GANGS, COPS PLAY BALL FOR PEACE SOFTBALL GAME BRINGS UNLIKELY TEAMS TOGETHER.Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer ENCINO - They came armed with bats and spikes, but they brought only good intentions. Gang members from across the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. pushed aside traditional rivalries for a friendly game of softball softball, variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Invented (1888) in Chicago as an indoor game, it was at various times called indoor baseball, mush ball, playground ball, kitten ball, and, because it was also played by women, ladies' on Saturday. The Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . also fielded a team as did the
Los Angeles County Probation Department The Los Angeles County Probation Department provides services for those placed on probation within Los Angeles County, California, USA. Robert Taylor is the current Chief Probation Officer. The department is the largest probation department in the world[1]. .
Though players swung hard and slid headfirst head·first also head·fore·most adv. 1. With the head leading; headlong: went headfirst down the stairs. 2. Impetuously; brashly. into bases, they shook hands and saluted one another's skills without a hint of animosity. ``It gives them a chance to see who they really are and what they have in common,'' said William ``Blinky'' Rodriguez, the executive director of Communities in Schools who helped organize the event. ``It's a lot harder to shoot a guy if you played baseball with him the day before.'' Engineered by the San Fernando Valley Coalition on Gangs, the event brought together nearly 300 spectators - gangbangers, cops, politicians, pastors and family members. After a rousing rous·ing adj. 1. Inducing enthusiasm or excitement; stirring: a rousing sermon. 2. Lively; vigorous: a rousing march tune. 3. series of speeches decrying gang violence at Woodley Park Woodley Park refers to the following:
loved ones npl → proches mpl et amis chers loved ones love npl lost in gang wars, others came in the hope that they'd never have to carry those sad remembrances. Though the day came too late for her two sons Steven and Matthew, Lupe Yuhasz of Sylmar had hope that it could save others from gang violence. The two boys were killed in gang-related shootings only five months apart last year, both gunned down before they reached their 21st birthday. Remembering that both her children excelled in sports and desperate for a way to stop the killings, Yuhasz and her husband, George, began organizing pick-up softball games in their local park. Composed half of gang members from San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. and Sylmar, half from their friends, the teams evolved into four squads, two coed, all under the name ``Steven & Matthew Forever.'' ``I did it for their mom,'' said Eric Zavala, an 18-year-old who once hung around the San Fernando gang but now spends his time playing right field. ``I didn't really like it at first, but now I enjoy it. I'm out here with all my friends.'' The young men pulled baseball caps over shaved heads, laced up cleats and helped each other stretch out before taking on the Probation Department. Though they offered good-natured ribbing and laughingly accused the authorities of bringing ringers to bolster their lineup, the street-hardened squad didn't look much different from any other group of buddies playing in the park. ``They're playing ball, behaving themselves,'' said George Yuhasz, giving his lungs a rest from barking orders to turn a double-play. ``At night, the gangs try to get 'em to do something stupid. If we can change just one life, that would be great.'' At the same time the gangsters were trying to channel their energies into a positive pursuit, their blue-suited opponents were trying to engage in a little soft community relations 1. The relationship between military and civilian communities. 2. Those public affairs programs that address issues of interest to the general public, business, academia, veterans, Service organizations, military-related associations, and other non-news media entities. . ``You fall into the stereotype stereotype (stĕr`ĕətīp'), plate from which printing is done, made by casting metal in a mold, usually of paper pulp. The process was patented in 1725 by the Scottish inventor William Ged. that everyone in a gang's a shooter, but they're not,'' said LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. Deputy Chief Ronald Bergmann, creator of the anti-gang coalition and the San Fernando Valley's top commanding officer. ``Cops can see gang members are regular people. They can see we're human. We have a good sporting contest and go home with a better understanding.'' Former gang member Henry Avalos, now a 30-year-old real estate agent living in Sylmar, got that understanding the hard way. Locked up at the age of 12, jumped into a Pacoima gang by 14, it took three shots to the body and six stab wounds in the back of the head to get him straight. Watching the tough guys of the streets laughingly square off against the men who patrol them, he smiled broadly. ``To have a peaceful outlet like this is huge,'' he said. ``At one point in their life, they made the wrong decision, just like I did. Maybe things like this will show them love, not gangs.'' Brent Hopkins, (818) 713-3738 brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Participants in the gangs-police softball game at Woodley Park in Encino on Saturday open the event with a prayer. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer |
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