Jason Hampel and Andrea Alexander are two wonderful people who donated stuffed animals for children at Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital in Baltimore. Jason and Andrea are also winners of our Orioles game ticket drawing.

Jason, your tickets are for the Wednesday, April 5th game (7:05PM) and Andrea, your tickets are for the Thursday, April 6th game (7:05PM). We will be in touch with both of you by Monday for all the details.

Finally, the kids at Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital are the real winners here. I'll be sure to post an article or blog entry after the hospital visit on Wednesday to let everyone know how it went.

Here is everyone who donated a stuffed animal for the event:

• Reid Thompson
• Terry Allen
• Derek Nankivell
• Jeff & Carolyn Eckhaus
• Andrea and Mark Alexander
• Jeff Reichert
• Lisa Dezutti
• David Vincent
• Charles Carter
• Nicole West
• Pippin Gilman & Kim Heanue
• Jeff and Patrice Scheyer
• Christine Franca
• Dr. Chris Lillis
• Tracy Shen
• Jason Hampel
• Tom Scott
• Pat Hoar
• John and Leslie Petro
• Robert Toy
• Mary Kaye
• Jessica Sizemore

Thanks everyone! - Marvin

Last year we began the TICKETS FOR TWO program leaving a pair of tickets to each Saturday game. This year we'll work to expand our offering by leaving tickets for Sunday games as well as special dates like opening day and home openers. As the spring winds down, we left tickets on back to back days.

On Saturday, Big Sister Kim Anderson and her little sister Tiffany attended the game between the Blue Jays and Red Sox at City of Palms Park. This was the last game of the spring where a match from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Florida joined us. We would like to thank Julie Digby, Marketing Director of BBBSSWFL, and others from the BBBS staff for taking the additional time to line up matches for the spring games. We will be calling next year for sure!

On Sunday, March 26, friends from the Associated Marine Institutes (AMI) joined us for the Devil Rays and Twins game at the Lee County Sports Complex. "AMI programs consist of residential and day treatment programs for adjudicated youth and six alternative schools for at-risk students in Florida and Illinois."

Chaperone Stratton Christensen attended with three kids from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. The kids chosen to attend were being rewarded for good behavior. I did not have the opportunity to meet the group before the game but hope they had a wonderful time and wish everyone well.

Only two spring games left on our calendar before the start of the season - Wednesday in Sarasota and then off to Atlanta for games on Friday and Saturday.

Last week we asked people to donate one or two BUILD-A-BEAR® stuffed animals for kids at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore. I will distribute the animals on behalf of donors when I visit the hospital on April 5th.

We have received a GREAT RESPONSE! Samuel informed me today that we have commitments of 20+ stuffed animals to date. We are almost to our goal of 30 and I know that the kids are going to love them. Just check out that picture. Great photography skills Chris!

If you don't know what I'm talking about, CLICK HERE for the article on our website.

For those of you who are donating, we added your name on the web page. If you would prefer not to be listed, let Samuel know at samuel@blueforkids.com and he will replace your name with 'anonymous'. Remember that we will raffle off a pair of tickets for the April 5th and 6th games in Baltimore. To be eligible for the drawing, your donation must be received by March 30th.

If you have family or friends you feel might donate a stuffed animal for children of Johns Hopkins Children's Center, please direct them to the article on the website: http://www.blueforkids.com/news/031406.htm.

Thanks everyone and I'll post an update next week and let you know where we stand. See you in Baltimore for the opening series! - Marvin

Our first BLUE CREW recipients made their way to sunny Sarasota, Florida today for an afternoon spring training game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds. Gerry Felty, a Juvenile Probation Officer for The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, attended the game with two kids who have had brushes with the law. These kids were presented tickets as a reward for demonstrating good behavior.

The mission of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice is to protect the public by reducing juvenile crime and delinquency in Florida. Gerry, thanks for going above the call of duty and spending time with these kids. You have a challenging responsibility and it means a lot that you would take time outside of work to reward these kids.

I would also like to express my appreciation to Rena Hunkeler, Assistant Chief Probation Officer, and Virginia Donovan, Chief Probation Officer of Florida's 12th Circuit for helping make this happen. We look forward to another visit from your staff and kids on March 29th.

- Marvin

The Sunday game in Fort Myers was the second plate assignment of the spring out of five that are on my schedule. From an umpiring standpoint, this was a fairly routine game. I got to see a number of curve balls and felt good about getting the close pitches right. I feel right on track with where I want to be at this point in the spring.

Before the game I met with TICKETS FOR TWO recipients Brad Carlock and Sam from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Florida. I've learned that Big Brothers Big Sisters often refer to a match as a "Big" (mentor) and a "Little" (mentee). You have to be careful on the term "Little" though because Sam, pictured on the far right, is just as tall Brad (on the left). I think we should sign Sam up for umpire school. Managers and players might think twice before arguing with him! What do you think?

I was also joined Sunday again by Tony Falcon and his little brother Cesar. You'll recall they joined me on March 4th for a Twins game. Cesar is a Red Sox fan and he and Tony had spoken about going to a Red Sox game at some time during the spring. I was able to come up with a pair of tickets for them and decided to invite them out to see the Sox and Twins play.

Spring training is an opportunity for both players and umpires to shake off the rust from the winter and get back into the swing of things. Fortunately, umpiring is kind of like riding a bike in the sense that it doesn't take long to feel comfortable and get going.

My first two spring training games of '06 were here in Fort Myers. A plate assignment on Friday and the bases on Saturday. I focused on getting back to the basics...good timing and getting myself in the right positions to make the calls.

The first weekend spring training game also meant an invitation out to the game for a few folks. On Saturday I was joined by a couple new friends from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Florida. In the first picture above are Chuck and Manny. In the picture on the left are Tony and Cesar. Since Cesar is a Boston Red Sox fan, I'm going to try and see about getting him back out to a Red Sox game here in Fort Myers. A HUGE thank you to Julie Digby of Big Brothers Big Sisters for taking time to help make this happen! We're looking forward to meeting more mentor/youth matches before the end of spring training.

- Marvin

Our 2006 spring schedule is now out. We have six games on the spring schedule in Florida.

First up, the Cleveland Indians take on the Minnesota Twins at the Lee County Complex on March 4th. I'm excited to meet Tony, Cesar, Chuck, and Manny from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Florida. Don't forget to bring your gloves fellas!

Visit the BLUEforKids.com Calendar for the complete list of spring training games.

- Marvin