The RBVL shifted into high gear
this week with some teams shifting into overdrive and others stuck in neutral.
The day-long rain stopped just as the games began and players were treated to
the best playing weather of the season. That is, until the Wind from Hell
came out of nowhere to wreak havoc on many games 4 and 5 across the beach.
After the action was completed, the standings got even tighter with only pockets
of separation showing here and there in the eight different divisions. In
one of the tightest races, the Ocean Breeze division has a position week
scheduled next week and the matchups will be Flip-Cup All-Stars vs. Casino Auto
Towing, Coppersmith's vs. Big Mahooshkas and (212) Bravest vs. Jameson's.
It promises to be exciting; look for a bundle of overtime games. The Flip
Cup All Stars met their toughest opponent yet in Jameson’s. Jameson's blocked,
spiked, and did not let balls drop all night, testing the division leaders in
every game. In the end, the All Stars won 3-2 behind the MVP belt winning play
of Brian Sica. While Trish stayed home to watch her boyfriend Joba Chamberlin
pitch, Katie Salica was forced to play with blood pouring out of her big toe.
Thanks to some first aid by John Sica (because Cubby claims he has retired) and
the good fortune of playing against the only team with a player who wore socks,
she was able to play on, and play well while Trish did laundry on a broken
machine and watched Joba. Wordsmith John Sica came up with a new term for
drooling over a Katie Salica set, "Salicating." Kenny, who dates Katie’s
sister Leigh Ann, has been Salicating since high school. Was John Salicating
over her sets, or her set? Casino Tow went toe- to-toe (sorry- I invoke
poetic license for that one) with The Bravest. All the games were well
played with Lauren Ganun and Charlie Brady pacing Casino to four victories.
Lauren broke the Ganun family serving record with eight winning serves in a row.
Her father, Frank, formerly held the record with one in a row. He set that in
his 12th year of play with the legendary Abbracciamento’s club. Craig
Carey and the Johnson Brothers led the Bravest to a victory in the final game
despite the Armageddon-like weather conditions.
the Flip Cup MVP belt changed hands this week
It was reported that Dangerous
Donnie of Last Call was last seen celebrating Gay Pride Week getting fluffed in
the New Hampshire Mountains at Camp Manly. The team noted that Kate the
Great slices the limes better than the infamous half-man. Where was our
Ethiopian tonight? Maybe his Under Armor was in the laundry or maybe he
was afraid it might get wet in the rain. The men of Last Call had their
“A” Game on tonight, winning three games and proving that age is only a number.
Simon Says Sea Bar took four games from the Bungalow Bar Flies. The
Captain, Tommy Lac was afraid to take off his shirt. It appears Rockaway’s
favorite socialist is becoming Americanized. He actually did not wear
black socks with his white English sneakers. He recently
learned the plural of you is youse as in “youse guys,” at
least in Brooklyn it is. I would like to welcome Dancer and Dave Reilly
back from their trip to Ireland. Dave said he was amazed at how many of
the Irish were conversant in English. Dancer was disappointed a little, stating,
“It is so Americanized over there. They even have Guinness beer.” I
politely suggested to Dave and Dancer that they never collaborate on an Irish
travel guide. The Bay House Babes want to welcome Ocean 12 to the league.
They embody what the RBVL stands for -fun, camaraderie and sportsmanship.
Jason gave his all but morphed into a chicken cutlet with his sand-covered body,
while Bryan was chicken lickin’. Patty wants to let the Rockaway Breakers
know they have competition. A new team, the Bad News Bears, led by Captain
Gene, has been out socializing every week. The Bungalow Bar Flies better
heed the threat. The Flies should never be underestimated because they
still have the Piranha spirit. Bobby McGinn and Dee have been
challenged by Serge and Dave Quinn in a doubles match. The winner
takes home a crisp Ben Franklin; the loser flies a kite with a key attached.
The Harbor Light Brooklyn Transplants finally broke out their fish coolers
filled with six 30-packs (of what?), but only pulled out three. Their
newest addition, Boyhaney Jr., was a monster at the net. Anthony Capek
came through with monster serves, on the court and at the cooler. This is
indeed a special night; all three Brooklyn Transplant Teams have made it to
Connolly’s. Every baby sitter in Rockaway must be booked.
While seated by the DJ typing
this article on the computer, Katy of the BBF’s leaned way, way over
with her limited shirt and requested a song by the Ga Ga Girls.
I know the weather this month has been lousy but June was busting out all
over in Connolly’s. (Double entendre definitely deliberate.)
Say that fast three times. This week rain and humidity brought out every
member of Bar 13. Obviously they like a challenge. The comeback cats
started off strong but lost their momentum towards the end of the evening.
Don’t worry though, true to style, they will be making another comeback next
week , especially with the return of some wild 80’s version of Tommy Kimball.
The MVP award was shared by all players with some special extra effort by Teeny
Mags, who might just have mastered the knuckle punch. Press on CATS! Meow!
Connolly’s got back on the winning track by taking four out of five from
Healy’s. In one of the games, Sean got a facial but got the ball back over
the net which is more than Steve could do with his hands. It might
have something to do with the calluses on his right hand. Even daughter
Caroline turned away in disgust. Bobby McGinn and Dee have
been challenged by Serge and Dave Quinn in a doubles match. The
winner takes home a crisp Ben Franklin; the loser flies a kite with a key
attached. This past Monday commemorated Cubby’s last work day and his glorious
entry into the world of retirement. Mr. O’Connor fashionably celebrated
the occasion at Connolly’s Monday evening with his favorite friends and his
favorite cocktails. At the same time, Cubby received a phone call from The St.
Francis parish priest inviting him to celebrate his retirement with a mass on
Tuesday morning at 9:30 with Cubby being asked to give the first reading.
Unfortunately, Cubby failed to remember the next morning after checking his
messages Monday night. He woke up slightly brain congested and went ahead
and blew off the mass, only to remember it Wednesday night at volleyball.
Confession awaits you, Cubby. Remember, retirement is great - you do
nothing all day and then relax afterwards. And don’t forget, Cubster, growing
old is mandatory but growing up is optional.
AVP volleyball
professional AL-B Hannemann and his team will be doing a clinic on July 1st from
9am-12pm. The cost of $100 includes a T-shirt, ticket to the AVP at Coney Island
and individual instruction. Both kids and adults are welcome. He will set
up on Beach 127th Street. If you are interested, contact Debbie Sluyk @ das1461@aol.com.
Space is limited so act quickly if you are going to attend. All signed
rosters needed to be handed in this past Wednesday, June 24th. 38 teams
had taken care of this business. That sounds good until you do the math
and realize that that leaves 22 teams delinquent. Your RBVL Committee is
done chasing you down like runaway puppies. If we do not have your signed
rosters, your team will start forfeiting games on July 1. When the
standings printed in the Wave do not match your personal score sheet, you’ll
know why. In case there’s any doubt who is in jeopardy, here are the teams
before play started Wednesday night: Freedhand’s, Sugar Bowl, Sullivan and
Galleshaw, Coppersmith’s, Jameson’s, Wharf Rats, Safe Sets, Sand Spikers, JG
Electric, Kerry Hills, Blackwater, Boarders, Harbor Light Brooklyn Transplants,
Sets on the Beach, Average Joes, A Night Out, Team Margarita, Bar 13 NYC,
Bungalow Bar-anhas, Atlantic Service Sand Storm and EZ Company. Hopefully
that list has shrunk by now.
We are still fighting the birds
and we still have some of you playing in “Siberia.” Erin Walsh came up
with a suggestion that will help a little bit and as you know, every little bit
helps. Steve will load up the equipment cart with the 5 nets (and 5
shovels) used by the Boardwalk Division. This way they can be wheeled down
the boardwalk and unloaded close to the actual court area. Although Erin
and the Irish Circle volunteered to do this, let’s give it the old RBVL
treatment and have the first two folks from the Boardwalk Division start the
ball (or cart) rolling. That means you need to return your individual net
after your match to the cart as well. Erin will make sure that everyone
turns in their net and then get the cart back to the equipment room.
Please do this as quickly as you can since Steve does need to load that cart up
with other nets before he closes up shop. Let’s see if this helps us out
until the birds leave. For the 9 out of 10 teams who brought their nets
back promptly, thanks for your cooperation and assistance. For the one squad
that didn’t (you know who you are), let’s get with it next week. Your
colleagues are going out of their way to help you (and me and all of us); let’s
support their efforts. Closer to home base, the spacing and locations of
the net set-ups has been terrific under very trying conditions. However,
the timing needs to improve. We will be losing light each week and matches
are going to conclude in the dark. The refs are going to be instructed to
start calling the forfeit of game 1 at 6:45 PM as the rules state. Get off
the boardwalk and set up your net. Then you can talk and kibitz (and
imbibe) all you want. Keep those cards and letters coming with your referee
critiques; your comments have been very helpful.