Weekend bullet points

In a packed weekend for me, a few observations and news items:

• St. Kilda and Collingwood continued a recent run of dramatic, tense Grand Finals (2005, 2006, 2009) by turning in a thrilling draw. Back next week for more...
  
• Gotham Girls Roller Derby regained the Eastern Region Championship, taking out the Derby in the Burbs tournament with a 30 point win over a fast finishing Philly team.
  
• My vote for best bout of the weekend, though, goes to Steel City's huge comeback win over Carolina to take 5th place. From 43 points down at half time, the ladies of Pittsburgh came out like a whole new team - super organized and disciplined - and won by 36. Amazing stuff.
  
• If you umpire a mostly social sport purely for the fun of it, you'll soon stop when the fun goes away. And believe me, the fun goes away very fast when people start sniping from the bench, openly questioning good decisions, and screaming in your face.
  
• Alabama retained the Silver Ball once more, although the underdog Razorbacks of Arkansas gave everything in their pursuit of the mythical trophy, barely falling short in a 24 to 20 game. Next week, previous holder Florida visits the Tide.
  
• Columbia ran away from visiting Towson, 24 to 10. Go Lions!
  
• Carmelo Anthony could be a Brooklyn Net soon. Stay tuned.

More dishes than a restaurant

I went to the Warriors-Knicks game tonight, and was privileged to see Chris Duhon set a New York Knicks record of 22 assists in their 138-125 win. A fair number went to the almost unknown David Lee, who had 20 points and 10 rebounds. At half time. He finished with 37 and 21.

Every time I attend a sports event with Trolley (captain of the mighty Gothams), a record happens. Well, twice anyway. The last was a Brooklyn Cyclones strikeout record of 16, if I recall correctly.

What we discovered today

When umpiring modern style (well, 1895) baseball, I am a very poor caller of balls and strikes. When umpiring 1864 rules, I am considerably better.

The Gothams - now with a season record of 16-16 - won the latter and lost the former against the Mountain Athletic Club. These are the greatest Gothams by far, and I am so proud to have been a part of this season. And thanks to all the players for being so kind about the poor calls!

In other news, Missouri retained the Silver Ball with a 42-21 victory against an overmatched Buffalo team which hung around for longer than anyone expected. Columbia, ever the lovable loser, gave up 15 points in the last quarter to throw away a lead and bow to Fordham.

Oh, and Michigan State beat Notre Dame.

It's a knockout

The Gotham Base Ball Club ventured south to play Newark on Saturday, and we had one of the great days in the history of the club.

Game 1 (1873 rules): Newark 4, Gotham 26
Game 2 (1864 rules): Newark 2, Gotham 13

And I was knocked out when fielding first base, in a collision with a base runner. So it was a day of fun an excitement all around.

In other baseball news, yes we heard about Pat Venditte, and yes, I know, we should have posted about him, but everyone else already did, so there was no point, really.

In other general sports news, the ever improving Gotham Girls Roller Derby defeated the all powerful Texas squad for the first time at the East Coast Extravaganza in Philadelphia. This propelled them to number one in my computer ratings, and likely in the next vote too.

Baseball roundup

Again with the lazy after the fact posting. So, here's how I spent my weekend:


The Gotham Base Ball Club traveled to the McLaughlin Vineyard in CT, to take on the Newtown Sandy Hook Club. We lost at 1867 rules, but got our revenge at 1864 rules - the significant difference being that in 1864, you could catch the ball on the bound in fair territory. Congratulations to Andrew, who broke my single game club record for walks, going 0 for 0 with 5 free passes in the second game.


Then I went with Beth and Ken to see Yankee Stadium II, probably for the last time before it is replaced by Yankee Stadium III. Naturally, we wanted to see Monument Park, so we got there super early. At the end of a very long day, the Yankees scored 4 in the 8th to squeak by the sorry Mariners.


Finally, kudos to the Columbia Lions, 2008 IVY LEAGUE BASEBALL CHAMPIONS! They'll be at Coastal Carolina for the regional round of the NCAA tournament.

Playing catch up

Wow, we have been lazy. So, to summarize news that has caught the eye in the last couple of weeks:

• Roger Clemens, like Barry Bonds before him, might be thrown under the bus by an ex-mistress
• The Gotham Base Ball Club opened the season with a glorious win over the Excelsior Club, highlighted by a superb 2-3 double play with the bases loaded and one out
• Larry Brown has inexplicably been hired by another team so he can "teach the kids" despite his pathological hatred of rookies
• The Baltimore Orioles are in first place
• Barry Zito is in the bullpen
• An incredible replica of Ebbets Field has been constructed in Second Life
• The Gotham Girls Roller Derby travel team soundly thrashed their rivals from Philly in an ugly penalty fest, with Andrew and David (aka Hewlett Smackard and Linear Aggression) working stats
• Alex Rodriguez is on the DL, a severe blow to those of us who want to see him overtake a certain someone as career home run king
• The various league commissioners will today (again) trash the idea of any kind of playoff for the college football championship
• Missouri still holds the Silver Ball

I told you so

I'll be seen as singling out one player here, but: Roger Clemens had a fabulous career at Boston. In 1996, still a very good pitcher, he was no longer an overpowering star. Dan Duquette, who let Clemens go from the Red Sox, is famously and derisively remembered for saying Roger was in the "twilight of his career."

Of course, we all know that Roger Clemens went to Toronto and became the second coming of Cy Young. The Yankees and Astros then benefited from this for some years afterwards, most of his best work coming when Brian McNamee was his strength coach. Work ethic? Revenge motive? How did he defy the curve of declining skills, which he was already sliding down, for so long? Now we know.

Join the club, Roger. Your friends are all waiting. Some of them we knew about, some are surprises to me. Andy Pettite. Miguel Tejada. Sammy Sosa. Eric Gagne - I cannot tell you how sad I am to read that name. Barry Bonds. Chuck Knoblauch. Mark McGwire. Rafael Palmeiro. Jason Giambi. Jeremy Giambi. Jose Canseco. Juan Gonzalez. Todd Pratt. Kevin Young. Todd Hundley. Mike Lansing. Kevin Brown. Mike Stanton. Kent Mercker. Jerry Hairston, Jr. Paul Lo Duca. Matt Herges. Rick Ankiel. Paul Byrd. Jay Gibbons. Troy Glaus. Jason Grimsley. Jose Guillen. Gary Matthews, Jr. Ron Villone. John Rocker. Scott Schoeneweis. Ismael Valdez. Matt Williams. Denny Neagle. David Justice. Gary Sheffield. Ricky Bones. David Segui. Alex Cabrera. Mo Vaughan. Glenallen Hill. Rondell White. Matt Franco. Brian Roberts. Randy Velarde. Benito Santiago. Jack Cust. Lenny Dykstra. Gregg Zaun. The list goes on. And on. And on. And we can be very sure it's just the tip of the iceberg.

And once more, to state the obvious: even in the time when Major League Baseball's policy did not expressly prohibit steroids or human growth hormone, U.S. law certainly did. If a player broke the law in some other way- assaulting an opponent, stealing equipment, breaking into a locker room- we would rightly label him a cheat. Even though baseball likely has no rule expressly prohibiting the shooting of another player, or the placement of a poisonous snake in his locker. So let's have no apologia. And let's all hope A-Rod is clean.

Baseball is rotten to the core. And I'm sick to my stomach.

At least the Gothams are in the clear. Alcohol isn't banned, is it?

Season's end

The 1864 season is over at last, at least for another year. While Andrew... (what did you do on Sunday, anyway?) was absent, the Gotham Club of New York bravely ventured to far flung western New Jersey, there meeting calamitous defeat at the hands of the Atlantic Club, but then rallying with a fine 18 to 14 victory over Flemington's Neshanock Club. Now I can rest my dead right arm for six months, and hope that by next year it will remember how to swing a bat.

In less important baseball news, clubs founded in 1901 and 1993 meet tonight to begin the contest for the World Series. Personally, I don't feel it counts unless a team dates to at least the 1880s. That rules out the entire American League, of course, but then they have this idiotic courtesy batter, so I have no sympathy at all.

Lex clavitoris designati rescindena est.

If the junior circuit must do things differently, let them revive the foul bound, or run the bases clockwise, or re-introduce the idea of a "no call" on balls and strikes. Baseball is nine against nine, and anything else is simply wrong.