Think 30-3 is bad? Try 103-3

That was the score of my 7th-grade basketball team's season-opening loss

Jim Baumbach

11:22 AM EDT, August 23, 2007

How about those poor, hapless Orioles. Imagine how it felt to be on the field as the Rangers kept scoring all those runs, 30 unanswered to be exact, en route to becoming the first major-league team in more than 100 years (!) to score 30?

This might sound odd -- well, it will sound odd -- but I can sit here and tell you I have a fairly good idea what they went through. And I'm not the only one. I bet 11 guys I went to elementary school with are saying the same thing today.

Here's why: the seventh-grade CYO basketball team I played on lost its season opener by the score of 103-3.

Yes, we lost by 100 points.

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And, no, unlike the Orioles, we didn't lead 3-0. In fact, I really can't tell you when the three points were scored, or who scored them (I do know it wasn't me). The whole game is a blur to me, one of those really cloudy memories.

Somewhere in my basement, I have the score book in a box. I've looked at it a few times through the years, though not intentionally. Usually I come across it when it's time to move, when you go through things you forget you had. Each time, I made sure not to throw it out. Not sure why, to tell you the truth. Maybe I'm expecting the Hall of Fame to come calling one day. Or maybe I'll be able to sell it on eBay.

Seeing the stunningly lopsided score of the Rangers-Orioles game last night instantly reminded me of that game I played in, and I have to admit I'm a little surprised how little I remember. Maybe that's by design, a memory my subconscious is trying to hide to keep the embarrassment at a minimum.

Here's what I do remember from that game:

It was the season-opener for Our Lady of Mercy, the Hicksville elementary school I attended. We were playing St. Martin of Tours of Bethpage on our home court. So much for the automatic home court advantage, right?

In terms of game action, all I remember is our team struggling to bring the ball across halfcourt time and again. St. Martin must have scored 80 points on the fast break, though I can't imagine our scorekeeper kept that statistic.

I have two other cloudy memories of the game. I remember they raced to score 100 points before the buzzer sounded, and their bench erupted when they did. I also recall we had the ball when the game ended, and one of our guys managed to get a shot off at the last second, only it came nowhere close to the rim. My memory says it hit the ceiling.

It's a miracle we scored three points.

Of course you can question the sportsmanship of this event, and whether they should have put on the brakes. We sure did. I recall their coach telling my father, who tirelessly coached our team, that he "couldn't stop his kids."

Oh sure, yeah, right.

This might sound sick, but after reading so many stories this morning about the Rangers-Orioles game, I've got the bug for history. Maybe one day I'll dig up that score book, take down the names of the players and coaches from both teams and try to track everyone down. Maybe it will be interesting to hear everyone's memories of that game. Maybe it will make a good book. Or maybe it will just be therapeutic.

Or maybe, just maybe, I dreamed it all.

Yeah, I think I know how the Orioles feel today.