Kick It 915 - Fun in the Sun Kickball Tourney - REVIEW

With the popularity of co-ed adult kickball continuing to grow in El Paso so does the need for more kickball tournaments. Currently most local kickballers find themselves having to travel out of town to be able to participate in kickball tourneys, which is unfortunate considering there are three kickball leagues operating in town.

The last local kickball tourney was held by the almost now defunct El Paso Kickball league. They would hold an annual charity kickball tourney called the Kickball Clash for the Kids. In all fairness the tournament was actually fairly good. However since the Clash there have been no local tourneys that is until the introduction of the new Fun in the Sun Kickball Tourney hosted by Kick It 915. Kick It 915 is looking to become El Paso's first major kickball tournament league.

The Fun in the Sun Tourney was set to feature:

2 Divisions: Social and Competitive

Cash Prize for the Competitive winner

$150 Bar Tab for Social winner

Water Ballon Fight at noon

3 Games guaranteed

Now when looking at any tourney, three categories on which you can grade the quality are location, format, and organization. In addition, the quality of a tourney can also be relative to whether a team is looking for a competitive atmosphere or a more fun event. 

7 teams ended up registering for the tourney which resulted in one big division rather than two separate ones. The teams were a mix of competitive and fun teams.

The tourney was held at Dick Shinaut Park, on the main soccer field area. This late in the year the grass is already going into hibernation, but it still made for a playable surface although not ideal. There was plenty of parking and trees for shade. There was music playing which provided a good atmosphere. 

The format was double elimination and due to low participation, the competitive and fun groups were merged. There was no pool play and match-ups were essentially scheduled at random, which left some teams confused. There was also one team that despite only having one loss was slated to play the 3rd place match-up. The format seemed to suffer from the uneven amount of teams and having to merge the fun and competitive groups. More participation should alleviate these problems.

Organization wise, there were a few problems. For starters, the tourney was scheduled to start at 9am, but didn't start until 10am. Which resulted in a later than planned end time. This often causes headaches for players who have plans later in the day. Also transition between games was shaky with teams waiting to hear who their next opponent was. Just a couple of items that would make for a better tourney if corrected. 

The officiating was sub-par at best. Umpires were often confused on the rules, that were supposed to be Kickball 365 inspired. Its important for umpires who run a game solo to be mobile and get into position, something the officials didn't do during the tourney. A much needed upgrade here.

And ultimately things seemed to be decided on the fly. Hopefully organizers due a better job of planning for the next tourney.

However the spirit of kickball seemed to be alive and in a drought of kickball tourneys, kickballers were happy to attend a new event. The initiative was greatly appreciated. 

There seems to be another tourney planned for February. Let's see what Kick It 915 has in store for kickballers in the future.

That is all for now kickballers, Good Luck and Happy Kicking!~

Just Kicking It Surprises the Toe Jammers

Written by: Mark Couto

Just Kickin It vs. Toe jammers

Game one at Memorial Field provided an interesting matchup between Lone Star League champs Toe Jammers against Just Kicking It (JKI).  Fresh off a dramatic come from behind victory JKI kept that momentum going with an impressive 3-0 victory.

JKI quickly put up all three runs in the first inning with well placed kicks and alert base running.  Not to rain on the JKI parade but the Toe Jammers didn’t help their cause as mental and fielding errors, in particular, the Toe Jammers catcher quickly unraveled their composure.  The first inning miscues were a dropped pop out to center field, a missed peg out vs. the easy throw to first, and an ill advised throw to throw that allowed a run.

The Toe Jammers were unable to mount a scoring threat against JKI. As JKI limited the Toe Jammers to only 3 hits through 5 innings with solid pitching and fundamentally sound defense.  The victory placed JKI a top the Wreck League standings as they turn their sights to a week 3 matchup against Pitch, Please.

SCK Week # 2 - Game Day Breakdown

New Kicks kicker blasts one!

Written by: Rich Alvarez

Now with all the Opening Day formalities behinds us, Sun City Kickballers can now get down to the nitty gritty of the regular season. There were some substantial game-play statements made on Opening Day, but will those statements carry over and continue through the regular season or can some of them be chalked up as flukes. We now begin the journey as we enter Week #2.

After an Opening Day disappointment, Pitches Love Me has a chance to rebound against rookie team the Alcoballics. Even within the Wreck Division and it's new "fun" rules, experience is a major player. Expect Pitches Love Me to use their experience to start heading on a winning streak, while the Alcoballics continue with their growing pains. 

The Royal Tenenballs are known for their fun loving ways, but now they are being recognized for their winning ways. This week they'll have kickball squad This...Pitch!, who is still a bit of mystery even in their second season of kickball. The Royal Tenenballs have some athletic players that seem to be making the difference, that being said, the Tenenballs will walk away winners in this match-up.

Veteran squad Pitch, Please is looking at another favorable match-up this week as they take on the returning Hash House Harriers. Last week they had Wreck newbies Cool Arrows and easily defeated them 11-0. Look for more of the same as the Hash House Harriers still need some time to get back into the swing of things. 

The Kickballaz had an impressive Opening Day match-up even by Wreck standards. They tuned up the Alcoballics 13-0, which was the most runs scored last week. This week they will have another lucky draw as they face another rookie team Cool Arrows. The Kickballaz will put up another heap of runs at the expense of Cool Arrow's inexperience. 

Rounding up the Wreck League, the Toe Jammers will be battling against Just Kickin It which should be a great game to watch. The Toe Jammers are coming a Lone Star Divisional Championship and are expected to do good things. However they are off to a slow start with their small 1-0 victory against This...Pitch last week. Now they will be locking horns with Just Kickin It who, just last week, had to battle back against a 1-4 deficit while playing a solid Kickaholics squad. They were able to come back with a 5th inning rally to win  5-4. With lofty expectations, the Toe Jammers may find themselves in an early season battle against a tough Just Kickin' It team. Don't miss this one.

In the King of Kickball Division, 3 of the 4 match-ups should be easy enough to decide. Kickin' N' Screamin' will be taking on the Scoregasms, who after falling to Kixxx 8-0 last week, are in no shape to wrestle with a powerhouse. Eyes will be on this game just to see if KNS can top the 8 runs Kixxx put up last week.

After an impressive display last week against KNS, although it was a loss, I'd Hit It will have a breather this week as they test the metal of mid-tier team Suck My Kick. This will be the 1st of 2 "easy" games for IHI, as they prepare for a marque match-up against Kixxx during Week 4. IHI will use the next couple of weeks to work on getting better and staying sharp. On the other side of the coin, SMK will be testing the competitive waters to see where they truly stand within the division and prepare for a 5 game onslaught of heavy hitters.

Although it will be the Game of the Week, the Smoking Aces should easily handle the mighty unicorns of Los Totally Awesomes. The Smokin Aces will be looking to work of their offensive prowess and see if they can string together more than one run. Los Totally Awesomes will have to really be on their toes if they hope to keep up with an extremely talented Smoking Aces team. Check out all the Live Kickball Action on Rio Pod Co TV at 9pm.

Last but not least, defending champions Kixxx will be taking on the scrappy squad of the New Kicks on the Block. NKOTB had a good showing against the Smoking Aces last week, a couple of miscues made all the difference. They tend to play Kixxx well and is always a treat to watch. Kixxx finished Opening Day with a 8-0 stomping of the Scoregasms. Hopefully they won't be flying too high going into their match-up with NKOTB. Very interesting match-up here.

That is all for now, Good Luck and Happy Kicking!

   

LSK Week 4 - Clobberin' Thunder!

Lights go out during Lone Star Kickball Week #4

Written by: Rich Alvarez

With streaks of lightning in the sky and rumbles of thunder in the distance, many a kickballer was worried how Mother Nature was going to toy with their night of kickball fun. Unfortunately Mother Nature was in a fickle mood and decided to end the night early. A nearby lightning strike would officially end the nights' games a bit early.

Which was lucky for the Billy Bad Asses, considering the Smoking Aces were giving them all they could handle plus more during their 8pm match-up. The Smoking Aces are slowly turning their previously questionable offense into a small resemblance of a consistent offense. Although the game was still in the very early stages, the Aces looked comfortable, confident, and in control. While the Bad Asses looked a tad bit frustrated, but did not look completely defeated. The Bad Asses do have a potentially explosive offense, they just didn't seem to be in sync this evening. Fortunately they'll get a re-boot and a second chance at the Aces, as this match-up will get rescheduled at a later date and time.

The only teams that didn't get bogged down by the weather were the Animals and Where's My Pitches At?. The Animals were coming off a 3-5 loss against powerhouse Screamin' Kixxx during Week 3, while WMPA was coming off a small 3-1 victory against talented rookies 915 Changos. By all accounts the up-and-coming Animals should have handily or at least convincingly beat the Pitches, but WMPA had something different in mind. The Pitches were able to take advantage of the Animal's miscues and more importantly, they made some plays and keep grinding to take the lead mid-game. However the Animal's testicular fortitude was strong enough to battle back and at least allow them to walk away with a sister-kissing tie. So much for clobberin' time...

The Animals were looking to be the team to compete against Screamin' Kixxx for the Lone Star Kickball inaugural season championship, but are we starting to see the early signs of weak play. Not to mention, the unfortunate exit of their starting pitcher Daniel "Chucky Bear" Acuna and key player Omar Anguiano. Both players will be missing they rest of the season. The Animals will need to tighten up their play if they plan to keep the Smoking Aces and WMPA from taking their championship hopes.

Short report this week on account of the weather, so until next time...

Good Luck and Happy Kicking!

Lone Star Kickball Breakdown - Fall '13

It was only a matter of time before the growing popularity of competitive kickball spawned a new local league. Lone Star Kickball is the new kid on the block and will be looking to make its mark on the local El Paso sports scene. LS Kickball is a Thursday night kickball grass league, featuring national Kickball 365 tourney rules. After the lack luster El Paso Kickball, continuously failing competitive players, LSK will be looking to become the premiere grass kickball league in El Paso.


 Although LSK's inaugural season only features 7 teams, the league size is considered on-par for any new sports league. However for being such a small league, the talent pool is huge. The best and brightest local kickballers all signed up to try their hand Thursday nights. Let's take a look at the inaugural team's for the LSK Fall '13 season.

After looking at the team list, three team names immediately jump out as unrecognizable. 915 Changos, Da Krew, and Where's My Pitches At.

The only intel I could gather up on the 915 Changos is they are a Three Legged Monkey team, the league's sponsor. I'm not sure if that means the team is made up of staff, patrons, or actual 3 legged monkeys, but nevertheless my gut tells me this may be one of those inexperienced teams that is putting in their first attempt at kickball. Unfortunately for these rookies they are in a fairly fierce group of experienced kickball teams so they will have to learn the game fast or they are doomed to be the league's punching bag.

Da Krew

The other team that is unfamiliar is Da Krew kickball squad. I had a chance to see them briefly play this past Thursday night. The team contains a group of young and seemingly athletic players.  However the lack of experience is more than evident. To steal a classic line from the movie Days of Thunder, they "looked liked a monkey fuckin' a football out there". Their roster doesn't contain any recognizable names, although my understanding is some of the roster has some kickball experience. On a bright note, they had an awesome female in right field, didn't catch her name. Anxious to see if their first game was just Opening Day jitters. Maybe they can cut down the kickball curve quickly.

The last team mystery team is Where's My Pitches At!. I do know that they are a disgruntled Epk team that was looking for a better home and may have found it at LSK. Other than that, info on this team is also sparse. I believe they were a playoff team within Epk, semi-final team, but don't take that to the bank, need to do some more research. We will see what they have within the coming weeks.




The next group of teams are all filled with seasoned kickball veterans. Starting off with the Billy Bad Asses, aka the Shocker Killers. The Bad Asses were Sun City Kickball regulars, although they no longer exist, a portion of their players reside with current SCK team Pitch, Please. The Billy Bad Asses do not have a marque roster, but they have always been known for tenacious play. Not sure how much experience they have playing on grass, as they earned their stripes playing on a traditional dirt diamond, but they should be ok regardless. Worst case they have the 3 inexperienced teams to beat up on, but don't count them out on the more competitive side. Back in the day when the Shockers were the KNS of now, they had a knack for taking down giants.

Moving onto the most recent championship team, the Animals. These Animals currently hold the title as the Sprummer '13 Epk champions,  a major note worthy victory. The title was earned on grass which is why they have thrown their hat into the ring with LSK. A solid roster and they have a pitcher/catcher combo that is a force to be reckoned with. Although they don't have the big names like a couple of the other teams, they have the power and skill in all the right places.

The last two teams have undoubtedly the biggest names and most experience. First up we have Screamin' Kixxx, which is basically Kickin' N' Screamin' sprinkled with a handful of Kixxx players. They are an extremely seasoned traveling team and have proven themselves on the grass. Again, they are the team to beat. Every time they travel out of town they get closer and closer at winning an Kickball 365 title. This extra practice should come in handy come tourney time.

The next big team is hybrid Smokin' Aces. They are a combo Thunder Catz, Drunken Monkeyz, and last but not least the Shockers, aka Sit on my Base. Three veteran SCK teams have combined to make the assumed monster that is Smokin' Aces. However Im not convinced they will be as dangerous as Kickball Nation is predicting them to be. It takes more than grouping a bunch of all-stars to make a good solid team

Well that in a quick nutshell are the inagural Lone Star Kickball teams, but the conversation doesn't stop here. Tune into the new IJK Ustream show to get an in-depth look at each team and their rosters.

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/itsjustkickball

Until next time Happy Kicking and remember It's Just Kickball.

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Round #1 Talk Deja Vu

Every season, we have a different story on how certain teams make it to the final, and how its won. With that being said, this season might just have history be rewritten. All the arrows are pointing towards yes. 4 seasons ago, the drunken monkeyz would set a record in most ties in one season, and finishing the season 4-1-3, and would capture the 7th seed. They would then beat the 10th seed and go on to play the 2 seed in what most would call the dark horse of that season, and an extremely talented team in the warriors, and win to go to the championship and fall short to confused kixxx (KNS' first championship). This season, we have the exact same scenario. New kicks on the block have come into this season, and tied the record that the monkeyz set back in 2010 for most ties and finished 4-1-3. Now they have a chance to be an incredible underdog and go through a team who just lost their pitcher due to the injury he sustained last week in the scoregasms. If they do, they then will go up against the league's dark horse, and possibly most athletic team (80% college athletes), the drinkers with a kicking problem. The only question left is, can NKOTB do it? I think they can because they have the second best defense in the league, and they will need that for the drinkers (assuming the beat the scoregams). The only difference I see between the 2010 monkeyz and NKOTB, is I think NKOTB can win the whole thing, and maybe that'll only be the different part of this scenario. We shall see, now on to the play in games and some fun facts.

Play In Game #1

Who: Shocker vs Sons o Pitches
Where: Memorial Field
Time: 7pm

The shockers will be coming into this game as a heavy favorite. This is said due to their competition this year. While sons o pitches has not really had any except lone star winners, saved by the balls. However, what makes this match so interesting is that Sons O pitches has a really talented pitcher in Manny, and is really tough to kick against from what I've heard. He will be the only saving grace that Sons o Pitches has in this one. Whats really good about that is that the shockers have been struggling to score all season. The real question here though is, can Sons O pitches put up a run against this stingy shocker defense to win this game? Either way, whoever wins has a date with 3 time runner up kixxx. Ouch!

Spread: Shockers -2.5
Over/Under: 3.5 runs
Prediction: Shockers 1-0

Play In Game # 2

Who: Pitch Please vs Saved by the balls
Where: Alta Vista
Time: 7 pm

I don't know or anyone from the Saved by the balls team. I have heard that they are all experienced kickballers, so no surprise about them winning the lone star division, and now have a very winnable game against an inconsistent team in pitch please. Pitch Please is one of those teams who comes out to have fun, and they do, but at the same time know how to play the game. Taking teams like NKOTB down to the wire, and blowing out the teams like they should. However, they do struggle against the more disciplined and experienced teams. I think this game is a more doable game for both lone star teams, so expect this one to possibly be wild. Tough call to make here.

Spread: Pitch please -1.5
Over/ Under: 7.5 runs
Prediction: Saved by the balls 8-6





Quick Fun Facts before playoffs start

1. The number 1 seed has always made the final (no pressure KNS)
2. The number 1 seed has always won the championship except the very first season ( Undefeated Monkeyz would go to lose to the shockers)
3. The number 4 and 5 seeds have never made a final( number 2 seed 3 times, 3 seed 1 time, 6 seed 1 time, 7 seed 2 times).
4. Of the top 8 seeds 4 have never seen a final (new faces in town)
5. Of the bottom 6 seeds, 2 are past champs( how the competition has gotten)
6. SCK has had only 3 different champions in 7 seasons, will we have 4 through season 8, or will the monkeyz, shockers, or KNS keep it at 3?

Week #9 Post-Season Talk

Oh my, oh my! What an interesting week 9 in SCK. With two games being decided by a combined 1 point we now have ourselves a huge mess for playoff seedings. Lets recap on what happened this past wednesday.


We go to the 7 o clock game at modesto 1. The monkeyz showed us once again that they are only a force when both the catcher and pitcher are there. However, this wasn't the case wednesday as coach, catcher, and possibly best offensive weapon the monkeyz have was MIA. They went up against a 4 play team who had only 8 players. The game was close the whole way with the monkeyz up 2-0 all the way up to the fourth inning. Then, they gave up two runs there, and one in the fifth to lose the game. Props goes out to 4 play for grinding out a win for them playing with only 8 people. Luckily for the monkeyz they will get another shot at 4 play in the first round if my playoffs seeds are right.

Then we go to the 8 o clock game at modesto 1 where the two sloppy teams collided, SMK and Lights Out. Sloppy it was as Lights out gave up 2 ridiculous runs in the 1st, but then would rally late in the game when the inexperience of SMK would come in and allow a barrage of runs in the 4th. Your final here, 6-2. That would give SMK an automatic 11 seed, so very tough road ahead for them. As for lights out it now becomes tricky, but if my math serves me correctly they should get the 4th seed.

On to the game at 8 o clock at modesto 2, where always underdog NKOTB would take on Thundercats. As expected, this game would be nothing but defense and frustration if you ask me. For the first time, I saw Domino show frustration in his team. In the 4th Domino would get to 3rd base with no outs, and his players could not bring him in, fouling out, popping up one to the pitcher, and kicking it straight to the 3rd baseman. That was only real shot in anyone scoring in that game, but because they didn't, we got a 0-0 stalemate that leaves a 4 way tie for the 4-7 seeds for us.

Last but not least, we go to Memo to see if a upset was in store for us between the Scoregasms and KNS. Sadly, there wasn't an upset. On the up side for the scoregasms, they didn't allow the 20 runs that KNS wanted, on the downside, they now get the 10th seed according to me, and also lose their starting pitcher for the playoffs, with a severe ankle injury. These guys just can't catch a break. Final score here was 8-0 KNS.

So now that leaves the two 7 seeds for each of the top divisions playing the top two in the lone star division for shot at the crown. That leaves us with shockers playing Sons O Pitches, and Pitch Please, Playing Saved by the balls. If the shockers win they get the 13th seed, and the of PP and SBTB winner gets the 14th seed. Should the shockers lose, Sons O pitches gets the 14 seed, and the winner of PP and SBTB gets the 13 seed.

Now on to my actual seedings, these aren't accurate, they are just what I think should be the seeds. With a win counting as 1 point, and a tie giving you .5 (12 ties i think is a league record), it leaves a mess down in the middle. So here's what I got after Wednesday. Good luck to all teams.

1. KNS 8-0, 8 pts, Power Ranking 85
2. Drinkers With a Kicking Problem 7-0-1, 7.5 points, Power Ranking 31
3. Kixxx 6-2, 6 points, Power Ranking 43
4. Lights Out 5-2-1, 5.5 points, Power Ranking 18
5. Thundercats 5-2-1, 5.5 points, Power Ranking 14
6. I'd Hit It 5-2-1, 5.5 points, Power Ranking 23
7. New Kicks On The Block 4-1-3, 5.5 points, Power Ranking 12
8. 4-Play 4-2-2, 5 points, Power Ranking 18
9. Drunken Monkeyz 5-3, 5 points, Power Ranking 17
10. Scoregasms 5-3, 5 points, Power Ranking 6
11. Suck My Kick 3-4-1, 3.5 points, Power Ranking 1
12. LTA 3-4-1, 3.5 points, Power Ranking -5
13. TBA
14. TBA

Explanation on the 4-7 seeds is that there was a 3 way tie between IHI, T-cats, and NKOTB, but because T-cats have the head to head on IHI and better power ranking than NKOTB they jump both, so then you take T-Cats and Lights Out Power Rankings and Lights out beats them there.

T.A.A.F. Adult Co-Ed State Kickball Tournament

Confused Kixxx is out doin what they do, winning kickball championships and representing Chuco Town. They are currently at the T.A.A.F. Adult Co-Ed State Kickball Tournament. Won their 1st game 16-1, moving onto their next game. IJK will keep all the el paso kickballers up to date on the results.