Little League tourney had sportsmanship

In response to the Aug. 14 "You Said It!" by Gilbertsville coach Mike Hall (Little League tournaments unfair), one would think Sidney’s tournament was run with little thought of sportsmanship. The total opposite is true.

Although Hall failed to refer to the 17th annual Sidney Moose Tournament by name, he described "ringers" used by opposing coaches, said these teams "received a first-place trophy by cheating," and wrote about biased umpires and tournament brackets that favored the host team.

After Sidney beat his Gilbertsville team, 10-2, in the championship, Hall directed similar accusations toward Sidney. As a helper, scorekeeper and announcer at the tournament, I’d like to respond.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]Sidney Moose Lodge 277 played host to eight teams from Aug. 4-8 and every team played three games apiece. All four Saturday "finals" were decided by one run or went into extra innings, except for the Sidney-Gilbertsville game.

Brackets are always set up to have the four local teams — Afton, Bainbridge, Sidney and Unadilla — play in the first two games. This allows more time for teams traveling from farther away to reach the tournament and prepare.

Afton’s coach, whose team lost all three games, praised the umpires afterward. As far as I know, Hall was the only one to complain about the umps.

Only one team used a non-roster player, which meant the difference between playing or forfeiting. Everyone involved knew about the non-roster player and agreed to play a game instead of forfeiting.

Hall also said Sidney didn’t use all of its 15 players and questioned the eligibility of its pitcher. Sidney did play all 15 players, who were on its roster for the whole summer. Additionally, the pitcher missed three of the five games between Sidney and Gilbertsville during the season, but he was eligible for the tournament.

Simply put, Sidney was the better team that day, always played within the rules and earned its championship trophy fair and square. Let them enjoy it, Mr. Hall.

Greg Davie, Sidney

Davie is a radio announcer for WCDO in Sidney.

E-mail items for "You Said It!" to drussin@thedailystar.com or mail ’You Said It!, The Daily Star Sports Department, 102 Chestnut St., Oneonta, N.Y. 13820