Following the Good Guys poor start, they went on a nine day road trip, where they played 500 ball to pick things up a bit. When they got home, things started to click. They began the 12 game homestand with a sweep of the Phillies, as Mitch's bat was beginning to heat up, and Kate Hudson was finally pitching like herself, throwing 7 shutout innings in a win on a Sunday afternoon. The weather was great too. Sunny 85 degree days, clear, comfortable nights, and large crowds made the start of the season exciting.
One problem that was beginning to surface had never been a problem in seasons past. The old rule Gardner had was that his players were not allowed to engage in any "extra-cirricular" (I.E. Gambling) except on Saturday nights. When Jim died and Lee Sniderman took over, the rules were relaxed a bit. He imposed no curfews, drinking limits, or gambling rules, feeling that the team was all adults, and could take care of themselves. In recent days, Naomi had been spending her time during the day either shopping with her friends, or with the children, while Mitch busied himself with lunch or swimming at the hotel, where he was always welcome, and at times, he began gambling on days other than Saturdays. At first, it wasnt much or too bad, but then, it got a bit out of control, horses, dice table, blackjack, etc. On one particularally bad afternoon, he lost $4000. He just couldnt find any luck. He was taking money from his Visa Gold Card, and his mac card. He didnt want to tell Naomi, seeing no need to upset her, feeling that he had one particular run of bad luck, and then he would stop. Although being dishonest bothered him, he didnt want to start a major blowout with her. It didnt work out. As it turned out, Mitch had maxed out his Visa credit line with a cash advance for the casino, and Naomi had tried to use the same card for a shopping purchase that same day. When they arrived home to meet for the game, the fireworks began to fly. "I want to talk to you, mister!" Naomi said angrily as Mitch entered the apartment. "Yes, honey?" Mitch said, trying to play innocent. "Dont honey me! I know about the credit cards and your recent gambling. I went to charge something, and the card was declined, then I went online and checked the detailed balance. Ten thousand dollars in a couple of weeks, all in cash advances? You know we're playing for less money this year and have an expensive apartment and bills! Are you out of your fucking mind!?" She yelled. "I know, I'll sell one of my own stocks, and pay the bill, and we'll stay away from the casino. I'm sorry. It got out of hand and I'm going to quit. I promise" He said. "Another thing, we are under a microscope in this town, do you know what it could do to our image and to the team if the star player is an addictive gambler!?" She scolded. Then she continued: "Another thing I'm furious about is that you lied to me and didnt tell me. After all we've been through, how can you hide this?" She said. "I didnt want to upset you, but yes, I know I did wrong, and I'm going to fix it, and control the gambling, I promise" He said.
In the meantime, the team gathered at the hotel for its usual Saturday night tickle party. This time, due to Mitch's recent problem, Naomi insisted he not go into the casino, and refused to attend the party unless he let her hold his wallet so he had no access to cash or credit cards. It was sad that Naomi felt she could not trust her husband, but she needed to make sure he was over his little gambling problem before she let him have control again.
The featured lee for that evening would be TV and Film star Jenna Elfman. She was in Miami to shoot a movie, and flew to Nassau for the night to see the Good Guys play. Jenna was incredibly ticklish, and at first wasnt too keen on the Good Guys tickling her into submission. However, once she was assured the tickle would stop if she screamed the safe word, she gave in. Jenna was tied hands and feet to the bed in a bra and panties as the tickle was began on her neck with fingers as she squealed and writhed around: Hehehehehehehehehehe! NO! Then, Jenna's tickler, the catcher Barney, moved down, tickling the attractive blonde actress on her sides , ribs and belly as she bucked and more girlish laughter filled the room: Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe! NO! Very ticklish! NO! Hehehehehehehe! Barney then tickled Jenna on her inner thighs, causing her to buck. Then, Barney moved to the soles of Jenna's senstive bare feet. He tickled Jenna's pretty feet with his fingers, and then proceeded to use feathers, ice and the dreaded electric toothbrush on Jenna's soles, and over and under her toes. This drove Jenna beserk! She flexed, pointed and wiggled her toes every which way, as she squealed with hysterical girlish laughter, tears came to her eyes, and she begged for mercy: Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe! Oh my God! Thats so ticklish! I cant take anymore! I give up! NO! NO! NO! Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe! With Jenna a panting mess on the bed with tears in her eyes, the tickling finally stopped and she was untied. The team then had a nice evening, although without gambling for Mitch. The next day, the Good Guys beat the Houston Astros 5 to 2 on a sunny Sunday afternoon, with Naomi getting a save, and Mitch hitting a big homerun in the 8th in front of over 40,000 fans. Mitch's gambling problem had been identified, and hopefully dealt with, but would he stop? Stay tuned for the continuing adventures of the tickle team from Paradise Island.
The End
One problem that was beginning to surface had never been a problem in seasons past. The old rule Gardner had was that his players were not allowed to engage in any "extra-cirricular" (I.E. Gambling) except on Saturday nights. When Jim died and Lee Sniderman took over, the rules were relaxed a bit. He imposed no curfews, drinking limits, or gambling rules, feeling that the team was all adults, and could take care of themselves. In recent days, Naomi had been spending her time during the day either shopping with her friends, or with the children, while Mitch busied himself with lunch or swimming at the hotel, where he was always welcome, and at times, he began gambling on days other than Saturdays. At first, it wasnt much or too bad, but then, it got a bit out of control, horses, dice table, blackjack, etc. On one particularally bad afternoon, he lost $4000. He just couldnt find any luck. He was taking money from his Visa Gold Card, and his mac card. He didnt want to tell Naomi, seeing no need to upset her, feeling that he had one particular run of bad luck, and then he would stop. Although being dishonest bothered him, he didnt want to start a major blowout with her. It didnt work out. As it turned out, Mitch had maxed out his Visa credit line with a cash advance for the casino, and Naomi had tried to use the same card for a shopping purchase that same day. When they arrived home to meet for the game, the fireworks began to fly. "I want to talk to you, mister!" Naomi said angrily as Mitch entered the apartment. "Yes, honey?" Mitch said, trying to play innocent. "Dont honey me! I know about the credit cards and your recent gambling. I went to charge something, and the card was declined, then I went online and checked the detailed balance. Ten thousand dollars in a couple of weeks, all in cash advances? You know we're playing for less money this year and have an expensive apartment and bills! Are you out of your fucking mind!?" She yelled. "I know, I'll sell one of my own stocks, and pay the bill, and we'll stay away from the casino. I'm sorry. It got out of hand and I'm going to quit. I promise" He said. "Another thing, we are under a microscope in this town, do you know what it could do to our image and to the team if the star player is an addictive gambler!?" She scolded. Then she continued: "Another thing I'm furious about is that you lied to me and didnt tell me. After all we've been through, how can you hide this?" She said. "I didnt want to upset you, but yes, I know I did wrong, and I'm going to fix it, and control the gambling, I promise" He said.
In the meantime, the team gathered at the hotel for its usual Saturday night tickle party. This time, due to Mitch's recent problem, Naomi insisted he not go into the casino, and refused to attend the party unless he let her hold his wallet so he had no access to cash or credit cards. It was sad that Naomi felt she could not trust her husband, but she needed to make sure he was over his little gambling problem before she let him have control again.
The featured lee for that evening would be TV and Film star Jenna Elfman. She was in Miami to shoot a movie, and flew to Nassau for the night to see the Good Guys play. Jenna was incredibly ticklish, and at first wasnt too keen on the Good Guys tickling her into submission. However, once she was assured the tickle would stop if she screamed the safe word, she gave in. Jenna was tied hands and feet to the bed in a bra and panties as the tickle was began on her neck with fingers as she squealed and writhed around: Hehehehehehehehehehe! NO! Then, Jenna's tickler, the catcher Barney, moved down, tickling the attractive blonde actress on her sides , ribs and belly as she bucked and more girlish laughter filled the room: Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe! NO! Very ticklish! NO! Hehehehehehehe! Barney then tickled Jenna on her inner thighs, causing her to buck. Then, Barney moved to the soles of Jenna's senstive bare feet. He tickled Jenna's pretty feet with his fingers, and then proceeded to use feathers, ice and the dreaded electric toothbrush on Jenna's soles, and over and under her toes. This drove Jenna beserk! She flexed, pointed and wiggled her toes every which way, as she squealed with hysterical girlish laughter, tears came to her eyes, and she begged for mercy: Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe! Oh my God! Thats so ticklish! I cant take anymore! I give up! NO! NO! NO! Hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe! With Jenna a panting mess on the bed with tears in her eyes, the tickling finally stopped and she was untied. The team then had a nice evening, although without gambling for Mitch. The next day, the Good Guys beat the Houston Astros 5 to 2 on a sunny Sunday afternoon, with Naomi getting a save, and Mitch hitting a big homerun in the 8th in front of over 40,000 fans. Mitch's gambling problem had been identified, and hopefully dealt with, but would he stop? Stay tuned for the continuing adventures of the tickle team from Paradise Island.
The End
