EDITORIAL

Good stuff happens.

It’s been a long, hot summer in Huntington Beach, a season shadowed by

the conflict-of-interest investigation into the mayor’s business affairs

and voting record, a season marred by continued beach closures.

How wonderful then for the Ocean View Little League All-Star team to

come our way.

How appropriate that a bunch of 12-year-olds would come shimmering out

of the sandlots of Huntington Beach to remind all of us that there is

reason to cheer, to celebrate, to push the gloomy headlines aside and

lose yourself in the glow of innocence.

The Ocean View team made it all the way to the Western Regional finals

last week, before losing a nail-biter to a team from Vancouver, Wash. The

game was the last gateway to Williamsport, the Pennsylvania town that

hosts the Little League World Series each year.

Making the regional playoffs is an accomplishment itself. Getting to

the finals is a rare honor. A little math might put things in order:

Including last week’s showdown, the Huntington Beach team ended with a

postseason record of 17-2, winning four of those game by 10 runs or more

and beating its first four opponents by the combined score of 33-4. One

of the squad’s players, Hank Conger, hit 33 home runs this season, which

is Mark McGuire-like when one considers the much shorter Little League

season. And the team won its district title for the third straight year.

One could hardly blame city officials if they kicked up their heels,

thanked their lucky stars for the good news and arranged a parade down

Main Street. Sadly, it wasn’t until the Aug. 17 televised game in San

Bernardino that city leaders caught wind of what was happening.

But that doesn’t undercut the accomplishments of these polished,

steady-playing ballplayers who had the good fortune of spending their

summer playing ball and having a manager who -- knowing that these sorts

of things may roll along only once in a lifetime -- quit his job so he

could focus on his young charges.

Sure, all seasons come to an end, kids grow up and the stuff of

childhood is stored away in memories, snapshots and videotapes. But for

the brief moment it lasts, a season such as this is a wondrous thing.

For a final time, then, we present the kids of summer:

Hank Conger

Greg Gonzales

David Jacobs

Eric Jaso

James Kang

Scott Melchert

Jeff Mollica

Chris Palmer

Trey Valbuena

Jeff Van Doornum

Dallas Walters

Tomas Yoo.