December 2007 Archives

Hype Contest Results

Posted by Clifton Labrum – 2 Comments

The Championship has passed, and the results are in for the hype contest that I announced back at the end of November. I realized that I had to throw out ticker updates since that's something that I can't track. The competition was based solely on articles and comments. Here's the tally:

Here's the tally:
Jason: 0 points – 0 articles, 0 comments, no Firefox switch reported
Brandon: 5 points – 0 articles, 0 comments, Firefox switch
Robin: 0 points – 0 articles, 0 comments, already had Firefox
Kimball: 1 points – 0 articles, 1 comment, no Firefox switch reported
Doug: 18 points – 1 article, 8 comments, no Firefox switch reported
Craig: 12 points – 0 articles, 7 comments, Firefox switch
Clifton: 47 points – 4 articles, 7 comments, already had Firefox
Mark: 50 points – 4 articles, 10 comments, already had Firefox

So the winner is Mark! He will receive a $30 iTunes Gift Card. Congratulations to everyone that participated, and may this site continue to see your contributions in 2008 and beyond.

Recap of Games 1 and 2

Posted by Clifton Labrum – 3 Comments

After a late start and a quick warm-up, the Jacks took the field and the Yard Dogs came to the plate. The Dogs spread their hits out all over the field keeping the Jacks on the defensive for several innings. The score raced upwards and the Yard Dogs never looked back.

The Jacks threw a couple risky comeback measures into the mix, however. Craig pounded an outfield screamer that took the Dogs a while to chase down and get to the infield (bear in mind that Game 1 was "Run, Forrest, Run" which meant each batter had to run the bases after they hit). Craig went for it all and made it to third base before the Yard Dogs secured the ball in the infield. Later on, Clifton came to the plate, and seeing the scary score, smacked a high pitch to the right field fence—right over the heads of Mark and Brandon—who had hoped to make a double-infield defensive strategy work. Clifton spun his wheels, took a gamble, and managed to make it all the way around for an in-field home run. This was a first of its kind for Clifton and the Utah Jacks.

Despite the highlights and decent hitting for the Jacks, it was the consistency of the Yard Dogs and several unreachable homers that gave the Yard Dogs a Game 1 victory.

Game 2 brought a change of lineup and boosted the Jacks' confidence as they entered a Jack Attack (all jack balls for all pitches). Craig, Jason, and Clifton ran away with the game early on and the innings clipped by quickly. The Jacks' infield defense had stepped up from Game 1, and held the Yard Dogs to two up, two down in two of the innings. Mark and Brandon hit an unexpected cold spell and struggled to send the jack balls as far as they'd hoped. The Jacks nabbed the victory with smiles and celebration.

Mitchell Report

Posted by Mark Smith – 2 Comments

The new report that just came out Thursday named some pretty big names in Major League Baseball. Among those named were MVP Barry Bonds, Cy Young award winner Roger Clemens and All-Stars Mark McGuire, Andy Petitte, Paul Lo Duca, Kevin Brown and David Justice were among the most notable. While many big names were at the top of the page, one Bush League player might have tried to slip by. A few paragraphs of the 400 plus pages were dedicated to the 4-time MVP of the Bush League, Mark Smith.

During the first year of Mark’s career (2000) he hit a then league leading 27 home runs. It is interesting to note that in that year Mark weighed in at about 155 lbs. Fast-forward to the year 2004 when Mark hit a whopping 80 home runs. No one, including himself has come close to that number since. It is also interesting to note that in that year he weighed approximately 190 lbs. That is an increase of 35 lbs. in just a few short years. Mark has been over heard in the past saying, “Craig, I don’t think I want this hat, it feels too tight. Do you have a larger size?” No confirmation has been made to the allegations that Mark has ‘backne’. Before you make any conclusions take a look at some of the the early Sandlot Illustrated pictures of Mark early in his career to a current picture and look at the stats, they don’t lie! Did Mark used something that enhanced his performance? You be the judge.

A Big Championship Trophy

Posted by Clifton Labrum – 4 Comments

As a relatively new franchise, the Utah Jacks don't have much to showcase their success (or lack thereof). When one beholds the award galleries of teams like the Stix, the Lone Stars, the Keystones, and even the Yard Dogs, one can't help but be impressed with their stellar arrays of winnings. In 2005, after a bumpy but intriguing rookie season, Clifton won the Innovator Award for his work on the first generation Sandlot Illustrated website. A trophy was presented of a statuette of the famous Oakland A's pitcher, #27, "Hunter." (Sorry, I don't know his first name.) This is the first and only trophy in the Jacks' gallery, but it's a prized and honored one, for which the whole ball club is grateful.

With the biggest, most hyped-up Championship Series in Bush League History on the horizon, what will the champion receive? How much will it cost to ship it out of state? Whatever it ends up being, the coveted shrine will either find a home in Texas or Utah, to become the envy of stickball fans everywhere for the next 365 days. Here's to a fair, stat-packed, fascinating Championship!

Equipment Found!

Posted by Clifton Labrum – 3 Comments

The Utah Jacks originally realized that their cherished equipment, purchased specifically for stickball, was lost as of last spring. Clifton was nothing short of a beggar out in the field between innings borrowing gloves from the least-sweaty players in order to get by. At long last the sweet smell of new leather has graced Utah Jack headquarters on cold, windy day in Utah. Will this thrilling find be the first of a series of fortunate events for the Utah Jacks? With the Game 1 less than 48 hours away, the Jacks are betting on it. Let's hope these gloves prove to be golden.

A Gift to the League

Posted by Clifton Labrum – 2 Comments

To this day, the Jacks get teased about an unprecedented and completely unexpected home run that Clifton hit at the high school last summer. The pitch came in, slow, lazy, high, and outside. In a rare moment of full-arm extension and a strong snap of the wrists, Clifton made contact and sent a relic of a jackball flying high into right field. The downside to the placement of this lucky shot was the rushing canal waiting eagerly just beyond the outfield track to devour yet another home run.

After extensive searching by many league officials (for the rest of that game, mind you), the ball was never found, and is likely covered in Arizona mud miles from the field.

As a meager, yet sincere, way of making it up to the league, the Utah Jacks present this new corkball as gift to the league, to be used in this year's championship series.

The Twelve Days of Stickball

Posted by Mark Smith – 3 Comments

Since there are now only twelve days until Christmas I thought I would write our own Christmas song, thanks to Jenn, Clifton and Ashley for help. Hope you enjoy!

On the twelfth day of stickball the commissioner gave to me…

Twelve tighty-whities,
Eleven screaming-meanies,
Ten outs a game,
Nine dowel rod bats,
Eight stickball seasons,
Seven game series,
Six walk-off homers,
FIVE ANGRY WIVES…
Four family fights,
Three dropped balls,
Two vintage gloves…
and a Bush League Championship for one and all!

Here is the commissioner and his family wishing one and all a Merry Christmas! May all you stickball dreams come true this season and may we all win a championship (except for one person). Hope you enjoyed our little song and feel free to add you own lines to improve it. Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas from the Smiths!

The Mysteriously Mediocre Jacks

Posted by Clifton Labrum – 8 Comments

There has been considerable speculation into how the Utah Jacks made it to the championship. Some claimed that they played too few games this season. Others suggested additional playoff games were necessary to solidify their championship candidacy. Whatever the dispute, the decision has been made and the Jacks will be there, backache and all. Even their historical t-ball photos depict a team of questionable ability.

But what is even more perplexing is the blatant mediocrity of the Jacks's playing this year. The stats board clearly shows underwhelming numbers from their batting average, to home runs, to RBIs. The Jacks have never led in any stat category at any time during the year (at least according to our records) and their inability to see a pop fly or stop a spinning grounder is further testament to their clumsy and inconsistent play.

Though other franchises may feel a little cheated, this Utah ball club has their flight plans booked and is ready to play in full-fledged, championship mediocrity. Should the Jacks win, SLI writers will be raving about "the underdog that could" for years to come.

UPS, Official Sponsor of the Yard Dogs

Posted by Mark Smith – 7 Comments

Just as Doug wrote back in 2005, my championship hopes came down to a plane trip and a van ride so do my hopes of a second championship this year. The only difference is that this year I need a little help from a brown van, not a gold one. I mailed my bat via UPS the other day. Without any problems hopefully it will arrive in Safford on Friday. Some of you may recall when my first bat broke. I went into a year and a half slump. I finished the Stick It II bat just in time for the 2004 playoffs and my slump continued with another playoff loss. I finally was able to get over the top with that bat, and a little help from a traveling band (Doug and Craig). In order for the Yard Dogs to have a chance the bat will have to be delivered and in perfect working condition. All I can hope for a little luck from the UPS man, may he not only deliver a crisp box , but also a 2007 Stickball Championship. What can BROWN do for you!

2007 Championship Predictions

Posted by Mark Smith – 2 Comments

A few thoughts on what might happen later this month.

Game--------Place------------------------------------------Winners

#1----------Stk. Center-----------------------------Mark, Brandon, Jason, Robin
#2----------Stk. Center-----------------------------Clifton, Craig, Jason, Robin
#3----------High School----------------------------Mark, Jason, Brandon, Doug
#4----------Middle School--------------------------Mark, Brandon, Craig, Doug
#5----------EAC-------------------------------------Clifton, Craig, Brandon, Robin
#6----------Thatcher High-------------------------Clifton, Craig, Brandon, Kimball
#7----------EAC--------------------------------------Mark, Brandon, Robin, Doug

Yard Dogs over Jacks in epic 7th game battle!

Championship winners include (# of games won): Mark (4), Brandon (6), Robin (4), Craig (4)

Series MVP: Brandon
Series best pitcher: Robin
Most Home Runs: Mark
Best BA: Craig/Jason

That’s what I think, but what is important is what you think!