Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose....

.... and sometimes it rains.* Although usually not so much of the latter here in Grand Junction, right on the edge of the Great American Desert. But believe it or not, the scene below is really about the best it's been, weather-wise—we've had around two inches of rain since the tournament started.

All the games have been played, and we've seen our share, but there have been lengthy rain delays a couple of times and we gave up on the game yesterday afternoon because we were not only wet but cold!

The atmosphere at the games has been great, though, and we've seen some really good baseball. Teams are here from all over the country (although a few regions are no longer represented, since 4 teams have been eliminated already) and the stadium honors their home states by flying all the state flags for the JUCO teams. Here's a shot of part of the stands with a portion of the teams' flags in view (in addition to U.S. and Colorado flags filling out the display):

We've rather adopted the team from Nevada, who lost their first game and are hence having to play elimination games every day (as you can learn from the JUCO website, it's a double-elimination tournament—a format we're really fond of). I'm hoping the rain will stay away this afternoon so I can see them again. Go Wildcats!

How do you pick a team to root for? We have several criteria, including, but not limited to: coolness of uniforms, attractiveness of players, presence of player(s) with our children's birthdays, presence of players from towns we like, sportsmanship exhibited by fans (or lack thereof resulting in a rooting-against decision), defensive/baserunning execution (which we find more impressive than team power), grit and determination (the come-from-behind factor), etc. We'll see how our "scientific" selection process works out over the next few days.

In the meantime, however, in between showers, we're having a terrific time. As is a sizeable fraction of the Grand Valley's population. The fine amenities at Suplizio Field include yummy snacks, well-maintained restrooms, great views, and a terrific selection of between-inning music choices, including cheesy favorites such as "YMCA" (see at right) and the macarena, but also some great oldies.

We did take a baseball break Sunday afternoon for a hike in the Colorado National Monument (seen in the background of the photo at the top of this post) and I'll be broadcasting photos from that excursion in the next few days.

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*For more wonderful Bull Durham baseball quotes, check out the ever-handy Internet Movie Database.