A Little Light

There's a long road ahead.

Kind of like US 6, which rolls through Mahopac as part of its 3000-plus mile jaunt from Provincetown, MA to Bishop, CA (and used to go all the way to the West Coast).

I'm babbling.

Anyway, there was some real darkness* today.

*I feel like I should stop here. I don't say this for attention. I'd like to believe most people don't open this window for attention. Sure, we want to be heard -- OK -- but there's also a certain level of desperation involved with that. But we (well, at least I) want others to know that you're not alone and it's OK to talk.

So, yeah, darkness then, if that's OK with those judging.

Anyway, these moments are bound to happen as I wade through the minutiae. Fortunately, I was able to get a break as I drove to Bridgeport to call baseball between Fairfield American and Fairfield National.

I got there and thought my 2020 (once again) would be over for broadcasting games. Nothing has come up from any outlet for fall high school sports and the football debate feels lost. No matter what anyone else is doing in any other state, it just seems like the CIAC isn't going to let football happen.

The Department of Public Health definitely won't.

The individual superintendents and town officials might not allow it either.

Regardless, I assumed we could be heading into another break. I planned to come home, unpack the notes, file away the scorecards, and break down the equipment.

And then I got a visit from a coach.

"No matter who wins tonight, someone will want to talk to you about more game broadcasts."

Oh really?

I'm proud to say that we've achieved a nice reputation for being reliable, professional, and making games sound good. The reviews always reveal that we make players feel like they're big time, which they are to me.

I call Little League baseball like I call minor league baseball or high school baseball or anything else. It's reporting, informing, educating and entertaining.

So I talked about Graham McNamee, who I'm sure most have never heard of (unless you read this blog). I talked about why giving the lineups during a game broadcast used to be extremely important. I work in little nuggets.

In the end Fairfield National prevailed with a 4-1 win in the double elimination round to win the district. They now head to Milford, CT beginning Saturday.

Meaning -- at the very least -- I'm heading to Milford beginning Saturday.

I love building this through the grass roots efforts of calling a game in the style that I feel is best. I love the regard and respect for that work and how people continue to discover it.

So with that, and a few other irons, I feel a hair better than I felt this morning.

It's something and that's better than nothing.