Meet a Mentor - Dayna

Dayna is right on top of the Mounds of Beaver as the fantastic team mentor. She has been a member of Notsos for 1.5 years and has been playing softball for, well, 1.5 years (yes folks, she was a virgin before we got her). But her lack of softball experience never shows, at least not in this league, where she is always willing to jump into any position, play hard, have fun and lead her team with an endless amount of good spirit.


Dayna's already got a couple "claims to fame" by winning a game MVP award with the Tuesdays last year for the biggest and best grunt as well as a "Skirt in the Dirt" award for playing in the legendary "Mud Bowl" (that was last year's playoffs) dressed as a sexy schoolgirl in a short kilt! (picture it peeps, a team full of Notsos dresses as naughty school girls, boys and even a priest rolling around in the mud, it was pretty fun!).

The Cranberries, Zombie would announce Dayna's turn at bat and she also cites "A League of Thier Own" as a favorite sports movie. Obviously this is a league favorite and we really ought to all get together for a movie night in the off-season to watch it again. Girls, Baseball, Lori Petty, Rosie O' and Madonna, what's not to love?

Can't find Dayna? Check the closest computer, if she's not there she is most likely locked in a drunken hug with a Karaoke mic. She is pretty frickin' awesome at Karaoke, so she doesn't need the beer courage to do it, although she enjoys her beer as much as the next person. But if you really want to win her over buy her a "polar bear" shot (which I am quite curious about, so buy me one too!)

Meet a Mentor - Jen E

Jen E is the fantastic (De-)Mentor of Playing the Field (and it only took her fourteen years in the league to finally become one). She has been playing softball since way back when she was a wee little one at about 8 years old (yes, she says, softball was invented back then).


Jen E (yes, the E seems to always be included) loves that this league gives her a great excuse to leave the house on Sunday afternoons to enjoy the sun, the fun and the girlies. She usually opts for Coors light at the bar because she can drink more of them than anything else.

Jen E's Notso career highlight is quite the tragic tale. In all her years of playing, she has hit a homerun only once and because a dog ran on to the field and chomped down on the ball, the ump called interference and the homerun was ruled a "double". My eyes well up with tears just thinking about it and with an upset like that, it is no wonder that Jen E likes sports movies that make you cry, like Rudy and Brian's Song.

Jen E couldn't pick a batter's theme song for herself or rather, she just said "you tell me", so I will... As Jen E saunters up to the plate, the song that I hear playing in my head would have to be "My Humps"!

If you have been looking for Jen E in all the wrong places, she says she can most often be found "below sea level"... good to know.

Meet a Mentor - Nicole

Nicole Moreau is the mentor for Clits in Cleats. This is her second year in Notsos, but she has been playing ball for 8 years. Nicole loves the "spirit of the league". She realized pretty quickly that this league is often more focused on the social aspects (like making friends, having LOTS of fun, post-game drinks), rather than actually about the baseball game being played. And in case you were thinking about buying her a drink, make it a Guiness.

Nicole's Notso career highlight would probably be stealing home in shorts during the playoffs last year. Remember last year, most playoff games were held in the MUD BOWL, so this left her leg in a mixture of blood and mud. Admittedly, she can be a little "hardcore" for Notsos at times, but she likes to play the game and has a lot of fun in that dirt!

Of course, A League of Their Own is one of her favorite sports movies, but she also really likes the Sandlot (if you have not seen this movie, rent it with your team, it's awesome!). Back in the day when Nicole still had boy crushes, she also liked Little Giants. Now she indugles in an updated versions of a boy crush by chillin' with her two men, Louis (of feline descent) and her little nephew.

When asked about her batting theme song, Nicole couldn't think of one, but she did know she would want it to be atypical to throw everyone off. She suggests a meditation sound or a childhood sing-a-long - something way out in left field and yes, that pun was intended!

Meet a Mentor - Ali

Ali Smith is the first class mentor for Sloppi Seconds. This is her second year with the league, but she has been playing ball for 7 years. She is already famous for her constant stream of chatter on the field.


She loves Notsos because it's "SUPER AWESOME to play just for fun in an inclusive and supportive environment... and then go for drinks". And when Ali drinks, she prefers Tankhouse or Steamwhistle by the pint-full and if shots are ordered, she's in (as long as it isn't Sambuca).

When not on the field Ali can be found with her nose in a book, tools in her hands, or a video game on her monitor. When it comes to sports movies, Ali's favorites are: A League of Their Own, Girlfight, and Miracle. If Notsos played in stadiums with awesome sound systems, The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' groovy!) by Simon and Garfunkel would announce Ali up to bat.

Meet a Mentor - Joanna

Joanna is the mentor for Stealing Homo's. This is her fifth year in Notsos and as a kid she played a lot. She also played "Rounders" while living in the U.K. which (I am told) is similar, but with a shorter bat, different rules and no gloves or helmets. So don't let this girly-girl fool you, she is pretty tough and I have yet to see her turn down a challenge.


Joanna celebrates the spirit of this league and how it offers an opporunity for anyone to play. She loves watching people being supportive, encouraging and selfless. It is no surprise that Joanna was the very first recipient of the Cher Horslin Memorial Award which celebrates Notsos members who fully represent the "Spirit of the League". Joanna having known Cher's immense generosity of heart and wisdom, was extremely touched and carries the memory with her.

When asked about her favorite sports movies, Joanna asked, "do dance or horse movies count as sports?". And as for her batting song, she states "a lyrically selective remix of 'Take me or Leave me' from Rent or 'Defying Gravity' from Wicked", I think those answers alone paint a fairly descriptive picture of Joanna. To sum it all up she is highly energetic, animal loving, generously supportive, singing, dancing, acting, cartwheeling notso softball mentor.

Match Up Game #1: A Childish Collective

Match up the current collective members with thier childhood pictures. All guessers with correctly matched answers will be entered into a draw for a notso prize... (put your answers in the comments section and it is way more fun if you don't look at anyone elses answers first). Good Luck!

Meet a Mentor - Riley

Riley is the mentor for Foreplay this season. She started playing ball in little league, played throughout school, played in Notsos for 15 years, also plays with the Batcrackers in TWSL competitive league, loves to watch the Jays, currently coaches a 5-pitch team and sits on the collective as the head umpire for us this year, all evidence that Riley just loves the game.

In addition to her general love of the game, it is the Spirit of the League, that keeps her coming back and giving back to the Notsos each year. Riley is not only a seasoned player, she appreciates teammates personal accomplishments and will never turn down an opportunity to help someone develop thier skills on the field. It is no surpise that upon peeking into her jr, high yearbook almost all her classmates signed it "hope you are on my team next year"!

Riley's favorite sports movie is the adorable underdog tale of the unlikely sport hero "Chicken Little". Ladies and Gentlemen by Saliva would play loudly to announce Riley at bat.

Riley enjoys drinking Coors light and hanging out at the bar after the games and chatting with friends, but don't ask her to play "I never", she really hates that game.

Karaoke at Blue Moon -- SUNDAY!

Karaoke at Blue Moon, Sunday July 12th, Blue Moon Pub

They're opening up early for us at noon, and the karaoke will get underway at between 2:30 and 3pm, whenever you're ready to grab the mic!

The kitchen and bar will also be open at noon to help you fuel up for your showstopping performance.

Blue Moon is located on Queen Street east: http://maps.google.ca/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF-8&q=blue+moon+toronto&fb=1&split=1&gl=ca&cid=10975679147062294937&li=lmd

Call for Performers! A Midsummer's Eve MASQUEERADE!

CALL FOR PERFORMERS
DEADLINE EXTENDED: Midnight, July 12th

The league you love to play ball in wants to see your skills off the field. Do you moonlight as a burlesque star? Have superior air guitar performance skills? Play a mean set of spoons? WE WANT YOU. More specifically, we want you to perform at our mid-season party, July 24th, the 2009 Nostsos MASQUEERADE!

We would like to have at least one submission per team. Sign up as a group, nominate a solo act from your team, whatever is your pleasure. But email us with a short description of your performance before MIDNIGHT on JULY 12TH.

Send submissions to: jennifer.e.crawford@gmail.com AND laurenmash@gmail.com

For more info on the event, visit: http://www.goodhandys.com/pictures/july24-09.jpg
To purchase your tickets, visit: www.notsoamazon.com

Meet a Mentor - Carol

Clits and Cleats mentor Carol has previously played 1.5 years in Notsos. 1.5 because after her first year, we lost to Rugby, but half a season and one injury later, she was back. She has been playing ball for over fifteen years.

Carol's super fast-pitching is infamous within Notsos, but Jackie Ruggerio might agree that what Carol is really famous for is her "onezie". I don't actually know what this "onezie" is all about, but perhaps if we ask her, she will agree to show us?

Carol likes the Notso post-game social get-togethers where she often enjoys a Strongbow or Rum and Coke. Her favorite sports movie is (the popular choice among Notsos) "A League of Thier Own" and Calabria 2006, by Enur is what would be playing over the loudspeaker as she comes up to bat (if this were the Big League, of course).

When not on the field Carol can be found out on her motorcycle. She also enjoys spending time caring for her pets (she has had many over the years) including some unusual ones like a chinchilla, iguana and even an albino snake!

Meet a Mentor - Kathy

Muffs in the Ruff are lucky to have Kathy as a Mentor this year. Although she is a newer member to the league, this being her second year, she has well over 25 years of experience playing ball.

When not on the field you can find Kathy playing hockey or sitting in a pub with great friends drinking an ice cold Corona.

Kathy's Notso career highlight was winning the M.V.C. award last year from her team. The M.V.C. is pretty much and M.V.P award, but the team name was C. U. Next. Tuesday's, so you can piece it together and figure out what the C really stood for.

Kathy's would confidently shimmy up to bat in the Major League's while "Shake your Groove thing" played throughout the park for all to, well, groove to. She also agree with Tom Hanks when he said, "There's no crying in baseball" and thus her favorite sports movie, is A League of Their Own.

I had the pleasure of being Kathy't teammate last year and although she often speaks to her enjoyment of the competiveness of sports, she was never short of encouragement and support for all players. Kathy will gladly rally the troops when needed, as well as join in the party afterwards, win or lose.