By CASEY OLSON

The Mirror

It was a gold medal day for Federal Way speedskater J.R. Celski in the 500-meter at the 2009 ISU World Junior Short Track Championships in Sherbrooke, Canada, last weekend.

In the semifinal heat, Celski broke the Junior World Record for the 500 with a time of 41.462.

“The actual Junior World Record is 42.173,” says US Speedskating High Performance Director Guy Thibault, “so J.R. got the record down by over .7 seconds. Impressive.”

The win in the 500 follows a heartbreaking loss the day before in the 1,500-meter final when Celski, who was leading the race, lost his balance and fell during the last lap.

Tommy Lasorda to speak at BCC

Bellevue Community College will welcome one of professional baseball’s most recognizable faces when it hosts its annual Pre-Season Dinner later this month.

Legendary baseball manager Tommy Lasorda will speak at Bellevue Community College on Jan. 23, imparting his knowledge from almost 60 years in professional baseball. Lasorda, who won two World Championships, four National League pennants and eight division titles as the Los Angeles Dodgers manager, will be the keynote speaker at the dinner in what is believed to be his first speaking engagement in the Seattle area.

“We are ecstatic about having such a prominent figure in baseball here in the Northwest,” said Bellevue Community College baseball coach Mark Yoshino. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have someone of this magnitude come out to help put our baseball program in the spotlight even more.”

Lasorda managed the Dodgers for 20 seasons and is entering his 59th year with the organization this season, where he will serve his third year as special advisor to the chairman. In his current position, Lasorda serves as an advisor on all areas of the Dodger organization for owner and chairman Frank McCourt and vice chairman and president Jamie McCourt, as well as scouting, evaluating and teaching minor league players.

In 20 seasons as manager of the Dodgers, Lasorda compiled a record of 1,599-1,439 and currently ranks 13th in wins in Major League Baseball history.

“He’s one of the biggest all-time icons in the history of the game,” Yoshino said.

Besides his successes in the United States, Lasorda is one of the best-known international ambassadors of the game. Commissioner Bug Selig appointed Lasorda as the Official Ambassador of the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006, where he traveled around the world promoting the game of baseball. His travels have taken him through 22 countries and into meetings with seven presidents. Lasorda was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1997, his first year of eligibility.

“His World Series titles and visibility across the globe are a reflection of his powerful presence to baseball fans,” Yoshino said, “young and old.”

Tickets for the dinner cost $75 and can be purchased by calling 425-564-2356. Lasorda will be available for autographs and pictures both before and after the dinner.

• The Federal Way Boys and Girls Club is taking registration for its 2009 Munchkin and Elementary Winter Basketball program. The deadline for early registration is Jan. 23. Late registrations will be accepted on a space-available basis for a $5 extra charge.

Munchkin basketball is coed for all youth in first and second grades. Elementary basketball is coed with separate leagues for third, fourth and fifth grades. The season runs from Jan. 28 to March 20. Games are played in the surrounding Federal Way area schools as well as at the Federal Way Boys and Girls Club. The program costs $60, plus a $20 club membership fee.

To register, visit www.fwbgc.org or in person at 30815 8th Ave. S. For more information, contact Dolan Holt at (253) 681-6514.

• The Washington Warriors seventh and eighth grade AAU girls basketball team is hosting tryouts starting Feb. 2 at Illahee Middle School from 6 to 8 p.m. For more information, contact coach Mike at (206) 650-1120 or visit www.wawarriors.com.

• For the only time during the regular season, the No. 2-ranked Decatur Gators and the No. 3-ranked Federal Way Eagles will play each other. But the game between the two district rivals won’t be in Federal Way. The Decatur and Federal Way boys basketball teams are scheduled to play at the 2009 King Holiday Hoopfest at 2:30 p.m. at the University of Washington.

The Decatur-Federal Way game is one of seven contests at the King Holiday Hoopfest. The day will feature some of the top teams on the West Coast and some of the top players in the Pacific Northwest at the University of Washington’s Bank of America Arena.

The event kicks off at 9:30 a.m. with Class 1A powers Bellevue Christian and King’s squaring off before finishing at 7:30 p.m. with perhaps one of the best games ever seen at the King Holiday Hoopfest, featuring Class 4A No. 1-ranked Garfield against Class 3A No. 1-ranked Franklin.

Four of the 14 teams involved in this year’s King Holiday Hoopfest are ranked among the top-20 in the West Region by ESPN. In fact, nationally Rainier Beach is ranked 16th, Dominguez from Los Angeles is ranked 40th and Franklin is ranked 48th. The Kentwood girls are ranked second nationally.

Rainier Beach and Dominguez will meet in the 4 p.m. game. The Kentwood girls will take on Bellarmine Prep in the only girls game at 11 a.m. while the Bellarmine Prep boys, featuring All-American Abdul Gaddy, will take on Bellevue, which is ranked 18th on the West Coast at 6 p.m. The Kentwood boys will play Bothell at 12:30 p.m.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students with ASB and seniors.

• Auburn native Chris Eylander, who led USL First Division goalkeepers in saves the past two seasons, has signed a Major League Soccer contract with Seattle Sounders FC, it was announced today. Terms were not disclosed.

Eylander, a 24-year-old graduate from the University of Washington and Auburn Riverside High School, played the past three seasons with the USL-1 Seattle Sounders, making 78 appearances and finishing No. 2 in career shutouts (29). He is the second keeper on the Sounders FC roster, joining Kasey Keller.

“Having played for the USL Sounders the past three years and having grown up in the area, I had always wanted to play in MLS,” Eylander said. “To reach that goal and do so by playing for the first MLS team in Seattle is really, really special for me and very exciting.”

Each of the past two seasons Eylander led USL-1 in saves and finished second in league shutouts. He starred in the 2007 USL-1 championship game, in which Seattle defeated Atlanta, 4-0.

“We’re very excited to have Chris join our team,” said head coach Sigi Schmid. “I’ve seen him play at the University of Washington and I also followed his career with the USL Sounders. “He’s a quality goalkeeper and a quality individual for our team.”

During the 2008 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, Eylander set a tournament record by holding opponents scoreless for 453 minutes, including shutouts against Chivas USA and the Kansas City Wizards. His performance earned him the player of the tournament, chosen by USOpenCup.com. Seattle reached the Open Cup semifinals in both 2007 and ’08.

Eylander trained the past two USL-1 seasons under Tom Dutra, who was announced as the Sounders FC goalkeeper coach on Dec. 29.

Eylander was Auburn Riverside High School’s male athlete of the year. He lettered four years at the University of Washington (2002-05), sharing the starting the final two years. Following his senior season he ranked No. 3 in career shutouts (18), No. 4 in saves and No. 5 in goals against average.

Sounders FC begins its inaugural MLS season by hosting the New York Red Bulls at Qwest Field on March 19.

• The Seattle Sounders FC Sounders SuperSearch, presented by Disney, will air on Evening Magazine and Northwest Sports Tonight on Jan. 15 (Tukwila) and January 22 (Yakima). The shows will be broadcast on KING 5 (NBC), KONG 6/16 and Northwest Cable News.

Beginning on January 23, fans can visit www.king5.com to view videos, bios and comments from evaluators for all 10 finalists. Fans may vote for their favorite player from January 26-30. The finalist with the most fan votes will be guaranteed a spot in the final four.

The final tryout show will be broadcast live on Sunday, February 1, 2009, following Super Bowl XLIII on KING 5 (approximately 8:30 p.m.). The winner will be selected by a distinguished panel of judges and awarded a spot on the 2009 Sounders FC roster.

Over 1,000 players registered to participate in the Sounders SuperSearch during a series of three regional tryout events designed to help the team find a talented player ready to compete in the MLS. The tryouts were held in Spokane, Tukwila and Yakima.

For more information visit www.soundersfc.com or www.king5.com.

• Sudden Impact girls fastpitch softball team of Federal Way is looking for players from ages 8 to 14 (age as of Jan. 1, 2009) for its 10 and under, 12U and 14U teams during the 2009 season. Practices are at Decatur High School and includes plenty of local play. The teams play in various weekend tournaments, mostly in the Seattle-Tacoma area. The girls on the 10U team also play in a recreational league. No previous fastpitch experience is required and indoor practices resume this month. For more information, contact 14U coach Bailey at (253) 709-5707, 12U coach Bains at (206) 310-6226, 10U coach McDonnell at (253) 973-4568 or send an email to SuddenImpactFP@aol.com or visit www.eteamz.active.com/simpact.

• Sign ups for 2009 spring baseball season are running now through Jan. 31 for Federal Way National Little League. Cost for sign-up depend on age group and players from age 5 through high school may sign up. Players can sign up by mailing a registration form to 1911 SW Campus Drive, #214, Federal Way, Wash. 98023. Players can also register in person at The Commons mall on Jan. 10, 14 and 17 or online at www.eteamz/fwnll. For more information, email fwnll@comcast.net or call (253) 332.5924.

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