Waiting, Beating, Losing, and Gouging

We sat around all day. The two teams we were supposed to play were too afraid of the Rod terror that awaited them.

We watched Argus almost pull out a miracle over Lism as they like to be called.

We watched the Terrors destroy Cobra Kai. So much for world domination.

We were loose, we were limber, we were ready to beat the Terrors for the first time.

We did, taking them down in two frames.

Then it was time for the defending champs. It could have been a matchup of the last two champs but instead it was Rod Time.

Unfortunately, we were out quicker than the radio edit of "Infatuation." We weren't a match for the dominating play of the champs. We were smoked.

We drowned our sorrows in team name awards and pizza.



Rod Playoff MVP Jim holds the team trophy proudly. He came up with the team name so he is the lucky one who gets to display the hardware in his apartment. Congratuations Jim!


Balgavy continues the sulk even after four slices of delicious pizza.

Slice's take.
Slice's flickr from which I stole three of these photos.
The Park Slope Gastronome

Still no word from the Terrors yet.

Last season, we went 5-7. This one, we went 5-3 and made it to the finals. We finally got the Terrors monkey off of our backs. Now, we know what task awaits. Boccelism. They have taken us out in each of the last two playoffs. We can beat them even if it takes 23 team conferences per frame. We had the crowd on our side against them but we were so bad that we couldn't get them fully behind us to make a difference. Next season, the championship will be ours. At the very least, some good pizza can be ours.

UPDATE
Youthlarge's take on the day's events.

Split Decision

The lesson of tonight was a tried and true one: you win some, you lose some. IYWMB took down Jonny Cakes in three games, dominating the last one 7-0. But I think it took a lot out of us. Against Boccelism in the second match of our doubleheader, we played hard but they just had too much ammunition. It was a fun night, and we all played decently well. Adam was the MVP, with some crazy accurate shots and unwavering confidence. We tried some different combinations of players, kept things relaxed and loose, and didn't take ourselves too seriously (unlike certain opponents who take a half hour conference to figure out each shot).

We finished out the season 4-2, having lost only to the two finalists from last season's tournament. That's a solid improvement over last season's record. We should have a decent seeding in the tournament. Whatever happens there, we did ourselves proud in the regular season. And we still have the best team name and best t-shirts, regardless of whether some other lame-os win "best team name" this time again.

If You Want My Dinkins

Earlier tonight, or I suppose last night, technically speaking, If You Want My Bocce took on last season's "Best Team Name" winner, Mayor Ed Boch. I would like to point out that not one of them asked me "hey, how ya doin'?", to which I would have responded "I'm doin' fine", like the good New Yorker that I am. Humph. Anyway, we beat them 7-2, 7-5. I would go into more detail, but it was fairly uneventful.

Despite the absence of our fearless leader and his lovely wife, we all rolled pretty well. To be honest, I wasn't too pleased with my own performance, but I thought we did really well as a team. Sarah, who is an even rookier rookie than I am, was phenomenal. She came up big for us a bunch of times (photographic evidence of this coming soon).

So next week we're off and then we have a doubleheader on August 7th, where we will face off against Jonny Cakes and last season's champions, Boccelism. Unfortunately, I'll be on vacation, so I won't be there to see Captain Boccelism feel the full weight of all that is Rod. I'll be rocking the green up in Maine though.

A Doubleheader Sweep

First of all, I can't quite believe the fine play of Team Argus myself. They took out the defending champions last night before they played us. That made me a little nervous. Team Captain seemingly went to Bocce Summer Camp over the past few months according to Dixie Toot.

But a quick 7-0 drubbing in two quick frames set my mind at ease.

The second game was a classic. They took a 5-1 lead but we slowly came back one point at a time. All the while, the team we were playing next was stewing at the lateness of the hour. In fact, one of the guys who I believe used to be on Chewbocce and had a bit of a run-in with Glad Rags last season during a match saddled up to us before the first Argus match to criticize how long the first match of the evening was taking. A chance to make a new friend or a classic case of passive aggresive strategy?

Anyhow, we lost the second game 7-6.

The third game was all Rod though. Again, we won 7-0.

Match 2 saw us pitted us against The DOT Bocce Club. Word has it that the captain of the defending champions not only does not like the team name but is quite pleased with himself that he, in fact, does not work for the Dept. of Transportation.

Anyway, we spanked them 7-0 in the first game.

In the second game, we took a quick 6-0 lead. Glad Rags had a chance to win the game but couldn't quite pull it off. I only mention this because if he had, his point total of the night would have been a sparkling 28-0. When we won 7-2, it ended up being a still impressive 28-2. Beth (we need a nickname from you honey) ended the evening at 21-2 in matches she rolled.

We were a loose bunch. A very loose bunch. And it showed. We all did well. We also added another Rod, Sarah, who also needs a nickname.

I'll be leaving you fine fine players until the playoffs to travel the world and scour every nook and cranny for a bocce edge to bring back and share.

There's rumbling from Rod Traitor, Lethal Dose of Love, that he's been biding his time until I'm gone and then he's going to show his pretty face at Floyd. I guess, by that measure, he'll make himself scarce again come playoff time when I return?

Anyway, keep up the good work. You are a class act and have sent me off to Asia in great style. I look forward to reading about all the victories in this space while I'm gone.

Not a Bad Start

If You Want My Bocce went head to head with the 2nd place finishers in the Spring Playoffs - Old Dirty Barristers.

We brought in a rookie - Beth - too new to even have a Rod nickname.

We quickly fell behind 6-0 in game one before roaring back to take a 7-6 victory! Actually, they kind of gave us a bunch of points but still ...

The second game saw us meekly fall 7-3.

The third game was good - at first. We took a 5-3 lead before succumbing to a 7-5 defeat.

We have held our own in our last two matches - against the top two teams in the playoffs. Not bad.

We just don't quite have the killer instinct yet. But once we get it, watch the fuck out.

An Indie Rock Lodge

Is how Dixie Toot described the new Union Hall in Park Slope. Holy mackerel, this place is incredible. A swanky basement, a classy bathroom, an outdoor seating spot, plenty of New Pornographers on the jukebox, and two bocce courts! It was nice to enjoy it last night before the inevitable crowds descend.

In preparation for tonight's first If You Want My Bocce match, Dixie Toot and I went 4-0 last night. We also took out an Italian cocky asshole and his pal 7-0. Italy may have won the World Cup, but last night, all of the glory went to the U.S. in my little corner of the world.