Little League World Series

If you ever wonder where the teams that play in the Little League World Series come from, well I can tell you.   They start where our team starts -- as an All-Star team for a local league playing in a district-level tournament.   Our team, the North Central (Milwaukee) Little League All-Stars at the "Juniors" level (13-14 year olds), has advanced from "pool play" to a single-elimination tournament in "District 1," one of six districts in Wisconsin.   If we win three straight games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we advance to the state tournament.   From there we would go to a regional tournament, and, from there, to Williamsport, PA.

Well, that would sure be fun, but to do it we would have to win 13-15 games over the next four weeks or so against increasingly stiff competition.   We're an OK league, but we're not that good.

Still, I love coaching boys in baseball, and particularly love watching the Regular Son, who has been hitting the ball a ton in the tournament, and did a great job catching last night in a big win.   There's nothing quite so gratifying as watching your son play really well at a high level in baseball when it seems like only yesterday you were tossing the ball into his little glove from three feet away in the backyard and telling him to "squeeze it!"

They don't call it the National Pastime for nothing.   Anyway, that's why the Regular Guy hasn't blogged much the last three days.