Newest articles on The Sacramento Press written by Nick Berruezo

Moves Like Jäger Top Off Undefeated Season with Title

2012-05-08T19:44:13Z

Moves like Jäger won its 10 match sweeping the semis & finals while earning the Xoso Sport & Social League 2012 Spring Championship for Setter Volleyball!

Moves like Jäger ended their season in noteable fashion as undefeated champions. Throughout the season, this team of very experienced veterans only gave up 2 games but never allowed a team to come close to taking an entire match.

On this championship night, Moves like Jäger came out much like most Monday nights - with confidence and composure. In the SemiFinal game they were matched up against Ball So Hard whom they had played the previous week in regular season play and won in a 2-1 match. Last night's game wasn't as close as Moves took an early lead in both games and didn't look back. Ball So Hard made some impressive runs to cut their lead but never could quite make it back to take the game. Signs of frustration from Ball So Hard made it easier for Moves to keep plugging without any sign of weakness.

The final match came down to two undefeated teams, Dig that Sh!t also came out of an impressive undefeated season winning 9 matches (8-0 regular season, 1-1 playoffs) and only giving up 4 games all Spring. A team of younger but very talented players thought this was their night. Dig that Sh!t fought hard through the semi finals to prove why they belonged in the final and why they were undefeated. But it wasn't until they came face to face with Moves and their impeccable teamwork that they saw their season come to an end.

Moves like Jäger came out strong, earning a commanding leading in game 1 of 15-4. Dig that Sh!t attempted to slow them down with a much needed time out but as expected Moves came out stronger and even more motivated. After some more rallying and a few points earned by Dig that Sh!t, Moves like Jäger finished game 1 without allowing their opponent too close. Game 2 started more competitively and signs of Dig that Sh!t fighting back peeped through but Moves like Jäger sealed the deal after getting some impressive help from some very consistent and strategically placed serves.

Congratulations to Moves like Jäger and the rest of the 2012 Spring Setter Volleyball participants for a very fun and successful season.

Disclosure: Written by a Xoso representative and published by Nick, the founder of Xoso.

Reunion Tour comes back and wins the Indoor Kickball Championship

2011-12-06T16:07:41Z

In the Xoso Sport & Social League final Indoor Kickball season of the year, and a championship game that featured the regular season's top two teams, #2 Reunion Tour pulled away from #1 Turn Your Head and Cough to win the 2011 Late Fall Indoor Kickball title 18-9.

Playoff night (last night) kicked off with the play-in matchup of #4 Balls to the Wall versus #5 The A-Team. Balls to the Wall (4-4) built a 19-6 lead after four innings but The A-Team (3-5) rallied with three runs in the fifth and eight more in the sixth before coming up short 19-17.

#4 Balls to the Wall advanced to the first semifinal where they faced #1 Turn Your Head and Cough (6-2). After holding Balls to the Wall scoreless for the first three innings, Turn Your Head and Cough steadily built a 16-1 lead going into the bottom of the sixth. Balls to the Wall was able to put six runs on the board before being shut down for a final score of 16-7.

The other playoff semifinal pitted #2 Reunion Tour (6-2) against #3 Gryffindor (5-3). Reunion Tour jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning before running away with the game 18-4 to set up a title showdown with #1 Turn Your Head and Cough.

This season's final presented an opportunity for Turn Your Head and Cough to avenge their only two losses of the season, both at the hands of Reunion Tour, 10-9 and 21-12. With excellent defense played by both sides and a scoreless tie after two innings, the game seemed headed for a low scoring finish. The Reunion Tour offense woke up with four runs in the third inning and tacked on eight more in the fourth with the help of "double damage" to lead 12-5 after four innings. Reunion Tour pushed the score to 18-6 in the top half of the sixth inning before putting away Turn Your Head and Cough by the final score of 18-9.

Cheers to the 2011 Late Fall Champions, Reunion Tour, and to all the teams for a great season! Many of the teams will now be moving over to coed dodgeball or volleyball during the winter months, so we'll see who comes out on top next time...

Disclosure: Nick is the founder of Xoso.

Gym, Tan, Dodgeball win first title, and Team AP completes first 3-peat!

2011-11-05T00:00:32Z

Last night featured 150 local young professionals, competing for the right to claim Xoso Dodgeball Champion on their athletic resumes. Another 100 playoff hopefuls had already had their dreams of dodgeball glory fade into the distance. The Xoso Sport & Social League offers two divisions on Thursday evenings, separating veteran "A" league teams from newer "B" league teams.

On the B League side of the gym last night, Gym Tan Dodgeball proved that it doesn't always matter where you're seeded.

The Fall Season of Xoso dodgeball wrapped up last night with an epic night of playoffs and championship matchups. Coming into the night Drinkin' Team (6-2) and Titsburg Feelers (6-2) arrived with the top 2 seeds, while Gym Tan Dodgeball (5-3) and Hookers and Bacon (4-4) had earned the lowest seeds - 5th and 6th respectively.

In the opening round the first matchup contained little drama as Sexual Chocolate and Gym Tan Dodgeball(GTD) were set to square off in a battle of 4-seed vs 5-seed. Sexual Chocolate unfortunately didn't have the minimum number of players and so GTD was awarded a victory by forfeit and advanced to the semifinal round. The other quarterfinal matchup was a different story as the 3-seed, Ball Thugs & Harmony, went to battle against the 6-seed Hookers & Bacon. It was a close fight the entire game as the game progressed: 1-1, 2-1, and finally 3-1 with Hookers & Bacon finally able to distance themselves from Ball Thugs. Ball Thugs were not done however, as they whittled their competition down in the next game. This 5th and deciding game determined the match as time ran out on Ball Thugs, even though they had more players left as time expired, this additional point brought them a 3-2 loss and allowed Hookers & Bacon to complete the upset and move on to face Titsburg Feelers in the semifinals.

The Titsburg Feelers took advantage of their 1st round bye and used their rested arms to welcome Hookers & Bacon to the semifinal round. Hookers & Bacon put up a tough fight by winning 3 games, however the #2 seed proved to be too much and won convincingly 6-3. With their victory Titsburg earned a spot in the Championship game versus the winner of #5-seed Gym Tan and #1-seed Drinking Team. In this other semifinal match the top-seeded Drinking Team had a strong advantage as they battled GTD late into the match with a 3-2 lead, and time winding down at approximately the 4 minute mark. Gym Tan would not give up. GTD successfully tied the match up at 3-3 with just over 2 minutes remaining. With little time on the clock these two teams battled in one final game to determine who would move onto the Championship match. In an exciting and heated contest Gym Tan gutted it out and was able to secure a win in the final game for a 4-3 match victory.

The intensity and stakes only got higher as the Championship Match featured Gym Tan Dodgeball squaring off against the second-seeded Titsburg Feelers. The games in this final match were long and extremely hard-fought as each side knew what was at stake. They battled toe-to-toe for four exhausting matches and in the end were tied at 2-2, due to the Titsburg Feelers having more players on the court as time expired and Gym Tan missing a half-court basket as the whistle blew. The Championship was settled with one final sudden death game. The score was finally settled when the team that seemed to have the most fight in them, Gym Tan Dodgeball, was able to oust the final Titsburg Feeler and claim Xoso Dodgeball Championship status. Gym Tan was able to knock off the #1 AND #2 seeds to truly prove that, in the playoffs, it's anyones game.

Congrats to Gym Tan Dodgeball on their first championship!

On the "A" league side, Team AP survived to win their 3rd straight A League title.

In one of the most tightly contested dodgeball playoffs in recent memory, Team AP was able to secure their 3rd consecutive Thursday dodgeball crown. Usually seeded 1st or 2nd, AP (6-2) finished the regular season in 3rd place and faced the unusual challenge of not having a 1st round playoff bye and instead having to win three matches to clinch the championship. In round 1, AP struggled early against 6th seeded Bat S*** Crazy (2-1-5) before pulling away late to win 5-2. The other round 1 matchup saw 4th seed (o)(o) (4-4) knock off 5th seed Dirty Smurfs (4-4) also by the score of 5-2 to advance.

In the evening's first semifinal, top-seeded and undefeated D3: The Mighty Drunks (8-0) battled (o)(o) in a closer than anticipated match but emerged a 4-2 winner. Semifinal #2 was a tense affair that saw Team AP jump out to a 3-1 lead on a 2nd seeded Kendall's Bridesmaids (7-1) before Kendall's Bridemaids closed the gap to 3-2 and then evened the match at 3-3 by winning a 3-on-3 sudden death round after regulation time had expired. The squads then faced off in an untimed, winner-take-all 8-on-8 game won by AP to set up a championship showdown with longtime rivals D3.

This season's title match between AP and D3 marked the 4th time these rivals have squared off in the playoffs over the last few seasons. A determined D3 played hard to end AP's post-season dominance but was unable to slow down AP as they established a 4-1 lead in the first 20 minutes of the match. Energized by their earlier round scares, AP was in classic form for the championship round marked by their athleticism and unmatched throwing ability. D3 clawed back late to narrow the lead to 4-2 but ran out of time as AP closed out the match 5-2 and celebrated the first three-peat in Xoso history.

Congrats to Team AP!

Disclosure: Nick is the founder of Xoso.

"Chocolate Salty Balls" Come Out of Nowhere to Win Recess Championship

2011-10-31T18:39:08Z

In a surprising turn of events, Chocolate Salty Balls emerged as Xoso Sport & Social League's Fall 2011 Recess League champions with a tense 2-1 volleyball victory over previously undefeated Green Dogs and Spam. CSB entered week 8 of the regular season in 4th place but was able to leapfrog over UR FIRED and Drexel Dragons into 2nd place by winning their final week matchup while the other playoff contenders lost.

For the two team playoff, CSB (3-3-2) chose to square off against #1 seed Green Dogs and Spam (8-0) in volleyball as opposed to the other Recess sports (Indoor Kickball and Dodgeball). Despite volleyball being CSB's strength and Green Dogs' weakness, it was Green Dogs that seized game one 21-17. On the verge of elimination, CSB came out strong in game two, winning handily 21-9, and set the stage for winner take all game three. CSB rode their game two momentum to a 15-10 lead and seemed in complete control before Green Dogs rallied to narrow the score to 16-14. Their efforts fell short, however, as CSB was able to rely on great serving to win points late to clinch the championship with a 21-17 game three win.

Disclosure: Written by a member of Xoso Sport & Social League

The Honey Badgers win Xoso's First Softball Championship!

2011-10-28T18:38:07Z

On Sunday, Xoso Sport & Social League concluded the inaugural season of Xoso Coed Softball.

As we've all heard when it comes to the playoffs... anything can happen. On Sunday, "anything" did.

The #1 seeded "We Got The Runs" had rolled through the regular season schedule, ending with an undefeated 8-0 record. In game one, they matched up against the #4 seeded, "Foul Balls and Dirty Bunts" who came in with a 3-5 record. FBaDB were playing shorthanded, but managed to hang in there against a full #1 team. "We Got the Runs" put up the maximum number of runs in the first inning, and lead 9-2 after one. FBaDB managed to get within five runs at the end of the second inning, and battled back to close to within six at games end.

In the other semi-final matchup, #2 "Just the Tip" (6-1-1) faced off against #3 "Honey Badgers" (5-3). The Honey Badgers put up two runs in the first, another four in both the 2nd and 3rd, and added two more in the fourth, to take a 12-4 lead into the final two inning. "Just the Tip" tried to rally back, but ended up falling, 12-6.

The Honey Badgers picked up where they left off in the championship game, putting up seven runs in the first inning. "We Got the Runs" rallied back, and trailed 14-8 after four innings but they just couldn't make up for the first inning outburst. The Honey Badgers came away with the first Xoso Softball Championship with a final score of 14-11.

Disclosure: Nick Berruezo is the founder of Xoso Sport & Social League

Chuggernauts win Xoso's Dodgeball Championship!

2011-03-29T00:13:26Z

Sacramento, CA - Last Thursday was the Xoso Sport & Social League's largest playoff race yet, with two leagues (A/B) and 12 teams total gunning for the title. The matches didn't disappoint!

In the dodgeball "B" League, the 4th seeded Chuggernauts faced 5th seed "Ball Thugs & Harmony" in the first round. Not expecting to go deep into the playoffs, it seems even they were surprised to pull out the win, 5-4. The other first round game was between the 3rd seeded Caltronics team and the 6th seeded "Try Catching Our Balls". Again, this game was a nail biter, and Caltronics won, 5-4.

In the 2nd round of games, Chuggernauts faced an even bigger test, the #1 seed, "Ball & Oates", who rolled through the regular season to a 7-1 record. In the playoffs, they were no match for the mighty Chuggernauts! Chuggernauts won, 6-2. Caltronics ran up against the #2 seed, "Off in the Shower", and unfortunately for them, they did not beat "Off in the Shower". They lost 8-2.

The "B" League championship was set, with the Chuggernauts taking on "Off in the Shower". Could Chuggernaut Tracy Fox win her first championship on her birthday? Would they be able to overcome their seed, and shake the ache out of their arms? Yes! They beat "Off in the Shower" 7-2 to win their first ever dodgeball title!

[img_assist|nid=7935|title=D3, "A" League Dodgeball Champs: Winter 2011|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=300|height=225]In the "A" dodgeball league, there were another six teams vying for a championship. "Team America", the #4 seed and perennial title contender, had to face "Hit Harder, Drink Harder" in the first round, and came away with the win, 6-3. The #3 seed, Hammer Time, matched up with the #6 team, "Shocker and Awe" who played most of the match shorthanded. "Shocker and Awe" put up a great fight, and it came down to the wire, with "Hammer Time" pulling it out for an 8-6 win.

The 2nd round proved to be an epic battle between "Team America" and "Team AP". These two teams are actually led by captains who live together. Can you imagine the bragging rights on the line? The #1 seeded "Team AP", also defending champions, had steamrolled through the regular season to an undefeated record and you'd be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't have picked their team to win it all again. This time, they didn't even make the title match; they lost to "Team America in a close one, 4-3.

"D3:The Mighty Drunks" also faced a tough matchup against long time dodgeballers, "Hammer Time". In the end, they prevailed 3-2 to face off with "Team America".

In the final match, each game went back and forth. The 2nd game of the match featured an Ollie Shot from both teams, changing the tide and bringing in teammates who had been knocked out. The match was tied 2-2 as they headed into the final game. D3 appeared to be in control, and had 7 players on the court against the final player for Team America. Team America couldn't get an Ollie Shot to fall, and D3 wound up winning the game for a 3-2 win, securing the "A" League dodgeball championship.

Kicks and Giggles win the Xoso Sport & Social League Winter Indoor Kickball league!

2011-03-14T23:43:22Z

After finishing the regular season at 7-1, "Kicks and Giggles" were one of the favorites to win it all this season in Xoso's Winter Indoor Kickball league. They figured to have to match up against "Just the Tip", the other 7-1 team whom they had beaten by only three runs during the regular season. They didn't get the chance for an epic showdown.

In the first round, they faced off against the #4 seeded "I'd Hit That". The first inning was the double damage inning, where every run counts for 2. IHT scored once in the top of the inning, and then quickly got two outs in the bottom half. Needing one more out to hold KnG scoreless in the important double damage inning, they watched KnG rally for 7 runs, to take a 14-2 lead. That proved to be the difference for most of the game. IHt got as close as 17-10 before falling to KnG 22-12.

In the second semi-final game, "Just the Tip" squared off with "thebomb.com". In the regular season, "Just the Tip" won both matchups, by 6 runs in the first game, and by 9 runs in the second. This time, "thebomb.com" had their number. It was 5-2 in favor of thebomb.com after three innings, but then they opened it up in the double damage inning, taking a 17-7 lead and going on to win 20-6.

The championship matchup gave KnG a chance to redeem themselves for their only regular season loss, against thebomb.com. This game proved to be a defensive battle for the two high scoring teams. After scoring three runs in the first inning, KnG lead 3-0. Then both teams added two runs in the 2nd inning. After the 3rd inning it was 8-3, and it was still 8-3 heading into the final inning before KnG added four more runs. Final score: 12-3 in favor of Kicks and Giggles.

Congratulations to Kicks and Giggles on their championship season!

Team AP finally makes and wins the Sacramento Dodgeball Championship!

2010-10-21T19:08:47Z

After a fun filled Xoso season, six teams took the court last night to put it all on the line, trying to win it all.

Team AP came in with the top record (6-1-1) and earned a first round playoff "bye", along with D3: The Mighty Drunks (6-2).

The Bitchcakes had a rematch from the week before against "$". In last week's match, Askia sank shot after shot and kept "$" in the game until the end when the Bitchcakes prevailed 4-3. This time, the Bitchcakes went after him early and often, removing him from the game before he had a chance to sink the Ollie shot and release his team from the out queue. Bitchcakes won it, 6-3.

In the other early round matchup, Rice Crackers vs. Out Like a Fat Kid, the Rice Crackers avenged their regular season loss by winning 3-1.

In the semi-finals, the Bitchcakes went up against D3:The Mighty Drunks. Mario Perez was often the last man on the court, as he was in the first round. He sank yet another shot but it wasn't enough to bring the Bitchcakes the win, and D3 won 4-1.

The Rice Crackers and Team AP had a contentious round 2, in a slow paced game that went into the final game with the score tied 2-2. Team AP clinched the final game and their first spot in the finals.

In the championship match, D3 was looking to redeem themselves for their loss at Team AP's hands (5-3 in the 2nd week). Team AP came in fired up, and time again got D3 down to one player, usually Matt Decker. Decker is usually a good guy to have as the last player, and has made more than a couple Ollie shots. Team AP had a strategy (named Jeremy) for anyone shooting Ollie shots. Every shot Decker and D3 took, Jeremy soared along the baseline and above the rim to tip, block, and then catch the shot and therefore end the game.

Even still, D3 hung in there and, inspired by the San Francisco Giants rallying to beat the Phillies in the bottom of the 9th inning (a cheer from the players and spectators went up when it was announced), they rallied from down 4-3 to win the final game and force an extra game to decide the season.

Sure enough, in the extra game, it came down to Decker's Ollie shot. Unfortunately for him and D3, Jeremy of Team AP had enough left in the tank to jump and catch one last shot and clinch the Wednesday night dodgeball championship for Team AP!

Congratulations Team AP, D3, and the rest of the Wednesday night crew for a great, fun season!

We Kick Balls get monkey off their back!

2010-10-19T17:47:32Z

Apparently, the 4th time is the real charm. We Kick Balls, has a record 25-5-2 over the past four seasons of Xoso Indoor Kickball, and has finished 2nd or first in the regular season in each of those seasons. They had failed to win the championship until knocking the monkey off their back last night!

This season they ended with a 7-1 record and faced off against the #4 Trailer Park Kids in the first game of the playoffs. They took an early three run lead in the first inning and extended it to a 7-0 lead in the 2nd. In the 4th inning, TPK rallied and closed within 8-3 and it looked like the momentum was turning. Unfortunately for the Trailer Park Kids, We Kick Balls bounced back with two runs in the double damage inning and cruised on to a 13-5 win.

In a rematch of last season's championship game, Kickin' it Old Skool matched up with the #2 Rippin' and Tearin' (formerly Kicks n Giggles). This game was a nail biter and pitching duel all the way through. Rippin' and Tearin' scored a run in the first inning and Kickin' it Old Skool answered in the bottom of the 2nd inning to tie it at one apiece. In the double damage third inning, they added two more runs to increase their lead to 5-1, but Rippin' and Tearin' added one run in the 4th and three more in the 5th to tie the game at 5-5 going into the final inning. To avoid extra innings, They added one more in the top of the 6th to take a 6-5 lead and put the pressure on Kickin' it Old Skool who did not want to blow a 5-1 lead and lose the game. Luckily for them, they ended the game with a walk off kick and won 7-6.

In the championship between the #1 We Kick Balls and the #3 Kickin' it Old Skool, the #1 seed proved why they were #1. They took a 7-0 lead heading into the 3rd inning before Kickin' It Old Skool got on the board with 6 runs. Then We Kick Balls added more in the bottom of the third, more in the double damage 4th inning, and three more in the bottom of the 5th to take a 20-6 lead into the last inning. Kickin' it Old Skool got a couple runners on base and scored one run before We Kick Balls got the third and final out to seal their first Xoso Indoor Kickball championship.

Congratulations to We Kick Balls, Kickin' It Old Skool, and the rest of the great teams and players who made this another successful Xoso kickball season in Sacramento!

Notorious D.I.G. and Fong Nation are Xoso Volleyball Champions!

2010-10-19T17:44:06Z

Last Tuesday night, Fong Nation emerged victorious over the Flaming Balls in the Xoso Sport & Social League Bumper league showdown of the top two teams. It came down to the final week of the season to determine who would match up in the finals, with both the Drunk Sets and Sac Attack failing to advance despite finishing with 5-3 season records.

In the finals, Fong Nation prevailed, avenging their regular season loss to the Flaming Balls. After losing 2-1 in the regular season, they took control of the 2nd game early and went on to win the first two games of the best of 3 match.

In the Spiker League, the #1 seeded Barbie All-Stars matched up against the #4 Birthday Sets. Just two weeks earlier, the Birthday Sets were one point away from securing a game 3 victory to win the match with a score of 20-14. The Barbie All-Stars had a furious rally to win the next 8 points and snatch the match by winning the game 22-20. Unfortunately for them, the Birthday Sets were ready and easily defeated the Barbie All-Stars this time in two games.

The other first round game was between the #2 Tuchy Kara n Mi Kasa vs #3 Notorious D.I.G. Tuchy Kara's only regular season loss was against Notorious D.I.G. and they had every reason to think (after a 7-1 season) that they could prevail this time around and advance to the championship. Notorious D.I.G. had other plans, and knocked off the #2 team in two games to meet the Birthday Sets in the championship.

The Birthday Sets won game one, but Notorious D.I.G evened the score with a game two victory, forcing the deciding game three of the match. Despite many back and forth rallies and furious kills by Kenton Naulu of the Birthday Sets, Notorious D.I.G. won the final game and won the Spiker league Fall 2010 Volleyball Championship.

Congratulations to Notorious D.I.G. and Fong Nation on their championships, and to all the other players for making this another fantastic Xoso volleyball season!

The Kick Backs win it!

2010-03-24T15:59:07Z

On Monday night, the XOSO Sport & Social League winter indoor kickball season came to an end with a hard fought playoff tournament.

In the first game of the night, Roundhouse Kick to the Balls defeated Red Ball & Vodka, who were selected (by virtue of their 7th place finish) to move into playoff position when I Love Kelly Kaballski had to drop out of the running.

The 2nd game was a rematch of the regular season, between Just the Tip and the Ballers. In the previous game, Just the Tip came out strong and won easily, but this time the Ballers had their number, and won 11-3 to move on.

Waiting for Roundhouse Kick to the Balls was We Kick Balls. We Kick Balls was missing three star players, but played a great game to win it 18-9 to move on to the Championship Game.

After the Ballers got through with Just the Tip, they had to face off against the #1 team, the Kick Backs. In a game that literally came down to the wire, it went back and forth each inning. The Ballers took a 2-0 lead in the 1st inning, fell behind 3-2 in the 2nd, went up 4-3 in the top of the 3rd, fell behind 8-4 in the bottom of the 3rd, closed the gap to 8-6 in the 4th, tied it at 8-8 in the top of the 6th... and then saw their rally fall short when the Kick Backs sealed the deal in the bottom of the 6th, scoring the run that won the game and sent them to the title game.

The Championship Game between the Kick Backs and We Kick Balls started close and then the Kick Backs pulled away. We Kick Balls, tried to rally, but didn't have enough to overcome the Kick Backs, falling 23-12.

www.xososports.com

The Curse Has Been Lifted!

2010-03-12T20:25:16Z

Last night something happened that no one thought possible. Ok, maybe a couple of people thought there was a chance.

While not as long lasting as the Curse of the Billy Goat or the Curse of the Bambino, the Curse of Giovanni Crotti was starting to cause nightmares.

Giovanni Crotti has been playing adult league dodgeball longer than most in Sacramento, having participated in leagues in Portland, Oregon prior to XOSO's beginning in Sacramento. As XOSO has grown from 50 dodgeballers to hundreds, Giovanni has maintained his hold as one of the top players in the league, yet a championship title remained illusive.

Giovanni was rivaling Jim Kelly with a streak of playing in five championship games, and losing them all, the most recent of which was two days ago in the Wednesday night league. After creating an all-star roster in the Wednesday dodgeball league, many thought it was Gio's team's title for the taking, and the team did it's best to bring Gio his first title, to no avail. Many thought the curse was just too powerful to be overcome.

Little did they know, the curse was to be lifted the very next evening, at the site of many of his previous failures. Last night, Kwiturbichen triumphed multiple times to squeeze into the title game, and WON IT ALL!

This story is not all about Giovanni. There were plenty of amazing matches last night, by every team in the playoffs.

In the first round, The Spread Eagles, who had stormed through the regular season, regularly triumphing by more than a ten game spread, had their hands full with Axis of Awesome. In fact, they beat Axis of Awesome by more than ten games just a few weeks ago. But last night magic was in the air. Axis of Awesome took an early 3-0 lead, only to see The Spread Eagles battle back to tie it as time expired, forcing a final overtime game to decide which team would move on. Even the final game came down to the end, with The Spread Eagles winning.

The other first round matchup between Hot Dogs and Tacos vs. The Ball Gobblers was just as intense, featuring momentum changing swings and a tight finish, with the Hot Dogs and Tacos prevailing.

The semi-finals featured The Spread Eagles vs. OMG Steve Has a Brother. OMG Steve Has a Brother had earned a first round bye, and was well rested. The Spread Eagles were coming off an emotional first round comeback. Who would move on to the title game? The Spread Eagles, by a score of 6-4.

Kwiturbichen, the #1 seed in the tournament, had been waiting for the chance to end Gio's curse, and to send off Josh and Kellee. Josh and Kellee have also been on fantastic teams over the past year, and are moving to Sweden in a week for two long dodgeball free years. The team wanted nothing more than to send them off with a championship in their final game, showing their support with face and body point symbolizing the Swedish flag.

Kwiturbichen took the early lead and went up 3-1, then 4-2. The final game was won by the Hot Dogs and Tacos but it wasn't enough to tie the match and force overtime. Final score: 4-3

The title match featured some great rivalries. Josh and Kellee have played on a team with two of The Spread Eagles in the Wednesday night league for the past year. Which portion of the Out Like a Fat Kid team would win? In the end, there was no doubt. Kwiturbichen won the title 4-1 with dominating catches and performances by the entire team. In the Spread Eagles furious quest to come back, they got Kwiturbichen down to one player, Giovanni, only to see him sink a clutch Ollie Shot, bringing his team back into the game. Not to be phased, the Spread Eagles proceeded to knock 7 of the 8 Kwiturbichen right back off the court, in under 30 seconds, leaving Chris Dalangin to help seal the title for his team. In his first shot, he sank the Ollie, bringing his team back in and in the end, clinching the match.

Congratulations on a great season to Kwiturbichen, the entire Thursday night dodgeball league, all the fantastic playoff teams, Giovanni for breaking the curse, and Josh and Kellee for winning your last dodgeball match before your adventure.

Thanks to everyone playing last night for keeping tempers in check and being great teams to ref. It makes the league a great place to meet other people and have fun!

www.xososports.com

Money Shot wins XOSO's Winter Wednesdays Dodgeball Season

2010-03-11T19:10:17Z

Sacramento, CA - Last night featured some epic showdowns to decide the Winter 2010 Wednesday night dodgeball champion. From the start of the season, Money Shot and DUI almost seemed destined to meet in the championship round. In the end, that's what happened.

The night began with DUI squaring up against More Balls than Brains, one of the best #8 seeds XOSO has had to date. The first few games traded off, with DUI taking a 2-1 edge. Then, with each game coming down to a couple players, DUI found a way to win each one, prevailing 7-1 in the match.

D3: The Mighty Drunks faced off against Beans and Rice, and took a commanding lead before relaxing, saving their arms for the #1 seed, DUI.

Money Shot beat Your Mom with relative ease, 8-3, and Out Like a Fat Kid beat Goodness, Gracious, Great Balls of Fire 7-3. In a heated matchup, Money Shot won the final two games to pull away and crush the dreams Out Like a Fat Kid had of winning their first title.

D3: The Mighty Drunks, who had shocked the dodgeball nation with an upset of Money Shot earlier this season, prepared to knock off the #1 seed in the semi-finals. They kept each game close, before DUI won the last two games, winning the match 4-2 and heading to face the Old Sacramento division's #1 seed, Money Shot in the finals.

All season long, Money Shot and DUI sat atop their divisions, hoping for the chance to prove their mettle against the other. Last night, they got their chance. DUI, facing what some considered a tougher road to the final match, didn't have what it takes to overcome a team bringing the heat and Money Shot won the championship 7-1. Money Shot was reborn this season after winning two titles under different names and with different rosters.

Thanks for a great season everyone, see you in a few weeks!

www.xososports.com

XOSO's Winter 2010 Volleyball Champions!

2010-03-03T19:29:37Z

Last night wrapped up another fun XOSO coed volleyball season! Thanks to everyone who played and made it so successful.

We had two championship match ups last night. In the Bumper division, Serves You Right squared off against Block Party to settle, once and for all, who was the better team. Earlier in the season, Serves You Right won two out of three matches against the second seed Block Party. Last night, Block Party raced to early leads in the first two games but Serves You Right battled back to win them both in thrilling fashion. The second game was as close as you can get with Serves You Right clinching the championship.

In the Spiker division, Spiked Punch was going for a repeat championship, after winning the fall season. This time there was a new challenger, Nets on Fire. After waiting for their final player to arrive, Nets on Fire came out on fire and won the first game. Spiked Punch took care of business in the second game, forcing a deciding game to bring home the gold (or in this case, Chipotle!). Nets on Fire won the serve for the final game, and Spiked Punch chose to switch sides. Nets on Fire took a commanding lead in the final game, and Spiked Punch did it's best to answer but came up short in their defending title bid. Congratulations to Nets on Fire for being the winter 2010 Spiker Champs!

Registration for next season ends Thursday, March 4th!

Pirates vs Ninjas Pub Crawl

2009-09-22T17:25:18Z

Date: Sat, 09/26/2009 - 5:30pm

XOSO's 2nd Pub Crawl is almost here!

We hope to answer the age old debate: Which is better, Pirates or Ninjas? Who would win in a fight?

Instead of just polling XOSO players, we want you to dress up to show your support for your chosen "lifestyle". If you think Pirates are better, cooler, cuter, stronger, or anything else, dress like a pirate. If you think Ninjas take the cake, dress like a Ninja!

We'll find out the answer based on how many dress up for each!

September 26th will be here before you know it!

Players in costume or wearing XOSO shirts will get drink specials at the bars on the route:

R15 at 5:30pm (15th and R St.) - $2 wells, Bud/Bud Light, Coors Light, and PBR
Shady Lady at 6:15pm (14th and R St.) - $3 wells, $6 specialty drinks
Hangar 17 at 7pm (17th and S) - $2 wells, $2 domestics
Bennys Q St. Bar and Grill at 8pm (20th and Q) - $2 wells, domestics, XOSO shots
Old Tavern at 8:45pm (20th and O) - $1.50 PBR/Bud and $3.50 Jager Bombs
MVPs at 9:30pm (17th and Capitol) - $2 domestics, $4 wells, $4 Jack Daniels

In preparation for the upcoming crawl here's a little game to keep you occupied at work.

XOSO's Summer Kickball Champions!

2009-09-22T17:17:47Z

As summer comes to a close, so did Sacramento's XOSO adult kickball season. In the tightest kickball standings XOSO has ever had, four teams had a shot at the championship game on the final day of the season.

In the end, the "Kick Backs" (green), in first place for most of the season, faced "You're My Boy Blue" (blue team) in the championship game. In two previous meetings this season, the two teams each came away with one win and one loss, so this was a much anticipated redemption game.

Despite playing back to back games in the heat, "You're My Boy Blue" came to play and defeated the "Kick Backs" 6-0 to win their bar tab at On the Y and some victory burritos from Chipotle. Congratulations to the champs! Nick Vellanoweth pitched the shutout and went 3/3 and a home run short of the cycle.

In earlier action, the "Kick Backs" defeated the "Red Rum" (red team) in the first game of the day, 19-2

In the 2nd game, "Just the Tip" (tan) backed up their close win earlier in the season, by defeating "Where My Pitches At?" (grey) 11-3. "Where My Pitches At?" were without one of their star players for half the game, but Ho Jang made it for the 2nd half, straight off the plane from Peru.

The third game of the day featured "You're My Boy Blue" vs. "Dutch Rudders" (white team). The Rudders took an early 2-1 lead, but succumbed to the championship talent of the blue team and fell 13-2 to set up the title matchup.

Congrats to everyone on a great season! XOSO's next outdoor kickball season will be in the spring. Check out the other adult coed sports (volleyball, dodgeball, indoor kickball) this winter!