First off, my apologies for the lack of activity up here for about the past week. A vacation is to blame for that.

But there's been plenty of activity at Warner Park over the past couple days with the Northwoods League All-Star game set for tonight. First pitch is at 7:05 p.m., and the game is being televised live on ESPNU.

Tickets are also still available for tonight.

After the game is done, the jerseys will be auctioned off  — the minimum bid is $50 — with the money going to the Madison Children's Museum.

The Madison Mallards have four players slated for action: pitchers Matt Jansen and Gabriel Shaw, outfielder Rob Lyerly and catcher Eric Nielsen. Manager C.J. Thieleke will lead the South Division squad.

The All-Star festivities began yesterday with the league's Fan Fest, and Mankato's Michael Rockett capped the night by winning the home run derby with 10 homers. Madison's Luke Stewart didn't make it out of the first round after failing to hit any homers.