Bye Week? Byte Me.

Post-Game Wrap-up:

Last week was a tough loss.  I forget the score, but it was around 4-1.  Our downside was our kicking—we got maybe one kick out of the infield.  I don’t know if we were trying too hard or if the ball was filled with sand, but the gods of kicking were not on our side last week.  That said, at tonight’s game let’s try to work on our kicking—keeping the ball low, finding the holes, or simply not popping up (EMILY).  Heck, try a toe ball. 

Action Item 1:  Who’s Coming?

Please respond if you’re coming so that we know how many people to expect.  It’ll be a loosey-goosey game tonight because it’s just a scrimmage.  Game time is 7pm, so try to arrive—as you always should—15 min early.  So that we don’t take a field from a team that actually is scheduled to play, we are going to meet on the field back by the restrooms off the pond (aka, the goose poop field).  As a bonus, Chris offered to lead us in stretching exercises. 

Action Item 2:  Beer

Who’s bringing beer, cups, ice? 

Action Item 3:  Theme

We’ve done 80s movie characters, TV characters, and cartoons.  This week, let’s go 80s toys. 

Social Calendiary:

Friday, July 26:  Footloose is playing at the Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival (http://www.rosslynva.org/play/calendar/film-festival).  Kristin asked what time to meet.  I say 7:30.  That leaves plenty of time to get home, change, eat or pick up food to bring, grad a bottle of wine (and a cup!) and head down.  Action Item 4:  Who’s coming to the movie?  We need to know how much space to save.  Afterwards, we can walk across the street to The Continental, a cool, retro pool hall (albeit, not cheap pool). 

July 1:  “The DC Improv Comedy School Cast” on Wednesday at 7:00pm at The DC Improv Comedy Club.   Our very own Aaron Pease will perform.  $10 cover, plus 2 drinks (no problem there!)

July 9:  Metal Mania!

July 10-12:  The All Good Music Festival in Masontown, WV.  Tix are $140 for the weekend.  You camp out, drink beer, and listen to good tunes. 

July 20-August 10:  Screen on the Green http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/misc-events/screen-on-the-green,1044011.html

August 22:  End-of-Season party.  Save the date now. 

Odds n’ Ends:

Remember to reply to the four (not just the usual 3) action items. 

At special request, I posted pics from last year’s Metal Mania so you can get an idea of how over-the-top we got.  Rule of thumb for Metal Mania:  too far is not far enough!  July 9 is this year’s meyheim, so start getting your costume ready now!  Like I said at the game, Journeys and Hot Topic have a lot of cheesy 80s stuff that, apparently, is back in fashion with the tweeners.  Thrift shops like Goodwill also are gold mines.  Ebay too. 

Finally, see the e-mail below from the Division. Note that the date of the end-of-season party is being set now to encourage a better turnout:

Hey Kickballers,

This may be the first Thursday that I’m not refreshing weather.com every 5 minutes to see if we are going to be able to play. Obviously, it is a beautiful day so we are playing.

Just some info on the playoffs/end of seaon party.

– The playoffs will start on Aug. 6th and the Semis/Championship game will be on Aug 20th. – The top 4 seeded teams will have byes the first week – The 12th and 13th seeds will have a 3 inning play-in on Aug. 6th to see who gets to be in the playoffs. They will then play the 5th seed later that night. – End of the season party will be Aug. 22nd. Bar TBD.

I wanted to thank Footloose, Kickin Nuggets, a few memebers from Flippin Sweet and Damien for coming out on Saturday. Between the 25-30 of us we took down 4.5 kegs, which I think is pretty impressive.

See ya tonight, Julie

Don’t have to be so exciting
Just tryin’ to give myself a little bit of fun yeah
You always look so invitin’, you ain’t as green as you are young
Hey baby, it’s you, come on, girl, now, it’s you
Sink your teeth right through my bones, baby, let’s see what we can do
Come on and make it

Hurt so good
Come on baby, make it hurt so good
Sometimes love don’t feel like it should
You make it hurt so good

Hurts So Good – John Cougar

A Little Something About Johnny C:

I thought I’d throw out a few facts about this Grammy award-winning, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame artist (look at that, I already threw out 2 facts!):

• Co-founder of Farm Aid
• His first hit (reaching #28 on the charts), I Need a Lover, was covered by Pat Bennetar
• His early albums were under the name Johnny Cougar or John Cougar, or John Cougar Mellencamp against his wishes
• His wife, Elaine Irwin, is a former model and a serious hottie

(I’m so cool that I don’t need a title for this post)

Update (3:55pm):  Games tonight are ON!

Footloose!

I’m back from my week in Orlando.  I heard that last week was a little rough, score-wise.  Vandy is one of the better teams on the field (they won the division a few year’s back) and on the flip cup table.  Sorry that I missed it. 

This week’s game is at 6:30 vs. We Got The Runs. 

Scouting Report:

We Got The Runs was the doo-doo brown team from last season.  They were traditionally the absolute worst team in the division—but a lot of fun.  This year, they have a new captain and a lot of new players.  Bottom line:  they aren’t the same ol’ crappy team (get it?!). 

This is the fun green team that we’ve spent most nights at McFaddens playing flip cup against. 

Action Item 1:  You In?

Please respond whether (OR NOT) you can make the game.  As a reminder, if you don’t respond and show up, you are relegated to the bottom of the kicking order and likely won’t start in the field the first inning (so you get less playing time). 

Weather Report:

The weather looks nice this afternoon, but there is a 30% chance of thunderstorms from 6pm on.  What does that mean?  You can bet your britches that the games will not be cancelled before you leave work.  We DO play in light rain, so don’t be scared off.  I have ½ the team’s cell #s, the other ½ should give it to me tonight.  Mine is 703.967.9145.  Call or shoot me a text if you aren’t certain.  Rule of thumb:  always assume the game is on.  The possibility of rain also means that we’ll likely try to actually start the game on time so that both games can get in before any rain starts.  So show up on time. 

Captain’s Tip of the Day:

• The easiest out if a pop fly.  So let’s not pop up.  We don’t need to score on every kick.
• I’m going to slightly change up positions.  The shallow center fielder from now on will take throws to 2nd base.  The person playing this position should still stand a few steps behind the base itself.  You’ll have time to get there to make the catch, I promise.  The gal playing 2nd base actually stands in between 1st and 2nd base.  If you are not sure where to stand, just ask a vet. 
• Similarly, the short stop splits the difference between 2nd base and 3rd base. 
• If the ball is bouncier than you’d like—don’t kick it!  You get 3 strikes before you are out, so you can be a little picky with pitches.  I know that I get excited to kick and swing at the first ball pitched.  But it may be better to wait for a nicer pitch. 
• Usually the team that makes the fewest errors wins.
• A typical error is to throw the ball around when runners are advancing.  It’s a judgment call, but sometimes its better to cut your losses and get the ball back to the pitcher.  For example, if the ball is overthrown at 1st and the runner is proceeding towards 2nd.  The 1st baseman or right fielder (who should be backing up 1st base on all throws) then tried to peg them at 2nd, but miss.  The ball rolls into the outfield.  The runner then goes for third.  The center fielder comes in and tries to peg them at 3rd, even though it would be a close play.  They miss.  The runner then scores on what should have been a single.  Like a said, it’s a judgment call, but perhaps it would have been best to eat the ball (yummy) and get the ball to the pitcher. 

Shirts & Schwag:

I’ll have the rest of the shirts there tonight.  I’m tired of lugging them, so grab yours or have a friend take it if you can’t make it. 

As with every game, I have a bag o’ schwag – HELP YOURSELF!  I don’t hand it out—it’s up to you to help yourself.   I also have a running list of those who have floated me a few bucks…so I know those who haven’t paid yet…try to get me tonight or the next game you make.  Make sure that I check you off my list.  Then add your cell # to the list. 

Action Item 2:  Libations

Who’s bringing beer, cups, and a trash bag tonight?  No one should have to double up during the course of a season or playoffs. 

Action Item 3:  Theme

Two games ago we didn’t actually get to do 80s cartoon characters cuz only 5 of us showed up.  So let’s repeat that one. 

Midseason Party & Flip Cup Tourney:

As you know, Saturday is the mid-season party and flip cup tournament.  Becky R sent out an e-mail to get a head count.  She has not heard from Becky S, Eric, or Brianne.  We have 2-3 openings to fill with either teammates or FOFs (Friends of Footloose).  If there is enough interest, we can always fill another team with FOFs.  It’s only $10 FREE for DCK members, and $20 $10 for non-DCKers.  That’s a pretty good deal for 10 kegs of beer and chicken fingers.  I would bet that we’ll bar hop around AdMo too that night, so it’ll probably be a really fun and ridiculously drunk night.  I hope you can make it!  If you can’t make the flip cup part of the day/night, you could always meet us out later (though we’ll probably be pretty goofy by then). 

Next 2 Weeks:

We have a bye week next week.  And that really sucks.  Seems that with the rain and holidays that this season doesn’t have much flow.  So, I plan to line up a scrimmage against one of the other teams that has a bye.   So we’ll still get a game in and a regular Thursday night at the bar.  So plan ahead! 

In two weeks is the Independence Day holiday, so no games. 

Metal Mania!

We’re only going to do one costume event this year:  create your own 8os metal hair band, otherwise known as Metal Mania.  It will be in July, so start thinking about your costume.  The more over the top and outrageous, the better.  I was hitting on high school girls at Hot Topic and Journeys last weekend, and they had a TON of 80s garb—Madonna-style gloves, neon, and general cheesiness.  Both stores would be a good resource.  Thrift shops like Goodwill always have good stuff too. 

Social Calendar:

Friday, July 26:  Footloose (the movie…duh…) is playing at the Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival (http://www.rosslynva.org/play/calendar/film-festival).  I’ve been to a few of these.  They are smaller than Screen on the Green, but you still can bring a picnic dinner, adult beverage of choice, and watch a movie at dusk.  I think we should make it a team outing (as Brianne previously suggested in a blog post).  

July 10-12:  The All Good Music Festival in Masontown, WV.  Tix are $140 for the weekend.  You camp out, drink beer, and listen to good tunes.  Any interest?  As a bonus, you get to meet my brother and sister. 

www.allgoodfestival.com/   

http://media.www.marshallparthenon.com/media/storage/paper534/news/2009/06/18/News/All-Good.Festival.Brings.Four.Days.Of.Live.Music.To.West.Virginia-3748278.shtml

Mondays, July 10-Aug. 10:  Screen on the Green thankfully was able to get new sponsors after AOL dropped out.  Word on the street is that they will do 4 movies instead of the usual 5 because of the short planning time this year.  The first flick is Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  This is one of my favorite summer events in DC (after kickball, naturally).  It’s great to get there early, set up a blanket, eat dinner and drink a bottle of wine (yea, I’m a lush like that…but it’s over several hours), and watch a movie with the Capitol as the backdrop.  It gets crowded, so get there early.  More info to come.

http://dc.about.com/od/specialevents/a/Screengreen.htm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/misc-events/screen-on-the-green,1044011.html

Unknown Date:  Party at Aaron’s and my place!

Unknown Dates:  Other weekend trip ideas kicked around were a camping trip to Assateague Island and tubing in WV then camping out. 

 

Well,  that’s enough info for now.  See you tonight, rain or shine! 

 

Say you don’t know me, or recognize my face
Say you don’t care who goes to that kind of place
Knee deep in the hoopla, sinking in your fight
Too many runaways eating up the night

Marconi plays the mamba, listen to the radio, don’t you remember
We built this city, we built this city on rock an’ roll

We built this city, we built this city on rock an’ roll
Built this city, we built this city on rock an’ roll

— We Built This City, Starship

What can I say about Starship?  The founders of Jefferson Airplane took a monumental San Francisco psychedelic band from the 60s and created one of the absolute worst songs of all time. 

Here Kitty Kitty…

UPDATE (4:22 pm): 

Because of how our schedule works out we will not be making up games that are rained out. Therefore, since games will be rained out tonight WE WILL STILL HAVE A MATCH UP…at McFaddens. We’ll have a flip-cup competition… Here’s how it will go down … and these games WILL COUNT in the standings.

Each team playing at the 6:30 time slot will arrive at McFaddens ready to take on their scheduled opponent in flip cup. We’ll play with the usual “players” and play 7 rounds. Teams can substitute in and out between rounds. The best of 7 will get the win and the score (ex: 4-3, 5-0, etc.) will be entered into the system as the result of this week’s games. Teams playing at 7:15, please plan to show up to McFaddens by 7 – although the earlier the better so you can cheer on the 6:30 teams. Please also note that we are still keeping the rule in effect from last year that if you forfeit more then 2 games you will not be in the playoffs.

I know this is completely different then what we have done any other year but I think it’s going to be fun. We were all planning on playing kickball today anyway so we might as well get together and have some fun.

Just a little incentive to get everyone out (besides the whole having to forfeit thing)…we will be buying a keg for the “scheduled” flip cup games. That way no one has to put up money for their game. After your scheduled game is finished you are on your own. If there is beer left over from the 7:15 games that will be for anyone that wants it.

See ya tonight!

Ren says– game on!  let’s get there at 6:30 ready to play some flip cup!  see you at McFadden’s, Footloose!

Post-Game Wrap-Up:

Last week’s game was a mess.  Only Jed, Heath, Chris, Chelsea, and myself actually made the game.   The other team was short people too, so we each picked up players from the late game and played anyway.  Now, it’s disputed whether we squeezed 2 or 3 innings in, but either way we pretty much crushed them.  Then the late teams walked away because they thought it *very* important to actually start at 7:15.  I wish someone whould explain to those tards (to use the word of the week from the previous post) how daylight savings time works.  Ladies, let me give you a hint:  as a dude, I don’t care how cute you are, if you’re rude and unbending, you’re written off in my book.  You hear that Kate from the red team?  Cuz I’m talking about you.  “I have to be somewhere at 8pm, so we have to start now.”  Well you know what, I’m glad your team got smoked.  Thanks to Chris for sucking it up to ref that game, cuz I didn’t want to be around those hosers. 

No, I’m not bitter.

OK, now for our ladies that showed up, but didn’t find us, there is a 3rd field that is hidden from site back bay the restrooms.  That’s where we were.  Chances are, that even if we officially forfeit, we still will srimmage and hang our till the beer is kicked.  SO, if you’re late, come find the smoke grey team.

ALSO, I have a sign up sheet– I need everyone’s cell #s.  I couldn’t contact anyway about the game because I didn’t have any #s. 

LASTLY, we should have forfeited the game.  Thankfully, the other team was cool and let us pick up players.  Not every team will be that cool.  So you know, 3 forfeits and we are not allowed to play in the end-of-season tournament.   

Scouting Report:

Tonight (6.4) at 6:30 we play Tony’s Tigers, once of the few original teams in the division (the others being us and next week’s foe, Vandalay Industries; though you could argue that Legion of Doom’s liniage makes them an original team).  The Tigers regularaly have a lot of turnover because they are a work team.  That said, they always seem to take it pretty seriously, so expect a competitive game.  Their pitcher last week seemed pretty into the world of competitive kickball.  But he doesn’t rock a headband the same as I do. 

I may be running late, so Jed and Becky will get things started if I’m not there on time (just give me a little leeway (sp?) please!). 

Captain’s Tip of the Day:

• We need to get runners on base to score.  That’s some pretty advanced math, I know.  Pop outs are easy, so try to keep the ball low.
• I’m going to change up positions a little bit– the “shallow center” position takes all throws to 2nd base (special situations notwithstanding).  The 2nd base position splits the difference between 1st and 2nd.  Ladies- I usually play you in these positions, so read that again.
• IF the team bunts, I may put a male catcher in.  We’ll make that adjustment after the 1st inning.  The starting catcher needs to be prepared for bunters and either throw the ball to the pitcher or to 1st base. 
• It’s going to be slippery tonight, so be cautious rounding bases (esp. at 2nd).  

Rain Policy:

If you do not receive  an e-mail from me or the division stating that games are cancelled, always assume that they are on.  I will text you only if games are called off due to weather.  The worst that can happen is you get a little wet and a lot drunk.  My cell is 703.967.9145. 

Action Item 1:  Who’s In?

Do you plan to make tonight’s game?  If you say yes, you’d better come (*cough…LEIGH…cough*). 

Libations:

Thanks to Carrie and Kolaleh for getting us tipsy tonight.

Action Item 2:  Theme

This week’s theme is 80s cartoon characters. 

Here comes the rain again
Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion
I want to walk in the open wind
I want to talk like lovers do
I want to dive into your ocean
Is it raining with you

So baby talk to me
Like lovers do
Walk with me
Like lovers do
Talk to me
Like lovers do