LAWRENCE FUCKING KICKBALL: 2011 Tournament Preview

Lou Schmitt's 10th inning walk-off home run during the 2010 Less-Awesome Bracket Championship game. via roscoepoet.com

Hey friendz,

Thanks to the board for organizing what looks to be another amazing Week 1 of the KVKL Tournament at the Youth Sports Complex and Holcom this Sunday. There will be a total of 30 kickball games played Sunday, starting at 5pm and ending around 11. Some teams will advance and get to play kickball for at least one more week; other teams will end their season and probably spend that night at The Replay complaining about how we don’t use a true double elimination bracket. This is easily the most exciting sports event Lawrence will see this summer (fuck you softball!), and personally my favorite part of the season—great games will be played, great teams will fall, upsets will happen, and it all ends with a Sunday late night championship game at Hobbs and a monstrous Monday morning hangover. Remember to be friendly to each other as we enter the part of the season where how you play a game actually has consequences. Hands are for helping, not hurting.

Below I’ve picked the match-ups that peeked my interest, followed by the usual bullshit and unexceptional predictions. Don’t forget to fill out your KVKL bracket for the Lawrence Fucking Kickball Bracketology Challenge (now with prizes: Concert tickets, Hamms, and possibly more), have it turned in before 5:15pm on Sunday. I will be collecting physical entries at YSC 3, and Troy from Red Lyon will be collecting them at Holcom Left. Do your best to get them in early, since I will be officiating at 5pm, and Troy will be playing at 5pm. Also, I’ve attached an Excel document that you can fill out and email to me at , if that’s your thing (it would definitely make my life easier).

KVKL 2011 Tournament Bracket EXCEL DOC (with field/time updates)

KVKL 2011 Tournament Bracket PDF (with updated fields)

HAVE FUN! STAY HYDRATED! BOOZE! LAWRENCE FUCKING KICKBALL!!!!!!

#16 Balls Deep vs. #17 West Coast Saloon @ Holcom RED* 6:30pm

These are both solid mid-level teams that have the talent to make a run on either side of the bracket. Unfortunately, the winner of this game plays #1 Pita Pit in round two, while the loser of this match-up will get a bye in the Less-Awesome Bracket, and have a great chance of winning the Ms. Congeniality title. I’m not saying there will be any sandbagging (I don’t think any team in the league has the balls/talent to truly Sandbag); I do think it will be very difficult for the captains of these teams to properly motivate their players when losing leads to more kickball and fun.

PREDICTION: Balls Deep > West Coast

*The Balls Deep vs. West Coast Saloon game will be played at 6:30 at HOLCOM RED, not at the original 5pm time at Holcomb Right. This has something to do with available lights, and Ms. Fortunes screwing people out of games.

#13 Wilt Chamberlain vs. #20 The Swarm @ Holcom Blue 5pm

Wilt Chamberlain has been gaining steam this entire season. They have plenty of great players with the speed it takes to run up scores. In Week 10 they fell to #12 Red Lyon by just 1 run, they beat the very strong Ghosts by 3, crushed Channel 6, and managed to score 11 runs on #5 Star Bar. As the 2011 season has progressed they have grown more consistent in game play, The Swarm will need to play their best defense to hold The Stilts off. The Swarm hasn’t had a great season. In the last three weeks of Rank Play we saw them lose to Channel 6, and barely hold off both West Coast and Brew Ballers, but they always impress during tournament time. If they fall in round one I could easily see them getting their second Less-Awesome Bracket title.

PREDICTION: Wilt > The Swarm

#12 Red Lyon vs. #21 Wild Man Vintage @ Holcom Left 5pm

At the beginning of the season I figured Red Lyon would be a top ten team. They were a force last year, and I still think they could be one this year (anything can happen during tournament time). It’s nice to see a team with so many great players who are used to dominating not letting their team’s less-than-great performance get in their heads, they continue to party hard while playing competitive kickball games. Red Lyon has a good chance of having a similar Cinderalla story that #10 Rangelife had during the 2010 Tournament. They should easily handle Wild Man, but once again neither of these teams have played consistently good kickball this season. I haven’t seen Wild Man play much this season, and I’m not too comfortable commenting on their abilities. In Rank Play they took down KVKL Sweethearts Dirty Mike and the Boyz and handily beat The Corksuckers, while falling to the unpredictable Asteroid Head Art Club. Let’s hope for a close game!

PREDICTION: Red Lyon > Wild Man

#15 Ghosts vs. #18 Brew Ballers @ YSC 2 5pm

After unexpectedly losing to Liberty Hall in a close game during Week 7, the Ghosts were bumped down to the Four Pool. I expected the Ghosts to dominate, but they went 1-2 in Pool Play, I think this says more about the strength of KVKL teams this season, than the strength of The Ghosts. They lost to Balls Deep and Wilt Chamberlain, but were able to hold off Red Lyon (the team that ended the season ranked first in the Four Pool). They may have underperformed in Pool Play, but I expect them to beat the struggling Brew Ballers and give Love Garden a good Round 2 game. Brew Ballers also underperformed in the Five Pool, but if they can’t take down The Ghosts, they definitely will be a major threat in the Less-Awesome Bracket. This game could go either way, but…

PREDICTION: Ghosts > Brew Ballers

#14 Liberty Hall vs. #19 Channel 6 @ YSC 3 6:30pm

A rematch of last years first round game that ended with Liberty Hall entering the Less-Awesome bracket for the first time ever and winning the top Less-Awesome prize (have you seen our trophy case?). I don’t see this game ending the same way. The Late Fees have a lot of talent, their Coach just needs to get his shit together so they can pull out a Round 1 win, followed by a Round Two upset/stomping of Sacred Sword, and go on to become the ultimate Cinderella story in the Awesome Bracket. I’ve always loved playing Channel 6, win or lose this will be a great way to start the tournament for my team.

PREDCITION: Late Fees > Channel Sux… and MOST FUN WINS… also, Billy Gay > Cougar

#11 Los Luchadores vs. #22 Asteroid Head @ YSC 1, 6:30pm

Not going to say much about this game, but I have a feeling this might be the upset of the night. It’s a long shot… The Head > Los Lunchables.

THE OFFICIAL KVKL 2011 TOP 32

What are your thoughts on the first few rounds of the KVKL tournament? How will your team perform?

Cheers,

Coach Billy Gay Cyrus