 By Staff
August 15, 2013
BURLINGTON, ON. It is usually the foot of Brant Street that has the high E.coli count but this weekend it is the Beachway Park that has the higher count.
During the summer months, the Regional Health Department monitors water quality at selected recreational beaches. Beaches are selected for testing based on their use for swimming and other water sports. Monitoring is done once a week or more if necessary.
 Beachway – the biggest waterfront beach in Burlington is reported to have a high E.coli count A pilot project is being undertaken at Beachway Park for the 2013 beach sampling season to examine potential factors influencing water quality. Therefore, Beachway Park will be sampled more frequently.
 Sign at foot of Brant Street: Not the clearest sign you’ll ever read – but the water has been tested. Swimmers are still advised to swim at their own risk. A beach is considered unsafe to swim if water tests show high amounts of E. coli bacteria. Conditions posted are based on samples taken from the previous day.
The posting of a not safe notice for the Beachway is really unfortunate – this is the weekend that the Beachway Park will be flooded with people – the Children’s Festival is taking place.
 By Staff.
BURLINGTON, ON. August 12th, 2013. It hasn’t gone well. The Burlington Bandits were matched up against the London Majors for the first round, best of seven games in the Intercounty League baseball season.
Game four is scheduled to take place Thursday night, 7:30 pm in Burlington at Nelson Park.
The team wants to go out on a high note and announced their first annual Burlington Bandits Fans Choice Player Awards.
Starting today, August 12th, Bandits fans will have an opportunity to vote for their favourite players for Top Pitcher, Top Hitter, Rookie of the Year, Player of the Year and Fan Favorite awards
Polls will close on Thursday, August 15th at noon Awards will be presented that night when the Bandits take on the London Majors for game four.
To vote, click for the link.
The London Majors led 5-0 after four innings in the second of seven in the first playoff round, and were never threatened by the host Bandits, as Burlington committed four errors and fell to the Majors 6-2.That gave them a two
That gave London a two game lead in the first round playoff. Jordan Townshend was the starter and winner for the Majors, allowing nine hits and just two earned runs with three walks and five strikeouts over six innings pitched. Josh Palmer picked up the save, allowing only one hit and one walk with two strikeouts over three shutout innings.
Cleveland Brownlee singled and homered for the visiting Majors, registering a pair of RBI while Chris Stewart also homered and scored twice. Ryan Lapensee singled and doubled while driving in a run, and Larry Balkwill added a pair of doubles with a run batted in. Adwin Springer and Derrik Strzalkowski each singled and scored, while Paul LaMantia singled to round out the ten-hit London attack.
The Bandits also had ten hits on the day, which included four by Connor Panas who also drove in a run. Daniel Peake and Brian Sewell each singled, doubled and scored a run, while Jeff Kosta and Jeff MacLeod each registered a hit apiece. Nick Studer drove in a run to pace the Bandits in the loss.
Jason Rubenstein took the loss for Burlington, allowing seven hits and five runs – four earned – with four strikeouts over the first five innings.
On Sunday, when the third game was played, it didn’t get much better. Larry Balkwill opened the bottom of the ninth inning with a walk-off home run to lead the London Majors to a 5-4 win over the Burlington Bandits. That gave the Majors a stranglehold on the best of seven series.
It was a back and forth affair which saw the Majors rebound from a 2-0 deficit after two innings and down 4-3 after five. The Majors tied the game with a single run scored in the seventh, before Balkwill’s heroics in the bottom of the ninth.
Chris Hammond started for London and pitched six innings but it was reliever Mike DeLong who picked up the win, allowing just two hits over three shutout innings with four strikeouts.
The Majors outhit the Bandits 11-9 including three by Paul LaMantia who singled twice and doubled. Parris Austin and Paul Young each singled and doubled with a run scored while Young added a pair of RBI. Chris Stewart singled, tripled and scored, while Adwin Springer singled and drove in a run. Cleveland Brownlee added an RBI and Ryan Lapensee came in to score to round out the London attack.
Michael Vanderlaan came on to replace Alex Gale with one out in the seventh inning and took the loss for the Bandits, allowing the home run to Balkwill plus one other walk and strikeout over his 1 2/3 innings of work.
Phil Steer and Jeff Kosta each had a pair of hits with Steer driving in a run and Kosta coming in to score, while Brian Sewell singled and drove in a pair. Jeff MacLeod and Nick Studer each had a hit and a run scored, while Connor Panas and Daniel Peake each added singles in the loss. Dan Franceschetti had a run scored to pace the Burlington offence.
Can the home team squeeze in at least one win? It will be an exciting game – Nelson Park – Thursday at 7:30 pm.
 By Staff.
BURLINGTON, ON. August 10, 2013 It wasn’t the start
fans were hoping for when the London Majors took the first game in the playoff rounds with the Burlington Bandits.
The Bandits can redeem themselves when they play the Majors in Burlington this afternoon at Nelson Park at 1:00 pm.
It’s going to be an uphill battle for the Bandits in this best of seven first playoff round.
The Majors took the game with a 6-2 win.
 Andrew Marck earned the win for London, hanging in for 8 2/3 innings allowing just six hits and two earned runs with four walks and seven strikeouts. Jacob Raffaele picked up the final out of the game to earn the save.
The Majors outhit the Bandits 8-6, including two hits apiece from Ryan Lapensee and Paul Young who both singled and doubled, drove in a run and scored. Cleveland Brownlee and Larry Balkwill each had a hit and drove in one and two runs, respectively.
Adwin Springer and Derrik Strzalkowski each singled for the home side while Parris Austin and Paul LaMantia both added a run scored. Chris Stewart registered a pair of runs scored for London in the win.
Matthew St. Kitts pitched a complete game eight innings but took the loss, allowing eight hits and six runs – four earned with five walks and five strikeouts for Burlington.
Connor Panas was the lone Burlington player with a multi-hit night hitting a single and double, while Nick Studer singled and scored a run. Jeff Kosta, Dan Franceschetti and Tyler Fata each singled while Brian Sewell drove in a run in the loss.
 By Pepper Parr and Walter Byj.
BURLINGTON, ON. August 8, 2013. It’s a great park, closer to Hamilton than it is to most Burlington residents, and it has a chance of being a small part of the PanAm Games when they come to town in 2015.
There was a time when Burlington looked as if it might get quite a bit of the PanAm action but some slipping and sliding on the part of city hall and a real dose of NIMBY from the west end of the city and all Burlington gets now are some practice games to watch. They will take place at City View Park.
 The city’s newest park is being developed in stages. Couple of soccer fields now open, playground operational and getting a lot of traffic. The advent of the Pan Am games in 2015 will see some top level soccer practices taking place in the park. Located at the intersection of Dundas and Kerns Road the park will have five soccer fields along with two baseball diamonds for the sporting enthusiasts with seating for approximately 1,500 spectators. In addition there would be playground areas, walking trails though the wooded area along with large open areas. Parking could accommodate 650 vehicles and a pavilion would be built for washrooms and change room facilities.
The site takes up 165 acres and will be the largest park in the city. Ireland Park is 19 acres; Central Park is 22 acres; Lowville Park is 26 acres and Sherwood Forest Park is 29 acres.
 Those are not bags of topsoil – they are rolls of plastic grass.  Carpeting for a soccer field – some are not convinced that plastic grass was the best idea for the soccer fields. We will know in ten years when it has to be taken up. Opposition has been a part of this park’s development almost from the beginning. There was some debate over the decision to use what got called plastic grass – Astro Turf was the product name. Margaret Lindsay Holton, now a Hamilton resident, was consistently vocal on the way the park was being developed and called the decision to use artificial turf an eco-disgrace. An appeal to the Niagara Escarpment Commission reduced development to a crawl but that got settled and in went the construction equipment.
 This stand of trees on the south side of Dundas has to come out to make space for an equipment – storage shed and parking for staff.  There was nothing about this stand of trees that made them a “must save” but that didn’t matter to BurlingtonGreen. They take the position that every tree is worth saving – it takes 20 years to grow new ones – and we aren’t doing anywhere near the re-placing that could be done on the City View Park grounds. Then there was opposition to cutting down a decent stand of trees to put in maintenance sheds. BurlingtonGreen wasn’t able to convince the city to put the equipment housing somewhere else.
 Great view of Burlington Bay and the Skyway bridge from the south end of City View Park. The idea of an additional park came to the surface in 2002 and by 2010 the city decided upon what it believed it needed and what it would take to fully complete the park – $22 million. Parts of the Bruce Trail run through the property; there are several ponds and lots of walking space at the south end of the park. There is a great view of Burlington Bay and the Skyway Bridge from the edge of the old Kerns quarry which is the southern limit.
With seating for 1500 people going in at some point – could the park become “home” for the Bandits? We could pull in some of the Hamilton traffic from that location?
 By Staff.
BURLINGTON, ON. August 9, 2013 – The season wasn’t the greatest but there is a chance to redeem themselves in the Intercounty Baseball League playoffs which begin on Friday for the Burlington Bandits when they play the London Majors in London on Friday evening for round one of the playoffs. The first home game of the playoffs for the Bandits will be on Saturday August 10th at Nelson Park.
Game starts at 1:00 pm n Saturday – wear anything red and you get a coupon for $1 to use at the concession stand.
 If the BAndits do this often enouh Friday night – it could be an interesting playoff series. The Bandits will travel to London for game one on Friday nigh, the 9th, for a 7:35pm showdown with the Majors. The Bandits will then return home on Saturday, August 10th for a 1:00pm start at Nelson Park.
Playoff tickets can be purchase at the front entrance gate upon arrival, by phone at 905-630-9036 or at our official team store.
 This is how the InterCounty Baseball League season ended. Now on to the playoffs – the Bandits need to get a little craftier and steal home more often. This is the end of the first season for the newly named Burlington Bandits. Scott Richardson took over the team and brought much more promotion and pizzazz to the marketing side of the business – now the team needs to focus on the talent and develop a team that can hit and run. A pitcher wouldn’t hurt either.
What the team does do is offer good baseball in a setting that is affordable, comfortable and designed to get a family out to a game they can walk to if you live in the east end or drive to easily.
It has been a decent first season under new management. A bit of a boost out of the basement during the playoffs will be a good launch into the next season. Same location next year?
Full playoff schedule
Game 1: Friday August 9th @ London; 7:35pm
Game 2: Saturday August 10th @ Burlington; 1:00pm
Game 3: Sunday August 11th @ London; 1:00pm
Game 4: Thursday August 15th @ Burlington; 7:30pm
Game 5: Friday August 16th @ London; 7:35pm
Game 6: Saturday August 17th @ Burlington; 1:00pm
*Game 7: Sunday August 18th @ London; 1:00pm
By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. August 3, 2013. This is certainly going to be a “get to the Beach” weekend. Lake Ontario is beginning to warm up a bit and the water is described as safe in most places.
The Beachway Park water is described as unsafe – caution. There is certainly loads of beach space along that stretch of the lake. Finding a spot to set up a shade awning and maybe setting up your hibachi won’t be easy and if you manage to find a parking spot along Lakeshore Road – good on you. Keeping out of the water – or at least not staying in for long periods of time might be a good idea. Very young children – not a good idea to have them in the water.
 The Region is responsible for testing water and advising the public on whether or not it is safe to swim.
 The water at the foot of Brant is safe – the way to keep it that way is to not feed the geese. If you put food in one end of the critters – you gotta know what is going to come out of the other end. And that stuff comes out in the water, which is shallow All that adds up to the high e-coli count that is reported.
 The Beachway Park is on a part of the lake where wind directions change frequently – which results in different wave patterns. It will be really difficult to keep children out of the water. There are consequences if they do play in the water.
Enjoy the weekend.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. August 1, 2013. The Nelson pool is closed due to a water main break. City and regional staff are on site to assess, conduct repairs and clean up.
The splash pad is closed due to the water to the area being cut off. Camps and rentals are being diverted to other locations.
We expect the next update from the city at 3:00 pm this afternoon.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. July 29, 2013. – In what will become a Burlington Bandits tradition, the Bandits will make their last home game of the regular season a night of fan appreciation. Before marching into the IBL playoffs, the team will thank the best fans in the IBL for their tremendous support during the 2013 campaign by giving away an array of prizes! Everybody will get something!
Fan Appreciation Night is on Thursday, Aug 1st when the Bandits take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:00 p.m. at Nelson Park.
 Pretty close to the bottom – but the playoffs might give the Bandits a chance to redeem themselves. Upon arrival inside Nelson Park, fans will receive a free Bandits gift and then the giving will go on all night long! Prize Patrols will disperse autographed Bandits memorabilia, hundreds of local retailer gift certificates, t-shirts, tickets to a variety of events and attractions and much more.
“The Bandits are very fortunate to have the kind of fan support we’ve experienced this season,” said Scott Robinson, Team President. “Not only has this been the best year in franchise history for attendance at our games, but the players recognize the impact the fans have on the success of the team. We look forward to having that fan support make an even greater impact in the playoffs.”
Playoff tickets will also be available for purchase at a discounted price during the game.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. July 18, 2013. While not hazardous, the water in Lake Ontario at the Burlington area beaches is described as “not safe to swim in”.
During the summer months, the Health Department monitors water quality at selected recreational beaches in Halton. Beaches are selected for testing based on their use for swimming and other water sports. Monitoring is done once a week or more if necessary. A pilot project is being undertaken at Beachway Park for the 2013 beach sampling season to examine potential factors influencing water quality. Therefore, Beachway Park will be sampled more frequently.
- A beach is considered unsafe to swim if water tests show high amounts of E. coli bacteria.
- Conditions posted are based on samples taken from the previous day.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. July 17, 2013. The cheque was indeed in the mail – a big one that put $20,000 into the Burlington Lions Optimist Minor Hockey Association (BLOMHA) bank account where the spending will be spread out over two years.
 Hundreds of Burlington hockey types clicked on this red button to rack of points for the significant cash award – BLOMHA won $20,000. The cheque was the result of a superb effort by John McNeil and a team of people he directed who made thousands of clicks on a red button set up on the Kraft Hockey Goes On website.
The prize money came from Kraft Foods who sponsor the Hockey Goes On contest in which BLOMHA was one of four runner ups in Central Ontario. The top prize which was $100,000 – that went to Goderich.
 Anyone with a laptop and at least five fingers got put to work. The young fellow on the right has all ten fingers but they didn’t give him a keyboard. When Kraft announced the program for 2013 Kristen Priestner, a local hockey Mon with a son in the BLOMHA Atom A, nominated John McNeil, who manages the team, as the person who had done the most for minor hockey in their community.
McNeil’s nomination was accepted by Kraft and the game was on. McNeil headed up a diverse team that included almost everyone he knew.
 Boys in a van on the way to a hockey game in London use the time to log in and click, click, click. The community pulled together and worked throughout the weekend – they even had hockey players logging in and clicking on that red button while they were being transported to out-of-town games.
 This banner will hang proudly in the Appleby Arena, recognizing forever the contribution McNeil made to BLOMHA and it hockey operations. Along with the cheque BLOMHA was given a large banner recognizing organizer John McNeil and his efforts. The banner will go up in Appleby arena.
How will BLOMHA spend this windfall? One of the decisions the organization made was that none of the prize money would be used for administrative stuff. The full $20,000 will go into the hockey program for the Burlington community to benefit.
This year $5,000 will go towards subsidizing hockey fees for financially challenged families.
 BLOMHA Executive Director Rick Dawson on the left and John McNeil hold up the $20,000 cheque won during a drive to register clicks on the Kraft Hockey Goes On contest last March. Another $5000 will go towards replacing 10-year-old and worn out goalie gear used by goalies in the house league program
The other $10,000 will be saved for next year to be used to assist families in getting their sons or daughters into the game. BLOMHA has taken the position that they will report to McNeil on just how they spent the money.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. July 10, 2013. – The Burlington Bandits, will play a new double-header against the Brantford Red Sox this Saturday, July 13th. They are hoping to pull themselves a little higher in the league standings – and there is hope.
 Holders of the bottom rung of the league ladder the Bandits are not in 8th spot in an eight team league. The team has won two in a row and might be on a bit of a roll.
The double-header will start at 1:00pm. Both games will be seven (7) inning games, where the second game will commence twenty minutes after the first.
All fans in attendance are invited to stay for the second game free of charge.
Saturday’s double-header will mark the Burlington Bandits BOMBA Youth Baseball Night. All BOMBA members and any children wearing a youth baseball jersey will receive free admission and $2.00 off for family members. Get to the park early as Bandits staff will be giving away Bandits seat cushions while supplies last.
The bandits go into this double-header with a 10-4 win over Toronto; a game shortened by rain to just five innings Sunday afternoon at Dominico Field at Christie Pits.
Kyle Morton homered, had three hits and drove in four runs as the then last place Burlington Bandits mauled the Toronto Maple Leafs 10-4.
Leading 10-2 and with the skies threatening again after rain interrupted the game for 29 minutes in the third, Burlington (6-19) made a pitching change and had several trips to the mound for conferences during the inning, despite needing just three outs to make it an official game. The Leafs scored twice before the third out of the inning, a strikeout by Rob Gillis, was made in a torrential downpour, with the game immediately stopped after the out.
The close call with the weather was the only thing close about this one, as the Leafs lost for the second time to the Bandits at home, and have now allowed 58 runs in their last 32 innings at the Pits.
 Still room in the season for the Bandits to climb a little higher in the standings – to the top? Starter Jason Rubenstein went 4 2/3 innings, allowing four runs – two earned – on seven hits with one strikeout and four walks. But he helped cost himself the win when he couldn’t close out the fifth, with his two-out throwing error keeping the Leafs at bat. Matthew St. Kitts relieved him and faced just one batter – Gillis – in what was by then a driving rain, and got credit for the victory with his one strikeout.
Peter Bako and Nick Studer both had two hits and two RBI for the Bandits, who had 12 hits. Ryan Clarke also had two hits and scored twice for the winners.
Toronto starter Marek Deska was roughed up again, allowing six runs – five earned – on nine hits in just four innings, striking out two and walking four. Reliever Adam Garner allowed the final four runs – all unearned – in the fifth, as the Leafs made three costly errors and allowed eight stolen bases in the five innings.
Jon Waltenbury had a double, a walk and scored twice for the Leafs, who managed seven hits.
Earlier in the month the Bandits recorded their second back-to-back win on the road with a 5-3 win against the Barrie Baycats (16-13).
 Bandit tags a Baycat – was he out? The Bandits tied the ballgame up 1-1 in the fifth inning when Jeff MacLeod scored on a RBI single from Ryan Clarke.
Darryl Pui broke the tie in the sixth inning, sending Peter Bako home on RBI, putting Burlington up 2-1. The Baycats would then again tie up the contest 2-2 in the seventh with a sacrifice fly out by Brandon Dhue to advance Ryan Asis to score.
The Bandits would take a commanding lead in the eight with runs scored by Kyle Morton off a double by Darryl Pui while a double by Nick Studer scores Darryl Pui and a single by Jeff Macleod scores Nick Studer bringing the score to 5-2.
The Baycats would score one last time in the bottom of the eight with a run scored by Jeff Cowan off a sacrifice fly out by Kevin Atkinson to bring the final score to 5-3 after a scoreless ninth inning.
Jeff MacLeod closed things down in the ninth inning for his 1st save of the season. Jack Dennis (1-0) picked up the win with five scoreless innings.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. July 5th, 2013. The most recent report on lake water conditions from the Region doesn’t have much good news for those who want to swim.
People visiting Burlington’s Beachway Park will see water-testing equipment set up on the north beach this summer.
The City of Burlington has partnered with Environment Canada’s National Water Research Institute, Western University and the University of Waterloo on a research project to better understand how groundwater quality contributes to test results at Great Lakes beaches.
Burlington is committed “to providing beaches that people can use for swimming and other recreation to contribute to an active, healthy lifestyle,” said Chris Glenn, director of parks and recreation.
This new testing will be in addition to water-quality testing conducted by Halton Region. During the summer months, monitoring is done once a week, or more if necessary. Beachway Park will be sampled more frequently due to the pilot project.
 By Staff.
BURLINGTON, ON. June 19, 2013 The Burlington Bandits, announce that the game scheduled game for Thursday, June 13th, 2013 against the Guelph Royals has been rescheduled for Sunday, June 30th, 2013 at Nelson Park in Burlington. Game time has been scheduled for 7:30pm.
 Take in a Sunday Ball game – wear red and white and get in for a twoonie. The new Sunday home game has been officially marked as the Burlington Bandits “Canadian Celebration”. The Bandits invite all fans to celebrate Canada Day one day early by wearing red and white to the game.
All fans that wear red or white, or bring a Canadian flag receive admission for two dollars.
All in attendance will receive a Canada Day themed giveaway along with many chances to win amazing prizes.
 By Staff
TORONTO, ON. June 17, 2013 – Former Toronto Maple Leaf Kyle Morton had two hits, scored two runs and drove in another two as the last place Burlington Bandits snapped a six-game losing streak with a 6-4 win over the Leafs Sunday afternoon at Dominico Field at Christie Pits in Intercounty Baseball League play.
Starting pitcher Connor Smith and reliever Alex Gale combined to scatter 10 hits as the Bandits (3-10) rebounded after losing to the Leafs 13-11 in Burlington on Saturday. Toronto (7-10) remains stuck in sixth place after losing two of three games this weekend.
After a sloppily played game on Saturday, the Bandits turned in a solid performance on Sunday, making several defensive gems and making the most of their seven hits. The Leafs on the other hand made a pair of costly errors and failed to get hits at key times.
Burlington took the lead with three runs in the fifth inning and were never headed after that, with Smith and then Gale providing some solid pitching.
Smith got the win going five innings, allowing two runs on five hits with one strikeout and one walk. Gale finished up and earned a save, also allowing two runs on five hits with two strikeouts and one walk.
Ryan Clarke, Peter Bako and Daniel Peake all drove in runs for the Bandits, with shortstop Phil Steer and second baseman Peake both turning in stellar defensive plays all afternoon.
Starter Adam Garner took the loss for the Leafs. He went five innings, allowing four runs – three earned – on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Conor Lillis-White allowed two runs on three hits over three innings in his Leaf debut and Drew Taylor pitched a perfect ninth.
Jon Waltenbury drilled a two-run homer and added a sacrifice fly for the Leafs, while Will Richards and Damon Topolie both added two hits for Toronto.
The Burlington Bandits travel to Barrie on Tuesday for a 7:30pm start before returning home on Thursday against the Hamilton Cardinals. Thursday marks Guaranteed Win Night at Nelson Park. If the Bandits happen to lose, all fans in attendance will receive one free general admission ticket for a future game upon exit.
As betting odds go, based on the team’s record – this is almost a sure win for the ball game watchers.
 By Staff.
BURLINGTON, ON. June 15, 2013. The four runs the Brantford Red Sox cashed in during the first inning proved all they would need, as they went on to defeat the Burlington Bandits 8-3.
The Red Sox are 9-1 in their last ten games, and improve to 16-3 on the season. Starter Mike Meyers went just four innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run with four walks and seven strikeouts over four innings pitched. He was relieved by Dylan Grosul who pitched five innings, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk with three strikeouts in picking up the win.
 Pitching wasn’t particularly good – the other team hit the ball more often and made it around the bases as well. Of the 14 Brantford hits on the night, more than half were extra base hits. Scott Thorman had two doubles and a single, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored while Hyung Cho went 3-for-3 with two doubles, three walks and two runs scored. Josh McCurdy singled and doubled with a run scored, while Todd Betts had a two-run double with a run scored. Lee Delfino also doubled, drove in a run and scored twice, while Terrell Alliman and Jason Gotwalt each had two hits and an RBI. Joe Colameco had a hit and an RBI to cap off the night for the home side.
Burlington starter CJ Machete took the loss, lasting only 1 1/3 innings while giving up six hits and six earned runs with six walks. It was the fourth straight loss for the Bandits, who dropped to 2-9 on the season.
Ryan Clarke had a pair of hits in the loss including a single and an RBI triple with a run scored, while Levi Larmour had a pair of hits and an RBI. Jeff MacLeod doubled, while Sean Malony singled and scored a run. Jamie Lekas added an RBI for the visitors.
 By Staff
Burlington, ON June 13, 2013 – The Burlington Bandits, proud members of the Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) have advise that today’s game between the Bandits and the visiting Guelph Royals has been postponed due to the closing of Nelson Park due to poor playing conditions.
 Rain day just might give therm the breather they need to get out of the basement. Maybe a walk on the pier to get their wind? This is the third “rain out” date of the 2013 season. The re-scheduled date will be announced as soon as possible.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. June 12, 2013. The Burlington Bandits, in partnership with Burlington Vintage Baseball (BVB) will host a “Burlington Vintage Baseball Day” on Thursday, July 4th, 2013.
 All BVB members, there are eight teams in that organization, will receive discounted tickets and each team will be recognized throughout the game. Not a BVB member? No problem! Simply wear your local sports uniform and get an additional $2 off the ticket price.
 That would be in the basement wouldn’t it. Maybe some of the Vintage players could show the Bandits a thing or two. The BRAVES, the BREWERS, the CARDINALS, the CUBS, the GIANTS, the HOBOS, the MUDHENS, the PHILLIES, the PIRATES, the X-MEN and the YANKEES will be recognized during the Bandits game on the 4th of July. They are expected to wear their team jerseys and maybe be asked to a run around the bases.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 5, 2013 They didn’t say very much but they at least said something. It would have been nice if the public relations agency that ran the Kraft Canada Game Goes ON contest had communicated with the various hockey clubs around the country on how the processing of the prize money was going.
 This red button got clicked thousands of time by minor hockey associations across the country. Minor hockey associations across the country used two days in April to corral every person they could find to click on that red button on a web site and rack up votes for different levels of prize money. It was quite a public relations feat – that kind of went sour when it took so long for the prize money to actually get to the clubs.
Burlington`s minor hockey association entered the contest and ended up one of the five Ontario Regional winners. When the prize money didn’t show up Our Burlington started asking questions.
 John McNeil put together the team that took on the Games Goes on Challenge that won BLOMHA a $20,000 prize. Here is what we got from Sherri-Lyn Brown, with the public relations company that ran the contest: “Please see the response below from Joanna Milroy, Senior Consumer Promotions Manager, Kraft Canada.”
Kraft said: “Thank you for your inquiry. Each of the winning communities can expect to receive their prize money in the month of June. We look forward to seeing the impact that these funds will have on the Burlington Lions Optimist Minor Hockey Association.”
Each of the prize-winning clubs want to say thank you for what they won – they will probably do so a little less enthusiastically. Pity.
 By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON June 4, 2013. Figuring out who they are going to offer a hockey scholarship to must be a little awkward for the people over at BLOMHA (Burlington Lions Optimists Minor Hockey Association); the prize money they won in the Kraft Foods – The Game Goes On contest hasn’t arrived yet. The winners were announced mid-April.
BLOMHA hasn’t even been told the cheque is in the mail.
Maybe they are waiting until the Stanley Cup winner has been decided.
Odd how a corporation the size of Kraft Foods would hire a company to run the program for them and then not follow through promptly.
 Two of the three worked away at their keyboards much of the weekend to bring home some prize money for BLOMHA. The little guy on the right is still waiting for the $20,000 cheque to arrive. BLOMHA won $20,000 – the top prize was $100,000, and planned to use the funds to buy equipment that could be loaned to those who couldn’t afford to play the game. Scholarships were going to be awarded for kids whose families could not afford the fees.
The BLOMHA ideas were great – a part of what makes this community what it is.
The speed at which the public relations agency (Edelman) handling the project hasn’t moved is leaving a bad taste in the mouths of the hundreds of people who spent the 48 hours at their keyboards.
Wonder how the other Kraft winners feel about this?
We asked the public relations agency, Edelman, for some comment. Nothing yet.
Kraft Foods Canada is a little difficult to get through – but we will keep trying.
 By Staff
BURLINGTON, ON. June 1, 2013. The London Majors, one of xx teams in the Intercounty Baseball League, scored three key runs in the top of the ninth inning and staved off the Burlington Bandits 11-8 in one of three games played Saturday afternoon.
Burlington (2-7) rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to tie the game 5-5 heading into the fifth inning before London posted two runs in the fifth, one in the eighth and three in the top of the ninth for an 11-5 lead. The Bandits posted three runs of their own in the bottom of the ninth, but fell short of completing the comeback.
After starting the season with an 0-2 record, this is the Majors (7-2) seventh straight win.
 Reliever Jacob Raffaele earned his first win of the season in what was his longest outing of the year, allowing just one hit and one walk with six strikeouts over four scoreless innings. Mike Mitro earned the save, flawlessly registering the final out.
 The Majors boasted 12 hits on the afternoon, including a single and a home run from Cleveland Brownlee, who added three RBI and three runs scored. Jon Celestino also homered and drove in a pair. Paul Young singled, doubled, scored twice and had two RBI, while Derrik Strzalkowski had a pair of hits, an RBI and a run scored. Adwin Springer singled, scored and drove in a run, and Parris Austin and Ryan Lapensee each singled and scored. Paul LaMantia singled and added an RBI.
Matthew St. Kitts took the loss for the Bandits in relief, allowing six hits and two earned runs with one walk and three strikeouts over 3 2/3 innings.
The Bandits scored their eight runs all on just five hits, while also committing four errors on the afternoon. Brian Sewell had a three run home run in the fourth inning with two runs scored, while Daniel Peake singled, doubled, drove in a pair and scored. Darryl Pui had a pair of hits and two RBI in the loss.
The Burlington Bandits return to Nelson park in one week when they take on the Brantford Red Sox. Saturday marks BOMBA day, all BOMBA members are encouraged to wear their team colors! Many activities are available for kids including face painting, base running and much more! Game time 2:00pm.
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