REGIONAL TOURNAMENT PROMISES TO BE A BIG HIT

There are many reasons that people come to Cape Girardeau: Retail, medical services, restaurants. But this week the reason is baseball.

For the next five days, Cape Girardeau's Capaha Park will be home to the American Legion Central Plains Regional Tournament. Cape Girardeau's Ford & Sons Louis K. Juden Post 63 will play host to champions from seven states: Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

We welcome these teams and their fans to town and wish them well in the competition. The tournament will draw hundreds of visitors to Cape Girardeau, and this offers a chance for our city to shine.

The tournament also brings a sizable economic benefit as these players and fans utilize our hotels, restaurants and businesses.

This marks the second time Cape Girardeau has played host to this prestigious tournament. The city last hosted the competition in 1985. No doubt local support and enthusiasm six years ago helped convince tournament organizers to return to Cape Girardeau this year.

This tournament is one of eight regional competitions being held around the nation.

Tournament action will get under way today with four games. Four more games will be played Thursday, followed by three on Friday and two on Saturday. The finals are scheduled Sunday afternoon.

Tournament action should be a hit for sports fans and well worth the price of admission. These players are some of the best in the Midwest. There may be a few future major league stars among the standouts. The 1985 tournament here featured star pitcher Gregg Olson, who is now one of the premier relievers in the American League for the Baltimore Orioles.

It's also a chance to root for the home team. Cape's squad has a good chance to go all the way. Perhaps the home team advantage with boisterous crowds is just the boost they need. The winner here earns a berth in the American Legion World Series in Pennsylvania.

Now it's up to us to support our home team and the tournament at large. The team lineups promise some outstanding action. Let's play ball.