It started as "The Best by Test."
I've been at the Daily Times for 32 years, and for the last 30 of them we had our very own end-of-summer rite. We would gather the best men's and women's softball teams in Delaware County and hold a tournament to crown the champions.
At one point we called it the Tournament of Champions.
Most recently it has gone under the moniker of the Daily Times/Exelon Champs 'N' Charity Classic.
The emphasis there should be on charity.
After the first couple of years, charity really became the push behind the annual tournament. In that time, we have raised $700,000 for the American Cancer Society, in no small part in memory of one of our own, Phillies beat writer Bill Brown, who we lost to cancer.
All of this is my way of saying that this summer will be different, because there will not be a Champs 'N' Charity Classic. We're taking a year off.
Terry Toohey, one of the people closest to the tourney all these years, has all the details why.
We want to make clear this is not the end of the road, just a slight detour. We are taking a year off, then we hope to be back bigger and better than ever next year.
One of the things that always concerns us as tourney time approaches each summer is the weather, and the fact that rain or storms can really wreak havoc with the schedule.
In fact, it sparked something of a legendary response here at the Daily Times whenever someone mentioned the possibility of rain.
"It never rains in the Hook."
Maybe it will this year. We won't be there, at least not physically.
But we'll be back. That's a promise.
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