FORT MYERS MIRACLE
PROMOTION COMMOTION
This week's home schedule
• 7:05 p.m. Wednesday vs. Sarasota Reds: It's Islands Night. Expect a flurry of flowered shirts in the stands, with fans visiting from Sanibel and Captiva.
• 7:05 p.m. Thursday vs. Tampa Yankees: It's Thursty Thursday, which means half-price draft beer. It's also Dog Daze of Summer I, at which leashed dogs will be admitted for free with their paying owner(s). Actor James Denton of "Desperate Housewives" fame will be on hand, taking batting practice with the team and then signing autographs from 6 to 6:30 p.m.
Denton will throw the ceremonial first pitch and watch the game with a fan and three friends who win the silent auction on miraclebaseball.com, with proceeds benefitting the Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida.
• 10:35 a.m. Friday vs. Tampa Yankees: It's Education Day II with a morning start time.
• 7:05 p.m. Saturday vs. Tampa Yankees: It's the Scout Great All-Nighter. After the game, local Boy Scouts will get a chance to camp out on the field with free popcorn and movies all night.
Also: The third annual Special Needs Kids Baseball Camp will take place from 10 a.m. to noon.
The camp is open to the first 25 individuals, with a physical or mental challenge, who are age 17 and under, for free. To register a child, call the Miracle at 768-4210.
JOHN HANCOCK TIP
• If Tampa Yankees outfielder C.J. Henry comes off the disabled list in time to make his team's road trip here, fans could be in luck. But they had better hurry. Henry, 21, hit just. 181 last season. The former first-round draft pick has been contemplating a switch to college basketball and could try to team with his brother Xavier Henry, the No. 3-ranked incoming senior in the nation, according to Hoop Scoop analyst Clark Francis. Kansas, Memphis and North Carolina are among the schools recruiting Xavier Henry. C.J. Henry verbally committed to Kansas before deciding to try professional baseball.
