Michael T. Mondak speaks about the upcoming church softball season

This coming week, a brand new season in the Lawrence/Mercer County Church Softball League will begin as eleven teams will vie for the Chet Cameron Memorial Trophy.  It will be the 48th season for the league and my eleventh season as the voice of the Covenant Speed/Power.

Among the anticipated matchups this season will be held on June 24 at two different venues.  At Family Life Stadium in Hermitage, the Covenant Speed/Power will square off against the Family Life Falcons in a rematch of the last three tournament finals matchups.  At Mancino/Progressive Field in New Castle, the City Cardinals and the Genesis Chiefs will square off against each other for the first time ever in a matchup dubbed “The Expansion Series”.

But I believe that the one matchup prior to July 19 (Super Saturday) will be played on field number one of the Shenango Township Fields of Dreams complex in West Middlesex on July 10 (my 40th birthday) as the Covenant Speed/Power square off against the Grace Chapel Rams, where I express the wish that Jeff Newell, Tyler Fattman, and Bobby Mort, who were part of the roster from the 2018 team that last played on my birthday, are in attendance.  You see, Jeff Newell was the league’s most valuable player that season.  Tyler Fattman was one of two newcomers that season.  And Bobby Mort was the player of the game against St. John’s that was played on my birthday in 2018.  I also wish that Gray and Julie MacKenzie, whom I befriended prior to starting my association with the team, will make the drive up from Julie’s hometown of Mars (located near Cranberry) with their four children Laurel, Bennett, Holly and Miles with balloons for me selected by each of the four children.  It would also be nice if Julie Norris, who was a part of the 2017 Covenant team that won the championship, also attends and has balloons for me.  And finally, if Leah Moser would make the drive up from Wilmington, North Carolina for the game and also has balloons for me, that would be nice.

And on July 19, Super Saturday, if Covenant wins the Chet Cameron Memorial Trophy for the ninth consecutive season, it would be dubbed “The Nifty Ninth”.  The phrase is inspired from an element used in the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions that was played in 2005 following the historic winning streak of now-current host Ken Jennings, where 45 first round match winners were joined by nine “seeded” players dubbed the “Nifty Nine” for the 18 second round matches.

This year the oddsmakers have the Covenant Speed/Power as the heavy favorites to win the Chet Cameron Memorial Trophy, with the New Life Saints having the second best odds and the Family Life Falcons the third best odds.  They believe that this year’s dark horse team will be the Truth & Grace Warriors, who made quite a splash in their inaugural season last year.  They also have the two expansion teams, the City Cardinals and the Genesis Chiefs, as having better odds than the league’s perennial cellar dwellers the Central Chargers.  I frankly would not be surprised if the Central Chargers have another “el skunko” of a season where they fail to win even a single game.  The term “el skunko” is borrowed from The Price is Right to describe an episode where none of the six pricing games are won and ends with a double overbid in the Showcase.

When it comes to my podcasts, there are some new sponsors this season.  Among those new sponsors is Reed and Dailey Associates, who will serve as the presenting sponsor of Mercer County Church Softball on MHB Sports.  Each of my podcasts will originate from the Zipelly Broadcast Booth.  And among the new inning sponsors are Belmont Pines Hospital and the law firm of Evans, Garvey, Lackey and Ochs.  But as they say, though some things change, others just remain the same like death, taxes and Penn State women’s volleyball in the NCAA Tournament.