Well, That Was Fun

So we got our asses handed to us last Monday by the Rack & Rollers, going down 4-1. On the other hand, I broke my losing streak (by not playing) and Tim drank a lot. Oddly, though, I had a very good time.

As per the Captain, here is the revised front to the t-shirt.

There are different styles, and they can be seen here.

This upcoming Monday, we'll be at the Edge playing the Baggage Handlers of Yesteryear. See you then.

From Left to Right,

... Davy Jones, Captain Trantastic, Jack Nicholson, Micky Dolenz and Peter Tork.

I can't be certain, but I think this photo was taken around the time of the filming of Head, which starred the Monkees and was directed by Jack Nicholson. It's one of the worst movies of all times and yes, I have a copy.

T-Shirts

Okay, here we go.

First off, although I consider myself an artist, and most people find me graphic, I am not a graphic artist. So this is the best I can do. Tim — I know you wanted black shirts, but that requires some fancy Photoshop trickery which I don't know how to do. Also black shirts go for about $32, or $10 more than the gray or white t-shirts. Without further ado ....

And here's what the t-shirts would look like.

Here's a link to the CafePress shop with some sample duds.

Now ... the tricky part is that not getting bogged down. While I am happy to make changes, there is a real limit as to what I can do. If you don't like a font, that's fine, but please suggest an alternative — I just don't know enough about typography to offer much off an alternative.

The good news is that we don't all need to do this. The bad news is that the handling charges at CafePress are definitely on the steep side — $13 to get it shipped out within four business days, and then an extra $2 for each item.

If we order a bunch together, we can divvy up the handling charge. People could always order later, but they'd either have to pony up more cash or wait a week or two before it gets shipped out.

Please ruminate on this, and hopefully tonight we can get a sense of whether this is something we should pursue.

Fifth Place

Wieder einmal, meine Kinder, befinden wir uns genau in der Mitte der Liga Tabellenführer. Heute sind wir im alleinigen Besitz fünften Platz.

Diese Woche sind wir wieder zu Hause gegen die Rack & Rollers aus der Bleecker Street Bar. Wir sehen uns dann.

Vaccaro? Vaquero?

Vaccaro:

Vaquero:

Nuevas Posiciones Liga

Stuart ha revisado la tabla de posiciones, y aquí están. Estamos en el quinto puesto, pero Double Down falta una entrada, por lo que es probable que en el sexto.

Los Bancos estaban Abiertos en el Día de los Presidentes ... Durante un Tiempo

Los Vaqueros de Cactus de McSwiggan's salió de su bajón 3-2/2-3, pero de mala manera, perdiendo ante malo para el 4-1 Balls.

La noche parecía prometedor cuando Max Ernst robó el primer juego de su oponente por el hundimiento de tres disparos consecutivos bancarias. Pero esa era la única suerte que tenía, perder tres partidos consecutivos. (Punto Bonus: En su último disparo, se hundió el 8-ball en el bolsillo equivocado y se rascó.) Eso pareció fijar el tono para la noche, como Tim Malloy demostró ser el único vencedor en una noche interminable de la piscina.

El próximo lunes, que está "haciéndose el muerto" en la McSwiggan. Y hay incluso un rumor de una práctica a Mona's a las 3:00 del domingo.

Tied for Fourth

League standings have been updated.

Still Regular

First off, there's been no updating of the league standings, so I can't tell you where we are. As we pulled off another 3-2 victory, we're probably somewhere in the middle — again.

Last Monday, we faced off against the filthy English. Excuse me — that should be the Filthy English.

Morgen Peck started off the night for the Heavy Flow Cactus Wranglers, but fell in defeat. Max Ernst was up next, but was unable to best his opponent. But Tim Malloy stepped up and defeated his opponent in six straight games. After that, it was Kevin Tran, polishing off a two (but a very good one) 3-2. Nina Amster then finished off the evening by spotting her opponent a one-game lead in a 4-2 race. But Nina pulled off four consecutive wins to seal the victory.

Next Monday, we're back in the East Village, playing Bad for the Balls at the Edge. See you then.

We Are Nothing If Not Regular

By my calculations, there has only been one match in this season or last where we did not win two or three games. (I believe that in the final match of last season, we one game — that was our last forfeit as well.) We continued this trend last week, with a poor showing against the Shamrock Rovers, losing 2-3.

There are three pieces of good news. First off, we have a new player, John Cullen, who put on a pretty good pool clinic in the first match of the evening, winning 5-1. And Kevin Tran won his match in three straight games to end the evening. The middle of the night? Not so much. But even with this loss, we should find ourselves in the middle of the league standings. Again.

In related news, we finally came up with a team name, and it's a winner: McSwiggan's Cactus Wranglers Comma If You Know What I Mean. Tim (or Tin, as he is listed in my iPhone) reports that Stuart is now saying our name is too long. At first, I though Stuart said our name was Too Long, which is kind of cool, but I prefer the Cactus Wranglers. I recommended our name, for league purposes, be McSwiggan's CWCIYKWIM. Bonus points to anyone who can pronounce that.

Here's a first draft of the logo.

I'm also working on the back of the shirt, which include the logos of our sponsors. So far I've received commitments from Danny's Towing, the Beth Israel Methadone Clinic on Ave A., Taco Morelos, the New York State Lottery, Chico's Bail Bonds, Missing Foundation, Skynet and Nike.

Almost finally, I'm thinking of organizing a fantasy pool league. In fact, it's kind of been a fantasy of mine.

<crickets>

It would work pretty much like any fantasy league, where we would each have our own teams and would draft players from other teams in our league (as well as our own). I'm thinking a $10 buy-in, with the winner taking 66% and second place taking 33%. Basically, I don't think there's enough gambling in this league, what with it being banned and all. (It's actually rule #1). So there.

Finally, we're on the road this week, heading over to the Parkside Lounge to play Filthy English. Oddly, there are no parks nearby.

Please take the time to pay your dues to the APA, and please bring money on Monday so we can square up on the first payment for table fees.

Fourth Place

See you tonight.

Ever Listen to K-Billy's Super Sounds of the 70's?

It's my personal favorite.

All of which is a long-winded way to say that the pool gods were with us, we cobbled together a win and we're stuck in the middle of pool league standings ... with you.

Your humble narrator started off the evening with a cunning display of lousy pool, but somehow managed to scrape together a win (in consecutive games, no less). Sam "Enchanted Evening" Hubball fought above her metaphoric and literal weight class, squaring off gamely against a 3 before succumbing. Tim Malloy looked like he was back on his game, polishing off his formidable opponent 5-1. Captain Trantastic started off strongly, but his opponent fought back admirably and eventually prevailed. Finally, Nina "Pinta and the Santa Maria*" Amster squared off against a 5, and pushed the match to a sixth and deciding game. The decision was "boo-yah, motherfucker" as Amster sank the 8 on the break, and won the night for McSwiggan's!

And the gods were happy.

In related news, I've sent Stuart all the info he needs to open up accounts for us.

* It is really hard to come up with puns for Nina's name. Any help would be appreciated.

Division Standings

Forget what I said in the last post; we're not in second place. We're in sixth. Shhh.

See you on Monday. Get your game faces on.

Tim Malloy, from a few years back.

And We're Tied for Second!

The winter season of APA kicked off last night, and we have a new member to show for it. Everybody, let's give a big McSwiggan's One welcome to ... Nina ... Amster!

And while it was a delight to see everyone's shiny faces again, there was also a pool game to be played, against the mongrel hordes known as Oh, Joe, Don't Coach. Kevin was "Trantastic," and even started his match on time — a first for our team! He won his match in three straight games, and also executed one of the more imaginative scratch shots in league play, which looked a little something like this.

Nina was ... Amster-dam good in her first foray for the McSwiggers.

Amsterdam. Really.

She, too, capably dismissed her opponent in straight games, but failed to scratch imaginatively. After that, things went a little sideways. On the other hand, we're only one game out of first.

Morgan did bring a lovely bûche de Noël, and Kevin agreed to ascend to the captaincy of our noble band of ball-whacking warriors. I have agreed to take over the thankless position of treasurer, with the proviso that I can be mean about it.

Here, by the way, is the scoresheet from Monday's game. I e-mailed a copy to Stuart earlier.

Next Monday, we're home at McSwiggan's and will be squaring off against the duplicitous denizens of Double Down. Bring your shivs.

New Season Starts Tonight

First off, a big shout-out to Stuart for letting us know about the upcoming season. To steal a line from Community, he is the AT&T of pool league administrators.

We start off on the road at Formerly Crow's, 85 Washington Place (near Sixth Avenue), playing Oh, Joe, Don't Coach Me. New York magazine describes Formerly Crow's thusly:

Couric lauded the singer-songwriter of the show’s theme song, Sheryl Crow, during her appearance.

“You turned 50 this year,” she told the second guest, “Can I just say you’re so smoking hot?”

Crow countered by describing how she felt seeing Couric at a recent dinner party. “When Katie walked in, I was like, ‘Whoa, look at those guns.’”

“It’s a girl-crush thing,” Couric explained to the audience. Then Couric and Crow, both single, came up with the legitimately brilliant idea of a dating reality show for “famous chicks” (Celebrity Bachelorette?) and the already-tried-and-failed idea of “Sex and the City for the over-50 set.”

Apologies, that's New York magazine on Sheryl Crow. New York magazine has nothing on Formerly Crow's. But here's a picture from their web site:

It appears to be a rather blurry bar.

In helpful news, here is the entirety of the spring season, with our team's (#4) games highlighted. As always, click to embiggen.

Home team is listed first. And here are all the teams, with their respective home bars.

So now you know every team and every where we're playing this season. You might want to bookmark this page.

Go McSwiggan's! Go big or get drunk!