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Saturday's Internet Edition, July 19, 2008.
Trafton qualifies for Olympic Games
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File photo
Stephanie Brown Trafton, who lives in Galt, will go to the Olympic Games in Beijing, China after qualifying in women’s discus.
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Stephanie Brown Trafton threw a 62.65 Sunday afternoon at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Track and Field to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Trafton’s throw earned her third place in the women’s discus at the trials, and the Galt resident earned her second trip to the Olympics with the throw.
Trafton threw a 63.61 during Friday’s qualifying round to qualify for Sunday’s finals, and will now be headed to Beijing, China with Aretha Thurmond and Suzy Powell-Roos, who finished first and second, respectively.
"The competition is really awesome. It feels good to be a part of a competition that has stepped up so much. I can't tell you how honored I am to be on the team with these two ladies," Trafton told USA Track and Field (www.usatf.org).
Trafton made the 2004 U.S. Olympic team that competed in Athens and had hoped to make her second Olympic team after qualifying for the Olympic Trials earlier this year.
The 6’4 athlete was the runner up in the 2004 Olympic trials and has since had multiple achievements including being ranked number three in women’s discus in 2007 by Track and Field News magazine.
Approximately 10,708 athletes will compete in 28 sports and 302 events at the Olympic Games, which begin August 8, according to the official Olympics Web site http://en.beijing2008.cn.
Boxing fans will see the sport return to Sacramento with “Night Out, Lights Out”
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Tony “The Tiger” Lopez is the man behind the Night Out, Lights Out boxing event at Raley Field on August 8.
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By Kerensa Uyeta-Buckley
Herald Sports
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Since stepping out of the boxing ring in 1999, Tony “The Tiger” Lopez hasn’t stopped thinking about keeping the sport alive in Sacramento, where he was raised.
This August, the three-time world champion is hoping to change that with a professional boxing event he has organized, called “Night Out, Lights Out” at Raley Field August 8.
Lopez is hoping that the event, which will include both professional and amateur fights, will make boxing a popular, affordable sport once again in the Sacramento area.
“It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile, actually. I always thought Sacramento has been a big boxing town,” Lopez said by phone Friday afternoon.
The main focus of the six professional fights will be providing quality bouts for local fans and to provide an affordable event the whole family can enjoy.
“When I boxed with Don King a little while, (I saw that) he cares about good fights. That’s basically what boxing is about,” Lopez said.
Lopez, who promotes various charities when he is not working at Tony “The Tiger” Bail Bonds, Inc, hopes to up the ante of the fights by offering $2,000 to the winner of each of the main events.
“I want good fights, that’s all I want. I told Jimmy (Montoya of ESPN Friday Night Fights), I want fighters, I don’t want people who are going to dance around,” Lopez said.
Montoya organized the six fights for Night Out, Lights Out.
After talking with a friend who lives in Stockton, Lopez has also begun planning a similar boxing event in Stockton for a later date.
“It’ll be the same thing. I love Sacramento. I love Northern California. I’m going to be consistent with it. I want to have multiple fights a year. Every other month, like clockwork,” Lopez said.
The main event at Raley Field’s Nights Out, Lights Out will feature Cosme Rivera vs. Bobby Joe Valdez.
A middleweight six round-bout will feature Ernesto Castenada of Sacramento, a superflyweight, six round bout will feature Joey Silva of Denver, a flyweight, six round bout will feature Jose Sanchez of San Jose.
A bantamweight, four round bout will feature Leo Santa Cruz of Big Bear and a welterweight four round bout will feature Michael Ortega of Sacramento vs. Vazgen Simikyan of Glendale.
Prices for the August 8 event are as low as $20 for adults and will be $10 for children 12 and under, but fans will also have access to higher-priced VIP seats that will allow them to mingle with celebrities such as Tim Brooks, Michael Carbajal, Bobby Chacon, and Loretto Garza, among others.
Part of the proceeds will benefit Access Leisure, which is a community-based organization that “offers a variety of adaptive sports programs for children and adults including wheelchair basketball and softball, power soccer,” among other sports, to people with disabilities, according to a press release on Night Out, Lights Out.
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