It's the most boring piece of garbage I've ever seen. And it's not easy for me to say that.

Wow, if I could have guilt tripped as well as Al Gore can to get himself the Oscar, I would have gotten that Sega Genesis I always wanted. Oh well.

Of course, the big story last night was the Hounds continuing their unbeaten run, winning a relatively easy game againt Flick Fu. We had some good moments: zone worked well, along with the defense in general (only 12 points scored against). Considering a third of the team was subbing in, the offense overcame some confusion and muddled play to still put up a good score. Of course the big test is coming up this Sunday with our game against the Sofa Kings.

The other event of the night of course was the Oscars. For those who missed it, Martin Scorsese finally won his statue for Best Director, after missing out on previous films like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Gangs of New York and The Aviator. Of course, Al Gore won for Best Slide Show, and Pan's Labyrinth took home two awards to make up for it not getting a Best Picture nomination. I can't go into too much about the winners/nominees...I have found myself going to fewer and fewer movies, as the only winners I have seen are Little Miss Sunshine, An Inconvenient Truth and the second Pirates Movie.

When I saw Little Miss Sunshine, I must admit I did not think it would be an Oscar nominee, but I did think that Alan Arkin had a shot at the Male Supporting Actor award. It's just one of those roles (quirky, bitter, but with a heart of gold) and stories (Arkin, veteran "that guy" actor) that the Academy loves to award with the Supporting trophy. But, Arkin was quite good in the movie...I only wish it came out 14 years ago so I could follow his advice:

The Hounds Abide

OK, so we're still a little bitter after last week's "result" with Choad. So, let's take it out on Flick Fu. They're in last, and have a -103...let's just say they are a little "out of their element" here. The key to victory will be coming out and announcing our presence with authority. An early lead will allow us to work on a few things (zone, upside-down throws, etc...) while working with a cushion. Other than that, just play the way we know we can - smart and quick disc movement, intensity on O and D, and of course, Simon's hammers.

Afterwards, Laura, Dennis and a cast of thousands will be going to Danforth Bowl to celebrate Dennis' birthday with some bowling. Laura says more details are coming...in the meantime, just don't pee on anyone's rug.

Forget the Nickel, let's go to the Hammer

Chris: "Hey did you hear there's a Snow Ultimate tournament in Hamilton? It's on March 17th and 18th"
Bonnie: "Really? That's so much closer than Sudbury. And didn't they just get a huge snowfall?"
Pierre: "I really want to make dragonflies in the snow."
Laura: "And I can bring my matching hat and jacket!"

Yes, it is true...there is an ultimate tournament in Hamilton on the weekend of St. Patrick's Day (March 17th/18th). It's called the "Divine Nines" as teams are only 9 players maximum on the squad, so we'll need 5 guys and 4 girls (it's 4/3 on the field). The cost is $180 for the team.

Now, our Snowplate bid flamed out (I blame Felix), but perhaps we can get 9 people together for this weekend.

If you are interested, please post a comment. By the end of the week, we'll see who's in, who's out, and then we'll go to Round 2 of the invites.

For more information, check it out here.

All right Choad, you just made the list

Next time, we're bringing one of these.

Besides the score discrepancies, I thought we played a very good game. Playing against a tough opponent, we hung tough. When they got ahead, we kept coming.

On offence, while it is true that there were times where we needed one more person making a cut, I found that our turnovers never really came from those instances, but more from simply missing some throws. Of course, if we ever get to 100% completion of throws in a game, then it's time to take on the Fatties. We had some good movement, solid play-making, some patience (a few endzone plays illustrated this) and just great effort all around. They even switched the force to try to throw us off, but we still played strong.

Defense was again hilited by solid effort by all. Other than the confusion with the zone (which will be remedied next week), we played well, and made smart switches which I loved seeing (we should do that more if the need arises in a game).

Even though in the end they took the win from us, we know the real score. For those who believe in karma, then you're not worried if we face them again. For those who don't believe in karma, then see what happened to my favourite hockey player, Steve Sullivan, a few years ago:

I have absolutely no f$#%ing clue

Big test this Sunday: Cold Blue Choad. They have beat the Sofa Kings, but lost to Wasabi. We're playing at 8:30 at Varsity North.

So, how can we beat them? I think a strategy of hurrying our throws, working it up the line no matter what (why use the whole field?), ignoring the dump and swing, and trying for constant long bombs are our keys to victory. I think Sunday will be my first of many "All Scoober" games, so be prepared.

Although perhaps I am affected by these exam answers:

Can anyone here figure out the answers to the questions? Some are easy; some...not so much.

A Valentine's Day Suggestion

Of course, today is Valentine's Day. Yet another Hallmark holiday meant to directly inconvenience men, especially me. Of course, if you didn't realize it was Valentine's Day already, that means one of three things:


1) You're single.
2) You're married.
3) You're screwed.

But fear not, I am here to help you. Thanks to my good friend Justin Timberlake, we know exactly what to give your special friend on this day. Okay, I must admit that JT did intend for this to be a Christmas present, but I think the message still applies to today.



So, I know the sound was a little off, as I'm sure the people with filthy, one-track minds think he was singing about a "dick," but that is not the case. Here's what Michelle will be looking forward to tonight...


That's right...it's my Disc in a Box.

Happy Valentine's Day. Oh, and you can thank me later for putting that song in your head all day long.

We're not ready to make nice

A sign that I am getting old: I had no idea that the Grammys were on Sunday. OK, that's not entirely true...I had heard that they were coming up, but I did not care enough for that to register in my little brain. Apparently the big winners were the Dixie Chicks with 5 awards, including the award for "Best song by a duo or group that got shunned for trashing the President but are now revered because it turns out that they were right." The Foo Fighters didn't have a chance.

Of course, had I realized the Grammys were on, I still would not have been able to watch because:

A) I pretty much dislike the music of all the performers and winners...let's just say that if you asked me what I thought about their music, "Not my cup of tea" would be a common response.

B) I was playing ultimate.

As for the game, a 30-22 Hounds victory was the result from Sunday's game against Huckin' Fappy. We did start slow, as we were down 8-6 at one point, but then quickly stopped checking our own prostates to take a 13-11 lead when they took their time out. After that, we stayed ahead on the strength of Simon's hammers (at least 5) and Matt's Callahan (first one?) and cruised to the victory.

So, what worked on offense? Well, other than Simon's hammers, when we moved the disc quickly, we were able to get open, as well as find the open player. There wasn't anything really special I thought...after the slow start, we just really went to work and stopped making mistakes.

But, what can we work on? We didn't move it off the line nearly enough, which caused a lot of turnovers due to throwing into narrow spaces. Also, when we got near their endzone, they would drop back their players back (pretty much into a endzone zone), not leaving much room to make a pass. In those cases, the disc should get into the hands of the handlers, and then quick movement creates open space. I also think we are clogging the lanes a little too much, as we should be creating some space by using a stack offense more, thus opening up more room for longer gains off our initial throws (then we can make the quick passes to get the score). It just seemed like we didn't have much room out there.

On defense, we forced quite a lot of swilly throws from them, which is a sign of good marking.

We did not use our zone enough, which I think was due to them being quite fast on the restart. This did not give us a chance to set it up as we usually do. I think we should also try to set up a short/deep strategy, where you have one man covering the short cuts, and one man covering anyone going deep. This can help to disrupt a team's flow, as well as help anyone who has lost their mark.

Anyway, those are just some of my thoughts. Feel free to add your own comments.

And to sign off, the winners of the 1985 Grammy for Outstanding Soul, Spoken Word, or Barbershop Album of the Year:

I'm not as think as you drunk I am

For this Sunday, we're playing at 9:30 at Varsity Centre x 2 (Varsity Centre - Centre) against Huckin' Fappy. Of course, this team is lead by former Hound Trishia, so let's put Bonnie on her and make her work for it. That'll teach her.

The definition of "Fappy" according to the Urban Dictionary:

1. A mixture of fucking and happy, fucking happy.
Barney is one big fappy purple dinosaur.

2. A combination of the words "fat" and "happy"
Santa is quite the fappy fellow at Christmas time.

3. A feeling of emotion; in the mood to fap, or masturbate.
Tim was fappy last night when he watched Basic Instinct.

I had never heard about #3 before...I guess you learn something new every day. I wonder if the folks on Huckin' Fappy know about that definition. Although now, I'm not really looking forward to the post-game handshake.

We missed the first half of the Super Bowl for a tie?!?

Well, the showdown with Wasabi was excellent...well, until the final few minutes. But more on that later...

Thanks to Lyanne and Matt for hosting us for the 2nd annual Hounds Super Bowl Party. Of course, with any Lyanne-catered affair, there was tonnes of good food, lots of beer and slushy Coke. Austin was the big winner of the evening (and maybe the Colts as well), sweeping the squares pool. Did you buy a Super 7 ticket on the way home?

As for the game against Wasabi, I'll let Simon sum things up:

Well team, that's another fine mess you've got us into...the classic problem with poking a bear is that it wakes up angry!

Yessir, those fine folks over on Planet Wasabi are surely going to bring the heat at playoff time!

So, what happened? Well I have to say that we played a fine game all in all. I think we showed tough intensity all round, passionate sideline involvement and nice flow on the field. Our spirited performance no doubt shocked several of the Wasabi players as we lead by 3-5 points all game...the big improvement seemed to be our Defensive Intensity and smart coverage - we had some huge interceptions (uncharacteristic for such an experienced team) and forced many high stall count dumps that I doubt they're used to having to resort to. On offence we demonstrated that the quick & sure throws were the order of the day, with rapid flow effectively breaking down their defence; this was so effective that it made our few ill advised long/late throw decisions stand out as unnecessary errors.

Some key takeaways from this game for me were:

1) Quick disc release causes flow that is extremely hard to defend against

2) Our zone defence is fairly potent and we should keep it up right to the end

3) We are able to throw a zero turnover game...if we keep our composure & focus high

Overall I was very impressed at our performance against a team that has always given us stiff competition and has never trailed us in the course of a game before. This is a clear indication of the continued development of the mighty Hounds - and by the way we're still top of the league!

And since you ask, no, I don't think the draw was unfair...if we didn't want to draw we should have defended our 5 point buffer harder ;)

Happy Commenting!

I think Simon's just being nice...here's what he really wants to say:

Whassup?

Big game this Sunday. It's our first game against the upper echelon of opponents in Sunday League, as we go up against our old friends from Wasabi. We have played them 6 times over the past year and a half, and are winless against them thus far. They have brought out some of our best play though, so let's see if we can get in the win column this Sunday. Simon will be back from Spain, so perhaps the return of el capitain will inspire the rest of the Hounds.

6:30, Varsity. Be there.
Of course, there is another big game this Sunday...some big American Football game, or something...I don't know, it hasn't been mentioned much in the media. Anyways, apparently a lot of people will be watching, so I guess we must as well. I hear that everyone will be able to make it out, which is great. I'm just finishing up the Pool questions, and will be sending that out later today. For those worried about football knowledge, fear not, it is not necessary, especially when one of the questions will be "Will Prince wear a shirt?" Of course, a pool is necessary for Sunday, for what is the point of watching the game if you don't have money riding on it?

Finally, to get us ready for the important game on Sunday, I give you the following: