Do you remember "The Comancheros?"

En route to my grandson's graduation last weekend in Colorado, we made a pit stop in Moab, Utah. I actually lived in Moab in 1967. I was sent there by the airline I worked for at the time, Frontier Airlines. My employer had a couple of flights a day in the quiet, sleepy town -- the gateway to Canyonlands National Park.

Boy, have things changed in Moab! It's now a resort town, a stomping ground for bikers and hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. Restaurants and hotels are all over the place. Moab and the Canyonlands area has been the backdrop, so to speak, for many Hollywood movies, including plenty of John Wayne flicks (The Comancheros, released in 1961, comes to mind). In 1967, Paramount Pictures came to town and filmed a Western called Blue and a TV-movie called Fade In. The Western starred Terrance Stamp, Sally Kirkland, Ricardo Montalban, Joanna Pettet and Karl Malden, just to name a few. The TV-movie starred Burt Reynolds. At any rate, on the weekends, our local softball team would take on the Hollywood people. I even have a picture of me standing next to Malden and Montalban...and some of the others.

It was a fun time. I was just 21 at the time. It was an exciting time in my life. I haven't seen either movie in years. My white, Chevy pickup was in the airport scene in the Reynolds'  TV movie.

I know one thing for sure, the Hollywood people were a wild bunch, kinda like I was, back then.

Indians still on the warpath

Not since the movie "Major League" has the Cleveland Indians created such a stir. Here we are one-third of the way through the 2011 baseball season and the club sits on top of the American League standings with a 33-20 record. In fact, as of June 1, the Indians are sporting the best record in baseball with the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League, running a close second at 34-22.

The Indians are a remarkable 19-6 at home, but just a so-so 14-14 on the road. They even have a Tucsonan on their roster by the name of Shelley Duncan. Back in my sports writing days, I covered the high school state baseball championships. I believe it was in 1997 or 1998 and Duncan, pitched for Canyon Del Oro, while a kid named Shane Loux was the hurler for Gilbert Highland. Loux went on and had short career in the Majors, pitched for the California Angels, I do believe, just a couple of years ago.

Upton's broken bat single to right in 9th sparks Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks remain in first place in the National League West, after a 6-5 win over Florida tonight at Chase Field.

This time it was Justin Upton supplying the game-winner with a broken-bat, run-producing single to right field in the bottom of the 9th inning. Way to go, D'backs!

Tots' player recalls the day he signed with the Reds

Seventy-year-old Jeff Helzel, a first baseman for the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) baseball team, was rummaging through his dresser drawer the other day and came across a newspaper article from 1963. Naturally, Helzel eyed the headline: Reds Sign Curry Senior. "Yep, that article came out in my hometown paper," said Jeff, a TOT since 2009. "I was a senior at Curry College in Minton, MA. I actually didn't see the article when it came out. But someone sent it to me."

The Cincinnati Reds sent the 22-year-old, 6-foot-2, 180-pounder to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to play "A" ball with the Red Raiders. Helzel spent one year with the Reds' minor-league affiliate. He went 8 for 52, including a double. The young left-handed first-sacker recorded 100 putouts and four assists and made just five errors.

Helzel played just one season for the Red Raiders. A knee injury ended his short stint in the minors, but as he puts it, "I had my shot." He also played a couple of years in the highly-competitive Cape Cod League. According to the newspaper clipping, during a  two-year span, he batted .404 and hit 17 homers.

As a TOT, Henzel has three round-trippers -- including a tape-measure job over the right field fence in his first at-bat back in the spring of 2009.

Many of the TOTS have a claim to fame. Jeff is at the top of the club's list in that regard...and the article he found sure brought back some memories.

Above photo: Jeff Helzel, now a home run hitter for the TOTS.

Oldest member of TOTS passes away...

On February 17, 2010, I posted an article on my Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) teammate and friend, Clarence Fieber. The article read:

Clarence Fieber is a phenomenon. He's a freak of nature. He's 89 years of age and three days a week he shows up at Udall Park in Tucson, Arizona, straps on the catching gear and plays baseball with his teammates on the Tucson Old Timers Baseball TOTS) team. On May 15, he turns 90 and he will honored by his teammates during a special game set up in his honor and chances are the local media will be on hand to film the event -- they've been there before. It's an Energizer bunny story. It's a story of longevity, on and off the field. The man keeps on ticking and keeps on playing. In January, Fieber played in seven games. He hit safely three times during the month, walked twice, and even knocked in a run. Fieber is by far the oldest player on the Tucson baseball club, which has been in existence since 1967, and when he takes the field on May 15, he will become the first 90-year-old to play for the TOTS. Fieber's teammates are always asking him how he's kept in such great shape over the years. "I've just led the good life," that's all Fieber will say about it. The fact that he is a catcher, and can start and finish a two-hour game behind the plate, is mind-boggling. Of course he does not run well, and he does get a little frustrated when he's thrown out at first base. He also takes a lot of good-natured flack from his teammates. But the jokes and jibes go only so far. How can you get on a guy, nearing 90, who is trying his best to beat out a hit? I've been playing for the TOTS for three years and I'm one of the younger players. At 64, I will have to play another 26 years before I can even think about walking in Clarence's baseball shoes. On second thought, Clarence Fieber is better than the Energizer bunny. I expect, that in 2020, we will be celebrating his 100th birthday!

Clarence Fieber, 91, passed away Saturday, May 28,2011. He will be missed and thought of often by his TOTS' teammates as our ball club laces up our baseball shoes - in the dugout - as we prepare ourselves for each and every game.

Diamondbacks go 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 8th inning

The Arizona Diamondbacks went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning at home tonight against the Florida Marlins. The hitting-fest is over and the Diamondbacks will be happy with a 15-run, 19-hit performance against the visiting Marlins. Kelly Johnson and Justin Upton were responsible for nine of the hits, while knocking in six of the 15 runs.

Arizona's Ian Kennedy (6-1) goes after win No. 7 tomorrow and the Diamondbacks will go after their 16th win in their last 18 attempts, which would establish a franchise record for the most wins over an 18-game period.

Diamondbacks on the verge of a single-game hitting and scoring record

The Arizona Diamondbacks are treating their fans to what could be, in the next hour, a single-game, record shattering hitting and run-scoring performance.

The score after seven innings of play: Arizona 15, Florida 4. The Diamondbacks have recorded 19 hits. Two more hits in the bottom of the 8th inning would break the franchise record for hits in a single game and two more runs would establish a new record for the most runs scored in one game!