The Good Guys embarked on a road trip to New York, Atlanta and Houston, winning two of three in New York, while dropping two of three in Atlanta, and winning two of three in Houston.
When the team returned home to Paradise, it certainly was not business as usual. For weeks, there had been rumor swirling around the island that the owner was engaged in secret negotiations to contract the Good Guys, which would give him a large lump sum of money, an ability to buy into or buy a new team, and to get rid of Mitch once and for all. The contraction would cause major problems in many areas, losing thousands of jobs for those associated with the team, and causing an at best very uncertain future for the players themselves, as, even if they did stay in the game, they would all have to find baseball jobs in other cities, losing the camraderie.
As if the contraction issue wasnt bad enough, the team had another serious problem. Fans around the country, and around the world, were all too aware of the Good Guys fetish activities. An ever increasing amount of fans, were petitioning the commissioner every day, to crack down on the team's off field activities, public tickling, and fetish parties, or ban the entire team from baseball for life. It was becoming increasingly clear that no matter how many championships the team won on the field, that the fetish issues would forever hang over their heads. Before the first game of the homestand, the commissioner paid a visit to the team in their clubhouse, and ripped them for quote "perverted activities that were detrimental to the game", threatening to hand out fines and or suspensions if they didnt stop their what he called "bullshit", and "carrying on". He called their actions "sinful", and "shameful", and called them "problem members of the game", suggesting that their actions were more detrimental to the game then drugs. After all, no matter how "Good" they were on the field, and with their extensive charity work, everyone knew of their fetish activties, and the commissioner was concerned that the players would serve as bad "role models" to the fans.
The team understandably didnt have their heads into the game that night against the Pirates, and Kate Hudson got creamed in front of a large booing crowd. The Good Guys sat in their clubhouse after the game in stunned silence, even manager Sniderman having little to say. It had been such a wild, and fun ride even with all the internal strife, and now, everyone sat in front of their lockers facing an uncertain future.
The next morning, after a sleepless night, Mitch and Naomi took a sunrise walk on the beach. Mitch looked out into the Atlantic, his mind racing through 20 years of memories on the island, from the team's inception, to when he met Naomi, the World Titles, the violence, abuse, his divorce, the reconciliation with Naomi, and all that had happened since. Part of him just wanted to walk into Alan's office, tender his resignation, pack suitcases, and go with Naomi far, far away from all the trouble. He was truly torn. Paradise was his home, the 25 members of the Good Guys, his friends for years, the team, and even the tickling parties, were his life. Mitch thought he wanted to leave, and maybe should, convincing Naomi it was time to give up the ghost, enter therapy, and rid themselves of their fetish forever, putting an end to tickling, feet, and whatever other fetishes and internal demons consumed them. Between Alan's hatred of him, Mitch's own declining production as a result of his age, the Amy situation, and now this new problem with the commissioner, Mitch faced a tough choice, was it time to give up the ghost? The commissioner even suggested that any member of the Good Guys, even should the team not be banned or contracted, should be ineligable for the Hall Of Fame, because of their off field conduct. This made the team incredulous, as they felt the commissioner was "discriminating" against them. After all, there were players in the Hall of Fame who cheated on their wives, and were alcoholics, it was the on the field numbers that got players into the Hall of Fame, not the off field ones.
The rest of the homestand did not play out particularly well. Although the Good Guys won two of three from Pittsburgh, they ended up losing 2 of 3 to both the Cards and Cubs, finishing the homestand with a 4 and 5 record, their minds cluttered with the commissioner problem.
In the meantime, Amy, after pestering Mitch often during the last homestand, was virtually non existent during this one. This was the typical hot and cold period that the couple had gone through when they were together. Quite honestly, with the trouble the team was having from the commissioner, it was probably better off that Mitch did not have Amy around, to complicate things even more.
In the meantime, the team held a Saturday night tickle party to try and take their minds off their troubles. The media had gotten wind of the commissioner's comments, and was staked out near a secret location that no one was supposed to know about, where the fetish party was being held.
The usual antics at the party occurred, with Kate Hudson, Naomi, and Amanda Bynes the featured lees. Everyone of course cracked up hysterically when being tickled, due to the tickling being a reflexive reaction, but no one's head of heart was really into the party. The team had so many sudden troubles. It was not known how things would play out. Would the commissioner, in time, calm down, realize the team's positive contributions on the field, and overlook the off field antics, as he had for 20 years, or would the PR pressure finally cause him to act, and demand major changes, or hand out bans for life.
So, very serious issues hung over our tickling team's head as our story comes to an end. What would happen next? Stay tuned for the continuing story of the Tickle Team from Paradise Island.
The End
When the team returned home to Paradise, it certainly was not business as usual. For weeks, there had been rumor swirling around the island that the owner was engaged in secret negotiations to contract the Good Guys, which would give him a large lump sum of money, an ability to buy into or buy a new team, and to get rid of Mitch once and for all. The contraction would cause major problems in many areas, losing thousands of jobs for those associated with the team, and causing an at best very uncertain future for the players themselves, as, even if they did stay in the game, they would all have to find baseball jobs in other cities, losing the camraderie.
As if the contraction issue wasnt bad enough, the team had another serious problem. Fans around the country, and around the world, were all too aware of the Good Guys fetish activities. An ever increasing amount of fans, were petitioning the commissioner every day, to crack down on the team's off field activities, public tickling, and fetish parties, or ban the entire team from baseball for life. It was becoming increasingly clear that no matter how many championships the team won on the field, that the fetish issues would forever hang over their heads. Before the first game of the homestand, the commissioner paid a visit to the team in their clubhouse, and ripped them for quote "perverted activities that were detrimental to the game", threatening to hand out fines and or suspensions if they didnt stop their what he called "bullshit", and "carrying on". He called their actions "sinful", and "shameful", and called them "problem members of the game", suggesting that their actions were more detrimental to the game then drugs. After all, no matter how "Good" they were on the field, and with their extensive charity work, everyone knew of their fetish activties, and the commissioner was concerned that the players would serve as bad "role models" to the fans.
The team understandably didnt have their heads into the game that night against the Pirates, and Kate Hudson got creamed in front of a large booing crowd. The Good Guys sat in their clubhouse after the game in stunned silence, even manager Sniderman having little to say. It had been such a wild, and fun ride even with all the internal strife, and now, everyone sat in front of their lockers facing an uncertain future.
The next morning, after a sleepless night, Mitch and Naomi took a sunrise walk on the beach. Mitch looked out into the Atlantic, his mind racing through 20 years of memories on the island, from the team's inception, to when he met Naomi, the World Titles, the violence, abuse, his divorce, the reconciliation with Naomi, and all that had happened since. Part of him just wanted to walk into Alan's office, tender his resignation, pack suitcases, and go with Naomi far, far away from all the trouble. He was truly torn. Paradise was his home, the 25 members of the Good Guys, his friends for years, the team, and even the tickling parties, were his life. Mitch thought he wanted to leave, and maybe should, convincing Naomi it was time to give up the ghost, enter therapy, and rid themselves of their fetish forever, putting an end to tickling, feet, and whatever other fetishes and internal demons consumed them. Between Alan's hatred of him, Mitch's own declining production as a result of his age, the Amy situation, and now this new problem with the commissioner, Mitch faced a tough choice, was it time to give up the ghost? The commissioner even suggested that any member of the Good Guys, even should the team not be banned or contracted, should be ineligable for the Hall Of Fame, because of their off field conduct. This made the team incredulous, as they felt the commissioner was "discriminating" against them. After all, there were players in the Hall of Fame who cheated on their wives, and were alcoholics, it was the on the field numbers that got players into the Hall of Fame, not the off field ones.
The rest of the homestand did not play out particularly well. Although the Good Guys won two of three from Pittsburgh, they ended up losing 2 of 3 to both the Cards and Cubs, finishing the homestand with a 4 and 5 record, their minds cluttered with the commissioner problem.
In the meantime, Amy, after pestering Mitch often during the last homestand, was virtually non existent during this one. This was the typical hot and cold period that the couple had gone through when they were together. Quite honestly, with the trouble the team was having from the commissioner, it was probably better off that Mitch did not have Amy around, to complicate things even more.
In the meantime, the team held a Saturday night tickle party to try and take their minds off their troubles. The media had gotten wind of the commissioner's comments, and was staked out near a secret location that no one was supposed to know about, where the fetish party was being held.
The usual antics at the party occurred, with Kate Hudson, Naomi, and Amanda Bynes the featured lees. Everyone of course cracked up hysterically when being tickled, due to the tickling being a reflexive reaction, but no one's head of heart was really into the party. The team had so many sudden troubles. It was not known how things would play out. Would the commissioner, in time, calm down, realize the team's positive contributions on the field, and overlook the off field antics, as he had for 20 years, or would the PR pressure finally cause him to act, and demand major changes, or hand out bans for life.
So, very serious issues hung over our tickling team's head as our story comes to an end. What would happen next? Stay tuned for the continuing story of the Tickle Team from Paradise Island.
The End
