Ed the MVP??

As expected, the H-W Demons demolished the boys from U.S. Cooler by a 24-4 margin on a beautiful night for softball at Moorman Main, improving to 4-0.

That wasn't a shocker. What was shocking was how our beloved Ed earned kudos from his teammates and the huge throng of Demons faithful for his all-out hustle and determination during the blowout.

With DOB running in front of him during the team's breakout second inning, Ed actually listened to his boss for once and slid on a play at the plate. DOB was just clowning around and didn't think Ed would actually slide. DOB should have known better. (By the way, I love going third person here.)

DOB should have known the Carlinville kid would give it all he had to make sure his team got the run. After all, this is what drew Division III power Millikin to him coming out of high school (that, and the fact the team needed a practice dummy.)

The determination Ed showed on the play is why he got to play 17 varsity plays during his Millikin career. It's that type of determination that kept Ed in the top 10 on Millikin's all-time weight throw list until some jabronie kicked him off that elite track and field list this spring. It's that type of determination that has made Ed the envy of the rest of Division V. Plain and simple, he gets it done.

And he got it done in a big way during this rout. He brought the crowd to its feet and made the Demons bench swell with pride for his play.

(Now, he may not have been as good as DOB, the captain for a night, who went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI, including the game-winning RBI, snapping a 2-2 tie with a two-run double in the second inning. By the way, DOB is now 5 for 11 with 7 RBI this season from the 10 hole. When's he going to move up the lineup?)

The Demons showed up 14 strong and the Cooler Boyz never had a chance. They got out to a 2-0 lead in the first, but it was all downhill from there. The Weamster actually threw a few called strikes, but didn't get much help from his infield, which booted a few balls. Everyone in the lineup hit the ball hard and rookie John did a nice job of filling in for DOB as third-base coach when DOB was blazing the base paths. Oh, forgot that the Weamster also hit an inside-the-park home run, clearing the bases in around 39.4 seconds, the slowest time ever.

The outfield was helped with the addition of the newest Demon, H-W sports part-timer Shawn, who tracked down a ball in right-center field that his aging, slower predecesor, Murphy, would have never got to. (Props to Murph for showing up and giving moral support to his old squad. Ditto to H-W plant workers Cyndi and Stevie E., the Doctor of Dirt.)

The other surprising thing was that Hart's home run streak stopped at three games. He did send one to the track that would have been out of either one of the other two parks, but stayed inside the spacious Moorman Main layout. Also, good work by Kris Kross for not striking out in front of his boys - he works with the Cooler Boyz.

The Demons are still in first place in Division V, although there's some team some of the boys are worried about. Listen, when it comes to talking about who is going to win Division V this year, the discussion starts and stops with the Demons. The rest of the teams in this league are mere pretenders to the throne the Demons will sit in when the summer's over.

Keeping the dream alive!!

Their backs against the wall, the H-W Demons came through in the pinch Thursday night to keep their hopes of a dream season alive with a 15-13 victory.

Can't say that I even know what team we played, but as "The Rock" said, "it doesn't matter what your name is."

It certainly doesn't matter to the Demons, who are now 3-0 and rolling toward a Quincy Park District Division V title - the first of what will be many for the new-look Demons.

Thursday's hero was "Hitman" Hart. Hart padded his league-leading home run total by smashing two more out of Wavering at crucial times of the game. The Weamster even got it done on the mound after a shaky start. With the game tied at 13 going into the bottom of the eighth, Weamer got the Jabronies (that's what we'll call them since I don't know their name) out in order to send the game to the ninth.

"The Hitman" came through with a clutch two-run home run in the top of the inning to make it a 15-13 game. The Demons had the bases loaded and one out before our version of Ryne Sandberg, Marky Mark, popped out to left field and The Weamster, proving that pitchers can't run the bases was thrown out since he didn't know how many outs there were. Unfortunately for the Demons, third-base coach DOB was on deck ready to clear the bases with his next at-bat and wasn't where he should have been - helping keep the Weamster's head in the game. Weamster's play took the bat out of DOBs hands. (May not have been a bad thing since DOB was 0 for 3 with a walk to drop his batting average to .375 on the season).

Fortunately, the Demons didn't allow a run in the bottom of the ninth and got the win.

Bonehead play of the night doesn't go to Ed for once. Our speedy left-centerfielder, Kris Kross, struck out swinging. He actually kind of looked like his brother, The Weamster, during that at-bat. Beer's on you, pal.

Ed had a pair of key hits, but also hit into a double play with a slow roller back to the pitcher. Buddy, unhitch the trailer already.

The Demons will be back in action next Thursday when another inferior foe will go down.

They call him Ed. We call him comedic relief, and the best darn right fielder in Division V.

2 and Oh-Baby!!!

QUINCY, Ill. (AP) - It's quite certain that the Quincy Park District Division V league has never seen a squad quite like the H-W Demons.

The mighty Demons once again flexed their considerable muscle Thursday night at Moorman Main, taking out a hapless, eight-man unit disguising themselves as Uncle Bob's Bar & Grill. The only ones doing any grilling on this windy, overcast Thursday night were the Demons, who laid the smack down to the tune of 33-25 being an inspiring opening night of play by catcher DOB.

Hitting in the No. 10 spot, the Demons' Rookie of the Year from 2005 proved his worth after settling a contract dispute that saw him miss the Demons season-opening whipping of the Merry Beavers. DOB went 3 for 5 with 4 RBI, helping anchor a lineup destined to go down with the likes of the 1927 Yankees. It's also obvious the men in blue have it out for the division's best gabber as well. In his last at-bat, DOB was called out on strikes by an umpire who obviously had a dinner date he was late for. Either that or he had to get to the Chelsea before it closed.

Powering the Demons on this night were RHart and centerfielder Chris. They had back-to-back jacks in the first inning, highlighting a nine-run frame. RHart, who is a power hitting shortstop somewhat in the mold of an Alex Rodriguez, added another homer in his next at-bat to push the Demons to their home run limit.

The Demons had another ball fly over the fence, but player/coach Weamer's very wind-aided blast didn't count. Nice timing.

Play of the night goes to Ed in right field. After getting a shot sent his way in right field in the third inning, Ed's fielding effort will go down in the annals of H-W Demon history.

He fell on his wallet while trying to get the ball and then tried to throw while sitting on the ground without much luck. Ed took the next two batters trying to pull the undies out of his butt. It was the first time any of us had ever seen someone give himself a wedgie on the softball diamond. To make matters worse, Ed popped out to the catcher on his next at-bat, thus pulling off a rare double play of futility. Nice work, Ed.

The Demons will continue their assault on the Division V at 6 p.m. next week against another hapless opponent who is destined to fall to the mighty, mighty Demons.