Rain, rain go away

You walk anywhere around the back areas here at Little League World Series and all you see are Little League officials and ESPN/ABC Sports production staff huddled over laptops. And what web site are they ALL looking at? The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) site--which displays doppler radar weather reports.

At this time there is a large swath of rain covering the entire state of Pennsylvania which doesn't figure to let up anytime soon. The early consolation game has already been cancelled. (A bummer for Mexico and Oregon, I'm sure.) And right now there is great debate about the Little League World Series Final. The game doesn't start until 330pm but one of the challenges is that Lamade Stadium--where the game is scheduled--is older than Volunteer Stadium and doesn't have quite the drainage system that the newer Volunteer Stadium has.

Besides the logistical challenge this will present there is also a very practical television broadcast issue. If the game is played tomorrow night it probably won't be on ABC or even ESPN for that matter who is now carrying Monday Night Football. In all likelihood the game would shift to ESPN 2 which would significantly reduce the viewing audience for the Final.

This is why officials here are scrambling to do anything they possibly can get the game in today. We'll see what happens in the next hour or two. (Update: LLB has officially postponed the game for the day and will resume tomorrow at 8pm)

Comments

[Lu]

I can remember in 1990 the Final Game was postponed until Monday. I hope that doesn't happen this time.