THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2012
PAGE 11
INTRAMURALS
Jack McFarland from Sioux Falls, Minn., throws the ball from the outfield during a kickball game on Sunday, June 10. McFarland played as a member of the Eldridge Ghosts against the Love Garden Squids on Sunday, where the Ghosts were defeated at Holcomb Sports Complex.
JESSICA JANASZ/KANSAN
Kickball league brings crowds, competition
JESSICA TIERNEY
nirvana@ku.edu
Sunday nights in east Lawrence usually mean one of two things: playing kickball or watching kickball in the Kaw Valley Kickball League (KVKL).
Every Sunday evening at parks across Lawrence, the combined energy of hundreds of spectators and more than 20 players is enough to conjure up some sort of athletic deity. In fact, for some players, watching their kick soar through the air at just the right angle and into the outfield is the most akin feeling to glory one can experience on a sports field.
"I love it because it's both really competitive and fun-spirited at the same time," said Geoff Wright, team captain for the Rockets and former commissioner of the KVKL. This is the eleventh season Wright has played in the league.
The KVKL was founded in 2002 and is now the largest kickball league in the city, consisting of more than 32 teams.
Groups of friends and local businesses compete every Sunday at parks throughout the city. The various teams end the day with a "Game of the Week" held at 9 p.m. at Hobbs Park in east Lawrence, 11th and Delaware Streets.
Many students play in the league and enjoy the lively spirit of the game and the different people involved.
"Ive played sports my whole life, and it's a good chance to get away from other students and just hang with the locals," said Mitch Favrow, a senior. Favrow plays for the Rockets, a KVKL team.
For Rockets player Adrienne Brown, a senior from El Segundo, Calif., the friendly competition is appealing.
"I like how it's so competitive, but everyone is friends," she said. "During the games, it gets so heated."
On a recent evening at Hobbs Park, the teams Balls Deep and West Coast Saloon played a match under the bright lights of the park's stadium. Both teams had a 1-1 record going into the game. The venue was lively as locals from all walks of life watched and socialized. There was even a crowd rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh inning stretch.
West Coast Saloon wiped out Balls Deep and swiftly took a 10-3 victory. As per the spirit of the league, the players shook hands at the end.
The spirit of the game has also led to teammate romance.
"Last year, there was a proposal during a game," said Diana Garcia, co-captain of the Ghosts and current KVKL commissioner. "Then they did a victory lap around the bases."
—Edited by Megan Hinman
VETERANS
Program for WWII Veterans in jeopardy after injury
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WICHITA, Kan.—Efforts to take World War II veterans to see the war's memorial in Washington are in flux in Kansas.
The Wichita Eagle reported that one organization that conducted the free trips is on the verge of disappearing.
Problems came to a head after Springfield, Ohio-based Honor Flight decided it no longer wanted Great Bend-based Central Prairie Honor Flights to help organize trips for the national network. Issues included a veteran breaking a rib after falling out of a top bunk in April 2011, reports being filed late and checks going un-
Central Prairie Honor Flights, which hasn't had any flights in 2012 and canceled two June flights, is considering its options.
cashed for months.
For more than 2 1/2 years, the organization raised nearly $1.2 million and conducted 17 Honor Flights that took more than 1,100 World War II veterans
But the organization that ran Central Prairie Honor Flights lost federal funding in spring 2011. That meant the Great Bend group lost its only federal employee, Dan Curtis, who had served as the Honor Flights' coordinator.
to Washington.
LaVeta Miller, who was promoted from program assistant to its manager.
acknowledged making mistakes but said she just wants "to do what's best for the veterans."
The bunk-bed incident happened after Curtis learned of inexpensive rates at the 4-H's national headquarters and told Miller she should book them instead of the hotel where the veterans usually stayed.