Where in the world would you play Paintball??

We have been talking with TC trying to figure out a plan for next year. I thought I would send this out to everyone. If you could play tourney ball in any of the following places where would you go?

On a related note I found my friend Brandon Shorts page. He truly has been living the paintball dream for the past couple of years and he is to be commended for that. Very few people in our sport are lucky enough to have the skill and talent to be flown around the world like a paintball machine. His site is excellent, well written and very sharp looking. The most important part is the memories he now has documented. I admit I was a bit jealous. I wish I had started this blog in 1994, when I played my first NPPL. Not having anything other than the magazines of the time, a couple pictures, and the every more crowded memory banks, makes it tough to keep everything in order.

South Africa and Australia Pictures

Just got some sick panoramics from Adam...
The first picture is from Capetown, South Africa. You can read about our adventures in Capetown and South Africa here. This picture has the huge clouds over the Table Mountain National Park; the proverbial "table cloth".

This next picture is Bondi Beach Australia, one of the premier surf spots in the world.
Check out the all the Australia stories here.
All these we shot with point and shoot cameras then edited together. The Table mountain shot I think is actually 6 total pictures.

Attention !! The (Paintball) Revolution will not be Televised

Update
AFL Arena football league suspended their 2009 season. NFL office cuts 150 jobs..

In the news today something that's firmly in the "this is bad for the paintball industry" category. According to an NYtimes article NASCAR(Americas 2nd most watched sport) is having sponsorship problems. Take the best paintball sponsorship ever and add a bunch of zeros and you get where most NASCAR level sponsorship packages are. If they are having problems with their "multibillion-dollar TV deal" how bad is tournament paintball looking with no TV deal? Aside from the Milleniums deal of course. Is TV even the answer? Do we as an industry have any measurable results anywhere from the TV programming have run?? Will paintball ever be attractive enough on screen to pull new players off the couch and onto the field? These are all points that never really got brought up in the mad rush to get us all on TV.

I did find it funny that when they talked about cutbacks it was in the form of no more private jets. Cutbacks on some paintball teams this year arent just 5 to a room anymore; some might not be in existence.

From the Times article :

"This year revenue was approximately $3 billion, a 50 percent increase from 2001. That’s better than the N.F.L., the N.B.A. and the National Hockey League in the same period. Only Major League Baseball grew faster. “If you go back to 1998, there is no question Nascar has shown the biggest growth,” says David Broughton, research director of SportsBusiness Journal."

Now sure the paintball industry isnt that big. Paintball also doesnt have "ticket sales revenue" but we did have that period of astronomical growth from 1998 to close to 2005. Sometimes when things get that big that quickly, they can get distorted. Add some egos, people making some serious $$ into the mix, shake well and you end up with the current situation we have in the game.

Fortunately there is hope. The veterans of the sport have taken to their podiums to argue for change, to try and find a better way to do things. Read all 3 of the bloggers listed if you want to get away from the flame wars, read and talk to the paintball intelligentsia..

John Amodeas Blog
A 20 year old school vet who has been a writer and editor in the paintball industry before there really was any "industry" to it. He is someone that has seen the evolution of the paintball market and as such has some keen observations.

ViewfromtheDeadbox
Baca Loco a popular writer for PGI and well known commentor has a great site setup. Extra kudos for frequent new content keeping things fresh and shaming us less prolific writers.

thepaintballagenda
Brandon Lamertson and the Pbagenda have some impassioned appeals to paintball players. They are trying to get some change for the sake of the players, the people out there grinding with their blood, sweat, and tears..

Bad Company wins SPPL

Just got the call the boys smashed their way to the podium again with a victory in the SPPL. With 2 2nds and now a 1st BC Army has been representing the new Kingman MR Scenario line nicely. MRs mixed in with some of the new Electras hacked through the bushes of Tennessee to claim the 1st place finish. Congrats due to the Bad Company Army. Hopefully I can get some pictures up asap. That is a win in 3 different formats (5man, 7man, and 10man) for Company this year.

Things to watch or read and think about

First off I know I owe the final Australia chapter, I have the pictures. In the mean time here are some things to read and watch which I found super interesting. This first link is a website I found on some endless browsing through the Internet. A kind of new urbanism website; he explores what makes public places successful with very thoughtful analysis. This specific article is about trying to crowdsource a green condo building. Read about it here . CoolTown Studios


This video is will expand your ideas about what is possible. Sent to me by a friend this whole website is called TED; ideas worth spreading. The following video is mindboggling in the possibilities; basically the sum of all knowledge will be on a massive visual database. Do yourself a favor, watch this video

Australia Road Trip and More

So after sending the Hillbillies north , taking a bus and a train to get back to Sydney, and exploding the airmattress for the night, I go pick up Katie from the airport at the ungodly hour of 6am. Back on the trains we head up to Gosford which is a lovely place for Kate to shake off some jetlag. We relax and catch up with Uncle Andy and Aunt Trish, then I help load up some engines for the trip to the farm. A lovely dinner of some lamb send us off to bed with some sweet dreams. On Saturday we head back into the city via train for a family BBQ at a park just off of Botany Bay. Delicious snags (sausages), potato salad and tons of other foods make for a great time. We hang with a bunch of aunts, uncles and cousins with their new ( well new to me ) kids and enjoy ourselves. Back on the train to Gosford and we spend a leisurly night watching the Olympics and having a few beers. On Sunday we walk around Gosford for a bit then load up the Land Rover ute for the 5 hour trip to the farm. Showing up at the farm in the dark was a little traumatic for Katie, but she shook it off and we piled on the blankets, fired up the space heater and crashed out.

As it is a farm we woke up most days fairly early, just as the frost was burning off. Mornings varied from unloading, to driving up to check out the plantation, to driving Morans Trail (which was clear with no fallen trees.) We could ride into town to drop off Uncle Andy at the office so we could use the ute during the days. Monday was a day trip to Bellingen, which is a great old farming town that has re-invented itself as kind of an arts/live music town. Tuesday we hiked up waterfall gully. We decided to bring clothes so we could get wet as we climbed, which made it a lot easier. The water was bitterly cold, making your feet and hands ache.

Wednesday we went just down the road to Nambucca Heads, enjoyed a beer on the beach at the V-wall tavern, and did a bit of shopping in the town. Thursday we went a bit south to Trial Bay and Smokey Cape which was very nice; some deserted beaches and huge vistas with glorious bays and huge points. The jail at Trial Bay seemed like and fairly easy place to do some time. Apparently the whales are migrating up the coast, we kept a sharp eye out but didnt spot any.

The food varied this whole week. We went shopping, and got some groceries . We had some hot and cold breakfasts; a picnic lunch wherever we were at lunchtime, then some dinners of sausages and steaks on the grill. We also had two superb dinners with relatives; fresh lamb and veges with Aunt Marnie and Uncle Hugh one night, then lamb with gravy, potatoes and cheesy cauliflower another night with Cousin Paul and Betty. Both meals were lick your plate delicious.

On Friday we borrowed a car ( thanks Aunt Marnie and Uncle Hugh!) and headed north for Surfers Paradise. A slight mishap with the GPS that Uncle Andy lent us, as the cigarette plug didnt work but we sorted it out and rolled into Surfers around 4. The picture below is the view from our hotel room.

We had some beers, a quick walk on the beach then showered up and headed out for some dinner. After walking around the madness that is Surfers Paradise (think Ocean City MD x10 with a way nicer beach and better waves) we ended up at a great Italian restaurant. A starter of brushcetta, followed by veal and mushroom rissoto for Katie and veal, peppers and other veges in a red sauce over tagliatalle. We crashed a bit early as we had a big day on the waves planned. After a fast breakfast buffet we rented some boards and wetsuits and proceeded to get hammered for the next 2 hours. The waves were nice but it was hard to get out past the break, with a huge longshore current dragging us into the swimming areas. The water was a bit cold but the hot tropical sun and steady paddling kept us pretty warm. We then loaded up the car and headed south to meet my cousin Andy in Byron Bay.

Byron is a super chill surf town that has resisted the huge high rises of Surfers Paradise. We met up at the Beachside Hotel (a lot of the bars are former hotels so they keep the name, but are usually just bars) and had a couple of cold ones. We headed back to his town of Lismore before we had too many and proceeded to have a bunch more. After meeting his lovely wife Jane and a meal of steak and salad, we headed out to the bars to meet up with Andys son, Tom whom I hadn't met before. He very graciously left his friends to come have a beer with us, which was super cool. A couple too many beers and next thing we know its 9am and our heads are pounding. A bit of brekky to settle the stomach and we head off to tour the edge of the caldera. Apparently where Lismore is located is at the edge of an ancient, huge (150 mile diameter) volcano. What that means is huge rock formations and spectacular views.


We also drove through the very hippy town of Nimbin which is like a Dead show stopped and made a home somewhere. We didnt stop for too long, just long enough for a bit of a wander and some shopping. Then it was off the Border Ranges National State park. We only had enough time to check out a bit of the view before we had to drive back to Missabotti. Another meal at Aunt Marnies ( some pork spareribs and vegestir fry) then it was up at 5 for the ride back to Sydney. I will post more as it happens

Hiking with the Hillbillies

After doing the airport shuffle early on Monday, Kevin and Adam were dead set on making it to the Great Barrier Reef before they had to leave on the 12th. Seeing as my family farm is basically on the way I agreed to ride north with them, crash at the farm and take a train back to Sydney. I start the 6 hour drive north and the longhairs start baby heading and drooling on themselves. We make the drive in good time stopping once for some Australian truck stop food, which was pretty decent. Who would have thought that a chicken sandwich would taste good with beets on it??

We pull up to my Aunt Marnies farm for some extra blankets and a hot meal of some superb chicken curry, vegetable curry and some rice. She drives us over the the farm and explains how the door lock works, and shuffles off to bed as it is rather late at this point. After chasing off some wallabies we settle in for the night. Still a bit jet lagged we wake up early and head into town to grab some food for the day. A $100 later and we are stocked with 3 squares and tons of snacks. We crush some fresh muffins on the way back to the farm, then make sandwiches to take with us on our hike up waterfall gully.

Basically this hike is up through 5/6 waterfalls with a massive set of falls at the top. Seeing as it is winter the water was a bit too cold to wade through, so we have to make the climb trying to stay dry which drastically increases the danger factor. We have put up a series of fixed lines which make a dry approach possible.


After some serious vertical hiking, as well as a couple of flintstone feet on the slippery spots we make it to the final waterfall. We hang out for a bit, crush our sandwiches and some water and turn around for the scramble back down.



We make it down without too many incidents and hustle back to the farm just as a huge rainstorm starts to break over the mountains. Thick fog creeps through the peaks and gullys, and the rain pours down. We destroy some easy mac as an appetizer and start prepping our massive dinner; teriyaki beef and veggie shishkabobs with peppers, tomatoes and onion, and some grilled potatoes. After stuffing our faces we slowly start to slip into a food coma. As we cue up some Chappelle show and the space heater starts whirring, we slowly drop off to sleep. Woken up by Aunt Marnie some 2 hours later we realize that we had all fallen asleep around 6 pm. 2 days of tournament paintball, nights out drinking and some 7 hours of driving and I guess we all hit the wall. Luckily the hillbillies woke up at 5:45 the next morning as they continue on their way north headed for the Reef. I got a text from them saying they made it to WhitSunday island and they got to dive a bit on the reef so hopefully they took a bunch of pics. I will post them as soon as I get them.

Bad Company Wins Australia Super 7 !!!

In a very emotional tense tournament we won 1st place! We finished the prelims with 14 wins, only losing a single game to the eventual semi pro winners Bitchin. They took a ton of ground on us and kept us trapped in the back line, then came down the snake and closed us out. Losing to them meant we went in to the semis as a 2 seed which meant we matched up against SWAT.

In game one we came out with an aggressive breakout that worked as we all made our primaries. We ended up controlling the field fairly well and closing them out despite the fact that they had 2 in the snake. Game 2 they had a ton of penalties off the break so that was a little easier. That meant we would match up against Hostile Intentions for 1st and second.

Game 1 of the finals they had us by a body until Kevin made a nice run thru the center taking 2 to bring it back to even. AJ didnt realize the carwash was gone so he ghost bunkered it and got hit, but we shot another body in the melee to make it a 3 on 3. Adam traded out with his guy leaving me and Daniel in a 2 on 2. I made move up the wire and shot the guy straight in front of me. The ball sprayed away off the side of his ear armor, but didn't leave a lot of paint. The ref made the elimination signal and ran in there so I wrapped and shot the final guy who had moved into the snake. I guess at that point the ref had decided to call him clean so that guy came out and shot me, and next thing you know we were down the first game. game two we decided to get more aggressive taking the snake and the carwash off the break. Controlling the field the whole time we wore them down and ended the game with 5 alive. Game 3 for all the marbles started poorly with us losing 2 off the break. Down 7 on 5 for a while we played tenaciously as they slowly started to take ground. In a game breaking series Kevin snapped out the tape half moon, then ran through the center bunkering their center rocket then taking another out of the 40 dorito. In that confusion AJ snuck up the now clear dorito side and we closed out the 4 on 4 to take 1st. With cries of "Company!!" echoing through out the field we celebrated our victory. Breaking out the booze we had a couple and waited for the awards ceremony. Thanks to Kingman and Spyder we were able to make it all the way over here and win. Sunday night was filled with some drinks and good times and we tore Sydney up in celebration.

1st place in paintball and in beer chugging as well.


Good Times

Australia Tournament Day One

Saturday
The day starts off on a bad note as we find that our garage doesn’t open until 8am. Seeing that isn’t for another 2 hours we decide to pile 7 guys and 4 gear bags into a 4 door Ford Falcon sedan, and drive the 35 minutes to the field. The cold weather and starchy paintballs play havoc with our loaders and our guns, and the games rush up on us quickly. We are playing well wining our games by a combination of good breakouts and smart play. In game 4 a gun penalty for leaving one of our guns “unlocked” after trying to get velocity out of it earlier in the morning, means we will have to play the remaining games with 6 players. It also meant our first perfect score of the tournament was replaced by a 0 and a 95 for the other team. In a crucial next game against SWAT we play very cool as it goes body for body and we end up going down the snake to close out the 3 on 3. This momentum inspires us to play good solid paintball and we finish the day unbeaten. I have more details on these games and I will go back later and fill it in. but right now I’ve got to crash and get some sleep before tomorrow. We have 5 more prelim games but we are sitting decent right now as we get to come back with 7 players.

Australia First Days

Wednesday
The 6am landing and shakedown through customs ended with us meeting up with Adam and Chris. They caught us up with their adventures from the past week in Melbourne. The highlights included teaching a clinic to the eventual 3 man winners who defeated a team of Nikky Cuba and Ollie Lang to win it, as well as a “footy” game along with 90,000 other screaming fans. Bells beach and the great Ocean drive were spectacular as well. They capped off their time in Melbourne with an all night 800k ride to pick us up. After some time flailing around the city getting lost we check into our hotel and grab a delicious breakfast of eggs tomatoes, mushrooms, tea and toast. After getting a decent map we take off around Sydney to check out the iconic Opera House and the neighborhood “the Rocks”. A great Mediterranean dinner in Darling Harbor and we pass out early after a big day.

Thursday
Waking up at 6 am with a bit of jet lag I crush a breakfast of sausages, eggs, hashbrowns, tea and toast. A bit of scouting around the Central train station to familiarize myself with the extensive, excellent Australian public transportation, and I head back to the hotel to wake the guys and head out of the Blue Mountains. A 90 minute drive ends with us high up at Echo Point looking out onto the iconic 3 sisters.

We struggle through a hike and head off to the petting zoo to hang out with some kangaroos, koalas, echidnas, and Tasmanian devils. We head back into town and have a great meal at the Japanese restaurant Musashi. Fresh sushi and melt in your mouth Wagyu beef dishes fill our bellies. We decide to explore some of the local places in our neighborhood and have a great night.

Friday
We all sleep late even the 5th guy that has to sleep on the floor, as we decided to only get one room until our Australian teammates show up this evening. A bunch of hearty breakfasts with some free Internet, and we load up the car and head to Bondi Beach. This world class surf beach has some serious waves as well as a skate park and pool beachside. We head straight from there to the field in Rouse Hill. Due to high winds Daniel and Ethans flight from Melbourne is delayed so we have to walk their spots for them. We spend a solid couple of hours walking the fields and talking with Mike from actionpaintballgames. We get a little lost on the way home but end up finding a superb Italian restaurant. Bread samplers, fresh salads, followed by lasagnas and cannelloni’s insure we will have plenty of energy for the 10 games we have to play tomorrow

Australia Begins

"They" always say the the hardest step in any journey is the first. Well, when that first step starts with the alarm blaring at 5 am somehow it seems harder. After the obligatory airport shuffle I check in and find my first flight delayed by 30 min, which means my connection window has now shrunk from 90 minutes to less than 60. After flying to Phoenix I find that my connection is also delayed. So now a 7.5 hour journey to LA has ballooned into a 9+ hour trek. Luckily I have planned an extra day in LA in case they lost my bags. All my bags made it so now I have some time to catch up with some friends. After some time in the water and on the beach, we go crush some delicious meat, mushroom, double cheese subs. We lying around in a food coma for a bit we decide to take the beach cruisers out for a little tour.

5 miles later we end up in a restaurant that out friend works at crushing some awesome shrimp skewers and steamers with sausage and corn. A much slower 5 mile ride back and the day ends with an early bedtime as I am beat.
Monday dawns surprisingly sunny for LA as I spend most of the day on the phone tying up loose ends before I check out for a month. Not everything can be done via email, so a lot of phone time is needed to keep the 47 things I am juggling in the air. With a flight at 10:30pm we pull some strings to get into one of the hottest BBQ joints in LA, Baby Blues BBQ . A true Memphis style joint the piles of ribs, pulled pork, okra, baked beans, grilled tomatoes, and sweet tea fill my belly with a delicious American style birthday meal before heading off to Oz. With only 20 minutes to gorge before rushing off the the airport, we are like Romans with BBq sauce flying everywhere. Some hurried farewells and the airport shuffle begins again. I hustle and get myself upgraded to Economy plus which is a big swing for the 14 hour flight. Luckily I brought some reading material as the multimedia options on United are terrible. What major airline doesn't have individual screens on their international routes?? Weaksauce.




Next Post coming up as soon as possible. Touring round Sydney only a little bit lost.

What I am reading aka Bedside Book Pile

The following is a list of recent books I have been reading. I took some time off writing to catch up on my reading :) I will be back on the blog with a big trip to Australia planned for August.


No Shortcuts to the Top Ed Viesturs - one of the first Americans to climb the 14 tallest mountains in the world. A great entrepreneur story as well.

Under the Banner of Heaven John Krakauer - a disturbing story about some Mormon Fundamentalists. Its a report and some commentary on a true crime that happened in Utah.

The Journey Home Edward Abbey A great Collection of short stories he says it best in the subtitle "Some words in Defense of the American West."

The Best American Crime Writing 2005 with a essay by James EllroyA decent book of modern type crime short stories.

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee. What can I say this is a Pulitzer Prize winning classic. An incredible view of what things were like almost 80 years ago in Alabama.

Levels of the Game John McPhee - A great short book about Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner two tennis greats. A great simultaneous telling of a single match and their entire history.

Eastward to Tartary by Robert Kaplan - a superb travel book detailing his travels through the Balkans, the Middle East and the Caucasus. Kaplan has several great travel books, with a nice historical background as well as his experiences. It interesting to note changes from this book, published in 2001, and current events.

I Hope they Serve Beer in Hell Tucker Max - I found this guy on the internet years ago. He was transitioning his online forum/storyboard filled with his collection of blacked out drunken exploits, into a novel which according to the cover is a NY Times bestseller. He is very proud of this and it is impressive from a straight enteprenurial standpoint. He is one of the first "bloggers" to get a book deal out of writing. His stories are X rated booze sodden ego trips, but can be very entertaining.

Tree falls in Shaw - Does anyone Hear?

A fairly large tree crashed to the ground in my neighborhood of Shaw yesterday around 12:30pm. Located in the front yard of my neighbors we are all extremely lucky on two accounts. One the tree fell into the street not into anyones house, and two that there were no cars parked there. Normally there are a ton of taxi cabs parked during the day, as the lawyer who lives up the street has a thriving business catering to them. I wonder if this tree going down has anything to do with the huge metal plate in the sidewalk. This plate has been here as long as we have been in the neighborhood. According the representatives of various DC agencies that have come and investigated metal plates aren't even supposed to be in the sidewalk. I can't tell. The plate is very hazardous when there it is wet and even worse in the wintertime.

The tree was definintly rotten on the side facing the street, so something wasnt right.

The fire department came out with a quickness as it was blocking two lanes of the street. I guess DPW came and finished off the rest as it was clear when I got back a couple of hours later. The question remains will anyone do anything about the metal plate in the sidewalk??

Bad Company Jacksonville NPPL Day 2

2 points. 2 points in a paintball game can be scored in a number of ways. Staying alive all the way through a game will earn you 1 point. Shooting an enemy player will get you a whole 3 points. Going into the today we knew we need to win at least two games to get us in. Starting off on the NPPL field we started strong against TCP Machine, getting up on them 6 on 4. Then fast cascade of bad decisions, 1 for 1's, and a bad call we ended up giving them the game and only shooting one more. Picking up our heads we rapidly loaded up and headed to the JT field to take on Entourage. In a tense, hard fought game where we had position at the spike and in the snake we somehow managed to once again pull defeat from the jaws of victory. Another 1 for 1 pretty much sealed the deal and now we were down 2-4. Ride or die time; now we had to max out. Denver Altitude felt the fury as we shot 3 off the break and started marching down the field. In an error filled closing that included us shooting two of our own players, we finished with 3 alive. Final game Avalanche on the JT field. A slower paced game that went pretty much body for body the whole way it was pretty much ended when Adam Smith snapped out the Avalanche carwash player. He and I then closed out the 2 on 1. All we could do was bite our nails, and try to figure out what the cut was. When we finally went up to the NPPL scoreboard, the bad news was staring us right there in the face. Phoenix United in 8th with 428, and Bad Company with 427. 2 points sent us packing. Every mistake we had all made came cascading through our minds as we hung our heads and headed for the cars. Never before have we been so close to making it, and this one hurt. We had not managed to come together and make enough plays and we were at the bottom of all the teams that went 4 and 4. I am sorry for all our fans that we let down.

Bad Company Jacksonville NPPL Day 1

Today dawned cool and cloudy, as we rolled out of bed at 5:45 to get ready for our 8am first game. After our 1/2hr commute to the field, we geared up and prepared to face our first opponent of the day, Icemen. On the NPPL field, we got up early on them shooting our boy JP running for the snake, and holding numbers on them. A bunkerfest ensued, and after the dust cleared Coleman and Andrae and I were the only ones left alive. A crazy game with at one point someone in our side of the snake. Next up on the JT field was Arsenal Evolution, HB champions. In a fast paced game we all made our primaries, but aggressive snake play for Arsenal by Kevin Rudolph and John Mchee pretty much crushed us. Those 2 shot our whole right side in very rapidly and we couldnt respond fast enough. 1-1. 3rd game was LA Faction back on the NPPL field. We started out poorly again, losing people on the break and getting a 1 for 1. Down 5 on 3, Adam Johnson showed why he is an Allstar and did a run thru getting 2. Now down 3 on 2 but with position in the snake and carwash, Adam Smith and Arturo handled business, bunkering out the Faction snake player then closing out the 2 on 2. 2 wins 1 loss, next on the schedule, X-factor on the JT field. Another bad start as we took ground, but lost players, 1 on leaving early, and another 2 on a 1 for 1. We shot their two corner guys on the break as well, making it a 5 on 4 but we were out of position and they marched down the snake on us closing us out. A decent showing but we need to step it up tommorow to make Sunday. Luckily we got done early as the rains have moved in giving the venue a nice soaking.

As far as that goes it is a top notch setup. Jacksonville stadium is a very nice stadium area and the NPPL has done a nice job of keeping things close together. There is a large vendors area with paved walkways, real bathrooms, and the fields very close by with tons of bleachers. Add some food vendors and you are ready to go. I am hanging in the Kingman booth, and it looks like the rain has stopped. We will watch some games and then go home shower up and get ready to do it all again tomorow. Good or bad I will post what happens so stay tuned.

Oh also you can check out the live NPPL webcast here.

Old Skool Bad Company Pictures

Just got a ton of super old Bad Company pictures from the late 80's early 90's, when Tom Cole was just a kid. Thats him front and center kneeling down. Note the red barrel a Bad Company signature until about 1998. They are shooting Bushmaster pump guns.




Here is a 5 man shot, followed by a couple of podium appearances.



This one is from the 91 California Magnum Amateur Open. Note Debra Dion in the background.

An old Bad Company banner. Back in the day all teams had some sort of banner to promote their sponsors and the team


Some more banner pictures from the early 90's 10 man days.






This next picture is very interesting. This is a picture of Tommy in England in 1996 I think, when he went and played with Aftershock. The regular common players were never allowed to "guest" for other teams, but somehow it was ok for TC to go. You can see Renick Miller on the left, Spud, Ritchie Malisweski, Todd Adamson, some loggers, Heavy D, and Danny Love kneeling.


And a picture from when Bad Company went to England for the Campaign Cup, I think circa 2002.

A picture of the old school Bad Company with their team truck

And a more recent picture; this was from when we went to go teach a clinic in Myrtle Beach, SC


Thats all I have for now. There is one picture I really wish I had digitally and that is the NPPL Pittsburgh 1995 victory shot. I have looked all over in both mine and Tom Coles archives and have not been able to find anything.
This is just a precursor to a lot of the Bad Company content I am going to be writing. I have tons more pictures I am working on digitizing as well as lots of interviews and stories from old skool BC players. Yes even older school than me :)

Save a Goat?? Why not....

Here is an interesting site. Some friends of my girlfriend Katie have gotten "involved" with a pair of goats named Carne and Leche. What started out as a short term fling has blossomed into something more and now the gents want to hold on to the lil guys. There is only one thing standing between them, and thats called Arlington County Zoning. Their deadline to get rid of them is rapidly looming and they need signatures on their petition. They have assembled a hilarious yet comprehensive goat saving site complete with webcam. Check it out here : Saveourgoats.com .





Seattle has approved a similiar petition for just a single goat. Carne and Leche need homes. Please sign now and if you are a lawyer please help them. We all thank you in advance.

I realize this has nothing to do with paintball, Bad Company or me but I thought their site was impressive and its my blog. Plus why not fight against the man???

More South Africa Pictures courtesy of JP Agustin

Just got a batch of fresh new pics from my man JP. He has been in Moscow practicing with the Legion. I am going to meet up with him in Jacksonville and get some stories to share. This is a couple of great shots from the lion park. Read all about it here.









The whole crew that go to go to the park, Ashely JP, Chris, Adam, and Kevin








Here was a great picture. These 3 cubs were all playing on this downed tree.










Here are some shots of us chilling on the back porch of our place the Inkwekwezi. Read about it here. Check out my face in this picture.









Also check out the sky in this picture. JP had just gotten this camera from our boy Bart Blonski, but I am very impressed with the shots I have seen.





















I have a bunch more posts coming. I havent decided exactly what volume I will be posting so things might be sporadic but I am writing every day, we will see how much goes into the blog. I am working on the blog every day trying to fix some problems; lots of layout issues, adding links, and tightening up the posts, labels etc. Just to redefine where this thing is going right now; I will be writing about my paintball team Bad Company and its history as well as current travels/events/results; I will be putting up some posts about my house and my hood; and finally some social commentary. We will see where this all goes. Any requests please let me know and keep checking back. Thanks

South Africa Pictures

Ok so I have finally gotten through sorting the 610 pictures that Adam sent me from South Africa. Some have already been added to certain posts but this will be a mostly picture thread, in chronological order. There were a lot of landscape shots, but I am posting the best of those. I am also still waiting on Vinnies pictures I dont know what is taking him so long.


Here is the field, a classic Millenium bunker set with the href="http://www.warpig.com/paintball/tournament/millennium/2008/malaga/fields/">Malaga layout. The only difference is that we had a dorito in the other corner.



A couple pictures of the "hotel" we stayed at for the tournament. Easily the nicest place i have ever stayed at for a paintball event. It was the first time i have seen a thatch roof, it was super nice to hear the rain on it the night we had a huge thunderstorm. We were all secretly wondering if it would leak, but it was tight as a drum.




Some more pictures from the lion park. The only thing stopping that lion from eating JP was the window of our car. Well that and us driving away, but regardless the beast was large and close.

The following are pictures from the Pilanesberg game reserve.Read about our 12 hours in the Game Park here

This is the map of the whole reserve. We drove around in here for 12 hours and still only got to about 1/2 the area on the map.



Some pictures of Tom Cole stalking a wildebeest. He is always trying to push the limits to get a better shot.


A picture of the rare West Virginian leg slug.

Warthogs eating and playing. You really had to be alert to spot a lot of these animals. People would blow right by us as we were watching all kinds of stuff. Not many people saw the giraffe, but the baboons were everywhere by this one dam.






Me with some badass wood carvings at the lunch spot.

We could stop at certain points to get out and stretch and take in the view. It was some beautiful country. Apparently it was the wettest it had been in a long time, as the lakes and rivers were very full, and the country was very lush and green.





We saw some cool animals but not as cool a scene as this one tourist got to see at Kruger National Park.

Here is our Route from Rustenberg to Cape Town. Read about it here : Road Trip

View Larger Map

So the next group of pictures is from hiking up Table Mountain and some spectacular views from the top. Read all about it here : First Day in Cape Town

Adam pointing at the Cape of Good Hope

This is the main downtown area of Cape Town. You can see the tall skyscrapers as well as the V & A Port in the background. Looking back it is really hard for all these pictures to do justice to the spectacular natural views.

Cape of Good Hope and Coastal Drive.
Read about this day here

There were Hells Angels all over Cape Town I guess there was a rally. This guy brought his date with him.

Behind me nothing but ocean and Antartica

A couple of lizards we found while hiking around

The historical coastal town of Simontown.

Random Pics

A couple pictures of the hostel we stayed at House on the Hill.

A picture of a shanty house. It was very eye opening to see so many people living a hand to mouth existence, walking everywhere.

That is the cream of the pictures I got from Adam. I am bugging Tom Cole and Vinnie for their pictures, so when I get more I will post them up.