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...

J and K would like a word with you

Tonight we get a re-match with Mandrew, which will be a good measure of the progress of the Hounds over the past three weeks. Of course, the last time we played them did not go so well. The only term I can think to describe it would be “pooping the bed.”

I have brought the Men in Black to make a motivational appearance on our site to help us out. Please look at the light on the neutralizer.

[FLASH]

You did not lose that badly to Mandrew before. They totally cheated and the score should not have been 17-5. You did not get shut out in the first half.

You may not win tonight, but you will not beat yourself. You will play hard and smart, and work the disc up through their zone.

Then you are going to get Pierre really, really drunk.

Oh, and there’s no such thing as aliens.

Yeah, well, you know that's just like uh, your opinion man

Tonight, we play 4D at our home at Sunnybrook. They are green. They won the Summer Experience Tournament last month (league team division). They must be stopped.

Afterwards, we are going to Thorncliffe Bowlerama to celebrate Lyanne's birthday (and hopefully a victory). Don't forget to bring extra socks.

My early favourites to win are Pierre and Lyanne. Pierre, because he's always awesome...plus he should be well-rested after not playing on Sunday. Lyanne, because she was actually a bowler growing up in Sudbury. Why bowling? Well, what the hell else are you going to do in Sudbury, other than freeze your toes off?

So, I'm looking forward to their showdown, which will be way more intense that this one:

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...

Release the Hounds III: The Return of the Fling

Okay, so it's been two months since I have last posted something. That's almost as long as the ending to the Lord of the Rings (which was on TBS last weekend). Seriously Frodo, just get on the boat already.

After some oh-so subtle comments (like Pierre: "So, should I just delete the Hounds page from my bookmarks?") I've decided to start up again with the start of the outdoor season. A lot has gone on in the past two months since the last post. In no particular order:

- We're about to start the third Summer of the Hounds.

- The winter season ended on a low note...losing the final two games in the playoffs. We're not there yet.

- Our friend Matt left to be the new best player in Spain. More on that another day.

- Spiderman 3 came out. Too many villians. Michelle can't wait for the next Pirates movie, whereas I am looking forward to the Simpsons movie.

- The Maple Leafs teased us all with a big win over Montreal on the second-last day of the season, only to see some goalie nicknamed "Dubie" knock them out of the playoffs in heart-breaking fashion the day after. And now Ottawa is the favourite to win the Stanley Cup. Excuse me while I smash my face in with a frying pan.

- Hamid, Chris, Dan Thomson defended their Spring Tune Up title with the help of Dan Norman, MC, and a few others as they ran the table as "Stupid Sexy Flanders." After playing 6 games, all we could say was "This is the worst pain ever!"

- Simon Jr. still has not been born yet.

- 24 is almost over, and I hate to say it, but I think it's losing it's magic. It's just too much. I can't miss an episode though.

- The Hounds added Carla, Nadia, Dan and Owen as full-time members of the squad. Best recruiting since Michigan's basketball team when they got the "Fab 5".

- The Raptors choked away their first round series to Vince Carter and the New Jersey Nets. That really pissed me off.

- We're two years of bidding away from having a chance at going to Gender Blender.

- A rag-tag group of Hounds finished 13th at TUF. It was the top finish by a non-Touring team. Rob Camp gives us a 5% chance at making he Nationals.

- Someone won Survivor. Apparently it's still on TV.

- The Blue Jays have gone from "optimistic" to "gong show" with injuries to their closer, set-up man, left fielder/leadoff man, ace starter, third baseman, catcher, bat boy and peanut vender. We're pretty much looking to next year already, and we're not even a third of the way through this season. Wicked.

- Canada won the World Hockey Championships with a perfect record. The House of Commons tried to take credit for their "motivation" of captain Shane Doan.

- We have initially been ranked 14th on Mondays. Time to get to work.

- Chuck Norris found me, which is why I'm back to posting.

Tien loves the smell of napalm in the evening

What more can I add that hasn't already been said by Tien? Nothing, except Varsity, 7:30.

The Enemy Is Coming

Listen up boys and girls. The enemy is coming! They’ll be coming at us hard and fast, for just last week they conquered a foe that we did not. The achieved something that we did not. They beat Wasabi! Who know they had it in them?! Now notice the wording here: “we did not”. I didn’t say “we could not” because we all know that we could have beat Wasabi and in fact we led through most of the game, but then decided to go home early.
The Enemy’s victory over Wasabi will have definitely filled their sails and they’ll be coming at us full bore flying the Jolly Roger.

Ah the Jolly Roger….the call sign of pirates, a bunch of murderous bandits with no sense of honour and duty. Always ready for battle but not an all out war. So lets take the wind from their sails and bring them an all out war.
Fast forward a couple of centuries: “Ah, I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” Napalm….one of the more cruel developments of warfare. If you didn’t get burned to death by the flaming globs of goo, you were suffocated by the fire’s insatiable thirst for oxygen. And if you somehow managed to survive a napalm attack, you would almost certainly fall victim to infection because of the horrible burns that covered your body.
Hounds, lets be like napalm. Burn them with our offence: quick, smart passes that leave them with nothing to do but hang their heads; a combination of good patience and quick strikes that will leave them wondering what just happened. Suffocate them with our defence: don’t give them any breathing room, stick to them like glue; cut off all their throwing options leave them gasping for air. And if they still manage to score, lets make them sorry they did by coming back at them three times as hard.

So listen up! The Enemy is coming….keep your eyes open! The Enemy is coming….make ready! The Enemy is coming….and we will be waiting!

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.