WPCNR VIEW FROM THE UPPER DECK. By Fastpitch Johnny. August 25, 2007: The New York Times,  The Associated Press and ESPN won't tell you about it, but WPCNR will. The National Pro Fastpitch Champions are being contested between the First Place Washington Glory, the Akron Racers, Rockford Thunder and defending Champion New England Riptide this weekend in a double-elimination format in Kimberly, Wisconsin. The first round was rained out Friday and a double round will be played today, weather permitting.

What do I mean by thwart?

It is unconscionable on telecasts of the World Cup softball championships in Oklahoma City, not for USA Softball to cross promote the National Pro Fastpitch League. USA Softball's preoccupation with the collegiate game and the international success of its one team to the detriment of the thousands of girls who play fastpitch softball is a disgrace, in this reporter's opinion.

One of the absolute media atrocities continued this season with the national sports media ignoring women's pro fast pitch professional softball for the fourth straight year. How can the national media continue to tacitly refuse to cover pro fastpitch when they cover such nuanced sports as bicycling (how much drugs can one winner take? Anybody can be a star if you take enough), poker (what a wonderful thing to promote to youth, ESPN), and that force-fed sport, soccer (admittedly a lot of people play it), golf (which really is not a sport but a recreation), tennis (another recreation), neither of which require the all around athleticism of baseball and softball.

But hey, we know -- the nation's sports pages like promoting the NBA, the NFL, Major League Baseball, soccer, tennis, golf, -- even curling -- and the occasional mention of the NCAA Fastpitch Championships -- very peripherally.

This is a sin.

I had someone write me recently, saying they are only interested in seeing sports and reading about sports on the highest level and that is football, baseball, nba, etc.

Highest level? Excuse me. The pitching in the major leagues is from hunger! Six innings is considered a good start these days. The fastpitch pitcher fires 120 pitches a game without wincing, five times in a week. That would have most major league pitchers' arms falling off. 

Highest level? When some games are fixed? The NBA is being shown by the FBI, to have a serious game-altering problem by one official. Does anyone really believe that only one referee was calling more fouls on one team than another in a pattern-like manner? If other officials weren’t doing it too, don’t you think this might have been reported by other officials? If they did not report it they all should go.

Highest level? Has anyone noticed how the NFL officials just seem to toss flags at inopportune times in the last few minutes of a game that just conveniently meets the point spread? Perhaps the FBI should take a look at that league’s officiating, too, especially since NFL officials are not salaried full-time officials. I would.

Highest level? I think they should do a comparison to see how many NFL and NBA players have run afoul of the authorities compared to how many fastpitch pro softball players have been arrested and found to be drug users, dealers, and gun-toters (other than their great arms).

Highest level? The Texas Rangers defeated the Baltimore Orioles the other day 30-3, and funny, no one in the press referred to it as “a softball score,” which they used to do. Why? Because runaway games happen a lot in the major leagues now because of the lousy pitching, the short fences and the steroid abuse “by a handful of players.”

 “Softball scores” don’t happen often in the National Pro Fastpitch league. The games are tight, taut and tense in the NPF, and very serious.

Softball Organizations Ignore the NPF, too.

But, the media coverage aside, the attitude towards National Pro Fastpitch softball shown by USA Softball, the American Softball Association and the National Softball Association is the worst. They simply fear professional softball will interfere with their academic and amateur game.

They do not realize that helping the NPF will help them too.

The worst attitude is shown by USA Softball.

On the recent World Cup telecasts, not one NPF league official was interviewed. Not one mention was made of the NPF by name, although one commentator did mention “the professional league.” No NPF players were interviewed. I want to know why? 

Come on. USA Softball should wake up and smell the coffee: the Olympic committee has killed them by taking softball out of the Olympics. Why? Because the U.S. always wins. Simple as that. Until the world became competitive in basketball, the Olympics never cared about basketball, either.

Now USA and the International softball community is attempting to pump up an international competition, the World Cup of Softball. Forget about it. It is a pompous attempt by USA Softball to perpetuate its own existence for one set of games a year. It does not work.

The National Pro Fastpitch league is attempting to work within the USA Softball confines, releasing their best players to participate in boring world cup games during the NPF season – hurting the NPF fan base by taking away the NPF team drawing cards.

USA Softball is orientated toward the academic sporting year, where most high level softball players who participate in the NPF coach. All, well and good, the women have to make a living. But far too many name softball players are promoting themselves at the expense of growing the sport.

It is not up to major league baseball to make professional fastpitch softball successful. But if major league teams promoted an NPF team seriously, it would help. I had hopes when the Juggernaut were catching on in Maplewood New Jersey that George Steinbrenner and the Yankees…or even the Mets would take a serious financial interest in them. For what the Yankees were paying A-Rod and what they Roger the Prima Donna, they could have made the Juggernaut a rousing success. To their shame the Yankees and Mets did not take the lead for fast pitch softball when it was here. 

The NPF has to realize they are not being helped by USA Softball, and players, too, have to realize that USA Softball is all about USA Softball and not the players.  USA Softball makes an activity for about 36 players a year. The players are given a living allowance -- but not paid a salary.

The NPF makes a season for  72 players on six teams, paying about minor league wages. Young players in the six NPF areas: Akron, Rockford, Ill, Chicago, Washington (in Loudoun Valley, Virginia), and Philadelphia (Allentown, Pa), and New England (Lowell, Mass), are inspired by these players in a wholesome environment. The young women who are playing on these six professional teams are like the players in the old Negro Leagues, they are playing their game because they love it and are pioneering it.

It is to the ever lasting shame of USA Softball, the ASA and the NSA – and Major League Baseball – and ultimately the national media that they are not supporting and reporting on this league.

The hope is the NPF can continue to carry on -- and it is to their credit they do -- despite all efforts by supposed friends of fastpitch softball  to kill it.