I'm sure they're gonna go far

So many things have happened on January 31st over the years. In 1865, the US Congress passed the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in America...thus solving all race-related problems in the US. In 1905, the first car reached the fabled speed of 100 mph at Daytona, or as it was referred to in the old Green Machine, "cruising speed". In 1949, the first daytime soap on TV premieres ("These Are My Children"). Pro hockey players and housewives rejoice. In 1969, The Beatles performed their last live concert, on the rooftop of Apple Headquarters. I hope they passed the audition.

Oh, and a big day for me...January 31, 1979 is day Michelle was born. She's at that pivotal age: 28. Of course this is the age when you go from "mid-twenties" to "late-twenties". We'll be celebrating at the ACC, thanks to Lyanne and Matt, who invited us to the Raptor's game. We're expecting a big game from Pape Sow.

Here's a little ditty for Michelle. Happy Birthday!

You got served

Well, the Sunday 7:30pm Ultimatum came and went, and we're still here. A 41-20 final score and the crew from Ultimatum went home wondering where Santa's Little Helpers went.

I thought we had good flow moving the disc down the field, and it was probably the best we have done at getting the disc off the sidelines. Much less forced throws down the line than usual. Still a few too many ill-advised throws into the endzone (um...Bonnie behind the back?), but considering the game was well in hand, that would be the time to try them. Considering they had a short bench, it was tough to take too much from the second half of the game. They were pretty much done, giving us half-field after each point.

Defensively, once we shored up the strategy, we made them go deep into stall counts and make difficult throws, which is exactly what we want.

And who can forget the Hounds Hard Hat winner, Christian, who seemed to get open whenever he wanted, was great at moving the disc around and of course had his usually fare of excellent defensive plays.

Any other thoughts about the game? How can we continue to improve?

Finally, allow me to use this South Park clip to illustrate yesterday's game. Please note, we are not the South Park boys.

Show me the WMD's or else I'll invade Iraq

"To the Iraqi people complaining about matters like no running water and getting bombed in the streets, I have this to say: I'm playing the world's smallest violin, just for you."

What does all this lead up to? Well, our showdown with "Ultimatum" this Sunday. It's at Varsity Centre - North at 7:30pm.

And, just to clarify the opponent, this is not Ultimatum, the team that kicked Peanut Butter Jelly Time's butts in Fall Wednesday league. It is, however, the Ultimatum that beat Santa's Little Helpers in the Spring and Summer Tuesday league.

Honestly, can't you come up with a more original name? It's right up there with "Ultimate Warriors" and "Hammer Time" as the most-used name in Ultimate Frisbee. It's almost as bad as "Sets in the City" for Volleyball.

Who is that guy?

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dan Thomson, minus 6 pounds of hair:

As we all know, Dan had been growing his dreadlocks for over 4 years, and finally decided that it was time to cut them off, all in the name of some tree-hugging, granola-eating charity. Operation Dreads for Trees was a huge success, as Dan met his goal and then some.

He was finally unveiled on Wednesday as he and the rest of "This is my serious face" taught the Leather Cheerios a lesson in ultimate. It was interesting watching him out there. On more than one occasion, I'd see this guy with short orange hair running around, and wonder who he was. No longer will I be able to pick Dan out from a crowd 200 metres away...

Who do you think is happier: Dan or Lauren?

Only 12 days of interviews left

A quick copy and paste of the email that Lyanne sent out today about the Superbowl party. Michelle and I are looking forward to it.

"Hey all you Hounds!

Super Bowl is coming up! What better excuse to eat tons of food, drink lots of beer, and bet money on all things related to every minute of the big game (from who which team will win the coin toss, to which team will win the game)! Fortunately, Chris managed to schedule our game for that day nice and early, so we're all set (Chris - you're the man!)

Here are the details:
DATE: Sunday, February 4th (not this Sunday, but the Sunday after that)
TIME: As soon as our game is over
LOCATION: TBD - we'll host at our place, unless someone else wants to volunteer their house
WHAT YOU NEED TO BRING: Money (probably about $20 or $25; a portion of that will go to covering food/beer/drink costs, while the rest will go into some fancy betting schemes that Chris will be drawing up... you may leave this party richer than you arrived!)
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO: Just let me know whether or not you'll be coming, and whether or not you're bringing someone with you

That's it for now... more details to follow later - just thought I'd get this message out now, so that you can get this Hound-o-rrific event marked on your schedule!

RELEASE THE HOUNDS!

Lyanne"

Release the Hounds: Version 2.0

Years ago, a pack of Superflies travelled to the highest Summit in Idaho at Midnight in search of perfection. The events that transpired have become the stuff of legend, for on that fateful moonlit night, the greatest ultimate frisbee team was born. And the world has never been the same.

Release the Hounds is an Ultimate Frisbee team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They have been playing together since April of 2005. This is their story.

In the Spring of 2005, Simon Maycock brought together an eclectic mix of players to compete on Thursdays in the Toronto Ultimate Club. From teams that he had played on in the Toronto Central Sport and Social Club, the squad of 14 players was ready to take TUC by storm. The initial team consisted of Simon, Felix, Pierre, Bonnie, Mark, Lyanne, Laura, Matt, Tien, Nat, Austin, Chris, Hamid and Jocelyn, with help from Lara, as well as late-season pick-up Joel. They had an up and down inital season, finishing 11th in the final tournament, but the building blocks were apparent. It was obvious they could eat chicken wings, but would that translate to success on the pitch?


They ventured indoors for the TCSSC Sunday Speedpoint League, where they continued to improve. Dan joined the fray, adding a much needed "hippie" element to the Hounds. They finished 3rd and 4th against their toughest competition yet, but they really turned the corner at the Big Nickel.



For two days, the Hounds and friends (Olympia, Graham, Matt G) went to Sudbury as "Hounds on Ice" for some beer bongs, jacuzzi-ing, great food, dragonflies, and...oh yeah, an ultimate tournament played in 2 feet of snow. After seven games and a 5th Place finish, they returned home to an evening Speedpoint match against a tough Wasabi team. The Hounds, exhausted, played a great game, losing by only one point. While it was a difficult loss, RTH elevated their games after that point.


The Summer TUC season started very well for the Hounds, as they moved up the Thursday standings, and by the end of the regular season, they finished 2nd in the highest tier (4). The Playoff Tournament started well, as they rolled through three easy victories on Saturday. But, with high hopes,the wheels came off and they were upset on Sunday by the finalists. A final victory to take 5th did little to heighten spirits after the tough loss.

After the Summer season, it was back indoors for the TCSSC Speedpoint League. RTH was breezing through the season, and was poised to take the Championship. But, destiny threw them a scoober, as Joel was lost for almost a year to a knee injury (or "a knee" as Al Michaels would call it). The silver lining in this story is that it opened a spot for Christian to join up full-time, and the Hounds went on to take the title.


This brings us to the present, which is the point of all this. The past year has been documented by Hamid, on the initial Hounds blog who has gone onto create The Roman Empire. I've got some big shoes to fill, but I've got a lot of socks. It's on.


Smithers!
Yessir?
Release the Hounds!