I was really confused about the whole Jonas Brothers intro for the Little League World Series last week, but I have to say that the tune was kind of growing on me. That was until yesterday.

ESPN decided to rock out to the tune and splice in some lip-syncing/rapping from some of the network's brightest stars. I give you the ESPN Crew, Gary Thorne, Stacey Dales, Karl Ravech and THE Brent Musburger singing "Burning Up" by the Jonas Bros....REMIX!!!!!!

Good....God. I really have no idea where to start with this. First of all, it's one of those clips that is so terrible that it's actually pretty entertaining. I actually belly laughed when Musburger came on the screen. Second, the absolute best part of the whole thing is how pissed Karl Ravech looks during his spot. He did not appear to be having fun at all.

Sure it's ridiculously cheesy, and any thought of Gary Thorne dancing and/or saying "I'm Hot", makes me throw up in my mouth, but who cares? It's the Little League World Series. Those people in the truck and behind the scenes are usually working their asses off and probably rarely on camera. It's good they had a little fun with the whole thing. It's also much more PG than Orestes Destrade giving Pedro Gomez a massage while Pedro was sitting on his leg like "Santa Claus".

Now if you decide to do this for Monday Night Football....I might have a different response.

Really ESPN? The Jonas Brothers On The LLWS Intro??? (Awful Announcing)

I'm an unabashed fan of the LLWS, and I don't necessarily think broadcasting every game of it is a bad thing, but thirty two games across three platforms seems like a lot. Either way, that's the exact same total they did last year and they even have an entire show devoted to LLWS "Web Gems" this go around!

Welcome back to Williamsport, Brent Musburger, Gary Thorne, Karl Ravech, Orel Hershiser, and Orestes Destrade. Also say hi to Stacey Dales and Pedro Gomez (still getting the choice assignments now that Bonds isn't playing).

Here's your schedule in case you care to check out your state's game(s)....

Pool Play Round

Fri., Aug. 15

Midwest (Rapid City, S.D.) vs. Southeast (Tampa, Fla.)- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 2pm)
Canada vs. Latin America- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 4pm)
New England (Shelton, Conn.) vs. West (Waipahu, Hawaii)- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN2, 6pm)
Mid-Atlantic (Hagerstown, Md.) vs. Great Lakes (Jeffersonville, Ind.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN, 8pm)

Sat., Aug. 16

Caribbean vs. Mexico- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN, 11am)
Europe vs. Asia-Pacific- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 1pm)
Midwest (Rapid City, S.D.) vs. New England (Shelton, Conn.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ABC, 3:30pm)
Japan vs. Middle East and Africa- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 6pm)
Southwest (Lake Charles, La.) vs. Northwest (Mill Creek, Wash.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN, 8pm)

Sun., Aug. 17

Europe vs. Mexico- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN Classic, Noon)
Canada vs. Japan- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN2, 1pm)
Great Lakes (Jeffersonville, Ind.) vs. Southwest (Lake Charles, La.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ABC, 3:30pm)
Latin America vs. Middle East and Africa- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN2, 6pm)
Southeast (Tampa, Fla.) vs. West (Waipahu, Hawaii)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 8pm)

Mon., Aug. 18

Northwest (Mill Creek, Wash.) vs. Mid-Atlantic (Hagerstown, Md.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, Noon)
Asia-Pacific vs. Mexico- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 1pm)
Midwest (Rapid City, S.D.) vs. West (Waipahu, Hawaii)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 3pm)
Caribbean vs. Europe- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 4pm)
Southeast (Tampa, Fla.) vs. New England (Shelton, Conn.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 6pm)

Tue., Aug. 19

Latin America vs. Japan- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, Noon)
Northwest (Mill Creek, Wash.) vs. Great Lakes (Jeffersonville, Ind.)- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN, 2pm)
Canada vs. Middle East and Africa- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN, 4pm)
Caribbean vs. Asia-Pacific- Karl Ravech and Orestes Destrade (ESPN2, 6pm)
Southwest (Lake Charles, La.) vs. Mid-Atlantic (Hagerstown, Md.)- Gary Thorne and Orel Hershiser (ESPN2, 8pm)

Single Elimination Round

Wed., Aug. 20

International Semifinal #1- Gary Thorne, Orestes Destrade and Pedro Gomez (ESPN, 4pm)
U.S. Semifinal #1- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser and Stacey Dales (ESPN, 8pm)

Thu., Aug. 21

International Semifinal #2- Gary Thorne, Orestes Destrade and Pedro Gomez (ESPN, 4pm)
U.S. Semifinal #2- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser and Stacey Dales (ESPN, 8pm)

Sat., Aug. 23

International Championship- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser, Orestes Destrade, Stacey Dales and Pedro Gomez (ABC, 12:30pm)
U.S. Championship- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser and Stacey Dales (ABC, 3pm)

Sun., Aug. 24

Consolation Game- Karl Ravech, Orestes Destrade and Pedro Gomez (ESPN, Noon)
Little League Web Gems Special (ESPN, 2pm)
Little League World Series Preview (ESPN, 2:30pm)
World Series Championship- Brent Musburger, Orel Hershiser, Stacey Dales and Pedro Gomez (ABC, 3:30pm)
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I'm also hoping that this umpire is involved in the games somehow....

As we near the beginning of football season, I figured I'd take the chance to look at the little league world series, and the puff pieces it engenders in newspapers across the U.S. (and the world).

Whether you enjoy the spectacle or think it's a bit overwrought for a bunch of kids playing a game that could be more at home in a sandlot, there's a lot being written about the 61st LLWS, and we're going to sift through it. It's become big business now, with ABC and the ESPNs covering all 32 games between four pools of teams.

Pools A and B include American teams, from Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio, Georgia, Arizona, Oregon, Texas, and Massachusetts. Pool C is an international bracket that features Canada, Japan, The Caribbean, and Saudi Arabia. Pool D is Mexico, Taipei, Netherlands, and Venezuela. See the entire schedule of play and TV coverage here.

The series is held in Williamsport, PA, so we'll turn first to the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, which has only begun its coverage as of the Saturday edition.

Writer Morgan Webb takes a soft-focus look at the team from Lubbock, Texas, which made its way to the LLWS by winning the Southwest Regional tournament:

Last Sunday, the team received a warm send off, when around 2,000 people gathered for a pep rally at their home field. However, the rally was more than a celebration; it was a fundraiser. Local businesses donated money and food, raising about $20,000 to help send the players’ families to Williamsport.

At a 10 a.m. practice on Friday, it was clear that there are a lot of younger fans supporting the team. Younger brothers and sisters helped in the practice or were nearby on the sidelines. Coach Gerald Arredondo’s daughter, whose brother Bryndan plays on the team, is even missing her own softball all-star games to root for her dad and brother.

The other team of note to the Sun-Gazette in the early going is the team of kids from Salisbury, Maryland. Alison Eaton focused on the bond between the parents, who have traveled together for weeks as their kids advanced in the tournament:

All the Salisbury parents are staying at the Comfort Inn, and most of them arrived on Thursday. “The parents just get along great,” East said.

And that’s a good thing, because the parents of the players have spent a lot of time together. Friday morning, they attended the parents meeting. After that, some parents, other family members and supporters bought bright orange T-shirts that read Mid-Atlantic on the front and Salisbury, Maryland, on the back.

Not only are the parents friends with each other, but they even befriended parents from the Massachusetts’s team. “We met them in Bristol,” East said.

The international teams probably won't get much local press until they've been in town a while and reporters manage to find translators to help get their stories, but the International Herald Tribune has made some early attempts, writing about the Japanese team:

Japan pitcher Junsho Kiuchi speaks little English. But ask him about his favorite pitcher and he'll answer with a name familiar to baseball fans.

"Matsuzaka," Kiuchi said with a big smile, referring to Boston star Daisuke Matsuzaka. "Dice-K."

If he pitches just as well as his gyroballing idol, Japan might go pretty far in this year's Little League World Series. Japan is such a mainstay in South Williamsport that tournament organizers this year decided to make the Japanese national Little League winner an automatic qualifier to the series.

I have to admit that the team I'm most curious about is the team from Saudi Arabia. The kids on the team don't appear to be actually from Saudi, so I can only imagine that they are the children of expatriates. The oddest thing about the team, aside from their point of origin, is that they have a player who is... six-foot-eight. It's this kind of thing that makes the LLWS seem just a tad illegitimate every year. How on earth is there an NBA-size kid playing Little League? The Associated Press (via MSNBC) talks about it, but doesn't question it:

Aaron Durley towers over the competition at the Little League World Series.

The 13-year-old first baseman for Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, stands an imposing 6-foot-8 and weighs 256 pounds.

“I was standing next to him and I was up to his elbows,” Scott Kingery, a 12-year-old, 4-foot-9 Phoenix shortstop, said after meeting Durley.

I'm going to be kind and assume that someone asked to see the kid's birth certificate, because this positively reeks of b.s.

That's all I have this week. Thanks for dropping by!

--Extra P.