First, the good news. During a recent shuffling of pictures on our server, the “Dave’s Notebook” graphic was misplaced, so at least this week you won’t have to look at me every time you pull up this story.

Now to share a few thoughts while listening to spring training baseball from sunny Florida:

First Classic proves memorable

The first Space City Classic ended up being atypical of many all-star games. It was low-scoring – the Red team beat the White 14-13 – and other than a few big pass plays, the game was dominated by the run.

Judging from the post-game comments, the game was taken as seriously as a regular-season game by both sides. Take the words of White coach Jeffrey Caesar, who never considered anything except going for a two-point conversion in the final seconds.

“There was no doubt we were going for the win,” Caesar told reporters. “No one wants to end a game like this with a tie.”

Or the sentiments of Aldine linebacker Anthony Lewis, who helped make the game-saving stop on the conversion try:

“We knew they wanted to make history.”

The organizers deserve several kudos. We have the Bayou Bowl here in June and, later in the summer, the Texas High School Coaches Association All-Star Game in San Antonio. But this game was long overdue for the area; it spotlights just Houston-area players and fills in the non-football gap between December and spring ball.

A few suggestions, though:

- Hold the game a few weeks later. It coincided Saturday with the boys basketball state championships 175 miles away in Austin, which for all anyone knew when the game was scheduled could have featured nationally-ranked Yates but ended up having Wheatley, Klein Forest and Fort Bend Dulles from the area.

- Get the word out a lot earlier. I never heard an official attendance figure, but it couldn’t have been any more than 500 to 600. I didn’t even hear about the event until last Tuesday and never saw an ad in a newspaper or on radio or television.

Be apprised, though, that the Space City Classic will host basketball all-star games in June. The exact site and date are upcoming; we’ll pass it along when we find out.

Schedule coming together

Speaking of football, most 2008 schedules haven’t officially been released but many matchups are ekeing out of various camps. Week One will be an awesome weekend – among the games are the first meeting of North Shore and Katy, at either North Shore or Reliant Stadium; Pasadena Memorial-Fort Bend Clements; and Cinco Ranch vs. San Antonio Reagan at the Kickoff Classic at the Alamodome.

Among Katy’s non-district games are Cypress Bay, Fla. here in early October and a matchup with Flower Mound Marcus in Waco.

The top scheduling award, though, goes to North Shore and coach David Aymond. In addition to Katy, the Mustangs will play Cypress Falls, La Marque and Southlake Carroll in the Metroplex.

Redskins turn pink

Taking a cue from the University of Houston softball team, the Lamar softball team wore pink warmup jerseys before Friday’s game against Bellaire in honor of “Strike Out Breast Cancer” week.

Redskins players wore appropriate t-shirts and took pledges before the game, which they won 1-0 to stay undefeated in District 20-5A.

The Cougars wore pink jerseys in a doubleheader last week against Texas. UH won both games.

Postponements and reschedulings

Probably not surprisingly, the weather wreaks havoc with sports schedules this time of year. Spring sports are the most vulnerable because not only are most of them played outdoors, but the playing surfaces simply can’t hold water or overcome a steady rain like Monday’s. If you hear of any cancellations or postponements, e-mail me at dpurpura@athletesconnection.com or call our office at (713) 339-4400 and let us know. Us knowing what games are or are not being played helps us better cover deserving athletes.

Anything you want, you got it

As I write, our IT department is in the process of redesigning the site. Within the next few weeks – we hope – the front page will have a new look, including videos atop the page, our constantly-updated master calendar of events, a blog for yours truly and fewer pictures on the front for easier downloads.

Anything you want to see on our site that we don’t have now? Drop me an e-mail and let me know. As in the past, we’ll continue to take any stories – and news tips – our readers have to offer. Without you, we wouldn’t be the area’s premier high school sports source.

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