IT’S SHOWTIME!

Boasters League round 1~~

I wouldn’t say it was complete mayhem to kick off the start of the boasters league season, I wouldn’t say it was half mayhem either, but we had a fairly decent turnout. Certainly there was room for improvement, I would have liked to have seen more bums on courts but I am aware that many people are still trying to hang on to the last strands of the summer as long as possible. It’s as if picking up the squash racquet signifies cold weather and winter, the end of the golf and outdoor activity. I say you shouldn’t have put the racquet down in the first place and you may as well embrace it… the season has started!

Like in any new season, we receive many new faces. This year, we have 33 of them. It can be rather tricky placing them at a competitive level, not only have I not seen them play before, some of them I haven’t even met before! Word of mouth, clairvoyance, reading the stars, checking their astrological zodiac signs, time will tell how much I have butchered it, but at least I can take comfort with a couple. Mike Hanchett (Vivio’s) ended up with a 2-1 win over Tom Paglia (Nicker Ballers) and Brendan Hanley (Butter Nutz) took 2 of 3 games from Dave DeCew (Over Served) where the winner was determined by who could serve the ball harder.

Shout out to Josh Slominski (Foss Nation). Great to see him back on court in the league after a hiatus last season. Rusty to start off against his opponent Jay Poplawski (Wardogs) who took full advantage of it in the first 2 games before pulling out the third. Another shout out to Chris Moyer (Nicker Ballers) who also took a sabbatical for a couple of years – not from squash, but from Michigan. He moved to Denver but of course missed us so much he simply had to return! Back in the league, he tackled David Pontes (Vivio’s) for a 2-1, 15-14 in the 3^rd victory and touted that the 14-all rally in the second game was the best rally he had evet played in his career. Wish we had it on camera.

Final – and special – shout out goes to none other than Colin Bayer (Over Served). Not because he won his league match 3-0 over Ryan MacVoy (Butter Nutz) but because of the world’s worst wager he had with Tom MacEachern. Never take a bet you can't win, and even then think twice about it. I am highlighting this for all you youngsters out there who think gambling doesn’t hold any consequences. Colin bet Tom he could shoot a round of golf under 100. If he failed in this quest, Tom would get a free shot at hitting Colin with a squash ball from the back wall. You could have bet a drink, or a meal, or $20, or anything that didn't involve a racquet and a ball. And Colin didn’t just miss the cut by a little, he missed – it sounds – by the 10^th hole! Sounds a lot like my golf game... and I'm beyond horrible. Wow. Better work on your swing, Colin, or better yet, recognize your odds a tad better. I found a video of Colin’s swing here. Obviously I am not condoning this course of action, so a word of advice to Tom – “avoid” hitting him in the back of the knee… that hurts more.

Standings after week one have the Butter Nutz in the lead which isn’t surprising when you consider they played 11 matches and won 4 of them 3-0. Their opponents were Over Served – they are second. Still, it’s way too early to predict any sort of team order. But. It’s never early enough to start getting your matches in. The five match minimum rule is in effect. Play less, and you will be replaced for the second half!