"No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal assistance."

- Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 to the Civil Rights Act of 1964

There are 30 teams in the NBA, 32 teams in the NFL, and 30 teams each for the NHL and Major League Baseball.

In sharp contrast to these highly financed, male-dominated sports there are only six teams in the women's National Pro Fastpitch League.

The lack of money and teams comes from the fans' unwillingness to pay to fund female sports (even the WNBA only boasts 14 teams). So it comes as no surprise that at the high school level, girl's sports are under-funded, regardless of Title IX.

A prime example of sports under-funding was evident when the Indians of John Burroughs High School faced the Mustangs of Muir High School in the Pasadena Unified School District.

The Mustangs softball program receives $500 per season. This is in sharp contrast to the $2,000 provided by the Burbank Unified School District (plus $20,000 in program fundraising).

Seventeen Burroughs batters scored 11 runs on seven walks, four singles, nine Mustang errors, and one batter hit by a pitch - in the first inning.

Five Mustang batters faced pitcher Lizzie Peters, with Liz Hanna behind the plate, in the bottom of the inning. The Mustang players relied on three bats (the total number of bats owned by Muir) but came up scoreless.

The second inning saw Burroughs add five more runs on seven walks and a single; Muir sent four batters to the plate, coming up empty.

Burroughs increased its lead by five runs in the third inning. The game was called after five innings, under the Mercy Rule, as the Indians defeated the Mustangs 25-0.

Up next for Burroughs were the Bulldogs of Pasadena High School. The Indians sent 15 batters to the plate in the first inning. They scored 10 runs on two singles, two doubles, a walk, and 13Bulldog errors.

Over the course of five innings, Pasadena sent16 batters to the plate against the battery of pitcher Kerry Hodgins and catcher Liz Hanna.

For the second time in the week, Burroughs was able to mercy its opponent as the Indians defeated the Bulldogs 13-0. Hodgins had nine strikeouts in the game while giving up only one hit and a walk.

The Indians (7-9) return to the Birmingham tournament to face Alemany and Oaks Christian high schools.

If I may be so bold, it is time we truly supported the forgotten sports. This week, I will be sending Muir High School a check for the softball program. Imagine if they received 100 such checks from those of you reading this story.

"The Bad News Bears" and "The Mighty Ducks" may be fictional movies about losing teams that turned around their fortunes, but we have an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of young girls. Why not send a donation from the heart to: John Muir High School, 1905 N Lincoln Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103, Attention: Softball Program.