Taney news: Phillies wish them well, Mo'ne Davis and Clayton Kershaw, and more

Philadelphia's best baseball team, the Taney Dragons, play their first game of the Little League World Series Friday at 3pm against the South Nashville Little League All-Stars.

Over the past few days, the Dragons have taken the city of Philadelphia by storm.  Need evidence of that?  Look no further than our other beloved Philadelphia baseball team, the Phillies.  Not only did the Phillies raise almost $7000 for Taney during Monday's 50/50 raffle at CBP, but they also filmed this great video.

Ben Revere, Darin Ruf, Cody Asche, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jimmy Rollins - if that doesn't make you love your local team more, then I'm not sure what will.

Maybe the Temple Owls are more your thing?  They made a video too:

Beyond the well-wishings from our local sports teams, the Taney Dragons have become a national sensation, in no small part because of the amazing story of Mo'ne Davis.  Rachel Maddow of MSNBC picked up on the Dragons last night with this great intro to a segment, calling the Dragons and Mo'ne "the best new thing in the world":

And then the great segment itself, ending with a tribute to Mo'ne: "Mo'ne Davis, god bless you, and may the rest of us get out of your way in time."

A fun story that's developed with Mo'ne is her challenge to Clayton Kershaw. ESPN did a short profile of Mo'ne and it ended with her challenging Kershaw to a "pitch-off." Yesterday, Kershaw responded:

Here's the thing Clayton. You just happen to be playing the New York Mets in New York City this weekend. And, you have an off-day Monday. Instead of making Mo'ne come out to Los Angeles (unless you're willing to pay, which I'm sure she and her family would appreciate), how about you go to Williamsport Monday and meet her then? I have no doubt that you'd be a welcome guest at the Little League World Series.

If you haven't gotten enough Mo'ne Davis, here's an excellent long profile of her and her family from the Daily News today.  It's really a great read and quite a story.

Finally, have you caught the fever?  Are you looking to do all you can to support the Taney Dragons?  There are a few ways that you can do it:

• Go the game Friday.  Taney has organized buses from Center City to the game Friday morning, returning Friday night.  For $20, you can be on the last bus (the first two sold out already).  Purchase your ticket here.
• Buy Taney merchandise.  There's all sorts of merchandise here, with proceeds going to support the team.  You can also go to the Modell's stores on Snyder, Oregon, and Chestnut to buy Taney t-shirts.
• Donate.  Being a part of the Little League World Series isn't cheap.  You can donate directly to the team here.
• Attend the City Hall pep rally Friday at 2pm.  Details are here.
• Follow Taney Baseball on Facebook (Taney Youth Baseball Association) and Twitter (@taneybaseball).