Out of Write Field

South Kitsap’s 4 p.m. game today at Gig Harbor has been rained out. The Wolves (2-0) are scheduled to host Mount Tahoma on Wednesday and then will play Thursday at Gig Harbor and Friday at Mount Tahoma.

South Kitsap administrative assistant Lisa Pavlik has provided updates on a number of games that were postponed this week because of rain. The school’s baseball team, which has not played a game yet, now is scheduled to open its season at 4 p.m. Friday against Timberline at the Regional Athletic Complex in Olympia. That game originally was scheduled for Saturday. The Wolves then hope to begin Class 4A Narrows League play at 4 p.m. Monday versus Gig Harbor. Both teams then meet again at the same time Tuesday at Gig Harbor.

Because of the conditions at Joe Knowles Field, South’s boys soccer team’s match Wednesday against Stadium was postponed. That game now is scheduled April 24. The Wolves also were set to host Central Kitsap at 7 p.m. Friday, but that match has been moved to Silverdale Stadium. South athletic director Ed Santos said the April 12 match between the teams will be played at Joe Knowles.

Yes, you read that correctly. South Kitsap athletic director Ed Santos announced that the Wolves’ boys soccer match Wednesday against Stadium has been postponed. Santos said heavy rain throughout the week has made Joe Knowles Field “unplayable.” He said a make-up date has not been scheduled. Santos said Friday’s match against Central Kitsap could be moved to Silverdale Stadium.

There was nothing creative about the boxy gray-and-white borders outlining generic photos of a series of players. As ordinary as those Fleer cards look 25 years later, they were part of my introduction — and those of generations before me — to sports.

Even though I stopped collecting more than 15 years ago, I still enjoyed driving by First Base Trading Cards daily en route to work. First Base, which opened in 1986, was a small, nondescript relic.

It looked similar to many other sports-card shops from its era, including the one where I tore into that foil package of 1989 Upper Deck that included California Angels pitcher Jim Abbott and Chicago Cubs outfielder Jerome Walton. Abbott was one of baseball’s top prospects — his card was memorable for capturing a succession of images in his delivery — while Walton was the National League’s Rookie of the Year in ’89.

There also was an important financial consideration. While each card can be purchased for $1 now on eBay, their combined value at the time was $13.

An industry forever was changed.

Just a year earlier, it was acceptable to open a pack of Fleer basketball cards where one might contain all-star Chris Mullin donning a blue Golden State Warriors jersey, while another would display him in purple. Quality control was not a strong point. Of course, no one was complaining when packs were 50 cents.

But as that began to change, the card shops, which were in walking distance when I was a child, began to disappear. First Base held out longer than most — its owners attributed that to being a Port Orchard institution — before it finally closed late last year.

As much as I enjoyed the initial set of Upper Deck, which famously featured 19-year-old Seattle Mariners outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. as the No. 1 card in its set, it started a trend of moving away from children to adults as its clientele.

“The bad side is that we don’t get as many kids,” Bud Holler, owner of now-defunct Play Ball in Bremerton, told me in 2004. “I don’t blame parents for not wanting to spend $3 to $5 for a pack of cards. That’s the difference between now and (1987). The money took over.”

And left its simple roots behind.

Senior Eddie Meisner (220 pounds) and junior Damien Medeiros (285) both placed for South Kitsap in the boys tournament at Mat Classic XXIV at Tacoma Dome. Meisner placed fifth, while Medeiros was eighth.

Sophomore Amberlee Brasch (137) became the first female in Wolves’ wrestling history to qualify and place at state. She finished fifth.

Brackets for Mat Classic XXIV be be found here at the bottom of the page.

West Central District officials have updated the Class 4A girls playoff bracket. South Kitsap hosts Kentridge, 4A South Puget Sound League’s No. 7 seed, at 7 p.m. Wednesday. A win would advance the Wolves to a 6 p.m. contest Friday against the winner of Battle Ground vs. Kentwood game. South could clinch its third state-playoff appearance in four seasons with a victory in that game.

If the Wolves lose Wednesday, they play at 6 p.m. Friday agains the Battle Ground/Kentwood loser at Puyallup High School. South would have to win twice to reach state if it suffers a setback in its district opener.

It was a clear afternoon before snow blanketed the baseball diamond at South Kitsap and several members of the school’s 1983 state championship took advantage of the opportunity to toss the ball around the field — and reminisce.

That group, along with five other former Wolves, was inducted into the latest Kitsap Sports Hall of Fame class last weekend.

It was a nice recognition for a group of deserving recipients.

June (Fike) Griebel still holds the school record in the javelin. Jim Cutchall, a heavyweight, was the Wolves’ first state champion wrestler, and also was talented enough to earn a scholarship to the University of Oklahoma.

Both of those accomplishments occurred in 1976, which leads into my only concern about the class.

What took so long?

“I was surprised because it’s been such as a while ago,” Griebel told the Kitsap Sun when she received a call informing her of the honor.

She is not the only one.

Timeliness should be an important consideration. Some probably recognize Jason Ellison, a former major-league outfielder for five teams, including Seattle, who graduated 15 years ago. And others might know 1984 South graduate David Rill from his time as a linebacker at the University of Washington or for his work at Rill Chapel’s Life Tribute Center.

But the other members, such as Cutchall, Griebel and Denise Posey, a 1994 South graduate, are more obscure. After all, Cutchall remained in Oklahoma after his wrestling career with the Sooners ended.

This is not professional sports, where athletes have a cult-like following from their adoring fans. And even in those sports, athletes often are elected to their hall of fame within a decade of retirement.

Contrast that to hall of fames in smaller areas, such as this one, where the inductees often were stars at local high schools. Parents generally follow those teams as long as their children are involved in the program.

That means timeliness should be an even more important consideration when considering high-school athletes. Names such as Jake Beitinger, Aaron Cunningham, Stephanie Davison, Renard Williams and other legends of the last decade should be candidates in the near future. After that, South’s 2009 boys state soccer champions would make a lot of sense.

Those are names that many will remember — at least for now.

I do not profess to always being right, but I told anyone who would listen after last season that South Kitsap’s girls basketball team could return to the state tournament again in 2012.

Even with the graduation of starters Kelsey Callaghan, Dana Goularte and Angela Romonsky.

The Wolves continued to show this week my confidence was not misplaced with a 51-26 win Friday night against Central Kitsap. That followed Wednesday’s 36-33 win at Bellarmine Prep. South (9-2 overall, 5-0 4A Narrows) handed both their first league losses.

The Wolves again were led by seniors Jackie Steiger and Taylor Sunkel. The duo combined for 27 points against the Cougars.

There still is plenty of games remaining — South plays both Bellarmine and Central again — but the Wolves are proving that they could be at least as good as last season’s team that won 20 games for the first time in a decade and reached the second round of the state tournament.

This will mark the fourth consecutive year South Kitsap’s boys basketball team will participate in the Bellevue College Holiday Classic. After speaking with coach John Callaghan, here is an outline of the schedule. The Wolves (4-2) open at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday against Bear Creek, a private school in Redmond that competes in the Class 2B Sea-Tac League.

That should be a mismatch, but the Grizzlies have a 7-0 record this season and have dominated just about every opponent they have faced. With the exception of a 47-37 win Dec. 6 against Seattle Christian, Bear Creek has defeated each of its opponents by at least 24 points. The winner of that contest plays at 5:15 p.m. Thursday against Inglemoor (1-6) or Renton (2-4). The loser also plays one of those teams at 1:45 p.m. Thursday. South, which had a 1-2 record last year in Bellevue, will finish the tournament Friday.

If the Wolves win their first two games, they will play that evening against Juanita, Monroe, Nathan Hale or Oak Harbor.