Once upon a time, in the faraway country of Pasadena, it came to pass that the season of C League Softball came, and there was planned a tournament between the Bruisers and the Equis. The weather wizards predicted a warm, yet nice, day, and the field was to be covered in grass (and a lot of dirt) for the battle. There was the promise of visitations by emmisaries from other parts of the world, and a special feast was to be provided in their honor.

However, the wicked king of the Equis declared "There shall be no Equis at that game, for no good reason which I will reveal to you". This annoyed the beloved Leader of the Bruisers who proclaimed "That evil king shall have no control over my team, for we are warriors with a winning season to support. Let us practice, and make ready for the Dawgs in our next battle".

So the call went out far and wide in all the Bruiser kingdom, and on the appointed day and time, on the shady battlefield, Bruisers appeared, one by one, to prepare. Lo and behold (and to the Bruiser leader's utter amazement), Bruiser knights and ladies came from far and wide, even Bruisers who had previously exiled themselves, TWENTY in all.

"This is crazy!" she exclaimed, "Sometimes I can hardly get half this many people to a real game, and here they all are for a practice!" There was Randy, Fabian, Lyna, KarenC, KarenT, Pat, BobT, Ron, EricG, BobbyJoe, Juan, Ann, Nancy, EricB, BobG, Jes, Ann's visiting Uncle Marty and Nick, and even the long-lost Brad and ScottM. The wicked king of the Equis even made a momentary appearance, for reasons unexplained, perhaps to ensure that none of his players had come to the field against his orders?

At times the battlefield was a bit cluttered with Bruisers, but everyone got a chance to hit and field, honing their skills with all kind of acrobatics, and even trying out fielding positions they didn't normally play. Upon completion of the exercises, all the Bruisers gathered around the blanket to partake in Uncle Marty's birthday pies. After that, KarenC, Nancy, EricB, ScottM, Juan, Ron, BobG, KarenT, and Jes gathered for more food and drink at Round Table, where they were joined by ScottE and Trina to observe the battle between the Dodgers and Reds. It was a good day.

The End.

Our next battle (er, game) is next Tuesday, August 2, against the Dawgs (the PIO team) on field H9 (fountain) where we will be the home team. I only know we'll be missing Andrew. Everyone else please be sure to let me know if you're coming or not.

We should be getting the schedule for the last four games of the season soon.

Have a great week!

Karen :)