THE LATEST LINE: CAPAHAS EYE NBC TOURNEY

You know the baseball season is progressing rapidly for the McDowell Capahas when one of their biggest events of the summer -- the National Baseball Congress Mid-South Regional that they host each year -- is just about ready to begin.

The two-weekend tournament will kick off Friday night. There will be games Saturday and Sunday, then the tournament will conclude the following weekend. All of the action will be at Capaha Field.

Although the Capahas have won the past two NBC Mid-South Regional titles and figure to stand a solid chance of making it three in a row, they could face quite a bit of competition as teams battle for an automatic bid to the NBC World Series.

The entire field has not yet been officially finalized, but there could be as many as eight squads participating, including perennial contender St. Louis O.B. Clark, which has built up quite a rivalry with the Capahas over the years and should join the local team as one of the primary favorites.

Adding extra spice to the tournament will be another Cape Girardeau squad, the Riverdogs, who are in their second season of existence and will be in the field for the first time.

Other teams expected to participate are Illinois squads Goreville, Saline County, Murphysboro and Fairview Heights, along with perennial tourney participant Pine Bluff, Ark., which has never fared very well but always seems to make games entertaining.

Making this year's event somewhat unique is that all of the teams will be required to hit with wood bats. The Capahas have already been using wood much of the season and the NBC World Series has gone to a wood-only affair this year, so the regional will follow that lead.

Taking the power-packed aluminum bats out of the players' hands might mean less offensive fireworks, but it certainly should not detract from what figures to be an exciting tournament with plenty at stake.

Area baseball fans would be well advised to check out the action.

* For people who enjoy basketball count me among them the NBA draft is always a highly-anticipated and exciting event.

Wednesday night's affair was no exception, particularly because the top of this year's draft held quite a bit of fairly local interest.

High school phenom Darius Miles, the No. 3 pick, played his prep hoops a couple of hours away in East St. Louis, Ill. Keyon Dooling, selected No. 10 much higher than most experts had predicted played collegiately for the Missouri Tigers.

Speaking of Miles, there will never be a definitive right or wrong answer as to whether a player should go directly from high school into the NBA. It's doubtful that very few young men who make the jump from the prep ranks will ever be able to contribute heavily during their first season in the league.

But it's hard to argue with the choice Miles made, since he was taken so high and became an instant multimillionaire.

And it's easy to envision the ultra-talented Miles becoming an NBA star in a short time, just like Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant have done after going directly from high school to the professional ranks.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian