THIRD STAR
Spirit of the Tournament
by Isaac & JW

Did anyone witness that Team Boatsex show of unity by shot-gunning beers before one of their games?  That is what the day (and league) was all about.  Playing a laid back, low-key style of hockey while meeting new people and having fun doing it.  To understand that then look no further than Scotty K (more on him later), who was hyping up teams with his pre-game rants and providing helpful in-game commentary by instructing his teammates.  Big-ups to all who came out for some Sunday fun and contributed to making it a fantastic time.  The tournament was great…because of you.

And to everyone, such as myself, who needed the assistance of additional advil, a greasy breakfast, trenta iced coffee, or possibly even a walker to arrive at work on Monday morning, we salute you.

SECOND STAR
Justin M.
by the BTSH Media

When it came time for him to draft his team, Justin did so with his heart, rather than with his head. Choosing people that he felt embodied everything that is great about BTSH over people that had a better chance of winning him the tourney, he went down the line, pick after pick, assembling a fun and spirited squad. As if this weren’t commendable enough, he also helped organize the tournament, reffed multiple games, AND when the garbage was all piled up at the end of the day with no bags…he went and bought garbage bags and handled all of it. And I mean HANDLED – rumor has it that his hands still smell like stale beer and rotten banana peels.

Justin, for getting what this tournament was all about (and what BTSH is all about) we here at the BTSH media award you 2nd star of the week.

FIRST STAR
Tournament Organizers
by Isaac

Enormous round of applause to all of the organizers (not named Rich) of the tournament!  They saw an opportunity to take advantage of one of our unneeded rain dates to create an event and turned it into one of the best ones we’ve ever had.  A lot work went into making the day a success.  The planning through hundreds of emails (some of them lengthy debates), creating multiple schedules with a point system, organizing conference calls, reaching out for volunteer refs (like Sam and Hicks who couldn’t play but helped out anyways), and coordinating efforts from open to close has earned them their rightful place as the First Stars of the Tournament.  Thank you!

And a special thanks to those that pitched in by arriving early to set up the courts and staying late to clean up the heaps of rubbish.  Beers to all of you

Honorable mentions:
by JW

Isaac, Rebel Scum – Isaac was miraculously able to get team shirts made in 2 days (?!). Much to the delight of his team he showed up to the courts with a brand new (and awesome) Rebel Scum jersey for each of his teammates. The rest of us were all suitably impressed, and jealous.

Scott K, Fire Starters – We all know Scott is a loud and enthusiastic guy (and we all love him for it)…..but he took it to another level for this tournament. I can’t think of 5 minutes during the day that I didn’t hear his voice at an incredible decibel level, from wherever I was in Tompkins. Whenever I saw him he was jumping up and down, pumping up his team, giving encouragement, and generally personifying what the tournament was supposed to be all about – fun.

My favorite part of reffing his team’s semifinal game was his coaching (see: yelling) to Jamie throughout THE ENTIRE GAME, ‘Jamie, get back!”, “Jamie, cover (insert the name of every player from the other team)!”, “Jamie, don’t let Ariel shoot on his forehand!!”.   Jamie was laughing about this the whole time, as was I.

Scott, your usual level is already an 11, thank you for bringing it up to a 12 for us on Sunday.

Team KamiKazin (by Hatr Steak) – the favorite heading into the tournament made short work of teams and earned the No. 1 overall playoff seed.  With an assist from the setting sun (and one of the refs) they won the 1st Annual JW yadda-yadda-yadda and took home the Care Bear Cup.