Updates

2011 Ducks Baseball, NABA

Ducks,

The final per-player cost will be determined once we finalize the sponsorship situation – ideally by the end of March.

Plan on $225 and be pleasantly surprised when that number shrinks.

send checks made out to Ben Gwin to

South Oakland Ducks Baseball

PO Box 9181

Pittsburgh, PA

15224

I need to know if you plan on returning this season before the next league meeting on march 6th.

The new unis are sick.

I need someone to run batting practice until I finish school and get my custody/childcare situation settled which will be by mid April.

Someone needs to step up here.

 

Right now the roster looks like it will shrink to a manageable number, under 20 for the first time in history.

Slick Rick will be returning as the second longest tenured Duck.

 

This is My Thesis, Man!

Duckz, League Champion South Oakland Ducks

During the offseason, a song from Jack White’s side project, Dead Weather, appeared in Eastbound and Down .

We need the first round of league dues paid by Feb 10th

Overall We’re looking at $200 to $220 per player.

Please get me at least $50 by the 10th

Send a check payable to Ben Gwin

to:

Ducks Baseball

PO box 9181

PIttsburgh, PA

15224

We should be around 200-220 per player this season.

No idea how the league meeting went. Guthrie and or Fago was in attendance.

Quack, Quack.

Golf Outing Update and some other stuff…

Bulldogs, Ducks/Bulldogs golf outing, League Champion South Oakland Ducks, pittsburgh NABA

Attention golfers and drinkers…..
The 2010 Ducks/Bulldogs end of season golf outing has been scheduled:
WHEN: Sunday, September 19th at 1pm
WHERE: Lakevue North Golf Course – 591 Pittsburgh Road – Butler, PA 16002-7659
GOLF: 18 Hole Scramble-style golf outing 4-Person groups
COST: $65/player or $260/group: includes greens fees, beer, prizes, hotdogs at the turn and a buffet-style dinner after the round

RESERVATIONS: To make reservations please contact Brian Strom at (412) 576-8877 or strom_80@hotmail.com
– Please try to arrange your own foursome. If you need additional golfers to complete a foursome please let me know ASAP.  – Checks should be made payable to the Pittsburgh NABA and must be received by Friday, September 10th. Any payment after that date will need to be cleared by Lakevue North and entrance is not guaranteed.   – This outing is open to anyone but space is limited.
OTHER DETAILS:  – Lakevue North will provide one 1/4 barrel of beer for the outing. Each cart is welcome to carry one six-pack of beer  that may be brought in or purchased from the course.
– Check-In will be at 12:45pm at Lakevue North under the pavilion. Tee times will be staggered in ten-minute start times from 1:30pm till approx. 2:30pm. Accommodations can be made if a certain start time is desired.
– Additional ideas and donations for door-prizes are needed. Please contact Brian Strom if you can help out with anything.
– All checks will be deposited into the League Account on Friday, September 10th during normal banking hours.
– Prizes will be awarded for the Longest Drive and Closest to the Pin competitions. All other prizes will be raffled during  the post-round buffet.
– The 2010 Bulldogs/Ducks Golf outing is intended to serve as a fund-raising event for both teams in the Pittsburgh NABA and the PBL.

Lakevue North Golf Course has been very generous in allowing us to hold the event at this location. Please respect the course and everyone in attendance during this event.

***

In other news, 2010 Ducks team awards will be posted along with a season recap from Captain America in the near future.

I’m waiting for the recap to announce the awards, I think that works, right?

I’m all about delegating work at this point. anyone who wants to write anything of any length about the season feel free to email me and I’ll post it or if you want me to invite you to gain login acess to blog strait on the site that would be great.

note: one of the top searches this week was “homemade weapons. “

far out.

There is no off season on the Bulldogs Blog

Note: the 2010 Pittsburgh NABA Champion South Oakland Ducks did not lose a game after the return of Harold the rubber duck.

Seriously, get your shit together and get your foursome signed up with Strom.

The outing will be fun.

The Gwin,Gwin,Gwin,Swanger foursome should be in contention late.

quack.

Golf Outing Update

Bulldogs, Ducks/Bulldogs golf outing, League Champion South Oakland Ducks, pittsburgh NABA, South Oakland Ducks Baseball

I forget the course, but the cost will be $65 per player checks made payable to Pittsburgh NABA.

1pm, September 19th course to be revealed when Strom emails me.

Maybe you’re thinking, “65 bucks, jesus! that’s like a case of beer and an 8th of weed, why should i spend that on golf?”

well, that includes: Cart, greens fees, a deli buffet, hot dogs at the turn, and free beer.

in addition to the chance to win ducks and bulldogs hats and shirts

We will have items to be raffled, prizes for best and worse foursome, longest drive and closest to the pin.

One of the prizes is a bottle of liquor, not surprisingly provided by the Bulldogs.

all proceeds will be split between the Ducks and the Bulldogs.

Also:

We need two more players for a competitive fantasy football keeper league.

I know a lot of you probably want the chance to beat a few Ducks at something this season, and if you catch us while we are distracted by the glare of the championship trophy, you might have a shot.

get in touch with me if you’re interested in either the golf outing or fantasy football.

Sign up for Fall Ball at the league homepage

quack.

Guest Post from Commish…

Uncategorized

Kenny Powers is a Champion?

If this tournament was supposed to be conciliatory, the brackets for the AA title should(would?) have had a semi-final.

Shit just got confusing this year.

also we took 3 of 5 from the Sox this season and i agree with Joe that it would probably take a 15 game series to settle this one.

quack

Here’s that guest post…Photos by me.

From the mind of the guy who conceived this playoff system, let me be clear:

who has been paying attention?

The South Oakland Ducks are Champions.

And so are the Black Sox and Maulers.

Matadors: Champions of teams based in Etna who want to play home games at 6:15

In the past there has only been one champion:  Pittsburgh NABA Champions

This year, as a transition to next year, there were to be three crowns: AA Champion, A Champion, Pittsburgh NABA Playoff Champion.

2007 Rebels - Champions of teams with poorly thoughtout nicknames and uniform color schemes (also league champs that year)

2003-2009: Pittsburgh NABA Champions

2010: AA Champion, A Champion, Pittsburgh NABA (Playoff) Champion.

2011: Pittsburgh NABA AA Champion, Pittsburgh NABA A Champion.

This will be the last year all teams will compete in the same postseason tournament.  The league will be dividing itself into competitive divisions.  The plan is in 2012, the two leagues will operate completely independent of one another, offering two entirely different levels of competitiveness.

The question for this year was how to best make that transition.  I’m not sure this was the best solution, but it moves the league toward its (my) ultimate goal nonetheless.

I like to use pictures as transitions in my blog: Abe Lincoln - Champion of the Union

Each year for the past 2-5 years, we have lost between 2-4 teams while gaining 3-4.  We have consistently lost the worst teams by record every year, and last year we lost the best also. (Look it up: 2009: Owlz, Gray Bats, Bombers, Rebels; 2008: Phantoms, Rakers)   Next year, I do not foresee us losing any teams.  All teams have committed to returning for 2011, which would set us on course for a 14-16 team league.

The goal was to keep all teams in the league, and I believe that has been accomplished.  The two worst teams by record have already committed to 2011 as single A teams.  We should have 8-10 teams in the double A, and 4-6 teams in the single A leagues next year.

Mike Pleva - Champion of self-aggrandizing nicknames

The plan for the 2010 postseason had been in place since 8/12/2009 (look it up).  I was adamant that we move to a two-league system, and perhaps because the only debate was aimed at keeping it a one-league system, there never was an alternative plan for the 2010 post-season that was proposed.

(Note: FLO proposed a plan that had the A Champions and runner-up as the #5 and #6 seed, but it couldn’t work due to time and field constraints, and wouldn’t have solved the current issue.  NATE proposed a pretty logical plan where the three champions fit together logically, but only after the fact in July.)

So who are the real champions?

The Maulers proved themselves to be the class of the single A teams.  They are without a doubt the Pittsburgh NABA Single A Champions.

The Black Sox had the best record in what was arguably the toughest division this year; the Monongahela.  They beat the Ducks 2 out of 3 times during the season, including 7-0 when the division crown was on the line. They swept the Hurricanes in the Double A Championship Series; who were last year’s champions, and this year’s best team by record.  Based on a full season of accomplishments, they are undoubtedly the 2010 Pittsburgh NABA AA Champions.

The Ducks earned their title also.  They defeated the Maulers, the Militia (who defeated the Hurricanes in the Quarterfinals), and swept the Black Sox en route to their title.  They are the 2010 Pittsburgh NABA Champions.

The Black Sox had the better regular season. The Ducks had the better post-season.  The Hurricanes had the best regular season.  The Maulers were the class of their level of competition.

Winning in the post season is what makes a champion...Ask the team that only lost once in the regular season last year...

Parity is a good thing.  Its well known that the best team doesn’t always win the title.  In my opinion there were three teams that were the class of the NABA this year (Hurricanes, Black Sox, Ducks), four challengers (Bulldogs, Militia, Maulers, and Oilers), and five also-rans (Matadors, Warriors, Eagles, Titans, and Knights).

Vinny took the Bulldogs playoff loss hard

In hindsight, there were only three MINOR upsets when all was said and done in the playoffs.  The Bulldogs lost to the Oilers, the Hurricanes lost to the Militia, and the Black Sox lost to the Ducks. (or was the regular season series win the upset?)

Admittedly, the post-season structure was odd, and has lead to confusion on who the “Real” champion is.  My hope was that whoever won the AA championship, would also win the post-season tournament and thereby end any debate.

The Bulldogs are the real AA Champions

(Sidebar: Yes, I was rooting for Kenny Powers and the B-SOX against the Ducks.  Yes, Mr. Powers and Mighty Eskimo knew this in advance. No, I obviously did not rig the playoffs for one team to win.  No, I am not upset that the Ducks won, I have friends on that team and I’m happy for them.  Yes, this will be the last year of that format… EVER.)

Someday the Bulldogs will win a playoff game...Despit the lack of a solid conspiracy

The Black Sox and Ducks both had great seasons.  The Ducks were the last ones standing.  If these two teams would play indefinitely until one team asserted itself clearly over the other (like the early days of the Major leagues), this series may have lasted 15 games.

In the league records it will go down as follows:

2009 Pittsburgh NABA Champions: Hurricanes

2010 Pittsburgh NABA Double A Champions: Black Sox

2010 Pittsburgh NABA Single A Champions: Maulers

2010 Pittsburgh NABA Champions: Ducks

2011 Pittsburgh NABA Double A Champions: TBD

2011 Pittsburgh NABA Single A Champions: TBD

The Black Sox are the first Pittsburgh NABA Double A Champion.  The Ducks are the last Pittsburgh NABA Champion.  They were the first to hold that title, and now hopefully the last.

Not sure if that helped clear anything up, but I don’t want anyone to think that either team is undeserving.  They both had excellent years, they both had late-season setbacks, and they both proved to be the two best teams at the end of the year.

On to other pressing topics…

Anyone have a better name for the two leagues (instead of Double A, and Single A) that would distinguish the two, and make clear the differing levels of play?

Ideas, thoughts, and opinions are always welcome.  The 2011 information is already on the league website, and the debate starts now.  I plan to keep up the Commissioner’s Blog on the Bulldogs website again this off-season as a sounding board for ideas for the league.  I wouldn’t want another debate at the end of 2011!

Enjoy the rest of the summer, and don’t forget Fall Ball.

Quack, Bark, Whoosh, Thump, At Arms, Squawk, Ole, Whaaam, Yoink, Clash, Gush,   and whatever noise a Black Sock would make also. (edit by Eskimo – this noise would involve cursing most likely or maybe a police siren, possibly the sound of a beer bottle smashed against something in order for it to be used as a weapon in a bar fight against a group of Hurricanes…)

To Reacap: South Oakland Ducks - 2010 Pittsburgh NABA Champions

***

I propose renaming the divisions and conferences after former Pirates – the Clemente and the Derek Bell

Ducks – Sox – Warriors  – Sox – Rebels – Owls – Canes – Ducks:

Of the six different teams to win a title two no longer exist.

Quack.