Sunday, August 22, 2004

Little League World Series Time

It's Little League World Series time again. I’m watching the team from Preston MD play the team from Redmond Washington. It’s amazing the Preston team has made it this far. There are only 3 teams from the Preston area with a pool of only 36 kids to pick from. But here they are, a game from the semi-finals. Moose (Mike Mussina) is on with Harold Reynolds and Gary Thorn talking about his LLWS experiences. Mussina is very active with Little League. He doesn’t miss the chance to be at the LLWS games. How big a thrill is that for a kid to hang with Moose?

The kid currently at the plate (MD team) has worn his socks for 43 straight games. He doesn’t wash them until they lose. (Yikes!) I guess they work. He hit a double and ended up scoring on 2 throwing errors. MD up 2-0. Now they are showing the lucky coin the Preston team carries with them. A Canadian coin the coach gives to his son before the game and no one else touches it until the game is over. One kid washes his bat before every game. Superstitions start pretty early.

I never miss the LLWS. These little guys play with a lot of heart and enthusiasm. It’s amazing the skill level for the age. I’m probably watching a few future pro ball players here. The MD 2nd baseman just made 2 great defensive plays in a row. Now the Shortstop grabbed a ground ball all the way over behind 2nd base and got the runner at 1st. Impressive.

The remaining quarter-final games are on Monday. The U.S. Semi-finals are on ESPN Wed. & Thurs. U.S. Finals Saturday. I didn’t see the schedule for the international teams semi-final games. Probably on Tuesday and Wednesday. World Championship is on Sunday. Check it out.


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