Dodos Bow Down to the Kings!

The Kings would win the opening face off, setting the tone for the night as they played host to the visiting Dodos. The action started early as the Kings skated into the Dodos' zone, taking an early slapshot which was blocked by a sliding Matt Marsh. Dodos' forward Shane Linnenberger picked up the loose puck, skated his way towards the Kings' goal and had his point-blank shot turned away by the Kings' goalie. The Kings jumped out to an early lead with two goals by #97, one of which deflected off Dodos' defenseman Kevin Hewitt's skate and into the goal (5:40, 6:14). But the Dodos would bounce back when Brian Silvey intercepted an errant Kings' pass, setting up a breakaway, allowing Silvey to sneak a backhand shot over the goalie's shoulder at 9:01 in the first period. Following a brilliant kick save by Big Chris, the Kings added another goal to take a 3-1 lead. Feeling pressure to score, Dodos' defenseman Jeff Hewitt picked up a loose puck, skated into the Kings' zone, passed to Silvey, who passed to Linnenberger. Linnenberger skated in front of the crease and took a shot on goal. The shot was blocked, sending the puck into the corner, which Linnenberger tracked down and wristed past the goalie (12:32; assists to Silvey, J. Hewitt). The Kings would act fast before the end of the period, adding an insurance goal with just 47 seconds remaining. This goal would prompt Big Chris to fill the Dome with profanities expressing his disappointment.

Leading 4-2 to start the second period, the Kings came out of the intermission fired up. The action got hot in a hurry as some midget on the Kings tripped Jeff Hewitt at center court. The penalty was not called, and Hewitt's attempt to avenge the non-call would fail miserably when he somehow tripped himself. Neither justice nor offense would be served during the second period for the Dodos. At 4:14 in the second, the Kings would take a shot that went between Kevin Hewitt's legs, and then past Big Chris for a goal. From our angle, Hewitt may have screened Chris from seeing the shot. The Dodos had a few chances to score, only to have their shots blocked or their passes broken up, leading to a breakaway goal by the Tripping Midget (11:57).

Trailing 6-2 to begin the final period, Marsh stole the puck from a Kings' forward and proceeded to score an unassisted wrist shot at 4:12. The Kings would regroup and put two more goals into the Dodos' net (4:55, 6:01) before the Dodos would score again. With the puck at center court, Silvey passed to Dylan Mlcoch, who made a move in front of the goal, setting up his backhand shot which he put glove-side into the goal (7:17; assist by Silvey). Finally, after 43 minutes and 44 seconds of playing dirty hockey, the Tripping Midget got his when he was nabbed for a tripping penalty (imagine that) with just 1:16 remaining in the game. The Kings would kill the power play and the hopes of a Dodos' victory in game three of the season.

The Kings pelted the Dodos' goal all game, amassing a hefty 45 shots on goal. The Dodos were wearing the same uniforms, but they looked nothing like a team.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: J. Hewitt 1A; Henninger (lots of hustle); Silvey 1G, 2A; Marsh 1G; Linnenberger 1G; K. Hewitt (goal for them); Mlcoch 1G; Big Chris 30SV

Dodos' next game is Thursday, May 6th at 7:30pm when they face the defending champions, the Lightning.

Dodos are Heating Up!

Coming off an 0-4 start, Dodos Baseball has won two straight games, making their record 2-4 after a 21-9 taming of the Cougars on Sunday. The Dodos unveiled a new lineup which featured Shane Shoemaker as the leadoff batter. Shoemaker made the most of his move up the lineup, smacking the first pitch of the game back up the middle for a single. After a flyout to left field by Dustin Burke, Chris "The Hitman" Hems (just awarded the nickname, now it's stamped and certified) continued his hot streak, lacing a single off Cougars' starting pitcher, Kyle Booth. Booth would then issue a walk to cleanup hitter, Jason Butter, then throw a wild pitch, allowing Shoemaker to score from third. With runners on second and third, fresh back from his stint coaching little leaguers, LF Matty Lane smashed a 3-2 pitch in the gap, scoring Hems and Butter before Lane hustled into second with a standup, 2 RBI double, his first of the year.

Looking to continue the dominant pitching from last week (Shoemaker CG), Shaun Stephans (1-2, 14.44 ERA) took the mound for the Dodos. Coming off a sub-par outing two weeks ago against the Tribe, Stephans pitched his best inning of the season, striking out the first two batters looking before getting Josue Iniguez to flyout to center to end the inning. Dodos lead after one inning, 3-0.

The second inning began just as good as the first for the Dodos, as Troy Warn, Sr. hit a ball in the hole between first and second, just out of the reach of a diving Dominic Smith for a single. Charles Dethloff was up next. Behind in the count, 1-2, Dethloff smoked a line drive to center, putting runners at the corners. Dodos' catcher, Andy Gerber stepped up to the plate with no outs and placed a "seeing-eye single" in the 5-6 hole, scoring Sr. and advancing Dethloff to second. After an infield fly out from the bat of Shoemaker, Burke lashed a laser line drive that went over the center fielder's head, scoring Dethloff and A. Gerber as Burke slid into third with his first triple and 2 RBI on the season. Burke would then score went Hems hit a line drive single to left before the Cougars managed to retire the side. Stephans would continue to pitch well in the second inning, getting the first two batters to ground out to second and short, respectively. Following a dropped pop up in foul territory by Butter at first, Kasey Funes doubled in the gap, only to be caught in a pickle taking too big of a lead off second base, ending the inning with the Dodos up 7-0.

Third inning action began with a pitching change, as the Cougars replaced Booth with Ronald Romero. Romero would walk the first batter, Lane on four straight pitches before settling down and recording a strikeout to DH Rick Jarakian. After Sr. hit a fly out to right field, Lane stole second base, putting Dethloff at the plate with two outs. Romero hit Dethloff with a 3-1 fastball, then he would balk the runners to second and third before a pass ball allowed Lane to score. A. Gerber would notch his second RBI single of the day when he hit an 0-1 fastball into the outfield, scoring Dethloff. The Dodos were cruising along 9-0, as Stephans retired the side in order with two pop ups and a called third strike.

A leadoff 2-2 single by Chris Hoffman would be all the offense the Dodos could muster in the top half of the fourth, but the Cougars were ready to get on the scoreboard. With the count at 2-2, Trevor Boynton was hit by a pitch, then Stephans' next pitch was sent over the fence in left center for a 2-run home run by the twelfth hitter in the lineup, Anthony Murphey. Trailing 9-2, Cougars' leadoff batter Jason Griffith was hit with the next pitch, then stole his way to third from first on two pitches. Stephans would calm a bit, recording two straight strikeouts before an RBI single by Booth. Another single and two walks would follow, loading the bases with two outs for Cougars' pitcher Romero. With the count at 2-1, Andy Gerber caught Funes taking too big of a lead (AGAIN!), but Dodos' 1B Butter mishandled the throw and missed tagging every runner possible, including Booth, who managed to score from third before the next batter would strike out to end the inning with the Dodos leading 9-4.

Jason Butter would redeem himself, hitting a single and stealing second to open the fifth inning. Stephans would wear some slow pitch next, and then Matty Lane would work a walk from Romero. With the bases juiced, and nobody out, Jarakian stepped up to the plate. He sent the first pitch he saw on the ground to the shortstop, who flipped the ball to the second baseman for an out. The ball would be thrown in the dirt to first, which allowed Butter to score and the inning to continue as Jarakian was safe at first on the throwing error. Sr. would then strikeout, followed by a pop up in shallow right, caught by the second baseman to bring the Cougars to bat. Stepahans' last inning of work started rather ominously when the Dodos' pitcher would surrender a single and a walk to the first two Cougars' batters. He worked Boynton to a full-count before getting him to flyout to left. Stephans walked the next batter, loading the bases. The Cougars made a controversial move when they added a player to the lineup to bat next. That backfired when he struck out looking on three straight pitches and the next batter, after fouling off four pitches in a row, popped up to Dethloff at third. Threat averted.

The sixth inning would yield pitching changes for both teams, with the Cougars bringing in Josue Iniguez to start the inning. He proceeded to retire the Dodos in order, striking out one. The Dodos would send Sr. to the mound, in just his second outing of the season and first since game one. Sr. would start off shaky, walking the first batter, then giving up back-to-back singles to the three and four hitters before settling down and getting Jorge Iniguez to strikeout. Trailing 11-5, the Cougars would get a hit batter, an RBI single and sacrifice fly to center to add two more runs before Sr. tallied another strikeout to end the inning.

With one out in the seventh, Shoemaker would double off the wall in left, trotting into second as he was fooled by the trajectory of the ball. Two batters later, Hems would stay hot and lace another RBI double, scoring Shoemaker from second base. Butter grounded out to short to end the visitor half of the seventh inning. Sr. would step it up this inning, recording two strikeouts before getting a pop up to third to end the inning. Dodos lead 12-7.

Cougars' reliever Chris Simons would take the hill to start the eighth. He walked the first three batters (Stephans, Lane & PH Tony Ross) on twelve straight pitches before Sr. hit a 2 RBI single, scoring Stephans and Lane. Dethloff would then hit a 1-0 single, loading the bases for Andy Gerber. Gerber would draw an RBI walk before his brother, Ken, popped straight up to the pitcher. Bases still loaded, Hoffman stepped up to the plate and was hit with the second pitch, scoring a run and prompting the Cougars to make their fifth pitching change of the game. New pitcher Anthony Murphey would use his first pitch to hit Albert Hernandez, forcing the 17th run of the game across home plate for the Dodos. Shoemaker hit a 2-RBI double and Hems would add a 2-RBI single before the Dodos nine-run eighth inning would come to and end with the Dodos up 21-7.

With the three hour time limit rapidly approaching, Sr. got the leadoff batter to hit a grounder to Dethloff at third. Dethloff charged the ball and sent the throw into the runner, narrowly avoiding a collision with replacement 1B Ross. The runner reached third on the throwing error and the next hitter, Smith, hit a single to score Griffith. Two more singles and a sacrifice fly would score one more Cougar run before Sr. would get Romero to flyout to lane in left to end the game and get the first save of the season for Sr. and the Dodos.

On a side note, the Dodos' 21 runs scored was more than the GBT basketball team scored, even though they somehow managed to win, 20-17. Eww!

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Shoemaker 3-5 (2RBI, 2 2B, 3R, K); Burke 1-5 (2RBI, 3B, R, K); Hems 4-5 (4RBI, 2B, R, SB); Butter 1-4 (2R, BB, SB); Stephans 0-2 (2R, BB, HB, K); Lane 1-1 (2RBI, 2R, 2B, 3BB, SB); Jarakian 0-3 (K); Warn, Sr. 2-4 (2RBI, 2R, K); Dethloff 2-3 (3R, HB); A. Gerber 2-3 (3RBI, 2R, BB); K. Gerber 0-3 (K); Hoffman 1-2 (RBI, R, SB, HB); Hernandez 0-1 (R,RBI,HB,SB); Ross 0-0 (R, BB)--Stephans (W) 5IP, 4R, 3ER, 5H, 5BB, 2HB, 7K; Warn, Sr. (SV) 3IP, 5R, 3ER, 6H, 2BB, HB, 4K

Dodos next game is at oak Park High, 2PM versus Regulators. Regulators are 5-1 and in second place. This is sure to be a good game as the rising Dodos take on one of the top teams in the league.

Dodos Angling Suffers Shakeup!

The road to Lake Pyramid was a rough one for the Dodos Angling team. Earlier in the week, Bubba Proctor had to back out of the tournament due to a wedding obligation, leaving Rick "The Stick Jackpot" Jarakian his bass boat and a solo trip to the lake. The alone time left Jarakian just that, lonely. Over the duration of the tournament, Rick only managed to reel one fish into the boat, a three-plus pound bass that would not help him achieve the BIG check. Better luck next time Jackpot.

Wings Clip Dodos!

Last Thursday night, the Dodos Hockey team suffered another loss on the season, 7-3 to the Wings. Highlights of the game were a fist fight featuring Brian Breithaupt (imagine that), a second period unassisted goal by Shane Linnenberger (7:40) and two third period goals by the Dodos, one by Dylan Mlcoch (1:38 remaining) and a last second goal by Linnenberger (0:04 remaining, assisted by Pat Henninger).

Dodos next game is Thursday night at 9:30PM versus Kings.

Back From Extinction!

Dodos Baseball found the win column Sunday, attaining a hard fought victory over the visiting Rangers. The Rangers were undefeated before losing their first game of the season last week and were looking to turn their luck around when they ran into the winless Dodos. The Dodos were without key players 3B Charles Dethloff, OF Matty Lane, P Shaun Stephans and P Scott Allan (rotator cuff injury, out for season), so they had to play a mistake free game. Pitching lead the way, as Shane Shoemaker showed he was returning to form in his second start of the season, tossing a 10 strikeout, complete game, just barely missing the shutout due to an unearned run.

The Dodos started the game in usual fashion when Rangers' leadoff batter Eddie Baker hit a ground ball to starting 2B Chris Hoffman. It looked routine until the throw was mishandled by 1B Rick Jarakian. The error would prove costly as Baker would steal second two pitches later and score the game's first run when the fifth hitter, Davis Hernandez drove a line drive to right center. The home half of the inning did not yield a bright outlook for the Dodos, as Dustin Burke had a leadoff strikeout, Chris Hems singled but was out on the next pitch when Shoemaker grounded into a tailor made 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Shoemaker appeared to be a little rattled out of the gate to begin the second inning, as he hit the first batter he faced and threw a wild pitch. After a brief mound visit from Dodos' catcher, Andy Gerber, Shoemaker settled down and struck out the next batter looking, got a ground ball out to the shortstop and then another strikeout to end the inning.

The next three innings were dominated by great pitching and defense as the Rangers batted balls into the ground or struck out and the Dodos just couldn't seem to solve Rangers' starting pitcher Johnny Winkler and his curve ball (5IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 5K) until the fifth inning when Troy Sr. lined a first pitch fastball into right center field for a base hit. After a hard hit line drive out by Andy Gerber, Rick Jarakian belted a 1-1 fastball into left field, scoring Sr. from first and tying the game at 1-1.

A pitching change to start the bottom of the sixth would benefit the Dodos. Rangers reliever, Hernandez would surrender a little dribbler off the bat of LF Kenny Gerber to give Gerber his first hit of the season and the Dodos a leadoff runner. Burke followed with a 2-1 single of his own to put runners on first and second with no outs with Chris Hems on deck. Hems has been a machine to start the season and today was no different (3-4, 1R, 3RBI, HR). Behind in the count 1-2, Hems 'tomahawked' a fastball over 340 feet away in left field, giving the Dodos a 4-1 lead and Shoemaker some insurance runs.

The last two and a half innings were the same as the first few, neither team could piece anything together and the Dodos went on to notch their first PCBL win of the season.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Burke 1-4 (1R, 1K); Hems 3-4 (3RBI, 1R, 3-R HR); Shoemaker 1-4 (SB); Butter 1-3 (HB); Sr. 1-4 (R, 2K); A. Gerber 0-3; Jarakian 1-2 (RBI, BB, K); Hoffman 0-2 (2K, SB, HB); Hernandez 0-3, K. Gerber 1-3 (R)--Shoemaker (W) 9IP, 0ER, 4H, 3BB, 10K, 2HB, CG

Lightning Strikes Twice!

Dodos Roller Hockey played their season opener last night when they visited the defending Division 4 champions. The Lightning defeated the Dodos to begin the season on a sour note. While the Lightning bench was stocked full with a whole other 4-man line, the Dodos had to substitute a goalie (Big Chris was out) and were also missing three other players, Kevin Hewitt, Pat Henninger and Shane Linnenberger.

The shorthanded Dodos were off to a rough start, surrendering a quick goal to the Lightning (wasn't paying attention to the scorer, I apologize) at the 13:01 minute mark. Let's not go into details, but it was a fairly uneventful first period for Dodos Hockey, save the Jason Hibarger broken stick incident (his stick hit the crossbar and strangely broke in half, weird) and a 2-minute penalty by Brian Breithaupt for slashing. The Lightning scored two more goals (#10 CCCP jersey, 2:40; #90, 1:20) towards the end of the period to put the Dodos in the hole 3-0 with two periods to play.

With a 3-0 lead, the Lightning stormed into Dodos' territory and rained several shots on Sub-Goalie. He made a great on a shot by #10 CCCP, but the rebound was promptly backhanded over a sprawling Sub-Goalie (12:12). Following the next face off, the Dodos stole an errant pass and broke towards the Lightning zone. Dylan Mlcoch was tripped (no-call) and managed to push the puck to Brian Silvey, who wristed the shot into the net for the Dodos' first goal of the season (11:34). The Dodos had several more fast breaks, including one with a nice Breithaupt backhand which was somehow saved by the goalie (must have hit his nose). Dodos would however score a second goal with 3:32 remaining in the period when Silvey found himself with a shot attempt, which was blocked and flipped about four feet in the air, only to be batted in by Mlcoch. Lightning would add another goal at 1:52 to lead at the end of two periods 6-2.

This sure is a lot of typing, but I digress. Apparently the Dodos had some Gatorade during the second intermission, as they began the third period with a little rally as Silvey stole the puck at center court and rifled a breakaway goal at 13:20. Just over a minute later (12:02), the Dodos were pressuring the Lightning zone. Mlcoch passed the puck to Silvey, who's shot was deflected to the right of the goal, then swooped up and scored by Matt Marsh.

After two unanswered goals, Lightning scored again (10:52) to take a 7-4 lead. While there was a bathroom break, Mlcoch scored somehow at 9:34. Gotta go, you gotta go. Anyway, Dodos' Sub-Goalie faced a ton of tough shots all night, but the heartbreaker was the next Lightning goal. which hit his shoulder, flipped over his back, hit the crossbar, hit his back, then rolled into the goal (#91, 8:24). Ouch. Now down 8-5 with 5:25 remaining in regulation, Hibarger skated down court (?), passed the puck to Marsh, who then shot but was denied. Mlcoch tapped the rebound in to close the gap. Feeling a second wind, Jeff Hewitt found himself with the puck and proceeded to put a good shot on net, which was blocked, but once again Mlcoch was there to put in the rebound over the goalie's shoulder (4:34). That's as close as the Dodos would get, as #91 would score his second goal of the game at 2:53 to seal the victory. Dodos lose 9-7.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Mlcoch 4G, 2A; Silvey 2G, 2A; Marsh 1G, 1A; Hibarger 1A, hilarious broken stick moment; J. Hewitt 1A, Breithaupt 1Pen. 2 min. Slashing

Dodos Hockey Rolls on Tonight!

The Dodos Roller Hockey team is back in regular season action already with the first game tonight. Ouch, with a 10:30 PM game time, the Dodos seek revenge for the Division 4 Championship loss suffered just two weeks ago when they face off versus the Lightning tonight.

Costly Errors Starve Dodos!

Dodos Baseball would have had their first victory of the season on Sunday, if it weren't for eight (that's right, 8) fielding errors. Shaun Stephans started the game with an impressive strikeout looking, only to be taken for a solo home run ride by the second batter for the Tribe. The Dodos escaped their usual first inning drama by surrendering just one run.

In the second inning, after an error on the Tribe shortstop by a hard hit ground ball by Charles Dethloff, the Dodos pieced together a three-run inning led by Troy Warn, Sr.'s RBI single. Andy Gerber hit an RBI single after a walk to Rick Jarakian and then Shane Shoemaker hit a sacrifice fly to deep center to score the third run of the inning. Not to be undone, the Tribe scored three runs of their own to retake a 4-3 lead after two complete innings.

The Dodos seemingly always find a way to let teams put them in the hole early, and the third inning was evident of that. An error by second baseman Shoemaker started the inning, followed by a walk, then an error by Dethloff at third, then another error by Dethloff two batters later. But the bleeding would not be stopped there, as first baseman Jason Butter dropped a ball and an error by center fielder Matt Lane allowed two more unearned runs to cross home plate as the Tribe extended the lead to 8-3, capping a five error filled inning.

The Dodos would score one run in the top of the fourth, but two more Dodos' errors in the bottom half of the inning proved to be costly, as the Tribe scored six more runs to up the lead to 14-4.

Dethloff looked to redeem himself in the fifth however, with a runner on first and two outs, he smashed a double in the gap, scoring Butter all the way from first base (prompting several jokes from the Dodos' dugout). The Dodos would score three that inning and cut the lead to 14-7.

Stephans looked his best of the season Sunday, walking five, hitting three and striking out three, while giving up 14 runs (6 ER) in 5 1/3 innings of work. He was relieved in the sixth, after hitting this third batter of the game. Shoemaker came in and faced nine batters, striking out five, walking none and only giving up one hit in 2 2/3 innings. Shoemaker also went 2-3 with 4 RBI, including a mammoth 2-run homer in the sixth.

The Dodos would put together another two-run inning in the seventh, but that's all they could do, wasting a leadoff walk to start the ninth inning with a double play. Butter would get hit in the next at-bat, but Dethloff was called out on strikes on a rather controversial strike three call to end the game and the Dodos' rally.

Fantasy performances of the day: Burke 1-5; Lane 0-2 (3BB, R, SB); Stephans 1-5; Butter 1-2 (2R, RBI, 2HB, SB); Dethloff 1-3 (2R, 2BB, RBI, 2B); Warn, Sr. 1-2 (2RBI, SF); Jarakian 1-3 (2RBI); A. Gerber 2-3 (RBI, 2B, SB); Hernandez 1-4; Shoemaker 2-3 (4RBI, 2R-HR, SF); K. Gerber 0-2 (2BB). Almost forgot, Nick Chiodo was picked off while pinch-running for Jarakian in the 7th.

The Rumors are True!

If you've heard that Dodos Baseball will soon be changing divisions, then you heard correctly. After a week in limbo, the Dodos have been demoted to the Single A Division of the Pacific Coast Baseball League, much to the chagrin of several Dodos' players. The move comes on the heels of the Dodos' third loss of the season, a 17-9 defeat to the Knights, dropping the Dodos to 0-3. This may just be the motivation the Dodos need to get their season on back on track.

Dodos Baseball will resume scheduled games this Sunday, 2 PM at Oak Park High School versus Tribe for their very first Single A Division game in Dodos Baseball history.

Lightning Strikes Dodos!

The Dodos Roller Hockey team lost in the Men's Division 4 Championship game Thursday night at the hands of the Lightning. The Dodos jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Shane Linnenberger stole a pass, skated down the court, juked then flicked in the early goal around the 12-minute mark. Jason Hibarger scored a goal with a little more than nine minutes remaining in the first period after picking up the rebounded save by Dodos goalie Big Chris (who played an awesome game and had some stellar saves). The Lightning answered with a goal by Big number 10 (they have two number 10s, everyone wants to be Bure I guess).

Second period action got heavy quick, as the Lightning tied the game when Lil' number 10 skated uncontrollably down the court then managed to sneak a flapping wrist shot past Big Chris. With the score even at 2-2, Dodos hockey managed to kill two penalties before surrendering the go-ahead goal to USC Guy (who honestly should be in a higher division, but technicalities), who skated past the Dodos defense as though they were standing still.

The struggles for the Dodos continued into the third period when Number 27 from the Lightning scored a power play goal to put them on top 4-2. The Dodos would not go away quietly however, as evident when Hibarger scored his second goal of the game with an assist from Pat Henninger. But, the Lightning proved to be too much for the Dodos as USC Guy scored his second unassisted goal of the game to solidify the championship with a 5-3 victory.

The regular season standings: Wings 6-2, Lightning 5-3, H Rollers 3-5, Dodos 2-6. The Dodos flew under the radar and slid into the finals after knocking off the number one seeded Wings last Thursday in the first round of the playoffs. Can't wait 'til next season!