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.

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?

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.

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...

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?"