South Lake Charles Little League and the Hobo Hotel for Cats Auction

Not satisfied with being the first team from Lake Charles Louisiana to advance out of Little League World Series (LLWS) pool play, the South Lake Charles (SLC) Little League team took a shot at the semi-finals last night and won 6-1 against the team representing the Southeast region, Tampa, Florida.

I was unable to watch the game live due to a previous commitment to help out at a local auction. To make matters worse, auctioneer Ben Mount had given me strict instructions to keep any knowledge of the score to myself. As the manager/coach of the 2001 Louisiana Champions that went to the LLWS, Ben has been following the games closely. At his request, earlier in the day, I had made contact with shortstop/pitcher Kennon Fontentot's mom, Shelley, to arrange for a signed baseball and poster for the auction.

Putting the game out of my head for a few hours, even for the sake of the auction, was not an option. As luck would have it, my job was to simply monitor a video being displayed via my PC and projector. This was perfect as it gave me an opportunity to easily listen to Robert Ryder's play-by-play account directly from Lamade stadium via cell phone. That covered, I settled in- get this - behind the bar! Honestly, the bar offered the best postion to project the video on to the screen. Honest.

From this vantage point, I did my fair share of promoting the New Orleans train tour for 20, the topic of the video and a subject for a future blog. It also gave me a chance to visit with fellow baseball enthusiasts, including a die-hard fan and cat lover who had determined he and his wife would enjoy the cocktail hour, identify the live auction item they wanted, find someone to bid on their behalf and leave in time to watch Kennon Fontenot pitch. Guess who was the lucky recipient of their auction paddle? Say goodby to the easy job assignment. A dinner for 8 prepared by fellow REALTOR and CCIM Andrew Vanchiere was at stake. Oh, the pressure.

I learned two things last night.

1. Robert Ryder would probably be as effective as a sports commentator as he was a pilot for United.

2. I'm a rotten auction bidder.

In my defense, one caused the other. The screaming SLC fans in the background of Robert's cell phone, the score SLC 3- Tampa 1, Kennon on the mound, and it's time for Ben to start the bidding for the Vanchiere dinner. I tried to play it cool and casual, not entering the bidding action right away, still following the game. I think I held up the #68 paddle at $550. In increments of $50, the bids climbed to $900. I bid $950. Robert's enthusiasm, the screaming fans, a budget of 1,200, the cause. I bid $1,000. Obviously, my head wasn't 100% in the bidding game, but either my bid/war competitor figured I was gonna get this dinner come heck or high water, or simply figured they better let it be before I went further out in left field. Either way, my job was accomplished with $200.00 to spare!

Next item. A baseball signed by the SLC team. True to my pledge to Ben, I kept the score to myself. Without knowing that SLC was winning, the baseball went for $175.00. I stopped at $150.00 despite Judith Smith encouraging me to "go for it" as she knew the budget, knew the people.

The last item was the signed poster of Lamade Stadium. Got it for $100.00 and still $100.00 under budget. Surely, this would make up for the $50.00 error!

Score $275.00 for the no-kill cat shelter, courtesy of South Lake Little League!

Auction's over. Robert is still providing commentary but knows I continue in my dual capacity. I congratulate Ben for his awesome job. He says, "You know the score, don't you." Prepared for this question, poker-faced, I reply. "Yes." He asked, "Is it over?" I reply, 'No." He asked, "What's the score?" I reply, "You said you didn't want to know." He says, "Tell me the score!" As I give him the updated 5-1 score, I turn my cell to speaker phone so Ben and others can enjoy. Willie Mount Vanna White happily announces the score to those relishing the success of the auction. Before we leave the auction, SLC puts the thing to bed 6-1.

Now, let's go watch that game!

{Edit 5:15PM on 8/22/08: Having contacted the winner of the Vancherie dinner, I have permission to reveal names! I was representing Frank and Ginger Pruit in pursuit of the Vancherie dinner. And, they laughed off my error in deference to their support of the Hobo Hotel.}