At the End of Six

 

Stamford's excellent pinstripe uniforms

The longer days of tournament games are always the toughest and, yet, the most rewarding.

Six games (a total of 42 innings) have gone by since Saturday morning.

It's mentally taxing to come up with things to talk about and still be engaging, especially in the games that aren't as competitive. Lopsided scores have to be treated with respect because, especially in youth sports, a happy face needs to be put on it. I can't -- I won't -- dump on young athletes.

Yet my voice still feels good and, while grateful to only have three games each day, I know I could have done more.

Certainly a big tip of the cap to Shawn Sailer for riding shotgun and to everyone who stopped by to say hello. Whether offering encouragement or not, each person served as a pick me up to keep going.

I alluded to how I didn't think I was great last night but I'd like to believe I still gave accurate and appropriate broadcasts that people were proud to listen to. I loved hearing from coaches and others who said they kept up on the tournament by tuning into us when they were away from the field.

The audiences have been mixed at times and that's OK. I don't judge the success of the broadcasts off that. The larger number is certainly great to see but it's the determining factor.

What works for me is that I'm still excited to do it.

And this is just the beginning for the month.

Of course, the day can't go on without the real world still existing. With that said, there's always some way for a phone call, text, or some other communication to upset things.

We'll figure that out and keep it offline for the moment.

On the other hand, I received an alert to a notification on Facebook on a picture from a group of Mahopac memories. There were two very familiar faces.

The man in the Sinatra hat with the blue jacket is my father. My mother is just to his right.

The wonder of this is that I've never seen the picture. According to our friend Carol, who posted the snap, it was taken at a Mahopac football game in Oct 1970. 

I just love how they showed up in this in a very natural way. There's nothing posted about it. I can't read anything into their body language or faces. The whole thing is wonderful.

I mentioned it briefly while calling one of the games and that was it. Broadcasts really aren't about me but I do like being able to thread that quick mention in, thus bringing my parents into my work.

It makes me feel like they're listening.

From here, it will be two days of two games each, heading into the night. By Wednesday, it will be time for single evening games. I'll have time in the day to do some other stuff. Sean and I have a project we need to address.

Remember, we just moved in a week ago.