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Sports

Game On! Little League Season Begins with Plenty of Fun for Everyone

Opening Day festivities attract a crowd of 2,000, organizers say.

A mechanical bull spun its riders until they couldn't hang on any longer, a car club showed off shiny, detailed-to-perfection vintage vehicles, custom trucks and low-riders, and a bungee device let children spring toward the sky like circus acrobats. With music thumping and excitement in the air, the Lemon Grove Little League celebrated a brand-new season on Saturday with a festival at the field on Nichals Street.

Teams took to the field for the Opening Day ceremony at 11 a.m. Players from the Lemon Grove Giants, last year's junior division championship team, were presented with their first-place trophies, the Little League pledge was recited, and city officials threw out the ceremonial first pitches. Doing the honors this year were City Manager Graham Mitchell and Councilman Howard Cook.

League President Art Martinez addressed the crowd, and the invocation was said by Pastor Jeff Lettow of  the First Baptist Church of Lemon Grove. The ceremony also featured high-kicking karate and energy-packed Zumba demonstrations.

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Food vendors set up their grills and smokers, offering tacos for every taste, bacon-wrapped hot dogs, tender Texas-style barbecue, teriyaki chicken and other options too good to be called carnival food. Icy, sweet snow cones added rainbow colors to the clear, warm day.

Organizers estimated the crowd at 2,000 or more. With 32 teams and more than 400 players, the 2011 season is expected to be the league's biggest, according to Martinez.

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