It's very odd for this to happen so late in the season, but we have a game this week between two undefeated teams. The Fam will take on Saints at 6:00 on Court 2. They are two of three teams still undefeated (with JAK being the other). It's going to be fun.
This is the penultimate (next-to-last) week of the regular season. We'll have some more regular-season games next week and then head into the playoffs in April.
We had four forfeits on Sunday. That, my friends, is a stunning number. We usually go several weeks in a row (or even a couple months) without having a total of four forfeits. It's unacceptable. As I have mentioned (too many times), forfeits suck. One team shows up, ready to play, and goes home disappointed. We have to pay the refs, the scorekeepers, the insurance, and the court rental fee for that game and then we have to give the team that showed up another game. That's why the League either loses money or struggles to break even.
What really bothers me is the lame excuses I got for these particular forfeits. Sometimes, they're understandable. Once, a few years ago, four guys on one team were carpooling together to their game and they got T-boned by a drunk driver (at 9:00 in the morning!). They were banged up a little, but otherwise okay. But, this past Sunday...lame. One team has a captain who paid for the entire team to be in the League, but can't get five guys to show up at one time. Since they didn't pay, they feel no responsibility. Another team had a family birthday party to attend. Semi-lame.
But then, the other two teams... As it turns out, there was a B.S. youth club tournament elsewhere in town. And when I use "B.S." and "club" in the same sentence, I'm being redundant. As you may know, I hate all club sports. I hate every club in every sport at every age level. They're scams, money grabs, and purveyors of false dreams. And those are the nice things I can say about them. I was told that the "tournament" at Tucson High was charging $18 admission. That's criminal. Anyway, guys on the other two forfeiting teams missed their games because they were "coaching" in the "tournament" at Tucson High. EXTRA LAME.
People ask me why I hate club sports so much. It's because I have seen club sports ruin young people's lives and tear families apart, all the while using a giant vacuum cleaner to suck money out of parents' wallets. And please don't tell me that your club team does things the right way because there is no right way. There is no proper rationale for 10-year-olds to be part of a "travel team." That's adult ego running wild. Let kids play.
I've got more, but I'll stop there.
The playoffs begin soon and run through the end of April. Remember, we have no games on Easter Sunday, the 20th. Good luck to all.
