IT'S PRO COVERAGE OF LITTLE KIDS.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH Media

Considering all the bad habits some participants in the Little League World Series have displayed in front of the TV cameras this week, it's stunning there hasn't been any rumblings of a mini-me player strike.

And where have all the little tykes been picking up this annoying behavior? From the media, of course.

ESPN's extreme coverage of the annual kidfest in Williamsport, Pa. - a hefty 26 games over two weeks that will lead us into the temptation of getting psyched up for ABC's prime-time window for the U.S. title game Saturday and then Sunday's finale - has been considered aiding and abetting by those watchdogs ready to bring up charges of child endangerment.

But the reality is, what was once offered up on ``Wide World of Sports'' as a once-a-year slice of Americana has been twisted into a summer mini-series. It not only pushes the definition of exploitation but also can't help but lead to more and more parents and coaches trying to steal the limelight.

``It's become show biz, and it's unfortunately at the kid's expense,'' said Dr. Darrell J. Burnett, a clinical psychologist from Laguna Niguel who has specialized in ``positive parenting'' issues for more than 20 years and is the father of three who volunteers as a youth coach.

``I see the fences kept at 200 feet so there are more home runs. I see 12-year-olds giving scripted interviews, kids who see adults upset over things they do so they over-react. Then there are the Danny Almonte cases that make it sexy to the media.

``And when they can get a close up of a kid crying - I guess that `agony of defeat' is what sells.''

Burnett has been watching the two to three games a day on ESPN and ESPN2 not so much for entertainment but more to prepare him for the kinds of problems he might confront in his practice in the coming months.

``I saw a kid in my office recently that jolted me,'' Burnett said. ``A 10-year-old. He was worrying a lot and his parents didn't know why. It turns out he was developing an ulcer. Why? He was afraid of not making the All-Star team.

``Now you can see how these things get way out of proportion.''

--Who's to blame? It's not like Little League Inc., has done much to curb the record-high exposure.

A press release on their Web site boasts how coverage of the Little League World Series and Softball World Series will ``crowd the television airwaves'' this month. Counting replays, there will have been 64 contests shown in August by the Disney-owned TV networks. Before, the New York-based YES Network was showing regional state tournament games.

Little League also set up radio coverage that can be heard on the Internet.

In 1953, when CBS gave the first Little League World Series title game a TV spot, times were much simpler. So too 10 years later, when ABC showed it for the first time with Chris Schenkel, then made the finale part of its programming every year since.

It has evolved into a week-long live event - the first live final was in 1985 - and for the past five years, ESPN and ESPN2 has increased tournament coverage to include regional finals. When ABC takes over this weekend, it'll have a 14-camera setup with crane shots and Slo-Mo replays, including the now-standard microphones on both managers and the UmpCam.

Little League president and CEO Steve Keener said he understands skepticism and would agree with criticism of expanded coverage if the organization were gaining financially from the exposure; it reportedly receives only a few thousand dollars per contest in rights fees.

``It's a fair question, how far to go with television coverage,'' Keener told The New York Times. ``We just view the TV coverage as a way to let people see the Little League program and understand it better.''

--Scandalous appeal: The latest controversy about residency regarding the team from Harlem, N.Y., coming a year after the Almonte overage case, gives more ammunition to those who say Little Leaguers don't belong in the media glow.

``Self esteem is a fragile part of a 12-year-old's life,'' ESPN's Dan Patrick said on his radio show when the subject came up. ``We're teetering on the brink of breaking it here. When you get to a point of cheating or winning at all costs, I don't know if the kids are enjoying it. If they don't win, then they're suddenly losers.''

Media coverage always will be part of this in some way. The Daily News might be criticized for running hard with the story of the '94 Northridge team, ``The Earthquake Kids'' that made it all the way to the title game. That was a year after the Sean Burroughs-led teams from Long Beach won the Series two years in a row - the first after a residency scandal that disqualified the Philipines.

TV, however, faces a tougher balancing act, trying to keep a proper perspective on a daily live basis. Some kids enjoy the attention, some aren't fazed. Others don't know how to handle it.

The broadcasters talk about pitch counts and make comparisons to big leaguers, although colorman Harold Reynolds has tried to have as much fun as possible in the booth.

Reynolds' partner, Jack Edwards, who has given 110 percent effort with a cliche-filled play-by-play, found himself apologizing on the air last week for his call of a Harlem player who pointed to center field before cracking a double in a regional final.

``I was amused, but I was wrong to glorify it,'' Edwards said on the air. ``You don't want to have kids do that.''

But why should he be sorry? ESPN showed the ``called shot'' clip on ``SportsCenter'' the night before. Another clip of a Harlem player doing a ``duck walk'' after hitting a home run Tuesday made the rounds on morning news shows and inspired an ESPN ``SportsCenter'' Top 10 list of the Major League's all-time showboaters.

--The positive spin: ESPN spokespeople said they get more calls and e-mails from viewers during this tournament than any other time. Many thank them for the coverage, saying it brings back childhood memories and helps teach their kids lessons in sportsmanship.

And the ratings are up, due in some part to having the event placed strategically with X Games coverage to boost the 12-to-19 age viewership.

Meanwhile, ESPN can be congratulated for exposing some of Little League's nasty little secrets in its weekly show, ``The Season.'' A two-part episode focused on how the success of Tom's River, N.J., (champions in '98) has put pressure on this year's team to succeed, getting deeper into the internal sniping involved in picking managers, coaches and players.

But again, would there be so much at stake if the games weren't splashed around nationally for the ultimate exposure in the first place?

SOUND BYTES 

WHAT SMOKES

--Because it thinks we all should desperately care, ESPN diligently has promoted the heck out of the supposed 25,000th live episode of ``SportsCenter,'' which again serendipitously falls on a Sunday at 8 p.m. Add in the morning replays, and it's gotta be closer to 250,000. But aside from the sarcasm, this is more a testament to the staying power of expanded sportscasts, which effectively have pushed the two-minute slice on the local newscast into near oblivion. Even more impressive, the show has lasted as long with with a variety of shapes, sizes and styles, whereas Fox and CNN couldn't sustain the same type of presentation. ``We hire our anchors because they're sports fans and they speak sports fan to sports fan, so there's a certain entertainment from our end that goes to the viewers' end as well,'' said John Walsh, the show's executive editor since 1990. As part of this celebration of specialness, there'll even be a viewing party at the ESPN Zone in Anaheim with Roy Firestone making a personal appearance. No crying, please.

WHAT CHOKES

--A month shy of four years at KABC Channel 7, Bill Weir voluntarily has scooted out the door to pursue other creative projects, particularly a talk show he's been pitching to various cable networks. ``I also just got a flier on my car telling me how I could make a hundred bucks a week from my home, so that's exciting,'' said Weir, whose departure moves Rob Fukuzaki to the main swivel chair and gives Curt Sandoval the weekend anchor role. The station likely will hire a third sportscaster as a reporter and fill-in. ``I know I'm stepping away from a job that (most sports fans) would kill for,'' said Weir, who replaced Todd Donoho in 1998. ``But I need a fresh creative challenge. I'll keep it in broadcasting - I hope to at least announce bus departures at the Greyhound station.''

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