Dear dimwit on the phone

No, there are two different tournaments. 9-10 good kids vs. 9-10 good kids, and 9-10 worse kids have their own tournament against other worse kids. That's awful.

Like Schieza said, if everyone is an "all-star," nobody is an all-star. Talk about a false sense of reality.

 

But at which point do you cut that off?

 

How did he respond to that?

 

Covering a 22-14 Little League game that lasts an hour longer than it should and then getting backed into having to interview children you don't want to talk to ... that, sir, is my definition of hell on earth.

I think I speak for everyone when I say our thoughts and prayers are with you.

 

The only thing worse than interviewing kids you don't want to interview is actually getting to interview someone you want to talk to and ask questions of ... only to have another person (Be it a parent, coach or, in my case, a PR flackie) stand four feet away and interject at times and/or ask questions of your subject to make sure he hits the company's talking points.

And this, my friend, is why they pay us the big bucks.

 

Stuff like this is why I won't cover little league.

 

I actually think 9 is a pretty good age to start letting the cream rise to the top when it comes to post-regular season competition in youth baseball. However, at that age, everybody still gets a chance to play in the regular season, and even when the all-stars go on to district, state and World Series competition, the rules state that every player on the roster has to at least get a chance to bat in every game. It's when they turn 13 that it becomes a matter of the best players playing to win.

What is interesting in my neck of the woods is that Dixie Baseball (the largest youth baseball organization in my area) goes all the way through age 19. We've got local teams that won the state Dixie Majors (18-19) and Dixie Pre-Majors (15-17). The DM World Series is going to be held not too far from here, which means we'll see some pretty good college underclass and Juco talent from all over the Southeast on display. I'm actually looking forward to that.

 

I think if you start cutting kids and having all-star teams at a young age, you will get a lot of kids just dropping out altogether. I would say don't start cutting people before teen years at the earliest. Participation at the younger levels is more important.

 

About junior high/middle school age seems about right.

 

Dear mom who called twice tonight:

We were glad to run a brief in our rail about your son who signed a contract with the arena league team. But no, we have no problem pointing out that he's 0-for-2 kicking field goals so far. Your son is a professional athlete. Do you think Tony Romo's mom calls the Dallas Morning News and complains when they point out his interception cost the Cowboys the game ... AGAIN.

Thanks for reading, and have a nice night!
-Justin

 

We have a winner.

 

Can we waive the waiting period and advance it to the SportsJournalists.com HOF now?