Dear dimwit on the phone

Very big in the Midwest as well. The National Baseball Congress tourney in Wichita is always a big draw. It's morphed well from the days of true semipros to the collegiate leagues.

 

And the players get to bump uglies with hotties...yeah...I saw that movie.

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Our summer collegiate team is really good, the players are some of the top players in the country and they treat us very well. Makes for a lot of great features throughout the summer, and we cover every home game. The people in this town love them year in and year out.

 

Dear Soccer Grandma,

Just because, as of Sunday, we had yet to preview something that doesn't start until Thursday does NOT mean we don't care about the accomplishments of your son (coach) and grandson (player). We just don't preview many things -- even high school football games attended by a couple thousand -- that far in advance.

No, it does not make it more important that you had a police escort back from your last tourney ... especially when a player's dad is a cop.

And I saw the nine-page photo gallery the league put up on its website from the welcoming-home celebration following the police escort. Safe to say, there were more people shopping at the Walmart down the road than were there to greet the victors.

Let me be clear: You are NOT "State" champions. Ten different "state championships" were handed out last week in separate age and gender divisions. The A-Level teams weren't even there (they were at the real State Cup, you played in the Presidents Cup).

None of the three teams (and one runner-up) that made it to their respective "state" final won their respective leagues in the spring. That doesn't strike you as odd?

Nor does it that many of the teams that beat you in league play were NOT at the state-level Presidents Cup. They chose to play in the tougher State Cup.

We have devoted three 3-column photos on Page 4, agate (pool and tournament play scores for every area team from the state-level Presidents Cup) on Page 4 and a 45-inch combined state-level recap/regional-level preview (mentioning every player, coach and staff member) that began on the front.

If you were son and grandson lived in the metro area an hour up the road, you'd be lucky to get a couple of lines in the community section.

Now enjoy watching your family members get crushed on the field 10 hours away in Kansas by some real Presidents Cup teams (who still aren't that good compared to the regional State Cup field).

 

This is the text of an e-mail we got yesterday as a "sports news tip." Pictures were included. [/beatsheadondesk]

"The BF Egypt Dixie Youth Baseball Association treated their players, coaches, and family members to a party on Saturday, June 9, at the ball field. Kids enjoyed a fun jump and waterslide, and everyone got to enjoy hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, nachos, and drinks. Each baseball/t-ball player was presented with a trophy for their participation in the season."

 

The last two posts: Why newspaper people drink!

 

Sorry to be so jaded, but I'm getting older and it's just hard for me to take any league where players "enjoyed a fun jump and a waterslide" with much seriousness anymore.

 

The fact the reporter wasn't offered a hot dog and nachos is an insult to his/her honor and a duel is in order.

 

I would drink, but the alcohol doesn't agree with my diabetes.

 

But they got TROPHIES! That makes them winners...and you should put winners in your paper!!!!

 

So what you're saying is they tried hard?

Great ... they're cheerleaders.

 

And being a cohort of CKK above, I can attest that the lady who emailed us is a bit on the insane side. She WOULD NOT stop. She emailed our former SE, who's now the county editor, instead of us in sports. But whatever.

CKK wrote a 50-inch story in today's paper detailing all the teams and their triumphs -- or whatever the hell you wanna call it. All because what we had already done wasn't enough in the eyes of one grandma and because our newsroom editor said we had to do it.

We've gone from local -- which is what we should be -- to hyper-local in a little over a year.