Team Canada falls to 0-3

Team Canada: World Mounties suffered their 3rd straight loss last night to "You Look Like I Need a Drink". Even with the loss, the team has definitely improved since the franchise debut two weeks ago in a 17-0 loss, which was followed up by a 15-3 loss in game 2. Last night was a much closer 8-4 loss. The team is definitely moving in the right direction, just one bad 6-run inning last night cost us a chance to win. We'll get one...soon...I hope!

Pregame stretching (or, me falling down, pretending to stretch if you were actually there)

Shelley, Lauren (who doesn't play because she doesn't kick balls she says) and Jill during pregame ceremonies

The pregame gang signs obviously didn't do the trick

Me, scoring the 2nd run in franchise history...for the record Jill scored right before me.

Jill, shoeing away the cameras after a demoralizing loss. Stevens wiping away the tears, while Connie and Patrick laugh at them

Post-game party...we're all winners!

Being in the Right Place at the Right Time

This wasn't even actually me, but it directly affects me, so I thought I'd tell a quick story. A friend of mine (I won't use names so that there's no chance of anyone getting in trouble somehow) went down to Philips Arena yesterday to get us tickets to the Thrashers home opener, which is just over 2 weeks away now! While in line, my friend, we'll call her Bob, for fun. Bob noticed a bunch of people around the box office who apparently work for Turner. Security guard types is what Bob called them. Bob strikes up a conversation with one of em, we'll call him "Mohinder" (since I just watched Heroes last night!). Bob asks Mohinder why they're all here in the middle of a day on a Tuesday? Apparently, they work for Turner and they were all given free passes to redeem for 5 Hawks and 5 Thrashers games - 4 seats per game! (Must be nice!). Well, Bob picks up on the fact, that Mohinder may not be a Thrashers fan. Turns out, he is not. Bob also learns that Mohinder enjoys beer, and a trade is born. Bob offers some free passes to a brewery, which, we'll call "Sour Ice". So in exchange for some free beer at the Sour Ice brewery, Mohinder gives Bob his 5 sets of Thrashers passes, and Bob gives Mohinder several free admission passes to Sour Ice Brewery Tours.

It gets better! Bob then goes to the box office to redeem these for tickets. Unfortunately, these passes were not able to be used for opening night, but Bob, smartly, picked several weekend games throughout the season and not only got 4 free tickets to each game. But 4 of the 5 games are tickets for the lower level section! There is a game against the defending champion Detroit Red Wings, and former Thrasher, Marian Hossa, in March that is apparently selling fast, so we will be in the lower portion of the upper level. We'll survive!!!!

This is huge news because our friend "BJ" no longer works at Philips. So tickets are gonna have to be paid for a bit more frequently this season. Good start though!!!!!

Way to go Bob!!!!!!

My Hatred of the Braves Increases

As a Mets fan living in the ATL, life is rough. I've been to 8 games this year...

April 4: Mets @ Braves, ppd. rain
April 5: Braves 11, Mets 5
April 6: Braves 3, Mets 1
May 20: Braves 6, Mets 1
May 20: Braves 6, Mets 2
May 21: Braves 11, Mets 4
May 22: Braves 4, Mets 2
June 7: Phillies 6, Braves 2 (did I mention I'm beginning to hate the Phillies more than the Braves?)
Sept 18: Phillies 4, Braves 3

The Mets are now a half game behind the Phillies for first place and I know why. It's because the Braves hate me more than I hate them. This year the Phillies are 9-0 in Atlanta. That's right, they've won ALL 9 games. The Mets on the other hand, ALWAYS do terribly in Atlanta, and they haven't won yet in 6 tries. My theory - the Braves do NOT want the Mets to win the division. Enough so, that they intentionally lose all of their games to the Phillies, while they go all out against the Mets.

This weekend, the Mets come to Atlanta. I know I should stay away, you know, to help the team. But I can't. I'm definitely going Friday night, possibly Sunday if I can talk Lauren into it... I'll take Saturday off, gives them a fighting chance to win one game at least!

It was cool though, not only did I get free tix through work, right behind home plate...but it was $1 hot dog night! After spending two whole dollars on dinner, after looking at the ticket, it said that this ticket is good for a "$10 food, beverage and merchandise credit". After kickball last night (recap to come) I didn't feel like drinking, so I wasted my play money on a pretzel and a 85oz coke which was so big it was actually very difficult to carry. The pretzel wasn't very good and I managed to drink about one-twentieth of the drink. Oh well, it was free...sorta!

We sat next to this older guy who has been on a tour of all 30 major league ballparks and Turner Field was the 30th of 30 stadiums for him to visit. Pretty expensive hobby, but I would love to do that someday!

Down Goes Team Canada

Team Canada: World Mounties made their regular season kickball debut on Wednesday in front of a packed house crowd of, ummm, 5 fans. Before the first game even started, the injury report was significant. Ryan and Devon were both out with leg injuries. I was probable (knee), Cintron was questionable (work). I decided I will go ahead and include myself on the injury report (which, by the way, isn't real) to avoid any Tom Brady-like superstitious injuries.

Our inaugural season got off to a great start with me winning the paper-rock-scissors portion of the competition and earning home field for the game. And it pretty much was all downhill from there. After 3 innings we were down 3-0 when all hell broke loose. With 2 runners on base and two outs in the top of the 4th inning, a slow - and I mean SLOW - ground ball was hit to first where Cintron just had to pick it up and we'd be out of the inning. I didn't even watch, I was jogging off the field as if the inning was over. I look back towards first and somehow the ball got away from him and is rolling into foul territory. We never recovered. 8 runs scored in the 4th inning and all of a sudden we were losing 11-0. Yikes!

Fast forward to the bottom of the 5th. Time was running out, we were down 12-0 when I got my first hit of the year to lead off the inning. Rochelle followed me with another hit, when I got greedy and took off for third. I slid -d'oh - and was called out even though I was never tagged. I was pissed! And, bleeding...again. At least my knee pads came in handy. This time it was my arm (see below). After that excruciating inning was over, the umpire not only admitted that he blew the call, but that our game was over (we only get a one hour time slot). The problem was that it was only 8:24. (Rule #1 - "Each game will be 7 innings or one hour in length, whichever comes first."). Since we started at 7:30, we still had 6 more minutes. I begged and pleaded, telling the ump that since he blew that call, he needs to give us this one more inning...we had to at least try to score ONE run! Well, eventually he gave in and let us play another inning. And 5 runs were scored...but none by us. We lost 17-0.

Chicks dig scars, right?