Forecast for Sunday

Church?

Sunday Dec 26, Boxing Day!

26 degrees and cold at game time. Its windy and there's no sun, it's supposed to start blizzarding this afternoon. We started 8 v. 8/shoot inside the 18/ last man back, but actually got up to full sides. Alex Sheer is back, and so is our old buddy Eddie Mulane. Dino started in the white net, but then Juan took over for the rest of the game. Blue net was minded by Bobby, but I took over full time when my back started to bother me too much to run. Scoring started with Jimmy for the white, he likes the short sided games, then Ace for blue. Scoring summary as follows:

Jimmy for white 1-0

Ace for blue 1-1

Jimmy 2-1

Jimmy 3-1

Jimmy 4-1

Eddy for blue 4-2

Juan for white 5-2

Vince for blue 5-3

Eddy 5-4

Jimmy 6-4

Jimmy 7-4

Jimmy 8-4

Eddy 8-5

Vince 8-6

Dino for white 9-6

Jay for blue 9-7

Moe for white 10-7

Dino 11-7

Jelly came over to the blue when Joe M arrived,

Jelly 11-8

Jelly 11-9

Jelly 11-10

Alex for blue 11-11

Eric for white 12-11

Mo for white 13-11

It sounds like quite a slug fest, and I guess it was. The blue defense with Bobby and Shamu was inspired, but the blue keeper, (me) was completely ineffective. So poor in fact that the Ace changed his colors hoping to bag a few easy onions to end the season. I stood there shivering, just hoping the game would end. There's two feet of snow on the ground and fifty mile an hour gusts as I write this, but it supposed to warm up towards the end of the week. Lets hope for the best. Otherwise, Happy New Year.

Friday Dec 24, Christmas Eave!

30 degees plus and somewhat sunny, its actually nice when the wind isn't blowing. Slow start, but we got up to 13 v. 13. Jelly brought his son Alex, and guests Uttam and Brian joined us. No professional keepers showed up, so it was assorted players in the white net for ten minute stints, and mostly Keefs in the blue net, although Fernando took over after he pulled his hammy.

Scoring as follows:

Rocco for blue 1-0

Dimos for blue 2-0

Mario for white 2-1

Eric for blue 3-1 (with a c, #45)

Dimos for blue 4-1

Joe Bagels for white 4-2

John Limberis for white 4-3

Mario white 4-4

Vince PK for blue 5-4

Vince again for blue 6-4

Mario white 6-5

Ace (keebs) for Blue 7-5

Another for Keebs? 8-5

Papa Jelly for white 8-6

Jelly again 8-7

So it was a pretty even match. Keebs had to come over to the blue side to manage a score, he's a little off his two per game pace with only two or three games to go. Jimmy was shut down, in spite of help from his buddy Joe B. Mario, the unselfish, had a hatty. Our balls are on their last gasps, not holding air like they should. Rocculous says Santa will get us new ones when he gets back from his cruise.

See you all Sunday, same time same place. Anyone up for New Years Eave?

Sunday Dec 19

20 degrees and frosty at game time, but we started with full sides and got up to 14 v 15. Doug in for white, Steve for blu. Guest Joe and Dimos' son John joined us. Scoring started with one each for Mario and Mark Schwartz for white, followed by two for blue including a spectacular header by guest Joe off a beautiful cross by Eric. Tied at three, then tied at four until Shamu's goal for blue was disallowed due to alleged off sides. Then the mighty whiteys went all Eagles on us, with a hat trick for Jimmy, two for Ace, (keebs), one for Moe and maybe one or two more. Jay had one for blue, and blue scored on a white own goal, but the final score was somewhere around 9-6, white wins.

Next week, its same time same place, Merry Christmas everyone and watch out for the full moon on the solstice, and a full lunar eclipse on Monday.

Sunday December 12

Gametime: Driving rain and temps dropping from the 40's. We managed to field a team 0f 11 players, pretty evenly split between white & blue. Big John and Hock each scored a pint within 5 minutes of the opening whistle. Keebs, Shamu, Bobby & Rocco quickly added to the tally. As more players started scoring, we had to open up the field a bit and relocated from the bar to a larger playing surface. Vince, Joe, Eddy, Mark "I am here, stop and acknowledge me" Miller, then Doug all scored shortly after stepping onto the pitch. Scoring was fast and furious but did slow down a bit when the teams were distracted by some appetizers and pizza. Food consumed, all players continued to add pints.
All in all, a well-played match. No arguments, no injuries, and a good time was had by all.
Final score: white 28, blue 34 (Hock was high scorer).

Sunday December 5

Cold (28), windy, cloudy and flurries at game time. We still had 27 players show up. No Mario's (mary-ohs) and one guest, Uttam. Steve is back from India and in the goal for White, Doug for Blue. In a big change to our normal protocol, Blue defended the north goal! Jay and his magnificent new shoes scored twice for Blue, and Shamu added two more, one on a beautiful corner kick cross from Dan. Moe scored for White, but that goal has been protested and will be under review for a potential off-sides violation. Keeble hit the cross bar, and another ball bounced along the goal line before it was swatted away, but that's it for the Mighty Whiteys. Doug left at 10:30 so Dino came over from the white to keep for blue. 7-1 Blue. Big difference from last week.

Next week we will reconvene at Nellie's after the regularly scheduled match to reminisce.

Sunday Nov 28

I didn't go Friday, but the word is that 18 folks showed up to play in somewhat inclement weather and fun was had by all. I participated in the Northern Highlands Alumni game Friday afternoon. 45 or so former players came, I was the oldest by far, I was probably older than most of their parents. My old coach Johnny Pies showed up. I said "Hi Coach" and he said, "Oh my God, is that Johnny Gilchrist!" After 40 years! Made my day.

Sunday was a beautiful 30 degrees and sunny, quickly warming into the 40's. We started with full sides, Jake, Steve, and two other guests, Dennis and somebody else. Doug in the Blue goal, Dino in for the White. We had as many as 29 players with three guys sitting out at a time. Tom scored for White, Shamu for Blue, and it stayed pretty close for the rest of the first half. Then White stared to open it up. Mario, Super Mario, Jake, Carlos, Moe, Keebs, Bagel Joe and guest #2 made for a pretty fearsome white offense, and when the game started to get sloppy, the goals just poured in.

Final score, 5-9?

Keebs has suggested meeting at Nellie's for cocktails after the Dec 12 game. Why not?

I have additional thoughts on the substitution situation: Paying members should not have to sit if we have freebie guests. If you invite somebody, you should take turns sitting out with your guest. If there is some random guy who just shows up, he should sit untill invited back into the game. If you show up late and there is already 26 players on the field, or already subs waiting, you have to wait at least ten minutes before clamoring to go in. JMHO

Thanksgiving morning, after the big 5k, Mark & Mark enjoying bloody marys and oysters in my driveway. This was a worthwhile endeavor, and we encourage more WSS participation next year.

See you next sunday at 9.

Sunday Nov 22

Another perfect Sunday morning. 30 degrees at 8AM game time, but the sun warmed us up to 40. One guest, Ironman Joe, Super Mario is back, Big Jimmy showed up, but the big news is Jay's new shoes! They're like multi-colored and iridescent, everyone is like sooo jealous. Doug back in the goal for Blue, I don't know the name of the White keeper.

Tough match from the get go, but team Tom & Joe managed to push one through for the white to get things started. Its a bit crowded, at 14 v. 14, so the sub cry sounded. Guest Joe took himself out along with some others, so we got it down to a crowded 13 v. 13. Carlos finally scored for the Blue on a beautiful cross from Tim, and set up another. He doesn't move much, but he can be effective. Blue 2, White 1.

Thursday, Dick Meighan 5k run. Runners should park in front of my house on Coach Lane and walk down to the start. There will be a reception and awards ceremony following the race in my driveway.

Friday 9AM on the turf, the annual father son game. Sunday, 9AM on the turf.

Just a word on subbing. If you arrive after the game has begun, it is your responsibility to count the number of players on each side. If there are already 26 players on the field, you can't come in. You must stand on the side and whine until someone is injured or has mercy and comes out. If we are in a subbing situation, those on the side-lines will enter the game after ten minutes, and an equal number of players will leave the field voluntarily. No one has to sit out twice until everyone has sat out once. Generally there is no pressure for us to get off the field so everyone should get a full dose.

Peace.

Sunday Nov 14

Frost on the pumpkin as I left home this morning, but its sunny and nice at the field. We starrted 8v 8 full court, last man back, but got up to 24 or 25 players pretty quickly. Papa Ya-ya is back from the mid east, Super Mario seems recuperated, the one and only Jelly Sheers showed up, as did Mo. No Keebo. Keith in the white goal, Kevin in the blue. Mr. Mark Schwartz started the scoring for the White Knights, but the Blue Meanies scored more. Two for Fernando, two for Carlos, some for Super. Jelly got one for White, so did C, but no chop, man. 9-5 Blue.

Next week 8AM.

Sunday Nov 7

9AM start and the clocks fell back, so it's like playing in the afternoon. 30 degrees and sunny, perfect soccer weather. We started 8v8 full court. One guest, Joe the ironman, Steve in Blue net, Kevin in White. Uncle Joe came without his team of girls. Juan came, but he's got to get to work by 9:30, so it's not worth his suiting up. Latecomers got us up to full sides or even 12 v 12. White started scoring, and kept it up, with Joe the guest helping himself to a bunch. Steve got a little discouraged and decided he might be more useful as a field player and abandoned his post. Kevin came down from the white side to man the blue net, Marilynn went to the white team to keep things even. Blue finally scored, but we ended blue, 1- white, many. Jay left early with a banged ankle.

9am start next week, some discussion of playing Friday after Thanksgiving. Don't forget the Dick Meighan Turkey Trot.

Sunday October 31

Halloweenies! 30 degrees and dark at my house this morning as I prepared for our last 8AM start for a while. We started with 7 v 7 on a shortened field, eventually getting up to 10 blue vs 9 white, full court. Joe Bagels showed up, Juan came in his street clothes, went home and changed and left after 5 minutes. Steve in the Blue net, Eric in the White. Tom scored for white, then Shamu headed in an own goal, 2-0 white. At the other end, Mark Schwartz had one and a beauty assist to Carlos, Frank had one, I forget the rest. Lots of running, white won.

Next week we're back to 9AM start, and the clocks change back to EST, so it will be like playing in the afternoon.

Sunday October 24

46 and sunny at 8AM game time, perfect soccer weather. It rained a little last night so the field of dreams is a little wet. It's tough to get up early this time of year, so we started with 8 on 8 on a shortened field, but that changed after less than ten minutes. We got up to full sides, 11 v 11, which was really nice for a change. Jay's back, so is Keith, no Papa Ya-Ya, no Dimos, Steve in the goal for white, Keith for blue. Somebody must have left early cause Eric came late and spelled Keith, and we were still at 11-11.

Scoring stared for the blue with an own goal off new kid Jimmy. Dave had a beautiful lazer shot through a crowd to put blue up two. Vinny had a Keeblish goal line bouncer tap in for three zip, but then things stared to happen at the other end. Keeble finally tallied one after many near misses, Carlos had a nice one, and Tom had two. 4-4 finish. We got kicked off by Uncle Joe and his teams of little girls.

Next week Halloween! All players shall wear the color of the opposition. That should be pretty scary. 8AM once again, hopefully the last time for a while.

Sunday October 17

46 and clear at 8 AM game time, perfect! It's Shirt Day, so we had quite a crowd. Almost everybody except Keith, Jay and Doug. Three guests joined us, big Joe from last week, Ironman Joe who played a couple of Wednesday nights this summer, and college boy Sideshow Jake. Rocculous brought the new jerseys, but he couldn't stay to play. Super Mario came back, but he is still gimpy, so he sat in at the white net. Shamu has some physical complaint, so he started in the blue net. Steve showed up a little late and took over from Scott, but then Steve took to the field and let Scott join the fun, back in the net. At some point we had as many as 28 people on the turf. But Kennington & guest Joe left early, Makkkkk Schwatz switched to blue, and things settled down.

Blue scored early but that was it. The white defense with Makkkkk Schwatz, Frank, me and later Chopman and Carlos was pretty formidable. Frank managed to thwart two one on one attacks by Vicente late in the game. White got on the board with a goal by Jordan, and then the hat trick boys had two apiece, 5-1 finish.

I would like to invite all of you to the annual Dick Meighan 5k run. It's 9 AM Thanksgiving morning in Upper Saddle River and there will be over 1,000 runners. Last year Makkkkk Schwatz, Papa Ya-ya, Keeper Steve, Keeb-o and I wore our WSS jerseys, and we all finished. This year there will be refreshments served in my driveway immediately after the race, and maybe before. So sign up, it's a lot of fun. http://www.dickmeighan5krun.org/

new shirts:

Sunday October 10 (10-10-10!)

Unbelievably beautiful day! Frost is on the ground as I left home, but it warmed up quickly on the turf. We started with about twenty, Dimos & son John, Makkkkk Schwatz is back from Italy, Kennington, Vinny and a guest, Joe? Keith tended the red goal, Steve in the Blue. Blue started off with a goal by the guest, and a lazer shot by Steve, I mean Rocco. Red finally got on the board with a very nice goal by Frank! Dimos got another for Blue on an empty net f-up, but that was it for them. Mario scored for Red, then Tom (the new Keeble) and Keeble (the Old Keeble) took over, finishing with a hat trick apiece! Keebs headed in a beautiful corner kick cross from Jordan.

Chopman snuck on as a Blue, but changed to Red. Jordan started at Red, but switched to blue. Fernando left early and Ken managed to stay for most of the game.

Next week and the rest of the month will be 8AM starts, off the field by 9:30, so try to be prompt. Next week we should have the new shirts.

Sunday October 3

Nice cool clear morning when I got there at eight, but it's a nine o'clock start today, so back to DD for a little more coffee and a cheddar bagel twist. Finally got underway with about twenty guys, Vinny, Markkkkk M, Timmy, Dan staggered in late to get us to full teams plus. Doug & Keith bolstered the Red defense, Steve in the Blue goal, Kennington running the Blue offense.

The game got off to a sloppy start with lots of body slamming. Ken and another Blue left early, Jordan, back for the second week after his injury, switched to blue and confused everything. Then Frank switched to blue, OMG! Scoring for Blue was Fernando and Sean, but that was it. At the other end Mary-O got two, Jay, Tom, Keebs, one each. 5 or 6 to 2 final.

Rocco signed up 55 players this year, and none of them are Eddy! Eddy, if you're out there, come by any time, we enjoy playing with you. Next week, nine AM start, its supposed to be a nice day.

Sunday September 25

Beautiful day started 13 to 10 blue... Red scored first, blue came back 3-1... as attrition took its toll it ended up 10 v 9 red, and 6-3 red, in a field shortened time abbeviated (1030) game...

Once again Keebo had the crack of the game calling Mario Sr "Mary-O" before we even got started. Mario Jr still out hurt...

as reported by Joe M.

Sunday September 19

Almost forgot! Beautiful cool clear weather at the 9AM start, full sides, maybe 12 v 12. Keith is back, he played keeper for the Red. Dan G., Jay, Chopman and Eric played for Red, Eddy showed up to help the blue, with a guest Jimmy and Doug in the Blue net. Super Mario started off by tripping on the turf trying to score for the Blue, and hurt his ankle. He sat out the rest of the game. Most of the scoring was by Tom, the new Keeble, for the Red Team , although Keeble himself did mange one goal. Carlos had a couple for Blue, Enzo had one. Splendid work by Mak Swatz in the Red net after he spelled Keith kept the Blue score low. Late in the game Kevin went from Red defense to Blue keeper to even up the sides and let Doug get some running in. Final maybe 6 red 3 blue.

I won't be there next week, can someone else make some remarks on the game?

Sunday September 12

Nice cool overcast morning, perfect for soccer. About half the team didn't get the memo about shifting back to our traditional 9AM start time, and about 14 guys showed up at 8. As the nine o'clockers started showing up, we started with short sides on a shortened field. Guest Gustavo filled in at goal for the Red team, and Scott took advantage of his unfamiliarity to score the first goal for Blue. More guys showed up so we got up to full teams on a full field. Some little girls showed up, but for the first time, we stood our ground and they left! No mary-nancies today!

Blue seemed to score more often today, mostly from an offsides position. Rocco, Eric and Scott made a pretty formidable blue right wing. Keeble hurt himself, Mahk Swahtz inexplicably switched fro Red to Blue, and scored for the blue. Tom was the scoring machine for Red, but Mario, Mario and C also scored. C gave us a nice little tomahawk celebration and didn't hurt himself.

Around about 10:30 the mary-nancies left the field, but then it stared to rain. No idea what happened last Monday. Next Sunday, let's call it 9, unless notified otherwise.

Sunday September 5, Labor Day Weekend

Another beautiful Sunday, cool & sunny! We started with short sides but eventually got up to 11 v 11. No Marks, no Keith, no Frank, no keepers, just one Joe. Bobby sat in with the red defense, Dimos brought his son John, and C's friend Eric joined us again. Mario scored for Red, Keeble had three, Jay pounded in a beauty for the blue, then took Mario down with a perfect trip from behind. Satisfied, he took himself out of the game. Nice little shoving match between Tom and Fernando. Dom left early, and the empty spaces on the field grew. Super Mario pretty much had the run of the field. Good fun, 7-6 blue?

Maybe there was a game on Monday, I went fishing. Last E mail was to meet on the grass :(. Anybody?

Sunday August 29

Hot and sunny day predicted, but it's very nice at game time, it was in the low 50's overnight. We're back on the turf, which is covered with dew at game time, 8AM. 13 v. 13, St Rocco is back, no Keith, Doug in the net for Blue, Kevin for Red. Scoring is started by Mario for the blue, with two & Keebs got one. Shamu scored for the Red and Carlos had a screamer. Final about 4 Red 3 blue. Nice game.

Sunday August 22

I woke up to rain, but it seemed to abate around the time I needed to make the go/no go decision. I guess others were in the same situation. We got off to a slow start going cross field on the turf. High school girls were using the other half. We got up to full sides when the high school boys arrived for their 9 AM practice, and kicked us off. We reconvened at the goose farm and changed shoes. The high point of the day was when half the team herded the geese into the corner. It was a standoff for a tense couple of minutes, but the geese finally relented and left.

Not everybody made the switch, we wound up with 9 v 9, so we shortened the field to take the clay infield out of play. Two guests, Eric and ?, two keepers, two Marios, two Dans no Marks, Shamoo, Jay or Dimos. Play on the grass took some getting used to, but when we settled down Blue scored more goals. Keeble got one for the red, Tom got two. Some high school kid came with his dad and played for the last half hour, with dad watching.

We should plan ahead for next week, if we have to start at 7 to get back on the turf, so be it. (IMHO)

Sunday August 15

This is Adam Keeble, filling in for Mr. Gilchrist

On a morning more familiar to October than mid-August, a full-sided game with the newer faces settled in nicely made for a lopsided game.

On paper, the sides looked pretty even. For every Mike and Mario-ito that Red had, Blue had Pennington's buddy and Teddy. The notable difference was between the pipes where Steve took his place in the Red goal and the Blues had a Ted's brother-in-law, a new guy, and Ted's brother taking turns, and that was where it all fell apart.

Not that Steve was particularly busy in the Red goal. Chances were hardly free-flowing at either end. But 80% of Red's shots went in while the Red defenders, backed up by the big man from Northern Ireland, took care of the Blue strikers with a combination of bravery, skill, luck and weight of numbers.

Red were up 5-0 at one point, and finished out 7-1 winners when on paper, and on balance of play, a draw wouldn't have drawn many complaints.

Sunday August 8

Wednesday night we had 7 v 6 in very hot conditions. Joe brought his daughter Natalie who played very well, and we had a guest, Joe.

Sunday, not so damned hot for a change, and cloudy. We started with 13 v 13, Carlos 1 came late and made it 14 blues. Chopman is back from his travels and he brought a guest, Eric. The kid Joe from Wednesday showed up as well. Both of our professional goalies are in the nets, which is always a pleasure. To start, the Blue offense was formidable, even without Keeblue. Shamu is back on the field and with Dom, Dimos, Mike the Wizard, Eric, new Joe, Super Mario, Carlos and Dan on attack, the red defense is in trouble early and often, but somehow manage to keep it together thanks to the constant encouragement of Mark Swatz. Things changed when Dom and then Mike departed and Keeble rediscovered his gift. Frank switched to blue to even the count but even he couldn't stop Kee's three rockets into the back of the net with a header for desert. Keeble is back. Not sure of the score, 5-5?

Jake played his last Sunday morning game with us for a while, he's headed off to school. I won't be there next week, maybe someone else can jot a few thoughts about the game.

Sunday August 1

Wednesday we had 8 v 8 with Mom, Dad & Lindsey Shrout, one high schooler and a guy coaching his girls team. Small goals on a shortened field, pretty much dominated by Jimmy who scored at least a dozen times.

Sunday, not as hot and cloudy with a slight breeze, we had at least 30 players, with Jake and Mo but no Mark, Carlos 2 and a guest Fernando. So that's Joe, Joe, Moe, Moe, Dan, Dan, Carlos, Carlos, Mark & no Mark. Jake was assigned to play Red keeper by his coach, Shamu is back on the field, Keebs joined the blue. Scoring started with a beautiful six inch tap in by Uncle Joe and the red were ahead by 3 before blue started scoring. Keeblu had an amazing break away from half court and toed in a laser from the twenty. Red wins, 6-3?

Sunday July 25

I guess some folks showed up Wednesday only to get chased of the field by lightning. Rocco says we can play this Wednesday, then it's going to be iffy with school and travel practices due to begin August 1.

Sunday, heat wave continues, though there is a bit of a breeze. More than 30 players showed up including one new kid and another Carlos. Frank's back from Italia, Rocco is still in his street clothes, Eddie's back. Shamu is still lame, so he tended goal for the Red, Dougie played the field for red and managed to not use his hands. Kennington left early, Jay scored a couple of goals and left. Keeble scored on a six incher, Brilliant! Mike the Wizard felt like 10 defenders would be challenging enough to make the goals worthwhile, and scored a couple. 7-3 blue?

Sunday July 18

Wednesday night we had as many as 8 v 8, including the young Brandon Dossantos, Keebo's friend John, and one high schooler. Rocco watched from the stands with an injured foot.

It was a very hot and humid evening. We played across the pitch with lacrosse goals till it was too dark to see C.

Sunday, the heat wave continues. We stared with 19, then Kennington left, and a couple of stragglers joined in, so we had full sides for most of the match. Keeb's friend John played again. Shamu tended goal for the Blue. Red went ahead 4-0 early, with two by Keeb. But Dan, Dan, Joe, Joe, Carlos and Dimos got their acts together and the Blue came back with 7 unanswered goals. Then Keebler took a pass from Steve the keeper, and dribbled unassisted to the goal, evading all defenders, shot and SCORED!!! Another hatty for the K. Final score 9-9 or so.

SundayJuly 11

Sunny & hot, we started with short teams, but got up to full sides, full court. Notably absent were Bobby, Hoch, Rocc & Chopman. Vincent left early due to injury & Scott had to sit out after a while, and a couple of others left, so we finished with 9 v. 9 on a shortened pitch. Blue scored more points.

A bunch of us participated in a charity event Saturday night, playing soccer against the Waldwick school team. Team Old & Slow prevailed, 1-0, but not without injuries to Jordan, Rocc & Scott.

After Sunday's game, 8 of us met at the AB&G to watch Spain win its first World Cup ever.

Wednesday July 7

Just a note before I forget. In spite of the record heat wave, we had full sides including 6 or 8 kids. The kids are fast and agile with great skills and powerful shots, but it seemed like us old guys were in better shape! We played till dark, about 8:45, 11-12 white wins, or non-white wins, whatever.

Sunday July 4!

But first a couple of comments on last Wednesday evening. We had a very good turnout, with about 11 v. 14, including half a dozen H.S. boys and a young woman with soccer skills who kept getting in my way. We played till it got too dark to see the dark team. I guess we'll try again this Wednesday, in this incredible heat, dark shirts vs. white shirts. Bring ice water.

Sunday we started w/ 8 or 9 per side, but quickly got up to full sides. Jake and his coach Mohammed played, and we had a surprise appearance by the great Dave Murphy, who seems to be enjoying the crumpets in England. Moe is back, no Keebl, Frank or Roccus. The game was pretty close, blue may have edged a one point victory, 10-9?

Monday? Don't know, it was brutally hot, I slept in. Anyone care to comment?

Sunday June 27, 2010

Wednesday evening ten or so members of WSS met at the turf and joined forces with a group of high schoolers and had a friendly scrimmage. There is talk of trying again this Wednesday.

Saturday Timmay, Bobby, Eddie, Moe, Joe Bagles, Mark dos peros and I convened at the ABG to cheer on our boys, to no avail.

Sunday was overcast and hot at 8AM start time. We had about 30 players show up, including two first timers: Joe who said Kennington sent him, and a kid that came with Joe B. We eventually worked out a substitution arrangement that worked out pretty well, with all subs going in after ten minutes out. Welcome back to Eddie! Keebs was on fire, scoring the first three for Red. Other than that, I don't remember. Red won. We played about ten minutes of stoppage time, so everyone got their fair share of abuse.

June 20, Fathers Day

8 am start, but it's already hot! We had up to 27 players, including Kevin & Marylyn, Mike the Wizard, Super Mario, Doug! and Steve plus Steve P, Jake and another kid. Blue started the scoring and it stayed 2-0 for quite a while. We took a break at half time to cool down a bit, then the kids on the red team took over. Keith tried to disallow goals by players under twenty, but finally red scored more than blue. Frank put about a dozen beautiful feeds over the net, Keeble played like he was British.

We've discussed this before, but we shouldn't be inviting guests when we're getting full sides of paying members, and if we do, those guests should voluntarily leave the field when the sides get over 12-12. Unfortunately, we're talking about Steve & Jake. My son Will played with us for years, but he was a full dues paying member, and he didn't make us look like old fools. We should be starting up Wednesday night games, and guests have been more than welcome to these scrimmages in the past. Cheers!

Sunday June 13

Saturday Mark, Mark, Steve, Hock & I assembled at the Allendale Bar & Grill to watch the USA vs. England World Cup game. A fun time was had by all, thanks to Keebs, who was afraid to come. It would be fun to do this again, but the next couple of USA games are 10 am starts.

Sunday 7 AM start, 70 and overcast. We started with 9 v 9 full court, latecomers brought it up to full sides. No J no C no Kennington. Steve P had a couple of beauties for the Blue, Keebs had a couple of uglies for the Red, Jordan hooked in a corner for an unassisted goal for the Red, Shamu had none that I remember. My knee was bothering me, so I sat in goal for the Red for the whole game. Red win, 6-5 or so.

Next week its Father's Day, best day of the year, so all you mother effers come out for a great time at 8AM. Adam has offered to collect any offerings of canned food that we may care to bring and carry it to the Center for Food Action, a worthy cause.

Sunday June 6

Hey. I guess some guys did show up last Monday. 6 or 8, brutally hot, that's all I heard.

Sunday, 8AM start, 70 degrees and overcast. We had as many as 13 v. 14. Steve came late, Ken left early, red goal manned by field players. Red offense with Joe, Keeble, Mario & Tom poured in so many goals Keith left in disgust. At the other end Jay knocked in a couple of beauties, Shamu got one on an open net, maybe there were a couple more. The mighty Keebo switched to blue late in the match, but even he couldn't even the score. Best score of the day was on a beautiful corner kick cross from Joe that went clear across the goal mouth 'till it bounced off Miller's head into the net!

Next week 7AM. On Saturday Mr Keeble has arranged for a table at the Allendale Bar & Grill for us to watch England vs. USA in the first round of the world cup. See you then.

Memorial Day

70 degrees at game time, but its hotter on the turf. Sunny and clear with a light breeze, it's a beautiful day. Slow start in spite of the nice late nine o'clock start time, we eventually had 24 players. The blue had a fearsome offense, with Shamu, Jay, Carlos, Dan G. and Mike M. and they poured in the goals. Of course red had no keeper, with field players taking turns in the net. Red was missing their chief goal getter and spiritual leader, Keebo, so Mario, Tom, Jimmy and Joey had a lot of shoes to fill.

Biggest event of the day was when Jay retrieved a ball he sent far over the goal and into the woods. He received a well deserved ovation from both teams for his display of humility and sportsmanship.

Next week its back to 7am at the turf, then there has been some discussion of starting at 8 am for the rest of the summer. TBD

Sunday May 23

60 and overcast at 7AM game time, on the turf. Let's see, Tim was late, Scott scored early for the blues, Keeble got one for the reds, Kennington left early, must be Sunday morning senior soccer. We had 11 v. 12 till Ken left. Welcome back to Steve who was able to borrow a car, and to Mike McMaster, the soccer wizard. Keeping for the red fell to Mark Schwartz, Kevin, and Bobby who was wearing his red shirt for the second time ever. Mark Miller got one for his team and Chopman got one with his left foot! The score seemed pretty close till the blue started pouring them in from off sides positions.

Next week being Memorial Day weekend, we start at nine. There was some discussion of a Monday match.

Sunday May 16

7 am at the magic carpet. 50 degrees and cloudy. 10 v. 10, no Doug and no Steve so we had amateurs in the nets. I forget the score, Blue had more, Keebs had one, good fun for all.

The starting times for the next four weeks: 7, 9, 9, 7, then back to 9 for the duration.

Sunday May 9

So instead of returning to the dreadful Trap, we convened at the field of dreams at 7AM! A cool clear crisp (44 degrees) and windy morning, 22 guys showed up. No Steve G, no Jay, Kevin filled in for Steve, Douggy was shamed into showing up, Frank made it in spite of his 1 hour drive, even Tim was there , almost on time!

Scoring, as usual, two by Scott for the Blue, two by Keeble for the Red, one by Enzo for the Blue, and one by Mario for the Red that was called back due to a offsides call from the bleachers! Kicked off by Rocco's team of teens at 8:45. Now what?

Next week: same time same place.

Forecast is for a hot and hazy day. Today, for something different, Team Red wore their blue jerseys, and Team Blue, their reds. We assembled at the Traphagen field, and started short sided on a small field set up in the area where we have been playing. The big field has the usual Sunday morning Latinos game going on. Scoring was started, as is customary, by Shamoo for the Red with two. Additional players arrived and we moved to the larger field, down by the baseball backstop. The Reds scored again. Mark S left at half time, and Doug, who had been keeping for the red, joined the blue team. He said the Red didn't even need a goalie. But then Keeble, after a two week hiatus, found his touch, scoring three for Blue. In the end, it seems the Blue may have scored the most points. 7-6? Whatever.

Next week, back to Trap, unless you have a better idea.

Sunday April 25

Rained out? I don't know cause I didn't go. It was raining pretty steadily when I awoke, not so much at game time.

Sunday April 18

Another beautiful spring morning. The team assembled at Trap, but Rocculous got a magical message that the field of dreams is available. So we caravanned over and had a great time. Ten v. ten including Doug and Steve meant lots of action on the field, and we were pretty much done when we got evicted at 10:30. 5-2 Red.

Sunday April 11

A beautiful clear sunny and cool morning brought out a bunch of Senior Soccer Stars. When Tim finally arrived we had 26, including Enzo, Rich, Mike Mangione, our guest Sean and team Joe and Jimmy. Where's Eddy? Shamoo played for the Red, Jay for the Blue. In Dougy's absence Keith and Mark S. took turns keeping for the Red. The score stayed pretty close for most of the game. Kennington left halfway through with an injury, Keeble scored, Miller scored, the Marios scored all for Red, Dan got two for blue. In the end, Red scored more.

Miller: "We're all friends here."

Rich: "No we're not."

Easter Sunday

A beautiful morning brought out all the Nancys and Marys. Sunny and 45 degrees at game time, late arrivals brought the sides up to 15 v. 15. Third week in a row, scoring is started by Shamooo for the Blues, but his two quick goals were it for most of the game. Keeble scored for the Red, and scored and scored again. Four, by his count. Two for Mario, one for Scott R and the score was up to 6-2 Red before the blues got back into the game. Final score? Doesn't matter. What matters is that in the spirit of the holiday, Jay passed the ball to Adam, and Adam passed to Jay!

Sunday March 28

The mighty Waldwick Seniors were kicked off the magic carpet by a bunch of girls, again. We assembled at our old stomping grounds at Traphagen, but the big field was taken by a large group of Spanish speaking gentlemen, so we attempted to play on the small field. Overcast and cold, like 30 degrees at game time. The field is wet, unlined, and the goals are small. We had as many as 22 players at one point. Once again, scoring was started by Shamu for the blue, followed by a wild sprint down the field by Keeble. He got his goal, but pulled a muscle in his which hindered the rest of his game. The Reds racked up 6 unanswered goals, after which we switched sides so the Blues could attack going downhill. Players started leaving the field due to injury, prior commitment or lack of interest. Final score doesn't matter.

Looking ahead, it seems we will be pre-empted by girls again on April 18, and all of May. Next week is the annual Easter Sunday Jews vs. Pagans Game on the turf. The weather promises to be hot as hell. See you there.

Keeble Scores Four!

54 degrees and sunny at game time. Perfect conditions for the Mary Nancys, but we actually started 9 v. 9, and stragglers brought it up to 11 v. 11. Welcome back to Vicente and Kenning Pennington. Scoring started with Shamu shooting on an open net for the Red. Mark Schwartz dribbled, feinted and drilled a beauty for the Blue. Roccus toed in a lazer for his first and last goal of the season, and Dimos put in a beauty from outside the box. Keith was hacked in the hock, and had to leave, and Bobby didn't show, so Keeble had an absolute field day for the Red.

6-4 Red? I lost count after 2-2. We quit early after the mighty C scored and tomahawked. Nice to be back.

Sunday March 14

Mary Nancys all! 44 degrees and overcast at game time with a slight drizzle. Perfect soccer weather. Seven players showed up. We lingered till 9:30, and went home. So we had a big storm with six inches of rain, 75 mph winds, trees down, power out, transformers exploding, so what! So they changed the clocks, so what! Nancy Marys.

Wednesday March 10

6 v. 7 including Stevie P and another kid. Good work out. This could be our last evening for a while.

Sunday March 7!

Wow. First game since Feb 7. The field of dreams was still half covered with snow, but the melt continued as we played. It was a beautiful day, clear and sunny, warming from the 30's into the 40's. We had 8 v. 9 on about 70 yards of open field. Keeble scored a goal. We got kicked off the field at 11 by eight year old girls.

No surprise.

This was the first sign things were getting worse: Entrances to the field were blocked by 4 foot tall snow mounds.

But the damn geese were happy again.

Sunday February 22

See last Wednesdays report.

It was a beautiful day. I went for a hike with my buddy Gus.

Field Conditions, 3pm Feb 20, 2010

Wednesday Feb 17

See last post, plus 5 or 6" more. Poop.

Sunday February 14

See Wednesday's post.

Wednesday February 10

Cancelled, due to the blizzard of twenty ten.

Sunday February 7, 2010

Two feet of snow in DC, but not a flake in Waldwick! At game time it was cold and windy, 16 degrees or so, but sunny. We had about 16 guys to start, and we started to move the goals in, but more players showed up and we finally had 12 blues vs 11 reds. Doug and Steve manned the nets, which is always great, and Jay wore his red sweatshirt again. Blue scored early, when Kevin (red) kicked the ball into Frank (blue) for the score, and later, with a nice shot from Sham-wow Scott, but that was it. Red, on the other hand, scored early and scored often, with Mario and Super Mario doing most of the damage. There were a couple of nice headers into the goal including a beauty by M Miller that was disallowed due to some alleged violation.

There were many alleged violations, and some heated discussions regarding said violations, but all in all it was a very enjoyable game, in spite of the weather.

The weather reports would indicate that we will not be playing on Wednesday this week, but lets hope.

Feb 2, 2010

Snowed out. Not looking too good for this Sunday either. Too bad, because by playing twice a week I was able to lose five pounds with no reduction in ale intake.

Sunday January 31, 2010

Cold! 12 degrees at game time, but sunny. Started with 10 v. 10, but stragglers brought the sides up to 12 each. Dan and Dan were back, Steve P. joined us, and Jay wore a red sweatshirt. The Blue opened with five unanswered goals, then two for red, and the game was pretty even after that, I think the final score might have been 10-10.

But the big news is Keebo's second hat trick for the year!

Wednesday January 28

32 and dark, once again, at game time. 19 players including five high schoolers played a spirited shortened field game under the lights. Notable for the red team: two by Frank, one by me, several by the Mario's, but Team Old and Slow was no match for Joe Bagels, Jimmy and the kids. Coordinated attacks, pin point passing and booming shots took their toll. Final score: Blue wins.

Its snowing as I write this, and the forecast is for cold for the next several days. Keep an eye on your E mail for field updates, and I hope to see you all Sunday. And remember, chase your own misses!

Sunday January 24, 2010

28 degrees and very overcast at game time. We started with full teams, but late comers increased the teams to 14 each. Too many. Keeble finally recovered from his much deserved sabbatical in Disney World, and scored three for the Red. Jerry had two for the Blue, final score about 5 Red, 3 Blue.

Guys, unless the weather is really bad, don't invite guests to Sunday games. If you do, please explain to them before they come that they will have to leave the field if there are more than 22 paid up, shirt wearing members who want to play. Invite guests to the Wednesday evening games instead.

Wednesday 1-20-10

32 degrees and dark, but the activity under the lights kept everyone warm. We had 11 v. 11, full court, including 6 or 8 high schoolers, Mario, Super Mario, and Mario's boy Luigi, a cameo appearance by Hollywood Will, the Buckminister, Enzo and Joey Bagel's friend. The high schoolers kept the action going a little faster than us old guys are used to, but the veteran defensive team of Bobby, Keith, Frank and Doug were able to stifle their attacks. At the other end it was all team Dossantos. They ran the score up to the point that when the blue team finally stared scoring, it didn't matter.

Final score: red team, lots, blue team, not as many.

Sunday January 17, 2010

Happy New Years all. This week we had 11 v. 11 for most of the game, overcast but not too cold conditions. The game was tied at nil till about the half, when blue scored five unanswered goals. Red slowly started back, with three or four goals before the time ran out.

Last week we had 9 v. 10 in much colder conditions. Those who did not show shall forever be referred to as nancies. 9 v. 10 full court is quite a work out, and as I recall the blue team may have prevailed.

There was also a Wednesday game this week, 9 v. 9 on a reduced field. Sounds like it was fun, sorry I missed it. I think we're on for this Wednesday, I think the consensus time is 7-9 PM, but pay attention to your E-maills as game time approaches.