The Shitts and Giggles game was variable throughout. By the end of the first inning, the score was tied and team Jamieson was wondering if Shitts and Giggles would give us a run for our money. 5 innings later, Shitts and Giggles were at 16 runs, and I think this was the longest running game we have played in awhile, considering we ran out of time before we even reached top of 6. Although Jamieson won the game, I have to say that Shitts and Giggles have a great attitude, and they play with the recreational aspect in mind. As a group of friends who just go out a play some summer baseball, Shitts and Giggles knows that its about the fun of the game and not the stats of the players, which is a great example of what this league is all about.

Now for something personal...

I was playing a game in my friday night league last week. I had felt some 'difficulty' throughout the game regarding my breathing. At first I thought it was due to all the weeds in bloom. I came to find out that the team we were playing had been eating Peanuts the whole game, and I was actually suffering from a reaction to coming into contact with the peanuts (by picking up their bats while playing back catcher, and handling the game ball.) I'm want to let everyone know that  I am deathly allergic to peanuts. In this case, even the fragments of peanuts on the game was triggering an allergic reaction.

I couldn't shake anyone's hand at the end of the Friday night game. I didn't want to be rude, but I also didn't want to go into anaphylactic shock.

What I am asking from every team in the league is to be aware that eating peanuts/nut products during a game can affect others negatively, especially since all of us are handling a lot of the same equipment. Speaking for myself, there is a 95% chance that I could die from Anaphylaxis if I come into direct contact with peanuts, and this includes handling equipment that was handled by someone who was eating peanuts. Yes, I do carry an Epipen with me at all times, but, unlike popular belief, the Epipen only lasts about 15 minutes and all it accomplishes is leveling out my heart rate so that I don't have a stroke/heart attack (which can result from anaphylactic shock.)

I'm sure I am not the only person in the league that suffers from this allergy, so I am asking everyone to be aware of the severity of this allergy and to not bring peanut products to the field. Thank you for understand the severity of this issue, and being aware of the problems surrounding eaing peanut/nut products in such public spaces as our dear SSSL fields.

Thank You!

Next Week:  Jamieson Vs. The Runnin' Rebels (formerly known as Victoria and Alberts)

Game 1 overview - no rain! And with the press of a button...the Prez' shorts light up.

This year was the deciding tie breaker. 2 years in a row the diamond lights did not go on. And then 2 years in a row the lights DID go on. Last Monday night was the decider! The lights at Glamorgan when on with no problems. And at L'am the President Efman brought his "key" to remove the lock from the light box. And yes...the lights went on afterall. As if no lights would prevent the Strikers from winning by 1. Sorry Puppies/Candy Apples, nice jerseys though. See you at Game 5!

Match up between Jamieson and the Roosters resulted in a tie game, with the game ending at 10:50pm (not enough time for a new inning even for the ready and willing.) The final score was 9 all, and its always fun to open the season with a close game.

The Roosters are a team from the NFG league, who joined SSSL just last year and are enjoying their 2nd season as one of our 4 "red shirt" teams. What an strange choice in colour. Red Shirts have all the luck. J/K (But click the link!.)

P.s. Shannon, I loved the blue puffer vest, I want to see that every year from now on. Deal?

Next Week - Jamieson Vs. Shitts & Giggles  - plus some free entertainment for those who are playings at Glam. I hear the neighbourhood kids put on a  great fireworks show.

Happy Victoria Day!

 Welcome back to another season of SSSL. I say welcome back because this year all the teams from Monday night have returned. However, as many of you have probably already noticed, the league has expanded into Thursday evenings, with an addition of 6 new teams. Team Raptorman and The Runnin' Rebels consist of teams already playing on Monday nights, but both have shiny new names. (The Runnin' Rebels are formally known as Victoria and Alberts.)

As many of you already know, SSSL has a facebook group. I'm working on making a Pink Glove facebook page where I will post all of the game pictures taken by myself and others. (All team pictures are care of Mike from Skunkworx Photography.)  I'm also working on a Pink Glove Flickr account.

This year the blog will cover games in the same manner as last season. I plan to blog about each team based on when my team (Jamieson) will play every other team. Every team will be given equal attention, so no squabbling now! Like last year, we are sticking to a round robin schedule, so I will be able to have at least 15 minutes of fame with each team durin the round robin. No rainouts!

 Teams: 

• Jamieson (my team)
• Umbra
• The Blue Devils
• The Runnin Rebels (the team formerly known as V&A)
• The Chronics 
• The Slush Puppies
• The Master Batters
• The Roosters
• Shitts and Giggles
• The Hinge Devils
• The Strikers

 This is the 5th anniversary of the League, let's make it a good one!

Lastly, I have to admit that I missed a team in the line up.

So here is an ode to The Cripplers, our Tier 2 Champions from 2008. See you at game 8 again!

I know there are those of you out there who are probably counting down the days, hours, and minutes to the first pitch. We are exactly 30 days away, and it looks like the weather will be on our side for the opening day. *KNOCK ON WOOD*

But until then feel free to amuse yourself with a number of SSSL things!

If you have Facebook, there is an SSSL Group that you can join, post pictures, talk to other players, etc.  Events, such as tournaments, will be sent out from the group as well. I know there are people out there who check their Facebook more than their email (guilty!), so feel free to join the group and invite your slow pitch baseball friends! 

 You may have noticed a new photo section on the main SSSL website. If you have any pictures you would like posted, feel free to email me (link on sidebar of the blog.)

If any team has a change of players, and would like a new team picture, let me know! Ideally games at 6:30 or 8:00 are best for photos.

Lastly, many of you may have noticed a few changes on the Pink Glove this year. Frankly,  I decided it was not pink enough. I am currently debating whether the banner should be updated or if it should stay the same. What is your opinion? Suggestions on what to change? Keep it the same? I want to hear from you in the comments section!

Looking forward to a great new session! More posts to come!

The tournament was really great while it lasted. Unfortunately, our 'rain-rain-go-away' chants were ineffective, and we got washed out on the Sunday. It was what Forrest Gump would call "big 'ol fat rain." So the decision was made to call it a 1 day tournament, with the championship decided by the point dif., since all the games are Saturday were played in full.

Results:

1st Place - The Strikers

2nd Place -  Aubrey's Army

3rd Place - Sexy Strength

The banquet/bbq at Victoria and Albert's was pretty good, with some great prizes (way to go Sophie!) and a few...uh...pin-the-tail-on-the-president dart games.

Victoria and Albert's 2008 Tournament Video

Brought to you by Big Red Productions and The Pink Glove

CLICK HERE For Video!

The weather for the game couldn't have been more perfect! And Umbra was certainly dressed their best; I felt like I was in a Levi's ad, so many pairs of jeans!

Team Umbra is the rookie team for league, just joining us for their first season with SSSL in the spring of 2008. Headed by Matt Alford, Umbra is a company team in all sincerity...every one of their 19 members works from Umbra,  with participants from customer service, human resources, and the warehouses. But not only are they a well rounded company team, Umbra can also be described as very mutlicultural, with members from all around the world; players ranging from South America, Asia, Europe, The Caribbean, and North America!

Looking for fun, team building, and spending time with co-workers outside the work place, Umbra joined SSSL for all the right reasons.But here is some interesting team trivia! Although the majority of the team are first time baseball players, many are experienced soccer and criquet players. Coincidentally, we all know that at Glamorgan there is usually a criquet game going down in the school yard, and the L'am field neighbours a soccer field. So Umbra complements the league like Glammy does to Morgan, our resident ground hogs who made a nice home underneath the new league bunker at Glam. The final score for this game was 19 - 7, with some great variety in the pitching fo both teams, good batting, and loads of exercise out in the field. Watch out for Glammy and Morgan, you never know where they'll be next!

Glammy

Glammy, his wife Morgan, and their baby - any name suggestions?

Next Week: Jamieson vs. The Chronics

So for all you summer birthday boys and girls, here is some unofficial off-topic deals brought to you by The Pink Glove.

• Free dozen of bagels at "What a bagel" on your birthday. Locations throughout the GTA - http://www.whatabagel.com/
• Free Birthday Meal at Casey's Bar and Grill - $15 off your birthday meal when accompanied by a $9.99 purchase. (birthday DRINKS!)http://www.caseysbarandgrill.com/index.asp
• Free all you can eat buffet meal at Tucker's Market.- http://www.tuckersmarketplace.ca/home.html
• Free meal at Jack Astors - http://www.jackastors.com
• Smiling Jacks offers a free entree from their menu

  Smiling Jack's - 3482 Lawrence Ave East - Scarborough, ON

  (Markham and Lawrence)
• Free meal at Tortilla Flats in Toronto..."On your birthday, your meal is on us! (Reservations only, 1 week in advance)"
  http://www.tortillaflats.ca/

Last but not Least!

• Buy 3 full priced tickets and the 4th ticket (for the Birthday person) is free. -http://www.medievaltimes.com/

It almost resulted in this:

http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/baseball-fail-mike.jpg?w=500

and I'm sure if Aubrey pitched, this could also happen:

http://failblog.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/baseballfail.jpg

But lucky for me, I caught that ball coming home, even though my hand was too bruised and blue to type for a few days...
Now for a team that really doesn't need an introduction. The Cripplers have been with the league since 2005, headed by Brett Davis. You can recognize them from a mile away in those snazzy red jerseys, and Brett in his cowboy hat on the pitchers mound. With about 14 players, this team has a healthy mix of both guys and gals, including one pretty scary looking voodoo doll.

The actual game was intensely wonderful. Good pitching on both sides, with some very quick innings, some resulting in 3 up 3 down. Mixing it up with some cowboy hat action, Brett was the main pitcher for most of the game, but wasn't the only cowboy on the field. Another young man, apparently was dared to be a "bride for the day" and worn a bride-to-be tiara throughout the whole game, even while batting. The final score was 10 - 3 for Jamieson, but we were all too distracted by the Crippler's head gear to care who won or lost. Good game!

Contest!

Who has the better mascot?

OR

Submit your vote now in the comments section!

Upcoming Game 9: Jamieson vs. Umbra

This week's game was with the Master Batters. With about 14 players in total, this team has been with the league since 2005. They've gone through a few captain changes, and are currently headed by Tony Loumankis. Most notable is the ghetto blaster, every new batter gets their own theme music as they walk to home plate!

The actual game went very well. Notably both the 2nd and 3rd baseWOMEN played very well, with the whole team hitting like heros. Switching up the pitchers every inning or so added great variety to the game. You guys were really fun to play with! Final score was 20 -13 for Jamieson.

Pictures to be posted shortly!

Next Week: Jamieson Vs. The Cripplers