Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Dear Pierre

Well, Monday's game certainly had its ups and downs. In the last regular season game, we managed a 14-14 draw against Big Hammers, the 2nd-ranked team on Monday. Now, I missed the last game against Big Hammers, but I believe this was a vast improvement. Well done!

After a slow start (down 6-2 I believe) we went on a tear, taking half 9-8. We played through our initial struggles and asserted ourselves on O and D. Good use of a timeout somewhere in there. That being said, we started poorly, and struggled to the finish. We need to be focused right from the start, and not tense up near the end. I felt that we lost some of our aggression on offense near the end, and that cost us.

I think Simon summed it up pretty well in a note on Pierre's blog, which he has been updating a lot so far (I wonder if he can keep it up...tee hee..."keep it up"...):

Pierre!
Your place looks awesome - very nice. Just wanted to give you the update about last night's game since you didn't show up. We drew 14-14 with Big Hammers.

The same Big Hammers that placed 7th in the country?

Yes Piere, the very same.

That note is almost as good as this letter:

Monday, August 27, 2007

David vs Goliath

Big game tonight against Big Hammers. No insider info on this one...however, we do know they finished 7th at Nats, have only lost to Mandrew this year, and will likely play a zone d. It's going to be a very tough game, but let's see if the good guys can win this one.

Since it just wouldn't be a post without some sort of video, here's a classic Gravey and Jobriath episode:

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Really!?!

Even though we are called "Release the Hounds", I believe that none of us actually own a dog. Even so, Michael Vick's actions just boggle the mind, and I have to say something.

Now that Vick has plead guilty to all those dog-fighting charges, one just has to wonder what in Scooby Doo's name was he thinking? Even if you ignore the sheer cruelty of dog fighting (and executing the losers...WTF!), how did he think that in the Internet era this was not going to come out? Britney Spears can't even get out of a car without everyone seeing her naughty bits, so how did Vick think he'd keep this quiet?

I mean, he's one of the highest-paid and marquee players in all of the NFL...did he think that taking part (or running, as it's appears) in dog-fighting wasn't going to be made public some time? I mean, if Brad Pitt was to start his own real-life Fight Club, how long until someone breaks the first two rules? A week? A day?

Of course, Michael Vick has never really proven himself to be a man of good judgement (and that has nothing to do with his 49/38 touchdown to interception ratio over the past 3 seasons...zing!). This whole situation reminds me of what he did back in January, which was summed up best by Seth and Amy of Weekend Update.



So, what was he thinking? That's the problem...he just doesn't think.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Bring Da Ruckus

On Monday we play the final of the 'Big 4" Monday night teams: Ruckus. Considering they have only lost to Mandrew and Big Hammers this season, it's going to be quite the challenge. Of note, this team has a Hound connection in Rob Camp: TUC team-ranker extraordinaire and Hound on Saturday at TUF.

As the Wu-Tang Clan says..Bring da Ruckus (and your A game):

It's never good when it goes bad

I find that performace videos are pretty lazy: usually they're done while the band is on tour and their record company realizes "Crap, we need to get them a new single in rotation down at MTV (or MTV2 now, since MTV doesn't actually show music videos anymore)." Rarely is there anything that hasn't already been done in thousands of previous music videos. And the band always says lame things like "We just wanted to express our live energy in video form." Zzzz...

Well, Local H's video for "All the Kids are Right" brings the concert experience alive, but uses only two people (band members Scott Lucas and Brian St. Clair...there are only 2 in the band) to act out the parts of everyone at the concert...definitely different than the usual tripe.



This video reminds me of my high school days, going to concerts at the Hideaway (a basement dive in St. Catharines), and seeing all those characters throughout the night at a concert. From the scalpers and bouncers outside, to the roadies and T-shirt vendors inside, it kinda makes me want to check out the next Alexisonfire show.

Considering Local H never really made it big, it's impressive that they were able to give this video the same treatment as The Matrix. When released, this video (and album for that matter) received little fanfare, and is typically ignored when people make a Best Videos list. But any video where the lead singer gives himself "come-f*ck-me" looks...well, how can you exclude it?

Friday, August 17, 2007

Nat and Tien beat me to it

While we're on the subject of video-taping awesome plays (or not, as was the case on Tuesday), I believe Nat and Tien have the honour of being the first Hounds to appear on the "Clip of the Day" on UltiVillage. Click here to see their shining moment (look behind Lugsdin).

Now I'm bitter that UltiVillage wasn't at my league game on Tuesday. Or at the game where I skied (skiied? No, that one's for downhill...I think I got it right) our favourite opponent Mad Dog (what an awesome feeling that was). Or at the game where I pulled the disc into the end zone and then caught the first pass for a Callahan. Or...um...ok, that's all I got for 4 years-worth of playing ultimate. Dammit...I suck.

Memo to UltiVillage:

You can be boring and follow the tournament circuit...sure, Furious and DoG will make great plays from time to time. But if you want some real footage, you should follow me around to capture the one highlight-worthy play I manage to pull off each year. I think it'll be worth the investment.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

If Big Brother is watching us...

...can I have the tape?

As Christian mentioned in the Nationals wrap-up, last night while playing with I'm Idahucker I was able to complete a "greatest"...for a point no less! Of course, I'm sure the reason why Christian wanted to tell everyone is because he was the one who caught it in the end-zone (although he did have to fight Thomas and Janelle for it).

Does this count as bragging though? I just want to keep you all updated in important Hounds news...I think it's eventful enough to warrant a post (hell, I've done a post on a stupid Jeep commercial, so I think this is okay to write about).

Nat was right that it is my second career greatest, and I know she would remember since she caught my first one in 2005 (for a point as well!).

Now, if only I could do that cartwheel throw and catch that Tien and Christian do all the time...

A short-handed Horde

A little belated, but I just want to put a post about the game on Monday. Of course, it was the re-match with Disc-Horde, as apparently they didn't fall for the donut trick. With the windy conditions it gave us our first real chance at a dedicated zone; before we had only used it for the occassional point.

After a slow start, we were able to really clamp down on them, with the cup putting pressure on the mark (trapping worked well) and the mids taking away the easy swing pass. The transition to melt also netted positive results, as we rarely looked disorganized and we able to get on our marks quickly.

On offence, the handlers did a great job on maintaining composure and swinging the disc until the upfield pass was open. Once we broke down the zone we had great flow, while still being chilly with the disc. One thing to work on would be for the poppers to work together more to open up space for each other.

Of course, we were fortunate that Disc-Horde seemed to be a little short-handed...if we play them again, we might have to take greater measures to get through the Horde...

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Nationals wrap-up

The Canadian Ultimate Championships ended on Sunday, and the Hounds who took part had some excellent results.

In Masters, Tien and Chris teamed up with Graham on a pick-up team that was created due to Mule backing out. We gave it our all, but weren't able to overcome the handicap of unfamiliarity and lost every game. But it was a lot of fun to be able to play.

In Open, Dan N's team, Seek the Righteousness, impressed on Saturday and won two games and ended up with a 13th place finish, up from their original 18th seed. Dan L and Too Bad had trouble sustaining the momentum from Friday, as they finished 16th in the country.

In Women's, Carla and the Diggers had a matchup with Storm, who seem to have the Diggers' number. Their bad luck against Storm continued, as the ladies from Montreal prevailed. Diggers bounced back and finished the tournament strong, taking their final two games and 5th place. Laura and Feisty had a great Saturday, winning their first two games and ending up in 10th place, up from their 13th seed. In addition to this, they were also crowned the Spirit Winners for the Women's Division!

Nat, Lyanne and the Big Hammers had a tough Saturday. They lost their quarterfinal to Bostrich, and some dubious calls sure didn't make them feel any better. This was followed by a close loss to Monster, and then a bit of salvation with a win over RIP to take 7th...10 places higher than their original seed!

The Rest of Canada

It was quite impressive to see a full Varsity Stadium take in the action on Sunday. Even the rain during the finals didn't dampen our spirits (just our clothes).

Masters

The story of the over-33 division was Tombstone, which has some players that we'd recognize from Mandrew. They were seeded first, and for good reason. They steam-rolled through the tournament until a reach the finals and a tough match-up with Glum. A strong second half had them pulling away to a victory over the Ottawa side. On the bad side, they lost Morrow on Friday with an achilles injury.

Junior

Dirt rolled through the tournament and came up against an equally-strong Back Bone team from Vancouver. Dirt appeared to have the title in hand, with a lead of 12-7 in a game soft-capped at 14. Back Bone roared back and won the game 14-13 on universe point...ouch. The highlight, or lowlight, was some questionable calls (on both sides) that had fans actually booing 16 year olds!

Mixed

Bytown Flatball Club from Ottawa carried Ontario's hopes against Team Fisher Price from Vancouver. The game was close to start, but TFP went to a four-person cup which BFC seemed to have trouble adapting to, partially due to their strategy of playing three male handlers. TFP was especially strong though, and were full-value for the win.

Women's

Capitals and Traffic engaged in the most entertaining game of the day, with countless layout-d's, lots of calls (Boring!) and intense plays by both sides. Traffic took a late lead, and the Caps seemed to turn the momentum on one of those layout d's, but a throw-away right after sealed their fate.

Open

GOAT put up a valiant fight, but they just could not match the speed, skill and athleticism of Furious George. Their game plan seemed to revolve around striking deep, but they had some trouble converting, whereas Furious were able to take advantage of their chances.

My favourite moment was when a GOAT player scored on a long run on a Furious player, Noel Pullen (who went to my high school; aforementioned for dating my sister). The GOAT player was pumped up and spiked it at Noel's feet. Noel then picked up the disc and chucked it away...it was a great reaction, considering Furious George had a commanding lead at the time.

It was a great Nationals Tournament. Vancouver took four of the five divisions, but Toronto was right there in three of those finals. Hopefully this bodes well for the future of ultimate in the city. Perhaps more of us will be there next year in Calgary...

Time to play: "Where's Tien?"

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Nationals: Day 2

Lots of action today, with there apparently being a near bench-clearing brawl in the GOAT v. Invictus game (near in that it was bench-clearing only...also Simon, why did we go back to the Big Hammers game?), and a "Greatest" for a point for TFP against Snipe. Later that night I confirmed that my sister dated a player on Furious George in high school. Oh, if only I didn't accuse him of cheating on her! *

The biggest story, however, is that Tien and I have magically aged 2 and 4 years and are playing in the Masters Division. Okay, so it's a team of "volunteers" who are taking the place of a team that pulled out at the last minute. What's better than watching ultimate? Playing ultimate. Unfortunately, this means that I don't have a full account of the day's events (doesn't help that the results aren't posted). But on the bright side, I feel like I earned the right to spend $40 on merchandise.


Of course, the real Hound contingent continued on, with the most promising stories being Carla, Lyanne and Nat having made the top 8 in their respective divisions. I believe the Diggers went 2-1 today (losing to powerhouse Capitals). This should put them in 3rd today, meaning they'll play the 2nd place team from the other pool. If the Diggers win their quarterfinal game, they will play Capitals again, so they'll be in tough to advance any further than that. (Fearless prediction: 4th place overall)

Big Hammers went 1-2 today with a win over Mayhem (giving them 3 wins over Ontario teams so far) and losses to TFP and Gecko. This puts Big Hammers in 3rd place in their pool and a tough matchup with Bostrich. A win likely puts them against TFP (uh-oh), with a loss resulting in a fun-looking consolation matchup with Monster. ("I'm putting it on the Internet" prediction: 7th)

Too Bad had a great day going 3-0, including a win over Seek the Righteousness (not sure how STR did). This gives them a shot at 9th, as I think they can win their quarterfinal, but the semis will be tough if they do get there. (No idea predition: 11th place)

As for Feisty, two of their losses (to Capitals and Salty) were somewhat expected (although apparently not allowed to be watched). They then lost a tough one to Catfish, which sets up a very interesting Feisty vs XX quarterfinal. (Promaybely prediction: 11th).


* I didn't really do that.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Day 1 at Nationals

Bonnie, Simon, Tien and I met at Sunnybrook this morning and watched a whole lot of ultimate. The weather wasn't great, but not bad either (cool, little bit of wind, no sun, a few drops of rain). With 79 teams playing, there was definitely a lot to see. The Hounds' teams had an up-and-down day.

The big news of the day was the impressive showing by Big Hammers. Seeded 17th, they easily won their first two games over Crude and Les Bouettes. Their third game had a showdown with the infamous Snipe, seeded 1st out of all the Mixed teams. After a slow start (down 4-1), Big Hammers turned it on and took control, winning an intense and chippy affair14-11. They were definitely the talk of the port-o-potties. They are now seeded 1st on Friday, so we'll see if they can keep it up as the tournament progresses. My prediction (and keep in mind that I predicted them to win one game Thursday) is that they'll win one game on Friday, putting them in 4th in their pool and in the top 8.

On the Open front, Dan L and Too Bad had a tough start, losing to 14-10 to Invictus after the score was tied at 9-9. This was then followed by them being upset by Q, essentially knocking them out of the running for the top 8. Hopefully they can bounce back and have a shot at 9th.

Dan N had a tough day, as expected. Seek the Righteousness had a small squad and was over-matched in their 4 games. The highlight for Dan had to be playing against Furious George and marking their star, Andrew Lugsdin (pictured below...my camera sucks). Hopefully they have a shot at beating Sherbrooke tomorrow, which appears to be their best shot at a victory. There is also a Dan vs Dan matchup at 10:15 to look forward to.


Laura and Carla started their days on opposing sides, and Diggers (Carla) took it to the less-experienced Feisty (Laura). Unfortunately later in the day, Diggers couldn't pull out the upset over Alberta, so they finished 2nd in their pool and are looking at a potential matchup against Storm in the quarterfinals. Feisty did get the win they needed over Amazone, so they are in the running for the top 8, however their chances are slim. I think they have a win in them tomorrow, but I'm not sure if that will be enough to make the quarters.

Not a bad down for the Hounds, as only one out of five teams finished below their seedings. Hopefully there will be more success as the tournament goes on. For the full results, check out the CUC website.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

The Hounds take on Canada

The Canadian Ultimate Championships are upon us, and the Hounds are well-represented with 6 players taking part. Here's my quick take on their chances this weekend. Please keep in mind that I don't really know what I'm talking about...for rankings from people who have a clue, please check here .

Nat and Lyanne: playing with Big Hammers in Mixed (seeded 5th out of 5 in their pool, 17th overall)

Even though the top team is in their pool (Snipe) this could be the weakest pool of the four. I expect them to beat Les Bouettes, and a win against Liquid or Crude is possible. But considering the Hammers haven't played in a tournament since Mid-Season, I doubt it. My heart says 3rd (to make the Friday playdowns), by my head says 4th and out of the running. Will end the tourney 15th.

Carla: playing on Diggers in the Women's Division (seeded 2nd out of 4 in their pool, 5th overall)

Ontario's second-ranked team will go 3-0 to win their pool, and finish second on Friday to Capitals. I think they can make the semis, but will be in tough against BC's top team, Traffic. I see them finally beating Storm to take the bronze.

Laura: playing on Feisty in Women's (seeded 4th out of 4 in their pool, 13th overall)

In the same pool as Carla and Diggers. Good shot to make it to Friday playdowns (must beat Amazone from Sherbrooke), but it ends there. An 9th place finish is possible, but I 'm going to say they improve on their seeding and finish 11th.

Dan L: playing with Too Bad in Open (seeded 3rd out of 5 in their pool, 12th overall)

Too Bad is notorious for having an ever-changing roster, so we'll see who's coming out. I like them to finish 3rd on Thursday. They need to upset Blackfish and Nads to make it to Saturday, which is doable. After that they hit the wall, and my guess is they'll finish 8th.

Dan N: joining Seek the Righteousness (seeded 5th out of 5 in their pool, 18th overall)

Don't see much happening with this team...0-4 on Thursday is my guess. A 17th place finish would mean a successful weekend for this squad. Hopefully Dan can lead them to some wins.



It should be a fun weekend, and we'll see how my random projections play out. I'm planning on watching lots of flatball over the next 4 days...see you at Sunnybrook (and hopefully Varsity) supporting the Hounds.

Monday, August 06, 2007

In the morning, laughing happy fish eyes; in the evening, floating in the soup

I actually took this picture on vacation in the Philippines. I knew we'd be playing these jokers someday...

Good win last night Hounds. It got a little tough coming up against their zone, but otherwise we had some very good flow when we were up against a man d. I really like how that has been working the past month and a half. On offense, we've been eating them up...yum.



Defensively we were like Pearl Jam: Better Man. I think we should try to work in some zone before the playoffs, as well as shore up our deep issues. We're still putting lots of pressure on the other teams to make tough plays...we just need to make sure those plays come out in our favour.

Thoughts on how we can improve defensively? How about when we come up against a zone?

Sunday, August 05, 2007

Fire = Hot

Allow me to add the dialogue that this commercial was missing:



[Three men tailgating. One of them is cooking steak. I'd guess one is a construction worker, one is a mechanic, and one just came from the set of The Warriors .]

Guy #1 - "How do you want your steak?"

Guy #2 - "Medium."

Guy #1 - "You?"

Guy #3 - "Medium rare."

[One drip of sauce falls onto the barbecue grill. Tense music plays in the background. The men look like they are fishing and just dropped the last beer into the lake.]

[Better be sure to put the "Do not attempt" disclaimer in case someone is actually dumb enough to do what this guy is going to do.]

Guy #2 - "Let it go. Do you see the bottle you are holding? It has much more sauce in it than the tiny amount that fell on the grill. You still have lots of sauce left. Why do you care? For that matter, why did I just stand up?"

Guy #1 - "But it's A1 steak sauce. Not Heinz, not HP, but A1. It comes first in the phone book!"


[Guy #1 takes off hat, and decides to go in. Flash forward as everyone is looking at an ambulance.]

Guy #1 - "Ith my theak okay?"

Guy #2 - "Um, yeah, it's fine. Not that you'll know now. Did you not ever learn how cooking food with heat works? Is this your first barbecue? I hope that drip of sauce on the dirty grill tasted good, because now you aren't going to be tasting anything for a month. Good one."

Guy #3 - "Dude, you're a moron...dibbs on his steak."


God - "A1 steak sauce. Yeah, it's that important."

Friday, August 03, 2007

Only 1 week late...

Alright, I finally saw the Simpsons Movie last night. Michelle and I were joined by a few other Hound-folk (Nat, Tien, Joel, Steph, Laura). And yes, they did Release the Hounds in the movie, so it was well worth it.
I'm not going to go too much into the movie itself since I'd end up giving away the ending (hint: it might involve Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin and Eric Cartman having a fart contest to save the Earth. But it might not.). If you're a Simpsons fan, well then you've probably already seen it. If you're a Simpsons fan and haven't seen it yet, then stop being a cheapskate and give Matt Groening his $12. You've been living off free episodes for years...is that too much to ask?

If you're not a Simpsons fan, then get the hell out of here.

The one thing I will mention was the previews. Not too many, which was a welcome change. Although one was the most disturbing thing I have seen since I saw Se7en and the knife/sex device that John Doe made the guy from Very Bad Things use on a woman.

Let's just say the jokes involve the worst version of Funkytown ever, plus eating crap. Against my better judgement...



Some questions for Jason Lee: Underdog AND Alvin and the Chipmunks? Really? Is Kevin Smith not returning your phone calls anymore?

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

But who will control the Beer Bong?

This past Monday marked the final game as a Hound for our good friend, Pierre Dufour. As we know, he will be leaving with Natalie for France where he will further his education at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, about 65 kms to the south of Paris. They already have a nice little place ready for their arrival, and I'm sure they will find lots to do while they are working and studying abroad.

Pierre has been a full-fledged member of the Hounds since we started way back in the Spring of 2005. I still remember the halcyon days when Pierre was "Party Guy" organizing all of the Hounds social events; including the infamous Old School movie night, the beer bong and the House Crawl. Although, given the amount of alcohol Pierre made me consume, I am amazed that I actually remember anything at all. I would be remiss (and Michelle would kill me) if I did not also mention the dragonflies at Snowplate.


Unfortunately due to an injury Pierre was only able to play the final point (which happened to be the longest point of the game), and even worse, we lost the game. But a matter such as winning an losing was definitely not the important aspect on Monday night. After the game, we went back to one of our original post-game stomping grounds, St. Louis', to re-live the good times and to give Pierre a proper Hounds send-off, which of course included an Irish Car Bomb.

He has already promised me that he will continue to check the site to keep in touch with our progress, since apparently I'm on his "Top 4" sites to check. He better keep reading, since he's one of about 8 people who actually pay attention here.

So, we say "A Bientot" to Pierre: Hound, Party Guy, Tournament Captain, and most importantly, our friend. Good luck in France, and we hope to see you soon.