Now I know why entertainers make the rounds on the talk show circuit when they have a new movie or CD coming out.

Right now I feel about the same way. After putting in countless hours of writing, interviewing and drinking countless cups of coffee this week, I’m proud to announce that the Selma Times-Journal will publish it s special section about the 2002 Selma Cloverleafs in tomorrow’s newspaper.

For those who haven’t already noticed, that was a shameless plug.

Plug or not, we’re hoping that those of you interested in the return of professional baseball to Selma will pay a visit to the closest Times-Journal newsstand and pick up a copy of Friday’s paper.

Not only will you get a first look at what the Cloverleafs are going to look like in their inaugural season, you’ll find out some key tidbits about their game and personality.

A master schedule, which makes any Frigidaire look fabulous, will grace the pages of the section.

A section wouldn’t be complete without pictures, and there’s plenty of those, including one you might actually make you scratch your head and say to yourself, “How the heck does he do that.?”

And stories?

Yeah, there’s a few of those, too, including an in-depth look at Cloverleafs manager Merritt Bowden, who is somewhat an inspiration to aging baseball players who continue to dream of stepping on the diamond and playing.

Then there’s a look at Bartkawski Cowan, a base stealer who led the nation in stolen bases in 2002 while at Alabama State University. Wanna know how many he ended up with? Well, you’ll have to fork over two quarters to find that out.

But wait, there’s more.

The Times-Journal also looks into the lives of two players who have seen a lot during their travels in the minor leagues. Dennis Gomez and Jose Colon offer a little insight into what goes on in Single-A, Double-A, and Triple-A. You won’t want to miss what these well-traveled players have to say.

Needless to say, the Times-Journal is your source for complete coverage of the Cloverleafs (that didn’t sound too much like a TV commerical, did it?).