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If you noticed the lights on at Walnut Creek Softball Complex, here's hoping you took a closer look and marveled in the sight: Adults on the diamond playing kickball.

And this was serious kickball. The City of Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department's Adult Kickball Tournament championship was at stake, with the original 32 teams whittled down to two.

When the big red ball was launched for the last time, New Kicks On The Block had defeated Scared Kickless 2-0.

Scared Kickless advanced to the championship game by defeating The Basement 4-2 in the semifinals, and New Kicks On The Block advanced by defeating Just Kickin' It 11-4.

POP WARNER FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Eleven teams from the Triangle’s Consolidated Football Federation advanced to regional play, and this past Saturday, nine of those teams won their games to reach this weekend’s Pop Warner Little Scholars Mid-South Regional semifinals. Three Triangle teams received byes for this round, and the rest will play again on Saturday, hoping to advance to the regional championships Nov. 28-29 in Charlotte and the Pop Warner Super Bowl being played Dec. 6-13 at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Kissimmee, Fla.

POP WARNER FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
Eleven Pop Warner Little Scholars football teams from the Triangle’s Consolidated Football Federation have advanced to the regional playoffs after winning division championships, and two runners-up — both from the Wilders Grove Wolfpack — also were chosen for regional play. Teams in Divisions I and II are competing for berths in the national championships; teams in Division III end their seasons with the Mid-South Pop Warner Regionals.

FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS
With Saturday’s regional playoff opponent, time and site

Junior Pee Wee
Division I: Durham Fighting Eagles (vs. Virginia Beach Mustangs, 1 p.m., Nansemond River High, Suffolk Va.)
Division II: Capital City Steelers (vs. Churchland Tigers, 9 a.m., Kings Fork High School, Suffolk, Va.)
Division III: Tri County Panthers (vs. Portsmouth Inner City Lions or Chesapeake Knights, 9 a.m., Nansemond River)

Pee Wee
Division I: Cary Chargers Green (Virginia Beach Mustangs, 3 p.m., Nansemond River)
Division II: Durham War Eagles vs. Nansemond Suffolk Saints, 11 a.m., Kings Fork)

Junior Midget
Division I: Capital City Steelers (vs. Virginia Beach Mustangs, 5 p.m., Nansemond River)
Division II: Wake Forest Titans (vs. Bennetts Creek Warriors, 1 p.m., Kings Fork)

A hockey breakthrough: Junior Hurricanes skate to prestigious championship

A dozen years ago, ice hockey was an exotic sport in North Carolina, played mainly by transplants from the North on the Triangle’s few rinks.
Now, the Triangle has hockey moms shuttling a generation of young hockey players who don’t know a time that Raleigh wasn’t an NHL city.
The popularity of hockey - playing, not just watching - continues to grow at rinks throughout the region, and the latest example is the Bantam Junior Hurricanes AAA team, which won the Bauer Division of the Oct. 31-Nov. 2 Nike Bauer Invitational in Chicago. The championship is the first in the event for a North Carolina-based team, according to a news release from Paul Strand, the youth and amateur hockey coordinator for the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, which sponsors an assortment of junior teams.

Raleigh's Wheels of Steel team among the teams scheduled to compete when the Charlotte Junior Rollin' Bobcats host the Southern Conference Winter Classic Wheelchair Basketball Tournament on Nov. 8-9 at the Cabarrus County Boys and Girls Club, 247 Spring St. NW, in Concord. Games start at 8:30 a.m. each day, according to an event news release.

Competitors ages 7-19 will compete in Prep, JV and Varsity divisions. Teams from North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Texas are expected.

Some area martial arts students are turning their workout into a fundraiser to help families with critically ill children, and anyone can join in the action.

Students from the Innovative Martial Arts Academy in Wake Forest will conduct their Kick-A-Thon for Jesica's Hope Chest on from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 8.

The event, which is part of the academy's own Community Service Month, takes place at 1241 S. Main St., Suite 15. You can help by participating or by sponsoring a student. Contact school owner Charles Falk at 919-562-4663, e-mail charles@martialartsforlife.ne or visit www.martialartsforlife.net.

The 37,899 finishers - out of 38,356 starters - in the Nov. 2 ING New York City Marathon included 208 finishers (120 men, 88 women) from North Carolina. All are listed below.

The overall champion was Marilson Gomes Dos Santos of Brazil, who finished with a time of 2 hours, 8 minutes, 43 seconds. Second was Abderrahim Goumri of Morocco in 2:09:07. Kenya’s Daniel Rono in 2:11:22, Kenya’s Paul Tergat in 2:13:10 and Morocco’s Abderrahime Bouramdane in 2:13:33 rounded out the top five.

The women’s champion was Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain with a time of 2:23:56. Second was Ludmila Petrova of Russia in 2:25:43, and she was followed by American Kara Goucher or Oregon in 2:25:53, Rita Jeptoo of Kenya in 2:27:49 and Catherine Ndereba of Kenya in 2:29:14.

Here are the finishers from North Carolina, provided by the New York Road Runners via The Associated Press:

13th North Carolina Four-Ball Championship
Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2008
Ocean Ridge Plantation (Panther's Run-Lion's Paw), Sunset Beach, NC

Final results, provided in a Carolinas Golf Association news release

SUNSET BEACH, N.C. – Robert Riesen of Pinehurst and Philip Chauncey of Durham took the North Carolina Four-Ball amateur golf title Sunday at Ocean Ridge Plantation. The duo, who play college golf for the University of North Carolina, followed up a scorching 61 Saturday with a closing 67 Sunday for a 195 total, 21 under par, and a two-shot victory.

Triangle runners top field of 3,850 in City of Oaks Marathon and Half-Marathon

Marathoners Heather Davis and John Crews ran to victories over a challenging, hilly course and bested a field of 1,000 marathoners in the second annual Sony Ericsson City of Oaks Marathon and Rex Healthcare Half Marathon on a sunny Nov. 2 morning in Raleigh.

Sunshine eased the morning chill as 3,850 entrants — including 3,198 who finished their races — from around the Triangle and across the nation crossed the starting line on N.C. State University’s Centennial Campus at 7 a.m. for the event that raised money for area and national charities and also paid prize money to the top finishers.

The Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center Golf Tournament had to be postponed because of bad weather on Oct. 25, but that means people who didn't get around to entering now have extra time. It also means you have more time to plan on taking the tour of homes at the North River Club in Beaufort or buying tickets for the brunch. 

The tournament and tour have been rescheduled for Nov. 8. The fee for the golf tournament remains the same - $100. Call 252-728-1500 or go to www.coresound.com.