I know it has been a couple of weeks, but I have been a little tied up with other things and have not really had a whole lot to say. I have been to FL
with the Fast Eddie/Hale allstars. Played in Canton with my boys, and played in Byram with some good friends.

The Bowlegs:

I have grown pretty fond of this tournament. I have had some bad expriences (guys not showing) and some great ones (.750 batting average). This
one was as a spectator... only reason I went was to watch two of my best friends (Los and Ford). I rode down with Landry and Carlos... if you have
never been to a tournament that is over a couple of hours from your roost, you are missing some of the most fun you can have. The stories, the
jokes... that is a big part of whole experience. Specially with Landry and Los. Anyways, the tournament was not as loaded as normal. The normal
powerhouses were there (L&L, WW Gay, Aubrys) along with some newcomers. Fast started out with WW Gay, they had just a little too much for
Fast and won like 40ish to 29ish. They then went on a tear and beat a few teams.. the best game coming at 9pm. The opposing team was winning
the whole game came within a run or two of cutting at least twice. Ford was put in to pitch and shut em down.... the inning ending with a diving
stab by Ford and a bellyflop toss to the first baseman. I have know Ford my whole life and haven't seen him do this in 15yrs. This guy wanted to
win, but did the others want to come with him? Top of the 7th down 9. 1,2,3,4,5,6,out,7,out... Single...single... Ray of the infamous Hagar twins up to
bat.. he just giggles and BOMB! They go up one... out. Bottom of the 7th, top of the order, Ford on the mound (throwing balls... why do you guys
continue to swing at em...heck I do in BP) out, out, LONGGGGGG>>>>>> foul ball double. OUT!!! Big comeback, MVP... no doubt Ford! Said it
was the best game he was ever a part of... he has played like a million games... that is a big statement. Sure Fast came back on Sunday and finished
5th, but the team was put together Thursday afternoon. Not too shabby. Congratulations. Side note: Stats leaders Russ Cameron OB%, Carlos
HR leader (Los was 9-10 with 8 LONG HRS at one point, only made 4 outs the entire weekend, Russ made 2).

Canton:

Not too much to say on this one, put most of my comments on the message board. Just a couple of game notes. We played well for a couple of
games and then got our brains kicked in... Vicksburg Express beat us first and then a mixture of Rangers, Eyecare, Streetstars, put us out. Vicksburg
Express deserves a lot of credit they beat N40 in the winners and then lost 2 in the finals to the same N40 bunch. N40 looks great, picking up Junior
Allen and Shondell Lockridge his huge... both these kids are going to be super players (Junior already is.. Bubba take a peek). Great tournament
park in Canton. Super professional rec. crew. A lot of tournaments will start popping up in Canton.

Byram:

I was pitching to Jordie in the front yard Friday and a buddy, Rick Sager, stopped to chat. He plays with H&K Electric (VTM) and asked if I wanted
to play... really didn't want to, but love the guys that were playing and figured I would have a good time. Met up with them that morning and palyed
at 9am against backatya (not bakatya..haha). My old, and I mean OLD, college roommate played for them, of course I wanted a win. H&K pull out
the ole victory, Soul Purpose next. I have seen Soul Purpose play, but have never played against them, and they haven't played against me, so I
can pull some tricks (the back door poocher). Both teams played hard and we came out on top. Great prayer with the guys after the game. Next up
was... heck I don't remember the name of the team, but my buddy Doug "don't call me Chip n'"Dale played with em. He hit a bomb off a little love
pitch, but we killed em (CC pitched a 4 hitter...boast boast). Then we thought...hey... we are guaranteed a trophy. Heck these guys haven't won a
trophy before. I could see something in thier eyes that I haven't had in years. They were hungry... I mean real hungry. Screw Third place... they
were going to win it. This team had young guys and Mikey, don't know if you guys remember him from a previous article, but he is the guy who
was injured and lost use of his arm. This freakin' guy came in and got a pinch hit! He also stoled like 10 bases. Lord I wish I had just and ounce of
what he had...can you help me out? Anyway, we were playing the D Class bullies, J L Roberts (not because they are "real" bullies, they just beat
everyone in D Class) great competitive game. I was cramping some, so Redneck pitched and we lost by a few, pretty high scoring game for D,
maybe 20-18. Had White lightnin next. Haven't played that team in a long time either. They came out and scored about 6 and really showed thier
ass a little. Trash talkin is part of the game, but it can really bite you on your ass also. H&K (aka River Weenies) wins by a big cut margin 25-8.
Next up...JL Roberts. They spark was still there... heck we could take second and "take it to the house"...nope. I wanted to win,as did these guys.
HUGE battle! We were with in 1 of cutting, but they came storming back. They were with a couple of cutting, but WE came storming back. Final
score 34-27..JL Roberts won. The guys were dissappointed, but hey we lost to a better team in this day. Second ain't bad. I told them that this
should be a new beginning for thier team. They tasted success and I think they liked it. Good things are to come for this team. JL Roberts, what
can I say... you guys are great. D class ball.... hah! If you ever lose your heart, find it there. If you ever lose your desire, find it there. The look in
those guys eyes...man I can't explain it. Older guys forget that look sometimes. They don't have that fire. Desire is such a strong drug...it is
addictive. Thanks H&K for giving me a memory I won't soon forget.

Heck that was supposed to be the end of that column, but my lazy butt didn't upload (thought I did...) so here is some more...

The Mullet was this weekend and we had some MS teams in it. RW Enterprises, Ms Worth, Fast Eddies, Sportscare, and LA Bag. I am sure most
read on the message board about the MS teams having to play each other. So guy said "there were a lot of MS teams...blah blah blah". Come one
THE FIRST FREAKIN GAME!!!!! Most teams leave the state to play other teams from other states, I agree that sometimes you have to play same
state teams, but MS Worth had to play 2 MS teams thier first 2 games. That is ridiculous. There were 30ish teams there... you can't tell me that the
only way to work the bracket was to pit these teams against each other...crap! Anyway, Worth ended up third. Sportscare did well, put Fast out
and made it to Sunday, Fast beat a couple of pretty good teams, haven't really heard how the others did, sorry I couldn't find out more.

This is about the middle part of the season, heck it hasn't been 100 yet, hope that isn't an omen. Some things are really starting to take shape. Some
teams seem to be getting better picking up players, some teams just keep on rolling. It will be interesting to see the outcomes of the state
tournaments and who plays what level. Wouldn't want to be an association official. That brings me to the sandbagging issue or the issue that
never dies... I will knock on Mark for a minute, cause he deserves it (only in fun)... funny how Mark complained about a single player maybe 3/4
years ago and gets a team eliminated and then picks up some players that others feel shouldn't have been allowed in the tournament. Would I have
let that team play in a national qualifier at the D level. Nope. No offense, I love Brad,Daniel, Brian, Darrin, Warren and yes even ole Clyde...BUT...
they shouldn't have been in that tournament. HOWEVER... it is not thier fault that they were allowed to play, so don't hate on them. The director
didn't make the correct call. Folks you need to stop making hidden statements on the internet and talk with the governing bodies Someone made a
good comment...this should have been a great year for B in MS. BUT HOW MANY B TOURNAMENTS HAVE THERE BEEN???? Definitly no A
tournaments. Heck Bubba is blessed with a great budget.. most teams can't afford to travel every weekend to play...therefore you have B teams
playing C...the C teams get pissed and play D... and so forth. Sick of seeing guys piss and moan about teams playing local. They have no choice.
Be a freakin' hypocrite and play down a level yourself. I am gonna pick on some teams, not out of spite, but just cause I feel that play down. JL
Roberts...not a D team. Could compete with ANY team on the C level. Tom's a TRUE C team. They played in the C Cajun and then played Pearl
Day...not a shot, just a fact. Storm/Team MS SUPER teams...they don't have any choice...they have to play C, but are B Level teams. Teams that
have really tried to play on thier level..Bad Company. Great C team, have tried to play mostly C. Sportscare/Elkins...don't see them a whole lot, but
they play up when there is a tournament. N40, heck they want play on the highest level they can...they are in the Major in AK next weekend. They
start off with Budweiser...are they scared...nope. If we had a statewide meeting with all the governing bodies, we wouldn't ahve these
problems/issues. Sure everyone wants to win, but isn't it a catch 22... hey we got beat by that sandbagging team...we are gonna play down. See
what I mean, you can't say one thing and do the other. Once again, not knocking the teams I mentioned... I have a huge amount of respect for all
those teams, just trying to make a point without dogging on someone...I know many of the players on each team I mentioned, so I am sure they
won't take it personally.

The top ten is harder every week, not many head to heads to go on, so I have come up with a little formula...but it is just my opinion!

MSWorth (the best team in our region, in my opinion)

LABag (they are gonna bust out soon)

Sportscare (hot and cold, but still can beat anyone)

Elkins (are lurking still will be great even with losing BB)

N40 (hot team right now...may surprise some folks at the Busch)

Storm(almost a tie with the other 3 teams above, would like to see a round robin)

Rangers (haven't seen em much lately, but have one of the most athletic teams around, can beat anyone)

McNair Sports (playing some good ball right now)

Randys (are tearing up C level right now...seem to have a new life)

TIE

RW Enterprises (love this team, can play with anyone...just not often!)

Team MS (are fixing to make a HUGE run..just watch what ole CC tells you)

Yeah, I know it is 11, but couldn't decide between RW/Team MS

Some to watch in Central MS: Bad Company, Tom's, Dr. Js, Cellular South (4 new players),J L Roberts, Mitchell's Roofing, Vicksburg Express, Street
Stars,

Blond is needing some money to go to school, so she is going door to door to see if she can do odd jobs..stops at the first house and gives here
little speal... owner says you can paint my porch...I'll give you $50 bucks...WOW says the blond...I'll do it...guy goes inside and tells his wife what
has transpired...$50...that's cheap! Anyway the blond knocks back on the door a short time later and says she is done... guy says wow that was
fast.. blond goes..and by the way...it isn't a porch...it is a Ferrari! Dedicated to DLS... my favorite Dumb blond!

Clark