Playoff Rules

And now it counts!!

Everything up until this point has been about meeting people, building camaraderie, and having fun.  Those things can and should continue, but from this point on the games actually matter too.  So, a few things to note from a rules perspective.

Playoffs follow the normal WAKA rules with the addition of the tournament guidelines which can be found at  http://www.kickball.com/files/WAKA_League_Tournament_Guidelines.pdf.  The highlights are:

• The higher seeded team gets choice of home or away.
• A game is automatically over at the end of the 3rd inning, or any inning after, if a team is up by 12 or more runs.
• If after 5 innings the game is tied, extra innings will be played with:
• The last kicker from the previous inning starting on 2nd base and
• Only 8 fielders (4 men & 4 women).
• If a game is still tied when time expires, 3 individuals from each team will pair off and play 3 rounds of head-to-head Rock-Paper-Scissors.  The team winning 2 of the 3 rounds is the winner.

I know it can get heated in the playoffs, but as always keep in mind that only THE CAPTAIN and CO-CAPTAIN may discuss calls with the referee (others are subject to ejection from the game) and they MUST ACCEPT the final ruling of the head referee.

Good luck!

Flip Cup Rules / Etiquette

This season has seen a considerable drop in the number of rules questions I'm getting.  I'll take this opportunity to give a very BIG THANK YOU to the people who have been Head Refs this season as I suspect it's mostly due to them.  With a lack of a rules question for me to write about, I'll use this week to discuss Flip Cup.  Since Flip Cup is a gentlemanly game, it's more about etiquette than rules, but if you follow the points below, no one should have any reason to protest.

Happy Flipping!

• Beer should be filled to the first line of the cup, or to an amount even to the person across from you.
• Only one hand is permitted to make the flip. A second hand can be used as balance assistance when playing on tables with less than ideal edges, but should in no way be used to guide the cup during the flip.
• Mid-air flips are not allowed.  The cup base must be touching the table when the flip is made.
• If a person touches their cup after they flip it, but before it completely settles, it must be reflipped.
• A person is not allowed to touch their cup until the person's cup before them has completely settled.

The Miskicks vs. Lone Wolfpac

After a crushing 16-2 loss to CBR, followed by an equally crushing Bears loss, The Miskicks went into this week battered and bruised - but nonetheless, determined. We beat Bender Rehab just a week prior, and we knew another win was in us - could we find it amidst all the PBR in our bellies?

The Miskicks took the plate first sending Sarah, then Matt, up to the plate. Thanks to a Sarah's kick and Matt being walked, we had two runners already on base when Steve approached the plate. His kick sent the Lone Wolfpack hunting around the field for the kickball while Matt and Sarah ran home two runs! The Miskicks held Lone Wolfpack to 0 in the bottom of the 1st.

I'd write more, but it's a lot the same from here out. The top of the 2nd inning saw Jordan, James, Brett and Perry at the plate - but Lone Wolfpack's catching kept us from gaining additional runs. We returned the favor in the bottom of the 2nd, holding Lone Wolfpack to 0. The third inning? No additional runs from either team. The fourth? No runs. The fifth? YOU GUESSED IT, no runs. 

The Miskicks MVP for the week was Taylor, who had some amazing catches and a great toss to Sarah that kept the Lone Wolfpack from scoring on us. Props to both teams for incredible defense and completion of the FASTEST game of kickball I've ever seen. 

Kick in a Box vs. Pitches Love Kicks

KiaB played better on the kickball field than Da Bear played on the football field, but they still showed their support the whole time.

Bear Down!

Ball Me Maybe vs. Lone Wolfpac

And to re-cap our last game against Lone Wolfpac:

 

The atmosphere: routine and debonair. The ref: red-headed Colleen. The conditions: naked weather and smelly (due to dog park). The location: Churchill 2 next to said dog park.

 

BMM came into this game with a nervous confidence. How would the team perform coming off such a high? The night was falling quickly, and a quiet dusk fell upon the presented teams. A quick RPS win secured the home field advantage for BMM, and players took their proper place in the field.

BMM took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. In the bottom of the second, BMM had impressive base running and brought another 2 baserunnershome.

There are still some rules that need to be ironed out for certain players: 1) You must tag up. 2) The only base you can over run is first.BMM has had repeated problems with the overrunning of second and third base. Schweinsteiger, after an incredible kick to far left field, decided to overrun third base. Purple team immediately ran over to him approx. 10 ft off the base and tagged him out. Pathetic. Groans, screams and wailing could be heard from BMM players. Schweinsteiger hung his blonde-haired blue-eyed German head. Purple team suppressed their laughter.

After the third inning, the sky was dark. Though nearly impossible to see, BMM fielding technique did not suffer.

Upon the victorious final out in the bottom of the 5^th inning, the BMM team cheer could once again be heard echoing Churchill field… This cheer did not stop; it was chanted down the hipster highway and as BMM proudly took their stand for flip cup at Nick’s. A tense, fierce fight that was decided in the FINAL cup ensued when BMM challenged Lone Wolfpac. A victory for BMM was won. The first, and most likely the last. BMM will not find its strength in this game of nonsense. But a score of 4-3, BMM VICTORS, has gone done in the WAKAkickball history books. Tis not to be forgotten!

 

Foul? But he touched it!

What up kickballers!

There seems to be a lot of confusion around foul balls.  No, really.  It not that I like writing up the same stuff every season.  It's just that the same things always seem to perplex the newbies (and still some of the vets).

• So, for the incident in the title: A ball initially landing or touched in foul territory is a foul.
• For another incident I heard of: A ball whose direction is altered by contact with an object in foul territory is a foul.

And here's the usual rundown of the other less well known rules about fouls:

• Fouls don't count as strikes.
• A kick made on or above the knee is foul.
• A ball touched more than once by the kicker is a foul.
• A ball kicked outside the kicking box (like in front of the plate) is a foul.
• A person jumping from fair territory is still in fair territory while in the air.
• All fouls can be caught for an out as long as they don't touch a foreign object such as a fence.
• and Runners can tag up and advance on foul balls until the pitcher gets the ball on the pitcher's mound.

And here's the usual reference to the applicable rules which can be found at http://www.kickball.com/rules and http://www.kickball.com/rulesfaq/: 1.04, 9.01, 9.02, 13.01, 13.02

Peace!

The Miskicks vs. Bender Rehab

The Miskicks came to the plate this week with a W in their sights. The first inning started with Bender Rehab at the plate, who quickly pulled in two runs. The Miskicks sent Cristina, Matt and James to the plate to pull in two runs and keep things tied. Two is never enough for us, so Steve and Brett stepped up to the plate and brought our run total to four! Bender Rehab was hot on our tail in the 2nd inning, scoring a third run, but the Miskicks held them there with supreme defensive skills. Jordan lead off the bottom of the 2nd but was soon benched with an leg injury! Kevin stepped while Jordan recuperated with a carbonated beverage not to be named, and quickly got on first. Sarah kicked next and Trendy ended the inning with a pop up. Bender Rehab came back in the top of the third to make two more runs and put the game at 5-4, Bender's advantage. The Miskicks replied by sending a run through in the bottom of the third, tying things up at 5-5. It was announced that the fourth inning would be our final inning and we entered the fourth on a tie game of 5-5.

They say it's always darkest before the dawn. And things had been dark for the Miskicks, like halfway through the season without a win dark.  But things change. And the sun always comes up. 

It was a tense fourth inning. Bender Rehab took the plate first, and The Miskicks stepped up their defense BIG TIME. The win was so close we could taste it. Sarah's shin stopped a ball, and all star Miskicker, Brett, made an amazing catch and throw to out a Bender and prevent them from scoring in 4th. We took the plate knowing that all we needed to secure our first win of the season was one. more. run.

And then we got it! I don't remember who got it, I was too busy screaming. A 6-5 game and The Miskicks finally have their W, against Bender Rehab. Watch out everyone, we are coming for you now!

Kick in a Box vs. CBR

Kick in a Box takes the field,
CBR opposed to yield.
The darkness sets in
So neither team wins.
Frustrations, by beer were healed.

Cemento Cruz Azul vs. The Miskicks

Cemento Cruz Azul

Azul took the field on a dark Thursday evening. They were ready to give everything they could in order to finally win a game this season. And all of their hard work came through this game. It was a mash-up of great defense and even better offense. There was a triple by Phil, a homerun by Evan and kick after kick by player after player on Cemento Cruz Azul. The runs just kept adding up and they felt confident. They were making catches on the field and plays at they bases. They were playing like a well oiled machine. Things did get a little iffy in the 5th inning when the Miskicks started to come back and give them a run for their money. Azul was able to shut them down however and came out with the win. They even took their winning spirit to the bar and took the Miskicks on the flipcup table as well. All in all it was a winning night for Azul.


The Miskicks

In the 1st inning there were no runs, good catches by both teams and both were quick to outs.

In the second inning Cemento Cruz Azul scores two before The Miskicks get the out.
Finally the Miskicks place a 1st baseman, then move a man to third! Miskicker Kevin takes plate to pull in two runners, including Taylor, followed by Kevin himself for three runs! Trendy ends the inning with a pop up.
Cemento Cruz Azul follows by running two in on a short kick!
Drama strikes when a bounce confuses refs and players alike, is it a strike, a run, or should send the man back to third base?! Cemento Cruz Azul's player heads back to third, and their next kicker brings in a run to seal the deal. Shit! They rake in three more.
Miskicker Becca takes the plate to try and reclaim our honor. Gets out, but Mary takes a base next! She holds things down after Brett pops up!
Well, I stopped taking notes for awhile, because there was a lot of game to focus on. Miskicks lost 9 to 6, but we gave it a solid effort on the final inning. Many thanks to Cemento Cruz Azul for their friendly demeanor after an intense game! We'll save the trash talk for flip cup?

Kicki Longstocking vs. Booze on First

From the desk of Brian Bolton:

Walker: What team are we playing?
Sean: Booze on First
W:no, we play the game first, then we booze at the bar second.
S:wrong, Shot is second.
W: You're drinking hard and early this week I see. I'm thirsty, it's hot out, lets find a corner and give me a shot.
S:But I Don't Pour is in the hot corner (third base).
W: I don't understand this at all.  Let's talk about the game tonight.
S: Tonight is pitching, and Right Now is catching.
W:  That doesn't adhere to any time continuum that I know of. I don't have any questions left.
S: Any Questions is short center, My Tai is left.
W:*blank, soulless stare for a minute* my tais are a little sugary, but at this point I'll drink anything.
S:Don't you want to hear the rest of the roster?
W: At this point, I just want to relax and have fun.  Frankly, I don't kick a damn.

Extra / Safety First Base

What up wonderful wacky WAKA folks,

Now that we've gotten a couple of games in, people should be aware of the extra base at first, also referred to as the safety base, and how to properly use it.  The main thing to remember is that the safety base is there for, yep you guessed it, safety.  The idea is to have fewer collisions.  The applicable rules are rule 1.06, 10.06, and 14.06o if you want to look at the details, but to summarize them:

• Runners from home must use the Extra Base instead of First Base unless:
• they are avoiding collision with a fielder in foul territory
• they are attempting to advance to Second Base
• there is no fielder on First Base
• Fielders must use the First Base unless they are making a play in foul territory.

That's the main gist of it. So fellas if you "mistakenly" forget to use the safety base because you are "distracted" by the hot girl playing first and "accidentally" run into her, you will be called out. 

Happy kicking, flipping, and ... yeah,

Josh  

Straight Ballin' vs. ReUnited Kickaholics

We were still on a high after the first week's win. The whole team was ready to show everyone that, for this newly assembled team, the first win was not just a fluke…. after all we have a Ballin rep to uphold.  The pitches were coming in hot and kick after kick, run after run, we were proving that Straight Ballin was something to be reckoned with! (Fingers crossed I didn’t just jinx us.) I’ll wait until a few more wins to get cocky I suppose or maybe I just have some of those strong jello shots still in my system from last week. I digress, for us Ballers we are looking for another win in this week’s games and hoping that the dark isn’t used as an excuse for poor playing…..

Suck My Kick 2.0 vs. The Miskicks

"The weather was lovely. The birds were chirping, the sun was high (well, until it set, anyway), the fields were dry and thus ripe for the kickballing. Unfortunately, such ample sun has a way of getting in your eyes, which explains why two Miskickers crashed into one another attempting to catch a critical ball during the third inning. I raced home to secure an Ace bandage for Miskicker, Matt, while he took an inning off and our new friend/sub Alex, stepped in. We made it through the game but could not secure the W. After a tough loss and a small injury, we headed to Nick's, ready to compete fiercely at flip cup and defend our honor. 17 games of flip cup later, we finally won something!

Wait, Trendy, did you say 17 games of flip cup later? You didn't win a single game of flip cup until you tried 18 times?

Hey man, there were some close ones in there. And watch out! Now that we've had our off week we're more motivated than ever."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kick in a Box vs. Bender Rehab

KiaB took on Bender in an epic game of kickball. Taking an hour and fifteen minutes to go 3.5 innings, KiaB won 5-4. During the breaks in the action for Bender to get organized, Matt and Erin planned their wedding, the newbies became coveted old-timers, JM got his nickname, Angelo and Kaylyn actually agreed to come to the bar, Axe explained the concepts of ChiRunning, and Chris and Pete found the final digit in pi. It was epic. A conquest completed at the bar with a sweep of flip cup. Next week, last year's finals rematch...

Cemento Cruz Azul vs. Lone Wolfpac

Azul took the field on Thursday determing to get a win. They brought out all of the defensive skills that they could and this game was definitely a defensive battle. Neither team wanted the other team to get a run on the board. No matter what Azul did, the Wolfpac shut us down but Azul stood their ground too. No one passed home plate until the 4th quarter when Azul finally scored a run to make the game 1-0. The Wolfpac came back to tie the game however and we went into the 5th inning. Nerves were tense and both teams knew that this could go either either way. Azul was up first and weren't able to score. Then came the Wolfpac, although they tried they were shut down by Azul's 2nd basement Kelley "Stretch Armstrong" Linhart who grabbed that line drive and made the 3rd out preventing the Wolfpac from upping the score. Although it ended in a tie, what a battle it was. Great game by both teams! And Azul even did is all in the theme of the night. Great job!

A Note from Colleen

Hey everyone, first I want to say thank you to everyone from coming out in your Hawaiian gear last Thursday. I want to congratulate Pitches Loves Kicks for winning the team theme prize and Jacob Christoff for winning the individual prize (I mean he went all out with a coconut bra and a grass skirt and everything). Great Job!

Second, I want to thank everyone for participating in our first fundraiser of the season for Surge For Water. We raised a total of $104!!!! Thanks to everyone who bought raffle tickets. The winners of the prizes were: Waison Cg - $15 Starbucks Card and Nancy Rodriguez - $25 Visa Gift Card (all names were drawn by Sean Wade). Just a heads up regarding our next event in a couple of weeks. We will be having a Flip Off, not to be confused with a Flip Cup Tournament. Fot this one there will only be one winner. We will crowning the best Flip Cup Player in kickball. So for the next few weeks get accustomed to King of the Hill and practice being the best flipper you can be. Thanks everyone!!

 

Kicki Longstocking vs. The Handsome Gentleman's Club (for Men)

As written by Kathryn Broderick, an esteemed member of Kicki Longstocking:

Our shirts are awesome this season. I caught a ball! That's all I really remember about the game. Did we win? I don't think anyone was cranky so we must have. I'm sure there was some good kicking going on. Oh, it was really slippery. Shoes were an issue for our team. There wasn't enough room outside at Nick's for our entire team to play flip cup so some of us played inside against some random guys. Not sure if everyone else won flip cup. Yay kickball!

Ball Me Maybe vs. CBR

BALL ME MAYBE?....

We did and then some last week!

We enjoyed the pregame secret drinking and warmed our bodies up with Pink Team's very strong Jello shots, hence, the team was ready and more than willing to take on the Champions, CBR.
With the Ominous clouds above us and the Amazon like rainfall we knew that each point counted.  I stepped up as our first kicker for the season and so I gave it a good kick, just to see it easily float in to one of the CBR's outfields man... "Not good enough", I thought to myself. 
Luckily, BMM is entirely made up of professional soccer players, so after my misfortune, the girls and guys that followed me made a strong impact on the game immediately.  Getting home runs left and right, and CBR couldnt do anything but just watch as we racked up the points, and of course, keeping them to a shutout! The rainfall only became worst, we could barely see the first base from home plate.. Although we were ready to continue playing in the fifth inning CBR begged us to stop the game because they could no longer withstand such misery!!  Being the kind, gentle team that we are, we, as a team decided that we were satisfied with a 19-0 win.
We knew coming in to the game we had to put our serious faces on for the first game of the season. Not only did we achieve our goals, we surpassed what anyone imagined or remembers from that stormy night.

"BALL ME MAYBE?" you ask, well teams, await your turn, because just as CBR received our fury, you all will soon experience the wrath of, BALL. ME. MAYBE!!!!!!!!!!

Good Luck and Ball Bless!!!!

Co-Captain ~~~ Amirrrrrrrr ~~~~~~

Kick in a Box vs. Cemento Cruz AZUL

Kick in a Box kicked some balls in last week's match up with the blue team. The infielders displayed great versatility on defense, but the outfielders had flair. And extra base running was key on offense.  KiaB kept the winning streak going with a victory at the bar. Bar MVPs were the Erins, Matt and Amy.

Predict the Final Standings!

To pass the time on this rainy day, and because who knows when our season might actually start, I thought it would be fun to have a contest to see who can most accurately predict the final season standings. The winner will get something - definitely pride, probably also something related to booze (maybe even booze itself!). Here are the final standings from last season and below are the list of teams for this season. If you want to get fancy, you can also predict the final flip cup standings as well. (and here's the link to those standings from last season) Just make it clear in the comments!


Fall 2012 IL Millennium Teams
Ball Me Maybe
Bender Rehab
Booze on First
CBR
Cemento Cruz Azul
Kick in a Box
Kicki Longstocking
Lone Wolfpac
Pitches Love Kicks
Play Together
ReUnited Kickaholics
Straight Ballin
Suck My Kick 2.0
The Handsome Gentleman's Club (for Men)

Good luck!

Kicki Longstocking vs Wolfpac

Kicki's side of the story:

This week's GMOT has been written by Bob Saget circa 1990 America's Funniest Home Videos in that high-pitched voice he used to do.

"Oh, I'm going to catch this ball, that should be easy. Whoops! I dropped it!"

"Let me just gently tap this grounder up the middle. Whoops! I popped it up to the pitcher!"

"I'll just let my fellow fielder catch this ball. Whoops! No one caught it!"

Now, some Bob Saget circa 2012.

"Kicki may have fucked some shit up, like I once did to one of the Olsen twins, but they still fucking won. And isn't that all that matters? Besides not pooping your pants? Am I right?!?! Did I mention that Kicki flipped the shit out of some cups? They did. It was almost like that time I flipped one of the Olsen twins around...Olsen twin sex!"

Nice Kicks, Wanna Flip? vs. One Kick Wonders

From the pens of NKWF?:

This past week was a trying time for Nice Kicks, Wanna Flip?. With Kim, their fearless leader, off on the foreign terrain of Florida and “No F’s” Freid off in Philly, the proverbial keys were handed off to rookie sensation Jimmy Schultz (of the Peoria Schultzes). NKWF suffered a difficult 2-1 loss and bench coach Mike Martynowycz  in an after game interview was quoted as saying, “GOOB!” Whatever that means…

After the game and a verbal lashing from an irate Schultz, the team picked up their boombox and did their walk of shame over to Nick’s for the tournament of cup flipping. Bar captain/pirate, Nikki McFarland intimidated their first round opponents into submission (they actually just didn’t come to the bar). In round 2, well, the other team must have cheated because it resulted in a loss.

In an unexpected twist to the evening, a captains challenge was called for and bar pirate McFarland stammered over to a downtrodden and bitter Schultz and explained to him that he would be participating. McFarland’s intuition proved to be spot on as Schultz managed to pull himself up by the bootstraps and come in a solid 3^rd place. 

Smelly balls?

No, that's not what's meant by foul balls.  I haven't really gotten too many rules questions this year (maybe I've been smelly), but one thing I've observed is that not everyone is fully aware of what constitutes a foul ball and how foul balls are handled in WAKA.  Some things are well known, but some not so much, so here's the rundown:

• A ball landing, or initially touched, in foul territory is foul.
• A ball rolling into foul territory before reaching 1st or 3rd base is foul.
• Fouls don't count as strikes.
• Four fouls is an out.
• A kick made on or above the knee is foul.
• A ball touched more than once by the kicker is a foul.
• A ball kicked outside the kicking box (like in front of the plate) is a foul.
• A person jumping from fair territory is still in fair territory while in the air.
• All fouls can be caught for an out as long as they don't touch a foreign object such as a fence or tree.
• and Runners can tag up and advance on foul balls until the pitcher gets the ball on the pitcher's mound.

For the applicable rules, see rules 1.04, 9.01, 9.02, 13.01, 13.02 and the kickball.com rules FAQ.

What's your favorite position?

We've already touched on pitcher's position in an earlier post, but another position question was asked regarding the number of players allowed to play in the infield.  The answer is that there are not restrictions on the number of players allowed to play in the infield vs. the outfield.  There are also not restrictions on boy / girl positions (except that you must field at least 4 of each).  The only restrictions (besides the pitcher ones mentioned previously) are that:

• All players must remain behind the diagonal line between 1st - 3rd base until the ball is kicked except 
• the catcher who must remain behind the kicker until the ball is kicked.

Initial position infractions result in a warning (plus I reserve the right to issue a spanking at my judgment :-p and subsequent infractions result in the kicker being awarded 1st base.

There are quite a few applicable rules in the official rules and more (especially regarding the catcher's position) on the FAQ page.

As far as positions off the field, I say let yoga be your guide and enabler :-)

Flip Cupdate: Tournament Time

Quite a bit of shaking up throughout the standings after the busiest flip cup Thursday of the year. Suck My Kick rode a dominating 3-match clinic to the #1 seed in the tournament. Kicki Longstocking, Kick in a Box, and CBR all took their second losses of the season but also secured byes through the first round by going 1-1 on the night.

First round matchups are below, highlighted by the Wolfpac, who played a league-high 9 matches during the regular season and will take on the winless Anti-Heroes, and the 7-10-seed Bender Rehab-Cemento Cruz AZUL duel that pits two longtime league rivals who add their respective shirt colors to death and taxes as the only things you can count on in this life.

Check out the full schedule, standings, and tournament bracket here.

And here are the results from last week and the schedule for this week:

 

Rules for the Flip Cup Tournament of Champions:

- All rounds are Best of 7 (first team to 4 wins, don't have to play all 7)
- First 2 rounds: teams can agree on number of players (like regular season)
- Final Four: Seven players per side
- Higher Seed gets to pick table

First 2 rounds will be played Thursday, May 31 (Kickball Week 7)
Final Four will be played Thursday, June 7 (Kickball Week 8)
All games played at Nick's Beergarden

Happy Flipping!