Ive set-up a quick survey to get feedback from you guys about how things are going. I encourage anyone who has some feedback or ideas to take the survey. This survery covers the games, Tom Tom, and this website and the email lists that we use. The results of the survey are completely anonymous, so please feel free to be candid.

Update
The survery is now closed. Here are some preliminary results:

• 89% of players rated the games a 4 or 5
• 65% of players rated the quality of reffing as a 4 or 5
• 68% of refs rated the experience a 4 or 5
• 75% of players rated the staff at Tom Tom a 4 or 5
• 42% of players rated the time to get drinks 3 or less
• 41% of players rated the time to get drinks 3 or less
• 78% of players rated the specials at Tom Tom a 4 or 5

As of 2:42pm tonights games are a GO. Please plan on showing up, especially if youre bringing the equipment. Dont let a scattered shower or two scare you away. In the event that it starts raining and games cannot be played, we will be immediately adjourning to Tom Tom and starting the night early.

Which is a really ominous way of saying that DCKickball will be hosting a bachelor/bachelorette auction at our next party!

Our next party will be the mid-season party and will held on either June 17th or 24th. Details will be coming fast and furious as we sort things out. Miss out on the insanity at your peril.

If you want to volunteer (or want to nominate a teammate), please email charity@dckickball.org. All the money we collect at the door and raise during the auction will be going to our charity, the Latin American Youth Center, here in Adams Morgan.

Also, this auction cant happen without to support of local businesses. We need to start collecting gift certificates, tickets, etc on behalf of the auction. More information on this will be coming out soon, so stay tuned.

Some insight into what were about as an organization.

Todays games have been cancelled (boooo!). Mother nature sucks, and will rue the day she rained on our parade. In any case, one thing that hasnt been cancelled is happy hour at Tom Tom! Feel free to head over there and play flip-cup renditions of todays games. Ill even post the scores should that happen.

The no-bunting contingent managed precisely 10 votes (33% of the total vote). At this point, its pretty clear: bunting is technically allowed but shameful and should only be used when all other options have been exhausted. In addition, teams who place one of their better players at catcher can defend bunts effectively. No changes to the rules will be made, hopefully this will put this matter to rest.

House (Tom Tom) Rule #1342: If theres a line for flip-cup and teams are waiting, games are best-of-3. If theres no line, no ones got next, play best-of-whatever.

We have one Green Team photo up (of the back of our heads):

If someone can bring a digital camera next time, that would be awesome.

Should bunting be allowed? Do you think it gives people a shot at getting on base? Does it ruin what’s supposed to be a fun and carefree game? Let us know how you feel!

Note: this survey is completely anonymous.

Update: of course, only 20 people have actually taken the survey, which is less than the number of comments on this thread. Anyway, I’ll just say that it’s currently 65% one way, 35% the other, so if you give a rip about this topic make sure to vote.

Age distribution for all the teams, from youngest to oldest:

name	age
The Peter Northstars	23.67
Franks Tanks	24.52
Kickbrawlers	25.00
Spring Break Shark Attack	25.40
Hot Sundae	25.79
The Ligers	25.84
a 3rd Graders Revenge	26.32
S.L.A.K.A.	26.44
The Fockers	26.56
The Plague	26.57
Blue Steal	26.83
Green Team	26.92
Guanacos	27.16
Secondary to Body Habitus	29.00
harDCore	30.40
San Pedro Beach Bums	30.46

FYI, kiddies. I woke up this AM to realize that my wallet had been stolen last night. I realized that in the heat of passionate flip cupping, I left my bag unattended, and with a giant rob me sign attached, someone helped themselves to my bank card, 30 dollars, my Black Amex, and most importantly my Subway Club card. Im going to die if I dont get that SubClub card back I was 1 stamp shy of a free sub!!! WHY GOD, WHY??? So, if you see anyone eating at Subway, stop them immediately and accuse them of taking my wallet well nab the jerky eventually. But most importantly, consider my loss of a free sub, your free reminder (read:Moral of the story) DO NOT leave your crap (and it is crap), unattended EVER.
(black Amex was inserted for dramatic effect, sadly it was neither black or an Amex).

Psssstt! The combo for the port-a-john is 1-4-3. Pass it on!

Seeing too much Carolina blue in the pictures on the left? Feeling like the pictures are biased towards particular teams? Well, you’re right! But hey, the DCKickball Flickr account is for everyone, so if you’ve taken pictures and would like them up there, shoot them to your captain, and they can post them.

Do I even need to say this? Has the world come to this? The big, long table in the back of the bar is for FLIP CUP. Nuff said.

Oh, and the standings have been updated.

Heres an update on the state of affairs in regards to team blogging on DCKickball:

Youll notice only a few teams listed under the Team Blogs header on the lower left side of the website. If your team isnt showing up here, its because your team hasnt published a post in its team category. For shame.

For the time being, all posts (general or team-specific) will show up on the main page. If we ever get to the point of saturation, Ill restrict the main page to general posts.

By default, only captains can post to the blog. But captain can (now) mark players on their team as able to blog. If youre a captain, just log-in to the league account, click on Team, click on the player you wish to change, click on edit, and check the can blog box. Click update, and thats it!

Ok, so I know you all remember the Saved by the Bell episode “Jessie’s Song” from season 2 where Jessie Spano has to deal with the harsh realities of an addiction to caffeine pills. The driving forces behind this heartbreaking addiction to over-the-counter drugs are both her impending geometry test and her membership in the amazing girl group Hot Sundae. The pressures of high school cause Jessie to have a breakdown (you may remember her singing “I’m so excited. I’m so excited. I’m so …scared!”). She subsequently misses Hot Sundae’s debut at The Max and their big chance to get signed by a top label – in case you were wondering record execs love snazzy high school hangs. Luckily Screech steps in and saves the day and the girls’ musical careers. (Looks like his crown as the reigning “Miss Bayside” came in handy after-all.) Jessie learns her lesson as the whole gang rallies around her and she finally comes to terms with her deadly habit. Jessie realizes that nobody’s perfect and that she’s lucky to have the love and support of her friends –awwww… Group Hug!

You may recall their hit song “Get Down and Go for It” and the music video featuring Jessie, Lisa, and Kelly in all of their thonged and spandexed glory but just to refresh your memory…

See photo on left of blog

Listen to a clip
Learn the lyrics for yourself:
Go For It Lyrics
1, 2, 3 bend
1, 2, 3 stretch
1, 2, 3 bend
1, 2, 3 stretch

Here’s a message that I’m sending to you
You can do what you want to do
A little work never hurt no one
It’s the only way to get things done

Chorus:
Put your mind to it, go for it
Get down and break a sweat
Rock and roll, you ain’t seen nothin yet
Mind to it, go for it
Get down a break a sweat
Rock and roll, you ain’t seen nothin yet

My love is strong whenever you’re around
I walk on air, I barely touch the ground
And I’m so happy that you’re with me now
You’ll never see me in the lost and found

Chorus

My love is set for you
The rest is up to you

Yeah yeah yeah
Oooh oooh oooh
Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah

I feel so good whenever you are near
You make my troubles seem to disappear
You’re the one that I’ve been searching for
Cuz everyday I love you more and more

Chorus

Get down and go for it!!

I just responded to an email about the emails being sent out, and thought I’d share my thinking with the league:

Now, please understand that I understand exactly where you’re coming from. Here’s the problem: I can’t make 400 people happy. Many people tell me that they have restricted access to websites at work, and appreciate the emails. Other people say they just like reading the emails in general. Some people (like you) like the emails ok, but would like less. There’s no single way to satisfy everyone.

Anyway, if I were you, I’d probably just opt-out. I’ll never send information in an email that isn’t on the website. Let me know if you disagree!

That last part is important, no (or very little) information will be sent in an email that won’t also be published on the website. So, by all means, feel free to opt-out of the emails. You won’t hurt my feelings.

New welcome page for DCKickball log-in:

When you log-in to your account, youll be presented with a page much like this one. Important pieces of information include:

• Your team
• Your role in the league (captain, board member, ref, etc)
• When and where your next game will be played (and against who)
• Whether or not your team is bringing the equipment
• Whether or not your team is collecting the equipment
• Whether or not you are scheduled to ref

Please keep in mind that if you are scheduled to ref, and cannot make it, simply contact your captain (and your team) and find someone to step in for you. If a change is made in who is going to ref, please make sure to contact me immediately so I can make a note of it.

Items found while leaving Tom Tom on Wednesday:

• a black vespoli t-shirt
• a navy discus zip down hooded sweatshirt
• a black gap long sleeve workout top
• a long sleeve junior olympic xc championships gray shirt

Leave a comment here or email me to claim!

If you’d rather not recieve emails from DCKickball, no problemo. Just follow these steps.

Well, not exactly, but it’s not cheap either. In any case, I have promised financial transparency for DCKickball, and I plan on delivering. We’re in the process of finalizing our remaining budget for Summer 2005, but I thought I’d share some information we’ve collected along the way:

• Administrative costs = $407 (binders, website, red-tape, etc)
• PayPal fees = $521.50 (ouch! bastards!)
• Fields fees and upkeep = $3,002
• Insurance = $2,204
• Equipment = $263.45

The list goes, but doesn’t get too much worse. On the flip side, we’ve collected $18k+, which is just awesome. Once the budget is finalized, we can expect to have enough money left over to throw (or co-throw) 3 more in-season parties, in addition to a post-season blow-out.

Even more encouraging are the budgets for future seasons (Fall 2005, 2006, etc), since we’ve gotten a bunch of one-time costs and work out of the way. Su-weet!

DCKickball has selected the Latin American Youth Center in Adams Morgan as our official charity this summer. Sarah Dougherty, our Charity Chair, thoroughly investigated several candidates, and only settled on LAYC after visiting their facilities this past Friday.

Anyway, Im very excited about this, and I hope you all are too. Well be gearing up for some fundraisers, so if youre interested in helping out, please leave a comment here.

Week 1
�	Monday
�	6:30pm
�	Home	Away	Refs
Field A	a 3rd Graders Revenge (5)	Blue Steal (14)	David Bylsma & Megan Freedman Matt Mullin
Field B	harDCore (12)	Hot Sundae (7)	Nancy Wallace & Joe Grause
�	7:15pm
�	Home	Away	Refs
Field A	Green Team (3)	Guanacos (2)	Katrina Fleitas & Laura Hadley Clark Kirkman & Matt Mullin
Field B	The Fockers (6)	Franks Tanks (14)	Steve Yoder & James Bond

Nice victory in our first match! Good showing on defense especially. Props to Adrian, Gabe, Kate, everyone really

Post and comment away

Lets kick some more butt next Wednesday