If nothing else, anyone googling the name KYLE KEENA will be able to get his information and navigate to his site.

Go ahead. Click on it. Read around. There�s even a guestbook. Maybe I�ll start a fan club so you can say that you were a fan before all the professional glory.

All right... So I�m getting ahead of myself :)

Allow me to brag for a moment about what an awesome baseball player Kyle is.

This kid has played ball his entire life. His first word was ball. (Actually it was more like �ball-ball-ball-ball-ball!!!�) For his first birthday he got a pop-up waffle ball set, and with his limited coordination, he still smacked the heck out of the ball, sending it a good 30 feet into the other room. We almost lost a lamp, and he�d only been walking for a couple months.

When t-ball started, was he ever excited. He was on the White Sox team, and he�d dress head-to-toe in his uniform and stand proudly with a grin on his face. It was the cutest damn thing you�ve ever seen, and I�d love to dig through my parents� place to find some pictures to scan and post here. (If nothing else, it was embarrass him to have strangers on the Internet saw, �Awwww,� to a 10-year-old picture...)

T-ball was when the fanaticism started. I don�t recall watching much TV after the age of 13 since baseball was always what was on. Each time I went outside to play with him, we played baseball. He taught me how to quit throwing like a girl, and in my final year of little league, I put years of his coaching to use and caught me a fly ball while diving and routinely threw people out from center field.

As the years progressed, so did his love for the sport. When he was nine, he bought my dad a book on baseball for his birthday, asking that he learn how to play so they could play together. He started noticing which players had the best mechanics and started emulating them.

Rafael Palmiero�s swing? He�s got it.

Jeff Bagwell�s coverage of first. He�s got it.

A-Rod�s domination of everything on the left side of the infield. He�s got it.

And although I can�t attest that he�s studied Pudge (Ivan) Rodriguez for his catching style (Kyle�s only been a catcher for the past six weeks), I know that he has Pudge�s zeal and enthusiasm for all things related to baseball -- The boy even sleeps with his bat.

Although I�ve mentioned before that Kyle�s playing in an adult league in Houston, I may not have mentioned just how much butt he�s kicking.

His stats are amazing, especially considering what a talented league he�s playing in. The double-plays he�s turned from shortstop were flawlessly executed. His bat is hot -- routinely hitting about 70%, continuing a 12-game hitting streak (for each game he�s played in), and knocking fly balls 375 feet into the outfield while using a wooden bat. (FYI -- Wood is harder to hit with than an aluminum bat.)

Oh yes. Then there�s his catching ability.

After one rotation, he knows the opposition�s weaknesses and calls pitches accordingly and successfully.

You want to steal on him? Good luck. No one�s reached second thus far.

You want to charge him at home plate? Ditto to what I said about stealing second. If you want to take your chances at charging a 6-foot, 200-pound young man with 15% body fat, have at it. You�ll just get knocked around and dirty.

So what�s the new news here? Why am I talking about how awesome this kid is again?

His adult league is entering an All Stars competition, and despite only being a catcher for the past six weeks, Kyle�s been selected as his league�s all star catcher! This Sunday he�ll participate in the game and in an individual competition where he�ll get to show off things like how quickly he pops up to accurately throw base runners out.

If this sounds like an ad for why Kyle is amazing, perhaps it is. But it�s a big deal, and I�m really proud of him and his hard work. So why don�t you click on over to his site, read a bit, and leave him some guestbook love? It�ll definitely be appreciated. �