The way Adam Musa sees it, what he is doing in baseball right now is much more important than if he would have been good enough to play in the major leagues.
The 22-year-old Palos Park resident and Stagg graduate is a member of Team Palestine, which will be playing in the Asian Championship Sept. 22-29 in China.
As a tuneup, Team Palestine will play Team Pakistan in the Little Palestine Classic, a three-game series at Ozinga Field in Crestwood this weekend. Game times are 7 p.m. Aug. 1, 6 p.m. Aug. 2 and noon Aug. 3.
The horrors of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have rejuvenated Musa’s love for baseball.
“Obviously my dream was to play MLB like every other kid,” he said. “But it feels even better to represent my country and (be) playing for my people. That’s better than making money.”
Musa said the people in Palestine have to worry about missiles and death, but they are cheering for Team Palestine.
“I swear, before this team, I stopped playing baseball. But playing for my country is bigger than baseball. I don’t play baseball just to play baseball. Every time I play, I play for my people.
“We’re putting ourselves on the map and trying to get to that next level.”
The team is made up of players with Palestinian descent from all over the country. Several area players are on the team.
Joining Musa are Palos Hills’ Ahmad Ghouleh, Omar Shublaq and Ibrahim Shalabi; Oak Lawn’s Yunis Halim and Yousef Abbasi; and Orland Park’s Adnan Jaber.
Most players are in their 20s, but Jaber is the oldest on the team at 37.
The team will next play South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong in pool play in the Asian Championship.
In May, the team won the gold medal in the West Asian Cup in Iran to qualify for the Asian Championship.
The team was honored at a July 17 fundraiser at Moraine Valley.
Palos Coyotes howl to state
The Palos Coyotes advanced to this week’s Illinois American Legion Baseball senior state tournament in Rantoul after winning the Second Division championship, 5-1 over Grayslake on July 26 in Wheaton.
In the division title game, St. Laurence grad Declan Musil struck out eight in six innings, while Vikings grad Connor Marino added a double, triple and three runs.
The Coyotes opened play on July 24 with an 8-1 win over Barrington. St. Laurence’s Ben Geary had three hits, two RBI and two runs. Mount Carmel’s Matt Murphy earned the win with seven strikeouts in six innings.
They followed up on July 25 with 5-3 win over Grayslake as St. Rita’s Sebastian Reyes picked up the win and Morton College’s Michael Bielski earned the save.
Lausch, Fauske baseball news
Former Brother Rice three-sport standout Jack Lausch was able to play quarterback for Northwestern’s football team and outfield for the baseball team last season.
But the redshirt junior is reportedly leaving the football team to concentrate on baseball. As a sophomore, Lausch threw for 1,714 yards and seven touchdowns and added 213 rushing yards and a pair of TDs.
Lausch hit .268 with six home runs and 28 RBI for the baseball team this spring.
Meanwhile, former Nazareth star Jaden Fauske, who was drafted in the second round of the MLB Draft (44th overall) by the White Sox, signed with the organization for a shade under $3 million.
Fauske, an LSU recruit who was the Southwest Regional Publishing Player of the Year, hit .475 with 40 RBIs and 33 stolen bases.
Soccer report
The Chicago Stars re-signed midfielder Bea Franklin through 2027. She was a third-round pick in the 2024 NWSL draft and played 1,111 minutes her rookie season with a goal and 21 interceptions.
This year, she started 10 games and has an assist and a team-high 18 interceptions.
After a long break, the Stars (1-9-3) face Gotham FC (5-5-3) at 7 p.m. Aug. 1 at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview in an NWSL battle.
The Chicago Fire shut down the New York Red Bulls 1-0 on July 26 at Soldier Field as Hugo Cuypers scored his 14th goal of the season and goalie Chris Brady earned his second straight shutout.
The Fire (10-9-5) have a week off and next host Los Angeles FC on Aug, 9 at SeatGeek Stadium.
Peter Shokalook scored four goals as the Chicago Fire II whipped the New York Red Bulls II 9-2 July 27 at SeatGeek Stadium in an MLS NEXT pro game.
The Fire II (9-5-4) hosts Columbus II at 1 p.m. Aug. 3 at SeatGeek Stadium.
These young men are living their athletic dream by giving back playing for their homeland and they became Champions reaching more than what they hope for. Amazing.