2001 Year in Review
"One moment that lasts a lifetime is better than a thousand moments that we quickly forget."
When we entered the co-ed recreational sports market we aimed to do two things, pass the cold, structured, rigidness of rec sports off to our competitors, and promote the CSA attitude of fun, fun, and more fun.
Because of all of you, we were able to accomplish our objectives. The pure passion, emotionand camraderie that we got to witness this year is proof of that.
In 2001, we said "Hello Atlanta" and we announced the CSA philosophy, "It's All About Emotion."
In 2002, we say, "Welcome to the Revolution." Our enhanced sports line-up will be even better, With new sports and leagues added to the program, like indoor soccer, indoor volleyball, bowling, golf, darts & billiards, and the top quality football, softball, and hockey leagues, we hope that all of you can make us the best recreational program in Atlanta,
Along with our comprehensive website, competitive memberships, highly popular social functions, and revolutionary programs and events like lifetime memberships, sportsfests, and the Atlanta Corporate Decathlon, we see 2002 as the most exciting year yet.
On behalf of all my employees, I would like to thank every single person that participated in the CSA program this year. Without all of you, none of what we’ve done this year would have been possible. I am eternally grateful that you have allowed myself and CSA to be a part of your lives and am honored that I could be a part of your moments. Thank you.
The MOMENTS
With over 1,100 games played, in over 20 leagues, over 2,000 players, in many different sports, their were still many moments that will always be remembered.
On the football field
In the spring Co-ed Flag Football League, Fifth seeded Hot Dogs & Buns overcame a 22 point deficit with 10 minutes left to defeat Jurassic Park in their first playoff game and going on to upset the one and two seeds in the semis and finals to win the championship.
In the fall men's league playoffs, third seed The Consortium survived by scoring a touchdown with no time on the clock and knocking out sixth seeded Extreme Force 25-20. That game featured three touchdowns scored in the last 1:50 of the game and the lead changing three times. With 1:48 left, The Consortium scored a touchdown on fourth down to turn a 14-13 deficit into a 19-14 lead. Then Extreme Force marched down the field and scored a touchdown to retake the lead 20-19. With only 42 seconds on the clock, Consortium was able to move the ball from their own 15 to the EF 19 yard line with 0.7 seconds left. On what seemed to be the last play, EF was called for pass interference and with no time left on the clock, The Consortium was able to complete a crossing route for a touchdown and the whole team celebrated in the corner of the endzone.
Several great rivalries have begun on the gridiron. Jurassic Park and Big Perm have faced each other four times in two seasons, splitting those games. High Maintenance and Bad Habits have planted the seeds for a great rivalry in only two games. One was a 0-0 tie, the other a semi-final thriller.
In the men's league, Wide Right has blown away the field. In two seasons they are 19-2, including an 18 game winning streak and two championships. In the fall playoffs, the Renegades survived against Kappa Sigma in the first overtime in CSA football history.
Other memorable moments included High Maintenance avoiding an upset against Better Than Dallas by scoring the winning touchdown with 15 seconds left and the very first day of play back in April, when the first three games in CSA co-ed football history all ended 7-6,
With CSA's aggressive expansion, the possibility of more great memories being made is even stronger.
On the softball field
The diamond was equally fertile with lasting memories.
The history made by the 8th place
Dicks, who became the lowest seed ever to win a CSA championship by winning four games in
the Tuesday Fall league playoffs. Including an upset of the division champion and a
miracle finish in the semifinals.
To advance to the championship game, the Dicks had to face the leagues hottest team,
fourth seeded, Chico's Bail Bonds. They jumped out to an early lead and were able to hold
it for most of the game. Even after relinquishing the lead, they were able to reclaim an
advantage. The Dicks led 17-15 entering the seventh inning. Unable to score in the top of
the inning, it looked like the cinderella run was over. With a two run lead, and the top
of CBB's order coming up, the advantage had to go to Chico's. After plating one run,
CBB put runners on second and third with only one out. Then Mike Moriarty stepped up. He
struck out the first Chico's hitter and the game and the season came down to one epic
battle. Moriarty on the mound against Todd Walker. Walker had already hit a three run
homer and was 8 for 8 with 13 RBI's in the playoffs to that point. After running the count
to 3-1 and a walk tying the ballgame, Moriarty got a foul tip to move the count to 3-2 and
on the next pitch, Walker hit the ball a mile high, but a foot short. Steve Wyatt squeezed
the ball for the third out at the fence and the Dicks moved on to the finals.
There were several memorable days, but two stand out in particular, October 9th, "Super Tuesday", when all five games told a great story all on their own, including three one run games, two walkoff homers, and one near no-hitter, and September 12th, when four teams showed me how much class and character our players have and made it a lot easier for CSA to resume operations.
Other incredible games included the semi-final battle between the Cinderella 8th seed, Cleats & Cleavage and the cardiac crew, Simplyhealth, that took eight heartstopping innings to decide. And Simplyhealth surviving later on that night to knock off Batting For Beers and claiming the Summer Tuesday Co-ed title.
Moments like Roger’s team upsetting It’s All About the Beer and breaking the curse of the two seed in the Summer Sunday league and my team reaffirming that the curse is dead (or is it - see the section below on that) by winning the Fall Sunday league.
The Widgets posting the best overall record in CSA Softball, 11-1, in route to winning the spring league title and the Spotted Dicks who finished at an almost as good 10-1 and also winning a spring league title.
The Spotted Dicks were able to win their title by surviving two thrillers in one night. Trailing 15-11 in the bottom of the seventh, the top seed in the Spring Thursday night league was able score five runs against Mayfair to win the semifinal game, the last four coming on a walkoff grand slam by Peter Kitrell. Then in the finals they were able to hold on and win a defensive masterpiece against Yahoo! 6-5.
But perhaps my favorite CSA softball moment was in an exhibition game. Trailing 34-12 in the bottom of the ninth, Roger dove into home plate against the Grumpy Fish to score the greatest run in CSA history.
Not all the drama occured on the football and softball fields.
The first CSA league in 2001 was Co-ed Floor Hockey. The very first game of 2001 was on February 6th, in that game, Northern Extreme routed the Office Rats, 11-1. The first shootout in CSA history also included the Office Rats. On March 6th, they defeated High Sticks, Low Class 3-2 in a penalty shootout, and on March 20th, the Office Rats played in the first playoff overtime in CSA history, losing to Got No Game 5-4 at the three minute mark of the first overtime. And on June 12th, the Atlanta Slashers broke the longest losing streak in CSA history at fourteen games with an 8-4 win over Orange Crush.
And finally, CSA's original franchise, the AAESL
(Atlanta Architects & Engineers Softball League) provided great drama and a surprise
champion.
Split into four divisions for the first time in over thirty years, Aeyones was able to win
their division in the regular season and go on to capture the Architects Conference
championship. Finishing with a 18-4 record, they represented their conference in the
league championship against an unlikely opponent. Pond & Company finished the regular
season at 6-10, fifth in their division and 20th in a 27 team league. In the playoffs they
made a remarkable run to win the Engineers conference crown, going 5-1 in the tournament,
Pond advanced to the AAESL League Championship series, where they swept Aeyones in two
games to become the 2001 AAESL League Champions.
Pond was able to win the league championship
because they survived one amazing night of play. In a double elimination tournament, Pond
moved to the Engineers championship series from the winners bracket and faced HESM&A.
Needing to win only one game, Pond, was able to play loose. For six innings, they looked
completely in control. Taking a 5-0 lead into the seventh inning, Pond started to self
destruct. After allowing two runs, they walked the tying run and loaded the bases. Two
singles, one error, and a bases loaded walk enabled HESM&A to score five more runs and
turn a 5-0 deficit into a 7-5 lead, and that was the final score.
Game 2 was right after Game 1 and once again, Pond took early control. After several
middle inning lead changes, Pond, now the visitors, led by four entering the bottom of the
seventh. Down by four, HESM&A was able to erase a seventh inning lead for the second
time in two hours. A sacrifice fly tied the game and after an intentional walk, HESM&A
had the winning run in scoring position. However, unlike Game 1, HESM&A couldn't plate
any more runs and the championship went to extra innings. Then Pond found the resiliency
they would need to propel them to a conference and a league championship. They scored one
run in the top of the eighth and shut down HESM&A in the bottom of the inning for the
win.
CSA Social Events
The main objective of CSA is to give active adults the opportunity to socialize. Through our sports, and through our social events, we hope that we have accomplished this goal. Every happy hour seemed to bring a new set of people to the CSA "family" and include them with the growing group of CSA "regulars". Happy Hours at the Tin Roof, Dixie Tavern, and Buckhead Saloon, were a lot of fun, and other events, like the CSA trip to the Braves game were other ways to bring people together.
In 2002, we are expanding our Social Event line-up. We will have trips to see the Thrashers and the Braves, skydiving, whitewater rafting, paintball, and more. Other social programs include CSA's Christmas in July, SoftballFest and Rockin Football.
The 2001 Honorees
CSA is the first group ever to review the entire year and give awards to people and teams
we feel are particularly deserving.
TEAM OF THE YEAR
The decision for the 2001 Team of the Year was an incredibly difficult one. With
so many worthy champions, deciding on a final three was a task in itself. The three
finalists were JP2 (Fall Co-ed Flag Football), Wide Right (Fall Men's Flag Football), and
Pete Rose Bets on Us (Summer Co-ed Softball)
JP2 was clearly a team of destiny. After a heartbreaking loss eliminated JP in the spring league playoffs, they were bound and determined to go all the way in the fall season. They were cruising along when they faced High Maintenance in the regular season with first place on the line. A last second loss seemed to dash JP2's championship hope. But they got a second chance when High Maintenance tied a game and moved JP back into first. They finished the regular season in first at 7-1. They won two playoff games and in the championship game they were able to overcome a 6-0 halftime deficit to win 12-6 and claim their destiny. JP2's final record of 10-1 was the best final record in CSA Co-ed Flag Football in 2001.
Wide Right was the odds on favorite to claim the Team of the Year. Coming off a championship season in the Spring league, WR was riding a seven game winning streak. They started the fall season, where they left off in the spring. When they defeated the Titans in the regular season finale, they had completed an unbeaten regular season and run the winning streak to 15 games. In the playoffs they were never really tested. Between the leagues number one defense and the league MVP, QB Killebrew Bailey, Wide Right was able to blow away the competition and finish with a second consecutive championship and an 18 game winning streak.
In the process, Wide Right made CSA history. They were the only team to complete the regular season and playoffs unbeaten, have the longest winning streak in CSA history, are the only repeat champions, and are the only team to appear in their leagues championship game in three straight seasons.
Pete Rose Bets on Us was a slight surprise when
they were named Team of the Year. Considering their record was worse than both JP2 and
Wide Right. However, at 10-2, it was the manner in which they won, and lost. PRB entered
the playoffs as a three seed, and their only losses were to first seeded Helmets With
Handlebars and second seeded Vandelay Industries. Those losses were noteworthy because
they plated shorthanded against Helmets and lost by one run on a miracle finish against
Vandelay.
When they entered the playoffs, PRB started to really shine. The leagues number one
offense stepped up and mercied all three opponents. In the semis, they avenged the
Vandelay loss by knocking them out in five innings, and in the championship, they cruised
over MedCenterDirect by scoring seven runs in the bottom of the fourth to finish off the
title 18-3. Those last two wins came on September 12th, and the class that PRB showed in
winning the title was what gave them the final nod for Team of the Year.
CAPTAIN OF THE YEAR
An equally difficult decision. Two of the finalists had teams that lost not once, but
twice in a championship game, and the other took a team that at midseason was all but lost
and went on to win a title.
Brantley Edwards was a surprise choice as a finalist. Brantley was able to lead a SimplyHealth team that halfway through the season was at .500 and no real threat for the title. With several strong teams in front of them, SimplyHealth finished the regular season in fifth place. In the playoffs they shined, winning a rout in the first round and two heartstoppers. The job Edwards did in taking a team that was going nowhere and in one month sweeping to the title vaulted him into the top three.
Joining Brantley in the top three was Jason Jesensky. Jesensky captained High Maintenance, the CSA Franchise of the Year. In three seasons of play, two in co-ed flag football and one in co-ed softball, High Maintenance finished second in the regular season all three times and lost the championship game in both the Spring and Fall Co-ed Flag Football league. Jason, one of CSA's biggest promoters, was a lock for a finalist for captain of the year, but finished just short, too...
...Chad Wade. Facing two very worthy candidates,
Chad had the intangibles that swung the final decision in his favor. Back in March, when
Chad took over as captain of It's All About the Beer, he was concerned about the
responsibilities of being a team captain and essentially the liasion between the team and
CSA. By the end of the Spring season, It's All About the Beer was the only team to have
their own website.
On the field, Chad always had his team prepared. They finished second in the spring, first
in the summer, and fourth in the fall. It's All About the Beer made it to the championship
game in both the spring and summer league, only to fall short both times.
FRANCHISE OF THE YEAR
High Maintenance. Any team that can finish in second place in three straight
seasons in two sports is a strong franchise. The co-ed flag football team has made it to
the championship game in both seasons, only to fall just short 14-7 (spring) and 12-6
(fall)
High Maintenance beat out two exceptionally strong franchises, the Widgets, who in three softball seasons have finished first once and second twice. The Widgets own one championship and an overall record of 26-7. They also had the single best softball season by record in 2001, 11-1 in the spring.
The Pete Rose Bets on Us/SimplyHealth/Wide Right franchise has the most impressive resume. Including four championships and a combined record of 45-9-1, the only thing that kept them from the Franchise award was the dilution of the franchise pool (only four players were on all three rosters).
GAME OF THE YEAR
Two games tied for the Game of the Year honors. The epic heartstopper between
SimplyHealth and Cleats & Cleavage on September 4th in the Co-ed Softball semi-finals
and the first round miracle comeback of Hot Dogs & Buns against Jurassic Park in the
spring Co-ed Flag Football playoffs on June 19th.
September 4 - Simplyhealth 13 - Cleats & Cleavage 12
SimplyHealth came from three runs down in the sixth to pull off a heartstopping win 13-12 in eight innings.
In a back and forth game, C&C came out strong, with three runs in the first and three more in the third. At the end of three, SimplyHealth trailed 6-2 and was struggling at the plate. Cleats was looking to pull off their second straight upset. In the fourth, the game turned. Simply scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth and the score was 7-6 in favor of Cleats at the end of four. In the fifth, SimplyHealth took their first lead and led 9-7 going into the sixth inning.
In the sixth, Cleats & Cleavage responded with five runs and it looked like the momentum and the game had turned. Down three, SimplyHealth responded with two runs to make it a one run game going into the final frame. After holding Cleats off the board, SimplyHealth needed one run to tie the game. With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Brantley Edwards hit a double that scored John Downs with the game tying run. On the play, Edwards advanced to third, and SimplyHealth was 60 feet away from victory. They were unable to score the run and the first semi-final game went to extra innings.
In extra innings, Cleats & Cleavage loaded the bases with two outs in the top of the eighth. With the game on the line, SimplyHealth pitcher Joe Della Vecchia got the next batter to pop out to third and SimplyHealth survived without allowing a run. In the bottom of the eighth, Erik Ciccarone led off with a double and represented the game winning run with no outs. The next batter popped out to second, and Ciccarone was able to tag and advance to third. With one out and the game winning run on third, Krystal Sherrer hit an infield single to score Ciccarone and win the game.
June 19 - Hot Dogs & Buns 23, Jurassic Park 22
In the most incredible comeback in CSA history, fifth seed Hot Dogs & Buns catapults themselves from an early playoff exit to a league championship
The tale of two games. Early in the first half, the fourth seed Jurassic Park intercepted a HDB pass and returned it to the three yard line. One play later, Joe Koch took in an option pass for an early touchdown. With a successful conversion, Jurassic Park had a 7-0 lead. That was the score at the half.
On the first drive of the second half, JP drove the ball 70 yards for another touchdown. David Antokal hit Joe Koch, and after the conversion, the score was 14-0.
On the next possession, Hot Dogs was
stopped and turned the ball over on downs. Jurassic quickly responded with another
touchdown and the two point conversion to David Carney made the score 22-0.
With only 10 minutes left, the game was over. The only problem was, nobody told Hot Dogs
& Buns that.
On the first play from scrimmage, Hot Dogs completed a long pass and one play later they were in the endzone. After a successful two point conversion, the score was 22-8.
On the next drive, Jurassic Park was stopped and punted from their own 32. With renewed life, Hot Dogs was able to put together another touchdown drive. HDB was able to go 60 yards in nine plays and cut the deficit to 22-15.
Within only one score, the game had a new life. With less than two minutes remaining, Jurassic Park faced fourth and 3 from their own 17 yard line. If they convert, the game is over, if they punt, Hot Dogs may not have enough time. Deciding to go for it, JP had a sure first down pass dropped and turned the ball over.
With a short field to work with, Hot Dogs moved the ball fourteen yards on a quarterback scramble, and on the next play, they got a three yard touchdown pass to make the score 22-21. With only one minute remaining, Hot Dogs & Buns went for two points and the win. They were able to convert on an outside route and the comeback was complete.
Jurassic Park had one last chance. They were able to move the ball to the Hot Dogs 37 yard line, but the game ended on two incomplete passes in the end zone.
The CURSE OF THE TWO SEED
click here for more details on the
curse.
Since September 2000, 24 teams have entered a CSA sanctioned playoff tournament as the second seed. On 22 of those occasions, they have failed to win a championship.
While one seeds and three seeds, and now even eighth seeds have been able to secure championships, the two seeds are truly cursed.
We at CSA believe the curse is alive and well for the following reason. Two teams have entered the playoffs as the regular season runner up and gone on to win the title. The first was We're Not Hungover, We're Still Drunk, captained by CSA Vice President, Roger Werner. This was a technical breaking of the curse, but when the second team to win as a two was Revolution 2K2, captained by CSA President, Leland Dombrowsky, further investigation was warranted.
If they only way to win as a two seed is to have a CSA executive as your captain, then we believe that the curse is alive and well and will be carried into 2002. If you finish as a two seed, we suggest you find a way to get Leland or Roger on your roster.
The 2001 Champions
Winter Co-ed Floor Hockey - PUCK YOU
Spring Co-ed Floor Hockey - NORTHERN EXTREME
Spring Co-ed Softball (Monday/Piedmont) - WIDGETS
Spring Co-ed Softball (Thursday/Piedmont) - SPOTTED DICKS
Spring Co-ed Softball (Saturday/Piedmont) - IT'S ROGER'S FAULT AGAIN
Spring Mens Softball - TEAM MORGAN
Spring Men's Flag Football - WIDE RIGHT
Spring Co-ed Flag Football - HOT DOGS & BUNS
Spring Co-ed Sand Volleyball - NIP O RODNEYS
Summer Co-ed Softball (Monday/Piedmont) - DAMN DRUNKS
Summer Co-ed Softball (Tuesday/Frankie Allen) - SIMPLYHEALTH
Summer Co-ed Softball (Wednesday/Frankie Allen) - PETE ROSE BETS ON US
Summer Co-ed Softball (Thursday/Piedmont) - CNN/SI.COM
Summer Co-ed Softball (Sunday/Frankie Allen) - WE'RE NOT HUNGOVER
AAESL League Champions - POND & COMPANY
AAESL Engineers Conference - POND & COMPANY
AAESL Architects Conference - AEYONES
Summer Men's Car Dealership Softball - COBB COUNTY TOYOTA
Fall Men's Car Dealership Softball - ATLANTA AUTO GROUP
Fall Co-ed Flag Football - JP2
Fall Men's Flag Football - WIDE RIGHT
Fall Co-ed Softball (Tuesday/Frankie Allen) - DICKS
Fall Co-ed Softball (Wednesday/Frankie Allen) - DRIVE FAST & SWERVE
Fall Co-ed Softball (Sunday/Frankie Allen) - REVOLUTION 2K2
The Best of the Best?
players who won more than one CSA championship in 2001
Four championships
Erik Ciccarone - Wide Right (2), Pete Rose Bets on Us, SimplyHealth
Jim Lamorte - Wide Right (2), Pete Rose Bets on Us, SimplyHealth
Brantley Edwards - Wide Right (2), Pete Rose Bets on Us, SimplyHealth
Todd Van Leuven - Wide Right (2), Pete Rose Bets on Us, SimplyHealth
Three championships
Killebrew Bailey - Wide Right (2), Pete Rose Bets on Us
Two championships
Susan Weigel - Spotted Dicks, We're Not Hungover
Peter Kitrell - Spotted Dicks, We're Not Hungover
John Dunning - Spotted Dicks, We're Not Hungover
Darren Hulst - Spotted Dicks, We're Not Hungover
Allison Lehr - Spotted Dicks, We're Not Hungover
Charlie Whalen - Team Morgan, We're Not Hungover
Mike Muzik - We're Not Hungover, Revolution 2K2
Joe Della Vecchia - Pete Rose Bets on Us, SimplyHealth
Tricia Bennett - Pete Rose Bets on Us, SimplyHealth
Rachel Lawton - Pete Rose Bets on Us, SimplyHealth
Janice Yu - Pete Rose Bets on Us, SimplyHealth
Mark McLaughlin - Wide Right (2)
Gary Bossert - Wide Right (2)
Nate Schoell - Wide Right (2)
Wes Clarke - Wide Right (2)
Ilana Davidi - Damn Drunks, CNN/SI.com
Michelle Way - Damn Drunks, CNN/SI.com
2001 - By the numbers
A statistical breakdown of 2001
(forfeits are not included in the statistics)
Co-ed Softball
# of games played: 451
# of runs scored: 10272
Tie games: 7
One Run games: 64
Games decided by over 20 runs: 16
Games decided by over 10 runs: 119
Games in which one team scored over 20 runs: 98
Games in which one team was shutout: 10
Games in which one team scored one run: 17
Games where the total combined runs were:
50 or over - 1
between 40-49 - 8
between 30-39 - 75
between 20-29 - 204
between 10-19 - 149
between 0-9 - 14
Most runs scored - one game - combined - 50 - 9/23 -
Evil Genius (27) - Bad Habits (23)
Most runs scored - one game - one team - 33 - 11/7 - HOK (vs Chick and Shrimp)
Most runs scored - one game - one team in a loss - 23 - 9/23 - Bad Habits
Largest margin of victory - 30 - 11/7 - HOK (33-3 against Chick and Shrimp)
Co-ed Flag Football
# of games played: 72
# of runs scored: 1714
Tie games: 3
One point games: 11
Games decided by over 20 points: 6
Games decided by over 30 points: 2
Games in which one team scored over 30 points: 4
Games in which one team was shutout: 20
Games where the total combined points were:
50 or over - 1
between 40-49 - 4
between 30-39 - 13
between 20-29 - 27
between 10-19 - 21
between 0-9 - 4
Most points scored - one game - combined - 54 - 5/15-
Cobalt Loungers (33) - High Maintenance (21)
Most points scored - one game - one team - 34 (twice) -
10/8 - Big Perm (vs In the Red Zone)
10/8 - High Maintenance (vs Better Than Dallas)
Most points scored - one game - one team in a loss - 22 - 6/19 - Jurassic Park
Largest margin of victory - 34 - 10/8 - High Maintenance (vs Better Than Dallas)
Men's Flag Football
# of games played: 61
# of runs scored: 1608
Tie games: 2
One point games: 5
Games decided by over 20 points: 4
Games decided by over 30 points: 2
Games in which one team scored over 30 points: 7
Games in which one team was shutout: 16
Games where the total combined points were:
50 or over - 2
between 40-49 - 5
between 30-39 - 17
between 20-29 - 16
between 10-19 - 15
between 0-9 - 6
Most points scored - one game - combined - 59 - 11/7 -
Renegades (41) - Titans II (18)
Most points scored - one game - one team - 41 - 11/7 - Renegades (vs Titans II)
Most points scored - one game - one team in a loss - 20 - three times
Largest margin of victory - 33 - 10/31 - Extreme Force (vs Titans II)