Daily News

ALLSTON, MA—In an array of dark suits and baseball hats, key players in Massachusetts made new fans of members of the Allston-Brighton community last week at Hardiman "Tar" Park. An all-star team filled the ballpark as state officials, including Mayor Menino, congratulated volunteers of the the New England Sports Turf Managers Association for transforming the Little League field into major league material in a five-day Extreme Field Makeover.

Rain Bird announced that Christopher S. Gray, Sr., golf course superintendent at Marvel Golf Club in Benton, Ky., is the recipient of the 2008 Intelligent Use of Water award.

Contrasting views on the future of synthetic tracks were expressed at the meeting of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities in Paris on Oct. 6, following the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) meeting at Longchamp.British opinion, expressed by Ian Renton, boss of Arena Leisure which owns three of Britain's all weather tracks -- Lingfield, Wolverhampton, and Southwell -- was upbeat about the prospects of group I races being held at these venues in the near future.

TEMPE, AZ—West Coast Turf, growers of BOBSod—the official turf of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chase Field--is proud to have recently grassed “D-votion Field” in Estrella, AZ, and Doug Davis Field in Camp Verde, AZ. These 2 fields are the newest of 27 total fields in the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation “Diamonds Back” Youth Field Building Program, which was started in the year 2000.

NEWRY, ME—A New Hampshire team that narrowly lost a year ago returned to Sunday River Ski Resort to win the ninth annual North American Wife-Carrying Championship.

PEACHTREE, GA—Montreal-based FieldTurf Tarkett, the world's largest provider of synthetic playing fields, is having the corporate carpet pulled out from under it with its headquarters moving to Georgia.

As they say, “if you build it they will come.” Those words echoed loudly as The Toro Company and the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) Sports Turf Committee descended on ELCO high school in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania to help renovate the school’s softball field.

VISTA, CA—Vista High football coach Danny Williams brought a thermometer to practice one August afternoon, held it to the ground and waited for a reading. He gave the instrument a moment to work before analyzing a result that was downright shocking.

Ferris introduced its newest mower, the Evolution, a compact zero-turn (CZT) unit, to the trade press Oct. 9 at the Richard Childress Racing facility in North Carolina. The mower's operator forward design is ergonomically ideal, said Bill Shea, VP for Briggs & Stratton Yard Power Products Group, which now owns the Ferris brand.

Bill Wright, CEO of Wright Manufacturing, Inc., issued an e-mail letter to industry professionals in which he shared his thoughts on the stand-on mower market and commended those who have embraced the stand-on mower category.