With a 7-1 record, Shannon's Tavern has a very talented group of ball players and is looking forward to making their mark in this year's playoffs. Shannon's outfielders are arguably the best group of three to set foot on the grounds at M Street. Brendan Flynn, Mike Whitney, and Joe Pano are tremendous athletes who feature speed, power, and defense. Teams are having a tough time finding the gaps against these guys. Of course defense starts on the mound and Shannon's has two good ones in Bobby Noto and Manny Arruda. Both have pitched in tough games so experience and confidence is not a question with these two. With over ten combined championships under their belt, Jimmy Burgio, Billy Morin, Steven Muldowney, and Chris Neff round out the infield making this team a top contender come playoff time.

Trailing closely behind Shannon's is Murphy's Law at 7-2. Coach Sean Malone has done another great job in assembling this year's version as he went out an improved the most important position in the game - pitching. Malone landed power pitcher, Bob Homer, who has been masterful at times in his starts. Homer is also a great hitter so Malone has really found himself a good one here. Steve Lannon is also back and has provided Murphy's with a one-two punch on the mound. Lannon has won championships in other leagues and tournaments but hasn't been able to win that elusive M Street title. Behind Lannon and Homer are power hitters Rob Rogers, Chis Martin and Mike Smith. Pitching to those three hitters strike fear in many opposing pitchers in the league. Sean Malone, Jack Rogers, John Martin, Joe Broderick, Paul Gurley, and Steven Couturier round out the team and all play vital roles in the success of Murphy's Law.

At 6-3, Quality Painting is within striking distance of catching Shannon's but has shown inconsistent play. Quality seems to let their guard down a bit when playing against opponents that are below them in the standings. Losses against the Beer Garden and Cornerstone Pub have hurt them in the standings. However, they have two big wins against the Sidewalk Café so all is not so bad in Quality land.

Quality's chances of going far in the playoffs this year will rest on newly acquired pitcher, John Gregorio. Gregorio is no stranger to the league as he has played on several championship winning teams in the past. Brothers Derek and Perter Milano, Billy Collins, Bobby Wogan, Brad Morrill, Don Bolstad, Andrew Quinn, Dave Ross, and John Fahey back up Gregorio.

Sitting quietly in fourth place is two-time defending champions Sidewalk Café. The Café boys have shown signs of life but are still experimenting with lineup changes and player personnel. Sidewalk has added six new players who are all starting including veteran pitcher George Pratt. Pratt is new to the league and has been very effective (1.67 ERA) thus far. Jason O'Connell, Bobby Dobay, Tommy Connolly, Charlie Diblasi, and John Oliviera have all returned and will look to provide the spark that is needed to ignite the team in the stretch run. Rounding out the Sidewalk team are newcomers Eddie Yalmokas, Scott Rosemond, Adam Mancini, Tom Kinneavy, and Charles Zaniboni. Until the championship is wrestled away from them the Sidewalk Café is still the team to beat in the M Street Softball league.

Next week we will cover the remaining four contending teams, the upstart Cornerstone Pub, Seapoint Restaurant, Boston Beer Garden, and the Dogs. Have a great week and best of luck to the teams.