The Dog Bowl

Yes, the rumors are true.  The Bulldogs are taking to the airwaves in 2008!

In an effort to keep things fresh and exciting, the powers that be at the Bulldog Softball headquarters came up with this crazy idea of hosting a weekly half hour radio show on the Internet.  Which if you think that’s crazy, you should hear some of the other ideas that have been tossed around.

Initially the premise of the show was to do a weekly recap of our games and talk about some highlights.  However, the brainstorming didn’t stop there.  About 3-5 drinks in to the development of this idea, we were having visions of grandeur that included us gearing the show around “softball” in general!  Creating a show that would attract softball aficianados around the globe to listen to us wax poetic about all things softball (with a Bulldogs spin, of course).

So after having a chance to go back and re-think our inebriated brainstorming, we thought to ourselves…

“…that’s not a bad idea.”

And so it was born and on Tuesday, April 1, 2008 (of all days) we took to the airwaves on TalkShoe.com and recorded our Inaugural softball show that has been dubbed, “The Dog Pound Softball Show”!

The great thing about this show is that if you would like to participate LIVE on the show, you only need to check the schedule for the next call and join us when we record it LIVE each week.

If you didn’t have a chance to call in LIVE to our very first show, we invite you to listen to the recording of the first ever Dog Pound Softball Show now!  Don’t have time to listen, download it to your iPod for listening at your leisure!

The show is 30 minutes (actually 37:42, we ran long… sorry) and we love to hear your thoughts and comments on the show and ideas about content for future shows.

You can show us some love by commenting right here on this blog and/or  go to the Bulldogs Softball Web site and click on our “Contact Us” link and send us a shout!

We’re just heating up for the race for 1st place in our Summer league, however I have to take care of some administrative things too.

I have received notification from the Bolingbrook Park District that open enrollment for the Fall league has begun.  We need to sign up for either Thursday or Friday night by 8/9 to avoid paying an extra $50.

The Captains meeting will be on Tuesday, August 14 and the league currently scheduled to begin during the week of 8/26.

Depending on the outcome of the Summer season, we may be asked to move up to A-League, regardless of the night.

Please let me know if you are “in / out” and for which night(s).  I will have a copy of the “roster” that will need to be turned in, so we can begin to fill it out now.

As we finalize the budget for the fall and talk with our sponsors, we’ll determine the “price per player”.  The cost for summer was $60 and fall will not cost more then summer.  If anyone has any “sponsorship” opportunities and/or fund raising ideas,  please let me know.

As promised, this is the source and location for all news and information related to the Bulldogs Softball Club. Oh yeah, and occasionally a word from our sponsor(s)! After all, we have to keep the lights on.

Anyway, I’m sitting here at 12:18 am on Saturday morning (congrats on the victory against Sojourners 3 hours ago) and I’m supposed to be writing a post to let you guys know about the fall. But I’m motivated to first share something a little different with all of you. It’s a bit of digression from the normal posts here on the blog, but I hope that you will enjoy it and take something from it.

In about 10 hours, my brother-in-law (Mark Williams, brother of Tim Williams and former Bulldog) will be watching his bride-to-be walk down the aisle. Almost 9-years ago, he and his brother Timmy were ushers in my wedding (1998). Mark was just 14 years old and his brother Timmy was 10. It’s unbelievable how fast time passes.

It’s during moments like this that I start to realize how much time has passed by. My daughter will be 6-years this year, my son just turned 4 and my newborn is gonna be a year old in a few short months. I think about how I’m coming up on my 10-year anniversary working for Advantis/IBM/AT&T/SBC (renamed to AT&T), even though AT&T only recognizes 8-years (sucks when your company is sold over-and-over again). Time has flown by and I think you get the point.

Getting back to my wedding, for those that may not remember, or were not there, Angie allowed me some “leeway” in our planning. At the time, the number one song to announce the wedding parties at the reception was the song used to announce the Chicago Bulls. Well, Angie allowed me to pick the song and I chose the theme to The Natural. It was a condensed version and as it reached its climax, that was the part where Angie and I were announced and we walked in under a canopy of baseball bats! Yes, it’s true, I have pictures and I don’t care what anyone says, it was freakin’ cool!

The thing is, anyone who knows me, knows that baseball has always been a part of my life and they know how important this team was, and still is, to me. In case you haven’t noticed yet, we put ‘Est. 1995′ under the Bulldog logo on our jersey. It’s been 12 years that this team has been in existence and though we’re only a “recreational” softball team, this team was founded and built with deep roots and tradition.

Back to the wedding, one of the things that I absolutely loved was the turnout of Bulldogs past and present for my big day! We took a team photo at my wedding and their had to be at least 20 guys in the picture (I’ll have to check again), and we were only in our 3rd season. Baseball and this team have been an important part of my life. My friends and family have helped to shape (no pun intended) who I am today and all the fond memories that I have!

I’m not exactly sure where I was going with this post, other then to say that life is really too short and that we need to make more of an effort to slow-down and absorb the “moment”. Looking at pictures of your children when they were two or an infant is not the same as the real thing! Home runs, RBI’s, batting averages… no one remembers these from season-to-season, but the stories that Billy and I share are priceless. The times we spent together on the field, in the bar or hooking up for a day of golf are what laid the roots for this team. It’s the stories I have about the time spent with Bill Channell, Jesse Cortes, Juan Cortes, Tom Cotto, Jason and Scott Cabay, Dan (my bro), Kyle ‘Doc’ Pedersen, Tom Howe (Tim’s cousin), Pat Monterosso, Jim Diaz, Brian Urban, Kenny Benson, Mike Fauth, Arlee Williams, Mark LeBeau, Derek Van Orden and the list goes on.

It’s the stories about Jason’s learning lesson about why cups are important. Golfing with Mike Fauth, Jason Cabay, Bill Channell and on. Tom beating Scott in a foot race in the parking lot of TGI Fridays (Tom was wearing flip flops). Brian tossing a ball over the backstop in to the creek in Lisle. Tom Howe hitting a ball so-far in an open field that he still “trotted” around the bases before they got the ball in. Closing TGI Fridays down each week. Playing darts with Jason at the bar after the games. Having our cars broken into while playing a double-header in Lisle. Hanging out with the families of the players on our team. Having fans come out to our game each and every week. Hitting the golf range in Lisle right after our game with Jason and Fauth.

Those are just the beginnings, as I have developed stories and shared moments with Sean Killham, Tim Howe, a crazy guy named John Rivera (no relation), Dan Urban, Dan Howe, Mark and Timmy Williams, Angel and Mikey Cortes, Peter Cortes and many others who have donned the Bulldog jersey in the past and in the future.

I share moments with each and every one of you each week. I take a night away from my family to spend with all of you and add to the unbelievable memories and ‘moments’ of my time on this team and with each of you. It’s not just what we’ve done as a team on the field, but more so, what we’ve done as a team off the field that has given me the most fun and enjoyment over the years!

Thank you for all the moments and allowing me to share this with you.

Here’s the updated schedule with results. We’re currently 3-1 with 74 runs scored vs 49 runs scored by our opponents.

Our next games are tonight against Ball Slappers and Hussman Brawlers.

1. 4/27/07 at 7:30 pm: at Southside Hitmen (Central Park) - Rained Out
2. 5/4/07 at 6:30 pm: at Cardinals (Central Park) - Won (17-16)
3. 5/11/07 at 8:30 pm: vs Tailgaters (Central Park) - Won (20-19)
4. 5/18/07 at 8:30 pm: vs Lincoln Mutual (Central Park) - Won (28-4)
5. 5/25/07: No Games - Memorial Day
6. 6/1/07 at 9:30 pm: vs Southside Hitmen (Remington West) - Loss (10-9)
7. 6/8/07 at 6:30 pm: at Ball Slappers (Remington West)
8. 6/8/07 at 6:30 pm: at Hussman Brawlers (Remington West)
9. 6/15/07 at 8:30 pm: vs Ronin Risk (Central Park)
10. 6/22/07 at 6:30 pm: vs Dasbach (Central Park)
11. 6/29/07 at 7:30 pm: at Ronin Risk (Remington West)
12. 7/6/07 at 6:30 pm: at Lincoln Mutual (Remington West)
13. 7/13/07 at 8:30 pm: vs Sojourners (Remington West)
14. 7/20/07 at 8:30 pm: at Fury (Central Park)
15. 7/27/07 at 7:30 pm: at Cardinals (Central Park)
16. 7/27/07 at 8:30 pm: vs Misfits (Central Park)

If you have kids or if you’ve ever seen the movie “Are We There Yet?” you understand how repetitive it can be to hear this question repeated from the backseat over-and-over! Well that’s the way I have felt on occasion when getting e-mails, questions and text-messages to my phone asking me, “do we have the jersey’s yet?”

So I’m on vacation in Orlando, FL last week, enjoying well-deserved time-off with my family and away from the day-to-day activities I normally take part in, when I receive a call from Sean. He calls me, all excited, about the box he just received. Sean had just received the box of new jersey’s that have been long over-due.

Unfortunately, he was so excited and was obviously looking for someone to enjoy the first look at our new uni’s, but no one was available. Sean resorted to taking a picture of the jersey and sending it to me. Now, I was looking for someone wearing the jersey and instead he took a picture of it on a table and sent it to the smallest screen I own… my cell phone. So, unfortunately, I still wasn’t feeling that full excitement that Sean was feeling. The satisfaction of waiting so long for these jersey’s was just not fulfilled seeing it on my cell.

You have to understand, we’ve gone through so much to get these jerseys. New logo, bouncing from vendor to vendor, each time the shirt and design changed. Different pricing structures with hidden fees that drove the price of the uniforms out the roof and yet (speaking for myself) I never felt satisfied with any of those designs. I felt like we were just “settling” and I felt that we all deserved better.

So why do I tell you all of this? Because I finally got a chance to see the jerseys today at lunch and to say that I am elated is not doing it justice! I feel vindicated! I feel that we hit a home run, no a grand slam, right out of the park with these jerseys! They are everything that I had imagined they would be and more. They are here and they are ready to be donned this coming Friday and we can’t wait to share them with you!

I won’t put a picture of the jersey here (unless I get a hot chick with no undergarments willing to model it for us) because it just won’t do it justice! I’m speaking from experience of having to go almost a week with squinting to see the jersey on a cell phone.

So, get ready to play! We’re going for 4-straight and we’re unveiling the new jersey! Everyone try and get there a bit early to make sure you get your new jersey and so we can get some pictures for the site.

P.S. Red undershirts, only!

P.S.S. Sean wanted me to let all you Sox and (a few) Cubs fans know that the Boston Red Sox road hat looks sweet with the jersey! Personally, I’m going to continue wearing my Bulldogs Softball hat from last year until we get enough takers for a new Dogs hat or visor to go with the uni’s.

Nellie #21

I have a few things to talk about, so let me just get straight to it. Make sure you read the whole thing. I don’t want to hear from anyone that they “didnt’ know”.

Friday’s Game:

Friday nights game is at 6:30pm. I need to know who is not going to be there this Friday. Also, please send me any dates now that you will not make this season. I need to hear from everyone by end of day tomorrow regarding this Friday’s game.

Money:

Everyone’s known that the cost of playing this summer is $60. I need to start getting your money ASAP. If you have not paid, please send me a check or bring it on Friday. If you know you won’t be there on Friday, please send me a check in the mail. There is a fund raiser that has been doing real well, that we will talk to the rest of the team about on Friday and the upcoming weeks.

For information on where to send the check, please send me an e-mail.

Jerseys:

The jersey’s are finally on order. It’s been one hell of a process getting this done, but I think all of you will be happy with the final product. We’re going through Shirts and Logos again this season. We really like the work these guys are doing and they are the only people I have found who do not have a ton of hidden fees. They aren’t even charging us for “setup” fees! Just a straight cost per jersey.

I’m not going to spoil the surprise, but I will tell you some things that might make you happy.

1. The “flames” are gone! I heard you loud and clear. I wasn’t fond of the flames either, but it wasn’t our design. It came with the generic logo.
2. No “shirtsandlogos.com” or “Dirt10Designs” in our logo! It’s our logo, that’s one of the things we’ve been working hard on. We’re branding on this new logo and you’ll see something (cool) soon on the Bulldog Softball Club Web site.
3. Sleeveless! We have sleeveless jerseys (See below for more info on this)
4. No more “white”. The base color of the jersey will be Navy with a nice touch from a couple of other colors. It looks great!

That’s it. That’s all you get from me, right now on the jerseys. I don’t have an ETA for the jerseys, but more then likely they will not be here by Friday. S&L has worked some magic in the past, but I’m playing devils advocate. I would say next week might be the earliest and it’s possible it could slip a week. We’ll do everything we can to get them here and on the field. In the meantime, if you have a jersey from last season, that’s what we’ll use in the meantime. If not, a navy or red shirt will do.

Regarding point #3 above. These jerseys are “sleeveless”. There was a lot of debate about which way to go here. We’re going to try this out and see how it works. Everyone is to wear a “red” undershirt. No exceptions (ok - one exception, keep reading)! I don’t want to see a variety of colors on the field. You are responsible for your own undershirt (I am working with S&L to get some pricing on undershirts for you). A couple of us have already made our trip to Dick Sports and purchased some Under Armour shirts. I have asked S&L to provide me with some pricing on undershirts for you guys. They have a relationship with WickID (www.wickidgear.com) and can get them to us for less then retail. I’ll fill you in when I get the details.

There is only one caveat that I will allow. For those of you who feel you have the goods to flaunt the guns, I will allow you to wear it as a muscle shirt on one condition. You must still acquire a red muscle shirt to wear underneath the jersey. Preferably an Under Armour or WickID style muscle-shirt. Either compression or loose fit. That’s it, no exceptions.

Hats & Visors:

We have a design for a hat, as well, and will be taking orders for hats and visors. These were fairly cheap and many of the guys did purchase them last summer. These hats will, more then likely, be on a white or grey background if we go with the custom dye. However, there may be an outside chance that we will pay to setup our logo for “screen printing” or “embroidery”. I don’t have the pricing on that setup, but once it’s setup, we can screen print and embroider on any garment. In other words, we can do jackets, knit caps (for fall), colored baseball hats and visors, etc.

Kenny already has purchased a jacket from S&L that is really nice. It is navy in color, but doesn’t have a logo on it. If we pay for the “screen printing” or “embroidery” setup, he may send it back to have the logo put on. If anyone is interested in these types of things, let me know.

Pants, Shorts and Shoes:

Kenny has been working on putting together some combinations for softball pants and shoes from Boombah (no, not the clown pants). He’s got a couple of good options that will work real nice with the new jersey. If we can get 10 orders (the magic number) we can save $5 per item. If you’re in the market for some new shoes, pants or shorts for the season, I encourage you to look at what Kenny has put together. Boombah, believe it or not, is outstanding “professional” style quality but not with the Dick Sports pricing.

Here is our schedule for the 2007 Summer season. Please let me know if you are not going to be available on any particular day.

1. 4/27/2007 at 7:30 pm: at Southside Hitmen (Central Park)
2. 5/4/2007 at 6:30 pm: at Cardinals (Central Park)
3. 5/11/2007 at 8:30 pm: vs Tailgaters (Central Park)
4. 5/18/2007 at 8:30 pm: vs Lincoln Mutual (Central Park)
5. 5/25/2007: No Games
6. 6/1/2007: Bye
7. 6/8/2007 at 6:30 pm: at Ball Slappers (Remington West)
8. 6/15/2007 at 8:30 pm: vs Ronin Risk (Central Park)
9. 6/22/2007 at 6:30 pm: vs Dasbach (Central Park)
10. 6/29/2007 at 7:30 pm: at Ronin Risk (Remington West)
11. 7/6/2007 at 6:30 pm: at Lincoln Mutual (Remington West)
12. 7/13/2007 at 8:30 pm: vs Sojourners (Remington West)
13. 7/20/2007 at 8:30 pm: at Fury (Central Park)
14. 7/27/2007 at 7:30 & 8:30 pm:

Well, it’s official, Ray Bahaman and Rancho Santa Fe Mexican Restaurant are officially the primary sponsor of the Bulldogs Softball Club for the Summer of 2007.

Ray was eager to continue our relationship where we left off in 2006! He is excited to see what we will be able to do in 2007. The contributions from Rancho Santa Fe Mexican Restaurant have been an integral part in the operation of this team. With the support of Ray Bahaman and Rancho we have been able to not only afford to register to play softball, but have been able to outfit our players with jersey’s and equipment.

We are glad to say that with the generous support of Ray Bahaman and Rancho Santa Fe, we will be able to continue to build upon the services that we are able to provide to each player on The Bulldogs.

Rancho Santa Fe Mexican Restaurant is located on Remington Blvd in Bolingbrook, IL. They are just northwest of the I-55 exit at Route 53.

For a map to Rancho Santa Fe, simply click here and be sure to mention you heard about Rancho through the Bulldogs Softball Club!

Well it was a tough tryout for the Bulldogs this year. With players returning from Summer & Fall and having to take into consideration many factors, the decision was not easy but the preliminary roster for the Bulldogs Summer 2007 team is, as follows (no particular order):

• Ken Benson
• Sean Killham
• Tim Howe
• Jim Jano
• Mark Wambay
• Brandon Aiken
• Bill Channell
• John Kontek
• Milo Phelps
• Angel Cortes
• Jeff McMahon
• Nelson Rivera

Here’s to the Bulldogs defending their 2007 Championship! We have a great group of guys for 2007 to make a run for League Champion, as well as Playoff Champions. We will miss the guys who will not be taking the field this season with us and we wish them all the best. Some of them have agreed to be put on the sub-list, so hopefully we’ll get to see them sometime this season.

Go Bulldogs!

Well, the polls are now closed and the survey results are final. The Bulldogs will be back to defend their 2006 Friday night Playoff Championship!!

There was a 50/50 preference for Thursday/Friday nights and unfortunately we had to pick a night, which means that some guys who could only play one night or the other would not be able to play with us this season. It was a tough decision, but we elected to side with seniority as the deciding factor. However, after calling the park district to get availability, it didn’t much matter. As it turns out, both leagues on Thursday night are already filled for 2007.

So, tomorrow I will be putting a deposit down and registering us in the Friday-B league. This is the same league that we won the playoff championship in 2006. If you need a reminder (cause I know I did), we ended the season with a 12-2 record tied with PB & J, but since PB &J had the tie breaker over us, they won the league championship.

Based on league rules, the “league champion” is required to move up to the next division in the following season. However, this does not apply to the “playoff champion” if they are not also the regular season champion, as well. Therefore, we will be able to re-enter the Friday B league.

Here are some important dates/deadlines that we have to meet, and we will appreciate everyone’s cooperation in ensuring that we make these dates.

• Thursday, April 12: Captains meeting at 8pm. Some of us will be meeting for drinks, but everyone is welcome to join us.
• Friday, April 27:

• Remainder of league fee must be in.
• Initial roster is due.

We are going to be meeting with Rancho Santa Fe to secure our primary sponsorship for the summer season, however we will need all of your help to make this season a success. The more money we are able to raise, the more things we are able to provide you guys to enhance your experience.

In order to raise funds we are going to be sending out “sponsorship” forms to local businesses. We have put together some packages for them and we’ll see what kind of result we will get.

In addition, we are looking into a couple of fund raising ideas. Sean is working with an ex-Bulldog on a “golf card” that we could sell. In the past, when we looked at this, we would net $20/card sold. There’s another fund raising option that we are looking at that would net the Dogs $15/account sold. Just by selling two to three cards/accounts you make up the majority of your cost of playing for the Dogs. If each player on the team were to sell 5 golf cards, that would net the team $1200. We will be finalizing the “wish list” and will let you know what our target will be. All of this money will be used to fund all of our activities, equipment, gear, possible tournaments (separate Bulldog Tourney team?) and increase our fun factor for both the summer and fall.

Kenny has been looking into a new jersey for this season. It would be thinner then the jersey we used last season (similar to Under Amour’s Loose Gear). We also won’t be held to the standard white/gray color shirts and can now mix and match colors. So we could get a navy based jersey with silver and red mixed in to the shirt.

Hats and visors will be available and Kenny has also purchased a jacket for the season. Kenny has also done some research on pants/shorts and shoe options for the team from Boombah. The more we purchase at one time, the more money we save.

We are looking for additional ideas for fund raising and sponsorship ideas. Please feel free to e-mail me with your ideas. Also, tell us what you’d like to see us provide. No “wish” is too big. If we don’t know about it, we can’t ever provide it. It’s just a “wish list”, don’t be afraid to open your mind to what is possible.

Alright, that’s enough from me for now. I’m looking forward to a successful 2007!

Go Bulldogs!