Another great week of kickball for both of our winter seasons as the status quo continued dominating up north at Miami Lakes while chaos continued in the “anyone can win” Tropical Park league. This chaos makes ranking the teams outside the top two a tough chore. The top three in the rankings did not change, but there was definitely some movement below it. This week the poll is written by the favorite commissioner of Miami Lakes Giovanni Lorenzo who won’t stat you or cute you to death but may be obsessed with the month of March and its March Madness Tournament.

1. New Kicks on the Block (30 points – 3 first place votes) – The New Kicks on the Block seem unstoppable these days. They already are 6-0 with a crazy run differential. All I will say is I love this team, and, if I could give them two first place votes, I would. They seem like the favorites to not only raise the trophy in Miami Lakes, but also the county championship in April. I will also not give them any bulletin board material for the game that they have probably had circled on their calendar since we first released the schedule in January…  (LW:1 defeated Ballbarians 4-2)
2. Gattaca!!! (27 points) – This team is solid, talented, and one hiccup away against the New Kicks on the Block to be on top of the standings and the poll. I’m sure they will be seeking revenge in the big dance and hope to win it all then. While they wait, they will simply keep on racking up wins and bullying the rest of the Miami Lakes league. (LW:2 defeated Farfromscorin 9-2)  
3. Suck my Kick (22 points) – In sports there is always that team that gets bit by the injury bug and currently that team is Suck My Kick. This team has suffered torn ligaments, fractured vertebrates and wisdom teeth injuries (none of which were suffered while playing kickball) but has still somehow managed to stay on top of the standings in Miami Lakes. It may help that their girls, which form the strength of their team, have stayed intact. They are hoping to have all of their players healthy for March Madness, which starts next week when they get their shot at New Kicks on the Block.  (LW:3 defeated Ball Liquors 4-2)
4. Another Run (21 points) – They lost once and it almost seemed like the world ended at Tropical Park. We are all entitled to a bad game and it seems like they had one when they were shut out by Blue Mountain Kicks. Since then, they have put it back together by winning two in a row and climbing back up to second place in the Tropical Park standings as they seek to run through March and repeat as the Tropical Park champions.  (LW:7 defeated The Misfits 5-0)
5. Purple People Eaters (18 points) – The new faces down in Tropical Park that are full of old faces from Miami Lakes are making noise down south. They have somehow pulled out three one run victories, including a great comeback when they were down 4-0 against the Only Tenn’s They’ll See. They are currently on top of the standings in Tropical Park, but this may be somewhat deceptive considering they only have a +3 run differential. Time will tell in the crazy Tropical Park league who will win it all, but with 3.5 points right now, they are positioning themselves nicely for a high seed in March. (LW:4 defeated The Only Tenn’s They’ll See 5-4)
6. Kickaine Cowboys (14 points) – As a statistics teacher, it is hard not to see their 16-6 win back on Week 1 as an outlier. What is not hard to see is how have also played three one run game where they have fallen on the wrong side of the victory column two of the three times. This team is competitive, which is a far cry from their last place selves just one season ago. Kickaine Cowboys are a force to be reckoned with this season and everyone needs to be prepared for when they draw them on their slate in March.   (LW:11 defeated Pitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe 1-0)
7. Ballbarians (10 points): Oh, Ballbarians, the wild card of Miami Lakes, you bring confusion the rankings every every week. One week, they will play the last place team in the standings to a draw and then the next few weeks give the New Kicks on the Blocks and Gattaca!!! some of their toughest games of this season. You never know what to make of this team that is captained by the happy go lucky Jason Oliver, but for now, they sit firmly at number seven in our polls. I would be a little worried if you draw them in the month of March… just follow their run last season in the playoffs. (LW:6 loss to New Kicks on the Block 4-2)
8. Pitch you Don’t Know Me (7 points) – Speaking of wild cards, Pitch you Don’t Know Me is making noise in Miami Lakes. They are on a winning streak and have risen up to fourth in the Miami Lakes standings. They are proving to the league that they will not be a pushover. A little experience out on the field definitely goes a long way in helping them solidify their contender status, and Valen is directing his team very well. Let’s see if this success will continue into March.  (LW:9 defeated Primetime 4-1)
9. The Only Tenn’s They’ll See (6 points) – One bad loss stings The Only Tenn’s They’ll See. After staking a 4-0 league against the first place team in the Tropical Park standings, they let it all slip away in a five run inning that lead to their demise. Yes, they suffered a tough loss against the Purple People Eaters, but there is still a lot of kickball remaining and with a group of wily veterans and hopefully 11 players every week, it is hard not to say that they have a chance to really step up their games in March. (LW:8 lost to Purple People Eaters 5-4)
10. The Misfits (5 points) – I almost didn’t have to write about a Rene Medina team… After a solid 2-0 start, The Misfits are simply trending in the wrong direction after a 2-1 loss against Purple People Eaters and a 5-0 loss against Another Run in which they only got one base runner on base the entire game. I will say not to fret, though, as this experienced bunch of misfits still have half the season to recover and we all know that they will play their best ball in March. (LW:5 lost to Another Run 5-0)

Other Receiving Votes:

Alcohooligans (4 points) – They have moved from last place to fourth place in just two weeks. This is a very impressive recovery by them.

Quick Reminder on How the Poll Works: Once both leagues have played at least 2 games each, the Commissioners each cast an anonymous ballot for the teams that they think are the top 10 in K.O.A.L.A. Kickball across our Miami Lakes and Tropical Park Leagues. The first ranked team in each ballot gets 10 points, the second ranked team in each ballot gets 9 points, and so forth all the way to the tenth ranked team in each ballot, which gets 1 point. The points that each team gets from each ballot are added up, and then the 10 teams with the highest total number of points are declared the Top 10 in the Commissioner’s Poll. Remember that this poll does not affect standings or playoff seeding in any way; it’s only for fun!