ROSTER SHAKEUP

Brandon has decided to leave the team effective immediately. He has his reasons and if he wishes to share them, I'll leave that to him.

As Lena left the park last Thursday, she said she won't be back. I assume she hasn't changed her mind.

I'm not inclined to persuade someone to stay somehere they don't want to be. The door is open should they change their minds. I wish it hadn't worked out this way as I have enjoyed having Brandon and Lena as my teammates and I think we're a better team with them than without them. But what's done is done.

From here, we have to prepare for our next game with the players we still have. That course will determined at today's meeting.

MORE ROSTER ADDITIONS

Readers of our regular website know that Tony "Booker" Smith has been added to our roster. Booker may not be able to play right away but he'll be with us before long. We'll soon have another woman joining the team as well.

ROSTER UPDATE

As most of you have heard by now, James has opted to join the TSC Outlaws this season after three seasons with the PC Bricks. Also, Lena has decided not to play this season.

Chiniqua informed me that she most likely won't be able to play this year because of injuries and time constraints.

We picked up a new player as we added Kedi Seyoum to the team. She works with Nina and Brandon at FO 976 in Berkeley. (How much longer before they boot Brandon back to Richmond?) Welcome to the team, Kedi!

WE HAVE A NEW PLAYER

Nina Makalena, a Service Representative at the Berkeley F.O., has joined the Bricks. She is an experienced player who should fit in very well with our team. Many thanks to Brandon for finding Nina while on his detail to the Berkeley office. We should be able to meet Nina in the next week or so when we get our first practice scheduled. Welcome aboard, Nina!

RUMORS, RUMORS, & MORE RUMORS

Hardly a day goes by without someone coming to me with a rumor about a player quitting our team or our team dropping out of the league. Mostly these rumors are completely false. A few have some basis in fact but have been so twisted and loaded with nonsense, they bear little resemblance to the truth. I urge you not to treat these unconfirmed rumors as the truth.

WHITHER THE BRICKS?

We got some good news about Richie -- his ACL isn't damaged as severely as was originally believed. His doctor has cleared him to play softball this year.

We also got some bad news. Darlene let me know that she won't be returning this year.

We're now at a point where our roster is dangerously low on women. We're down to Chiniqua, Mariza, Mandi, and Gabrielle. We know we're going to lose Mandi for a few games in the middle of the season when she gets married. Lena might be good for a few games. I talked to Rita Akpan (who played with us part-time in 2008-2009) and she expressed a desire to play. If Rita is firm in her commitment, that gets us close to the minimum number of women we need to play.

ROSTER CHANGES

As I mentioned last week, we're losing several players this season. Gena and Lynecia won't be returning to play with us in 2011. There's a very good chance that Tanya won't be back either. Lena's schedule may not permit her to play this year or she may be available only for a few games at best. Marcus Van Hook is forming a new team with a group from his BA class.