Island Bocce -

From The Joy of Bocce Newsletter:
This guy is stranded on a desert island, all alone for ten years.
One day, he sees a speck in the horizon.

He thinks to himself, "It's not a ship."

The speck gets a little closer and he thinks, "It's not a boat."

The speck gets even closer and he thinks, "It's not a raft."

He makes it to a flat hard sandy beach and then, out of the surf comes this gorgeous woman, wearing a wet suit and scuba gear.

She comes up to the guy and says, "How long has it been since you've had a cigarette?"

"Ten years!" he says.

She reaches over and unzips a waterproof pocket on her left sleeve and pulls out a pack of fresh cigarettes.
He takes one, lights it, takes a long drag, and says, "Man, oh man! Is that good!"

Then she asked, "How long has it been since you've had a drink of whiskey?" He replies, "Ten years!"

She reaches over, unzips her waterproof pocket on her right sleeve, pulls out a flask and gives it to him.
He takes a long swig and says, "Wow, that's fantastic!"

Then she starts unzipping this long zipper that runs down the front of her wet suit and she says to him,

"And how long has it been since you've had some REAL fun?"

And the man replies, "My God! Don't tell me that you've got a set of bocce balls in there!"

Book Details

Book Details

This 3rd edition of "The Joy of Bocce" is also available as an e-book.
You might want to check it out and see what the "Buzz" is all about.

See you on the courts!

Standings are up!

Standings are up at the new and official Southernmost Bocce League's web page. Take a look and let them know what you think about it.

Also get a closer look at Thursday Night at the BocceManiacs on Facebook.

Southernmost Bocce League Announces New Season!

Spring Season 2011

A Masterpiece in the making!

Plenty of compliments could be heard during the opening ceremony of the refurbished bocce courts on White Street.
This picture shows how a Sunday afternoon was spent in preparation to install Colleen's Mosaic on the courts before the official opening.

Now in the second week of the Spring Season I am still trying to get info from each night captain to be able to post the scores each night yet there hasn't been much activity. This should soon though change.

Still looking forward to our first game since last week's Thursday's games had to be postponed due to the heavy rain. Check back soon as I will be posting updates frequently.

Facebook TabSite

Hi everybody,

Quick announcement:
Captain's meeting on Monday, February 28 at NY Pizza in the Duval Square.
Scheduled for 6pm.
Have you seen the new courts yet? One more week till the new season begins.

Keep on Rolling!

Valentines Gift

The Joy of Bocce is a wonderful present for your friend and fellow Bocce Player.
Want to know more about it? Follow the link below or go directly to Mario's Page to get to know him more personally and while there subscribe to his newsletter, there will be plenty about Key West Bocce. So let's work on this topic together.

Registration Announcement

SPRING SEASON REGISTRATION

Registration for the Southernmost Bocce League
Spring 2011 season will be held the week of February 21.
We will be at the Courts that week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights from 6 - 7 PM.
Team fee is $100 and the fee for players is $20 each.
Only the team fee is required for registration.

Anyone interested in starting a new team should email trixphelan@gmail.com to be added to the waiting list.

Keep checking for the Captains Meeting announcement.

Thanks for your patience
The was copied from the official web page of the Southernmost Bocce League

Florida Keys official Tourism Website - Islamorada, Key Largo, Marathon, Lower Keys, Key West

Florida Keys official Tourism Website - News Flash

International Sailing Regatta Set For Jan. 17-21 In Key West

KEY WEST, Florida Keys — Sailboats and crews from around the world are to compete in subtropical waters during Key West 2011, scheduled Monday through Friday, Jan. 17-21.

Presented by Nautica, the challenge features world-class competition and yachting teams from more than 12 countries and 24 American states.

America's Cup legend Russell Coutts will be on hand for the southernmost debut of the RC 44 class, while the IRC fleet is expected to star standouts including Titan, chartered by former America's Cup skipper Bill Koch.
Click on headline for complete article

Bocce Prom Reminder

Guess this quick reminder isn't quite necessary, but here it is anyway just to remind you of the Bocce Gazette.

This weekend marks the last event of the "Southernmost Bocce League" Fall Season with their Trophy presentation and party what became known as the Bocce Prom.
The League invites you to Saturday's event which is hosted for the second time at Kelly McGillis' Caribbean Bar and Grill. Members can enjoy the party FREE, but a guest has to dish out $10.- to take part and grab the specials prepared for the league.
Have a great time and take lots of pics which you can send to me to post on the Bocce Gazette.

Fall Season 2010 Play-Offs.

Today marks the beginning of the Southernmost Bocce League's Play-Offs including a mini tournament against teams from Big Pine Key. These games will start at 11 a.m. while the top 5 of each division from the local league begin rolling at Noon, 3 and 6 p.m.

Cowboy Bill's will try to defend their title which they are holding for the past 8 season.

Good Luck to all.

For schedule visit This page!

Only make-up games remain.

Regular season ended Thursday Night.

There are only make-up games to be played which must be completed by the weekend. The GOOD NEWS is the 4 teams ending the season in 6th place will be playing 4 teams from the Big Pine League for the first time. 

For more details visit http://southernmostbocce.org/

Southernmost Bocce League Week #11

Southernmost Bocce League Week #11

Another rained out night; now there are 2 make-up games to be played.
Team captains should get together with one of the league officials to make arrangements.

Only 2 more games remaining during regular season.

Week 10 Thursday Night Bocce

Week 10 Thursday Night Bocce

Standings are up; remember next week bye-week for Fantasy Fest. Please get in touch with league officials to schedule the make-up games.

Key West Clubhouse / Southernmost Bocce Daily News

Key West Clubhouse / Southernmost Bocce Daily News

For the latest News about the make up games follow the link above.

romaraisport1

romaraisport1
Bocce World Championship Rome 2010

This is a great video from RAI - the single finals in Rome, Italy.
More details later; the video is rather lengthy, but if you love bocce and appreciate good play, it's never too long.

BTW: Check our courts tonight, some games are on despite the earlier rain.
Courts are playable.

Thursday Night Schedule -

Bocce Thursday Schedule - Key West:
Below are this week's matches. Perhaps the most intriguing match ups tonight are being played on Courts F and G respectively.
Will the Hell's Rangers keep their clean sheet against Charley's Place? Highly unlikely.

How about the Conch Town Bubba's vs. DonKeys? Will the real Bubba's finally show up? Should be a fun night.

Week# 3
BALLS TO THE WALL vs. PEPE’S CAFÉ A
DON’S PLACE vs. JEFF’S GEMS B
DOUBLE D’S vs. C & K SHOCKERS C
BOBBI JO’S vs. ROLLING ROOKIES D
SCHOONFIELD vs. LAST CALL E
SHANNA KEY HELL’S RANGERS vs. CHARLIE’S PLACE F
DON KEYS vs. CONCHTOWN BUBBAS G

Good Luck!

Summer Break

Back when new season starts.

Facebook | Boccemaniacs Notes

Facebook | Boccemaniacs Notes
Just a few notes about last weekends' play-off games. Congratulations to Cowboy Bill's for an amazing 8th consecutive City Championship.

Don's Place Key West - Bocce Pages

Don's Place Key West - Bocce Pages

Thursday's scores and standings have been corrected.
Sorry for the mishap.

CarltonLakes Bocce

CarltonLakes

This link is to an article from the Joy of Bocce Newsletter about the SW-Florida bocce group/community; highly recommended!


And while there, subscribe to his ezine; each week I look forward to reading it.

Inspirational, relaxing - or to put into an eastern philosophy term:
it's 'O-MMMMMM' good.

See you tomorrow at the courts when our team tries to make the standings look slightly less embarrassing.

Week #9!

For next season you may want to think about getting 1 of these great little time pieces. Know when to be there and know when the games are taking too long.

4 more weeks of Bocce

With only 12 games remaining in the regular Bocce season, the interest about the standings and remaining matches always piques during this time. So from now until the rest of the season I'd like to post each night the updates of the games played.


Just remember, these are only "UNOFFICIAL" updates and if any discrepancies should occur, the league is not responsible for this. It would be solely my fault and therefore be accountable for.
But then again, how much damage can be done other than that to my credibilty or competence?

Check back Tuesday night to see if I actually made it to the courts.
Since there's no input from night captains, all I can hope for is to have the time and energy to make this possible.

Thursday Night's as you know have been updated usually right after the games since the beginning of the season, (it is our team's night,) and by the looks of it our season will definitely end Week 13.

Don's Place has been assigned as HQ for 4 teams, so check out the Clubhouse's Sponsor pages to see how appreciation for sponsorship can be done since obvisually there's nothing published anymore in the local papers.

Visit Don's Page at the KW Clubhouse!

See you Thursday

Thursday Bocce Schedule Spring Season 2010 Southernmost Bocce League

Thursday Bocce

Standings and Games are posted.

Thursday Bocce Schedule Spring Season 2010 Southernmost Bocce League

Thursday Bocce Schedule Spring Season 2010 Southernmost Bocce League

Thursday Night's updates are finally in.
Perhaps the Pizza made me a bit slow -
Although it was another unusual cold night, the games were hot.
Check out the scores and standings by clicking on the headline.
See you next Thursday!

Thursday Bocce Schedule Spring Season 2010 Southernmost Bocce League

Thursday Bocce Schedule Spring Season 2010 Southernmost Bocce League

Just checked the official website but there are no updates and who can blame Chuck; after all he celebrated his 65th birthday!
Happy Birthday Chuck!

For Thursday's 'unofficial' current standings check this link Thursday week 3!

Key West Clubhouse Publishing / Shanna Key.com

Key West Clubhouse Publishing / Shanna Key.com

Standings and tonight's games are available by clicking on the headline above.

Southernmost Bocce League Master Schedule

Southernmost Bocce League Master Schedule

Chuck published the new and revised schedule for the 2010 Spring Season!
Just I'd let you know this way.
This link will take you to Monday's Season Schedule.

Thanks Chuck for your dedication and hard work!

Southernmost Bocce/Thursday week 1

Southernmost Bocce/Thursday week 1

Go ahead check it out - there's a lot to be discussed about!
Thanks for you involvement.

Spring Season 2010

Visit the 'official' website for the Southernmost Bocce League for the 2010 Spring Season schedule.

Shanna Key Bocce News

Bocce News

Neil Mellies became the newly elected President for the SMBL during the Captains Meeting on January 27.

One of the true "Boccesaurs" he is also no newcomer to this position as Neil acted before as President of the Southernmost Bocce League.

His love, dedication and enthusiasm for the game itself and the awareness of the Organization are all promising aspects for the new season, which btw. begins February 8!

Shanna Key's Bocce Updates!

Shanna Key's Bocce Updates!

One and a half weeks left till our new season starts - see how Shanna Key is getting ready!

Don's Place Key West - Sponsor Recreation

Don's Place Key West - Sponsor Recreation

One of the Thursday Night's Bocce Sponsors page with link to their business page. Of course Don's also sponsors a Coed Softball Team.
Check them out!

Bocce Volo - World Class Bocce

Bocce Volo - World Class Bocce

Watch the singles final of the Bocce World Cup - enthusiasts only!

Key West Heating Up | KeysNews.com

Key West Heating Up | KeysNews.com

Packed Streets, crowded waters... all indications of this week's invasion of a different kind.
It certainly is a party week for some!

Joy of Bocce - Article as it appeared in Merrimack Magazine

Click here for the article!

BOCCE PROM Saturday!

Bocce Prom Saturday, Jan. 9, 2010

The ANNUAL BOCCE PROM will be held tomorrow, Sat. January 9, at 6PM till 10PM at COWBOY BILL's on DUVAL.
News about Team registration and Trophy presentation during the 4 hr ceremony. Live Music!
See You there.

Green Parrot - First Ever Grand Bocce Champion

Green Parrot - First Ever Grand Bocce Champion

Just a quick reminder - January 9, 6:00PM - 10:00PM BOCCE PROM at Cowboy Bill's on Duval!
And as an added bonus there's a link to a reprint from Green Parrot's John V. and his now famous quote:
"They Can't Take That Away From Us!"

BARRY's BLOG

Updates

Latest about Bocce Prom, Registration for Spring Season, Captain's Meeting and election of officers...
Click on Updates or here!

Florida Keys Sports | KeysNews.com

Florida Keys Sports | KeysNews.com

Get last night's High School Soccer scores - a convincing W in the girls and boys teams column.
The win last night by the HS Kicking Conchs was especially sweet as they had lost 1:2 in the first meeting and remember those stunned faces.

How does one get enough game practice when a team can only play 1 half, then second half is called due to the Mercy Rule?
11:0 looks quite good for only 45 minutes. And since the rules say at least 1 half of the game has to be played, I challenge the girls to top that score.

Bowled Over - The Bold Italic - San Francisco

Bowled Over - The Bold Italic - San Francisco

This week's edition of the the Joy of Bocce newsletter pointed to an article written by Aaron Britt for a San Francisco web publication, the bold italic, in which the author explored several Bayside Parks in search of Bocce, Petanque or any 'Boulet' communities.

In a lighthearted 'report' Aaron put together an amusing and enjoyable article...

which I think you should check out yourself HERE!

more later

Newton, MA Parks & Recreation Department

Newton, MA Parks & Recreation Department

Newton, MA, has come up with a concept and I wonder what's the reasoning behind the move!
I hope our league together with the Son's of Italy will start reaching beyond our Key West or Big Pine boundaries.

Cowboy Bill's x 7!

Cowboy Bill's wins 7th consecutive title!

Was it expected? - One could say NO; but they were certainly the top team during the regular season not only for Monday Night but had the best record of all 4 divisions.

Will that record stand forever now that it reached 7 and Neil, Tegan, Rosemary and the rest of the team have no reason nor do they feel like forming other teams? This could just mean Cowboy Bill's is going for an 8th straight title under the same sponsorship.

The heavy thundersqualls passing through the lower Keys on Saturday delayed the opening round by 2 hours and it took quite some work by the officials and impatient team members to get the courts ready to be played on.

Perhaps the biggest shocker of the day was Gran Vin beating the team most hopeful to end Cowboy Bill's streak, the Schooner Wharf Bar. Having been the top seed for Wednesday Night, the Schooner had an automatic bye for the first round, while Grand Vin was forced earlier to go 3 games to advance.

As the day ended only 12 teams remained.
More later

7-UP it is!

I'll be back for this one! - The Header says it all - 7UP!

BocceLife.com's new blog!

The Bocce Ball Blog

The BocceLife.com blog is really coming to life.
Visit their site and blog and perhaps we'll have a nice tournament in the not too distant future competing against our bocce friends from up north.

The Key West Clubhouse will be officially opened and with the support of the BocceManiacs we can arrange a weekend full of fun and bocce.
more on this subject later

Shanna Key's Bocce and Drink Mixer

Bocce @ Shanna Key!

The Bocce updates are back at Shanna Key's with a nice little widget which replaces the little book underneath the bar for unusual mixed drinks.

You may want to check it out.
And while there, see who thinks which team night will win the Championship.
For some reason Tuesday Night has a slight edge ahead of all others.
See you all in a week for the play offs.

BOCCE PLAY OFFS

BOCCE PLAY OFFS

Saturday's playoff schedule has been posted.
Click on link above for details, or visit the Official web site.

Bocce Thursday Updates!

Phew! It was tough last night to finish the updates - it was a great night on the courts even if losing 0-3, but after I got home, there were other priorities and once I got around to doing the standings it was about 4 AM.

To visit last night's scores and standings visit this page !

A 2-player team double elimination tournament is scheduled for Nov. 14. Details are still rough looking, yet since Sandy B. is involved in it, I trust her wholeheartedly and know the event will be a great success.
And it's also for a good cause I understand. Entrance Fee is $50.- per team
I'll keep you posted on that subject...

And how about the play-off picture?

With only 3 more games to play, (including make up game), there are 4 teams practically qualified. Bocce Bubba's, Charley's Place, Shanna Key's Hells Rangers, they're in for sure and only something unimaginable will happen could stop Pepe's to follow them into the post season.

Now the question arises who might be in that all so coveted 5th spot to be able to reach the play-offs. I'm leaning towards Bobbi Jo's and wish them all the best. Guess it's bye week next week, isn't it?

No arrangements have been made for our make up game. I'll let you know how I overcame my withdrawal symptoms!
Enjoy the weekend
Let your friends know about our thursday night's updates!
Google for BocceManiacs!

Bocce History

Bocce History

When I first started the "Bocce Gazette" back in '98 I browsed around the net to find some resources about BOCCE and came across this Bocce History chapter by someone I believe was from Georgia.

And as I was searching and gathering some of my old pages from the early days, much to my amazement I found these notes again and posted it on the Clubhouse. It is an interesting read with anecdotes about Lord Byron and other historical figures who enjoyed and loved the game.

I also recollected pics dating back to 2002, which will be posted on the the site.

And about tonight...
We do have an interesting Match tonight, playing against Charley's, and sure hope it won't be too depressing or humiliating. But then again they may have an "OFF-Day" and it won't be all so bad. See you all tonight.

Good Luck and have Fun!

Changes are in the making!

Sunday Morning...
After our soccer game yesterday my body muscles are aching and I decided just to take it somewhat easy today.

Read the Citizen this morning, listening to my own Pandora's Radio Station and I'm in the Doo Wop mood, relaxing and thinking about several things.

And one has to do with BOCCE, after all this so-called blog is supposed to be about BOCCE.

One thing about the League that will never change is the FUN most everybody is having. Unfortunately there are some negative or rather unsatisfactory comments by many about the uninvolvement, an Apathy quite obvious even to an 'innocent' bystander.

But what triggered this entry to the blog this morning was a comment by someone I truly admire and respect for his involvement in the League.

Burn-Out is something one usually does not associate with a Fun activity, but BOCCE is really not just about fun as it takes a lot of work, dedication and quite a bit of enthusiasm to keep a rather large group of people happy and organized. And the simplest way to achieve this goal, is what the league is lacking and has been for some time: Communication and Information.

NO - this is not pointing fingers or blaming anyone. But realizing the fact how much work is really involved, the dedication level usually stays the same with most people, but once disappointment starts to set in, the degree of enthusiasm usually fades quickly.

That's when it becomes obvious to anyone something has got to be done to rekindle that old spark. Perhaps all it needs is a few more people, a few encouraging comments, show the appreciation towards the Officials for the efforts they are putting towards the league.

Since each season lasts just about 3 month, which in fact is a long time, I have been puzzled by the fact that there's only one captains meeting, which is usually the night of the final registration.

Why not meet more often? Latent problems may become top topics and can then be solved through a concerted effort before these nagging and unhappy troubling subjects turn into a Burn-Out!

And there's the word again - Burn-Out - !
Let's prevent this by doing simple steps in the future, I certainly would hate to see this one person quit his position or maybe even worse, quit Bocce for a season or two. Yes, we all have a life to live, but it was YOU who decided to make BOCCE a part of this life and where else do you socialize in such an atmosphere as one can find at the Indigenous Park?

Think about it - start with helping to keep the courts clean; each team, each player each friend who comes to visit to watch the games, become part of it and the ones responsible to make sure all this gets done will be again enjoying his VOLUNTARY DUTY!

Till next time -
KEEP ON ROLLING
hd/a.k.a. boccenut

Dragging was not needed last night!

Recap of Thursday Night Bocce

It certainly was a nice change of pace last night as we finally did not have to DRAG that monstrous 2x4 with that huge carpet attached to it.
Instead we had the Winners honor to store the balls away last night; a privilege not often bestowed on us during this season.

It looks as if PEPE's is finding their form right on time to be seriously considered as a front runner for the play-offs. Along with Conch Town Bubbas, Charley's Place and Shanna Key's Hells Rangers!
That would once again only leave the usual 5th place wide open for 1 other team to reach the post season.

And by looking at the standings and the remaining schedule, it is impossible to come up with a definite suggestion.

Last Call, Bobbi Jo's and possibly 2-3 other teams are still in contention for that desired spot. Is our team still in the running?
It would take more than just a small miracle but of course nobody can take away the hope or optimism trying to believethat there is a chance. So let's leave it just with that.

Visit last night's scores and standing here: BOCCE GAZETTE!

See you all next week!

On the courts last night

For the first time this season I went to stop by the courts and was glad I did.

It appears the atmosphere has slightly changed and much to my delight the changes, although somewhat subtle, were very positive.

And with pleasure did I notice the presence of the Schooner Wharf's "new" old team.
There was Tuna, Timmy and Mike and Brian, missing from the old team was just Norman and Cuban Eddie. Should be interesting to see if they'll be a serious contender to stop Cowboy Bill's run for a 7th consecutive title for the City Championship.

Tonight - well, our team will be playing Tina and the team of Bobbi Jo's. Will that help us to improve our record after last week's humiliating sweep?

Hard to tell and when I saw the courts last night and add the amount of rain which came down again during the wee hours in the morning, it may be just another "messy" night.

Playing on Court G, a court hardly anybody likes, happens to be my... - NO,I'm NOT going to JINX it!

See you tonight and let's have some fun and a healthy competitive mindset.

Visit http://kwclubhouse.com/bocce.aspx for tonight's game schedule, week #8!

What was the World like before Bocce and Internet?

With Bocce being one of the oldest games and the Internet really just caught on to the masses about 10 - 15 years ago, I remember my start on WEBTV Nov. '97,

the World seemed a bit slower then. Information hungry topic oriented subjects, there was the Library, but my main source was VALLEDARES.

Now gone, one became hooked, dependend to the net and being without one for just a few days and having to restart most everything, things can become a bit frustrating.

Anyway, glad problems are resolved, (for NOW), but Mercury in retrograde until Oct.10, I hope the effects are fading.

Being able to work on this again...

Back on again!

Trying to recollect some old data I've lost during reformatting the Hard Drive, but just to let you know.

Don't forget the "Official Website" of the League!

Thursday's updates are posted!

After last night's surprising results, Charley's Place suffered their first loss of the season, the group really tightened up in the standings. Even though only 6 weeks into the season, and the 5th play-off spot usually the only one to be battled for, it might be that this season the usual qualifiers are down to 3.

Of course it's a long way to go and the make-up games can change things quite a bit, it's always fun to look at the possibilities and of course keep hoping your team will reach the minimal goal set at the beginning of the season - Reach the Play-Offs.

Visit the page Thursday Week 6 for more info!

Tuesday Night Bocce/ Courtesy of Shanna Key

Tuesday Night's Scores and Standings are up!

Find out about last night games at Clubhouse Pages, courtesy of Shanna Key Irish Pub & Grill!

Tuesday Night Bocce now with the BOCCEMANIACS!

Shanna Key became member of the Maniacs!

Shanna Key just became the new update page for Tuesday Night's Bocce as a member of the Bocce Maniacs.
More later...

Thursday's updates are posted!

Game Night - Sept. 10:

Week #5: 9/10/09

Last Call vs. Shanna Key's Hell's Rangers 0 - 3

Conch Town Bubba's vs. Southernmost Hotel 3 - 0

Pepe's vs. BAT Construction 2 - 1

American Legion vs. Just For Fun 1 - 2

Charlie's Place vs. Bobbi Jo's 2 - 1

Don's Place vs. Funny Business 1 - 2

DonKeys vs. Schoonfield 3 - 0

Standings available at kwclubhouse.com

Blue Screen Update!

Thank God I got the Laptop working!

The Main PC I will ignore for now, for one reason is finances, the other I'm not trying to go through 3 more days of hair raising moments of frustration and tantrums for feeling time pressured.

So I hope that tonight I'll be able to play and let all these negative moments over the past few days be bygones and have some fun.

The Blue Screen got me!

Things got a little hectic as I have just the laptop to work with.
Please be patient till the weekend, hopefully I'll have it fixed by then.
After all, there are other things in life still to be taken care of.

But I'll see you Thursday!

Get this week's updates!

See what's happening this week and listen to the Talk of the Town!

Pages are being updated - though have to do all with this laptop since I goofed around the PC just a bit too much!

See you at the "Clubhouse" and the Bocce Courts, and Bayview Park, H.O.B. now with the AYSO season starting...
Guess I'll be busy for a while!

Notes: GM's quick exit from bankruptcy good news for NASCAR - Sprint Cup, NASCAR - CBSSports.com NASCAR, IRL, F1

A bit out of line and a competely different topic, but..
... after all, CP's is still the official Southernmost Pit Stop for Nascar and a definite HotSpot for NasCar Fans.
Ask the friendly folks how you can join!

---

Although these articles and quotes below are a couple of month old and I am by no nor any means a NASCAR Fan, (F1 is more me), but one of my relatives has certainly made some headlines during those days and has since moved to Hendrick motors.

Just a quick quote from the articles from July's editions.

"We've raced Chevys for 25 years," Doug Duchardt said at Chicagoland Speedway. "This is just one situation. We've worked through it and we'll move on down the road."
Duchardt, the former head of GM Racing, was surprised at how quickly the car company escaped bankruptcy. GM notified teams last month that it would cut back spending after filing for Chapter 11 protection.

Duchardt said these changes made to their agreement after meeting with GM officials, but expected no further adjustments to their contract.

"We're happy that they committed to us in the middle of all that," Duchardt said. "Now that the bankruptcy is over, it doesn't really change anything after we had that meeting."

Rained OUT!

First Rain-out of the season!

As strange as it may sound and after the many days believing there wouldn't be any games, it happened yesterday.

After a few heavy thundersqualls the courts were just to wet and unplayable at the time.
So we have another week to look forward to.

Thursday Night Standings now Posted

Thursday Night standings now available at the official Web site of the SMBL!
VISIT HERE!

Take part in our Bocce Poll!

Just added: Boccemaniac Poll!
Let us know what you think of what night will take this season's Championship Crown?
Will Cowboy Bill's be finally dethroned?

Thursday Night Standings Posted

Thursday Night standings have been posted at the Bocce Gazette!
kwclubhouse.com
More on the night later on...

Week #3

A: Don's Place vs. Last Call 0 - 3

B: Shanna Key's Hell's Rangers vs. BAT Construction 2 - 1

C: Just For Fun vs. Charlie's Place 0 - 3

D: Schoonfield vs. Pepe's 0 - 3

E: Funny Business vs. Bobbi Jo's 2 - 1

F: DonKeys vs. Conch Town 1 - 2

G: Southernmost Hotel vs. American Legion 2 - 1

Key West Clubhouse / Bocce News Bulletins

In a news post in the official Bocce page last April a benefit tournament was mentioned, yet nothing has come of it so far.
I've been wondering about the subject as I have heard several comments I prefer not too repeat.
Read more here...

Will week 2 be a rainout?

Hi everyone,

It appears the 2nd week of the fall-season might just be a complete wash out!
Preparing for my upcoming tests really doesn't leave me much time for nearly 3 more weeks and consequently certain things regretfully have to be put on a backburner.
(Which btw. I'm running out of, lol.)

Right now there's another heavy rain squall pouring down on us and with the sun not getting a chance to perform her miracles on the courts, it just looks as if tonight might be the first casualty of our young season.

Perhaps it gives me an opportunity to complete at least our night (Thursday) at the BOCCE GAZETTE . <==HINT - click on it

I hope you have been checking it out; I still need some more sponsor information.
Ok, that's it for now, back to my "Honey Do's" with an important soccer match in the background on TV.

(Can think of a couple other places I'd rather be right now, but hey, make the best out of it.

See you Thursday!

First week of Bocce!

Bocce Fall Season started!

This week marks the opening of the Southernmost Bocce League's Fall Season. Forecasts do not look too favorably, but this shouldn't stop anyone from looking forward to the new season.

Check out the new Bocce Gazette while you're here.

SHANNA KEY.info TV SCHEDULE

SHANNA KEY.info TV SCHEDULE

Shanna Key just posted their weekly TV-Schedule on their website.
Remember the Bundesliga starts Friday; let Barry know you want to watch the games.
GOLTV here in Key West - 622 Comcast - DirectTV unknown to me for now, will post later!

Southernmost Bocce League - Reminder

Just a quick reminder that the final team registration is on Wednesday, August 5 at 6 pm. This will take place at "SHANNA KEY Irish Pub & Grill" with the captain's meeting following at 7 pm.

First games Monday, August 10 at 6:30 pm.!

See you all at the Court - BOCCE COURT that is.

Visit the Bocce Gazette

Key West - Bocce and Facebook!

Never in my worst nightmares...

...could I have imagined becoming a "semi"-regular at these social networks. But sometimes this is just the way the cookie crumbles or the dice rolls.

And I must admit, there's actually much more going on than I had expected.

So - why is this subject coming up here and now? Quite possible some of you quick thinkers "feel" already what's coming and yes, you are right.

Soon you can hear again the famous cry "Let's roll" being carried over all the way to Higgs Beach and what better time than now to add another call to arms: BocceManiacs Unite.

Please Note: Captain's Meeting on Wednesday, August 5, at Shanna Key! Check the official site for the latest announcements!

Bocce is without a doubt the most social gathering, ignore the Arts, and most of us play bocce just for that reason, see some old friends whom you otherwise wouldn't see but twice a year on the street just passing by and a quick hello.

Now to this tournament which was posted on the official web site, a benefit tournament for Terry, one can't help but wonder why this has been kept so quiet all this time!

Over 2 month have passed since the announcement and as far as I know the registration for the upcoming season is rapidly nearing, why can't we combine these 2 events? The league would not be involved with this weekend event, for good reasons, but wouldn't it be in teir best interest to support at least verbally this worthwhile cause. And a weekend affair like that would perhaps encourage more people give it a try to learn the game of BOCCE. People who might not want to join the league but would occasionally enjoy a good game of Bocce and learn what it's all about.

If anybody knows what happened, why the enthusiasm faded faster then it was sparked, please let me know.

"BOCCEMANIACS UNITE" - check back at FaceBook for more detailed info within the next 2 weeks.

Have Fun,
boccenut

What's NEXT?

The Play-Offs are done and over with; the Southernmost Bocce League will now crown their "NEW" city champion during the Bocce Prom which is scheduled for June 20 at the Shanna Key Irish Pub, but these are all known facts.

But what about some details?

Once the regular season was over, so apparently was the enthusiasm by the League Officials to keep everyone just a bit more informed. There hasn't been any information about the finals, any other details are also completely missing.

Is this really necessary, or is it that at the end of the regular season nobody really cares about it anymore?

As we all are aware of the newly formed Bocce League up in Big Pine Key, it would have been nice to get at least in touch with one of the officers of that group and perhaps invite their champion to come down to Key West before the all so famous BOCCE PROM NIGHT,(June20-SHANNA KEY), have a game and then invite that group to the Prom as a Good Will gesture?

Sure, it is a lot work involved for all our officials, especially for the scorekeeper, but what's the sense of having a web site like we did and only a few select have access to it?
Access as in TEAM access - several attempts were made as I understand by various people, but not even team captains were allowed to comment on their night.

Can you imagine how many more hits there would have been, could have been when one had been able to read your opponents "remarks" after the games? I'm positive, some of the comments probably would have never been published, but what's the sense or purpose of publishing a site like we had when no communication ever really was established?

Chuck, our scorekeeper, did a heck of a job on the site and by keeping us up date during the season, but it appears as a Real Estate Agent he likes working with EXCEL sheets, and as I was told by one of the Citizen's editors, it was simply too much information. But the Citizen has been known for the past few years as having their own pet projects.

Enough of this rambling on - I wholeheartedly applaude all the officials' hard work they have done, especially one name comes to mind - "CISCO" - or Francisco if you'd prefer, as he did not only put together a great play-off weekend with some help of course, but his dedication during the season to keep the courts play-able just deserves all the credit he can get and I hope his enthusiasm and dedication will rub off on others for the upcoming season.

Good Night for now, or should I say Good Morning, it is after all already 5:43 am on Saturday, June 6, and I'm having a World Cup Qualifier in the background LIVE on TV; not much of interest personally, but it's good to be up-to-date with certain things.

Enjoy your weekend and hopefully I'll be seeing you at the PROM!

COWBOY BILL's Wins 6th. Consecutive Title

The Southernmost Bocce League's Spring Season came to the end on Sunday Night.
And what perhaps most players of the League secretly or openly had hoped just couldn't happen. Unstoppable, it appears their in a league of their own, and after winning Monday Night's Division during the regular season, Cowboy Bill's breezed through the play-offs as well as the final unbeaten.

The Play-Off Sponsors who donated Kegs of Beer, Ice, Water and Sodas deserve to be applauded for their continued support of the League; these were:
Don's Place
Green Parrot
Shanna Key
Bobalu's

Another big THANK YOU should go to Dan Evans and Campus Cafe for slaving over the hot grill during the 2 day event which gave us a short preview of the long upcoming summer month.

Congratulation to the 20 teams who made it to the play-offs and of course to Cowboy Bill's who possibly join the GREEN PARROT in the local bocce history books as one of the greatest teams.

BTW, I am still looking for stories, anecdotes from yesteryears for the "History" pages here at Google.

Looking forward to next season!

Key West Clubhouse - BOCCE Play-Offs -

Key West Clubhouse - BOCCE Play-Offs -

Sunday's Play-Off scenario! Follow the link above!

Bocce Gazette FINALS

Bocce Gazette

Just to let you know the final standings are in and you'll be pleasantly surprised by the page I hope! Go ahead and visit each night individually.
Almost feels like the old Bocce days!

There's much more to be added now in the history department.

Southernmost Bocce - the daily Bocce Gazette - Thursday week 12

Southernmost Bocce - the daily Bocce Gazette - Thursday week 12

THURSDAY NIGHT!
All but 2 scores are in - so if you'd like to check it out, click the headline.
Only 1 more week in regular season and as disappointing as our team's season was, it was a great fun season and really did enjoy Thursday Night's.
Thanks everybody!

Key West Clubhouse - News - May 2 - 9

Key West Clubhouse - News - May 2 - 9

Just thought I'd let you know this week's schedule is posted at the Daily Sports Telegraph, a subpage of the Key West Clubhouse Notes.

[Visit this NEW SERVICE from the Key West Clubhouse!] Grab the big picture!

Key West Clubhouse - Southernmost Bocce - Week 10

Key West Clubhouse - Southernmost Bocce - Week 10

Our dream of sneaking into the post season possibly ended last night (Thursday, April 23); follow the link to see complete standings of the Southernmost Bocce League!

(click on Headline)

Home

Daily Telegraph

The Race is on!

4 more weeks remain to improve your team's standings,
4x3=12 more games!

And after this Thursday, [ April 23 ], it appears that either the glimmer of HOPE will shine more brightly, or... well, you know the alternative.

There's one more thing I have to mention;

the good folks over CP's are having a "History" making event next Saturday, April 25, even the former owner Charley will come down for the occasion.

The Party should start around 6 p.m. and to find out more about, follow this link below!

Charley's Place

Key West Clubhouse / Bocce News Bulletins

Key West Clubhouse / Bocce News Bulletins

During this week's bye week due to the Easter Holidays I had the chance to play a bit on the Bocce Gazette for "BocceManiacs" - unfortunately I could not get any updates yet on how the Bocce Documentary is coming along.

What? You haven't heard about it yet?
Check it out here: http://boccemovie.com/
See you Thursday. And HAPPY EASTER!

Re-Structuring/Re-building

With the excellent updates Chuck is doing on the official website, it gives me the chance and opportunity to rebuild the Clubhouse pages.

Just click on the links in the sidebar to get to the pages you'd like to follow.

I'll be back somewhen next week! You can also visit http://keywestsports.blogspot.com/

Sports - Local | KeysNews.com

Sports - Local | KeysNews.com

Have you seen the Standing of the Southernmost Bocce League on the web lately?

If not, give it a try. Just follow the Link above.

Hooray - no dragging the Court tonight!

After winning the first game rather easily, the second and third match was quite the opposite. We've lost the second game 15-16 and came back from a big deficit in the 3rd. to win by the smallest of margins, 16-15.
It was the longest game of the night and we were glad as much as lucky to finish the night the way it did.

Hopefully we can keep this streak going for a couple of weeks to see if there's a shot to be in the top 5 for thursday night. I certainly hope so!

See you next week!

Check out this link for the standings: http://kwclubhouse.com/thu4.aspx

Sad Day in Paradise

In loving Memory!

Some people are trying to do the Daytona 500 on Eisenhower Drive just to catch the green light on Truman - and that ended a short and sweet and loving relationship with my little buddy pictured here.

So forgive me if I'm not much in a bocce mood.

Everytime I was sitting on the computer she made herself comfortable on the shelf next to me, where she made herself some room to be close and to watch my fingers slowly move across the keyboard. Sometimes she even helped me typing!

Thursday Night BOCCE

As I was busy working on some pages, I realized today was Thursday, and you know what that means - it's BOCCE NIGHT!

Am I looking forward to it? I'm not so sure.
There are a couple of reasons I can think of which makes me less than enthused about the games tonight:

1. These cold days just don't cut it/with the windchill factor it's just about 60F
2. I believe I caught a virus - a real one, not like the one following the morning after bocce.

But hoping to reach the 500 mark again tonight sparks a little bit of interest again in my barely existing competitive side. And besides, usually I'm my own worst opponent.

Trying to force the court to adapt to my kind of playing instead me trying from the beginning adapting to the court.

Well, we all have our little knick-knacks and shortcomings, and since it is now already 4 p.m. I'll better finish up my real work and start thinking of tonight - Bocce + Beer!

Good Luck!

Standings available @.ORG

The League's OFFICIAL Standings are available at:

http://southernmostbocce.ORG

Southernmost Bocce / Thursday week 3

Follow this link to read today's Bocce Gazette!
Southernmost Bocce / Thursday week 3

To be honest, I am suffering of a severe case of Boccelism today and am not up to writing anything about it!

I'll see you next Thursday.

YouTube - Key West Six-Toed Cat Cam

YouTube - Key West Six-Toed Cat Cam

4 Players and a big W

THURSDAY NIGHT BOCCE!

There's 1 more week to the final registration day and our team hopes that we may get at least one more player.
It was rather exhausting playing 3 games in a row, although some people do not consider BOCCE a sport.

Well, anything that is played with a competitive spirit in the recreational world, I would consider a sport.

The court was in sad shape as last night's loser did not bother to drag the court, or so it seemed, and we did not bother with the chore. Naturally, both teams struggled a bit and we split the first 2 games.

Third game became a rather "convincing" victory as Pepe's did not get into double figures. Hopefully we find another player in the remaining week, as I mentioned before, it is rather difficult after 2 complete games to decide in which hand one should hold the beer and which hand the bocce ball!

See you next week!
Remember the official Bocce site is now http://southermostbocce.ORG/

Yes, there's more than BOCCE!

#links

The Key West Sports Blog has all about sports in Key West! Check it out!

Key West Bocce / Teams / Schedule

Key West Bocce / Teams / Schedule

See if U can get there!

bocce standings now available

The Standings of the first week of bocce is at their web site

Night Captains -

- This thought might interest you!

Now with the new web page at Hometownonline, which btw. is one of the best league/team host on the web, and people are obviously using their PC or Mac more than just for e-mailing or playing games or browse the net, why not give "CHUCK" some help or assistance.

Why not get involved to have your scores and standings of your game night updated the same night, rather somewhen the following day?
(Depending of course on what kind of night you have had!)

Yes, - I have heard of and experienced 'bocce~lism' several times myself, so who the heck in their right mind would want to punish her/himself by committing to such an "enormous task"?

With 13/14 teams a night, guessing an average of 6 players a team, that's 78/84 players each night, somebody out there might just have the necessary enthusiasm, interest and knowledge that the page administrator would not hesitate to give permission to get access.
It all would still have to be approved by him anyway!

Since Thursday Night is our team's game night, I'll try to stay [unofficially of course] on top of it and have the scores and standings in at that night.

Since 'Sisco' is the only one I know for some time out of the Officers crew, and perhaps the most accessible one, tell him you're interested and see what happens!

Following this LINK, you'll get to the bocce pages of the still somewhat private Clubhouse. And of course to the now 11 year old Bocce Gazette.

Anyway, it looks Thursday Night was the right choice for me - especially sitting out for a few seasons, it's a good group and it looks as if there are a few of the 'boccesaurs' around to enjoy the night of the game we all love - Bocce -.

And where else do you see faces you know for so many years other than the Bocce Courts. And aren't these courts much more tolerable to see or meet your Judge or be judged on, than the one next to "da Bird"?

Our First Night

Going out to the Bocce Courts thursday night was a good move as I landed on the team I hoped I could be playing on. It's somewhat more comfortable for an "intro" like me to be around familiar faces to start on a night I had never played before.

Good in the sense as only 2 people of the team showed up and would have had to forfeit the game and as mentioned earlier, it was the team I hoped to be on. And thanks to SANDY who made it possible for me to be playing that night.

Our night started off with a bang as - even with only 3 players - we kept the other team pretty quiet for a while and even took a 13 to 1 lead. Things changed drastically; not being able to get the pallina and playing with only 2 balls on my end, we found ourselves in the jinxed position of 14-11 and finally lost 16-14.

The second match is certainly not worth mentioning as it was a walk over and we got clobbered 16-2 or maybe we got even 3, but that was it.

Finally we made the necessary changes and I played on the other side with Michael as my partner, hoping to be able to give the lone player the chance for the leading ball.
A good setter can keep the damages to a minimum and that's exactly what CYNTHIA did - and more. By winning 2 crucial points in a tight match she made it possible for us to get ahead and kept us in a game that was close to the end.

We finally prevailed and won 16-14 and the praise and respect from our opponents. It was a nice crew to play against and the introduction to Thursday Night's division was quite pleasurable.

Stinky Fingers, our opponent for the night, were one of thursday's play-off team, so all in all, our night definitely could be considered a success.

Before I ramble on too much longer, just remember, the GAZETTE is back and you can get to it by clicking either on the GUINNESS PINT or go to directly to http://kwclubhouse.com/bocce

Have fun!
And YES, you can spread the word - look for BOCCEMANIACS at BLOGSPOT!

It was a START!

After all these years of playing Bocce, last night was a first for me to be playing on a Thursday!
And since it was the beginning of the season I thought I may have a good chance to get on a team without any problem. And so it happened! And it turned out to be quiet an experience.
More on this later....

Beginning of the New Season!

This weekend BWS (the bocce withdrawal symptoms) come to end with the beginning of the Spring Season '09 of the Southernmost Bocce League on Monday, February 9, 2009.

And this time the Cold front which usually accompanies and signals the beginning of the spring season came a week earlier and there's hope for Monday Night we'll stay in the 60's.

Although I haven't played myself for several seasons, the Love for BOCCE can and will never cease to exist. It's been so long ago when I occasionally played, that people looked at me and thought I was either completely nuts or definitely color blind.

The DARK balls were always GREEN during the early days, now they're actually blue, RED is still red - the Pallina was red, now there are several options to choose from!

Anyway, I hope there's a spot open any night but WEDNESDAY!

boccemovie.com - A documentary film about the southernmost bocce league located in Key West, Florida.

boccemovie.com - A documentary film about the southernmost bocce league located in Key West, Florida.

Change is good - not always welcomed, but in this case I wholeheartedly support the project and try to point everyone to this page!

I hope you'll enjoy this project as much as I do and hope you will spread the word!

Announcing: re-opening of the Bocce Gazette

Key West, Florida - January 13, 2009

---

Finally - the Gazette is back!

After years of hibernation the Bocce Gazette is finally back in circulation! Last season's mishap was certainly the deciding factor of bringing back the still obscure Gazette, but with the Key West Clubhouse finally officially open, it's quite an easier path than it was before.

So, look forward to the coming season when again the daily updates are being published.

For more info visit: http://kwclubhouse.com/bocce.aspx

Cowboy Bills - A True Bocce Dynasty

Last weekend the Southernmost Bocce League ended their Fall Season with the post season tournament to determine the overall league champion!

The top 5 teams of each night qualified for this competition and again it was the Monday Night's division champion which earned the "Bragging Rights" to be called the Best of Key West!

You can visit the official Bocce page by putting your cursor over the Logo and click on it. You'll find detailed information and an extensive picture gallery is available to browse through. Have Fun while there!

The season will officially end with the Bocce Prom at Dante's on Caroline Street.