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Monday, August 25, 2014

#LLWS: Not Just For Kids

Watch any of the Little League World Series Championship Games? For all the talk of sportsmanship, I saw a lot of bat slamming. Last year players would strike out and immediately hustle off the field. Not so this year. Some of the between innings commercials breaks were longer than four minutes – longer even that MLB World Series Games. Could you imagine attending or playing in the game in the hot sun? They say that it is about the kids, but it seems so much more about the grown-ups, the TV networks, and advertisers.

Saturday after the Chicago beat Nevada a woman I went to Central High School with in Macon posted "We won!" on Facebook. As far as I knew she has lived in Georgia all her life, and I saw no evidence that she had family on the team. Not sure why the Jackie Robinson team was "we" and the Nevada team was "they" – though I have an idea.

Saw some derisive Twitter comments about the small size of the field. It's like men playing basketball on 10 foot goals. The ABC/ESPN LLWS announcers were commending the 12 & 13 year olds for their baseball knowledge, yet I witnessed several unmentioned mental errors by the "national champions", like throwing to the wrong base. In the decisive final inning the Jackie Robinsons staged a too-late comeback. With runners on second and third the rightfielder made a diving catch. As the South Korean outfielder sprawled on the ground the runner on third could have easily tagged and scored, but failed to do so. Instead the USA coach asked for a replay on the obvious catch. The ABC announcers did not mention the failure to tag up.

NOTES: I saw a football game or two on TV this weekend. Couldn't tell if any were college. Most seemed like high school. Also some pro games. Unlike past years, this year I might be more ready for college football…particularly the upcoming Georgia/Clemson game. Could be wrong, but I doubt the Tech/Wofford game will be on my TV. But in September I'll still watch more baseball then football.

This past Thursday I was so sick that I went to bed at 9 pm. Both managers were out last Friday, and I figured sitting still at my desk all day was what I needed to do anyway, so I came in to work. Felt terrible, but got a decent amount of work done. Several others were also sniffling. Went home and went to bed early again Friday night. Ceil picked up Pappa Johns pizza. Anna and Brittany had gone down to the river.

Felt better Saturday, but was still weak. Cleaned upstairs and did laundry. Ceil cleaned the kitchen and bathrooms and gave Barney a bath. I drove M up to Birmingham to pick up Sarah. Later they went to Moxie Burger. Made a huge dent in the laundry, but it never seems to be completely finished and put away. Anna, Brittany, and Emily paled around. Later I drove Sarah back to Crabapple.

Sunday morning I took 150 pictures of shoes and football jerseys to post on EBay. I had a pair of Nikes that almost 200 people had looked at, and I was sure they were going to sell, along with seven other items that had drawn interest. Throughout the day and evening I posted several new items. But Sunday night when the auctions ended only two items were bought. Maybe next week. Update: Sold on Monday at the higher "Buy It Now" price.

M is showing improvement in doing homework, but still has a long way to go. After hanging with Sarah on Saturday, I drove him to Sweetwater Creek State Park in Lithia Springs to meet a friend. PCC wasn't having services this week. 285 north was jammed, so I drove home from Douglassville on surface streets. But after I picked him up Sunday night Ceil remembered a couple of homework assignments he still needed to complete, and it was a struggle. Both M and Anna were up late Sunday night, making it hard for Ceil and me to sleep. Could be a rough week.

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