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Carter Boos, 11, wore a big grin as he rounded third base after hitting a home run for the Expos, who beat The Blizzard team from the Twin Cities and won the Little League tournament at Wheeler Field. Photo credit: John Gilbert

Carter Boos (4) was engulfed by teammates after his home run — "The first one he's ever hit," said his proud dad, UMD volleyball coach Jim Boos. Photo credit: John Gilbert

It’s an annual treat to watch at least segments of the Little League baseball tournament on ESPN, and Duluth got in on the action last weekend in a two-level tournament at Wheeler Field’s four-field complex. One of the biggest problems with summertime baseball is that once the regular season ends and teams advance into area, regional and finally national tournament.

Trouble is, only a few teams advance, and for the rest of the teams, the season is essentially over, with all of August ahead. So the tournament at Wheeler was put on to give such kids a chance to keep playing through what’s a logical part of the baseball season. Teams from the Iron Range, the Twin Cities and the Superior area joined several Duluth teams.

 So I ventured out there and looked around a bit. In the process, I spotted a familiar face. It was UMD volleyball coach Jim Boos. His younger son, Carter, played for the Expos, a Duluth entry comprised of players from all over the Duluth area.
Carter was playing second base that game, against the Blizzard, a team from the Roseville area selected from something called the Baseball Academy. I decided to shoot a few pictures of Carter and his teammates.
 In the first inning, the Expos got a rally going and scored a couple runs. Carter came up to bat, and the “ping” of his aluminum bat told the world he had made good contact. The ball sailed over the fence in left-center field, a 2-run home run that made it 4-2 for the Expos, who went on to win.
As Carter rounded the bases, he couldn’t suppress the grin as he rounded third base. For Carter, who was playing his first weekend with the select Expos, It was his first home run, and it helped the Expos win the game. They kept winning, going undefeated all weekend and winning the championship game.

The pitch came in, Carter Boos swung hard, and drove the ball out of the park. It is a feeling he’ll remember when he’s grown up and whenever he thinks back to the fun of playing Little League baseball. Coach Boos had an appointment to take his UMD volleyball team to Bemidji for a training-camp exhibition series on Saturday, as the Expos continued to win and sailed undefeated to the tournament championship.

Are Twins Jokers In Wild-Card Race?
The amazin’ Twins have risen again, and this time it looks real. On a team that plunged into a deep losing stretch when it appeared nobody could hit, nobody could pitch and the fielding wasn’t great, have now stormed back to a strong enoug August to climb back over the .500 mark we once thought was gone for the season.

After beating the White Sox 10-3 on Tuesday, the Twins stood 65-60 and drew within five games of first-place Cleveland (69-54). But the chase for the pennant now looks secondary as we’ve all learned to embrace the concept of wild-card status. The three division champs are joined by two teams with the best records that fail to win their division. This year, essentially, it seems that every team .500 or over is a wild card threat.

In the East, the New York Yankees have struggled against Boston and trail the Red Sox by four games, at 67-57, which makes the Yankees the No. 1 team currently in the wild card race. The Twins are second, at 65-60, followed by the Los Angeles Angels (64-61), Seattle Mariners (64-63), Kansas City (62-61), and Texas (62-62).

All that provides us with a new perspective on what teams to cheer for. We don’t want to see Cleveland stay ahead of the Twins, but when the Indians beat Kansas City 10-1 Tuesday night, it boosted the Twins to a two-game edge on the Royals.
The Twins can just keep on winning and all else will fall into place. Some recently solid pitching performances, solid defense, and amazingly solid hitting. Miguel Sano went out with a leg injury, and the Twins don’t miss a beat, with everybody hitting and a different player rising to star the next night. But as the legendary Satchel Paige once said: “Don’t look back, someone might be gaining on you!”

The Twins can’t afford to fade again. If they do, it will be another failed season -- exciting, but failed. If they can keep pitching, hitting, and defending, making the playoffs is a real possibility.
Of course, one of the highlights of the season came when Byron Buxton, who clearly has mastered the art of hitting in the Major Leagues, missed the cycle by failing to get a single. But while the Twins turned homer-happy, the prize was when Buston sent a shot over the center-fielder’s head. When it bounced back at an odd angle off the Target Field fence, Buxton was a blur rounding the bases. The relay throw home had a chance to get him, but he dove head first, and got his left hand in under the tag and onto the plate.

The crew at the game timed him, and Buxton made the distance in 13.85 seconds, which was declared the fastest  anyone had ever circled the bases.

Vikings, Packers Exhibitions

I’ve never liked pro football exhibition games, but last weekend’s Vikings loss at Seattle and Packers victory over Washington both had their moments. Now, I’m not saying I spent too much time watching either one, but in the small doses I had of both games some interesting things arose.
When the Vikings were trying to get quarterback Sam Bradford some protection against the ferocious Seattle  defense, the familiar name of Blair Walsh arose. He tried a 53-yard field goal and it failed by the margin of striking the crossbar on the goalpost. But then he hit four extra points, and boomed a pair of 52-yard field goals.

Of course, missing a 27-yarder cost the Vikings a game against Seattle, and when Walsh looked incapable of regaining his full confidence after that horrible miss, the Vikings cut him last November. The Seahawks picked him up. There seemed to be no resentment on either side, and the split amicably.
But after kicking the two long field goals, Walsh first seemed to point toward the Vikings bench. After the second one, he definitely pointed at his old teammates, while the TV analyists insisted he was pointing directly at Vikings coach Mike Zimmer, who would have been the one who cut Walsh. 
Walsh explained that he was surprised and a little disturbed at some of the comments hurled at him from the Vikings bench, by players he thought were friends over the last five years. He denied pointing at Zimmer, but was just showing the Vikings that he’s still around, still capable. Not only capable; he scored nine points against the Vikings while the Seahawks beat the Vikings by seven.

The next night, the Packers looked pretty good when Aaron Rodgers got them the early lead against the Redskins, but Washington came back and gained the lead 17-14, and while the second and third Packers quarterbacks both looked decent, it came down to No. 4, an undrafted free agent from Brigham Young named Tayson Hill. He looked pretty good with quick feet, a dashing mentality to match, and got the Packers downfield as time was running out. Hill spotted some defensive pressure arriving and bolted straight ahead, cutting past one defender, juking past another, then sprinting for a 23-yard touchdown with 6 minutes left. Packers win 21-17, and may have found a new idea as backup quarterback.