While winter is winding down throughout most of the country, we here in Broward County are basking in the glow of some of the best weather you will find anywhere.

At a time when spring training baseball signals that cooler temperatures are ready to take a backseat to 80 degree days and pleasant 60 degree weather in the evening, it‘s time to get out and support your local athletes in track, baseball, softball, boys‘ volleyball and tennis.

Take a look around the BCAA these days and you will find a complete menu of things to keep you occupied. From the Speedball Softball Tournament, which showcased some of our best teams, which national power Pines Charter captured over first year upstart West Broward, to some of the best baseball action in the state.

I have been lucky to take in some great games this winter/spring, helping basketball and wrestling come to an end with all-star events and playoffs.

As I had the chance to take in a few softball games across Broward in the day, I also had the pleasure of watching some impressive baseball programs such as unbeaten Cardinal Gibbons, which got off to a great start, providing me an opportunity to see some tremendous weekend action.

As baseball and softball will certainly capture more of my attention, I am still having a tough time shaking the basketball season out of my head, I am so much looking forward to Apr. 1, when South Broward boys’ head coach Abby Ward will take part in the prestigious McDonald’s All-American contest at the University of Miami as a member of the girls team, and longtime Dillard coach Darryl Burrows will coach for the boys’ squad.

WRESTLING SHOWCASE
Last weekend, Miami-Dade continued its domination over the Broward squad in the 11th annual wrestling challenge at Nova, but having attended everyone of these events, it comes down to having a lot of fun and being rewarded for a job well done.

Cardinal Gibbons’ 119-pounder Domingo Simmons was among the big winners for the Broward squad and was named MVP. He wasn’t alone in the winner’s circle for the BCAA schools. Among the other winners were 125-pounders Paul Marcello (Gibbons) and Alex Abramat, 130-pounder Gunnar Magliocca (St. Thomas), 160-pounders Victor Boyd (Stranahan) and Luke Weiss (St. Thomas) and Coral Springs’ heavyweight Nick Stevens.

FOOTBALLS IN THE AIR
With the prestigious Elite Scouting Services Camp/Combine coming up at Cardinal Gibbons on Apr. 25, area football players have been keeping busy attending many off-season events.

This weekend (Mar. 14-15) at the University of South Florida in Tampa, many of the top football skill players will flock to a 7-on-7 all-star event, featuring teams from all over the southeast.

DEVIN DRANE

Our local youngsters will be headed as part of the South Florida Express, which features top Miami-Dade and Broward players. Among the BCAA athletes expected to take part are Lamarcus Joyner (St. Thomas), Dante Chambers, Jamaal Bass and Ivan McCartney (Miramar), Demar Dorsey and Stevie Green (Boyd Anderson), Tony Grimes (Hollywood Hills), and Plantation standouts Tim Burke, Devin Drane, Gilbert St. Louis and Michael Anderson.

NEXT WEEK: We will have a look at some of the newsmakers of the spring.

You can reach Larry Blustein via e-mail at FloridaKids1@hotmail.com. He can also be heard every Thursday night (9-10) on the Miami Dolphins High School Gridiron Report on WQAM (560 AM).