week 5 08

A beautiful night at the beach brought beautiful play at the nets as the RBVL reached the midway point of the 2008 season. Pennant races are heating up and the final playoff spots are being hotly contested. Until the sun shone brightly this week, Lauren Moule wanted to change the name of the day after Tuesday from Wednesday to Rainsday. Connolly’s may have entered the record book with their second consecutive 5-0 victory over It’s All Good. Though victorious, Coach Steve has called a practice session for Monday evening. Be there or be square. And don’t forget that you are the host team next week. Bring your drinking shoes with you. Steal Seal? Nobody cares anymore. Steal TBG? Less people care. Murph, that sound you here is the Sun division calling! Coach Bugsy is scaling back his league administrative duties for a while to concentrate on his spiking and coaching. Good luck with that motley crew of old-timers. We are now 6 for 6 in great party nights. The Harbor Light did their usual bang-up job and put out a delicious buffet for the hungry ballplayers of Rockaway. Included were trays of meatballs, rice, baked ziti, string beans, roasted potatoes, sausage and peppers, Caesar salad, pasta and broccoli but the crowd favorite was the BBQ chicken, which disappeared as quickly as our waitress Lauren could bring it. Keep showing your support for our very generous sponsors. We couldn’t do it without them. Kerry Hills squeaked by the host team Harbor Light 3-2 in a match of long-time archrivals just like the “Outsiders.” Welcome new members, James and Theresa, Egan, Bobby (Maw Chaw), Dory and welcome back Scarlett. As usual, Sean (Mule) was caught in the net like Charley the Tuna.

What's for dinner?

Sal and Mr. G. came in from Bay Ridge for the night for golf at Riis Park and for the festivities at the Harbor Light. They were amazed at the talent in the league. They’d like to know where the Martorana sisters went. And Sal was hoping Donna Ward could give him the old fireman carry once again but she was a no-show, just like Clark. Now let’s take a walk down memory lane. One of the first RBVL cub reporters was a man known by a single name, Coach. He has compiled a top ten list from the 90’s. See how many of these classic moments you remember. And make sure you remind us of others you’d like to mention.

Karaoke at the Irish Circle with the Martorana sisters surfing on their teammates backs to “Surfin’ USA”
A waiter from Abbracciamento’s showing up at the beach in a tuxedo and white gloves, serving a tray of Heineken’s to the team during a timeout in the playoffs.
The dominant teams of the 90’s – The Raintower, The Storage Place and Abbracciamento’s.
Playing on 108^th St and then 86^th St. and getting parking tickets weekly.
Playing on two different nights, Mondays and Tuesdays.
Monday night volleyball throughout the winter at Ecology Village at Floyd Bennett Field.
The two annual pig roast volleyball tournaments, one with a pig and one without a pig.
Joe Abbracciamento flying directly to the beach from S.F. to make a match and changing into his uniform right in front of the referee.
Bobby Fash, Eileen Bledsoe and Sue Brown doing cartwheels at the weekly parties.
The mock engagement party between Coach and Leah, highlighted by the figurines from Tommy Tunes’s wedding cake.

Why Joe writes. Keep dreaming.

Alan has a very nice team and the Boardwalk division is even nicer. Every match has been filled with good sportsmanship. Sands Point lost 1-4 to Boarders but that ties their weekly high. If you banged your ankle on the concrete take a trip over to see Tim at Sands Point. He’ll fix you right up. Brooklyn shut the Windows and the Doors on the Federation 4-1. The win may be attributed to Jimmy Mack’s mandatory Monday night practice. The injury bug has struck the squad and Mary and Cubby (The Henchman) are both out with leg injuries. Average Joes (Eric) (5-0) and Atlantic Service Sandstorms tied a league record with yellow cards in the same game. The Joes won 5-0 in spite of the sun glare off of Geary’s bald spot. Fortunately, (Denise “I Don’t Play Volleyball” Brunner was ably assisted by Arnold and Junior Arnold as they took 3 scrappy games from Simon Says. That leaves the teams tied for first place. Unfortunately, Matty is on the DL for the rest of the summer. Get well soon. This is the Moon division, where everyone gives their all and has a good time, right? Wilma, we’re happy to see you in the Moon division. Don’t think you were tossed to the curb. Where in the World is Coach Dan of bhyc.com? Big Billy “Spike” Collins has not yet recovered from Little Danny Donahue Jr. ‘s spike! And as for the girls from the Yacht Club, you go, girls. Great job winning 3 of 5. Strong play by Kitty, Rory, Chris, Kelly, Nancy, Pam, Nicole, Jen and Cathryn led the way. John and Dawn were terrific after their long make-out session under the rainbow last week. Dan and Rob tore muscles kayaking home from Fire Island and learned a valuable lesson – take the bus next time. Mike S. chipped a tooth and immediately lost several lucrative modeling gigs. The Bayhouse Babes can’t wait until they have a rematch with the Wave, who are making a splash in the Beach division. Keith, we love you but take a chill pill. The Rogers family seem to be having a good time this year. Keep up the good work. Willa Rudolph saw the writing on the wall and got out of town just ahead of Willie and Omar. She was kicked to the curb but the bus didn’t run her over and she ended up at the Sea Bar and she is loving it! Bar 13 NYC lost a close 5-0 match to Jameson’s Turtles but had great all-around play from Ryan and Ashley. At the stroke of midnight, happy birthday to Nora “Pretty Girl” Howard. Pier 92, watch out, your cheerleading title is in jeopardy. But the Breakaways were looking for you at about 11:30 PM for a dance-off and couldn’t find you. Did you get a good night’s sleep? Happy Hour won twice as many points against the Suns of Beaches than the last few weeks by taking two games, including a game 5 overtime thriller 24-22. Keith and TJ spiked a bunch of kills and Tammy led the team with a little bit of everything. Wait until next week when Deidre returns and the team gets even stronger.

John is not happy about the description of his spike in the next paragraph! Joe calls it the way he sees it.

Freedhand’s Yankees took over first place with a strong match against the Flip Cup All Stars. The All Stars, playing without Brian Sica (Pearl Jam) and Kenny Kearns (Knee Jam) were competitive in the early games, but wore down as the perennial champs swept them 5-0. Mark Aiken took down the net as a member of the visiting team should. Unfortunately it was in the middle of the third game as he crashed into it while trying to block a John Sica super slow-mo hit. When the match was over he refused to help his teammates take down the net again since he had already done so once. Next time he crashes the net he should make sure the bag is under it to wrap things up neatly. As it became apparent that the All Stars were not going to win a game, Rich decided it was time to practice his jump serve. As he piled up the points, one of his rockets misfired and smashed his setter Michelle on the head, putting her in in the sports annals with Pat LaFontaine, Troy Aikman, Steve Young and Ryan Church. Unfortunately for the All Stars, their best player was Katey Porporor, and as the Freedhand’s took note, they will steal her away as they did Jackie Kenell a few years ago.

Hotwood from Last Call dropped a cup size but is still feeling top-heavy helping the beer boy. Maybe he has to go.Zsa Zsa has hired a detective to locate Road Kill so she can make a new necklace. Donald has perfect attendance at the bars but may need a new liver soon. Don’t look at the Blonde Bombshell if you need a transplant; you have a better chance with Deadwood who hasn’t had a Corona since August. Bobby O. was in rare form since his lovely wife turned 50. Patsy, please stay away. Don’t widen the doors yet for all of the swollen heads; the season is still young. New team rule: Kids should go to the Summer Classic by themselves so that their parents can go to volleyball.

What is she High? Denise has her head in the clouds and her feet?? on someone's back?