FANTASTIC!!

I can’t guarantee this blog will capture all the highlights of the game because I have just been assigned “writer of the blog” this morning. Thanks Double spiced Nuts!

The sun was shining the wind was coming across the field giving no one the advantage. We came out strong against their zone defense. So strong in fact we scored the first two points! Our handlers, which we had many of, did an amazing job swing that disc back and forth making lots of one handed catches as others were finding that open space and cutting like true Hammers!

Hoff in Public had some very skilled players on their side. Bandana dude, who felt like he was 7 feet tall when he was guarding you, was a force out there and that guy who did that crazy throw! You know what I am talking about! Flicked the disc over his head backwards. What the hell kinda throw was that??

I have to say though we really did play well despite the final score. We were starting to get the hang of the piston cuts and really swinging that disc around making the cup defense work hard on us. I have to give Bender and Coach all the credit for explaining to the team how we could beat the Hoff in Public zone defense.

Highlights from the game:

• Armsy was all over the place swatting down those high floaters, making one handed catches, but the one move that caused the basketball player some confusion of the field was catching the disc on her knees/butt. It was funny to watch her try and figure out if she was allowed standing or having to throw the disc from her butt. Its tough remembering all the rules to all different sports :)
• It is without fail now that Greg can’t go through a game without a face-catch! Last night’s catch to the face literally made the game stop for a few seconds by the other team, ensuring Greg was okay. We are just use to it and knew he was just fine. PLAY ON!
•  Gregor (Bender) was aggressive on and off the field with the Ultimate Frisbee 11th Edition Rules book in hand on a few plays ;)
•  Honey Bunny cuts have to be the best cuts out there. At times you could swear they are one person with those matching hats!
• Sally hearing the disc fly by her ear in the end zone. Next time we could yell “disc up” for you lol I also remember Sally coming from nowhere and smashing down the disc on defense. Powerhouse!!!! ·        
• Leapfrog or as we call him now “Froggy” not because of his lack of voice last night but for his crazy leaps on the field. Froggy was one of the key handlers last night making some great long bomb throws!
• Cruddick showing off his fancy dance moves out there as everyone on the sidelines yelled “force away!” We then got a sign from Cruddick assuring everyone (including the children on the sidelines) that he heard us. His middle finger!
• Double nuts (okay, maybe that isn’t Aaron’s nickname but it is today) was itching to be a cutter all game so for the last point he took the position with Bender, unfortunately it wasn’t his dream position mainly because I was one of the handlers and just couldn’t get the disc to the cutters that round. However, Double nuts did have a few long runs in him and a shit load of sweet catches as he was mastering the position of handler
• Chippy had some fantastic catches resulting in a point or two and a couple throws that just weren’t catchable but always followed with a very loud scream.
• Coach- I was a bit worried when the game started and Coach wasn’t there, but 10 mins into the game I could see three McAfee’s making their way to the field! We need Coach there, plus it might rain and he is only one wearing gloves to catch the disc
•  Glutes was one of the cutters on the field last night making some great cuts to the center where he ended up getting wide open.

The thing I remember most from this game has to be all of the crazy catches and the defensive moves from both teams that ended up being caught resulting in amazing plays The Armview Spiced Nuts player of the games goes to Aaron!! For his great work on the field and for taking the time each week to write the blog, which we all love to read! Thanks Double A!!

See you guys all next week!
-Captain

Happy Travels, Yeezy

Well, that wasn’t so bad.

The orange-triangle-spirit-rated-Kanye-West-joke-of-a-team turned out to be nothing more than a bunch of surprisingly-humourless, somewhat-athletic newbs led by two semi-pros and Ser Gregor Clegane in a Jesus costume. That they won is immaterial – we played fucking awesome. This is two weeks in a row that we faced, and exploited, a weak zone defense to our advantage - we swung the disk quickly, we provided good cuts to advance it upfield, and we made the sometimes-necessary-completely-bonkers-single-fingernail-circus-grabs to keep the plays alive (holy shit, Colleen). It was close. We almost had it. I kinda feel that if we had the balls to call a few of the more egregious travels and picks early in the game, we may have come out on top. Regardless, you’re all winners in MY book, which is the only one that really counts (eat it, Bible).

BUT, the game was not without its drama. See: Bunny and Coach suffering upper- and lower-body injuries, respectively, in quick succession in the second half; a few of their points mayhaps could have been contested due to some of the aforementioned (albeit innocent?) egregious fouls; at any given time during the game, half of our team seemed to be livid over something, while the other half seemed blissfully unaware – giggling and frolicking peacefully through the Spryfield greenery; and after three-quarters of a game of SHAMELESSLY exploiting the most poorly-worded rule in an inexplicably large book of rules for application to a self-refereed sport, Mrs. Cheery McTravelson and her laughably poor attempts to counter her own inertia were finally called out by Chippy. At which point, even her own teammates were nodding in agreement (which, LOL).

It was my favourite kind of game. :)

I gotta say, I’m loving the coaching from Coach, and the sideline input from our more experienced players - be it Sally advising me not to enact my obnoxious protest travel, Honey asking the good questions, or Bender telling us where we should be standing/cutting to. Beautiful! On-field highlights included a highlight-reels-worth of awesome defensive rejections courtesy of Greg; that crazy catch from Colleen/Wheeler; and some pretty sweet cup-breaking passes from our Captain. The LOLOLOL Nick McGrath Stubby Fruit Punch Player of the Game would have to go to Bunny, who was everywhere last night, and may have played the last half-hour concussed, possibly in violation of the HURL concussion protocol, which may or may not exist in that tome of a rules “handbook” – regardless, we admire your GRIT, Brian Burke would be proud.

Good job, y’all – see you next week!
-AA

PS: On a more serious note, let’s try to enjoy these fleeting moments of camaraderie and happiness while we can, before civilization as we know it collapses under a Trump presidency, and we’re all enlisted to battle in WWIII. *nods somberly*

PPS: Kool Moe Dee!

D-Jean Does Dartmouth (and Other Dirty Deeds)

Hey all,

It was a game that saw Greg catch a disk with his face (no, really – it was wonderful), Armsy score a hat-track, and the near-triumphant return of the D-Jean, who hasn’t lost a beat. It was a game that saw us employ a strategy, and stick to said strategy, and then tweak first said strategy when it stopped working. It was a game that we ULTIMATE-ly lost (heh), but it was close, and well-mannered, and very very very enjoyable. Sally and Gregor and Captain and Tim all took to handling against the cup like pros; Honey, Bunny and Scott (“Leapfrog” – which we’ll have to start using more) cut and crashed the cup and moved the disk beautifully. And Cruddick rode in on his surfboard and proceeded to flap his arms wildly :)

Then, eight of us went out for consolation beers and dead celebrity remembrances at the Ship Victory – which I’ve gone from enjoying semi-ironically, to now just earnestly loving. This must be what growing up feels like.

 Our opponents fielded a team of Captain Obvious dopplegangers, which (i) I smugly pointed out at every opportunity lest the beauty of that observation go unnoticed; and (ii) seemed to affect our defensive coverage (along with the general confusion on transition from zone D to man-to-man coverage). They also moved the disk really well on those transitions. But enough congratulatory back-patting, let’s point out that one time they did something dumb. I’m speaking, of course, about the decision of their most obvious Captain Obvious to boot down a still-airborne pull (lol), which we promptly MADE THEM EAT IN THE END-ZONE. I only bring it up because we lost, and that is something I would totally do, too.

The Chris Hyndman Memorial Ship Victory Player Of The Game goes to Greg for that beautiful beautiful face-catch, with honorable mentions to Armsy’s hat-track and Gregor’s ace disk placement all game (*kisses fingertips*). Hammers at mid-season form are my favourite Hammers, Hammers.

I miss you all, already.
XO
-AA

She's Like The Wind

Hey Hammers - Happy Canada Day! 

If you weren't there last night, know that we won; that it took probably 10 minutes to score the first point, and another 10 to score the second; that it was mostly the wind's fault, except for the pass Cruddick threw over the bleachers (lol, still); that everyone played great; that I'm still chuckling over Dan and Sharky kicking the disc back and forth to each other on the goal line; that the prodigal Glutes (who?) made his triumphant return to the Hammers; that Greg ran down and grabbed that long bomb (and kept running... :); that I like long lists; that I'm frantically typing this into my phone while my family packs for vacation; that we stacked well and cut well and, hell, that we're actually stacking and cutting; and, did I mention we won? We won!

If you were there - good job! Remember all that stuff? That was awesome.

The Lower Deck "Lower Decker Burger" (what? Ugh) Player Of The Game, by sideline consensus, was Coach Dan - with honourable mentions for everybody else. 

Kisses, Hammers - enjoy your long weekend and please kick some more asssss next week!

-AA