Organized Chaos

The wind is blowing in Winter Haven, bringing in some cooler air off the nearby lakes. This is the best weather since I’ve been here covering the state juco baseball and softball tournaments.

Other days saw oppressive heat and the need for gobs of sunscreen (I burn like an ant under a magnifying glass). Then there was the rain, something we need up there, but it was more necessary down here. So far I’ve heard of;three wildfires in the Tampa area, so rain is a good thing.

Chipola beat Manatee 4-3 in advancing to;the state championship on Tuesday. A state title would give Chipola an unprecedented feat, state crowns in all four major sports in the same academic year. The Chipola men’s and women’s teams won state titles earlier this year. The softball team won its first state title on Sunday.

Before I go, here are a few observations:

I seem to encounter a lot of rude people on these trips. There was the older woman who cut in front of everyone (including me who was waiting for 10 minutes) at Denny’s.;And she was seated before everyone else because the hostess thought she was there already. Rather than raise a stink, many of us;took our business elsewhere.

There were a ton of obnoxious fans, including ones from Santa Fe that were chanting “USA, USA” while playing Miami Dade. Yes, there are some foreign players on Miami Dade’s team, but the majority of the roster is made up of American citizens. The justice in all of it was Miami Dade won and eventually took the district title.

I managed to reach my hotel in the Winter Haven area (Auburndale to be exact) after a day of mild turmoil.

I’m here to cover Gulf Coast and Chipola teams in the state junior college softball and baseball tournaments. That’s going to be the easy part, considering it took me all day to get here.

First I had to return the company vehicle due to a non functional air conditioner. I took my personal vehicle, but was several hours behind schedule.

Once here, I took a wrong turn and went to everywhere but my hotel. It also was raining, making for finding the place even more diffcult. I finally reached the Best Western in Auburndale at around 10 p.m. CDT.

Well, the good news is the hotel is less than a year old, with computers and high-speed Internet access in each room. The AC also allows you to set the temperature exactly, rather than having to guess. And I almost grabbed one of the rooms with a jacuzzi, but someone upgraded to it before I walked in.

Anyhow, that’s the part that doesn’t matter. I just need a place to sleepafter a busy day. And I will be busy.

I’ll send updates when I can. The softball tourney runs through Sunday. Baseball continues through Tuesday.