Recap of 3/31/07 Tournament

Hey Gang!

Many of you have been asking about a tournament this upcoming weekend. Unfortunately, since we do not have permits for April, our game plan was to take the “K&Q” to the beach. However, just when we thought spring had made a triumphant return, winter has snatched back the weather with a vengeance.

It is highly unlikely at this time that there will be a beach tournament this weekend. Even if we did decide to hold one… very few of you would show to play! Weekend temp is to be in the high 40’s with showers. At the park, … ah… maybe… could be do-able… on the beach… slim chance.

We will shoot again for the weekend of 4/21. Hopefully the weather will return to normal seasonal temps of the mid-sixties by then.

Recap for the 3/31 Innwood “King & Queen:”

First order of business: MISSING – Juan Lapeen. 5 foot 6 and 9/16s, weighs 135 pounds, brownish dark hair, does fantastic Mike Tysen impersonations, aka “The Rabbit.” He’s currently a local talk-show personality of the 4th most popular kids variety show in Hayesville, KS!! If found, please bring him to his “Silver Nike” sunglasses. They miss him terribly. Cash reward in the thousands. Also, if by chance you are ever in Haysville, You can catch his show on channel 19 at 4am on Sundays.

The debate over Pluto’s planetary status escalated to a feverish pitch. At the end of the day, we had a vote of five random “King & Queen” players to determine where we stood collectively on the IAU’s decision to demote Pluto from “heavenly and celestial planet” to a loathsome “dwarf planet.” All this just because it had not yet cleared out is orbital neighborhood! Here are the results of that vote:

Bill Bowen:
“And I'm firmly behind the International Astronomical Union's decision. Clearly Pluto has ignored proper procedure for clearing the area of it's orbital path despite numerous warnings through the millennia, first by the single-celled amoeba's, then by the triceratops, and finally, the Chesapeake Bay giant otter. It got what it deserved!” – Very harsh - One “No” vote

Jill Koser:
“It's still truly a planet in our hearts!” – Isn’t she sweet? - One YES, One NO

Chippindale:
“With much sorrow I must decline the invitation to vote because I'm in Namibia.” No comment - Two YES, One No

Graham:
“Pluto is not a planet, and never should have been.” – Succinct - Two YES, Two No

Volleyball Bob:
“People want to know why the last planet wasn’t named after Goofy. It’s a huge misconception that Disney created Goofy long before Pluto. In reality, Goody was created in 1932… he was the disguised audience member with the raucous laugh in the flick "Mickey's Revue.” He went on to perform in 48 cartoons, mostly n the 1940s and 1950s, but he was best known for his series of "How to" cartoons, where he bumbled through the explanations.

Pluto made his debut as a bloodhound in the Mickey Mouse cartoon "The Chain Gang" in 1930… the same year that our last planet was discovered. I don’t think that was a mere coincidence.

Pluto also starred in 48 of his own cartoons.

What baffles me is that Pluto was created as an actual dog character, with no speaking voice, as opposed to Goofy, who was created as a human character… some form of “manimal” really.” - Who knew Bob was so informed of the origins of Disney characters! I never really knew where he was going with this, but I’ll take it as a good thing! – A resounding YES

There you go, with a vote of 3-2, we as a group still believe Pluto to be a planet!!

The Tournament (The Pluto Classic):

Chilly in the morning, but warmed up nicely throughout the day. Scored my first minor sun burn of the year… so the day couldn’t have been too bad!

It was an absolute thrill to see so many new faces… and a lot of old ones. I believe the final tournament count was 67! Great turnout! It was tight, but we did manage to fit all 13 nets.

What’s great about this site is that there are no real conflicts with football or soccer players. They have their own fields and don’t mess with us at all. However, we do need to get Mr. Altman out there… every once in a while we do need a good fight provoked with those very same sporting groups.

Highlights of the day:

• Gus racked up another win!
• Several of the guys were complaining about sensitive red forearms. This occurred every time following a match against Sara.
• Australia will be sending 300 troops to Afghanistan. King Leonidas is impressed!
• Laurence can be a name for both men and woman! It does require a “w” to be a man’s name… Sir Laurence Olivier for example. We do have our new “Laurence” at the “K&Q,” and she is very much a woman… The “Big Lar!” Larry started out slow… a white belt in volleyball (white sashes at vb tourneys are the new “in” thing in vb fashion)… and slowly honed her game until she secured the third seed of the tournament. Not bad for a first outing!
• Bob, Sara and myself managed to knock down a case of Corona before the tenth round!
• Lanky Mike continues to grow. He acknowledges the strange parallel between himself and blades of grass… Montauk fescue to be precise… his words, not mine.
• In a dramatic turn of events, Romeo “cheesed” a ball on the winning game point. His response immediately after his insidious laughter ended, “I didn’t mean to do that!”
• Amy Fletcher proclaimed that she is, “The Amy!” Especially when no other Amy’s are around.
• Actually overheard this conversation: First person asks, “What’s the difference between weather and climate?” The second person replies with, “hmmm… weather is a general term and climate is usually in reference to a region or territory.” First person quickly remarks, “very close… but no… You can’t weather a tree, but you can climate!”
• Dave Latman couldn’t make it due to the need to travel to Florida to represent the dead Jim Morrison in order to obtain a full pardon in his exposure case.
The Playoffs – Semi finals:
#1 Billiad Bowen and Sara were matched up against #4 Eric “The Cockmaster” LeCain and Tammy

#2 Me (can you believe it!!) and Andi challenged Sung (can you believe it!!!!) and Larry

I’ll get to the point; it wasn’t a day for the top seeds. Mr. LeCain, the best damn male player on a men’s net set at woman’s height, was not fooled by Bill’s well disguised roll shot. Despite Sara’s awe dropping digs and thunderous spikes… the #1 seeded team was sent packing.

The situation didn’t provide to be better on the other court. Have I ever mentioned how much I detest playing against Sung? Oh, he’s a great and all, we’ve shared many post tourney beers together… but on the court… he’s becoming some kind of volleyball ninja! Anyway, he’s playing well, and Larry decides it is now time to jump serve. She leaps into the air and lands seven to eight feet inside the court as she blisters a serve down my line… over and over. Andi was definitely getting a little upset with her serving the weaker passer. I easily calmed her down after explaining that I’m still learning that part of the game.

The Final:

Who really cares...

Okay… good and entertaining final… lots of good plays… the crowd was cheering and getting behind their favorites. At the end of the match however, Eric “The Cockmaster” LeCain retained the coveted “rooster” trophy, and Tammy was honored with her first “Queen” victory!

Stink & Drink:

There was one… and it was a lot of fun! I’m not even going to hint to the three different hook-ups that happened that night. You’ll just have to come to the next one!

Fine… talked me into it… some highlights:

• Graham performed four tray shots!
• Car bombs, car bombs, car bombs

Other story: Jeff Altman has finally given up on Tae-Bo. He claims the routine no longer provides the volume of cardio he desires. Instead he is going back to his dancing roots. Next stop… ballroom dancing. His inspiration: former NFL great and last season’s “Dancing With the Stars” champ, Emmitt Smith. Jeff says, “Emmitt has made dancing cool… that it is no longer socially awkward to be a good dancer!” Hey Jeff, where do we sign up?

Pluto Recap:
Still desolate and cold… beginning is two century journey back out into deep space.

Future discussion points:
• If Goofy did arrive after Pluto as Bob claims, then is this some form of Disney-Darwin of evolving dogs?
• How did the Chesapeake Bay giant otter and Triceratops develop sophisticated equipment that allowed them to send warnings to Pluto well before humans were able to deal with oddities such as the wheel and fire?