Rabid Raccoon Still Lives to Spread Love of Wiffleball

As I've mentioned earlier I have a theory that the reason there are so many leagues in New York is due to a lone rabid raccoon biting otherwise bored potential wifflers. But rabies isn't the only thing this creature is spreading, he also has a fondness for wiffleball - a trait he shares with his victims. So if you're in NY and you see a wandering rabid raccoon LET HIM BITE YOU, you'll take your league to new heights! Anyway this is the latest footage of said rabid raccoon. Be advises, he is still at large! Still don't believe that this little guy isn't spreading the love in New York?
Here's a list of leagues that have recently started up in NY:
Kingston Wiffleball League (2008)
Palisades WBL (2008)
Ontario County Wiffleball Association (2008)
Hudson Valley Wiffle Ball League (2010)
Oyster Bay Wiffle Ball League (2010)
Liverpool Wiffleball League (2008)
Parson's Summer Wiffleball League (2010)
NRWBL (2010?)

Oyster Bay Wiffle Ball League Draft Announced

Yesterday the Oyster Bay Wiffle Ball League announced that the 2011 draft would take place at 7 pm. They used the website www.random.org to mix up the teams for them, I'm guessing to prevent any bias. While that may work for them I don't think that's a trend that should catch on because the real goal of a draft is to keep the teams almost equally competitive. Using a tool like that website really leaves too much to chance. There are odds that perhaps teams could still end up stacked because the tool only knows names it's drawing out of a hat, not the talent behind the name. But we'll see how it works out for Oyster Bay in 2011 using this tool. They still have only 4 teams, which is cool. It's amazing they're so stable for only having 8 players! Here are the draft results:

White Sox -- Nick Carbone & Chris Sodocha
A's -- Robert Venegas & Tyler Paci
Cardinals -- Austin Seaman & Austin Paci
Astros -- Ian Bozsnyak & Kevin Rubio

Hermann's Shameless Quest For Funds...Continued.

A couple of years ago KWL Commissioner Brian Meyers got a tattoo of a wiffleball on his left arm, little did he know it'd cost him dearly. NWLA Columnist Josh Williamson recently reported the forced amputation of the arm with the aforementioned tattoo due to copyright law - leaving him with one arm. But as if that wasn't enough Wicked Cow Entertainment has decided to make some money off of this new found wiffle-memorabilia. Williamson reported yesterday that the arm has been sighted on ebay with bid offers nearing $20. Just sick.

PLACE YOUR BIDS NOW!

Wiffle In SouthEast Michigan...Pleased To Meet You

Wiffle in SE Michigan finally get on board with videos and release a modest-sized preview of what's to come. It's their first season and they're already one of the easiest leagues to follow in the country. They update their site constantly, always something new to look at. My only complaint is that the video is too short. I want to see more!

Meyers Loses Arm to Michael Herman for Having Wiffle Tattoo

NWLA Columnist Josh Williamson has posted a new article about the latest scandal involving Michael Hermann of Wicked Cow Entertainment (Wiffle Inc.'s henchmen). The article, One Armed Meyers, tells us that on a way to a pub Meyers was cornered 3 shady gentlemen who used chloroform to abduct him. Not long after he woke up in Kalamazoo General minus one arm. Why did this happen? Meyers has a tattoo of a Wiffle Ball on his left arm. When Michael Hermann found out about this he demanded that Meyers sign an agreement for the trademark usage but Meyers refused. Meyers is still confident that he'll be able to pitch well this season because it's not his throwing arm. Hitting, however, could prove difficult as well as hugging family members...you know how everyone hates one-armed hugs.

Poll update -- Palisades WBL and Kalamazoo Wiffleball League are running a close race. Who's going to win?

Extreme Wiffleball!

I spend a lot of time scouring the web (Youtube, in particular) looking for fresh new footage and information for you guys. What can I say? I care. Anyway...occasionally I'll stumble upon a rare honor and this time I'm literally the first one to watch this particular video. Having said that, I'm pretty sure I'll be one of the only people to watch this video. It's from a vlogger (that's a video blog for all you non-tech savvy people out there) named tiffinaynay and wow it's pretty terrible. I almost forgot how weird girls (and their taste in friends) were when I was a teenager. I like how she says that $2.25 is a little expensive for a plastic bat. Hilarious! So naive - everyone knows that petroleum (an ever-costly commodity) is used in making plastic...well almost everyone I guess. There's some pretty funny quotes to walk away from with this video and for that it might just be worth your time. It's only 2 minutes of your life. Come on and roll the dice. Live a little.

Meyers Petitions On Behalf of PWBL Blue Jays

Brian Meyers writes another great article. This time he asks why the Palisades WBL Blue Jays were not listed as a candidate as a 2010 legacy team. He makes a short and sweet argument in favor of the Blue Jays being listed as a legacy team. Time will tell if his argument will be heard and his petition successful.

"Hey guys this is the Wuffle bat trick."

Is this a source of a cheap laugh? Shamefully yes. There is really no meaningful value to this video. I don't know if they're a league. I don't know if that girl had something against him. More importantly I don't know if that guys nads ever dropped back down after they were reabsorbed by his body at that moment. So I'll league you just as confused as I was when I saw this video.

KWL's Brian Meyers with his Wiffle Bat Review!

This could be the new bestest Wiffle Bat review ever ever ever ever ever [echo].

The best review ever on the Wiffle Ball bat? How about the only review...

Of the dozens of reasons I find this recent upload hilarious I only feel like discussing two of them:

1) The description of this video of Youtube is: "Very awsome and deep review of the all american wiffle ball bat (:" Really? I didn't know 'awesome' was that hard to spell but it's probably not on his vocabulary list to learn by this Friday just yet so I'll cut him some slack. Saying that the first 'a' in American needs to be capitalized is just asking too much at that age. Today's education system is too busy cramming geometry down kids throats these days to discuss proper nouns. These poor bastards may know how to make pie charts when they grow up but they won't be able to communicate with anyone worth a damn. The lack of clarity in his mumbling only annoys me more but his awkward head movement makes up for it...and who can forget those weird eyes becoming wide all of a sudden over and over again. It's like watching a human version of that creepy lemur on Youtube.

2) How exactly can a 2 minute video be a "aw[e]some and deep review"? He says "This is the most awesomest review you've ever heard...in your whole life." I guess up to this point I'd have to say it's the best Wiffle Ball bat review I've ever heard but I've never heard of or seen any other reviews on the official yellow bat. So congratulations kid, I guess you do have the best review on the Wiffle Ball bat...for now.

2011 St. Patty's Day Predictions Finally Posted

Yesterday afternoon the 2011 St. Patty's Day Predictions were finally announced on the NWLA website. There is a lot of variety for possible winners for each league, making it an interesting read. I must admit that I made a mistake with my predictions pertaining to the Kalamazoo Wiffleball League. I initially predicted Industrials over Friars, but my crystal ball failed to see that they are in competing divisions in the American League...stupid mystic device! Hopefully that will be corrected within the foreseeable future, Industirals over Belly Itchers.

If your still looking for some recent reading material stick around on the NWLA's web-page and read an article posted just a few days ago. It's from an anonymous writer about the latest controversy with Wiffle Ball, trademarks, Michael Hermann from Wicked Cow Entertainment, and his/her thoughts on this whole thing. It's a little rough to read due to all the asterisk symbols (ex.: w***** instead of wiffle) but still worth the read. Also Stats Stenson posted a new fantasy tournament bracket featuring teams with great records over the past 4 or 5 years. Not sure how it'll work out yet but it looks promising.

Thanks for such great participation on the poll; there's been nearly 90 votes. Votes have really slowed down lately and there's still 9 days left to vote if you haven't. Since voting has slowed down so dramatically the poll may be ended prematurely and a new poll posted shortly. Any poll question suggestions?

Recent Wiffleball In The News.

Time Magazine recently did an article on the All-Time 100 Greatest Toys. And the Wiffle Ball made the list, can you believe it? Nice to see that the game is getting the credit it deserves among the millions of toys invented. On a more mature not - Wired magazine had a recent article on Jenn Rossmann (a mechanical engineer from Lafayette College) attempting to explain why the wiffleball moves the way it does. Her and her students have built a "wiffle-ology lab" and have searched for the answers pertaining to the movement of the Wiffle Ball. Both articles are good reads and worth your time.

Kids make local news breaking an old record

Some kids break the world record of most consecutive hours of playing wiffleball. These kids had a previous record of 36 hours, I think, but someone broke it. I don't know all the specifics to this story but it's still pretty cool. It may sound like a dream to play wiffleball for 2 days straight without stopping but I have a feeling that it could take the love for the game out of some people. These kids must really like playing. The score at the end of the long continuous game they played was pretty astronomical and they raised a few thousand dollars for the American Cancer Society. The video isn't on Youtube and as a result I cannot embed it or link it in such a way to be viewed on this blog. You can go to the news site that the video is featured on to view the video.

The Acronym of the Day is.....NRWBL

So what do I know about this league? Not a thing. They're like an enigma. No website. No nothing. Just 4 videos on Youtube. Knowing that I can tell you that those 4 videos were posted a few months apart which means one of two things: they rarely play or they rarely upload videos. Either way I cannot find a website for them and don't know if they're serious. They don't appear to be a running league yet I see no clear boundaries for fair/foul or singles, doubles, or triples. The one cool thing about where they play is that it has a high roof, the upper deck feature doesn't hurt either. A big turn off for a lot of indoor places to play ball is that the roof isn't tall enough, these guys could play year-round in a facility like this. I want to know more about this league so consider this a call-out. NRWBL, REVEAL YOURSELF!

The ugly side of Wiffleball

If you haven't noticed there is the possibility that a battle between Wiffle Inc. and wiffleball leagues across the country could occur in the near future. Wiffle's copyright protector, Wicked Cow Entertainment, has been extremely vicious towards leagues and tournaments for the past year or so. On message left on Big League Wiffleball's answering machine has been heard by hundreds of wifflers across the country. Big League Wiffleball has several charity tournaments for great causes, you'd think Wiffle would be grateful for that --- think again. I could rant on but see what the league's think on the NWLA Messageboard. Feel free to join the conversation.

GSWL - NY Region showing off their indoor training facility

These guys have been recently playing in their "combine" and although I don't really dig Golden Stick Wiffleball it looks like a pretty nice (yet basic) set up they have there. This particular region also looks to be made up of a lot of young guys, which is odd because most Golden Stick related players I've seen are approaching middle age. Maybe these guys aren't as conceited or arrogant?... Yeah, I think I pulled something when I said that from restraining laughter. Who knows? I know nothing about this region so you never know but if the stereotype holds true - they're probably douche-bags.

Ever Wonder What Elvis Would Look Like Playing Wiffleball?

Well you're in luck because this video shows you just that. You can tell it's really not Elvis though because the "king" wouldn't be caught dead using a taped up foam bat...except for the later days when he was fat and sick, he may have been weak enough to consider such a device. But Elvis in his prime, as portrayed in this video, would have used the official yellow bat. I mean - c'mon...a taped up foam bat? Get real! That's even lame by fag bat standards.

TLW is moving on...for real!

 

Ever since the news of their commissioner stepping down last week everyone's been a little bit skeptical about Tampa League Wiffleball's future. I figure most assume the future can't be anything but bleak and see this is a real set-back for a league that was just now on the rise like a tree before maturation. It appears that TLW doesn't share that opinion and if they are going down they won't be surrendering without a fight. It's apparent that the league's old website was engineered by their former commissioner, Christopher Rotolo. Perhaps knowing their limits (a wise virtue to have) they realized that they may not be as tech savvy as Rotolo and decided to take a simpler route for the moment. The league's new site is a lot simpler and right now isn't much to look at but it's a start - a nicer start than most league sites have. The new site has potential and the league looks to be far from done with their season, they're about half way done with their season (30 games being the goal for this year). I'd like to wish TLW luck with the remainder of their season and hope that they can keep it together and come back even stronger next year.

St. Patty's Day Predictions continued

I had a difficult time making my predictions to submit to the National Wiffleball League Association. Don't get me wrong - some leagues were a easy to predict what would happen, small leagues mostly. But there are leagues out there that have always been hard to predict because the competition is so fierce. Leagues like KWL, HRL: Twin Cities, & ORWBL exhibit these traits. Furthermore these leagues are so large that a dark horse could be in the midst and none of us even know it. There could be some major surprises in store for the fans of these leagues. Another thing that made predicting difficult is that some leagues have completely reformed, contracted, or expanded. Some leagues have redrafted and jumbled up the teams while other leagues have switched team names, done trading or ditched certain teams altogether. Last year was not nearly as difficult to make the predictions but the NWLA has nearly doubled in size since then. For some leagues this is their premier season and hype alone is the only thing to guide the columnists with their predictions. However, in the end these predictions are for amusement and little else...although they may have a profound influence on the early rankings. The only thing left to do now is wait for the other columnists to make their predictions and hopefully they are posted on the NWLA site soon, which may be after St. Patrick's Day.

Kalamazoo is really running away with the poll aren't they? CCWA isn't looking too bad either; they've nearly caught up to Palisades! There hasn't been a single vote for Palisades WBL in over a week! I want to take this opportunity to thank 2 leagues for either saying kind things about this blog or promoting it. Both of these leagues have done this without me asking them to do so, which means a lot. First, KWL made this blog their top headline and also took the opportunity to plug them being on our poll (2 birds with one stone - nice). Next, the Old Republic Whiffle Ball league added us to the bottom of their home page as a link. Thanks a lot and keep coming back for more news, the flow of which is expected to increase as season openers are just around the corner! By the way, Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone.

NWLA Announces 2011 St. Patty's Day Predictions COMING SOON!

The National Wiffleball League Association has announced that in the next week or so columnists will be analyzing league websites and making their predictions on which teams will take the crown for each league. Things that influence these rankings are win-loss records, statistics, last year's rankings, performances against certain teams, and playoff performance. While some leagues are easy to predict other leagues keep the columnists on their toes this time of year. Leagues like the KWL morph so much that any team could win in all so the tireless task these columnists face is enormous. BUT if your league's website isn't updated - meaning you've not at least caught us up to speed on what will happen in 2011 or the site still looks the same as it did back in September you risk not being included in the St. Patty's Day Predictions (check out last year's predictions). Don't have time to completely revamp your site? It's all good. My suggestion would be to give a relatively detailed summary on what the deal is going to be for 2011. Let us know which teams are coming back, etc.

On a side note, CHECK OUT THOSE POLL RESULTS! WOW!? What happened? Voter participation has literally doubled and KWL has taken a huge lead over Palisades WBL on the poll...CCWA has also picked up a couple votes. Keep the voter participation up, only 2 more weeks left to vote. Winner gets a post on here explaining why they just might be the best in the country. That post will be a lot better and thorough if you e-mail us your thoughts on why the league you voted for is the best in the country at wifflersdigest@gmail.com

PSWL Welcomed into NWLA

The Parson's Summer Wiffleball League was recently welcomed into the National Wiffleball League Association. The NWLA's newest league is located in New York. Where else would we expect a league to be from? New York seems to dominate the wiffleball world these days. 8 out of the 19 leagues in the NWLA East Region are from New York. This leads one to assume that New Yorkers have gone rabid for the game. It's almost as if a raccoon with rabies and a fondness for wiffleball is traveling throughout the state and biting ordinary people. The result: a sharp increase in the amount of wiffleball leagues in the region....oh yeah, and rabies. Personally, I don't see how this connection has not been made earlier. It's so obvious!

South's brightest league hits rough patch.

Breaking news --- Tampa League Wiffleball's commissioner, Christopher Rotolo, has recently stepped down. This is a huge blow for TLW. But that's not the end of the story...they refuse to give up. A few of the other players have stepped up to fill the void and have played more games! Such a rapid recovery is unheard of. The names of those few players is not yet known, nor are Rotolo's reasons for stepping down as commissioner. What we do know is that the league plans on finishing it's 20-game schedule and having the playoffs. Also the Yankees have disbanded which drops TLW down to 4 teams. Also the league plans to get a new website. Surely there's more to this story as attempts to make contact with Rotolo are made.

High Stakes Wiffleball

I watched this video about 3 years ago and thought it was hilarious and have since been looking for it. It's called "High Stakes Wiffleball" yet the title of the video for Youtube isn't called that. Of the dozens of documentary style and wierd, off-beat short films on wiffleball this is one of the funniest. I'm not sure if it's poking fun at serious wifflers who spend a lot of money [cough] golden stick [cough] or if it's just some random premise that has no inspiration. But who knows maybe there's a real person that's a lot like Tex Hoolihan. What wiffleball really needs right now is a film about Tim Stewart.

Golden Stick - Pennsylvania Region is ready. Are you?

Ready or not - here they come! Regardless of your feelings about Golden Stick Wiffleball (GSWL/GSTC) they will be returning. And by "they" I mean the entire behemoth that is Golden Stick. It's borderline impossible to get a full handle on these guys due to the vastness of their organization. They're a group that expands across the entire country, with 8 regions from Massachusetts to California. I've been a harsh critic of them from time to time but it's hard to criticize their determination. They play ball and they mean business. I have no problem with that. What I do have a problem with is how seriously they take their business. At some point people need to ask themselves: This is just a game, right? At least they are somewhat honest with themselves. The little caption under 'Golden Stick Wifffleball League' at the header of their site says "A Backyard Game Taken Way Too Far." Way too far indeed. But I've got to say they're organized, professional, and well-skilled - admirable qualities. And as out-of-place as those qualities may be they do stand out from many other wiffleball organizations. Whether that's a good thing or not is entirely up to you.

Among the recent updates Hess Field Wiffleball has been blessing us with is their Ultimate Wiffler challenge. Sound familiar? Perhaps not. You wouldn't find it familiar at all unless you play in or are a fan of Golden Stick. Golden Stick has had a challenge with the exact name for about a year or so now. Ordinarily it would probably not be anything to worry about and seen as just a happy coincidence. But you can never tell for sure with these things with a serious organization like GSWL. They may have the name patented or copyrighted. Golden Stick was quick to respond to this recent update on the NWLA message board. "...way to be original. NOT." Check it out for yourself. If you're not registered on the board though you won't have any luck. So register and say your piece or just read. It's easily the best board in wiffle these days so you won't regret registering for it. But the argument could get nasty as it has before when involving Golden Stick. It's often the case that it ends up being Golden Stick vs. the rest of the wiffleball world...and I think they might prefer it that way.

Don't Call It A Comeback...

You'd better be ready to see the youngest league in the country return this summer. MLW - Schultz Field is anxiously awaiting for the weather to improve so they can get the 2011 season started. I know what you're thinking. "Dude, these kids are like 8 years old...and they only have 2 teams." Yeah, you're right -- but what's your point? They are all related in some way, siblings and cousins, which is kind of eh... But they play really well. They actually have a strike-zone. I know, I know...it's a playskool drawing board or something but at least it's something (most leagues that start out don't even have a zone). These kids aren't even tall enough to ride roller coasters yet so they can't use regulation sized zones. I'm giving them points for trying. They wanted to expand to 4 teams this year but it's not looking like that's going to happen. Despite all of the aforementioned information about them they're still incredible. They make some great plays (watch their Top 10 Plays Video if you don't believe me) and at that age they should be good. You witness the zenith of childhood hand-eye coordination when you watch their videos. Say what you want about these kids but I think they'll only get better in time. Who knows what they'll be doing when their voices start cracking? Hopefully expanding.

PSWL Counting Down For Sophomore Season

The Parson's Summer Wiffleball League will soon be embarking on their second season. While they do not have a real website they do have a Youtube Channel that was consistently updated throughout the 2010 season, this year looks to be more of the same. The videos are pretty simple but they've got some nice plays so it evens out. The most noticeable thing that needs to happen with them is getting a website. Nothing fancy - leaguelineup.com could suffice. That's really the only thing to hold against this league...there's no way to find out stats, names, or anything. It's a very impersonal league and a website would be a quick fix for this issue. A simple website can be put up in a snap which makes one wonder how much better they'd be if they put as much energy into a website as they have into videos. Keep your eyes on this league because they could become more well-rounded if they play their cards right in 2011.

PA Wiffleball Take 2

PA Wiffleball is gearing up for their 2nd season this summer. Never heard of them? Not surprising. They were briefly mentioned in a NWLA article about prospecting leagues that haven't reached NWLA status as of yet. They have a leaguelineup website which is self explanatory. Rarely updated and scarce on information? You bet! In fact there's no information whatsoever. The only thing known about them is that there are just two teams and they're located in Stevens, PA - that's it. Its such a shame that they don't maintain a website, their videos are fairly entertaining. They remind one of Winston-Salem Wiffleball League (with the scenery) and Caputo Complex Wiffleball (with energy and style) - good company to be mentioned with. No way to tell if they had a full 2010 season. There were only highlights up to week 2 of their season so they may have never played beyond that. But it's good that they're coming back, maybe this time they'll be so kind as to let the rest of us know what the Hell is going on!...
Final thought: they're ranked #7 on Wiffle Reviews...whatever that means.

The GDWL finally shows signs of life.

The Garrett Drive Wiffleball League has finally shown some signs of life for 2011. The Green Bears were seen practicing yesterday evening in this new upload on their Youtube Channel. The oldest league in the South stunned many when they return from a 2 year hiatus this past summer. But do they have the goods to continue to impress. They hope to return with 4 solid teams and will be playing at a new venue. Last season they had issues with one of their fields (it didn't have a fence). But now they've found a new venue with a 12-foot fence. They've already constructed a new and improved strike zone from the year previous. They will also be constructing foul poles to attach to the fence as well as taking more precautions with field measurements as well as a backstop. Although the GDWL will not turn heads with size or a snazzy website but they look to dress the field to impress...if they can get it together for a 2011 season. Although things look good for them in 2011 the future is still uncertain.

KWL Industirals Hit Factory...nice.

This video has surfaced on the new Kalamazoo Wiffleball League Youtube Channel. There are two reasons to be excited about this. That looks like a great place to practice and it hasn't just been the Industirals, Andy Ross has made a pitching appearance there recently. Also the KWL is getting their feet wet in the realm of video. The league has been notorious for plenty of great photographs but you know how the kids are these days...moving pictures are all the rage. Hopefully the KWL will stick with videos for 2011. They're such an interesting and quirky league that the only way to find them more hilarious or fascinating is through video media. Their commissioner recently bought two Flip UltraHD camcorders. So with an investment like that I think it's safe to say that we will most definitely be seeing the KWL moving and in High Definition. It's yet another reason to be excited about wiffleball for the year 2011.