At the end of the practice, the two teams decide to play one inning, mixed lineups. Gingo Solomon, a pitcher from Jinja who sneaked away from his father to make the trip, strikes out two of his three batters, one on a nasty changeup that catches the low, outside corner. Colby Ring, a left-hander, works out of a small jam in his inning when Gingo grounds out to second.
“They are very good, the Canadians,” Gingo says. “But I think that we shall beat them.”
He may very well be right. Man, they can play.
Finally.
Uganda v. Canada, Finally. (via ESPN)
The heartbreaking story of the Rev. John Foundation team that became the first African team to qualify for the Little League World Series by beating perennial favorite Saudi Arabia in the Middle East/Africa regional in Kutno, Poland, this past summer, only to be told that too many of their players did not have the documentation to warrant visas. (Saudi Arabia went in the Ugandans’ place, losing to Langley 6-5 in the first game of the International bracket.) They later organized this exchange between the would-be contenders in Uganda late last summer.
(via heysportsblog)
The clock keeps ticking
One of the things I’ve thought about from time to time over the past two years is how to “catch people up” with my life. When life sucks, recaps are the last thing on your mind. There are always people in your sphere who have a better handle on what’s happening than others. But after a while, there are only so many ways to say “things have not improved.”
You never know who might show up
Friends are weird. I mean, they’re great. But it’s so weird. It’s not until you really face adversity that it becomes clear who your friends are. I think that part makes sense. The part that doesn’t make sense are the people on the fringe that can often bubble to the surface when crisis strikes.
The people you’ve known forever, but you don’t get to talk to that much. Far away friends who don’t really keep abreast of what’s going on with you (or you with them) and yet, in the era of the Facebook are able to connect a lot less awkwardly than it used to be.
I think the expansion and contractions of life are natural, as are the changes that you experience that change your perspective. But what’s most interesting about growing up is how often you discover that the more people you meet, the less weird you can sometimes feel about your own gaffes, mistakes or things you perceived as bad in your own life.
Sometimes, just being able to relate with other people is enough to keep you going. Nothing more, nothing less.
