This season they've moved up to hitting a ball lobbed from a pitching machine. All of the players get to hit every inning, no strikes or balls are called-the kid keeps swinging till he connects or gets bored. Some of the players can whack the ball, but the fielding is what you'd expect from a 7-year-old chewing gum, picking his nose and watching what his sisters are doing in the stands. The kids play for about an hour and nobody keeps score-every youngster is a hero. After the game each team gives a cheer for the other team and they end with both teams giving each other high-fives. Sports are fun and build character.

This morning's San Jose Mercury News carried two sports stories that caught my attention. One was about a former major league player and National League MVP admitting that he had taken illegal steroids to bulk up, help prolong his career and earn millions. His justification was that everybody was doing it. And now he admits that even though he is still a young man, his body is beginning to break down, which he attributes to steroids. But in his view it was worth it. Maybe home run statistics should be footnoted with a BS (before steroids) and AS (after steroids). When one watches clips of Babe Ruth lugging his potbelly around the bases after hitting a four-bagger, it's obvious the Babe didn't know anything about steroids.

Then there was another news item about four former football players from my alma mater being arrested and accused of gang-raping a female student. While the accusations have yet to be proven, methinks something smells fishy in the town Studebaker once called home.

For the still-innocent 7-year-olds in my town and yours, sports are still a great way to get some fresh air, exercise, have fun and build character. Methinks these youngsters make excellent role models for some of those bums who call themselves big-time athletes.

When Frank isn't oiling his catcher's mitt, he can be reached at: fburge@cmp.com.