Don't Stop Believin'

"Bullshit!" or "Are you serious?" or "Wow...." These were the most common responses uttered as "the news" cam down from Alta Vista field and spread from player to player. It started as rumor and made absolutely no sense, but it did happen and there were folks there to see it...

Now "Any Given Wednesday", as a phrase many kickballers have heard. Some prescribe to it, but many don't believe in it. Most feel the most athletic, most practiced, or most cut-throat teams will always win and be on top. Although this may be true most of the time, it is NOT true ALL of the time. As we enter the final stretch for the playoff season, kickballers need to start believin' in this new creed, " Any Given Wednesday", if they want any chance at being crowned SCK's King of Kickball, because it ain't over yet.

So what happened?! Well we will get to that...

But first, there is something going on in the Lone Star Division that is really catching my eye. Most of Kickball Nation knew that veteran teams 2 Legit 2 Kick and Los Totally Awesomes, would earn their play-in spots with no problem at all. But what is surprising is the other Lone Star favorite, Suck My Kick, is currently on the outside looking in. This is the same Suck My Kick that surprised many and won the old Wreck Division last season. Not sure what has changed, but they have very little time to turn it around if they hope to make the playoffs. Instead we have new league comers Kickers with a Drinking Problem and the Kick Ballaz raising all sorts of eyebrows.

Interestingly though, it turns out that the Kick Ballaz contain remnenats of the now defunct One More Shot. It took awhile to make the connections, but there are alot of familiar faces out there. They were able to fly under the radar for a good portion of the season, but the jig is up. They are playing strong and are in the top-tier of the Lone Star teams. There is no missing them now.

Now the up-and-coming Kickers with a Drinking Problem they don't look so familiar. Im all but certain they are the real deal, a true rookie team. However they aren't playing like a rookie team, but I still have my suspicions of their legitimacy. Although it is hard to say because I haven't seen them play, but their stats do look promising and their wins speak for themselves.

At the end of the regular season, the Mountain Star and Sunrise teams should start planning and expect to see Los Totally Awesomes and 2 Legit 2 Kick in the playoffs for sure. That would leave 2 more spots and 3 teams left. Unless the Kick Ballaz or Drinkers With a Kicking Problem implode, which I don't anticipate, they will also be getting a shot at the playoffs. Unfortunately Suck My Kick is going to need tons of help to get into the running for this season's playoffs .

In the Sunrise Division, teams are starting to show signs of wear-and-tear. I'd Hit It is simply flat right now. They are playing uninspired kickball which could be catastrophic this late in the season. They need a spark, something to simply wake them up or maybe the Circus of "Lucas the One Man Show" has run it's course. Possibly the big marque with Lucas Quimiro all in bright lights is finally effecting the sense of team togetherness. The time to rally is at hand.

Team Vicious & Delicious is all but forgotten. Eventhough a ( 0-5-1 ) record has them making the play-in games, they will assuredly be demolished by any of the Lone Star teams. Someone hand them a fork....

And to round out the Sunrise news, the standings are incomplete for a pair of teams. New Kicks on the Block and the Longstrokes are still looking to finish a game that was unexpectedly cut-short ...let's just say, by a short moment of stupidity or lapse in judgment if you want to be nice about it. After struggling to keep the lights on all season, someone thought it would be cute to turn them off during gametime.  Problem: once the lights go out it takes awhile to get them back on. Which resulted in the 9pm game at Modesto 1 having to be rescheduled because the 3 inning mark was not met. None the less, finishing this game will go a long way in preparing these teams for the playoffs and showing all of Kickball Nation who they should be worried about. Hopefully karma doesnt get in the way of one of these teams...

And briefly, we head into the Mountain Star group. What the hell has gotten into the Boom Boom Booms, formerly known as the Suisliders. Often they are considered cannon fodder for more experienced teams to beat up one, but that has turned around as of late. The Booms have gone on a 2 win tear putting down 2 very good teams. During Week 5 they pummeled the Party Pandas and more recently during Week 6 they body slammed the Billy Bad Asses. Both teams had far more experience, but the Booms made quick work of both teams. Has it finally turned around for this team? They have struggled since their 1st season to make some sort of competitive statement and it looks like the finally have. Let's see what Week 7 has in store.

And finally, what happened down at Alta Vista? Well nothing much really...just that a run of the mill, middle of the road team proved that Any Given Wednesday anything can happen. That if you don't stop believing and play hard, eventually good things will come. I often don't take liberties on the blog, seeing as I'm currently the only writer and don't enjoy being braggadocios, but my team the Party Pandas deserve all the credit in the world for their accomplishment. They did what most viewed as impossible. They played a near perfect game and earned a big win against the 3-time champs Kickin' N' Screamin'. Who all of Kickball Nation agrees is SCK's best league and have done everything to earn that title.

However at the same time, for one win to be recognized so much only proves how good Kickin' N' Screamin' really is. We are all hard core competitors on the field, but once the game is over all that goes back into the bag for safe keeping until next week .For the most part, kickaball folks are good people and we respect and congratulate each other once all is said and done.

That's all for now...

Good Luck and Happy Kicking


OH....WAIT! AND IT WAS THE 1ST EVER KNS SHUT OUT TOO! 4 - 0 WHOOOOO!!! sorry had to do it! Nothing but love...

WEEK 4 - RE-CAP

One of the biggest criticisms submitted to IJK is that updates aren't produced in a timely manner. Which is actually a very fair criticism. Contrary to the opinion of an anonymous comment poster, I actually do have a life and don't spend every waking moment thinking about kickball. Updates get posted whenever free time allows it, which is not often. Folks have been asking if the blog is open for guest bloggers and  the answer is, absolutely. Anyone wanting more info and submitting blogs can email itsjustkickball@gmail.com. It will probably help to get new material posted sooner. Now on to the Week #4 Re-Cap

The Scoregasms came up with a surprising win against The New Kicks on the Block. We haven't heard much on the Scoregasms this season, but they are an experienced team with a moderate amount of skilled players. Usually a playoff team, but never really considered a championship contender. However in Week 4 play, they showed some real skill picking up a late win against a strong and scrappy New Kicks. The Scoregams were trailing 2-0 most of the game until they exploded during the top of 4th to lead the game 3-2. Although they quickly fell back to a 3-3 tie during the bottom of the 4th, but that is not how this game would end as the Scoregasms were able to put up one more run that the New Kicks could not answer. The final score was the Scoregasms winning 4-3.

The Longstrokes v.s I'd Hit It match-up should have been a telling one. Too bad the LIGHTS went out AGAIN, and ruined what could have been an awesome ending. The game ended in a 1-1 tie with one inning left to play. Heartbreaking for both teams Im sure or maybe a little bit of a relief. Both teams are under pressure to do well.

I'd Hit It has progressively gotten better with each passing season. However after playing two middle of the road teams this season they have been unimpressive. They should have beaten both the Party Pandas and the Longstrokes. Even though the lights went out, they should have had a decent lead during the Longstrokes game. If I'd Hit It continues to compete at this average level, they will undoubtedly have a short playoff run.

The Longstrokes, on the other hand, are growing leaps and bounds. The coaching staff may not be too enthused by the teams' growth, but Kickball Nation recognizes the skill and are starting to take notice. They just cant let it get to their heads.

Another notable item was the absolute thrashing of Das Boot by 3-time champs Kickin' N' Screamin'. It is no exaggeration to say that no team can match up to KNS at this point. They are playing on a ridiculously high level. They currently have a 4-0 record, which will probably be 8-0 by the end of the regular season. They have scored 32 runs against some quality opponents and have only allowed 2 runs. It is going to take alot of grit and determination to de-throne this high caliber team.

Das Boot was supposed to be the next great hope. They had assembled the right amount of talent but have yet to put it to good use. They are quickly declaring themselves as a "drinking team", which is a way to camouflage the fact that they may lose more games than they win. I know this team is full of competitive folks, but I have yet to see any signs of fire or life for that matter.

In Lone Star Land, the Kickballaz are on top. Kickball Nation is still waiting for this rookie team to play one of the more experienced Lone Star teams so we can really see what this team has under their belts. Until then, the 4-0 record on the standings page is looking mighty fine, even though their isn't much behind it.

In other Lone Star news, Los Totally Awesomes, 2 Legit, and Suck My Kick are slowly climbing back to the top of the leader board. I'm keeping an especially close eye on these 3 teams, because they should be the contenders to compete in the King of Kickball post-season. They will be accompanied by one more team - probably the Kickballaz but the season is still young.

That's all for now... Good Luck and Happy Kicking!

Keep Your Head Up

Every team enters a game wanting to win. Any player that denies this is a downright liar. However no matter how capable a team is at winning games, often there are times when a match-up gets away from a team. There comes that moment when a loss slowly starts becoming more and more of a reality. That is the exact moment when you find out what your team is made of. Once you start to see players hang their heads that is the first step towards disaster. Those looks and feelings of distraught a very contagious. It spreads like wildfire through a team until inevitably the wheels come off.

Mental toughness is worth its weight in gold. Its one of those intangible skills that truly matter. Which is why it was so disheartening to see Kixxx collapse on itself during their match up with league rival Kickin' N' Screamin'. Every season this game is much anticipated. A battle between two of SCK's best teams. Too bad last Wednesday's match-up was one of the least memorable ones. Although the score was a close 3-0, the drama in the dugout over shadowed any of the game play. We all hope Kixxx can put it behind them and get back on track.

Kixxx wasn't the only one suffering fo mental toughness Wednesday night. The much improved Longstrokes are suffering from an elevated ego. They came out of the off-season well prepared to compete with the best in the league. Which was apparent after their big Opening Day win against the Party Pandas, 9-0. However since then they have done little to impress. Coach Ronnie had some choice words for his team, none that I can repeat here,during their match-up with Das Boot. The Longstrokes will need to get their heads out of the sky if they want to get back on the road to winning games. The competition is just going to get tougher.

Also a special shout out to The Benchwarmer, congrats on going 1-2 with your "upset" picks. Granted you got the Pandas v.s. Id Hit It right, but picking Kixxx over KNS and Longstrokes over Das Boot was ridiculous. Better luck next time... Just leave the kickball to IJK.

In Lone Star Land, the Royal Tennenballs, It Burns When I Kick, and Kickballaz are leading the pack. Granted the Lone Star Division is easy to dismiss, its interesting to see what, if any, competition may be heading to the King of Kickball post-season.

It Burns When I Kick is playing well. However this week they have an experienced LTA. So it will be interesting to see how they stack up against a team with some real kickball chops. Ill be watching this game with interest.

Also two leading Lone Star teams will be facing each other, the Tennenaballs v.s the rookie Kickballaz will be another interesting match-up. The Tennenballs claim to play for fun and they have been having tons of fun considering they have won all their match-ups. The Kickballaz are a true rookie team, but seem to be doing well. Probably won't make it to this game, but I suggest the rest of Kickball Nation check it out.

 However if you are looking to watch something a little bit more hardcore, don't miss the Das Boot v.s KNA game. Kickin' N' Screamin' will more than likely walk away from this one, but for Das Boot this is more of a dress rehearsal for a possible championship match-up. This is where the meat meets the metal and we see what Das Boot really has in their arsenal.

If this game happens to turn into a blowout, wander over to Modesto 1 where I'd Hit It will be looking to rebound against a very hungry Longstrokes team. Nice match-ups all the way around.

That's all for now...

Happy Kicking and Good Luck