Saturday morning started far earlier than I would have wanted for a weekend. My cell phone alarm went off at 4:15 a.m. so I could drive my mother to LAX and return her to the sun-kissed state of Florida, bringing to an end her month long visit. My daughter's wedding was over and the young couple was back in northern California to begin their new life; Ma & Pa Chase had returned to Maryland; and David Byers had long since taken his injured mother ( Louise "Mom" Byers) back home to Vancouver, Washington. So when the Continental Airlines attendant whisked my mother toward her departure gate in a wheelchair, I knew our house would return to normal by nightfall.

After dropping Mom off at the airport, I headed to Artesia for the ASA tournament (one of several hosted by Artesia throughout the year). This year's tournament had six pools and 22 girls teams, competing in both 16 and under and 18 and under divisions.

This particular tournament was using the "drop dead" format. Basically, teams play for one hour and twenty minutes. At the end of that time, the game stops (no matter where they are in the inning); the score is based on the last fully completed inning.

The California Crushers, from Burbank, were playing in the 16 and under division with an 8 a.m. game time and players needing to be on the field by 7 a.m. First up for the Crushers was Valley Voltage (formed two years ago) from the Lakewood/Cerritos area, a team the Crushers had faced on two previous occasions (winning both games).

Voltage was now a different team - more aggressive and definitely more experienced. The first inning saw both teams bring only three batters to the plate without scoring.

After two innings, Voltage was ahead 2-0. The third inning did not produce runs for either side, so at the top of the fourth inning, the home team Crushers found themselves running out of time. In the bottom of the fourth inning, after a scoreless half inning by Voltage, the Crushers' Kristina Ortiz drove a triple to left field, Cassie Colón walked, Roxy Halebian singled, and Brianna Zubia reached on a fielder's choice.

When the dust settled at the end of the fourth inning, the Crushers had surged to the lead 3-2. During the top of the fifth inning, Valley Voltage mounted a comeback, scoring two runs. The score favored Voltage, 4-3, but the stage was set to demonstrate a major problem with "drop-dead game" tournaments.

With time quickly running out, the Voltage coach tried to get his player to intentionally step off of the bag at first base to cause an out. At the same time, he had the batter swatting at flies and golfballs to create the third out.

His intent was to have the Crushers come to bat and take them down 1-2-3. However, the Crushers coaching staff countered with their own game plan, calling time out to "talk" with the team then changing pitchers (which required warm-up pitches). In short order, time expired and the plate umpire called the game. Since the fifth inning was never completed, the score went back to the fourth inning where the Crushers were leading 3-2, making the win theirs.

The second game of the day saw the California Crushers take on the Wolfpack in a tightly fought game. After six full innings of play, the game ended in a 2-2 tie. Tournament rules provide points in order to determine pool winners (2 points for a win, one point for a tie, and 0 points for a loss); so after two games, the Crushers had three points.

Game three placed the Crushers in competition with a team whose name leaves a lot to be desired - Redrum(more on that later). Like the second game against the Wolfpack, game three was hard fought and low scoring. The two teams sent 38 batters to the plate, but only one run was scored. When the umpire called the game after one hour and twenty minutes, the Crushers came out on top 1-0, winning their pool.

Now back to Redrum; this is a word introduced by Stephen King in his book The Shining as a backwards-spelled murder. We wonder why society does not value life: when we think it is cute to name a team murder, and accept the act as "no big deal." As a parent, this is not a team I would allow my child to play on.

The championship round is scheduled for Sunday - but according to the weather reports, so is rain. The Crushers were told to watch their e-mail and the weather reports. If it rains, the best advice would be to stay home and drink hot chocolate.