SUNDAYS #5 vs. KINGS:

(vol. 26S, no. 5; newsletter by h.s.)
Kevin leaned back, basking in the glow of his Heineken Premium Light™ at the post-game “meeting” and asked: “Have the Pirates ever had an undefeated season?” If you don't know the answer then keep reading. That — and more — will be revealed in this installment of the Pirate newsletter ...

For the second meeting of the season against the Kings, the Pirates had a nine-man crew (absent only Ralz) and rotated the defensive trio of Gucci-Kevin-Joe Baio. Up front to start the game was Russ surrounded by Dan DiPierro and Scott LeMatty; the second line was Wildman centering Brooks and Glenn Farkas. In the second game of the season the Pirates had edged the Kings 3-1, so this looked to be a tightly-played game.

Before the second line was able to hop in after 2:00 minutes, the D-R-i-L line (DiPierro-Russ-LeMatty) had put the Pirates on the board 1-0 off a goal by Russ. LeMatty, who had just assisted on Russ' tally, would tack on helpers to the next two goals as well, helping both Gucci and Brooks. With the 3-0 lead, the Pirates decided it would take it up a notch and before the 1st period buzzer sounded both Brooks (assist to Joe Baio) and Gucci (assist to Russ) netted their second goals of the game.

The final 22:00 minutes seemed magical if you were Joe Baio: Twice Joe launched shots on the net that found there way in (assist to Glenn Farkas on the first). And, if not for a :30 second lapse in the middle of the final period, the Pirates might have even had their second “Mercy” of the Sunday season. Instead, after compiling an impressive six-goal lead, the Kings were able to net goals on consecutive plays to hand the Pirates their worst victory to date — “worst” because the Pirates had allowed one or fewer goals in their previous four outings.

So as we assembled in the parking lot to talk about how the effort — although successful — was not exactly stellar, Kevin posed the question about a Pirates undefeated run. Just one year ago the Sunday Pirates rattled-off seven consecutive wins to start the season only to drop the last three (including their lone Playoff game). So, heading into the final leg of this Sunday tour — and facing the Red Stars this week — let's remember our history so (hopefully) we aren't forced to re-live it.
date of game: 7.23.06

editor's note: After an impressive 3rd place showing the other week, the Coastal Pirates racecar finished 28th — out of a field of 28. Now before we're too hard on our driver we need to take into account that he he couldn't qualify in a good spot due to his lack of tires made for racing in the rain ... and spinning-out after moving-up eight spots didn't help either. That said, the S.O.C. is having an emergency meeting to discuss increasing everyone's league fees by $200 to outfit Mike's car with some raingear. If you don't agree with the measure, you can message the S.O.C. at TiresMyButt@aol.com