Happy Independence Day!

By Joe McGivney
Mike Sica and Liz Sica (nee Murphy)                                                                7/5/13

 July 3^rd, the Eve of Independence Day was celebrated the right way by ove 800 Americans, and Serge.  Friends gathering for some fun, drinks, and the occasional volley. The weather held out even though it was bizarrely reminiscent of last week’s 20 minute rain delay.  Seasoned referee Coach grabbed his gear at the first sound of thunder expecting to hear the break-time-blow-horn, but was happy to continue refereeing some great games. 

The Federation showed their legs this week winning all 5.  They are notorious for starting the season slow, but once they realize they are under .500 they know its go time.  With Sean McClernon  getting stuck buying windex and Fordo breaking news at CBS, the Federation pulled together with Brian O’hagan as the MVP. Heidi made her first appearance this season and George slapped himself in the face. Leading favorite for rookie of the year is John Boyle who uses his height and his father’s intimidation for his advantage.

Sullivan & Galleshaw had a perfect start but Gatemate had the perfect finish taking 3. Kerri gets the most committed award for choosing to miss darts playoffs this week.  Bobby has never eaten Roll-in-Roaster and it is showing in his play (negatively) after being blocked 4 times.  Sullivan might not have won the match but they won the Last Team on the Beach title. Congrats.

 Blackwater Water Boarders had another tough night. They know they have potential this season with some new talent but need a Beach 119^th street Sunday session, as do we all. After the game Butler & Hausler were discussing volleyball and home owning issues. Hausler’s Playland Motel team has won each week while Butlers Water Boarders have lost them all. Hausler was giving good advice to all teams saying “If you win every series, you will win the season”. To which Butler said “No comment”. When Hausler said you got to win all rubber matches, butler said you are all a bunch of rubbers.  Blackwater has yet to see a rubber match.

There was a 2 day long smack talk via group text between members of Flip Cup and Miley’s Tool Time which ended up with the 2^nd place team in the past 3 years taking 4 wins. Gambino from Flip Cup played his best games all decade. He said the fact that he wanted to beat his ‘friends’ so bad, made him play better.  After the game both teams joined forces to make a BBQ which everyone chipped in for. Unfortunately nobody brought a spatula so they improvised. Flip Cup’s newest teammate, Candice Clark, made a great impression this week. Liz and Trish were solid key players as always.

 You Got Served served up a deuce against Daltons. They are keeping it in the family with the Paskoff and Sirgiovani brothers. Jenna played well after practicing her spikes on a cadaver all week.

The last award of the week goes to Frank Gunun, for being the oldest (in age) top division player this season. Congrats.

Casino Auto Body recently learned many things about foreign countries, foreign languages and foreign food but unfortunately forgot how to serve over the net.  It was foreign to them.  That didn’t help them in their 0-5 spanking by Bryan’s Auto Accelerator’s.  The Bryan’s gang were good sports the whole night and celebrated quietly in the Kirby Hole at Kirby Corner, always a favorite spot after a hard night on the beach.  The Stanii had a big 3-2 win over the youthful Sands Point PT squad and everyone was amazed that the old-timers on the Stanii could keep up with the younger and taller Sands Pointers.  Even the victorious team was pleasantly surprised.  They must have used all of the tricks in their cumulative 200 years of experience.  Plus Kevin had to get a little out of control.  Some teams play a 6-1 setup and some teams play a 4-2 but Kevin had his team playing a 1.  That’s right, a 1.  That means Kevin hits every ball.  It even looked like he was bumping, setting himself and spiking.  Is that possible?  Is that legal?  Apparently he even parallel parked a train once.  William J. Lachner Painters had a rousing 4-1 win over Boarders Surf Shop.  What a coincidence that their biggest win in years took place with their erstwhile spiritual leader thousands of miles away in the old country.  Sun Cycle Island was thrilled to see Denise back on the court and she lead them to 1 win and 4 exciting losses against Tax City Suns of Beaches.  The night was capped off by the usual good spirit and spectacular food at the Kerry Hills Pub.  The turkey, ham, chicken, meatballs, pasta and salad were tasty but the Shepherd’s Pie was award-winning as it always is.  And, in the informal survey taken amongst players, the homemade potato salad ran a close second in the ratings.  Carmel outdid herself again and this time she had to do it despite having her kitchen destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.  Stronger than the Storm!

As a reminder, we have many new refs, some of whom are learning on the job.  Some are young and some are not as young but they all are trying their best to call the games fairly.  Believe me, they do not have an ax to grind with any of our teams and we need you to treat them with respect.  (There has been occasional slippage in this department the last two seasons.)  To that end, please 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.  They must be doing a good job because we have received very few complaints.

Captains who have handed in unsigned rosters must now get them signed.  SIGNED rosters were due in week three (6/26).  Most of the teams have complied but a few have not.  Please get that taken care of.  All six people on your RBVL Committee are willing to help you with any problems that come up; just take care of matters in a respectful manner.  For new players, the RBVL Committee is made up of President Patty Moule (The Stanii), Steve Gifford (Connolly’s), Denise Brunner (Sun Cycle Island), John Sica (Blackwater Water Boarders) and Rocky and Joe Abbracciamento (Casino Auto Body).  You can find them every week, playing ball on the beach.  They are always available to help out on any matters and answer your questions but especially:  Steve and Rocky for equipment issues, Denise and Joe for referee items, John, Rocky and Joe for articles for the Wave, Denise and Patty for uniforms and schedules.  As always, if you have any questions before then 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. 

And Finally, we must end with some administrative items.  Here is the rule from your RBVL rulebook regarding net set up and return:

 NET AND COURT SETUP

Teams will be assigned to a specific court with a corresponding net.  HOME TEAMS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SETUP OF THE NETS, BUT BOTH TEAMS SHOULD ASSIST TO SPEED UP THE SETUP.  Report any missing pieces immediately.  Teams will be held accountable for any missing parts.  Raking of the court (if necessary) is the responsibility of both teams.  The taking down of the net belongs to the AWAY TEAM.

Here is a copy of the e-mail that went out to captains this week:
ATTN: RBVL Captains

 Also, teams that do not return their nets to the equipment room by 9 PM will be fined a late fee.  It is only June 30^th and we are fed up with this nonsense.

 And I quote from the RBVL meeting of 5/15, “We are so happy the league is playing ball this season.  We will do anything to help you make that happen.”  You all said it; now do it.

So now we have the first four offenders, all of whom will be required to pay a $25 late return fee before they can play their match next week - Miley Quality Home Improvement (Ocean), West End Tents (Ocean), Big Mahooshkas (Beach), Atlantic Service Sandsharks (Sun).  See Patty in the equipment room before your match.

 After being read the riot act by President Patty both players and referees showed up on time Wednesday and the games started promptly at 6:30 PM.  It gets dark earlier and earlier so keep up the good work.  Because the weather is unpredictable it is imperative we start on time. 

 See you on the beach!