Team NHC: we’ll try to win, stay awake

Baseball season has arrived in Warren County ‘ youth baseball season that is. I just love the excitement each new season brings, all the feelings of hope and thoughts of tournament championships.

I’ve found there are generally two schools of thought when it comes to youth sports. One way of thinking says we should go out and have fun for the kids. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose, so this philosophy goes, provided the kids have fun playing. I don’t subscribe to this theory.

My way of thinking says let’s win the title. I’m all for kids having fun, but getting beat 15-3 can only produce a limited amount of enjoyment. And if we’re getting beat 15-3, then I’m not having fun. Forget about what the kids are doing because I’m miserable.

I think this year could be something special because we have one of the best sponsors in town, NHC. Last year we were Ryan’s and our team slogan was, ‘We’ll grill you.’

This year, the slogan is still a work in progress. I’ve been thinking of several possibilities.

‘ ‘After you play NHC, you’ll need some rehabilitation.’

‘ ‘Faster than a speeding wheelchair ‘

‘ ‘NHC ‘ we get better with age.’

Of course being sponsored by a nursing home does leave the team open for some comments from our opponents. I can just hear the heckling fans in the crowd now.

‘ ‘Hey NHC, don’t break a hip on the way to first base.’

‘ ‘Hey NHC boys, where’s your feeding tube’?

‘ ‘Hey NHC, you look asleep out there.’

But those insults aren’t going to dampen our enthusiasm as we strive to bring the first-place trophy home to our beloved sponsor.

The way I figure it, our boys could really form a bond during this sponsorship. They could visit NHC and spend time with some of the patients.

And at the end of the year, we won’t have to search for a place to have our season-ending party. We could have it at the NHC cafeteria and sit down to a meal of fiber and strained carrots.

As for your odd, strange and curious news of the day, here’s a scene that would make me switch dentists. It comes from Smithtown, N.Y., where dentist Norman Rubin found his name in the newspaper for rather unflattering reasons.

A patient coming in for his regular appointment reportedly found Rubin in an empty office passed out, drooling, and with a gas mask on his face. After a story along those lines appeared in the New York Post, Rubin later wanted his side of the story told. In his defense, Rubin maintained he was not on duty. It was his lunch hour. So there.

I believe I would be canceling any appointments I had with Dr. Rubin.