As much as ESPN tries to shove the Little League World Series down our collective throat, I'm not buying it. Sure, I used to think it was cute when the championship game - and only the championship game - was aired. It was fun to see the little dudes out there doing their thing on national TV for a day.
Now? Now I'm sick of it. Not that I'm watching it. I'm just sick of knowing it's out there on some ESPN channel at all times. I may watch way too much sports, but I draw the line at 12-years olds and their all too often dickhead coaches and parents.
That said, I've been rooting for the Lemont, Illinois team. Lemont is a small town that borders the Cal Sag Canal only ten minutes from where I grew up. Literally. Ten minutes. A mere bike ride away. My brother also lived there for a couple of years not long ago. One week he was away and I stayed at his house to dog sit. I got drunk every night at a local bar called the Carousel (and a couple of others whose names I don't recall). Yeah, I've stumbled all over Lemont. So the place is close to my heart. Literally.
Anyway, I caught the end of their game last night against Colombus, Georgia. They won and advanced from pool play to the quarterfinals, which are now win or go home. So good for them. I wish the little dudes the best of luck. Represent the 'hood.
However, I can't decide if I like the coach, Mike Hall, or find him to be an overbearring asshole. I'm leaning towards overbearring asshole. Last night, upon the final out, Hall started pumping his fist right in front of the other team's coaches and players in a blatant manner than can only be described as sickening. I mean, Hall was living it up in a "Fuck, yeah, I'm the shit" sort of way. He's not the most gracious of winners. According to the ESPN announcers, the Georgia coaches were none too pleased, and I don't blame them. It was a dick move. Hall just comes off like the loumouthed guy at the bar who's convinced he's the best thing walking the earth. And you want to smack him. Someone tell Hall it's a kid's game. Calm down, Woody Hayes.
Thing is, several of the Georgia players had the annoying habit of wearing their caps tilted to the side. You know, like the Indians C.C. Sabathia. God, that annoys me. I actually noticed it a few days before when passing channels and decided that, even though I knew nothing about the Georgia team, I was rooting against them (though I didn't even watch.) Last night, as the Lemont team was celebrating in a team huddle, the overbearring Hall said something to his kids about being happy his team showed up the Georgia kids because they "wore their hats sideways" and "didn't respect the game." I had to smile. Because it was true. It was caught right there on mic'd TV as loud as can be. And I totally agreed.
I'm sure the comment was relayed to the Georgia coaches as well. It should make things very interesting should these teams meet again. (Georgia also advanced.)
Not that I'll be watching.
