If you love baseball or if you just like the idea of helping give  kids a chance to play, then you won't want to miss Thursday's launch of Midweek Miracles.

Backyard Bistro and Pepsi Bottling Ventures will co-host a carnival from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday - rain or shine - in the restaurant parking lot to start the Midweek Miracles fundraising campaign for the Miracle League of the Triangle.

The Miracle League of the Triangle is celebrating its fifth season of helping children with special needs play baseball.

Glee (8pm, Fox) - Britney Spears appears as herself in an episode in which Schuester does not want the kids doing a Britney Spears routine. Could we get a battle of the brains between Britney and Brittany (Heather Morris, left). Reports are that the two Brits will sing "Me Against the Music" together. Also, Schuester is jealous of Emma's new dentist boyfriend,  played by John Stamos.

Baseball: Tenth Inning (8pm, UNC-TV) - In the follow-up to Ken Burns' "Baseball" documentary (1994), the filmmaker explores the crippling baseball strike of 1994, the influx of international players, Cal Ripken's consecutive-games streak, and the home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. This is part one of two parts.

No Ordinary Family (8pm, ABC) - The premiere of an entertaining adventure drama about an ordinary family that develops super powers after a plane crash in the Amazon. Stars Michael Chiklis ("The Shield") and Julie Benz ("Dexter"). Here's our review.

Stargate Universe (9pm, Syfy) - In the Season 2 opener, Rush devises a risky plan to use radiation from the binary pulsar to force the Lucian Alliance to cede control of Destiny. If you watch this show, I assume you know what that means. 

But wait! There's more! Keep reading...

Check out the Play! Recreational Sports Calendar with listings for camps, leagues, tryouts, instruction, fundraisers, tournaments and events around the Triangle and elsewhere.

A week into July already! How summer flies.

The season's summer sports camps are flying by, too, but a few spots remain in camps offered by colleges, professional teams, pro athletes, high schools, grade schools, churches, parks and recreation departments, nonprofit organizations and for-profit enterprises around the area.

The camps cover a variety of sports, including baseball, basketball, football, golf, hockey, jump rope, sailing, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball and wrestling. Multi-sport camps give participants a chance to try a variety of sports without having to pay for several camps.

The five-day Southern Johnston Baseball Invitational youth tournaments wrap up tonight at Smithfield Community Park. The championship games are all set for 7 p.m. Playing for the titles will be:

Coach Pitch (ages 7-8)

West Raleigh vs. Four Oaks

Midget League (ages 9-10)

Rocky Mount National vs. Rocky Mount American

Little League (ages 11-12)

Rocky Mount vs. Raleigh Capitals

Tim Adleman, a former basketball and baseball standout at Wakefield High, made a memorable professional baseball debut this week, throwing four shutout innings for the Aberdeen (Md.) IronBirds in a 9-3 loss to the Brooklyn Cyclones.

More than 14,000 amateur athletes of all ages - including many from the Triangle - are expected to converge in and around Charlotte for the Powerade State Games of North Carolina.

Opening ceremonies take place at 8 p.m. Friday at the Paladium at Carowinds theme park, and competition ends June 27.

The Olympic-style festival will include a variety of age and skill levels in baseball, basketball, BMX, cycling criterium , disc golf, fencing, figure skating, golf, gymnastics, ice hockey, karate, lacrosse, mountain biking, soccer, softball, swimming, taekwondo, tennis, track and field and wrestling.

Fans disappointed by the outcome of the NCHSAA East 3-A baseball
regional may have missed the triumph of good sportsmanship that came
about on Day 3 of the series.
True, Chapel Hill didn’t win the regional series with Wilson Hunt. But
the Tigers did show they still know who their friends are.

Chapel Hill defeated Western Alamance 4-1 Tuesday night to win its NCHSAA East 3-A baseball sectional. CHHS (23-5) advances to host Wilson Hunt (24-4) for a best 2-out-of-3 regional series Thursday-Friday-Saturday. The winner of that will play for the NCHSAA 3-A state championship the following week.

Chapel Hill and Hunt will play their first games at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Tiger Stadium, located near the corner of Seawell School and High School Roads. The third game, if necessary, will be played Saturday at a time yet to be determined.

Chapel Hill defeated Western Alamance 4-1 Tuesday night to win its NCHSAA East 3-A baseball sectional. CHHS (23-5) advances to host Wilson Hunt (24-4) for a best 2-out-of-3 regional series Thursday-Friday-Saturday. The winner of that will play for the NCHSAA 3-A state championship the following week.

Chapel Hill and Wilson will play their first games at 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Tiger Stadium, located near the corner of Seawell School and High School Roads. The third game, if necessary, will be played Saturday at a time yet to be determined.