A couple of issues I feel that should be mentioned:

1. The Little League World Series has a long history, and thus has a much larger and dedicated fanbase. The Softball World Series does not. It will continue to grow and having ESPN2 air the semi's and finals is a step in the right direction.

2. ESPN will respond to ratings. They aren't being discriminatory and they have no obligation to air things equally. This would be the same in arguing that major media outlets should be obligated to air the women's tackle football league in the same capacity that they do the NFL. Which, I'm sorry, is just a blatantly poor way to look at it. I was very excited when I saw the Softball games hit ESPN, but the LLWS has been a staple on television for decades and has gained an incredible following and big ratings. Those big ratings over the years have led to more games and larger platforms. Overtime if the Softball side grows it will do the same.

ESPN isn't going to discriminate but they are going to air what will draw the most viewers, and subsequent advertisers, to their network. And there is nothing wrong with that.

And the same goes for the websites. I agree that more should be placed on to the softball side, but currently the hits for the site are vastly in favor of the LLWS. And as they draw in more money I'm sure they have spent more of their resources in optimizing that site. However, I think they should invest a little more time and effort in to making that more equal - I'll definitely agree to that. But in its totality Little League International is in a tough spot. They don't have deep pockets and rely on regional offices. The Midwest regional office has two administrative members, two maintenance workers and a secretary for over 1,000 little leagues in multiple states. And this is typical for other regional offices. Their dollar is stretched fairly thin.

In the end, I agree that there should be an equal footing on the website. It should be uniform across the board (in design and information - baseball will have more video access for the time being though). But ESPN and other media outlets should not be demonized for doing their job and basing their programming on ratings as that translates to the health of their business. I commend ESPN for showing dedication to softball as a whole - airing USA Softball games, signing a SEC contract and frequently airing their games and now the incremental addition of the LLWS of Softball. It'll take time but over the last five years we have seen substantial growth for softball through ESPN.

Saturday, August 20, 2011 at 3:51pm EDT

Is televising youth sports a bit exploitive? Regardless of whether it's baseball or softball, the programming stars 11 and 12 year old kids who may not be ready for the spotlight. LLWS Home Run or Foul

Friday, August 26, 2011 at 12:44am EDT