Little League World Series starts today

It's taking a bit of a back burner because of the Olympics this year, but the 62nd Little League World Series gets started today in Williamsport, Pa.

The qualifying teams:

American

• Mid-Atlantic: Hagerstown, Nd.
• Northwest: Mill Creek, Wash.
• Southwest: Lake Charles, La.
• Great Lakes: Jeffersonville, Ind.
• New England: Shelton, Conn.
• West: Waipahu, Hawaii
• Southeast: Tampa, Fla.
• Midwest: Rapid City, S.D.

World

• Carribean: Curacao
• Mexico: Matamoros
• Europe: Emilia
• Asia-Pacific: Yona, Guam
• Arabian American: Dhahran
• Japan: Tokyo
• Canada: Surrey, B.C.
• Latin America: Maracaibo

The championship game is scheduled for Aug. 24, the same day as the closing ceremonies in Beijing. Games will be broadcast on ABC and the ESPN networks.

Other coverage of note: It's been 10 years since Toms River, N.J,, won the title. MLB.com took a look back, and caught up with a few of their players today. One is Todd Frazier, who was a first-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Reds last year.

Know a 12-year-old who loves to pitch and wants to throw curveballs and sliders? Here's a tale every young pitcher should read.