Check out the pros

The biggest sports news in Chico this year (next to former P.V. High/Butte College quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ going pro) is that pro baseball has returned to town. It’s been three years since our beloved Heat were uprooted, and now thanks to the newly formed Golden Baseball League we have a new team taking to the Nettleton Stadium field—the Chico Outlaws. Training camp is over, and the season-opening series with with the Fullerton Flyers kicks off this weekend!

Although it didn’t make quite the news splash, Chico also got its first ever pro basketball team. The Chico Force are part of the IBL, a new Portland, Ore.-based league operating on a loose, fast-paced model that produces a high-energy game. Former NBA all-star Tim Hardaway plays for the Waterloo Kings (no, you won’t see him in Chico; the teams aren’t scheduled to play one another this season). The Force is doing well (5-2, in third-place as of May 18), and there are only a few home games left, so get to the gym if you want to see pro basketball stick in Chico.

Of course, our longtime pro soccer team, the Chico Rooks are still here, fresh off their 2004 USASA National Championship season. The 2005 season is already underway (starting off modestly at 2-2, with two ties), and as with the Force there are only a few home matches left.

Game schedule

Chico Outlaws: Pro Baseball
Dates of series Chico vs.

Fri.-Sun. May 27-29 Fullerton

Fri.-Sun., June 3-5 San Diego

Mon.-Wed., June 6-8 Mesa

Fri.-Sun., June 17-19 Japan

Tues.-Wed., June 21-22 Yuma

Fri.-Sun., June 24-26 Long Beach

Mon.-Wed., July 4-6 Japan

Thurs.-Sun., July 21-24 San Diego

Tues.-Thurs., July 26-29 Mesa

Fri.-Sun., July 29-31 Surprise

Fri.-Sun., Aug. 5-7 Japan

Tues.-Th., Aug. 9-11 Long Beach

Fri.-Sun., Aug. 12-14 Yuma

Mon.-Wed., Aug. 22-24 Surprise

Th.-Sun., Aug. 25-28 Fullerton

All home games at Nettleton Stadium on the Chico State campus. Contact team for game times (most games begin at 7:05 p.m., some at 6:05 p.m., with double-headers beginning at 5:05 p.m.) Tickets: $4-$11, available at 555 Main St., suite 200, by calling 345-3210, or online at www.chicooutlawsbaseball.com.

Chico Force: Pro Basketball
Date Time Chico vs

Thurs., June 2 7:30 p.m. Central Oregon

Sat., June 4 6:00 p.m. Detroit

Sun., June 5 1:00 p.m. Central Oregon

Fri., June 24 7:30 p.m. Oakland

Sat., June 25 6:00 p.m. Tacoma

All games at Pleasant Valley High’s Varley Gym. Tickets: $8/adult; $4/child (17-under), available at the game and at North State Screenprint, 641 Nord Ave. 895-9193. Team contact: 591-2470; info@chicoforce.net

Chico Rooks: Pro Soccer
Date Time Chico vs

Sat., June 4 7:00 p.m. San Diego

Sat., June 11 7:00 p.m. Las Vegas

Fri., June 24 7:00 p.m. Salinas Valley

Sat., July 9 7:00 p.m. Sonoma County

Sat., July 16 7:00 p.m. Sacramento

All games at University Stadium.

Tickets: $3-8, available at Off the Wall Soccer, 1090 E. 20th St., or at Rooks’ Hotline: 343-ROOK.