Our Rapid City Little League team played Coon Rapids, MN on ESPN this morning and beat them (soundly).......and that means they are going to Williamsport for the Little League World Series! Not only that, but they are the first team ever from South Dakota to make that trip! It was just glorious to watch them--ESPN puts it on like a major league game, with info about each player as he comes up to bat, interviews and good parent coverage, too. [One of the State's Attorneys I work with every day has a son on the team....who pitched today and struck out 12, which in a 6 inning game is pretty darn good.] Seeing kids playing for the love of the game is priceless. The whole team got the Midwest Championship Flag and ran a victory lap around the field (my running link so I can post it here ). Neat moment: there's a rule that a pitcher can only pitch 85 pitches in a game. When Cale reached that, the manager came out, called in Bill, the third baseman (who is a brilliant violinist and also just plain brilliant--he's 12, has skipped 2 grades, and will start 9th grade next month), so Bill and Cale swapped gloves and traded positions, just like that. Way more versatile than their major league brethern! I know it's the Olympics and the Red Sox are on TV in a second (gotta go), but if you want to experience the joy of baseball all over again, check your listings and catch an inning or two of this. I used to spend summers with my Aunt and Uncle in central Pennsylvania and we went to see the LLWS one year in person. Super time. grins, A.

Hi Aamos, Way to go, Rapid City!!! I also love to watch the Little League klids play, for the same reasons you do. They are terrific athletes, they play their hearts out, and they wear their hearts on their sleeves. They can make you cry and they can make you grin from ear to ear like no major-league team ever could. I hope your local kids do well and have a blast in Williamsport! Jay