ORLANDO, Fla ? Members of the East Lynn Pop Warner team were present when players from Dorchester Eagles ? a midget team playing in the same national championship tournament ? engaged in a scrap with a team from Rhode Island, and got evicted from their hotel.?We saw it, and it was embarrassing,” said East Lynn Coach Bob Maitland. “This is not what Pop Warner represents.According to a Pop Warner spokesman, members of the Dorchester team got into a “physical fight” Thursday with players from Englewood, R.I. Both teams were thrown out of the hotel, the spokesman said.While the spokesman said that several members of the Dorchester team assaulted people from Rhode Island, league president Leslie Goodwin denied those claims. She did, however, acknowledge that the team was evicted from the hotel and is staying elsewhere.A disciplinary hearing was set for today, with a variety of sanctions ? up to, and including, being kicked out of the league ? possible.?You?d think they?d come down here and learn,” said Maitland, “but that?s how it is. It?s too bad.”Maitland said his team has had no problems in Florida.Dorchester, like East Lynn, had to rely on the generosity of local citizens to pay its way to Florida, as neither Disney nor Pop Warner offers the players any money toward their stay. By comparison, Little League baseball foots the bill for all the players who travel to Williamsport to take part in the World Series.Both East Lynn and Dorchester had to scramble to raise the necessary money ($50,000 in East Lynn?s case) to go to Florida.Both East Lynn and Dorchester lost early-round games, eliminating them from the possibility of a national championship. Lynn, however, won its consolation game against Hawaii Wednesday, 24-16, to earn a rare win among New England teams traveling to the tournament. The Bulldogs are staying through Saturday, when they?ll return home.East Lynn still has a shot at finishing third in the country. If Michigan ? the team it fell to Sunday ? wins the national championship, Lynn will be crowned the No. 3 team. If Michigan loses, the Bulldogs will be No. 4.
