As someone who spent many a summer afternoon playing a few innings of wiffle ball around a swimming pool, I really enjoyed Explorer News reporter Brad Allis' recent profile of Catalina High School teacher John Faruolo, who has built himself quite a ballpark:

That first year morphed into an annual tradition and the Tucson Round-Up got bigger and bigger and the field got more and more elaborate. What started as 10 childhood friends getting together for sports and warm weather eventually got to be a family thing. As the friends got older, they stared having families and soon the children were part of the game.

The field has grown every year. Faruolo, and later his sons, would add to it. An outfield fence was built, including a Fenway-esque Green Monster. An outfield seating area was built. They added a flag, light poles and a corrugated metal “short porch” that makes a loud sound if a home run hits it.

Faruolo, an art teacher at Catalina High School, even painted the official wiffle ball logo and mounted it in right center field.

“It is supposed to look like an old-time ball park,” Faruolo said. “It started out as a rudimentary field and then quickly escalated into his field of dreams, and well, the field of dreams of all the guys from his New York high school,” Angela said.

Some big-leaguers have come by to take a few swings:

Who knows if former Wildcat Nick Johnson will make the Houston Rockets' roster next season after being drafted with the 42nd pick in last week's draft but at least he created some buzz with a ridiculous left-handed dunk in yesterday's Orlando Summer League on German league player Tim Ohlbrecht.

Something worth mentioning: Johnson is 6' 3". Ohlbrecht is 6' 10".

Downtown Tucson was buzzing on Congress St. by 1 p.m. today for USA's Round of 16 World Cup match against Belgium. From its west end at Elliott's On Congress all the way down to Hi Fi Kitchen and Cocktails, soccer diehards and fair-weather fans alike gave local businesses a spike in traffic on what normally would be a sleepy shift.

For many of the early-afternoon fans, Bloody Mary's were followed by what seems to be the unofficial beer of the World Cup: Bud Light. "So much Bud Light. Just aluminum cans of Bud and Bud Light, all day long," as Playground Bar and Lounge Director of Operations Sandy Ford put it.

Outside of the usual appetizers at self-proclaimed sports bars such as World of Beer, The Rialto Theater clearly held the gastronomical advantage with Gio Taco's portable grill setup, offering made-to-order pollo asado and carne adasa tacos.

Not surprisingly, the most rabid fans could be found at Playground. The bar and lounge has become a year-round default destination for Tucson's soccer enthusiasts. Playground's main indoor bar hit maximum capacity by 12:30 p.m., and its covered rooftop viewing area wasn't far behind.

With today's 2-1 extra time loss to Belgium, the USA team will be coming home, but have plenty to be proud of. Belgium advances to the quarterfinals this Saturday against Argentina.

“I am extremely happy that the [Board] ruled in our favor,” Blackhorse said in a statement. “It is a great victory for Native Americans and for all Americans. We filed our petition eight years ago and it has been a tough battle ever since. I hope this ruling brings us a step closer to that inevitable day when the name of the Washington football team will be changed. The team’s name is racist and derogatory. I’ve said it before and I will say it again – if people wouldn’t dare call a Native American a ‘redskin’ because they know it is offensive, how can an NFL football team have this name?”

We aren't telling you anything you don't already know if you're a Arizona Wildcat Football fan, but better late than never. Former UA running back Ka'Deem Carey was recruited by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the NFL Draft on Tuesday. Carey will keep his jersey number.

Carey posted this photo from the Bears offices:

It's pretty damn inspiring to see a Tucson native leaving for windy pastures.