Tuesday Pickleball - June 28, 2011

Fourteen players showed up on this hot, sunny day and there was plenty of action. Enough to keep the courts smoldering for over 3 hours. Peter, Mike, Steve, Johnny, Carol, Jan, Lynne, Ralph, Sharon, Anne, Gary, Gary A, Claude and yon editor (no longer retired).

OFFICIAL NEWS: Steve has kindly volunteered to take on the Session scheduling and to be the keeper of the p'ball equipment. Gary A is going to coordinate our participation in the pickleball tournament at the Olympiad Games to be held on August 26 at Lake Lure. Competition will take place in one day. Events will include, mixed doubles and men's/women's doubles. Some UPG teams have already been formed. Make a committment now. Otherwise, Gary A will be nagging you relentlessly. Note: We are even trying to get Lynn and Ken (UPG founders) to come north from sunny Florida to compete in the event. I will continue taking care of the BLOG if I can find the time -between my International Correspondence School anger management sessions and bongo classes.

Above Top L-R: Claude and Cupcake/Claude; Below L-R: Dutchess nearing takeoff/Lash and Spidy in the foreground.

Above: Stevie Wonder and Dutchess demonstrating the right-leg shuffle quickstep - an Upstate Pickleball Group staple. Below: Lash and Spidy serving to Stevie Wonder and Dutchess.

Check your email about important events and polish up your paddle, 'cause we'll be at it again on Friday (weather permitting, of course).

Spike

Friday Pickleball - June 24, 2011

Fifteen players: Mike, Claude, Lynne, Lorraine, Peter, Peter P, Steve, Gary, Gary A Ralph, Bob H, Johnny, Carol, Anne and Ron.

As of today I will no longer schedule, p'ball sessions, do the BLOG or take care of any related communications - including with other p'ball groups. Will deed the balls, tie downs and squeegees to anyone who volunteers to take over the responsibilities.

Spike

Pickleball Session - Friday, June 18, 2011

We had a nice day, 11 players and plenty of action including an outburst from yon editor for which I offer my apologies. So, here we go with the important stuff. Players: Steve, Mike, Gary, Gary A, Jan, Bob H, Bob T, Peter P, Lynne, Sharon and Ron. We battled on for 3 hr 15 min, thought the crowd was somewhat diminished after the 2-1/2 hour mark.

We finished off the day with several 'A' games with well-matched teams and consequently - hard fought games. "Best of three? How about one more?" News: Cupcake bought a new paddle and didn't like it. Gary tried it out then offered her a whopping $4 for it. It's on its way back to the dealer. Gowers courts are now supposed to be ready in July. Ho-hum.  Smoke, of the Lake Lure P'ballers has been in contact with the UPG  Interstate Sorta' Competition Committee. He is interested in bringing down some of the crew for an informal p'ball session. Will keep you advised. See you next Summer. Spike.

Tuesday Pickleball - June 14, 2011

Short on time. Eleven players: Mike, Steve, Bob H, Jan, Johnny, Carol, Gary, Lynne, Peter P, Sharon & Ron. We finally got out of the 90s and the humidity was bearable. Had many fine games as we always do and kept up the action for almost 3 hours. Bob H was on hand once again having been exiled for the last few weeks due to a communications issue - now resolved. Looking at Friday for our next session. Check your email.

Spike

Friday Ball - June 10, 2011

UPG has gone high tech. Here, Gary A uses a leaf blower to dry off one of the few puddles on the court. When the job was finished he parked it near where we place our paddles against the practice wall (see below). Some players who arrived later worked up quite a lather fearing that the device was some kind of a new fangled, mechanical paddle with ball serving capabilities - not unlike a pitching machine. They settled down once they learned its function and we got into some great p'ball action on another hot SC day.

Eleven p,ballers saw action: Mike, Gary, Gary A, Steve, Bob T, Lynne, Jan, Anne, Johnny, Sharon and Ron. Gary A, who brought a nice batch of Toll House cookies - is now one of the several contenders for the Coveted Pickle award. Everyone should keep this in mind.

Even though is was another 90 degree day - the matches were hot and heavy and many good games are in the record books. Oh, almost forgot. The topic of 'yelling' came up after one of our greatest players made an exuberant, encouraging remark to his/her partner. One of his/her opponents claimed it was 'yelling' and therefore a distraction. There was considerable debate on the issue and it was finally decided by the UPG Rules Enforcement Committee - that just happened to be on site - that the sound was not a 'yell' because it did not exceed 85db for 30 seconds. The player (one of the greatest of all times) was exonerated, and was allowed to roam freely for the rest of the session: the complainant was relegated to ball shagging duties for the rest of the session.

Looking forward to more action (and, off-court excitement). How's June 14th sound? No need to respond.

Spiker

D-Day plus 1 - Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Above: Near the end of the session, this is the only shady spot on the court.

Another hot day. Thirteen players arrived on the scene and when the session was

over - 3 hours and 15 minutes later - 4 were still standing. But, just barely. Players: Steve, Mike, Carol, Johnny, Lynne, Jan, Ralph, Gary, Gary A, Joanie (getting back into the groove), Bob T, Sharon and Ron.

We rotated on the courts and everyone one played with everyone, or - someone played against someone - can't remember which, though. Above: Bob T shows off his fancy footwork. Below: Jan in action.

Below: Hoot and Gary.

There were some exceptional matches - at least one went into 'overtime' the final score: 14-12. Glad to have Joanie back. She brought along her Granddaughter and sidekick Prema who was kind enough to shag balls for us. Looks like the hot spell will be with us for a while. We'll have to tough it out. Check your email early and often for UPG session announcements. Thumb Tack

Fry-day P'ball - June 3, 2011

Well, it turned out not to be hot enough to warrant the "Fry-day" moniker - but, the editorial staff is sticking with it because that term was used to advertise the event. Ten players made an appearance for the session: The 4 above - Ralph (Ricky Ricardo) and Sharon (Cupcake) hitting to Jan and Gary A (Rambo). Plus: Mike, Steve, Anne, Peter P, Johnny and yon editor. We kept the courts busy for 2-1/2 hours and had a bunch of hard-fought matches and scads of fun, too.

Above: Top L-R: Peter P and Rambo. Bottom L-R: Hoot and Stevie Wonder. 

Above: Top L-R: Ricky/Dutchess and Peter P/Spidy. Bottom L-R: Ricky/Dutchess and Jan/Rambo.

As the troops drifted off, four of us migrated to one court and got in 3 tight matches that included nice long rallies and some serious net play. We were pretty much spent by the end of the triple header. Teams: Stevie Wonder and Rambo vs Spidy and Spike. While we played, Cupcake and Dutchess sat on the sideline in the only patch of shade left on the court and had a very pleasant gab session. A nice day all around.

Special note: Thanks to Gary A for bringing a packet of first aid supplies that we hope we'll never need.

See you next week. Hammered