Ramrod, sweet Ramrod

Another loss to MKF capped off the last of the '08 seasons for the Rod. But at least the 5-4 loss wasn't embarrassing. And a special thanks to Eddie Stevens, who kicked himself out on that awesome double.

We may go out with a 4-2-1 record, but we've acheived a Zen-like balance of winning, having fun and bitching about the other teams that rivals no other team camraderie I've ever seen.

Well played, Rod. Well played.

Stay loose on the off season.

D-bags: The legend continues

We thought the D-bag Ballers had earned their nickname through repeated acts of d-baggery.

D-bag Ballers, you've been replaced.

The What Inning Is It? team is the new D-bag ballers. Or should it be What D-bag Is It?

Really, the shouting of "Manbunt!" from the field at each kicker would have won them the title. But the chirping didn't stop there, and a new crowd of D-bags were hatched.

No matter. The D-bags -- any d-bags -- have a role to play: Our bitch.

Meh. Ties.

Is there anything worse than a tie in kickball?

Maybe not remembering that Owen Wilson was in "Armageddon."

We are MKF's bitch

The history between Militant Kindergarten Front and Team Ramrod began with Ramrod's first season with MUSA kickball.

While the stats are spotty at best, the record breaks down like this:

• Spring '04: Pretty sure we won; our record was 4-2-1; MKF was 1-6 (was MKF the team whose runner missed third base? if so, we win, 2-1)
• Fall '04: Didn't play each other
• Spring '05: Ramrod 4, MKF 2
• Summer '05: Didn't play each other
• Fall '05: MKF 14, Ramrod 4
• Spring '06: Didn't play each other
• Summer '06-Summer '07: Files missing
• Fall '07: MKF 11, Ramrod 9; MKF 5, Ramrod 5
• Spring '08: MKF 12, Ramrod 8; MKF 10, Ramrod 1
• Summer '08: Ramrod 4, MKF 2
• Fall '08: MKF 10, Ramrod 7

And so it continues. MKF has our number: A hard first inning -- often known as the Ramrod inning, where we give up a few too many runs as our defense takes a mini vacation -- and we were playing catch-up the whole game. We came within one, but the failed comeback's fate was sealed when Jim J. threw to a phantom third baseman, and two runs scored.

Ah, well. If we have to be someone's bitch, it may as well be MKF.

Once a D-bag, always a D-bag

Finally, the Rod faced off against the D-bag Ballers.

After missing out on playing them twice in the summer season -- thanks, weather -- the stars aligned and we met them on the firld of glory on a muggy September night.

The game was handily ours; the Ballers had a team short a girl, though they didn't bother with the ghost out. No matter; we didn't need the charity.

But the true D-bag colors shone after the game, when they shirked their umping duties in fvor of ... drinking at Slice's -- at least, that's the story to which we're sticking.

So Cory the softie let 'em go, and we filled in to ump for the second time that night. No problem; we weren't going anywhere. But the rules say every team has to ump, and that's just cheeseball when not even two people on the team can pitch in and help out.

The D-bags might have lost their D-bag designator, were it not for the bagging out on the umping.

That's D-bag behavoir. all the way.

Rain, Ramrod, rain

It wasn't supposed to rain. I was assured rain would not fall.

Liars.

The rain fell, ending the game prematurely, just after the top of the seventh. It didn't matter; it was the other team who cried foul, unable to sustain any kind of offense against the devastating, shut-'em-down defense of the Rod.

No matter; the game had been well in Rod's hands after the first inning. The grilling, however ... that's another matter. The sausages may have been safe under the cover of Kevin's man-grill, but the same cannot be said for the Bugles, Triscuits, Cheetos and scads of other chips and dips and cheeses awaiting entry to our hungry tummies.

The mad scramble to keep everything dry was futile as the rain quickly showed us this was one game that Ramrod would not win.

Oh no?

With a few rats jumping off the waterlogged ship, the Rod nonetheless devoured delicious sausages, drank watered-down beer and munched on soggy chips, and held on until the rain, the rain, finally went away.

Ramrod stood, soaked to the marrow but victorious, defiant in the scowling face of the weather, and ready for a second sausage.

Bring it on. The Rod will take it.

Can you say domination?

I've got to hand it to you, Ramrod. You really pulled it out when the chips were down. You really brought it when it needed to be brought. You really, um, kicked some kickball balls.

I'm talking about that stellar 22-4 shellacking of I Like Beer last night, the last game of the summer season.

Here's what you did:

• Kicked homeruns (a three-run shot AND a two-run shot from Cory; a grand salami from Jim K.)
• Kicked around (at least three innings, and perhaps all four; have to check the scorebook)
• Kicked for the cycle (Jim K. did, anyway)
• Argued a call FOR the opponent
• Rallied despite being down a girl and two guys
• Invoked the 8-run-per-ups limit
• And did it all in four and a half innings (see, the umps may have claimed we played a full game of five innings, my scorebook says different -- and I don't remember falling asleep)

You did all this, even though we all wanted to get home to watch Nastia Liukin and the other gymnasty clones.

Bravo, Ramrod. Bravo.

Identity crisis

It has come to our attention that Team Ramrod may be the gayest kickball team ever, without actually having a (known) gay member -- not this season, anyway.

What makes us think that? Consider these oft-discussed topics:

• musical theater
• hors d'oeuvres
• making hors d'oeuvres
• jackets we may or may not have purchased
• shoes
• hairstyles
• heavy metal and classic rock
• dancing
• meat

While none of the above conversations are strictly classified as "gay talk," the whole of them -- and frequency thereof -- sure make us ponder whether we should just be done with it and change our name to Rods.

Catching up with the Rods

It's not so much lack of interest or lack of time that keeps the blog from keeping up with the present. If I had to give a reason, it would be that I'm a slave to inertia. Go figure: I'm a model of Newtonian physics.

Here, then, as the summer season inches to a close, we present quick recap of the spring season:

• It rained a lot.


• We lost to MKF. Twice.


• Never did we play the D-bag Ballers -- but we did give them an awesome nickname.


• Jim J. sustained an awesome kicking streak, getting on base every time until the very last game.


• Casey finished with the highest kicking average: .857.


• Rob, Mark and John all kicked homers.


• Alyson made up a super-sweet spin move.


• Brian D. kicked 2 triples.


• We finished the season with 4 wins, 2 losses and 0 fights.


• Cory and Jim J. led the team with 6 runs kicked in each; Mark followed with 5.

Summer? Well, I've only been to two of the four games so far. We'll catch up on that ... oh, by the end of fall season.

Ramrod gets its groove back

After a long winter hiatus, Team Ramrod kickball is back to the field in fine form. The weather was kind enough to cooperate, even if the power at Demetral didn't. A temporary relocation to Warner Park didn't throw the Rod off its game at all.
Notable exploits of the first game of the Spring 2008 season:

• Cory scored the first run


• Brian Z. made the first unassisted double play


• Jason wins the Jim Jonas Base Running Award


• Mark and Jason (and others that maybe I didn't see ... Kevin, perhaps?) receive special commendation for their stylish submissions to gravity

The Rod marks down another win in the record books with its 3-1 victory over Kick This, Drink That. Next week: It's us against them in the battle of the D-Bag -- er, the ShopBop Ballers.

"I'm going to play in the big leagues when I grow up, so I better get used to this."

I guess Improv showed up to a little league game and set up shop. They brought:
1) Fans (with signs)
2) Programs
3) Peanut vendors
4) Announcers (they know names and nicknames)
5) NBC jumbotron with Jim Grey and a on-field reporter
6) Mascots (a bear and chicken)

and the coup de grace.....

7) A blimp

Here's a video link: http://improveverywhere.com/2008/04/07/best-game-ever/

Maybe we can get this all set up...I'm looking at you, members of the media.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Ah....spring in Wisconsin. After a long, cold winter, what's our reward? 60 degree days? Sunshine? Cold beers in the park? Nope. Wind. Rain. More cold. And another quiet night with the cat named Steve.

The radar is clear today, but something's brewin'.

Keep your collective fingers crossed for dry day tomorrow (heck, we deserve it).

Keep checking the Weather Channel (or, better yet, madison.com)

The Return of the Rod

With the 4-3-1 record of last fall well behind us, Team Ramrod is looking to kick-start 2008 with a resounding smack.
This shouldn't be so hard, given the long, long, long winter we've had to do any one of many things to prepare, physically and mentally, for the spring season. Those things include, but are not limited to:

1. blasting quads


2. oiling down pecs


3. shagging flies


4. spinning tales of Ramrod glory

If you did other things, let us know: How did you spend the off-season? Let's hope it was enough.