400 K's!!!
   In Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Scranton/WB Red Barons, Gustavo Chacin and Jamie Vermilyea combined for 9 strikeouts in as many innings, earning the Chiefs 392nd, 393rd, 394th, 395th, 396th, 397th, 398th, 399th and 400th K's at home this year. Along with 487 K's on the road, the Chiefs have a total of 887 K's so far in 2006.

   With Tuesday night's Chiefs game suspended due to rain, it would be a shame not to enjoy a little bit of baseball. For the unfortunate ones out there who have yet to see the following clip, or those that'd like to see it again, below is an unedited clip of Asheville Tourists' manager Joe Mikulik's tantrum. It all started when Koby Clemens (Roger's son), of the Lexington Legends, was called safe after stealing second base during a game against the Colorado Rockies' Single-A affiliate. What followed is among the most memorable moments of the 2006 MiLB season.

   After a week away, the K-Boys have returned from their trip to California. Check out the Photos section for a few shots of the K-Boys at a couple of Bay Area ball games. Also, below, view a video of the K-Boys taking in the sights of San Francisco.

   Delmon Young was suspended earlier this week for 50 games, in relation to the now infamous incident of throwing his bat at an umpire.
   So much has already been said about it, but suffice it to say you would never see such an immature player, with such an utter lack of professionalism, ever holding the prestigious honor of being called a Syracuse Chief.
   Young will return to action on June 19th, but sadly the Durham Bulls are not visiting Syracuse at all for the remainder of the season.
   In case you missed it, or want to see it again and again, the video is below.

   Ever hear the K-Boys "Bang!"?

   Ever see the K-Signs held up high during an opponent's "Walk Of Shame" back to the dugout after either watching and waiting for a bus or closing their eyes and swinging wildly like a 1st grader at a party trying to hit a pinata?

   Ever feel the electricity in the air that the K-Boys spark?

   Ever wanted to be a part of it?

   Well, if you see the K-Boys at the game and want to chill with greatness, maybe even hold up a K or scream a few "Bang!"'s with us...feel free to.

   The K-Club is always looking for new members and some added "Bang!" for each game. Every game there are often several open seats right behind Section K-Boys. Although we look mean to the opposing team, we're the nicest and coolest people in the stadium.

   As an added bonus, there is a great chance our coolness will rub off on you and you too will become one of the most popular kids at your school. In the event that you are an adult you might be saying "Awesome!... but I dont go to school." Well, if so, join us anyway and you will become one of the most popular dudes at work. No job? No problem! Hang out with the K-Boys and you'll soon become one of the coolest dudes in the unemployment line.

   The more people in the K-Club, the cooler it becomes, and, consequently, the cooler each member becomes. Yes even you can become cool. A bigger K-Club leads to bigger "Bang!"'s. Bigger "Bang!"'s leads to more K's. More K's leads to more fame. And fame, of course, leads to SportsCenter.

   Like a carpenter without his hammer, a copper without his gun, or a pop star without their backup vocal track, a K-Boy would be nothing with his BANG!. More than just a heckle, the BANG! is a crucial part of any K-Boy's arsenal, and requires a certain amount of natural ability to perform effectively.

   Many people may think simply yelling "BANG!" is all that is required to be on level

Quiet BANG!'s Surprise Nobody

with the K-Boys. They are wrong. That's like saying that the picture your sister made for me in Intro To Painting 101 puts her on the same level as Van Gogh. I will do my best to teach you the tried and true techniques of BANG!'ing, in the hopes that with a little bit of practice, you may one day be able to join the K-Boys in section 105 and strike out a few of the opposing batters.

   First, let's cover volume. If somebody sneaks up behind you and whispers "BOO!", chances are you will not be scared. The same applies to the batters standing in the batter's box. If the BANG! isn't loud enough to startle them, it will be completely ineffective. So how do you know if it's loud enough? Luckily for you, I've invented a two-step Volume Efficiency Test. Step 1: Are you yelling as loud as possible? If you answered 'Yes', proceed to Step 2, if you answered 'No', hit the vocal weightroom, and keep practicing. Step 2: Does your throat feel incredibly sore after the 2nd inning? If you answered 'Yes', please visit the K-Boys in section 105 for your audition. If you answered 'No' then you obviously lied about your answer for Step 1, so shame on you.

   Next, let's cover timing. A loud BANG! needs to be performed at the correct time to produce the intended outcome. That being said, yelling BANG! when the catcher has the ball in his glove is probably not the ideal time. Either you are too late (very likely), or you are so early that you did it well before the next pitch was even being thought about (if that's the case, your chances of ever BANG!'ing with the K-Boys are about slim and none). On the other hand, you also don't want to yell 'BANG!' when the pitcher has the ball in his hand still. Even though he is a spectacular pitcher (as warranted by the Chiefs logo on his jersey) it is still possible that he may be surprised by the BANG! causing him to improperly release the pitch, resulting in a ball, a hit batsman, or anything else that isn't a strike. So when do you yell 'BANG!'? Our experience has shown that the proper time to shout it out is right after the ball leaves the pitcher's hand. The reason is two-fold. First, the pitcher no longer has control of the ball, so even if he were to be scared, it won't affect the outcome of the pitch. Secondly, the batter has not yet started his swinging motion.

A Loud BANG! Is Useless Without Proper Timing

If he starts to swing, the shock of the BANG! is unlikely to throw him off. Instead, we want to shock him as he is deciding to start his swing. The slight delay the shock causes in starting the swinging motion will be enough to get the desired third strike.

   Finally, we need to cover the frequency and usage of the BANG!. If used too much, many batters will come to expect it, and the BANG! will no longer be as effective. To avoid this, it's important only to yell 'BANG!' in some sort of random pattern, in order to keep the element of surprise. Exceptions can be made if we are in need of a crucial out, in which case the use of 'BANG!' is still permitted, even though we feel the batter may be expecting it. Instead of yelling BANG!, if you think they expect to hear it, you can consider using another short word, to catch them by surprise, and hopefully produce the same outcome as the BANG!.

   Now that you know the proper volume, timing, and usage of the BANG!, I recommend spending some spare time practicing before using it in public. If you are a Syracuse Chiefs fan, I also ask that you do not yell BANG! at games before first consulting the K-Boys. We have a tried-and-true method, and would hate for it to be ruined by inexperienced BANG!'ers. Please visit us at any home game in section 105, and we will gladly give you a lesson in BANG!'ing.

   As you may very well know, Syracuse is known worldwide for two things: K-Boys and hotties. So when these two national treasures come together at Chiefs' games, it is only natural that sparks may fly. So you must be wondering just how the K-Boys are able to differentiate the hidden gems from the general populous. Well, first one must distinguish between the many different types of hotties that may frequent a game.

His night went downhill from here.

   There are the boyfriend girls. This is the girl that goes to the game with her soon to be ex-significant other. These ones are some of the easiest to spot as they are often seated in close proximity to the field and away from the highly congested areas. The unfortunate boyfriends, who had plans of a nice romantic evening with their girl at the Chiefs' game, make the mistake of intently following the game and its festivities rather than minding their ladies. The girl, usually adorning the ever-cute baseball hat with the ponytail hanging out, is like most girls, and quickly becomes bored. This boredom readily translates into a pair of wandering eyes that quickly finds their match in a ready-and-waiting K-Boys'.

   Next you have the family girl. These are the girls that come to the game with Mom, Dad and little Billy. They act in much the same manner as the boyfriend girls, although they usually are slightly more interested in the Chiefs. However, once eye contact is made, the rest is easy, as their interest in the ballgame is quickly replaced with fascination

One of the K-Boys' many fans.

with the fellows holding the K signs. The trick is to pull the tried-and-true K-Boy Technique #17®: Eye contact, followed by a wink. Once the wink has been established, a finger snap-turn-pointing gun maneuver directed towards the concourse must be executed within a three second time frame for the whole technique to be effective. The one drawback to these girls is that it is quite rare to find one of suitable age and one must consider themselves lucky when said event does occur.

   Finally we come to the pack of girls. Just like a pack of wolves, these girls are aggressive, wild, and daring. These qualities, although adaptative for Rover's ancestral cousins, turn out to be Kryptonite for the ladies. Acting brazen near the K-Boys only gets you ciphered. The attributes that usually preserve the family and boyfriend girls, such as a controlling male presence and a desire to spend some quality time with loved ones, are completely lacking in this cluster of damsels. Acting flirtatious with a group of young studs like the K-Boys is reinforced by their hormonal raged comrades. What starts off as cheering and laughing soon becomes moaning and screaming. They might as well hold up signs that say "Here for the taking".

   So, whether it be daddy's little girl, Joe Schmoe's girl, or the Girls' Night Out girl, the take home message is that they can all be summoned upon by the K-Boys to serve as our lady friends for the game. If you are a hottie, and you would prefer to not get stolen away from the guy you think you love, it's best to stay home and catch the game on the radio, because there is no place safe at Alliance Bank in which a K-Boy won't sniff you out and then take you home.