vietngyn

Hit And Run Championship Game - Season 1

2011-06-09T14:10:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011, 9:00 PM PST @ El Dorado Park in Long Beach

Fresh off two dominating semi-finals performances, Hit And Run (6-4) and OPC Ballers (8-1-1) both had reason to make some noise in the championship game.

Hit And Run dispatched Legends, 18-7, while OPC Ballers mercied the 4-seed Top Gunners. Hit And Run and OPC Ballers split their two regular season matches, with both teams each with a blowout victory.

This game had all the makeup of a great game.

And an epic game it was.

It was a deja vu score after one-inning: OPC Ballers 2, Hit And Run 1. Earlier in the 6 o'clock game, we were down 2-1 in the semi-final game after one inning. However, this time was different. We weren't gonna blow these guys out. That's where the deja vu ended.

Our offense struggled mightily to start off this game. Our first two hitters, JP and Rosamartha both made outs. Jay Gee then hit a solid double and May got him in with an RBI single.

In the second inning and third inning, we put up two fat zeroes and they managed to muster out a run in each inning, making it 4-1 them, after three.

We finally got a little rally going in the 4th inning. I don't remember who lead off or what happened exactly but we got a couple of timely hits and took advantage of their defensive miscues. We scored 4 times, taking an important lead into the last half of the game. Psychologically, this was huge.

In the bottom half of the inning, I gave up a 2-run bomb (El Dorado park has a high fence and he cleared it) to their pitcher, Vince, who was talking mad trash the whole game (more on this guy later). Vince's 2-run homer capped a 5-run rally and our 4-run inning in the top half was washed. Right after the two-run homer, one of the girls on their team singled to right field and it just felt like their bats were on fire. The game was heading towards blowout territory. Fortunately, the very next hitter hit a sharp liner to my left, I snagged it and immediately through a rainbow towards first base - thankfully Mareesa was covering the bag and the sucker girl couldn't get back in time. Double play. Inning over. Rally over. Momentum stifled.

In the 5th inning, both teams went scoreless so the score going into the 6th inning was:

Hit And Run 5,
OPC Ballers 9,
End of 5th.

The sixth inning is where things got crazy. It was getting real late in the game and we needed to do something big time. We got lucky. The pitcher on OPC Ballers, Vince, started to get wild. He started walking people. With a couple walks here and there, sprinkled with some timely base hits, we were able to put up a much needed 7-spot.

I was coaching 3rd for most of this inning and I kept telling our hitters to make sure it's good. Vince didn't like it and he started barking some stuff back at me. I ignored him. He threw at least 9 balls in a row out of the strike zone ha.

Hit And Run 12,
OPC Ballers 9,
Mid of 6th.

In the bottom of the 6th inning, OPC Ballers were able to get their first two hitters on base immediately. Two outs later, they tied the game with an RBI single. So now we're sitting on a runner on first, tied ball game, 12-12, in the bottom of the 6th inning, and their pitcher, Big Vince, who had just homered earlier in the game, coming up.

I immediately looked at the on deck circle to see which girl was coming up after Big Vince. It was their left-fielder -- a legit softball player named Jamie (who by the way, had already made a handful of spectacular catches in left field). She was also 3 for 3 on the night. Whatever, I was walking this guy. I didn't throw anything near home plate and intentionally gave him the 2-base walk on 3 pitches. He then said Jamie's been hitting the ball better than me all night. I told his ass I'll take my chances. That placed runners on 2nd and 3rd with Jamie coming up (I walked big boy on 3 straight balls so he got 2 bases).

My first pitch to Jamie was a high arc one and it fell in deep. Strike. The count goes to 1-2 and I know she has to swing at anything close. The second pitch was away and way off the plate but she surprisingly took a hack at it and rolled a weak grounder to our third baseman, Randy, who fielded it cleanly. Randy looks up and instead of throwing the ball to first (which all night had a below 50% completion rate), sees Big Vince storming down the line towards third for no apparent reason. So Randy eats the ball and starts chasing Vince back to 2nd base. I went to cover 2nd but Randy was able to tag the stumbling Vince before he got back to 2nd. Three outs. Inning over. Tie game (fortunately the runner on 3rd didn't cross home before the tag out).

Hit And Run 12,
OPC Ballers 12,
End of 6th.

In the top of the 7th and final inning, Big Vince didn't come out to pitch. Apparently, he got hurt on the play trying to dive back to 2nd base. His replacement was some Mexican guy who was throwing BP pitches. Randy was first up and he lined a laser into deep left center. Unfortunately, that's where Jamie was playing and she made an insane catch on the dead run. One out.

Mareesa was next up and she hit a sharp one right back at the pitcher, he fielded it cleanly and throws it to first. Two outs.

Next man up was our manager, Daro. With our team in need of a baserunner, the man comes through with a clutch triple.

After Daro was Vicky and fortunately for us, she was able to walk on 3 pitches.

So with runners on the corner and two outs in a tie game, up came JP. JP takes the first pitch for a ball and then takes the 2nd pitch for a strike. So with the count 2-2, I was coaching at first and I told JP that he has to swing (the batting order is guy, girl, guy, girl, etc.). He does and he comes through with a big time base hit that drives in the go-ahead run. Vicky ended up getting thrown at home killing our rally but we miraculously were able to scratch for one.

Before the team took the field, I told them that's all we needed. I'm not sure how many of them believed me at the time but I was serious - I'm never short of confidence ha.

Hit And Run 13,
OPC Ballers 12,
Mid of the 7th.

As I took the field and picked up the ball, I saw that the weak part of their lineup was coming up. I told Rosamartha at 2nd to check that out and gave a little smile. That one run speech was looking a lot better at that point ha.

So their first batter comes up and it's this nice, short, stocky white guy that I've talked to before after one of our regular season games. Nice guy. Too bad the nice guy part immediately registered in my head and I know he's not swinging at the first pitch. I don't know how I knew but I just knew. So I pitch one right down the middle and he stares it by. Strike. Bingo. On the 2nd pitch, I'm pinpointing away and high because that seemed to be the weak point all night on these guys. Pitch number two is an easy fly ball to center and it lands nicely into the glove of my guy Jay Gee. One big out.

At this point I am dancing in my head because I knew that all I needed to do was get the next two girls out and we'll be dancing for reals.

Batter number two was probably the wife of batter number one. Same built. She was a decent hitter at best but I wasn't gonna give her anything to hit. She too takes the first pitch for a strike. The 2nd pitch was again up and away and she hits a weak comebacker at me. I make the routine play. Two outs.

Batter number 3 was the Mexican pitcher that replaced Big Vince -- a very solid hitter. As he stepped into the batter's box, I stared him down and I can tell he was scared. A lot of pressure was riding on him. I stepped off the mound and I told JP our shortstop that if he hits it to right field, you need to get out there, he gets a triple max. Anyhow, on the first pitch, he lines a nice solid hit to Rosamartha at 2nd and she makes a solid stop but couldn't complete the play at first. Safe. Tying run is on.

Next up was batter number 4, a thin, white-blond lady who bats left. She's not a great hitter but she's a contact hitter and she's been grounding it to the right side every single time. I call for a change. I told JP, our shortstop, to switch with Rosamartha, our second basewoman. On the very first pitch, she swings and rolls a sharp grounder right in the hole. But that's where JP was playing her and he boots the ball, and it pops up in the air over his head. It comes back down right to him and he makes a perfect throw over to Mareesa. Out by half a step. Ball game.

Hit And Run 13,
OPC Ballers 12,
Final.

Other game notes: there was also this memorable defensive play that was huge for us. It was in one of the middle innings and I can't remember which one but this guy hit a deep one to right field. May chased it down and played it cleanly on a hop off the fence and had the awareness to hand it to Jay Gee. Then Jay Gee zipped a bullet to JP, then JP relayed another bullet to me at home and I barely tagged the guy trying to score. Out. That was a huge momentum swinger.

Everyone on my team went nuts so I did too. I didn't even see what the guys on the other team were doing. This wasn't my first championship so I was trying to tell my guys to celebrate after the handshake but it was too late. They were already jumping up and down, chest-bumping, and throwing gloves in the air.

We did manage to get the handshake in and there were more celebration after that.

It's crazy that this team was 2-8 last season. I honestly thought that this was the worst group of players I've ever played with when I came on board late last season and they worked hard to improve their game drastically. Props to them.

Hit And Run Semi-Final Game - Season 1

2011-06-09T12:10:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011, 6:30 PM PST @ El Dorado Park

Before the first match of the night between Hit And Run (6-4-0) and Legends (8-1-1), many experts predicted a one-sided affair in favor of the Legends squad -- considering just last week, this crazy final score: Legends 15, Hit And Run 0.

That was a regular season game though and I didn't play; this was a playoff game and I did play.

Sporting their championship T-shirts from last season, Legends' swag, and rightfully so, was filled with confidence and cockiness. This worked to our advantage because their focus was lacking (numerous errors and bad plate discipline). You definitely need to respect your opponents in order to win playoff games -- they didn't so we took it them.

John-Paul lead off the game with a lead-off double to right field and then purposely getting caught up in a pickle between 2nd and 3rd. At the end of the pickle, the 3rd baseman threw the ball into right field as JP was sliding back into 2nd. He scored on the two base error. Badda Bing Badda Boom, 1-0, we just scored more runs than last week and the seats aren't even warmed.

This ended up being a pretty boring game so I'm just gonna fast forward through the scoring. The score was 2-1 Legends after the 1st inning. That was the only lead they had. We went up 7-2 with a 6-run 2nd inning. Then it was 11-2 after the 4th inning. Then 18-2 after the top of the 6th inning. The 6th inning was the last inning as we were running out of time. They scored a meaningless 5 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning, making the final score a respectable, 18-7.

There was a memorable collision in left field in the bottom of the 6th inning. With one out and we still up by a dozen, this lady hit a fly ball into short left field. Our shortstop, JP, gave chase, while our left-fielder and manager, Daro, came charging in. JP makes a hell of a full-layout catch but then takes the brunt of a head-on crash with Daro. There was a nice snapping sound. He was down and out on the ground for a good minute, claiming his arm, back, and balls hurt. Needless to say, JP held on to the ball.

Aside from this, everyone made routine plays that were expected and we came out with a solid win. It ended up being a pretty easy route into the championship round.

Hitter of the Game: Jay Gee, 4 for 4, 2 homers.

Hitmen Game 10 - Season 5

2011-06-09T11:54:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, June 7th, 2011, 7:45 PM PST @ Joe Rodgers Field

The Isotopes forfeited a couple hours before game time which was solid considering the Heat vs Mavs was pretty good.

The dreadful season ends with a forfeit win.

Here are the final standings:

Hit And Run Game 10 - Season 1

2011-06-09T11:42:00.000-07:00

June 1st, 2011, 9:00 PM PST @ El Dorado Park in Long Beach

I ditched this game last minute and we got rocked 15-0.

I don't think I've ever seen a score like this ever.

Here's the proof:

Hit And Run Game 9 - Season 1

2011-06-01T14:23:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011, 6:30 PM PST @ Cherry Park in Long Beach

Hit And Run (6-3) extended their winning streak to an all-time best 5 games with a forfeit win over Ctrl Alt Delete.

Hitmen Game 9 - Season 5

2011-06-01T14:19:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011, 9:00 PM PST @ Joe Rodgers Field

Hitmen dropped their sixth straight in embarrassing fashion. We got smoked 23-3 by the Burners.

The dynasty is crashing.

Hit And Run Game 8 - Season 1

2011-05-15T22:31:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, May 11th, 2011, 9:00 PM PST @ Cherry Park in Long Beach

Our Hit And Run team completely obliterated the previously undefeated OPC Ballers (6-1-1). The final score was a mercy, 20-5, in 5 innings.

I went 6 for 6 in this one with a couple homers and completely baffled their offense with some mean curve balls - just kidding. I did eat up every single comebacker and wiped any chance of them gaining any momentum.

This gave us our 4th straight win and all of a sudden we are a juggernaut. I was the only change in the off season so I'm taking all the credit for this ha.

Check out the standings and note how OPC Ballers has just been killing teams all season:

Hitmen Game 8 - Season 5

2011-05-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, May 10th, 2011, 7:45 PM PST @ Joe Rodgers Field in Long Beach

We lost our 5th straight game, 26-6, dropping our record to an abysmal 2-6. The shot for a three peat is over.

Boxscore:

Standings:

Hitmen Game 7 - Season 5

2011-05-09T12:42:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011, 6:30 PM PST @ Cherry Park in Long Beach

Hit And Run Game 7 - Season 1

2011-05-09T12:39:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 4th, 2011, 6:30 PM PST @ Cherry Park in Long Beach

Hit And Run improved their record to 4-3. I was in Pasadena for a championship game.

Hit And Run Game 6 - Season 1

2011-05-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011, 7:45 PM PST @ Cherry Park in Long Beach

I did play in this one and it was an easy game.

Ball Busters Championship Game - Season 1

2011-05-09T12:24:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, May 4th, 2011, 7:00 PM PST @ Brookside Park in Pasadena

I gave up 5 runs in this championship game and we took down the gold, beating GB's Crushers, 13-5.

This league is pretty far so it's one and done for me with the Ball Busters.

Hitmen Game 6 - Season 5

2011-05-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, April 26th, 2011, 9:00 PM PST @ Joe Rodgers Field in Long Beach

HGH Positive 15,
Hitmen 9.

Ball Busters Game 9 - Season 1

2011-04-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011, 7:35 PM PST @ Jefferson Park in Pasadena

(7-2) Ball Busters 21,
(7-2) GB's Crushers 9.

My 3rd game of the season for Ball Busters was a success. We took over first place and we'll be playing these guys again this week and next week in the championship game. I'm 3-0 and I lead the league in ERA.

Here's the breakdown on their runs scored in each inning: 4, 0, 0, 0, 3, 2, 0.

I also went 5 for 5 in this one with a homer, 2 2B's and a walk. Easy.

Here are the scores and standings:

Hit And Run Game 5 - Season 1

2011-04-25T15:48:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011, 7:45 PM PST @ Cherry Park

Hit And Run 16,
The Hangover 10.

I didn't play for the coed but they pulled out a victory.

Here are the standings:

Hitmen Game 5 - Season 5

2011-04-25T15:40:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011, 7:45 PM PST @ Joe Rodgers Field in Long Beach

Hitmen 4,
Head Hunters 20.

Hitmen (2-3) played with a couple 4th string players and only 9 showed up. The end result was a 30 minute massacre that was a waste of time for everyone involved.

One of the 4th string player had to pitch. He did in the first inning and gave up 13. I relieved him after that but it was over.

We're now on the outside looking at a playoff spot. 3-peat in jeopardy.

Boxscore:

Here are the standings:

Hit And Run Game 4 - Season 1

2011-04-19T11:52:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 13th, 2011, 6:30 PM PST @ Cherry Park in Long Beach

Hit And Run (1-3) dropped their 3rd straight game to Legends (3-0-1) by 5 runs.

I had 3 homers in this game but it was all solo shots.

We played a good game but had a couple base-running mistakes and defensive mistakes that cost us the game.

Ball Busters won again.

Hit And Run Game 3 - Season 1

2011-04-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011, 6:30 PM PST @ Cherry Park in Long Beach

OPC Ballers (2-0-1) 21,
Hit And Run (1-2) 12.

I walked one guy in this one but was out of position on a couple plays. Our defense was weak and I popped out twice. Yuck.

Ball Busters won their game.

Hitmen Game 4 - Season 5

2011-04-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011, 9:00 PM PST @ Joe Rodgers Field in Long Beach

We started this game with 8 players and we didn't show up. Lost 20-5.

Notes: 3 base-running mistakes and hit into double plays. Nightmare game.

Hitmen (2-2) 5,
Eastsidaz (3-1) 20.

Boxscore:

LBC Ran By Run LBC

2011-04-04T09:35:00.001-07:00

Sunday, April 3rd, 2011, 2:50 PM PST @ Banning High School in Wilmington

We lost by like 16 or something even though it was a 4 point game in the 4th quarter with like 5 minutes left. I started the 4th and we were down 10.

That's when my brother pulled me and he had sucked all game and he continued to suck. I logged about 10 total minutes in this one and our rotation was terrible. All the starters played most of the game and they sucked. No defense and no rebounding. We have the best players in the league and should be taking titles down every season but we don't.

Maybe if I was manager, it would be a different story.

The Players:
TJ
Steve
James
Tuan
Willy
Brady
Louis
Manny
Viet

Hit And Run Loses & Ball Busters Win

2011-03-31T13:43:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011, 7:45 PM PST @ Pan American Park in Long Beach

I didn't play for the co-ed squad and they lost by 5. Down 16 in the 6th and made a late run. Hit And Run loses to Top Gun.

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011, 7:55 PM PST @ Jefferson Park in Pasadena

We won. Ball Busters 22, OTMFC 9.

Standings/Scores:

Hit And Run - Game 2 - Season 1

2011-03-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011, 9:00 PM PST @ Cherry Park in Long Beach

Last week's game was rained out so tonight's game is the 2nd game of the season.

I won't be able to make it tonight because I'm driving all the way to Pasadena to play in this other softball league that my dumb ass paid for to only play in a couple games.

Here are the standings and scores for this Pasadena league (our team name is Ball Busters):

Hitmen Wins Going Into Bye

2011-03-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, March 30th, 2011, 6:30 PM PST @ Joe Rodgers Field in Long Beach

Hitmen (2-1) takes down the first place Burners (2-1) in the final at-bat to win it 12-11.

It's a huge win for us in the standings. We're running a 7-deep league as far as teams go this season so we need as many wins early on as we can to get that playoff spot. Especially since we like to go on losing streaks during the middle part of the season haha.

Boxscore:

Standings:

LBC Basketball To Play For First Title

2011-03-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

Saturday, March 26th, 2011, 11:50 AM PST @ Banning High School in Wilmington

Our LBC's (10-2) semi-final game came down to the last minute as we fended off a couple game winner attempts to win 56-55.

This game wasn't as close as the final score suggested as we dominated the first 3 quarters with only a 6-man team. Kev, where you at? Big James was asking about you. Anyway, we were up by as much as 20 points in the 3rd quarter and held a 15 point lead after 3.

Our thin bench caught up to us in the 4th quarter as they chipped away at our big lead. We were completely winded and used all of our timeouts in the last 5 minutes. Either way, a 20 point win or a 1 point win, a win is a win.

We talked hella trash in this game at the outset and took it to the them. Bombers (10-2) beat us in the regular season by 8 or so points.

Championship game is this Sunday. We will be playing another (9-1) regular season team, Run LBC.

The players:
1. Tuan
2. Viet
3. James
4. Willy
5. TJ
6. Louis

Hitmen Bats Go Cold

2011-03-23T15:30:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011, 7:45 PM PST @ Joe Rodgers Field in Long Beach

Hitmen (1-1) got whooped by Head Hunters (1-1), 20-6.

Boxscore:

Updated Standings:

Hit And Run - Season 1

2011-03-21T15:41:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, March 16th, 2011, 7:45 PM PST @ Cherry Park in Long Beach

My first full season with these guys opened with a easy win over the Hangovers.

Considering this team only won 2 games all of last season, I'd say we're off to a good start.

Hitmen Returns - Season 5

2011-03-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, March 15th, 2011, 9:00 PM PST @ Joe Rodgers Field in Long Beach

Hitmen (1-0), fresh off their 3rd championship in 4 seasons, used a 28-run 5th inning to put away the Isotopes (0-1).

Hitters 1, 3, 4, 9, and 10 are all brothers. The numbers in parentheses in the homerun column were homers that counted as a single because Joe Rodgers is a fenced field and the one-up rule is in play.

Here's the boxscore:

Here's the standings:

Hit And Run Playoffs

2011-03-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011, 7:45 PM PST @ Joe Rodgers Field in Long Beach

Our semi-final game didn't go too well. We actually scored enough runs to win but my pitching was no where to be found.

I walked about 5 hitters in this game and 4 of them were girls. I'm pretty sure all of them ended up scoring and we lost the game 17-12.

It sucks because I was expecting to win it all. I told myself that if my team can score at least 10 runs, there's no way we're losing this game. Even though Booze Hounds (10-0) were undefeated, they're not even a good co-ed team. Their girls are terrible and their dudes are decent at best.

The worst thing about losing this game is that the Booze Hounds now have to move up one division, meaning I won't be able to talk to the girls on their team. What a disappointment.

And for the record, they also won the championship game 17-2 in 5 innings.

LBC Advances to Final Four

2011-03-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday, March 19th, 2011, 2:50 PM PST @ Banning High School in Wilmington

Our LBC (8-2) basketball team beat Star Trak (3-7) this weekend to get to the final four. We won by 10 points.

Next up: Semi-Final this weekend versus Bombers (9-1).

LBC Beats Palm Springs, Then Lose Big to Run LBC

2011-02-28T23:53:00.001-08:00

Sunday, February 27th, 2011, 11:50 AM PST @ Banning High School in Wilmington

We won by double digits.

Sunday, February 27th, 2011, 1:50 PM PST @ Banning High School in Wilmington

We lost by double digits.

Dementors Dropped

2011-02-28T23:47:00.001-08:00

I talked to Manny and apparently he dropped us from that league in LA because it's garbage.

Pick Up Softball

2011-02-24T00:41:00.000-08:00

The team name is Hit And Run. It is a co-ed team. One of my high school friend asked me to come pitch for his team because his pitcher went down with some form of cancer.

I lost the first two games for them as their starting pitcher.

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011, 7:45PM PST @ Cherry Park in Long Beach

Fresh off my killer pitching last night in the two posteason games, I came through with a needed win for these guys and catapult us into the playoffs. We won easily, 15-3.

We will be the four seed next Wednesday and will be facing the 10-0 team in the semi-finals. Familiar story? I hope so but our chicks really do suck in comparison to the first place team. They're also pretty weak looking and I have no interest in hollering at any of them.

I did put in work on this one Mexican chick from another team though. I'm starting to like this co-ed stuff. I do have one rant though. This fat ass chick (pictured below, dead center) on our team has a hunch that I'm digging that Mexican chick and she's definitely cock-blocking like a dumb ass.

I also scoped out this one white chick on the 10-0 team tonight. She's solid. I'm still trying to find a way to talk to her. She plays in the fucking outfield though which sucks big time. If she was playing first base, I'm definitely not taking the extra bag next week. Fuck. Her booty is vicious and her body and face are nice.

Peace.

Dementors

2011-02-24T00:39:00.000-08:00

I'm also in one other basketball league that plays in the heart of LA but I'm not sure what's going on in that league. Our manager does a terrible job of keeping us up-to-date.

My boy, Kev, has no idea either. We did play a game or two together and we won each time but I haven't played since.

???

LBC Basketball Perfect

2011-02-24T00:37:00.000-08:00

I'm still playing in the South Bay League on LBC's squad.

We are undefeated so far:

Hitmen Upsets Stooges, Then Smashes Brew Crew

2011-02-23T23:54:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011, 7:45 PM PST & 9:00 PM PST @ Pan American Park in Long Beach

I'm starting to believe that I'm the greatest pitcher in softball history. Not that it's something cool to brag about or anything, but damn I just can't be beat.

Last night, our Hitmen (3-8) softball team took down the number one seed, Stooges (9-1), in the semi-finals, 18-16. I'm not sure how I held them to only 16 runs, considering our glove was terrible and one-through-ten can kill the ball. Stooges were 9-1 in the regular season but I considered them undefeated because their one loss was to this minor league baseball team, that was removed after a couple games because they were destroying people. Stooges mercied us three times in the regular season, 34-5, 25-7, and 26-11 lol

Some highlights in this one included a outfield assist by Big K in right center gunning a runner trying to go from first to third on a single. That play definitely stopped whatever momentum they had.

Here is the boxscore from this one:

After pulling the super upset, I knew we were gonna win the second game easily. I just didn't know it was gonna be super easy.

I'll just let the boxscore do the talking on this one (there are no typos):

This game was called by the other team in the top of 7th. There was still only one out, 16 runs in, runners on 1st and 2nd and my brother, Minh, due-up.

Champions for the third time in four seasons. I run my postseason record to 6-0.

Leagues Re-Count

2011-02-23T22:56:00.000-08:00

I pretty much dropped all my leagues except for three:

Tuesday nights:
Hitmen Softball (finished the season 3-8, just won the championship as the 4-seed)

Weekends:
LBC Basketball (6-0)
Dementors Basketball (not sure what our record is)

I am gonna get a follow-up post with some major details in short-time. I really need to start blogging again because I'm in a little bit of a ruck.

Hitmen Softball - Game 2

2010-12-10T16:31:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010, 7:45 PM PST @ Pan American Park in Long Beach

Isotopes (1-1), the team we beat to win our first championship toyed with Hitmen (0-2) as we had four subs in this one.

Hitmen Softball - Game 1

2010-12-10T16:24:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010, 9:00 PM PST @ Pan American Park

We, Hitmen (0-1), got whooped big time by the Stooges (1-0), 34-5. Ouch

Confusing

2010-12-10T16:19:00.000-08:00

Bad news if I'm confused on which league is which and it's my own damn blog.

Clear-up.

Tuesday League:
Hitmen Softball

Thursday League:
Not Guilty Softball

Saturday Leagues:
Dementors Basketball
Yellow Mambas Basketball

Sunday League:
LBC Basketball
Showtime Basketball (season is done)

Showtime - Game 10

2010-11-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

November 21st, 2010, 10:00 AM PST @ City Gym & Pool in Huntington Beach

We ended the season with a double digit lost. It was a 2-point game at halftime and then one of the guys on our squad stopped playing defense.

Not Guilty Softball - Game 6

2010-11-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

November 11th, 2010, 6:10 PM PST @ Liberty Park in Cerritos

I didn't make it to this one but I heard we're now 0-6. No surprise.

Huntington Beach League

2010-11-08T13:01:00.001-08:00

I also got picked up in this league in the OC. The league is decent and our team is scattered with a bunch of overweight and selfish players.

In recent weeks though, the fat players have been dropping cause we've been sucking (more like cause they've been sucking). Our roster actually looks pretty solid now except for one dude.

I got a bunch of DNPs in this league and our record is now 2-7 -- even after a win this weekend over the best team in the league, an undefeated 8-0 Los Kings.

I didn't play because I was in San Jose but I got a text from my brother regarding the outcome:

Basketball League - Yellow Mambas

2010-11-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

October 30th, 2010, 4:00 PM PST @ Cantwell High School in Montebello

The Yellow Mambas (3-2) came back from at least 21 points down in the 2nd half to stun Arcadia Alumni High with a 3-pointer by Tamao at the buzzer.

Tamao hits the three in Ace's face, who on the previous possession tried to hit the game winner in my face - didn't happen for him. Ace is our starting pitcher in the Thursday softball league. Small world.

We definitely didn't deserve to win this game.

Here is a link to the schedule:

http://www.mofufus.org/LEAGUE/LeagueSchedulesPDF.cfm?division_id=144

The players:
Viet
James
Jamien
Tamao
Lex
Joey

Game 1:
September 18th, 2010, 3:00 PM PST @ Cantwell High School in Montebello
We lost to Piranhas.

Game 2:
September 25th, 2010, 6:00 PM PST @ Cantwell High School in Montebello
We beat Robeks Subway. I didn't show.

Game 3:
October 2nd, 2010, 7:00 PM PST @ Cantwell High School in Montebello
We beat Team Supreme.

October 9th, no games.

October 16th, no games.

Game 4:
October 23rd, 2010, 3:00 PM PST @ Cantwell High School in Montebello
We lost to B20 Bar & Grill. I was in Vegas.

NotGuilty Softball - Rained Out

2010-11-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

October 21st, 2010, 7:15PM PST @ Liberty Park in Cerritos

Rained out.

October 28th is another bye-week.

New Softball League - NotGuiltyBrand Softball

2010-11-01T16:23:00.000-07:00

I joined a new softball team started by one of the guys I used to play basketball with on the NotGuilty Basketball team in the San Gabriel Valley. This league is in Cerritos on Thursday nights. Our team has a bunch of newbies and a bunch of players period. We have 14 players and ALL 14 PLAYERS show up to EVERY GAME. Their skill-set is terrible which makes for a terrible team. We are currently 0-4 and I don't think we'll be winning many game any time shortly. I was able to draft two of the Hitmen players onto this team, Tuan and Dave. But still, we still stink.

Killer Kev was suppose to join this team but the 405 south just stinks way too much during these hours for him to jump on board. The fact that our talent pool has a bunch of players-to-be-named-later aint helping the cause either.

The only thing we can pray for now is that a lot of those bench warmers start realizing that they can't play this game at all and end up quitting. It is our only hope lol.

Here are the standings and stats through the first four games:

Standings:

Game 1:
September 16th, 2010, 7:15PM PST @ Liberty Park in Cerritos

Bye Week:
September 23rd, 2010.
Game 2:
September 30th, 2010, 7:15PM PST @ Liberty Park in Cerritos

Game 3:
October 7th, 2010, 8:20PM PST @ Liberty Park in Cerritos

Game 4:
October 14th, 2010, 6:10PM PST @ Liberty Park in Cerritos

HItmen Softball Are Champions Once More

2010-11-01T15:45:00.001-07:00

October 26th, 2010, 6:30PM PST & 9:00 PM PST @ Joe Rodgers Field in Long Beach

I believe my last sport's league post had this softball team talking mad shit in our first game of the regular season.

Well, after 10 regular season games where we finish 7-3, a first-round playoff bye, and two comeback wins - one in the semi-finals and one in the championship game, we are re-crowned the champs of the Long Beach Adult Softball League on Tuesday nights.

A couple noteworthy pointers in our playoff games:

Semi-Final vs We Got The Runs
October 26th, 2010, 6:30PM PST @ Joe Rodgers Field in Long Beach
We scored 3 in the bottom of the 7th in the semi-final, capped off by a game-winning sac-fly by my little brother Nam, which scored Dave (the second slowest runner on the team - the other team was smart when they made it clear before gametime that you only get one pinch-runner per inning because we got a couple of old slow guys on the team). We had scored 3 in the bottom of the 6th on a 2-out, 3-run homer by Keith that kept us in the game.

Championship vs Twining Dirt Bags
October 26th, 2010, 9:00 PM PST @ Joe Rodgers Field in Long Beach
Down 10-5, in the bottom of the 6th inning, we loaded the bases after I lead off the inning with a single up the middle, followed by a walk by Tuan and Keith picking up an infield single (while pulling his hammy hustling down the line and is probably out for next season - sucks) with Edgar and Kendrick coming up. My brother Nam pinch-runs for Keith, putting three brothers on the base pads. Edgar and Kendrick are our 3 and 4 hitters and Kendrick is literally Josh Hamilton playing softball. Edgar is a solid hitter also. Edgar pops out to short and then Kendrick lines a sharp one to second but was out on a crazy snatch. So my oldest brother Minh comes up with the bases still loaded and now 2 outs. Minh comes through, lining a double right pass me at 3rd base - fair ball. All 3 runners scored and we cut the lead to 10-8. Brady then singles in Minh making the score 10-9. After a single by Dave and a walk by Arnie, the bases are reloaded for my little brother Nam. He comes through with a grand slam and we're celebrating a 13-10 lead. We win the game 13-10 with some solid defensive plays in the top half of the 7th.

This is our second championship in three seasons. There were actually two seasons in between the two championships. One season - the one right after we won it all - we went 0-10 lol. And the one after that I didn't register us in because I had my pops to look after.

Here are some some stats and pictures:

Season Stats:

Semi-Final Game Boxscore:

Championship Game Boxscore:

An Update

2010-11-01T15:19:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure where I left off last but I'm just gonna resume from all the leagues I'm currently playing in after this quick update of what's been going on with youngster.

I doubt I have any readers left but what the hell - this spot blog is a good archive holder if I ever want to flip back time. You know, all the while my memory fails me and I can't remember what happened. This thing will have dates, times, places, and stories for me to lean back on.

Without much further ado, let's get it rolling.

Back in mid-April, I lost my pops. He suffered a second stroke just a couple days before Thanksgiving in 2009 and just completely lost all mobility. For you readers out, I highly suggest taking care of your health -- as in eating right, exercising regularly and quitting smoking cigarettes (I have no problem with smoking weed because I'm a firm believer in the natural shit and weed is herbal - seriously lol). That's really the only big thing I have to announce. I've lost contact with a lot of friends and family while looking after my parents all this time so I'm working on getting reconnected this upcoming holiday season. Things are definitely settling down and I'm feeling real good about my future's outlook.

Peace.

Hitmen Softball - The Altercations

2010-08-05T09:59:00.000-07:00

August 3rd, 2010, 6:30 PM PST @ Pan American Park in Long Beach

Here are some email from the players on our team after our 1st game of the season:

Minh also got into a verbal exchange with one of their guys who took exception to Viet trying to throw him out at 3rd base after he thought the play was over (he was off the bag).

-Lyno

Another argument ensued after a double play attempt. The runner on first was halfway between first and second and didn't move out of the baseline as Keith tried to turn the DP. Rather than plunk him in the face, Keith tried to throw around him. The runner at first base was safe. When we argued for interference, the umpire (SOB had an attitude) told Viet to read the rule book. That started another argument between Minh and that dude.

So Dave, my question to you is this: Does "slide or avoid" only apply AT second base? A runner does NOT have to move out of the baseline if he isn't near second?

-Arnie

Towards the end of the game, he apologized. I could smell alcohol on his breath and he said he was just protecting his teammate when he reacted to my comments to Keith about throwing at the runner's head if the runner was in the way.

That said, I will plunk him when the opportunity arises. My throws can be errant to first.

-Minh

Slide-or-avoid is only at 2nd base; the rule is there to protect people in double-play situations. If they just want to plant themselves in the line of the throw, you drill them and GUARANTEE either a runner's interference call. Even if you don't get the call, the other team will know to avoid or die.

-Dave

I always coach my middle-infielders to throw through the runner if they are not down and out of the way when trying to complete a double play. If they aren't down and out before you throw the ball, they will be right after you throw the ball. Sorry I missed the fun, can't wait to play with you guys soon.

-Kendrick

This was a pretty solid game even though we got handled by a bunch of senior citizens. I knew right off the back that their 3rd baseman was a nutcase. In the first inning, he rednecked himself after I threw to 3rd base when he was clearly off the bag. I had already made eye contact with Minh (our 3rd baseman) so there was no way he was going to get nailed but he didn't see it that way. I reached 3rd base the very next inning and told him the exact same thing. Dude went quiet, and then hesitantly blurted out the play is over let it go. I agreed.

Game notes: The umpire was white and the other team was all white. The only white guy on our team called the other team "true definition of white-trash."

Their team also had 4 chubby dudes behind their bench (all holding Bud Lights), commentating on the game and firing out some funny comments throughout. I thought those guys were pretty damn funny.

Nam, Minh, Arnie, and Lyno all showed up late. We were one minute shy from forfeiting the game. Dennis, JR, and Jimmy were all filling in.

Hitmen next game vs Super Mex is on September 21st.

Anyway, here is the follow-up email from the league coordinator regarding the second altercation. It turns out that umpire is a complete moron. Needless to say I wasn't very confident when he straight up told me "to go check the rule book," so I shut the hell up and played on.

OK, THAT IS OUR SLIDE OR AVOID RULE. WITH A SITUATION LIKE THAT, YOU THROW TO 2ND FOR ONE OUT AND YOUR SS OR 2ND BASEMAN SHOULD THROW THE BALL TO 1ST. IT IS THE RUNNERS RESPONSIBILITY TO GET OUT OF THE WAY. IF THE BALL PLUNKS HIM, THAT IS HIS FAULT. THE UMPIRE SHOULD HAVE RULED AN AUTOMATIC DOUBLE PLAY BECAUSE THE RUNNER DID NOT ATTEMPT TO GET OUT OF THE WAY.

Nick Hause
City of Long Beach Parks, Recreation and Marine
Adult Softball Director
570-1734
nicholas.hause@longbeach.gov

Boxscore:

Standings:

Sayounara!

2009-05-13T16:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends:

As some of you may or may not know, today is my last day here at LegalZoom.

I just wanted to thank you guys all for making my 2.5 years here as easy, fun and enjoyable as possible. Whether it was playing basketball, softball, card-games, or just plain water-cooler talking, you became a part of my life. It's definitely something I don't and won't take for granted. The number of great friendships I've made in the 956-days-after-date-of-hired might be small but the time spent together is immeasurable. So even if I don't show it when I leave my desk for the last time tonight, you guys will be missed.

Stay Connected:
vietngyn@yahoo.com

I'd appreciate it if you guys can send me your personal email and/or cell phone number to vietngyn@yahoo.com (if I don't have it already). Thank you in advance!

Your friend,
Viet

For the record:
LegalZoom Basketball:
Registered for 6 seasons; won 5 championships; lost the bid for a 6th-straight in the 2nd round last week.
LegalZoom Softball:
Registered for 4 seasons; improved our record every single season; finishing first in the 4th and final season.

*Sayounara means "Goodbye, see you again."

Hopefully, I will see you guys all again. Peace out.

Versus Final Score

2009-05-13T15:58:00.000-07:00

May 12th, 2009, 9:00 PM PST @ Mar Vista Rec Cen

The final score was 50-49. We won. Final Score (opponent's team name) actually hit a potential tying three pointer as time expired but the guy's foot was clearly on the line. Sucker shot.

We were actually up by 8-points with a minute left but found a way to almost blow the lead.

Cougar Bait's Basketball Record: 8-0.

The Ballers:
Viet
Matt
Jesse
Brett
Nate

Versus Sky Ballin

2009-05-13T15:56:00.001-07:00

May 9th, 2009, 1:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

We lost this game by four points. It was a good game to watch because both teams were going at it verbally and physically.

They jumped on us by 17 points. We got it down to one point with 30 seconds left and then my terrible defense gave up a big three pointer that pretty much made it a wrap for us.

LBC Basketball Record: 4-3.

The Ballers:
Steve
Nam
Viet
Tuan
Manny
James

De-Throned

2009-05-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

May 6th, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

LZ's bid for a 6th consecutive title was cut short on Wednesday night.

We just didn't move the ball and too many players showed up. I'm not sure what it was but I didn't care for this game. We lost by 4.

This is a very fitting lost since my days at LZ is coming to an end next week. I will no longer be coordinating this league, not sure if someone will take over my general managing duties. If not, peace out LZ Basketball.

The Players:
Larry
Marlon
Viet
Kevin
Frank
Brian
John
Miles

Here is the email from the Commish:

"DOWN GOES FRAZIER! DOWN GOES FRAZIER!" Those are the most famous quotes in boxing spoke by Howard Cosell when Joe Frazier went up against George Foreman. No one could believe the way Smokin Joe was Handled by Big George. As the clock ticked down I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The 6x defending champs were going down, and with 30 seconds left in the game Brett Hamilton hit a KO 3 to jump the lead to 4 and knock the champs down. As soon as that 3 swished through, I heard those words and saw the eyes of the champs, glassy eyed and sunk. In a back and forth battle Legal Zoom was showing why they were number 1, but LA Suns just played playoff basketball, a tough gritty and determined game.

In the second game we had the Trojans vs. Usual suspects. This game took 3 overtimes to finish! Both sides were banging away, the refs did a great job of just letting you play and let you bang around a little bit. Van Lathen played a great game in the paint, and hit a few big 3's to keep Usual Suspects in the game. But the biggest 3 came from Bobby Edner. Hitting a game tying 3 at the end of regulation. Then it took 3 more times for The Trojans to take control and win this game. Great defense led to easy buckets, a great game played by both teams!

The Final had the LA Suns vs. Trojans. How ironic is it that Trojans lost the Championship the exact same way as last year…a last second tip in by the LA Suns. Final score of 73-71. The dagger that must have went through their hearts. Congratulations on a great season and CONGRATULATIONS to the LA SUNS for playing like Champions in the playoffs and finally getting a Championship after 3 seasons in the league!

The next league will start June 17th. We will have 2 weeks of scrimmages June 3rd and June 10. This will give you 2 weeks to set your roster and pay your fees. If your team wants to play again please let me know, I will get the scrimmage schedules out in a few weeks once the time comes closer.

Thanks!

Still Perfect

2009-05-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

May 5th, 2009, 8:00 PM PST @ Mar Vista Rec Cen

We beat Pineriders easily by 20 something points.

Cougar Bait's Basketball Record: 7-0.

The Ballers:
Viet
Kevin
Matt
Nate
Nesta
Jesse
Brett

Football over Basketball Game

2009-05-04T11:38:00.001-07:00

May 3rd, 2009, 3:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

I didn't go to this game because I went to go play football in San Marino.

I heard we won by 21 points over Long Beach (a very weak team).

LBC Basketball Record: 4-2.

Bad Season Ends

2009-05-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

May 3rd, 2009, 9:00 AM PST @ Maywood HS

Our Dementor's Basketball season came to a end on Sunday morning with a decent win.

This game was close the whole way when it shouldn't have been. We won, 78-69. I don't know the team we played against but it was a bunch of random black guys.

Again, our defense was terrible.

Dementor's Basketball Record: 2-8. Season over. We didn't make the playoffs, obviously.

The Players:
Tuan
Viet
James
Aaron
Jose
Brady

A High Scoring Game

2009-05-04T11:31:00.001-07:00

May 2nd, 2009, 3:00 PM PST @ Maywood HS

The final score was 117-109. We lost.

I scored at least 27 points but it wasn't enough as we cut the other team's 11-point lead down to 2 but couldnt get any closer. James showed up with 11 minutes left in the 2nd half. We used a random sub to start the game.

I hit 5 threes in a row in the 2nd half to charge the comeback but a couple of my teammates aren't just clutch enough. I'm labeling two of them as soft-players because their defense is pathetic and their rebounding is horrendous haha.

Dementor's Basketball Record: 1-8.

The No-Defense Team:
Viet
Tuan
James
Cesar
Aaron
Brady

The Bases Loaded Walk

2009-05-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

April 30th, 2009, 8:00 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

Email from my manager:

Good Morning Rockets,

What a win this past week! This is the second consecutive win in the last two weeks where we won with an identical score of 12-11. J I don’t recall anything like this. Our bats came to hit last week. We had a rally every inning. Ron hit two timely homeruns to keep things going for us, including the game tying HR in the top of the 7th. Viet’s bases loaded walk to force in the winning run was the key. Our defense made some clutch plays throughout the game. More importantly, James’s pitching and our defense kept them scoreless in the bottom of the 7th to preserve the win. (James struck out the last batter w/ the bases loaded) It was a very good win for us.

Next up will be Diablos. I am confident we can continue our good play and winning streak. Keep up the nice work everyone. The game is on this Thursday @ 8 p.m. If you cannot make it, please advise.

Thank you.
Mike

Gamenotes: A crazy thing did happen in the 2nd inning when our pitcher was trying to score from 2nd on a single and completely ran over the catcher (a small asian chick) from the other team. James was called out but he put a solid lickin on that poor catcher.

Rockets Softball Record: 4-0.

The Players:
Ron
Scott
Viet
Gary
James
Sarah
Morgan
Dana
Mike
Michael

League Schedules

2009-04-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

Rockets Softball - Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills
Thursday, April 9th, 2009, 6:30 PM vs No Fear
Thursday, April 16th, 2009, 6:30 PM vs Health Net
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009, 6:30 PM at Bomb Squad
Thursday, April 30th, 2009, 8:00 PM at Green Hornets
Thursday, May 7th, 2009, 8:00 PM vs Diablos - Postponed
Thursday, May 14th, 2009, 6:30 PM at The Dawgs - Postponed
Thursday, May 21st, 2009, 8:00 PM vs Blue Shield
Thursday, May 28th, 2009, 6:30 PM at No Fear
Thursday, June 4th, 2009, 6:30 PM at Health Net
Thursday, June 11th, 2009, 6:30 PM vs Bomb Squad
Thursday, June 18th, 2009, 8:00 PM vs Green Hornets
Thursday, June 25th, 2009, 8:00 PM at Diablos
Thursday, July 9th, 2009, 6:30 PM vs The Dawgs
Thursday, July 16th, 2009, 8:00 PM at Blue Shield

LegalZoom Basketball - LA Fitness in Hollywood
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009, 7:00 PM vs FLM
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs Usual Suspects
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs NYC Wonder
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs Milwaukee's Best
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs Trojans
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs LA Suns
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs FLM
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs Usual Suspects
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs NYC Wonder
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs Milwaukee's Best
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 7:00 PM vs Trojans
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 7:00 PM vs LA Suns
Season Ends - Playoffs:
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009, 7:00 PM - semi's
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009, 9:00 PM - finals (if necessary)

Cougar Bait Basketball - Mar Vista Rec Cen in Culver City
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009, 8:00 PM vs Pineriders
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs Final Score
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs VIPs
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009, 8:00 PM vs Nothing But
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009, 9:00 PM
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009, 8:00 PM vs Pineriders
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009, 9:00 PM vs Final Score
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009, 9:00 PM vs VIPs
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009, 7:00 PM

LBC Basketball - Banning HS in Wilmington
Saturday, March 28th, 2009, 5:20 PM vs Long Beach
Sunday, April 5th, 2009, 2:20 PM vs West Coast All-Stars
Saturday, April 11th, 2009, 3:20 PM vs Zoom
Sunday, April 19th, 2009, 12:20 PM vs Hitmen
Saturday, April 25th, 2009, 1:20 PM vs Pre-Eminent
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009, 3:20 PM vs Long Beach
Saturday, May 9th, 2009, 1:20 PM vs Sky Ballin
Saturday, May 16th, 2009, 11:50 AM vs Young Bucks
Sunday, May 31st, 2009, 11:20 AM vs That Team
Saturday, June 13th, 1:20 PM vs That Team

Dementors Basketball - Maywood HS in Maywood
Sunday, February 8th, 2009, 10:00 AM
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009, 12:00 PM vs Underdogs
Sunday, March 1st, 2009, 1:00 PM
Friday, March 6th, 2009, 8:00 PM
Sunday, March 15th, 2009, 11:00 AM
Saturday, March 21st, 2009, 12:00 PM vs Fellas
Saturday, March 28th, 2009, 3:00 PM
Saturday, April 25th, 2009, 3:00 PM
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009, 3:00 PM
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009, 9:00 AM
* i still need to pickup the schedule*

Key:
Green = Wins
Red = Losses

CB Wins

2009-04-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

Arpil 28th, 2009, 9:00 PM PST @ Mar Vista Rec Center

I think we won this game by like 9 points after blowing a 21-point lead. We played these guys in the season-0pener. I don't know their team name.

Cougar Bait's Basketball Record: 6-0.

The Ballers:
Kevin
Viet
Matt
Jesse
Brett
Fredde

League Updates - April 2009

2009-04-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

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]
Season #6: 11-1 season [finished 1st], playoffs start next week.
Next Game: Wednesday, May 6th @ 700pm.

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: 10-0 season [finished 1st], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in quarterfinals].
Season #5: 3-2 season.
Next Game: ..

Rockets Softball (Woodland Hills - Northrup Grunman)
Season #1: 7-4-0 season, [finished 5th], no playoffs
Season #2: 3-0-0 season.
Next Game: Thursday, April 30th, 2009 @ 800pm

Dementors Basketball (Maywood - Maywood HS)
Season #1: 1-7-0 season.
Next Game: ..

Cougar Bait Basketball (Mar Vista Rec Center)
Season #1: 5-0-0 season.
Next Game: Tonight, April 28th, @ 900pm

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: 8-4-0, no playoffs
Unregistered.

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.
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: 10-0 season [finished 1st], 0-1 playoffs [lost in quarterfinals]
Unregistered. These guys are still playing but this league is just too far for me.

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

Dementors

2009-04-28T17:20:00.001-07:00

April 25th, 2009, 3:00 PM PST @ Maywood HS

Again, I was in San Jose. I heard we lost by 34, 118-84. We really suck in this league.

Dementors' Basketball Record: 1-7

LBC

2009-04-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

April 25th, 2009, 1:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

I heard we dropped this one by 13 or so to Pre-Eminent. I was in Santa Clara for the weekend.

LBC Basketball Record: 3-2.

Rockets

2009-04-28T17:16:00.001-07:00

April 23rd, 2009, 6:30 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

I didn't go this one because of a friend's fundraiser at the Science Center @ USC.

I heard we won 12-11 to stay perfect for the season.

Rockets' Softball Record: 3-0

LZ Closes Season With a Win

2009-04-23T12:33:00.001-07:00

April 22nd, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

We beat LA Suns by 12 points. I think the final score was 86-74. The season is over and the quest for the 6th consecutive championship starts in 2 weeks.

LegalZoom Basketball Record: 11-1

The Hoopers:
Brian
Viet
Miles
John
Nick
Ryan

I won't be able to make my softball game tonight because I'm attending a fundraiser. We're playing the Diablos.

Cougar Bait Stays Perfect

2009-04-23T12:31:00.001-07:00

April 21st, 2009, 8:00 PM PST @ Mar Vista Rec Cen

I don't remember the final score but it was something like 56-44. We beat Nothing But by 12 points.

I didn't dominate or anything but I had a solid game.

This was a happy night because of what happened after the game.

Cougar Bait's Basketball Record: 5-0

The Ballers:
Viet
Kevin
Frank
Nesta
Jesse
Brett
Matt

LBC beats Hitmen

2009-04-20T11:11:00.001-07:00

April 19th, 2009, 12:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

I didn't attend this game because I went the Long Beach Grand Prix.

I heard we won by 13 points. The Lakers also won by 13 points.

LBC Basketball Record: 3-1

Health Net-Loss

2009-04-17T09:16:00.000-07:00

April 16th, 2009, 6:30 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

We cruised to an easy win last over Health Net. I believe the final score was 21-2. Mike Chan batted me in the leadoff spot for the first time (apparently I impressed him enough last week with 2 hit and a couple ribi's including a hustle-triple).

Too bad in my first at-bat I only took one ball and then swung at the second pitch that was clearly out of the zone and hit a weak grounder for an out. I did crush the ball in my next 3 at-bats including a left-handed at-bat. 3 for 4 with a couple more RBI's and runs scored.

That pitcher was weak though so we'll see how it goes next time out.

Rockets Record: 2-0

The Players:
Ron
Mike
Michael
Ryan
Morgan
Dana
Gary
Peggy
Viet

Payback

2009-04-16T14:32:00.000-07:00

April 15th, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

I didn't show up to the first outing when we played the Trojans. I got a text from Kev that night telling me that we lost...by 20. It's our only lost of the season. I'm not saying that I would of made a difference but three guys that did show up to that game were not there last night (John, Marlon, & Miles).

Either way, that wasn't good.

Round two was a different story. We beat the Trojans last night by eight points and were up pretty much all of the 2nd half between 8 and 11 points. They did cut the lead down to 4 points but never got closer than that.

I think the final score was 84-76.

The Players:
Viet
Kevin
Frank
Ryan
Brian
Nick

Finally

2009-04-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

April 14th, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ Mar Vista Rec Cen

I finally had a good game at the Mar Vista Rec Cen. Actually, my first game was pretty good but the last 2 were pretty bad including last week's in which I thought it was one of my worst games ever. Good thing my teammates are pretty solid and they made up for my suckiness.

It was my turn in this game versus VIPs.

For some reason we just didn't play well all game and there was a point in the game that all our buckets were just coming off me making breakaway layups and slashing after a quick pump fake for easy points in the paint (I'm just too fast for the defense to rotate over).

As for some notable moments..Jesse hit a big three with about 5 minutes left to tie the game. Frank hit two free throws in overtime right after they stole the tip and got an and-1 to go up 3. We got a stop and then I got one of my layups to put us up 3. After they scored to cut it to 1, Brett hit a baseline jumper to put us up 3 and they missed a couple 3's after that and Kev iced the game with a couple free throws.

We won by 5 points in overtime. I think the final score was something like 59-54.

Cougar Bait's Record: 4-0

The Players:
Viet
Kevin
Brett
Jesse
Matt
Frank

Buzzer Misser

2009-04-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

April 11th, 2009, 3:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

We lost by 3 points to this team called Zoom. I played pretty well in this game except we didn't really play any defense. We were down by 9 at halftime and led by 7 after three quarters.

We were down by 3 points with 11 seconds and had 3 cracks at tying it with me missing the final shot as time expired. It was a wide-open shot, after James tapped out a missed 3-pointer that went straight into my hands. I'm not sure how I missed this shot but I just missed it. Good game us.

LBC Basketball Record: 2-1

The Players:
Nam
Viet
Tuan
Manny
James
Steve
Louis

Ouch

2009-04-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

April 9th, 2009, 6:30 PM PST @ Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

We got off to a solid start for our softball team in the valley. We used a 9-run 4th inning to beat No Fear fairly easily.

I played right field for the first 2 innings, dropping one fly ball on a tough looper. I then replaced the injured shortstop and played there for the rest of the game.

As for the bat, 2 for 3 with a couple RBI's and runs scored. Not bad for a couple months layoff.

Rockets Softball Record: 1-0

Gamenote: There was a play in the 5th inning that kinda sucked for this white chick on the other team where our left fielder gunned the ball home trying to throw her out and the ball just zipped straight for her ankle (I heard a nice pop and thought it had just hit her shoe - unfortunately it didn't). She ended up scoring but was down and out and done for. I checked her out after the inning ended and there was a nice softball mark on her ankle-ball. She was pretty cool about it and definitely a true trooper as she came out and high-fived everyone on our team on a good game (traditional softball gesture after the game) on one leg. I told her that mark definitely makes her leg look a lot more sexier and she laughed. FYI, I didn't get the number. Nonetheless, props to this chick.

The Players:
Mike
Michael
Ron
Dana
Dana's Dad
Scott
Viet
Morgan
Peggy
James
Ryan

Bounce Back

2009-04-09T14:21:00.000-07:00

April 8th, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

Our LZ basketball team improved to 9-1 with a 82-69 win on Wednesday night over Milwaukee's Best.

I didn't play great but definitely a lot better than my last 2 basketball games.

The Players:
Kevin
Viet
Frank
Miles
Nick

LegalZoom Basketball Record: 9-1

League Schedules

2009-04-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

Rockets Softball - Northrup Grunman in Woodland Hills

Thursday, April 9th, 2009, 6:30 PM vs No Fear
Thursday, April 16th, 2009, 6:30 PM vs Health Net
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009, 6:30 PM at Bomb Squad
Thursday, April 30th, 2009, 8:00 PM at Green Hornets
Thursday, May 7th, 2009, 8:00 PM vs Diablos
Thursday, May 14th, 2009, 6:30 PM at The Dawgs
Thursday, May 21st, 2009, 8:00 PM vs Blue Shield
Thursday, May 28th, 2009, 6:30 PM at No Fear
Thursday, June 4th, 2009, 6:30 PM at Health Net
Thursday, June 11th, 2009, 6:30 PM vs Bomb Squad
Thursday, June 18th, 2009, 8:00 PM vs Green Hornets
Thursday, June 25th, 2009, 8:00 PM at Diablos
Thursday, July 9th, 2009, 6:30 PM vs The Dawgs
Thursday, July 16th, 2009, 8:00 PM at Blue Shield

LegalZoom Basketball - LA Fitness in Hollywood

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009, 7:00 PM vs FLM
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs Usual Suspects
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs NYC Wonder
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs Milwaukee's Best
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs Trojans
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs LA Suns
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs FLM
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs Usual Suspects
Wednesday, March 25th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs NYC Wonder
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs Milwaukee's Best
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 7:00 PM vs Trojans
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009 7:00 PM vs LA Suns
Season Ends - Playoffs:
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009, 7:00 PM - semi's
Wednesday, May 6th, 2009, 9:00 PM - finals (if necessary)

Cougar Bait Basketball - Mar Vista Rec Cen in Culver City

Tuesday, March 24th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs
Tuesday, March 31st, 2009, 8:00 PM vs Pineriders
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs Final Score
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009, 7:00 PM vs VIPs
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009, 8:00 PM vs Nothing But
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009, 9:00 PM
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009, 8:00 PM
Tuesday, May 12th, 2009, 9:00 PM
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009, 9:00 PM
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009, 7:00 PM

LBC Basketball - Banning HS in Wilmington

Saturday, March 28th, 2009, 5:20 PM vs Long Beach
Sunday, April 5th, 2009, 2:20 PM vs West Coast All-Stars
Saturday, April 11th, 2009, 3:20 PM vs Zoom
Sunday, April 19th, 2009, 12:20 PM vs Hitmen
Saturday, April 25th, 2009, 1:20 PM vs Pre-Eminent
Sunday, May 3rd, 2009, 3:20 PM vs Long Beach
Saturday, May 9th, 2009, 1:20 PM vs Sky Ballin
Saturday, May 16th, 2009, 11:50 AM vs Young Bucks
Sunday, May 31st, 2009, 11:20 AM vs That Team
Saturday, June 13th, 1:20 PM vs That Team

Dementors Basketball - Maywood HS in Maywood

Sunday, February 8th, 2009, 10:00 AM
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009, 12:00 PM vs Underdogs
Sunday, March 1st, 2009, 1:00 PM
Friday, March 6th, 2009, 8:00 PM
Sunday, March 15th, 2009, 11:00 AM
Saturday, March 21st, 2009, 12:00 PM vs Fellas
Saturday, March 28th, 2009, 3:00 PM
Saturday, April 25th, 2009, 3:00 PM
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009, 3:00 PM
* i still need to pickup the schedule*

Key:
Green = Wins
Red = Losses

Bay to Breakers

2009-04-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

I just registered to run in this baby on Sunday, May 17th, 2009 @ 8am in San Francisco.

I chose option A which says that I need to do 8 minutes per mile.

Sucked Again

2009-04-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

April 7th, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ Mar Vista Rec Cen

I shot like crap again but the important thing is, we won again (thanks to Frank). I think the final score was:

Cougar Bait 68,
Final Score 63

Cougar Bait Record: 3-0

The Players:
Kevin
Matt
Viet
Nesta
Brett
Frank

12 Straight Regular Season Wins

2009-04-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

April 5th, 2009, 2:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

We win even though I missed my first 6 shots. I think I finished around 3 for 13 from the field. Weak.

LBC Basketball Record: 2-0

The Players:
Viet
Tuan
James
Manny
Steve
Louis

Cougar Bait

2009-04-01T13:55:00.000-07:00

March 31st, 2009, 8:00 PM PST @ Mar Vista Rec Center

To my dismay, I found out last night that our team name is Cougar Bait and not the Assassins - not as I had hoped. That was the bad news. The good news was that we won the game by 26 points over Pineriders, 61-35.

The Players:
Kevin
Matt
Viet
Jesse
Nesta
Bret

Cougar Bait's Record: 2-0

Two Winners, One Defeat

2009-03-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

March 25th, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

LZ gets a forfeit win over NYC Wonder.

March 28th, 2009, 3:00 PM PST @ Maywood HS

I didn't go but I heard we lost by 10 points.

Dementors' Record: 1-6

March 28th, 2009, 5:20 PM PST @ Banning HS

I didn't go to this one either but I heard we won our first game of the season.

League Updates - March 2009

2009-03-25T14:25:00.000-07:00

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]
Season #6: 7-1 season.
Next Game: Tonight, March 25th @ 700pm.

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: 10-0 season [finished 1st], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in quarterfinals].
Next Game: First game of the season, Saturday, March 28th, 520pm.

Rockets Softball (Woodland Hills - Northrup Grunman)
Season #1: 7-4-0 season, [finished 5th], no playoffs
Next Game: Thursday, April 9th, 2009 @ 630pm

Dementors Basketball (Maywood - Maywood HS)
Season #1: 1-5-0 season.
Next Game: Saturday, March 28th, 300pm.

Cougar Bait Basketball (Mar Vista Rec Center)
Season #1: 1-0-0 season.
Next Game: Tuesday, March 31st, @ 700pm

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: 8-4-0, no playoffs
Unregistered.

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.
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: 10-0 season [finished 1st], 0-1 playoffs [lost in quarterfinals]
Unregistered. These guys are still playing but this league is just too far for me.

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

New Team

2009-03-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

March 24th, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ Mar Vista Rec Center

I jumped on to a new team with Kevin, Frank, and Fredde last night. Our first game was a success: a 20-point victory over a all-black team that was pretty weak.

I'm not sure what our team name is yet. I'll call it The Assassins for now.

Record: 1-0

Players:
Viet
Kevin
Fredde
Frank
Nesta
Jesse

Whooped

2009-03-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

March 21st, 2009, 12:00 PM PST @ Maywood HS

We were whooped in this one big-time. It was a close game up to about the 15-minutes mark remaining in the 2nd half. That's when we started turning the ball over left and right, and got smashed by 20 points to the Fellas.

Dementors' Record: 1-5

The Players:
Viet
Tuan
Cesar
Aaron
Jose

No Contest

2009-03-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

March 18th, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

The battle for first place between the top 2-teams resulted in a blow-out win for LegalZoom. Both teams came in with a 6-1 record.

We smashed them by 20.

Players:
Kev
Viet
Frank
Miles
Ryan
Nick

Softball Trophy Letter

2009-03-17T16:00:00.001-07:00

Updating

2009-03-16T16:40:00.000-07:00

March 4th, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

I didn't attend but we were winners.

March 11th, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

I made my comeback and we beat the winless F L M.
LegalZoom's Record: 6-1

Players:
Viet
John
Frank
Miles
Marlon
Nick
Norleo

March 15th, 2009, 11:00 AM PST @ Maywood HS

I made another comeback and we got our first win 84-77 in overtime. This one dude had a chance to win in overtime because we fouled him but he made the first and missed the second. Time had elapsed and we were holding onto a one point lead.

Dementors' Record: 1-4

Players:
Viet
Tuan
James
Aaron
Brady
Jose

Dementors' Fourth Game

2009-03-09T14:03:00.000-07:00

March 6th, 2009, 8:00 PM PST @ Maywood HS

I missed this game because I was balling at UCLA. I didn't feel like sitting around after work for a couple hours when I get more exercise playing pickup. I'm not sure of the result.

I've been missing a lot of games. I can't help it, I've been tied down with things and feeling beat.

Updated: The game resulted in another loss and Manny said he suffered broken ribs from those hackers.

Record: 0-4. Not sure what's going on here but I'm sure we have the best team in the league.

Championship Rematch

2009-03-02T11:32:00.000-08:00

February 25th, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

Our championship rematch didn't go as well as planned. I didn't go to work so I'm not sure what happened but we didn't win.

March 1st, 2009, 1:00 PM PST @ Maywood HS

I didn't go to this game because I got stuck at home babysitting the father. I heard we lost by 1-point.

Record: 0-3

Dementors' Second Game

2009-02-24T11:55:00.000-08:00

February 22nd, 2009, 12:00 PM PST @ Maywood HS

We lost to the Underdog by 3 points, 96-93. We opened up this game on fire (I hit two quick early 3's to put us up 8-2 before the seats were even warm). The lead went up to 18 early on and then Manny came in (for me - cause I'm still taking it light for the time-being) and things started to unravel. They chopped the lead down to 5 at halftime.

In the second half, we just never got it going until it was too late. They went up 17 within the first 10 minutes and we used the last 10 minutes to come back. We were able to cut it down to 2 with James at the line with 6 seconds left with a chance to tie the game and possibly push it into overtime but James missed the first free throw. Good game.

Record: 0-2.

Blacked Out

2009-02-24T11:47:00.000-08:00

February 18th, 2009, 8:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

I'm not sure what happened in this game.

I blacked out about 6 minutes in and left the gym @ halftime. It wasn't cool.

Here's a few details that I do know: The other team started the game with only 4 players and we had 8. Their 5th man showed up at halftime and we won the game.

Possible attributes to blacking out:
1. Stress
2. Fatigue/Tiredness
3. Lack of Sleep
4. Dehydration
5. Hunger
6. Unhealthy Eating Habits
7. Too much exposure to a computer screen with minimal or no breaks.
8. All of the above.

Dementors' First Game

2009-02-10T15:08:00.000-08:00

February 8th, 2009, 10:00 AM PST @ Maywood Academy HS

My first game for this new league in Maywood was a lost. I put up 8-points on 3/4 for shooting in the losing effort. I definitely hesitated one too many times on pulling a couple open 3's. I'm not sure why cause I was feeling good too.

We jumped out to a 12-point lead but that lead dwindle away slowly and we lost by like 6 or 8 points or something.

I don't know the team we played because I don't have a schedule and nor do I know our own team name haha.

I'll be sure to find out this information as the season progresses.

Record: 0-1

Just Trucking Along

2009-02-06T09:30:00.000-08:00

January 4th, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

The Killer K attacks again with a 24-point performance as we improve to 3-0. As for me, I've been playing like garbage (averaging 7-points per game).

I'm not sure what's going but I've been sucking in my league games and killing in pickup games at UCLA. Whatever.

LZ Improves to 2-0

2009-02-02T14:26:00.000-08:00

January 28th, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

The Killer K drops 29 points on zero hours of sleep..

League Updates - January 2009

2009-01-26T15:50:00.000-08:00

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: 8-4-0, no playoffs
Next Game: New Season starts first week of April.

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]
Season #6: 1-0 season.
Next Game: Wednesday, January 28th @ 7pm.

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. Hopefully.

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: 10-0 season [finished 1st], 0-1 playoffs [eliminated in quarterfinals].
Next Game: Not sure when the new season is starting.

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: 10-0 season [finished 1st], 0-1 playoffs [lost in quarterfinals]
Next Game: New season will start in mid-February.

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.

New League (Maywood - Maywood HS)
I think we had a practice game or something yesterday afternoon. We won by 1.

Mammoth in Pictures

2009-01-22T16:08:00.000-08:00

January 16th, 2009 through January 19th, 2009.

Solid Start to Season Six

2009-01-22T15:53:00.000-08:00

January 21st, 2009, 7:00 PM PST @ LA Fitness Hollywood

LegalZoom (1-0) started the season off on the right foot last night, edging FLM by a couple points.

We led by 8 to 10 points for most of the game. FLM is a newcomer with a former LZ player and Kev's former roommate.

We only had 3 players to start this game and had to pick up 2 players.

I sent out an email earlier today to the team regarding their attendence..

From: Viet Nguyen

Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2009 2:33 PM

To: Edgar Abramyan; Sean Akamine; milesb11@hotmail.com; Jack Chang; Brian Connell; lboogie3232@hotmail.com; frank@evaniskorealty.com; Troy Flowers; Eugene Kim; Brian Lee; Gregory Leonard; Kevin Lew-Hailer; Brian Liu; bedroomtunz@yahoo.com; John Moseley; Mark Mutafian; Monica Fletcher; Eric Tolbert; Keith Williams; Matt Withers

Subject: LZ BASKETBALL ROSTER SHAKEUP

Fellas,

Here's what I have for the roster:

1. Viet
2. Kevin
3. Frank
4. Ryan
5. Miles

6. Matt
7. John
8. Larry
9. Marlon
10. Edgar

*if you're not listed here, then please ignore the rest of this email*

Let me know what your plans are for the season. You're either in or you're out. I need to know ASAP so I can figure out who to drop. Last night, we only had 3 people show and had to beg the other team to let us pick up two random players just so we can run a game. That's ridiculous.

The Brian's are generous enough to pay for this league and we're all participating at no cost. As of right now, LZ has paid for 10 players (@ $50 per person). Even though I've negotiated a $100 discount to drop it down to $400 total, this is still a lot of money and the company is pretty much paying for all these open slots. And as manager I am responsible for getting the most productive team possible for each registration fee dollar.

So I need to know if you're gonna be committed to playing or not. None of this "I'll show up in a couple weeks," or "Yeah, I'll be there a little late," (and not show up). If you're on the roster, I expect you to respond and not go unnoticed by saying nothing. A no-response is not cool. I shouldn't be chasing each and everyone of you guys down to see if you're coming to the game. You're all responsible adults so be one.

Thank you and have a nice day,
Viet
310-600-57xx

- Sorry to the rest of you guys who do show up and/or are legitimately excused.

Super Tilt - Last Softball Game of Season

2009-01-21T15:55:00.000-08:00

January 20th, 2009, 9:00 PM PST @ Cheviot Hills Park

It was a terrible night.

I went to go play basketball @ UCLA last night and it was one of my better days shooting the ball. I was also grabbing rebounds left and right but somehow I lost all three games I played (all back-t0-back-to-back).

And then I had my softball game @ 9 where I showed up nearly late and was on dead-tilt to start the game. I'm not sure what it was but I was a pretty angry man. I was heated on the mound and it definitely threw me off. I was fighting the demons just trying to throw a strike.

To make matters worst, during my first at-bat, the girl pitcher on the other team threw me a cookie to smash and I swung as hard as I can trying to kill it and the ball spun up in the air straight to the pitcher for an easy out. I wanted to throw the bat threw the fence. Then on my 2nd at-bat, I was so pissed that the score was 15-3 that I batted left-handed and I swung and missed on both pitches. If you thought I was upset after the first at-bat, boy, I wanted to kill somebody after swinging and missing.

So I went 0-for-2 at the plate in the first 3 innings and I gave up a million walks, leading to 15 runs for the Prison Breakers.

I finally realized what an idiot I was after three innings and that I was killing my team with my attitude. I really was ashamed of myself even though I blame it on fatigue and starvation. I didn't eat dinner and I didn't get much sleep the night before nor the entire weekend in Mammoth.

Anyhow, I settled down after the 3rd inning and finished the game fairly well, giving up only 2 runs in the last 3 innings and going 2 for 2 with the bat.

That's it for the season. We finished with the same record as last season at 8-4. There will be no playoffs.

In Need of a New Catcher

2009-01-15T11:05:00.000-08:00

January 13th, 2009, 9:00 PM PST @ Cheviot Hills Park

The brothers, Minh and Nam filled in for this game and we lost a good one, 15-11. Our offense stank in this game and MVP Mary Griffith solidified the bottom of the lineup with three strikeouts. She also made some terrible toss-backs to me as catcher. It throws off my rhythm a little but that wasn't the reason why we lost the game. Our defense sucked and we didnt swing the wood well enough.

The only highlight of the game was two bombs from the little brother where he just completely crushed the ball. The outfielders were playing hella deep but he still blasted both pitches.

Bombed By Bombers

2009-01-12T12:21:00.000-08:00

January 11th, 2009, 1:15 PM PST @ Banning HS

Our undefeated season went down the drain Sunday afternoon when we played the worst game of the season (first game of the postseason - 2nd round) and got eliminated by the Bombers (5-6). We finished the season at a 10-1 clip.

I didn't really get to shoot in this game, going 2 for 3 from the field. We took a lot of bad shots, turned the ball over one too many times and missed a ton of free throws. In the end, we didn't really deserved to win the game.

We had a one point lead with 20 seconds left but I fouled this guy driving to the basket and he made both free throws.

Our four-man, James had a crack to win it with a baby 5-foot jumper but he clanked it long after dribbling off the last 13 seconds of the game in an iso-1-on-1.

Goodbye perfect season.

Cold Night

2009-01-07T16:12:00.000-08:00

January 6th, 2008, 9:00 PM PST @ Penmar Rec Center

This game was a near disaster in all aspects.

First of all, I finished playing basketball at UCLA around 8:30 and received a phone call from Kendy saying that the park was dead with no lights. That reminded me that the location of our softball had been changed. I was notify but I had forgot to relay the message to our team hah. So Kendy is at the park where we usually play (Pan Pacific) and is telling me that half the team is sitting in the dark and wondering what the hell was going on. Must of been fun.

Anyway, we finally got a hold of the directions to the new park and they all carpooled over there. Luckily, for me, Kev, and Freddy, the three of us had just finished playing basketball and the new park wasn't too far from UCLA. Jackpot for us.

After a few mis-directions and wrong-turns, we finally arrived at the park 10 minutes late and the other team was just waiting there with the umpire. Suckers.

As for the game, we lost by one run. I had a terrible 2009 first game, as I struck out badly (batting right-handed, not left-handed). I just never strike out batting right-handed but it happened. The night was cold. The air was tight and the ball wasn't carrying. We had zero minutes to warm-up but that was our bad for showing up late.

Outside of Kev's four solid at-bats (the one out he did make was the hardest crushed ball I've ever seen him hit - too bad the defense was ridiculously deep), the whole lineups' bat was just as cold as the night.

Regular Season Perfected Once More

2009-01-07T11:54:00.000-08:00

January 3rd, 2008, 5:30 PM PST @ Banning HS

We had a makeup game this past week versus the Bombers (4-6) and we beat them. Barely. Everybody on our team just about played as bad as they have played all season. Good thing this was still good enough for a 2-point win at the end, where I intentionally fouled the opposing point guard with 3 seconds left coming out of a timeout with us up by only 2 points. The guy had made 6 straight free throws but we had already pre-determined in the timeout that we were gonna foul whoever gets the inbound pass.

The guy goes to the line and clanks the first free throw. The Bombers are out of timeouts so he has to miss the second. He does and we get the rebound. Gametime.

Click Here for the link to the upcoming playoff bracket:

2008 - The Recap

2008-12-31T11:34:00.001-08:00

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!