The first thing Blaze fans will notice when they show up to opening night on Thursday is a re-surfaced parking lot at Sam Lynn Ballpark.

That's one of several improvements that will be in place by the time Thursday's 7:15 p.m. game time arrives and the first batter from the Visalia Rawhide comes to the plate.

Time and again, a victorious athlete will give himself the ultimate vote of confidence: "Even with the odds stacked against me, I knew I had it the whole time."

And then there's D.J. Johnson. The East High senior defended his 18-and-younger division title at the Central California Junior Tennis Championships on Monday at the Bakersfield Racquet Club, beating Eli Whittle of Nipomo 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Time and again, a victorious athlete will give himself the ultimate vote of confidence: "Even with the odds stacked against me, I knew I had it the whole time."

And then there's D.J. Johnson. The East High senior defended his 18-and-younger division title at the Central California Junior Tennis Championships on Monday at the Bakersfield Racquet Club, beating Eli Whittle of Nipomo 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Bakersfield High senior Natrelle Demison won a senior national championship at the NHSCA National Wrestling Championships this past weekend in Virginia Beach, Va.

Demison, who took fourth at the CIF State Championships last month, beat Cole Moseley of Tennessee with an 11-1 major decision in the 138-pound national championship on Sunday.

Bakersfield High senior Natrelle Demison won a senior national championship at the NHSCA National Wrestling Championships this past weekend in Virginia Beach, Va.

Demison, who took fourth at the CIF State Championships last month, beat Cole Moseley of Tennessee with an 11-1 major decision in the 138-pound national championship on Sunday.

Baseball

Fresno Easter Classic

Baseball

Fresno Easter Classic

Somewhere out there, in one of California's largest bodies of fresh water, it swims. And a whole lot of people are trying to catch it.

"It" is a randomly-tagged trout worth $20,000 to any of the 6,294 anglers who can land it before 6 p.m. today. The fish is the unseen and elusive star of the Isabella Lake Fishing Derby, a massive three-day fishing contest that began Saturday and ends today. As of 6 p.m. Sunday, the big winner is Lake Isabella local Walter Manwell, who hooked one of 10 fish worth $10,000 on Saturday. There had also been four $1,000 fish, four $500 winners, with most of the tagged trout bringing awards of $100 or $50.

Somewhere out there, in one of California's largest bodies of fresh water, it swims. And a whole lot of people are trying to catch it.

"It" is a randomly-tagged trout worth $20,000 to any of the 6,294 anglers who can land it before 6 p.m. today. The fish is the unseen and elusive star of the Isabella Lake Fishing Derby, a massive three-day fishing contest that began Saturday and ends today. As of 6 p.m. Sunday, the big winner is Lake Isabella local Walter Manwell, who hooked one of 10 fish worth $10,000 on Saturday. There had also been four $1,000 fish, four $500 winners, with most of the tagged trout bringing awards of $100 or $50.

Cal State Bakersfield ended their recent hitting slump, and battling the elements, rattled off 15 hits in an 11-4 win over Sacramento State in Game 2 of a three-game series Saturday night at Hardt Field.

On a cold and windy night, the 'Runners improved to 10-15, scoring seven runs with two outs.

Cal State Bakersfield ended their recent hitting slump, and battling the elements, rattled off 15 hits in an 11-4 win over Sacramento State in Game 2 of a three-game series Saturday night at Hardt Field.

On a cold and windy night, the 'Runners improved to 10-15, scoring seven runs with two outs.

On Thursday night, the Bakersfield Blaze opens the California League season at Sam Lynn Ballpark against Visalia.

My question: Is that going to be the final home opener played by the Blaze at Sam Lynn or the next-to-last?

On Thursday night, the Bakersfield Blaze opens the California League season at Sam Lynn Ballpark against Visalia.

My question: Is that going to be the final home opener played by the Blaze at Sam Lynn or the next-to-last?

Baseball

Visalia-Tulare Invitational

Baseball

Visalia-Tulare Invitational

Isaiah Turner was 2-for-4, including a go-ahead RBI-double in the seventh to lead Bakersfield College to a 6-5 victory over L.A. Valley in Saturday's Western State Conference South baseball game at Gerry Collis Field.

Turner's double scored Jake Verdugo, who led off the inning with a walk, and Tyler Painton followed with an RBI-single to give BC (17-8, 8-5 WSC) a much-needed insurance run.

Isaiah Turner was 2-for-4, including a go-ahead RBI-double in the seventh to lead Bakersfield College to a 6-5 victory over L.A. Valley in Saturday's Western State Conference South baseball game at Gerry Collis Field.

Turner's double scored Jake Verdugo, who led off the inning with a walk, and Tyler Painton followed with an RBI-single to give BC (17-8, 8-5 WSC) a much-needed insurance run.

Life is full of surprises. Some are joyous blessings while others can be truly heart breaking. A birth in the family, graduation from college or a wedding engagement can all bring extreme joy and happiness to a family. On the other side a death in the family or loss of employment can be a humbling and difficult situation to cope with.

Yesterday was the first day of cuts at Spring Training. While I was fortunate enough to not be one of those cut, a few of my friends that I have made while here were. Just as with anything in life we can become "comfortable" with the environment around us. We lose sight of the fact that nothing is forever.

Life is full of surprises. Some are joyous blessings while others can be truly heart breaking. A birth in the family, graduation from college or a wedding engagement can all bring extreme joy and happiness to a family. On the other side a death in the family or loss of employment can be a humbling and difficult situation to cope with.

Yesterday was the first day of cuts at Spring Training. While I was fortunate enough to not be one of those cut, a few of my friends that I have made while here were. Just as with anything in life we can become "comfortable" with the environment around us. We lose sight of the fact that nothing is forever.

The Utah Grizzlies were playing for playoff positioning Saturday night at Rabobank Arena. The Bakersfield Condors, for pride.

Playoff positioning won out as the determined Grizzlies sent the Condors into the offseason with a 4-0 loss before 6,556 in the final ECHL game of the regular season.