Here we are, settling into my favorite part of the year, summer. The days are getting longer, bad Marlins baseball is on the television every night, and we are nearing the finale of our Spring season in our four leagues. Pembroke Pines is out to a great inaugural season with great competition at an amazing park. Be sure to check it out one of these Tuesdays and maybe enjoy one of our specials at Pembroke Pines Ale House. Miami Lakes is still very competitive as long as the lights can stay on, with La Familia still on schedule for another undefeated season and trophy. Tropical Park is seeking a new champion and it appears to be a three team race right now between black, “yellow” and teal for that lead. Finally down South in Cutler Bay, the standings are wide open halfway through the season. They are also enjoying great specials at Buffalo Wild Wings that you should check out if you make it down there on a Wednesday night.

This week in the polls, there is no surprise at the top but there has been shakeups throughout. Your commissioner, Gio Lorenzo will be inputting his thoughts and promises to provide more than five words unlike that other lazy commissioner. Enjoy!

P.S: We have something really exciting coming up for the summer leagues. Trust me: it will be worth your while.

1. La Familia (40 points; 4 first place votes): The zebra camouflage color team from Miami Lakes is once again out to a great start. Last week was supposed to be a challenging but it turned into two sleepers with dominating shutout wins over Sit on My Base and Balls Deep. A win this week over Win Or Lose, We Still Booze will place them in the driver’s seat for another commissioners trophy and top seed.
2. Dye Pitch (36 points): Forced out of retirement, the team in Pembroke Pines led by Garsha, Gus, and Lorely are off to a 4-0 start with perfection on the mind. They disposed of their top challengers two weeks ago and now are in the driver’s seat as the only undefeated team in Pembroke Pines. This week they will face Blue Balls who may have something to say about who is the best in Pines.
3. Yellow Team (29 points): Jose may have said it perfectly last week: a team that has had a lot of bounces fall in their direction even though they are trying to figure out who they really are. Do not fall behind against this team as you may not have time to catch up. Two weeks ago, they took advantage of a shorthanded black team, and last week a rain soaked field and perfectly placed balls helped them out. I sound bitter, but I am not. They are currently at 5-0 hoping to complete a 9-0 season in Tropical Park, subs be damned.
4. Free Balling (26 points; 1 first place vote): 5-1 and ready to continue rolling after the wake-up call they received last Thursday. Blame it on what they want, but expect Free Balling to be ready to pick up some more Ws, even though Jose is really excited about that revenge game in the upcoming weeks. Before they get there, they have an intriguing matchup with All My Pitches to finish off the first round of games.
5. Win or Lose, You Still Booze: (26 points): The one team that is hard to put your finger on in Miami Lakes. They are 5-1 with their lone blemish against Sit on My Base in Week 1 under some weird circumstances. They are a good squad with great girls, a few showboating guys and a centerfielder who is having the yips these days. This week is truly the defining game. Upset La Familia, and everyone will be able to take you seriously. Another loss and Win Or Lose will simply be another team who may simply be pretenders.
6. Sit on My Base (24 points): What happened?? It was your moment in the sun to make it happen. Go out there, compete against La Familia and maybe show everyone that you are the team that will contend. 7 runs later and that dream was dashed very quick. A very lackluster performance by Sit on my Base. They did turn it around later that day and slaughter Rene’s Team but I expected more. A fun matchup with Ballbarians awaits this week to impress us all again.
7. Back to Black (21 points): The 2nd team from Pembroke Pines on this poll. They are off to a 3-1 start as the Gutierrez clan is playing well up north. A tough loss to Dye Pitch is their only blemish up north, but I believe they are a contender up in Broward and should be watched closely as we inch closer to the playoffs.
8. Black is Back (15 points): The black team down in Tropical who I truly feel is the best team checks in at number 8. If not for two tight one run losses, Black would be undefeated with a crazy high run differential. They have run through every team in Tropical except for their two main competitors. Revenge is in the air, however, and they will be seeking it in two weeks against Free Balling.
9. Opa Locka Goonz: (15 points): shhhhh…. who had Opa Locka Goonz at 5-1? Their only blemish was a 2-1 loss to Sit on My Base, I believe? They shouldn’t be surprising anyone anymore as this is a damn good squad who has a great record for the second consecutive season. Watch out for them in the playoffs, as they can do some damage.
10. Yo Momma Can’t Pitch (8 points): Rudy and Jason believe that this team has now become the favorites to win down south in Cutler Bay, and, at 3-1… why not? I’ll take their word on it as being the only Cutler Bay team to make it on our weekly commissioners poll.

Rated too low? Not at all. Send us your thoughts at fun@koalakickball.com. Tell Rene that you want to see more than 5 words written about you!

Others receiving votes:

Blue Balls (6), The Other Guys (6), Jager Bombers (5), Pata Sucias (5), Yellow Fever (4), The Red Team (3), Ballseros (2), Saved by the Balls (2), Balls Deep (1), All My Pitches (1)

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 Pembroke Pines, Miami Lakes, Tropical Park, and Cutler Bay 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. If there’s a tie for points, then the team with the most number of Commissioners voting it higher than the team they tied will receive the higher position. Remember that this poll does not affect standings or playoff seeding in any way; it’s only for fun!