The Kids Aid Backpack Program, a nonprofit organization that provides meals for Mesa County kids facing food insecurity, has announced its food stops for this summer.

Anyone 18 and under is welcome to come to these “pop-up stops”, where food items will be distributed while Mesa County Valley School District 51 schools are out for the seasonal break.

PHOTOS: BROTHER MARTIN MIRACLE LEAGUE

NEW ORLEANS – Soto Shuffle? Try Corey Conga.

On Saturday, he and many other special needs youth danced around the bases of Farley Field in the Brother Martin Crusaders’ “All-Star Weekend” baseball clinic hosted by the Miracle League of Greater New Orleans.

The 15th annual event returned to the diamond after last year’s was forced indoors due to rain. Brother Martin football and baseball personnel arrived at the ballpark early in the morning to set up and later joined participants in the batter’s box, facing the day’s significance head-on.

Mark Wisniewski, formerly Crusaders baseball coach and now athletic director, forged a partnership with the Miracle League in 2010 that has reached a decade and a half of lifting others.

“When I talked to our kids, I said, ‘Look, they’re gonna hold your hands, they’re gonna want to hug you, they’re gonna ride on your back, they’re gonna want to run around,’” Wisniewski said. “Our young men have completely embraced that happening.”

It’s been a bittersweet few days for Brother Martin baseball. A chance to win its first Division I state championship since 1996 went by the wayside last weekend as Catholic High silenced Crusader bats.

For coach Jeff Lupo and his team, Saturday meant stepping back to appreciate what’s always there at the end of the tunnel.

“It puts in perspective just how difficult our game is to play, and how we need to celebrate the little victories in life,” Lupo said.

Infielder Bronson Leaumont saw his high school career end against Catholic, graduating from Brother Martin on Wednesday. Transitioning to pitcher as a parting gift to the crimson and gold, he set many participants up to go yard, including his brother, Gus.

“It’s the only time as a pitcher I’m excited to get hit around,” Leaumont said. “I want to give up home runs, I want to give up doubles and triples and base hits.”

The brotherly bond Leaumont shared could be felt throughout the celebration, fit with a National Anthem, a silent auction and food. Dozens of fans and community members pierced the humid air with cheers of encouragement during the two scrimmages, divvied up by age and shirt color.

Of course, all proceeds were donated to the Miracle League.

“We take advantage of being able to tie our shoes, playing the game of baseball,” Leaumont said. “This day’s all about them, not about us.”

In 1998, the Miracle League was born. Since 2009, its New Orleans branch has allowed underdeveloped children to play sports like baseball, basketball and kickball in various charity events. Few opportunities exist in athletics for disabled youth, so the Miracle League has embarked on a mission to change that.

Over 200 children take part in seasonal leagues at a $900,000 hub called “The Miracle Field” in the Riverview athletic complex near Audubon Park. Children’s Hospital of New Orleans and Audubon Nature Institute helped fund the venue. Since 2019, the Miracle League’s North Shore offshoot has gained steam in Covington.

“My kids have probably had their uniforms laid out since Thursday,” said Gina Lorio, Executive Director of the Miracle League of Greater New Orleans.

Each child brought a unique flair to the day, writing community, competition and gratitude as the message forever rolling in a bottle down Elysian Fields.

Lucas was among the first to arrive Saturday morning, sauntering to home base and joyously waving his arms as he beat the throw down.

Jade entered with a passionate roar, making sure to find her mom in the crowd while running to first base and to high-five an amiable adversary on her way to second.

Maggie overcame Corey’s elaborate pitching style, with a dash around the bases to last a lifetime.

“They keep recurring, [they] keep coming back,” Lorio added. “They become friends.”

Before photos and hugs closed the festivities, Corey batted last. As a remixed “It’s My Life” by Bon Jovi featuring Pitbull blared over speakers, he cut a rug in front of home plate and called a Ruthian shot. It’s now or never.

Corey uncorked a hit into left, blistered the basepaths and even evaded a tag. He was home.

Safe!

Freedom Elementary unveils restored soccer field, honoring youth sports legacy

In Watsonville, the Pajaro Valley Sports Foundation, a community-based organization dedicated to building more athletic fields, celebrated the completion of a new field at Freedom Elementary.

Updated: 12:00 AM PDT May 25, 2025

On Saturday, families, soccer players, local leaders, and donors celebrated the restoration of Freedom Elementary School’s soccer field.”Every day I get to see kids running, rolling, playing, building friendships, avoiding conflicts, and growing in confidence,” Freedom Elementary School Principal Angelique Llamas said.The project was made possible through a partnership between the Pajaro Valley Sports Foundation, Driscoll’s, and the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County.”It’s an investment in kids’ lives, especially in this community where there are no city or county parks, there’s not a lot of programming for kids,” Santa Cruz County Deputy Probation Officer Gina Castaneda said.The project began in 2017 and is now complete, although the field has been in use since 2022. The field has been officially named in honor of Ken Morena, a beloved Driscoll’s employee and advocate for youth sports in Pajaro Valley.”Future generations are going to come here and people are going to meet at Ken Morena Field and that thought is just unbelievable to me,” Morena said. The field is home not only to the elementary school, but also to the Pajaro Valley United Soccer Club and the Aztecas soccer program.Upgrades to the site include full grading and drainage of the parking lot and field, installation of new fencing and turf, a soccer-themed mural, a memorial bench, and a new message and scoreboard.”Keep playing, using this field and being conscious of the fact, the more time they’re here, the less time they’ll have to get into trouble somewhere else, so I hope they wear this field out,” Morena said. The Pajaro Valley Sports Foundation is working with schools across Santa Cruz County to figure out their next project

RIGA (Latvia) – The annual FIBA Europe General Assembly took place in the Latvian capital Riga on Saturday, May 24.

The event, which was hosted by the Latvian Basketball Association, brought together representatives from across the continent, with 45 of the 50 European National Federations represented.

FIBA Europe President Jorge Garbajosa chaired the session, with FIBA President Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis, FIBA Executive Director Europe Kamil Novak and members of the FIBA Europe Board also in attendance.

Raimonds Vejonis, President of the Latvian Basketball Association, welcomed all the delegates on behalf of the hosts, highlighting the importance of such an event taking place in Latvia, which will also host FIBA EuroBasket 2025 later this year.

In his opening speech, FIBA Europe President Mr. Garbajosa reflected on a year of strong achievements and sustained unity in the face of global challenges, paying special attention to the strength and resilience of the family of European National Federations.

He also addressed ongoing developments in the landscape of men’s and women’s club competitions, including discussions about the NBA project in Europe and the enormous success of the inaugural EuroLeague Women Final Six in Zaragoza, Spain.

FIBA President Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani underscored Europe’s key role in global basketball and praised ongoing efforts to strengthen youth development and club competitions across the continent.

He reaffirmed FIBA’s strong support for Europe and its National Federations and called to stay united amid various challenges, external pressures and global conflicts.

FIBA Executive Director Europe Mr. Novak presented a comprehensive report covering all FIBA Europe events, development programs and activities over the past year.

He highlighted another season of exceptional growth in EuroLeague Women and offered an in-depth overview of the preparations for the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket and FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 tournaments.

In his intervention, FIBA Secretary General Mr. Zagklis focused on FIBA’s strategic priorities and objectives.

He highlighted ongoing efforts to empower National Federations through various FIBA initiatives and underscored FIBA’s commitment to elevating women’s basketball, not only on the court but also by ensuring greater representation in all areas of the sport.

Mr. Zagklis also reflected on recent developments in the landscape of European club competitions, as well as other key focus areas, including youth development, 3×3 basketball, national team competitions, as well as promoting sustainability and innovation within the FIBA family.

The delegates were also presented with reports by the FIBA Europe Treasurer, and also the chairs of the Competitions, Legal, Technical, Women & Equality, Youth, Business Development, Small Countries Commissions, as well as the Management Committee for Special Projects.

FIBA Europe Properties GmbH CEO Mrs. Monika Puchner presented a report on the operations of FIBA Europe Properties, while Walter Pfaller, President of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation Europe offered an overview of activities in wheelchair basketball over the course of the past year.

National Federations were provided with an update on the European club competitions landscape and about the NBA project in Europe and ongoing discussions with Euroleague Commercial Assets.

The General Assembly also approved the recommendation of the FIBA Europe Board regarding amendments to the Bye-Laws to de-recognize the following leagues:

• Balkan Basketball League (BIBL);

• Baltic Basketball League (BBL);

• European Youth Basketball League (EYBL) (currently recorded in FIBA Europe Bye-Laws Annex 2 list as “North European Youth Basketball League”) and all its affiliated leagues.

The General Assembly received an update on the status of the two ongoing conflicts in the region and their impact on international basketball, and endorsed the current measures, with the status quo remaining in place.

As per the proposal of the FIBA Europe Board, the General Assembly endorsed the award of FIBA Europe Honorary Member title to Cyriel Coomans and the title of FIBA Europe Honorary Treasurer to Karl Thaller.

Following the conclusion of the General Assembly, participants also took part in a workshop exploring two distinct themes: artificial intelligence and branding.

The next FIBA Europe General Assembly will be hosted by the Icelandic Basketball Federation on May 16, 2026 in Reykjavik.

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About FIBA
FIBA (fiba.basketball) – the world governing body for basketball – is an independent association formed by 212 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognized as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

For further information about FIBA, visit fiba.basketball or follow FIBA on facebook.com/fiba, twitter.com/fiba, instagram.com/fiba and youtube.com/fiba.

If you have a child that’s interested in honing football skills, then you might be interested in this bit of news.

The Ohio State football program has announced its upcoming youth football camps, and you might want to get in on the action and get some instruction from the defending College Football Playoff national champions. And if you know anything about camps, it’s not only a great way to improve, but a fantastic chance to be seen and maybe establish a recruiting relationship with the OSU staff and coaches (at least once you are of age)

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There are single-day and multiple-day camps. The one-day camps for those entering ninth grade and up include the following dates:

In addition to single-day camps, there are those that are held over multiple days covering different age groups. Those include:

YOUTH CAMP

Tuesday, June 3 and Wednesday, June 4 (entering 5th to 8th grade)

7-on-7 Competition High School

Wednesday, June 11 and Wednesday, June 18 (entering 9th grade and up)

These Ohio State camps routinely welcome hundreds of campers from around the country and are one of the best run in college football. For more information, you can visit OSU’s website.

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – The Rochester Fire Department responded to a large garage fire late Friday night in southeast Rochester.

According to RFD, the fire happened around 10 p.m. Friday in an attached garage at 5638 Bragg Lane SE.

When crews arrived, they found flames coming out of the garage. Several units worked to put the fire out. Crews reportedly used tankers which hold 1,500 gallons each to supply water for operations since hydrants were not in the neighborhood. RFD said no one was inside of the house at the time.

No injuries were reported and there is no estimated cost of damages yet.

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