The Rotary and the Kenosha Softball HOF: Final Thoughts

I wanted to put a close on my Rotary/HOF pieces so here it is:

The 3 people I did not focus on are simply because I know little to speak of. I can blather on and on about John Pitts or Bads because I know a lot about the subject matter. These 3…not so much.

I’ll start with whom I know the most about. Brenda Van Cuick. Unfortunately, what I know about Branda and softball dates back to Saturday night’s championship when I saw her go 2-2 with a walk. What I can speak intelligently on is the fact that some years back, she and Cindy Herr were the two greatest Women’s Professional Football Players in the country. Through Scott Kessler, I was the official statistician for the Northern Ice Professional Football Team. Brenda Van Cuick was literally unstoppable when running the ball and was easily the Offensive POY. And she was the second-best defensive player in the nation..with Cindy Herr being the first. It does not surprise me Brenda is a Softball Hall of Famer, she is obviously a one-of-a-kind athlete. Congrats.

I know Larry Keating was built like a professional arm wrestler, crushed the ball left-handed, and was a legacy softball player. Coming from a softball family, the name Keating carries weight in the softball community and deservedly so. And he hit in the middle of the best Stanich line-ups so that tells you about all you need to know about his hitting ability. Has was definitely on the cutting edge of launching a 2 RBI sacrifice fly at any park without a fence. Well Done.

My guy Paul Vagnoni gets the assist regarding Liz Sipple. Playing on teams like Kremis Farms and Strang Siding, she was obviously a top-line player for the top-tier teams in the area. And a highlight was winning the MVP at the Moose while playing shortstop for Flints….even more impressive is that she won that MVP at short being a LEFTY!! Stories like this just make my day. Congrats.

Random Thoughts:

Best Thing. Loved seeing Czar on Saturday night…feelin good and taking a few victory laps. You KNOW what this induction means to this man. Good for you Czar…get them pats on the back…you sure as hell earned em.

2nd Best Thing. Watching Lee Plumbing play.  Young, athletic and…..local?? Yes, a few names I actually recognized like Lee and Jones and Tibor. Way to go Lee Plumbing. The game was well played, had friendly and quality smack talk and the right team won.

3rd Best Thing. Adam “Gratzi” Kavalauskas hot on the mic. Anyone can holler into a mic, but to take pride in announcing and doing a damn good job of it, well I’m pretty bias towards anyone who gives a crud about doing that well. Nice Work Gratzi.

There were some different teams running around down there so it was a bit strange to see games of people I don’t know..but that was already happening for me even when there were all KTown teams, ha! They gotta do what they gotta do to get what they can, I get it.

I got to sit on the Blade bench with my family and watch the Women’s Finals on Saturday Night. The Rotary will NEVER EVER be the same without Steve Hess in it. RIP to a Hall of Fame dude.

It likely ain’t hard to find stuff to poke holes in but this is still The Rotary. It is a part of our lives…always will be to some degree. And if I have any beef with the HOF, it would be that it is far too top-heavy with decent players from great teams. I mean no disrespect to anyone inducted this year or any year. But I see how people react..I hear them talk..and I see the hits on these stories. This just goes so much deeper than 2 super teams and then everyone else. It is the masses that even make a HOF a realistic thing. The best of the best, that sat in a parking lot at 3AM, to try and make it to register a team in the Thursday American, who played for 20-30 years, are Hall of Famers…trust me.