"Sweet Peppers" Returns to Defend Title in Mesquite BBQ

Sweet Peppers team returns to Mesquite to defend title in Smokin’ in Mesquite BBQ Championship Labor Day Weekend

Jim Ballog and his Sweet Peppers BBQ team are headed for Mesquite on Labor Day Weekend to defend the team’s title in the Smokin’ in Mesquite BBQ competition at the CasaBlanca Resort.
The event marked yet another brilliant marketing effort on behalf of Mesquite Resort Association last year, and Ballog and teammate Adrian Sanderson are making the trek again this year chasing their share of a huge $40,000 purse.
“We’re two old guys traveling in a mini van,” laughed the 59 year-old Ballog while heading for another event in Dillon, Colo. earlier this month. “Our trip to Mesquite is an all-day trip. We try to plan it out where we get there to set up and cook before heading back Sunday morning.”
If ever there was an ideal set up for a major automobile manufacturer to sponsor a good-hearted and dedicated couple of travelers, it’s most definitely Ballog and Sanderson. The team had an overall 12th place finish in Colorado, and Ballog and Sanderson are hungry for a repeat win in Mesquite.
“We travel in an ’09 Van which already has 90,000 miles on it,” said Ballog while traveling through the mountains of Colorado. “We’re on our third set of tires. We were actually working with a Chevy-Chrysler dealership in Albuquerque for a possible sponsorship.”
Sanderson, a 65 year-old resident of Pueblo, Colo., works as a motorcycle helmet rep and also sells motorcycle apparel; while Ballog sells and services electric motors in Albuquerque. When you add in sauce specialist Ben Mosier from Nebraska, Sweet Peppers is comprised of a top-rated team as evidenced by its success last year at the Smokin’ in Mesquite BBQ championship.
While the victory was a big one, the experience was also memorable for more reasons than one. Now in their seventh year of BBQ competition, Mesquite offered its own set of challenges.
“We weren’t used to the heat,” said Ballog. “Then, we had what appeared to be a tornado hit in the middle of the night, so we had our hands full. We even went out and bought a bunch of fans.
“There will be people from all over the world coming to Mesquite for this year’s event.”
No doubt. The Mesquite event sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Association instantly became the place-to-be after the 2009 tallies had been totaled and the fever grew even more when it was announced that a round-robin format would also tie the Mesquite event with the Memorial Day Best Dam Barbeque held in Boulder City.
Sweet Peppers also competed in the Best Dam BBQ event and is now vying for the overall championship purse of $3,000.
Key to any BBQ competition is the science that goes into the planning. There are logistical challenges not to mention making sure vehicles are ready. Throw in the elements needed for the BBQ competition, and it is evident the path to Mesquite actually leads to Lynchburg, Tenn., the home of the Jack Daniels invitational championship contest Oct. 22-23.
“This is a hobby now, but there is no question that a lot of work goes into something like this,” said Ballog, a native of Pittsburgh, Pa. “If you travel like we do, you’re on the road every weekend usually traveling 900-1,000 miles.
“It’s a fun deal. I cook a lot and really enjoy it. This sort of thing gives a guy a chance to do something without having to buy a $25,000 boat. He can spend that much money on a smoker, but he doesn’t have to. And besides, he can have an even better time when he includes his family in the competition.”
Of course, the key is making sure the team is properly equipped for the trip to Mesquite.
“I think we spend about $120 for the meat for each contest,” Ballog said. “Then, you have to make sure you have the Cheetos, bags of cookies, the iced tea and the Jack Daniels.
“We try to buy our pork butts and briskets at Sam’s Club and our pork ribs at Costco. Low quality meat is not something you want to have when you’re more than 500 miles from home.”
With the inaugural event under its belt, Sweet Peppers is heading for Mesquite convinced the team will win again.
“I believe we’re going to come into Mesquite ready for anyone,” Ballog predicted. “We’re not cocky. We’re just a very consistent team that comes in and cooks hard. I think we’re ready for anybody this year.”
Consistency is certainly important in the BBQ competition and Sweet Peppers has been a grand champion four times while also collecting numerous second (known as the Reserve) and third place finishes. In addition, the team has captured the Arizona Team of the Year honors as named by AZ BBQ of Phoenix.
Ballog never stops trying to improve his BBQ skills.
“My poor family eats chicken every weekend,” he says, “and the family is good at telling me if something is any good. You have to be objective and appreciate what people tell you.”
Yet another key is making sure the team doesn’t panic when a challenge is presented.
“We handle everything very well,” said Ballog. “We’re getting older, so we don’t get excited. If we’re having a problem with the fire or the meat, we make a quick decision and stick with it.”
The Smokin’ in Mesquite event will kick off Thursday, Sept. 2 with an eight-hour cooking class taught by noted meat expert Dave Bouska, a native Oklahoman who was ranked among the top competitors in Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) BBQ events last year.
Bouska will share his expertise with all ages beginning at 8 a.m. in a seminar-like event that is expected to last until about 4 p.m. A $150 fee will be charged to those participating in the unique class.
Further information regarding this year’s event can be found by visiting www.mesquitebbqchampionship.com or by calling Christian Adderson at 888-711-4653, ext. 51.

Barry Family Looks Forward to Golden Gloves Competition

Pat Barry, wife, look forward to Golden Gloves July 22-24 at CasaBlanca




Long-time youth boxing enthusiast Pat Barry congratulates a competitor

following a Golden Gloves event at the CasaBlanca in 2009.

The popular Berry returns to the CasaBlanca July 22-24 when the Golden Gloves Junior Nationals.



MESQUITE, Nev. -- For Pat Barry, the Golden Gloves Junior Nationals July 22-24 at the CasaBlanca Resort and Casino may be the purest form of boxing. With an estimated 400 competitors ages 8-16 competing in the CasaBlanca Event Center, the future of the sport will be showcased in a classic event.
“There is so much value in Golden Gloves,” said the 57 year-old Beary, who with his wife, Dawn, runs Barry’s Boxing Center at 2664 S. Highland Ave., in Las Vegas. “The sport instills discipline into young people while also giving them a sense of self-worth.”
Barry speaks from experience as evidenced by a career which saw him mount a 12-8 record with five draws. His biggest win came over Jessie Bender, who was the New England state middleweight champion in 1975.
“I took the fight on a two-day notice,” Barry remembers. “I was between managers at the time. I didn’t know Bender from Adam and my grandmother had just died and my mother was horrified about the fight. I won a six-round unanimous decision. That was my claim to fame.
“I loved boxing. The problem was that my shoulder kept popping out, so I say now that I loved boxing more than it loved me.”
A former member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department who spent 30 years (1978-2009) working as a detective in Patrol, Canine, Domestic Violence and Juvenile, Barry and his wife, Dawn, (she, too, retired from Metro where she worked in Detention Services and Patrol Section) now spend their days running the boxing gym in Las Vegas.
“Youth boxing has always been my passion,” he said adding that the gym in Vegas is a non-stop facility of about 4,000 square feet. “We first opened the gym in 1984 at Spring Mountain and Decatur in Las Vegas. Now, we have both young men and young women competing and I really believe that boxing can save lives.
“The sport shows young people the responsible way of doing things rather than blowing their temper and doing something they will regret later. People many times learn to pick themselves up off the canvas. They learn to face their fears head-on.”
Barry’s own path to Las Vegas is very interesting. A native of Long Island, N.Y., he journeyed to Las Vegas in 1976 for a chance to fight Michael Spinks who had just won the Super Middleweight title at the Olympics.
“I came to Vegas and my weight went under 148, and I was told I was too light to fight Spinks,” Barry said. “The fight was all set for the Aladdin Hotel and on the week of the fight, I was told it wouldn’t work. I walked into a gym, and saw some guy who told me he was actually fighting Michael.”
After the fight with Spinks fell apart, Barry was going to return to Long Island. After speaking with noted boxing gymnasium and fight manager Johnny Tocco, Barry decided to stay and eventually joined the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
But while injuries stopped Barry’s own boxing career, he stayed active in youth boxing in Las Vegas and you can bet hundreds of competitors and their families are thankful that he remained in the desert. After retiring from the police department, he and his wife, Dawn, focused their efforts fully on the gym.
In fact, when he retired from Metro, the gym became an official first job.
“Retiring can be scary,” Barry said. “Way too many people retire and then they die. Now, I’m at the gym to open the doors first thing in the morning and my schedule is full. My life really hasn’t changed much at all. I’m still up first thing in the morning doing road work before heading to the gym.
‘My day is full and I would not have it any other way.”
Barry’s professional coaching has included mentoring world champion contender Augie Sanchez from 1998-2002; World Champion Bones Adams from 1998-2000; and world champion contender Roman Ladon from 1997-99.
His amateur boxing has included coaching stints with Junior Golden Gloves champions Jesus Magdaleno (he also won the Senior Golden Gloves and USA Senior Golden Gloves titles), Haseim Rahman and Kevin Pimentel in 2007. He also led USA National Champion Diego Magdaleno, who is now 16-0 as a professional; and Medalist Louie Padilla (all three medaled USA national championships along with Golden Gloves titles).
In addition, Barry’s international coaching experience has included trips to Mexico, Canada and Milan, Italy. He was also named the Coach of the Year for USA Boxing in 2007 while being named one of the top five volunteer coaches of all sports by the United States Olympic Committee.
Even with the many years of activity in youth boxing, the event at the CasaBlanca stands out as one of Barry’s favorite.
“The location is excellent,” Barry said. “There is so much for the kids to do in Mesquite not to mention the fact that the competition is incredible. The facility itself is first-class and perfect for the Golden Gloves.”
Further information regarding the Golden Gloves can be found at www.juniorgoldengloves.com or by calling Dawn Barry at 702-368-2696.