OK, so... I'd like to apologize to everyone who was looking forward to toppleball this spring. There isn't a good reason for the lack of scheduled games. The only excuse I have is that life got really hectic and my situation has changed. I'm not going to be in Pittsburgh this spring; I'm headed to Ann Arbor until camp starts. I didn't think it would be fair to start something up and then leave in the middle of it, but in retrospect I should have contacted everyone and found out what people wanted to do. I will admit that was a lack of thoughtfulness on my part.

Perhaps we can work it out to have a league during next school year... but I may or may not be in Pittsburgh once the summer is over. Everyone's welcome to organize something without me, though. I will be as helpful as possible in that process, if somebody would like to take charge.

Even if things don't get off the ground right away, there's still hope; when everyone gets to college, find a bunch of friends that want to play and get a club organized there. If enough clubs pop up in the next few years, we could make toppleball an intercollegiate competition - that would help increase the game's popularity way more than a high school league in one city. Just some food for thought...

Again, I'm sorry for not being more forthcoming and communicative this spring.

- Alex

Game 1 - 30:00 Shady Side* (0-1-0) 18 Fox Chapel (1-0-0) 32

Game 2 - 30:00 Fox Chapel (1-0-0) 33 Shady Side* (0-1-0) 27

Frick Park, 11.18.06 - Forced to improvise due to field availability (or more accurately, lack thereof), Fox Chapel and Shady Side faced off on the baseball field adjacent to the entrance to Frick Park, instead of the hilltop further in. Shady Side's team was also mostly not available, so stand-ins from Allderdice and Fox Chapel aided the lone Shady Side representative and made sure the games could happen.

Fox Chapel's team, captained by Robin Eng, dominated the first game, capitalizing on errors and miscues by the other team. However, the second game was much closer. Fox Chapel was up 23-2 halfway through the contest, only to see their lead collapse due to their own lapses, and the score stayed within four runs until less than a minute to go. Even with some exceptional defense by Shady Side, Fox Chapel was able to put the game away by extending their lead as the clock wound down under thirty seconds.

With more experience, this Fox Chapel team will likely challenge the other established teams from the start next spring. The depth of the Shady Side team has yet to be established, but they lacked at least two exceptional players today. They may well be a dark horse for the spring.

The next exhibition match is TBA.

Game 1 - 23:54 Allderdice (0-1-0) 8 Central Catholic (1-0-0) 38

Game 2 - 30:00 Allderdice (0-1-0) 15 Central Catholic (1-0-0) 37

Frick Park, 11.4.06 - The first-ever interscholastic match was played today, consisting of a pair of exhibition games between Allderdice and Central Catholic. Weather was a bit brisk but sunny, with temps in the low 40s. Central Catholic won the match, two games to none. While Allderdice was defeated soundly in the first game, they stayed close to Central for all but the final minutes of the second game.

Central Catholic was led by Calvary tournament champion Sam Lewis (IV '06), who was able to arrange practice sessions with his team prior to the exhibition. They also had the advantage of familiarity with toppleball, with at least half of their team having attended Calvary. Their mostly solid defense and powerful hitting set them up as a potential powerhouse when the league gets underway in the spring.

Allderdice was anchored by team captain Kirk Vandergrift, who helped acquaint his rookie teammates with the rules and strategy of the game on the fly. The experience these newcomers gained during their first game led to noticeable improvements during the second game. The team also competed without a few key experienced players, who were unable to attend. What this Allderdice team lacked in experience, they made up for in athleticism and and physical gameplay, and with more playing time under their belts, they are likely to be dangerous.

The next exhibition games will tentatively occur on Saturday, November 18 at 3:00 pm. Possible matchup is Fox Chapel vs. Shady Side.

Teams:

• Teams will consist of a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 10 players.
• Clubs can field more than one team - i.e. if a club has 24 members, they could field three teams of 8.

Games:

• Games will be played for 40 minutes, and will consist of two 20-minute halves (the mercy rule will still be in effect).
• There will be a 3 minute break between halves.
• Each team may take up to two 30-second timeouts during the course of a game.

Substitutions:

• Substitutions may occur during team switches only (changing from fielding to batting and vice versa).
• Substitutions may not disrupt the flow of the game or advantageously lengthen the time for a team switch.
• Teams may substitute a maximum of three players during any given team switch.
• All players and substitutes must play in the game for at least one full rotation (once batting + once fielding = one rotation).

Rankings:

• There will be club and team rankings throughout the season.
• Cumulative win-loss records will determine team rankings during the season.
• The club with the best match record will be declared the club champion for the season.
• Season team rankings (not club rankings) will determine seeding for the championship bracket.
• The championship will be a double-elimination format, and the winning team will be declared the team champion for the season.