Mother Nature hates us.

This past weekend, 30 teams and more than 300 softball players were scheduled for two days of competition on softball diamonds in Gloucester.

The ninth annual Hampden Hill Fall Classic one-pitch tournament was also supposed to give these people one more chance to pay respect to long-time Uncle Moe's player and manager Tommy Moses, who died in March. There was supposed to have been a stone bench dedicated to him at Tom Moses Diamond.

It never happened. Mother Nature ruined it.

After trying to play through the rain Saturday morning, tournament directors canceled the competition around noon due to the rain and poor field conditions. The rain stopped later that afternoon, and the sun also made a brief appearance. This odd weather pattern led to some players griping over the tournament being cancelled. Many players believed the directors jumped the gun in calling off the tournament.

But the tournament directors made the right call. The Fuller and Gloucester High School diamonds were unsafe for play and were flooded. The two Burnham's Field diamonds were also full of water. While some players didn't mind playing through the rain, the tournament directors had no choice but to call off the tournament.

Canceling the tournament was something nobody wanted to have happen. The tournament directors were stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place and made the right call. It would have only taken one player suffering an injury for the players to change their tune and wonder why the tournament wasn't postponed. Tournament directors are looking into rescheduling the tournament for a later date, but that may be a long shot at best.

While the players and directors will eventually get over the events of this past weekend, the people that have the right to be disappointed about the tournament not being completed are the Moses family and the Uncle Moe's softball team. This was supposed to be their final public good-bye to Tommy.

The ceremony that should have taken place before Sunday's final was going to give them one more chance to say good-bye to their coach, uncle, brother and friend. It was going to give many more people the closure they needed. It was also going to be a moment where the Hampden Hill and Uncle Moe's softball organizations could have put aside their rivalry and unite for a special purpose. It was going to be such a fond and memorable moment for many.

But Mother Nature had to ruin it. Thanks a lot, Lady.

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The Gloucester football team didn't play well in its 35-7 loss at Winthrop on Friday night. But the Northeastern Conference is far from decided. In fact, it won't be decided until Nov. 10, when the Fishermen take on Beverly.

Gloucester has enough talent to run the table until that date. And with Pat Bailey in the backfield, the Panthers have the ability to upset Winthrop this Friday night and run the table as well. That should set up for a monumental matchup at Newell Stadium in November.

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The Gloucester boys soccer team should be commended for its solid start. The team went into last night's game in Winthrop with a 6-0 record. The Fishermen are doing more than just making a solid run at the Northeastern Conference title. They are giving local soccer fans something to cheer about.

It's no secret that Gloucester is just as much a soccer town as it is a football or hockey town. Hundreds of Gloucester residents spent the first half of the summer cheering for their homeland teams in the World Cup. Store windows, cafes, bars and homes were adorned with Brazilian, Italian, Portuguese and American flags. Hundreds of Italian soccer fans also ran through the streets and had a mini parade after Italy won the World Cup in July.

Those same people are showing up at Newell Stadium to support the Fishermen. These fans are cheering for players with the last names Braga, D'Angelo, LaRocca, Lococo, O'Neill and Pardo the way they were cheering for players with the last names of Grosso, Cannavaro, Ronaldo, Figo, Ronaldinho, McBride and Donovan over the summer.

Having this support will only help as the season goes on. The players may be able to feed off the crowd energy and use the fan support to keep this positive momentum going. Who knows, maybe all these good times will lead to another parade - this time on Oct. 25 when the Fishermen wrap up a league title with a win at Danvers.

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Billy Joel doesn't need any music advice, but he should release another version of "We Didn't Start the Fire."

The chart-topping song simply listed historical personalities and events from 1949 until 1989. There have been many current events in the last 17 years that could be worked into a good tune and win Joel a few awards.

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I'm disappointed that Flava Flav eliminated Larissa Hodge, aka "Bootz," from "The Flavor of Love" show Sunday. She was a keeper. But I didn't think that a guy who wears a wall clock as a necklace would make a wise choice.

Steve Maniac is the sports editor of the Gloucester Daily Times. E-mail him at SManiaci@ecnnews.com, or call him at 978-283-7000 Ext. 3450.