Big League Dugout baseball tournament will bring top teams to Arizona

The Big League Dugout baseball tournament, hosted by Horizon (Scottsdale), brings in teams from around the country to fill out the 16-team tournament, including MaxPreps' top-ranked Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) and No. 13 Spanish Fork (Utah).

MaxPreps Xcellent 25 boys baseball rankings

The event gets underway March 28 and runs through the 31st. The teams come from North Carolina, California, Utah, Colorado and Illinois.

Arizona teams are Hamilton (Chandler), Chaparral (Scottsdale), Corona del Sol (Tempe) and Brophy College Prep (Phoenix).

There are four pools with the top team in each advancing to the semifinals.

HORIZON SAYS 'SO LONG' TO LONG
Horizon (Scottsdale) fired its basketball coach Paul Long, according to reports that the school wanted to go in another direction.

Long led the team to the state quarterfinals this season and semifinals last season in Class 5A Division II. He had a 76-44 record at Horizon and had a successful run at Phoenix Trevor Browne, including a 27-3 record in 2006-07, before moving to Horizon.

RECRUITING UPDATE
Chandler Hamilton wide receiver Kendyl Taylor, son of former NFL player Keith Taylor and nephew of John Taylor, picked up his third offer from the Pac-10 as Stanford joined Arizona State and Washington. As a junior he caught 48 passes for 713 yards with five touchdowns and added 784 yards with nine touchdowns on the ground.

FAB FOUR
* Marisa Mayes, Mesa Red Mountain softball: The junior second baseman recently pounded out four hits in a win over Corona del Sol in helping the Mountain Lions out to a 10-3 start.

* Jeff Paschke, Chandler Valley Christian: The sophomore shortstop got off to an incredible start, hitting .760 (19 of 25) with 22 RBIs including a 4-for-4 performance with two home runs and eight RBIs against Tanque Verde.

* Nick Johnson, Lakeside Blue Ridge: Johnson came out of the box swinging, hitting .682 (15 of 22) with two home runs and 17 RBIs.

SKODA'S SENTIMENT
The Hamilton (Chandler) football team is playing a game in Ireland next season.

The Huskies will play Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), on Aug. 31, a day before Norte Dame plays Navy in Dublin.

It is a great experience for the kids and the exposure to another culture will be something they'll remember forever.

But the timing of it isn't great. The economy is getting better but the schools in Arizona are still struggling with budget cuts. Even though Global Football, based out of Texas, is sponsoring it, there will still be some cost to the school.

I can't blame them for accepting. If I had a chance to go cover the event I'd be there in a minute. It just seems wrong when so many people, and their schools, are struggling.

Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic and current Ahwatukee Foothill News staff writer, is a 15-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com or 480-272-2449.