Week 7 in Review

 

What a finale to division play.  Mother Nature tried to break-a-our stride, but she failed hold us down.  In the end, it was a lovely day for kickball.  The early games out north looked a bit challenging as rain covered the ball with a thin coat of dust and mud and dampened the fields just enough to make the terrain a bit slick.  Regardless, if the weather presented a problem, it was a problem that all teams had to deal with collectively.

As for the games themselves, there were certainly some good ones this week.  In the William S. Burroughs division the Screamers narrowly escaped with a win over Dirty Mike and the Boyz, winning 8-7.  The win allowed the Screamers to hang onto their winning record and remain in the top four pools.

In the Carrie A. Nation division there were a couple of good games.  Gang Green won a barn-burner against the Brewballers 18-15, which moved them up to the 6th pool and dropped the Brewballers down to the 7th pool.

The GOTW week was a lopsided affair as Wildman bounced back from a tough loss a week ago and crushed Sacred Sword 13-1.  Sometimes a tough loss is exactly what you need to spur your team in the right direction.  It was a huge win for Wildman and a tough loss for Sword.  At stake was a ticket to the 2nd pool where the competition is a bit tougher and should get Wildman ready to make a playoff run.  With the loss Sacred Sword plummets down to the 4th pool where they’ll have to lick their wounds and are now fighting to prove they deserve a good tournament seeding.

The past few weeks the GOTW skies have opened and jello shots have been raining down from every direction like $1 bills off Pacman Jones paper stack at a strip club (back when he had money).  This week there were jello shots as usual, but there was also the pleasant surprise of rain in the form of water, from hundreds of water balloons.  What’s next? Water balloons filled with booze or jello shot balloons?  Makes me want to run up to Cottin’s and buy the supplies to build a three-story beer bong to hang from the backstop.  Troy, relax.  I know your heart rate just spiked.

The climax of the entire event was Cougar prancing around trying to avoid the bombardment of water balloons by backpedalling and doing some form of an Asian Jig, which I didn’t know existed until Sunday.  He did look a bit hot from all that reffing so hats off to whoever shattered one over his dome.  It looked refreshing.

The John Brown division didn’t see any major shakeups with the only consequential game being Free State vs. West Coast where Free State took care of business and continue to quietly play quality kickball, winning 14-6.  Also, congrats to the Tellerdactyls for grabbing their first “W” of the year.  The only remaining defeated teams are all in the 8th pool.  There are six wins up for grabs in the final three weeks of the season so it’s time to put on the strategy hats.

The big games of the week definitely go to the Langston Hughes division.  Not only did the top four teams see a major shakeup, but the 6th and 7th spots were at stake as well.  The Rockets handled the Ghosts 21-9 to claim a spot in the 6th pool.

Other than that there were two amazing games played side by side out at Lyons.  The Shaolin Shadowboxers boxed their way off the ropes in the 9th inning to pull off a come-from-behind win over Red Lyon.  From what I hear they were down 5-2 after eight innings and scored 5 runs in the top of the ninth, the majority or all with two outs.  That goes to show that no lead is safe in kickball.  Red Lyon had a shot at being in the #1 pool with a win and a Goats victory (with most tie-breaker scenarios playing into their favor).  Instead they fell all the way to the 4th pool.  Hopefully for them they can regroup and gear up for the postseason.

The best game of the week had to be the Goats defeat of Love Garden, 13-7.  I was there for the majority of the game and when I left I believe the score was 7-7 (not sure of the inning).  Up to that point it was back and forth kickball with some aggressive base running and tactical play trying to figure out the best method of competing on the damp field.  I’d love to hear how this one ended if anyone out there has any insight.

With their victory and the Red Lyon’s loss, the Goats claimed the crown in the Langston Hughes division.  It was A good rebound after losing to Red Lyon the previous week.  As for Love Garden, they’ll have to settle for playing in the 2nd pool this season, likely their first not as a #1 in several seasons.

Regardless of what pool teams are playing in, the pools seem to get deeper and deeper every season.  Every team in the top four pools boasts a winning record and all four of those pools looks difficult to navigate.  Sometimes the ability to hide in a specific pool can be a good thing for a team.  If you are still facing quality competition and your team is getting better every week it can be a blessing in disguise to avoid showing all of your cards to teams you may face come postseason play.  With that in mind, here is a list of how the pools shaped up.  There are a couple of exceptions, but otherwise most teams landed about where they probably should have and most of the pools look pretty evenly stacked.

Cheers to completing the first leg of the season and good luck to all teams going forward.  The games from here on out should be difficult for all.

KM

 

POOL 1

Barracudas (7-0)

Das Boot (7-0)

Pita Pit (7-0)

Goats (6-1)

POOL 2

Chalmersiz (6-1)

Hurtz Donut (6-1)

Love Garden (6-1)

Wildman Attack Force (6-1)

POOL 3

Party (5-2)

Shaolin Shadowboxers (5-2)

Los Matadores (4-3)

Slowride (4-3)

POOL 4

Red Lyon (5-2)

Free State (4-3)

Sacred Sword (4-3

Screamers (4-3)

POOL 5

Asteroid Head (3-4)

Corksuckers (3-4)

Liberty Hall (3-4)

West Coast Saloon (3-4)

POOL 6

Balls Deep (2-5)

Channel 6 (2-5)

Gang Green (2-5)

The Rockets (2-5)

POOL 7

Brewballers (2-5)

Dirty Mike & the Boyz (2-5)

Ghosts (1-6)

Tellerdactyls (1-6)

POOL 8

Bald Beavers (0-7)

Harper Valley PTA (0-7)

Jazzhaus (0-7)

Spacepussy (0-7)