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:

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):

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?

My tongue hurts from biting it too much

I was hoping to have a full preview of this weekend's TUC Mid-Season tournament, including in-depth scouting reports on the teams, and each team's odds of winning.

Plus, I was going to...er...include the meaning of life, then perhaps show how to make special brownies and...um...post naked pictures of Jessica Alba and Tom Brady. Too bad the change didn't allow me the time to do that.

So, all I can say is that scheduling mistakes can be a whole lot worse...just ask Jasper:



See you tomorrow at Sunnybrook!

El Kabong Rides Again

Not much to be found about El Kabong, however I did learn he is the Mexican-ish, guitar-smashing alter ego to Quick Draw McGraw.



Let's just be aware in case they pull out a silver guitar tonight.

Beware the wrath of Carla

Phew! Carla, you would not have been disappointed with the second half of the game. We started the second half the same way we started the first, and powered our way to a 17-8 victory. I think it was by far our best all-around performance. I think we'll look back on this game and say that was the game where we turned the corner. Or else we'll look back and I'll feel like a colossal ass for saying that just now.

Defensively we had quite a few great individual plays, and we also caused a fair share of Stall 9 throws. Defense can still improve by continuing to work hard, along with communication on the field and help from the sidelines.

I really thought the offense was the best it's been in quite awhile. Smart, quick throws really allowed us to do whatever we wanted out there. We rarely got caught on the sidelines, the HO worked pretty well, people were making crisp passes and motivated cuts.

So, the re-launch of the Hounds has started well. But, to paraphrase the Wolf from Pulp Fiction, let's not start licking each other's popsicles just yet.

Thoughts on the game?

Also, Dan and Owen were introduced to the ritual off the Hounds post-game meal. We'll eat anything...

O Captain My Captain

In recent Release the Hounds news: we have a new Social Coordinator

and have created and filled the role of Field Captain

so now it's back to what RTH Ultimate is all about. Having fun and kicking some ass.

As the new FC, I will try to give us the best chance of winning, but I won't go as far as some other captains...

How can we sum up our thoughts on losing?

This is dedicated to Tien, who made his feelings known after the last point.

Turn the volume up to 11, because that's how high we go.

Bad things happen when you play with Ninjastars

Just ask Butters.



Need I say more?

See you tonight at Sunnybrook.

I just want some pants

Since our attempt spying on the opposition didn't really help last week, I thought I'd try a more direct approach at scouting the opposition.

Me: "So Rol, how's the team looking for the game on Monday?"
Rol: "Dude, we got the Legion of Doom coming out."
Me: "Crap."

OK, so Mandrew pretty much has everyone coming out, so we're going to be in tough. So, here are some goals for the game:

1) Play our game
2) Work hard
3) Make smart decisions
3) Have fun

We know that the Legion of Doom has been known to bicker, so hopefully they will be worried about things other than ultimate, like their wardrobe.


We already have the kick-ass uniforms.

Translation Time

Thanks to our new super-secret intelligence program, we have uncovered some inside information from our opponents this Monday: Big Hammers. Thanks to our under-cover Hound (let's call her "Lee Anne von Gouligan" so we don't blow her cover), we have received a confidential memorandum regarding the game on Monday.

I have run this coded transmission through a series of decryption programs to discover its true meaning (along with trying to get through the spelling and grammar mistakes). The following is extremely sensitive, for your eyes only, and any mention of the following must be disavowed should you be questioned by anyone on Big Hammers:

Yo Team,
[Translation: Greetings and salutations comrades.]

BIG HAMMERS vs. release the hounds
[Translation: Zone zone zone zone, zone zone zone...zone, zone zone.]

This one will be a beating death of a pack of dogs....hopefully those PETA people won't come out and watch this...it's going to be pretty dirty
[Translation: I am very concerned about this game. Not only does this team have our two best girls, but they are also funnier and better looking than us. Hopefully CUPA won't come out and watch this, as they may give our Regionals bid to them, based on the fact that they are so much more awesome than we are. Apparently they are good flatball players as well.]

It's amazing that TUC actually has this game up a week in advance...but believe it....
[Translation: I laud TUC and their willingness to change their scheduling system, thus forcing their conveners to have to create the schedule on a weekly basis. Where do we play next week, anyway?]

The game is at Flemingdon Park (i would guess everyone knows where that is)...if not here's a map
http://www.tuc.org/field.html?field=flemingdon
[Translation: If you don't know where Flemingdon is by now, then where have you been? There is no reason why you shouldn't be there by 6:15.]

We're on field #5....which is the field nearest the Basketball Court.
[Translation: Perhaps we should challenge them to basketball, since it may be our best chance to win.]

Lyanne and Nat please have your team their on time....the game ends at 8:20pm, because the park is unsafe
[Translation: Lyanne and Nat, we hope your team is late...we would like to start counting points until you arrive...we need all the points we can get... After all, we remember what happened when we played last year. The game ends at 8:20, because that is when Simon has to go home before Olympia kills him.]


The Hammers are known for their athleticism and energetic play, so should they get aggressive, just think of this:

The Horde is coming

After three relatively easy games to start the season, we have a tough one coming up on Monday. Disc-Horde has been playing together for awhile, and we will recognize quite a few of the players from Wasabi. I'm looking forward to our first big challenge of the Summer, and I'm not talking about figuring out how we're going to get to Finch/Midland by 6:30.

We have been fortunate so far to have played teams ranked lower than us (currently 13th, 23rd and 25th respectively), but we're getting to the stage where we must be focused for each point. Against Flowbee we had some mistakes at their endzone that we can't allow to happen against a top team like this. We have too many handlers to feel the need to force throws into tight spots to score. No more than three people should be in the endzone, and simply working the disc around while waiting for someone to get open should result in less turnovers and more points. When possible, a 3-person vert stack can be set up.

On defense, hard man-d will be a key to success, but a zone may also be used to change the pace. Some zoney things to work on from last game: a tighter cup, a lot more communication and mids need to pick up open players on downfield and on swing passes.

Hopefully they will be stupid like this horde, but I doubt it:



6:30, Sir William Osler (1050 Huntingwood Dr - south of Finch, east of Kennedy). Bring your white and purple jerseys.

This Commercial Sucks: Jeep Patriot

Another way to waste my time is going to be dedicated to commercials...ones I like, and ones that are stupid. First on the docket: the Jeep Patriot ad with the guys who steal a canoe from some woman and her smart (i.e. asleep) partner.



Why do I hate this commercial? So many things just don't make sense. Like:

How did those guys get there? If they need to canoe away, that must mean their camp is quite the hike away. Don't they have better things to do with their time in the morning of a camping trip? Come one guys...clean up your beer bottles or something.

Why doesn't the woman just wake the guy up beside her and make him get the canoe back? That's what would happen normally.

Why do you care if they took the canoe? You have a Jeep. It's okay. You'll get it back.

How does she magically pick up the wolf from across the river and put it in the canoe? Is she Mr. Fantastic's illegitimate love-child (or perhaps Stretch Dude)? If she could do that, why not just pick the guys up and drop them out of the canoe. Or for that matter, why did she have to drive all the way down-river to do this...couldn't she just do that from her camp?

After the guys jump out of the canoe, how did she get the canoe back? Was it her magic fingers? Did it drift back to her?

And wouldn't the wolf still be in the canoe? I don't know, but he looked pretty pissed...wouldn't it come after her once the canoe got to shore?

Since the guys know her, don't they know that she could do this? Or was this the "unveiling" of her super-power? If so, very anti-climactic. Maybe wait to grab a baby out of a burning building to start showing that off.

How did she get the canoe back onto the Jeep to take it back to camp? I'm guessing the guys she made jump into the water wouldn't have helped her. I haven't loaded a canoe on a Jeep before, but I'm thinking it's more than a one-woman job, unless you don't care about scratching the hell out of your Jeep.

I guess a lot of this can be explained by her "magic fingers", but I feel like I'm missing out on a lot here. If she can do that with a wolf, then what else can she do? How did she get these powers? How far away can she grab things? Can she grab me a beer from the fridge without leaving the living room? That would be awesome.

I really think that Jeep should make a prequel to this commercial to explain these things. Please Jeep, I'm waiting. I need some answers.

Some unexpected readers

It appears that Simon has put our site on our TUC team page, which has resulted in quite a few hits from curious people wondering just what this "Release the Hounds" team is about.

I must say that when I started this blog, I wasn't really expecting more than about 20 people to read it...ever. Hell, I don't think my wife has even read it. That being said, it was just a matter of time that the exploits of the Hounds were going to become a world-wide phenomenon, so I guess I should have expected this to happen sooner or later.

So, this post is for all you TUC'ers who have stumbled across my humble site, trying to gain some insight into who we are, and more importantly, how to beat us.

We are Release the Hounds; and no, you're not going to beat us. But I'm sure it will be a fun game.

We are starting up our third year together playing this game some like to call Ultimate Frisbee, but we call Flatball. There has been a lot of changes to the roster, but there are still nine of the original Hounds still kicking around. Of course, you can read more by checking out our archives, as well as the Inaugural Address from this site, which is actually the second version of the Hounds on-line.

If you are going to read the tripe that I am posting, then you need to know a few things:
1) I'm a sarcastic, cocky, smart-ass wanker who really doesn't take many things seriously.
2) I'm not expecting anyone to read this other than the Hounds, and any others do so at their own peril.
3) If I say anything about you or your team, I'm probably doing it to try to have some fun, or to pump my team up. Nothing personal. Unless it's Mandrew...then it's personal.

So, if you are a non-Hound reading this, welcome to our humble cyberspace-abode. Put your feet up, grab a beer, read as much as you'd like, and feel free to post a comment if you wish. Although I do kinda consider you to be like Peter Griffin in the clip below, but it's okay. Nothing much is going on here.


See you on the field.

Release the Hounds!

Chesterfield Royalty

OK, so this Sunday is the biggest game of our lives (because it's the next ultimate game). It's 1st place against the other 1st place, with the winners likely taking the top seed going into playoffs. Of course, given the talent of the top 4 teams, seeding really doesn't mean a thing.

Of course we know who is in charge of this team...our good friend Kevin. He's probably thinking, "There's no way I'm letting those Hound chumps beat me." Actually, he told me that...yeah, that's right...he told me...so let's get him!

Of course, I remember one time time when he came up against a group of Hounds at St. Mike's. It wasn't pretty...for him.I don't know what he's doing with his leg, but at least I had the disc there to protect me.
So, how to beat the Sofa Kings? Well, "Intensity Now!" is a must for the entire game on offense and defense. Defensively, just playing hard, switching when necessary (ensuring there is good communication) and throwing in some zone to change the pace will be the order of the day. As for offense, we've had some good progress, but let's be sure to cherish the disc on Sunday, and really limit any unnecessary turnovers. If we can capitalize on offense, that will put pressure on them to do the same. I'm sure Simon has more to say on the strategy...

Finally, here is a little clip where billywitchdoctor.com makes the Aqua Teen Hunger Force (and Carl) say funny thing.

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 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.