SPORTS SwampDogs Continued From Page 1B put Suwannee into the semifinals on Wednes- day afternoon and a possible shot at the Championship Wednesday night.Sunday The third game of pool play for Suwannee pitted them against Western North Carolina's Stumpy Creek. Suwannee played flat for five innings and came to life in the bottom of the sixth inning and won 4 - 3. Johnny LeDew pitched the first four innings and kept it close, giving up only 3 runs on 4 hits. Wyatt Jack- son came on in relief in the fifth and sixth and shut the other team down, giving up no hits. In the sixth inning, Luke Poppell started things off with a walk and moved to second base on a passed ball. Jackson hit a double in the rightfield gap to score Poppell. Next up Brandon Furry singled to right to score Jackson and tie the game up at 3 apiece. Then Timothy Carter hit the walk-off, game- winning hit to right center to score Furry and give the 'Dogs the victory. The Defensive Players of the Game for Suwannee were Johnny Ledew for his pitching performance and Parker Stephens for his play at third base. The Offensive Players of the Game were Jackson and Carter for their last inning heroics. The win puts Suwannee at 2 - 1 in pool play. Next up for Suwannee is Tennessee State Champ, Cookeville Monday evening. Cookville is 0 - 2 and a victory here would send Suwannnee to the elimination playoffs as the #2 seed with a match up against either South Carolina or Virginia.Saturday Suwannee faced off against West Raleigh, the Eastern North Carolina state champs, for their second game of the Regional Tourna- ment. This game saw much drama as the North Carolina team stopped the game for 30 minutes to file a protest against Suwannee. After much discussion the protest was with- drawn and the game resumed. Once again Suwannee had a hard time making the routine plays and saw the pitching struggle late in the game. Parker Stephens was named the De- fensive Player of the Game for his play at third base and Jackson Greene was named Offensive Player of the Game for his two dou- bles. The highlight of the game once again was Rhett Baldwin as he hit his second home run of the tournament, a three-run shot that went about 215 feet. Suwannee is now 1-1 and faces Stumpy Creek out of Western North Carolina on Sunday. With two more wins Suwannee will advance to the single elimina- tion playoffs beginning Tuesday night. Friday At the Southeast Regional Cal Ripken Baseball Tournament, Suwannee defeated the host team, Monrovia, Alabama 15 - 10, in their first game. The boys had to play from behind the entire game as they were obviously nervous and made 9 errors the first three in- nings behind the good pitching of Johnny LeDew. They settled down and played error- free ball the remainder of the game. Suwan- nee also left 11 runners on base throughout the game. After five innings the score was 10 - 10 and the top of the sixth for Suwannee was magi- cal. The first two batters for Suwannee reached on an error and a walk and then Rhett Baldwin hit a 230' three-run homer to spark a 5 run sixth and give the SwampDogs the momentum they needed to close the game. Baldwin was named Offensive Player of the Game by Tournament Staff for his 2-5, 1 home run, 4 rbi performance, and Brandon Furry was named Defensive Player of the Game for a diving catch in right field in the second inning. Next up for Suwannee the West Raleigh out of East North Carolina on Saturday. greatest Continued From Page 1B Waltrip passed him. Petty and Waltrip battled for the victory with Petty holding oni for his sixth Day- tona 500 win. Meanwhile back in Turn 3, one of the landmark moments in the history of NASCAR took place as Yarborough and Allison began a heated debate that turned into a fist fight with Allison's brother Bobby jumping into the fray. 1998: After 20 years of try- ing, Dale Eamhardt finally captured his elusive Daytona 500 victory. To kick off NASCAR's 50th anniversary celebration, Earnhardt ended one of sports' greatest jinxes leading 107 laps, including the final 61, winning the 1998 Day- tona 500 under caution. Following his victory, crew members lined pit road to congratulate him on his victo- ry, a gathering that has never been done before or since in NASCAR races. Following the procession, Earnhardt treated fans to doughnuts in the grassy tri- oval creating a No. 3 in the grass. As Earnhardt was perform- ing his post-race media inter- views, fans were grabbing pieces of grass and posing for pictures. 2007: The most recent Daytona 500 could have pro- duced the most thrilling Day- tona 500 finish in the history of race. Kevin Harvick, who started seventh on the final green- white-checkered restart, nipped Mark Martin at the start/finish line to capture the 49th annual Daytona 500. The margin of victory - .020 seconds - was the clos- est Daytona 500 finish since the advent of computer scor- ing in 1993 and the eighth closest in NASCAR NEX- TEL Cup Series overall. While Harvick beat Martin to the checkers, a multi-car accident broke out with Clint Bowyer's No. 07 Chevrolet flipping upside down and catching fire as he crossed the start/finish line. Martin was attempting to win his first Daytona 500 on his 23rd start and said the lack of drafting help coming off of Turn 4 proved the dif- ference at the finish. Harvick's victory was Richard Childress Racing's first Daytona 500 win since Dale Earnhardt in 1998 and he also set a couple of Day- tona 500 records in the process. * His four laps led tied 1975 Daytona 500 champion Benny Parsons for the fewest laps led by a Daytona 500 winner. * His starting position of 34th was the lowest starting position of a Daytona 500 winner. * He became the fifth dri- ver to win both the Daytona 500 and the Camping World 300 presented by Chevrolet NASCAR Busch Series race in the same year. Tickets for the 50th run- ning of the Daytona 500 and other DirecTV Speedweeks events are still available by calling toll-free 800-PIT- SHOP, 800-748-7467, or by visiting www.racetickets.com. Daytona 500 'Mother of all races' Submitted Jim Caple of ESPN.com's Page 2 listed the Daytona 500 No. 46 on "The 101 Things Every Fan Must Experience Before They Die," a world- wide list of sporting events ranging from the Olympics to the Coney Island hot dog eating con- test. Landing at number 46 on the list, Caple calls the Daytona 500 "the mother of all races for NASCAR daddies." Other major sporting events listed include are Soccer's World Cup, Baseball's World Series and the PGA's Masters. Smaller events include Minnesota town ball and a Little League game. The Daytona 500 is NASCAR's biggest, rich- est and most prestigious race and next year it will celebrate a historical milestone-the 50th running of the Daytona 500. Daytona International Speedway is also home to the "The Official At- traction of NASCAR," the Daytona 500 Experi- ence, open year-round. Daytona International Speedway boasts the most diverse schedule of racing on the globe-from stock cars, sports cars, go karts and motorcycles-earning it the title of the "World Center of Racing." "The Daytona 500 is the race that brings fans back year after year," said Daytona International Speedway Track President Robin Braig. "The ex- citement and action are unparalleled and it is an event that any sports enthusiast must experi- ence." The finish of the 2007 Daytona 500, which UPi . 'YOUR NEXT MOWER Now THAT'S Something To Smile About! Chason with his little sister Caydence and little cousin Jacob Thank you for submitting this week's SMILE photograph! Submit your photo. for publication to: 4uanntte emiocrrat P.O. Box 370, Live Oak, FL 32064 327489-F Kevin Harvick nipped Mark Martin by .020 sec- onds, was among the nominations in the "Best Finish" category of the ESPYs, where ESPN cel- ebrates the top moments, most emotional stories and the best performances from the past year in sports. The ESPY awards aren't the only ones recog- nizing the Daytona 500 this year. According to Forbes.com, the Daytona 500 is one of the world's most valuable sporting event brands. The Daytona 500 was the only motorsports event on the Magazine's Top 10 List published Jan. 31, 2007 and ranked only behind the Super Bowl, the Summer Olympics and soccer's World Cup. To see if Daytona International Speedway can produce another exciting finish, tickets are on sale for both the 50th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008. For more information, visit www.racetickets.com or www.daytonainter- nationalspeedway.com. Bash Langford Stadium Parking Lot -um Saturday, August 11th - 5:OOPmto8:OOPM call 208-1345 - 364-1620 - 362-2272 for more information NSUWANNEE DEMOCRAP/LIVE OAK FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2007 PAGE 3B