Oxford 12′s are Heading to WIlsoN Country, N.C.!

Wow!  It has been almost an entire year since I have updated this so-called blog.  Anyhow, judging from how popular blogs can become – including one that details three recent college graduates journey across the good ole’ U.S.A (yes a shout out to you Neil) – I’ve decided to make this blog thrive again…Okay, well maybe it didn’t really thrive the first time around, but ahh well, what the h-e-double hockey sticks.  Here it goes:

There has been so many things that I want to write about recently.  As many of you know, this past Spring was my first as the head coach of a baseball program.  Also, I was first-assistant for the Hamden 10 Year Old All Star’s.  Rather than get into how the seasons went (that would be pointless since it happened months ago and the Internet is a place of instant updates), the success of Twitter and Facebook (which apparently WordPress hasn’t heard of yet because it still tells me Facebook is spelled wrong) got me thinking: It seems like people love reading about things that happen in someone’s day-to-day lives.

While this blog will still feature the detailed sports blogs, including an upcoming one about the state of the Red Sox (which I decided I wanted to do after Bill Simmons latest piece about the declining interest in the beloved), I wanted to make it have more of a personal feel.

Starting August 14th, I will give myself a tryout.  If I get a lot of hits, I’ll keep going.  If I find that Kevin Cash gets more hits than me, I will stop and realize I am an utter embarrassment to the blogosphere.  Well, actually if that was the case, I’d chalk it up to “me being to good for the blog world”.  Sorry to digress.  Anyhow, here’s what my tryout with consist of:

Since our lovely Connecticut newspapers are so fixated on the Pro’s and Shelton Little League being in the New England (Bristol) Regional yet again (sigh!), most Connecticutians (I like that term better than Nutmegers of Constitutioners) don’t realize that there is another team in the state already heading to a World Series.  I’m talking about the Oxford 12 Year Old Cal Ripken team.  On Thursday, July 29th, Oxford defeated Burlington, Mass. 4-2 to punch their ticket to the Cal Ripken World Series in Wilson Country, N.C. to be held on August 12th-19th.

If not for the Valley Independent Sentinel, no one would have known of such a remarkable accomplishment.  Again, not to devalue Shelton and make their accomplishments any less meaningful (what they are doing is remarkable and I’m hoping to God we can achieve the same success with Hamden Little League), but Oxford is a small town of roughly 11,700 people.  The closest Oxford has come to any type of success in the sporting world would be back in 1924, when they were documented as having the fastest horses on Earth!  Okay, I made that up, but you catch my drift.  Outside of a 12 year old team three years ago that was managed by my cousin and lost at states, athletic success in Oxford is like France’s success at this year’s World Cup: non-existent.

I am fortunate enough to have a family member on this year’s team.  Because of that, I will be flying down to North Carolina on Friday the 13th and staying till the 15th (yes, I know, I won’t be there the whole week, but remember – it’s my tryout).  During that time, I will be attending Oxford’s games against New Bern, N.C.on Saturday (8:00 P.M. EST) and, the Southwest Regional Champion (Team to Be Determined) on Sunday (10:30 A.M. EST).  A geography lesson for all my wonderful readers out there (all two of you) that may have failed the aforementioned subject in grammar school: notice on the schedule that Oxford is not listed.  You are correct – Oxford magically appears as New England, since Oxford is in Connecticut, and Connecticut is in New England.

Pending the hotel I’m staying at has Internet access and the coaches approval, I plan on dedicating this blog for the weekend of August 13th-15th to the Oxford 12′s.  Part of the reason I want to do this is because – and those who know me even the slightest bit – know I absolutely love baseball.  If baseball where a women, I’d be married since birth.  I understand how exciting a time like this can be for the parents, players, coaches and fans.  Sure it’s nice to read a game recap or two, but a newspaper can’t cover the moments outside the game that makes a time like this so special.  There is no place out there that exists where any person affilated with this special time can go to to relive the excitement.  I’m setting out to change that.

Unfortunately, I thought of this idea after the conclusion of the Hamden 10′s season. Myself, as well as the players and parents, had such a fun time, we didn’t want the season to end.  I thought to myself, “Imagine the fun we’d all have if we had a place to go to relive it all: the games, the practices, the downtime.”  I told myself that next year, I was going to blog about this whole process.

Next Year…I didn’t really want to wait till next year.  It is a long time away.  Once this opportunity with the Oxford 12′s came up, I thought, “What better time to have my little tryout?”  If I were you, I’d check back here during that weekend to read some really fun stuff.  I really want to get all my readers who can not make it down to Wilson County, to feel like they are actually there.  I want them to literally feel the excitement, hear the crack of the bat and the feel the electricity in the air.  I hope my writing will resonate that feeling throughout!

If I find this tryout of mine is a hoot, I’ll keep these personal pieces going.  If you enjoy this, just wait till the Spring when I write in here blogs about my middle school team.  If you think Jersey Shore is a success, just wait!

Goooo Oxford!

Disclaimer: Please be advised that at this point, this is just an idea I have.  I need to contact the coach of the Oxford 12′s and make sure this is OK.  Also, due to the fact all players are minors, there last names will not appear in this space.