Good News, Bad News

07/29/2013

The love of our neighbor in all its fullness simply means being able to say, "What are you going through?
Simone Weil

Last week in the space of several hours, I ran across a sports story that really inspired me and one that really depressed me.

The inspiring news was about Beep Baseball, which is softball for the visually impaired. In brief, here is how it works: a non-visually-impaired pitcher on the same team as the batting team serves up pitches with a beeping softball. When the batter hits the ball, she or he runs to a beeping base while the six fielders are seeking to gain control of the ball. If the runner gets to the base before they gain control, that is a run; if the fielders gain control first, that's an out. The Beep Baseball World Series has been held annually for 36 years.

The depressing story was about the National Basketball championship for second graders ("Final Four for the Four Foot Set," Time, July 22, 2013). The coach of last year's national champion second grade team ("Maryland's Finest") explained that the goal is to identify prospects early — "If we pick them up in the fourth, fifth, sixth grade, they already have bad habits. It's too little, too late." I try never to express opinions in ExchangeEveryDay, but this is really alarming.

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