SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — They've taken almost a month off of work, spent thousands of dollars to get to the Little League World Series and sometimes only get to see their sons for an hour a day.
For the parents of the McAllister Park players, it's all worthwhile.
Just like their sons, the parents are having the time of their lives.
“It's like living in an episode of ‘Entourage,'” said Raelynn Morrow, mother of outfielder Zach. “This is the coolest thing a kid can do, and we get to watch our son have that experience.”
Since McAllister Park reached the state tournament in late July, the parents have spent the last month going from Fort Worth for state to Waco for the regional tournament and now South Williamsport.
McAllister moms have made their mark here by bringing gift bags filled with Texas-style food to the mothers of the opposing team, which draws huge applause from the opponents' fans and the rest of the Lamade Stadium
crowd.read more
If televising every game of the Little League World Series means reducing ESPN'S wall-to-wall Brett Favre coverage ("Check out the live FavreFeed on ESPN Quattro!") by even a single minute, then I am all for it.
If the choice is between televising the Little League World Series or filming a documentary on the "Life and Times of Terrell Owens," then there really is no choice at all.
If more Little League World Series means fewer sports reporters screaming their "takes" at each other, I say the ping, ping, ping of tiny aluminum bats is sweet music, indeed.
Sure, the annual ESPNification of 12-year-olds ("Little Jimmy has a sweet stroke not unlike that of Albert Pujols!") is exploitation in every sense of the word. ESPN, ABC and Little League Baseball Inc. all are profiting quite nicely from these kids, none of whom see a dime from the truckloads of advertising dollars they attract.
Such is the residue of the scam that is amateur sports, a perpetual hoax maintained masterfully by the NCAA. These kids cannot be paid, no matter how many millions they are making for the corporate suits, because they would no longer be eligible for college play. Why? There is no good reason, really, but we will save that debate for another day.
read more
