Covering Little League Opening Day

Just wait till you get to All-Star season ... that's when it gets fun.

One parent actually bought air on the local AM radio station to broadcast the state tournament and invited me to do play by play since I was covering anyway. I said only if you do color and he agreed.

Well, in extra innings, his kid makes an error that costs a go-ahead run. You want an awkward moment? And then the only thing I could think of saying "You still love him, right? Not going kick him out of the house?" And dad just cracked up and to this day, we laugh about that game....

 

One of the things I did as a teen-ager was play-by-play for the local town radio station on the district tournament all-star games. Very fond memories. It was a rite of summer to get 1,000 or so folks in the Little League stadium for games against our neighboring rivals.

Also, throughout high school, I wrote a weekly Little League "column"; i.e., a feature on one of the top players in the 10 or so local leagues, and notes from around those leagues.

The only time I started having issues with Little League, I think, was when I got around a bunch of sportswriters who had issues with Little League.

 

Definitely some type of photo package followed by season results in brief or agate form.

 

This is one of the little things "The Bad News Bears" gets so right.
Little League Opening Day actually used to be a pretty big fucking thing from a civic standpoint.
High school bands would get rolled out and Rotary Clubs and Cub Scout packs mobilized.
A dead part of our past, gone forever.

 

Eh, it's still that way in some places. My hometown plays in a league with two other towns, and they have a little parade and a large ceremony with a ton of people there. The weather didn't cooperate where I am now though - the Opening Day ceremony was canceled after they tried to reschedule it twice.

 

Local LL has added the Challenger Division (for handicapped youngsters), so it made for a pop fly feature .... http://bit.ly/j0sGWN

 

Nothing wrong with feature stuff, Shottie... It's when parents expect full coverage that causes problems.

 

Did that too, amigo.

Flowery 18" gamers making celebrities of 10-year-olds who could strike out 18 batters in six innings. Ah, how the parents loved my ass.

 

I'm told it is supple....