Cougars Turn Tuesday Into Friday

For those that could not make the game last night, here is the timeline of events.

7:38pm
Oxer, driving home from Bikram Yoga, calls and indicates that playing in the rain is not in his contract.

7:50pm
Oxer taunts the Kangaroo Court. Look at him in all his sartorial splendor. Did he not think he was going to be fined for wearing this getup to a softball game? We should double the fine because he accessorized with an umbrella. And look how clean those spikes are! He should have learned from the previous Cougar dress code mistake when Peter felt cocky on opening night and played with his dickey.

7:59pm
With plenty of time before the scheduled opening pitch, the park district folded before the river and decided that the Cougars would not play with muck.

7:59:01pm
Moments after seeing the Howard Park's face down cards, Tim "Binion" Flannery swiftly invited everyone to the Highland Horseshoe Casino fka The Yoga Hut.

8:10pm
Beers flowing.

8:11pm
Cougar query. How many times do you blink in a year? A quick Google iPhone search elicits 5.6 million times. I am not sure where this night is heading - we have only been drinking for one minute. What is Flannery serving, Colt 45? With questions such as this, I am waiting for someone to ask if there is another word for synonym.

8:13pm
Melchiorre gets felt up. Um, I mean he gets the felt up. The table, cards and chips are all ready to go thanks to Dave. Some folks think it is odd that Dave keeps a deck of cards, a poker table and pre-stacked chips in his car at all times. Not me, it sure came in handy last night.

8:15pm
Cougars playing poker.

8:17pm
We leadoff with the first deck of the night. The two-hole hitter and the clean-up hitter have a showdown and are all-in on the first hand. There are 10,240 possible straight combinations in poker and we have 2 of them. What a way to start the night!

8:18pm
Determining rebuy rules.

8:35pm
Philthy is worried about his professional practice. It is not the economic hit he is taking from the decrease in aesthetic cases he is worried about though. He is concerned about one brainless client bringing down the practice. He can't believe anyone could be so dense. We think our good doctor gave his patient too much nitrous oxide and may be run out of town.

8:45pm
Pizza delivered. Our gracious host picks up the tab and feeds the hungry Cougars.

8:46pm
The first slice of the hamburger jalapeno pizza is consumed. In addition to sausage and mustard, the Cougars have now found another treat on which to double down.

9:00pm
Pizza demolished.

9:01pm
Cougars playing poker...again.

9:30pm
Cougar Kangaroo Court query. What do we do with the proceeds? Some votes were placed for a Yoga Hut flat screen TV. Winning vote was to split the money and let our trader teammates invest it. Proceeds will be used to hire a new park distrct softball coordinator.

9:52pm
Many Cougars realize that they have been told to be home from work by 7:00pm Wednesday night. Is this a coincidence or an underground revolt meeting against Cougar Nation. Nope, just the McK Variety Show DVD Release Party.

10:30pm
Cougars playing poker................................still. In poker, slow play typically means sandbagging but the Cougars give it new meaning. This game is taking forever. It may have something to do with the new iPhone app that is all the rage. It is impossible to play Urinal Test and play poker at the same time.

10:31pm
Melchiorre busts out but takes the game over. Slow play is killing him. He is now the official dealer. Constant movement at the table.

10:40pm
Three players remaining. Flannery, Hoglund and Oxer.

10:50pm
Two players remain, each with similar stacks. Hoglund busts out but gets third place prize.

11:05pm
After a series of unsuccessful all-in calls, Flannery epitomizes the meaning of slow play by deceptively trapping Oxer with measured bets while holding the nut hand. Flannery pushes all-in and Oxer, shaking in his rain boots (literally and figuratively), grabs his umbrella for good luck and calls the bet. Even with the rain gear, Oxer is all wet. Flannery wins the night!

11:15pm
Home watching late night TV and thinking about the parallel between the Tonight Show and Cougar Postgame. I realized that following Melchiorre and Flannery in the postgame is like Conan following Carson and Leno. The next game is on the 9th of June and it is a win waiting to happen. A victory would make the next postgame a jackpot.

Postgame Postscript
Thanks to Tim for such a grand night. His hosting abilities are first-rate and everyone had a fantastic time. Even more impressive is that he did it without a helping Hand.

Cougar Power Ranking Second to None

Yup, I checked the website and its seems we did win last night and we maintained our top ranking.

Wilmette Park District - Postgame Power Rankings

1. Cougars

• Win or lose, Cougars always win.

2. Walter Keefe & Son's

• Team Orange parties are rumored to be legendary. Opening day loss hurt them in the postgame standings.

3. Grandpa's

• A great bar with tasty food and a loaded cd jukebox sponsors their team.

4. Howard Park Hitmen

• The Hitmen love British beer and Evanston chicken.

5. Miller Time

• Common sense in a bottle.

6. Brew Ha's

• Team name is a beer or a fight. Don't mess with them.

7. Emerald Loop

• Rookie Wilmette rookie team with light blue jerseys has a longtime Chicago bar with a green logo sponsoring team.

8. Gulliver's

• Gulliver's drinks in the dark but can see with their fluorescent jerseys.

9. SLAM

• A thrifty group. Uses pintprice.com for postgame planning.

10. D-38 Bombers

• Kenilworth team only drinks Vielle Bon Secours beer.

11. Brown Stars

• Can't believe Shilby allowed team name. Have you seen urbandictionary.com? Can you imagine what they drink?

12. Maple Avenue Marauders

• Having hard time fielding full squad for game. All hope is not lost for postgame.

13. The Chieftains

• You have to be 21 to have a postgame.
  

Sadly, the truth is that we got slaughtered last night. We just can't hit the southpaw pitching. Our only real highlight of the game was a Danielsen to Oxer play at the plate. We now have four weeks in a row that we have made a successful play at the plate.

The postgame party was again of high caliber. Many of us call Melchiorre a Renaissance Man or Wilmette's da Vinci. After last night, he is truly Abe Froman. As proof, take a gander at this lovely spread courtesy of Dave (ahem, Barb) on which we feasted last night.

We had an assortment of beers, chips, and dips. In fact, we had four flavorings for our vittles. Three different mustards and a wasabi mayonnaise. The Melchiorre family bats cleanup for a good reason. The homemade wine was like a good port resting on top of our belly full of grillin'.

In addition to the cuisine we downed by the mouthful and the potion we glugged by the gallon, the night was also highlighted with great dialouge and ball busting (we figured we had to do it at the postgame because we failed to do it during the game).

Topics were varied and we found the best hangover cure thanks to a Dr. and a RN. But there has been one pressing question on the minds of all Cougars for some time and it needed to resolved last night.

Why can't Flannery type?

This is a refined and worldly guy who attends fancy concerts and black tie wine events, dines and visits with Saudi OPEC Ministers and Ambassadors to India and gives us his spot-on analysis on political, financial and economic events (How may other postgames include a discussion about Libor?).

So why can't this gentleman get his qwerty groove going?

Tim insists he can type. But based on the evidence presented below, the Cougars needed answers. Why can't Tim lower and raise one digit for ten keystrokes - eight letters, two spaces and a period? Who is Stephanie Hand? Is she a real person or Tim's online user name? And finally, is she a Cougar?

Tim categorically denied any pseudonym usage and he insisted that he actually can type and by choice has selected to abstain.

Last night, the team learned that many years ago, that Tim, who is not of Islamic faith, issued a fatwa concerning email. Let's just say that Tim's personal Koran would never be in html format.

Tim believes that, in essence, the brilliant traders and quant jocks that dwell on Wall Street and Greenwich, CT, and who stroke their keyboards and ogle their monitors while turning 4 quarters into 5 dimes (shout out to the Smart Shel Silverstein) have no clue how to send an effective email.

Tim is inundated with electronic rubbish and, as a money manager, can't focus on his equity arbitrage, quantitative directional, and systematic diversified trading styles and simultaneously check email, Cougar related or otherwise.

So it turns out that Stephanie cares for all of Tim's email and generally keeps Tim's world in order so that he can be a productive worker, husband, father, coach, and Cougar. She is the brains of the organization and keeps Tim at peace when he is not wearing his yoga pants.

All I know is that if Tim ever wins Cougar of the Week, he is sharing the award with Stephanie.

Cougar Scouting Report - Week 4

We play Miller Time tonight at 8:00pm and I will be out at the practice field at 7:15pm. Melchiorre is in charge of beer and we are headed to his front porch after the game.

Last year we played Miller Time in our fourth game of the season and we lost 11-0. The game notes indicate that we only had one hit in the entire game and set the record for quickest game on record. Highlights of the game included lofty strikes and good defense. We let up six in the first inning and held them to five over the next four innings.

At the game four mark this year, Miller Time has the same record as the Cougars at 1-2. Each of us has beat the expansion D38 Bombers and each lost to Grandpa's (we lost 11-4, MT lost 12-5).

Miller Time is hungry for a victory and so are the Cougars (well, a victory and some postgame grilled meat).

Like Grandpa's, Miller Time thinks they have an easy one on their hands tonight based on our rookie season. Grandpa's recognized our improvement and their manager was busting his team's chops the entire game to man up out there. Miller Time won't know what was flung at them tonight.

We are going to stick with our shortcenter outfield setup for this game. As those of us who were postgaming in the alley saw, Miller Time has a few batters that can bludgeon the ball. However, we are going to add one twist to our already unconventional strategy. For their big hitters, in addition to our shortcenter out in the grass, we are going to put on the full-court press and place our second baseman out there too - essentially 5 outfielders.

I have a strong opinion that these few big boppers will still try and kill the ball. Certain members of Miller Time will not come out to the field and hit a grounder to second base just because we have nobody there. These strongmen workout all year for a 16 week season and there is no effing way they will hit a weak grounder to get on base when they have bulging muscles that need to be put to use.

Here's the thing. Most people stand square and most teams play the shortcenter in the infield. We are not like most teams. After reading this article, I realize we need to shake up the game a bit more in certain instances.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/11/090511fa_fact_gladwell

As it says in the article, David did not beat Goliath in a conventional swordfight, where he would have fallen quickly. Rather, he fought and won with a sling and five stones.

Five outfielders. Five stones.

Play angry! No gifts!

Kangaroo Court - Week 3

Unoriginal

Nobody ever accused the Court of having the Captain's wit or wisdom, so we'll stick with his theme of the week. As you'll notice, the number of violations this week is drastically reduced as compared to last week. You can attribute this to the Cougars playing a smarter game, the KC being a bit more lenient or a combination of the two. Whatever the reason, the KC is more than happy to have a shorter docket.

Unquestionable

Lipinski is fined $1 for the backwards K. His unknowing attempt to try to sell it as a walk is counterbalanced by his insistence that the pitch was outside. (As Martin pointed out, it was inside.)

Unconscionable

Lipinski gets $1 for not bringing an opener for the beer. The KC was tempted to give the Lip the maximum but showed leniency because he did supply beer. (He narrowly avoided another fine for leaving the postgame early.)

Untimely

Melchiorre and Martin get $.50 for the botched pickoff play. With runners on 1st and 2nd, the pickoff at 2nd is a tough play, especially with an experienced runner who seemed to be baiting us to make a play so he could take 3rd. Apparently Martin made the suggestion and Melchiorre pulled the trigger, so they'll split the $1 fine.

Uncool

Diddy pays $1 for another Metra misadventure.

Unchallenged

Finally, an administrative matter: the Court heard unsubstantiated rumors around Wil-town that there may have been Cougars seeking to appeal previous rulings of the Court. The appeals period for any ruling expires at the end of the following game's postgame. Because no party raised a timely appeal at this week's postgame, the first KC rulings have become final. If anybody would like to further discuss those first rulings, our buddy Elijah is happy to hear you out.

Uncougar

Uneventful
Unlike most Cougar games, the entire night. We lost 11-4.

Undefeated
Our opponent, Grandpa’s.

Undaunted
After giving up 5 runs in the 1st inning, we came back with two quick runs.

Unbrace
A few dropped balls.

Unsure
The shortcenter position. This has to be one of the most complex questions I have encountered in my life. The 16-inch softball rule of thumb is that the SC plays on the batter’s pull side of second base. Most, if not all, teams play this way. We tried that in the first inning – 5 runs against us. Didn’t work. Second inning, Lipinski moved from his infield SC position to his outfield SC position and we let up a total of 6 runs the rest of the game. This perplexing question of how to use the shortcenter is like electing when to use a regular binder clip versus a large paper clip. In the hierarchy of fastening, it is reasonably easy to decide when to use a staple over a regular paper clip. Staples can puncture a limited quantity of paper and certain things are meant to be eternally affixed. Regular paper clips are essentially temporary staples that can handle a greater quantity of parchment with superior elasticity. Conversely, the attachment load of the binder clip and large paper clip are largely equivalent. Personally, I always reach for the binder clip because of its isosceles triangle properties, which, geometrically, has similarities to a baseball diamond.

Unsightly
Lipinski ‘s concave chest after catching a half dozen line shots with it in the outfield.

Unquote
As in the comment by Diddy last night: Quote “According to Field of Dreams, Shoeless Joe Jackson’s glove is where triples went to die in baseball. In softball, triples die in Lipinski’s chest.” Unquote.

Unreal
Fortier’s Jeter-like toss to Oxer, who made the sweet play at the plate.

Unbroken
The streak of Cougar games in which we have made a successful play at the plate.

Unacceptable
Three double plays against us.

Unprepared
Lipinski. New hard and fast rule for postgame: if you bring beer, bring a bottle opener.

Underpants
Thought the kids would enjoy this one.

Unadvisable
Twice we left the bases loaded.

Unbearable
The umpire’s two horrific calls on the bases.

Unbelievable
The ball Miller Time slammed over the fence into the alley where we were postgaming.

Unburden
We gave our opponents a few extra outs (i.e. gifts).

Unartistic
My over the shoulder catch. If I had been playing a bit deeper or judged the ball better it would have been a run of the mill catch.

Uncommon
Lipsey’s triple.
http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1029927/index.htm

Unactive
Hoglund, our official scorekeeper, while nursing the stress fracture.

Unbridled
Melchiorre scoring from 1st base on Lipsey’s triple. A trip to the sports store for some spikes may put him in the leadoff position.

Unknowing
Our next two opponents. They do not know how much we have improved. Overheard on the other bench from Wolfie, Grandpa’s Captain, “These guys are much better than last year.”

Unpressured
Cougars. We got our bad game out of the way. Bring ‘em on!

Unafraid
Cougars. We proved we can play with the best of them even without our “A” game.

Undeterred
Miller Time gets a little Cougar action next week.

Cougar Scouting Report - Week 3

We play Grandpa's tonight at 6:45pm and I will be out at the practice field at 6:00pm. Lipinski is in charge of beer and we can head to my place after the game.

Grandpa's is atop the leaderboard with a 2-0 record and they are averaging 9 runs a game this year. They have beaten two of the top teams in the league so far by scores of 6-5 (SLAM) and 12-5 (Miller Time).

Last year, Grandpa's finished up with a 9-4 record and also averaged 9 runs a game.

Beginning with tonight, Grandpa's begins a three game stretch against teams that were either in the bottom of the standings in 2008 (Cougars and Gulliver's) or are a rookie team this year (Marauders). After opening the season with victories over two of the best teams in the league, the entire Grandpa's team is looking at tonight as a welcome relief. I overheard that Grandpa's is looking to play 5 innings and get over to their favorite Glenview watering hole before 8:00pm.

Not so fast. The Cougars have demonstrated that we can play with these guys. We have played two solid games with our runs per game average at 12. We have given up 10.5 runs per game on defense (not bad considering some bizarro play).

Our matchup last year with Grandpa's came on the heels of our big victory over the Beavers. We took Grandpa's a full 7 innings and kept the game close until the 7th. We were behind 10-6 going into the 7th and then they found every hole and pummeled us for 10 runs. We scored one in the bottom of the inning and the final score was 20-7. It was a much closer game than the final score revealed.

It is guaranteed that they do not remember playing us and they definitely have not seen how we have improved (nor do they have a scouting report). We are the home team and are on field 1 (north field). Let's catch them by surprise tonight by holding them scoreless in the first inning and by coming out strong in the bottom of the 1st.

Play angry and no gifts!

P.S. From what I heard a few days ago, it sounds as if we have at least defendant appealing a KC ruling last week (in fact, he may be appealing two violations). There will also be one other accusation for an infraction that happened after the postgame (the accused can call himself out or I will do it for him).

Kangaroo Court - Week 2

From the Chambers of Judge Diddy

I'll leave the warm and fuzzy report to our Manager and share the results of the first Cougar Kangaroo Court, which was a solemn and sober postgame proceeding befitting the seriousness of the offenses:

1. Back in South Holland Little League we had a rule that you couldn't go swimming on gameday because you may get tired. Well, the Cougars should have a rule that you can't play another sport on gameday because you may get injured. So Fortier pays $1 for engaging in non-Cougar sports that led to an injury.
2. Another pregame violation: Lipinski did the Cougars a service with his Google Calendar work. No complaints there. But unfortunately, he sent it from rabbitfufu@gmail.com. Nothing more needs to be said.
3. Fortier and Lipinski each owe $1 for their collision. Or should I say Lipinski's freight train to Fortier's Wile E. Coyote. I'm just glad we can laugh about it now.
4. We had an unprecedented (I know it's only the first week of the KC, but still) three infractions on a single play: (i) Bobis and Fortier let a ground ball go between them and then looked at each other; (ii) Lipsey picked up the ball and fired it over Martin's head at third; and (iii) Martin retrieved the ball and fired it home letting the trail runner advance. (Admittedly, it may be a harsh result for Martin but that's the ruling.) $.50 for each violator.
5. Lipsey gets an additional $1 for two more ill-advised throws to third, neither of which had a chance to get the runner.
6. Radtke S. fell asleep on second base and failed to tag and advance on a long foul fly out. His excuse: he was trying to figure out how to spell "Cougar" backwards. Excuse denied -- $1 fine.
7. Danielsen gets $1 for his great throw to the third base coach (who I guess is named Elijah) when we had the big shift on for the lefty pull hitter.
8. Danielsen also gets another $1 for his sac fly. Now, the KC understands that a sac fly can be a productive play in certain situations and will not issue fines for hitting a sac fly, but Danielsen gets one here not because he hit a sac fly, but because he was trying to hit a sac fly. We already had a lead, had a potential big inning going with a few guys on base and a porous defense in the field and should not be giving up outs, particularly our only legitimate power hitting threat (well, JD and Lipsey I guess).
9. Trouter gets $1 for hiding in the weeds until the final out. I'm tempted to overturn this on my own because it's possible that it was just the camoflage shorts that made it look like he was hiding in weeds, but we'll let it stand.
10. Oxer can't escape $1 for the backwards K, and Fortier also gets $1 for the foul out. Like the dickey rule, the strikeout/foulout rule is non-negotiable. For that matter, I'll also assess a belated $1 against Otsuka for my backwards K in week 1.
11. Oxer also gets $1 for his "Armor All" stirrups/socks. Look closely at the picture of him chugging around the bases and you'll see the evidence. Somehow, those little strips of black sewn on to the white socks outclassed Lipinski's black socks for Cougar Fashion Statement of the Week. So along with Cougar of the Week, two awards for JOx this week.

As a reminder, the fines for the violations shall be paid at the end of the season. You may appeal and the Court's ruling will be overturned for good cause or on account of bribes.

Cougars Win!

The Cougars won their first game of the season last night, 14-10. We accomplished this feat a full two months earlier than last year. We also came out on top even though we played an all-around better game last week. There was one Cougar who played much better than in the opener (um, he was not feeling well because of his Fire Yoga) but we will get to that in a bit.

I was worried when I heard we were playing a Kenilworth team. Word circulating on the rumor mill is that despite the fact that Forbes recently had K-Town in a three way tie for richest zip code in America, Kenilworthians are fuming that Business Week ranked Wilmette as the seventh best place to raise children in the U.S and 60043 was nowhere to be found.

Those Business Week reporters must have come out to a Cougar game to make this determination because we have massive support. There had to be ten Cougar wives out there (just curious, is Cougar wives a redundant phrase?) and we had enough kids in attendance to start our own Cougar Kids Club. Also, I am not sure if the Hitmen have a Kangaroo Court, but if they do, then the two leaders of the Flynn family should be levied fines for Cougar cheering and postgame attendance.

Well, how did we do it this week? Last week it was our leadoff and two-hole hitters. Tuesday night it was our furry friends in the 10 and 11 spots. Melchiorre and Oxer were the spark of our lineup. Melchiorre had more shots last night than all of last season (this does not include his smooth Cinco de Mayo blue agave tequila during the postgame celebration). And Oxer, well, we will get to him later.

The third inning was our best inning ever played. We kept the line moving, swatted the ball with our metallic lumber, and batted around the order. We scored nine runs in that stretch. In our 2008 campaign, there were series of games where we would not score nine aggregate runs. There was euphoria in Cougar Nation last night. We played our type of game and sprinkled another five runs throughout the game.

Not too long after we scored the jersey number of Roy Hobbs, we somehow landed on the cube shaped planet known as Htrae, otherwise known as Bizarro World. This society is ruled by the Bizarro Code which states, "Us do opposite of all Earthly things!” Us hate beauty! Us love ugliness! Is big crime to make anything perfect on Bizarro World!" On planet Ragouc, our code is “Never call ball! Throw to wrong base! Make mental errors!” This Ragouc code is going to destroy us physically and financially. Evanston Hospital ER does not want your business and Kangaroo Court does not need a bailout package. Let’s stay on Planet Cougar.

Last year, we debuted our Cougar of the Week feature. That honor went to our 11th spot hitter and rainbow pitcher, David Melchiorre. The first honoree for Cougar of the Week in 2009 is a guy who has been desperately wanting that last spot in the lineup. This cat, before last year, never played any type of baseball or softball in his life and now Jeremy Oxer is an all-star.

When assembling the team, I thought it would be neighborly to ask the new Spencer Avenue resident to be on the team. I rang the bell and answering the door was one wife, two kids, two grandparents and one dog but no Jeremy; he was still on his way home from work. I introduced myself and said that I would like to know if the man of the house would like to play softball with my new team. In unison, their responses of “Jeremy???” were filling my ears with quizzical sing-songy voices. I am not sure if their questioning was based on the word softball or the word man. After I offered tissues to wipe their shared tears of laughter, I believe it was Heather that said, “Yes, he will play softball.” Just then, Jeremy walked in the front door. The dog was barking, the kids were jumping, the grandparents were talking, the wife was beaming and the new player found the situation frightening.

Who knew that we had quite a catch on our hands? Finding Jeremy for the Cougars is like going to the depths of Latin America to find that one ballplayer than you can sign for a low salary but will bring the best out of the whole team. His only contract demands were a few adult beverages after the game, and, well, he really did not want to play that often.

Now fast forward just a bit past the 365 day mark. J.Ox had the most stunning and dazzling game of his career. At the dish he went 3-4 and this does not even count any times getting on base with a fielder’s choice (see, last year before a spin through the rule book, our man counted those as singles in his batting average). He darted around the bases like a kid racing for the ice cream truck and was determined that nothing would stop him. In the picture below, Jeremy exhibits his grit on the basepaths. On defense, he called a solid game for his batterymate and made a defensive play at the plate that brings into question the “best play of the year” award that was handed out last week.



It does not stop there, as all Cougar games have three ingredients: pregame, game and postgame. J.Ox starred in all three. Following a successful consultative meeting with Lipsey in the previous week, in which Oxer got a radio shout out, Jeremy reviewed jokes for Peter’s weekly spot on the radio (every week on 820AM at 9:30am). We have found the new Abbott and Costello. At the postgame, Oxer termed the Danielsen throw to an empty third base, as “throwing it to Elijah” (opportunity here for the Christian folk to do some Seder research). Also, I see an Oxer as a weekly donor to the Kangaroo court for his gameday hot yoga classes or his outdated wardrobe (c’mon, Swisher is on the Yanks now).

With just a click of a mouse you can bookmark this site and enjoy a little Jeremy day or night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9LjvJ5QxYE&feature=channel_page

The Cougars love J.Ox!

Other game notes:

• We found out that Peter can play just as well without a dickey.
• Lipinski starts his game with a swing and miss on a ball that was a good yard over his head and then proceeds to knock every other pitch (and teammates) all over the field every other chance he had. I think he is juicing.
• Fortier gets big props for a solid game as well as purposely scheduling a late flight in order to make the game. Will they let you through ORD security with a dirty Cougar green t-shirt?
• Flannery may get a fine for missing the game because he was meeting with an OPEC minister.
• Philthy was injured during the game but toughed out an excellent game while gingering circling the bases.
• Has Martin made an out yet this year? By the way, we need to set a fine amount for getting kicked out of the game for arguing with the umpire. Maybe Jeff should prepay this.
• Our trusty leftfielder, Greg “Diddy” Otsuka, followed his backwards somersault act from last week by catching a sinking line drive with his teeth. I think he is trying to help Philthy’s business.
• Bobis had another game of solid play and made the most important play of the game at second base – the 21st out.
• Danielsen will be featured in the Kangaroo Court. It was great to have Jeff bring the youngest member (just over 5 weeks old) of the CKC out to the postgame.
• We may need a separate email for the disabled list. Keep me updated on the injuries. Philthy and Hogs – give those quads and hammies some rest.
• Trouter pulled a Little Rads and showed up to watch the game, or should I say postgame. These two can’t make too many games because of family commitments. I think they are each trying to get their own town’s family ranking up in the next poll.

Finally, I need to give a high-five and a slap on the backside to Julie. On Tuesdays, I come home, put the Cougar gear on, set the lineup and head out to the fields. Magically, Cougar food is always there for the postgame. Well, not magically. Because I always forget, she takes care of us. I do nothing for the postgames other than tell everyone to come on over and party. Last week her artichoke dip was devoured in seconds and this week the Mexican food celebration was top-notch. She puts the Cougar in Cougar postgame. I also have a feeling she will end up in Kangaroo Court for a non-food related event (spouses and friends are not exempt).

We could not have made it this far without the wisdom of Joe D. Yes, I am the manager, but I am merely a community organizer aspiring to a greater calling someday. Joe D. focused the team and gave us the framework for self coaching, which we implemented last night. The schedule has been busy lately for all of us (in fact, Joe D. recently became the owner of a new son-in-law) and we will get him out here again soon.

We have a tough three game stretch around the corner, starting with Grandpa's next week, followed by what will be a much needed bye week.

Great victory!

Cougars vs. D-38 Bombers

Tonight's game is at 6:45pm and I plan to grab a practice field at 6:00pm. Don't let the fact that we are playing a new team get you overconfident. I was not able to scout their game last week but I did do some sleuthing over the last few days.

Last week, the Bombers scored 7 runs in a losing effort against Miller Time, which was their first game ever. Last year, Miller Time, one of the best teams in the league, slaughtered us by pitching a shutout. So the fact that a rookie team scored so many runs is impressive. According to my two sources, Trouter and the umpire for the MT/Bomber game, the Bombers have not played together before but the team is made up of a number of good athletes. With their ability, they will have a quick learning curve especially after last week's lesson.

Lastly, the reason Trouter knows some of these guys is because a few of them live about 1 mile north of us in a place he affectionately calls K-Town. Trouter can't make the game tonight because he is coaching his daughter's Trevian team but hopes to celebrate a Wilbilly victory over his fellow neighbors after the game. Let's send them back to the practice fields at Sears School.

PS: I have attached a picture of Trouter in case any Cougars do not remember what he looks like and you see a strange man walking around the postgame. It was taken a while ago but like a good teammate he is wearing a Cougar green half shirt.