<p>With all the horrible things in the news this week, I’m thrilled it’s that time of the year again. Anyone have any ties to any particular team this year?</p>
<p>Rooting for Mo’Ne!</p>
<p>I remember when my hometown won, in 1982. That was pretty cool, cause I spent many summer nights at the ballpark as a teenager.
<a href=“http://espn.go.com/30for30/film?page=little-big-men”>http://espn.go.com/30for30/film?page=little-big-men</a>
This year I dont really have any ties to a team, but several local teams have been doing well.</p>
<p>Already some controversy in this Texas/Rhode Island game in the top of the first inning. The third out was called after only three pitches, in which the ump called pitch two a ball.</p>
<p>Our semi-local team got crushed by Chicago. I haven’t had time to watch yet but likely will this weekend. We do every year.</p>
<p>I often end up rooting for Mexico in the end for no special reason. I usually watch a few games to just see which kids and styles catch my fancy then root for those. We still have kind of a soft spot for Kiko Garcia and Luke Ramirez from that Chula Vista team several years ago.</p>
<p>Jackie Robinson/Great Lakes from Chicago has a good chance. A team from Nevada won a berth for the first time ever. If you are ever thinking about taking a trip to Williamsport I would encourage you to go for it. Free admission, great seats, a museum right at the ballparks, and lots of things for the kids to do. </p>
<p>I’m sure I’ve mentioned this in threads from previous years, but we did go one year, only for a day, but it was the day of the U.S. final and the international final - saw both games. We had just dropped D2 off for her freshman year at college, and on our way back to Chicago, saw signs off I-80 for the exit to Williamsport, so we took it! We sat on the infamous ‘hill’ and it was hard to sit there for that long - the natural tendency is to slide down, so you have to work to keep yourself seated.</p>
<p>Wow.
This pitcher is amazing!
70moh fastball.
Thats big league territory.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24662531/mone-davis-becomes-first-female-to-throw-little-league-world-series-shutout”>http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24662531/mone-davis-becomes-first-female-to-throw-little-league-world-series-shutout</a></p>
<p>Yep! I’m sure I will root for them as long as they last. I love seeing her represent!</p>
<p>Go Mo Go!</p>
<p>Watching the Chicago team get their butts spanked right now. Ouch.</p>
<p>I am reminded, when they show the ‘hill’, that it’s hard to tell unless you’ve been there, but all those chairs you’re seeing on the 'hill, have their two back legs cut in half so you can sit in the chair without tumbling forward. That hill is quite steep - pictures on the TV don’t do it justice. </p>
<p>We forget what it was like to be 12-years old sometimes. TV cameras show us the raw pain on the faces of kids who have just lost and now realize their dream is probably over.</p>
<p>When I coached little league one year we lost the Championship Game in our minors league. After I packed up my gear and everyone had left the park, I looked around for my son. He was still sitting on the bench with a pained expression on his face and trying to hold back the tears. We sat there for awhile and I did my best to comfort him and I told him how proud I was of him. Finally, the coach of the winning team walked by, saw the look on my son’s face, and stopped and said a few nice things to him. He and I have been good friends ever since that day.</p>
<p>Can’t remember which inning it was in, but in the just-now-over Texas/PA game, I was really surprised when the Texas pitcher started crying while on the mound. I even said something to H and wondered why the coach was letting him stay in - how effective could he be if he was crying. Then I thought, “For all I know, crying is this kids’ breaking point where he really buckles down and gets the job done - his coach and team knows it, which could be why they’re keeping him in.” Sure enough, he finished the inning with no other hits after he had started his crying. </p>
<p>I think it’s funny how, so many times, when they show the moms up in the stands, they’re hiding their face in their hands if it’s their kid up to bat. That would be me.</p>
<p>That was a great game!</p>
<p>I hated watching my kid pitch. Know what I hated more? Watching him umpire. The parents in the stands are brutal, acting like ever coach-pitch game was the World Series.</p>
<p>PA/TX was a great game except for that nasty tag out on the face for the kid caught between third and home. Surely he could have been tagged on the shoulder instead?</p>
<p>We used to catch a game or two when we drove our daughter through Williamsport to Mansfield State.</p>
<p>Getting ready for the game!</p>
<p>Yep. I liked how the announcer suggested being a behind-the-plate ump for this game must come with some pressure, knowing how many people are watching you make the calls.</p>
<p>Mo’ne has got the Sports Illustrated cover. :)</p>