City, county youth hoops registration underway

Signups are now open for both the 2023-24 Burke County Recreation Department and Morganton Recreation Department youth basketball leagues. 

The county league features five age divisions (5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12, and 13-15), and the age cutoff is Aug. 31. The youngest age group is co-ed, with all older age groups featuring boys and girls divisions. Practices will get underway Nov. 1, and the regular season starts Dec. 2.

Confirmed programs participating this year include Christ Classical, Drexel, East Burke, Forest Hill, George Hildebrand, Glen Alpine, Hillcrest, Morganton Day, Mountain View, Mull, New Dimensions, Oak Hill, Ray Childers, Salem, Valdese, and W.A. Young. 

All children living in Burke County are eligible to participate, including those who attend charter or private schools or who are homeschooled. Call 828-764-9090 for more details about where and how to sign up.

The city league will have three age groups (4, 5-6, 7-8), with age cutoff also Aug. 31. Registration cost is $30 for city residents or $40 for all others and is ongoing now through Nov. 15 on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Collett Street Recreation Center.

For more details or to register, call 828-438-5371 or email jbunton@morgantonnc.gov.

Gambler 500 at HorsePower Park 

The Gambler 500 North Carolina Redemption Hooptie X Beatr Car Bash will be hosted by HorsePower Park on Oct. 21. The venue, formerly Antioch Speedway, is located at 2900 Race Track St. in Morganton.

The three-day event (with activities planned Oct. 20 and 22 as well) will feature pit bike games, a long jump contest, and food and fun, with family-friendly camping available the nights of Oct. 20 and Oct. 21 at $40 per person.

Camping reservations are available, but not required. Reservations will get you a better site spot by trees, but there is sufficient room for everyone with plenty of overflow camping if needed. Call 828-838-6193 for campsite reservations, and visit horsepowerpark.com for more details.

PRO

Thomas HRs again, D-Backs advance

Alek Thomas and his Arizona Diamondbacks sneaked into the playoffs with the National League’s final wild-card berth and the fewest wins of any team in either league to qualify for the postseason, needing a tiebreaker over the Miami Marlins just to earn that berth.

Now, they’re in the National League Championship Series for the first time in 16 years, four wins away from the franchise’s second World Series appearance all-time.

Arizona finished a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 4-0 win on Wednesday night in Phoenix, breaking a Major League Baseball postseason record as they picked up all their runs with four third-inning solo home runs.

Thomas, a second-year pro who grew up in Morganton until entering middle school, had two singles in the victory for his third and fourth hits of the postseason. The left-handed hitting centerfielder homered for the second straight series, hitting a solo shot in the seventh inning of Game 1 on Oct. 7 and also walking twice and scoring two runs in that game.

Arizona will be on the road to open the NLCS against either the Atlanta Braves or Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, Oct. 16 on TBS (time TBA).