• Central Washington University senior tight end Jared Bronson has been named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference offensive player of the week.
Bronson had four receptions for a career-high 146 yards with two touchdowns in the Wildcats’ 44-38 overtime victory at Dixie State on Saturday. Bronson graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School.
• Mark Rypien, former Washington State University quarterback who earned All-America honors in 1984 and 1985 and who earned MVP honors in the 1992 Super Bowl with the Washington Redskins, will be inducted into the State of Washington Sports Hall of Fame today at the Oklahoma State-WSU football game at Qwest Field in Seattle.
He will be joined, posthumously, by Jack Sprenger, a football official who worked in the Pacific Coast Conference and Pac-10 for 27 years and was only the third official to be be in inducted into the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame when he was so honored in 1986. Sprenger refereed Rose Bowl games in 1953, 1959 and 1967 and became the Pac-10’s Supervisor of Officials in 1971, a position he held for 15 years.
Other inductees for 2008 include Michelle Akers, Guyle Fielder, Pete Gross, Lenny Wilkens and Jim Zorn, announced Clay Huntington, founder and executive director of the Sports Hall of Fame. With the 2008 class, membership in the shrine will increase to 159.
Guyle Fielder, considered by many to be the greatest minor league hockey player ever, played 21 seasons in the Western Hockey League, 15 of them with the Seattle Bombers (1953-54). He will be inducted on Oct. 4 at the Key Arena when the Seattle Thunderbirds square off with Spokane in the season opener.
Jim Zorn, former Seattle Seahawks quarterback, and former voice of the Seahawks, broadcaster Pete Gross, will be inducted on Nov. 23 when Zorn’s Washington Redskins team meets the Seahawks. Induction ceremonies are pending for former NBA and Seattle Supersonics player and coaching great Lenny Wilkens and for Michelle Akers, a Shorecrest high grad who was a member of the 1996 gold medal Olympic team and named FIFA Women’s Player of the Century.
Members are recognized for their outstanding accomplishments and contributions that have brought national acclaim to themselves and the state of Washington and are made by a statewide panel of sportswriters and sports historians. The Hall of Fame is located in the Shanaman Sports Museum at the Tacoma Dome and was established in 1960. For a complete list of inductees, visit www.washingtonsportshalloffame.com.
• The King County Aquatic Center is hosting a water safety instructor course that runs from Sept. 6-27. The classes run Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. On Saturdays, the classes are from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 3 to 6 p.m. on Monday and Wednesdays.
Students must be 16 years of age by Sept. 27, pass a pre-course skills test and possess either a FIT certification or an American Red Cross Instructor Authorization. For more details, call (206) 296-4444 or (253) 927-5173.
• It’s that time of year when celebrities converge on Cheney Stadium, all in the name of raising funds for a great cause.
On Sept. 21, Tacoma Rainiers co-Owner, Nick Lachey, will once again headline the Multicare Celebrity Softball Game presented by Windermere Professional Partners, which will help raise money for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Tacoma General Hospital. Last year, a weekend of events helped raise more than $750,000 for the NICU and MultiCare Health Foundation.
“I’m excited to get back up to Cheney Stadium and once again, take part in the Celebrity Softball Game,” said Lachey. “This is always a great event and besides having loads of fun, we’re hoping to raise a lot of money for a great cause.”
Fans will have a chance to catch Lachey, fellow celebrities, and local media representatives that Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. when the softball game kicks-off. Among the celebrities currently signed up for the game are Vanessa Minnillo, Cris Judd, Jeff Nelson, and Aimee Wright.
Tickets to the softball game are already available online (TacomaRainiers.com and TacomaCelebrityWeekend.org) as well as at the Cheney Stadium Box Office until Sept. 1.
Box Seats (which include a barbeque, parking, special gift and designated seat in field/row box) are available for $40. General admission tickets can be purchased for $15.
• The Federal Way School District sign program is entering its second year. Advertising banners may be placed at Federal Way Memorial Field or in secondary schools. Each banner costs $500. For more information, contact Greg Flynn at gflynn@fwps or call (253) 945-5575.
• The Federal Way under-11 Storm program is in need of a few boys soccer players. The Storm is currently seeking players to fill out rosters on the following teams: Storm 97 White, Storm 97 Black, Storm 98 Platinum, and Storm 98 Silver. If your son is interested in playing in the 97 program, he must not be older than 11 years of age. For further information, contact Eric Poorvielt at (206) 353-3517. If your son is 10 years old and interested in playing at a competitive level of soccer, contact John Yorke at jyorke3@aol.com.
• The Western Washington Football Officials Association is looking for candidates to begin officiating in the 2008 season. No experience is necessary and officials are paid. Training meetings will begin on July 29. For more information, call Jan Wolcott at (253) 826-2460 or e-mail jswol@comcast.net.
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