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I have been fielding one question the past couple weeks that I would just as soon not.

The question is what happened with the fight during the Ohio Valley Regional last week.

I wish I had a good answer but I don't. What makes coaches attack umpires over calls? What makes them push and push until they are ejected? What makes kids feel if they can win a game they can win a fight?

The call that led to the problem came in the sixth inning and gave the visitors a one run lead. The home team, the one that had the ejections and seemed to initiate the fight, had two at bats left to score. The score at the time was 11-10 so scoring for either team had not been a problem.

When all the coaches for the Hammond Chiefs had been ejected, the umpire ruled the game a forfeit and awarded the win to Noblesville.

Was the fight a result of that decision? I don't think so.

Let's look at the two teams.

Noblesville is a rec team like Dodgeville, Fond du Lac and Cross Plains, the Wisconsin entries in the program. They have a bigger drawing area than us but they are local kids who play the game for the fun of it.

Hammond is a select team. They pay $1700.00 to play and pay some of their travel expenses. They have won 70 straight Babe Ruth games, have been to 14 Ohio Valley Regionals and almost as many World Series. They won the World Series in 2003.

With the Chiefs, the goal is to get to the World Series. Losing is not an option.

The plain, sad fact is the Chiefs do not know how to lose and that is a hard thing for the players to live up to. Then when losing happens, all hell breaks loose.

Fourteen years ago, at our first Ohio Valley Regional tournament, a fight broke out between two teams. The teams were the Cincinnati Storm and the Hammond Chiefs.

Sound familiar?

The ends result was that teams were warned when they came in that fighting would not be tolerated and if it happened, teams would be sent home.

And, that is what happened.

When things like this take place I try to find a positive in it. In this case the positive is not the publicity we received from a Madison TV station or the numerous articles that were written in Indiana newspapers.

The positive is that the midwest teams--Dodgeville, Cross Plains, Fond du Lac, and Southeast Suburban Illinois--all conducted themselves perfectly. No arguments, no outbursts, no issues, just plain go out and play baseball.

I am glad for the fact that from our Dodgeville City Rec department teams, to our Babe Ruth League teams to our adult teams that we all work hard to promote respect.

Players are asked to respect their coaches, their teammates, their parents and fans and most of all themselves. They are asked to respect the great game of baseball.

This summer I was able to watch games from t-ball to coach pitch to little league to the rest of it. I can sincerely say that players and coaches acted with respect to the things that deserved respecting.

I am proud of that fact and I congratulate our recreation department, teams, coaches, parents and fans for their efforts.