Miscellaneous

      If you haven't heard about the "banana ball" craze you are about to. The Banana Baseball Championship League is well into their first season with all six teams in action. It all started with the Savannah Banana's back in 2016 when they started a team that competed in the Coastal Plain League, a summer baseball league for collegiate players. By 2023 they were playing exhibition games against their touring partner teams. They were getting followers on Tik Tok and by 2025 they had amassed 10.5 followers, more than the MLB official count. Banana ball is special of course and have their own special rules. Each inning is scored by how many runs each team scores. If you outscore your opponents, you get a point, so games are not always won by the team that scores the most runs. There is a two-hour limit so play continues at a fast pace. No inning can start after the two hours. There is a ball four sprint. If there is a walk, the batter runs to first and can keep going until all the defensive players touch the ball and that means runners can score or continue to run the bases until all have touched the ball. Outfielders have to run in so they can touch the ball as well. If a foul ball is caught by a fan, it is in an out, and there are other rules as well. There are now six teams playing "banana ball" in the league. The Savannah Banana's, the Indianapolis Clowns, the Firefighters, The Texas Tailgaters, the Loco Beach Coconuts and the Party Animals. But it's not just a baseball game. Players perform dance routines, comedy sketches and more between and sometimes during innings. I was in Fargo Friday for the matchup between the Clowns and the Firefighters and I can honestly tell you I have never seen anything like it. There were over 5,000 in attendance and boy did they have fun. They sometimes pull people out of the stands for between inning competition and also have a band that plays at intervals during the game. Make no mistake about it, these guys and gals are real baseball players. Many played college baseball or minor league ball and the Clowns even have former MLB player Jackie Bradley. They can hit and pitch and field. It's high caliber baseball to be sure. I watched the Banana's on Saturday night on ESPN and they drew over 60,000 at Autzen Stadium in Oregon so this isn't a fluke, this is entertaining baseball with a lot of extra's thrown in. This was a great experience, but it was also a history lesson in the old Negro Leagues and how they were eventually advanced to the world of Major League Baseball. They started in the 30's and continued until the Negro Leagues disbanded. They continued to play as a barnstorming exhibition team into the 80's. Hank Aaron was just one of many who played for the Clowns before becoming a Major League star. They also spawned the careers of "Goose" Tatum, John Wyatt and Choo-Choo Coleman and female players like Toni Stone and Mamie "Peanut" Johnson. Look up some of these players and you will be amazed at what they did back in the day.     At this point you even have to get into a lottery to win the ability to buy tickets in a lot of places but look for an opportunity. You won't be disappointed; it's a two-hour window that you can just sit back and watch entertaining baseball and be pleasantly surprised at what these players can do. They have been called the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball and that's exactly what they are. Who thought "Banana Ball" would get this big.  

     THe Aitkin Anglers were in action Sunday in the 2nd Lund Virtual Tournament. Aitkin put 19 anglers on the water in this one with their best finish being a 7th place by Noah Moss/Garrett Guida with 30.37 lbs. The next highest finish for Aitkin was 26th place with Noah and Lenny Hughes with 22.55 lbs. Dalton Defoe was 31st, Dawson Weimer was 49th and Mason Guida was 60th. The target again was Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass with fish needing to be at least 12 inches to qualify. 

     The Aitkin Anglers wrapped up their second SATT Tournament in Red Wing this weekend. Tournament waters included Mississippi pools 4, 5 and 5a and Lake Pepin. Aitkin had 6 boats in the water with 4 placing in the top 50%. There were 167 boats registered to fish in the tournament. Anglers were after smallmouth and largemouth bass, and the fish had to be a minimum of 12" to be scoreable. The top 7 fish for each boat counted toward their final standings. Here's how the Aitkin anglers finished. 16th place-Noah Moss and Garrett Guida with 19.61 lbs, 28th place-Colton Weimer and Gauge Tscheu with 17.75 lbs, 68th place-Dawson Kazmerzak and Dawson Weimer with 11.88 lbs, 75th place-Lenny Hughes and Noah Hughes with 10:59 lbs and 134th place-Sawyer Johnson and Kayden Boser with 0.97 lbs. Finn Nelson and Abbey Baierl were on the water today and while they didn't have any scoreable bass, they did bring in a few non-target species. Aitkin also had 2 anglers in a 4-way tie for 4th place on biggest fish. Gauge Tscheu and Noah Moss both brought in 20" smallmouth. The top 17 teams from this tournament qualified for the Tournament of Champions in August. Noah Moss and Garrett Guida will be moving on to the TOC.