[WHITTIER, CA - 2/2//05] - (From the "Morning Brief" at www.fastpitchwest.com) To borrow a phrase from Mark Twain "the reports of the demise of Team Rainey have been greatly exaggerated. " Make no mistake, it was big news to hear that longtime Team Rainey ace Travis Price was moving over to cross-town rivals, the Bombers. Along with their other ace, Tony Peeples. And starters Jason Porto, Mike Butler and Nate Devine. Not surprising then, that rumors would start to circulate that Team Rainey was folding. But the rumors were just that -- Team Rainey is alive and well, having reloaded their roster for the upcoming 2005 campaign.

For their pitching staff, they've signed British Columbian, Bricklen Anderson, Tony Hunoff and Sonny Perkins. Anderson, who hails from Vancouver, actually pitched in a tournament with Team Rainey last year, no doubt getting notice from sponsor Rod Rainey for the way he pitched in last year's Portland Rose Cup tournament, a 1-0 shutout of Team Rainey, and the 3-hit performance against two-time world champion ISC World Champions Broken Bow, in a 3-1 loss. We first saw "Brick" in Salem, Oregon, in 2002, when he tossed a perfect game in the NAFA World Series. He can pitch with the best of them, and will provide Team Rainey with a front line ace. Hunoff is no stranger to ISC caliber competition, having pitched for such teams as the Long Beach Painters in the 90's. And Sonny Perkins is as dangerous at the plate as he is on the mound. Perkins notched a win over Team Rainey in last year's ISC qualifying tournament, nearly costing them a trip to the ISC World. Perkins is one of the more talented players out west, and will get an opportunity to display his talents on a larger stage.

Team Rainey will also add a trio of players from longtime local rival, Captain Dan's, which shuttered its operation after many years of play, adding Dwayne Fowler, Chad Hardesty and Neil Sauerheber. Hardesty is more than capable as a pitcher, should the need arise, but was signed as an outfielder. It was Hardesty that had fans talking at last year's Red Rock tournament in St. George Utah with a monstrous home run against eventual champion (and ISC World Champion) Broken Bow. Don Didion, Captain Dan's player/manager will get the reigns from Rod Rainey to manage the club in 2005.

Returning players will include unofficial captain Tony Acedo behind the plate, Jesse Duncan, Roy Guinaldo, Chris Hunt, Dee Nieblas, Ralph Salcido, and of course, the team's namesake, Rod Rainey. Stan Grebeck will re-join the club after a one-year hiatus. A talented fastpitch veteran, Stan was named to the "All Decade" team for NAFA for his accomplishments from 1993-2003.

Youth will be served as well, with young Josh Hunoff joining his uncle on the team, as well as Jason Obregon ("J-Rod" to his former teammates on Raymar Fastpitch). Obregon is an outstanding infielder, with great hands, good speed and quick hands at the plate. Though only 22, Jason is almost a veteran in local fastpitch circles. More talented than his years, he will enjoy a chance to take his game to the next level.

There have been plenty of roster changes on both Team Rainey and the So Cal Bombers to be sure, which should make for a budding local rivalry the likes of which we have not seen since the days of the Nitehawks and the Jets, starting in just two weeks, at So Cal's first Tournament, the Panteras Valentine's tournament, in Norwalk, California. Wouldn't that be a great Friday night matchup ?

Team Rainey just returned from Decatur, Illinois June 19-20, 2004 where it was the consolation bracket champion at the Decatur Shootout, losing only one game, a close 2-1 loss to Wisconsin's ISC State champion, Bull/Townline.  Team Rainey knocked off two top 20 teams in the tournament, # 7 ranked Midland Explorers from Midland Michigan and # 19 ranked Lafayette Pub of St. Louis Missouri.

This weekend (June 26-27, 2004),  team heads to Portland, Oregon, for the Portland DeMarini Rose Cup Tournament, one of the most prestigious tournaments in the west.  Five of the top 20 teams in the world will be competing, # 1 Broken Bow Spirit, NY, #6 Victoria Travellers Inn, #10 Vancouver Grey Sox and #13 Portland DeMarini (along with # 17 ranked Team Rainey)

Team Rainey's schedule pits them against the #1 ranked team in the World, Broken Bow Spirit at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 26, 2004.  For more details, visit www.fastpitchwest.com/rosecup.htm

Team Rainey's schedule for Rose Cup Tournament, June 26, 2004

• 9am vs. Meraloma Club of Vancouver, B.C.
• 1pm vs. Morgan Transfer/United Van Lines, Olympia WA; and
• 5pm vs. Broken Bow Spirit

The 9am and 5pm games will be broadcast live on the internet.  Click logo below for further details.

(The following feature about Team Rainey appeared in the "Morning Brief" at Fastpitchwest, June 17, 2004)

About this time of the year, many teams are looking to pick up that third pitcher, or a good hitting utility pitcher as they prepare for nationals. For Rod Rainey, a good travel agent might prove more important, as Team Rainey prepares to hit the road for one of the most ambitious summer schedules that I have ever seen for a So Cal team. During the months leading up to the ISC World Tournament (Aug 13-21), Team Rainey will be taking on the best teams in the fastpitch world. And when I say the best in the world, that' no hyperbole.

Team Rainey opened the year as the #17 team in the ISC World pre-season rankings, with the ISC generally regarded as the top level of play for men's fastpitch. That ranking was right on the money, considering that they narrowly missed making the Sweet 16 at last year's ISC World by one (playoff) game.

To this point in the season, Team Rainey has played in four tournaments, coming away the winners in three. They started off the year with a win in Norwalk, CA at the Panteras Valentine tournament with a win over a tough So Cal Bombers team. (at a time when many top flite teams back east were still waiting for the snow to melt). In May, they travelled to St. George Utah, for the Red Rock tournament, where they won their pool, making the Elite 8 before being upset in the quarterfinals, but not before knocking #9 Houston H.I.S. (the team that coincidentally beat them in that playoff game in last year's ISC World). Over the Memorial Day weekend, they brought home the championship trophy from the California International Tournament in Fresno, California, beating #13 ranked Portland Demarini twice. A week later at Santa Fe Springs, CA, they claimed the California Area ISC tournament title, and with it, a berth to the 2004 World Tournament in Fargo, North Dakota.

But this is really just the beginning of that ambitious schedule. On Friday evening after work, (June 18), they will jump on a plane for the Decatur Shootout in Decatur Illinois. The Shootout is a well established midwest tournament for some of fastpitch's best. This year, it includes ISC #4 ranked Circle Tap, a much improved team from last year, #7 ranked Midland Michigan, #9 Houston H.I.S. and #19 St. Louis Lafayette Pub. Adding Team Rainey to the mix, that's 5 of the top 20 teams.

A week later, Team Rainey will jump on planes headed for Portland, Oregon for the Portland DeMarini Rose Cup Tournament, where they will compete against the reigning ISC World Champion and current #1 ranked team in the world, Broken Bow Spirit of Amsterdam, New York, with the field of teams including #6 ranked Victoria Travellers Inn, #10 ranked Vancouver Grey Sox and the #13 ranked host Portland DeMarini Merchants. Again, that's 5 of the top 20 teams in the world.

Still not impressed? Stay with me then. On July 9-10, 2004, Team Rainey will catch planes to Denmark, Wisconsin for the "Boys of Summer" tournament, which will feature #2 ranked County Materials, #3 The Farm, #4 Circle Tap, #9 Houston H.I.S., #11 Imaging Systems Knights of Fargo, #15 RWP, MN, and #23 Bar on the Avenue.

So by late July, Team Rainey players might start feeling like the Tom Hanks character in his new movie, "The Terminal", (a story about a visitor to New York from Eastern Europe trapped in an airline terminal) [A good movie, BTW]

But not done yet. For their final act before the World Tournament, Team Rainey will travel to Allentown, Pennsylvania, a town steeped in fastpitch tradition, for the Bob Walsh Memorial Tournament - an invitation only affair limited to eight teams that has already stirred up some controversy by leaving a couple of Pennsylvania teams off the list) Who are the other seven teams in this one? Oh, how about #1 Broken Bow, #2 County Materials, #3 The Farm, #4 Circle Tap, #8 Fedlock, #9 Houston H.I.S. and #12 Heflin Builders.

And all of that as the run-up to a final trip August 13-21, 2004 to Fargo, North Dakota for the ISC World Tournament.

One could hardly accuse Team Rainey of ducking the top teams. If you were keeping track, by the time they get to Fargo, they'll have competed in tournaments with the #1,2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,15,19,20,21 and 23rd ranked teams in the world.

This kind of schedule requires tremendous dedication by the players and a equally strong commitment to find the financial wherewithal required by it. It's been a long time since fastpitch fans here in Southern California have had a chance to watch one of their own play this caliber of schedule. (We'll be doing our best at fastpitchwest to provide coverage of their travels, in particular at the Rose Cup, which we will be attend, and hopefully get them on the internet radio broadcasts from that tournament)

We wish you well, Team Rainey, as you head to LAX tomorrow for the first leg of that adventure. Win, lose or draw, we know you will compete and are proud to have the opportunity to follow a local So Cal team play with the best in the world.

-Jim Flanagan, www.fastpitchwest.com