Native American Summer

It's always nice when we're graced with an Indian Summer, it's just too bad one of those days is a Monday, while I'm stuck in the office trying to figure out how people can get so riled up about a Recreational Floor Hockey game.

And while yesterday was also great, my time was taken up by a Home Depot Saturday (even though it was Sunday):

"Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Saturday, we're going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time. " - Frank the Tank

But at least I got that ottoman and those lights I needed...

If you can get outside and throw the disc around before the sun goes down, then do it. There won't be many days like this for quite a long time...

A "Thank You" from the Player of the Year

Hello Hounds,

I’d like to apologize for being nearly asleep for most of Saturday evening. I guess that’s what happens when someone my age only gets a couple hours of sleep.

In any case, after a day of sleep to recover and a few hectic days at work I can finally do this properly.

THANK YOU EVERYONE for awarding me “The Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence: Player of the Year”! I have to say that I was very surprised….which is probably the only sentiment that I was able to convey on Saturday night. I am also very honoured to be awarded such a great group of friends and team mates because you are all people and players that I hold in high regard.

I feel there are many players who are more deserving than I, not the least of whom is Chris for his outstanding leadership throughout the season. I had a bit of a rocky summer season this year which seemed to mirror parts of the Hounds’ season. In the end though I remembered why I play this game and what a talented group of people I have the privilege of playing with. It’s fun to play with people who can all learn a little something from each other to grow as a team. I was able to learn from each of you and I can only hope that I brought even a fraction of the amount I learned to the team. So there you have it, this award belongs to all of you!

Chris: awesome job on the trophy! I might have to look into getting it bronzed.

Oh yeah….thank for coming by on Saturday everyone! I hope you enjoyed the food and company….and that you all had enough to eat.

Cheers,
Tien

So much more humble than Gollum when he won his MTV Movie Award in 2003:

Meat-o-rama

The Wong's sure out-did themselves on Saturday! The Hounds got together for the "Bowling and Beef" end of season party, which was a lot of fun. In true Hounds fashion, the food was plentiful: appetizers, 10 racks of ribs, 2 beer chickens, a beef brisket, 2 trays of potatoes, salad, apple crisp and ice cream sundaes (although I'm sure I'm forgetting something). Due to this overload of food (and the fun), the bowling plan was kiboshed, as we hung out, watch the Leaf's game, tossed the disc around, and tried to digest the feast. Thanks Nat and Tien for hosting.

For those who missed it, we also handed out Paper Plate Awards for the past season (including significant others!), so here they are:

Cindy - The Jumbotron Award - For always keeping score (this has nothing to do with the back that she's 7 months pregnant. Nothing at all.)


Michelle - The Ultimate Widow Award - For dealing with my playing 2 nights a week...plus tournaments...plus me always talking about ultimate.

Steph - The Soon-To-Be Ultimate Widow Award - Joel's back...hope you enjoyed your time with him!

Matt - The Pay-Per-View Award - For his parties featuring wrestling and UFC. Apparently it meant a lot to him:


Pierre - The Awesome Award - What else could it be?

Lyanne - The Accident Waiting to Happen Award - If there's a way to get hurt, Lyanne will find it.

Austin - The Real World Award - Finally finished school, now has a job AND a baby on the way. No baby steps for Austin!

Carla - The Half Full Award - Whether we were winning or losing, Carla was always positive and making suggestions for improvement.

Dan N - The Reluctant Handler Award - For his willingness to drop back and handle even though I know he'd rather go mid or deep. He was close to getting the Jacques Cousteau Award, for his affinity for throwing the deep bomb.

Tien - The Pylon Buddy Award - For always helping me put away the cones on the Field Hockey pitch...much appreciated. He almost got the Potty-mouth Award...

Nadia - The Cool as a Cucumber Award - For always being a rock in the backfield and never losing her cool (apparently this would have been unheard of a few years ago).

Christian - The Energizer Bunny Award - For never stopping on the field. That, or he's pink and bangs a drum all the time.

Laura - The Kick in the Ass Award - For helping to right the ship when the Hounds went off course.

Owen - The Endzone Award - For his domination in that area. It would have been called "The Thomas Granofsky Memorial Award", but Owen doesn't know who the hell that is.

Bonnie - The Incredible Hulk Award - Because you shouldn't get her angry...you wouldn't like it when she's angry...

Dan L - The No No No No Yes! Award - For always completing seemingly impossible passes. It was either that, or the Midvale School for the Gifted Award for best pulls.

Nat - The Rolodex Award - Whenever we needed a player (especially Mid-Season) Nat was always there to find someone to fill in.

Joel - The $6000 Man Award - Because that's about how much knee reconstruction surgery costs OHIP.

Simon - The Daddy Award - Others can be captain, or have kids, but we all know Simon is the Daddy of the Hounds.

Chris - The "The Man" Award - Because I have a penis.

Now, those weren't the only awards that were handed out. Simon out-did himself by awarding me a wicked Captain's Prize: the best bottle of Cognac one could ever hope for:


I'd like to think that the bottle is made for Snowplate and Gender Blender, but I'd be concerned about breakage. Otherwise, here I am enjoying my prize:


The final award was the inaugural "Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achivement in th Field of Excellence". The vote was close, but one person distanced himself with his dedication and rib-cooking. That person: Tien.


Here's a close-up of the award. Thanks to Bonnie for supplying the Mr. Burns bobblehead, and to Tien for helping me to affix it to the disc.


So, that about puts a wrap on the Summer 2007 Season of Release the Hounds. The Indoor Season starts in a month, and remember, the next outdoor season is only 6 months away!

Smithers.
Yessir?
Release the Hounds.

Show's over

So, it's been a few weeks, but since we just had the Hounds End-of-Season Party, some closure on our Monday shenanigans this past season is in order.

It all started when the lineup of Austin, Bonnie, Chris, Christian, Laura, Lyanne, Nat, Pierre, Simon and Tien was augmented with our best recruits ever: Carla, the Dans, Nadia and Owen. We had new uniforms, we were playing on a new night, we were ready to go.

Instead of going through every game individually (that would be a waste of time), I'll be putting the games into groups.

The Hounds move to Mondays

The initial seedings gave pegged us at 14th...on Mondays we were a relatively unknown team, so we were going to have to earn our place. After our first three games, we overwhelmed the competiton: Drastic Plastic, Grilled Cheese and Flowbee. The games were relatively easy, ending with scores of 17-5, 17-4 and 17-7 respectively. After those first three games, it appeared that we were seeded a little low to start (Oh, you think so, doctor?). While the games were easy, it allowed us to integrate the new players, and bump us up in the ladder, which meant that tougher games were on the horizon.

The Hounds meet the big boys

The big wins to start the season moved us up to play the strong, experienced Monday teams. We started with Disc-Horde, and showed that we did indeed belong in the Top 8 with a convincing 17-11 win. We were feeling good about our new surroundings...approaching the top of the Monday standings. Unfortunately it also raised the ire of everyone else, and they struck hard, struck fast, with no mercy. Lopsided losses to Big Hammers, Mandrew, and Ninjastars were frustrating and they showed the Hounds still had a lot work to do before we could consider ourselves to be among the top Monday teams. But there was more than that...those losses, coupled with the change of nights caused us to stray away from what made the Hounds experience so fun...this was something that had to be remedied. A new plan that would improve our on-field focus to go along with a renwed commitment to social events. Back to Hounds basics: playing well and having fun on and off the pitch.

The Hounds get their shit together

The previous losses meant that we had crashed down the ladder, so we had to work our way back up to get to where we knew we belonged. With central leadership on the field, we put forth solid efforts against Hootenanni Pussywillows, El Kabong and 4D. The Hounds also finished 7th in the Mid-Season Tournament that was enhanced with the some friends ("enhanced" meaning Nat and I emailed everyone we know to get enough players to get a team in).

The Hounds vs the big boys 2: The Legend of Simon's Gold

The three big wins in a row resulted in another jump in the standings, which meant another run at the top teams, with the first game against the venerable Mandrew. We knew going in it was going to be a challenge, and while the score did not reflect it, we gave a much better effort. Of more importance though was the roster shuffle: the returrn of Joel from knee surgery and Pierre's final game.

Following that game, we defeated two of the second-tier Monday teams, Fisheyes and Disc-Horde. These games were sandwiched around Nationals, which had quite the Hound presence, with Carla, Chris, the Dans, Laura, Lyanne, Nat and Tien taking part.

Going into the final two games, we were up against two of the elite Monday teams, and earned our 4th place regular season finish with ties against both Ruckus and Big Hammers. It was a great finish to the season, as we very well could have won both of those games.

A tough pill to swallow

With those big results against the Hammers and Ruckus, the Hounds were primed to do some serious damage at the playoffs. However, due to a confluence of work, family and travel commitments...it created the perfect storm that caused us to miss the Playoff Tournament. Needless to say, it was extremely disappointing.

Regardless of that, it was still a great season. We went 9-4-2, and ended up with a perfect spirit rating. We had a lot of fun, and we continued to put the Hounds name out there. I know I'm looking forward to next year.

Why Bonnie missed the Hammers

Sorry I've been away, but we're smack dab in the middle of scheduling at work, which is the busiest time of the year.

I just wanted to share a couple of pictures that Bonnie sent me taken from her vacation that should be of interest:





Oh yeah...Happy Birthday Bonnie!

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:

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: