Green Bay Press-Gazette from Green Bay, Wisconsin • 15

Sports INSIDE Arena football C-3 Quad City tops Blizzard Scoreboard C-4 section Contact Sports Editor Mike Vandermause at (920) 431-8222 or mvandermausegreenbaypressgazette.com Green Bay Press-Gazette Saturday, June 30, 2007 HIGH SCHOOLS: CONFERENCE REALIGNMENT SIDELINE BASKETBALL 1 WW bB S) BULLFROGS 2, BEETLES 1 Bullfrogs wrap up spot in playoffs Bell's hit in the 10th defeats Alexandria Actress Eva Longoria, right, hugs the San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker after the Spurs defeated Cleveland for the NBA championship earlier this month. Eric 'r VO it A 'Y GayAP Parker not telling wedding secrets For Tony Parker, only French-made wedding cakes will do. The point guard of the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, set to marry "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria next week, is staying coy about plans for the star-studded event. Speaking to reporters Thursday in Paris, Parker shrugged off questions about the wedding party and venue, believed to be July 7 at a French chateau. "I don't care where I'm going to get married," he said.

"It's a girls' thing." To other queries, he replied, "That's a question you should ask Eva." He dismissed one of the rumors flying about the extravagant ceremony: that the wedding cake was to be flown in from the United States. "Why take a cake from the United States if it is France that makes the best cakes?" he said. "You can't control all the stupid things that they can say, like bringing a cake in first class." The Associated Press But how long will it be before leagues are altered again? BY SCOTT VENCI svencigreenbaypressgazette.com When the high school football season begins Aug. 24, it might take fans a few weeks to get used to the conferences that were formed during a realignment plan involving 69 high schools in Northeastern Wisconsin in 2006. Bay Port, Pulaski, Ashwaubenon and De Pere recently completed their final season in the Bay Conference, and will move to the new, 12-team Fox River Classic Conference with the eight existing teams from the defunct Fox River Valley.

Hortonville, Denmark, Oconto Falls and Luxemburg-Casco took the four schools' place in the nine-team Bay, while the Packerland has shrunk to eight teams with the defections of the Vikings and Spartans. Just how long will this last? While the FRVC was around for almost 85 years, there is no guarantee the FRCC will exist for even a fraction of that time due to changing enrollments of area high schools as well as possible new ones being built. As certain suburbs grow, conversations of another realignment will, too. "I think you'll see realignment come more frequently," Bay Port athletics director Otis Chambers said. "I would say that at the minimum, you will see it every decade.

It could be as early as every six to seven years." WIAA associate director Deb Hauser agrees there is a possibility of realignment in the future, but isn't sure what the timetable would be if at all. "It all depends on how things go," she said. "My initial reaction is that if things go well and everybody is happy with how things are going, I would suspect that they aren't going to ask for realignment." The WIAA has changed its procedures when it comes to future realignment talk, offering schools the opportunity to voice concerns during an annual area meeting. "Who would know how long it would hold?" Hauser Ashwaubenon's Jenna Geurts passes the ball around "De Pere's Amber Strodthoff during a girls basketball tournament game in March. Ashwaubenon and De Pere, along with Bay Port and Pulaski, join the eight schools from the old Fox River Valley Conference in the new Fox River Classic Conference beginning next school year.

H. Marc LarsonPress-Gazette Area conference realignment SAILING Swiss take lead BY WESTON H0DKIEWICZ whodkiewgreenbaypressgazette.com All the Green Bay Bullfrogs needed was a win and a La Crosse Loggers loss to secure Northwoods League history If only it was that easy In the 9 o'clock hour Friday, the Loggers did their part with a 1-0 loss to Battle Creek. But the Bullfrogs needed another hour and an extra inning to beat the Alexandria Beetles 2-1 at Joannes Stadium and secure their place as the first Northwoods League expansion team to earn a trip to the postseason. They have Dillon Bell to thank. Bell, who Box pinch hit for score, C-5 outfielder Kurt Steinhauer in the seventh inning, played in only his second game with the Bullfrogs after his college, California-Irvine, made it to the College World Series.

With one out and the bases loaded, Bell smacked a hard grounder off Alexandria's first baseman to drive in Daniel Robertson with the winning run, wrapping up the first-half South Division title for the Bullfrogs. Bell was used to being a situational player at Irvine, and it came in handy for the Bullfrogs and manager Elliott Strankman on Friday. "Everyone was getting on base that last inning, so I got the chance," Bell said. "Coach told me that if (Sean) Dovel got up there, it was going to be mer It was fun." Bell scored the game-tying run in the bottom of the seventh after a Boe Baitinger single. While the Bullfrogs left the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth before a Michael Notaro 6-4-3 double play, Strankman knew his team would pick each other up.

"(Bell) is just a scrappy kid," Strankman said. "He comes from a program that all they do is win the last couple years. The neat thing is, we came back from a bases- loaded double play, but the guys stayed with it. That's a sign of some character." Hitting was at a premium Friday partially due to the play of Bullfrogs starter Lance Abbott, who struck out a team record 11 batters over eight innings while allowing no earned runs. He broke his record of nine strikeouts.

"It was a lot of fun. My changeup was a little off, but I just kept throwing strikes and kept going after hitters," Abbott said. Bullfrogs owner Jeff Royle had tears in his eyes as the Bullfrogs left the field. Royle, who has invested close to $1 million in the team, was happy his team got to play in front of a record crowd 1,721 at Joannes. "It's cool stuff," Royle said.

"It's been a lot of hard work. A lot of people to thank. "It's early. It's like the team got here a few weeks ago. We worked very hard to put 9 said of the current structure.

"It might not go very far. It might go forever. It's hard to say" Chambers doesn't want to see it happen very often. Bay Port, along with the other schools in the FRCC, have spent money in changing logos and buying banners in preparation for the new conference, as well as spending a good amount of time working on the realignment plan that was brought up by Green Bay schools interested in forming a metro conference. "As painful and as much work as this realignment was, I don't look forward to doing it again," Chambers said.

"However, I believe that a lot of the work we did this year will not have to be duplicated." See Realignment, C-3 Fox River Classic Bay School Enrollment- Hortonville 1,058 Green Bay Preble 2,190 Shawano 1,037 Manitowoc 1,843 New London 930 Sheboygan North 1,754 Seymour 826 Sheboygan South 1,540 Marinette 783 Bay Port 1,536 West De Pere 733 Green Bay East 1,454 Luxemburg-Casco 657 Green Bay Southwest 1,443 Oconto Falls 617 Green Bay West 1,310 Denmark 559 Pulaski 1,113 DePere 1,100 Olympian Ashwaubenon 1,103 Chilton 450 Notre Dame 778 Valders 395 Wrightstown 383 Packerland Mishicot 382 Sturgeon Bay 540 Brillion 353 Oconto 452 Manitowoc Roncalli 279 Southern Door 419 Manitowoc Lutheran 275 Kewaunee 405 Reedsville 277 Sevastopol 263 Menasha St. Mary 244 Algoma 252 Hilbert 200 Gibraltar 213 Note: Packerland and Olympian NEW Lutheran 150 combine for football only. 1 Switzerland's Alinghi sails during Race 5 of the America's Cup off the coast of Valencia, Spain, Friday. The Swiss took a 3-2 lead over New Zealand in the best-of-nine series with a 19-second victory. Rob GriffithAP CUBS 6, BREWERS 5 Brewers let one slip away in 9th Second-place Cubs win on Ramirez's two-run home run 4 What's new with the Crew i V- 7 4 -r NOW: Get into the game The De Pere River Bandits host the Manitowoc Bandits in a Northeastern Wisconsin Baseball League doubleheader at 1 p.m.

THEN: Remember this? June 30, 1994: Tonya Harding is stripped of her national title and banned for life from the U.S. Figure Skating Association because of her role in an attack on Nancy Kerrigan. WATCH: You know you like to Back to back Arena League wild-card playoff games are on ESPN today. Columbus plays Tampa Bay at 1 1 a.m., and Colorado faces Kansas City at 2 p.m. BLITZ: Packers 247365 Tight end Clark Harris, one of the Packers' seventh-round draft choices, was an accomplished javelin thrower at Southern Regional High School In Manahawkin, N.J.

together a competitive team, and we took the challenge of being an expansion team." BY RICK GAN0 The Associated Press CHICAGO Aramis Ramirez went from disgusted to delighted as the Chicago Cubs mounted an improbable comeback off Milwaukee closer Francisco Cordero to win their seventh straight game. Ramirez hit a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth as the Cubs rallied for three in the final inning and a 6-5 win Friday over the first-place Brewers. In the seventh with two runners on, Ramirez struck out against Matt Wise to end the inning and slammed his bat down at the plate. "I should put the ball in play at least," Ramirez said. "I knew I was going to have another chance, and I came through." The NL Central-leading Brewers took a 5-0 lead in the For Strankman, who 1 Star of the game Aramis Ramirez, Cubs: He belted a game-winning, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth.

Where they stand 46-33, first place in the NL Central, 6ft games ahead of the Chicago Cubs. What's next Today's game: Milwaukee (Sheets 9-3) at Chicago Cubs (Marshall 4-2), 2:55 p.m. (Fox, WLUK, Channel 11). Box score, C-4 attempted to recruit players from schools with winning histories, everything has turned out better than he could've gave up. The bullpen did a great job and gave us a chance to come back and we did," Ramirez said.

"This is the team we have to beat, Milwaukee, and try to get close. When we win the game and I come in, everybody is jumping around because that was pretty special the way we win and we beat the first-place team." It was Cordero's third blown save in 30 chances. Bob Howry (5-4) pitched one inning and got the win. "This is a really tough loss," Cordero said. "Every time you hang a pitch, it's going a long ways, especially a slider.

He's a pretty good hitter. He got it on the sweet spot of the bat and it went a long way. It's not the first time it happened, and it won't be the last time that it happens." The Brewers lost for just the third time in 15 games. Kevin Mench hit a three-run homer in the first and with rookie Yovani Gallardo pitching six solid innings, it looked like Milwaukee would build on its NL Central lead. imaged.

"This tells all about these kids and what they're all about," he said. The Chicago Cubs' Aramis Ramirez celebrates while rounding the bases after his game-winning home run in the ninth inning Friday. Jerry LaiAP But Chicago's comeback pulled the Cubs to within games. It also got them back to .500 for the first time since May 10. "We've been slowly playing better baseball," manager Lou Piniella said.

"But let's not get crazy There is a long season ahead of us." first inning. They led 5-3 going Bullfrogs update Today: at Eau Claire Express, 7:05 p.m. Webcast: www.futuremedia world.combullfrogs.htm Fast fact The Express had a chance to catch the Bullfrogs before starting a four-game losing skid last Saturday. r': After Derrek Lee hit a sacrifice fly, Ramirez lined the next pitch into the left-center field bleachers for his 15th homer, setting off a wild cnlebration at Wrigley Field. "Even though we fell behind 5-0 in the first inning, we never into the ninth before Alfonso Soriano and Mike Fontenot singled with one out off Cordero (0-2), the major league saves leader with 27..