Aaron Alvey's dominating pitching performance over the team from Sendai, Japan in last year's Little League World Series championship game was viewed by more people than Game 7 of this year's Stanley Cup finals.

	Last year, Louisville was in the spotlight after winning title.

When Alvey and his teammates stepped up to the plate, and later celebrated the victory, logos of the official apparel supplier Russell could easily be seen by viewers in two different places on their yellow jerseys and even on a small patch on the back of their pants. And since Alvey crushed a 250-foot homer for the game's only run, officials at Wilson sought to capitalize by telling media members that the 12-year old was using its "2003 DeMarini Scandium X" to reach the pinnacle of his young career.

Little League Baseball is big business this time of year. Thirty-five World Series games will be aired on the ESPN networks and ABC. Sponsors enjoy their best value, trying to tastefully cash in off the alliance at the height of achievement involving America's largest youth sports organization. They pass out samples of their products and get their logo affixed to the scoreboard at Williamsport's Howard J. Lamade Stadium, where more than 40,000 people will show up in person to watch the final game.

And there's no lack of licensed products -- ranging from hats, T-shirts and pins to banners, bobbleheads and even collectible dolls -- many featuring a recently updated logo of a silhouette of a young child hitting a ball.

There's a Little League Baseball video game already on the market. Next week, an officially licensed instructional video, which includes an appearance by comedian Ray Romano, will hit shelves. There's apparel for infants. Little League logo socks and Little League sandals will be available next year in time for the 65th anniversary of the organization.

"We haven't yet gotten to where we want to be," said Lois Sloane, president of SloanVision Unlimited, the exclusive licensing agent for Little League Baseball. "But we're not doing this to put the logo on things like air fresheners. We want our items to have some practical use to young baseball players and the teams they play for."

To air or not to air

Little League Baseball's most recent six-year television deal with ESPN and ABC Sports is reportedly worth more than $7 million and runs through the 2006 season. The organization's spokesman Lance Van Auken deflects critics of the television deal, who say that the league and the networks are exploiting children by putting them on national television, by noting that Little League Baseball has partnered with ABC for the past 40 years. "It's not like we've been shopping around for the best deal to make the largest pile of money," Van Auken said. Van Auken says that it's what the most involved participants want. "The biggest complaint from parents and players is that there is too little coverage on television," Van Auken said. This year, for the first time since the World Series expanded from 8 to 16 teams, will be the first year that every World Series team will be featured at least once on a television broadcast. "A lot of people forget that we want to be on TV," said Aaron Alvey, last year's Little League World Series hero. "That's what inspired me to want to go to Williamsport." -- Darren Rovell

In May, Little League Baseball formed a marketing alliance with a company called Digital Scout, which makes software for handheld computers. Digital Scout's software enables coaches to enter various game statistics into their Palm Pilots and eventually print them out after downloading the information onto a desktop computer.

But one important piece of information is often left out by critics who claim that Little League Baseball has turned kids into "professionals" due to the desire for the almighty dollar.

Little League Baseball is a non-profit organization, whose audited financial reports are sent to the federal government each year. The big business that the league does, especially during World Series time, is used to support a budget of more than $16 million for the 2.7 million players of its game. Thanks to the sponsors, licensees and concession sales (admission to the games are free), local teams only have to front 15 percent of the Little League budget -- paying an average of $1 per Little League player in order to be affiliated with the organization. Local leagues have to pay only $75 to enter each of their teams in the quest for the championship, said league spokesman Lance Van Auken.

"And that $75 fee is a one-time deal," Van Auken said. "We pay for every team to travel (to the World Series), which has enabled some teams to arrive here nearly penniless and get exactly the same opportunity that the more financially stable teams get."

The fact that the league is a non-profit doesn't take away from the fact that Little League Baseball is a hot property among companies. The organization has 13 official sponsors, including Bubblicious (the official gum of Little League Baseball) and Stouffer's (the official dinner of Little League Baseball).

Sponsorship at the highest level of Little League Baseball is nothing new. In 1939, the organization's first year, founder Carl Stotz funded the program by having sponsors pay $35 for each of the three teams. The first Little League World Series in 1947 was sponsored by U.S. Rubber, which at the time was unveiling a baseball shoe.

Russell Athletic has been the official uniform of the Little League Baseball World Series for the past 32 years. Company officials say they hope the alliance keeps the Russell name top of mind with the players as well as coaches and apparel dealers. Throughout the year, Russell conducts Little League teaching clinics for coaches and sends advertising pieces utilizing the Little League theme to prospective buyers.

Prominent placement on the jerseys in front of a large television-viewing audience also doesn't hurt.

"It's a great brand exposure opportunity for us and we hope it creates an emotional connection between current and potential consumers with our brand," said Rod McGeachy, Russell's vice president of marketing.

But Little League Baseball officials make sure that there's ample distance between corporate America and the athletes once they get to the Little League World Series. League rules provide that approved manufacturers who offer free product to Little League World Series teams can only distribute product if they send the same amount of product to each team. This is done not only to make sure there is no favoritism but also to even the playing field between the haves and the have-nots.

Players are not allowed to receive any compensation or be featured in any advertising that could compromise their amateur status. League officials explicitly state that company officials also cannot talk to parents, coaches or players during the tournament, so as not to arrange handshake endorsement deals, which could hurt their players' eligibility.

	Little League Baseball is an ideal property for Russell's campaign.

"We obviously want them to use our product," said Louisville Slugger spokesman Rick Redman. "But we're not going to violate the spirit of rules that have been made for a reason."

Little League officials were not too happy with Wilson's news release that stated "six of nine Louisville players were swinging DeMarini bats."

"We certainly weren't very pleased about how they handled it," Van Auken said.

Alvey recently told ESPN.com that he recalled playing with a Louisville Slugger.

"I played with an Easton all year," said Alvey, who noted he was never approached by a company executive. "But I tried out the Louisville Slugger there and liked it. Plus, it's from my hometown."

It's also not particularly easy to do business with the players.

"We do what we do in a very soft sell way," McGeachy said.

Snickers is the official candy bar of Little League Baseball.

"We're the best selling candy bar in the country," said Scott Hudler, sponsorship marketing manager for Masterfoods USA, which owns the Snickers brand. "People expect us to be there."

But Hudler admits having a presence at the World Series is a lot different from utilizing in-your-face advertising. Aside from the on-site sponsorship tent, the company will do little business, except for selling items at concession stands.

"Marketing to kids is a very tough area," Hudler said. "That's why we're usually cautious about how much we do."

Nonetheless, having the relationship enables Masterfoods to be an integral part of team and league candy fund-raising programs, which not only means sales to others but increases the brand's visibility among the young players.

Some sponsors have followed the conservative path, trying to do business off the relationship, but being careful that their approach to the young consumer doesn't yield backlash. Others sponsors -- like OxiClean and Honda -- are afforded some distance, given that their goal is to make a connection with the supportive parents.

Although sponsors have the right to tap into immense the Little League database and send mailings to players and parents, most sponsors have chosen not to do business that way, Van Auken said.

Darren Rovell, who covers sports business for ESPN.com, can be reached at darren.rovell@espn3.com.