ball was used!

The Extreme Midget Wrestling Federation features all sorts of characters! 

             



For more information about the Gibraltar Trade Center click on  www.gibraltartrade.com



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Extreme Midget Wrestling In Taylor

A smaller size ring was used for the performers!

     On January 19th, I attended "Extreme Midget Wrestling" at Gibraltar Trade Center, and it was the first time I had ever experienced anything quite like it.  There were some good aspects, and some bad, but overall I'm glad I was there to witness all of the midget mayhem.  Characters such as "Baby Jesus", "Skinny Timmy", and "The Little Show" entertained the crowd of over 400 people.  Fans cheered as the wrestlers delivered pint sized punches mixed with a sprinkle of hard core wrestling. The quality of the wrestling was really good, and the wrestlers made themselves available to the fans for autographs, and photos.  Even with a bit of blood, and the occasional use of a weapon, (including a bowling ball) the event was definitely a family friendly show.  Everyone around me appeared to be entertained and having a great time, and I guess that's what it's all about.
     There were some disappointments involving the show, and I'd be a lesser writer if I didn't address  those issues as well.  For starters, all of the information regarding the event stated that the gates would open at 6:30 p.m., but the actual show didn't start until 8:30 p.m.  Then there weren't enough chairs to accompany the large audience, which meant about 200 people had to stand for the entire show.  The show ended by 10:30 p.m., and included a total of three matches, and one intermission.  It appeared to me that perhaps some of the wrestlers did not show up when the third and final match featured all of the wrestlers from the previous two matches.  When a wrestler would enter the ring, he would talk for an extended period of time before his opponent was introduced.  Although this is very common in the world of pro wrestling, more than twenty minutes would pass by, which left the crowd restless.  Another drawback was the constant action that took place outside of the ring.  Usually at a show this is a plus, however the size of the entertainers made it impossible to see the wrestling.  The ring side announcer also contributed to obstructing the view of the fans, and it seemed that he was sometimes in the way of the wrestlers as well. Finally, a better idea would have been to let the wrestlers wrestle in a standard size ring instead of the junior size ring that was provided. Taking everything into consideration, if you've never seen an Extreme Midget Wrestling show before, I would suggest checking it out just for the pure entertainment value.        
    
    

The crown packed in once the action started!

    








For more information about the Gibraltar Trade Center click on  www.gibraltartrade.com



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