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