Pairings Set for 2006 Little League Baseball World Series

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (June 14, 2006) – The pairings for the 60th Little League Baseball World Series were announced today by Stephen D. Keener, president and chief executive officer of Little League Baseball and Softball.

Williamsport has been the home of Little League since it was founded there in 1939, and the final game of the tournament is traditionally on the weekend before the Labor Day weekend. Labor Day in 2006 is Sept. 4.

For the fifth year since the tournament expanded from eight to 16 teams in 2001, every team will have at least one game on national television as ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 team up to bring Little League Baseball into millions of homes.

“The Little League World Series has had a presence on television since the 1950s, and beginning in 1963, every world championship game has been aired,” Mr. Keener said. “For decades, ABC and ESPN have recognized, and continue to appreciate, the special place the World Series holds in the hearts and minds of TV viewers. Each August, the Little League program is welcomed into homes around the world, and such hospitality has given Little League Baseball and Softball a grand stage for communicating its philosophy and purpose to millions worldwide.”
 

Howard J. “Pete” Lamade Jr., left, and his sister, Clara “Pat” Robison, stand next to the bust and portrait of their father, Howard J. Lamade, following the 2006 Little League Baseball World Series luncheon held today at Little League International. Mr. Lamade has the distinction of being the only person to have served on both the first corporate board of directors of Little League Baseball, and the first board of trustees of the Little League Foundation. In 1959, the Lamade family donated funds to the Williamsport (Pa.) Foundation, used for the purchase and donation of the property in the Borough of South Williamsport, where Little League’s headquarters has been ever since. Howard J. Lamade Memorial Field, located in South Williamsport, was built in 1959. It was renamed Howard J. Lamade Stadium when the old wood and steel stands were razed and a concrete stadium constructed in 1968. Thanks to a recent gift from the Lamade family, the covered section of seating will now extend to the ends of the 5,000-seat stadium, and the number of seats with backs will be expanded to more than 1,500.

The world championship game of the Little League Baseball World Series (for 11-12-year-olds) can be seen live on ABC at 3:30 p.m., on Sunday, Aug. 27. ABC also will televise the U.S. championship game in the afternoon, on Saturday, Aug. 26 at 3:30 p.m., followed by the International championship on ESPN and ESPN Deportes at 7:30 p.m.

Sixteen World Series games will be televised on ESPN and 12 will be televised on ESPN2, bringing the total of televised games to 30, one more than in 2005. In addition, ESPN and ESPN2 will carry all eight of the U.S. Regional Championship finals in the Little League Baseball division. The U.S. regional finals have been televised by ESPN and ESPN2 every year since 1997.

The two semifinal games and the World Championship game of the Little League Softball World Series in Portland, Ore., will be televised in August on ESPN2. The championship games of the Junior League Baseball World Series in Taylor, Mich., and the Big League Softball World Series in Kalamazoo, Mich., will each air on ESPN2, bringing the total number of Little League games televised nationally this August to 43.

The other seven World Series dates and sites are: Junior League Baseball (13-14-year-olds), at Taylor, Mich., Aug. 13-19; Senior League Baseball (14-16-year-olds), at Bangor, Maine, Aug. 13-19; Big League Baseball (16-18-year-olds), at Easley, S.C., July 29-Aug. 5; Little League Softball (11-12-year-old girls) at Portland, Ore., Aug. 10-16; Junior League Softball (13-14-year-old girls), at Kirkland, Wash., Aug. 13-19; and Senior League Softball (14-16-year-old girls), at Lower Sussex, Del., Aug. 6-12; Big League Softball (16-18-year-old girls), at Kalamazoo, Mich., Aug. 14-19.

In the Little League Baseball World Series, a modified Olympic pool play format will be used for the 15th year to determine the champion. Each team in the two U.S. and International Pools will play the other three teams once in the tournament’s first five days. At that point, single-elimination begins and pool-play records are disregarded.

The two most successful teams in each of the four pools cross over to play the second-place teams in the other pools on Wednesday and Thursday (Aug. 23-24) in the quarterfinal round. The winners of those games meet Saturday (Aug. 26) for the U.S. and International championships. The winners of Saturday’s semifinal games play for the World Championship on Sunday, Aug. 27.

Most of the games of the 2006 Little League World Series will be broadcast on radio station 1200 and 1400 WRAK-AM in Williamsport. WRAK is the flagship station for the English-speaking radio broadcasts of the Little League World Series.

Pool assignments and schedule for the 2006 Little League Baseball World Series follow.

 

Pool Assignments – 2006 Little League Baseball World Series
United States Division			International Division
Pool A	Pool B		Pool C	Pool D
Mid-Atlantic	New England		Pacific	Mexico
Great Lakes	Northwest		Latin America	Asia
West	Midwest		Canada	EMEA
Southeast	Southwest		Transatlantic	Caribbean

 

2006 Little League Baseball World Series Schedule

(All times Eastern U.S.; All TV games are televised live)

POOL PLAY ROUND

Friday - August 18, 2006
(1) New England vs. Northwest, 4 p.m., ESPN2, (L)
(2) Transatlantic vs. Canada, 6 p.m., ESPN2, (V)
(3) Southwest vs. Midwest, 8 p.m., ESPN, (L) 
Saturday – August 19, 2006
(4) EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) vs. Asia
     11 a.m., ESPN, (V)
(5) Mid-Atlantic vs. Southeast, 1 p.m., ESPN, (L)
(6) West vs. Great Lakes, 3 p.m., ESPN, (V)
(7) Caribbean vs. Mexico, 4 p.m., Deportes, (L)
(8) Pacific vs. Latin America, 6 p.m., ESPN/Deportes, (V)
(9) New England vs. Midwest, 8 p.m., ESPN, (L)
Sunday – August 20, 2006
(10) Southeast vs. West, 1 p.m., ESPN, (L)
(11) Southwest vs. Northwest, 3 p.m., ESPN, (V)
(12) Pacific vs. Transatlantic, 5 p.m., ESPN, (L)
(13) EMEA vs. Mexico, 7 p.m., Deportes(Tape Delay - 12:00 a.m.), (V)
(14) Mid-Atlantic vs. Great Lakes, 8 p.m., ESPN2, (L)
Monday – August 21, 2006
(15) EMEA vs. Caribbean, 11 a.m., Deportes, (L)
(16) Asia vs. Mexico, 1 p.m., ESPN, (V)
(17) Southwest vs. New England, 3 p.m., ESPN, (L)
(18) Canada vs. Latin America, 6 p.m., ESPN2/Deportes, (V)
(19) Northwest vs. Midwest, 8 p.m., ESPN2, (L)
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
(20) Asia vs. Caribbean, 11 a.m., ESPN2/Deportes, (L) 
(21) Canada vs. Pacific, 1 p.m., ESPN, (V)
(22) West vs. Mid-Atlantic, 3 p.m., ESPN, (L)
(23) Transatlantic vs. Latin America, 6 p.m., ESPN2/Deportes, (V)
(24) Southeast vs. Great Lakes, 8 p.m., ESPN2, (L)

Pool Play Ends – Single Elimination Begins

SINGLE ELIMINATION ROUND

Wednesday - August, 23, 2006
(EG) Challenger Division Game, noon, (L)
(25) International – Semi-Final (first-place team from Pool C vs. second place team from Pool D), 3 p.m., ESPN/Deportes, (L)
(26) United States – Semi-Final (first-place team from Pool A vs. second-place team from Pool B), 7:30 p.m., ESPN, (L)
 
Thursday – August 24, 2006
(EG) Urban Initiative Game, 10:30 a.m., (L)
(EG) Urban Initiative Game, 10:30 a.m., (V)
(27) International – Semi-Final (first-place team from Pool D vs. second-place team from Pool C), 3 p.m., ESPN/Deportes, (L)
(28) United States – Semi-Final (first-place team from Pool B vs. second-place team from Pool A), 7:30 p.m., ESPN, (L)
 
Friday – August 25, 2006
(EG) Urban Initiative Game, 2:00 p.m., Maynard Field (Downtown Williamsport)
(EG) Urban Initiative Game, 4:00 p.m., Maynard Field (Downtown Williamsport)
 
Saturday – August 26, 2006
(EG) Urban Initiative Game, 10:30 a.m., (L)
(EG) Urban Initiative Game, 11:00 a.m., (V)
(29) United States Championship, 3:30 p.m., ABC, (L)
(30) International Championship, 7:30 p.m., ESPN/Deportes, (L)
 
Sunday – August 27, 2006
(31) United States Runner Up vs. International Runner Up, noon, ESPN, (V)
(32) World Series Championship, 3:30 p.m., ABC, (L)
 
NOTE 1: (V) Little League Volunteer Stadium, (L) Howard J. Lamade Stadium
NOTE 2: EMEA refers to the Europe, Middle East and Africa Region champion (EMEA).
NOTE 3: (EG) Exhibition Game
NOTE 4: Opening Ceremonies will be on Friday, Aug. 18, tentatively scheduled for 1 p.m.

This schedule is subject to change. It was prepared for the Little League World Series Luncheon on June 14, 2006. For the latest updates, visit www.littleleague.org.

IMPORTANT NOTE: The 2006 Little League Baseball World Series Logo is available for downloading by media at:
http://www.littleleague.org/media/images/2006wslogo.jpg
 

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