And now, we’ll see if you guys actually read these things past the first paragraph.  If not, then I may end up as an internet meme like this guy:

Anyway, the real reason I didn’t send anything out was because Beth has been sick, teething, and therefore extremely clingy, so I didn’t have a chance to spend any time in front of the computer.

But now I’m back at work and ignoring my real obligations in order to summarize Sunday’s action!

It wasn’t a good sign when we went 1-2-3 in the first inning.  The Capitol Ballbusters apparently really hate bunting.  They barely bunted, and armed themselves with an excellent fielding catcher and pitcher to prevent it from happening.  They were very effective at it, as we went in order in four different innings.

We handed them a couple of runs when our fielders made some uncharacterisitc sloppy plays.  It seemed like we were trying to make plays before we had the ball, resulting in fumbles and bobbles.

When the 6th inning came around, we were trailing 2-0 and had the top of our lineup up.  As I said, teams don’t get Dom out twice in a row, and sure enough, he got aboard.  Sharon followed with another successful bunt.

Next up came Steve who delivered a clean single, but more importantly, goaded the fielder into trying to peg him.  The ball hit him while he was standing on first base, and then bounced away, allowing the tying runs to score.

In the bottom of the 7th, we needed just one run to win the game.  Randy didn’t kick a homer as he promised, but he did get on base.  Tammy followed up with a hit that drove him home and the Platypus moved on after a dramatic victory!

Unlike the previous game, this one started off well.  Unlike our first opponent, this team did not defend bunts effectively, and that allowed us to gain a 6-0 lead after out first time up to kick.

It would have been nice to have a laugher of a game, but we let them right back into it.  Missed catches and bad overthrows led to them scoring four runs on one play.

Both teams got a few more runs as the game progressed, with neither side able to do much more damage.

In the end, we were able to get all the necessary outs and advance to the finals with a 10-7 win.

Coming in to the playoffs, Booze on First was recognized as the favorite.  They won their division last year and were undefeated in the regular season.  Some of us had watched them earlier in the year and could see that they were quite talented.

In order to beat them, it would take an outstanding effort on our part.  An outstanding effort was not what we delivered.

I am happy to say that we didn’t seem to commit errors of passivity.  Most of our errors were either due to over aggression, or the sudden loss of the ability to judge and then catch a fly ball.

Seriously, I haven’t dropped a fly ball in five years.  I certainly made up for it on Sunday.

Booze on First won the championship, and they certainly deserved it.  They might be the best team in all of NAKID.

Spearmint Platypus had to settle for runner-up.  And sadly, you don’t get medals or trophies for that.

The only real complaint I have with us in the championship game (OK, I guess not catching the ball or getting enough big kicks are complaints too, but sometimes those things happen) was that our opponents definitely seemed to be more into the game.  Maybe the presence of a megaphone simply made it appear that way, but it felt like they were on the sidelines, actively engaged, while most of us were content to sit in the shade and watch.

There were two notable exceptions: Dom and Ryan – Both of them tried to get the team fired up, and spoke some passionate words.  They also largely backed it up on the field.  Their fire earns them the SLPOTW!

Despite falling short in the playoffs, I still have faith that one day, Spearmint Platypus will be the ultimate victor.  And in that spirit, this week’s video is If I Ever Lose My Faith in You by Sting.

Not much to say about this, but man…Sting was so much more badass when he was with the Police.

Life is a journey, not a destination.  A season should not be judged by how it ends, but by how we got to that end.

I consider the season to have been a success.  Games were won, cups were flipped, wedding rings were lost and later found.  And our comeback victory in the playoffs was one of the finest wins in team history.

More importantly, I had fun along the way.  It’s been a pleasure captaining such a good group of people, and I hope you all enjoyed it as well.

Our winning streak came to an end as we fell to Premature Inebriation by a score of 10-7.  Sadly, the undefeated season is no more.

Facing perhaps our strongest opponent of the season, we made a statement in the first inning.  Unfortunately, it was not a good statment.

There were plenty of mistakes made, but most of them were mistakes of passivity.  Everybody seemed a step slow to the ball as if expecting someone else to catch the ball or make the play.  Our opponents were more than happy to take advantage of every mistake that we made, being super aggressive on the basepaths.

Despite the early deficit, our team wasn’t dead yet, and we continued to battle.  While there were still some more fielding gaffes, our defense did improve markedly after the first inning.

It was a good bunting day for the Platypus as we got a ton of baserunners aboard.  Unfortunately, we also seemed to be really keen on making outs at 3rd base.

Here’s the deal: If we have runners at 1st and 2nd, good defensive teams will be able to field bunts and throw the runner out at 3rd base.  When faced with that situation, we need to try to kick the ball to the right side, so at the very least, the runners can advance.

Anyway, despite our mistakes, we had the tying run at the plate in the 7th in the person of beloved captain Mike Lacy.  I haven’t been great in the clutch recently, but I actually got off a pretty good line drive kick right over 2nd base.  Most times, that kick would have fallen in.  Unfortunately, there was a girl standing right there and she made the catch.  Game over.

The Shelley Lower Platyspirit of the Week award goes to Peter Mancoll.  He decided to take a break from having sex to actually join us at a kickball game.  And he came dressed in full DC tourist gear and brought cookies.

It looks like Lynn is pulling away in the love triangle, as Becca has been MIA.  Dan and Lynn had a lot on common yesterday as both managed to get foreign substances on their crotch.  We also found out how far Dan would go to save my life if a gypsy placed a curse on me.

This week’s motivational poster once again features me.  But not for any accomplishments on the kickball field, but rather for my hair color.  It seems that some of you don’t think I have blond hair.  Which means you’re all stupid.

Since yesterday was our first loss of the season, there was one song that seemed especially appropriate: Loser by Beck.

The song soon came to be a symbol of the “slacker” culture in America.  It also made Beck very bitter, since he felt he was the opposite of a slacker and had to work hard just to survive and then become a star.

Reportedly, Beck refused to sing the song at several of his concerts, which naturally pissed off most of the customers.

This week’s SPCS Rankings:

Honorable Mention – To Ryan (who also played a good game despite some issues with touching 3rd base) and Mitch, who tried their all in the dance contest.

5. Alyssa – Went 2 for 2 including a big two out kick in the final inning.

4. Sharon – Played well at 1st and hustled her way into being safe on 2 consecutive plays on the baseline.

3. Steve – Very strong game at catcher and had at least one good kick.

2. Noah – Good pitching, kicking, and an excellent play to nail the guy at 3rd base.

The Spearmint Platypus of the Week is Amy E.  Despite being drunk (or perhaps because of it) she had a great game, with not one, but two well placed kicks over third base.

After her 3 PM game, she proceeded to make all sorts of new friends at the bar, and then (although I wasn’t around to see it) wowed people in the dance contest at My Brother’s Place.  She came in 2nd place, but supposedly the winner was a professional dancer.

An all around excellent performance.

 

For the second straight week, we played a team that was short on women.  And for the second straight week, we delivered a bit of an uninspired performance. 

 

We started off well enough with two first inning runs, but I’m not sure what happened to our offense after that.  We didn’t get too many baserunners on, and then it seemed like we had quite a few outs at 2nd base.  Don’t know if we can do a better job of kicking it away from where our runners are headed.  I suppose their pitcher was good, so I’ll give him some credit for our lack of runs.

 

On the other hand, our defense seemed to be mostly solid.  Aside from maybe one play, it seemed like everything that should have been caught was.

 

If it weren’t for the penalty runs and outs, this might not have been a victory.  But then again, considering other teams are having problems with it, I guess one of our team strengths is having enough people show up.  So let’s take the 5-2 victory and be happy with it.

 

 

 

And now, it’s time to go way back in time and dip into…The Ball Busters Archives

 

We’ll go back to April 24, 2007 when the Ball Busters took on the Banana Hammocks.

 

The Ball Busters were in peak form that Tuesday evening.  There was precision bunting, powerful kicking, and airtight defense.  The star of the game was (believe it or not) Dan Rothfield who contributed a triple and a home run.

 

At the time, Tuesday was THE night in NAKID, and the Ball Busters were a large reason why.  The team danced away at the bar, played some flip cups, and partied long into the night.

 

I became slightly concerned that the team might have peaked, as we would never be able to top that night.  I suggested that we disband, but my suggestion was quickly shot down.  Sadly, I may have been correct, as I don’t think things ever went quite that well again.

 

 

 

 

This week’s honor goes to Randy who showed up with lots of blue boas, beads and other accessories.  Not sure why he has so many of these things, but they came in handy this week.  He is the subject of this week’s motivational poster:

 

 

 

 

 

In honor of my wedding ring, this week’s video is Disappear by INXS:

 

 

INXS was huge in the late 80s/early 90s.  It was an absolute given that if you went skiing in the early 90s, you would hear an INXS song playing in the lodge.

 

Of course now, it’s difficult to hear an INXS song without thinking about autoerotic asphixiation, which was the apparent cause of death of lead singer Michael Hutchence.

 

 

 

 

Honorable Mention: Me - That was a beautiful slide I made, dodging under the throw.

 

Ball Buster comparison: Mike Lacy - Sigh…back when I was a good kicker.

 

 

5. Mark - He’s been a pro in the outfield, catching everything near him.

 

Ball Buster comparison: Scott Robertson – Another big man who could both kick and field well.

 

 

4. Tammy – Made a bunch of plays at 1st, including some balls with wicked spin.

 

Ball Buster comparison: Jim McBride – McBride would often play first base effectively, mostly because all of the opposing girls would rather get out than run anywhere near him.

 

 

3. Dom – Scored our first run, and had the nice sliding catch complete with enthusiastic celebration.

 

Ball Buster comparison: Lee Hendleman – Lee was a bit intense about kickball. 

 

 

2. Missy – Caught a few pop ups, and also laid down a great bunt to get on base.

 

Ball Buster comparison: Liz Fricks – Back in the day, Liz was a kickball star.  She’d catch everything in the field and kick well too.

 

 

1. Dan – While he can’t seem to catch the ball without bobbling it first, he did make the catches he had to.  He also had a great bunt, and used his elusiveness to score a helpful insurance run.

 

Ball Buster comparison: Dan Rothfield – In 2006, a team in the DC Independence Division of WAKA disbanded, and some of their players were redistributed.  Dan Rothfield was assigned to the Ball Busters.  He was loud and sweaty, and scared most of his teammates.  And yet, we could never seem to get rid of him.

 

 

I was not in a good mind set heading into the game.  On Sunday, I had four women cancel or no-show, and due to Beth having a breakdown right before the game, I had to head to the field by myself.  (Note to anyone who has to cancel right before the game: If you’re going to do so, please try to make me laugh as Amy did yesterday)

 

I had forgotten that our opponent was Weapons of Ass Destruction, so I shouldn’t have been that concerned about things.  It wasn’t a good sign for them when they thought they might have to forfeit due to lack of women.  They had two women show up, so we started off up by three runs.

 

We scored one run in the first inning, but it felt like we should have had several more.  As the game progressed, we added a couple more runs here and there, but considering how shorthanded they were in the field, it really seemed as if we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities.  For whatever reason, we seemed to be really enamored of kicking the ball right at Welvin.

 

I think this was the first game I’ve ever played where a team kicked in consecutive half innings due to the penalty outs. 

 

So in summary, it wasn’t our smoothest game ever, but as Beth would say “Whatevs, Daddy.”  A win is a win.  Let’s take it and move on.

 

 

At Hamilton’s, our team engaged in some flip cup action.  I’m not sure who the first team was, but they seemed more interested in singing than flipping, and once we all adjusted our bandanas into flip cup mode, we took them out handily.

 

Next up was Menace 2 Sobriety.  After my taunts got them to the table, our play quickly sent them scurrying off.  They might have been a bit frightened by the synchronized leg stretching that some members of our team engaged in.

 

And I learned an important lesson: People apparently don’t like when you sound off a victory air horn in the basement of Hamilton’s.

 

I also learned that Annie has a mole on her hand.  This doesn’t really relate to anything else though.

 

 

 

People seemed to really get behind the week’s theme, as there were some good Lacyesque outfits.  I’ll rank the top outfits as:

 

- Alyssa (Although she was dressed more like indoor kickball Mike Lacy than Spearmint Platypus Mike Lacy)

- Michelle (Who recreated my outfit from the unfortunate Fall 2007 kickball playoffs)

- Mitch (Good job with the zebra bandana and tie dye socks).

 

 

 

With Becca MIA, Lynn had a great chance to pull ahead.  But an interesting twist came about when Dan and Michelle made a pact to get married in five years.  (Hopefully the relationship has more basis besides “We both dropped balls in the last inning.”)  Lynn had to console herself by putting herself on the fallback list.  Honestly, that’s probably a better place to be.

 

 

 

I was trying to come up with a Lacy-centric moment, but really, throughout the team’s history, I haven’t had any truly great moments.  So I just went with this:

 

 

After competing in the minor leagues of Tuesday nights for a few seasons, TFL decided they would move to Thursdays and mix it up with the big boys.  As many will recall, TFL was a spin-off of the Ball Busters and only existed due to Randy’s magical genitals.  So there was some strong motivation to defeat them.

 

It was the first game of the Fall season, and Spearmint Platypus had just about everyone back from the Spring, along with several new additions.  This made for a very large team, and a tough task in forging a lineup.  Fortunately, many of the new additions were good players, and the resulting lineup came through.

 

The star of the game was Brad “C-Bone” Osinski.  He was playing catcher when notorious bunter Jason Hovell came to the plate.  I told Brad to throw Jason out, and as I requested, Brad gunned him down.  I was pleased as punch that someone actually carried out my command.

 

The final score was 10-4, as we showed TFL that Thursdays – or at least the Platypus segment of it – would be much tougher for TFL to handle than Tuesdays.

 

 

 

I made myself the subject of this week’s poster:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, they were so intimidated by our awesomeness, that they essentially stopped trying.

 

I can’t say that I blame them.  If I was another team, I’d be pretty darned intimidated by us too.

 

So what happened in the game?  We bunted well, we kicked well, we pitched well, and we fielded well.  It was just an overall excellent performance, with too many standouts to name (Although of course I will still name some later)

 

One of their players did try the interesting tactic of popping the ball up, and then running towards our fielders and screaming.  Note: This is not permitted.

 

We also had special appearances by Howie and Baby Bauman.  The babies didn’t interact, mostly because one can barely keep his eyes open, and the other was too busy trying to eat grass.  On the other hand, Howie was his usual delightful self.

 

 

Afterwards, we hit the bar and warmed up with some fun stipulations like Drink, spin, flip; and Drink, shout out the name of the person at the table you find most attractive, flip; and my favorite: Anyone who doesn’t one flip gets punched in the junk.  Next, we took on the maroon team and destroyed them and stole their very soul.

 

Other hilarity took place like quarters, card games, and a rap rendition of Dr. Seuss’ One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.

 

So despite the two week layoff, Spearmint Platypus seems to be firing on all cylinders.  This is a good thing as we enter the meat of the schedule.

 

 

I’ll have to give this to Mitch and Amy for their excellent Scooby Doo costumes.  Mitch looks surprisingly good with blond hair, and Amy was a natural as Velma.

 

 

 

Lynn seemed to take a big step forward this week as she and Dan were spotted eating hummus together.  We’re still awaiting Becca’s reaction to this development.

 

 

 

Apparently, our opponents thought we were too competitive, partially because we had a lineup made up.  Hey, if they want to just roll out there with no structure, that’s fine.  But that’s not how the Cutter rolls.

 

 

 

 

In honor of our TV week, this week’s video will be The Rembrandt’s “I’ll Be There for You”

 

 

Everyone will remember the song as the theme from the show Friends.  Originally, it was recorded for only that purpose, but due to the show’s popularity, it was later made into a full length song.

 

By the way, am I the only one who kind of got mad when they stopped synching up the shot of the cast clapping with the clapping sound in the credits?

 

This video also reminded me of how I disliked the first season of that show, as the characters were just a little too “cute.”

 

 

 

I’ve decided to provide you with some links that you might find enjoyable.  Or not.  Either way.

 

S*** my students write: http://shitmystudentswrite.tumblr.com/ - Teachers share their students’ absurd answers

 

Eyebrows!  http://www.oddee.com/item_97677.aspx

 

I would totally watch a show about Calvin – http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/05/05/comicsalliance-tv-calvin/

 

 

 

 

In honor of TV week, everyone mentioned will get associated with a famous television character.

 

 

Honorable Mention #1 – In their debuts, both Susy and Mark had good games.  Mark made some nice catches and a strong kick (which was unfortunately caught) and Susy hustled her way onto base in her first ever plate appearance.

 

TV character – Steve Urkel – His debut on Family Matters was one of the greatest TV episodes ever.

 

 

Honorable Mention #2 – To Laura  and Lauren  who came on out – babies in hand – on Mother’s Day.

 

TV character – June Cleaver – Everyone’s favorite TV mother.

 

 

5. Mitch – Perhaps the blond wig was distracting him in the first inning when he charged in a little too hard on a pop up.  But he made up for it with his catch and strong throw later in the game, holding the runner at 3rd base.

 

TV character – Fred from Scooby Doo – Because he looked so darned good as Fred.

 

 

4. Steve – Despite not being a master of the whole invite system, he played an energetic game in the field, basically covering a ton of ground.

 

TV character – Cosmo Kramer – Somewhat flighty, but a memorable presence.

 

 

3. Lynn – We tried her out at the #2 spot and she responded with an excellent bunting performance.

 

TV character – Claire Bennett – Since they can both can re-grow limbs that are chopped off.

 

 

2. Walt – In addition to being his normal hustling self, he added a home run.

 

TV character – Jack Bauer – I’m sure this will make Walt’s day.

 

 

and the Spearmint Platypus of the Week…

 

Jill – She is kicking like a champ out there.  Two nice kicks, even though one of them was caught (in an excellent defensive play).  Combined with her thankfully having my phone, she was the standout of the week.

 

TV character – Wilma Flintstone – Since she had the pearls on and everything.

 

We were disorganized in the first couple of innings due to a few last-minute drop outs and people running late.  I know it sometimes can’t be helped, but it threw us for a bit of a loop yesterday.  One person running late or dropping out is no big deal.  But when six people do it?  Chaos ensues.

 

It looked like we would only have 4 women to start the game, which would cost us a penalty run.  But fortunately, Amy E managed to chug her mimosa and make it to the field just in time.

 

We had a bit of a makeshift lineup in the first inning, but thankfully new shortstop Lauren made a nifty play to minimize any damage.

 

The top of our order did a good job of answering back.  We got some baserunners aboard and then Noah drove in a couple of runs with a well placed kick.

 

Our defense was still looking a bit shaky into the 2nd inning.  They made a kick that looked like it might be some trouble, but Amy made a nice catch, and then doubled off the runner at 2nd base to end the inning.  After that, things seemed to go much smoother for us.

 

Our offense continued to scrape some runs across, thanks in part to some miscues by our opponents.

 

Eric (Happy birthday!) hustled his way to 3rd base, barely beating the throw which then riccocheted into foul ground allowing him to score.  Mitch followed with an impressive kick to right.  He busted his ass around the bases, only to have our opponents execute a good relay and nail him at the plate.

 

Randy gave us a much needed insurance run when he realized that our opponents had nobody in right field and delivered a solid kick in that direction.  He was easily able to round the bases for his second homer of the young season.

 

Our defense looked much better as the game went on.  Mitch, Chris Mac, Eric, and Ryan (or at least Ryan’s face – that looked uncomfortable) all had catches, which was not an easy task considering the windy conditions.

 

Finally, Noah was able to completely shut them down in the final two innings, ending the game on an anti-climatic foul out.

 

It wasn’t pretty, but the Platypus improved to 2-0 on the young season.

 

It didn’t sound like too many of us went to the bar afterwards.  We’ll have to work on that a bit.  Considering how we were dominating at flip cup last week, I want to make sure all of our opponents know who the kings of the table are.

 

 

 

Both Becca and Lynn were away this week, so neither made any progress in capturing Dan’s heart.  Could this leave an opening for a mystery third party?  We shall see.

 

 

 

 

For those of you who are new to the team, or for those of you who like taking nostalgic looks back, every so often I’ll take a look back at one of the team’s finest moments.

 

 

After the collapse of the Ball Busters a year earlier, most of that team reunited under the Platypus name.  While we had high hopes, we weren’t exactly sure of how well the reunited team would perform.  After all, the final Ball Busters team was a bit of a disappointing mess.

 

Matched against longtime rival The Burninators (aka Balls Deep aka Purple) it would be a good test to see exactly how good the new team was.

 

The answer: Quite good.  Most of the offense was provided by a home run by Kevin Hunt, while defensively Jill DiLaura and Mark Lutz made some big plays to keep our opponents off the board. 

 

With the game called after four innings due to darkness, Spearmint Platypus’ debut was a successful one!

 

 

 

 

First off, thanks to everyone who came with a crazy hat.  We had a pretty good assortment of headwear out there. 

 

On that note, the spirit award for this week goes to Dave Whalen.  His Bears hat was indeed crazy.  And he also took quite the spill at 2nd base when the girl caught the ball, and then took out his legs.  Thankfully, he was OK afterwards.

 

 

 

 

Early in the game, we wasted a potential run when Laura couldn’t hear third base coach Dan Rothfield.

 

To mark this rare occasion, this week’s video will be “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode.

 

 

Depeche Mode has been referred to as the world’s most popular electronic music band.  (Whatever that means)  This is probably their most famous song, as it has been remixed and covered several times.  The “king walking with a lawn chair” video is fairly iconic as well.

 

I would like to point out that I am pretty darn good when doing Dance Dance Revolution to the song.

 

 

 

 

I want to offer a belated congratulations to the Baumans on the birth of their son.  Hope parenthood is going well!  In case you haven’t realized this, I’ll give you a motivational poster to remind you:

 

 

 

 

5. Alina – Made some very fine plays at 1st base.  I also feel bad for mispronouncing her last name.

 

4. Mitch – His almost home run was nice, and he had his usual good showing in the field.

 

3. Randy – Another week, another home run.  Plus, he had some sliding infield catches.

 

2. Noah – Another good pitching week, and also got our offense going early on.

 

1. Amy – Her double play really turned the tide of the game.  Things didn’t look good for us before her play, and afterwards, everything came up Platypus.  For being so pivotal, she gets this week’s honor.

Last season on Spearmint Platypus…

 

After the defeat at the hands of Barely Legal in the Spring 2010 playoffs, we were left with a cliffhanger ending.  It looked like the retirement of captain Mike Lacy would mark the end of the Spearmint Platypus team.  Was the World’s Most Awesomest Kickball Team really gone for good?

 

Apparently not!  And of course when TV shows start to lose their popularity, there is one trick they can usually turn to for improved ratings: Adding a baby to the cast!  And so with the addition of Beth to the team, the Platypus looks to be better than ever in 2011.

 

 

This season…

 

With most of the old cast joined by some promising new talent, Spearmint Platypus looked ready to dominate early Sundays.  Of course having a strong team on paper doesn’t necessarily equal wins.  Would the team be able to win it’s Sunday debut against Team Tommy?

 

The game started off well enough.  The Platypi pushed across two runs in the first inning, and then later added three more to take a 5-0 lead. 

 

Our defense was looking strong, as I can recall some plays being made by Becca, Annie, and Steve, in addition to nifty 1st base work by Tammy.

 

However, we were not fated to have an easy victory, as we hit a rough patch in the fifth inning.  Some well placed kicks along with some subpar defense allowed Team Tommy to rally and tie the game.

 

In the bottom of the sixth, a few Platypi reached base, but it looked all for naught when Chris McGuire’s kick went right to the pitcher.  The throw to first base should have marked the final out of the inning, except that the first baseman was pulled onto the orange base.  As a result, Chris was safe, and the go-ahead run scored.

 

Despite a few base runners getting aboard in the top of the 7th, pitcher Noah was able to squelch any hopes for another Tommy comeback when he retired the final kicker on four fouls.

 

It was a hard fought 6-5 victory.  Despite being new to NAKID, that was a good team.  They knew how to play and didn’t make too many mistakes.

 

Afterwards we celebrated with a Circle of Love featuring Spearmint gum and the recital of the Platypus Pledge.

 

Once that was completed, many of us headed to Hamiltons for some food and flip cup.  We took on The Milkmen and SMAC in flip cup, and had our way with both of them.  Eventually we defeated SMAC in what was possibly the longest game of Survivor flip cup ever.

 

Overall, it was an excellent week one, and we can only hope that the rest of the season goes as well.

 

  

 

 

Apparently, a bit of a love triangle has broken out on our team as both Becca and Lynn are waging a battle for Dan’s heart.  (Or maybe his crotch)  This week, I gave both of them an opportunity to state their opening case.

 

Lynn: No, I’m actually pissed at Dan.  He spilled water on me.

Becca: What?  Wait, why am I competing for Dan?  She can have him.

 

Obviously, this situation isn’t going to be resolved anytime soon.

 

Speaking of Dan, he apparently didn’t endear himself to the cook at Hamiltons.  He is the recipient of this week’s motivational poster:

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to our kickball win and flip cup dominance, our team was left in a very positive mood yesterday.  So for this week’s Early 90s Music Video, I have chosen “Shiny Happy People” by REM:

 

 

Featuring Kate Pierson from the B-52s, this song is off the Out of Time album which is when REM really entered the mainstream thanks to the success of Losing My Religion.

 

Despite some people hating on the song, I still say it is hard not to smile when hearing it.

 

 

 

 

I’ll give the first ever SLPAOTW to Michelle.  Despite being hung over, she was super enthusiastic about the game.  And then later on, while playing flip cup, her performance improved dramatically, mostly to avoid disappointing me.

 

For her can-do spirit, and desire to improve, she receives this honor.

 

 

 

A couple of FINGERS OF SHAME to be given out. 

 

(For those new to the team, a FINGER OF SHAME is given out to someone who did something bad.  Hopefully you learn from it and grow as a person)

 

Peter - For oversleeping and missing the game. 

 

Dom – For ignoring his base coach.  While I always prefer errors being made due to aggression, we need to pay attention to our base coaches when they tell us to stop.

 

 

 

 

In which we honor the standouts of the week.  Much like the BCS, these rankings are completely arbitrary, and may have no real reflection on real life events.

 

5. Mike – I put myself here to emphasize how hustle can help win a game.  Thanks to a couple of overthrows, I made it to third base on a bunt, and as a result, I was able to easily score.  And in the final inning, I backed up the play at 1st base, keeping the runner from advancing, which may have saved a run later on.

 

4. Noah – The Roy Halladay of NAKID lived up to the billing with his strong pitching. 

 

3. Sharon – Scored two runs, including the game winner.

 

2. Stacy – She made the defensive play of the game with her tumbling catch. 

 

1. Randy – OK, his defense may have been a little off, but I’ll forgive him since he hasn’t played outdoor kickball in quite some time.  But he kicked a home run, and those are always fun.

 

 

Flip Cup MVP: Lauren Saft

Rookie of the Year: Chris McGuire

Biggest Flirt: Jen Yeh

The Mark P. Lutz Biggest Partier Award: Becca Winner

The John “Speedy” Slawinski Best Hustle Award: Dom Murgo

The Amy Graf Team Spirit Award: Becca Winner