Thai boys in the cave

OK, maybe it's a stretch to call spelunking, also known as exploring caves, a sport. But hey, if cornhole, throwing bean bags, and a poker tournament can be broadcast by ESPN -- a network devoted exclusively to sports -- than surely spelunking qualifies.

As the world has known for a while, about a dozen young boys and their coach became trapped in a cave a couple weeks ago. Most, including myself, thought they were the proverbial goners. Maybe their remains would be discovered somewhere in the future, but things weren't exactly looking good.

And then -- surprise!!. A Thai team of SEALS -- no, America doesn't have a monopoly on such elite military personnel -- found them. Not only that, but alive and quite well. What's left of the compassionate people in the world breathed a sigh of relief. The ordeal was over.

But it really wasn't. Not by a long shot.

Turns out, those cave refugees were two and half miles from the entrance to said cave. By any standards, that's a long ways. Worse, the tunnel they had originally traversed was an up and down route, any many of the "downs" had filled up with water due to the rains that somehow find their way into such eco-systems. So there was no easy way to get out. Worse yet, their location was a half mile underground. Could potential rescuers tunnel that deep? Maybe. But only if they could be sure they wouldn't collapse the earth into where the survivors remained. Trying to rescue them -- only to bury them alive -- wouldn't seem like the optimum plan.

For now, the kids and coach seem relatively safe. The SEAL folks have provided them with food and all report they are in good health.

Let's also not forget that, after a couple weeks, any flashlights they may have originally had were long since useless. Batteries won't last that long, so they were completely -- can't see your hand in front of your face -- in the dark. A scary proposition for even the bravest of hearts. At least they had an ample supply of oxygen. Until the SEALS arrived with their own artificial lighting.

The problem is getting them out. It's one thing for highly trained elite divers to swim and otherwise traverse a two and half mile obstacle course, but quite another to expect teenagers totally untrained in such things to do the same.

Worse yet, the monsoon season is just beginning. There will be more rain, MUCH more rain, for the next four months or so. No way of pumping out the passage.

Perhaps they will figure out a way to have the kids -- one at a time -- be outfitted with a SCUBA apparatus and merely hang on to a SEAL diver taking them back out.

Then again, Thailand is a warm country, but caves are always on the cool side, so temperature extremes wouldn't seem to pose much of a problem.

Could they stay down their for four months, until the monsoon season ended? Most likely so.

And here's the kicker. When all this is over, they'll have likely figured out a way to bring the kids and coach back to the friendly confines of the rest of the world. Maybe sooner, maybe later, but you just know it's going to happen.

And then those boys and their coach should have a number one priority.

Hire an agent.

Because you also know somebody in Hollywood is going to want to make a movie out of all this, which will likely be a smashing success at the box office. Who wouldn't pony up a few bucks to see the heroic ordeal these folks went through?

OK, maybe they're stuck in a cave for another four months.

Might as well strike it rich when they finally get out.

Sounds like a plan to me.....

No wonder those kids are all smiles.

Perhaps they already have that part figured out.