1 Godfather, 2 Games

Two games this evening. And, pictured here, Duncan's godfather was in town for both of them.

Duncan's Heat had a fantastic game. They took on the DAA Diamondbacks. The Heat enjoyed a very well-played 12-2 thrashing of this evening's opponent. And Duncan had a terrific night too... going 1 for 2 at the plate, 2 RBIs, and scoring a run as well. Well-done, Duncan!

Holden and the Highlanders were pitted against the Westside Bulldogs. Great history between these two teams... for the past several years they typically split a couple games throughout each season. The games themselves are usually among the most competitive you'll ever see. Last year, after splitting two hotly-contested games throughout the regular season, the two teams met up in the City Tournament. Holden and his teammates prevailed... happily ending the Bulldogs' season. Unfortunately (you know the saying... "every dog has it's day"), the Bulldogs went away this evening with a 5-4 victory (with the Highlanders stranding what would have been their 5th run on third-base each of the final two innings). Tough one to swallow. Excellent game, though. Great job, Holden!

Thanks for making it to tonight's games, Timmy. As always... it was great seeing you. And the boys had a blast having you around too. I'll be keeping your dad in my thoughts and prayers.

'The Heat Is On' - VIDEO

Cameron and the 'AA' Heat finally got in some outdoor practice today. They get started at this level later than the other boys. And the past couple weekends have been rainouts. Net... today the 'AA' Heat finally got in some practice hittin' the field. This is Cameron's first year in 'AA'. Today, his team scrimmaged the older 'AA' squad. Nice weather, some very good baseball. All set to some Allman Brothers (play the video). Great stuff!!!

Remember Tom Browning?

Well... we'll get to Tom (Mr. Perfect) in just a moment.

For starters, I have to say... the day was better-suited for football or soccer. Just a few weeks from June, and the wind was whippin' cool (cold) air around like nobody's business!

The day started with Griffin's Dodgers going up against the Westside Bulldogs. Mind you, Griffin's team has not yet played a game this season beyond the third inning. And this morning, they found themselves playing into the 4th and 5th innings with the Bulldogs. Both teams wanted this one badly. But in the end, the Bulldogs bested Griffin's team 13-11.

Duncan's Heat squared-off with J-Taps BBA. I'm never one to make excuses... (however) suffice to say, this is the Heat's first year in 'B' ball. And it's J-Taps' second year. This became fairly obvious soon after the start of the game. Heat loses, 14-4.

Paxton's Rockets had their hands full with Harris Motors BBA. Hats off to 'Harris'... that is one fine-tuned, fundamentally sound little team. Rockets lose, 14-0.

So --- back to Tom Browning. I can still tell you where I was the evening of September 16, 1988. I clearly recall who I was with... and we became fairly riveted to the t.v. screen as Tom Browning threw what became the Reds' first (and only) perfect game. Not to over-dramatize this morning's game between Holden's Highlanders & the Westside Panthers... BUT, Holden's team enjoyed the ride as one of their teammates threw a perfect game. No hits, no walks, no runners making it to base, in ANY way. Period! Highlanders WIN!

1 Up, 1 Down

Busy night for the boys. Kim & Duncan went to the Reds game (KidGlove Game for Duncan's Team). Griffin had practice. Cameron had to work. And... Paxton & Holden each had games.

Paxton's Rockets took on the Covedale Rockets. And folks, for the 3+ innings I was there, the Rockets looked really good. When I left, the Rockets were up 4-2. Later on in the evening when I looped back with Pax, I learned the Rockets had one of those tough innings after I left. Sorry to say, the Rockets went down 8-4. Paxton had his head high though, trooper that he is (nothing ever seems to get that kid down). He felt great about how the team played. Truth be told, they really did play very well (save that 1 inning). And Paxton played a really solid game at shortstop as well. We'll just keep going back at it. Good things will come.

Holden's Highlanders had their way with the Cincinnati Buckeyes! Woo-Hoo!!! In an 11-4 romp, the Highlanders shook-off a dozen or so monkeys from their collective backs. As a whole, the team did great. By the time I had picked Cameron up from work and we made our way to the game, the Highlanders were just a few outs away from sealing the deal. We were there, however, to witness Holden crushing a ball to left-center for a stand-up double. Holden was also his usual rock-steady self at shortstop this evening. Way to go, Highlanders!

Call It A Draw (maybe)

Duncan's 'Heat' took on the Westside Sharks this evening. After 2+ hours of play and knotted at 6 runs each (with a couple of fairly impatient softball teams waiting to get on the field)... the umpires played the old 'time limit' card. So... tonight's game could end up going one of two ways. It could actually be recorded as a tie. Or, with the coaches from each team able to agree to terms, we might get to see the game resumed and have the final inning played through. To be continued (hopefully).

Deja-vu: Back to the Cages

Cameron finally got his turn this afternoon. After having had to sit back and watch the other four boys practicing and playing for the past almost-8 weeks, Cameron and his 'AA' Heat team took some batting practice today (yes... bp, indoors, thanks to the continued rain). Teams at this level get a later start than others (and it's been driving Cameron CRAZY to not be getting things underway). It was a very good afternoon... Cameron got lots of very good time in the cage. He also caught for one of the team's pitchers for about 30 minutes.

Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head

Another rainy saturday... and another 4 games postponed. We got 3 games behind last week, and now today another 4. We were able to make-up 1 of last week's games this past week. So, as of right now... we're behind-schedule 6 games.