Las Vegas

For left-handed pitcher Mike Magnante, the weekend didn't bring a promotion to major league baseball with the L.A. Dodgers. Magnante, 37, a Burroughs High graduate, was expected to be called up on Sunday when rosters expanded to 40. However, the veteran was left off the list in favor of a group of four players. The Dodgers recalled catcher David Ross, infielder Joe Thurston, catcher Wilkin Ruan and left-handed pitcher Jeff Williams from the triple-A Las Vegas 51 of the Pacific Coast League.

BURBANK -- Las Vegas is a place to take chances and try one's luck at a variety of games. For Mike Magnante, Sin City is proving to be a destination of success in the sport of baseball. Magnante, 37, a former Burroughs High standout left-handed pitcher, is doing well for the Las Vegas 51s, the triple-A affiliate of the L.A. Dodgers. Sunday, Magnante enjoyed a rare minor-league win as Las Vegas came from behind to defeat the Tucson Sidewinders, 7-6. He hurled two perfect relief innings to earn his first triple-A victory since 1997.

Jim Riggio Mike Magnante's family is important to him. So, if there is one place he would want to continue his major league baseball career, it would be close to home. Magnante's dream came true last Friday, when he agreed to a minor-league contract with the L.A. Dodgers. The 1983 Burroughs High grad and Burbank resident, who was released by the Oakland Athletics earlier last month, has reported to Las Vegas -- the Dodgers' triple-A farm club.

BURBANK -- Throughout the summer, Burroughs High girls' basketball standout Tulyah Gaines has had to check which city she was in on any given day. Places like Overland Park, Kan., Atlanta and Las Vegas all blended together with stops in Lynwood, Pasadena and at home base in Burbank. Playing in tournaments and attending camps has kept the incoming junior on the run. "It has been a lot of work, and a lot of traveling," Gaines said. "But it has been worth it. This is what I love to do, and I can't play enough basketball."

Jennifer Ferreira, a 1992 graduate of Crescenta Valley High School, received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the UC San Francisco. She was awarded the Alpha Omega Alpha's Honor of Medical Society. She is entering the field of urology. Danielle Ferreira, a 1996 graduate of Crescenta Valley High School, received her master's degree in special education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She will continue to teach in Las Vegas as a special education teacher.

DORAN -- VENNARI Rosemarie Doran and Victor M. Vennari exchanged wedding vows in the wedding gazebo at the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas. A reception followed. The bride is the daughter of retired Lt. Col. Fred R. Fonch of Tucson, Ariz. She graduated from Pikes Peak Community College with an associate in arts degree in information systems. She is employed at Lockheed Martin Mission Systems. The groom is the son of Anita and Domenic Vennari of Burbank.

Karen S. Kim BURBANK -- It was nearly 37 years ago that Keith Swaner borrowed $10,000 from his brother-in-law to start a business buying and selling lumber out of a Glendale office the "size of a good-sized bathroom." Today, Swaner's business, Burbank-based Swaner Hardwood Co. Inc., makes $80 million a year and employs about 500 workers. In addition, Swaner is one of 24 finalists for Los Angeles' 2002 Entrepreneur of the Year awards. "I was fortunate to have good health and the ability to be a self-starter and the good Lord to help me," Swaner said from behind a large wooden desk and surrounded by wood-paneled walls and floors of his office.

Jeff Tully BURBANK -- The Burbank Thunder travel softball team is looking for a few good girls. It's not that the team doesn't have its share of fine players, because the squad has done very well with its current roster. However, the Thunder is gearing up for a world series appearance and would like to bolster its arsenal. "We have put out the word that we are looking for a few more girls for our team," Thunder Coach Mike Peraza said. "And we have received responses from players from out of the area.

Jim Riggio BURBANK AIRPORT HILTON -- Carlos Madrigal knows what it is like to overcome obstacles. In January, he lost his first professional fight, and lost his first chance at a championship belt. But Thursday night, Oxnard's Madrigal bounced back to stop Oswaldo Guerrero of Mexico at the end of five rounds to capture the vacant World Boxing Organization Intercontinental Bantamweight Championship. The bout -- which was sanctioned by the WBO just days before -- was the main event of a Fight Night at the Hilton event at the Burbank Airport Hilton.

Sang Lee GLENDALE -- If summer league basketball is an early indication of what to expect during the regular season, the future's looking bright for the woebegone Burbank High boys' squad. As a consistent finisher near the bottom of the Foothill League in recent years, the Bulldogs look to have a team that will likely finish closer to the top of the standings come winter. Thursday, Burbank played well against CIF City Section power Sylmar, until losing the first-round game, 53-50, in the Vaquero Summer Tip-off Tournament at Glendale Community College.