Fowler - Back without much of a bang and certainly with a whimper from those suffering from kickball relapse, the Bayshore Division's return is finally upon us.
Announcer - Welcome to Waka Gameday, pouring drinks by MacDinton's
Fowler - Welcome Kickball fans to our WAKA Gameday Season Preview Show for the Bayshore division. After thinking that last season was a tough season to predict, this season it becomes even tougher. There are so many quality sides this season that it is really hard to predict who will finish where this season. It is shaping up to be a very interesting season and should be really fun to follow. Will the middle-tier teams be in a position to strike against the prudence of the big boys?
Herbstreit - All the talk the past couple of weeks was about a so called Bayshore Super Conference. Left adrift amid the chaos of conference realignment after the initial schedule, with the combination of furious 11th-hour television negotiations by the league commissioner, and conference representatives. It was Balls N Dolls’ demanding too much from the elite Conference A, that has saved Conference B from oblivion.
Desmond - That's right Kirk. Although it appeared that Balls N Dolls was leading a charge of four teams from the initial conference alignment jumping ship, Chandler Brown a representative with direct knowledge of the talks told me several weeks ago that Balls N Dolls 11th-hour demands to Conference A broke down the talks. They asked for an “extra sweetener”, to halt Balls N Dolls bashing on the Bayshore Blog. Chandler Brown told me, "It was Unacceptable" so the talks broke down.
Corso - Not so fast my friends! The major talk this offseason was the increase in WAKA price, no booze and the reduction in games. That flat out highway robbery. Let these kids play more games if you increase the price. All WAKA leagues should play a 12 game schedule for the $72 fee. WAKA can call my good friend William Shatner to help them negotiate lower costs of T-shirts to add in an extra game. WAKA should be expanding on the game schedule. This is almost as screwed up as the BCS system. Obama is a kickball fan, isn't he? Can congress intervene also? What is kickball without Booze? It's not fun. Let the kids drink!!!
Fowler - Since we only have an hour show fellas and we can go on for hours about this, let's move on to some previews.
Herbstreit - Yeagabombds were very disappointing last season. After an excellent season in 2009, where they finished near the top, last season was an utter disaster. There were many problems both offensively and defensively. Many feel after last season’s disappointing finish, the Yeagabombs are no longer contenders. For me, everything depends on whether their names can gel or not as they did in seasons past. They still have something prove and don't write them off in a though division with a still feared high power offense.
Desmond - This is the year the Alcoballics has to redeem themselves. The Ballics had a season way below expectations last year, after qualifying for Vegas the prior season. Alcoballics threw games away and threw away results. They struggled early. After the spring break week they started to pick things up and climb the rankings. They will be missing Geoff this season, a key defender and speedster. They now find themselves weeks away from that Vegas trip and I think this season will be like a Spring Training for them. They'll try new things to see what works. They may win some games along the way, but they won't risk injuries.
Corso - The Ligers look to confirm themselves as a good mid-rank team and get rid of the yo-yo club reputation they have had to carry for years. The squad has been revamped with new players but relies on experienced players to get the job done The consensus is they will be involved near the bottom of the standings once more with the toughest strength of schedule. About the only bright spot being one of the bottom teams in the Elite Conference. But the experience of players gives the Ligers a solid base to work with. Only time will tell if they can keep their head above water this season with so many L's on the horizon. I think they will surprise some people with a couple of upsets during the year.
Herbstreit - There’s lots of enthusiasm around the Shockers club this season. The Shockers arguably had the best free agent market of any team, strengthening their squad in all areas. They lost one of their best players but The Big 3 acquisitions are as good or if not better then and are ready to compete. Of course it always helps when you have a transfer genius like Robert Muto working for you. To sum it up, Shockers did an excellent job this summer and if they fire on all cylinders there is no reason why they shouldn’t challenge for the top spot and winning the tournament.
Desmond - Of course the biggest story of the summer for the ToeJammers has been the age and health of their players. There's a chance they will be without 1st Team All Waka Rueben and recently have injury concerns with Griff. Those would be 2 big loses but it's nothing they haven't been through before. If the Jammers can put it all together and get everyone to play as a team, they will be very difficult to stop and have a great chance of winning the league but for some reason this squad being the oldest in the league and with health issues doesn’t convince me.
Corso - Balls n Dolls come off of a campaign where they fell short of winning the league. Their main problem last season was dropping too many points to small teams. If you want to win the league those are games you have to win. Balls N Dolls play the best defense and they improved that defense with a last minute acquisition. There is no reason they shouldn't enter the tournament undefeated.
Herbstreit - Thee Beer Nuts are another team that will look to redeem themselves this year. Thee Beer Nuts had a team last year that was capable enough to win some games but performed way below expectations, finishing near the bottom and failing for the 2nd straight year to party at Thee Dollhouse with me. But rumors are swirling Thee Beer Nuts will finally make Thee Doll House with some surprise players that ended up on their roster. I think they finally have what it takes to challenge for a top spot.
Desmond - Superbad have put together a squad that can handle multiple game scenarios. I think they are the most complete team in this league. Last season Superbad returned with large expectations and lived up to them during the season but had issues in the tournament. The PAL Fields was packed for every home game and Superbad didn’t disappoint. They will use those tournament issues and will be even more fired up, in order to prove themselves as top dog.
Corso - WakaShame were a really fun team to watch last year. They provided exciting attacking play but with good defensive coverage as well. Shame surprised everyone with their finish and look for them to improve on that this season. The schedule Gods were nice to them. Will I be sporting a bump-it mascot on my head this year?
Herbstreit - What can we say about Pick Me Up. They quite simply performed a miracle last season. After looking all set for another mediocre campaign, Ben was called in to take charge and led the squad with key performances to a magical salvation. However their manager is known to be a little on the crazy side and did not renew Ben's contract this summer. They will now look towards their experienced players to pull off another salvation in one of the easiest conferences in all of WAKA.
Desmond - Dollar Wells comes off a very positive year. They had one of the best leadoff hitters in the game along with an excellent up and coming manager. But we’ll have to see, the squad is there and Dollar Wells should put in a good season.
Corso - Off Constantly side looks to have a good season after narrowly avoiding being the worst team last season. However they seem to be very focused and look to build upon the impressive season they had in the Guava Summer league. I'll give myself a big NOT SO FAST!!! They now step into the Bayshore Division with the big boys and will return to a good mid-standings side instead of fighting for top spot. But a double NOT SO FAST!!! As they are in a cupcake division and could go 6-1 or 5-2 real easy.
Herbstreit - I’d kick that haven’t really done much to reinforce the squad in the offseason. The Flo-based side have cemented themselves as an outfit for bottom-table another year in the worst team dogfight
Desmond - I Need A Refill, You can say it’s the beginning of a new era for them after a mediocre performance in the summer league. But they retooled their team and they could be ready to make a surprising first year run for the top of Bayshore.
Fowler - And finally what are your predictions for the season. Who is Corso's first headgear of the season?
Herbstreit - I like Balls N Dolls to go undefeated and win the regular season, but I look for them to slip up in the tournament and lose to Superbad in the finals. I also look for Thee Beer Nuts to make it to Thee Dollhouse
Desmond - I agree with Kirk. Balls N Dolls should go undefeated in that cupcake conference. Come tournament time I can't look past Superbad who I think are the complete team, and Yeagabombs who regain their famous offensive explosions. Yeagabombs win the tournament in a record scoring 15-13 final.
Corso - Good picks with Balls N Dolls. I don't think they slip up like last year to the no-name teams in their conference. An Undefeated season for them is in the works. As for the tournament, two reasons for the selection: No 1 playing in the elite conference A will battle test this team with all kinds of situations; No. 2 They lost the finals the last time these 2 teams meet and they will use that fuel their fire and emotions. You gotta really focus when you play this team. Now give me my mascot head, it's a special BCS and WAKA Selection --- Gators over Boise State and Shockers beat Balls N Dolls. Go Shockers, Go Gators!
Fowler - Enjoy your kickball Thursday
