It Never Rains in Southern Rocka-fornia by John Sica
I hate to start the story with a weather report but there is a weird phenomenon that only volleyball players can appreciate. For non players Wednesday night looked miserable; cloudy, dark, a little rain, and some low temps for June. But for volleyball, there was the key ingredient, NO WIND and everyone loved it.
Bay House Babes are having a good time. They are playing like a team, having fun like a family. Oh yeah and they won 5-0 over It’s All Good. Patty served for over twelve straight points on a calm night. Despite the 5-0 score, the volleys were great, with phenomenal dives by Eddie and Bugsy. More on that match below. Sands Point Physical Therapy went down hard to the Harbor Light 4-1. The score was misleading because all the games were close. Jessica and Kaitlyn shined for the Point with their all-around great play. Spotted on the sideline on this cool night was Tracey wearing a “Snuggie”. At least her arms were free to protect her from errant balls. Sands Point Physical Therapy is still awaiting their liquor license so they can sponsor a night. Until then don’t forget to patronize them for all your other therapy needs.
Suns of Beaches won their match 3-2 after being down 2-0. Not only that, in their victories they were down 14-5 and 18-14 in games three and four. More importantly Kevin Giff brought the beer for all. They are probably still on the beach. Suzy, Chrissy and Kevin led the comeback. Bar 13 NYC who is now known as the Comeback Cats “Meow” are finally moving up in the ranks. Although the weather gave them a scare there was 100% effort shown by all, especially Sheila O’Rourke with her tumble moves. If the tall boys and the smash brothers keep up their spikes, the team will be seeing everyone in the playoffs! EZ Company eased slowly into winning two games off of a very lucky last call. The lady in green stood her ground but now Meade is racing assault charges by Maureen the Vic. We hope the ref liked the view as court side requested! (wink,wink) Great play by Jack, Chris, Brian, Paul and Mike! Kudos to all of those cute chicks, who hold our position on the court and in life!
It’s All Good, “Happy”were defeated 5-0 and still are “Happy”. Despite their losses, they had great volleys lasting so long that Eddie had to call for the Oxygen tank. TBG asked for a “hit” on the O2. With some of their errant passes, Bugsy was forced to track down a missile, almost in the forbidden zone (piping plover territory) and miraculously return it over the net as he crashed in the sand/rocks/shells and got back up to score the point for Its All Good. (Happy, new name) TBG was awesome at the net despite the absence of his partner Cement Shoes. No wonder they lost 5-0 without Cement Shoes. That means no cooler, no tunes, and no light. Eddie was like a dancing bear tracking down those errant missiles. Tom and Mary Morgan were showing their spousal synchronicity with their team work and anticipation of each others moves. Enough said. Debbie and Alice also played, and It’s All Good. (happy).
Many on the beach have asked, “Who is the equipment manager of the league?” (answer: Steve Gifford) His own team complained that the ball looked like it was floating in the pond for a month. Most of the team depends on the T-shirts for summer clothing. As of now, if you play them its skins against shirts. Steve made a mistake and ordered G-strings instead of shirts and he will be wearing the first one. Their goal is to take the championship to add some fall wear, championship sweatshirts. Being a terrible equipment manager would be tolerable to his team, if at least he could play volleyball.
Steve Giffords empty plate. C'mon Steve, clean up,
Was that Jim McDonaugh who showed up tonight late, or his older heavier brother? Please wear stripes next time. Once again the Federation were TKOTLNP (the kings of the late night party). Greg, Ryan, Sean, O’Hagan, and George were the last to leave the cold sands for the second straight week. Look out Murph and Flanagan. The Feds won three with their new system. They have an A, B, and C team. They also have a T team, which is when Tom Ford, their leader plays, but he was not to be found tonight.
After the matches, Blackwater was a tremendous host, serving Pasta, Chicken, Chili, Swedish Meatballs, and for desert, delicious brownies, a league first. Frankie Sullivan was the MVP of the kitchen; he has set the bar quite high for the parties to come. D-Jay Tubs was an excellent touch, as always. Katey Salica was tending bar and was serving as well as she had earlier on the beach, for the Flip Cup All Stars. Too bad she left the match after game 3. She was the leading candidate for MVP and the championship belt. Her absence forced Trish into the match who was nursing a self inflicted head injury. (That is, while celebrating Mike’s birthday the night before.) Although attendance at the Blackwater was good, it should have been a lot better. Our sponsors go through a lot of effort and expense to make our Wednesday nights completely enjoyable and we should show up to thank them. You don’t have to stay until closing time (but you can if you like); just stop in for a beer and some free food and a good time with your neighbors and friends. We only have 11 nights (9 now) to get together after volleyball so let’s make the most of the time. If you are one of those people who feels guilty and returns to your own sponsor on Wednesday, visit them another night (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday) or two. We need you on Wednesday!
Rockaway Breakers went 5-0 for the first time ever. They would like to honor the heroes of the FDNY who had their medal day on Wednesday, they are proud and respect them. And since their opponents were mostly absent fireman, or near absent firemen, they were able to have their best night ever in their two year career. The girls of the team, Coleen, Noreen, Theresa, and Laura are thinking of getting rid of the dead wood on the team. (The Men) Rusty might join them. Can a sex change operation be far behind? Whatever is best for the team! CASINO Towing traded Frank Ganun and lost Rocky and Kevin to injury; so how in the world are they going to win any games? The answer is in the strong play of their women, Sarah, Lauren and Kathy. Their scrappy play led Casino to a 3-2 victory over Coppersmith’s, a match in which all five games could have been won by either squad and the last game was played in near darkness. What a match! A now a serious correction to last week’s article. The proper name for the beach hideout used by many for the start of their post-game activities is Camp Kirby at the Cubby Hole. Kind of like Oriole Field at Camden Yards! Don’t get Kirby angry. Who knows how many enemies he’s buried at Riis Park? Check the standings – after two weeks, there are no undefeated teams and no teams without a victory. And some divisions are as tight as can be. Parity rules!
The Flip Cup All Stars continued to roll with a 4-1 victory over the Bravest. Mike Sica celebrated his 22nd birthday with strong play earning him the Flip Cup Championship belt. The team awards the week’s MVP with a replica WWF championship belt a la the Yankees. Mike Gambino was the favorite after four games to win it until his weak play in game 5, the All-Stars first loss of the year. Last Call defeated EZ Company 3-2 despite Nadine not being there because she was off getting her hair done to attend the post game ceremonies at the Blackwater. With her new “do” in tow, she was a devastated diva when her team never showed to the formal ceremony at Blackwater. The Last Call Juggernauts were led by the deadliest couple, Bonnie and Clyde, AKA Surfer Girl and Farkus. Frankie D was dressed to the tee with his fancy pantaloons. Where was the rest of the team tonight? We hear J and J and our Ethiopian and his wife, Old Hickory, were trying out for a part in the Real Housewives of Belle Harbor. Air Steinberg made a big announcement that he got locked in the closet.
Writing from the standing position
We asked you to treat our refs with respect and so far you have done a terrific job. Keep it up for all 11 weeks. Continue to send us an e-mail (
jmcgivney2@nyc.rr.com) on Thursdays with a quick summary of the previous night’s ref. We’ll know who it was because we keep track of that stuff. It can be simply, “Ref was great.” Or give us some detail, “Ref called no net violations”, Ref called too many carries” or “He called the game tighter than any ref this year”. You get the idea – brief and to the point, both good and bad. Thanks, in advance, for your assistance. The first round of e-mails was very helpful. Keep up the good work. Captains who have handed in unsigned rosters must now get them signed. SIGNED rosters must be in by week three (6/10) at the latest – that’s this coming week. As always, if you have any questions please call Patty at 917-613-0908. (Be sure to call between 10 AM and 9 PM. Remember, Patty has a life outside of VB, too.) 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.
We conclude with Rocky’s Rockservation # 2: (Not to be confused with Beethoven’s 5th) While walking down the beach over the weekend I noticed numerous RBVL players beseeching Marty McManus to play with them so they would have an even number on each team. Marty declined, stating that his sport was 3-D sand castle contests. Eggie Tolan finally prodded Marty into putting down his sand tools and playing a friendly game. On the third play of the game Linda set Eggie for the spike and much to his delight, he slammed the ball at his buddy like a bald eagle ready to pounce on a wounded jack rabbit. Unfortunately for Eggie, Marty leaped up and put a roof on Eggie that made the Great Wall of China look like a velvet rope outside of Grumman’s Chinese Theater. All the people beaching within two acres of the event let out a roar. Yes! Frampton Comes Alive! Eggie left the beach dejected, defiled and demeaned. If this had happened in prison, Eggie would be available for rental. Marty returned to the sand castle contest and place third behind a graffiti artist from Gravesend Brooklyn.
See you on the beach!
