NOTEBOOK

The Festival represents a new beginning for water polo player Eric Fischer of Chicago.

Fischer was found in 1989 to have Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, or lupus. It is a chronic, inflammatory disease of unknown origin that can affect many organs.

In Fischer’s case, it attacked one of his kidneys and caused him to have a seizure that resulted in hospitalization. While there, he had five more seizures and suffered a minor stroke that erased part of his memory.

He spent 2 1/2 weeks in intensive care and a month in the hospital overall. When he left, his 6-foot-4 frame carried only 150 pounds, down from his normal weight of 220.

This happened in 1989, about a year after Fischer’s father was killed in an auto accident. Art Fischer had been his son’s coach throughout high school and helped him earn a scholarship to Loyola University in Chicago.

A short time after the accident, Loyola dropped water polo.

“I had a lot of questions,” said Fischer, whose illness is in remission.

“I just felt like giving up on everything. But the rest of my family was always there. And my girlfriend. They helped me a lot.”

Fischer, his weight back in the low 220s, has dedicated his Festival appearance to his father.

The Dodgers donated their stadium to the Festival again Monday, allowing a special day of practice for the four teams that will begin competition today at USC’s Dedeaux Field.

Each team got the field for 1 1/2 hours and also had a picture taken in center field. But while some of the players were waiting around for their turn to practice, they went shopping.

“The Dodgers opened their souvenir shop for us, and the teams spent a total of $3,200 today,” reported Paul Allan, the Festival’s baseball press officer.

Only two of the 64 players taking batting practice at Dodger Stadium hit balls over the fence.

Brad Neidermaier, a right-handed hitting pitcher from Niles, Ill., hit one out to the right-field pavilion.

And Ryan Luzinski, son of former All-Star Greg Luzinski, hit one about 390 feet, 10 rows up in the center of the left-field pavilion. Luzinski is a right-handed hitting catcher from Medford, N.J.

The Associated Press contributed to this notebook.