Trump Stirs Controversy With Registration Debate

The Donald sparked some controversy this past week with discussions about registration checks at the playoffs. In last season's playoffs, Multiple Scorgasm asked for a roster check against the Seminoles because there were a couple of players they didn't recognize (perhaps because the Seminoles rarely if ever went to the bar after games). A roster of players was pulled up and player names were checked against drivers licences. Two Seminole ladies didn't have their licences on them so they were asked to verify their identity by asking them to verify their phone numbers and dates of birth. This information checked out however the ironic thing is that Multiple Scorgasm was found to be playing with an unregistered player.

According to kickball rules, a team can be disqualified from playoff play if they play with an unregistered player. This usually doesn't come up too often except for when an opposing team calls for a roster check. All players should plan on bringing their government issued IDs to the playoffs to verify identity in case that situation arises.

This incident caught the eye of Trump who sent investigators to the DMV to search for the missing licences. Trump stated, "I have people that actually have been studying it and they can't believe what they are finding." Wednesday, the Seminoles agreed that everyone on their team would bring their government issued ID to the playoffs to avoid any more controversy if another ID check is requested from another team.

At a press event in New Hampshire, Trump reacted to the news. "Today I am very proud of myself. I am so incredibly proud. You would not even believe how proud of myself I am. It would be absolutely impossible for anyone to be any prouder of themselves than I am of myself. I am proud because I’ve accomplished something that nobody else has been able to accomplish. I was just informed, while on the helicopter that the Seminoles have finally agreed to show IDs at the playoffs. I would want to look at them but I hope its true so we can get on to much more important matters so the press can stop asking me questions. They should have done it a long time ago. Why they didn’t do it when Multiple Scorgasms asked for it, why they didn’t do it when everybody else was asking for it, I don’t know."

It wasn't just Seminoles that caught the attention of The Donald. He also found some issue with Booze on First's success this season. "I have a great relationship with the black team. I’ve always had a great relationship with the blacks" said Trump. "But he word is, according to what I’ve read, that they were a terrible team in fall 2010. They then get into Spring 2011, they then come in 2nd place. I heard in the beginning of this season they weren’t a very good team. Then they win 2nd place. How do you win 2nd place if your not a good team? Now, maybe that’s right or maybe its wrong but I don’t know why they don’t release their records."

Indeed, Booze on First did finish last season tied for last place but many considered them to be the best last place team ever after they had a few tough breaks and close games. They also had a less than stellar start to the season but their schedule was definitely weighted heavy in the first few weeks. They surprised many teams with their 5 game winning streak to finish the season.

Regardless of how each team did in the regular season, or how Donald Trump feels about it, any team can have one good day at the playoffs. Playoff champions will be eligible for an invitation to play for the Founders Cup in Las Vegas. Anyone else can also represent Tampa and play in Vegas in the fun tournament (aka the Kickball Games) by putting their name on the list.

Breaker Week 3 Recap

What a beautiful night for kickball this week. The weather was great and there were quite a few good matchups.

Definition:
bloggable   
[blawg-uh-buhl]
–adjective
something notable that happens in a kickball game that might be of interest to readers of the blog.
Used in a sentence:
Ty came up and asked me if there was anything bloggable that happened in our game tonight.

We started things off with Masterbatters vs Barbara Ballters. The poor Masterbatters have had a rough start to the season, starting things out by facing to of the toughest teams in the league, and lost their first two games by a combined score of 19-1. They keep telling themselves that things will get better but only time will tell. Meanwhile, Barbara Ballters is one of the new teams that is finding their way in the league and have shown that they aren't exactly slouches on the kickball field. This game started out pretty close with a 1-1 tie until Barbara Ballters was able to get a bases loaded triple to open the game up. When asked about their performance, the always humble Barbara Ballters said, "We were awesome". Barbara Ballters won this one 6-2.

Field 2 stated off with Suck My Kick squared off against last year's champions, Balls and Dolls. Suck My Kick has quickly established themselves as one of the most fun new teams in the league. They blame their poor week 2 bar showing on the fact that they were still recovering from their mandatory team Spring Break weekend. Suck My Kick decided to motivate their team early with coordinating dance moves to the Back Street Boys. It seemed to work as they took an early 3-0 lead but that's when Balls and Doll's catcher, Matty B, sprang to action. Matty loves to talk... and talk... and talk behind the plate... and everywhere else. His plan to get into Suck My Kick's heads must have worked because the tables turned quickly and Balls and Dolls scored 4 unanswered runs. Suck My Kick's beautiful ladies decided to counter with some attempts at comedy that were about as successful as the Situation on the Roast of Donald Trump. Balls and Dolls took this one 4-3.



Our Field 1 late game was an epic matchup between the Seminoles and Booze on First. That chill up your spine, feeling of looming impending doom and concern that the gates of hell are opening up would be the Seminoles coming. For whatever reason, they always seem to get whatever team they are playing to get really fired up and agitated. Anytime the Seminoles play there is always the thought that maybe it would have been a good idea to have some riot police on stand-by. This game was no different. Already up 7-4, Seminole slugger, Salty, kicked a ball over everything. He rounded third to try to score a home run and dove into home plate, only to be thrown out with a quick throw by the catcher just inches from home plate. Unfortunately two unfortunate things happened. First the catcher grabbed the ball and spiked it a second time into Salty for good measure, then it turned out Salty hurt his shoulder on the play. Homeplate ref, Jon, took good control of the situation and gave a warning against unsportmanlike conduct before anything erupted. Seminoles won this one 7-5.

On a related side note. Everyone should remember that WAKA Kickball is a fun social activity and the reason WAKA exists is to create a comfortable atmosphere where people can meet new people and make more friends. Unsportsmanlike conduct should not be tolerated. Respect your opponents and your refs as you would a good group of friends.

OK Back to the fun, Our next matchup was between D's Nutz and Asstastic Balls. I was told by Rob on Asstastic Balls that this was a boring game and gave me nothing bloggable. Luckily D's Nutz could remember something interesting. With no outs and runners on first and second, the D's Nutz kickers was able to kick a deep ball. The runner from second made it to third and decided to plant herself there, The runner from first rounded second and continued to 3rd, only to overrun the base and pass her already stationary teammate. Then the kicker, thinking he was going to be able to score a home run also ran past the stationary D's Nutter still standing on third. According to the WAKA Rulebook, rule 10.08: "Running past another runner is not allowed. The passing runner is out". Asstastic balls was also able to get that lead baserunner out too so what should have been a 3 run home run turned into a triple play with no runs scored. D's Nutz secret weapon computer program finally seemed to work out this week, or maybe it was just that they played Asstastic Balls. D's Nutz won 6-0.

Last but not least was 99 Problems and Jagerballs. This game started out out tight with no scoring by either team in the first couple of innings, though 99 Problems did their best to take advantage of what they viewed as a weak spot in the Jagerballs defensive alignment. In a strange twist of fate, as soon as Jagerballs adjusted to cover the weakness 99 Problems exploded on offense and put up about an 8 spot just in one inning. This game got pretty out of hand at that point and 99 Problems players started jokingly heckling each other. Though this ended in a blowout, vodka watermellon was enjoyed by all. 99 Problems won 12-2.

What might have happened if Jon didn't keep the Seminoles vs Booze on First game under control

Rule Time

So there were a few calls that came up this week that its worth noting what the rules state.

First of all, it seems like strikes are called pretty inconsistently throughout the division. The inconsistency is that some refs seem to think that either the entire ball or half the ball has to enter the strike zone. That is incorrect. If any part of the ball enters the strike zone (1 foot from home plate), the pitch is a strike.

1.02 The strike zone is a three-dimensional irregular pentagon based on the shape of home plate and is one (1) foot in height. The front of the zone aligns with the front of home plate. The sides of the zone extend one (1) foot to either side of the plate. The back edges of the zone are one (1) foot from the back sides of the plate (see Diagram 4). The strike zone may not be marked by cones or other raised objects.

11.02 A strike is: a. a pitch that is not kicked and is not called a ball per Rule 12.02, that enters any part of the strike zone (see Rule 1.02);

In the Balls and Dolls game, Gordon almost over ran his own player, Jess. Luckily she started moving but had she not it could have cause a problem. If he over ran her, he would have been out, had he pushed her to get her running she would have been out.

10.08 Running past another runner is not allowed. The passing runner is out (see Rule 14.02j).

and

14.02 An out is: ...
h. a runner physically assisted by a team member during play (see Rule 6.02);
...
j. a runner that passes another runner (see Rule 10.08);

Last but not least we had a decisive call in the 99 Problems vs Booze on First game. There was an overthrow at home plate that went pretty far and it looked like 2 Booze on first players scored but the ref ruled that the second baserunner had not crossed second base when the ball went out of play.

10.07 Base Running on Overthrows;
a. an overthrow is a ball thrown, kicked, or deflected into foul territory while making a defensive play toward a player or base;
b. a runner may advance only one base beyond the base the runner is on or running toward when the ball travels into foul territory;
c. one base on an overthrow is a restriction on the runner – not an automatic right for the runner to advance;
d. if any fielder attempts to make an out prior to returning the ball to the pitcher, runners may commence base running.

As always, you can read up on all of the WAKA Kickball rules by going to the rules page.

Week 6 Recap

Week 6 wasn't quite as spooky as one might expect, being that it was the last week of games before Halloween but there was a bit of strange happenings going on. Only one team did the same thing this week as they did last week. Lets dive a little deeper.

Our first game on field 1 had Baller I Hardly Know Her locking horns with the Seminoles. Locking Horns is a rather arbitrary term as this one was really no contest. I asked the purple people eaters to comment on their loss after the game and their reply was, "We Sucked!". Josh said, "I didn't have anything bad to say, they beat us handily". Things are looking up for the Seminoles. They were able to crush an opponent with the opponent not having anything bad to say. That's what I call progress. Seminoles put a shellacking the purple team, 11-0.

Field 2 had Asstastic Balls taking on Multiple Scorgasm. Highly billed games rarely live up to the hype and this game between two of the best teams in the division seemed to live up to that pattern. Asstastic Balls must have forgotten that there was even a game this week because they were scrambling to get enough players there by the start of the game. I was told by one member of the pink team that this was due to complications with INS. Usually, Asstastic Balls has one good inning in the first and that was no different here as the Beast had a huge 2 run home run in the early frame. The scoring didn't stop there though as Asstastic Balls were able to put up lots of crooked numbers on the board. The Beast led the way the whole time on offense and defense. He made a great mutant like jump over a throw at home plate to score and at one point "don't kick it to the beast" was overheard on the Multiple Scorgasm sideline. Asstastic Balls won 9-4.

Balls and Dolls and Quit Yer Pitchin took to field 3 at 7pm for one of the best matchups this week. Gordon from Balls and Dolls got things rocking early when he kicked a 3 run home run but Jess wasn't paying much attention because she had stopped at second base and almost got run over before Gordon was able to yell at her enough that she started running. Good thing he didn't have to touch her to get her going but more on that later. Balls and Dolls took a 1 run lead into the bottom of the 5th until Adam from Quit Yer Pitchin (and apparently the Village People) scored the tying run. The 6th inning was filled with action. With runners on 1st and second and 2 outs, little devil Dorothy made a valiant diving effort to get to first safely but QYP's defense held strong. In the bottom half of the inning Courtney made her signature trip over first base and tumble move but to no avail. This one was finished at 7:48 so they had time for an extra inning but no excitement happened there. Tie 4-4.

It was appropriate that on Halloween theme night 99 Problems (orange) and Booze on First (black) faced off against each other. Let me tell you something about this Dexter led Booze on First team; they are the only team that hasn't won a game yet and are last in the standings but their defense is solid. Obviously, that means that their offense is a bit lacking. Note to QYP and Baller I Hardly Know Her; don't expect to score a lot of runs in your remaining game against the black team. This game took a 1-1 tie into an extra inning. 99 Problems scored in the top half but Booze on first mounted their own rally in the bottom half. On an overthrow play at home plate Booze on First had appeared to scored 2 runs to win the game, however the first base ref ruled that the second run that scored should have ended up at 3rd base due to the overthow because at the time the ball went out of play she had not yet crossed 2nd base. 99 Problems had their asses saved there by the Booze on First runner not hustling and a heads up referee. This one ended in a 2-2 tie.

Last but certainly not least was Masterbatters vs We've Got The Runs. I'm told there wasn't a lot of excitement in this game. We've Got The Runs once again had no runs. There was a green fairy in right field, making people hallucinate and a pink fairy prevented anyone from having breast cancer on the field. MacGruber was also on hand to make sure that no one exploded until the very end. I don't know what any of that really has to do with anything. Masterbatters won 2-0.

Seminole Lovin'

So there is this one team that everyone loves to hate. They've been around for a long time and they have won a lot. They are certainly one of the more competitive teams in the division which may fuel the hatred directed towards them but I tend to see a lot of the anger comes from some of the girls in the division directed towards the "skinny bitches" on the gold team. Trying to keep drama aside, I decided that this week the Seminoles deserved a little lovin'.

By a show of hands, how many out there associate the Seminoles with "sliding into bitches and wrecking them until the other team is fucking down to one girl"? The Seminoles certainly like to win and are fierce competitors on the field of play. Historically they have not done a good job of socializing with the other teams. Last season we even created an award named the Seminole Award that went to the least liked team in the season. They were so disliked that they didn't even earn their own award. That honor was bestowed on the now defunct Suck My Kick.

It seems like a bit has changed this season. We are starting to see more of them at the bar and while they haven't displayed much interest in participating in themes yet, they have been socializing with other teams more.

I sat down with a couple of Seminoles at MacDinton's this week to see what I could learn about them and you might actually be impressed. First of all, guys you might like this, they have a lot of single ladies on the team. For the girls out there, there is at least one single guy (there are probably more) and he's from Jersey. So ladies, if you are looking for a guido gorilla juice head to smoosh you may be in luck, or not. Its a Jersey thing.

One impressive tidbit about the Seminole ladies is that they are actually quite involved in charity. Quite a few of them are members of the Junior League and spend a lot of time, effort and money to help other people. Leslie, who is single and looking, likes to donate time each month to read to less fortunate children. Her love for children doesn't just stop there. She also works to connect children in foster care with permanent homes and was even able to help her sister give a permanent home to a child. I an also told that Lindsay, who is also single*, is probably the most involved person you can ever meet and she is constantly donating her time to the Junior League.

They want the division to know that the Seminoles have a good heart and do good for kids. In fact, next week some of the Seminole ladies will be out at the fields taking donations for the Junior League and selling tickets for their Holiday Gift Market. Proceeds will help support the League’s volunteer training efforts, leadership development programs, and community projects in the areas of foster care, literacy and education, and basic needs for disadvantaged children. I am told that one of the beneficiaries of fundraising will be Mary Lee's House which helps children who are victims of abuse and neglect.

So before you go hating on the Seminoles any more, keep in mind the good that they do in the community and maybe say hi to them at the bar. Next week, lets show a little love to the Seminoles. Guys, you might even score some extra points with the single ladies if you show your support for the kids.

What are your thoughts on the Seminoles?

* single may mean not currently engaged or married. This blog and its affiliates assume no responsibility or liability for any injuries that may incur, including but not limited to drinks in the face, slaps in the face or knees to the groin, as a result of any sexual advances you make.

Dry Fit

So in the WAKA Rule book is rule 2.01

2.01 While participating in WAKA kickball, players must properly wear and fully display the official WAKA athletic
clothing designated for their use. Teams with players who fail to abide by this rule forfeit that game.

So that means, if you have received your t-shirt, you have to wear it to play. But guess what, it doesn't have to exactly be the one you got at the beginning of the season. Don't feel like doing laundry? You are in luck, you can purchase additional t-shirts online in the WAKA store on www.kickball.com.

In the WAKA store you can order the cotton t-shirts like we are given at the beginning of the season (except it just says play kickball on the back) or you can be really cool and order the new dry fit t-shirts. These shirts are pretty slick and great in Florida. In just a few weeks we will be having our playoffs that will all be played in one long day. The dry fit t-shirts definitely make a difference so be sure to order one in time for the tournament.

What t-shirt will you wear at the playoffs?

Week 6 Theme - Halloween

We've got one more week of play before Halloween so next week the theme will be just that. We should see plenty of ghosts and goblins and random sexiness. Teenage angst ridden vampires are not allowed but bayou vampires are.

Week 5 (but really week 6) Recap

Yesterday morning I woke up in Boston and it was 38 degrees. I was quite excited to hop on a plane and head back to Tampa for some exciting FL Breaker Division kickball action. Some teams looked a bit rusty after taking last week off. We even had a special guest this week. Some of you may have been asking, who was that guy with the cool WAKA kickball polo at the fields? Well that was MLoop. He is the manager for WAKA Kickball in Florida. He had heard that FL Breaker was the coolest bunch of people that WAKA had and he wanted to see it for himself. I think he was pretty impressed with what he saw.

Field 1, Game 1. This field and time slot for whatever reason has become 99 Problems home field and they took it once again in their matchup against Multiple Scorgasm. Both of these teams have championship potential and we may very well see a rematch in the playoffs. Multiple Scorgasm had the opening salvo with a run in the top of the first, countered by 2 runs by 99 Problems in the bottom half. The team in orange seemed to have 99 problems on defense in the top half of the second as they gave up a 5 spot. 99 Problems battled back hard thanks in part to some aggressive baserunning by Kacie aka Yellow Shoe but Ashley showed off her stunning defensive skills. Any ball up the middle was quickly gobbled up by Ashley, throwing a big "boo ya bitches" exclamation point 99 Problems way. The same defensive prowess could not be said of MS left fielder Kyle. In the bottom of the 6th "Miss Nevada" had 2 balls right in her face but spit them right to the ground. The come back just wasn't enough to overcome earlier defeceit. Multiple Scorgasm won 6-5.

Field 2 saw Booze on First take on the Seminoles. On paper, this should have been a blowout. The Seminoles came in with 3 wins 0 losses and a tie on the season, while Booze on First had 0 wins, 3 losses and a tie. Should be a no brainer, right? Wrong! This game ended in a tie and the Seminoles were not pleased but more on them later. Tie Game 1-1.

Asstastic Balls and Balls N Dolls matched up on field 3. Statistically speaking these 2 teams were pretty evenly matched. You have to consider though that Asstastic balls usually only has one really good inning, usually the first. Balls N Dolls were pretty motivated, considering that they were celebrating teammate Mike's birthday. Mattie B (the little Asian) may have had the play of the day. He was running the bases and charging towards third and decided to dive into third from about 10 feet away and somehow had enough momentum to make it to the base. Unfortunately, he was wearing a belt and all the sliding may have caused some damage. Rumor has it that there might have been some swelling later on that night which may or may not be related. Katie aka "Cliff Lee" looked pretty dominant on the mound. After the game was over, Balls N Dolls was pretty disappointed that their team cheer sucked compared to Asstastic Balls so Katie, Megan and Jessica channeled their inner cheerleaders and put Jess into a half (but no one could remember what it was a half of). Jess almost fell but Katie was able to save her. Balls N Dolls won 4-1.

The game between Masterbatters and Baller I Hardly Know Her had a guest ref. MLoop the Florida WAKA Manager took home plate ref. I didn't get a chance to see much of this game but I'm told that Josh pretty much sucked and couldn't do anything right, sorry Josh. After the game, Jessica from Masterbatters refused to give me a quote, I can't imagine why. Luckily another Masterbatter had some input to the game. "I like purple." Um... yeah, that's for that brilliant input. This game ended in a 3-3 tie.

Last but not least was We've Got The Runs vs Quit Yer Pitching. I don't know what to say about Quit Yer Pitchin this season. QYP has always sort of been a second tier team and they consistently go deep into the playoff but they tend to be terribly inconsistent in the regular season. We've Got the Runs tends to be consistently bad, especially in the getting runs department. Not this week. Heard from the light blue sidelines, "We've got the runs, someone call a doctor" Gross!. We've Got the Runs won 2-1.

Tampa Takes Vegas

Over the weekend WAKA hosted its annual Founders Cup in Las Vegas to crown the worlds best kickball team. Panik Attack from the VA Recess division in Norfolk, VA defeated The Other Shot Callers from the DC Capital Division in Washington, DC. The final game was an intense one with both teams tied at 2 after regulation. In tournaments we go into "Kansas City Rules". What that means is that you can only take the field with 4 guys and 4 girls in the field and a baserunner starts the inning on second base. You can check out the division tournament guidelines for a full description but be warned that its not actually called Kansas City rules in the guidelines.

Panik Attack was able to score 4 runs with Kansas City Rules. The Other Shot Callers were certainly not out of it since there can be a lot of scoring in KC rules but they were called out in a huge play that put a significant wrench in their rally plans. Their baserunner was running towards third and didn't realize how close the play was. He looked like he was going to turn 3rd to start on his way home but his base coach physically held him up to keep him on the base. That's a violation of rule 6.02.

6.02 Base coaches may not physically assist runners while the ball is in play

and 14.02h

14.02 An out is: h. a runner physically assisted by a team member during play.

It was a pretty heated moment but in the end the ref made a tough but correct call, killing the Other Shot Callers rally. Its always good to know the rules. The final score had Panik Attack on top 6-2 and they took home the $10,000 prize.

All in all the teams that played in Founders Cup were pretty intense. Most of the teams had curfews for their players and rather than drink or gamble on Friday in Vegas, they chose to do drills and wind sprints at the fields.

Then there were the fun games, The Kickball Games. The Alcoballics from the Thursday night Bayshore division represented themselves well in that tournament. They got all dressed up in a bizarre Miss America pageant and played the whole day in their costumes. Not only did they win all 4 of their games played but they won the award for best team performance ($1000 prize) and probably could have taken more prizes (definitely best costumes) but they were only allowed to win one. You might recognize "Miss Nevada" as your own Kyle from Multiple Scorgasm. If you tip him nicely next week he might invite you into the champagne room. "Miss New Jersey" apparently got checked out from a few guys before realizing that he was a dude. To prove his masculinity he got married to his girlfriend the next day.

The Alcoballics did a great job of representing Tampa at the Kickball games and hopefully next year we can see more teams go and party it up in Sin City. Be sure to check out the winning performance below. NSFW

Rule Time

So the Billy Madison clip brought up a couple of interesting things. Though Billy certainly doesn't necessarily follow the rules there is a nice little collision at first base that bring up a couple of rules that are worth mentioning.

Billy wasn't using a safety base in his game like we do but there is good reason why we use it. I remember when we didn't have it and we had a few injuries at first with bodies colliding.

The rule states:

1.06 - Optional Extra Base – The option of using this field setup must be made by the division board of directors
each season via formal vote and approval at a scheduled meeting prior to the third week of games played. Once
use is approved, this extra base must be used for all games of that division season and division tournament
games. If the extra base is used:
a. The Extra Base is only available for runners traveling from home plate (see Rule 10.06);
b. Fielders trying to make an out on first base must touch the base in fair territory (the First Base). Runners
hindered by a fielder touching the base in foul territory (the Extra Base), will be safe;
c. When a play is attempted at first base, a runner who touches the First Base prior to being called safe at the
Extra Base shall be called out, except under the exception in Rules 1.06f and 1.06g;
d. Once a runner has reached first base safely the runner must start the next play on the First Base. Any runner
standing on or touching the Extra Base at the beginning of the next play will be out;
e. No additional base may be used at any other base;
f. The runner is permitted to use the First Base if avoiding collision with a fielder in foul territory. In this event, the
fielder in foul territory is permitted to tag the Extra Base (see Rule 14.02o);
g. The runner may use First Base if attempting to advance to Second Base, or if there is no fielder on First Base.
A runner (see Rule 1.06a) using or touching First Base in any other circumstance is out.

So basically speaking, when you are the kicker running down to first base, unless you are trying to turn towards second, you should always hit the safety base (in foul territory). By rule, if you hit the first base (in fair territory) you are supposed to be out. And no ladies, you do not have to touch both bases. I have seen some interesting footwork by people slowing down so they can hopscotch at the last moment and tag both bases.

Here is another one.

10.02 Obstruction. Fielders must stay out of the baseline. Fielders trying to make an out on base may have their
foot on base, but must lean out of the baseline. Runners hindered by any fielder within the baseline, not making
an active play for the ball, shall be safe at the base to which they were running. Runners may choose to advance
beyond this base while the ball is still in play.

If you are a fielder and you are not actively making a play on the ball, get out of the way of the runner. If you would rather stand on the base, its a good way to get yourself run over. Also, unlike in baseball, you may not intentionally block home plate from runners scoring, even if you are making a play on the ball.

These rules are in place for safety and we don't want to see anyone get hurt. You can view all of the WAKA rules by going to the rulebook online at www.kickball.com/rules and checking out the Rules FAQ.

Kickball in the Media

Kickball is kind of a big deal. You may have noticed. Well other people have noticed as well. I will soon be on a plane, heading to Las Vegas where about 80 of the best and most fun teams will be converging for the Founders Cup and Kickball Games. But kickball is not just cool to us and other grownups who lust for a return to our grade school glory days.

Last year's Founders Cup saw a little coverage on ESPN.com and had a nice little video piece along with an article.




A couple of years ago Bill Clinton autographed a WAKA Kickball to help raise some money for charity. Can you blame the ex-Prez for being a fan? There are always lots of good looking women at a WAKA game.


It has also made a little bit of an impression on Hollywood. Earlier this season I shared with you an excellent episode of The Boondocks which I am sure you all took the time to watch the full episode.

Kickball has also showed up in a couple of other places in Hollywood. The Jonas brothers did a charity kickball game last year but we won't get into that and please don't hold that against the sport.

Perhaps because the movie was ahead of its time but there is a deleted kickball scene from the movie Billy Madison. The movie came out before WAKA ever came around so maybe that was part of the reason why the scene was deleted. The world just wasn't ready for it.

Billy Madison Kickball Game
- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Kickball was also referenced in the movie Mr Woodcock. I couldn't find a clip of it in English but I did find a clip dubbed in Spanish which kinda makes it a bit funnier. Kickball is one of the few words I can actually pick out in the clip.


For those of you who have as broad of a knowledge of Spanish as I do (none), here is the partial transcript in English:

"According to my syllabus we should be well into wrestling by now. But because of your lack of focus we've yet to get past the fundamentals of kickball. Kreamer, first rule of Bunting.

Um, do--don't--

There is no Bunting in kickball, Kreamer. Set of ten. Henderson, is there a reason why your shoe is untied?

- Um--

- You see on the kickball field, a screw-up like that can put you in a wheelchair. You'll end up writing your name with a pencil taped to your head the rest of your life. Set of ten. Until you learn the basics of any sport you cannot participate in it let alone excel in it."

So, what did we learn class? There is no bunting in kickball and always make sure your shoes are tied.

There are even be a few celebrity WAKA players in our Hollywood divisions but if I told you who they were, I would have to kill you.

So be sure to tell all of your friends how much fun WAKA Kickball is and how much of a big deal you are for being a part of such a big deal. They might get jealous and sign up next season too.

Pirate theme Recap

I have to say, Week 4's theme was a lot of fun. We saw a lot of people out in those pirate costumes and we even learned something very valuable (no not just that the Pirate's favorite letter is Arrrrrrrr). So Caitlin from Booze on First was telling me that if you go into your account settings on Facebook there are a few options for changing your language. There are a few English options, including English (US), English (UK), English (upside down) which is incredibly annoying and even English (Pirate) which is sort of hidden halfway down the list.

That's right, if you want to get ready for Gasparilla way early this year you can just go into facebook and change your default language to Pirate. It puts Cap'n in front of all of your friends' names and asked "What be troublin' ye?" instead of "What's on your mind?".

Good luck getting back to the right place in setting to set it back. Here is a hint: Yarr Vessel > Ye Ships Rigging > Tongue. So not only is Caitlin quite lovely but she's also quite talented as well. She does speak fluent Pirate afterall.

Here are some fun pics from this week's Pirate Theme:

Week 4 Recap

What an awesome week. We had some real excitement up and down the PAL Fields and I had a ton of people say interesting things that just have to make it to the blog this week. So here it is for your enjoyment.

At 7pm 99 Problems but a Pitch Ain't One took the field against Quit Yer Pitchin. This could maybe possibly be considered a rivalry game since whenever Quit Yer Pitchin plays whichever team Ty is on that season usually tends to be a good game but there isn't much continuity there. The big question for the night was whether Heide was going to be able to stay in her Pirate Wench costume. Heide suddenly realized during warmups that she may not have the support she needed to keep her boys in place. Luckily for her, they did. Perhaps unluckily for the rest of us. 99 Problems didn't have much problem scoring although they thought they should have had more. They thought they had identified a weakness in left field but were sorely mistaken as every ball kicked out there was easily hauled in. Down by 7 Runs in the last inning, QYP tried its best to mount a rally and Adam had a great play where he tagged up and scored from second base but it just wasn't enough. 99 Problems won 7-1.

Game 2 had Asstastic Balls vs We've Got The Runs. Despite the bright t-shirt colors which may be remeniscent of a Hawaiian shirt seen on Hawaii Five-0, I'm told this was actually a boring game. We've Got the Runs again had difficulty getting any. It was partially because of the outstanding defensive play of the beautiful Asstastic Balls girls. Keara made 3 catches of her own but the most impressive play came at the thighs of Angela. The ball was kicked to her and she bobbled it off of her fingertips to Kelly, who bobbled it off of her fingertips back to Angela who had ended up on the ground and she caught the ball between her legs in the fetal position. With all of the bobbling, Keara described the play as "a little bit of a handjob". Asstastic Balls won 3-0

The hot ticket game of the week had to be the showdown on field 3 between the Seminoles and Multiple Scorgasm. The Seminoles put up a quick 2 runs in the first inning but the Multiple Scorgasm defense was able to clamp down from there and eventually score 2 of their own. This game required an extra frame to settle and still ended up in a tie. The Seminoles did not look pleased as they walked off the field and there were no Seminole sightings at MacDinton's. The Seminoles' motto is win or go home so I guess they went home. What was the key to Multiple Scorgasms tough play? They claim is was Snuggie man who attending this game in his Zebra striped snuggie. He has been seen many times at the field in several different snuggies. Who knows how many he has or if it really helped but either way: Tie game 2-2.

Back to field 1, our late game had Baller I Hardly Know Her take on Balls and Dolls. This was a close contest. I jokingly said to Balls and Dolls team Captain, Jess that it looked like she had something on her ass (remember week 2?) and she replied, "If I do, I'm waiting until I get home to rub it off." That's what she said! Defense was mostly pretty solid in this one. I say mostly because there was one possible exception. The lovely Randi on Baller I Hardly Know Her had a pop fly kicked to her and had a rather unusual way of calling for the ball. "SHIIIIIIIT!". She clearly displayed great confidence in the field. With scoring coming at a premium in this game Angela showed some great baserunning aggression and was able to score from first base to bring home the game winning run. I asked Jessica how she felt about her team's loss this week. She claimed that she was proud of her team and that the little Asian had redeemed himself. She was clearly lying as I saw said little Asian make a couple of really bad plays so she's probably lying about being proud of her team too. Baller I Hardly Know Her player, Rabi Joel, had some interesting things to say about his triumphant return to kickball this season after a 2 season hiatus. He says that he returned to kickball because he found Yuengling in a can, making it possible to drink his favorite beer on the fields without bringing glass bottles which are definitely not allowed. Baller I Hardly Know her won 2-1.

Last but not least was an extremely exciting game between Masterbatters and Booze on First. This game had lots of great blog material. In the middle of the game, Booze on First Superstar, Rob had a great kick and was wheeling around the bases as fast as he could. So fast in fact that he missed second base and made it all the way to third before hearing people yell that he missed second. He ran back to second base then made it back to third before the Masterbatters could get him. He scored on the next play.

I had asked this beautiful young lady to the right, Jessica, if I could take a picture of her in her Pirate Hooker costume for the blog. Her reply was that I could but only if that meant that guys would masturbate to it. So... well... guys... have at it I guess. Make sure to tell Jessica what you did while looking at her photo next week at kickball. I'm sure that won't be awkward at all. She told me that she has been playing for 2 seasons and has never made it to first base. The next time she was up she got to first base safely, though it was short lived as her teammate was later thrown out at home plate on the play, trying to sneak in an extra base. Jessica immediately ran to her phone to text all of her friends that she had made it to first base safely. In the bottom of the 6th inning Booze on First had a 1 run lead but Masterbatters were able to get some runners on. On the last play of the game the Masterbatters scored 2 runs to clinch it. Justin scored the winning run of the game and immediately started mauling his teammates in an extremely enthusiastic celebratory display that possibly could have put the lives of his teammates in jeopardy. The team chant at the end of the game summed it all up, "Masterbatters come from behind!". Masterbatters won 2-1.

Rules

So you might be new to this whole kickball thing and you are out there on the field and get a little confused about a call that the ref made. While WAKA Kickball's rules are similar to baseball or softball, there are some differences that are important to note. Luckily you can easily pull up all of our rules online. We even have a Rules FAQ page that helps clear up some possible confusing situations.

Here are a couple of situations that came up in last night's games that I saw:

A kicker fouls off twice and then takes a strike. In baseball that would count as strike three, what is the call in kickball? Fouls never count as strikes in kickball so a full count is 3 balls, 2 strikes and 3 fouls.

11. STRIKES
11.01 A count of three (3) strikes is an out.
11.02 A strike is:
a. a pitch that is not kicked and is not called a ball per Rule 12.02, that enters any part of the strike zone (see
Rule 1.02);
b. an attempted kick missed by the kicker inside or outside of the strike zone (see Rule 1.02).
11.03 Foul balls never count as strikes.
12. BALLS
12.01 A count of four (4) balls advances the kicker to first base.
12.02 A ball is:
a. a pitch outside of the strike zone as judged by the Referee where a kick is not attempted (see Rule 1.02);
b. a pitched ball that does not touch the ground at least twice or roll before reaching the kicking box;
c. a pitched ball that exceeds one foot in height from the bottom of the ball as it enters the kicking box;
d. a pitched ball that exceeds one foot in height from the bottom of the ball at any time while passing through the
kicking box, prior to reaching the kicker;
e. a pitched ball that is higher than one foot at the plate.
13. FAIRS AND FOULS
13.01 A count of four (4) fouls is an out. Foul balls never count as strikes.
13.02 A foul ball is:
a. a kicked ball landing in foul territory (see Diagram 3G, 3H);
b. a kicked ball touched in foul territory (see Rule 1.04);
c. a kicked ball landing in fair territory, but touching foul territory on its own at any time before reaching first or
third base (see Diagram 3I, 3J, 3K);
d. a kicked ball whose direction is altered by contact with any object other than the ground in foul territory, and
called as such;
e. a kick made on or above the knee (see Rule 9.01);
f. a kicked ball touched more than once or stopped in the kicking box by the kicker;
g. a kicked ball kicked outside of the kicking box (see Rule 9.02) (see Diagram 3L, 3M);
13.03 A fair ball is:
a. a kicked ball landing and remaining in fair territory (see Rule 1.04) (see Diagram 3C, 3D, 3E);
b. a kicked ball landing in fair territory then traveling into foul territory beyond the 1st-3rd base diagonal (see
Diagram 3A, 3B, 3F).

There was also some question about whether or not the pitcher could cross the pitching rubber. No they can not, the pitcher (and all fielders except for the catcher) must stay behind the imaginary line between 1st and 3rd base until the ball is kicked.

8. PITCHING, CATCHING AND FIELDING
8.01 Balls must be pitched by hand. There are no restrictions on pitching style. Bouncies are allowed (see Rule
12.02).
8.02 Fielder Positioning. Failure to be properly positioned will result in a Position Warning to the team that
caused the infraction. The team's second and each subsequent Position infraction will result in the kicker being
awarded first base regardless of the outcome of the kick.
Proper Field Position is:
a. All fielders besides the catcher must start play and remain behind the 1st-3rd base diagonal until the ball is
kicked.
b. The pitcher must start the act of pitching within the pitching mound and have at least one foot on or directly
behind the pitching strip when releasing the ball (see Rules 1.01c and 1.01d). No part of the pitcher’s front foot
may be in front of or across the front edge of the pitching strip until the ball is kicked.
c. The catcher must field behind the kicker, within or directly behind the kicking box, and may not cross home
plate nor be positioned forward of the kicker before the ball is kicked. The catcher may not make contact with the
kicker, nor position so closely to the kicker as to restrict the kicking motion.
8.03 Backstop assistant. A captain may choose to enlist a team member as a backstop assistant to retrieve balls
no longer in play. This assistant does not count as a catcher or fielder (see Rule 5.02c), must be behind the
kicking box and sufficiently back from the catcher, and may not be involved in any play.