SPECULATION

The early part of the season is incredibly intersting because many things are still up in the air. Questions start to arise about "this team" or "that team". When the simple fact is that not enough games have been played to form any true concrete conclusions on any one team. However speculation is my friend and there is nothing more rewarding than being able to say, "I told you so" especially when one of those ridiculous speculations comes to fruition.

Case in point, the popular opinion that I'd Hit It's pitcher, Lucas Quimiro, IS their entire team. I speculated that IF I'd Hit It were  ever have to play without their star pitcher, they would frankly be destroyed. As unfortunate as it is to have to say this, it ending up being a true statement. Just this past Wednesday, I'd Hit It was run off the field by the powerhouse KNS crew. The glaring problem was that I'd Hit Its star attraction showed up late, well into the end of 2nd inning. By that time the damage had been done and KNS had put up 6 runs quickly. The simple fact is I'd Hit It needs to find a way to win even without their pitcher. They need to start developing some decent back-ups. There is some pitching talent of the roster, but it needs to be developed. KNS ended up winning 8-1.
But enough of that "I told you so" garbage. How bout some team speculation...

All eyes are on Das Boot, that is fairly obvious. They are being looked as challengers to Kickin' N' Screamin's dynasty status. Which will prove difficult as the KnS Crew is playing on an entirely different level than any other team in the league. The fact is that Das Boot has tons of talent, but a minuscule amount of team chemistry. Which is expected, considering they don't practice and have only played two games as a group. The promising note is they held big time Kixxx to a 1-1 tie, which actually says a lot. Das Boot will have plenty of time to work on their chemistry, a Final Four team for sure.

There was one team last week that gave me a sense of dejavu. Hard Knocks is a new team that I quickly dismissed before the season even started. Their roster contains mostly rookie players with a sprinkling of veteran players. They are scrappy, tough, and even at this early stage are already looking like a team that has played together for many seasons. To tell you the truth they reminded me a lot of the Balls & Dolls. Not just because they have a handful of former Bs&Ds, but the swagger, the presence is almost identical. They will be able to keep up and compete, but not sure for how long or how far. Need to see more.

The Longstrokes, formerly known as the Chile Y Chilindrinas, are playing some very strong kickball right now. The hours of practice are starting to show and pay dividends. Although last week they narrowly escaped being beat by the Hard Knocks with a 1-1 tie. Their offense looks to be stronger than their defense, but the jury is still out. AGAIN NEED TO SEE MORE

Down in the Lone Star group, out of 10 teams there are 3 teams left undefeated. The Royal Tenenballs, It Hurts When I Kick, and the Kickballaz. Two rookie teams are leading a division of 10 teams that includes 4 veteran squads, interesting. Not to mention the mother of all non-competitive teams, the Tenennballs, are leading the entire division. What's going down in the Lone Star group?? However don't get to excited. At the end of the season, expect to see either Suck My Kick, LTA, or 2 Legit 2 Kick fighting for the top spot. Although they have all been struggling as of late, that veteran experience will come through and momentum will slowly start to propel them to the top of the standings.
Well that's all for now...

Good Luck and Happy Kicking

Week 1 Buzz

After a one week delay, the 2012 SCK Spring Season finally arrived! Any kickballer will tell you, getting on the field after such a long off-season is an awesome feeling. Stepping onto the field, after what seemed like an eternity, makes us all realize how much we really love this game. And the only thing that amplifies such a good feeling is a good solid win at the end of the night. Unfortunately not all teams we able to enjoy that amplified feeling. Such is life...

Now down to the nitty gritty, in my previous post I mentioned that there was little intel on the new upcoming teams. So for the benefit of all kickball nation I made it a point to check out some of the new teams. Although I didn't get to many, I was able to check out a few.

I caught a couple innings of the Royal Tenennballs v.s. the Free Ballerz. The Tennenballs are by far the league's most spirited team. Even though they aren't looking to compete at a high level of competitive kickball, they are always entertaining to watch. In all fairness they aren't a bad team. There is some talent there. From what I saw they played moderately well. In the other dugout was The Free Ballerz who are a true rookie team. They are a small squad. They suffered from the regular defensive rookie mistakes, but that is expected. Athletic on the offensive side of the ball, but considering the Tennenballs pitching style, it wasn't hard to put a foot on the ball. In the end, the rookies walked away from this one with a 3-2 victory.

Although they aren't rookie teams I caught some of Los Totally Awesomes v.s. Suck My Kick. These two teams are my picks to finish #1 and #2 in the Lone Star Division. Both these teams are on the borderline between cupcake team and legitimate squad. LTA has the advantage because they have the more experienced players and ridiculously upgrading their pitching during the off-season. Just the pitching angle gives LTA a huge advantage, because the Lone Star division has no real pitching. Most teams just feed the ball, which is going to result in a decent amount of offense. Which is a huge contrast from the Mountain Star and Sunrise divisions where each team has atleast 2 , if not 3, "real" pitchers on their squad. LTA will end with the lowest Points Against stat within the Lone Star group which will translate into a 8-0 record. However lets not forget Suck My Kick, this is only their 2nd season of kickball and I really like what Im seeing. There is tons of talent on this team. They just need more experience, but they are slowing putting it together. The pieces are there it's just a matter of putting them in the right places. Very promising team. However LTA won this one and rode away on a rainbow with a 3-1 victory.

Other Honorable Mentions go out to Kickin' N' Screamin' and the Longstrokes. Veteran squad and three-time champs KNS, had the best Power Rating of the night with a +10 : which translates into 11 runs scored and 1 run allowed. Not to mention they did it against an always dangerous New Kicks on the Block team. The Longstrokes had big success with a huge win and a nice +9 Power Rating, which included a shut out of the Party Pandas. The Longstrokes are looking to be very strong this season. Most teams will remember them as last season's rookie team the Chiles Y Chilindrinas. An interesting side note is KNS and the Longstrokes are actually sparring partners for their weekday practices. Looks like its paying off.

And finally the biggest buzz of Week #1. Please know that as soon as I type this I will immediately regret it. The biggest story of the night had to be I'd Hit It's dismantling of Kickball Nation's anointed "All-Star" team Das Boot.

Das Boot is simply a combination of two former power house teams which were the Drunken Monkeyz and the Shockers. Although Kickball Nation has dubbed them an All-Star team, I don't know if that's a totally fair statement. HOWEVER, in good conscience I can't deny that the team is stacked with tons of talent, atleast more than your average team. My definition of an All-Star team would be the best player at their position all on one team. Just watching Das Boot's 1st baseman disproves them as an All-Star team. But I digress, we are focusing on the wrong thing. The most incredible part of last night's match-up, was that Das Boot's loss was the work of one, count em', ONE PLAYER. Im a firm believer in one player does NOT make or break you. However that was until last night, as I witnessed with my own two eyes, I'd Hit It's pitcher Lucas Quimiro single handedly defeat Das Boot. It was not only amazing to watch, but also ridiculously entertaining. Aside from his constant crybaby antics, he is...( Damn you for making me say this) the complete package. The only problem is he is pretty much the entire team. I'd Hit It is going to be in a world of hurt if Lucas ever misses a game. So give credit where credit is due, it was an awesome display of kickball skill!

Well that's all for now....

Happy Kicking and Good Luck

Who's Who?

And so it begins, on what is looking to be a rather windy day, the Spring 2012 kickball campaign has arrived. 22 teams have accepted the challenge and will be competing for the the very coveted King of Kickball Championship Crown. Many have tried, but few have succeeded. Will three-time defending champs Kickin' N' Screamin' win another title? Or has the time come for a new challenger to step up? We are about to find out...

But who are these new challengers? And what about the veteran teams? Who is coming back and who called it quits? All good questions!

There are 6 brand spankin' new teams coming into the kickball mix. They are:
1. Downtown Renegades
2.Drinkers with a Kicking Problem
3. It Burns When I Kick
4. FreeBallers
5. Much Ado About Balls
6. Kick Ballaz

There is VERY little intel available on the new teams. I do know that Kick Ballaz has a very loose connection to powerhouse Kixxx, which could mean absolutely nothing and probably does. Much Ado About Balls has a couple of old Balls & Dolls players, but again nothing to write home about. With such little information I will be sure to keep a close eye on this group Wednesday night.

As always, a gaggle of veteran teams are returning. I'd Hit It is back after a very strong season. Championship Runner-up Kixxx is also back to try and contend for another shot at the title. Last season's middle division teams are pretty much all back, the Bad Asses, Party Pandas, Scoregasms and others.

I think the most surprising bit of info is what teams AREN'T returning this season. In a very sad, almost tragic set of circumstances, the kickball Gods have deemed in necessary to deprive us of not one, but three SCK franchise teams. The Balls & Dolls, Shockers, and Drunken Monkeyz are no more. In an odd bit of coincidence, members of all three teams decided to go their own separate ways in the off-season. Most players found a new home on other teams, but the fact remains that it marked the end of the era. Of the Original Six teams only 2 teams are left, Los Totally Awesomes and the Multiple Scoregasms. Maybe one day all these teams will get back together, but that is very unlikely.

So where did three teams worth of players go? That's the interesting part! Most of the Drunken Monkeyz, minus the mercenaries they picked up last season, joined up with a decent amount of the Shockers to form the new team Das Boot. Kickball Nation has been quick to dub this team an "All-Star" team, but I'm not convinced. They have also been compared to the Thursday Night hit-squad Party Crashers, but can't confirm the similarities between rosters.

Where did the Balls & Dolls players go? Some found their way to new team HardKnocks and by some I mean, I recognize maybe 4 names on their roster. So not sure about this team yet.

Who are the Longstrokes? Easy, they are last season's rookie team Chilies and Chilindrinas. Mostly intact, but with some new players. They had a strong rookie season and will probably build upon that success this season. Another strong rookie team coming back is Suck My Kick. After winning divisions honors in the Wreck Division, they had a huge upset slip through their fingers when they had former kickball juggernaut the Shockers on the ropes. It will be interesting to see if they make another strong showing this season.

Well that's it kickballers or atleast for now... Extremely excited to see the Wednesday Night results.

Good Luck and Happy Kicking!