Or to ask the score of a 41-40 softball game, as the case may be.

So, I was at Dr. Samuel L. Banks High School on Wednesday to do reporting for today's column on Digital Harbor, whose baseball team was playing at Banks. The first pitch was around 3:45 and the game went the regulation seven innings, ending about 5:15. After about 15 minutes of interviews, I trudged up the rather unkempt hill towards the parking lot and my car.

Along the way to the car, I passed a softball game between Banks and Southside, which had started about the same time as the baseball game. I glanced over for a moment, saw the batter get a hit and a run score. Seems normal enough, right? So much so that I got in my car and went home.

While reading the paper yesterday, I scanned through the scores to see if the usual suspects had done what they usually do and to see the boxscore of the game I had watched. My eyes did a screeching stop at a line score the likes of which I couldn't ever recall seeing in a baseball or softball game at any level, namely:

Southside     40 8 5
Banks           41 24 7

I let out an audible 'Wow,' because line scores like that one just scream out for recognition. Then, I noticed the two schools involved and a wave of recognition rolled over me. I actually saw some of that game, albeit a brief glance.

In hindsight, I'm not sure which of the numbers from that box score are the most noteworthy: the 81 total runs, the fact that Southside scored 40 runs on just eight hits (with assistance, no doubt from seven Banks errors) or the fact that Southside scored 13 runs in the seventh and final inning, only to lose when Banks scored 10 runs in their half of the inning. In fact, Banks scored 19 runs in the final two innings.

Unbelievable. I was a witness to history of some sort, and didn't even realize it.

So, let this be a lesson to you dear readers. The next time you're at one sporting event and another one is going on nearby, always stop to ask what the score is. As Ferris Bueller once warned, you might miss something.