Sadie's with Lauren?

After the Girls Team beat the Boys Team at the CIF Central Section Shoot-out, the announcer helped Lauren surprise her boyfriend, Spencer, with an invitation to the Sadie Hawkins Dance at Bullard High. During halftime at the D-1 Boys Basketball Finals (Clovis East v Buchanan) in Selland Arena, with 9,000 people watching, the announcer called Lauren to center court. Then, he asked if there was a Spencer Adams in the crowd. Dazed, Spencer met them at center court.

Her friends held up a sign, "Sadie's With Lauren?" The crowd started cheering him on!

Spencer smiled and agreed. This will be the first Sadie Hawkins Dance at Bullard for both seniors, so this is memorable start.  It will be hard for this young man to top that when he asks her to the Senior Prom!

"Lauren Zenimura from Bullard wants to ask a special question to a special person,"
  the announcer said.

"Will Spencer Adams come to center court?" the announced said.

  Dazed, Spencer walked to meet Lauren.

 

He was so embarrassed, but the crowd was cheering for him. 

 Lauren asked him to turn around as she pointed to the signs behind him.

 "Sadie's With Lauren???????" the signs read.

  Her friends Kristi, Savannah and Alle held up the signs.

 

The announcer asked him, "Well, what's your answer?" 

He said yes and gave her a hug. The crowd roared! What a fun time!

 

2010 CIF Central Section (Pre)Shoot-Out

Eight senior athletes were chosen from the Central Section for the 2010 CIF Central Section World Sports Cafe Shoot-out at Selland Arena in Fresno, CA to be held on March 6, 2010. 
(The Central Section covers 92 schools in 15 leagues from Divisions 1-6).  Vince Wesson, Chairperson of the Central Section Finals, had been following the box scores and selected four boys and four girls "for individual recognition, who had an outstanding year, but whose teams did not make it to the Central Section Finals."

Lauren was selected as one of these senior athletes (the first participant from Bullard since the Shoot-Out began three years ago).  Truly an honor for these athletes. Prior to the event this Saturday, the participants gathered for photos, an informational meeting, and to practice two rounds of 3-point shots.

First, a winner is chosen from the girls and from the boys.  Then, the winning girl shoots against the winning boy to determine one over-all winner.  Last year, the Shoot-out winner was a girl,
Leslie Steele (Buchanan).

Group shot:  Jereol Walker (Edison), Dilpreet Thnd (Caruthers), Jaelin Avery (Lemoore),
Jason Ritchey (Clovis West), Nicki Chapple (Clovis), Leslie Cory (Monache),
Lauren Zenimura (Bullard) and Corinne Den Hartog (Buchanan)

I'm rooting for every athete, but cheering loudest for this one.

She's worn a basketball jersey with #4 for nine years (every year starting fourth grade).

This event will be the very last time Lauren wears her Bullard basketball jersey. 

Each player must stand and shoot 3-pointers from each of five of these mats on the court.

Practicing her 3-point shot

That's it ... all net. 

The girls: Leslie Cory (Monache), Nicki Chapple (Clovis), Lauren Zenimura (Bullard),

and Corinne Den Hartog (Buchanan)

The boys: Jereol Walker (Edison), Jason Ritchey (Clovis West), Jaelin Avery (Lemoore),

and Dilpreet Thnd (Caruthers)

Good luck, shooters!  Thanks for the opportunity, Mr. Wesson! (pictured below center).

For all the pictures, click here

Love on Paper.

These cards have been on my table for a couple weeks.  Time to put them away in my special box.  From the time Lauren was little, she handmade her cards (cardstock, markers, glue and glitter).  Now that she's older, I keep wondering if this is the last handmade card. 

The card for her Pop.

The card for her Mama.

... and a bit of her heart for me.

Heartfelt words have the power to lift a soul.  So, I'm flying now.

Baseball. Rikkyo University at Fresno Pacific.

Yesterday, Rikkyo University from Tokyo, Japan played an exhibition baseball game against
Fresno Pacific University.  In 1927, Grandfather Kenichi Zenimura, brought the
Fresno Athletic Club to play an exhibition game against Rikkyo University.  The Fresno Athletic Club sang the Fresno State fight song and the Rikkyo team liked it so much that it added its own name and adopted the song as its own.

This afternoon, Dad (Kenso "Howard" Zenimura) and his teammate, Uncle Fibber (Satoshi Hirayama) were honored at the exhibition game.  Both men played baseball for Fresno State and, later, professional baseball for the Hiroshima Carps in Japan. 

Dad (Kenso Zenimura) with his son, Kirk, and granddaughter, Lauren, with some
Rikkyo University ballplayers.

Rikkyo University is a member of the Tokyo Big-6 Baseball League.  The league includes

Hosei University, Keio University, Meiji University, University of Tokyo and Waseda University.  The Rikkyo baseball team has won 12 league championships in its history.  The team is currently on a US tour playing at UC Irvine, University of Southern California, Fresno Pacific University, Stanford University and the University of San Francisco.

Rikkyo University is a private university that celebrated its 100th year baseball anniversary in November 2009.  The baseball team has over 160 players on its roster with 88+ players on its travel team!  Rikkyo is a private university that carries a huge roster because it allows volunteer players (although the majority of these players don't receive playing time).

Rikkyo Univ players line-up before playing the national anthems of Japan and the US

Players from Rikkyo University and Fresno Pacific (in orange) exchange friendship gifts.

Dad (Kenso Zenimura) throws the game's first pitch.

The bleacher rooting crowd

Lauren with some of the Rikkyo Univ ballplayers

Lauren was then asked to turn and display the Zenimura name on her letterman jacket

Uncle Fibber (Satoshi "Fibber" Hirayama) raises a ball to the baseball fans

Brandon Zenimura (played baseball for Fresno City College and Sonoma State) with Fibber Hirayma and Kerry Yo Nakagawa (founder of the NBRP, Nisei Baseball Research Project, dedicated to documenting, preserving and exhibiting the history of Japanese American baseball).  

Lauren, Alaina and Dimitri with some Rikkyo University ballplayers

Today was a great day for baseball and reliving some Japanese-American baseball history.

For all the pictures, click here.

For more info about Kenichi Zenimura, the Dean of Japanese-American baseball, click here.

For the write-up about Zenimura Baseball in the Arizona Republic on 02.21.10, click here.