Ghost Man on Third: The Not Shades of Gray Edition

The Award Winning Official Newsletter of the MA Commonwealth Division

"What hurts you, blesses you. Kickball is your candle." 

PLAYOFF QUARTERFINALS WEEK: "And if you feel that you can't go on. And your will's sinkin' low. Just believe and you can't go wrong. In the light you will find the road. You will find the road." - Led Zeppelin

Table of Contents:
I: Just Cause it's Po'ele'ele, don't mean the Party's Over!
II: Light Dawns on Seaside town near Swampscott
III: Not Ruined Like Tim Burton Ruined Dark Shadows
IV: Tis the East, and Kickball is the Sun
V: Standings and Schedule
VI: Announcements
VII: A Dark Night Rises





PART I: "Get with the high vibration,electrocuted blues. Now there's a white light shining,around that stereo. I can feel the floorboards shakin',now it's about to blow. Let's go!" - The Mooney Suzuki

Before the sun sets completely on this season, remember to keep in mind the following two league events. 

END OF SEASON LUAU PARTY!

DATE: FRIDAY AUGUST 17th
TIME: 7:00 PM until the Drinks Run Out
LOCATION: The Hong Kong at Fanuiel Hall
WHO: Registered League Members and Guests

WHAT: WAKA has the tab covered for most of the evening so drink responsibly, heartily and remember to TIP THE BARTENDERS! 

View the Facebook Invite with all the Details Here.

This is followed by the MA Commonwealth All-Star Game on Thursday August 23rd! 

Come watch the craziness that has been brewing in the mind of league rep Paul as a team consisting of Ninjapocalypse Now, Dirty Mike and The Boys, Looking to Bust Balls and Kickin Nuggets takes on the team of Pumped Up Kicks, Don't Come on My Base!, We've Got the Runs, and Teleballin'.

PART II: "Here we go again playing the fool again. Here we go again, acting hard, again.Well I'm beginning to see the light." - Velvet Underground

Well gang, tonight's the night. The final ascent to Immortal Kickball Glory is upon us. With the tensions ramped up even higher as we all quest to drink from the sweet chalice of victory, rather than suck from the beer soaked burlap sack of defeat, League Commissioner Paul likes to hold a skype conference call with the league captains to go over the rules, and make sure everyone is on the same page. Unfortunately due to bandwidth restrictions (and a strong GMOT prohibition against transmission of full frontal nudity, especially his own) GMOT cannot present the video. But thanks to several dedicated monkey interns*, we do have a transcript we can share with you, the reader. 

Date: Tuesday August 7, 2012

Time: 8:37:46pm EDT

PAUL: Greetings Captains. Thank you for meeting like this...uh, I want to remind some of you, that this is a video meeting. I can see you, and some of you might want to put on clothes. Thank Elvis that Tim isn't here to take a picture of this. Though I all hope you check out his album here. This is not that kind of league and or meeting. (He says horrified)

ILANA AND ALLISON: Oops

SAM: Oops 

JESS: Oops

BDO: Oops

MEGHAN: Oops

JASON: Oops

VICKIE: Oops

DAVID: Oops

PAUL: (averting eyes) Anyway, I just want to go over some of the added rules and procedures so we are all on the same fully clothed page. First off, teams with the higher seed pick whether they want to kick first or defend first. 

MEGHAN: WOO-HOO! WE GET TO CHOOSE WHETHER WE GET UP FIRST!

PAUL: No, Teleballin' does not. The Ninjas are the higher seed in your matchup, so it's their choice.

JESS: Wait, I agree with Megan that does not make sense. 8 is greater than 1. 

PAUL: No. It means the team with the best record gets to pick. Not which team's ranking is greater numerically. That's what I mean by higher.

JASON: Who's getting high? I didn't think this was that kind of a meeting (takes shirt back off)

PAUL: NO. NOBODY IS GETTING HIGH. AND PLEASE PUT YOUR SHIRT BACK ON!

VICKIE: Whatever! WE ARE PUMPED UP for the playoffs because we are PUMPED UP KICKS WOO!

PAUL: Great. Anyway, games are five innings, and there can be extra innings in case the game is tied. However extra innings gets tricky...Yes, David? 

DAVID: You mean illusions Paul. Tricks are what whores do for money. Or so I'm told. 

SAM: I like magic. One time I read the book David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. I was greatly disappointed. It didn't reveal the secret to any tricks, like how he walked through the Great Wall of China, or got Claudia Schiffer to marry him. Despite our name "We've Got The Runs" we've been shut out five times this year, so I'm looking for any trick I can find to help us score runs. 

DAVID: Sam, you mean illusions. Tricks are what whores do for money. Or so I'm told. 

BDO: Any run that We've Got the Runs scores has to be an illusion. AMIRIGHT? HEY-YO!(Goes to cyber high five Vickie, realizes the heated rivalry between Pumped Up Kicks and Dirty Mike and the Boys and pulls his hand backs and starts to whistle quietly to himself.) 

PAUL: Come on, let's focus. In case a game goes to extra innings, the rules change to make it easier to score.

DAVID: Which can also be done by exchanging money for services with a prostitute, which is called a trick. Or so I'm told. 

PAUL: Again, must I remind you that this is not that kind of meeting. Listen, we have to focus. I have to watch the synchronized dressage and I want to get this done soon. Anyway, in the extra inning, a team can only field eight fielders, four male, four female. For the kicking team, the person who was at bat when the last out was made, gets to start on second base, and the kicking order continues from there. Understood?

JESS: What about the time? I mean extra innings can go for a really long times. I mean, imagine it's a 0-0 tie with We've Got the Runs. I mean, they're never going to score. Do they just concede?

SAM: HEY! We got some runs. We were just lousy with their distribution, that's all. 

MEGHAN: So you weren't regular? 

DAVID: HA! I used that joke in a GMOT! You read it! THIS IS WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE WHEN DOVES CRY! (Cyber hi-fives Meghan)

PAUL: Oh Good Lemmy. This is devolving quickly. More quickly than last year. Anyway, listen guys...

ILANA and ALLISON: And girls. Or transvestites, transsexuals, or those who are simply androgynous by no fault of their own. This is an all inclusive league, not a Chick-fil-A or Dennys.

BDO: Speaking of which, anyone hungry? Not from there, but man, I could sure go for some Chinese food, or maybe some burritos. I know what. Pancakes. 

PAUL: Gang, come on. We can get food after we're done. Let's keep focused.

MEGHAN: I could go for some Indian.

SAM: Me too. Or Pakistani. You never see many Pakistani places. I wonder why. 

JASON: I don't know how we can stay focused with all these naked people who are getting high and talking about food. 

PAUL: Dammit Jason. Put your damn shirt back on. No one is high or naked right now...Right gang? Wait. Don't answer that. MOVING ON. If the allotted time for the game runs out or the game has to be called due to darkness, the winner will be decided by rock paper scissors. Three players from each team will pair off and take one throw to determine the winner. Understood?

JESS: I don't get how paper beats rock. I mean it's a rock. It should beat paper. It has to be some sort of trick. 

PAUL: David, don't you even say it. 

DAVID: C'MON!

PAUL: Anyway, I also want to talk about respect. The playoffs get a bit heated, and we've already been a bit heated so far this summer. Remember for teams that have to umpire, make sure you know the rules, and try to have three people there to cover home, first and third. Captains, remind your teams that only you can 

ALLISON AND ILANA: PREVENT FOREST FIRES!

PAUL: No. Remind your teammates that only captains and co-captains can argue a call, and keep tempers down and respect the umpires. We are all humans. Except for the bears. 

ALLSION AND ILANA: At least can we dress up as Smokey The Bear?

PAUL: No. Try to have everyone in official WAKA gear... from this season.

ALLISON AND ILANA: Well can Smokey the Bear at least play for us?

BDO: Dibs on The Bear from the movie The Bear! 

SAM: Damn. I wanted him. I'll draft noted boxer Max Baer

DAVID: Did you know, Max Baer's kid was on The Beverly Hillbillies? Weird

MEGHAN: No I did not know that. But Sam, sorry you can only draft real or cartoon bears. No boxers.

JASON: Did someone say, no boxers? Now it's my kind of party!

PAUL: PUT YOUR CLOTHES BACK ON!

JESS: Hey, I'll draft Baloo. He could fly a plane, at least in the Ducktales spin-off Tailspin. Of course he couldn't even airlife We've Got the Runs some runs...

VICKIE: Oh burn. (High fives JESS) Of course, you're crazy. Bears can't fly. 

BDO: What if the bear was flying a plane named Dikta? 

VICKIE: It's like a freakin' country bear jamboroo around here. 

JESS: Let bears play the bear tax. I play the home owners tax!

DAVID: LET'S GO BRUINS 

PAUL: ENOUGH! No BEARS. NO NON PLAYERS. IN FACT CAPTAINS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO EXCHANGE LINEUPS BEFORE THE GAME. NOW ARE THERE ANY MORE QUESTIONS SO WE CAN END THIS BIT AND GET ONTO WATCHING HORSES DO THEIR TRICKS IN DRESSAGE

DAVID: You mean illusions. Tricks are what...

PAUL: (GLARES AT DAVID)

DAVID: ...No. 

ALLISON AND ILANA: No.

MEGHAN: No.

VICKIE: No. 

BDO: No.

SAM: No. 

JESS: No.

JASON: Now can I take my shirt back off, And get this party started? Woo!

PAUL: Dear Bog! This one is over. 

DAVID: Did someone mention pancakes?

JESS: Do you think bears like pancakes?

[end call]

PART III: "My father's house shines hard and bright it stands like a beacon calling me in the night. Calling and calling, so cold and alone. Shining 'cross this dark highway where our sins lie unatoned. - Bruce Springsteen

6:30 Games

Pumped Up Kicks 2 tied Dirty Mike and the Boys 2

In the first Rivalry week challenge matchup, the two teams took the rivalry to heart, as the two teams reprised their 2-2 tie from earlier in the season, and things got a little heated along the way. Despite the inflamed passions, it was a well played game between two excellent teams. 

Kickin' Nuggets 2 over We've Got the Runs 0

There was a lot of hype and buildup in the epic rematch between the Kickin' Nuggets and We've Got the Runs, but once again for the Runs they didn't have any as we were shut out yet again, losing 2-0. Our defense was solid but we weren't able to get anyone on base. Andrew and Mike D both pitched well and our defense helped us get out of 2 bases loaded situations to keep us in a tight game.

Sam contributed this report.

PART IV: "And grow accustomed to the darkness. And see what you're supposed to see. Head up straight. I know what I'm doing. Head up straight. I know what I'm doing." - Charlotte Martin

7:15 Games 

Don't Come on My Base 8 over Looking to Bust Balls 3

In a preview of the opening round of the playoffs, DCOMB decided to go with throwback jerseys, arriving in a rainbow that rivaled the amazing technicolor dreamcoat. With red and green and blue and brown and white and navy and pink, no one was more confused than our infield. After some costly errors, including assuming the referee was part of our plethora of pigments, we were down 3-1 to the strong defensive unit led by no less than 4 Dahlstroms. A strong kick by Danny cleared the bases to create a slim lead going into the final inning, which was blown open by a grand slam, Steve's second home run of the game, proving that our votes for the all-star game were not in vain.

Erik contributed this report

Ninjapocalypse Now 9 over Teleballin' 2

Having secured the number one seed and a date with Teleballin' in the first round, the Ninjapocalypse Now decided to try and confuse Teleballin' with fear and surprise. However Teleballin' despite being neither cowed nor confused, held the Ninjas to one run in the first inning. Ditching fear and surprise the Ninjas were then able to score six and three runs in the 2nd and 3rd to put the game away. Hadley came home with the Ninja Aeronautical Space Awesomenauts Suit for her big kicks and defensive prowess. The Indefatigable Can of Spam went to Ryan who did a little bit of everything, scoring, pitching and catching everything in the outfield. And the Helmet of The Horror, The Horror went to Jeff, for his continued achievements in the field of space exploration, sensible public policy formation, and increasing the number of pitches seen per at bat. 

David contributed this report.

PART V: "Try and hit the spot. Get to know it in the dark. Get to know it whether you're,Crying, crying, crying, oh, oh. Can you climb, climb, climb higher? - Yeah Yeah Yeahs
PLAYOFF QUARTER FINALS Schedule:

Equipment to the Field: We've Got the Runs

6:30PM

Dirt: 

#3 Dirty Mike and the Boys  v. #6 We've Got the Runs

Referee: Kickin' Nuggets 

Grass:

#4 Don't Come on My Base! v. #5 Looking to Bust Balls

Referee: Teleballin'

7:15pm 

Dirt: 

#2 Pumped Up Kicks v. #7 Kickin' Nuggets 

Referee: We've Got the Runs!

Grass:

#1 Ninjapocalypse Now v. #8 Teleballin'

Referee: Looking to Bust Balls

Equipment to the Bar: Ninjapocalypse Now

Standings:

PART VI: "Heavy morals seem so light but when it comes to cash I'm gonna die all right!"- The Hives

Announcements, Announcements Announcements


TIME: Since extra innings are now in play as we move into the playoffs, it is essential games start on time. The 6:30 game will start no later than 6:45. The 7:15 game (provided that the first game is over) starts no later than 7:20. So please have minimum four males and four males to the field by the start time or a forfiet will be declared.

PHOTOS: Special thanks again to to Tim for his photographic skill. He's really brought a great element to this year's season. Please check out the full album from last week here. 

BOCA: Only three weeks left to show BOCA your appreciation for their support of this league.

PART VII: "May the good lord shine a light on you. Make every song your favourite tune. May the good lord shine a light on you. Warm like the evening sun." - The Rolling Stones

As editor, this is always the saddest edition of the GMOT for me, because after tonight four teams will be eliminated, their summer season over, their dream of a life filled with the light of Immortal Kickball Glory shrouded by the darkness of untimely defeat. 

So I'd like to take this moment to thank Mike G, my fellow captain of the Ninjapocalypse Now, Vickie B of Pumped Up Kicks, BDO of Dirty Mike and the Boys, Ilana and Allison of Don't Come on My Base!, Jason of Looking to Bust Balls, Sam of We've Got the Runs, Jess of Kickin' Nuggets, and Megan of Teleballin' for all their hard work this season. For those of you who have seen the (shameless plug) performance of the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company's production of Coriolanus currently playing until August 12th on the Common, you'll know that the opening line is "What is the city, but the people?" Well, what is the kickball league but the teams? I'm pleased at the participation and light-hearted seriousness with which this season has come off so far, and the league captains have been instrumental in making this a successful season. Thank you!


Good Luck and Happy Kicking,
- David, GMOT Editor

*No monkeys were harmed in the crafting of this GMOT. One did slip on a banana, but he's always been a bit of a klutz, and all the monkeys had a good laugh. One even exclaimed "how cliche"

Ghost Man on Third: The Lies, Damnable Lies Edition

The  Award Winning Official Newsletter of the MA Commonwealth Division

"Kickball is a set of lies agreed upon"  

THE NOT-A-LIE WEEK EIGHT: "You'll never get it right. They got a hundred lies for you. And when they pass them out. You gotta give or take a few." - The Hives

Table of Contents: 

I: No one ever Lies in Social Settings
II: Pravda nyet Izvestia   

III: Izvestia nyet Pravda
IV: Defeat by Insinuation Grows

V: Standings and Schedule 

VI: Announcements

VII: Truth or Consequences 

PART I: "I've had enough of watching scenes, of schizophrenic, ego-centric, paranoiac, prima-donnas. All I want is the truth. Just gimme some truth." - John Lennon 

END OF SEASON LUAU PARTY!

In a GMOT full of lies, damnable lies, I will start you out with some truth. The End of Season Party, a joint venture of the MA Commonwealth and MA Independent Leagues is on.


It's a Luau theme, so everyone put on your best Hawai'ian shirt, bust out the coconut shell bust coverings and grass skirts, cause this one is going to an Americanized Version of Native Pacific Islander Cultural Traditions! EVERYONE IS GUARANTEED TO GET LEI'D! (Someone was going to make the joke eventually, so we might as well get it over with)


DATE: FRIDAY AUGUST 17th
TIME: 7:00 PM until the Drinks Run Out
LOCATION: The Hong Kong at Fanuiel Hall 
WHO: Registered League Members and Guests


View the Facebook Invite with all the Details Here. 

PART II: "Nobody knows what they are doing. It's beyond your control, and Friday night's a ruin. If you wanna survive you better learn how to lie." - The Clash

With last week's rainout, our season has been pushed back, so instead of starting the playoffs tonight, the final push towards the summit of IMMORTAL KICKBALL GLORY begins next week. 

This means two three things: 1st and most importantly another GMOT edition. (Please, hold your applause to the end) 2: THIS WEEK IS RIVALRY WEEK 3: NEXT WEEK IS THE PLAYOFFS. 

The rivalry week matchups were set two weeks ago, and the added week has hopefully further steeped these clashes with the emotion and trash talking that puts all those people at Lowell Playground to watch our games. (Oh sure, people pretend to be walking their dogs, playing soccer or basketball, or having their kids run through the sprinklers, but do not be fooled. They are here to see us wow them with kickballian skill and feats of achievement never before seen on the East Coast. Now I have many close friends who are experts at varying things. There's a Cool Expert. A Rock Expert. A Fashion Expert. A Craft Beer and History of Hockey Expert. A Panda Expert. A Space Policy Expert (And Advocate of the Year). A Teaching Expert. A Statistics Expert. An Electrician. A Stage Managing Expert. A Marketing Expert. An Atheism Expert. An Expert in the Value of Finnish Exportable Goods. A Publishing Expert. A Queen cover band Expert. An Unemployment Expert. A Labor Relations Expert. A Green Building Design Expert. But most importantly (after the Electrician) is a real estate expert, who tells me that due to the mere presence of the MA Commonwealth League, the property values of abutters to Lowell Playground has skyrocketed. (Okay, 90% of that last paragraph was done just so I could use the word "abutters". Not a lie.))

Furthermore, once we finally play this week, (some of us feel like we've aged a year since  the last time we've played) it will be the playoffs. Now I know I said last week that this space this week would be devoted to highlighting the various changes and things we need to know for the playoffs. But for reasons I'll get into in the next section, we'll forgo that and just recap what I said last week about this week which of course now is next week.

For those of you who are new to the sport, or to the league the playoffs are a seeded tournament, that follows the structure of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Playoff Week 1: (times and fields TBD)

Game A: #1 v. #8

Game B: #4 v.#5

Game C: #3 v. #6

Game D: #2 v. #7

Playoff Week 2: (FieldTBD)

6:30 pm 

Game E: Winner of Game A v. Winner of Game B

Game F: Winner of Game C v. Winner of Game D

And after the conclusion of those two games, the Championship game will occur. 

7:15pm 

Game G:  Winner of Game E v. Winner of Game F

The team with the highest seed in each game gets to pick whether it wants to be the "road team" (kick first) or "home team" (field first). 

PART III: "Now here's the sun, it's alright! now here's the moon, it's alright! 

but everytime you close your eyes, lies!" - Arcade Fire

"Next week, in this space we'll go over the differences between playoff rules and regular season rules. For more information on League Tournaments and Rules, you can check them out here." - David M, Ghost Man on Third 7/25/2012

Unless you have developed a system for totally preventing all news from reaching your senses (beyond this blog of course), you may be aware that there is an election this fall to see who will be President of the United States from January 20th, 2013 - January 20th 2017. Regardless of your political leanings, election season always means one thing, that we the voter will be subjected to an endless barrage of lies and distortions on both sides, as the candidates try to get you out to vote for them, all under the biggest lie of them all that somehow a lack of change or change at the Oval Office will effect the recession. (The truth of course being that it is Congress that is more important and has the power to effect change more effectively, not the President, and the fact that Americans do not take Congressional elections as seriously as they do the Presidential elections is the real reason why Washington is as dysfunctional as we think.)  That said, watching the dueling lies and distortions can be great fun regardless of your political leanings. I suggest following Glen Kessler's "Fact Checker" Blog on the Washington Post's website for a running total of who's saying what about whom now.

Unfortunately lies are not only restricted to politics. Take last week for instance. In the above quote, I lied to you, because in this week's GMOT I did not talk about the changes in the playoffs. Instead I talked about people I know and what they are experts at. See I lied.  Also lying were the weathermen who convinced our League Rep Paul (not Ron Paul, though he's a liar too, especially about the Gold Standard) to call our games last week due to rain, despite the fact there was a distinct lack of rain on our field until 9pm. (Stick tap for the weather report to Ninja "Walking" Jeff F, who despite not showing up when there were actual games this season, diligently showed up when there wasn't a game to report on the weather. He doesn't keep his eye to the sky just to pad his resume with Space Policy Awards which may or may not be lies.)

And these lies aren't just about Paul and the reason why he hasn't mustache'd up this season. Since I follow MA Commonwealth on the twitters, I've noticed some much discussed rumors and lies out there about all the teams this year. Here are some of my favorites lies and truths:

Teleballin'

LIES: Have vigorously lobbied Tim Tebow to change his name to Tim Teleball for cross marketing purposes.

TRUTH: Have scored more runs this season than Tim Tebow has thrown career interceptions. 

Kickin' Nuggets

LIES: Have vigorously lobbied McDonald's into developing a "Kickin Nugget" animation tie in starring members of the Nuggets in Nugget form playing in a World Cup like soccer tournament against Alien Chicken Nugget teams from around the galaxy in an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of soccer and surprising lingering popularity of the movie "Space Jam." 

TRUTH: Are glad they did not name themselves "Kick-fil-A" this season. 

We've Got the Runs 

LIES: That they have runs.

TRUTH: While they do not have the fewest runs in the league, they have been shut out four times to lead the league.

Looking to Bust Balls

LIES: Following the Red Sox acquistion of RHP and Academy Award winning comedian Steven Wright at the MLB trading deadline, have recruited noted comedian Andrew Dice Clay to join their team in time for the playoffs. "Rock-a-bye baby, on the tree top. Your mother's a whore, And I ain't your pop."

TRUTH: The U2 Song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was not written about Looking to Bust Balls

Don't Come on My Base!

LIES: To gain a competitive advantage have secretly cloned their best player, and have used their ever changing team wardrobe to hide this fact from the league.

TRUTH: Have yet to come to a game dressed as members of the animal family Ursidae. (Nudge. Nudge. Hint. Hint.) 

Dirty Mike and the Boys

LIES: Have used the two weeks since our last game to devise a way of popping the collars for their kickball shirts.

TRUTH: Dirty Mike and the Boys lead the league in runs scored with a whopping 52! (Divide that by 7 if you like math)

Pumped Up Kicks:

LIES: Spent the two weeks off putting on an Off-Broadway production of "The Wire: The Musical". 

TRUTH: The Editor of the GMOT just used this bit to link to The Wire: The Musical, as it is pretty damn funny. 

Ninjapocalypse Now:

LIES: Will be taking a Duck Tour at the end of the season up the Nung River into the wilds of Cambodia with the intent of visiting the relaxing "Colonel Kurtz' Crazy Funtime Camp!"  

TRUTH: Harvey Keitel was originally cast to play the role of Captain Willard in "Apocalypse Now" but was replaced by Martin Sheen after a few months of shooting. It is not true that Harvey Keitel was also the original captain of the Ninjas, but replaced because he kept quoting lines from "The Piano" and "Pulp Fiction" instead of making lineups and thinking up of awards to give his players."Ninjas, If I'm curt with you it's because time is a factor. I think fast, I talk fast and I need you guys to act fast if you wanna get out of this. So, pretty please... with sugar on top. Win the fucking game!"

PART IV: "If you ask me why I lie to you, I can tell you I don't know myself. Its amazingly dishonest. But I'd have to recognize it as part of myself." - Liz Phair

Recaps - It rained. Except it didn't when it was supposed to. So we didn't play. /End Scene

PART V: "She lies and says she's in love with him, can't find a better man. She dreams in color, she dreams in red, can't find a better man." - Pearl Jam

Standings:

Schedule:

Equipment to the Field: Kickin' Nuggets

6:30PM

Dirt: 

We've Got the Runs! v. Kickin' Nuggets 

Referee: Don't Come on My Base

Grass:

Dirty Mike and the Boys v. Pumped Up Kicks

Referee: Ninjapocalypse Now

7:15pm 

Dirt: 

Teleballin' v. Ninjapocalypse Now

Referee: We've Got the Runs!

Grass:

Looking to Bust Balls v. Don't Come on My Base

Referee: Pumped Up Kicks

Equipment to the Bar: Looking to Bust Balls

PART VI: "Sometimes the silence can be like the thunder. Sometimes I feel like I’m being plowed under. Could you ever be true? I think of you, and I wonder." - Bob Dylan

Announcements, Announcements Announcements

PLAYOFFS: Playoffs begin next week (really, this time I swear (hope)). Since there is the chance of extra innings, start times and time limits will be strictly enforced. 6:30 games will be declared forfeits if minimum 4 males and 4 females are not present at 6:45. 7:15 games will be declared forfeits if the minimum is not reached by 7:20pm.  

RULES: There are some slight rule changes about extra innings that may come into play in the playoffs. Please review those rules before next week. 


ALL-STAR GAME: The second annual MA Commonwealth All-Star Game will be held on August 23rd at Lowell Field. Come and cheer on your All-Stars. More information will be coming in next week's GMOT. 

BOCA BAR: Boca missed us last week due to the rain. Remember to showing them your appreciating for sponsoring our league by giving them your patronage!  

PHOTOS: If you have any photos or other submissions for the GMOT feel free to submit them here. 

TWITTER:  @Macommonealth is where you go for the latest news. If you aren't following us now, you are crazy. 

PART VII: "No one knows what it's like, to be hated, to be fated, to telling only lies. But my dreams, they aren't as empty, as my conscience seems to be." - The Who

Last week, I said, "Words are cheap" followed by some other stuff that attempted to sound profound, but is really me tired at the end of the night entertaining myself and filling up space so I can post a picture here. Like this one. Yet, despite the lies filling this edition of the GMOT, there is some truth. he cheapness of words can enable lies. Say a few wrong words and you simply lie to a person. Commit an action that hurts them and then you are in betrayal, which is a whole different kettle of fish.

But a more important truth is the one we are about to face as a league. The regular season ending means that we can no longer hide behind lies and distortions of records. Any web of lies will quickly be shattered by the truth of competition. Mark Twain once wrote (possible lie) that "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything." The light of truth reveals all, and in a few weeks time it will reveal the champion. Lies may bind, but the kickball truth shall set us free. 

Good Luck and Happy Kicking,

- David, GMOT Editor