How did your paper play the Little League World Series championship game

How did your paper play the Little League World Series championship game?

This is an event that many columnists despise, but the public seems to enjoy.

 

Cover.

AP gamer and locally produced notebook. Almost two full pages inside (tabloid).

Then again, we're 70 miles away.

 

Teased off front, AP optional and a nice photo on Page 3.

It might have made front on another weekend, but a local athlete winning gold at world track & field went in the centerpiece slot.

 

In a just world, it would make A1 in the elementary school newspaper of the winning team and that's about it

 

That's a very close-minded way of looking at it.

And the community of Lock Haven, Pa., apologizes to you for letting a group of 12-year-olds instill newfound civic pride.

 

Dick, that's overly cynical even for you.

And I'm not even talking sentimentality. From a practical standpoint, if towns and cities don't care about how local connections do in sports -- up through the major pro leagues -- then there's no reason for any of us to be in business.

 

Twelve-year-olds shouldn't be covered.

Period.

For their own sake.

 

I ran about a 7-inch brief. I had limited space with which to work, plus I'm from a Cal Ripken area, not a Little League area.

 

No putting that back in the bottle at this point, but I guess that's what you meant by "in a just world," so fair enough.

 

I've been to South Williamsport several times. There is nothing bad about that experience. Most people walk away thinking, if anything, it's TOO wholesome, TOO Up With People.

And when I was a teen-ager, I wrote a weekly column on Little League. I don't recall any of the subjects being scarred by it.

 

Are you kidding me?

There are dozens of Shooters from "Hoosiers" bellied up to the bar in almost every small town in America.

There are dozens of children in every small town whose parents, getting a whiff of youth sports success, will sacrifice everything - finances, education, etc., etc. - for more headlines. For more bragging rights.

I don't think little kids should be covered, other than, perhaps, issues-related stories. Or some sort of overall event coverage with the result as a footnote.