Intramural Sports

Steve Buonfiglio Columnist

Dan Zabar ‘06 got a black eye. He caught a softball, fell into a bush. Lots of folks told me about how it was a swell catch. Mostly, Zabar told me about it. He told me when I got to the field. He told me when I was on the way to my car. Later, he told me in the gym and finally once more in the Retreat. Willie Mays made a great catch in 1954—most famous catch in baseball history, at least until now. Anyway, kudos to Zabar. Curses on the damnable bush that broke his fall though.

Regardless, Zabar’s Big Tom and the Chrysanthemums won three times on Sunday to sneak into the comp play-offs. The top seed is Sausage Party, though not by much, as at 5-3, they narrowly bested three 4-4 squads. Besides Zabar’s infamous catch, there were other memorable moments out there. Take the Volleyball Team avenging a 19-1 drubbing at the hands of the forenamed Sausage Party.

Kyle “Wayward” Giunta ’08 started the game off by discarding his keys from his pocket, only too much so as his discardment ended up with his keys dangling from a lofty tree limb. It may have been some sort of voodoo magic ritual though, because after that, the world turned bizarre—even for Vassar, as Volleyball won 13-10. Elsewhere, Initech won a classic over Big Tom, 16-15 – and you think Joe Torre’s got pitching worries. Pete “Diamond Dog” Diamanti ’05 knocked in the game winner to go along with a homerun. This was after Will “Up Hill” Keiffer ’07 completed a valiant comeback for Big Tom et al with an RBI single. Chris “Golden Platter” Been ’05 and James “Bomb’s Away” Beaty ’05 also homered for the victors. Victor did very little, now that we mention him. Kyle “Deer In The Headlights” Dickmann ’06 earned our Knucklehead of the Week Award. Versus Initech, Dickmann was on second, as Big Tom had the bases loaded and none out. Danny “Vacuum” Fahey ’06 scooped up a grounder to short. All the runners took off, except Dickmann, who decided to flaunt tradition, common sense, and the rules of softball. Dickmann stood there; I can only think that for some reason, he thought he had the power of invisibility – a force I used to have myself, but it mainly occured at high school dances and I never was able to control it and use it for good.

But I digress. Dickmann was not invisible, though he did do a fine, tall tree imitation. Anyway, Fahey tagged him out and stepped on second. It was almost a triple play, in which case Dickmann would have been given a shirt on the spot. Lastly, the wettest game of the week saw KC Laser ride a huge first inning to a 13-4 win over Sausage Party. Eric “The Umbrella” Hersey ’07 led the way for the winners and Matt “Will There’s a Way” Williams ’06 earned the Charlie Brown Award for being the last person on the field and wanting to continue play, despite the downpour. Then Zabar came over and told us about his catch.

5v5 basketball is heading towards the homestretch. There are two undefeated teams remaining. In comp, Lithuanian Blues rules the roost. Professor Kiese “Lay-up” Laymon and Owen “Big O” Henkel ’05 have won games like the USA used to in the Olympics. Only Mount Saint Helens is more likely to erupt, as the Blues have won by an average of 30+ points. In rec, the Hairy Ball Handlers have done likewise. The game of the week, however, involved neither. It featured a 38-37 comp nail bitter, as the Volleyball Team, lead by Steve “Gotta Believe” Gilhool ’05, rocked The Shockers.

Soccer was near washed out on Saturday, but come Sunday, Miss Murphy’s Spleen highlighted the day by bursting the hopes of Team Gay Sex (1-0) behind Chuck “It Ain’t Luck” Bolduc ’05. Before Saturday’s deluge, Kevin You’re Such a Disease infected the Missing Links, 2-1. Kevin was led by Ryan “On Your” Marks ’08 .

Volleyball is play-off ready. In rec land, the Winning Team is the favorite to take the shirts over Da Miak, Team Balls and the Magnificent Seven. Brendan “Wham, Bam” Zhang ’07 is on the edge of a dream. In comp world, look for Big Tom and the Chrysanthemums to take it home, but Poughkeepsie Town Athletic may be able to upset that plan if Taddy Fick can turn trick. The suspense is killing me—put that on my tombstone, died IM suspense.