coverage by Mike Loser
Week 7
Marlton League
This one wasn’t very close but it was a pretty entertaining game to watch if you were there. Hit &; Run got on the board early and any hope Brian Babineau had of getting another game ball went out the window. The Hairy Koalas failed to respond in their half of the inning.
Babineau put the first 2 Hit & Run batters on in the top half of the 2nd and Russell “Rusty Griswald” Reese singled to load the bases. Mike Carnevale singled in a run and then, not to be out done, Kevin Newell cleared the bases with a triple. Mike Powell got in on the fun with a single of his own to score Kevin which ended the scoring for Hit & Run. Rhoys Coker singled off of the soccer playing shortstop’s foot for the Hairy Koalas to start things off. Beth Atkins then got the crowd going with a single to left which put 2 on and no out. Tom Snyder got on base and moved the runner over to third on a fielder’s choice back to the pitcher. Chris Seeds then got on base thanks to some shaky glove work by Hit & Run which scored Rhoys. Then, Mike “Nobody beats the wiz” Wisniewski singled in another run for the Hairy Koalas. Unfortunately that was all the offense the Hairy Koalas could come up with as Michelle Caporale popped up to kill the rally.
Justin Stepanow got his 2nd leadoff hit in as many innings with a double to left. Tom Snyder of the Hairy Koalas almost took Justin’s head off with his relay in from center but Justin skillfully ducked the throw (someone should sign him up for dodgeball) and eventually scored on the error. Mike Carnevale doubled in one more run for Hit & Run before Rhoys “Web Gem” Coker made a great diving catch to end the inning. It’s a shame the ESPN cameras weren’t there for this game as this easily would’ve made the top 10 plays of the day. The Hairy Koalas had some more fireworks in the bottom of the third. After a single by Anthony Bernato, Player/Coach Brian Cotter knocked a 2 run homer to left – it looked to be a run of the mill homer until Brian got to 3rd base. At this point, he decided he might get home faster if he crawled the rest of the way….either that or he tripped on 3rd base. I’ll let you decide. Dennis Moffett hit a bases loaded triple a few batters later and the Hairy Koalas looked like they were right back in the game.
Mike Powell blasted a triple to right field to lead off the inning (I think I heard Brian Cotter say “I would’ve scored on that. He should’ve crawled once he got to third”). Anthony Bernato tried to one up his teammate, Rhoys Coker, with a nice diving catch of his own on a foul ball. The defense of the Hairy Koalas was looking pretty good in the 4th as Dennis Moffett flashed some leather with a nice over the shoulder catch that ended the inning. The Hairy Koalas couldn’t get much going in their turn at bat with only an infield single in the inning.
The defensive prowess of the Hairy Koalas was short lived – Michelle Caporale took what would’ve been a nice play and turned it into a circus as she launched a ball into right field after making a nice stop at 3rd. This opened the way for Mike Carnevale who doubled in 2 runs. Kevin “One Upper” Newell then tripled to knock in Carnevale and then went on to score on a single by Mike Powell. The Hairy Koalas looked like they ran out of gas and went scoreless again in the bottom of the 5th.
Justin “Juice” Stepanow showed off his power with a leadoff homer to left. Dustin Moffett made another nice play in the field with a diving stop which saved a run (and prolonged the agony for his team). Kevin Newell padded his stats a little more with a blooper to right that scored 2 runs. Brian Cotter led off for the Hairy Koalas in what would be their last at bat due to being down by about 50 runs. He managed to get on base on an error and even managed to stay on his feet in an impressive display of athleticism. Pierre Cadas showed that the Koalas, much like the Goonies, never say die with a single to knock in Brian. Brian Babineau hustled to third in an apparent effort to earn another gameball and Rhoys Coker then knocked in another run before Hit & Run got out of the inning & the game.
Around the Marlton League: Sta-Green Turf Care and The Ball Busters either rescheduled their game, the game is still going on, or it was so bad that they didn’t submit a score. Balls & Knockers got a little closer to clinching a playoff spot with a 9-3 win over the HK Bombers. We Got the Runs won 6-1 over PJ’s in a game that took just long enough for 3 beers.
Hammonton League
Rumor has it ARH & Title America had a hell of a game. Unfortunately, Lee Minniti talked me into going to the Phillies game with him on Sunday and I was unable to attend. For future reference, if Lee ever asks you to go to a game with him, make sure you get the tickets from him before the day of the game. On the Brightside, McFaddens has some fantastic beer tub girls so the day wasn’t a total waste.
Around the Hammonton League: The Rabid Woodchucks got their 2nd win of the season with a win over I’ll Hit that. That’s What She Said then knocked them right back down to earth with a 17-7 win over the Rabid Woodchucks. The West End Warriors kept themselves in position for a playoff spot with a win over Just Us. ARH stayed in 1st place with a 16-15 win over Title America in a real nail-biter. The Wet Beavers shut out Prestige Worldwide 10-0.
coverage by Mike Valenti
Week 7
Marlton League
Week Seven … I mean weak seven! It wasn’t a very exciting night of basketball to say the least. This week’s games featured Team Ghost vs. 67ers and the Grizzle Bear Survivors vs. Grated Cheese. Despite the interest level in these games please read on as some interesting things did occur throughout the night.
Team GHOST came into this week with a 1-5 record. High off their win from the previous week or something like that team GHOST came ready to play while the 67ers were in search of their first win. The game started and not even the presence of Governor McGreevey in a white and black zebra thong would have surprised this crowd as play went back and forth with each team turning the ball over. After the first 7 minutes of play the score was 6 – 4 in favor of team GHOST. As play continued team GHOST opened up a 20 – 12 lead with just under 4 minutes to play. Given their team name in an effort to make up for other teams not being able to see them they sure are loud. Team GHOST has one of the loudest benches in the league and at this point has taken over the number 1 spot for 6th man of the year award. It also helps that for some reason family and friends sit on their bench as added inspiration. To close out the first half the 67ers went on a run of their own lead by Mark DeNafo and Nate Monroe each scoring 6 points to close out the half down 21 – 26. Nate Reedy from GHOST led all scorers in the first half with 11.
The second half began with GHOST going on a 22 to 7 run putting them ahead by twenty, 48 – 28. One highlight for the 67ers in the second half was when Mark DeNafo somehow managed to shoot a “high archer” through the rafters and just short of the basket. I have seen many actually shoot and hit the rafters but this was a first for Glory Days Sports. Mark DeNafo said after the game he was going for one of those 25 pointers from MTV’s Rock and Jock Basketball. His inspiration came from none other than now Rock and Jock Basketball Hall of Famer player/coach Bill Bellamy of the Violators. Despite this desperation shot team GHOST was not fazed and continued to play their game. Nate Reedy led the way for team GHOST with 25 points in a 60 – 40 final.
The late game featured a matchup between the Grizzle Bear Survivors and Grated Cheese. These two teams had each other marked on their schedules all season long. One might ponder why this would be? I will tell you why… Grizzle Bear Survivors team captain Lou Russo was a former team member of Grated Cheese. That’s right folks Lou Russo could have been seen last season jumping on top of the pile in what proved to be a meaningless win against OFF ALL NIGHT. Contrary to popular belief Grated Cheese did beat OFF ALL NIGHT once last season. They will not get that chance to do so again this year. With Lou Russo on his new team Grated Cheese was looking for revenge, a dish best served cold. Even Grated Cheese Coach Jay Wright was suited up for this epic battle. No, not the suit you are used to seeing him in on the sideline including shirt and tie with his clipboard (one player who will remain anonymous believes he has seen this clipboard being used to play tic-tac-toe on the sideline during a game) but an actual jersey and shorts. Despite all the hype surrounding this game GBS seemed to be missing a few players to start the game. Normally I wouldn’t recognize players not at the game, but there was one in particular that for some odd reason stuck out in my mind… Lou Russo. Can you believe it! I can’t. Look for a comment from Lou Russo in next weeks newsletter as to why he was a no call no show for this much anticipated battle to the death. With that terrible news the game all of a sudden lost all its excitement.
The game started with GBS jumping all over Grated Cheese. It seemed that GBS was scoring with ease and that Grated Cheese was hardly scoring. At the end of the first half GBS led Grated Cheese by the score of 34 – 12.
The second half wasn’t much different. GBS continued to dominate Grated Cheese. One highlight for Grated Cheese in the second half was a basket scored by Brian Riley. For those of you who don’t know Brian he is known of his antics on the court. Last season he was witnessed showing his nipple while running down the court after a made basket and it wasn’t because he cut his sleeves to short like that of Mike Loser from OFF ALL NIGHT. To no surprise his antics continued against GBS. After Brian’s made basket he did what I am sure was a cross between the chicken dance and R. Kelly’s humping the stage dance (please note Glory Days does not support this type of behavior although it is perceived to be very entertaining). Despite the distractions from Brian Riley and team high 8 points from Tom “The Nasty” Nasto GBS prevailed behind a total team effort. Pat Zano and Chris Hand led the way for GBS with 15 points each in a convincing 67 – 30 win.
Thanks for tuning in… Until next week, hasta la vista, baby!
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