SlogsCenter Epic: Nomads-Traitors

I wouldn't leave y'all hangin'--now that the offending parties have vowed to change their ways. Here's the extended version of SlogsCenter, and it's all about the Nomads and Traitors. Even if you're not a fan of either team, you should check out the clip. Lots of great defense. Congrats to the Traitors on a great win. I have a feeling they may run into the Nomads again soon. Special thanks to Melissa Manning for the terrific pics and Maher "Zambrano" Abu-Arja for crawling out of bed to shoot some video. Enjoy.

To enhance your viewing experience, let the clip load all the way before watching. You'll enjoy the soundtrack more.

Traitors Whup Nomads, Clinch Tourney's Top Seed

There's your highlight reel.

The Traitors beat the Nomads on Friday, 15-7. After the top of the 3rd inning, the score was Nomads 6, Traitors 5. But the rest of the game was all Orange, all the time.

The win, when combined with their defeat of the Sluggos later in the day, gives the undefeated Traitors (8-0) the Long Division title and the #1 seed for the tournament. The Nomads are a half-game up on the Eagles for the lead in the Division of Labor, with the top team there taking the #2 seed.

I had planned on posting a whole mess of pics and video highlights from this game, but deleting rude messages took too much time. I will not reward those who cannot win with class, and I will not allow anyone to destroy with negativity and divisiveness what we've worked hard to build. Talk to your captain, Traitors.

End of post.

UPDATE:

From Kevin Rowlson, Captain of the Traitors:

I would like to take this time to publicly apologize to my teammates and everyone else for the comments I made. (Mude has already deleted the post.)

Sometimes I act without thinking of what the consequences will be as long as it makes me feel better at the time, and I am sorry for that. I sincerely hope that if anyone who saw the post and took any offence to it can find it in their hearts to forgive me.

SO: We'll have SlogsCenter highlights and some of Melissa Manning's excellent game pics later today some day soon. -Mude

Nomads Top Beats, Eye Traitors

Some good news for the Beats: They get the honor of having the SlogsCenter Highlight of the Week. Here's Nomad Shukri Saleh, getting oopsed up between 3rd and home...

The rest of the game was brutal, and I'm not just talking about the score. The Nomads topped the Beats to set up a showdown for league supremacy against the undefeated Traitors next Friday, but the real story was the injury suffered by the Beats' Alberto Santiago.

On a single to right field, Alberto had just passed first base when the laser of a throw came in. Alberto wasn't aware of the throw, which was rather unusual for an outfield single, and it met his mouth. The sound of the impact was sickening, and the scene afterward was a bloody mess.

Freeze, re-use, enjoy? I don't think so: Alberto's recovered tooth.

The good news is that our crack archaeologists found the tooth in the sand and Alberto had it put right back in (Note: Not at the field). A few stitches in his lip, and he'll be back on the field in no time, donning his Yankees cap and giving his opponents hell. And in his honor, the Beats put up an impressive six runs in the final inning.

The right-fielder who threw the ball, known here only as Li'l Massarweh, had his name sent by the US Embassy to Homeland Security. He is now atop the Most Wanted Terrorists list. Good luck getting back to school in the States.

Be careful out there, Sloggers. It's a mad. mad world.

Slackers Yell, Nomads Swell: Jordan Cup Wears Red

The Nomads won the Inaugural Jordan Cup after beating the Slackers.

Here’s the way this game went: Shukri Saleh kept driving in Omar Massarweh, the Barghoutis kept pace for the Slackers, H.R.H. Princess Iman al-Hussein’s Nomadic speed impressed the infielders, and the Orange’s improved outfield wowed everyone. And it was tied 6-6 after four innings.

While the Slackers yelled, they were outscored 8-0.

But then the Slackers started to vocally plot each other’s murders, and the Nomads jumped on the chance and scored eight unanswered runs to take a 14-6 lead. When the Slackers finally stopped yelling at one another, they managed to score five runs in the bottom of the sixth, but it was too little, too late. The First Annual Jordan Cup goes to the Nomads after their 14-11 win.

It’s still unclear whether the ‘Mads rise to the occasion or play down to their competition. Their showdown with the Traitors on the 27th and the rematch against the Eagles during the final week will answer all the questions. As for the Slackers, never have so many been in so great of a need for so much Valium.

Inter-Division Games That Were Played

Leave Your Little James Alone: It's Tessio Time!

There's only one Tessio.

Tessio from The Godfather (or maybe some other guy) grabbed all his CDs and went to Petra last weekend. He played other people's music through some speakers and a whole mess of Arabs and foreigners paid to listen. From what I hear, everyone was on in ecstasy the whole time.

Which brings us to the Nomads and Sluggos. Some Nomads decided to hang out with Abe Vigoda, while the Sluggos showed up to play softball. Sluggos won, and it wasn’t close.

Orrince and Omar Massarweh got into a heated discussion about the game, and their comments had to be deleted. The Slogs do not tolerate talk of each other’s naughty parts, especially between two men.

Stars Picked Off, Not Ticked Off

Tuck that shirt in Abu Mitchell -- the Ump's watchin'!

With my reputation as the Rules Enforcer, the highlight of the Slackers-Stars game was the Stars runner at first being "tagged out" during a courtesy runner switch. The ump hadn't quite called time yet. And the out was actually upheld. Man, that's harsh...and unprecedented. Was Karma watching?

The Slackers are now undefeated in their sexy new uniforms (and beautiful matching hats). The Traitors' Kevin is jealous. He was overheard asking the Slackers where they got those hats. This might get ugly.

For the Stars, they continue to have fun, and they must be looking forward to the re-match against Bling Bling on August 10. But at least the Taweels, Reem and Saed, can claim the SlogsCenter Highlight of the Week for the Twinklers.

Beats Close, but No Argilah

One of the Beats left his glasses behind...in disgust?

Down two runs, with two men boys on and no outs, in the bottom of the 6th inning, the Eagles' Gary Bonifas came through with...what should have been an out. But his high fly to shallow right turned into a single, then a double, then a triple...and finally, a walk-off four-bagger. So Karma was watching, after all.

Such is life in the Beats camp these days. They had battled the Eagles valiantly for what should have been their first win of the year. But it wasn't meant to be.

Here's some advice from your Uncle Mude: Do not mess with the Beats. Most of them have diplomatic immunity. That means they can kill you and, like, totally get away with it. Someone please let them win so we can all live in peace.

Stranded Nomads seek the company of Wilson

An eyewitness said this game definitely gave the fans in the stands their money’s worth. (It’s free admission…get it?)

The good news for Bling Bling is that they kept the game surprisingly close. The impending arrival of their uniforms should make up the difference in future games, because it’s all about how good you look out there.

Aside from the first inning, the Nomads stranded a steaming heap of base runners, failing to take advantage of their many scoring chances. They may think they got an easy win, but others are looking at this game as having exposed some serious chinks in the Tribe’s armor. Are the Nomads merely playing down to their competition, or are they a flawed team?

Next week, the Sluggos, who will be very angry, will answer that question when they face Massarweh’s ‘Mads. Ziggy and Schwa have been burning the phone lines to their bookies, with the smart money on the Sluggos.

Here's some game action from the first inning, with the bases loaded for Shukri Saleh:

Blinger left scratching his head after Shukri's deep fly ball scores four runs.

I’ve got blisters on my fingers: Nomads @ Bling Bling

1:30 PM (90F/32C)
Umps: Traitors

Now that my calluses have disintegrated into my keyboard, we get to the final game of the day. Nomads’ captain Omar Massarweh remained strong and silent about the game, while Neal Zureikat was cordial and sportsmanlike on behalf of his Bling.

Yawn.

At least we have the unveiling of Schwa & Ziggy's picks, exclusively for this game:


Ziggy's Pick: Bling Bling

"Ooh, Bling. I can has shiny stuff, pls?"






Schwa's Pick: Nomads

"They're all red. Are they meat? Can I snack on them?"





Aside from the excitement of our cats' picks, there was some breakin' news involving the Nomads that needed fixin' right quick.

When Traitor Kevin Rowlson, the George Steinbrenner of Amman Softball League, expressed interest in acquiring the services of his former teammate, perennial basher and current Nomad Shukri Saleh, the League had to get to the bottom of these nefarious trickerations.

“I shot that birdie down,” replied Omar Massarweh within seconds. “My #10 is staying put.”

Kevin was too busy backpedaling to the shores of his Evil Emirate to comment. He was last seen trying to steal insulin from diabetics so he could trade it in for this darling orange bracelet that would just totally go with his outfit—er, uniform.

NEWS FLASH: We hear from reliable sources that Kevin is asking female members of his team how long they think it would take for his hair to grow out enough for him to wear a scrunchy on the field. UPDATE: We have been able to confirm that the scrunchy in question is more of a “bow thingy,” and that it is, in fact, orange:

And that’s what you get for trying to steal other teams’ players.

On a happy note for the Bling-It-Ons (Oh, it’s been bloughten), they have been bailed out of umpiring duties. Replied an ecstatic Neal, “[We] appreciate not having to ump. We took a lot of heat last game, literally.”

I hadn’t noticed, but then again, I never do.

Nomads Blank Stars; Eagles Take Shine Off Bling

There were a couple of blowouts in Week 2. The Nomads had their way with the Stars, and the Eagles easily handled Bling Bling. Shukri Saleh went yard for the 'Mads, then the Eagles' Tom Manning unveiled a pitch that was so good, it may be illegal. Aside from efficient offenses for both winning teams, the Nomads and Eagles displayed the same tough defenses which dominated their Week 1 game. Blingtopia and the Stars scored less than a broke Trekkie does. The bright note, though, was the positive attitudes the Stars and Bling Bling demonstrated. The two teams joined ASL to have fun, and they didn’t let anything bring them down. Cheers for that, and a big personal thanks from me.