Thursday, April 2, 1998 | 7:14 a.m.
Las Vegas has long been known for its highly-competitive American Legion summer baseball season, bringing out scouts from near and far to evaluate the deep pool of local talent.
This year, fans shouldn't be surprised to see a few extra spectators with notebooks in their hands and major league logos on their hats. Because from Aug. 21-25, Las Vegas will host the American Legion World Series for the first time in the organization's 73-year history.
The event, which will be held at Cashman Field, will utilize a new Olympic style format, with round-robin play in the early rounds and elimination play after that.
The tournament will also bring baseball legend Tommy Lasorda to town. The longtime Dodgers' manager will address a crowd at the opening banquet on Aug. 20 at the MGM Grand.
For game or banquet tickets or for more information, call 798-6653.
Around the horn
The word around town before the baseball season started was that this might be the year someone knocked five-time defending state champion Green Valley off its perch.
Well, so far the Gators have looked as good as ever, staying atop The SUN's baseball poll for the third-straight week after pounding Chaparral -- the second best team in the Sunrise Division -- 9-1 on Tuesday.
In the Sunset, Durango extended its winning streak to 13 games and took over sole possession of first place, courtesy of Bishop Gorman's 3-2 extra-inning loss to Bonanza Tuesday. The Trailblazers also jumped over the Gaels into the No. 2 spot in the poll.
In softball, Silverado slipped one place to No. 4 after dropping a pair of games this week, one to Sunrise rival Green Valley and the other to Mohave (Ariz.).
With the win, the Gators ran their winning streak to five games and re-entered the poll at No. 10. That means that for the first time this year, five southern teams are ranked among the top 10 in softball.
Siebrandt gets the nod
Galena's Matt Siebrandt, a 6-7 center who is slated to play for UNLV next year, has been named the 1998 Gatorade Circle of Champions Nevada Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Siebrandt averaged 15 points and eight rebounds for the Grizzlies, who won the northern zone title before losing to eventual champion Valley in the state semifinals.
All-Star change
The annual West Charleston Lions All-Star High School Football game will be played at Silverado, rather than Green Valley, as originally planned.
The contest, which will feature the top high school seniors, will be played on May 30. Tickets are $5 or $4 with a food donation to the Salvation Army. For more information, contact Andy Maline at 655-2400.
Submissions
Submission for the weekly prep notebook should be faxed to Spencer Patterson at 383-7264 or mailed to The SUN, 800 S. Valley View, Las Vegas, NV, 89107.
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