Davenport, IA - Apr 30th, 2015 - The Insane Inflatable 5K, a new, dynamic fun run series made up of inflatable obstacles and taking place in over 70 cities across the United States, is coming to Davenport, Iowa on July 18th, 2015, it was announced today by Stuart Kaul, Director of Events, Insane Inflatable 5K.

The Insane Inflatable 5K is designed to be accessible to everybody - from competitive runners looking for a different type of challenge, to weekend warriors looking for the next great obstacle run, and even those armchair athletes looking to try something fun and new. The course is approximately 3 miles long and incorporates 11+ extreme inflatable obstacles throughout the unique terrain of the Mississippi Valley Fair Grounds.

The 11+ obstacles combine imagination, creativity, and most importantly a large dose of fun, coupled with a touch of insanity. The signature inflatables (including five new obstacles added for 2015!) range in size and complexity, including "Pure Misery," a 100-foot obstacle testing strength, agility, flexibility, and endurance, "Jump Around," the largest inflatable of its kind with more than 70 feet of bounce pad, and "Vertigo," the most awe-inspiring inflatable of the event where participants climb to the top of the steepest slide in the industry (at 6 stories tall) and slide down to finish the race and claim their medals.

Beyond the obstacles and the race, the Insane Inflatable 5k will also have a "Midway" where participants can enjoy games, food, beverages, merchandise, and swag from local vendors and sponsors. Additionally, the event will give back to the community, designating a portion of the proceeds from the race to a charity organization[TBD].

The Quad Cities event, taking place at the Mississippi Valley Fair Grounds on Saturday, July 18th, will kick off at 8:45 a.m. with the first wave, and additional waves will run concurrently until noon.

"We are very excited to bring the fastest growing 5K fun run to the Quad Cities," said Mr. Kaul.  "This is a great event with something for everyone - families and friends alike - with the biggest takeaway being a few hours of healthy fun and camaraderie."

Registration fees, which include an event t-shirt and medal upon completion, range from $49 for advance registration to $75 for day of event registration. Children are welcome to participate, with a suggested minimum age of 8 years old and a minimum height requirement of 42".

The Kosciuszko Foundation: The American Center for Polish Culture is considering taking action against toymaker Mattel, for selling a game called "Apples to Apples" that rewrites Holocaust history by erroneously referring to "Nazi Poland." Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and killed 6 million Polish citizens during World War II.

The Foundation urges Mattel products to recall all 3 million copies of the game in circulation and issues an apology to Poland and Polish-Americans.

"Clearly there are worms in this apple. Mattel is feeding historically poisoned apples to American children," said Alex Storozynski, Vice Chairman of the Foundation."

Kosciuszko Foundation President and Executive Director, said, "Everyone offended by this gross iniquity should write, email and tweet Mattel to express their outrage and demand that the company apologizes and recall their product."

The Foundation is considering all options unless Mattel recalls the game and apologizes.

@Mattel

press@mattel.com

Mattel, Inc.

333 Continental Boulevard

El Segundo, Ca 90245-5012

Tel: 310 252 2000

There are many would-be athletes in their adolescence, but factors such as size and ability often preempt their efforts.

Today, legendary streetballer Grayson "The Professor" Boucher stands 5'10" tall and weighs in at 150 pounds - not exactly big by today's basketball standards, even for a point guard. But what he lacks in stature Boucher more than makes up for in dedication, drive and love of the game.

"I was smaller in high school, which meant I really had to prove myself to earn the starting varsity position at point guard," says Boucher, who won the position and later was given the moniker "The Professor" for his uncanny ability to "school" opponents, whether while playing organized basketball or while playing pickup streetball games.

Many of The Professor's antics have been cataloged and can be found on YouTube. At the heart of his "lectures" on the court is superhuman ball-handling skills and an ability to control the basketball when opponents least expect it.

"Basketball was always going to be part of my career, but you don't have to be a professional streetballer to make mastering an athletic skill worthwhile," he says. "Sports teach young people discipline and confidence, offer a form of expression, and keep kids in shape and out of trouble."

The Professor offers tips for how to improve a kid's game.

•  Footwork is key. When trying to master certain aspects of the game, especially when it comes to offense, mastering the footwork is key. Once the footwork for a move is understood, it becomes easier to practice and emulate the move. Things to help understand great footwork are watching great players play with a close eye, taking note of how they execute moves with their feet and watching footwork in slow motion on TiVo or a smartphone.

•  Get used to staying low. In basketball you want to protect the ball. Tall players are taught to keep the ball high and out of reach for smaller pickpocket defenders. If you stay low when making your move to the basket, this will maximize explosion and quickness, but it also makes stealing the ball much more difficult against defenders. Also, some of the best moves are made below the knees.

•  Power your hands; check out POWERHANDZ (POWERHANDZ.com). Some of the best players spent a considerable amount of time, as kids, concocting gear to help with one's game, usually with mixed results.

"I absolutely could've benefited by training with the POWERHANDZ gloves and slick wrap growing up," he says. "Both actually make it more difficult to handle the ball, which ultimately yields better ball-handling skills. You adapt to the lack of friction, which decreases dexterity and ultimately improves your technique."

•  Train at the speed of the game. Don't get stuck in practice. Your muscles won't be ready to take on full speed motions come game time if you don't match your training with the actual speed of the game. Here, you may also want to combine other training techniques: stay low, get comfortable dribbling the ball while stationary (which your coach may not like during an actual game) and add the challenge of reduced friction with gloves and a slick wrap over the ball.

•  Student of the game. Being a constant learner is key to becoming a great ball player. Always realizing that no matter what level you're at there's always something new to learn to become a better player. Look at Michael Jordan - a guy considered by many the best to ever play the game. He was still making massive strides in his skill set offensively and defensively into the mid 90s as his career was winding down. Same can be said of many of the NBA greats. That goes to show no matter what level you're at or where you rank among your teammates and pears there is always new things to be learned in order to improve your game.

About Grayson "The Professor" Boucher

Grayson "The Professor" Boucher, (www.theprofessorlive.com), is known worldwide for wowing crowds in streetball games with his amazing ball-handling skills, and he is arguably the most popular streetball player ever. After many years and countless hours of training at the gym, in his driveway, at basketball camps, at youth leagues and AAU basketball, he has developed first-rate skills, which so many developing players seek to emulate. Boucher has played in more than 40 countries and has been a prominent basketball icon. He now showcases his game with streetball's latest and most talked about company, Ball Up Streetball. Most recently he partnered with Powerhandz Inc. (www.powerhandz.com), which produces performance-enhancing training products for athletes.

Quad Cities maintains first place in the Western Division with an 11-3 record

PEORIA, Ill. (April 22, 2015) - Quad Cities River Bandits right-hander Joe Musgrove matched a career high with nine strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings to become the Midwest League's first three-game winner this season, thanks to home runs by catcher Jacob Nottingham, right fielder Ryan Bottger and left fielder Jorge Martinez in a 6-2 victory at Dozer Park Wednesday.

Winning for the fourth time in five games in Peoria, Quad Cities (11-3) kept sole possession of first place in the Western Division for a fifth straight day. The club clinched its fifth straight series victory to open the season. Quad Cities last won five straight regular season series at the end of the 2013 season from Aug. 17 to Sept. 2.

In a game that began less than 13 hours after the teams finished playing Tuesday night, Chiefs left-hander Austin Gomber (1-2) worked a perfect top of the first inning, which ended with center fielder Derek Fisher grounding out to second base. Fisher slowed up after running through first base on the play and was removed from the game before taking the field. Bottger came in to replace him in the lineup.

In the bottom of the inning against Musgrove (3-0), Chiefs leadoff batter Magneuris Sierra reached on an error by shortstop Kristian Trompiz, went to second base on a passed ball by Nottingham, advanced to third on a flyout by shortstop Oscar Mercado and scored on a groundout by third baseman Danny Diekroeger.

Gomber held the lead until three batters into the top of the second inning. He walked second baseman Mott Hyde with one out, and then Nottingham drove his third home run of the season over the yellow line above the ivy in center field for a 2-1 Quad Cities lead. Gomber retired the next five batters before Bottger led off the fourth inning by hitting the first pitch of the inning to the left field berm for his first Midwest League home run since last Aug. 5. Then in the fifth inning, shortstop Kristian Trompiz singled to left field, and left fielder Jorge Martinez launched his second home run of the season - and first right-handed - to left field for a 5-1 advantage. After Gomber did not allow a home run in his first two starts of the year, the three against him Wednesday matched the total he allowed in the 2014 season.

The River Bandits added their only non-home run tally in the sixth inning against Gomber, as Hyde drew a one-out walk, and third baseman Alex Hernandez lined a two-out RBI double to left field against former River Bandit and third-year Chiefs right-hander Jhonny Polanco. Gomber was charged with six earned runs on four hits and three walks with eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

In his longest outing of the season, Musgrove worked around four hits and struck out seven batters in the first five innings without allowing Peoria another run. After he struck out the first two batters in the sixth inning, however, Diekroeger drew a walk - the first allowed in 14 2/3 innings this season by Musgrove - and designated hitter Justin Ringo drove an RBI double to right field. Musgrove left the mound after allowing two runs - one earned - on five hits and one walk. Right-hander Keegan Yuhl came in to retire the next four batters for a scoreless 1 1/3-inning outing.

The Chiefs bullpen of Polanco and right-hander Robby Rowland combined to pitch 3 1/3 shutout innings with six strikeouts. Quad Cities struck out a season-high 14 times. The River Bandits used right-hander Ryan Thompson to retire the final six batters. For a second straight day, River Bandits pitchers did not allow a Chiefs base runner after the sixth inning.

The River Bandits have won the first two games of each of their five series this season. However, they are 1-3 in series finales and conclude their series in Peoria at 7 p.m. Thursday. Right-hander Austin Chrismon (1-1) is scheduled to face Chiefs right-hander Daniel Poncedeleon (1-0), who defeated Quad Cities April 11 at Dozer Park.

UP NEXT: Smart Toyota of the Quad Cities and WLLR present the first Friday Fireworks of the season following the 7 p.m. game Friday at Modern Woodmen Park. It is also Legends of Rock Night for the opener of the six-game, seven-day homestand. Individual tickets are on sale at the River Bandits box office and online at riverbandits.com. Ticket plans of 12 to 70 games - which include free parking, reserved seats, merchandise discounts, and guaranteed giveaways - are available by calling 563-324-3000.

ABOUT THE BANDITS: The River Bandits ownership in 2014 made one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 105 feet over the playing field, opened May 24, Space Camp opened June 20; the new Drop'N Twist debuted in July; and the newly expanded 300-foot long zip line also reopened.

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