Photo: WhiteHouse.gov

Little League’s Jackie Robinson West was a true American feel-good story.

A story of good sportsmanship and perseverance… underdogs who pushed passed the doubters and detractors to become the first African American Little League baseball team to win the U.S. Championship.

They were fêted with a visit to the White House, made the rounds of various talk shows and had a parade through downtown Chicago in their honor.

And now it’s all gone.

Little League International stripped the team of its title when it discovered that there were players on the roster who lived outside of the approved geographic boundaries from which team members could be recruited.

Those exuberant-faced boys that we fell in love with last summer are now stained by the deliberate, calculated mistakes of a few adults.

Boundary-shifting in Little League, and other sports our children play, is not new. Sometimes there aren’t enough players in a certain area, so they expand the reach of the team. Most of the time, it’s ignored because they’re playing for the home crowd… not a televised international audience.

The manager and administrator of Jackie Robinson West wanted to build a “super-team.” Both of them knew that the home addresses of the players didn’t match the addresses Little League International had on file for the players. But it didn’t matter. They wanted to win.

We’ve all read, and probably seen, adults (coaches and parents) at kids’ sports games manically swept up in the need to win. They can be physically, mentally and verbally abusive to the children.

But, in this case, the young players on Jackie Robinson West were abused, too. They probably knew that some of the other players on their team didn’t live around them, but they were manipulated into thinking it was okay… because that’s what they were told by the adults.

What will become of these boys who had a brief shining moment in the summer sun? Do they have parents that will help them understand that what happened is not their fault, and that they are still talented and gifted athletes and should still pursue their dreams?

September is No Kid Hungry Month and, believe it or not, you have the opportunity to help fight hunger with your fork.

The average person will eat 90 meals in the month of September… we’re talking breakfast, lunch and dinner. That means you have 90 opportunities (well, since it’s September 3, a few less now) to dine out and make a difference for the 1 in 5 kids struggling with hunger in your community and mine.

This month, thousands of restaurants around the country are donating a portion of your meal tab to help kids get breakfast before school, after school meals and food in the summer. The money will also be used to teach kids the benefits of healthy eating and cooking.  To find a restaurant near you, click here.

If there are no participating restaurants in your area, you can still make a tax-deductible donation to No Kid Hungry… just click here. Did you know that $1 can provide a child with as many as 10 meals?

I believe every child deserves three meals a day… every day. How about you?

My son went to war… and the weapon he carried was a camera.

Even though he wasn’t armed and fighting while in northeastern Afghanistan, as a journalist embedded with U.S. troops, Carlos witnessed the deadly horrors of battle while under fire in one of the country’s most dangerous and hostile valleys.

My son went to war, but I know I’m lucky. He came home.

The riveting documentary of his experience, The Hornet’s Nest, offers a soldier’s-eye view of what it’s really like to wonder, from second to second, if you’re going to die in a remote part of the world far removed from those you love. This is not a scripted movie… this is the real deal with heart-breaking consequences.

When my son announced he was going to Afghanistan with his father (my former husband), I knew I couldn’t stop him. I was his age when I left a comfortable job as a CNN producer in Washington, D.C. to cover the wars in Central America in the 1980s. I guess, in a sense, Carlos joined the family business.

Knowing that Carlos shot the movie’s captivating shaky-cam video while bullets whistled above his head is gut wrenching. I watched the film with him beside me. Some of the families of the soldiers featured in the movie will never be able to do this.

The movie is not all bang-bang. There’s a terrific scene with members of an all-female Medevac team, who risk their lives helping extract wounded soldiers from the battlefield. The story of these women alone is incredibly compelling.

But the movie never lets you forget you are in the middle of hell.

What is it about people who run head-on into dangerous places like war zones? Believers in a cause? Adrenaline junkies? Journalists? Fools? I’m not just talking about people like my son (and me, if I’m playing fair). There are plenty of soldiers you hear from in the movie who go back for a third and fourth deployment… some of whom die doing what they love, leaving sorrow in their wake.

A moving memorial service for six fallen soldiers is, perhaps, the toughest part of the movie. Their surviving colleagues decorate makeshift altars with the only things they can offer… a can of Coca-Cola, a personal name-patch ripped from their uniform, a photograph. A tribute to a friendship forever lost.

The Obama administration announced last week that U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, the longest war in American history, will be completely ended no later than 2016.

This haunting movie doesn’t offer any judgment about the war or America’s role in it. Only the ugly reality of combat in real time.

Like I said… I was lucky.

My oldest son came home.

This time.

For information about where the movie, The Hornet’s Nest, is showing in your area, click here.

September is “No Kid Hungry” month and here’s an easy way for you to help: feed yourself.

If you eat out at any one of more than 8,000 participating restaurants this month, you’ll be helping to end childhood hunger in this country. Did you know 1 in 5 kids live in households where there’s a struggle to put food on the table?

A portion of each restaurant’s September receipts will go to benefit the No Kid Hungry campaign and its work connecting kids at risk of hunger with nutritious food and teaching their families how to cook healthy, affordable meals.

The restaurants vary from city to city… from upscale restaurants like Sprout in Chicago and Horatio’s in San Francisco to Sizzler’s, Denny’s and Corner Bakery. To find a restaurant near you, click here.

Let your friends know about this campaign. Just hit this share button here to post to Facebook or Twitter… or forward this blog post to your friends.

Here’s an idea: why not take the kids to one of the restaurants on the list. Talk to them about hunger in America and let them know how THEY are helping others by eating out.

But get moving… September is already half-over!