What you should have been watching last weekend

Ping!

Yes, my ears are still ringing from that familiar sound of a baseball hitting the… Ping!

Yes, my ears are still ringing from that familiar sound of a baseball hitting the sweet spot of an aluminum bat. And if you were watching ESPN at all within the past two weeks, you should recognize that sound too.

It’s the sound that resonated through a small town in Pennsylvania, as it played host to what I believe is the greatest sports competition in the world. Yeah, I said it.

The Little League World Series is the best. Not the Super Bowl, not the Olympics –- nothing beats the 32 six-inning games that were played in Williamsport’s amazing two ballparks over a span of 10 days.

In the NFL there are 32 teams. According to LittleLeague.com, Little League baseball is the largest organized youth sports program in the world, with 2.7 million participants in all 50 states and more than 80 other countries. This tournament is the conclusion to a phenomenal program that benefits so many young people.

This year, the worldwide leader in sports and its parent company, ABC, combined to televise 29 of those games from Williamsport, Pa., as well as the eight regional finals in which the American teams qualify to make the trip to the series.

That’s right, a total of 37 baseball games played by 11- and 12-year-olds were aired on national television.

If I had the time, I would have watched every single one.

In case you missed my favorite sporting event, let me fill you in on the format.

This tournament consists of 16 teams from across the globe, eight from the United States (divided by geographic regions) and eight teams from across the world (representatives come from Mexico, Canada, Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Asia, Transatlantic and the Caribbean).

The 16 teams are divided into two divisions: United States and International. From there, they are split into two pools of four. Each team is guaranteed three games, one of which will make national television.

After that, it begins to get a little more serious: Two semifinal games are played for each division and then the winners square off. The victor of this game is either crowned national champion or international champ.

Finally, the last game is the World Championship. As a sports fan, this just gets me going. To be a 12-year-old and be able to say you played in front of a worldwide television audience, nearly 25,000 screaming fans and were on the best team in the world – that is something special.

On Sunday the two teams did not disappoint the large audience that was watching. The team from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, trailed the defending champions from Willemstad, Curacao, by three runs entering the bottom of the sixth inning.

Miraculously, they rallied to force extra innings. Their pitcher, who was hitting upwards of 75-80 mph on the radar gun (which is the equivalent of nearly 100 mph at the major league pitching distance), retired the team from the Caribbean in order, setting the stage for the final touches of a comeback win.

Hawaii’s catcher, Michael Memea, ripped a 3-2 pitch over the right center field wall to end the game with a walk-off solo home run.

Instantly, this kid was a hero.

It looked like Bill Mazeroski rounding the bases in 1960 or Joe Carter in 1993. His face lit up and all he could do was pump his right fist in the air.

Before he touched home plate, the kids from Curacao were in tears, the parents of both teams were sobbing, and the smiles of the kids from Hawaii couldn’t be any bigger.

As I watched Memea round the bases, I realized why this event is unlike any other in sports today.

There was no money on the line, there were no contract incentives and there was no one who was playing in order to feed his family. These kids were playing to represent their family, friends, towns, states and countries. But most importantly, they were there because they all love the game.

That’s why people watch these games; it’s the purest sport ESPN could televise.

A lot of people in the media are saying they shouldn’t televise so many games and it’s bad for kids that young to be on television. Personally, I hope they televise more games associated with Little League and other youth sports associations. Maybe the pros will pick up some of the habits of the youngsters instead of the other way around.

Dave Thomas is a staff writer for The Pitt News and played Little League baseball for eight years. His favorite part was always the treats afterward. E-mail him at dthomas7224@yahoo.com and tell him your favorite part of Little League.