Sports
Blue Wahoos giving away a new SUV in biggest promotion yet
The Blue Wahoos during their tenure have arranged promotion giveaways ranging from Hawaiian shirts to a pair of Taylor Swift concert tickets.
This weekend will get grander.
In the team’s second-to-last homestand of 2025, someone will take home a brand new SUV on Friday night, sponsored by Hill Kelly, then another lucky fan on Saturday will receive a diamond in the fourth annual Bere’ Jewelers “Diamond Dig” on the infield at Blue Wahoos Stadium following the game.
This home series against the Chattanooga Lookouts, which began Tuesday, sets up as the team’s biggest back-to-back promo nights and most lucrative gifts in team history.
It coincides with the Blue Wahoos locked into a chase for the Southern League’s South Division second-half title. The team entered Tuesday night’s game a half-game behind the Montgomery Biscuits.
“In one weekend, someone will have a new ride and someone will have new bling. We think that is pretty cool,” said team president Jonathan Griffith.
The new vehicle, a 2025 Jeep Compass Latitude, valued around $27,000 (based on current MSRP), is parked out front of the stadium.
The idea of a car giveaway was formulated as Griffith and several front office members traveled back from the Minor League Baseball Fall Meetings last October. The trip followed a late-season game when the Blue Wahoos gave away two tickets to a pair of fans for the Taylor Swift concert tour Oct. 25-27, 2024 in New Orleans.
A chance to win attracted a large crowd at that Blue Wahoos game, many of whom said they only bought tickets in effort to be part of the drawing for Swift concert seats.
“Taylor Swift was a good day for us last year when we gave away the two tickets,” Griffith said. “And the thought was, ‘What could we do that would motivate you to come to a game?’ Someone said, well if I could win a car, I would come to a game.
“And I thought, well let’s do it. So we went to Hill Kelly (dealershiop) and talked to them about it. They loved the idea of giving away a brand new car.”
The Taylor Swift concert tickets were valued around $6,000. A new car pushes the Blue Wahoos into their most lucrative giveaway item in club history.
“Most of the time in Minor League Baseball, you see commercials for a game promotion of a used car, or a clunker, and that’s fun and all, but how can we be impactful?” Griffith said. “How can we make a memorable experience?
“Well, to me, if somebody left (stadium) in a brand new car, that’s pretty darn memorable for somebody. It’s a pretty cool thing for somebody to say they bought a ticket to a minor league baseball game and walked out with a new car. It’s a big deal. It will be a fun thing for our fans.”
Just as Hill Kelly has been a long-time corporate partner with the Blue Wahoos, the same is true for Bere’ Jewelers, which led to the promotion of “Diamond Dig.”
Any fan attending Saturday’s game can pre-register to participate. And with plastic spoons in hand, the fans will rush out to the infield area and begin digging into the dirt with a vague hint of location.
A plastic trinket will be buried prior to the game and the toy item is the redeemable prize for the diamond, along with help for a ring setting at Bere Jewelers, which has been in business for more than 40 years in Pensacola.
Owners Barry and Laura Cole have operated at the expansive store’s location on 12th Avenue since 2017.
“We are very fortunate to have Barry and Laura being a great partner with us and do such a fun thing and give away a diamond,” Griffith said. “Again, just like giving away the car, some will buy a ticket to the game and walk out with a multi-thousand diamond.
“And everyone who participates gets a gift as well to Bere’ Jewelers to go to their store. We don’t limit how many people can do it. We just ask everyone to pre-register.”
WAHOOS NOTEWORTHY
— Former catcher Will Banfield became the 150th Blue Wahoos player to reach the major leagues when he made his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 23. Banfield played 146 games for the Blue Wahoos across two seasons (2022-23) helping the team with its Southern League title in 2022 and return to the championship series in 2023. He was the team MVP in 2023 after hitting 23 homers.
— The Blue Wahoos have three weeks left in the season, entering Tuesday with 19 games remaining. It’s a three-team battle for the second playoff spot. Montogomery has a half-game lead and the Columbus Clingstones trail the Blue Wahoos by a half-game after taking four straight wins last week to win the series. The Blue Wahoos end their season at home on Sept. 9-14 against Columbus.
— This season has featured 60 different players wearing Blue Wahoos uniforms. The latest transaction was pitcher Dax Fulton getting elevated Tuesday to join Triple-A Jacksonville.
WANT TO GO?
WHAT: Blue Wahoos Homestand
WHO: Chattanooga Lookouts vs. Blue Wahoos
WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium
WHEN: Tuesday Through Sunday. Game times are 6:05 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday through-Saturday. Wednesday’s game is a doubleheader (two 7-inning games) beginning at 4:05. Sunday’s game begins at 4:05 p.m.
PROMOTIONS: Thursday’s game is Pensacola Mullets Night with select alcoholic beverages discounted. On Friday, a new car will be awarded to one lucky fan, provided by Hill Kelly Dodge Jeep Chrysler. In addition, the first 1,000 fans through gates will receive Blue Wahoos Hawaiian shirts, courtesy of sponsor Harvesters Credit Union. On Saturday, in addition to post-game fireworks, it will be the fourth annual Bere’ Jewelers Diamond Dig. Fans can pre-register to enter field following game and dig for a trinket that will be redeemable for a diamond at Bere.
TICKETS: www.bluewahoos.com.
Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com
Over his first two campaigns, Caleb Smith has produced successful efforts in the heptathlon and decathlon events. He broke the school record in the heptathlon, posting his best total of 4,952 points to win the Middlebury Winter Classic. A few weeks later, Smith paced the event at the Division III New England Championships to earn all-region accolades and qualify for the NCAA Championships. He translated that success to the decathlon, winning the title at the Carla Coffey Invitational and Williams’ Farley Interregional Extravaganza. He garnered All-NESCAC accolades with a third-place showing in the high jump and claimed all-region honors in the decathlon.
Sam McGarrahan returns after a superb season in the field events. He qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the high jump, clearing the bar with the 18th-best height at 1.95 meters. McGarrahan topped the podium in the event during the Division III New England Championships, soaring to a school-record effort of 2.05 meters. He also set the program mark in the long jump, leaping 6.81 meters at Middlebury’s New England Small College Invitational. McGarrahan became the NESCAC Champion in school-record fashion in the high jump (2.00 meters) and recorded a third-place leap in the long jump. His high jump efforts outdoors earned him all-region honors.
For the first time since the 2018-2019 season, all three schools advanced past the Area round of the playoffs. Archer City and Holliday both were Regional Semifinalists, while Windthorst was a State Semifinalist for the fourth-straight season. With that success comes state recognition Holliday senior Jordan Peters closed out her final season as a Lady Eagle with an All-State honor from the Texa…
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Sports
Cedar Rapids wrestler chases her dream, from a volleyball player to a young star in the sport
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – When Maggie Peters is home, she’s locked in.
She lifts weights at a gym in her hometown of Cedar Rapids. But it’s not just for strength – it’s for safety.
“One things goes wrong, and you’ve got people’s lives in your hands,” she said. “I mean, you don’t want to drop somebody on their head.”
But more often than not, Peters is on the road. Her sport is professional wrestling.
She’s performed performed in front of thousands in arenas and on television. Her fights may be scripted, but her dream of reaching WWE is real.
Peters has a background in volleyball, playing at Cedar Rapids Jefferson, Kirkwood Community College and Mount Mercy. But her dream has always been in the wrestling ring.
“I wanted to do it right when I started watching I wanna say I was eight or nine I would just go wrestle on my trampoline,” Peters said.
She went from the volleyball court at Mount Mercy to a wrestling school in Davenport.
“We would have a show on a Thursday night, so I would leave class early,” said Peters. “But at that point, I will say, my senior year was my worst year of school. Once I got the wrestling training done, I was like, ‘ooh, this is what I want to do.’”
In professional wrestling, the winner and loser are predetermined, unlike traditional sports.
“Pro wrestling, I will say, is like a dance,” Peters said.
But there’s nothing fake about the pain wrestlers endure, what they call “bumps.”
“Any time you get put down on the mat, you’re taking a bump. You’re hitting the top of your back,” Peters said. “Higher on your neck, sometimes, (is) not good.”
Maggie wrestles in independent shows across the Midwest under the ring name Maggie Lee. She also performs in front of thousands in TNA Wrestling as the villainous character “M By Elegance.”
“Yeah, I do like being the bad guy,” Peters said. “I’ve worked a mix of both the bad guy and the good guy on the independents. But everybody was like, ‘you look more like you as the bad guy.’ I was like, ‘gee, thanks,” Peters said.
TNA – Total Nonstop Action – is high-level televised professional wrestling, one step below WWE.
“I actually really love the whole TV aspect. It’s very organized. Being able to see myself on TV is really cool,” Peters laughed.
Maggie hopes a full-time contract with WWE is next. She’s banking on it, writing a card to her mother labeled “open when I’m in the WWE.”
“And it was one of many letters. I made them for her birthday,” Peters said.
When asked about the letter’s contents, Peters said she doesn’t remember what she wrote as a girl.
“I don’t even remember what’s in it, so I’m kind of like scared,” she said. “When she does open it, I feel like it’s going to be a big deal and I might get embarrassed.”
Sometimes she’s flying high, sometimes she’s taking bumps.
Either way, she’s racing towards her dream.
Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.
OMAHA (KMTV) — She might have a new name, but Norah (Sis) Tebrake still brings the same infectious smile to the court.
The former CU volleyball star is now married to former Creighton baseball standout Dylan Tebrake.
“He’s always encouraging me and challenging me,” said Norah. “And I try to do the same for him. I think it’s such a cool dynamic.”
After spending her first pro season helping Orlando to a league title, Norah had now returned to Omaha to play for the Supernovas. But returning to her hometown actually did take some getting used to again.
“I’m a wimp when it comes to the cold,” Tebrake said. “But now coming back after spending just one winter away, I feel like I can’t handle the cold.”
Along with reuniting with some former Bluejays, Tebrake has also formed friendships with her former rivals and now current teammates, including ex-NU star Merritt Beason.
“She’s just so joyful and leads with so much grace and so much love,” said Beason. “You can see that in her play. She’s one of the best people that I’ve ever met and it’s been so fun getting to know her.”
“To have people that know just kind of what makes you tick and what you need on the court and off the court is super helpful,” Tebrake said. “Obviously we’re all learning that about each other but just to come in knowing that there’s people that already know that about me has been super comforting.”
The Novas host San Diego in the season opener on Thursday at 7 PM at CHI Health Center.
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After a strong 2024 fall season, high school girls volleyball on the South Shore had an even better one in 2025.
There were two local state-championship-winning teams on the court this year. Oliver Ames finished off the best season in program history by winning it’s first-ever Division 2 state title in it’s second ever appearance (which came last season). On the same day, East Bridgewater followed that up with a program-first of their own, winning it’s first-ever Division 4 state championship in it’s first appearance.
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