Softball Tournament

Hey y’all!
Well, for some lucky people this kind of thing would not be any big deal, but for me it is downright EXCITING--yesterday morning I played in my first ever softball tournament! What better way to celebrate a birthday than by trying something new? About a month ago I got to sign up for the company picnic/tournament only because our department needed a GIRL to make a quota. I was a little worried about how it’d go since I’ve 1) never really played baseball & 2) can’t run, hit catch or throw. I had this vision of myself in deep right field, like by the hot dog stand. But, I was really just excited about getting to play, and what could be more hilarious than watching a grudge match between a bunch of software geeks and corporate bankers? I’m in!!!
Our team had to choose a name, & “dot Ballers” won the vote—e.g. “dot Commers”, only the “dot Ballers”. What an awful, embarassing name! Our team shirt design had a small softball like a dot in front of the word “Ballers” in giant lettering. Unfortunately the joke did not make sense, so we were just walking around w/tshirts that said “Ballers”:

There’s computer geek humor for you. Our first game was against Loss Mitigation—we call them Loss Mit for short, & so their team was the Loss Mitts. Now that’s cute!

For some weird reason, instead of deep-right-hot-dog-stand, the position they put me at is CATCHER. I have no idea why, except that maybe it seemed like the place I could do the least damage—but when you factor in that I’ve never played at catcher before, am quite reasonably scared of someone throwing balls at me, and don’t have any catcher’s gear… Well, I was pretty sure I was going to end up on You-Tube in one of those videos that people laugh at all over the planet. Oh well, as one of my favorite life coaches Brooke Castillo said, if you REALLY want to do something, you have to be willing to suck at it.

So, how did we do? We won our first game, and lost our second and third to place 4^th out of 6. I was quite pleased with myself since I had a hit almost every time I went to bat, & once even made it all the way to third base before getting stranded. Actually, I was so surprised and impressed the first couple times I hit the ball that I just stood there & watched it go sailing out, forgetting all about running until someone yelled at me from the bench (a little Forrest Gump moment there)! Run, don't run, hit, don't hit--it’s a lot to keep straight!

Surprisingly, I liked playing Catcher. I managed to catch a few of the pitches, got a lot more accurate with my returns, & even got hit with a bat once (A sports injury! how cool am I???). Unfortunately, our hyper-competitive pitcher kept running to cover home plate whenever there might be a long throw to home. He managed to push me off the plate & step on me once or twice. There's always those one or two guys who think they're playing in the World Series! He did NOT catch any balls thrown to home, but he did miss several plays when the ball was thrown to the pitcher’s mound and no one was there. Oops! Also this part is a little weird, there was a very-friendly umpire who came up behind me a few times & started rubbing my shoulders. I had another Tom Hanks moment there, there's no shoulder massages in baseball!!!

Today, the day after, my shoulders are on fire, my lower half is incredibly sore, & I have a bat-shaped bruise across my thigh…. But, I have such a sense of accomplishment! I feel like such a rock star!! Next week, i'm going kayaking!! :)

Funnier than Fiction - Milwaukee Brewers

Okay, i've heard of some weird & tasteless promotional ideas, but this one tops them all. Believe it or not, the Milwaukee Brewers recently hosted a "Prostate Exam Night". Kind of sounds like a joke you'd expect to hear on Southpark or Baseketball. Fans willing to drop trou and undergo a rectal exam in a trailer in the stadium parking lot were rewarded w/a pair of tickets to a future game. Hmmm, kind of makes you wish for bobble head doll night, doesn't it?

The straight news: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18560179/
The smart ass version: Dead Spin

Don't get me wrong, i'm all for prostate health, but IMHO there's a time & a place for everything. Here are my questions: 1) kind of sucks for female baseball fans, or are they going to follow up w/mammogram or even (God forbid) pap smear night? 2) Who on earth thought this was a good idea? ;)