Fulton County Fair

Sister Kathy will race on Saturday afternoon at the Fulton County Fair. Details here:

http://racing.ustrotting.com/race_entry.cfm?race_id=751925&target=893187

Soccer season FINALLY begins at NHS....

Well, monsoon season here in NW Ohio ended long enough for Napoleon's boys to get their season underway Thursday night. Their first game SHOULD have been Tuesday night against Defiance, but since Defiance apparently believed a wet field would make them melt, that game was postponed to Oct. 2.

Napoleon won their home opener 5-1 against Elida. Matt DeMichei (above) scored 2 goals to lead the Wildcats.

Horsing Around - Hicksville (2)

Sister Kathy was second at Hicksville on Wednesday night. Next on the agenda is the Fulton County Fair in Wauseon. Details here:

http://racing.ustrotting.com/race_result.cfm?race_id=1942255&target=893187

Bundesliga Spieltag 2: Hertha, Hamburg winners!

Hertha Berlin defeated defending Bundesliga champions VfB Stuttgart 3-1 in their home opener at the Olympiastadion:

http://www.herthabsc.de/index.php?id=15702&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1799&tx_ttnews[backPid]=252&cHash=c3d6409a95

Hamburg were also victorious, defeating Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 in Hamburg:

http://www.hsv.de/index.php?id=20842

Horsing around - Hicksville

Sister Kathy will race on Wednesday at Hicksville:

http://racing.ustrotting.com/race_entry.cfm?race_id=748011&target=893187

Another item from my Germany trip...

ESPN's "Outside The Lines" today featured a story about Todd Crandell, a triathlete from Sylvania who competes in Triathlons all over the world to spread the message about the dangers of drug and alcohol addiction. It just so happens that Paul's dad & I were behind him in the security line at the Frankfurt airport on our way to Hamburg. Todd was on his way to Austria to compete in a Triathlon there and record an interview with the ESPN people.

More about him here:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/the_bonus/07/13/tri.athlete/index.html

I realize the link is from Sports Illustrated, but I haven't found anything on the ESPN website yet.

Horsing Around - 8/15

Sister Kathy won last night at the Henry County Fair. All of Dad's sisters (including Kathy) were on hand. Results here:

http://racing.ustrotting.com/race_result.cfm?race_id=1939369&target=893187

Bundesliga Spieltag 1: Hamburg win, Hertha lose

Hamburg opened the Bundesliga season with a 1-0 victory over Hannover 96:

http://www.hsv.de/index.php?id=20781

Hertha Berlin were not so lucky, losing 1-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt:

http://www.herthabsc.de/index.php?id=15702&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1758&tx_ttnews[backPid]=15546&cHash=ce5837a8d7

Here's the new Tomato Queen!

I had to do some digging in the photo archives to find this gem - a picture of the 2007 Henry County Tomato Queen, Jessica Moser. She is a student at Ohio State, and a former Napoleon cheerleader (among other things). She is also a neighbor of my Aunt Renee.

To the best of my knowledge, she did NOT wear the cheerleader outfit during the pageant.

The Henry County Fair is underway....

The Henry County Fair started Friday night in Napoleon. Tonight is the Tomato Festival parade and Tomato Queen pageant. Horse racing will take place on Monday & Tuesday nights at 7pm.

Sister Kathy is entered in the first race on Tuesday night:

http://racing.ustrotting.com/race_entry.cfm?race_id=745338&target=893187

I've been busy on YouTube

Some video of Sister Kathy's races at Paulding and Bowling Green:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moKzVEVuumo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG2T9kx_BF4

And Maumee Lane at Indianapolis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmKrou0sG34

No "Rags To Riches" story in the Hambo:

Donato Hanover (Ron Pierce) wins the Hambletonian at the Meadowlands (USTA photo)

Last year's champion 2-year-old trotter, Donato Hanover, easily defeated the highly-touted filly Pampered Princess in the $1.5 million Hambletonian final at the Meadowlands in New Jersey.

USTA story here:

http://www.ustrotting.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=22930&z=1

German Trotting Derby to Lotis Photo

Lightly-raced Lotis Photo (above, photo from traberliga.de) won the German Trotting Derby Sunday at the Mariendorf track in Berlin. USTA story here:

http://www.ustrotting.com/absolutenm/anmviewer.asp?a=22949&z=1

Hertha Move On

Hertha Berlin defeated SPvgg Unterhaching 3-0 to move on to the nexrt round of the German Cup. Story here:

http://www.herthabsc.de/index.php?id=15702&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=1718&tx_ttnews[backPid]=252&cHash=ce54079864

HSV avoid the Kiel Trap 5-0

Hamburg SV moves on to the next round of the German Cup with a 5-0 defeat of noted giant-killers Holstein Kiel. Story here:

http://www.hsv.de/index.php?id=20724

Where I was

http://maps.live.com/?v=2&cid=8571E428290517E8!101&encType=1

I've set up a map that shows where I went on my trip. I've included many of the various sites in Germany & Denmark.

Speaking of the Ottawa County Fair...

Paul & Katrin will enjoy this video from the 1999 Ottawa County Fair:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R20MQPx90lE

Freppel Stable's Greatest Hits

Here's a video of Credit Card Katie racing at Lancaster as a 3-year-old in 1992:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjtsXbR-zMA

Credit Card Katie, taking her record at Northfield Park:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75FB8j3LwAw

Here's Katie's Gold Card, making her debut on 7/12/98:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HORmoGcpEjo

I'm Maxxed Out at Bowling Green as a 3-year-old:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7GkckpF_QA

And at Raceway Park:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vX_q3Su_3Z0

He's A Big Spender at Delware:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReVoqiTqGqE

Kick-off!

The boys and girls soccer teams kicked off their season tonight with a Kick-a-thon fundraiser at Loose Field this evening. The boys and girls scrimmaged together to raise money for the Napoleon Goal Club.

Golf News

Dennis shook off the aftereffects of the Police concert well enough to win the handicap division of the Toledo Metro Golf Association Championship (from Tuesday's edition of The Blade):

Toledo Metro Golf Association Club Championship at Easgle's Landing and Detwiler

Scratch Divisiion- 1. Adam DeArmond 140; 2 (tie). Frank Dudek 143; 2 (tie). John Zitkovic 143; 4 (tie). Bill Ernst 145; 4 (tie). Kyle Tracy; 6. Tom Yeager 146; 7. Jeff Godzak 148.

Handicap Division- 1. Dennis Germann 134; 2. Bill Ernst 136; 3. Frank Dudek 137; 4 (tie). Dave Harloff 139; 4 (tie). Kyle Tracy 139; 6 (tie). Gary Joiner 140; 6 (tie). Duane Zitkovic 140.

Welcome, Guests!

If you're looking for the chronicles of my Germany trip, click on "July" under the heading "Blog Archive". All of the pictures and stories can be found there.

More from the Wood County Fair

Shopping cart (top) and stick-pony (above) races have been entertaining the crowds between the races at several of the local fairs this summer. Winners receive a free milkshake, pending the outcome of drug tests administered by the Ohio State Racing Commission.

The following substances have been deemed "performance enhancing" by the World Anti-Doping Agency: French Fries, Elephant Ears, Funnel Cakes, Ribeye Sandwiches (only of the kind obtained at local beef-producers' stands), Sausage Sandwiches (only of the kind obtained at the pork stand), and Lemon Shake-ups (only when "enhanced" by vodka, gin, or rum). Fried cheese curds and deep-fried Twinkies are still permitted, but competitors may only consume eight (8) ounces of fried cheese and two (2) deep-fried Twinkies in the 24 hours prior to competition.