Monday Morning Report: February 2

I suppose I should start by reporting on the indoor game this past Saturday, when our very small squad played most recently. But, that's not the most tasty story....

OK, so we played at Fairfax and won 8-2. The End.

The delicious part of the story is that when we got to the court, in the game directly preceding ours, we saw Peter playing for another team! Did he think that we were not going to tease him about this? And Peter, purple is really not your color!

I guess he thought that since he was not on the roster for the week, that he'd test the "free agent market." Now I know why he's always tardy on his evite responses. He's waiting to see whether Real Madrid or Man United will give him a better game very week! I'd like you all to suggest the proper penalty for this glaring betrayal! Right now, I'm thinking it's got to be at least one shot off of Le Luge at the March 7 team party! The nastier, the better. How 'bout Blue Curacao?

hahahahahah....

The deadline for sign-up to the March 1 Five-a-side tournament is February 6, this Friday. Please sign up. If you've missed that evite, let me know offline and I'll send you a new link.

Happy week, everyone!

Monday Morning Report: January 26

Well, not exactly morning anymore, but there's no report either. There's nothing to report because there was really no game this past weekend.  However, it was Mumbles' birthday last week (Yeah!), so everybody send him happy thoughts.  The picture kinda looks like Justin, doesn't it?  (Doh!)

Also, good news is that we found out Brian Toussaint will be working at Georgetown for his residency in ophthalmology. Congratulations, Brian!  Now, don't put your eyeball to someone's boot the next time you're on the pitch!  We all should be very careful for our livers, as I'm sure Brian will order shots for everyone the next time he sees any of us.

Finally, please register for the 5-a-side tournament if you haven't done so on Evite.  We'll set up the teams soon.  

Have a happy week, with happy feet! feet! feet! feet!

I Had a Dream Last Night

I had a dream that Luis' knee is all healed, that Jeff is no longer mean to me, that Georgie doesn't explode at referees, that we know how to make passes into space, that our ladies are never late, and that Jan and Parham and Mumbles and Paul and Imi can run hand-in-hand, and score many many goals!

Cesc we can!

We can learn to move into space to receive that pass.  Cesc we can.

We can win a tournament trophy, and avoid relegation, and win the co-ed league.  Cesc we can.

OK, enough of that.  I hope you loosssers stuck in DC are coping with the mob and mob of people invading our town.  I ran screaming to Boston for the weekend (after our indoor game of course), but am really dreading the airport tonight.  And I have to work tomorrow!!!

Nothing much to report, except that our very small indoor squad suffered our first loss in Fairfax on Saturday 3-4.   Our other games had been much better organized and we won 11-3 and 11-0.  I regret that we can only accommodate very few players for indoors, and even with the small squad, the players still have to split games.  Each week, we have essentially a different squad playing together and this is not usually a winning formula.  The idea is simply to keep as many players playing in the winter as possible, and if we win that's just the bonus, perhaps not the greatest aim.

Please sign up for the 5-a-side tournament.  The details of the tournament is below this post. Also please note below the save-the-date for March 7.  Party time.  Have a great week and stay out of the crowd on Tuesday!

First Annual ACDC Five-a-side Tournament

The intra-team tournament is currently scheduled for Sunday March 1 at the Gunston Bubble in Arlington. It is field turf and we'll have no walls. Small goals and no keeper.

I thought we should post the "rules" here, and addendum as we approach the tournament date. We'll get referees for the games, but since we can't afford "real" refs, I'm planning to tap the spouses and significant others of our players for the jobs. That, I'm sure, will generate its own hilarity.

So, here are the "rules" so far:

1) Games will have 20" halves. In first round games, a draw will be accepted as a final result. For the championship game, teams will play for a "golden goal" until a winner is declared.

2) In the first round, 3 points will be awarded to winning squad. One point each squad if a draw results. Zero points for losing squad.

3) First round is "round robbin." The 2 squads with the highest point total will play in champinoship game. If there's a tie in points, then first tie-breaker is "head-to-head" results and second tie-breaker is goal differential.

4) No offsides, no slide tackle, no goalkeepers.

5) Each squad must have at least one woman on the roster. There is no specific requirement for gender ratio on the pitch, but each woman on the roster must play at least half of each game.

6) The "Zaidi rule" is in effect at all times. We will play corners. Out of bound re-starts are all kick-ins, no throw ins.

7) Substitutions are done "on the fly," but must enter the field of play from the defensive side.

8) The pitch will be approx 25 yds X 40 yds. The goals are semicircular, 6 ft at the base, curving up to 3.5 fit at the tallest part of the semicircle. Goal-tending, i.e. placing a player in front of goal, is legal but discouraged (unsportman-like).

9) Goal kick cannot cross the center line unless it touches a player first. Violation will lead to a free kick for the opposing team at the center line where the ball crosses. Goals can only be produces from shots on the same side of the field as the goal itself, unless it touches a player before going in. Balls that go into the goal from beyond the center line results in a goal kick.

10) The manager will be protected at all times. Anyone who fouls the manager penguin will have their heads chopped off with a blunt knife.

These rules will be amended and will be final 24 hours before games start. Vae Vicits, baby!

Save the Dates

Obviously, our last-mintue idea for the 5-a-side tournament is a good one but there are not enough of you in town this weekend to play this. We will try to play it later this winter. Incidentally, the "Le Luge Deux" party date has been set for March 7. Please save that date!

MLK five-a-side tournament?

Of course I thought we would still be in the playoffs, but here I am trying to figure out ways to keep y'all playing...

The concept is very simple. Four captains would each recruit a team of no more than 7 players, one of whom has to be a woman. Anyone who has played an official game for ACDC is eligible (we may have to bend this rule, but we'll see). No specific requirement of gender distribution on pitch, as long as there is at least one woman on the squad roster and present. We would play a round-robbin first round in which games will have 20" halves. The top two squads will play in a championship game.

To avoid the inauguration hoopla, we'll find a place to play in NOVA, on Monday morning. Winner trophy TBD. Price money? Hm....

Let's see who available to play now. Please show your enthusiasm on the poll to the left. If you are one of those who want to captain a squad, please identify yourself in a comment to this post. Heck, even if you're just excited to play, please identify yourself. If you have something disparaging to say about this, please bugger off....whururururp!

Monday Morning Report: January 12

The weekend belonged to Georgie, but sadly, not to the team as the PK gods finally forsake AC D.C.


Turn back the clock to last year. Well, actually, the co-ed playoffs took place last fall in December, so it was really 2007 that we are going back to. We entered the first round of the playoffs and played our opponents to a draw. My feeble brain doesn't remember who it was, but that doesn't matter. We played to a draw in the extra time and went to PKs. Do you remember Katie's PK that rattled the frame? Up to that point in time, AC D.C. had never lost in PKs, and let me tell you, we have been in our share of shoot-outs.


In December 2007, we won in the shootout again and advanced all the way to the championship game. There, we even had a one-nil lead at half, but then our luck ran out.


Move to January 11 2009, we were once again in the first round of the playoffs, and once again fought to a draw. It was a great game, and we created numerous chances. Sadly, we were unable to put one in the ol' onion bag during regulation. The most unnerving moment of the match has to be the hand-ball in our box in the final seconds of regulation. I have to confess that I thought we lost the game there. It seemed all too familiar, as we lost on a final-second PK in the Columbia Tournament semi-final only last July. But...


Georgie saved it! Yeah!


And we played out the extra time and then went on to shootout. Both keepers had good saves during the shootout (see attached video), and we were tied 2-2 when the final opposing kicker took the spot. There, all the luck of the season, and all the saves for the day, ran out. And so, we must wait for the next season to start in April.


It was disappointing, of course, to lose in the first round of playoffs when we are the number 1 seed in our division. This... compounded by the numerous golden opportunities to score yesterday, on which we were unable to capitalize. But, let's focus on the positives. It was a great season for the co-ed squad, having gone 7-2. Our accomplishment include "first place" in our division at the end of the season, and beating every table-topping team on route. And so, AC D.C. survives stronger than ever, to fight another day, another season.


Most of you will be dormant until the weather gets warm. Please keep in shape and be well. These Monday reports will continue. I'll report on our very small indoor endeavor, and about all-things-football. Details about our winter party will also be found in future posts.

Delinquent responses from our tardy alumni

There's little secret that my problem-child with the slowest evite responses these days is Peter. But before his day, we have had many others. Two of our alumni just now responded to the request for a Christmas message. What is it with this team, that y'all have to be late? Even after you leave DC...

Anyway, here's what they finally wrote:

Mica is in med-school in MA:

Sorry for the late response as usual. I'm doing very well, and of course send all my love and best wishes to the ACDC team. I've survived the first semester of med school and all the fun of cadavers and endless exams that come with it. I've managed to find a few indoor teams to play on but none really compare and sadly the outdoor season was very short now that I'm back in new england weather. My younger sister is a freshman at GWU and I will definately be making a trip up to DC in the coming months tosee her, and I'll be sure to keep you posted so I can catch the winning co-ed team in action. Best, Mica

And Spencer writes:

Crap, did I missed the opportunity to reply back to the Christmas message? In my defense I am working in the higher ed world now and had long been on vacation by that point and not really checking e-mail.
Soooo...the wife and I moved back to the great state of Texas a couple of years ago and now have a future baller in training. Our 18 month old son Connor already has shown interest in the soccer ball I repeatedly roll at him so now dad just needs to see how he develops physically before working him towards a particular position. Of course he will most likely end up a keeper like his old man because who really wants to do all that running anyway?! I now work for The University of Texas (go Horns) and play no soccer whatsoever. Damn I miss you guys!


There you have it. Please vote for the AC D.C. goodies. Vote early. Vote often. The Chicago way.

MMR January 5: PLAYOFFS

It's very traumatic coming back to work after a two-week layoff, so this is going to be all business and short.

Playoffs.

Yes, this is when things get really interesting. With a 1-nil win over DC Juggernauts on Sunday, the co-ed squad launches into the upcoming playoffs in excellent shape. We have won our division (sunday) and have beaten every one of our possible playoff opponents up to the championship game. Berger, Half-time Orange Slices, and DC Juggernauts....they have all been atop the table at one time or another during the season, and we've beaten them all.

With the men's team and futsal squad idle, there are a lot of you to keep active. I will do my best to be fair to everyone, to keep everybody engaged, and still create playoff rosters that are competitive in winning the championship. The first game will be Sunday at 10:30. Those not on the roster should seriously consider coming to cheer.

Goodies

It's that time of year again, when we consider what AC D.C. goodies we should get. Kevin suggested AC D.C. logo Crocs. I bet Matt would love that. Last year, we got the spiffy warm-ups. I would personally suggest beanie hats. Anyway, I'll set up a poll for y'all to vote on.

Luge

Have you all seen the ice luge on Peter's facebook page? If not, run, don't walk, to check it out. We really really really need that for the next party. Speaking of which, I'd like a new volunteer to help Carlos and me organize the party this year. There's a lot of work involved, and spreading the work, uh, I mean, joy, seems to be the order of the day.

Engagements

Finally, more happy news to report. Alumni Mercedes and Lachman both got engaged (not to each other) over the last week. Please send well-wishes to them.

So, short and sweet. Onward to the playoffs.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

May the new year bring you peace, joy and new friends.  Oh, and of course, many, many goals and victories!  Happy 2009, everyone!