Five Pacific Air Forces airmen — four men’s veterans and one woman rookie — have been invited to attend All-Air Force softball tryout camps Aug. 27 to Sept. 18 in Florida.

Amanda Maestas of Osan Air Base, South Korea, a first-year airman who played fast-pitch for Round Rock High in Austin, Texas, is headed to the women’s camp at Tyndall Air Force Base.

Headed to the men’s camp at Eglin Air Force Base are veterans Chris Simpson (eight times All-Air Force) of Kunsan Air Base, South Korea; Chris Markey (five) of Osan; Chadd Malin (four) of Kadena Air Base, Okinawa; and Anthony Germany (four) of Misawa Air Base, Japan.

They’ll vie for spots on the 15-player All-Air Force teams playing in the All-Armed Forces tournaments Sept. 19-24 at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Fla.

Selected players will travel with the All-Armed Forces teams to the Amateur Softball Association’s national Class A championships Oct. 1-5 at ASA’s home base, Oklahoma City.

Holtz, Irish alumni to join celebrationA squad of Notre Dame football alumni led by former Irish coach Lou Holtz will help celebrate the 75th anniversary of American football in Japan on July 25 at Tokyo Dome.

According to organizers, the Irish alumni, featuring 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown, will play an exhibition game against Japan’s national team, made up of players from the country’s semipro X-League. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Other veterans on the 57-player Irish squad include quarterback Tony Rice, defensive tackle Melvin Dansby and linebackers Bobby Howard, Mike Goolsby and Brandon Hoyt.

Team Japan has twice won the World Cup of American Football, in 1999 and 2003, and lost the title in 2007 to Team USA in double overtime.

A handful of Irish players also will visit Camp Zama from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Friday for a meet-and-greet with base leadership and Army troops, organizers said.

For information, go to http://www.ndjapanbowl.com , or phone Shawn Novak at 080 6502-7286, or e-mail shawn_novak@hotmail.com. Ticket information in English can be found at http://livinginfo.gaijinpot.com/entertainment/notre-dame-japan-bowl-2009 .

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