Sunday, April 4, 2010

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Fans face long commute to PE WCup <b>games</b>

Posted: 04 Apr 2010 02:04 AM PDT

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa (AP)—Football fans headed to Port Elizabeth for World Cup games may have to put up with a long distance commute, or even a trip on a cruise liner.

With limited hotel rooms available in the port city itself, organizers of the eight games being staged at one of the busiest venues have had to look far and wide for places to house the overseas visitors arriving to watch games at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

While that may not bother the small numbers of fans expected from Chile or Slovenia, the hordes of Germans and English may be staying a long way from the stadium.

"England and Germany are coming here. We will have to be working flat out to accommodate everyone," said Errol Heynes, the region's executive director for the 2010 World Cup. "We have hotels and rooms within a 150-kilometer (93-mile) radius. We have more than adequate accommodation at Nelson Mandela Bay, 30,000 beds within 150K (93-mile) radius."

Ray Whelan, an England-based consultant to FIFA in charge of match accommodation, ticketing and hospitality, said most fans would put up with the long commute.

"It's doable. I don't think for a football fan 150K is an issue," said Whelan. "I can put myself in that position because I'm a season ticket holder and I'd go to football games if it's kids playing or the Euro cup final. If I'm following my team and I've got two or three days to get between places I can do it."

Heynes said organizers would also explore housing some of the fans on a cruise liner traveling between Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban.

"We understand the market of the people who are coming here," Heynes said. "There will be some who require five-star accommodation and others who won't. The cruise liner gives us an option."

With eight games, no stadium at the 2010 World Cup will have more than the Nelson Mandela Bay ground, which has been built overlooking a lake and is within two kilometers of the coast. It was the first of the new World Cup stadiums to be completed on June 7, 2009, and then organizers set about replacing or modernizing the surrounding roads.

"Transport and roadworks have been a bit of a challenge because of being forced to dig up roads and then replace them," Heynes said. "But we hope to have all roads and facilities complete in time for World Cup 2010, and that includes rebuilt roads and car park at the stadium."

The British were first to settle in Port Elizabeth in 1820. Known as the "friendly city," Port Elizabeth can be wet and windy during the South African winter, when the World Cup is staged from June 11-July 11, with temperatures dropping to 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit).

Port Elizabeth also stages a second-round game, a quarterfinal match and also the third-place playoff on the next-to-last day of the championship on July 10.

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North boys, South girls win Optimist <b>games</b>

Posted: 03 Apr 2010 11:22 PM PDT

A lot was working against Saturday's 33rd Optimist All-Star basketball games.

The girls and boys games, featuring many of the area's top seniors, were going up against the nationally televised men's NCAA Final Four semifinals.

Many schools are out on holiday break, and the games were being played at quaint, off-the-beaten-track Center High School in Antelope. And the event's potentially biggest draw, Stanford-bound Sara James of CIF Division I state champion Oak Ridge, played earlier in the day at an all-star game in San Antonio, Texas.

Still, the 1,000-seat gym was nearly full, and the spectators went away well entertained.

"It was an excellent crowd, great support," said McClatchy's Harvey Tahara, who earned his 500th win of his coaching career in leading the South girls past the North 83-57. "There are a lot of things going on today, and there are a lot of reasons not to be here. But I think this is a tribute to the kids. People want to see all the talent we have in the area."

The story lines included:

• Metro Conference Co-MVPs Ariel Thomas of McClatchy and Brittany Shine of Sacramento High, fierce playmaking foes during league but friends and Amateur Athletic Union teammates otherwise, combined for 39 points to lead the South while Sac High's 6-foot-3 Kyra Dunn earned MVP honors for her shot-blocking and rebounding.

• Roseville's Katie Simon, proving Nebraska may have a steal in the 6-2 center, had a game-high 25 points as the North girls MVP. She muscled for points inside and knocked down three-pointers to keep the overmatched North girls in the game until the fourth quarter.

• Although representing one of the smallest schools in the area, Forest Lake Christian's 6-7 Josh Ritchart put on a big-time performance with 19 points, including four dunks, in leading the North boys to a 119-103 win over the South.

• Franklin's Michael Rosaroso, one of the smallest players on the court at 5-7, hit long-distance threes and fearlessly slashed for layups through the North's timber-topping lineup (five players 6-6 or taller) to earn South MVP honors with 19 points.

Unlike the long-time Optimist's summer football game, which is suffering from declining interest among players and fans, the all-star basketball games are doing better than ever since their move from the summer to the end of the basketball season in 2004.

"We used to have a lot more conflict during the summer," said Center's Ray Gagnon, who coached the North boys and has coached the Optimist girls as a head or assistant coach four times previously. "The kids are in better shape, the interest is stronger."

Only a handful of players from the four teams bowed out and all because of conflicts with other activities or events.

Some went above and beyond to participate.

Jesuit's MacKenzie McCullough cut short a family visit to Florida to fly back Friday so he could play for the North team.

The lanky Ritchart, the North boys MVP who put on a show of explosiveness and fundamentals, said playing in the Optimist game is something he has wanted to do since his freshman season. Although he signed a scholarship before the season with UC Davis, not many people had a chance to see him play for a 13-12 Forest Lake Christian team.

"It was fun to come out and show what I could do," Ritchart said. "Being at a small school, you're kind of under the radar. It's fun to play with all these talented guys."

Simon agreed.

"I had a blast," said Simon, who made 10 of 12 shots from the floor, including a three-pointer. "I expected we'd have a big crowd. Everyone was really excited about the game. They wanted to see the best come out and play against each other."

© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Call The Bee's Bill Paterson, (916) 326-5506.

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