On Saturday, Nov. 9, 2006, the Burbank Heat and Sylmar Lady Hawks met for the Amateur Softball Association Winter Tournament Championship. The two high school-aged girl's softball teams played seven complete innings and then two extra innings with the Hawks coming out ahead to win the championship.

During the game, a protest had been filed alleging the use of ineligible players by the Sylmar team. The matter was reviewed by the Burbank Parks and Recreation Department as well as ASA. When the decision came down, it left a bad taste in the mouths of the California Crushers, who had played against the Lady Hawks earlier in the day in the semi-final round. The Crushers lost 3-2 against a Lady Hawks team using the same two ineligible players.

Here is how the manager of the Crushers related the news:

"The protest was upheld by the Burbank Parks and Recreations Department and the championship awarded to the Burbank Heat."

The justification laid out by the sports office in selecting the Heat as champions was that the Crushers had failed to file a protest during their semi-final game with the Lady Hawks.

Now follow me with this unbelievable line of governmental logic. A team used ineligible players in three straight playoff games. The violation was discovered when someone brought it to the attention of the Burbank Heat coaches during the championship game (the Heat did not discover this information on their own). So, if no one had "blown the whistle," then the Lady Hawks would be the 2006 champions. And because the Crushers did not know they played against ineligible players - too bad.

In every league that I have known or played in, when a team fields ineligible players, all games are forfeited in which the player or players participated. However, this logic seemed to escape the city of Burbank's sports staff.

We are slowly moving towards a belief that wrongdoing should not be punished, where violations face no consequences. This is clearly an example of where it was more expedient to resolve the first championship game, but too much of a hassle to schedule another one between the Burbank Heat and the California Crushers.

So thanks to the sports office and ASA, the 2006 winter tournament presented a tarnished crown and will need to add an asterisk in the history books:

2006 ASA Winter Softball Tournament Champions - Burbank Heat*
*City of Burbank gave title to team that lost championship game.

The Crushers have resigned themselves to the fact that sometimes life stinks, officials make poor calls, and championships are decided by people who do not want to do the right thing.

For the Crushers, life moves on; many of the players on the Heat are their friends and high school rivals. The Crushers wish them well. All they wanted was their shot at the crown. The Crushers will be playing in the Artesia tournament this weekend and double-checking each team's roster and filing protest just in case. Such is life.