The National Junior Basketball Saratoga program is now accepting players in grades 1­8 for the upcoming season. For more information, visit admin@saratoganjb.com.

Bonanno retires

A coaching career than spans nearly 40 years will come to an end this year as San Jose City College athletic director Bert Bonanno announces his retirement. The longtime cross country and track and field coach for the Jaguars will be honored at a retirement dinner on Oct. 10 at Lou's Village in San Jose.

Bonanno was an assistant coach at San José State University before taking over at San Jose City, where his teams were consistently among the best in the state.

The Oct. 10 dinner begins with a no-host bar at 6 p.m. followed by a dinner at 7:30 p.m. The cost is $45. For reservations (by Sept. 24), contact Marj Rico at 408.288.3730 or marjorie.rico@sjcc.edu.

Punt, Pass, Kick

The annual Pepsi Punt, Pass & Kick competition for youngsters ages 8­15 (as of Dec. 31, 2003) will be held Oct. 12, beginning at 2 p.m. at San Jose PAL Stadium.

Participants will each have one punt, one pass and one kick, and scores will be determined by distance and accuracy. The winner in each age group advances to the regional championships on Oct. 18 at Jefferson High School in Daly City. The championship round will be held Nov. 2 during halftime of the San Francisco 49ers­St. Louis Rams game.

There is no entry fee, and entry forms are available at http://www.nflyouthfootball.com. For more information, call or email Judi Baxter at 408.369.3900 or Judibax@sonic.net.

Blasters 7th

The Blasters, a 14 and under all-star team from the Branham Hills Bobby Sox League, won the championship at the regional all-star tournament last summer to advance to the National Tournament in Buena Park, Calif.

The girls, whose home field is located at Alta Vista Elementary School in Los Gatos, lost their first game of the regionals to Milpitas, but came back to win five straight games to take the title. Included were wins over Milpitas and their Branham Hills rivals, the Thunder.

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