Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Daaaang!
So I've been checking our Force website to see if people are voting and it's crazy! I was excited when 60 people had voted when the poll first went up and I just looked at it again and now it's up to 4,801, daaaang! It's funny because 21 and 24 keep switching places in who's ahead, and then there's poor little 28, all alone with it's 22 votes :( I'm not partial or anything though, I haven't even voted because every time I lean towards one of them I change my mind the next minute. So keep voting everyone, this is exciting! :)
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Vote for my number!
If you read my last post, you'll notice that I no longer have a number. The following will be posted on the Force website, along with a poll to vote:If you ask an athlete about their jersey number, I can guarantee you it means more to them then just a number on their back. When I first started playing softball, jersey numbers were handed out according to size. So the smallest player on the team would get #1, the biggest player would get #15 and the rest would fill in accordingly. As we got older we were allowed to pick our numbers and we started forming favorites. When I was about eight years old I wanted to be like my sister Kelly, who's favorite number was 10. From then on, I stuck with #10 and it became part of me. When I was recruited to play at Illinois State, I remember going home and looking at their website to see who had #10. When I saw that Abbie Scott was graduating and #10 would be available, I knew I was meant to be a Redbird. When I was asked to play for the Force last year, I was given #11, or if you ask me I was #10+1 :) But this year I need to pick a new number, because I gave #11 to my roomie, Margo Pruis. I can't just pick any number though, because it has to mean something to me. This is where I need your help! Vote for what number you think I should be, and on opening day it will be revealed. I chose three numbers, each for a different reason. 21 because it's 10+11, 24 because it was my basketball number, and 28 because 2+8=10. I trust you all to pick my number and I can't wait to see you at opening day!
FLOTG,
Stacy Birk #??
Off-Season
For the past eight years throughout high school and college, I've never really had an off season. Even when I got to Illinois State, where softball was the only sport I played, our "off-season" was just as busy as our playing season. The only time I would take a break from softball would be for a week or two between the college season and summer ball. Now that I'm a college graduate and I'm playing in the NPF, I've gotten a new understanding for the term off-season. The off-season is so long that at times I don't know what to do with myself. It's tough for NPF athletes to train during the off-season because we live all over the country. It's not like we can just get together and have a practice. Since I'm in grad school at Illinois State, I still have access to the facilities for training, so I've managed to stay on top of my training. The strength and conditioning coach for ISU softball, Landon, makes workouts for me to do in the weight room and puts up with my musical taste when I'm in there :) For pitching, I threw at ISU's practices in the Fall and then to Tony, who also works in the weight room. For the last few weeks of the Fall semester, Shannon Nicholson, a fellow Redbird pitcher and I threw to each other. And let me tell you, us catching each other in full gear is quite a sight to see. Shannon just signed to play with Akron this season, so we'll both be pitching to the ISU softball team this spring to stay in shape. Only 4 months and 4 days until Spring Training begins, I can't wait!!FLOTG,
Stacy Birk #??
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Force trades Thorson for three Bandits
My team recently announced the trade of our number one pitcher Kristina Thorson to the Chicago Bandits for Amy Harre, Autumn Champion and Peaches James. For those of you that don't know, Amy Harre pitched at Southern Illinois University, who is in the same conference as Illinois State. So that's pretty cool, between me, Margo, and Amy we'll be reppin' the Missouri Valley! Haha. She is really good too... throws like 70mph. Autumn is a really really fast outfielder from the University of Arizona and I've never played with her, but my sister has. Peaches is a pitcher from the University of Nebraska and is also really good. It was also announced today that there's another new addition to our team, Jackie Wong, who previously played for Rockford. Click here to read the official news release.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
For Love of the Game
I don't think anyone would have guessed that our season would end the way that it did. We fought til the very end, playing an extra inning four hour game that resulted in the Riptide winning. It was a true battle, as the score went back and fourth and then finally ended at Force 2, Riptide 3. Although we were tied for fourth place with Rockford, it went to our record vs. the number one team, the Glory. We beat them once and Rockford beat them twice so they made playoffs and we didn't.
The Riptide definitely became our rivals as we played them sixteen times throughout the season. And the way they played the final game really made me lose a lot of respect for them. Running out on the field to celebrate an overturned call and waving goodbye to our team as the final out was made is just rude and completely unnecessary. I'm glad to be part of a team that has a lot more class and sportsmanship than that. It's disappointing that our season ended so abruptly, but I still think it was a success. We started off with a 1-6 record and no one in the league really expected much from us. We fought our way back up all season long and I believe that we had as good a chance as any team to win the whole thing.
The emotion in the locker room after the game was all over the place. We have several veterans on our team who don't really know if they will be returning next season. So to them, that could be the final game of their career. A few players spoke as well as the coaches, and nearly all of us were in tears. It truly was heartbreaking as every girl on our team plays for the love of the game.
It's hard to sum up my summer in the pros because I enjoyed every minute of it. I think my favorite softball experience was playing Team China. Learning about their culture and what softball means to them made me appreciate things a lot more. Outside of softball I would have to say that going to New York City was my favorite. I just wished we could have stayed longer. I will never forget the friends I made this summer and I am definitely playing again next summer! I hope everyone else comes back as well. Life in the bigs was amazing and I am especially going to miss Rookie Car.
Until then I will be starting my masters degree studying Project Management at Illinois State as well as working as a Graduate Assistant for Graphic Communications. I will continue to write emails and update my blog, so please let me know if you would still like to receive my updates. There is an article on my schools website about our season if you are interested.
FLOTG,
Stacy Birk #10+1
The Riptide definitely became our rivals as we played them sixteen times throughout the season. And the way they played the final game really made me lose a lot of respect for them. Running out on the field to celebrate an overturned call and waving goodbye to our team as the final out was made is just rude and completely unnecessary. I'm glad to be part of a team that has a lot more class and sportsmanship than that. It's disappointing that our season ended so abruptly, but I still think it was a success. We started off with a 1-6 record and no one in the league really expected much from us. We fought our way back up all season long and I believe that we had as good a chance as any team to win the whole thing.
The emotion in the locker room after the game was all over the place. We have several veterans on our team who don't really know if they will be returning next season. So to them, that could be the final game of their career. A few players spoke as well as the coaches, and nearly all of us were in tears. It truly was heartbreaking as every girl on our team plays for the love of the game.
It's hard to sum up my summer in the pros because I enjoyed every minute of it. I think my favorite softball experience was playing Team China. Learning about their culture and what softball means to them made me appreciate things a lot more. Outside of softball I would have to say that going to New York City was my favorite. I just wished we could have stayed longer. I will never forget the friends I made this summer and I am definitely playing again next summer! I hope everyone else comes back as well. Life in the bigs was amazing and I am especially going to miss Rookie Car.
Until then I will be starting my masters degree studying Project Management at Illinois State as well as working as a Graduate Assistant for Graphic Communications. I will continue to write emails and update my blog, so please let me know if you would still like to receive my updates. There is an article on my schools website about our season if you are interested.
FLOTG,
Stacy Birk #10+1
Saturday, August 18, 2007
New York City
Last Sunday I went to New York City with Sharonda, Tara, and the Aggies: Jamie L., Jamie H., Amanda, Lisa, and Megan. We left Cedar Crest at 8am and headed to Edison, NJ. We parked there and took the NJ Transit into NYC. We arrived in the city at about 1130am and then purchased tickets to ride the subway. We too a train to our first stop at Yankee Stadium. The 12:00 tour was already sold out so we hung around for the 1:00pm tour. The tour was pretty cool, we got to walk around the stadium, sit in the dugout and see the locker room. We too a ton of pictures, except for in the locker room where they weren't allowed. The tour guide talked a lot about the Yankees history, which was cool, and about their present team as well. Derek Jeter has not one but TWO lockers because he gets so much fan mail, haha. I thought that was funny.
After the tour we hopped back on the Subway and got off at Times Square. Once we got outside I really felt like I was in New York. Everything was exactly as I imagined from what I have seen on tv and in movies. All the shops had big bright signs and there were huge billboards and advertisements everywhere. We stopped and ate pizza for lunch at a place called Ray's. We walked around and went in a few shops and naturally I took a TON of pictures. We saw Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and MTV studios to name a few.
We got back on the Subway and went downtown to Canal Street for some shopping. It was funny because I've heard stories about all the tiny hidden rooms with fake designer purses, but I didn't really understand until I saw it. We barely made it onto Canal street before a man approached us asking if we were interested in real designer purses. My first instinct was to say no thank you and walk on, but then I remembered that was actually the reason we were there. So, the 8 of us agreed to follow this man 2 blocks down the street, down a hallway and into a closet-sized room full of 100% ''real'' purses. About twenty minutes later we all left there with something; I got a brown Prada purse.
After Canal Street we took the NJ Transit back to our hotel to get ready for take two of the big city. Wilk, Clare, Trena, and Dustin joined us for the evening. We got all dressed up and rode the train back into the city and then took our first cab ride. For dinner we had hot dogs from a street vendor which I thought was very appropriate in our club attire, haha. The club we went to is owned by Jay Z and its called 40/40. Since it was a Sunday night there weren't too many people there, but it was still fun. We were true VIPs with a private room that had couches, a big screen tv and a pool table. At about 3am we finally left the club and went to a place called New Venus Diner for breakfast. We caught the first train back to New Jersey at 4:54 am and it was pretty obvious that we were all exhausted.
Needless to say, I LOVED our trip to New York City, I only wish we could have stayed longer. But then there's always next year...
Today Tom took the rookies to lunch at Brewworks, he loves us :) Right now we are in the middle of our series vs. the Riptide. They won the first game 10-2 and we came back and won game two 2-1. To make the playoffs we have to win 1 of the next 2 games. Lets hope we can get all the wondering over with tonight! I will be posting this on my blog as well, where you can see pictures from NYC.
FLTOG,
Stacy Birk #10 +1
After the tour we hopped back on the Subway and got off at Times Square. Once we got outside I really felt like I was in New York. Everything was exactly as I imagined from what I have seen on tv and in movies. All the shops had big bright signs and there were huge billboards and advertisements everywhere. We stopped and ate pizza for lunch at a place called Ray's. We walked around and went in a few shops and naturally I took a TON of pictures. We saw Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, and MTV studios to name a few.
We got back on the Subway and went downtown to Canal Street for some shopping. It was funny because I've heard stories about all the tiny hidden rooms with fake designer purses, but I didn't really understand until I saw it. We barely made it onto Canal street before a man approached us asking if we were interested in real designer purses. My first instinct was to say no thank you and walk on, but then I remembered that was actually the reason we were there. So, the 8 of us agreed to follow this man 2 blocks down the street, down a hallway and into a closet-sized room full of 100% ''real'' purses. About twenty minutes later we all left there with something; I got a brown Prada purse.
After Canal Street we took the NJ Transit back to our hotel to get ready for take two of the big city. Wilk, Clare, Trena, and Dustin joined us for the evening. We got all dressed up and rode the train back into the city and then took our first cab ride. For dinner we had hot dogs from a street vendor which I thought was very appropriate in our club attire, haha. The club we went to is owned by Jay Z and its called 40/40. Since it was a Sunday night there weren't too many people there, but it was still fun. We were true VIPs with a private room that had couches, a big screen tv and a pool table. At about 3am we finally left the club and went to a place called New Venus Diner for breakfast. We caught the first train back to New Jersey at 4:54 am and it was pretty obvious that we were all exhausted.
Needless to say, I LOVED our trip to New York City, I only wish we could have stayed longer. But then there's always next year...
Today Tom took the rookies to lunch at Brewworks, he loves us :) Right now we are in the middle of our series vs. the Riptide. They won the first game 10-2 and we came back and won game two 2-1. To make the playoffs we have to win 1 of the next 2 games. Lets hope we can get all the wondering over with tonight! I will be posting this on my blog as well, where you can see pictures from NYC.
FLTOG,
Stacy Birk #10 +1
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Mini Golf, Starters & Heelys
Mini Golf
Today Friedman asked me if I wanted to go get ice cream with her and a family that comes to our games. I said yes and they picked us up outside our dorms around 3pm. When we got in their minivan they asked if we wanted to go play mini golf, so we said ok even though that wasn't what we had in mind. I forget the parents names but they had three daughters, ages 14, 12 and 10. The girls seemed to have a really good time with us, so I didn't mind being there even though I was sweating profusely. After mini golf they took us to lunch at this hot dog place called Yoccos and then finally to ice cream at Rita's. On our way to Rita's, Dana (the 12yr old) showed us her catalog for the soap business she and her friend just started. It was really cute, she was telling us all about it so Friedman ordered some soap from her. They finally brought us back to Cedar Crest at 7:30pm, with just enough time for us to get ready for Starters.
Starters Riverport
Starters is one of our sponsors and tonight they had a Force pep rally for us...in other words we got free food. Its a two story sports bar and when we arrived upstairs we found out we were being moved to another area because the Philadelphia Eagles were going to be there. So we headed downstairs for dinner and watched as the Eagles players came in upstairs. We were told that we would be allowed to hang out with them, so after we ate we headed up to their section. After we got through security, I went over and hung out with this big guy named Jon. He was showing me a bunch of tricks with straws and then one with a beer bottle and quarters. He made me try one of em and was impressed when I got it on my first try. Donovan Mcnabb was there, all surrounded by security, but I made it over to him and introduced myself. I ended up standing next to him for like 10 minutes and I asked him if he liked softball. He said he did and that he would try to come to one of our games, yeah right. I told him Id strike him out and he said I was right, haha. When I left I said "bye, it was nice meeting you" and he said "good luck in your games." It was soooo cool, he was actually really nice!
Heelys Training Camp
When we got back from Starters Jodie was in the hallway trying to learn how to use Macs heelys. So I got mine out to show her how to do it and we ended up having a Heelys training camp in the bathroom. Jodie, Margo and Wilk all put in an effort to try and learn how to do it but Margo definitely earned Rookie of the Night. She figured it out that she could successfully heel from one end of the bathroom to the other by opening all the bathroom stall doors and using them to push herself along. It was hilarious and I recorded it on my camera, which you can see here.
We depart for NYC tomorrow morning at 730am and I cant wait! Oh yeah, and tonight we found out we are now tied for 3rd place!
FLOTG,
Stacy Birk #10+1
Today Friedman asked me if I wanted to go get ice cream with her and a family that comes to our games. I said yes and they picked us up outside our dorms around 3pm. When we got in their minivan they asked if we wanted to go play mini golf, so we said ok even though that wasn't what we had in mind. I forget the parents names but they had three daughters, ages 14, 12 and 10. The girls seemed to have a really good time with us, so I didn't mind being there even though I was sweating profusely. After mini golf they took us to lunch at this hot dog place called Yoccos and then finally to ice cream at Rita's. On our way to Rita's, Dana (the 12yr old) showed us her catalog for the soap business she and her friend just started. It was really cute, she was telling us all about it so Friedman ordered some soap from her. They finally brought us back to Cedar Crest at 7:30pm, with just enough time for us to get ready for Starters.
Starters Riverport
Starters is one of our sponsors and tonight they had a Force pep rally for us...in other words we got free food. Its a two story sports bar and when we arrived upstairs we found out we were being moved to another area because the Philadelphia Eagles were going to be there. So we headed downstairs for dinner and watched as the Eagles players came in upstairs. We were told that we would be allowed to hang out with them, so after we ate we headed up to their section. After we got through security, I went over and hung out with this big guy named Jon. He was showing me a bunch of tricks with straws and then one with a beer bottle and quarters. He made me try one of em and was impressed when I got it on my first try. Donovan Mcnabb was there, all surrounded by security, but I made it over to him and introduced myself. I ended up standing next to him for like 10 minutes and I asked him if he liked softball. He said he did and that he would try to come to one of our games, yeah right. I told him Id strike him out and he said I was right, haha. When I left I said "bye, it was nice meeting you" and he said "good luck in your games." It was soooo cool, he was actually really nice!
Heelys Training Camp
When we got back from Starters Jodie was in the hallway trying to learn how to use Macs heelys. So I got mine out to show her how to do it and we ended up having a Heelys training camp in the bathroom. Jodie, Margo and Wilk all put in an effort to try and learn how to do it but Margo definitely earned Rookie of the Night. She figured it out that she could successfully heel from one end of the bathroom to the other by opening all the bathroom stall doors and using them to push herself along. It was hilarious and I recorded it on my camera, which you can see here.
We depart for NYC tomorrow morning at 730am and I cant wait! Oh yeah, and tonight we found out we are now tied for 3rd place!
FLOTG,
Stacy Birk #10+1
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Ice, Headbands & Brew Works
Michigan Ice
Game 1 - W 1-0
Game 2 - W 7-1
Game 3 - W 6-4
Game 4 - W 6-1
Tonight we completed our four game SWEEP vs. Michigan Ice! We are now in 3rd place with a record of 23-17. Trailing closely behind us are the Akron Racers and the New England Riptide, both with a 21-16 record. Although we are ahead nothing is secured yet for playoffs because we still have four more games against the Riptide. The good thing though, is that its in our hands rather than us relying on other teams to win or lose. Its going to be a battle, as every game vs. New England has been, but we are very capable of making it to the playoffs.
Colored Headband Night
Every series the rookies have a colored headband night... meaning we all wear matching, but different colored headbands. I initiated this a few weeks ago after I bought a 6pk or headbands in Washington and since then we've kept the tradition going. I think I started it mostly because of my hostility towards the rules we had at ISU. The first two years I was there we were allowed a little freedom...we could wear non-school color accessories like socks, headbands, and ribbons. But THEN, my Junior year Melinda started the red/white/grey/black rule; meaning my extensive collection of under armor, headbands, and ribbons was completely useless and out of commission. So, now that we are professionals and can do whatever we want, you better believe I'm going to wear a pink headband! On colored headband night, you can refer to us as: Pink Birk, Purple Sho, Green Lo, Yellow Henny, Orange Mac, & Blue Margo. Just add that to my list of why I love being a pro... I can wear whatever color headband I want!
Brew Works
Allentown Brew Works is our new post game restaurant/bar and it is uh-maze-ing! It's three stories and it's classy but chill at the same time. They food is really good and they treat us really well. We have our own section upstairs for dinner and then we usually hit up the Silk Lounge afterwards. I forgot to mention in my last email that David Wright was at our game last week watching Cat and he came to Brew Works afterwards too! I didn't meet him but he was right there, sitting in a booth eating the same stuff I ate...weird.
We have three days off before our next series and a bunch of us are going to New York on Sunday. I think what we are planning on doing is a tour of Yankee Stadium, Statue of Liberty, and Times Square. And then there's talk of going to some VIP club owned by Jay-Z. I guess Julio, Lo's boyfriend, can get us all in...so we will see.
I don't know if anyone has looked at my blog, but I added some new links... game photos and force fans message board. I am also wondering if my pictures link is accessible, so test it out and let me know.
FLOTG,
Stacy Birk #10+1
Game 1 - W 1-0
Game 2 - W 7-1
Game 3 - W 6-4
Game 4 - W 6-1
Tonight we completed our four game SWEEP vs. Michigan Ice! We are now in 3rd place with a record of 23-17. Trailing closely behind us are the Akron Racers and the New England Riptide, both with a 21-16 record. Although we are ahead nothing is secured yet for playoffs because we still have four more games against the Riptide. The good thing though, is that its in our hands rather than us relying on other teams to win or lose. Its going to be a battle, as every game vs. New England has been, but we are very capable of making it to the playoffs.
Colored Headband Night
Every series the rookies have a colored headband night... meaning we all wear matching, but different colored headbands. I initiated this a few weeks ago after I bought a 6pk or headbands in Washington and since then we've kept the tradition going. I think I started it mostly because of my hostility towards the rules we had at ISU. The first two years I was there we were allowed a little freedom...we could wear non-school color accessories like socks, headbands, and ribbons. But THEN, my Junior year Melinda started the red/white/grey/black rule; meaning my extensive collection of under armor, headbands, and ribbons was completely useless and out of commission. So, now that we are professionals and can do whatever we want, you better believe I'm going to wear a pink headband! On colored headband night, you can refer to us as: Pink Birk, Purple Sho, Green Lo, Yellow Henny, Orange Mac, & Blue Margo. Just add that to my list of why I love being a pro... I can wear whatever color headband I want!
Brew Works
Allentown Brew Works is our new post game restaurant/bar and it is uh-maze-ing! It's three stories and it's classy but chill at the same time. They food is really good and they treat us really well. We have our own section upstairs for dinner and then we usually hit up the Silk Lounge afterwards. I forgot to mention in my last email that David Wright was at our game last week watching Cat and he came to Brew Works afterwards too! I didn't meet him but he was right there, sitting in a booth eating the same stuff I ate...weird.
We have three days off before our next series and a bunch of us are going to New York on Sunday. I think what we are planning on doing is a tour of Yankee Stadium, Statue of Liberty, and Times Square. And then there's talk of going to some VIP club owned by Jay-Z. I guess Julio, Lo's boyfriend, can get us all in...so we will see.
I don't know if anyone has looked at my blog, but I added some new links... game photos and force fans message board. I am also wondering if my pictures link is accessible, so test it out and let me know.
FLOTG,
Stacy Birk #10+1
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Akron & Rockford
Akron
I have not yet been to Rockford or Chicago, but from what I have seen Akron has the nicest facilities. Their stadium was beautiful; the field, the locker room, everything. Other than our stadium, its the only place we've been that has provided a locker room for both teams, which I believe is very nice to have. Maybe its just because I'm the sweaty kid, but having an air conditioned room to go to during warm up is completely necessary. Not to mention, this is professional. The result of the series was:
Game 1 - W 5-0
Game 2 - W 3-1
Game 3 - L 3-16 not my best game, or anyone else's
for that matter.
Game 4 - W 2-0
The Akron series went really well for us. We took 3 out of 4 games from them, improving our record to 17-19. Also, while we were in Akron we were credited with two more wins from our series with New England. They had utilized a player in two wins against us who was on the inactive roster, and therefore they became automatic wins for us and losses for New England. So our record improved to 19-17.
As the standings show, no place is secured, so really anyone has a chance at making playoffs. The top 4 teams go and its hosted in Kimberly, WI.
Rockford
Game 1 L 3-5
Game 2 L 4-6
We just played a two game series against Rockford, but they were exhibition games so they do not count towards our record. For those of you that don't know, Cat Osterman is on Rockford's team. When they arrived on Sunday night, a bunch of them met up with our team at Brew works, our new post-game restaurant/bar. Kellie is friends with Cat so she was introducing her to everyone. She came over to me and said this is Cat. I said, oh really it is? Haha. That was about it as far as my conversating with her but she seemed very nice. Cassidy Scoggins, who went to Southern Illinois, is also on the team and after I met her I felt bad for hating her the past few years. She was pretty cool.
Cat pitched against us in game one bringing in the biggest crowd we have had all season. Normally we get about 200-300 people at our games, but with Cat there we had over 1000. It was cool. Also, due to the last email I sent out about rookie car and livin in the bigs, the rookies were honored. Two little girls baked us a HUGE basket of cookies for the dugout and Tom and Judy made a rookie page with our pictures and part of my email and added them to the programs for the night. We also got framed copies of the rookie page in our lockers, it was really cute :)
Best in show
All summer long our team has given out a best in show award to the individual most deserving on any given night. The Best in Show award usually follows extreme action or entertainment following ones consumption of beverages. Best in Show is appointed by the team and is followed up by a poster on the door of the reigning individual which stays there until someone else earns the crown. The records in the hall state that this summers Best in Show individuals are:
Trena Peel - 7/6
Megan McAllister - 7/8
Dacey & Hall - 7/11
Chelsea Spencer - 7/12
Robin - 7/9
and.....
Stacy Birk 8/5
my best in show highlights include
- a photo shoot in the car on the way home from Brew Works
- a not-very-nice comment to the Mc Donalds drive thru employee followed by his refusing us service
- and wearing the Dunkin Donuts box as a hat
I've taken all the emails I've sent this summer and made them into a blog. I've also added a link for pictures. I'm still working on it, but you all can see it at http://www.phillyforce.blogspot.com
Tonight we start our series vs. the Michigan Ice, a semi-pro team, but the games do count towards our record.
Stacy Birk #10+1
I have not yet been to Rockford or Chicago, but from what I have seen Akron has the nicest facilities. Their stadium was beautiful; the field, the locker room, everything. Other than our stadium, its the only place we've been that has provided a locker room for both teams, which I believe is very nice to have. Maybe its just because I'm the sweaty kid, but having an air conditioned room to go to during warm up is completely necessary. Not to mention, this is professional. The result of the series was:
Game 1 - W 5-0
Game 2 - W 3-1
Game 3 - L 3-16 not my best game, or anyone else's
for that matter.
Game 4 - W 2-0
The Akron series went really well for us. We took 3 out of 4 games from them, improving our record to 17-19. Also, while we were in Akron we were credited with two more wins from our series with New England. They had utilized a player in two wins against us who was on the inactive roster, and therefore they became automatic wins for us and losses for New England. So our record improved to 19-17.
| Washington Glory | 31 | 9 | .775 |
| Rockford Thunder | 24 | 16 | .600 |
| Chicago Bandits | 19 | 15 | .559 |
| Akron Racers | 19 | 15 | .559 |
| Philadelphia Force | 19 | 17 | .528 |
| New England Riptide | 19 | 17 | .528 |
As the standings show, no place is secured, so really anyone has a chance at making playoffs. The top 4 teams go and its hosted in Kimberly, WI.
Rockford
Game 1 L 3-5
Game 2 L 4-6
We just played a two game series against Rockford, but they were exhibition games so they do not count towards our record. For those of you that don't know, Cat Osterman is on Rockford's team. When they arrived on Sunday night, a bunch of them met up with our team at Brew works, our new post-game restaurant/bar. Kellie is friends with Cat so she was introducing her to everyone. She came over to me and said this is Cat. I said, oh really it is? Haha. That was about it as far as my conversating with her but she seemed very nice. Cassidy Scoggins, who went to Southern Illinois, is also on the team and after I met her I felt bad for hating her the past few years. She was pretty cool.
Cat pitched against us in game one bringing in the biggest crowd we have had all season. Normally we get about 200-300 people at our games, but with Cat there we had over 1000. It was cool. Also, due to the last email I sent out about rookie car and livin in the bigs, the rookies were honored. Two little girls baked us a HUGE basket of cookies for the dugout and Tom and Judy made a rookie page with our pictures and part of my email and added them to the programs for the night. We also got framed copies of the rookie page in our lockers, it was really cute :)
Best in show
All summer long our team has given out a best in show award to the individual most deserving on any given night. The Best in Show award usually follows extreme action or entertainment following ones consumption of beverages. Best in Show is appointed by the team and is followed up by a poster on the door of the reigning individual which stays there until someone else earns the crown. The records in the hall state that this summers Best in Show individuals are:
Trena Peel - 7/6
Megan McAllister - 7/8
Dacey & Hall - 7/11
Chelsea Spencer - 7/12
Robin - 7/9
and.....
Stacy Birk 8/5
my best in show highlights include
- a photo shoot in the car on the way home from Brew Works
- a not-very-nice comment to the Mc Donalds drive thru employee followed by his refusing us service
- and wearing the Dunkin Donuts box as a hat
I've taken all the emails I've sent this summer and made them into a blog. I've also added a link for pictures. I'm still working on it, but you all can see it at http://www.phillyforce.blogspot
Tonight we start our series vs. the Michigan Ice, a semi-pro team, but the games do count towards our record.
Stacy Birk #10+1
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Rookies and Livin in the Bigs
Rookie Car
Technically we have 7 rookies on our team this year. They include Margo Pruis, Megan MacAllister, Sharonda McDonald, Loren Anguiano, Meagan Hennessy, Kristina Thorson, and myself. But since Thor and Henney have pages in the media guide, like the rest of the veterans, we (the rookies) don't consider them part of our group. Rookie car is what we usually refer to ourselves as because the five of us pile into Lo's truck whenever we go somewhere as a team. It's a tight squeeze in her little truck, but with the windows down we can all fit our football-player shoulders in the back seat. Lo is our driver, since its her car, but the rest of the seats are fair game and can only be called when the car is in sight. The front seat is referred to as the suicide seat because you're at the highest risk when Lo decides to pull out her crazy driver card using excuses like, I have poor depth perception. Then there's window seats and of course the middle seat, or bitch. Whoever ends up in the bitch seat gets pointed and laughed at by the rest of rookie car and I'm thinking we should implement some sort of song or something that she would have to sing.
(I originally wrote this a few weeks ago, and since then we have implemented the song rule. On the way home from practice on Tuesday, Margo sang Happy Birthday to us. The rule stands that you can sing whatever song you like, but if you can 't pick one you have to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.)
Livin in The Bigs
Henney couldn't have put it any better when she said, in college all i wanted to do was play softball and hang out and now I can. So basically I've been waiting my whole life to do this. Let me tell you, playing pro is all I've dreamed of and more. Since I've been here I've realized a lot of differences in pro and college softball, most of them positive. But it wasn't until yesterday that I discovered this is my calling. We had cookies in the dugout. Yes, you read that correctly, COOKIES IN THE DUGOUT! Holy hell, what more could I ask for?! What a perfect combination; playing the game that I love while eating the best food ever made. Clearly this is the coolest perk I've discovered so far about playing pro, but there are many others.
When traveling:
1. I can wear sandals
2. I can wear a hat or a visor
3. I can wear any shirt I want to and i don't have to tuck it in
4. When we stop to eat I can bring my cell phone in and I don't have to hide it under the table to text
5. There are no bed checks or team meetings
6. I can sleep in as long as I like
7. We can eat and drink whatever we want, whenever we want
8. Theres no study bus or study hotel
It's great and I love it :) That's all for now... next update will be on the Akron series. (We beat them 5-0 tonight in Game 1)
<3>
Technically we have 7 rookies on our team this year. They include Margo Pruis, Megan MacAllister, Sharonda McDonald, Loren Anguiano, Meagan Hennessy, Kristina Thorson, and myself. But since Thor and Henney have pages in the media guide, like the rest of the veterans, we (the rookies) don't consider them part of our group. Rookie car is what we usually refer to ourselves as because the five of us pile into Lo's truck whenever we go somewhere as a team. It's a tight squeeze in her little truck, but with the windows down we can all fit our football-player shoulders in the back seat. Lo is our driver, since its her car, but the rest of the seats are fair game and can only be called when the car is in sight. The front seat is referred to as the suicide seat because you're at the highest risk when Lo decides to pull out her crazy driver card using excuses like, I have poor depth perception. Then there's window seats and of course the middle seat, or bitch. Whoever ends up in the bitch seat gets pointed and laughed at by the rest of rookie car and I'm thinking we should implement some sort of song or something that she would have to sing.
(I originally wrote this a few weeks ago, and since then we have implemented the song rule. On the way home from practice on Tuesday, Margo sang Happy Birthday to us. The rule stands that you can sing whatever song you like, but if you can 't pick one you have to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.)
Livin in The Bigs
Henney couldn't have put it any better when she said, in college all i wanted to do was play softball and hang out and now I can. So basically I've been waiting my whole life to do this. Let me tell you, playing pro is all I've dreamed of and more. Since I've been here I've realized a lot of differences in pro and college softball, most of them positive. But it wasn't until yesterday that I discovered this is my calling. We had cookies in the dugout. Yes, you read that correctly, COOKIES IN THE DUGOUT! Holy hell, what more could I ask for?! What a perfect combination; playing the game that I love while eating the best food ever made. Clearly this is the coolest perk I've discovered so far about playing pro, but there are many others.
When traveling:
1. I can wear sandals
2. I can wear a hat or a visor
3. I can wear any shirt I want to and i don't have to tuck it in
4. When we stop to eat I can bring my cell phone in and I don't have to hide it under the table to text
5. There are no bed checks or team meetings
6. I can sleep in as long as I like
7. We can eat and drink whatever we want, whenever we want
8. Theres no study bus or study hotel
It's great and I love it :) That's all for now... next update will be on the Akron series. (We beat them 5-0 tonight in Game 1)
<3>
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Riptide x2, Brakettes, Glory, and more Riptide
Riptide Series @ New England - June 27- June 30
L L L W
After we got home from that series things got pretty interesting. Both of our head coaches, John Byrne and Ashley Moore left the team, leaving us with one coach, Jennifer Teague. Byrne wanted to spend more time with his family and Moore got a job offer that required her to leave us early. Teague became our head coach and hired Robin Santiago as an assistant, and Geoff Deen who was our BP catcher, became an assistant coach as well.
Visitor
Margo and I drove to Philly to pick Katie up from the airport on June 2nd. On our drive back from the airport a semi decided to swerve into my lane as I was passing him, so I slammed on the brakes and our car skidded on the wall a bit, and then we went back into our lane. Other than nearly having a heart attack, no one got hurt. We looked at the car when we got back too and there wasn't even a scratch! Crazy. Katie stayed for a week, til the 10th, so she was here for the second Riptide series. I think she had fun, but we really didn't do much other than go to practice and the games followed by late night dinners at Bennigans. Its hard not having a car here, and for some reason we didn't do anything as a team either.
Riptide Series @ Home - July 4- July 7
W W W L
For the past few weeks we've been competing with New England for a chance at the playoffs. Its only appropriate that we play them 16 times, haha. They won the first series, beating us 3/4 times, but we fought right back winning the second one 3/4 games as well.
Brakettes Series @ Home - July 10 - July 13
W W L W
We handed the Brakettes their first loss of the season, as well as their second and third, winning the series 3-1. The Brakettes are not an NPF team, although they were last year, but our series against them still counts for our record.
Beach Party
On the weekend after the Brakettes series, one of our owners threw a beach party for us. We left Cedar Crest in three cars, heading towards Ocean City, NJ where their house was. About 20 minutes after we left, Ashley said to me, I feel like the car is shaking, and just as I answered, yeah, one of her back tires blew out and we began fish-tailing across the Interstate. A few seconds later we landed facing backwards in the grass on the side of the road. We missed a ditch and guardrail by about 100ft and the rest of our caravan stopped right behind us. Everyone was fine, and once a tow truck came we transfered all of our stuff as well as ourselves into the other cars and headed on to Ocean City.
The beach party was ridiculous. The house Bud and Judy lived in literally backed up to the beach, and get this - its just their summer house. They had tons of food and drinks to snack on when we got there, and dinner was catered. The house was gorgeous; every room had an ocean view and their closet was bigger than our dorm rooms! We told em we would come back anytime they wanted some company, haha. They could easily house our entire team.
Glory Series @ Fairfax - July 18 - 21
L L L L
Yeah, we lost all four games of the series and it was ugly.
My parents arrived at the last game of the Glory series and they have been here since then. Margo and I stayed with them last weekend when the team headed back to Allentown. We did sightseeing in DC, went to a Nationals game, the Harley Davidson factory tour, Intercourse, PA to see the Amish, and then headed back home. A hometown friend of mine, Erin Clancy, is living in DC right now so she gave us a personal tour of the Vietnam War memorial, the Washington monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. Ive been to DC once before but it was really cool to see everything again. My favorite was seeing the Washington monument at sunset, it was beautiful!
Riptide Series @ New England July 25-July 28
Right now we are playing our third series against them and we are up 2-1. Tonight is the final game and its vital to both teams to stay in contention for the playoffs. Im sitting in our hotel lobby and its just about time to leave for the game, so I gotta go.
Sorry it took me so long to update!
- Stacy Birk #10+1
L L L W
After we got home from that series things got pretty interesting. Both of our head coaches, John Byrne and Ashley Moore left the team, leaving us with one coach, Jennifer Teague. Byrne wanted to spend more time with his family and Moore got a job offer that required her to leave us early. Teague became our head coach and hired Robin Santiago as an assistant, and Geoff Deen who was our BP catcher, became an assistant coach as well.
Visitor
Margo and I drove to Philly to pick Katie up from the airport on June 2nd. On our drive back from the airport a semi decided to swerve into my lane as I was passing him, so I slammed on the brakes and our car skidded on the wall a bit, and then we went back into our lane. Other than nearly having a heart attack, no one got hurt. We looked at the car when we got back too and there wasn't even a scratch! Crazy. Katie stayed for a week, til the 10th, so she was here for the second Riptide series. I think she had fun, but we really didn't do much other than go to practice and the games followed by late night dinners at Bennigans. Its hard not having a car here, and for some reason we didn't do anything as a team either.
Riptide Series @ Home - July 4- July 7
W W W L
For the past few weeks we've been competing with New England for a chance at the playoffs. Its only appropriate that we play them 16 times, haha. They won the first series, beating us 3/4 times, but we fought right back winning the second one 3/4 games as well.
Brakettes Series @ Home - July 10 - July 13
W W L W
We handed the Brakettes their first loss of the season, as well as their second and third, winning the series 3-1. The Brakettes are not an NPF team, although they were last year, but our series against them still counts for our record.
Beach Party
On the weekend after the Brakettes series, one of our owners threw a beach party for us. We left Cedar Crest in three cars, heading towards Ocean City, NJ where their house was. About 20 minutes after we left, Ashley said to me, I feel like the car is shaking, and just as I answered, yeah, one of her back tires blew out and we began fish-tailing across the Interstate. A few seconds later we landed facing backwards in the grass on the side of the road. We missed a ditch and guardrail by about 100ft and the rest of our caravan stopped right behind us. Everyone was fine, and once a tow truck came we transfered all of our stuff as well as ourselves into the other cars and headed on to Ocean City.
The beach party was ridiculous. The house Bud and Judy lived in literally backed up to the beach, and get this - its just their summer house. They had tons of food and drinks to snack on when we got there, and dinner was catered. The house was gorgeous; every room had an ocean view and their closet was bigger than our dorm rooms! We told em we would come back anytime they wanted some company, haha. They could easily house our entire team.
Glory Series @ Fairfax - July 18 - 21
L L L L
Yeah, we lost all four games of the series and it was ugly.
My parents arrived at the last game of the Glory series and they have been here since then. Margo and I stayed with them last weekend when the team headed back to Allentown. We did sightseeing in DC, went to a Nationals game, the Harley Davidson factory tour, Intercourse, PA to see the Amish, and then headed back home. A hometown friend of mine, Erin Clancy, is living in DC right now so she gave us a personal tour of the Vietnam War memorial, the Washington monument, and the Lincoln Memorial. Ive been to DC once before but it was really cool to see everything again. My favorite was seeing the Washington monument at sunset, it was beautiful!
Riptide Series @ New England July 25-July 28
Right now we are playing our third series against them and we are up 2-1. Tonight is the final game and its vital to both teams to stay in contention for the playoffs. Im sitting in our hotel lobby and its just about time to leave for the game, so I gotta go.
Sorry it took me so long to update!
- Stacy Birk #10+1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
