Football Team’s Newest Player Isn’t One of the Guys

--Elizabeth Balsley won her court battle, but winning over her football teammates may be a bit harder. Balsley, of Annandale, N.J., donned No. 18 and signed up for her high school team after a judge affirmed girls’ right to try out for boys’ teams. But most of the boys seemed convinced that she should punt--immediately. “I think it’s really crazy,” said Paul Ambrose, a wide receiver on the North Hunterdon Regional High School team. “Her ability stops way before the football field.” Coach George Greiner agreed. “She really is not an athlete. If she were an athlete, there’s a possibility she could make it into a game.” But sophomore fullback Jeff DeAngelis wasn’t so sure. “I’d like to welcome you to the team,” he told her. “You’ve got guts.” Balsley, who is 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs 127 pounds, did have trouble with the exercises, which included 50 push-ups, two half-mile runs and two 40-yard dashes. But she retained her confidence. “I think they’re going to ignore me for a while,” she said of her teammates. “I think eventually they’ll accept me. I’m here. I’m going to stay here.”

--Billy Bostick needs a heart-lung transplant to save his life, doctors say--and he needs $500,000 to pay for the operation. After more than a year of trying to raise the money, Bostick, 14, got half of it in one day when a Saudi Arabian prince saw a television report on his plight. Prince Khaled ibn Sultan ibn Abdulaziz, a nephew of Saudi King Fahd and a brigadier general in his country’s air force, gave Bostick’s family $250,000 and offered to pay all medical expenses, the youth’s family said. “It felt real good inside that somebody cares,” said Bostick, of Islamorada, Fla. “The United States didn’t want to help at all. It’s a person like the prince that really cares and wants to help.” Bostick suffers from a congenital heart disease called Eisenmenger’s complex, which also affects his lungs, a family spokeswoman said. His health insurance will not pay for the treatment because it is considered experimental. After learning of the prince’s gift, Bostick released two white doves to symbolize his new hope. “This is for the prince,” he said. “Thank you, prince.”

--Lenell Geter, who served 16 months in prison for an armed robbery he did not commit, says he wants to help others who may be unjustly incarcerated. Geter, of Dallas, said he will soon open the Geter Justice for All Foundation, a nonprofit referral service that would provide the names of attorneys, civil rights agencies, Justice Department officials and others who could help persons facing criminal charges. “It’s something I really must see to its end,” he said. “It’s a personal conviction to prevent something like this happening again.”