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Balls Vs. Machine

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright.
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light.
And, somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout,

but there is no joy in Brooklyn --
mighty Bocce Bots have struck out.

It was another seemingly normal day. That was, until we stepped into Union Hall, for we were to face the mighty Bocce Bots, who stormed their way last year into the finals with Electric Company. Last year we played them and lost after only playing against two. This year we were determinded to play by the rules. This was unnecessary to enforce as they had four. Balls A' Plenty was seven strong with Matt, Gabe, Courtney, Erica, Melissa, William, and our old alternate Adam.



Now Adam played for us last year in a game when he was up from Philly and he still had his shirt. I promised him that if we went to a third game, he would likely get to play.

I was determined to beat the Bots, so choosing who to play had become a delicate challenge. Gabe and I had been practicing regularly in the pat 2 weeks, so I wanted to make sure we got some solid court time. Courtney and Erica could only play in the first game. I wanted to come out strong against the bots, and I know that Courtney plays well with me because I tend to keep her calm, and I've noticed that Erica is a little offset by Gabe's natural enthusiasm, so I put her with William. The Bots came out with three points, and eventually made it to four, but never scoring more than one point in a frame. We threw them back with a few high scoring frames and beat them in the first game 7 to 4.

With Courtney and Erica gone, it was left to myself, William, Melissa, Adam, and Gabe. I decided to keep the main team members in, so it was me and William, and Gabe and Melissa on the other end. We played well, but in the end the Bots made better rolls and they got us 7 to 3. We scored those three points after Zeke accidentally moved all the balls from a game that was not finished, and we came back with the points. But it was not enough.

Now I was faced with a difficult decision. Do I keep the same four in, or do I add Adam and take someone out? I had seen Adam play before, and I remember him rolling very well. Was it too much of a risk for this important game? And who do I take out? It was a tough choice. I decided to take Melissa out and put Adam in. It was hard to choose, but I chose Melissa because though she was making good rolls, that some of them were a little risky and my philosophy against the Bots was to play a slow and steady game without too many risky shots. So I put Adam in. The wildcard...

It proved to be a good decision, for Adam began to roll very well, as did the rest of us. We held on solidly, only giving up two points before beating the Bots in the third and final frame.

The Bots played well, but we played better. If we meet them again in the finals, I guarantee you, we will be ready to win again.

Roll on my people... roll on.

This Coming Sunday

Need I say anymore?

Practice and triumph

So, this past Tuesday, after successfully getting out of jury duty for the next 6 years, I headed to Union Hall to get some practice in. I met up with Colin, who made an appearance at game #1 of our season. I felt the need to work on a few shots, and Colin was bored.

Who should be there when we arrived, but none other than Zeik of the Bocce Bots, our arch nemesis and upcoming rival in our next match. The funny thing about Zeik is he's a real nice guy, but the man won't stop talking... ever. And on Tuesday, his favortie topic was his "new and improved game" that he could not wait to try out.

So Colin and I took him on and were soon joined by Gabe. Myself, Gabe, and Colin were absolutely on fire, making excellent shot after shot. We were truly feeling the court. Zeik, however, was having a hard time finding his center, and began to consitently repeat the phrase "ok, time to start focusing".

Now, I have to say, it was hard not to feel particularly satisfied shutting him down, the most outspoken, self-appraising member of the Bocce Bots. But in retrospect I will try to let that go. We are all a part of the bocce community, and Zeik, though he may come across a little too strongly at times, is a genuinely nice guy who's trying to excel at something he loves... bocce. Who could fault him for that?

Anyhow, we got some good practice in, and I feel confident we can take the Bots on 2 Sundays from now. If anyone else would like to join me for a practice, just let me know and we'll get it on.

*In this picture, Zeik is lecturing Colin about something. I don't remember what because honestly, he was doing it all night. Colin didn't seem to mind.





In other news, I have submitted another T-shirt design, this time to Floyd's. I don't know if there will be two different shirts. That would be cool.

As Things Stand

Last Sunday's game was against the Dirty 1/2 Dozen (formerly known as 6 Point). They had just played and won the game before us and were all warmed up and limber. We were supposed to play at 1:45pm, but didn't get onto the court until more like 2:30pm.

We didn't have much of a warmup, but that's how the bocce cookie crumbles some times. In our first game we came out strong. Courtney and Melissa put us in a comfortable 4-0 lead. Gabe and Josh were not able to hold it, and the D1/2D answered us back with another 4 points in one round. We were not able to score any more points in that round and lost 4-7.

We came out stronger in the next two games. In the second one it was Courtney and Matt at one end and Gabe and William at the other. Everyone had some solid shots, and William played exceptionally well. Gabe made plays when we needed them. Courtney played well despite her nervousness about being back on the courts after so long. Matt played solidly and made some key rolls (Though no as consistently as I would like. I need more practice). In the third it was Matt and William and Melissa and Gabe. Again, Melissa played solidly and secured herself the Ballsy Award from the previous weeks winner Gabe.

We won the last two sets without letting the D1/2D score more than 2 points in each. It was a solid victory for Balls A' Plenty. Not only was I excited to see the enthusiasm we had but also how much each player had improved from the last year. We are well on our way to a successful season.



Now the league has the next weekend off. Two Sundays from now, we play our arch rivals. That's right, The Bocce Bots



Now, I don't have much to say about the Bots. They are very nice in person and outside the bocce court. But something about their courtside demeanor has always bothered me and I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Something about them makes me want to beat them 7-0, over and over again. Now, they are a solid team. Last season they made it to the final game. I want to put them in their place early so they understand they have no shot of making it this year, as BAP is back on the scene.

In short, we need to practice. We have 2 weeks off and I am available to meet anyone at Union Hall when I'm able to. All you have to do is put it out there. Let's get some rolling in.

BAAAAAALLLLLLLSSSSSS AAAAAWWWWAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!!

(Here is a little motivational video)

New Team Member

I'd like to officially welcome the newest Balls A' Plenty team member:

Joshua David Cotton



We expect a lot from our newest member. Let's all give him the support he needs.

Sunday's Triumph

Hello, all. Last week we had 2 games. The first one, against the mighty Mudskippers, was rescheduled due to the fact that most of their team had food poisoning. We agreed to reschedule. The next game was against Ralph Boccio, a new team with great shirts. We started out strong with the first gamer over at 7 points to 3. The second game we fell back at first, having only 1 point to their 4, but we stayed firm and worked our way back to win 7 to 6.



The new player of the day was Gabe's friend Josh. He jumped right in on the 2nd game and held steady against firm opposition, even though it was his first ever bocce game. I belive we've found ourselves a new teammate. Only time will tell.



I think we might reschedule for 12 noon this Sunday. I will get back to you all on that. We are 1 and 1, not a bad start. Let's bring it!