Softball rankings and one of my Top 10 pet peeves

FROM KEITH GROLLER

I don't know when the concept of sending and receiving e-mails began. When was it? Seven, 10, 15 years ago?

I do know that when I started in this business, the only mail you got was the kind that came in envelopes.

While recognizing the tremendous convenience of being able to reach out and touch someone within a few taps on a keyboard, there are many days when I wish the only mail I'd get was the kind that required a stamp

Almost every morning I go to my inbox and I get at least one, and as many as a dozen, complaints.

"You guys don't do enough this."

"You guys don't do enough that."

"How dare you guys ignore my son's JV ping-pong victory."

"Why don't you guys start covering my daughter's intramural hopscotch competition. The girls work so hard and should be recognized for it."

One thing we often hear is that we missed the results on a particular game.

And there have been times when there has been an oversight or miscommunication on our end that caused it. Lots of stuff comes in nightly via all kinds of methods, and sometimes, things don't end up where they should.

But many times, events aren't called, faxed or e-mailed in, or they are called in about six hours, or a day or two, later than they should be.

Events that finish at 5:30 shouldn't be called in at 10:30. But it happens all of the time.

And this brings me to a pet peeve, and one that I have expressed before to our area athletic directors and league chairmans.

HAVE THE WINNING TEAM CALL IN THE RESULTS, NOT THE HOME TEAM!!!

Again, in case you missed it: HAVE THE WINNING TEAM CALL IN THE RESULTS, NOT THE HOME TEAM!!!

Why do I suggest this? Real simple. The winning team wants the score in the paper and online much more than the losing team does.

In the past, we've heard ADs say that it's too much of an inconvenience for the road team to call in the stuff.

Are you kidding me? Everyone has a cellphone and can text nowadays. Kids who are 10 years old can do it. And just about everybody has e-mail, and blackberrys and Facebook and on and on it goes. With a softball game, before the team even breaks its postgame huddle and packs up its gear, the results can be phoned in. Boom, it's over. Why wait and turn it into an ordeal?

With our vast space limitations with our results these days, the few names we really, truly need are generally those from the winning team. So, again, wouldn't it make most sense to have the winning team call in the games and spell the key names we need rather than depend on the other side to do it? That just leads to more incorrect spellings.

But no, the home team calls in the games, and guess what, the teams that don't do very well on the field are usually just as bad when it comes to providing game information.

To an extent, I understand. Lose 15-0, or worse every game and I probably wouldn't be that enthusiastic about calling in the game either. Of course, those same people who fail to call in the games when they lose are generally the first to gripe when their winning results wouldn't make the paper or online.

Again, all it would take is for the ADs and leagues to make that change and mandate that the winning team calls in the game, but they won't do it.

My take is that by this point of the school year, many of the ADs are just looking forward to the spring season to be over and could care less about whether the games make the paper or not. It's not their concern.

So, I don't expect a policy change any time soon and guys like my buddy Roger Pence will continue to scramble to track down the results every night. Talk about someone who probably can't wait for the spring sports season to be over, it's my hard-working buddy Roger.

With that in mind, here are the league rankings with what I think are the correct records, although we may be missing a game or two with some teams:

LEHIGH VALLEY CONFERENCE

1. Nazareth (5-0, 7-0)...With her speed, and lack of control at the moment, few really want to dig in against Blue Eagles' ace Sarah Faust.

2. Liberty (5-0, 7-1)...Kudos to pitcher Erin Wilson, who says she likes to work fast. As I told her, pitchers who work fast and don't dawdle, especially in night games, are a reporter's delight.

3. Northampton (3-2, 4-4)..Remember, K-Kids four losses are all by two runs or less and three were in extra innings.

4. Whitehall (2-3, 4-4)...Really like attitude of coach Alexis Berg-Townsend. Unlike a lot of coaches who can't wait to use the "we're too young and inexperienced" excuse, she refuses to call this a rebuilding year.

5. Parkland (2-3, 3-3)...Good to see former Trojans coach Denny Barr is back coaching again, in charge of the LCCC program.

6. Becahi (2-3, 3-3)...At least Kelly King is back as a hitter.

7. Emmaus (3-2, 5-5)...Nazareth coach Michelle Schoeneberger said Green Hornets always play her team tough and Blue Eagles will see them again in the LVC Play Day on April 24.

8. Allen (3-2, 4-4)...Is the victory over Freedom a breakthrough for the birds?

9. Easton (2-3, 3-4)...Red Rovers still have a fantastic web site that has everything you'd want to know about this team.

10. Freedom (2-3, 4-5)...Even though the Patriots are down here at No. 10, there really is little difference between them and some of the best teams in this league.

11. CCHS (1-4. 2-6)...Regular Groller's Corner reader John Rosenberger tells me that the Vikings' baseball team is doing remarkably well. Since I don't get to see much of the baseball scene until the summer, I appreciated that relevant information.

12. Dieruff (0-5, 1-7)...We've heard the Huskies have picked a new boys basketball coach. And this coach isn't coming from California or Indiana.

COLONIAL LEAGUE

1. Palisades (4-1, 7-1)...Nice bounce-back win for the Morronettes at Saucon.

2. Saucon Valley (4-1, 6-1)...Now that the Panthers have finally lost a game, you wonder if the bickering has begun within that wonderful parent group.

3. Pen Argyl (5-0, 5-2)...Looking forward to seeing Bill Schankel and the Knights tonight against Southern Lehigh.

4. Southern Lehigh (3-2, 6-3)...Some programs win titles and then get 10-runned in most games a year later. Not Brian Neefe who has kept the Spartans at a high level since the 70s.

5. Northern Lehigh (4-1, 5-2)...A 2-1 win over Palmerton proves Bulldogs can win the close ones after two one-run losses.

6. Palmerton (3-2, 4-3)...Blue Bombers may have proven more in close loss to Northern Lehigh than they did in one-sided wins over Lehighton and Bangor.

7. Notre Dame (2-3, 3-3)...Crusaders took step forward with win over Palisades, but step back with loss to Wilson.

8. Wilson (2-3, 4-3)...This looks like the year the Warriors qualify for districts.

9. Northwestern (2-3, 4-4)...Good to see former pitching standout Katelyn Boyd back with the Tigers.

10. Catasauqua (1-4, 3-5)...Former Roughie Krysten Rockovits doing well for Sam Carrodo at NCC.

11. Salisbury (0-5, 0-9)...Best and maybe only chance for a league win comes against Bangor tonight.

12. Bangor (0-5, 0-7)...See the above statement about Salisbury and just take out "Bangor" and insert "Salisbury."

FROM KEITH GROLLER