Watch the video that is the basis of this blog post by going here.
I heard rumblings about it all day through Twitter. Then, when I finally got home I quickly realized how big this certain play had gotten. First there was the Bleacher Report article accompanied with the news clip anchored by none other than one of my favorites, Beth Beechie. Then I turned on “Pardon the Interruption” and watched Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon debate it. Sportscenter followed with a major tease of the play and then full coverage of it when the program returned from commercial.
This past Friday, Billings West and Big Sky (Missoula) squared off with the Montana state softball title on the line. Billings West needed to defeat Big Sky twice to win the championship. The Golden Bears took care of business in the first game and then won the second game in odd fashion. Thanks to a dropped third strike and a couple of throwing errors the batter who originally K’d rounded the bases on a walk off strikeout to win the state title.
Although blooper filled disasters are funny and people love to see them, I just don’t know if the ending to the Billings West-Big Sky game deserved national attention. Sure it was the state title game and Billings West went through hell and back to win it but tell me if a rather ugly display of softball really is worthy of Deadspin? More perplexing, was it really deserving of the number one play on Sportscenter? Let me answer that latter question…NO!
Side Note: Even though I don’t necessarily agree with the play making Deadspin I do find it incredibly cool that my friend and ABC Montana sports anchor Dominic Shelden called the highlight that the website picked up.
I honestly don’t even think the play was all that unique. Watch a couple innings of any high school baseball or softball game and you are bound to see silly errors and head scratching plays. Did you see the girl round those bases? To me it looked like little league base paths. I think I could probably lay down a bunt and slide in with a triple on that field. I have seen far more wild and crazy plays not even make a SportsNation Top 100 Jeers program to see something like the walk off strikeout earn the number one spot on Sportscenter’s Top 10. I mean even the errors themselves were melodramatic. The catcher missed the mark with her throw to first base. The ball rolled to the fence and an outfielder threw the ball in to an invisible player at second base. By that time the runner had scored. End of game. Yawn.
I guess I really don’t have a good reason to complain about this. I mean it is cool to see Montana get some coverage on the national stage. It is also cool to see the work of my sports reporter friends get highlighted. For some reason though I just don’t think the play itself warranted the acclaim that it got. Don’t Blink.
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Jeez you are really hatin hard on this. Really making a huge deal out of it. Do you have some personal issues with Billings West or even Montana in general? Because that’s what it sounds like to me. I just don’t understand why you took the time to type all this out and why you feel so strongly about it. I’m not even sure why I’m really taking the time to read it and leave this reply.
Ahh I see now, your butt hurt because you have ties to Missoula. Well I happen to go to U of M so I can now compliment and understand where you got your writing skills.
Well written, just seems you’re really bashing on West.
Sharren – I have nothing against the west or particularly Montana in general. I devoted seven years of my life to the state, four of those directly in athletics. I felt strongly enough to write a blog post about it because the play made national news…and in my opinion I don’t think it should have.
I had good friends report on the story so there is another connection for writing 🙂 Sometimes there is more than meets the eye. Thanks for reading. Don’t Blink.
-Brent