The Daily Oklahoman from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma • 20

Surviving tough times MAKER OF MEMORIES I ALL SPORTS ASSOCIATION STARTING TO FEEL SOUR ECONOMY KTOK-AM 1000 MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 8 p.m. Oklahoma City at Reno MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 1 p.m. NY Yankees at Texas FSOK (Cox 37), KEBC-AM 1340 Cox 7 WGN(Cox70) 1 p.m. 7 p.m. St.

Louis at Milwaukee Pittsburgh at Chicago Cubs Berry Tramel NBA 8 p.m. LA Lakers at Denver ESPN (Cox 29), WWLS-AM 640, 98.1 FM TP btramel(3 opubco.com AUTO RACING 11 a.m. NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 COLLEGE BASEBALL 11:30 a.m. Selection Show Fox (Cox 12) ESPN (Cox 29) KINB-FM 105.3 ARENA FOOTBALL 3 p.m. Oklahoma City at Corpus Christi LACROSSE Noon NCAA Championship HORSE RACING 11 a.m.

Remington Report ESPN (Cox 29) One of the All Sports Association's marquee events, the Women's College World Series, begins this week. photo by nate billings, the oklahoman archives First, the NBA came to town, which thinned the Oklahoma City sports dollar. Then the economy soured, which cut into the cash available for ball-games. Less money, spread over more hands. Not a great combination for the All Sports Association, your friendly neighborhood maker of memories.

For more than 50 years, the All Sports Association has been bringing big-time events to OKC, notably college basketball, from the old All-College Tournament to NCAA regionals to two of the last three Big Tournaments. Pete Maravich, Bryce Drew, Bucknell, Kevin Durant's Ford Center debut. All courtesy of the All Sports. But these are not the best of times for the venerable organization. These are not the best of times for anyone reliant on people spending money.

Caution reigns, just as the competition has stiffened. "The impact would have to be felt, just because of corporate sponsorships," said All Sports executive director Tim Brassfield. "Not just with us, but a lot of non-profits. "We understand that. But at the same time, the events are coming, with significant guarantees.

won't come easy. Keeping marquee events and attracting others is the association's mission. It's a remarkable success story, how a volunteer organization grew into such a sales force for Oklahoma City. Today the All Sports Association consists of seven full-time employees, 12-14 interns and a board of 41 non-compensated volunteers. The employees sell decision -makers on bringing their events to OKC; those 41 volunteers sell Oklahomans on the wisdom of investing in those events.

That sales job is tougher than ever. It's your money. Do with it what you want. But while surviving the recession and cheering on the Thunder, don't forget the maker of memories. Berry Tramel: 405-760-8080; Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from p.m.

on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-981 Warner earns Thorpe MVP award Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner was named Most Valuable Player by the Jim Thorpe AssociationNewspaper Enterprise Association NFL Players Association. The Jim Thorpe Association is based in Oklahoma City. The award has been presented since 1955, making it the oldest continuous honor in professional football. The NFL Players Association player representative from each team voted to determine the winner. This year's vote ended in a tie between Warner and teammate Larry Fitzgerald.

The tie-breaker goes to the player who received the most votes in the Associated Press MVP poll. Although the Cardinals lost to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLIII, Warner threw for 377 yards, the second-most in Super Bowl history. OSU WRESTLERS MAKE CUT Oklahoma State freshman Jordan Oliver and Cowboys signee Chris Perry earned roster spots for Team USA, which will compete in the FILA Junior World Championships in August in Turkey. The pair made the team after winning respective weight classes last weekend at the Junior World Team Trials in Colorado Springs. Oliver won at 60 kilograms, beating Tyler Graff of Wisconsin.

Perry, who recently finished his senior year at Stillwater High School, took the 84-kilogram title when Kirk Smith of Boise State suffered a knee injury in the third period. Another OSU freshman, Alex Meade, had a chance to make Team USA, but he lost the 74-kilogram match to Andrew Howe of Wisconsin. FROM STAFF REPORTS ha, the Austin suburb of Round Rock. The Big 12 baseball tournament held its own, despite the absence of the Oklahoma State Cowboys, who annually provide the most fans at Bricktown. The three sessions involving OU drew announced crowds of and 5,772.

The Texas -Missouri championship game Sunday drew 5,316. Solid numbers. Brassfield expects the World Series to do well, too. "That's an event that seems to have an amazing life," Brassfield said. The other day, he himself took calls from Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Michigan, people wanting soft-ball tickets.

Even in March, when the Big 12 basketball crowds were noticeably down from years past, the All Sports Association met its budget But in the current climate, such benchmarks Those aren't going to go away." NBA entertainment is supreme, and so is the spotlight it provides Oklahoma City. But don't forget the pioneers who paved the path to Jeff Green draining 3 -pointers at the Ford Center. That includes the All Sports Association. It is no stretch to say that without the All Sports producing events that created demand for venues like the Myriad and the Ford Center, there would be no NBA in OKC. One of the All Sports' marquee events, the Big baseball tournament, concluded Sunday.

Another, the Women's College World Series, begins this week. Both have slipped a notch on the status scale since the NBA's arrival. But only here. Not elsewhere. ESPN still goes great guns over the NCAA softball championship.

Other cities still crave Big baseball Tulsa, Oma 2B I MAY 25, 2009 SPORTS MONDAY THEOKLAHOMANlNEWSOK.COM.