BBQ on Saturday, October 2!

I hope everyone can make it to my place for Oct. 2. In honour of the Hammers' extremely successful* season, I'm honoured to play host. The details:

Who - Hammers & friends. Also, please feel free to bring your cat if s/he's an aggressive mouser.

What - End-of-year team BBQ. I'll have burgers, toppings, side salad, snacks, etc. on the ready. If you're vegan, lemme know and I'll pick up veggie burgers. Feel free to bring something else to toss on the grill. There'll be beer in the fridge but please BYOB if you plan on making a full evening of it (rest assured I'll be doing just that).

When - Any time after 4pm if you're up for socializing / a pre-drink or two / college football (Alabama / Florida! Texas / Oklahoma! Yee-haw!). I figure it's getting late in the year so we may as well take advantage of whatever daylight's available. But as noted above, I hope folks feel comfortable staying late into the evening.

Where - 2585 Maynard St., aka "The 'hood". I'm almost on the corner of North & Maynard, but Maynard's a one-way and you won't be able to turn off North in my house's direction. Parking on the street. I'm in the red house.

Why - 'Cause I love you silly geese.

Please lemme know if you have any questions... 405.9259.

Peace!

* Hot sun, good folks, loads of post-game outings and a handful of wins... "success" by anyone's definition, no?

Fin.

The Hammers' 2010 season ended on Saturday with the playoffs analogous to the summer as a whole. Consider:

• The arrival at a damp, windy field in the middle of butt-fuck nowhere to face the Discs of Fury to kick things off (season opener at Cowie Hill vs. tourney opener in Mordor);
• The non-serious manner in which the Hammers treated all things frisbee (compare the season-long decision to avoid practice to the decision to hit Timmy Ho's and the NSLC between Games 1 and 2);
• The sensation of growing fonder of the experience as the day/season wore on.

But key (Ha! I said "buttkey"...) distinctions render it an imperfect comparison. While we all would have liked a season extension for a few more weeks, I sensed we were all happy to call it a day after three games on Saturday.

A more important distinction was found on the scoreboard after Game 1 on Saturday, leading the captain of the defeated Furious Discs to congratulate us for our progress from June through September. Whereas his early-season cigarettes were mocking, his Saturday morning cigarette was an act of resignation following defeat by a long-time rival. Pupil bests teacher and all that. His humility was more delicious than the "Everything bagel" w. herb & garlic cream cheese I savoured shortly thereafter. Barely.

Games 2 and 3 were great, other than the brief hiccup of anger caused by the other team's visor-sporting wanker on the first point of Game 3 but nothing could have brought me down after the opening-game win. The Hammers brought tenacious D all day long, unforgivingly so against the (once again) shorthanded Sloppy Joes. A few calls, a touch of fatigue (and perhaps a drunk captain) prevented the Hammers from completing a 3-0 day but kudos to Kate for coining the halftime cheer as we faced a halftime deficit - "Ain't no thang." Big props to our formerly Fredericton duo of Dan and Marcie for patient handling all day long (and also to Dan for the best layout of the year).

Thanks to everyone who came out on Saturday or at any point this season. Derek, we missed you like the deserts miss the rain this weekend. Bryan (and possibly Kate) may follow the lead of Heather in looking for new teams in new cities next summer. God speed, you wonderful people. I hope everyone else can make it to next summer's roster.

As always, I love you all.

LOVELY DAY

Hey team - hope you're all recuperating nicely. Myself - I am laying in my bed, too sore to move, too exhausted to even crack the beer that is in my fridge, which would be tragic if it weren't so pitiful.

It was a long, fun day. And here, below, are the pics. I'll leave the detailed tourney breakdown to someone else - I have some self-nursing to take care of (not as dirty as it sounds)...

Slideshow (chronological, so the new stuff is at the end, but a nice trip down memory lane regardless):

Or direct link to all pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/muiseam/sets/72157620568162050/with/3847056222/

Great year folks! Let get on planning that year-end BBQ.

An Open Letter To The League Convenors

Dear HURL,

Let's assume it was an honest mistake that you had scheduled for us to play last night on a field that does not exist anymore - as it has been fenced off and excavated, looking more like a motocross track than a woman's field hockey pitch or speed skating oval or patch of usable public space. Yes, let's assume you had entered the wrong field code into the schedule, or misspelled "Wanderer's Grounds", or were distracted by the annual parade of dead-eyed Shinerama participants, or something similarly careless. Know, however, that you robbed us of our chance at redemption against the universally loathed Dirty Discs, aka the only team that baited our Captain into a shouting match, and embarrassed us in the hushed presence of Hammer Royalty, King Dr. Wiggy.

Know this, and feel shame.

But know also that your failure to function competently gave us our first second near-full-team practice of the season, and just before the playoffs at that. It was also our introduction to new ringer Marcie "H-Mac" Balch - who gives us renewed hope in our season-long quest to destroy the short, bearded and relentless Discs Of Fury - our arch nemeses. The immediate future looks bright for the Hammers - a spike in confidence the result of your idiocy.

I will forgive you this time, HURL, but know that behind my professional smile and courteous handshake lies a frothing ocean of suppressed anger and disappointment - a tempest that can only be quelled with ample amount of free alcohol, hand delivered in gaudy neon cooler bags this Saturday afternoon.

Know this also, and consider thyself forewarned. Ball is in your court, or more aptly, disc is in yr hands.

Sincerely,
AA

PS: Playoff field location is below:

Here's What You Missed

At some point during our surgical disembowelment of the undermanned and (frankly) outclassed Sloppy Joes squad last night, I turned to McKim and asked if we should be feeling guilty about the lopsided score, to which he replied "maybe a little". Some time later, maybe at Freeman's, I asked the same question to Derek, whose response was as far from McKim's as Crocodile Dundee is from being able to pay off his tax debts (confusing AND topical!) - "ab-so-lute-ly not".

It is 11 hours later, and I'm still not sure which side of the fence I sit on. While the final score was truly horrific (15-1), our play, albeit virtually untested, was a thing of beauty. Last night, team, we were an army of hammer-wielding swans - pounding the aptly-named Sloppy Joes into even finer ground hamburger, splattering bloody, spicy sauce all over our majestic white plumage, which we happily shucked clean over delicious beers and pizza, and also their gamey corpses (too much?). More specifically, save for a few early dropsies, we caught everything: Tim, Derek, Sarah, and Matt all made ridiculous catches. Derek's Pete Townsend-esque windmill grab to snag a long hammer from Tim for the score was particularly noteworthy, as was Sarah's highlight grab to score her first point of the season.

Accordingly, the Sloppy Joes - in an impressive bit of post-game spirit - awarded their Big Rock Grasshopper Wheat Ale Players Of The Game to Derek and Sarah. No argument here.

Beer Beer Beer! Bed Bed Bed!

Hey all - solid effort by everyone last night, despite the loss. Bolstered by the return of former Hammer superstar Chantelle Rapchuck (aka, "Heather MacDonald" if anyone asks) - the BoH fought back from an early deficit and defiantly delayed halftime for a good 20 minutes while our jittery opponents smoked nervously on the sidelines.

As Derek proclaimed during our time-out cheer - we are indeed getting better by the minute. For perspective, recall that the last two times we faced Discs Of Fury, we were spanked 13-1 (unofficially) and 12-1 (officially). Zone defense seems to agree with us; players are makings cuts with more confidence; handlers and handling; the disc seems to be hitting the ground less and less each game; and I continue to enthusiastically high-five everything in sight. Ahh, yes... I would hereby like to apologize for any activity unbecoming in my over-stimulated and adrenalized state last night: bossiness, excessive mumbling, clipped conversations, bum slapping, crazy eyes, etc. I believe I "shushed" McKim at one point, and I may have french-kissed some muscley-faced guy dressed in red. Then I made inappropriate jokes about 9/11 and groped myself on the car ride home. *blush*

Moving on - specific highlights include Sarah's huge run and catch on the goal line, Cruddick's mocking of their disc-flipping "traveling midget", and a few more of Matthew's now-expected physics-defying catches, with an added give-and-go off of Michelle's upper torso (illegal, but creative nonetheless). And I'mma go ahead and award the Armview Cupcake Martini Player of The Game award to Captain Tim for a few long sprints, good D, and because he'll never give himself player of the game. Huzzah.

Until next week Hammers…
-AA

Almost Famous

So, so close to a Hollywood ending - but as I prefer indie flicks anyway, I'd have totally paid $9.50 to watch us in a theatre last night.

When we were down 6-0 in a matter of minutes, I felt shame. But when we rallied to tie it late in the second half, I felt something else entirely. (Turned on? No, that's not it. Well, maybe I was a little bit turned on. "Proud" is probably the more accurate word, though.)

Falling a touch short score-wise was minimized by the overall bitchin'-ness of the night. Receiving two cooler bags of booze even before the game started was a great start. Even more encouraging was the fact we outscored and outplayed our athletic opponents after switching to the zone. (Note to self - play more zone defence.) And despite the scoresheet suggesting we lost, discovering the Armview as a post-game drinking venue for games taking us to the roundabout and beyond felt like a big ol' win. In my pants.

Propeller Hefewiezen Player of the Game goes to Heather for providing us the inspiration to dig a little deeper. Heather played through pain, knowing she was bowing out of the HURL scene effective immediately. Congrats on the new gig out west, Heather, and all our best. I've already proposed that HURL re-name Ravenscraig Field the HeatherDome in your honour. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Mad props to everyone for running hard on a hot night and contributing to the most fun game I've had this year.

I love you all.

Let the hate build...

We face Airwolf on Thursday - here's an abridged version of the series plot I can't keep to myself.

The series' protagonist is Stringfellow Hawke (Jan-Michael Vincent), a loner who lives in a cabin ... Hawke is a recluse, spending most of his time alone with his priceless collection of paintings which he inherited from his grandfather, and serenading eagles with his equally priceless Stradivarius cello. His only real friend and mentor is the older, eternally cheerful Dominic Santini (Ernest Borgnine) who raised Stringfellow and his brother Saint John (pronounced "sin-jin") after their parents died. ...

Earlier, Hawke was a test pilot for Airwolf, an advanced supersonic helicopter with stealth capabilities and a formidable arsenal. Airwolf was built by the FIRM, a division of the CIA ... When it is stolen by its twisted creator ... the FIRM's deputy director, whose code name is Archangel, asks Hawke to go to Libya and get it back. Archangel has a blind left eye and walks with a limp ...

Fearing that Hawke would refuse the mission ... the FIRM confiscates his art collection, leaving Gabrielle (Hawke's love-interest) behind to brief him for his mission. ... Hawke finds and recovers Airwolf, but Hawke chooses not to return it. Instead, Hawke and Santini hide Airwolf, booby trapped, in an extinct volcano Hawke calls "the Lair,"... Hawke refuses to return Airwolf until the FIRM can recover his brother, St. John, who has been missing in action since Vietnam. To get access to Airwolf, Archangel offers Hawke protection from other government agencies who will try to recover Airwolf in exchange for flying missions of national importance for the FIRM.

"Stringfellow" and "Sinjin"? A little precious for my liking. What a load of wankers we're facing. No mercy this week, kids. None.

Quest for Fryer

We finally saw Cowie Hill bathed in sunlight last night and we celebrated it with a ton of running and a good-spirited game (for the most part) against a more experienced team.

The 7-13 final was more impressive than it sounds, given the early hole we dug ourselves and our lack of strategy compared to that of our opponents. I mean that - the zone we played in the second half really slowed them down and people kept running hard all evening (in spite of an absence of female subs). Good show. Except for that wanker in the headband. He really needs to work on his tone.

Propellor Bitter Players of the Game to Lynn and Brian, the former for consistently calming the offense and taking charge of the cup on 'D' and the latter for either throwing or catching pretty much every point we scored last night. Especially pretty was the long-distance lob to a sprinting Aaron early in the second half - great touch on the throw and relentless pursuit on what turned out to be a helluva long run.

Post-game returned the crew to Freeman's where Chris's fried pepperoni stole the show. And that ain't a euphemism. Someone suggested that the only way to eat pepperoni is fried. I disagree. While Chris's meaty treat (!) was delicious (!!), especially when dipped in mustard (?!?), I have a hard time picturing a world in which it's wrong to eat raw pepperoni (make it stop!).

Anyone care to weigh in on fried vs. raw?

Smell It!

Like that? It's one of the game shows the small Freemans gathering came up with post-game. Would you watch a show called "Smell It?", involving blindfolded players forced to smell unknown objects? I would, especially if we could resurrect Chris Farley to host it.

The other winner was "Would You Touch It With Your Tongue?" Ditch the blindfolds and let people see what they're about to lick. Kind of "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth-Grader?" meets "Fear Factor".

"Stick Your Finger in It" was immediately panned around the table.

Not much to say about the game itself other than it was great to bring it to a close before the skies opened. Pity the players in later games getting caught in that deluge.

It was a rough start last night, aided in no small part by Moon Throw's tight triple-team. Their tenacious/illegal cup and our increasing lack of patience led to an 8-1 halftime deficit, an embarrassing tally to post in front of Becky's parents. Especially since Moon Throw only fielded six players the entire half.

Things improved in the second half as we went up against a man-to-man and played some zone ourselves. The cup was running hard and there was a lot of tenacity on the 'D'. We also showed spread the disc around and built some nice points. The three consecutive points to stave off their certain victory were encouraging signs for next week.

The Propellor Co-Players of the Game awards go to Alistair for impressing the hell out of me with his sentence structure (kudos, Derek & Jacqueline!) and to the giant Finn McCool on the other side, whose sky-high hucks and effortless defensive snags are the stuff of whispered legend in the Cape Breton Highlands. We'll get you next time, Finn McCool... next time.

Until then, "Smell It!"

Excalibur!

Contrary to all logic and in defiance of God's will, the Bag of Hammers did indeed battle the awesomely-named Rajon Randos last night - in the Arthurian fog and winds, high atop the Plains Of Abraham Cowie Hill field. Although short-handed, our tye-died opponents were noticeably improved since our last battle at Ravenscraig...

Led by an unfortunately-bearded, aggressive dude in a blue hat, the Randos took it to the Hammers early, pinning us against the wind with a tight cup that often seemed like a double (or triple) team - which I'm pretty sure is illegal, but turning a blind eye to egregious fouls is how we have managed to inflate our spirit points (no. 2, yo!). But we persevered, enduring long sloppy points, at odds with both the weather and a slippery disc, which was often batted from hand to hand, drifting on the wind between teams and teammates before (usually) being unceremoniously dropped. Regardless, victory was ours - savoured over deep-dish nachos and beers at The Foggy Goggle. Mmmm.

Unfortunately, we are the victims of our own success, as our win all but ensures that we will be bumped up into the dreaded Second Tier, destined to face our old nemeses Discs Of Fury and SLUGG... *shakes fist*

Notable highlights: Blue Hat taking the disc in the teeth, much to the quiet amusement of our Captain (and I suspect, some of the Randos); Matt's continued tight D; a great game-ending catch from Heather; Bryan effortlessly breaking the cup.

This was a fun win.

-AA

"O'Doyle rules!"

"Have some more sloppy joes. I made 'em extra sloppy for yous. I know how yous kids like 'em sloppy. "

The only pop culture reference to sloppy joes I could think of was the lunch lady in Billy Madison, which led me to imDb.com (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112508/quotes), which made me think the screenplay would actually be a great read (while watching the movie would make me dumber).

Anyway, lovely win in the wind last night vs. the Sloppy Joes, whose disorganized defence (extra sloppy?) helped us reveal our inner all-star (Awwwwww!). We're gelling as a team and things are looking up. That's not just optimism talking, look at the frigging standings: http://www.halifaxultimate.ca/teams/team_rankings.php?season_id=31&division_id=12 .

I don't think our opponents loved us. They didn't like Matt's tight defence (Whereas I did.), they didn't like Chris's accurate scorekeeping (I thought it was the shit.), they didn't like that we kept our foot on the gas despite having built up a solid lead (Din't they hear we be 2 Legit 2 Quit?). Well, fuck that shit. Winning makes Baby Jesus smile.

Propellor Honey Wheat Player of the Game to everyone! But maybe especially Bryan, for having the chutzpah to lay down some extra style points. Returning to BM:

"If peeing in your pants is cool, consider me Miles Davis..."

Tim

Hammers In Action

Here you are Hammers, in all of your acrobatic, sweaty, face-contorting, crotch-digging glory! Memories of our satisfying win, courtesy of Aimee and Cruddick and whoever else handled the camera tonight. Thanks guys!

Tremendous work AA

Simply spectacular.

If only to deflect attention from my back-to-back identical sweaty-palmed drops and general return to the long hammer game, I blame Wiggy for last night's loss, and I applaud Tim's decision to cut him from the team.

Tough but fair, just like the Ship Victory's deep fryables only policy.

Dirty Discs (Won Dirt Cheap)

Like that headline? I'm quite pleased with it myself, thanks. And that sums up all that pleases me about last night's game.

No, that's a lie. We shouldn't have lost, what with their multiple points via picks (sorry Dan!) and tipped discs, there were some good things to come out of a game played in a hidden corner of an industrial park on a sweltering evening. To wit:

• Dan the Man not only bustin' the rules but bustin' out the long runs to compliment his great short-passing game. A shoo-in for the Propeller Hefeweizen Player of the Game.
• The girls having the option to go with a 5:2 ratio at any point in the evening but playing the entire game 4:3 (meaning the guys had no excuse for any laziness whatsoever). Many thanks to Sara and Lynn for their willingness to handle again and again.
• Matt setting a shining example for all in chasing down discs and husslin' on defence.
• Bryan and Chris with the usual mix of quick, short cuts and deep runs. Many props as well to Chris for being the soccer mom with four kids to drop off at the field.
• And of course the return to the field of former captain Wiggy Von Wigglenuts. Given our success when he played (and the success of our defence once Wiggy advised to play them straight-on), he should've played a lot more.

I think it was fitting that the Ship Victory was unable to prepare Victory Burgers in our honour, given the loss. I think a win would've restored function to the grill, but instead we had to make do with Fries of Defeat. And if post-game drinks proved anything, it's that Jian Ghomeshi is a douchenozzle.

Finally, the Hammers can rest assured the Dirty Discs will not outscore us in spirit points. As much as they might've disliked me after the "last point" confusion, know that I disliked their whiny guy ten times more.

AARON EDIT: I think this picture deserves special attention.
You're welcome.

Participation Ribbons For All!

O, the two sweetest words in the English language: d-fault!

With only four members showing up for last night's hotly contested battle of third tier teams, HUJ were forced to concede the match to their outnumbering opponents (i.e. us). Someone pointed out that prom season may have contributed to the poor turnout - I say, where are these kids' priorities? In my day, when you committed to a co-ed rec sports team, you wore that responsibility like a ball and chain - proms or Disney vacations or emergency surgeries or Cheers series' finales be damned. Pfft.

So not to waste our field time, the teams were split up and a friendly scrimmage ensued. We gave them Bryan, Michelle, Becky and (new) Sarah; they gave us a workout. Quickly evident - had HUJ shown up, it may not have been the cakewalk some of us were expecting. Case in point: that frosted blond kid who ran half the length of the field for a long put, only to go completely horizontal, grabbing the disc with one hand, and finishing with a somersault on landing. Then he crushed a Nalgene bottle on his head and gave the closest female a long, gross, tongue kiss. It was impressive.

In the end, the scrimmage was close (unsurprising as we were essentially playing against ourselves) and more competitive than might have been expected - witness Derek nearly face-planting into the giant metal soccer net after racing neck-in-neck with a HUJ gazelle into the end zone. Most everyone got to touch the disc, with Dan and Bryan both making some exceptional plays - the former laying out to catch an errant toss of mine into the end zone, and the latter chasing down a great pass from (new) Sarah to end the game.

And then the Hammers made their triumphant return to Freeman's, where I was poisoned by whatever manner of biohazardous material lives in their antique draft lines, and Bryan made friends with a pajama-wearing VLT jockey. Ahh, home sweet home.

Happy Canada Day, folks. Rest those quads and calves.

Conditioning.

I feel I must decline to accept the player of the game award on the grounds that I was so woefully out of shape that I essentially became a spectator as soon as they got by our supercup. I stayed fresh for the cut that yielded the point by abandoning much of my defensive responsibility. I think the award should go to Aaron for the effort required to overcome his fatigue and suppress a verbal expression of the vulgarity that churned within him like a bubbling cauldron of obscenity.

One to grow on...

Bag of Hammers math:

Getting slaughtered + opponents who weren't dicks (other than that one chick) + a beautiful evening + good post-game turnout at the bar = success!

The game itself wasn't as lopsided as the score would suggest. Lots of long points and we built an awful lot of surges. Said surges, however, almost always sputtered near the end zone. Many props to Derek for hanging on to our single point of the evening as he tumbled to the turf.

The other guys were more experienced than we were, as a whole, and that was the difference. Well, that and the fact they didn't drop anything. Sweet Jesus that whole team must play with glue on their hands...

Anyway. Lopsided final score but a good run for everyone. Thanks to Jason for coming out (and spending more time horizontal on the grass than vertical on his feet). Thanks to Sarah for returning to help the cause - rumour has it she might become a perma-Hammer.

Propellor Player of the Game award goes to Derek for the catch noted above as well as instituting the revolutionary 5-1-1 defence. Once the disc passed the five-man front, the opponents resembled the Nazis (but not really), greedily advancing up the field as if it were Czechoslovakia in 1938... but for extended periods, the front line of the 5-1-1 caused Discs of Fury to become Discs of Furiouser. Honourable mention to Sara S. for stellar-as-always play (and for not yelling at me after yet another ill-advised hammer).

Mixed reviews for Michael's as a post-game spot. The place was empty, food was poor-to-average, service was iffy and drink "specials" were far-from-special. HURL sponsor be damned, I felt no allegiance to that place...

As noted last night, I'd like to make Saturday afternoon & Monday evening get-togethers (I won't call them practices) regular. It'll be good 'n social stuff, it never hurts to practice throwing and God knows, if we get enough folks, we can even look into employing a strategy of some sort.

Stay tuned...

A Delissica-ous evening...

The Hammers (eventually) showed up, ran around in the sun, had a good time and collectively noted the improvement from our opening week efforts. Good show.

Special credit to Michelle and Becky for playing the entirety of the first game, which we led 3-2 for a while despite our 7-vs-6 shorthandedness. Disc-Array, sadly, caught on to our "unique" version of the zone and subsequently scored more easily. The final score (9-4?) wasn't indicative of the talent level, though. I'm confident that if we lined up against them next week at even strength, we'd win. With style.

Heather showed up toward the end of the opener, which boded well for Game 2. We even managed to scrounge up a sub for the girls during the intermission. Then the Rajon Randos turned out to be exactly what we needed - a good-natured team with some athleticism but no experience playing together. In other words, it was a confidence-booster.

Hammers kept making the right cuts and showing off good hands and we built some pretty points. We hopped out to an 8-1 lead and everyone tried handling a little more, which will only help later in the summer. Fantastic stuff, all 'round. An 11-4 final, I believe.

Propellor Player of the Game goes to Becky for always being open in spite of hardly having a sub all night. Honourable mentions to Ryan, Chris and Aaron for continually making sharp cuts and husslin' on D. Congrats as well to all our relative newcomers, as I say with confidence that we'll be fine this summer - progress was that obvious. Final props to Derek for actually playing points with his hands stuffed in his shorts and to fill-in Sarah for inspiring a new Hammers uniform (pink tanks and off-the-shoulder tops for everyone!).

Good times at Freeman's ensued. Our server Delissica (yes, Delissica) started poorly by spilling Sarah's girly drink on Michelle's Marc Jacobs purse-thingy (who brings a fancy purse to ultimate?), but redeemed herself with hustle in the face of a surprisingly busy Thursday crowd. The apparent Scotch-guarding of the bag helped in no small measure.

This morning the sun continues to shine brightly over HRM. I like to think it's in no small part to a sparkling team effort last night. Last call for Caribou at the Paragon tonight - team-building over drinks?!?

And So It Begins

If I had to use but one word to describe last night's affair, that word would be "messy", which is suitably apt for the field conditions, our opponents' beards, Derek's MC Hammer-as-pirate pajama pants (?!), the bushels of cold wet disgusting grass later found between my toes, Tim's heaping post-game plate of bacon poutine and - last but not least - the play of the game. Yes, if you discount the five or so other adjectives buried in the previous run-on sentence, all could be described as "messy".

As for our play - first game messiness was to be expected, so don't get down, especially as this was the first ever Ultimate game for at least three Hammers. Plus, the thick fog, near-freezing temperatures, slippery grass and gusting winds obviously exacerbated things.

That being said (eesh, I hate that phrase), there were many positives to be found - Kevin caught everything thrown his way, including our first point of the season; the lack of experience of some of the newbies is clearly compensated by their athleticism; Dan seems to know what's up, is a positive communicator and is dedicated enough to play despite having a ~one week old back at home; I only swore out loud once; our females made it through the entire game, sans subs, in one piece (to be confirmed); the other team was good enough to offer a rematch; and our play was largely unaffected by the BP oil spill.

So, again, don't get down. Things will improve, I assureth. Next week let's work on those elusive "short, quick passes".

PS: And for future reference, a dog running loose on the field is apparently not an omen of good luck.

Starting soon, so soon...

Hi all, hope everyone's doing well. So we currently boast 9 guys (7 of whom have registered) and 5 ladies (2 of whom have registered). Please register when you get a moment. Instructions for doing so here: http://bag-of-hammers.blogspot.com/

Also, Matt, you'd mentioned a female player interested in the summer league - progress? We could use another girl for sure, possibly two, as it seems Heather's out for the first game or two due to scheduling things.

On that note - season starts Thursday, June 3 with games every Thursday thereafter (weather permitting).

As we have new folks on the team and likely a lot of accumulated rust, might I suggest we get together to toss the disc some time next week, say Wed. May 26th or Thurs. May 27th? If it's raining , we can at least pop out for a drink and get to familiarize ourselves with our teammates' faces, worst-case scenario.

Also, it'd be awesome if someone could attend the captains' meeting on Sunday the 30th. It's a couple hours in the afternoon, let me know if you're in. I would, but I'm moving that weekend.

Once we've established exactly how many folks are on the roster I'll figure out what you owe for team fees. It's currently $40 but nabbing another female lowers the cost to $37.67 (two more females means $35.31).

That is all (for now)...

Thoughts?

Tim

Registration for Summer 2010

Hi again,

Team fee is paid and individual registration is now doable. Here's how:

• Go to the HURL home page: http://www.halifaxultimate.ca/;
• On the right-hand side under the pics is a link for 2010 Summer League "Player Registration / Update" - click it;
• You'll be prompted to enter an email address (if you've played in HURL before, they have a lot of your records and this will shorten the registration process... if you're new to the league, there's a few boxes to fill out);
• A ways down the registration page is a blue bar called "League registration" - this requires a team code to insert in the blank for pre-formed Thursday rec teams - the team code is 3181160;
• There's also a few more things to fill out, such as "Skill assessment", which will help set our initial league-mates. Accept the release/waiver/indemnity and hit "submit";
• you should then be prompted to the payment page for your individual fee of $29.00.
  

I was also given a team password, "sackofscoobers", which I think I'll only need to enter scores post-game, etc. Embarrassingly enough, I had to look up what a scoober was. Here's the answer - http://www.ultipedia.org/wiki/Scoober .

OK, so there you go. Maybe this can be cut-and-pasted into the team blogspot (http://bag-of-hammers.blogspot.com/), no? Done (how post-modern!!).

Two favours to ask:

• There's a mandatory meeting on Sunday, May 30 for team captains. I'm moving that weekend and would love for someone to attend on the team's behalf. I went last year - they buy beer & snacks, everyone gets embarrassed by failing a quiz on the rules, we pick up field permits... all in all, pretty low pressure.
• We currently have 13 players confirmed, meaning the team fee of $565 would be $43.46/person. Assuming we get one more girl, it'd drop to $40.35/person. So let's say all ya'll owe me $40 and I'd love to get my hands on your filthy lucre sooner rather than later. If we end up with two more girls, the team fee would drop to $37.67/person, meaning I'll buy a beer for anyone who's already paid his/her $40 prior to the 15th person registering. Deal? Deal.
  
  

Lemme know if you have any questions! Already looking forward to the season...

Tim