Week Eight pictures click here: photos
By John Sica
July 18, 2008
The best match of the night was also the longest match.
As the full moon rose over the Atlantic Ocean and almost all nets were
down, a lonely whistle blew from Coach’s lips in the thrilling deciding overtime
game- five, of the match between Marks’ Maintenance and the Sugar Bowl.
The game see-sawed until Marks Maintenance was able to string together
two points to win the match, and the game 23-21.
In another overtime game five in the top division, Casino Towing came
back from a 20-18 to take the rubber game 22-20 against The Flip-Cup All Stars.
The match had some great play and some sloppy play, the result of old age
on one side, and youth on the other.
Frank Ganun sparked the elder statesmen and younger stateswomen of Casino
Towing with some hard hits and as usual Joe racked up points on the service line
with his crafty veteran serves.
Thank goodness Jimmy Sluyk talked Frank down from the Cross Bay Bridge last
week. Joe was impressed though with
Brian Sica’s hard hits calling him the pound-for-pound hardest hitter in the
league. For the All-Stars the
Katey’s and Liz played solid and Liz Murphy had some gre3at sets off the net as
the aging gout-ridden patriarch John Sica was just a shell of his former self.
Jameson’s beat Coppersmiths 3-2 with great play by with the exception of Jay
Butler and Eddie Britt. Both teams
are thinking about demoting them to the lowest division.
Carolyn and TC were the highlights of the games for both teams.
Nobody knew that TC was ambidextrous, especially TC.
The last match in the Ocean division saw Freedhand’s edge Sullivan and
Galleshaw by the same score.
Freedhand’s has only six losses all season, and four of them have come at the
hands of Sullivan and Galleshaw.
S&G just needs a happy Bobby to get them over the hump.
Positive thoughts Big Bob!
They only need three W’s on August 9th.
Then the Freedhand's Court Champs
showed up at the after-game party in style, as usual.
They arrived by boat under the captainship of Bernie O’Connell with a
full representation.
The Bay House was the perfect summer night host, with their outdoor deck, bay
front band, and great food. The
full moon they ordered was the perfect touch.
They served excellent penne vodka, chicken Francese, eggplant rollatini
and the great sounds of the band Pulse.
For the RBVL, the crowd was low; some Rockaway residents still are
reluctant to travel all the way into Breezy Point (2.1 miles) even for excellent
free food and smoking live music on the beach.
If you chose to go back to your local gin mill and listen to the jukebox
you made a mistake. You missed a
great party. Kelly of Sunrise
Senior Living Sharks and Patty of the Bay House Babes want to say happy birthday
to their babes, Emma and Julianna, who both turned six.
The Bay House Babes played beautifully in the first game against division
leading Sand Bar. Then it got ugly
for the babes until they regrouped to take the last game and salvage a 2-3
night. The Babes said they were
“diving” all night. When it was pointed out that the proper volleyball term was
“digging”, Janet Fash pointed out that, “If we were digging, we would have won.”
Where’s Becky? George
Johnson observed that Billy Joel is the Mortal Enemy of McCarthy & Kelly
Volleyball.
Robin Shapiro Realty won a hard fought match taking three games from second
place Last Call, enabling RSR to extend their lead in the standings. For Realty,
Tracey, Colleen and Jac were “jacked up” to face their competitive rivals.
The girls made the toast at the Bay House for Matty wishing him good luck
on his operation. A second toast
went to Pat for holding up the force at Riis Park for them, and for Denise for
getting them to the Bay House. Also
this reporter would like to thank the trio of pretty ladies for cleaning the
table and keeping the league computer dry.
I guess there were too many cold beers on their table.
Last Call prepared for position week by playing team Ukraine as they were
heading to Beijing. At the airport
they bumped into Air Stienberg and the Mrs. returning from their trip to
Swingtown. As the playoffs approach
and play intensifies, their captain has shown that her secret to success lies
not with the Beer Boy, but with her Dairy Queen.
“Hey John of Shapiro’s, what’s up with your serve?
We all changed your diaper.”
Where have the Transplant/ Turtles/ Brooklyn Breakaways been?
Many members of these teams, as well as other teams, were busy the last
two weeks helping out with The Wounded Warriors.
It took a heavy toll on their hearts, minds, and livers.
Thank God though for their support and all of Rockaway’s support for
these great American heroes. As far
as their volleyball, Jimmy was a force out there for the Breakaways despite the
lack of support from the ladies as they dropped 3-2.
The Transplants were boosted after the third game when John showed up
from parts unknown – Farrell’s. (We’ve all been to that well-known watering hole
in Brooklyn.) Jameson’s Turtles
were boosted by from Marie, who instead of serving frosty beverages, served
frosty volleyballs. Also kudos to
Greg, the lean, mean, fighting machine!
Cubby was clean-shaven again after completing the annual Mustache Dash
bicycle run last weekend. If you
want to laugh out loud, search for the race on YouTube; the video from 2007 is
hysterical and the 2008 episode should be available soon.
Mr. Happy can’t take a complement.
When someone noticed how trim a certain person looked,
Steve noted that that person “shouldn’t have gained the weight in the
first place.” Steve’s upping the
ante for the future look of Connolly’s, making it a bikini-contest-ready team
for next year (for females of course).
No need for Connolly’s to win this year, the 127th Street
block party t-shirts were better than the league’s gear.
And all you had to do was show up and drink.
Speaking of that great party, Tommy Tunes wouldn’t shut off the music,
the Gifford kids still have dark circles under their eyes and his neighbors have
still retained lawyers. Mr. Happy
wants to know where was Patty? Her
turn to buy and she doesn’t show up at the bar? Go figure. $$$
Where’s Simon when you need him?
Linda Humphreys, we’re still looking for the tie-dye g-strings.
Sands Point beat Bar 13 NYC 4-1 for the battle of last place.
It was a reversal of last weeks 3=2 loss.
Great serving by Arthur, Eileen,
Allen and Donna, helped carry the Point on a calm night.
Kaitlyn is improving with the summer and is helping to carry the team.
When Ellen had to leave after game three, secret weapon, cheerleading
Carol Farrell, came in to help the team.
Sands Point, with Tim and his crew, the unofficial physical therapists of
the league, are more needed on their team than in the office.
Tonight, Friday the 18th, is the final Rockapulco Run at 7 PM
at 95th Street and the boardwalk, with the party afterwards at the
Lobster House. The
www.bhyc.com team pulled a 4-1 win for the
second week in a row. Where was
Martha though? Still looking to sub
with Jack and Eddie? Please get
real. We are in the last division.
However, we still like winning.
John chose volleyball over Billy Joel at Shea tonight, but of course he’s
been practicing his serve at the Speedo tournament at Fire Island for two weeks
now. It paid off tonight.
Sing us a song, he’s the piano man.
Who need tennis when you have Kitty, Nick2me4 and Jenny Pops bumping,
spiking, serving it up better than Serena and
Venus, on the beach. Mikey
Toolbars needs to soften it up.
They almost lost Billy C in game one to a fancy two stomp.
Remember, stay in your own sand box.
Welcome back, coach Dan, from your recent bogus injury.
Le Greann could not stop the stealth-like talent of Mean Gene Heyn’s
serving this week. How they go from
beating Sex on the Beach 5-0 one week to losing 0-5 the next week is still a
mystery. Even the hummus from West
Babylon could not help them. Blue
Bungalows/Carvel is finally getting their groove back.
Happily the Bagel siblings have realized that fighting over butter vs.
cream cheese was not worth it.
Double dipping Kirby can’t figure out if he’s the Its All Good mascot, or the
Carvel one. He has brought more luck to the team than a two leaf clover could.
A suggestion was made to hold an Over 40/45 tournament on Wednesday night August
13. Everyone is welcome and teams
will be formed by pulling names out of a hat.
For the first time, Ocean, Wave, Beach, Boardwalk, Sun and Moon players
will be mixed together and play as one.
Can world peace be far behind?
f you are under 40/45 you can take a net a play ball on your own, either
with your team or in a pick-up game.
We just want to play a little more volleyball before we shut down for the
winter. Keep reminding us of your
fondest (or funniest) memories from the early days of the league.
We love to hear them and we love to print them.
The RBVL schedule is in the midst of its “Outdoor” section, with the next
two parties continuing our string of waterfront bars - Pier 92 and the Wharf.
The last party of the season is way too close and it will be held at the
Belle Harbor Yacht Club on 8/6. And
then the grand finale takes place at Riis Park on Saturday, August 9th,
when the playoffs determine six champions.
And mark Friday 9/12 on your calendar.
That’s the night of the RVBL Awards Dinner.
As always, if you have any questions
during the week, please call Patty Moule at 917-613-0908.
(Be sure to call between 10 AM and 9 PM.)
Or just check our website at www.rbvl.com.
You'll find the answers to most of your questions there, not to mention
pretty pictures and funny stories.
See you on the beach!