Stringing Special this week only !

There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension with no parking. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between sports and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his skill. This is the dimension of rectangles. It is an area which we call the Lexington Tennis Zone.

Yep this week was a typical trip to the Zone. I misread the times of the Matches again! Everyone had an injury or a vacation. We lost more than one position, and we aren't in 4th anymore. We won the improbable 2-3-5 trifecta. So let's hear about what happened.

In position 1 Courtney and Dave, playing at the ungodly time of 9AM. Lost by games when time ran out in the third set. How did they get down in games? How did it get to a third set? Well it probably had something to do with Dave not being prepared. I mean how do you not prepare for breaking the strings on every racket you have in your bag early on in the 1st set. Have a recently strung racket you haven't used yet? Those break too. Dave be a boy scout here. Then of course Courtney had no real back-up rackets either, just an old "pro" stick with no power and a trampoline, so the team was outta luck, outta sync, and outta time.(4-6,6-3,3-2)

Position 2 had Arnie and Todd taking on a couple of crafty veterans. This one went closer to normal. Letting up on a few points didn't affect the outcome of the Straight set Victory.(6-3,7-5) Over on court 3 Jason and Tony Played arguably the toughest team and won a close fought (7-6,6-4) straight setter. Just some heavy hitting and great points on that court. I got caught watching their points a few times when I should have been watching my own.

What the heck happened on court 4? Mickey and Frank have been red hot since the almost benching incident. But today they cooled off. Mickey having a not so good serving day.(been there!) Gave up a couple of games to lose the match by a break a set.(7-5,6-4) Ok you guys are benched for next week the 21st !!

Court 5 saw George and Joel (pulled up from the farm team) at the all important anchor position win an easy 2 setter(6-2,6-2).

Ok update on the season.. With only 4 matches left for the year (including a make up match) our fate is in our own hands. Out of a possible 24 points if we get 20 of those we could make the playoffs. statistically. Our next 2 matches are against the lower willows teams and then we have 2 straight matches against lynnfield. Last year we were in pretty much the same position. We finished the year with 90 points and one make-up match unplayed. The fourth place team got in with 97/98 points. If we had swept (lynnfield also) that unplayed make-up match we would have missed the playoffs by only 1 or 2 points. Let's get all 24!

Strike !!!

The High Rollers (<1oz) completely destroyed the Klonopins. Despite being down 22 pins after the first string. The Meds were working early for both teams. Once they wore off in the 2nd string. The more athletic team pulled ahead and finished with a 50+ pin victory! The High Rollers didn't win the real tournament but did gain bragging and smack talk rights for the next year!

Suck it Klonopins!

Oh yeah there was a tennis match this weekend also. Taking a cue from most of the team I decided to skip a week. (only kidding) So I got this weeks updates from a couple of field reporters. So this week we beat another team 4-1.

So over on court 1 our field reporter Chad reports that it just wasn't their day. Their opponents hit every line and had a few lucky net-cords go their way. They lost 6-2,7-6. (editors note- This ends their win streak. just like last year it ended in 1st position. Better luck next year at the "Perfect Season")

That's all I know about the matches. The rest won but the reporting was quick and lacked any detail.

Dave must have been reporting from the front lines and under fire because all he was able to report was that the team had won 4-1 before he was cut off. Frank was able to get out a little more, after decoding his message with the enigma. I was able to decipher that we had been defeated in our most forward position.

Not a problem. 5 points will keep us in the hunt for a playoff spot and since we didn't lose a lot of players this week, maybe we'll have 10 for our invasion of Lexington next week. I'm not bowling next week so we will have more info on the matches. Although I am entertaining minor bowling league contracts at the moment.

We are in 4th place Again!

Here's a little gift for your hard work.

Could this be why we still watch Wta matches?

Everyone else in the tennis world is picking on the Wta. I'm just trying to get them more fans. Thank you S.I. If my hit counter goes up by 100, then a new Hot Tennis Chick pic every week!

Win Streak Engaged

We won a Home match 3-2 this week. A bunch of injured guys and a couple of B1 players managed to get 3 w's this week. Next match in 3 weeks.

Macaulay the Winner

Yep That's why there has been no update.. But to sum it up.. Halfway through the first set when we were up 4-1 and had already had 2, 3 all games. Courtney asked me if this was a no-ad league? Not to be outdone He asked me about a previous point and I thought he was talking about what to do on the next point. Needless to say our "obvious obliviousness" to our situation had no affect on the outcome of the Match ,or that of the Teams outcome this week.

Our Team came through with a 4-1 Victory over the struggling Northeast team. Andy and Arnie in 1st position pulled out a win. It was a tough one. They actually gave up 3 games. On two Courtney and Todd gave up 3 games also but didn't realize it. Court 3 saw Dave getting a win to break the losing streak Todd stuck him with. Dave's partner Mike might have helped. But I wouldn't know because I didn't get a score sheet. Or actually sign one. So even though we won 4-1 who knows what will show up on the league homepage.

Ok so over on 5 Mickey and Jason pulled out a 3 set win with Jason coming off the DL with a rehab start. Then on 4 Tony and Eric had an off week losing as the clock struck 12:30 in 3 sets.

Now it's Time for a men's weekend.. Ideas?? And if you post "A1 match" Then I'll know who u r Adam.


If you don't get it.. read the comment.. you know click next to the little pencil. Damn Editors.

Damn you NADAL !!! winchester..

Yep sums up our weekend also... 1-4 loss. still we are not #1 in the world.

Wah Wah it's almost 12:30

Today we took 4 of 5 from a team that was above us. It put us in a playoff spot. Set us up for a great chance for the post season, and maybe even home field advantage for the first round. That's reason to be Happy right? It should be. But I'm still Thinking about how piss poor I played this morning. Considering the way it turned out, I should be even more Mad... I know, don't dwell on Matches, but this one really irks me..

Ok, to go outta turn I'll describe our only loss of the day. Todd and Dave gave up a 4-3 lead in the first to lose it 7-5 and then proceeded to pack it in. Once down 5-2 and 15-40 in the 2nd set, We decided to actually win a few games. Actually won the Second set in a tie break, fought off 6+ match points... And then at 12:27 (Although the clock at the Club we pay like $1000 a year to, is showing the wrong time...By like 93+ minutes, Wtf I'm not a Math prodigy.) after the tie break, our opponents decided to sit around and discuss how much time they have to waste to win by ONE FREAKING GAME because they are to afraid to get their asses to the other side of the court and receive serve. (7-5,6-7) What the hell was this, a Womens Match? The worst thing of the match was that We could play that bad and still be in it at the buzzer... Wait there is no Freaking buzzer.. Like they can't buy a stupid $100 clock that goes BZZZZZZZZZ every half hour and actually shows you the right time... Ok Rant over..

Now onto the Good stuff..

Andy and Arnie Won a tough match in 1st. Winning the first set in a tie break and then getting a break in the second to Take it 7-6,6-4. WooHoo..

Ok What the heck was up with our position 2 team this week? I heard that they were walking around barefoot before the match. Is this some sort of new age winning philosophy that I don't know about. Seriously I need to know about anything that will make time go slower or help me win. Anyways, Mike and Chad Won in straights to start this years streak at 2 games. Can they beat last years record of 4?? Last year it ended when they were put in 1st. Are they up to 1st for next week???? Can they get the streak to 3????

Now over on 4 Tony and Don regained their winning Form to add another win to their impressive resume. Winning in straights they continue to be almost a sure bet each and every week. NO MORE UNAPPROVED VACATIONS!!! At least till we are assured a playoff birth.

In 5th this week. Frank and Mickey continue to make me look stupid for almost Benching them a couple of weeks ago. They pulled out the Hammer and Crushed their opposition. Only giving up a total of 3 games, They get the Kick Ass Award this week.

Now onto the Future.. Next Week we are Playing Another top 2 team. We are at Winchester, and if we can beat them we will go 3-1 against the top 4 teams of the 1st half. Which will almost guarantee us a playoff berth.




Todd = This week.

Galactica and Playoffs

I just watched The first episode of Season 4.5 of Battlestar Galactica, And all I can say is What the Frak! I won't give anything away because some of the people on our team are not up to date on the show yet, But to the Writers I say... Stop nuking our favorite characters. And the Fifth cylon?? Everyone and their brother was like That character is a Cylon, earlier on in the shows history. Yes it is the Best Show on TV. Thank you BBC for allowing a good show in the USA.

What about those Eagles huh? Sunday they take on the Cardinals for a chance to play against the crappy Steelers in the Superbowl. I see McNabb scoring like 30+ points for my playoff fantasy team. Also the mixed team has a big match on Sunday afternoon also.

Let's see what else happened this weekend.. Oh nothing.. Great.. Then we are done here.

Wait.. Wasn't there a Mens A1 match?

No..

I think there was..

You're mistaken..

No I think you lost..

I think you should shut up..

In fact I think that Todd and Dave lost a close one in first. Todd blew an easy 30-30 volley down 4-5 in the third set to help set up the loss. Then I heard that Chad and Mike just cruised in a straight set Win in two. Over on Three That Tan vacation guy Don with his partner Tony lost by one game when they ran out of time early in the third set. And if I'm correct Mickey and Frank lost in straights in fourth. Oh yeah... no one else wanted to play and you Defaulted 5th position.

I hate you..

I am you..

I need therapy..

lie down right over here..

Thanks. This is comfy. When I was 18 I knew I wanted to be a Tennis Player..

WHOA

Wow, I'm speechless... I have writers block... I'm in shock...

What a great Team Win we had today. Taking on this years #1 team and last years runner-ups, We brought It. If it wasn't for an injury, we might have gotten the Team Bagel.

Newburyport was expecting a tough match and brought almost all their guns.

Luckily for us we disarmed em?
They forgot their ammo?
They didn't shoot straight?
We Matrixed em?
This ain't the Old West?

What the Hell am I saying?

I'm saying that this is the only team we have lost to the last 3 times we have played them. All 3-2 losses with swing matches that have gone to the 3rd set. But not this Time!

This week our only loss came on court 1 where Bob Btn. and Adam had a close first set losing it by one break, They then had to retire when Adam suffered an injury in the second set and was unable to continue.

From court 2 on we didn't lose.

On court 2 Andy and Todd regained thier usta form and took out a couple of 4.5+'s in straights for the Win. Court 3 Saw Dave and Bob Bnt split the first two streaky sets and then just play tough solid tennis to take the 3rd 6-4.

Court 4 Had Tony and Chad (filling in for an un-aproved vacation) Win in two dramaless sets. I couldn't see that far down the court but I heard it. It was uneventful. Now onto what was almost the biggest coaching error of the week. Court 5 saw Mickey and Frank, who were almost benched this week for no real reason, Come thru big time and solidified the 5 point Victory this week.

Now we can't just end the season now... Next week we play at our favorite spot THE WILLOWS. Against a Team that beat us 4-1 in week number 2. Let's get some Revenge. Anyone know if the Woodies are in the states?

Oh Yeah This is a totally good week... Battlestar Galactica starts its final season Friday night. I know the curfew rule, I promise no drinking and lights out right when it's over. Who's the final Cylon? It better not be the old man or the Ship!

F.F. SuperBowl.

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In the Battle between "Numbers Girl and Lucky Boy", it looks like the luck continued one more week! Living up to his #1 ranking, Team Toad pulled out the victory. Toad was able to best Team Mary by 40+ points thanks to that insane beat down that the Eagles delivered to the Cowboys. Both Teams had to rely on some backup RB's and hunches to get points in the tough week 17 conditions. Props go out to Team Mary who made it to the superbowl. It was tough representing the weak division 2, but she did pull out a win over the #2 seed in the semi's to get to the Final.
Team Meaney had himself another 140+ point week and is seriously going to think about making this a points league next year, as he ends the season #1 in points. Now I'm going to have to go into the r&d department to figure out next years 8th place draft pick.

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Fantasy Update!

Click on pic for bigger image

Team TennisToad has Just Beat Team Meaney to make it to the FF Superbowl.
Thanks in no small part to the NFL instant replay challenge system.

Now it's on to the FF Superbowl. Where Team TennisToad will be playing against Team Mary. She will be looking for revenge after losing twice to Team TennisToad in the regular season by less than 5 points each time. Mary's hoping that the third time is the Charm.

We Win

Ok I'm going to make it short and sweet this week since I'm going to be humping Poles restoring phone service in the Merrimack valley for the better part of the rest of this month.

Courts 1 thru 3 won easily this week with Arnie and Andy taking care of business in straight sets on court 1. Tony and Don didn't play games winning in straights also and on court 3 Mike E made his first appearance of the year teaming up with Dave to Win in straight sets yet again..

Now I don't really know what happened to the rest of us but. Todd and Frank lost in straight sets with Todd Chocking the only Set point they had. Mickey and George also lost in straights against a 5 team that really wasn't a 5 team.

Next week is a tough one. We need to travel to Lynnfield which is only 7 minutes further than Northeast... Hopefully if I get some time I'll do our Holiday Version of our Blog.

4th place here we come!

Old Time Tennis

Ah the Willows. The warmth of the blue courts, the dimness of the lights, the 4 to 1 beating that was delivered. Such good memories. No one has seen a win like this since the rivalry was formed way back in the Heyday. Not since 1974 when such veterans as Bouncing Bob and Lightning Mickey wielded their rackets like Flynn and Fairbanks, pirating their way to riches and Victories. When King George played this great game he could not imagine the moxie and stratagem that the Cedardale team would use to gain the upperhand. Not since 1926 when a certain Sir Walter........ "HEY WTF"

"Bud get the hell away from my computer"

"I told you before, go back to the Globe. And get some new pants you look like a clown"



Last time I do this in the special collections room in the library.

Ok to follow up. We only lost 3 sets this week. Unfortunately 2 of them were on the same court. Our only loss this week came way down in the 5th position where Lightning Mickey and Zeke lost a close one in two sets.

Jumping over to the Winning courts we find. Prince Adam and Armie Arnie taking an easy first position win, giving up only 3 games in the process.

On court 2, Toad and Dancing Dave had a tight first set and an easy second set, But the real news from court 2 will happen later on Sunday when Team TennisToad Beats up on Team Meaney in FF.

Court 3 Saw Dangerous Don aka Double D and TwoKnees Tonee win in three sets after having a let down in the second set. Ok only one more bad pun to go.
On court 4 The Blur and The Rock won a straight set victory. Ok that's it, stop grinning in disgust. And get ready because we play The Willows again next week at home and when they read this their gonna want revenge, or Dramamine.

Now on to important matters... As some of you know The Holiday season is upon us. As some of you also know we have to get gifts for the signif others. Well here is a Warning and safety video for all us Men. Watch and Be safe out there, We need you on the Court. as always don't forget to turn up the volume.

Use the Force Toad

Well we are back on track after a 3-2 victory over a road weary Lexington team. We were missing some big guns this week, but everyone stepped up and took care of business this week.

I could only see one match this week due to the Cedardale on Cedardale action taking place on courts 1-3. So I'm going to meditate and give you my best psychic recollection of the events of the day.

In Position 1 the Team of Dave and Todd managed to get 2 sets before their opponents got even 1 set. Does that make sense? meditation is hard.

Over in 2, Tony and Don used the Force to overcome their noisy opponents. They were blowhards, and sounded alot like the bubble blower.

In 3rd Chad and Charlie, aka the Double C's, were able to best lexington by using Charlies speed and Chad's volleys. Chad actually was returning from the Lotus position.

Over on 4, Mickey and Frank ran out of time and somehow didn't win enough games to win. Frank was still acting like he was on vacation and was wasting time in the third set trying to get Chad to show him how to return in the Lotus position. See what happens when you go away on non-team approved vacations.

Now way over on 5 it's just a hazy fog of optic yellow lines, my head is starting to hurt and from what I can see George and Mike are discussing Concerts while the two guys from Lexington are hitting aces and high-fiving their way to victory.

Now while I'm floating around outside here, let me tell you tonight's lottery numbers which will be yellow,blue,28 and 7. Also as a true test of my powers where you left the car keys. On the Kitchen Table.

We now get two weeks off to rest and recoup. Don't forget to Eat alot of Turkey, although it might be cannibalism for some on this team. ;-)

Oh yeah Wilson not happy "only 3 wins this week."







He's a tough one.

Make him happy again.. Sweep a team after the Holidays.

Ouch!

The Streak has been derailed, and this picture sums up the week. We managed to only win one match this week.

In summary / I'm lazy fashion / here are the results

1)Adam and Andy = Loss
2)Dave and Todd =WIN
3)Don and Tony =Loss
4)Chad and George = Loss
5)Mickey and Eric =Loss

The good news from this week is that George is off the disabled list and back to playing, and Adam didn't forget his keys. The Bad is that we have fallen out of a playoff spot again. But we should be able to get ourselves back there.

Next week we play a Lexington team that should be stiff and sore and have jet-lag after the long drive to Cedardale. So Let's start another Sweep Streak.