2008 - The Recap

Let's take a look back at my personal missions and see how i fared:

July 17th, 2008 entry - Click Here

1. Read 5 books.

The Time Traveler's Wife (Never Finished - stopped on page 150 or something, the story is too jumpy)
The Five People You Meet in Heaven (Done)
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (Done)
The Kite Runner (Done)
Death Watch (Done)

Failed.

2. Take a class for Fall Quarter to run the brain blood flow.

I enrolled in a Spanish course at LBCC, attended class for about 2 and a half weeks and then dropped it. Sweet.

Failed.

3. Complete grad-school application for Masters in Math Education

I completed the application for CSULB but I didn't get in. My brother (currently a English teacher at Long Beach Cabrillo HS says I should try to apply to CSU Dominguez cause that's where he got his credentials cause he too didn't get into CSULB - I'm not sure if I wanna teach anymore, I need to figure something out). My little brother and sister both got into CSULB. Congrats to them!

I need to start a business or something because I am sick of working.

Failed.

4. Do push-ups or lift weights 3 times a week.

I have failed miserably in this area as well. Although, I've been lifting weights the last two nights. I need to get some running incorporated into the daily regimen as well.

Failed.

5. Spend the rest of my time with friends and family.

The holidays have been a great source for time-spending and catching up with the homies and the crazy familia.

Passed!

Total Results: 1/5 (20%)
Grade: Failed.

I'm gonna fix this. Hopefully, I'm just not saying it cause it sounds good and go out and make it happen. I just gotta get my mind right and I'm feeling the determination rising. Hear me cause I'm hollering it up right now..I'll be ready in the new year.

I wanna thank God for not taking anybody from my life this past year. Considering what happened in 2007, that's definitely a win. If you're out partying tonight, have fun and be safe. Of course, never forget to laugh and love. Live it up!

Happy New Year 2009!

League Updates - December 2008

LegalZoom Softball (Los Angeles - The Grove)
Season #1: 4-8-0, no playoffs
Season #2: 4-8-0, no playoffs
Season #3: 8-4-0, no playoffs
Season #4: currently in season, 8-1-0.
Next Game: Tuesday, 1/6, 9:00pm

LegalZoom Basketball (Hollywood - LA Fitness)
Season #1: 7-0 season [finished 1st], 2-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #2: 5-3 season [finished 5th], 3-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #3: 7-1 season [finished 1st], 2-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #4: 5-2 season [finished 1st], 2-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #5: 5-4 season [finished 2nd], 2-0 playoffs [won championship]
Next Game: New Season starts in January.

Hitmen Softball (Long Beach - Joe Rodgers Field)
Season #1: 7-3-0 season [finished 2nd], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in semi's]
Season #2: 8-2-0 season [finished 2nd], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in semi's]
Season #3: 0-10-0 season [finished last], missed playoffs.
Season #4: 2-7-1 season [finished last], missed playoffs.
Season #5: Unregistered.
Next Game: I'm gonna try to start this team back up some time after winter cause David Peng ain't making it happen.

LBC Basketball (Wilmington - Banning HS)
Season #1: 5-5 season [finished 5th], 3-2 playoffs [reached semi's]
Season #2: 7-3 season [finished 2nd], 1-1 playoffs [reached quarterfinals]
Season #3: 6-4, season [finished 4th], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in semi's]
Season #4: currently in season, 9-0.
Next Game: Playoffs start on weekend of January 10th-11th.

CrookedStraight.com Basketball (San Marino - San Marino HS)
Season #1: 5-5 season [finished 3rd], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in 1st round].
Unregistered.

NotGuiltyBrand.com Basketball (Pasadena - Eagle Rock HS)
Season #1: 3-7 season [finished 5th], 2-1 playoffs [lost in finals]
Season #2: 2-8 season [finished 5th], missed playoffs.
Season #3: 6-4 season, [finished 1st], 1-1 playoffs [lost in quarterfinals]
Season #4: currently in season, 8-0.
Next Game: I am no longer on this team. I'll be back next season. I didn't want to pay $75 to play 4 games.

Rockets Softball (Woodland Hills - Northrup Grunman)
Season #1: 7-4-0 season, [finished 5th], no playoffs
Next Game: I'm not sure when the new season is starting. Hopefully not soon cause it's cold as hell.

Regular Season Perfected

December 21st, 2008, 2:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

Our LBC division-title game versus the previous 7-1 Hitmen (now 7-2) was a no contest. We jumped on them early and held on for a 71-62 victory. Those fools were huge as hell and talking hella trash to me cause I was the smallest one. Too bad I ended up blocking 2 shots and giving them a lil bit of KG verbage right back at 'em. This game had the playoff feel to it and was pretty exciting.

I really didn't completely trust my healing ankle during pre-game but I think it's safe to say that it's good enough to play again. I love basketball!

I had at least 5 steals. But I really made my mark in the 4th quarter where I hit a 3-ball, blocked 2 shots on help-D, and made my free throws late in the game. The perfect season is completed at 9-0. This is pretty impressive, considering we ran 5-deep to start the season and 6-deep for the entire season. Time for the playoffs.

Thank You Mother Nature

December 16th, 2008, 9:00 PM PST @ Pan Pacific Park

The weather is hella cold and my ankle isn't feeling so great.

Here is the email from the League Office.

All games are canceled for this evening.
December 16, 2008 2:15 P.M.
Viet Nguyen 12/16/2008 10:14 AM
LEGALZOOM.COM, INC.
7083 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 210
Los Angeles, CA 90028

LBC Wins by 47

December 14th, 2008, 3:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

My little brother filled in for me as I try to get my ankle back to full-strength. I heard we won by forty over the Eastsidaz.

Solid.

It's hard to live with no exerice. I stayed home all-day Sunday (and I mean all-day!) cleaning and cooking. It was much needed but I gotta find someone to fill this role cause Mom and siblings aint cutting it.

HealthNet Forfeits

December 11th, 2008, 6:30 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

HealthNet forfeits and we end the season with a bootleg win. Sweet.

My ankle probably wasn't ready for this game so this was great news.

Six Straight Wins

December 9th, 2008, 7:30 PM PST @ Pan Pacific Park

I'm just too good.

I got to the park early on Tuesday night before 7pm and I was the only one there with a bunch of soccer players along with one of my teammates' Dad (Bin's father). I wanted to get there early so I can warm up my injured ankle because we were pushing 8 players for the night. There were no subs to fill in. That, and we really don't have a backup pitcher.

I got my laps in and then Adam showed up so I got my warmup tosses in with him. When 7:30 rolled around, we barely had eight players to start the game while the other team, Throwdowns, had a solid 11.

We played pretty much the whole game with 8 players (with no second baseman and three outfielders - in softball, you're allowed four).

Considering that our leadoff man - for the night, went 0 for 6, we were pretty lucky to put up a 13 runs. I was batting right behind him in the two slot and of course, I killed the ball all 4 times I batted right-handed (including a homerun where I predicted in my head that I was gonna hit with the left-fielder playing so shallow). But yeah I hit it on the screws in my first five plate appearances (feeling real good), then decided to bring back the switch-hitting and struck out swinging in my last at-bat in the seventh and final inning hah. Even with the strikeout, a 5 for 6 day is pretty solid considering it was cold as hell and people were swinging and missing left and right. That just makes me look that much better hah.

As for the pitching, I pitched well for throwing on a bummed ankle. Everything went well in this game except for the fact that I decided to make a spectacular grab in the last inning and turned my ankle again. So now I'm limping around again - for the time being. I have another game tonight so we'll see what happens.

On a side note, I have some extremely bad news to report but I'm not gonna report it hah. I'm not big on being a downer. I don't think there's any point in being sad when you can make yourself happy but right now, I am extremely down and out.

Sprained Ankle

December 6th, 2008, 3:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

I blew my ankle Saturday afternoon.

This sucks cause our team is only 6-deep and the game was already decided when I drove into the paint for a floater and landed on some dude's foot. Good game me.

I'm still hobbling around.

We're now 7-0. I think we won by 9 or something, 91-82. We were up 20-4, three quarters through the first quarter.

The Manny Factor

December 4th, 2008, 6:30 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

We played like crap in this one and got beat bad. I had to play left field cause Kev was taking care of his business elsewhere. I made some spectacular plays but it didn't matter. We just dont have the same confidence offensively and defensively without Killer Kev present. It's like the Dodgers without Manny Ramirez. Good game us.

Title Five-Peat

December 3rd, 2008, 8:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

LegalZoom 67, Milwaukee's Best 61.

Our semi-final game was a tight one from the get-go. Neither team was up by more than 6 points. We only had five guys present at the start of the game and I was a little worried for our rebounding and interior defense because they have this one big beast black guy named Preston. The starting five was me, Killer Kev, Big Money Frank, the Michigan Man, and Mikey Miles.

I really don't remember much about this game (which is pretty sad considering it happened just last night hah) except for the fact that Big John showed up around the 10 minute-mark in the first half (we now have a bench) and Larry (the 7th guy for us) coming to the rescue by showing up with 9 minutes left in the game in the 2nd half.

We trailed by two points after Ryan Lagod hit a 3 three pointer in the corner with about 5 minutes left but then we just locked down and took the game over from there. We won by 6.


December 3rd, 2008, 9:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

Now this game I do remember. I didn't think our last championship (4-peat) game would ever be matched as far as craziness goes. I was wrong.

Let's fastforward to the last three minutes of the game because everything else isn't note-worthy. We're in a timeout in which Mikey Miles alerty and smartly called to stop the clock because of the upcoming free throws.

Score with 3:02 remaining: Trojans 60, LegalZoom 54. Situation: Marlon just chucked up a three pointer and missed but he was foul. He hits the first free throw, misses the second, and hits the third. Score: Trojans 60, LegalZoom 56. Let's see, we're down by four points with under three minutes left in the game. This sounds like Larry Time. No not the white Larry Bird but the black Larry Dillingham. On our next possession, Big L takes it to the rack with two power dribbles, a spin, and some more power dribbling for a layup off glass. Money. Two point game, Trojans 60, LegalZoom 58. Back on defense, they get a penetration in the paint but Big John comes over on help defense and beats the hell out of this black dude's (probably a bad term here because there were a lot of black dudes on the court at this juncture in the game hah) layup attempt AND controls the rebound/steal. Of course, he hands the ball off to Larry right away and Larry brings it up court. Larry finds a seam between two defenders and drives again, this time, dishing off to a cutting John for a easy layup and we're all knotted up at 60 a piece with about 1:50 left in the game.

After a couple of wasted possessions, one in which Larry got into the paint and fell down and was granted a timeout, another in which a Kev-wide-open tying three missed and a John gimme left-handed scoop layup clanked long, we found ourselves with possession with thirty seconds left and time-out us. We discuss a play to get the ball inbounded (this was our main concern with 30 seconds left because we were gonna hold on to it and take the last shot). Well, we were able to inbound the ball successfully (great news considering what happened in our last game down the stretch). Larry holds the ball up top and the clock ticks down to 10 seconds. He gets a quick double and gives it to Marlon. Marlon drives inside the paint and is quickly trapped by two Trojans with five seconds left. He jumps backward and throws up a prayer that bricks badly. Rebound Trojans with 2.1 seconds left on the clock. Timeout Trojans.

Out of the timeout, one of the Trojans launched the ball fullcourt and it's deflected by Miles but is chased down by their point guard (let's call him Cornrolls cause he plays @ lunchtime and he used to have corn rolls). Anyway, Cornrolls grabs the rebound and shoots a fadeaway jumper (that would of counted and put the 5-peat into its death bed) that was on-line but just long. Overtime.

The tip: the Trojans big man got the tipped easily over John but he swatted it so hard that it went straight out of bounds right in the middle of the sideline at mid-court. LegalZoom's ball. Right off the back, Larry pulls up for a 20-footer on the top right elbow and drains it. LegalZoom 62, Trojans 60. However, we went cold for the next three minutes and after a couple of lackluster plays on defense, found ourselves down 66-62. Four point deficit in crunchtime. That definitely sounds like Larry Time.

I forget who scored the next two points but when the score was 66-64, Larry got fouled on a drive and had a chance to tie the game with two free throws with about 20 seconds left. He gets the first freebie and missed the second (pretty badly hah). Rebound Trojans. Fortunately for us, it was the big guy (who also plays @ lunch, let's call him Frenzy) who makes every single layup but can't shoot if his life depended on it. Right when I saw him grab the rebound, I ran straight to him and grabbed his jersey. He actually got the pass off to the front court but I held on to his jersey and we all stopped playing so the ref had to call the foul. Exactly who we wanted to foul! So Big Frenzy walks up to the line for a one-and-one and misses! John snatches the rebound and here we go.

Let's refresh: LegalZoom 65, Trojans 66. LegalZoom possession with about 14 seconds left. Marlon brings the ball down and drives in for the game-winner but gets cut off, stutters, stops and looks to pass. But before he can make the pass, he gets hammered big-time and hits the deck. Foul. One-and-one with two point six seconds left. Marlon steps up to the line, needing just one to tie and two to win. The release is good but it's long. Big Game Frank jumps up and grabs the rebound and throws up a right-handed hook, it falls halfway down, rattles both ends of the rim (if you're a Laker-fan, same as the Troy Murphy's tip but the ball didn't dance twice, just once) and comes out with about point nine seconds remaining. The rebound came off towards the right end where Mr. John was waiting for the quick put-back as time expires. Trojans 66, LegalZoom 67.

We go crazy and title five-peat is set in stone. Good job fellas. Job well-done.

Here is the email I received this morning...

WOW, WHAT A FINISH! LEGAL ZOOMS FRANK EMISKO HIT THE GAME WINNING BASKET ALA INDIANA PACERS AS TIME EXPIRED AND HELP LEGAL ZOOM WIN ITS 5TH SRTAIGHT TITLE 67-66 OVER THE TROJANS! WITH 2.6 SECONDS LEFT MARLON MCNAIR WENT TO THE LINE TO SHOOT 1 AND 1. HIS SHOT HIT THE TOP OF THE RIM AND BOUNCED UP HI, EMISKO CAME IN WITH THE TIP OFF THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE BOARDS AND WON THE GAME! IT WAS A CLOSE BATTLE ALL GAME, GOING INTO 1 OVERTIME PERIOD. TROJANS LED MOST OF THE GAME AND PLAYED TOUGH, BUT COULDN’T FINISH.

FIRST SEMIS SAW THE TROJANS CONTROL THE LA SUNS AND WON BY 5. LA SUNS PLAYED STRONG TILL THE END AND DIDN’T LET THE TROJANS TAKE AN EASY VICTORY.

2ND SEMI SAW ZOOM AND MILWAUKEES BEST. ZOOM CAPITILIZED ON THE OFF SHOOTING NIGHT OF RYAN LOGAD AND TRAVIS PROFFIT AND TOOK THE GAME 67-51. I GUESS YOU CAN SAY 67 WAS THE LUCKY NUMBER FOR ZOOM!

Stupid Safety

November 27th, 2008, 9:00 AM PST @ Some Elementary Center in Los Alamitos

Every Thanksgiving Day, we play our Turkey Bowl against these white guys. It's actually this white guy, named Steve Meckna, who teachers at Long Beach Poly, and his extended family (more white guys). My brother used to date his daughter until she cheated on him and he gave her the peace out sign. Our team consist of me, a couple of my brothers, and a bunch of random weak Asian fools. Although we did pick up a couple decent guys this year. It still didn't work. Same result.

The annual white guys versus yellow guys game is dominately owned by the white people. I think they're like 8-1-1 all-time against us. Ownage.

We actually led this game 14-7 but it didn't last long as a stupid safety late in the game cost us the game 23-21.

Stats: 2 Receptions, 1 TD, 1 INT.

As for the day in itself, I spend the rest of it in the kitchen, cooking it up. The family came over around 630 and left around 10. My little nephews are crazy, especially the new black guy. He's like 2 years old and he already knows all his numbers and alphabets. I had a lot of fun teaching him how to recover a fumble.

Black Day

November 25th, 2008, 7:30 PM PST @ Pan Pacific Park

This game was whack.

Not only did I have to check weather.com all day long to make sure the game wasn't canceled, I was worried that the other team might not show up. I finally got an email from Ryan (team captain from the other team - Watchmen) around 4pm.

As for the game, it was raining on-and-off, and the lights actually went out after the top of the 5th inning. Apparently the whole block was without light due to a blackout in the area. So then we had to go down the hill and kick off these soccer players playing on the other field (this other field, for some reason didn't get hit by the blackout). Those soccer players weren't very compliant nor were they very happy when 25 guys came rolling down the hill with their softball gear in-hand.

Fortunately, after about 5 minutes of deliberation they agreed to let us use the field for 10 minutes hah. They were actually hanging around in right center field while we played the bottom of the 5th inning which luckily finished in about 4 minutes. Watchmen only managed one hit: a flyout, single, popout, and a groundout. Ball game.

I yell thank you to the soccer fellas in right center as we walked off but they didn't even bother to look hah. I don't think I would of gotten off the field to let someone play softball so my props go out to those soccer guys.

Random note: This black dude named Dana (who plays basketball @ lunchtime @ LA Fitness) was randomly there with some chick that he said invited him. And that chick, Jenny, apparently, are good friends with Kendy and his boys. Weird day.

Here is the boxscore to the game (I struck out for the first time ever in this league; I was caught looking batting left-handed):



Standings:

Two on Two Basketball

November 22nd, 2008, 1:00 PM PST @ Eagle Rock HS

I didn't show. I've only played in 2 games this season. I'm close to dropping from this zero-competition league.






November 22nd, 2008, 5:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

We (LBC, 6-0) were scheduled to play Lucky Charms (now, 2-4) at 5:20pm on Saturday but only two of the fools on Lucky Charms showed up.

We were actually short a couple players too so Kev filled in. It was me, my brothers Nam and Tuan, James, and Kev. Too bad we didn't have an opponent to whoop on. James left at halftime and we played 2 on 2 just to break a sweat in. It was me and Kev versus my two brothers. Needless to say, we didn't play very good defense against each and all four of us were raining threes all day. I think we shot at least 60% as a whole from 3 point land. The final score was something like 82-74 (1's and 2's). The brothers won but it was more of a shooting expedition than a game.

I was thinking that it's pretty cool to have two brothers that can actually ball. I'd have to say that it's pretty hard to find people who are actually good in sports. It's not that easy to just randomly pick someone off the street and end up getting a good game from them (in any sport you choose). In other words, if you can play ball or can play solidly in any sport, you're pretty talented. And since Thanksgiving is coming up, you should be thankful -- not just because you can play but to have limbs that can move.

Dead Dawgs

November 20th, 2008, 6:30 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

Rockets 15, Dawgs 11.

We (6-3) took down another undefeated team pretty easily. The Dawgs are now 7-1. We led by 10, 15-5, entering the bottom of the 7th inning. Good game dogs.

We beat Bomb Squad a few weeks back when they were undefeated.

Batted: 3 for 4, 3 RBI's.

I heard the Rockets never beat this team before. The Rocket also have never lost to this team since I've been here hah. Just kidding, I'm not that good.

We can definitely attribute this victory to Killer Kev in left-field. He made some killer plays. Let's just say at least 3 of them would of gone on ESPN top-ten. Solid.

Scores:



Current Standings:

Late Surge Comes Up Short

November 19th, 2008, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

This game was a thriller.

LegalZoom trailed as much as 24 points in the 2nd half but came storming back in the last 5 minutes. I don't think we miss anything in the last 5 minutes of the game. We needed to make every single shot and we damn did. If it wasn't for a turnover by Brian Murdock with 18 seconds remaining (we were down by 1), I think we would of pull it off. Brian caught the ball and then fell down, and was called for traveling. I'm not sure if he travel or not but he ended up throwing the ball to me in the backcourt anyway (we would of been called for backcourt). A knock on B: he has Kwame Brown hands, isn't the most coordinated of most people and isn't clutch. He is a useful big body for boards though.

We actually had two three pointers to tie the game but Kev couldn't hit one. He and Frank made everything else in the last 5 minutes before that though.

Anyway, we trailed by as much as 17 points with like 5 minutes and change left and somehow made it a game. It was a pretty crazy comeback. A lot of people were watching, yelling, and screaming which made it pretty cool.

The playoffs start and end on December 3rd.

Here is the schedule:

7pm: (2) LegalZoom vs (3) Milwaukee's Best
8pm: (1) Trojans vs (4) LA Suns
9pm: 7pm winner vs 8pm winner

LegalZoom Softball - Record: 6-1

November 18th, 2008, 9:00 PM PST @ Pan Pacific Park

I didn't pitch in the 4th and 5th innings.



Here are the final scores:



Here are the updated standings:

League Updates - November 2008

LegalZoom Softball (Los Angeles - The Grove)
Season #1: 4-8-0, no playoffs
Season #2: 4-8-0, no playoffs
Season #3: 8-4-0, no playoffs
Season #4: currently in season, 5-1-0.
Next Game: Tuesday, 11/18, 9:00pm

LegalZoom Basketball (Hollywood - LA Fitness)
Season #1: 7-0 season [finished 1st], 2-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #2: 5-3 season [finished 5th], 3-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #3: 7-1 season [finished 1st], 2-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #4: 5-2 season [finished 1st], 2-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #5: currently in season, 5-3.
Next Game: Wednesday, 11/19, 7:00pm

Hitmen Softball (Long Beach - Joe Rodgers Field)
Season #1: 7-3-0 season [finished 2nd], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in semi's]
Season #2: 8-2-0 season [finished 2nd], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in semi's]
Season #3: 0-10-0 season [finished last], missed playoffs.
Season #4: 2-7-1 season [finished last], missed playoffs.
Season #5: Unregistered.

LBC Basketball (Wilmington - Banning HS)
Season #1: 5-5 season [finished 5th], 3-2 playoffs [reached semi's]
Season #2: 7-3 season [finished 2nd], 1-1 playoffs [reached quarterfinals]
Season #3: 6-4, season [finished 4th], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in semi's]
Season #4: currently in season, 5-0.
Next Game: Saturday, 11/22, 5:20pm

CrookedStraight.com Basketball (San Marino - San Marino HS)
Season #1: 5-5 season [finished 3rd], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in 1st round].
Unregistered.

NotGuiltyBrand.com Basketball (Pasadena - Eagle Rock HS)
Season #1: 3-7 season [finished 5th], 2-1 playoffs [lost in finals]
Season #2: 2-8 season [finished 5th], missed playoffs.
Season #3: 6-4 season, [finished 1st], 1-1 playoffs [lost in quarterfinals]
Season #4: currently in season, 4-0.
Next Game: Saturday, 11/22, 1:00pm

Rockets Softball (Woodland Hills - Northrup Grunman)
Season #1: currently in season, 5-3-0.
Next Game: Thursday, 11/20, 6:30pm

Another Forfeit

November 12th, 2008, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

LegalZoom forfeited for the second consecutive game. I called it off.

Rockets Lose

November 11th, 2008, 6:30 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

We (5-3) got beat pretty badly by Space Cadets (3-3).

My third-base skills are getting sharp!

NotGuilty, LBC 5-0

November 8th, 2008, 12:00 PM PST @ Eagle Rock HS

I didn't go to this game because it's super far and I have salsa class @ 11.

I heard we won by a lot. NotGuilty basketball is still perfect. We're not that good, this league is just super weak.




November 9th, 2008, 1:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

I was in foul trouble throughout this game and couldn't really get anything going. I had 5 points. We still won easily (thanks to James and my brother).

Bases Loaded Bust

November 6th, 2008, 6:30 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

Our team was able to take down the undefeated Bombers (6-1) last night.

I've always dreamed about killing the ball with the bases loaded. I had 3 at-bats last night and the bases were loaded all 3 times! Here is what happened.

First at-bat: Fielder's choice groundout to 3rd. 1 RBI.

Second at-bat: Walked. 1 RBI.

Third at-bat: Grounded out. End of inning.

Not only did I just plain sucked with the bat but the I barely made contact. They were all weak rollers where I barely got on top of the ball. So weak.

Here are the scores from last night:

Here are the current standings (we are the Rockets and everyone got an extra win over the dropped team):

We Won, Wait No We Didn't

November 5th, 2008, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

LZ 93,
TROJANS 90.

(however, we took the loss because we had to forfeit - only had 3 players present)

Boxscore:
Viet - 16 points, 3 reb, 5 ast
Kev - 16 points, 6 reb, 11 ast
Frank - 23 points, 10 reb, 1 ast
Dan - 17 points, 17 reb, 6 ast
Black - 21 points, 7 reb, 2 ast

Softball Game Canceled

November 4th, 2008, 9:00 PM PST @ Pan Pacific Park

The lights never came on so both teams were sent home.

Obama won though!

Market Check - Election Day

Broccoli - $1.49 / lb
Cilantro - 3 for $0.99
Green Cabbage - $0.99 / 3lb
Bananas - $0.69 / lb
Green Onions - 2 for $0.99
Limes - $0.99 / 4lb
Roma Tomatoes - $0.99 / lb
Valencia Oranges - $0.99 / 2lb
Gala Apples - $0.69 / lb
Strawberries - 4 lb / $5.99
Green Grapes - 4 lb / $4.99

Clean Sweep

November 1st, 2008, 1:00 PM PST @ Eagle Rock HS

NotGuilty 46, WESC 34.

We fell behind right of the gate 10-2. That's when we took out Ben and Sean for Vahe and me. Easy win from there on.

I was super soar from 5 pickup games @8am earlier in the day. I also had salsa class somewhere between basketball.




November 1st, 2008, 3:00 PM PST @ Eagle Rock HS

NotGuilty 52, A-Game 29.

Again we got off to a slow start. I'm not sure who started but again we were losing when I came in the game with Diego around the 12-minute mark. I went for some Zankou Chicken after the first game cause I was hella hungry (first meal of the day since being up since 730am, I'm not doing this ever again).

Again, we win easy. I don't think our team is that great. The competition is just that bad.




November 2nd, 2008, 11:20 AM PST @ Banning HS

I forget the final score but we won this game pretty easily as well. I didn't shoot well but I did hit 4 three's, including a bank shot from the corner 3 spot-behind-the-backboard (impossible shot hah).

LBC is now 4-0.

LBC 77, Super Badd 64.

Rockets Win

October 30th, 2008, 6:30 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

We won by a lot.

Stat line: 3 solid singles. 3 for 4 with a couple ribi's.

Win Streak Hits 5

October 29th, 2008, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

I scored 8 points. We lost Marlon for 3-4 weeks with an ankle sprain. We led by 30 points and played with no refs. I thought the registration fees were for the refs. I guess not.

Softball Doubleheader With Two Teams

I barely have time to breathe right now. I need rest.

I made a couple bad decisions last night.

First off, it was Tuesday last night. And on Tuesdays they have a buy one get one free at Dominoes. I wasn't that hungry but I had a couple hours to kill before my softball game so I bought 2 large pizzas for just me and one of my co-worker. I took it to the game and ended up eating a box and a quarter before the game. I ate 10 slices.

Mistake number two was playing for one of the teams that was playing after our game. They needed players and they asked me. I said yes. The 2nd game ended at 10:20pm and I got home around 11 something. I got home, cleaned my room, stretch my dad, brushed his teeth, put him to bed, wash a ton of dishes, took out the trash, wrote out my weekly agenda and then crashed around 1am.

I am tired.

October 28th, 2008, 7:30 PM PST @ Pan Pacific Park

LegalZoom (5-1) stays in first place after smashing Throwdowns (4-3), 19 to 6. This game was over after three innings as we were up 14-0. We let Kendy pitch the last two innings and he only gave up one run. Easy win.




October 28th, 2008, 9:00 PM PST @ Pan Pacific Park

I pitched for the winless Watchmen against Prison Breakers and got them their first win of the season. I also hit a homer and got mad trash talking from the team we're gonna play next week. They gave us our only lost of the season.

Watchmen 17, Prison Breakers 13. Suckas.

My Teams Are Good

Basketball:

South Bay League (Banning HS - Saturdays and Sundays)
LBC (3-0)
www.sbleague.com

PTBA (Eagle Rock HS - Saturdays)
NotGuiltyBrand.com (1-0)
http://www.myptba.com/

LA Fitness (LA Fitness Hollywood - Wednesdays)
LegalZoom (4-1)

Softball:

LA Municipal Sports (Northrup Grunman - Tues, Weds, Thurs)
Rockets (2-2)

LA Municipal Sports (Pan Pacific Park - Tuesdays)
LegalZoom (4-1)
http://www.laparks.org/dos/sports/softball/fall_win08_09/M-281-8F.pdf

Vegas

October 25, 2008, 12:00 PM PST @ Eagle Rock HS

I was in Vegas but I heard we, NotGuilty(1-0) beat Speedy (0-1).


October 25, 2008, 5:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

I heard we won this one also LBC (3-0) over Eastsidaz (1-2).

Win By Default

October 23rd, 2008, 8:00 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

A forfeit win. Weak.

Here are the standings (it's just a tad-bit out of order hah):

Lost Avenged

October 22nd, 2008, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

LegalZoom (4-1) avenged it's only lost of the season against the Trojans (2-3) Wednesday night with a 70-66 win. The final score isn't indicative of how close the game was. We were up a good 7-12 points throughout the game. I believe we were up by 9 at halftime.

We only had 5 guys but that's all we needed..

Me
Kevin
Miles
Marlon
Frank

I had 4 points in a bad shooting game but I was really angry the whole game cause this guy knock me down and this other guy took my contacts off hah.

League Updates - October 2008

LegalZoom Softball (Los Angeles - The Grove)
Season #1: 4-8-0, no playoffs
Season #2: 4-8-0, no playoffs
Season #3: 8-4-0, no playoffs
Season #4: currently in season, 4-1-0.

LegalZoom Basketball (Hollywood - LA Fitness)
Season #1: 7-0 season [finished 1st], 2-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #2: 5-3 season [finished 5th], 3-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #3: 7-1 season [finished 1st], 2-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #4: 5-2 season [finished 1st], 2-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #5: currently in season, 3-1.

Hitmen Softball (Long Beach - Joe Rodgers Field)
Season #1: 7-3-0 season [finished 2nd], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in semi's]
Season #2: 8-2-0 season [finished 2nd], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in semi's]
Season #3: 0-10-0 season [finished last], missed playoffs.
Season #4: 2-7-1 season [finished last], missed playoffs.
Season #5: Unregistered.

LBC Basketball (Wilmington - Banning HS)
Season #1: 5-5 season [finished 5th], 3-2 playoffs [reached semi's]
Season #2: 7-3 season [finished 2nd], 1-1 playoffs [reached quarterfinals]
Season #3: 6-4, season [finished 4th], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in semi's]
Season #4: currently in season, 2-0.

CrookedStraight.com Basketball (San Marino - San Marino HS)
Season #1: 5-5 season [finished 3rd], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in 1st round].
Unregistered.

NotGuiltyBrand.com Basketball (Pasadena - Eagle Rock HS)
Season #1: 3-7 season [finished 5th], 2-1 playoffs [lost in finals]
Season #2: 2-8 season [finished 5th], missed playoffs.
Season #3: 6-4 season, [finished 1st], 1-1 playoffs [lost in quarterfinals]
Season #4: Starts this Saturday, 10/25 @ 12 & 3.

Rockets Softball (Woodland Hills - Northrup Grunman)
Season #1: currently in season, 1-2-0.

Looking Strong

October 18, 2008, 5:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

LBC (2-0) put 50 points in the first half en route to a 81-68 win over Zoom.

Our team looked strong for the second consecutive week, playing without Tom. Tom is too crazy. My little brother filled in for my older brother and we didn't skip a beat.

I had a solid game. Perfect from 3-land and shot over 70% for the game.

Dust Storm

October 14, 2008, 7:30 PM PST @ Pan Pacific Park

What a odd game.

The lights were out on the regular field so we had to play on the bottom field (which had no green grass). The dust was killer. I got home and my hair had a layer of brown dirt in it. I blew my nose and it came out black.

The umpire is one of the worst and slowest umpires I've ever encountered. He had a dog with him and took a break every half-inning to go say hello. The dog didn't have a leash.

It needed a leash.

That dog was all over our dugout but good thing it never went onto the field.

We should of lost this game. I was heated at the way we played defense. I haven't been that upset in awhile @ a softball game!

1-0

October 11th, 2008, 5:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

LBC 76, Sky Ballin 68.

Our first game had a good result (1-0).

Both teams ran with no bench. We were down 8 at halftime because we were getting zero calls. Killed them in the 3rd quarter. Up eight after three.

First Place

October 8th, 2008, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

Move over LA Suns.

Stats: 3 pts, 1/2 FG. Limited minutes due to jammed left thumb (and new recruits).

Softball Doubleheader

October 7, 2008, 6:30 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

We lost big to the Diablos, dropping the Rockets to 1-2 on the season. I think the difference was 10 runs, 14-4.

The girls present at these games are 10 times better than our work league so these games are worth attending hah.

I played short and 3rd, zero errors. Batted 2 for 3. Made an out batting left-handed.


October 7, 2008, 9:00 PM PST @ Pan Pacific Park

This was a bizarre game.

First, Benson, our catcher yesterday decided to bat left-handed for the first-time ever because he lost confidence with his right-bat. What a mistake. He takes the first pitch for a ball and then on the second pitch swings with full force. That wasn't the problem though. The problem was he didn't hold on to the bat and launched it at least 30 feet into the air and it went over the fence, our bench, and 2 people playing catch, heading for a occupied, white van. Everyone held their breath as it appeared it was gonna smash that van's windows into pieces. There was a lady sitting in the van with the window down in the driver's seat. She had no idea a bat was coming. Fortunately, it landed a foot short of the van and bounced underneath the van. No injuries, no damages. He proceeded with the at-bat left-handed and grounded out to the pitcher.

Second, Dave, our first baseman for the last couple season tumbled and fell trying to score. He managed to score in turn for a broken finger and damaged tendons to his right hand. He's out 6-8 weeks. Sweet.

Third and finally, we committed at least 12 errors in this game and I was getting heated. Our defense was worst than the Angels' and Cubs' postseason combined. We choke. But luckily we were able to put together a nice 5th inning and escaped with a win. Somehow.



The one out was my first at-bat, batting left-handed hah. Last four at-bats were right-handed. Time to give up switch-hitting.

New Roster, New Team

October 1, 2008, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

We have officially added three new players for our LegalZoom basketball team and they're all pretty solid. Welcome aboard...

Frank, Brian M., and Miles.

Some guy dropped 49 points on us Wednesday night but we still won..



Here is the email from Luis (the league coodinator):

Good afternoon,

Well last night was a ONE GAME night. It was a good game between Legal Zoom and Milwaukees Best. Ryan Lagod made it rain all night with eleven 3-pointers. Total points was 49!!! Marlon McNair led the charge for Legal Zoom with 30 points.


October 2, 2008, 6:30 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

I heard we beat HealthNet by 1, 12-11, scoring 9 runs in the final inning. Must of been sweet. I couldn't attend. Teacher's Informational Meeting @ CSULB.

Rockets Debut

September 25, 2008, 6:30 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

My first game for the Rockets' softball team was fairly decent. I made two errors at shortstop. One ball got by me (I blame it on the runner at 2nd for shielding the ball pretty well). The other one was a bad throw in which I threw the ball low to the first baseman. A good first baseman would of dug it out but it was my bad. The bases were loaded at the time and two runners scored hah.

It didn't matter because we lost by like 5 runs or something.

I was 2 for 2 with a walk. Only one of the hit was legit.

Cheaters Win

September 23, 2008, 9:00 PM PST @ Pan Pacific Park

Prison Breakers used an illegal bat and smacked my pitching left and right in the first two innings en route to a 7 spot before the umpire checked their bat and discovered those fools were using some illegal titanium.

I was wondering why this one fly-ball that should of been an easy catch went over my left center fielder's head with ease.

We lost the game.

League Updates - September 2008

LegalZoom Softball
Season #1: 4-8-0, no playoffs
Season #2: 4-8-0, no playoffs
Season #3: 8-4-0, no playoffs
Season #4: currently in season, 2-0

LegalZoom Basketball
Season #1: 7-0 season [finished 1st], 2-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #2: 5-3 season [finished 5th], 3-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #3: 7-1 season [finished 1st], 2-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #4: 5-2 season [finished 1st], 2-0 playoffs [won championship]
Season #5: currently in season, 1-1

Hitmen Softball
Season #1: 7-3-0 season [finished 2nd], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in semi's]
Season #2: 8-2-0 season [finished 2nd], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in semi's]
Season #3: 0-10-0 season [finished last], missed playoffs.
Season #4: 2-7-1 season [finished last], missed playoffs.
Season #5: Unregistered.

LBC Basketball
Season #1: 5-5 season [finished 5th], 3-2 playoffs [reached semi's]
Season #2: 7-3 season [finished 2nd], 1-1 playoffs [reached quarterfinals]
Season #3: 6-4, season [finished 4th], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in semi's]
Season #4: new season starts September 27th.

CrookedStraight.com Basketball
Season #1: 5-5 season [finished 3rd], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in 1st round].
Unregistered.

NotGuiltyBrand.com Basketball
Season #1: 3-7 season [finished 5th], 2-1 playoffs [lost in finals]
Season #2: 2-8 season [finished 5th], missed playoffs.
Season #3: 6-4 season, [finished 1st], 1-1 playoffs [lost in quarterfinals]

New League, New Team
I am joining a new softball team. Games are on Thursdays in Woodland Hills.


NotGuilty Late Update:

September 13, 2008, 3:00 PM PST @ Best Fit Gym

We got a forfeit win.


Septemeber 21, 2008, 1:00 PM PST @ Best Fit Gym




September 21, 2008, 7:00 PM PST @ Best Fit Gym

Back in Full Swing

September 16th, 2008, 7:30 PM PST @ Pan Pacific Park




September 17th, 2008, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

I didn't attend this one..

Remember

1. 9/11
2. Aunt Xuan
3. Brother Dai
4. Father-in-Law, Mr. Johnson

September 10th, 2008, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

Wish List

1. Food
2. Sleep

Gonzalez Northgate Market

Brown Onions - $0.99 / 3 lb
$1.57

Cantaloupe - $0.99 / 4 lb
$0.71

Roma Tomatoes - $0.99 / lb
$4.86

Limes - $0.79 / lb
$3.49

Navel Oranges - $1.29 / lb
$4.05

Gala Apples - $0.89 / lb
$3.45

Bananas - $0.69 / lb
$1.69

Cilantro - 3 for $0.99
$0.33

Bell Peppers - $0.89 / lb
$0.55

Collision Course

September 2nd, 2008, 7:30 PM PST @ Pac Pacific Park

Season four kicked off on Tuesday for LegalZoom softball with a nice win. It wasn't easy because we had two girls combining for 3 strikeouts and 5 errors. The rest of the gang was able to pick it up though.

The highlight of the game was a collision in left field with Kendy and Ben. Ben was a random pickup from this Jewish family coming to the park for some baseball practice. He was definitely under the 18 years minimum to play in the game but no one noticed. He was a pretty big boy and Kendy got to meet him up close and personal. The game was stopped for 10 minutes and Kendy has no recollection of what happened. Kendy got hit in the chin and Ben in the ribs. Both players were down on the ground for a good two minutes. It happened in the top of the 5th inning with two outs.

Boxscore:

Work Work Work

I have 161 orders left to do. I have a quote of 35 orders per day. I am the only one working on these orders.

Swamped?

Nah.

But I must work.

Plans - Failed.

My plans for the weekend:

1. Bowling outing tonight with the CIC people at 8pm at Cal-Bowl in Long Beach. It should be fun.
Attended. Three people flaked. I saw two people from high school that I last saw in my Electronics class at Poly. Cool.

2. Basketball game on Saturday, 3pm at Best Fit Gym in the City of Industry. I am going to score at least 15 points.
Attended. Shot terribly and scored only 4 points. We won the game though.

August 23, 2008, 3:00 PM @ Best Fit Gym

Here is the boxscore:



3. Ken's Birthday dinner somewhere in L.A. This is also tomorrow (Saturday).
Attended. The spot was at Lawry's on the corner of Wilshire and La Cienega. I've never been here prior to that night and I'd have to say that was some good meat.

AND..

4. Clean my room. I have a lot of little things sitting around. They gotta go.
I spent almost a whole day cleaning my room and it's finally done. Let's just say that my room is the cleanest it'll ever be and I want to spend more time in it now. There was some crazy cleaning going on yesterday in my room. I'm happy.

5. Clean the kitchen. I mean clean it inside out. I've done the dishes twice this week which is sick. I've been doing it every night the previous two weeks and the kitchen is still a mess. This is the weekend the kitchen will meet Mr. Scrubber.
I didn't get a chance to clean it inside out but I washed every single dish, bowl, and cup. I did as much as I can. Failed.


6. Clean my bathroom. I gotta clean this baby up.
I straight up got friendly with the toilet water and introduced my sink to Mr. Comet and his buddy, the green scrubber with his counterpart the yellow sponge.

7. Set up two bookshelves. The desk in my room is useless and taking up mad space. It's being replaced by two $20 bookshelves. If you need a bookshelf, go get 'em at IKEA for $20 each. Solid deal.
Bookshelves are out of the box and in use.

8. Wash my car. I'm a super clean freak so everything has to be cleaned thoroughly.
Done.

9. Do my homework. Stupid Spanish class is hard.
I don't have the book and I don't have the copies of the book because someone (who was suppose to make extra copies at work to give to me) forgot them at work. Failed.

10. Read the Kite Runner. I've been stuck on page 185 or so for the longest.
I read two short chapters and am now over the 200-page mark.

11. Watch a movie. I wanna go see Batman before it exits the theatres but everyone I know has already seen it. I might have to go solo on this one. Sweet. Cheaper that way hah. I might have to just settle for a movie on the big screen in the back house though if there's no time.
Didn't watch a damn thing.