[greymule]

The suspensions are not connected with ASA. They are handed down by the county or township recreation departments and apply only within our area. The departments have a cooperative agreement that a suspension in one league affects all the leagues, a stipulation demanded by the umpires, who didn't want to eject a player in Lawrence on one night and then see him the next night in Ewing. But there is nothing to stop a suspended player from playing outside the area.

A couple of incidents over the past few years have led the townships to encourage umpires to call the police if anything serious happens, even if they see drinking in the parking lot (technically illegal, though it's been going on for decades). A politician friend told me that the various townships wish SP softball, with its hotheads and headaches and complaints from people who live near the fields, would disappear. Besides, said he, the votes are in youth sports.