KILGOROUND
MITCH LUCAS

ARE YOU READY FOR some - baseball? Sure you are. And you can find a lot of it this week at Driller Park.

The Kilgore High School varsity baseball team will host Bullard today at 5 p.m., but the Bulldogs also host the Oil Belt Tournament this week. And unlike in past years, when portions of the tournament were played at Pine Tree High School's Field of Dreams or other locations, this year the entire tournament is scheduled (weather-permitting) to be played here at Driller.

The tournament begins at 9 a.m. Thursday and concludes with Kilgore meeting Lindale in the final game of the day, a 7 p.m. first-pitch. The tournament will go through Saturday, with the last teams standing meeting Saturday evening at 5 p.m. in the title game.

I love the Oil Belt Tournament. It's near the top of my favorite sports activities every year. Is there a better place in this state to watch a high school base-

ball game than Driller? I don't think so.

Come on, and admit it: you'd love to have my job, wouldn't you? Baseball all day at Driller Park? That is number one.

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THE KHS HI-STEPPERS' CAMP is this weekend for girls kindergarten-age through eighth grade. It's Saturday morning from 9 a.m. until noon at the high school gymnasium, and there will be registration just before 9 there at the gym. The cost is $20 per camper, and in addition to instruction by the Hi-Steppers, the kids will also receive a T-shirt and a snack.

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THE JURY IS STILL OUT on whether or not the Kilgore College basketball teams will be participating, but the annual Region XIV Conference men's and women's basketball tournaments will be held here at Masters Gymnasium the weekend of March 7-10.

The women's games will begin Friday night, while the men own the Saturday schedule. Men and women will both play semifinal games on Sunday, with championship games on Monday - the women's title game will be at 5:30 p.m. Monday, the men to follow.

You can't buy single-game tickets. But the tournament will be split into six distinct sessions. Tickets for each session are $8 for adults and $5 for kids 12 and under.

According to the tournament website, if you plan to attend more than one day, a tournament pass is only $30. This will get you in to see all games.

Both of the KC teams' tournament hopes took a blow Saturday afternoon with losses to Tyler Junior College. See our coverage in sports today, beginning on page 8.

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CELEBRATE, REMEMBER, FIGHT BACK, an area event to raise funds for our local Relay For Life efforts, will be here at the city park on Saturday, March 8. The Kilgore Police Department, Kilgore Fire Department, and the city's courts will host the event, which will have all sorts of activities: puppet shows, a weather program by KLTV Channel 7, facepainting, a cakewalk, a baseball throw and other things, as well as fire and police-related activities. The fun begins at 10 a.m. that day, and lasts until 2 p.m. Tickets will be $1 each, and for every $5 worth of tickets you purchase, you get a sixth one free.

All proceeds will go to the local Relay For Life, which is held all across the nation to help raise money for cancer research.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY to Ray Cox, Brad Velvin, Shelley Walden, Aaron Brandon, Travis Parker, Jerry Nicks, Mrs. Paul Landers, Tina Batts, Ronnie Dorsey, Brandy Atkinson, Eva Mc- Nutt, Theresa Zorn, Alvin Kennedy, Kevin Rossum, Charbonet Mosley, Kevin Washburn, Vivian McKenzie, Jenny Winningham, Angela White, Alison Ivy, Gary Wayne Clark, Nettie Lee Pegues, Milton Hattaway, Brian Dorsey, Jason Laughlin, Sylvia Thompson, Bobby O'- Conner, Jo Alfred Jiminez, Whitney Donovan, Juanita McFarland, B.J. Page, Brently Flournoy, Jay Gamble

Among those celebrating birthdays today: Fats Domino (80), and still probably singing "Ain't That A Shame" somewhere. Also, singer Mitch Ryder (63), singer Michael Bolton (55), and actress Jennifer Grant (42).