Commentary by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Five Cueball thoughts for August 9, 2015…

1. Batboys…

It’s hard to fathom a sadder story than the death of a 9-year-old batboy in Wichita last weekend at the National Baseball Congress World Series. It’s one that has bothered me greatly, because the batboy and the ball boys at football games have been such an integral part of game.

My personal favorite ball boys of all time were Tyson Rayl and Brandon Wilmoth, who retrieved balls  those great Wellington Crusader football teams in the early 1990s. To this day, when I look at Brandon, I can’t help but see him as a 10-year-old on the sidelines ready to make the important football exchange. His performance was so legendary as a ballboy, he got a phone call from New England Patriot Quarterback Tom Brady, a couple of years back to take care of the footballs. I made that last sentence up.

As we grapple with the tragedy at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium, let’s eventually put this in perspective. It was a freak accident. I have never heard it happening before. Bat and football boys have been part of the game for an eternity. They humanize a game that can sometimes get way too seriously. And you never know what kind of lasting effect it has on a kid.

For Brandon, he would be come a player for the Crusaders which made a long run into the playoffs and set up the state championship years ahead. Wilmoth would return four years later as a middle school football coach. He is now a game official retrieving balls from other ball boys. For me, Brandon’s growth from ball boy to coach to official marks my own aging process and why I love living in a small town. Again, it’s one of those life experiences that is so good in so many ways.

We have to live life, and hopefully NBC’s banning of bat boys at the tournament is temporary and simply a symbolic gesture of the terrible event. Hopefully, no other leagues are taking this as a sign that this practice should be banned. There are ways to implement safeguardd, including perhaps raising the age of children participating. Just an old fashioned talk between an umpire or game official with the ball boy before the contests about the potential safety standards ahead will do wonders. Makes me wonder if anyone spoke to young Kaiser Carlile before the game before he performed as a bat boy.

And most of all parents should not be scared to let their child do something that will stick with them for the rest of their lives.

Cecil the Lion

2. Cecil the lion…

I usually try to ignore most cable news generated controversies, and Cecil the Lion wasn’t on my radar screen until the babble was almost over. Somehow the subject matter reeled me in.

At best, Dr. Walter Palmer, who is accused of killing Cecil the Lion, acted irresponsibly and failed on so many fronts. He failed to find the right guide service. He took advantage of vague Zimbabwe hunting laws, and he shot a lion that was part of a science experience and beloved by many natives and tourists. His actions thereafter of cutting off the lions head, disposing the GPS tracking advice, and letting the body to rot gives me the willies. You would think someone with a convicted felony (see here) would have been more careful in his pursuit to get a trophy for his wall.

Is hunting lions a good practice? According to Scientific American:

“The total population of lions in Africa is currently estimated at about 34,000 animals, down by at least 50 percent from three decades ago. Those numbers, however, tell only part of the story… About 70 percent of the remaining lions—24,000 cats—live in just 10 “stronghold” regions in southern and eastern Africa. Lions in other regions, such as West Africa, have been almost completely wiped out.”

Poaching is a huge issue in Africa and from what I understand from Chris Stout, Sumner County Game Warden, it is here as well (see story here). It seems to me that the Zimbabwe government officials aren’t consistent in their policies either. One of the biggest debates with this issue is whether the hunt was even legal. I’ve read several articles where Zimbabwe officials are contradicting one another. Makes one wonder if laws were enacted that weren’t strictly enforced or if under-the-table payments from the poaching industry is standard practice.

I find myself vacillating between the pro and anti hunting forces. While I don’t understand the desire to trophy hunt personally, I realize there is a reason for it for conservation purposes. Also, hunting is vital to the Zimbabue economy, much like it is here in Kansas.

If anything, Cecil did not die in vain. It addresses a larger issue of how we deal with our animal population — whether it be big game hunters or those who enforce the rules.

Bill Snyder

3. Bill Snyder…

Quick. Who was the President of the U.S. in 1989? If you said President H.R. Bush, the old one, you would be correct. Heck, old daddy Bush was barely in office when Kansas State University hired head coach Snyder.

Snyder inherited the worst college football program in history that had been to just one bowl appearance, a cumulative 299-510 record in 93 years of play, and was on a 27-game winless streak at the time, with one tie against an equally inept KU team. Sports Illustrated had just published an article entitled “Futility U,” which labeled the school “America’s most hapless team.”

And not to sound like Paul Harvey, you know the rest of the story. Since that point, Snyder has accumulated a 187-94-1 record, won countless national coach of the year awards, been to multiple bowls, vied for a couple of national championships, had a couple of Heisman Trophy candidates, and won a couple of conference championships.

Here we are in 2015, and the Godfather is about to start his 24th season in 27 years. He has a stadium named after him and he has created a fan base so spoiled that the idea that the Cats may finish seventh in the 10-team conference is cause for great concern. Snyder not only built up the most hapless team in America, but he rebuilt it again after a disastrous three-year stint by some fellow named Ron Prince.

There will be that day when Snyder will call it quits for good. This may be his final year. Who knows? That will be a really sad day for Cat fans. But in the meantime, let’s soak in his presence on the sidelines. Because 50 years from now, football historians will still be talking about Snyder.

Donald Trump

4. Donald Trump…

If for anything else, Mr. Trump is quite the entertainer. Just this week, his Presidential campaign is better than anything shown on Survivor or America’s Next Model.

First, he yells at Fox News Moderator Megan Kelly during the Republican Presidential Debate. And then he goes to Fox News rival CNN and states: “You could see there was blood coming out her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever.” He claimed later he was talking about her nose. Yeah, Donald, we believe you.

He’s now getting banned from Republican fundraisers, like RedState leader blogger Erick Erickson who disinvited him from a big-wig political event on Saturday. Now there is controversy on why his top campaign advisor Roger Stone quit.

And he continues to lead in the polls.

Trump is a reason why we have stiffs running our country.

I don’t think for one second, that Trump is a serious contender for the Presidency. In the end, it will be the boring Jeb Bush vs. Hilary Clinton battle in the general election and Trump will probably run an irrelevant third party candidacy.

But since we are still 16 months from that election, I’m content with watching the circus that Trump is producing.

Wellington 16-under Girls Babe Ruth World Series qualifiers.

5. Shoutout of the week…

There’s little doubt that this week’s shout out goes to the Wellington 16-under girls softball team playing in the Babe Ruth World Series in Jensen Beach, Fla.

Wellington head coach Shawn DeJarnett said on Facebook he is overwhelmed by the support at the World Series of transplanted Wellington residents, who now live in the Florida sunshine.

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