An open letter to ESPN

[Pony Up]

Dear ESPN:

Please stop force-feeding the Little League World Series down our throats. We don't care.

Yes, baseball is an OK pastime for kids, but unless my son or my nephew is playing, the game is meaningless. We realize you think you're doing your bit for the community by pimping these kids and calling the event "sport in it's purest form" (perhaps you have forgotten this guy?), but the reason a bunch of fans crammed in to the stadium to watch the Pennsylvania team was the home team factor.

Quit making up events (X-games, the ESPYs, etc.) to make yourself feel important, and quit with the kids. We get it — baseball is a fun game, and kids are cute. But you're supposed to be showing sports people care about.

Give us our network back.

[RednBlue11]

I literally forget the thing exists every year only to be angrily surprised that I have to watch 12 yr olds play baseball each august..... IT SUCKS!

I'd rather watch Joe Schad flounder while he tries to scoop the latest on Big 12 conf realignment as Skip Brown beats him to the punch, every time.

[HB Pony Dad]

Whatzamatta with u guys????

Ocean View Little League from Huntington Beach

HB
HB
HB

[Paladin]

Dear ESPN:

Please stop force-feeding the Little League World Series down our throats. We don't care.

Yes, baseball is an OK pastime for kids, but unless my son or my nephew is playing, the game is meaningless. We realize you think you're doing your bit for the community by pimping these kids and calling the event "sport in it's purest form" (perhaps you have forgotten this guy?), but the reason a bunch of fans crammed in to the stadium to watch the Pennsylvania team was the home team factor.

Quit making up events (X-games, the ESPYs, etc.) to make yourself feel important, and quit with the kids. We get it — baseball is a fun game, and kids are cute. But you're supposed to be showing sports people care about.

Give us our network back.

I say 'Amen, Brother !' Next up, cash pay-offs and agent contracts for 12 yr olds.

[friarwolf]

Here is the real joke - there are 25 teams - probably more - that play in organizations such as USSSA that would run rule every one of those teams competing - foreign and domestic. I seriously doubt that any of those teams would score more than 1 run per game against USSSA competition. The little league world series is a farce - short fences, short mounds, and no leads off bases makes it silly...

[Pony ^]

Here is the real joke - there are 25 teams - probably more - that play in organizations such as USSSA that would run rule every one of those teams competing - foreign and domestic. I seriously doubt that any of those teams would score more than 1 run per game against USSSA competition. The little league world series is a farce - short fences, short mounds, and no leads off bases makes it silly...

YES you are the man. Played in USSSA myself and went to the world series. No doubt that LL is terrible, just look at notable players that made it to MLB (probably 5). The LL fields are ridiculously tiny and pathetic. USSSA is faster, bigger, and better. Dads aren't coaching, coaches are hired. Hands down better than LL

[Hal]

Couldn't have said it better myself, Pony Up ... except when you were listing the content that NEVER should be on a "sports" network, you forgot to mention dog shows and spelling bees.

Get kiddie ball off the air. That alone takes away a lot of the "purity" when you have some 11-year-old idiot crossing his arms like Brian Wilson and someone else big-times it after hitting a home run. Get them off TV and they won't act like such spoiled little brats.

[Mitch McConnell]

Here's a tip blue hairs, you always have the right to change the channel and watch something else.

Can you tell me what riveting program you all are expecting to watch at 4 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of August?

The Little League World Series history in Williamsport speaks for itself. I didn't know it was required to produce future MLB stars. These are 11- 12-year-old kids. I'm sorry if their brand of ball isn't stimulating enough for you. And if you want to blame ESPN, then take your argument all the way to back to ABC, which started televising the championship game back in the 1980s.

This is baseball in a form where the politics and garbage (and most importantly the militant parents) are not devouring the sport. USSSA can have its bag and play its brand.

I hope someone from ESPN took that letter and put it through the shredder or took the email and forwarded it to spam.

Congratulations to some of you for acting very small about this.

[Bergermeister]

I hope someone from ESPN took that letter and put it through the shredder or took the email and forwarded it to spam.

Brutal.

[Junior]

can't you just find something from one of the eight other ESPN channels?

[abezontar]

can't you just find something from one of the eight other ESPN channels?

I tried, dodgeball isn't in season

[Pony4Life]

Here's a tip blue hairs, you always have the right to change the channel and watch something else.

Can you tell me what riveting program you all are expecting to watch at 4 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon in the middle of August?

The Little League World Series history in Williamsport speaks for itself. I didn't know it was required to produce future MLB stars. These are 11- 12-year-old kids. I'm sorry if their brand of ball isn't stimulating enough for you. And if you want to blame ESPN, then take your argument all the way to back to ABC, which started televising the championship game back in the 1980s.

This is baseball in a form where the politics and garbage (and most importantly the militant parents) are not devouring the sport. USSSA can have its bag and play its brand.

I hope someone from ESPN took that letter and put it through the shredder or took the email and forwarded it to spam.

Congratulations to some of you for acting very small about this.

Whatever. Kiddie baseball is swell ... for the kids who play it and their families. ESPN needs to stop acting like this is some kind of an "event" we should watch. Go back to televising pro and college sports.

[Mitch McConnell]

Whatever? Is that the best you could do?

If I may, ESPN's baseball contract calls for national games on Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundays. There is no NBA in August. They dropped the NHL contract several years ago. They are now broadcasting their MNF package with the NFL because they only get the NFL Monday night games.

And in looking at the college sports, it's kind of hard to televise something when the season starts on Labor Day weekend. Perhaps you need to push harder for college soccer and volleyball games in August because those seasons have started.

There's your damn professional and college programming, smart guy!

I'm not a fan of them televising poker and cheerleading, but I found the courage to reach for the remote control and found the courage to actually move the channel arrow up or down to find something.

And I'm sure the USSA militant parent followers will tune in just when that association gets its own network deal with FOX Sports.

I'm really embarrassed for the male-ego driven dogpiling on this. Shame on you guys.

[RednBlue11]

what channel is "The Ocho" for Time Warner?

[Mitch McConnell]

Here's and update. Mexico reaches the International Finals. Sorry I missed it.

http://espn.go.com/sports/llws11/story/ ... -venezuela