Play It Again Sports of Cedar Rapids has agreed to serve as the title sponsor for the Metro Sports Report boys basketball event that will be held Nov. 30 at Kirkwood Community College.

Play It Again Sports, located in the Town & Country Shopping Center along 1st Avenue SE, is the only locally owned and operated sporting goods store in Cedar Rapids.

Gabe Loesch and his father, Steve Loesch, purchased the company on April 1. They celebrated their Grand Re-Opening last week with more equipment for sale and a new look.

Play It Again Sports features merchandise, equipment and clothes in a wide variety of sports. They are looking to expand even further.

"We're trying to broaden our horizons," said Gabe Loesch, who runs the store. "Hockey and volleyball will be our two biggest expansions."

Play It Again Sports offers new and quality used merchandise. The store also purchases used items from the community for re-sale in the store.

The Metro Sports Report.com Classic will feature all eight Metro boys basketball teams in a pair of doubleheaders at Johnson Hall on the Kirkwood campus. The first doubleheader will begin at 11 a.m. and features Jefferson versus Prairie and Linn-Mar versus Marion. The second doubleheader will begin at 5 p.m. and features Kennedy versus Xavier and Washington versus Cedar Valley Christian.

The contests will be part of the Iowa Hall of Pride Scrimmages and will consist of regulation 32-minute games. The results will not count on a team's won/loss record and will not count toward each team's allotment of 21 regular-season games, but they will be treated as regular games that give basketball fans a preseason look at all the teams.

Gabe Loesch said his company is happy to sponsor the MSR Classic.

"We work with a lot of the schools. And a lot of the kids come in here to buy equipment," he said. "It's just a good way for them to see us out-and-about.

"We're out there in person, seeing the teams. It's a good way for them to see us and for us to see them."

Steve Loesch said Play It Again Sports wants to be active in the community.

"We want to support Metro sports. It's just fun to support that," he said. "I don't want to see high school sports go by the wayside."

Metro Sports Report president Jim Ecker said he's delighted to have Play It Again Sports as the title sponsor for this unique basketball event. This will be the first time all eight Metro boys basketball teams will be participating in the same event on the same day in the same location.

"Play It Again Sports is the perfect title sponsor for our event," said Ecker. "They are a local company that supports high school athletics in our community and they want to make sure that all of the student-athletes can afford to participate in their favorite sports by offering very attractive prices for their products.

"My family shopped at Play At It Again Sports when our children were participating in school sports," said Ecker. "It was fun to revisit the store at the Grand Re-Opening last Friday and see all the terrific products that are available for just about every sport you can think of."

The Cotton Gallery of Marion and Chick-fil-A have previously agreed to serve as Silver Medal sponsors for the Metro Sports Report Classic. American Family Insurance-Kurt Gustafson and OB/Gyn Associates have joined the event as Bronze Medal sponsors.

The Metro Sports Report is seeking additional Gold, Silver and Bronze sponsors for the event. Anyone interested may contact Ecker at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling (319) 390-4236.

The Salvation Army of Cedar Rapids is also an important partner in the Metro Sports Report Classic as the Salvation Army celebrates its 125th anniversary in Cedar Rapids.