For anyone who would rather watch a well-played youth baseball tournament over a major

league game any day of the week. ...

The Little League World Series will begin later this month, taking its place on

national television and reminding us about the fundamentals of baseball. Every year players

look bigger and stronger, throw harder, hit farther. It's either that or advanced equipment.

If the Williamsport, Pa.-based governing body for Little League wanted to take the lead on

youth baseball for the sake of safety, it would implement rules making wood bats, or the

equivalent, mandatory on all levels. They're inviting a tragedy with the titanium bats that

create a trampoline effect when hitting a ball.

Forget the bat companies that help Little Johnny hit homers. If the technology existed to

put bats on steroids, equipment can certainly be toned down.

It's going to take some 12-year-old dying on national TV for changes to be made. I've

already heard about three pitchers in Western New York suffering broken noses while playing

softball this year alone.

Dumb down the bats, and you just might see a smarter game. Some high school and amateur

leagues, including the Monsignor Martin Association, have switched to wood in recent years.

The result was more bunts, more hit-and-run plays and more steals rather than relying on the

ESPN highlight-reel homer.

Maxim Afinogenov led the Sabres in scoring with 73 points during the 2005-06 season,

when they reached the conference finals, yet he's still without a team with NHL free agency

into its second month. It shouldn't come as a shock.

Nobody wanted him last summer or at the trade deadline last season. Apparently, the lack of

interest had less to do with his $3.5 million contract and more to do with his

ineffectiveness.

Brett Favre spent months teasing the Vikings before announcing last week that he

would stay retired from football, but it sounded more like he was retiring from training camp.

Favre doesn't need two-a-day workouts and three weeks in a college dorm to take over an

offense, a fact that had to flash through the Vikes' minds when quarterback Tavaris Jackson

sprained his MCL over the weekend.

Just a guess, but I would imagine Brad Faxon, who is 230th on the money list with

$36,442 this year, wished he had Tiger Woods' problems.

Matthew Stafford's contract with the Lions included $41.7 million in guaranteed

money. Mark Sanchez became the highest-paid player in Jets' history with a five-year deal

worth $50.5 million. Neither player has taken an NFL snap. For the umpteenth time, the NFL

needs a hard NHL-style salary cap for rookies.

Michael Phelps shouldn't have been smoking pot a few months ago for all of the

obvious reasons. It still irks me more that someone snapped a picture of him in the act and

sold it to the tabloids than the act itself.

Zack Greinke was 8-1 with a 0.84 ERA and five complete games in his first 10 starts.

Since, he has a 2-5 record and 2.68 ERA with no complete games in 11 starts. He hasn't won

since June 28. And he still leads the big leagues in ERA and is a Cy Young candidate. It's an

indictment of the Royals, who scored three runs or fewer 15 times in 28 games since his last

victory.

The NFL should move two preseason games to the regular season. If coaches can't pick

their teams after all of the offseason workouts and two weeks of training camp, they should be

fired.

David Ortiz's refusal to hide after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs

makes things more confusing for future Hall of Fame voters.