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by BILL FARRELL
The Cyclones' season may be over, but for at least this weekend, ballgames will continue to be played at KeySpan Park.
A full day of charity games is slated for tomorrow at the Coney Island ballpark.
Sportscaster Ed Randall's Bat for the Cure charity softball tournament is scheduled for tomorrow. In addition, a makeup game for the Hurricane Ivan-linked rainout of the Sept. 18 NYPDFDNY charity contest will be played tomorrow as well.
"It's going to be a busy day, but I don't think there will be any problems," said Cyclones general manager Steve Cohen. "And it is nice to see KeySpan Park is still heavily in use."
Although both events involve raising money by playing ball, the charities go about it in different ways.
Randall, who created and has hosted the popular "Talking Baseball" radio show since 1988, is a prostate cancer survivor.
His Bat for the Cure raises money for the Neuroendocrine Research Laboratory at the St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, where researchers are working to find a cure for prostate cancer.
"Companies pay to enter teams, and we sprinkle in 'friends of Ed Randall' onto those teams," Randall explained.
Some of the "friends" who will be taking the field with the eight entered teams will be former New York Mets Ed Kranepool, Ed Charles and Bob Ojeda. Others will include ex-Major Leaguer Phil Linz, retired New York Ranger Rod Gilbert and former Giants linebacker Harry Carson.
"We don't attract a lot of people, outside of the families and friends of the people on the teams, but we do charge $10 admission," Randall said.
Unlike Bat for the Cure, admission fees are the primary source of funding for the NYPD-FDNY baseball games. Money from those ticket sales is split between the teams. The NYPD team puts its share into the NYPD Widows and Children's Fund; the FDNY donates its portion to the Thomas Elsasser Fund, which helps families of firefighters who died off-duty.
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