BMFL PLAYOFFS - Rogues vs Knights

Game #2
Rogues vs Knights
Tuesday, September 1st
9:00 PM - Blackburn Arena
Knights lead best of 3 series 1-0

Yup, down to the wire.

In this, our 3rd year in the BMFL, the Rogues have still been unable to win a playoff game. Two consecutive sweeps by the A's in 2007 and 2008, and now the Rogues are on the verge of elimination at the hands of the formidable Knights, defending BMFL Champions that they are.

Game #1 wasn't close, as Chucky got roughed up in the first inning for 4 runs, and that was all she wrote. Knights hurler Jamie Blakely allowed 2 hits over 7 innings, striking out 11. Chuck and Brad got the only two hits, solid bouncers up the middle. Pascal hit a laserbeam to left centre after Chuck's hit, but it was snagged by the center fielder who threw a perfect strike to first for the pick-off. It was one of those kind of games.

Tuesday night will see a Blakely vs Cox match-up on the mound, as Cox makes his second start against the Knights this season. The first one wasn't great, as he took the loss in a 6-0 defeat. With this being the possible last game of the season, look for the Rogues not to hold anything back, and finally pull off an upset and defeat the Knights, the only team they have yet to defeat in the BMFL.

#5

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

Luke Schenn!

Ok, Admittedly, I don't know the guy. He's a formidable hockey player and one of the few bright spots the stupid Leafs have going forward.

But why....WHY....is he on the cover of all my hockey magazines?!?

Each year I buy a few hockey magazines in August, to help me prepare for my Keeper Pool. These mags are very helpful tools for those of us who don't have Hockey Central, or rarely watch a game if it's not HNIC, or the Sens. The Hockey News puts out 2 magazines in August, their "Yearbook", an annual guide to the upcoming season, and their Hockey Forecaster. It's the Forecaster I wait all season for, along with the Forecasters from McKeen's, The Score, and the Pooler's Guide. These mags predict what all the players in the NHL should come close too, helping poolies like myself get the inside track on building a good fantasy team.

Here's where I get annoyed. The front covers! Where do these people get off! Ok, I haven't seen the McKeen's cover yet, and the cover for the Hockey News has Malkin. That's a good choice. If Malkin, Crosby, Ovechkin or Tavares are on the front cover, you're covering the bases. McKeen's put Lidstrom on their cover last year, a very worthy alternate.

The Score? Usually one of the most reliable magazines for content, they continually drop the ball on cover designs. Last year it was Toskala. This year? Luke Schenn. Schenn also made the cover of my "Hockey News Yearbook", although I got that one with my subscription, and I think the Yearbook put out a bunch of different covers, so thats ok.

The Pooler's Guide? Gustavsson, Komisarek and Beauchemin!!! The new additions to the stupid, stupid, stupid Toronto Maple Leafs. Now I understand Toronto is a big market, but bigger than Canada? Even North America? Ok, I realize these mags are going to sell 99% in Canada, and that's fine. But am I missing something? Are you going to sell LESS magazines by putting Iginla on the cover? Luongo? What about fresh faces like Toews, or Mason? Why, why, why would you pick a bunch of Leafs that NO ONE is going to pick in their pool? This is an annual publication! It's not like they come out with a Pooler's Guide once a week! GUH!!!

Still waiting to see who makes the cover of McKeen's in September. I swear to Jeebus, if I see Ian White's face on the cover....

GAME DAY

ROGUES @ EXIT A's

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

9:00pm - Blackburn Arena

Updates have been few and far between as the Green and Gray have been mired ina 4 game losing streak, and have slipped to 7th in the standings. Two games remain before the playoffs, including tonight against Exit A's. A win would go a long way in helping us find some momentum heading into the playoffs.

GAME SUMMARY: Rogues lose to Mr. Electric

Mr. Electric 7
Rogues 1

Not our best game. We did have a set strategy going into the game, but unfortunately, things didn't work out the way we had hoped.

We decided to use all 3 pitchers, putting me in the first 2, Kev in the 2nd 2 innings, and Chuck in the last 2, then whoever threw the best would go the last inning. We had decided to do this last game as well, but Chuck threw so well we put him in for the first 3, and Wilson threw a gem the final 4, we didn't need to employ this strategy.

Last night, I threw a so-so first, giving up 2 hits, but no runs. After a 3 up, 3 down second, I was pulled. Kev went in and gave up 2 runs on a monster shot, albeit the umps erratic strike zone made hitting corners tougher than usual. Kev struggled in the 4th as well, and Chucky came in for the 5th. Chuck retired the 6 batters he faced in 2 innings, so went out for the seventh, but got dinged for 2 runs.

The major problem tonight was hitting. Not facing a dominant pitcher, the Rogues should have had a better night at the plate, but with 12 guys, the at bats are few and far between. Rob Vanden Hoven was 2-2 with a double, triple, and a walk. He's been a bright spot.

Next game is Sunday at 5pm against the Knights, who the Rogues have never beaten. Expect the Rogues to be jacked up for this one.

GAME DAY: Rogues vs Mr. Electric

Mr. Electric @ Rogues

Thursday, August 6, 2009

9:00 PM - Blackburn Arena

I'm ba-ack!

Ok, I must apologize for the lack of posts over the last couple of weeks, rest assured I will try and make more of an effort to get stuff up here, as I know there are 2, maybe 3 constant readers! Anyways, here's what's been going down:

The BMFL Tourney was a bust. We went 0-4, and the fu manchu moustaches intimidated no one. We almost beat Stan's Diner, but horrible officiating actually cost us the game. A sure strike three was called a ball on TWO occasions, one which would have given us two outs in the 7th with no one on, and it led to the Rogues imploding. We also got handled by a couple teams, and our defense went on vacation at times too.

We picked up a win against the Good Ol' Boys however, beating them 5-1. That was 9 days ago, our most recent game. We were originally not scheduled to play until Sunday, which would have been a 12 day layoff, thankfully the schedule got amended, and we face Mr. Electric tonight.

The Rogues (8-10) have a 2-0 record against Mr. Electric (7-8-1) and currently sit in 4th place while the boys in blue sit in 6th. This should be a very close game, as both games were dramatic 1-run victories for the green side, and Mr. E's are coming off a 15-1 embarrassing at the hands of the first place Guzzlers (15-2-1).

TWO WEEK VACATION

As I stated, I haven't updated the site in over 2 weeks, as I've been on vacation. (Pics are over on my facebook sight). We took many small day trips, taking Nathan to the Papanack Zoo, Lac Philippe, The Museum of Civilization's Kids Museum, and a couple trips to Orleans to see Grammy and Grampy. We also had some people over for a BBQ with their kids, and went to see a couple movies. (Transformers was an hour too long, but good for what it is, and The Hangover was one of the funniest movies I've seen since maybe Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Great stuff). Also went to Montreal to go to the Osheaga Festival. Finally got to see the Arctic Monkeys live, as they were the last band I've wanted to see in person. See attached videos below.

GAME #1: Disaster

Rogues 0 Brockville 10

This was ugly from the get-go. Cox got the start on the mound, and after the Rogues went in order in the top of the first, we started out well in the bottom half, getting 2 outs via K and ground out before a pop fly was dropped to prolong the inning. An ensuing base hit put Brockville's winning run across for the 1-0 lead. Copy and paste for inning #2, substituting dropped pop fly for mis-throw to first, and the Brockvillians are up 2-0 after 2. A couple hits in the third make it 4-0 before Cox settled in and pitched 2 scoreless innings.

Bottom 6, and after 3 runners got on, Cox came out and Musicka went in, faired little better as the Brockville batters poured it on, mercy-ing the Rogues 10-0 for their first game.

Defense will have to be better going forward if we hope to do anything in this tourney. Fortunately, the Exit A's lost 10-1 to the Guzzlers, meaning we're far from out of it. Look for more posts, and hopefully some pics, tomorrow.

M@

BMFL Tournament Preview: Rogues busting out the Fu Manchus for the weekend

Yup, once again it's the Blackburn Mens Fastball Tournament time, and honestly, no one really knows what to expect. Our results in this Tournament have varied significantly over the years, from losing 5-1 to the Valley Raiders in the 2002 Finals, to not winning a single game the following year, as well as 2007. We've made the semi finals twice, and have not made the Sunday playoffs several times as well. What will be different this time around? Well, facial hair for one. No less than 5 Rogues will be sporting the Fu Manchu mustaches this weekend.

The Tourney format is a little strange, but not too bad. A total of 9 teams are divided into 3 pools of 3. You play each Pool team once, and you play one inter-pool game for a total of 3 each. Since there are nine teams, one of the teams has to play TWO inter-pool games for a total of 4 round robin games, then have one of the inter-pool games randomly withdrawn. As luck would have it, that team is us. The top 2 teams from each pool move on to Sunday, where The 3rd ranked team plays the 6th ranked team, 4th plays 5th, and 1st and 2nd place teams receive byes. Then there's semi-finals against the top 2 seeded teams, then the finals. For the Rogues to win the tournament, it will take playing between 6 and 7 games this weekend.

ROUND ROBIN GAME #1

Rogues vs Brockville

Friday July 17th

7:45PM - Blackburn Arena Diamond

Far too little is known about the boys from Brockville. Billed as a team of "rec guys", Brockville is bringing their team to Blackburn Hamlet for the first time, and their first game is at 7:45 against the green and gray. The Rogues will be countering with 11 players for the Friday nighter, including pitchers Cox, Musicka, Wilson and Blakely, catchers Emmerson and Soucy, outfielders Edmunds and Fauteux and infielders Peters, Desjardins, and Dishaw. This, along with our last game against Exit A's, is a Pool game, (guaranteed to count) making it that much more important to win.

ROUND ROBIN GAME #2
Rogues vs Trend Arlington

Saturday July 18th
9:00AM - Queensway Diamond

Our second game features the Rogues taking on the guys from the Trend Arlington Fastball League in their first inter-pool game, which plays off of Greenbank Road in the west end. Rumour has it the TA guys have picked up Fitzroy Harbour's Bud Hanlon and Quyon Flyers' Matt Greer to pitch for them this weekend, which would be a coup for the team heading into this weekend's action. The Rogues would have their hands full with some tough pitching, but the TA bats will have to get the job done. Should be a great early morning battle.

ROUND ROBIN GAME #3

Rogues vs Stan's Diner
Saturday July 18th

1:00PM - Blackburn Arena Diamond

The other inter-pool game is against Stan's Diner, who won our only match against them this season 8-4. Stan's is a solid team, whose regular season record (5-10-1) is not indicative of their ability to win, mainly due to their ace Pierre Lalonde being out for most of the season. With his arm back in their rotation, the former Draughts should have a good run in the tourney this year. Our only other time facing this team in the BMFL Tournament was a 1-0 loss 2 years ago. Lalonde defeated Musicka in a classic pitchers duel. This game, or the Trend Arlington one this morning, will be randomly eliminated from our results.

ROUND ROBIN GAME #4
Rogues vs Exit A's

Saturday July 18th
9:00PM - Blackburn Arena Diamond

Another very important match-up, this game could be the deciding game based on how we do the rest of the way. The very last round robin game of the tournament, fates could be decided in the last inning of this one. We've only faced the A's once this year, in a game that was defaulted when they only had 5 regular players show. We played them anyways with 3 spares in their line-up, and tied 1-1. To give an indication of how our pitching was, all 4 hurlers made an appearance. The 9PM start, after completing their previous game by no later than 3PM, will mean the Rogues will be plenty full of beer and food by the time the captains meeting takes place.

So that's it. The fun starts Friday night at 7:45, and the Rogues will hopefully use the new-look facial hair to rally past some tough opponents and finish near the top of the standings by the end of Saturday. Look for updates and pictures on the Rogues website at http://roguematt.5u.com/rogues.

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

Ah, the first of possibly many things that somewhat kinda annoy me.

You Know What Really Grinds My Gears?

Bands that start their shows BEFORE their advertised start time!!!

I love The Watchmen. They are one of my all time favourite bands, I own all their records and have seen them numerous times. This past weekend was to be my 5th. Turns out it was my 4.5th time seeing them.

"Explain how!"

Ok, well, Hope Beach Volleyball was this weekend, and since I'm not a player, I normally wouldn't go. However, the Watchmen were the main attraction, set to go on stage at Mooney's Bay at 5:30. LIES!

I live about a 3 minues drive from Mooney's Bay, so I left home at 5:05, parked the car at Mooney's Bay parking lot and paid the meter at 5:11. I could hear, a few hundred feet away, the Watchmen rocking out to their classic song "Mister", mixed with what appeared to be new material!! COME ON!!! It's not even 5:30!! I grabbed my folding chair out the trunk and paced down the hill to the beach, trapsed around a bunch of stupid fences to find my way in, and paid $20 to get a wrist band. Walked in, grabbed a beer, made my way to the stage. Got a decent view from where I found a spot, avoided the mud pit, and enjoyed....their last 6 songs.

All things considered, they were 6 fantastic songs. "Absolutely Anytime", a fantastic acapella version of "Creeps Like Me" by Lyle Lovitt, "All Uncovered" ("Chicks and sensitive guys like this song", according to front man Daniel Greaves) "Stereo", then a quick break and "Holiday" and "I'm Still Gone" for the 2 song encore.

I was home by 6:10.

Beggers CAN be Choosers: Why I’m siding with Dany Heatley.

If you’re a constant reader of this Blog, you know that my extra-curricular activities are mostly things I’ve created, and managed. As the GM of a fastball team and a ball hockey team, and Founder and co-manager of a poker tour, I can often identify with what major league GMs have to contend with. So you’d be surprised to find that I actually agree with Dany Heatley’s side of things, and not Murray’s.

Let’s start where this all began, the day the stupid Sens fired the single greatest coach the Sens have ever had, in Craig Hartsburg. I mean the guy won GOLD with the Jrs! Then they up and promote this BASTARD Cory Clouston who walks into the dressing room like he OWNS the place, and just starts bossing everyone around! Ok, so the Sens haven’t lived up to their potential thus far. So they have a losing record. So they’re a longshot for the postseason for the first time in years. Does that give Clouston the right to tell Heater to try an improve his skating? Where does Clouston get the nerve to spread out the offense onto two potentially lethal powerplay units? How can Clouston possibly think he has the right to split up The Big Three and demote Heater to the second line, thereby improving the team’s overall offensive production. This ignorance shaved off 2 WHOLE MINUTES of ice time for #15. COME ON!!! Not to mention Clouston’s foolishment and lack of foresight cost the Sens a shot at John Tavares. Then Sens went 19-10-3 over the remainder of the year. They started looking like the team of old. A winner. No wonder Heatley wanted out.

So Heatley innocently, perfectly understandably, tells the media, "Hey. Guys. I want to play for another team." Well, can’t blame him there. I mean here's a guy who scores 50 goals when the team’s doing good. Who WOULDN’T want him? The contract? Peanuts for what you’re getting in return! If you’re a team who’s already doing well, and already has feeders on your top line who know how to pass to a guy with a wicked one-timer, this is a no-brainer. Apparently 28 other GMs CAN be wrong.

Which leaves us with the Edmonton Oilers. And really. Come ON! Have you seen this city? I’m sorry, but would YOU want to play in an arena labelled as one of the loudest in the NHL? The headaches would be unbearable. Maybe Heatley held out until after July 1st because he needed the extra $4 million to spend on Advil. Even if he might get a Rexall discount.

But there’s more. The Oilers are a young growing team who have some solid youth in Gagner, Cogliano and Nielson, you’ve got your skilled top forwards with Hemsky and Horcoff, you’ve just brought in a Cup winner in the Bulin Wall to backstop you for the next 4 years, and the D’s not terrible either with guys like Souray and Gilbert among others. Sure the team didn’t do much under Mac T, but under Quinn? Renney? Not to mention that the Oilers are rich in history and have a tradition of some of the greatest Championship Teams in NHL history, formed by some of the biggest and greatest NHL Superstars ever to play the game. Gretzky. Messier. Kurri. Fuhr. Oh man. Adding Heater to this mix (you lose Cogliano, but that’s ok) and you’ve got a recipe for a great club going forward. True. But here’s where Dany’s likely got some issue: What do you do AFTER the game in effing Edmonton? Build an Igloo? Go dog-sledding? What if Heatley wants to go buy some CDs and also needs a new pair of shoes? What if the West Edmonton Mall’s HMV and Payless Shoes are 8 miles apart? Have you seen this place? It's got carnival rides, you can go on submarine rides, it’s got an effing waterpark in it. Who needs it. Heater’s got ALL that money, and he’s gonna blow out a knee walking around that monstrosity?

Stupid Edmonton. City of Champions my ass.

Heatley’s a smart guy. He got a no-movement contract, so he can dictate where he wants to go. And through this entire development, Dany’s proven one thing that’s apparent with guaranteed contracts: Beggers CAN be chosers.

M@

GUT CHECK TIME: Willpower Part II

DAMN!!!

I was doing so good! I successfully avoided the Timbits all day, ate leftover whole wheat spaghetti and unsweetened apple sauce for lunch instead of going to the local greasy spoon with everyone else, JUST ate an apple 30 minutes ago for a healthy snack.

Then a sales rep here brings us Rolo Ice Cream Bars.

It couldn't be helped.

F Word.

M@

GUT CHECK TIME: Willpower

My co-workers are cruel.

Openly taunting my weight loss battle for their own amusement.

One of them hung a picture of a Baconator in my cubicle.

And today, one of them brought in Timbits. The cubicle right beside me. Box of 40.

So far, 9:27 a.m., and I haven't taken any. I will be strong!

And if there are any co-workers reading this, please come and eat the Timbits!

M@

GUT CHECK TIME: New Week

Hello all. Very quick post as work is absolutely retarded right now and I have no time for blogging, in all honesty.

Down to 219 lbs. as of this morning, ate so-so on the weekend (not perfect, but MUCH better than last week) and had a slight melt-down Friday night when I pigged out on East Sides, but in my defense, I had to work til 9:30pm and it was on the company, so...booya.

Had to hit work this morning for 7:00, so breakfast at home was skipped, and a Timmies breakfast sandwhich was purchased. I feel horrible for getting one as I've directly cut them out of weekday dining, but today looks to be an absolute marathon at the office (could be here when the sun goes down, likely a few hours past) so I'm not sweating the breakfast too much. All the rest of my food is healthy today, and if I get home at a decent hour, I'm gonna work out, promise!

So, that is all for now. Check out the Ryan Coke Experiment for more on healthy eating.

GUT CHECK TIME: A good week thus far

Well I have to admit I have done very well this week.

Breakfasts: Oatmeal each morning with a touch of sugar so I'm not eating paste. Sometimes chased with a bowl of bran flakes.

Lunch: Lean Cuisine Panini on Monday and Wednesday, accompanied by an orange and a peach-mango apple sauce thingy. An additional sandwhich later in the day as a snack and an apple.

Tuesday's lunch brought much temptation, as the sales department thought it would be a good idea to have a pot-luck lunch. I had one coldcut sandwich on whole wheat bun, and 5 different kinds of salad. (Caesar, pasta, colslaw, potato and garden). I took no sweets, and, most important of all, no nacho chips and spicy cheese dip. That's right, I manned up in the face of nachos. Rare for M@.

All I've had to drink during the day has been water, except on Tuesday I had an orange Gatorade, and last night while BBQing I had an MGD. I know, beer during the week's a small slap in the face of this process, but when you're BBQing in 25 degree weather, beer's ok. Right? Right.

Supper's have been good, too. Tuesday night was leftover awesome fajita casserole, and last night was BBQed steak, onion and green pepper-kabobs, and brown rice.

So it's Thursday morning, and I'm down to an even 220 lbs. I've lost 2 pounds in 2 days. Not bad, should help me considerably in the month-long Challenge vs Swinny!

Speaking of challenges....


This is the 15 Week Challenge. Click on the logo to read all about Amy's good idea. I would normally volunteer for the challenge, but I'm already focussed on my current task at hand. However, if you're serious about weight loss, this is a fantastic blog, very inspiring, and the challenge is an awesome idea.

M@

GUT CHECK TIME: Official weigh-in

As of this morning, my official weigh-in is 222 lbs. My opponent weighs in at 218.

Whoever has lost the most weight (or has gained the least?) after July 15th will be declared the winner of round 1. First person to win 2 rounds will be declared the winner, and will receive a prize from his opponent. As of now, the prize has not been determined.

My idea of a KFC gift card was rejected.

M@

GUT CHECK TIME: The first weekend

Well, I'm not gonna sugar-coat it....(HAHAHAHAHAHA, I slay me. But seriously, forks....) I did NOT have a good weekend, despite some signs of improvement. Let me explain.

Friday night was the perfect opportunity to go completely healthy. Laura wanted Swiss Chalet for dinner, and I thought, "Perfect! I can order all healthy stuff off the menu!" Well, I didn't pig out, but I didn't go full tofu either. Kinda met halfway. We ordered the same thing we always do. Family Chicken & Ribs Feast. A whole BBQed chicken, half rack o' ribs, and 4 sides. (And 4 dinner rolls). So, all roles were ordered whole-grain. The sides were mashed potatoes, rice, greek salad for her, garden salad for me! That's right, no caesar salad, no fries, I manned up and got the light Italian dressing and everything.

Food came, ate 1/4 of the chicken, SKIPPED the ribs entirely (made for a solid lunch the next day) and was filled, not stuffed by the end of it. No snacks that night, and I thought, "Ok, not a bad start to the weekend."

Saturday was bad. BAD. Breakfast was normal, pancakes and eggs, not great, but hardly an alarm. Lunch was leftover chicken, and a couple ribs (4-5 to be exact, nothing major). Then we went to Connor McPolin's 2nd birthday party. It was like an alcoholic walking into Cheers. Or Buckner walking back into Shea (to quote a movie). Anyways, the gracious host was piling on the BBQed beef, and there was a LOT of food up for grabs. Now these people are nice people, and as such I hate to offend. Am I gonna be the arsehole who says, "Oh, no thanks, Ken, I'm perfectly stuffed after ONE cheeseburger (with bacon)." No, I'm not gonna be that guy. Hell, they likely budgeted for my attendance at this BBQ, so I CAN'T very well say "I'm on a wee diet", no, I can't be a jerk. So I have 2 cheeseburger, one of those awesome garlic sausages, and a couple Bud Light's to wash'em down. I KNOW! Shut up.

Sunday was much better. Having crashed horribly on Saturday, and accepting the fact that weekends are virtually hopeless for healthy eating, I go into Sunday with a relaxed attitude, and make out pretty well, all things considered. Mirrored breakfast from Saturday, pancakes and eggs. (It's easy, Nathan partakes, it's all very cute). Peanut Butter Bagel for lunch, then it's off to the ball diamond for a double header. (I didn't pitch in either game, so it's tough to gauge exactly how my dieting affected my pitching, but I went o-4 at the plate, so there's that).

Home at 7:30, collect a BBQ chicken from the grocery store (Laura's idea, I lobbied for healthy Subway subs, a la Jared, she won) and had some more chicken. All good, some macaroni salad and carrot sticks and it was an ok Sunday. Great compared to Saturday, not too good compared to my goal.

Monday! Back on the horse! One bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, chased by a bowl of bran flakes! Kept the Honey Bunches of Oats in the cupboard. Lunch? Lean Cuisine Panini, cheese string. Snacks later? Apple. Orange. Peach-mango apple sauce thingy....unsweetened! Dinner was Laura's AWESOME Fajita Casserole, very healthy, very good. Broccoli too. Snack tonight, just a bowlful of the aforementioned Honey Bunches. That is all. I should be tryng to get more veggies into the diet, may brave some of that V8 Fusion stuff I keep hearing about. Laura loves it, Chipper over at A Little Bit of Everything Sports says it's good stuff too. We'll see.

So, my resolve is to go Monday to Friday as a health nut, allow Saturday to be whatever it is, and then try to regain my dignity on Sunday. The blogger over at Double Nut Flush Draw has challenged me to a duel to lose weight. Payoff has not been discussed, but starting now, the player to lose the most weight by July 15th wins. One month. Weigh in to come tomorrow morning. Stay tuned!

M@

PS. For all you Rogues fans, we lost both games of the double header 4-0, and 5-4. I'm on the mound Tuesday night against the best hitting team in the league, the Good Ol' Boys. With some solid improvement on my mechanics since the last time I faced them, I'm looking forward to a better result! 7:00pm at the Blackburn Arena.

GUT CHECK TIME: Day #1

"Day damn one, Vivian, Day damn one." - Uncle Phil

"Let the great experiment begin!!!" - Tobias Fünke

Well, I survived the night. And at 8:00 am this morning I weighed in at 225.5 pounds.

Given the choice between spaghetti and haddock, I chose spaghetti. Basically we're trying to pick foods that Nathan can eat along with us, and since the fish is coated in batter it's likely not that healthy for either of us. However, upon picking spaghetti, a look to the cupboard presented a dilemma. Do I eat delicious spaghetti, or blah 100% whole grain spaghetti. Well, obviously I had to go 100% whole grain. But I wasn't optimistic. It's kind of like when Meg White does vocals for the White Stripes. It's still technically the White Stripes....but, you know.

Well, it wasn't all that bad. I often underestimate my own cooking ability. The spaghetti sauce was homemade, since we don't wanna give the little one the store-bought stuff. (We buy the sodium-free tomato sauce and dress it up ourselves.) Extra lean ground beef, onions, the sauce, and a teaspoon each of chili powder, garlic powder and italian seasoning, and we were off to the races. A tiny pinch of salt for myself and a side of peas, and I had myself one healthy meal.

For a snack later that night I had....nothing! Unusual for me, but them were some big pizza slices at lunch.

This morning a bowl of bran flakes chased by a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats (kinda sugary, I know) and that's where we currently stand. Lunch is leftover spaghetti, some peach slices and a cheese string. Supper? And the weekend beyond? You'll have to tune in Monday morning to find out. I'm optimistic I can keep up the health kick, but the weekend DOES pose many challenges. We'll see how I do.

Last week, when I started this thing, my plan was to kick it healthy Mon-Fri then I'd be at-ease on the weekend to eat as I wanted. But with my relapse this week, I'm gonna see how I can hold up against the constant threat of burgers and beer this weekend.

M@

GUT CHECK TIME: Introduction

Well, since I'm the General Manager of several things, ball team, hockey team, poker league, plus managing work life and home life and everything, I thought I'd add something new to the list: Myself. Let me explain.

I decided early last week that I was gonna take control of my eating habits. I'm not the healthiest eater, and I decided that I wanted to make a habit of getting better, heathier. That was Tuesday, June 2nd. After work, I stopped by Chapters and picked up a book on getting healthy. It looked like an interesting enough read, was actually a book about dads who were previously fit and grew beer guts after their kids were born, as their attention to their own diets goes out the window once there's a kid to take care of. I wasn't in great shape before having a kid anyways, but I thought it might be a funny read at least, and offer lots of insight.

I was right, it had lots of great ideas, the main one being eating lots of testosterone-building types of foods like lean beef, poultry, egg whites, broccoli, etc. Helps build muscle mass and lose fat, thereby toning your body and losing weight too. Sounded plausible, even had some recipes and meal plans you could build. Well, I read the first few chapters, everything food related, but stopped at the exercise chapters. Figured I'd read that part the next day or whatever, for now I'll worry about eating. And I got off to a GREAT start!

I completely cut out Timmies breakfast-sandwiches, which had become a disturbing regular trend for me. Easier than I thought. A bowl of oatmeal and a bowl of branflakes was easy enough. I listened to the book and ate as best I could. Pork chops that night, I only had one, with a small fist-size portion of whole-wheat rice and corn. For a snack later on, some grapes and a bowl of cereal. Next day for lunch was a leftover porkchop I normally woulda eaten the night before. Had an apple for a snack instead of Snickers from the Vending machine, and water instead of Canada Dry. And I was feeling better! This continues all day Thursday as well, eating nothing but good stuff, sliced peaches instead of apples, some steak, green peppers and onion kabobs for dinner. My ballgame that night, I threw the 4 Ks in one inning, and felt like I hadn't thrown that hard in a long time. Everything was going swimmingly!

Then Friday came.

I don't know, maybe I need an intervention or something, but I fell off the wagon hard since Friday. I had the day off, and on the way to Nordik Spa (for my wife's anniversary present) we hit Baton Rouge for lunch. Then it was a weekend of beer and BBQ. By Sunday I could still throw hard and had a pretty good game winning 3-2 and going the distance, but I was not as effective as I felt on Thursday). Monday? Lean Cuisine Panini, but a big supper. Tuesday Stouffer's (non-lean) Panini, then later a 6" Sub cuz I was still hungry. (It was a healthy sub, but I prolly coulda done without it altogether). Today I had a free work-related pizza lunch. Yesterday I had lunch out with a friend, who wanted to hit the Pizza Hut Lunch Buffet. Supper last night? Home made pizza! At least THAT had some veggies on it, but still, a far cry from where I was a week ago.

The free work-related pizza lunch today was the final straw....kind of a bitch-slap to the book I bought last week. 2 slices of Meat Lovers from Gabriel's, a chicken strip, a Coke, oh I know, I know, I know! It was awful. Tasted awesome, but awful. I even had my first breakfast sandwhich in a week this morning! (whole wheat bagel, but STILL).

Which is kinda the point. I figure, my wife will keep tabs if I try to eat better, and it's nice to have a cheerleader in your corner, but I need to be harder on myself, thus I'm going to try to do it publicly. (Well, as publicly as this Blog will let me....now maybe 3-4 people know about my eating habits instead of 1-2).

My plan is to adhere to the book starting when I get home today. I'll finish reading the exercise portion, go back to buying only the healthy food, empty the remaining Cokes in the house down the ol' sink and go healthy. Tomorrow morning, and every weekday morning thereafter, I'm going to post how much I weigh, and what I've eaten since my last blog.

Wish me luck.

M@

GAME SUMMARY: Rogues win 5th of the season

Warriors 2

Rogues 3

Sorry for the delay, as always there a few blog posts on Monday and Tuesdays. Sunday night we played the expansion Warriors, who were coming off their first win of the season.

They certainly had momentum on their side, as Rogues batters had a hard time figuring out their pitchers stuff, putting up little to no fight for most of this one. We scored 1 run in the 5th inning, after they had put up one run in the 3rd.

I was throwing fairly well as it was 1-1 heading into the seventh. Having made an adjustment to my pitching motion for my rise ball, it was more effective and I collected 6 Ks on the night. But while it WAS an effective pitch for the most part, it landed flat once too often in the 7th, as a batter who previously swung through all my risers, put my last one into the trees to give his team a 2-1 lead.

Thankfully the boys came through in fine style in the bottom half, as we loaded them up on 2 infield hits from our leadoff guys, and a walk to our #3 guy. Our clean-up hitter grounded to 1st, but the throw home for the force was over-thrown, and resulted in not only the tying run coming in, but the winning run too. Rogues win!

So we're now 5-3, which is one more win than we got in 2007. Strangely the roster hasn't changed that much, but for whatever reason, the team is hitting at a torrid pace, leading the league in runs for.

This Sunday we play a double header against the only team we have yet to defeat in the BMFL, the Knights. Hopefully we can put together another strong showing and finally get that monkey off our backs.

M@

GAME SUMMARY: Stunted again by the Barbers

Guzzlers 9
Rogues 1

Yeah, another dud vs the Orange and Black team. The Rogues were again only able to muster one run against the Guzzlers and most noticeably, the Barbers.

Personally I had an OK game, as I managed a hit against formidable pitcher Andy Barber, ended up being a line drive into his ankle that ricocheted over to in between short and 3rd. I scored the only run on a bloop single by PB who very deservedly picked up the only RBI of the game for the green side.

I came into the game in the middle of the 6th inning, as the Rogues were having a rough go of it, and a pitching change was needed. With runners on the corners and one out, I surrendered an infield hit to load the bases, then a walk to bring in a run, but I got the next batter to ground into a double play to get out of the jam.

My 7th inning was better, as I struck out 4 batters.

All-in-all, it wasn't the greatest game, as our defense wasn't perfect and our hitting was....yes, I said I struck out FOUR batters. That wasn't a typo. I told my wife when I got home, and I told my mother the next day, and both responded, "That's great". Neither of them questioning how it came to be that I was able to record 4 ks in one inning. The shocking part is my mom's actually a solid baseball fan, and while I doubt she'd know the dropped third-strike-steal-first rule, she DEFINITELY knows there's only 3 outs in an inning, lol. So I politely asked them if they thought it was weird that I whiffed 4 batters in one inning when there's only 3 outs, and they both admitted, "Oh yeah!" Then I explained the rule....it was a lot more conversation than I was originally anticipating, but it afforded me the opportunity to brag a little bit more about something I haven't been previously able to do in 15 years of pitching. And will almost certainly never be able to do again.

So Sunday night at 7, we face the Orleans Warriors (1-5-0) who are coming off their first win in their inaugural season, defeating the Exit A's in the early game Thursday evening. Both teams will be looking hard for a win.

M@

GAME DAY: Rogues vs Guzzlers

ROGUES vs GUZZLERS
Thursday, June 4, 2009
9:oo pm Blackburn Arena

Tonight the Rogues (4-2-0) look to extend their winning record to 5-2, as they take on the undefeated Guzzlers (5-0-1) in the nightcap at the Blackburn Arena. The Rogues are coming off another thrilling victory against Mr. Electric, and will be looking to avenge their dismall performance against the Orange and Black squad from earlier this season. In their previous match, the Rogues lost 7-1 after a rough start by Kevin Wilson, and the Rogues bats inability to muster anything off of Guzzler ace Jeff Barber.

Look for Chuck Musicka to get his first start of the season tonight against the Guzzlers, as the Rogues will play with a smaller squad, down to 10 players for tonight's match with Edmunds, Peters and Vanden Hoven all out of the line-up.

M@

GAME SUMMARY: Rogues back in the win column!

ROGUES 8
Mr. Electric 7

Well, we won another nail-biter against Mr Electric Sunday night. This time it was us blowing a big lead. Luckily, we got it back.

Kevin Wilson started on the mound and pitched VERY well, giving up one run in the first and no more til the 5th. We on the other hand scored 6 runs through 5 innings, including two 2-run homers from Pascal Lalonde and Brad Dishaw. But in the bottom of the sixth, the wheels started falling off.

Kevin got 1 out, but gave up 4 solid hits, and we switched him for Chuck Musicka. Chucky fared no better allowing a few more hits before getting out of the inning. All-in-all, the Electric squad put up 6 runs to take the lead 7-6 after 6 innings.

Top of seven, with one out, I'm up to the plate. I haven't gotten a hit all year (except for in the game that didn't count) and I've struck out twice in the game so far, so the catcher tells the outfielders to play in a bit. F#*K YOU, lol, I smacked a double to right center, over the fielder's head. After the next batter strikes out, I advance to 3rd on a pass ball. 60-Year old Jim Blakely's at the plate with 2 out and 2 strikes on him. He fouls off a few pitches before lining a shot to left field, scoring me to tie the game! Jim advances on another pass ball and eventually scores on an over-throw, giving us the lead. Jim pitches the 7th and gets 3 of 4 batters out for the HUGE save, and another Rogues win.


Also, it was effing FREEZING! Not good ball weather, but at least the bats were on fire. It wasn't looking good for a while there as the sky threatened to open up, and reports of hail in the neighbourhood made things iffy. (This pic is me en-route to the diamond at about 4:20. I was pessimistic, but I was wrong) Luckily, all was dry at the Queensway diamond, and we got our game in. Next up, the undefeated Guzzlers on Thursday.


M@

GAME DAY: Holy crap, sunlight!

Rogues @ Mr. Electric
Sunday, May 31, 2009
5:00pm @ Queensway Diamond

Well, for the first time this season, the Rogues will play a game in the sun! Our previous 5 games have all been 9:00 pm starts, and our 7pm start last Thursday was rained out. Will be an interesting transition. It's also our first game away from the Blackburn Arena this season, as we play our first of 3 at the Queensway Diamond, located near the telesat building off Blair, across the highway from the Gloucester Centre.

But it's not completely unfamiliar territory tonight. We held our only practice at this diamond, and our opponents tonight are Mr. Electric (formerly The Blues, formerly Satlink) who will be out for blood after our upset win to start the year. Rogues fans will remeber this game as one where we trailed 3-2 after 6, got down 8-2 at the top of the 7th, and came backto win 9-8 in a stunning 7-run 7th. Don't expect the Electrics to take this game lightly.

Tonight should also be an interesting match-up, as no less than 12 Rogues are expected to make an appearance. Only Chris Fauteux, who's out of town, will be absent. With 4 pitchers, it should definitely be an interesting game. Look for the Rogues to put on a good performance at the plate after only scoring 1 run last time, and keeping our heads above water in the standings by adding a 4th win.

Look for a summary tonight or tomorrow morning.

M@

ROGUES UPDATE: Blue Jay Way

We seem to be mirroring the Toronto Blue Jays almost to a tee, with their hot streak ending around the same time ours has. Two teams, currently mired in a slump, who began the season on an unbelievable hot streak, far greater than their critics would have suggested.

The worst of it was an absolute slugfest with The Good Ol' Boys, to the tune of a 12-11 loss. We led twice in this game, once 8-4, and another time 11-8. Sadly, pitching and defense was our downfall. My own pitching was brutal, arguably the worst start I've had in 3 years. Gave up 4 runs in the first, and 4 more in the 3rd. Embarrassing. Not sure what went wrong on the mound, but one or two guys remarked it seemed like I was taking something off my throws, and trying to aim it too much, instead of just firing it like early in the season.

Well, I took this into the next game, and while I wasn't scheduled to throw, I did pick up 2 innings of relief work ina 7-1 loss to the Guzzlers. I entered the game at 5-1 in the 6th, and surrendered 2 runs, (1 earned) but picked up a strike-out on a solid hitter, and had a 3-up, 3-down 7th to boot. Felt much better, got my control back....night and day compared to my previous outing. Unfortunately, the Guzzlers have 2 very solid pitchers, who've given up a total of 8 runs through 5 games this season, and 10 of our 11 players picked up a strike-out. (Oddly, out last batter didn't K). We've had lots of strike-outs in the past, but it was depressing this time around considering we went into the game leading the league in offense.

Bah well, onwards and upwards. Thursday night, should the skies hold up, we face the Knights, who're the only team we've never beaten. Then on Sunday we have the early game against Mr. Electric, the team we mounted an impossible 6-run come-back in our second game of the year.

In the meantime, keep tuning into http://roguematt.5u.com/rogues for all your up-to-date Rogues info, and http://www.bmfl.ca/, (thank yours truly for the BMFL website's new look) for any league related news.

M@

GAME DAY: Rogues @ Good Ol' Boys

Rogues @ Good Ol' Boys

Thursday, May 21, 2009

9:00 PM - Blackburn Arena

Tonight take their 3-0 record on the road as the green side play their first road game of the season. Their adversaries are the hard-hitting Good Ol' Boys, who's 1-2 record is not indicative of their power, and defensive prowess. While not blessed with the most dominating pitching, their staff is more than capable of holding opponents at bay and keeping their teams in it. It will be interesting to see what kind of an effort the Rogues put up tonight.

After going 3-0 to start the year, the Rogues have had to endure a 9 day layoff. Our bats have been as hot as ever, especially at the beginning of the season where the Rogues have NEVER enjoyed success. It will be very interesting to see if they can build on their momentum, or will the time between games mean cobwebs?

Cox is probable for getting the start on the mound tonight with Musicka working very effectively ina relief role for the team. Look for Wilson to get the start no Sunday vs the Guzzlers, a team he dominated in 2008, going 3-0.

See you tonight!

M@

Grading the Season Finales

OK. Not sports or even GM related, but I thought I'd share my long-winded thoughts on some of the TV season (and in one case Series) Finales. Enjoy. Or don't. Whatev.

AMERICAN IDOL
I’m leading off with this show, not because it was the best one (far from it) but because it affords me the opportunity to brag. I CALLED IT. Kris Allen wins, upsetting the heavily favored Adam Lambert. With 8 people left in the show, I predicted Allen would win. "America will NOT let another Archuleta lose" was my quote. Last season the 12 year old girls of the USA were devastated when David Cook beat David Archuleta. They were NEVER gonna let that happen again, so I had a gut feeling the baby-faced Allen would survive over glam-rocker Lambert. Now, I brag because I was right, but don’t be confused. The wrong person DEFINITELY won, as Allen was talented, but Lambert was head and shoulders above and beyond anyone else on the show this season. It shouldn’t have been close, and America got it wrong this season. Plus all the lucky contestants got to sing along with classic rock legends like Queen, KISS, Santana, and Steve Martin. C-

THE OFFICE
The Office wound things down in fairly typical fashion. A Company Picnic where the Scranton branch went toe toe toe with other branches in a beach volleyball tournament. While it gave the opportunity for Dwight to be Dwight, Meredith to do her thing, Pam to do something unexpected, etc etc, it wasn’t as fall-down hilarious as many of the episodes this season, concentrating more on Michael and how he would react by seeing Holly again. (For the uninformed, Holly was transferred early in the season by Corporate after she and Michael started dating.) The reunion was as cheesy and awkward as one would expect from the show, as their sketch of "SlumDunder Mifflinaire" was both squirmingly awkward and funny, and had an unexpected and chaotic finish. (Add to the pile another instance where in real life, Michael Scott would be fired on-spot). At any rate, the show sacrificed laughs for plotline, but it was good plotline, and the surprise ending with Jim and Pam was well done. For an regular episode of the Office, I’d give this one a B+, but as a finale, I’d have to go A.

SURVIVOR
This show is amazing. After 18 years of fundamentally the exact same format, it never gets old for me. Human nature at it’s best. It never lies, despite the amount of actual lying and backstabbing that goes on. The most honest and emotional part of the series was Stephen admitting he’d have taken Erinn to the finals. I don’t think JT was that good of an actor. There was real heartbreak on his face there, no matter what he says in the reunion show about pretending to be upset to sway the jury. I’m sure he and Stephen are best friends now, since time heals all wounds, and it’s been months since they left the island, but for me, it’s the true human nature that makes the show so riveting, and infuriating. The next day, they were showing a Season One marathon on TVtropolis. I watched a few episodes. Remarkable how, aside from production value, the core of the show is exactly the same, yet no less watcheable. Even knowing the results of the show I found myself drawn in. One of my alltime favourite shows. I’d do Survivor in a second if given the opportunity, though my wife says I’d last no more than 3 days. I don’t necessaily disagree. A.

HOUSE
Second last episode, House finally seals the deal with Cuddy after almost 5 seasons. Come to find out he’s losing his mind as his addiction to Vicodin is messing with his mind, and it turns out the affair was a dream, or a hallucination. The visions of Amber return in the last act, along with Kutner too, and the episode, and season, end with House checking into a psychiatric hospital. I kind of always thought this was how the series would end, not just a season, but it should be interesting to see what direction they take next season. Is House still in the psych ward? Do we get to see his interaction with other crazy people? Or does his trip to rehab cure his addiction to pain meds, and he comes back to Princeton Plainsboro a new man? Considering the show’s fairly rigid story arc from episode to episode, I don’t expect things to change too much next season. Overall, I wasn’t a huge fan of the "it was all a hallucination" twist, but it ended well, which is what you want out of a finale, so I got to give it an A-. Oh, and Cameron and Chase got married.

24
This season was up and down for me at times. Every episode was ludicrous, but it was at it’s best when it felt like I was watching The Fugitive, as Jack Bauer struggled to not only save the world, again, but also avoid getting apprehended for being framed for murder. Some good stuff there. The Finale did all the things a frustrating but successful finale should do. Tie up the immediate stuff, but leave the ongoing serial stuff as a cliff-hanger. Will Jack live after being exposed to the nukes? Will his daughter be able to save him? Will the red headed chick go off the handle and torture the bad guy? What’ll happen with Tony? I guess we’ll have to tune in next season. A solid B+.

PRISON BREAK
I confess I did not see the finale of the show, but since I did follow the show all the way through, I’ll comment on the Episode summary I read online. Ummm, yikes. I think I would have been pretty pissed had I watched it. It did all the things a Series finale should do. It righted all wrongs, all the bad guys ended up dead or in jail. All the good guys got exonerated. They brought back series regulars from seasons past (Sucre, C-Note and Kellerman in a shocking twist). But what pissed me off the most was that the whole reason people watched the show was to see Michael and Linc go free. Not Michael and Linc go free but Michael dies soon after from some genetic illness he supposedly shared with his mom. It felt like a kick in the crotch after putting up with a mostly exhausting 4th season. (Not as bad as season 3 in Taco Hell, but pretty bad. Seasons 1 and 2 were what the show was supposed to be. It should have ended soon after. Killing the main character in the final sequence was a horrible decision. No one would have cared if it was Linc that died But why Michael. D.

LOST
Once again Lost answers a question and poses 3 more. Typical fare for the mystery series, as one character is left to certain death, the island supposedly gets blown up, and if everything went according to Jack, everyone should end up back the way the series started, on an airplane, heading safely to LA. Why do I get the feeling that come January 2010, we’ll find out this is not infact what happened. I won’t even begin to theorize what’ll happen next as there are Lost fans out there that will tear me to shreds. I long ago gave up trying to piece everything together, and just try to enjoy it on a show-to-show basis. Half a year off before a new season will give me time to clear my head and get ready for the final season. B

SNL
Since Will Ferrell was host, and it was Daryl Hammond's last show, they did one last Celebrity Jeodardy. "And finally, we have Sean Connery with a score of 69." "I scored in a 69 with your mother last night Trebek!" Classic. Don't really remember any of the other sketches. Doesn't matter. A++

WORTH MENTIONING:
I also saw the finales to 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation. They came off mostly as normal episodes, not really like finales, but solid nonetheless. I also saw the season finale of Big Bang Theory, where the gang’s heading up to the Arctic for the next few months. Well, oddly this was the first ever epiosde of this show I’ve ever watched. And will likely be my last. Ever since I first saw The Office and Arrested Development, and after that 30 Rock, My Name is Earl, Parks and Rec, etc, etc, I just can’t get into a laugh-track comedy. How shows like Sit Down, Shut Up die because of ratings, but tired sitcoms like Rules of Engagement, Til' Death and every other horrible CBS and ABC sitcom live on stiffles me. I guess it’s why I’ll never work in television.

M@

PS. Family Guy and Simpsons were OK. Kinda disappointing for finales. Plus I slept through parts.

GAME DAY: Rogues vs Warriors

Warriors @ Rogues

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

9:00 PM - Blackburn Arena

The Rogues take their undefeated record (2-0) into tonight's game against the winless expansion Warriors (0-2). The Warriors have had a rough go of it out of the gate, dropping their inaugural BMFL contest to Mr. Electric 8-1, then dropping another contest 11-3 to the offesively gifted Good Ol' Boys.

The Rogues are coming off one of their biggest games in their 11 year existance, coming back from a 6-run deficit in the 7th inning. It will be interesting to see whether the Rogues can ride this momentum, or has a week-long layoff been enough to cool the engines? One thing's for sure, it's going to be a long season if the Rogues get into the habit of surrendering 5 runs late in the game.

Look for better offense more spread out during the game, the same tight defense, and possibly a tighter leash on the pitchers.

M@

GAME SUMMARY: Rogues vs Mr. Electric

Mikey! Mikey! Mikey!
Walk-off comeback win leaves Mr. Electric singing The Blues

Mr. Electric 8
Rogues 9

May 5, 2009

This will have to go down as one of the biggest games in Rogues history. A close affair featuring lots of small-ball and strategy, until the 7th, when things got ridiculous. You really had to be there.

Cox took to the mound top of one, and got off to a less than desirable start, surrendering a smoked single to the Mr. Electric leadoff batter. Luckily, a line drive to short resulted in a pick off over at 1, and the Rogues were 2 outs with no one on. That's when Gary Larocque smashed a solo shot to right. The Rogues responded in the bottom half as Wilson hit a leadoff single, and Rob moved him over to second with a sac bunt. Wilson then moved to third on a pass ball, while Barry drew a walk and stole second. Fauteux then cashed Wilson with a groundout, tying the game.

The former Blues responded in the 2nd with an ROE and a single to take the lead. Things stayed this way til the 4th. Cox got into trouble after getting one out, he loaded up the bases. Musicka came into the game at this point and shut the door, saving the game, and Cox's ERA in the process!

Mr Electric would collect another run in the 5th on 2 singles, to make it 3-1. Bottom of 6, and the Rogues would scratch back one more run, as Peters reached base on a fielders choice, and was cashed by a huge triple by Musicka.

Top of 7, and Musicka surrenders a solo shot to Nick Bowman, extending their lead to 4-2. After striking out Larocque (clearly feeling the effects of a huge collision with Matt Peters in the 6th!), all hell kinda broke loose. A walk, followed by 6 consecutive singles, all of which were hit into little holes, or infield hits beating out the throw, poor Chucky had no luck as Mr. Electric poured it on. (It should be noted that by the time it got to 7-2, the Blues had eased up and stopped any attempts to steal home, which they very likely could have. This display of good sportsmanship would unfortunately come back to haunt them.) Wilson came into the game with 1 out, and collected the last 2 outs in about 7 pitches.

Bottom 7, and the Rogues are now batting for fun, to get some BP and work on their hitting. Mike Edmunds leads things off with a solid stroke up the middle. Wilson delivers a single, and Robbie singles to load them up for Barry. Emmerson hits a 2 run single, and Fauteux follows it up with a 1-run blooper. Chuck would cash Barry with a hit, and Fauteux would come in on an over-throw, cutting our deficit to one. Cox would tie the game with a ground-out to first, where the 1st baseman threw home to try and get Nick charging home, instead of recording the out. Nick beat the throw, sliding home and tying things at 8. After PB reached on error, Mikey Edmunds came to the plate for the second time in the 7th. With the bases loaded and one out, Mikey smacked a single to left field to cash Chucky and win the game and the impossible comeback for the Rogues!

Well, it took til our 11th season, but for the very first time, the Rogues have begun a season 2-0! Amazing we've never pulled the feat off in our history. But it was well-earned. Hopefully the Rogues can continue this mind-set heading into their next game vs the expansion Warriors next Tuesday at 9:00pm

GAME SUMMARY: Rogues vs Exit A's

Rogues solid in home opener
Tie A's 1-1, but win through technicality.

Well, it wasn't the way the Rogues wanted to get their first win of the season, but it was still a fun night, and a good start to the season.

Exit A's only had 5 players from their current roster. Utilizing 3 spares, they had enough to field a team. Unfortunately, the rules state you need 6 Roster players to make the game official. A tough break for the A's, for sure.

With only Emmerson not in the line-up, the Rogues fielded 12 players on the night. Cox took to the mound against the A's and got off to a less than desireable start, getting his one beanball per season out of the way with the first batter. Cox would settle down and K the next batter, and followed that up with a walk, another K and another walk to load them up. A ground out to Brad at 3rd ended the threat.

The Rogues had a much easier second and 3rd, allowing no runs on 1 hit as Chuck came into the game in the 3rd. In the 4th, the Rogues gave up 1 unearned run to give the A's the lead.

Bottom 5 and the Rogues would tie things up. Peters drew a 1-out walk, and moved to 3rd on a solid hit by Lalonde. Chuck would then reach on error to drive in the run to tie things up. That's where the offense shored up. Kevin pitched a solid 5th, and Jim Blakely came in to throw the 6th and 7th to shut'er down.

Great first game, looking forward to getting right back at it Tuesday night against Mr. Electric.

Read this game summary and much more Rogues information at the Official Rogues website: www.roguematt.5u.com/rogues

GAME DAY: Rogues Season Opener vs Exit A's

Rogues vs Exit Realty A's

Sunday, May 3, 9:00

Blackburn Arena Diamond

Anatomy of a game day, part TWO.

12:35: Bring gigantic equipment bag downstairs. Clean 5 batting helmets covered in sand and dust. Air dry on basement floor. Have Jays game on while doing this. Very exciting stuff. I can't believe I'm blogging about it.

1:00: Chill out and watch Jays.

3:00: Laura returns home from dress shopping. M@ grabs quick bite to eat, Nathan gets up, and dad heads out on a spending spree!

3:30: Hit the beer store for a case of beer for tonight's big game, hit Staples to buy card stock for score sheets, and some pens (we always seem to lose pens. Again....I'm blogging about this. Incredible.) Then it's over to Wal-Mart to buy a sleep noise machine for Laura - but they're out. Then $190 on groceries. Cripes. How can something so small make the grocery bill so big?

5:00: Return home with piles of groceries.

5:05: Play with Nathan in living room and basement while Laura tends to dinner and puts away food. Kid becomes increasingly annoyed with everything. Constant whine begins.

6:45: Dinner. Pork Chops and brocoli are good, but little guy has not stopped whining for a couple hours straight now. Teething's a biatch. Poor little guy.

7:30: Whining has evolved into all out temper tantrum / cry-fest. Mom & Dad wrestle him into his PJs and get him ready for bed. Laura finally gets him to sleep.

8:00: Dad, now one hour removed from opening pitch, begins cleaning kitchen. Gigantic mess. But, in 10 minutes, I do a serviceable job straightening it up. Laura comes down to finish up, I go get my uniform on and head out.

8:15: I'm on the road to Blackburn, after a very tiring day of parenting.

8:40: Arrive at Blackburn Arena. Only to find out the lights are off!!! NOOOOOooooooo!!!

8:50: After 5 minutes of complaining with teammates, we discover someone from the City is coming to turn the light on after all. Thank Jeebus.

9:15: Lights are on. Game on!

GAME DAY: Rogues Season Opener vs Exit A's

Rogues vs Exit Realty A's
Sunday, May 3, 9:00
Blackburn Arena Diamond

Anatomy of a game day:

6:30: Wake up. Not because of the excitement of it being game day, but because almost-one-year-old Nathan decides to wake up, and mommy decides daddy will watch him while mommy sleeps in. Makes sense to daddy.

8:30: Mommy rolls out of bed, daddy goes for a shower while mommy watches the little guy.

9:30: Mom leaves to go bridesmaid dress shopping for her friends wedding in the fall.

10:10: Dad pops Nathan into the Kia Sedona and heads to Timmies.

10:30: Dad and jr return from said trip, and dad enjoys coffee, breakfast sammich and choc chip muffin (Game day staples) while Nathan plays with his brand new empty timmies cup. So many toys, and this is what he wants.

10:50: Head out on walk around the neighbourhood. Must work off Timmies breakfast. Nathan is happy for most of the walk.

11:14: Put cranky Nathan into high chair, and begin feeding him. Corn, green bean mush, yogurt with blueberries, mushed up egg yolk, milk. Decide I will not have the same lunch as Nathan.

11:50: Clean up messy yogurt-covered child, take him upstairs, change diaper, wrap him in sleep sack, rock him to sleep.

12:15: Decide I need to go through my teams equipment bag and make sure everything's in order for tonight's big game. But before doing that, decide to procrastinate, grab a Gatorade, and do a blog post.

(Anatomy of a Game Day will continue tomorrow....)

The Plight of being a GM

Being the GM of so many things has advantages and drawbacks. While the advantages obviously out-weigh the drawbacks, it doesn't necessarily make life easier. But more often than not, the payoff is worth it.

I've been asked, on more than one occasion, to give the Blackburn Mens' Fastball Association's web-page a make-over. The current site is technically sound (Ie the programming is solid, there's auto-updating for scores and standings and team rosters) but the site's overall look is far from what it could be, to be generous.

They initially nominated me for the role of League webmaster a couple years ago, but I rejected it. Knowing only HTML and photoshop (for images, etc) I told them I didn't have the skill set to maintain SQL and ASP programming, which the previous (and current) web master used for the auto-updating. they enquired again the following year, but with a kid along the way I politely said no thanks again, although there was this itch, this part of me that knew it wouldn't take much to give the site a major make-over.

This year, after once again letting them know I didn't really have the time to commit to it, I said no thanks, so the league attempted to hire an outside guy to do it. When that fell through (not sure how), the league decided to form a committee to work with the old web master to come up with something new.

After hearing this, my itch increased, knowing that there was a committee being formed for something I was fairly certain I could do on my own, as long as the old web master could chip in for all the technical programming. Especially considering they asked me to redesign the League's logo, and I was able to do that successfully. Well, 1 e-mail later, and I was the new web committee, lol.

Rebuilding the site hasn't been too time consuming. I've been working on it while the playoffs play in the background, and during breaks at work. The old web master has been quite accommodating, and it shouldn't be too long before we launch. So far, I'm quite pleased with what we've done.

But it has, like GMing anything, been a tricky balancing act. I try not to let me hobbies interfere too much with home life. Family always comes first, so I'm trying to make fastball my only scheduled extra-curricular activity in the summer. Twice a week is a lot when working fulltime, and there's 2 sets of parents to visit on the weekends! So fitting in rebuilding a website was a tricky task, but one that's worked out well so far. Hopefully the old web master will want to be the one to maintain it.

M@

PS, I will post a link to the site once it's launched

Spring Training Begins for The Rogues

Well, the snow has melted, the sun's come out, and all my other sports are done. That can only mean one thing, it's ball season! Far and away my favourite sport to play, fastball has been a part of my life I was dragged into it kicking and screaming by my dad way back in 1991. This year represents my 19th year playing fastball, my 11th as a member of The Rogues, the team I founded in 1999.

For a complete history and roster for The Rogues, check out our website:

http://roguematt.5u.com/rogues

This Saturday is our first practice of the season. The practice takes place at noon, and it's reported to be getting up to 26 degrees. We follow up the practice with our first game on Sunday May 3rd at 9pm against Exit A's, the team that swept us in our last 2 playoff series' in 2007 and 2008.

This year we're losing two players in Chris Amos and Kevin O'Grady. Kev comes back in 2010, but "Famous" retired from fastball after last season. His spot in the roster is being filled by a former teammate's of mine (And Amos's) Chris Fauteux, who if I remember correctly, gave Amos the nickname Famous, back in 1993. But I digest.

Our team's issue has always been hitting, so this season it's what I hope to work on mostly in practice. There's no one on our team that can't improve their numbers this year.

Anyways, with dodgeball and hockey now over, look for regular Rogues updates over the course of the summer. Full game summaries will appear on the main webpage, and I may repost them here as well. We play 24 regular season games, plus a minimum of 2 playoff games. Makes for a long season, but a great one. Even when we only go 5-15-1 like last year :(

Here's looking to improve on last season's record, and make it past the first round of the playoffs!

GAME SUMMARY: Chuck Norrii win the Bronze!

FINAL SCORE:
Chuck Norrii: 15
Blue Balls: 9

It wasn't the ideal way the end the season, but ina way it was. We got to play our arcyh nemesis / good friends The Blue Balls, and we got revenge on our previous loss, with a convincing 15-9 victory.

The game got off to slow start as we lost our first 2 games, and we were only 6 players to begin with, as Laura, Mandy, Tom and Holly were all unable to make it. So Joyce, Karen, Alex, Matt, Nick and Sim represented Chuck Norrii and stepped up their game after dropping the first 2.

Overall a very fun game, with some absolute wars, and frustrating games vs Dickon and Duane and company. Amanda was able to get me out twice when I couldn't catch her throws, and Shannon was a dodging machine, as I only got her out once. Dickon caught my throws 3 times in 1 game, a game that was still close to the end! But I got him a couple times too, so it was all good.

So dodgeball's done, hockey's done, the NCPT wraps up this Friday, so all's left is the beginning of ball!! Write up coming very shortly....

M@