Week 8 – St. Patties Day Massacre

6 Ft Over put a good old fashion holiday beat down on "Sales Prevention" beating them by a combined score of 26-3. Shupert and Reiners showed no effects of the St. Patties Day Specials consumed prior to the game as they combined for over half of the teams points. Team "Sales Prevention" was murdered on the glass. Rarely did a ball carom off of the rim that didn't end up in the hands of Dengler, Nieland or Shupert. 6 Ft Over ran a clinic of fast break, back cutting basketball as "Sales Prevention" stood around perplexed by off the ball movement.

6 Ft Over admitted to looking towards next weeks showdown prior to the end of the Week 7 "competition". In the match up prior to theirs, 6 Ft Over witnessed reigning league MVP Roger Clark sink a jumper in double overtime to take down the previously undefeated "Only If". Clark, and his team "Cobra Kai", go into the week 8 battle on an all-time high. Last season "Cobra Kai" handed 6 Ft Over their only blemish. Revenge has been on the teams mind ever since. Bad blood still exists between Shupert and the entire front line of "Cobra Kai". Shupert, obviously still irked by "Cobra Kai's" intentional fouling in last seasons contest, promises to dominate come March 24th.

Week 7 – 6 Ft Over Back to Winning Ways

Losers in 3 of their past 4 games 6 Ft Over has looked nothing like the team that breezed to a 13-1 record last season. Team "Team Guys" were just what 6 Ft Over needed to get back that winning feeling. Last year, if you recall, 6 Ft Over dominated Them Guys in 4 consecutive wins. Them Guys made some improvements in the off season by dumping that immobile, impossibly slow 345lb Hawaiian guy for a sweet shooting tattooed guard named Julio Caesar Vasquez.

Richard Dengler, who during warm ups bellowed at anyone that would listen that he was "shooting all night tonight boys," showed off his new found touch from outside in Game 1. Again powered by his AI shooting sleeve Aaron Shupert showed flashes of his old 1st Team All Rec League self, dominating the paint and blocking weak shot attempts by 5'6 45 year old men.

Shupert credits his new warm-up routine for his improved play. Shuperts strange, but effective pre-game warm-up now involves light weight lifting, a full out sprint on a treadmill and jump roping. All of this is done with West Coast funk blaring in his headphones, a Chicago Bulls warm-up suit on his back and wet spiked hair.

Them Guys came out with a passion in Game 2 and played like they were tired of getting beat down by 6 Ft Over. The aforementioned Vasquez was red hot draining pull up jumpers over Dengler and Shupert 4 or 5 times in a row. The problem was no one else could do anything as Game 2 turned into 6 Ft Over vs. Vasquez. He eventually cooled off and 6 Ft Over walked away the winners 13-10.

The match up with last seasons lone conqueror Cobra Kai is two weeks away but the squad promises not to look past "Sales Prevention" next week.

Week 6 – 6 Ft Over Stumbles in Split

6 Ft Over has hit a skid not seen since the days of the competitive league. Losers in 3 of their past 4 games 6 Ft Over again struggled to get stops. Team "Crafty" scorched 6 Ft Over in Game 2 easily shooting above 70% from the field.

"They were just a bad match up for us", guard Justin Hasenmiller mumbled to the press following the loss.

It appeared as if 6 Ft Over had a distinct advantage in talent while they breezed through team "Crafty" 13-8 in the opener. Aaron Shupert led the way in Game 1 as he demonstrated a surprisingly soft touch from the outside. Shupert sported a Allen Iverson like black shooting sleeve on his right arm and credited it for his improved accuracy from beyond 3 feet.

Game 2 was a different story. Team "Crafty" scored on 6 straight possessions to take a commanding 9-2 lead before 6 Ft Over knew what had hit them. The squad mounted a minor comeback to make things interesting. A Jeff Reiners jumper closed the gap to 12-10 but that was as close as it got.

The local press is circulating a rumor that a few members of 6 Ft Over may be on the trading block ahead of the Week 7 trade deadline. Reiners dismissed the rumors as "ridiculous" but a source close to the situation reported that there is an offer on the table involving 3 teams, cash considerations and a rack of new basketballs.

Week 5 – 6 Ft Over Defeated

Team "Only If" outlasted 6 Ft Over in a highly competitive showdown between the undefeated titans. 6 Ft Over couldn't take advantage of several opportunities to close out Game 1 and fell in overtime 14-12. "Only If" was lead by their vocal leader who had an odd habit off screaming motivational phrases to his teammates during the game as if he were trying out for the last spot on the JV Basketball team. Game 2 was ugly as 6 Ft Over was handled by a team that played much harder and smarter. The pair off losses were the first for 6 Ft Over in the last 17 games. Coach Reiners hopes the team will turn the corner from here,

"We haven't played consistently all season. This is the wakeup call we needed."


There were several injuries to report from last nights contest:

Reiners (Toe)
Shupert (Thumb)
Hasenmiller (Eye)
Dengler (Pride)

Week 4 – 6 Ft Over Grinds Out 17th in a row.

In a physical, gritty showdown against a team made up of their athletic peers 6 Ft Over showed why they are still the Rec League Champions. Dengler was on the verge of vomiting and Hasenmiller was left bleeding when all was said and done.

It was obvious from the start that this one wouldn't be easy. "Slam Deductions" had a 7 man rotation and at least half of their players had a moderate skill level. 6 Ft Over, like it has so many times before, took advantage of their championship experience and size to grind out the first game 13-9. Things got testy towards the end of Game 1 when the 270lb Tony Nieland slapped on the one man full court press on a midget sporting a "UNI" T-shirt. "UNI" seemed to take offense to the pressure and responded by dropping a shoulder into Tony's massive chest. The scowl that Tony sent towards the midget convinced him and his teammates that Tony wasn't the one they wanted to pick on.

6 Ft Over again fell into their habit of performing poorly at the start of the 2nd game. The winning streak was in serious jeopardy when Slam Deductions took a 7-5 lead and 6 Ft Over appeared to have hit the wall. Again, like the first 2 weeks, the 2nd game hit a lull of 12 to 15 straight possessions where neither team could score. Hasenmiller summed up that period of the game in his post game comments,

"I figured if we threw enough garbage up at the rim something would fall eventually."

The team survived the lull by falling back into their familiar roles. Reiners shooting, and last night missing, jump shots. Shupert manning the block. Hasenmiller handling the rock. Nieland sucking down rebounds and not shooting. Dengler, who has embraced the role of defensive stopper a la Bruce Bowen, was pivotal in the victory.

"I felt like smashing a basketball in someone's face," Dengler said following the game not mentioning anyone in particular.

6 Ft Over put the game away 13-8 after a jumps hot by Hasenmiller, a driving lay-in from Dengler, a 16 footer from Reiners and a baseline jumper from Shupert.

Next week is "Only If" who along with 6 Ft Over is undefeated. Word around the Aegon Rec League is that members of "Only If" have been gloating about going undefeated the entire season.

"That's hilarious," said Dengler.

Week 3 – Bye Week

Week 2 - 6 Ft Over Coasts to 15th Win in a Row

Wearing the home white for the 1st time this season 6Ft Over treated fans (paid attendance was 1) to another pair of victories. The team kept it on cruise control throughout both games and appeared to be distracted. Was it the pregame ceremony honoring the team at its home opener for last season championship? No, because none of that happened. It had to be the blonde in the neighboring gym that treated 6Ft Over to quite a show during the pregame build up. Unable to warm up, the squad stood in amazement as the blonde layed on all fours and went through one of the more amazing routines they had ever seen.

At the outset 6Ft Over looked to capitalize on their dramatic height advantage. Searching his brain for a game plan in the early going Coach Reiners noticed that "24/7" had made a strategic error and a major one at that. During the week 24/7 had decided that their best chance at victory was to place their smallest player on the 6'4 220lb PF Aaron Shupert under the basket. Much to their amazement the strategy backfired. 6Ft Over went to the post time and time and again. They briefly resembled an organized basketball team as they worked the ball around the perimeter looking for an angle to pass the ball into the post. Once Shupert had the midget pinned to the padding underneath the basket the pass was made for the automatic score.

The 2nd game is where things turned ugly. An appropriate name for the opposition would have been "5'5 and Under." Much of the contest resembled the scene in the Rocky movie where Rocky is instructed by his trainer to chase a chicken around in an open area. 6Ft Over never could quite catch the scurrying midgets and hold them down. The lumbering Tony Nieland was often stuck guarding one of the loose chickens because there really wasn't a good match up.

Game 2 remained close throughout with neither team leading by more than 2 or 3 at a time. Hasenmiller added two timely left handed scoop lay-ups off the glass. Dengler locked down 1st Team All Rec Leaguer "Lefty Redhead." Reiners was held scoreless in game 2 and remained focused on the blondes pregame workout. One of the midgets threw in a sloppy bank shot to make the game 12-11 but Dengler put it away with a lay-up on the other end.

6Ft Over heads into the bye week 4-0 and winners of 15 straight. Coach Reiners is concerned about the sloppy play early in the season. The teams next opponent is "Slam Deductions." They feature other 20 something's with moderate athletic ability and may pose a serious threat to the undefeated season.