BRIEFS

County church softball league gearing up

The 2008 Cherokee County church softball league is open for those wishing to sign-up for this season.

Youth league will open for play Sept. 2. The deadline to signup is Aug. 25.

The league will take the first eight teams wanting to participate.

Games are played on Tuesday nights.

Separate leagues for men and women will open for play Sept. 4.

The first eight teams to signup will be given the chance to play in the league this year.

Games are held on Thursday nights.

Cost is $250 per team. Spots are limited.

For more information, call Shannon Phillips at 812-5353

Clemson Club meeting Aug. 18

The Cherokee County Clemson Club will meet Monday, Aug. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Clemson Extension Office in Gaffney.

Guest speakers will be Senior Associate Athletic Director Bill D'Andrea, Assistant Men's Basketball Coah Josh Postorino and Clemson sports talk radio host Mickey Plyler.

A BBQ supper will be served at a cost of $10 per person.

Please contact David Parker at 489-3141 ext. 113, 489-6338 or by e-mail at dprker@clemson. edu to make meal reservations.

The Cherokee County Clemson Club supports an annual $1,000 academic scholarship for a Clemson student from a Cherokee County hIgh school.

Thunder Cats softball tryouts Aug. 30

The Carolina Thunder Cats Girls Fastpitch Softball Organization will be holding tryouts for the 2009 season Aug. 30, 2008.

Please call Dan Hughes for information and tryout times at 864 706-0810 or Eddie Edwards at 864 680-8942.

The Carolina Thunder Cats is based out of Moore, and fields players from the Palmetto State and parts of North Carolina.

NCAA makes new rules for 2008 football season

Instead of a play clock set to 25 seconds and started on the referee's signal, the college game will now have a 40-second clock that starts counting down immediately when the ball becomes dead. That is supposed to add more ''flow'' and consistency to the game. Mirroring the NFL, college football will also take a video look at field-goal attempts and has allowed officials to call an incidental facemask penalty. College officials can also use video to determine if a player was downed before fumbling or if a player was knocked out of bounds before scoring a touchdown. The NCAA also caught up with the NFL by outlawing the ''horsecollar'' tackle (grabbing the pads or jersey behind the neck) and emphasizing penalties for players who use the top of their helmets to hit a defenseless player. Also, trying to avoid the controversy raging in the pro ranks, the NCAA underscored that teams cannot steal opponents' signals.

CHAPS needs your help

The Cherokee History Museum needs GHS memorabilia from the decades of the 1920s, 30s and 40s.

Items of specific interest are leather helmets, uniforms, programs and footballs.

Items will be on loan at the museum during homecoming week this year, which is in October.

For more information, call Jane Waters or Billy Pennington at 489-3988.