Week #7 - Play of the Week

It's a little bit late, but here is last week's Play of the Week from IJK's new contributing writer and photog :


Written by: Desert Eagle

If ESPN has the Top 10 plays then i figure there should be one for SCK as well. So with all the games that took place and all the awesome plays that happen there was only one that stood out to make it the PLAY OF THE WEEK.  

This play of the week took place at Modesto 2 between the  NEW KICKS ON THE BLOCK VS. SHOCKERS. Just to recap it a little, its the bottom of the 5th, the score is tied and the Shockers are last to kick. With only one out, Calvin "Calvino" is on first, and Bison is up at the plate. All they need is one run to win this intense game. Bison gets ready to kick and "BAM", kicks a hard grounder that goes right between first and second. The ball makes its way to the all mighty Domino. Now we all know Domino is one of the fastest and best players in SCK, so no one will dare think they can outrun him. However that was until that day, Calvin takes off as fast as he can to second base and decides to practically commit suicide and run to third. With Domino on his tail and only 4 feet behind Calvin it was going to be a close call. Then it happens, only ten feet away from third Calvin dives head first to the right side of third and the ball gets thrown but barely misses Calvin and he is safe, BUT THATS NOT ALL! Calvin quickly gets up and takes a few steps off the base without seeing the ball. Thats when the third basemen throws the ball to hit Calvin but Calvin quickly puts his foot back on the base before it hits him and the ball bounces off and goes to the outfield while Calvin runs home with his shorts pull down to his knees and wins the game.

And that there is the PLAY OF THE WEEK!

Pre-Playoff Report Cards

Playoffs?!?!? That's right, we are mere weeks away from the playoffs. With a majority of the season gone by, each team's strengths have been discovered; as well as their weakness revealed. Some teams are ready and others are not. So let's see who made the grade? (Teams compared to each other within each division)

Mountain Star Division

Kickin' N' Screamin - Offense : A + Defense : A - 

Kixxx - Offense  : A   Defense : A 

I'd Hit It - Offense : B - Defense : A -

Shockers - Offense : D -  Defense : A +

Balls & Dolls - Offense : D  Defense : B

Drunken Monkeyz - Offense :  B - Defense : D -

New Kicks on the Block- Offense : F  Defense : D -

Sunrise Division

Billy Bad Asses - Offense : A + Defense : A + 

Party Pandas- Offense : A + Defense : A +

Drippin' Wet Posse- Offense : C - Defense : A -

Chilez & Chilidrinas- Offense :  B - Defense : B +

Suisliders - Offense :  C+ Defense : A+

Balls of Steel-  Offense : C -  Defense : D

One More Shot- Offense : D+ Defense : F

WrEcK Division

Blue Ballers: Offense :  A + Defense : C +

Balls of Fury: Offense : A  Defense : A +

Royal Tenenballs: Offense :  C+ Defense :  B

Suck My Kick: Offense : B Defense: C

LTA Lite:  Offense:  B- Defense: B +

Family Jewelz: Offense : B - Defense : B +

Sons of Pitches:Offense : C+ Defense: C- 

Just Like That

And just like that everything changes. Just a week ago the big question being asked was, "Can anyone beat Kickin' N' Screamin' ? Well the kickball crew of Kixxx went ahead and answered that question for all of Kickball Nation. And the answer was a resounding, YES!

Before Wednesday night, kickball juggernaut Kickin N Screamin looked invincible. They were tearing through competition with such ease that it was a foregone conclusion that they would, again, become the Kings of Kickball. Compounded with that fact that most of the other elite kickball squads had been struggling and putting up sub-par performances, it was looking very likely that KNS was on the road to earn their 3rd kickball title. However a very deceptive Kixxx squad was able to pick up a convincing 4-2 win against big time KNS.

Kixxx has always been a notoriously good kickball team; however after posting a loss to a pitcher-less Drunken Monkeyz team a couple weeks back, there were many question marks being raised as to the continued legitmacy of Kixxx. It seems as though all those question marks have been put to bed. Turns out the phrase, "Any Given Wednesday" has been coined for a reason. Kixxx will face two more test before the season is out. They will be facing a much improved I'd Hit It team, followed by an up-and-down Shockers clan. Odds are they will make short work of both, but only time will tell.

The other part of this story is although Kickin' N' Screamin tanked against a mighty fine Kixxx team, they are still the team to beat. Their loss to Kixxx was their first regular season loss in 36 games. So the last thing you want to do is count them out. In fact, you could make the

What Goes Up Must Come Down

One of the more intriguing items that will be determined at the end of the regular season is which teams will be moving up in division and which teams will be moving down.

Mountain Star Division

Within the Mountain Star Divisions, the New Kicks on the Block have all but guaranteed themselves a seat at the Sunrise Division's table next season. Considering this was the inaugural season for SCK's new format, in hindsight, New Kicks may have been over matched to compete in the top tier. However their consistent playoff success, made it feasible to consider they would compete at a high level.

The other two teams competing to keep from dropping in divisions are the Drunken Monkeyz and the Balls & Dolls. Just a week ago it was looking as if the Monkeyz would be joining the New Kicks in the Sunrise group; however after somehow scrapping together a win against Kixxx, they may have given themselves a small chance to stay with their Mountain Star cohorts. The first step is to pick up a win against #2 I'd Hit It, which seemed impossible a couple of weeks ago, but the Monkeyz have shown some small signs of life, so there may be a chance. Now the Balls & Dolls have an edge on the Monkeyz because they hold the tie breaker, but if Balls & Dolls ends up losing their last two games, they may be the ones dropping in division.

Sunrise Division

The Sunrise kiddos recently had four teams competing for the opportunity to raise up in division and play with the big boys. However after last week, it is becoming more likely that the Billy Bad Asses and Party Pandas will be the ones gearing up to venture into the top Mountain Star tier. Rookie team, Chilez Y Chilindrinas had a very good opportunity to be the ones to move up in division, but that was until the veteran Billy Bad Asses quickly crushed their dreams in a knock out, drag out game this past Wednesday. I'm sure it was a tough loss for C&C to swallow as they had the lead for a majority of the game. However the Billy Bad Asses kept true to their name and played bad ass They had to continuously battle back and never quit, which ultimately earned them the win. So unless the Bad Asses or the Pandas shoot themselves in the foot, expect to see them populate the ranks of the Mountain Star Division next season. 

One More Shot will end up dropping in division, which may be best. This will give the veteran team sometime to regroup and just have some fun playing kickball again. The biggest surprise coming of the Sunrise group is the Balls of Steel, formerly the Runs, will be most likely be the other team dropping in division. This scenario was simply unexpected.

WRECK Division

News out of the WRECK Division is still limited and sketchy at best. Dubbed the " Fun Division", Kickball Nation has turned a blind eye to the WRECK group. However there are a couple of promising teams that will be coming out of the WRECK group. The Balls of Fury and Blue Ballers should be the two teams moving up to the Sunrise group. Both these teams are statistically superior when compared to all their other wrecked counter-parts, especially the Balls of Fury. Both these teams should fit well when they move up into the Sunrise Division.

Happy Kicking 

Up in the Sky...

Faster than a speeding bullet...more powerful than a locomotive...able to leap tall buildings in a single bound! Look up in the sky! Its a bird! Its a plane! No...its Kickin' N' Screamin'.

As the season steadily progresses it is becoming abundantly clear that the KNS kickball crew is still the team to beat in SCK. They are poised to finish with another undefeated season and win their 3rd King of Kickball crown. A lofty accomplishment to say the least. They are basically an unstoppable freight train that cannot be stopped. There are only three teams left standing in the way of another undefeated season for KNS. 

Next up is Kixxx, which would have been an interesting game. However that was until Kixxx mysteriously choked against a struggling and pitcher-less Drunken Monkeyz team, which leaves Kickball Nation very suspect of Kixxx's legitimacy. It may still turn out to be a close game, but the hope of a battle between two undefeated teams was erased from the equation with last week's blunder. However if Kixxx is able to bounce back and somehow scrounge out a win against a big time KNS team it may turn the season up on it's head. 

The most interesting thing about Kickin' N' Screamin is they don't sport the best kickball roster in the league. On paper, if you were to chose a team strictly based off of talented players they would easily come in third. Don't get my wrong, they have some very good and accomplished players, but you could make a debate for the Drunken Monkeyz and Kixxx having better overall "talent". Although KNS does have a better core of females players. Either way KNS simply makes the best use out of their talent within the leauge and their teamwork is far leading the pack at this point. When a team plays together as mush as KNS does, expect them to perform well consistently. And that is what they continue to do and will continue to do for season to come...

Mid-Season Leaders

It's all down hill from here kickballers. The mid-season point is now in our rear-view mirrors. As we travel towards the post-season, it is starting to become a bit more clear who has the competitive edge and who doesn't. The stats up into this point have shown that competition is close between each team and in each individual division.Something we have not seen in season's past. Last take a peek at the mid-season leaders.

The WRECK division is the direct definition of close competition. It is so close that all the teams in this division are no more than 1 game back of each other and in one case, only half a game back. The offensive leaders are LTA Lite and the Blue Ballers with 19 runs each. Both teams have kickball experience and have been able to put up some decent runs. However the Blue Ballers' defense is not quite as good as their offense, which is why they currently sport a negative 3 Power Ranking. However LTA Lite carries a marginal +3 Power Ranking, a slight nod in their favor. On the other side of the coin, the defensive leader in this group (and my personal pick to make it into the King of Kickball contest), goes to the Balls of Fury. They have yet to lose a game and have only allowed 9 runs across the plate, which is by far the best within their division. You will see this team in the playoffs and expect to see them move up in division next season. 

In the Sunrise Division, the competition is a bit more separated, the gap between the top 4 and bottom 3 is a lot more apparent. The two teams jockeying for position to lead the division are the Party Pandas and the Billy Bad Asses. The Party Pandas are currently leading in the offensive category with 20 runs, while the Billy Bad Asses are trailing by only 3 runs. However considering the Bad Asses were on a bye-week last week, it's hard to know who truly has the better offense. The one separating stat is the Billy Bad Asses have a far superior defense within the Sunrise group; as they have only allowed 4 runs to score. You can count on this team moving up in division next season and taking the place of one of the failing Mountain Star teams. However there are two spots available to move up into the Mountain Star Divisions, it will be a battle to see who between the Party Pandas, Drippin' Wet Posse, and Chili Y Chilindrinas will take the other spot.

And in the top tier Mountain Star division, aside from the devastated New Kicks on the Block, the rest of the teams are still relatively close to one another. There have been some epic games and strong contests between all the teams. Currently the KNS Crew is leading in the offensive category, but not by much. Kickin' N' Screamin' has brought in 22 runs, while other teams such as the Drunken Monkeyz and I'd Hit It have a very close 20 runs. Not to mention, that Kixxx is also right behind them with 19 runs. It's easy to see many teams have the offensive part of their game on track. The defensive side of the game on the other hand, has been a lot tougher to get through for some teams. Kixxx holds the most dominating defense by only allowing 2 runs to pass them by. A very nice accomplishment considering the competition within the division. They say defense wins championships. It would be a good testament to that saying if Kixxx ends up giving KNS a run for their money.

That is all for now...Happy Kicking!  

Blood, Sweat, and Blood

We have finally reached the mid-way point of the Fall '11 Season and there is one word to describe Week #5, WOW!

So much for needing a coach. Whether it is was a collective effort or someone finally decided to start calling that shots, it seems the Balls & Dolls have finally put it together. After constant second guessing from much of the Kickball Nation, the Bs&Ds made a huge statement Wednesday night by taking down the desperate and broken down Drunken Monkeyz. The final score was 10-6 in the Balls & Dolls favor.

If you missed this game then you missed an epic match-up. The game was tight throughout; with both teams having to battle back at one time or another. It was an edge of your seat experience. However that was until, like clockwork, the Monkeyz ran into some fielding problems and then immediately preceded to break down. Which, frankly has been their method of operation for most of the season. Their continuous loss of composure is buying them a one way ticket into the Sunrise Division. To add insult to injury, after a very unfortunate series of events, the Monkeyz may find themselves without a pitcher for the rest of the season. No matter who you cheer for, root for, or support; it was a very sad day for kickball in general. However we shouldn't let that take anything away from the Balls & Dolls big win.

On a lighter note, what finally got into I'd Hit It? I've always been a fairly vocal I'd Hit It supporter, but I was always realistic in my expectations. It seems I, as well as the rest of Kickball Nation,  may have to start raising our expectations a little bit. After dismantling a very worrisome New Kicks on the Block squad with an impressive 15-0 victory, I'd Hit It came back Week #5 and continued to confuse kickballers by taking down the "Mighty" Shockers. The perplexing 4-0 final was unexpected by many, but welcomed by most. Let's see if they string together a couple more impressive wins.

And to wrap up it this week's report, I promised to fill in Kickball Nation on what's going on in the Sunrise Division. Granted most eyes are on the Mountain Star Division, but we need to remember that two of the Sunrise teams will populate the ranks of the MS Division next season. Who will be moving on up to the top tier? Well competition has been close and contested throughout most of the Sunrise teams. However realistically out of the 7 teams there are only 4 teams really competing for the top two advancing spots, 3 experienced teams and 1 rookie team. The Billy Bad Asses, Party Pandas, and Drippin' Wet Posse are all experience squads and have been leading the pack among the mid-range teams. The 1 rookie team trying to make a name for themselves is the Chilez and Chilindrinas. A very decent sqaud who is playing their first season on dirt. They did participate in the Turf War season, which has help them navigate the kickball learning curve quickly. It will be very interesting to see who gets the call to play in the big leagues next season.

That is all for now.... Happy Kicking.