Hammers Get... Lucky?

Team, I really like our team. For better or for worse, we seem to have come to terms with the fact that winning every night is not terribly realistic - see: the general consensus following last night's relaxed albeit competitive loss was "that was a fun game." Hopeully no one is frustrated at this. Personally, it suits me just fine, especially when the games follow the same spirit and effort as last night. We have the cheering and the exercise and the social aspects of this whole "rec sports" thing down, and are working to iron out the wrinkles in our actual game. Soon, my pretties, soon.

Sincere kudos to everyone on their effort: Sandy's diving catches and Aimee's diving near-catches, tenacious D from both Nick "Big Boy" McGrath and Jean "D-Jean" Pelletier, good cuts from all of the female contingent - including new Hammer Marie (welcome!) and Diedre in her first game out this year, etc. This one was winnable, and with a few more breaks I'm sure we would have come out victorious (sorry if I sound like a broken record). Lion's Head Kinda-Pink Big Boy Sandwich Players of the Game go to Jean and Aimee for completing a perfect mid-range hammer pass - 'twas a thing of beauty.

In conclusion, here are some little known facts about Hippos:
- Hippos kill 2,900 people annually in Africa;
- The Hippo is the most dangerous animal in all of Africa;
- Hippos can weigh up to 8,000 pounds;
- A Hippo can gallop 18 mph;
- Hippos have been known to upset boats for no reason and bite the passengers with their huge, sharp teeth;
- Hippos are aggressive, unpredictable and have no fear of humans;
- The term "hippo" is short for hippopotamus;
- Contrary to urban lore, hippos do not engage in frenzied competition for white marbles; and
- Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 now looks like this:

Until next week Hammers!
-AA

#bagofhammers #blog #fuckthewind!

Thursday, July 11 - a game we probably should have won. Or at least could have won. You guys looked good: lotsa great catches, cuts, spirit, defense, etc. Melissa and Michelle done did a great job of consistently being open (albeit sadly, a few yards out of my comfortable pass range); Nick seemed reinvigorated after his time on the DL; Aaron took a frisbee to the side of the face; everyone else did the things they typically do well… really, we were probably a few caught dropsies and flubbed passes (sorry) away from our first win of the year. Alas... no. (Also, fuck that wind)

Thursday, July 11 - also the game where Gregor's calm, composed, near-robotic demeanor finally waivered, and six win-less weeks worth of frustrations were exposed via not one, but two (!?!) violation calls against a certain tatooed, denim hat wearing member of the red team. Mind you, the second call was more of a series of exasperated hand gestures and head-shaking then an actual foul call - but it resulted in an over-turned point and hopefully, a certain amount of shame for said certain tatooed, denim hat wearing member of the red team. Acknowledgement also has to be given here for the captain of the red team, who was quick to intervene in both instances. Cool guy. Srsly.

Thursday, July 11 - also also the game where Becky provoked an opposing player to yell at her for… something? Touching? Picks? Eye gouging? I'd be interested in hearing the full story here, Captain. Please, in the comments, help us out!

The Armview Mystery Duck Burger (w/ Fruit) Players of the Game: Michelle and Cruddick for maintaining composure and (most) bodily fluids after taking some fairly significant body contact from a certain tall, muscle-y, aggressive (and oddly unapologetc) member of the red team. Ooof. Hope you're both feeling okay today.

Until next week - please enjoy this as much as I do:



Tah,
-AA

Sauna Sports

I hate the heat. Hate it, hate it, hate it. HATE. HEAT. If there was a place on Earth where the weather was perpetually Octoberish - I would be there, always. So, it stands to reason that I am also not 100% down with playing sprint-intensive sports, in the out of doors, in 30+ degree weather and smothering humidity. But we're all in the same boat...

…a boat that saileth upon the disgusting, humid seas... until she ran ashore at the sloppy Fort Needham septic fields. And we all know what happened next: a painful and demoralizing intro, followed by a glimmer of hope, suggesting a possible late-match Hulk Hogan-esque showboating comeback, only to come up short, and concluding with a pile of sun-burned, soaked and sore Hammerfolk hell-bent on revenge... but only after beers and weird food-related dirty talk.

What the hell kind of sentence was that?

Regardless, I feel less demoralized (or would that be more moralized?) now than I did at the time. We were clearly still hurting from last week's double header; we lost our only female sub to injury (see discussion re: heat, above); they had some crazy tall dudes; Gregor and Sandy both have new newborns at home and are therefore both heroes, and probably pretty tired; it was our captain's birthday and between you and me, I think she was a little drunk; the moon was waning in Sagittarius; and I checked with Mike of the Fist Pumps, and he says our opponents "have some skill", despite their claims to have gone 0-fer their last 4. Hell, we executed our first zone defence of the year and mounted a minor comeback before succumbing to the heat… and the other team. And, did you see that catch by Sandy? Lots to be proud of.

I'm not saying we don't have some shit to work on, but last night was not as dire as it probably felt at the time. That said, next game let's make a concerted effort to tighten up our zone defence and our stacking/cutting. Plus, if I can stop throwing the disc into the turf, with these adjustments we should be on track for victory! Whee!

Lion's Head Coleslaw & Mozza Stick Combo Player of the Game goes to Sandy, for that aforementioned crazy sliding catch, and to our collective female contingent for finishing the game without dying.

Until next week, from the "deep position",
-AA

PS: heh heh.