Championship Game

The national organization wanted a write-up of our 'championship game.'  I'm sending this:

The 45+ championship was decided on the last day of the season between the Grays and the Crawfords. The Grays would be champions if they won either of two games scheduled for that day; the Crawfords would be champions if they won both.

Dave Keene took the mound for the Grays in Game One and worked a scoreless first inning allowing one hit, a single by Eric Selje. In the bottom of the first Dave's brother in law Andy Sutherland led off with a single. Matt Varney followed with a single and Dave drove them both home with his first triple of the season. Tom Hopkins, Dan Ketter, Kevin Mack and Glenn Griffin each followed with singles for two more runs, staking Keene to a 4-0 lead.

The Crawfords battled back, scoring a run in the third on hits by John Snitka, Tom Day and Doug Rosenberg and adding two in the fourth when Tony Barone and Sean Michael Dargan scored ahead of Scott Jennings' two run single.

With the lead cut to one run Keene and the Grays stranded a pair of Crawford runners in the fifth and Keene led off the bottom half with a base hit, coming around to score on Dan Ketter's single. Keene then retired the Crawfords in order in the sixth and stranded Snitka, whose lead-off double was the Crawfords last meaningful hit of the season, in the seventh.

Grays win, 5-3, to claim their first league crown.

http://www.leaguelineup.com/gamesum_baseball.asp?url=msblofsouthernwi&sid=651635803&GameID=19118373

Just Seeing How It Looks

One word can describe the 45+ division of the MABL of Southern Wisconsin, and that word is 'balance.' Two seasons have now been completed and all three teams have won 13 games and lost 13 games. The Crawfords finished at 6-6 and repeated their second place finish in 2014, while the Bears dropped to 5-7, with the Grays (7-5) claiming the pennant after finishing 3^rd last season. Highlights for the Grays included an at times all left-handed infield (including catcher) and a battery featuring 78 year old Milt Friend pitching to 67 year old Bob Bezzi.

Some league leaders were Eric Selje of the Crawfords, most hits, most runs 21 and 17, Bill Nowak, Crawfords, most runs and RBI, 17 and 15, Keith Richley, Crawfords, total bases, 25, and Dave Weidenhamer, Crawfords, a 1.280 OPS.

Jim Wichern of the Bears led in steals, with 10 (in just nine games), and his teammate Bruce McNeill was second in batting average at .536 while Grays rookie (and lefty shortstop) Tom Hopkins led in triples, with 2. Also contributing mightily to the Grays first place finish were Dan Ketter, third in batting average, .528, third in hits, 19, third in RBI, 11 and steady as a rock at first base; and starting catcher Dave Keene who also pitched a complete game, pennant clinching win on the season's last day and whose daughter got married in an outdoor ceremony on the other side of the outfield fence during a Grays game. The Grays won with Dave attending the wedding but keeping an eye on his team.

Latest Letter to Editor

http://host.madison.com/news/opinion/mailbag/society-loses-as-feminists-win-war-on-women--/article_6ebf6ee9-43d5-5df7-9ed5-f95efb7dae24.html

Reading the above will give you some needed context for my rebuttal letter to the editor, which follows.

A Thursday letter writer declares that the 'War on Women' is over and "the feminists won."  (He sees this as a bad thing.)

Our government, universities, corporations and the media have been "feminized," he says.  As he doesn't elaborate we must assume that the mere presence of women in these previously all-male bastions is what upsets him.

What he says next is truly mystifying.  : " ... once children have reached school age, social expectations drive women to their careers, leaving ex-husbands in charge of child rearing."  He sees this as the norm?  Whether or not 'social expectations' are the driving force behind women  seeking careers, how often are ex-husbands left in charge of child-rearing?  Or is this just something that happened to him?

Finally there is "Men, no longer the providers, are increasingly frustrated, not understanding the new role the feminists have assigned them. They don't want to compete with women, but to love, cherish and protect them."  What this guy wants is a pet, maybe a nice bunny rabbit.  Obviously he isn't capable of looking at a woman as his equal.