Dudley/Budweiser Major NIT

Brooklyn Center Minnesota was the setting for the Mighty Dudley this past weekend. Dan Smith/Menosse/Benfield/Team Combat and Resmondo/Specialty Tank came to settle who would leave as the #1 team in the world. Smith & Resmondo took to the fields Saturday night in the winners bracket finals. I have seen a lot of games played in my lifetime, but this was one of the best I’ve ever seen. These two giants put on an absolute battle, that left both teams in amazement,, the big crowd talking about it and me just thinking this is how bigtime softball should be. I wrote in my first softball report this season that I thought with the player changes on these two teams it would make for more competitive games between them. I am here to tell you all, that is just what’s going on in 2008. Smith & Resmondo have played each other ten imes this season and these two giants are all square,5-5. Smith’s only losses are to Resmondo, 5. Resmondo has lost five to Smith , one to T&R Stucco and one to Columbus Pipe. The win for Dan Smith this weekend was the base hitting of the two scooters, McGavin and Nastally. These two turned the top just about everytime they came to bat, and the top did it’s job. Wegman and Genter are two of the best overall hitters in the game today, no doubt about it. The real story though was Resmondo could not get the scooters out. The Saturday night game was a great game for sure. The question was, would Resmondo make it back to the finals? Resmondo came back alright, then met up with Smith again and they won a thriller to force the “if” game. This game was a see-saw affair for four innings. Smith came to bat and the left side of Resmondo’s infield could not make a couple of easy plays. Smith capitalized on the mistakes and took the lead and never looked back. The best double-dipping team in the history of the game had to settle for the runnerup spot and Dan Smith/Menosse/Benfield/Team Combat became the #1 team in the land by winning this prestigious NIT. Good luck to Dan Smith the rest of the way and congratulations on a great weekend.
I know this, you guys earned the #1 ranking that’s for sure.

Resmondo & Smith will meet about four more times in tournaments in 2008. We then will know who is the best team in 2008. Congratulations to Resmondo on your weekend and good luck the rest of the way.

GTL/Creative Stucco/Worth put on a show that was as good as it will ever get. This bunch lost their first game, then set sail on a third place finish going 8-2 for the weekend. GTL/Stucco not only went 8-2, but gave #3 Long Haul/Phonemasters/Miken, a super team it’s first loss to a Class A team in 2008. Long Haul’s only losses were to Dan Smith and Resmondo up until this weekend. The Stucco boys then met up with the #4 team in the country, Jean Shoppe/Easton and sent them to the house Sunday morning. The Stucco team was hoping it could win one more game when it met up with Resmondo, but came up a little short. This bunch has been playing very well all season and definitely played it’s best this weekend. Congratulations on a great weekend and good luck the rest of the season.

Jean Shoppe/Easton finished in 4th this weekend, but make no mistake this is the team to beat in the Class A Worlds. This bunch has been beating the teams it’s supposed to and losing to the teams they’re supposed to. Congratulations on a great weekend and good luck down the road. I want to congratulate Warren Bellm on another great Dudley. Nobody does a better job putting together and running an NIT like Warren does. I know Warren has some great people who work with him to make this the very best tournament in the country. I would like to personally congratulate and commend Joel Erickson and his staff on the great job they do on the fields at the Dudley. The infields are dragged after every game. Nobody ever does that. The ballparks are in fabulous shape every morning from the hard work of Joel and his staff. I hope to see you all next year and good luck to Warren, Joel and all the people from the Dudley.

I have been accused of favoring Resmondo for the last 3 1/2 years. I know this, you can call it favoring, but I call it winning. I also know nobody likes a winner except their fans, families and sponsors period. The Yankees won for years, got all the ink and today nobody likes the Yankees. I guarantee you, if Dan Smith has a run for 3 1/2 years and wins as much as Resmondo has, the shoe would be on the other foot and they wouldn’t like Smith either, and they would say I favor them. Just the nature of the beast, we will see. To my critics who say Travis supports me, that is not true. I have never asked Travis Resmondo for one dime or anyone else. He took care of a room for me a couple of times and that’s pretty much it. The real facts are Mr. Dan Smith, Mr. Ed Menosse, Mr. Jerry Backman and Mr. John Daniels have supported me very well, and I’ve always appreciated everything they have done for me. I have tried over the last 20 years to promote bigtime softball, their sponsors, their teams, their players and most of all the softball fans and people who care about the game. I have given my heart and soul and my time to try and make this a better game. Some of my suggestions, such as longer bases on the baseball fields have come into play. The use of the much bigger fields has proven to be the best for the game today. The game has made a big change over the last five years, and I think for the better. I will continue to promote and talk about change for the betterment of this great game that I love until my health won’t let me continue. I’m 65 years old and hope I can get a few more years. Thanks to all the people who do care what I do, I appreciate you all. I have been ranking the Top 20 since the day my good friend Jerome Earnest passed. I guarantee you I have seen more softball games at the top level than anybody in the world. I also know that when ranking the teams I know what I’m talking about, I promise you. It is nice to see other people’s rankings, I enjoy that. I guarantee you I will not take any bashing on my rankings or my softball report. I put too much effort into this to get based about it. I don’t care if there is one person who goes on my website to bash, as I will ban anybody who has anything derogatory to say about my softball report and my rankings, I promise you.