The GM's Blog

MY Survivor All-Stars

2010-02-11T13:04:00.026-05:00

OK, so Survivor Heroes vs Villains started last week, and in honour of this, I have decided to compile my own personal list of who I think are the all-stars from each show. My picks are based on a combination of deservedness, combined with who would make good TV. Using guidelines set up by fellow (and exponentially more frequent) blogger Ryan Coke, I shall pick players who have only starred on the show one time, and have not won. (Players who have played before do NOT include players Heroes vs Villains, as they have only been on the show once, until now....

Season #1: Gretchen Cordy
Missed the jury by one, and was the first person burned by the first real Alliance in Survivor. Was clearly the smartest and even-keeled person on her dysfunctional tribe, and would have won had the show been based solely on survival skills, and ability to interact. However, Hatch's scheme meant her head was chopped off. Certain labelled a hero, Gretchen shuld have beena shoe-in for this season. But since Hatch couldn't go, Probst didn't think anyone from season #1 should get to. Fair enough.

Season #2: Michael Skupin
Too easy. Fell in the effing fire, burned his hands. His tribe would have been up 6-4, they would have rolled to the finals, and he would have won. "Hands down".

Season #3: Brandon Quinton
Flamboyantly gay, fit into his tribe quite nicely, won a reward date with an army dude, hilariously couldn't fire a bow and arrow, would have made for compelling TV this time around.

Season #4: Sean Rector
Easily my favourite player from this season. Kinda gangster, really into the game, and helped mastermind a big turn at the beginning of the merge to take down the powerhouses. Plus it was hilarious hearing him cry "My balls. My balls!" after winning a reward challenge and going donkey riding up a mountain or something. "Checkmate, bruh" at tribal the night of the big take-down. I cheered out loud that night. Awesome stuff from an otherwise mundane season.

Season #5: Jake Billingsley
This was the worst season. Ever. I hardly remeber it, but I do recall the two oldest members picking the teams. And Jake, the oldest male, picked his tribe and outlasted all of them. But the other tribe booted him out in 6th place.

Season #6: Christy Smith
It pains me not to be able to pick Rob C here, as he got a 2nd chance on All-Stars, and was basically the only person who made this season interesting, but Christy was deaf, so, there was that.

Season #7: Burton Roberts
My conscience is telling me to pick someone who was NOT allowed to come back into the game, but Burton had a good run after coming back to a tribe that had gotten rid of him. Obviously Rupert and Fairplay are the take-away stars from this season, and I couldn't in all consciousness pick the Scoutmaster Lil cuz she was terrible despite finishing runner up.

Season #8: All-Stars
Can't pick anyone here by default.

Season #9: Scout Cloud Lee
This one's a shout-out to my brother, who's a fan of hers for one reason or another. Placed 3rd, not terribly interesting. Honourable mention to Rory Freeman. He didn't last that long, and he was tempermental and pouty. By my wife and I cracked up every time he was on the screen.

Season #10: Coby Archa
Another flamboyantly gay guy, and again made for hilarious TV. Stood his ground in a numbe rof physical challenges, and did well in mental ones too. Obviously benefitted from being on a much stronger tribe, but was endlessly entertaining all the way through.

Season #11: Jamie Newton
WOW was this a weak season! No one redeemng enough to bring back in my opinion. The guy I picked went bat-shit crazy with paranoia. Wouldl be fun to watch again.

Season #12: Shane Powers
Chronic smoker suffering withdrawal. Turned a rock into a Blackberry. Bitched out everyone on the show, somehow made the jury. Brilliant TV. Huge fan. This was an easy choice.

Season #13: Jessica "Flica" Smith
I remembered her nickname. I think she was a hippie chick or something. Ozzy and Yul would be the only two worthy people to bring back, but they're disqualified from my rankings.

Season #14: "Dreamz"
Reneged on a promise which landed him a 2nd place finish, and was kind of off his rocker a bit. Still a very compelling character.

Season #15: Ashley Massaro
Clearly some better choices here but my restrictions fail me once again. She was a WWE Diva, so I knew of her going it, and she was too bitchy to last more than 2 episodes. Still, it woulda been interesting to see how a somewhat B-list famous person would have held up in the wilderness.

Season #16: Erik Reichenbach
Guilty of the dumbest move in Survivor history, down to him and 4 girls, Erik handed over immunity in a move aimed at redeeming his character (I think), and was unanimously booted by the 4 girls.

Season #17: Corinne KaplanI haven't picked enough chicks. She'd be interesting to watch again. She was a bitch.

Season #18: Stephen Fishbach

Foolishly told the truth during the Final Two, telling the jury he would not have honoured his alliance with JT. It would have been the right play had he won immunity, but lying about it would have helped his cause, if only to prevent getting shut-out in the final two. And even then, I'm not sure, JT was the clear winner. Still, this guy was just as instrumental at everything.

Season #19: Russell Hantz
If you don't know why, you've wasted a LOT of time reading my blog.

Clearly some of these decisions are out of thin air, based mostly on the fact that my own restrictions prevented me from picking personal favourites....which is what will make Heroes vs Villains very interesting. I dare you to try this exercise (relying heavily on Wikipedia) and see if you can come up with a better list. Not allowing winners and people who have been on more than once REALLY narrows the field.

Ah, Blog life....it's good to be back.

So much dust.....

2010-02-11T12:08:00.001-05:00

Hmmmmm, I still have a Blog it seems! Might be time to dust it off and talk a little about Survivor. Stay tuned....

Matt Cox
GM

BMFL PLAYOFFS - Rogues vs Knights

2009-08-31T17:45:00.003-04:00

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?

2009-08-18T15:27:00.006-04:00

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

2009-08-07T16:44:00.003-04:00

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

2009-08-06T08:52:00.006-04:00

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

2009-07-17T22:44:00.002-04:00

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

2009-07-17T08:57:00.014-04:00

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?

2009-07-13T08:28:00.009-04:00

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.

2009-07-02T11:38:00.004-04:00

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

2009-06-23T15:37:00.003-04:00

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

2009-06-23T09:23:00.002-04:00

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!

GUT CHECK TIME: New Week

2009-06-22T09:17:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-18T08:42:00.005-04:00

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

2009-06-16T08:38:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-15T23:12:00.003-04:00

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

2009-06-12T08:53:00.004-04:00

"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.

GUT CHECK TIME: Introduction

2009-06-11T16:09:00.006-04:00

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

2009-06-10T09:20:00.009-04:00

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.

GAME SUMMARY: Stunted again by the Barbers

2009-06-05T23:13:00.002-04:00

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

2009-06-04T11:33:00.004-04:00

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.

GAME SUMMARY: Rogues back in the win column!

2009-06-01T11:18:00.006-04:00

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!

2009-05-31T13:02:00.003-04:00

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

2009-05-27T16:37:00.005-04:00

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.

GAME DAY: Rogues @ Good Ol' Boys

2009-05-21T13:52:00.002-04:00

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!

Grading the Season Finales

2009-05-21T10:58:00.003-04:00

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

2009-05-12T09:48:00.008-04:00

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.

GAME SUMMARY: Rogues vs Mr. Electric

2009-05-06T16:07:00.008-04:00

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

2009-05-04T17:30:00.004-04:00

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

2009-05-04T08:39:00.003-04:00

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

2009-05-03T12:18:00.005-04:00

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

2009-04-30T11:23:00.005-04:00

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.

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

Spring Training Begins for The Rogues

2009-04-22T15:05:00.004-04:00

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!

2009-04-22T14:40:00.003-04:00

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@

GAME DAY: Chuck Norrii vs Blue Balls (For the Bronze)

2009-04-21T09:20:00.002-04:00

Well, it all ends tonight. Ball hockey ended a couple weeks ago, and Chuck Norrii take to the gym floor tonight for the last time this season. After finishing 4th and making the A Pool, the Norrii lost their semi-final game and will now play their good friends the Blue Balls in what should be a spirited contest for the bronze medal.

The Blue Balls, if you're not a regular reader of this blog, are primarily made up of former Chuck Norrii teammates when we were known as the Spoilers. Shan Fitzpatrick, Dickon and Amanda Sandford and Duane Nearing are 4 of the best dodgeball players out there, and their teammates are no slouches either.

The Norrii may be in deep tonight as 4 of their regulars are unable to play. Laura, Holly, Tom, and Mandy are all out of the line-up, meaning the game falls on the shoulders of Karen, Joyce, Matt, Nick, Sim and Alex to carry the load. No spares. Unless the GM can find someone last minute to play in the 6pm game. With the prospect of no spares tonight, suddenly my pizza lunch isn't seeming like such a good idea....

Getting My Ducks In A Row

2009-04-15T11:14:00.002-04:00

So, the Keeper Pool has ended for another season, and I, for the first time, did not finish in last place. I snagged 11th out of 12, which MAY end up being a blessing in disguise. You see, our keeper pool employs a draft lottery system, which has repeatedly screwed me every year. I've picked 2nd overall, 4th overall and 4th overall in my 3 drafts, never having the top spot. Hopefully, having finished in 11th will undo the string of bad luck. We'll wait and see.

In the meantime, my work did a playoff draft, and so now I must shift my focus away from the keeper and all the Blackhawks I have, and now concentrate on my new team. And somehow, for whatever reason, I ended up Duck hunting. I didn't mean too, it just kinda happened. There's 7 people in the pool, I had 5th overall pick, snake order. 12 Rounds. Took Ovechkin 5th overall, and Hossa on the way back int he 2nd round. Getzlaf was available in the 3rd round, so I grabbed him, and took Elias in the 4th.

Now at this point I wanted to keep it to 4 teams, but all the rest of the Caps, Wings, and Devils were mostly gone. (Devils still had Langenbrunner, Zajac and Gionta, but I figured no one would take them in round 5....I was right). So I took a gamble, and figured if the Ducks can somehow beat the Sharks in round #1, I may be in the clear for winning this thing. So I took Corey Perry. Then Bobby Ryan.

I then took Chris Kunitz, not because he used to be a Duck, but because he was a less obvious Penguin who could garner me a shitload of points if things go well in Pittsburgh, which I think may happen. I took Holmstrom in the 8th round, to the tune of a couple of collective sighs from some people who either forgot about him, or were hoping to take him soon afterwards.

Then I took my Devils. Langenbrunner and Gionta. Had to flip a coin between Gionta and Mike Cammalleri in Calgary, as he was still available, and could be a huge point getter if the Flames get past Chicago, a realistic goal, IMO. Well, I didn't need to flip a coin because Camallerri was mine in the 11th round, and I took Scotty Niedermayer in the last round to round out the Duck contingent. No one took Selanne.

So, my hope truthfully lies in Anaheim as exactly 1/4 of my team plays for the Ducks. With a co-worker taking mostly Sharks, it's him or me lying in a pool of blood after round #1, but that's the way it goes in these things. More to come after some games have been played....

GAME DAY: Chuck Norrii vs Hit & Run (A Pool Semi-Final)

2009-04-07T11:26:00.002-04:00

Tonight at 6pm Chuck Norrii (6-4) take to the gym floor against the best team in the division, Hit & Run (9-1).

The top 4 teams in the division make the A Pool. This will be Chuck Norrii's second consecutive A-side Finish. (4th Consecutive if you count The Spoilers, made up of approx 50% Chucks). If we win tonight, we move on to play the winner of the First Crusaders (8-1-1) and The Blue Balls (8-2) (the other 50% of The Spoilers). That game, for the Tuesday Dodgeball Championship, would take place the following week.

So either way, there's 2 dodgeball games left, tonight's Semi Final, and next week's Gold or Bronze game.

We've got a full squad tonight, 9 players, 5 girls, 4 guys, as Alex is still out with a jammed finger he injured in a game 2 weeks ago. Both Matt and Laura will be playing in the same game for the first time this season.

Hit & Run will prove to be a tough test as they sport a strong record and have the best +/- in the league, but the Norrii have the spychological advantage, being the only team to beat them this year!

Ahh, playoffs....

M@

GAME SUMMARY: Sweat Hogs season comes to an end

2009-04-06T09:15:00.004-04:00

FINAL SCORE:
Punishers 5
Sweat Hogs 3

A tough battle, close til the very end, but just short of a big win. The Hogs matched the Punishers goal for goal, but fell just short in the end. An empty netter in the last minute sealed the deal.

The Hogs put up the first goal of the game, as Dom Peluso wired one home for the 1-0 lead. The Punishers battled back and took a 2-1 lead, but Barton tied things up by the break.

In the second half, the Hogs fell behind again, but Pat managed to tie things up at 3 with a nice shot from the point, finding the top corner. The Hogs fought hard, but fell into some penalty trouble, as a late penalty kill resulted in another Punishers goal, and that was all she wrote. A late scramble in front of the Punishers net almost resulted in a goal, but the ball bounced away from the hog forwards. The Punishers scored an empty netter to shut the door.

All in all a great season depsite a 5-15 record. Now that we're accustomed to the gym and a different system, next year should be a better year. Hopefully all you Sweat Hogs ready this spend the summer out jogging, or on the treadmill. Remember, salads are our friend! See you in September!

GAME SUMMARY: Hogs Advance in B Pool Playoffs!

2009-03-31T10:44:00.003-04:00

FINAL SCORE (OT):
Sweat Hogs 4
Hanson Brothers 3

Some history tonight.

First ever Sweat Hogs overtime game, and 90 seconds later, first ever Sweat Hogs overtime win! Biggest win in Hogs history? Could be.

We went into this game as a considerable underdog (underhog?) with a record of 5-15, playing a Hanson Brothers team sporting a 10-9-1 record. Good enough for 9th overall, or the top team in the B Pool. (Teams 9-16 made the B pool. We came in at 16th).

The Hansons got on the board first, but the Hogs pounced right back, as Nick fed a pass to Dom who beat the Chiefs tender to tie things at 1. We traded goals again before the Hansons took the lead 3-2 at half.

The Hogs shut them out the rest of the way, tying things up halfway through the second to knot things at 3. After making a couple late saves in the late minutes, Dave kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win.

In OT, Dom capped off a great game, scoring his 3rd goal of the game from a scramble on the right side of the net to give us the win. Credit to Jeff Barton who collected 3 assists on the night, and to the rest of the team who played solid defensive hockey, and kept them off the scoresheet.

Next week we play the Punishers in the semi-finals at 6:10, and if we win that game, we meet at 9:30 for the finals. (The winner of the Maniacs and Wobbly Pops). Ahh, playoff hockey!

In other Gm Blog-type info, I guess it's about time to pull the ol' plug on the Sens Playoff theory, as losses to the Canes and Thrashers have all but mathmatically eliminated them. The Sens have become vegetables. Technically still alive, but....

GAME SUMMARY: Chuck back on track

2009-03-25T16:04:00.004-04:00

FINAL SCORE
Chuck Norrii: 13
Street Ballers: 7

Finally, FINALLY, Chuck Norrii is back on the winning side. This was the team of old (no pun intended....this will make sense in a sec) playing with strength, endurance, outsmarting our opponents, and not getting frustrated. Even when one of our opposing players was somewhat annoying. (I don't regret the head shot :)

Pun reference: Team of old. Our opponents tonight, for the most part, came right from the Seniors home. It was like playing dodgeball against my parents, and Nick's parents, and Sim's, and etc etc. With only 2 young players on the team, they put up a pretty good fight. They're younger guy was a solid player, but outside of that, this was a solid win for Chuck. We played well, but showed some rust, and at out best, should have outscored them considerably.

Next week is the season finale against the team we beat in the season opener, 18-2. Hopefully we can register the same kind of scoring margin and help keep us in the Top 4 for the playoffs. Could be looking at a semi-final match-up against Dickon, Shan and the Blue Balls. Hopefully we can finish 3rd and meet them in the Finals.

M@

SENS PLAYOFFS DRIVE: Update!

2009-03-23T23:18:00.002-04:00

Ok, admittedly, my original post on the subject of the Sens making the post-season was more of a tongue-in-cheek exaggeration, at best. Haha, what if the Sens run the board and only lose 1 game the rest of the way....

Well, here we are more than one week later, and everything I speculated has come true. The Sens have beaten every single team they've faced, except for one loss I afforded them, to the Boston Bruins. So with my so far spotless "prediction" still in play, let's go over the rules one more time:

The Sens will win every game from now until the end of the season, beginning Wednesday night in Carolina. The remainder of the Eastern Conference will play out like so: If a 3rd place team plays a 6th place team, the 3rd place team wins. If a 4th place team plays a 5th place team, 4th would win, but it'd be in OT or a shootout, so the 5th place team would collect the point. Unless of course, they were playing the Sens, who I've already indicated win all their games. (And if they're going on this kind of a streak, well, they're not taking the Sabres or Leafs into OT!) Also, if an Eastern Conference team plays a team in the West, the team with the most points gains the win.

Anyways, here how things now play out. Breathe a sigh of relief, Habs fans:

1. Bruins 114 pts.
2. Devils 113 pts.
3. Capitals 112 pts.
4. Flyers 106 pts.
5. Penguins 97 pts.
6. Hurricanes 95 pts.
7. Senators 94 pts.
8. Canadiens (somehow) 92 pts.

9. Rangers 91 pts.
10. Panthers 89 pts.
11. Sabres 83 pts.
12. Maple Leafs 73 pts.
13. Thrashers 68 pts.
14. Lightning 65 pts.
15. Islanders 57 pts.

The Rangers only pick up 7 points the rest of the season, with a much tougher schedule than the Canadiens, which resulted in their slide. Otherwise, things go relatively as planned. Should be an interesting stretch going forwards. Should the Sens keep pace over the next week, expect another update next weekend!

Oh, and the Sweat Hogs lost to the North Stars 8-7. Not a great defensive game, hopefully the Hogs can tighten things up for the Playoffs and their first round match-up next Sunday, 7:50 p.m.

So far, so good!

2009-03-20T10:22:00.004-04:00

If you scroll down and take a look at my article about the Senators and their almost-no percent chance of making the post-season. I calculated that if the Sens win all but one of their game, and the rest of the teams in the East win the games they should win (5th place teams beats a 10th place team, a 3rd place team beats a 4th place team, but in OT), then the Sens would finish 7th overall, tied with the Panthers.

This weekend, I will do a re-calculation and see if this still works, but thus far, the Sens have followed my prediction to a tee! They lost to the Bruins, which I predicted, but came away with 2 points in all their other games thus far. Will it keep up? Well, no, but as a Sens fan who watches and cheers regardless of their situation, it IS fun to speculate, and makes the games seem like they have more meaning than maybe they actually do. Especially beating up on the poor Habbies, who look eerily similar to last year's Sens. Don't worry Hab fans, this time next year YOU'LL be playing spoiler in March!

GO SENS GO!!!

GAME SUMMARY: Hogs let one slip away vs The Great Unknown

2009-03-17T09:50:00.003-04:00

FINAL SCORE
Sweat Hogs 2
Great Unknown 4

With 2 games to go in the regular season, the Hogs have clinched a playoff spot so these last contests are fine tuning for the post-season. Tonight was a good indication of what we're set to face when the ball drops in 2 weeks. Facing the Great Unknown (8-10-2) the Hogs put up a solid fight, and even led at the half, but a couple errant plays and a bad call by the ref on a ball on the goal line cost us the game.

We opened the scoring on a great feed from Dom Peluso, who threw a behind the back back-hand pass to Barton at center who put it away for the 1-0 lead. Minutes later, Desjardins, returning to the Hogs after missing 2 games, put one away from the point that trickled past the Unknown keeper for a 2-0 lead. The Great Unknown got one back near the end of the half, but the Hogs held the lead down 2-1.

The second half saw the Hogs play a more defensive game, not putting up as many shots as they could have, and playing a lot of man-to-man defense. This resulted in the occasional bad pass onto the Unknown sticks and Dave bailed us out a few times, but a couple got past. The goal to make it 4-2 was a crippler, as the ball sat on the goal line, with the net slightly askew, and the ref called it a goal. The Hogs lost all momentum, and dropped the game 4-2.

All things considered, missing only Aaron on the night, the team played a solid team game, and when you look at our previous game vs this team, an 8-0 loss, this is a vast improvement. The Sweat Hogs will look at next week's game vs the North Stars as a chance to build some momentum and confidence going into the B Pool Playoffs in 2 weeks.

Rare Nathan Footage

2009-03-13T15:21:00.002-04:00

Here's some rare video footage of Nathan, who's learned to pull himself up on furniture. His new favourite game is "Roll Toy On End-Table". Enjoy.

For the Eternal Optimist

2009-03-12T08:20:00.004-04:00

Ok, I admit the Sens chances of making the playoffs are all but impossible. They'd have to go on a sick run the likes of which Sens fans haven't seen since....well...the beginning of last season after the Cup run. All you hear about in the media these days are stories about a Glimmer of Hope. How if the Sens make it to 94 points, by only losing 1 game the rest of the regular season, that should be enough. For this Ottawa Senators team to run the board the rest of the way, with a rookie goalie and 3 games against the Bruins....well...calling it a longshot would be a massive understatement. It would take a miracle.

So, they say we'd need to get to 94 points, eh? Win 15 of the last 16 games, eh?? Well, I tested the theory. Here's my criteria:

I simulated the rest of the games featuring Eastern Conference teams. Based on the standings today, I assumed a 5th place team would beat a 7th place team, 4th would beat 6th, 11th would beat 14th, etc. I also assumed that if a 5th place team played a 6th place team, it would end in OT or a shootout. (Same with 1st vs 2nd, 10th vs 11th, 14th vs 15th, etc). In inter-conference match-ups, I gave the win to whichever team had more points. If both teams were within 1 point of each other, I assumed it would end in OT or a shootout. (This never actually happened). My final assumption, and this is the big one....would be that the Ottawa Senators lose only one game, against the Bruins.

You ready?

Here we go:

Final Regular Season Standings 2008-2009

1 Boston Bruins 119 pts.
2 New Jersey Devils 118 pts.
3 Washington Capitals 116 pts
4 Philadelphia Flyers 107 pts
5 Montreal Canadiens 99 pts
6 Pittsburg Penguins 95 pts
7 OTTAWA SENATORS 94 pts*
8 Florida Panthers 94 pts*

9 Carolina Hurricanes 91 pts
10 New York Rangers 84 pts
11 Buffalo Sabres 82 pts
12 Toronto Maple Laffs 74 pts
13 Atlanta Thrashers 62 pts
14 Tampa Bay Lightning 60 pts
15 New York Islanders 53 pts

This doesn't take into account a number of things, working both for and against Ottawa. On the downside: There will likely be more OT and shootout games played, so this is a big guess. I had 12 games go into OT or the shootout, so I don't know how accurate that will end up being, but I assume there'll be more. Very hard to tell.

On the plus side, Tampa Bay only wins 2 games for the rest of the season according to my system, and the Islanders merely get 1 point in a shootout loss to the Bolts. If the bottom dwelling teams pick up the slack and win a lot more games than I've indicated, this works heavily into Ottawa's favour, and could (COULD!) afford them the opportunity to maybe, just maybe....lose twice?

Anyways, there you have it, a reason for all you Sens fans to cheer every game from here on out, instead of being ironically bitter every time they win because we're all excited about having Tavares in a Sens jersey.

*(Ottawa and Florida were REALLY tied after all this. They both had 42 wins on the season, and split the season series 2-2. Since I don't really want to calculate goal differential, I'll give Ottawa the win, since one of their losses to Florida was an OT loss. So Ottawa got a 5 points out of a possible 8, and Florida got 4 points.)

NCPT: Before & After

2009-03-11T15:17:00.009-04:00

Back in the day, when I first started the NCPT, I had no trouble finding hosts for our tournaments. We generally have between 15-30 players per tournament, more often than not averaging between 16 and 20. So 2-3 tables.

But lately, there seems to be a shortage of willing hosts. This season, in 9 tourneys, we've played out of 4 locations. Three times at Campbell's, three times at Keleher's, twice at Glenn's and once at the Party Room at John K's apartment.

Used to be, back in the day, that I, as tournament organizer, would host over half the tourneys, be it in my apartment in 2003-2004, the party room at my apartment, or in my basement, circa 2005-2006. But, those days are gone. It's amazing what a difference a tiny little baby can make:

BEFORE

AFTER

GAME SUMMARY: Chuck Norrii vs First Crusaders

2009-03-11T15:01:00.003-04:00

FINAL SCORE
Chuck Norrii 11
First Crusaders: 13

D'oh well.

So Chuck suffered another loss bringing us down to a .500 team, much worse than any prognosticator would have assumed at the beginning of the Winter 2009 campaign. On this night, it sounds as though the Norrii may have beaten themselves, rather than their opponents. Some hi-lights from Nick Desjardins, making his return to the court since the birth of his son Frederic:

Can't believe we lost!

They were not a good team, and we couldn't beat them. They only had 2 good guys, and their girls could catch for the most part. Their one strategy was waiting until they got 3 or 4 balls, then throwing them at once. They did this all the time. We were just winging it for the most part, and our disorder ended up costing us.

The worst part was that we went up 4-0, and then lost the next 4 or 5 games. I'm telling you - it just wasn't very good.

Anyways, that was that. No game next week because of Spring Break.

Bah well, onwards and upwards. In 2 weeks we play a team currently sitting in 10th place, and if we're playing up to our level, this should be an easy win. Everything's must-win from here on out if we want to make the A pool.

M@

GAME DAY: Chuck Norrii vs First Crusaders

2009-03-10T14:41:00.003-04:00

Not much to say here. Chuck Norrii (4-3, +24) have a tough game tonight against the First Crusaders (5-1-1, +24). We're in 4th place, they're in 3rd. If we want to make the A-pool playoffs for a chance at the Championship, this is a pretty big game to win.

Look for Laura to replace M@ tonight, Karen, Mandy and Joyce for the girls, and Tom, Alex, Nick, Jeff and newcomer Hogan for the guys.

As I'm not there, I'll post updates tomorrow when the emails start trickling in. Good luck tonight, Chuck!

M@

GAME SUMMARY: Hogs lose big vs undefeated Jager Bombers

2009-03-10T09:40:00.004-04:00

FINAL SCORE:
Sweat Hogs 0
Jager Bombers 12

Ouch.

Yes, this was an ugly game. It could have been a LOT uglier, but we actually played some occasionally good defense and prevented the Jager Bombers (16-0-2) from running it up any further, which they absolutely could have. Despite the 12 goals, Dave played quite well, making several insane glove saves, some of which had some of the Bombers shaking their head.

What didn't help was being short on both offense and defense, as our 2 spares were last-minute cancellations. (Apparently they were even IN the building for the game, but had to jet right before....one had to leave and the other guy was his ride, lol. D'oh!) So we played with 5 forwards and 3 defensemen, and a very busy goalie. Solid game from Reynolds, who was tested....often.

All this being said, we did clinch a playoff spot, as we find ourselves 5 points up on the last 2 place teams, and with only 2 games left, they will be unable to catch us. Our next two games are against The Great Unknown (7-10-2, March 15, 7:00pm) and the North Stars (2-15-1, March 22, 4:30pm), both will be great tests going into the playoffs, and winning both may help our positioning in the B Bracket.

M@

Who would you keep in a Keeper?

2009-03-05T22:35:00.004-05:00

So I haven't written about my Keeper Pool in a while, mainly because there hasn't been much to report. I've climbed the standings to 11th of 12 teams, as the last place guy sold the farm for draft picks. Still, it's nice not to be in the cellar, though owning my own draft pick is a kick in the pants, as 12th would obviously be better. But what can you do.

I digress.

I made one move on trade deadline day, sending Kris Russell and a 4th round pick and in exchange got a 3rd round pick back. As both picks are previously belonging to the same person, I basically moved up exactly 12 spots in the draft with this move. I hate losing Russell for such a low price, but I had no room to keep him, so at least I got something.

Not having room for guys is the main reason for this post. I've already decided who's gonna stay and who's gonna go (depending on off-season offers, of course) But I'd like your opinion on who you think I should keep on the team, and who I should let go in the off-season. I am permitted to keep 17 players on the list below (position irrelevant) as long as 2 are rookies.

Forwards:
Kane, Toews, Kessel, Zherdev, O'Sullivan, Tuomo Ruutu, Turris, Mueller, Voracek, Cogliano, Svatos and Penner.

Defence:
Erik Johnson, Jack Johnson, Barker, Vlasic, Carle, Sekera, Campoli, Pietrangelo.

Goalies:
Price, Dipietro, Rask, Pavelec

Anyways, just for arguments sake, or if you're bored at work today, this let's you play GM a little bit, and see what team you would make. My current list has 9 forwards, 6 d-men and 2 goalies from the above mentioned.

M@

PS, one thing to keep in mind is that it's a Keeper Pool, meaning I'm looking at trying to win the pool 2-3 years down the road, not right now, as my best players are still developing.

Game Summary: Chuck Norrii lose to the Sleeveless guy

2009-03-05T22:27:00.003-05:00

Final Score 11-7 with Buck Dodgers picking up the win.

Chuck went into this game feeling good coming off a strong win last week, but were unable to pick up the important win this time around.

The Norrii played a solid game, but were ultimately done in by arguably one of the best dodgeball players I've seen. Referred to only as the Sleeveless Guy, our opponent had a cannon of a shot, and as a result I spent a large portion of the game on the sidelines rubbing my arm. He was virtually uncatchable, though many of the Norrii made several attempts. Normally I wouldn't single out a specific player, but when he sat, we won almost every game.

Oh well, onwards and upwards. Next week Laura returns to the court as Chuck tries to turn the ship around. Special thanks to Pat, Kaitlin and El for coming out to spare tonight. Anytime a member of the Chuck norrii Alumni can make an appearance, it's a good thing.

M@

GAME DAY: Chuck Norrii vs Double Or Nothing

2009-03-03T09:57:00.003-05:00

Tonight Chuck Norrii get the Welcome M@s out! GM Cox finally makes his return to the dodgeball team in an effort to build on last week's win.

The Norrii will be in tough as they've lost Nick Desjardins for this week and possibly next with the birth of his son Frederic. Congrats to Nicky and former Chuck Norrii Michele on the new addition!

In the meantime, the Norrii inch ever closer to retaking first overall, remaining a win behind the first place Blue Balls, led by former teammates Shan, Duane, Dickon and Amanda. This is a very possible Championship match-up.

But as of right now, Chuck sits in 4th place with a record of 4-2. Our opponents sit right behind us in 5th with a 3-3 record. This should be a good test to see how far we've come as a team. See you tonight at 7 at Glashan!

M@

Chuck Norrii win 13-4

2009-02-26T15:48:00.005-05:00

Chuck Norrii made it a convincing win this past Tuesday with a solid 13-4 thumping of Buck Dodgers. I was obviously unable to attend, but my co-captains filled me in on the action. Here are some excerpts from their emails:

NICK:

A pretty good game....it was 8 to 3 at the half, and they won the last game (before the all in). I was happy Simon had a strong game though, 'cause I started a bit slowly, and Sim won a few games for us early.

Play of the night was Simon catching a ball with his ankles (not even his knees!) while doing a typical Brassard. (spread-eagle leapfrog jump) What made it even funnier was that one guy on their team also caught one with his legs (knees) 2 games later. HA! The throw of the night belonged to Alex during the all-in game. In the previous game, I saw that guy not paying attention, running to pick up a ball near the line. So I winged one quickly at him, and caught his foot (the ball went right through his legs). His teammates razed him for the play. Then on the first throw of the last game, Alex threw a very hard throw towards him, and I guess he wasn't paying attention then either. It hit him square in the nuts and he bent over. I laughed very, very loudly. Just awesome.

One of their girls - I know she was frustrating the heck out of Sim, and I was finally happy when I caught one of her damn throws late. She would throw a mean, mean drop. Very hard to catch those. She caught Jeff on a nasty one early on. I was sitting right behind him and saw it drop and curve right towards his foot. Nothing he could do about that.

SIMMER:

We're just warming up and I hear "Our captain is the guy with the hat". I turned around and told Nicky I thought he was the co-captain. He looked at me with a huge grin as the opponent's captain walked up to me.

My best game was by far the 1st where I caught (no shit) 4 consecutive balls and on a roll until I threw one at the captain which she caught. I didn't much dodgin but sure got my practice in catching since we'll be missing Nick :( Poor Nicky had his hands full with the chick in the jeans.

I thought Mandy played awesome as she stood halfway up the side and sniped away at whoever threw from centre court. Alex is improving and throwing from center line instead of our back line lol And made some key catches. I pissed myself laughing when he reached back over the stage to retrieve a ball but got nailed in the back, NOT PAYING ATTENTION! The one girl at one point singled me out when they had all 4 balls and I yelled out "What did I do?" She has the meanest drop I've ever seen. Nick made some fingertip catches too but missed on a few of hers lol

STREP

2009-02-24T12:31:00.002-05:00

My apologies to all faithful followers of the GMs Blog (ballpark 2-3 people) I've been stricken with strep throat, which began as chills and a fever Friday evening, and has escalated to full blow strep. (Fever and chills remain, plus swallowing is ridiculous...no jokes please). I'm on anti-biotics which is supposed to clear everything up within 24-48 hours. As of this typing I'm about 19 hours into the first 24 hours since starting the meds, and have had no improvement. Hopefully things turn around after supper sometime. Work's had to scramble in my absence, as there are 4 of us in our department, and one was on vacay this week. Two people doing the work of 4 is a bad situation, hopefully the help they farmed out today will make life easier. (Farm joke intended, as any work farmed out of Kemptville, well, you know).

In the meantime, The Sweat Hogs DID win on Sunday evening, marking an undefeated February for the club (2-0) and momentum heading down the stretch drive to the post-season. We've got some tough teams ahead.

Chuck Norrii makes it's return to the court tonight in a tilt with the Buck Dodgers. The Norrii have dropped their last 2 decisions, and look to rebound favourably tonight. Look for a strong game from Simmer, who played no less than 6 games on Saturday, and lost in the finals in a dodgeball tourney.

Anyways, hope to be back to 100% soon.

M@

Armchair GM: Weighing in on the Comrie / Campoli trade

2009-02-21T13:54:00.005-05:00

I like the trade, it's a great deal for the Sens, and Bryan Murray is smarter than people give him credit for.

To make a trade in this market at all is tricky enough. For Murray to land a guy like Campoli who has all the potential in the world to be what Mezsaros should have been, and at 600K comes at a fraction of the price....this is a good move. Let's break it down:

Comrie for McAmmond is a win for the Sens. Both are unrestricted at the end of the year, and Comrie is much more than a 4th line center, and 6 years younger. He's gonna contribute, and play his way in or out of Murray's favour. He left Ottawa with dollar signs in his eyes, realized how much losing SUCKS on the Island, and will relish the chance to play for a team that, while not making the post-season this year, DOES have a chance to be a solid team for years to come.

The 1st rounder for Campoli is the other part of this trade. And here's the part I find interesting. Look at it as a 1 for 1 trade: GM's are gonna look at this deal as essentially the 1st rounder for Campoli. With 26th to 30th pick overall in the first round, are you gonna find someone who's got more potential than Campoli? Maybe, but it'd be a big gamble. This is a safe move that helps the team, and, more importantly:

It drives up the price up puck moving defensemen with less than 2 weeks before the deadline, which, if this is Murray's plan all along...is genius. Now that he's defined what these d-men are going for, he can command a HEAVY price for Kuba, and land somewhere higher than 26th-30th overall. You KNOW teams are gonna be clammoring for Kuba, and since Murray spent a 1st rounder for Campoli, there's no doubt Kuba's gonna come with a hefty price tag.

And for those skeptics who say Campoli was a 7th round pick for the Isles....this is a ridiculous argument, considering how late some of the best NHLers have been drafted, and what monumental flops have emmerged out of the first round of any given NHL draft.

Let's not forget too, some GMs are really stupid, fear for their jobs, and would deal more than just a solid first round pick to tighten up their D for the post season. Remember what the Thrashers paid the Blues for Tkachuk for a run at the post season? (Not a D-man, ok, but you'll see my point) The Blues received: a first in the 2007 draft, a 3rd in the 2007 draft, a 2nd in 2008, and a conditional 1st in 2008 if Tkachuk resigns in Atlanta. Oh, and Metropolit. The Thrashers went on to get swept, and Tkachuk strolled on back to the Blues that summer.

This is nothing but a win-win for the Sens. Comrie gets a 2nd chance and will be more likely to resign now that Murray's shown faith in him (unless he plays like crap, and then Murray can wash his hands of him....I honestly think Comrie will be a good fit, and will take a small discount to resign in July), and, we acquire a solid D-man with potential in Campoli.

AND we drive up the price of puck-moving defensemen in the process.

I like this trade.

M@

GAME SUMMARY: Chuck Drop 2nd Straight Game

2009-02-19T09:23:00.002-05:00

Chuck 12 Sofa Kings Cheap 13

Chuck norrii didn't do themselves any favours if their hope is for first place overall, as they drop their second straight game and drop their record to 3-2, with a hard fought 13-12 game Tuesday night.

The games went back and forth and Chuck overcame several game deficits to tie things up with one game to go, but ultimately dropped the final game to the Sofa Kings.

I can't tell you much more than that as I wasn't in attendance, but apparently the team played well, played a solid, fair opponent, and Sim apparently made a mid-air catch with his legs.

Next week's opponents are Buck Dodgers (2-3, -32). Expect Chuck to bounce back from this 2-game skid, and put up a solid performance.

GAME DAY: Chuck Norrii vs Sofa Kings Cheap

2009-02-17T13:08:00.002-05:00

After suffering their first defeat last week at the hands of the Blue Balls, Chuck Norrii (3-1, +20) head into action tonight against Sofa Kings Cheap (2-2, +14) who currently sit 7th out of 12.

So far the only roster change has Cox likely in the press box as Laura is scheduled to make her second start of the season.

Look for Chuck to come out guns blazing, as key members of last week's team indicated they were less than thrilled with their efforts. Tonight should go a long way in making up for last week's disappointing loss.

Ball dodge is at 6:00 p.m. at Hillson PS.

Family Day

2009-02-16T12:57:00.008-05:00

Living Room: Nathan resistant. Note extra carpeting wrapped around fireplace, and hand towels taped around end table legs)

1,000,000 toys, nowhere near as exciting as toilet paper.

(He used to sit still for Baby Einstein. Now he wants to get inside the TV to play)

Normally, my Blog entries are concerning things I'm considered the GM for. Fastball, hockey, dodgeball, etc, etc. However, I'd have a hard time convincing anyone that I'm in charge of anything at home, lol....

Since it's Family Day, I'm off work, Laura's doing a workout video and the little thing is sleeping for once, I thought I'd throw a family-related blog out there.

To give all you new parents an idea of what a normal day's like, here's an example of how Family Day is going so far:

Last night my folks came over to watch Nathan while Laura and I went out to Valentine's Dinner, 1 day after Valentine's. After good eatin' at Johnny Farina's, we head back home, and my folks left. Nathan hardly made a peep while we were gone, we learn, and they never even had to go in and check on him. A perfect little angel.

Twenty minutes later, he's crying, and Laura heads in, rubs his back and soothes him back to sleep. Another 15 minutes pass (I'm 1/3 of the way through the new Simpsons on the late feed) and so I give it a shot, soothing him back to sleep. 10 More minutes of peace before he's up again, this time Laura gives him a feed to settle him down. For a bit....

2 a.m. Crying begins.

4 a.m. Crying ends.

Teething. Tooth #7 on it's way we suspect. Laura and I, between the hours of 2 and 4 am, take turns rocking him, calming him, settling him down, ignoring him (hoping he'll learn to settle himself - this lasted 2 minutes), giving him Children's Tylenol, anything to calm the teething-enduced moaning and crying.

At one point, I'm lying in bed trying to catch some Zs, while Laura's desperately trying to calm him down, and not only am I wide awake and listening to my poor kid's cries of agony, but stuck in my head is: "....Winnie the Pooh! Winnie The Pooh! Tubby little cubby all blah blah blah....AARGH!!! Get this f*#%ing song out of my head!!!!"

We'll be getting rid of that CD today....

But, and this is the lesson in all of this for all you new moms and dads out there: All is forgiven when he wakes up at 6:30 a.m., he sees us for the first time as he's standing at the edge of his crib (where all the teeth marks are) and goes, "Dadadadadadadadada".

KEEPER POOL: Blockbuster Trade!

2009-02-12T13:51:00.003-05:00

Made a significant move in the Keeper Pool today, reacquiring two LA Kings I previously traded away, this season. In Jack Johnson I've re-acquired an unproven but highly skilled defenseman, and with Patrick O'Sullivan, a forward who also hasn't reached his full potential, but could soon. I also acquired Phoenix rookie Kyle Turris, and San Jose defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, along with a 3rd round pick.

I sent to 1st place Paul Swinwood my lower first round pick in 2009, a 4th in 2009, and a low 2nd rounder in 2010. Valuable picks to be sure, but I'm quite happy with my return.

With Turris, I get a player selected 4th overall in our pool this year, and with Vlasic, I get a Dman on pace for +40 points. Along with Johnson and O'Sullivan, I've added some solid depth to a team still growing. My roster, now at 25 players, looks like this:

FORWARD: Kane, Toews, Kessel, Zherdev, Turris, Mueller, O'Sullivan, Voracek, T. Ruutu, Cogliano, Penner, Svatos.

DEFENSE: Barker, Erik Johnson, Jack Johnson, Pietrangelo, Sekera, Vlasic, Carle, Campoli, Russel

GOALIES: Price, Dipietro, Rask, Pavelec.

At this point, I'm in sell mode, as I can only protect 17 of the above 25 players, meaning 8 will fall by the wayside unless I can move them for draft picks. Should be a tall order, but I think I can get a couple picks at least before the submission deadline in September.

Look for more moves before the March 4th deadline passes!

GAME SUMMARY: Chuck Norrii vs Blue Balls

2009-02-11T09:31:00.006-05:00

Chuck Norrii lose 11-7 in slugfest.

It was a war! The two best teams in the division went toe to toe Tuesday night, and in the end, Chuck Norrii simply ran out of steam. Trading game for game for two thirds of the contest, Blue Balls (or Sponge Worthy, as they were calling themselves, I guess) stepped it up in the final 15 minutes and took the play to Chuck, who couldn't quite keep up the pace and ended up dropping the final 4-5 games.

The first big game came when the score was tied 1-1. With 5 Blue Ballers against only Joyce for Chuck Norrii, Joyce managed to catch a bullet over her head to bring Cox back into the game. This shifted Chuck's momentum until only Cox and Duane Nearing were left standing. With 7 seconds left before a 2nd player was allowed to come back on, Cox managed to tag Duane on the toe, winning the game.

Then he almost collapsed! So winded from all the running around, and poor physical conditioning, Cox flopped onto the stage and rested, while the team went back to work. Cox played the rest of the game, and was admittedly dogging it for some games, but managed to pick up a few kills.

Nick admittedly didn't have one of his strongest games, though an average night for Nicky is usually good enough for a Chuck win. And poor Simmer was Team Fragged a couple times, once by Nicky as a deflection from him hit Simmer in the head, then again when Matt deflected a ball 2 feet to his left right into Sim.

Holly made the catch of the night, halfway up the court. Duane threw a rocket right into her arms, sending the Blue Baller to the benches. Karen was last one standing in several games, and Tom, Alex (who I still owe $13.85, d'oh!), Joyce and Mandy had very solid outings as well.

And hats off to the now sole owner's of 1st place, Blue Balls (or possible Sponge Worthy). Shannon, Dickon, Amanda and Duane and the rest of the crew played a solid, even game to keep pace and ultimately wear down Chuck Norrii. Great job.

Next week's game is at 6pm vs "Sofa Kings Cheap", at our old stomping grounds on Hillson.

GAME DAY: Chuck Norrii vs Blue Balls

2009-02-10T10:17:00.011-05:00

Tonight is the battle to end all battles!

Chuck Norrii (3-0) take on Blue Balls (3-0) for the right to claim sole possession of first place in the Tuesday Night Rec Dodgeball Division, a division comprised of 12 teams.

Making tonight's match-up all the more intriguing is that Chuck Norrii will be facing a VERY familiar foe in Blue Balls, made up of 2 former Chuck Norrii members Dickon & Amanda Sandford. Additionally, making this a MUCH more formidable foe than they've yet faced, is Captain Shannon Fitzpatrick and Duane Nearing, who are former teammates of several Chuck Norrii members. (2007 Wednesday Rec Winter League Champions - "The Spoilers", made up of Shannon, Duane, Dickon, and current Chuck members Cox, Calve and Desjardins).

This should be one for the ages. While Chuck have had a blow out, they've also had a couple close games, and are far from their full potential. Blue Balls on the other hand have dealt with a series of setbacks including roster issues and injuries. That they've battled through these setbacks and remain not only undefeated, but dominating in the process, is a true testament to their core.

Chuck Norrii: 3-0, +40, -16, +/- of 24 pts.

Blue Balls: 3-0, +36, -14, +/1 of 22 pts.

Tonight's matchup will be a true test for both squads.

GAME SUMMARY: Hogs Win!

2009-02-09T22:31:00.004-05:00

Sunday night the Hogs took to the....floor....against a very talented Havoc team. Tonight, however was not a good night to be playing the Sweat Hogs. Equipped with a solid line-up, complimented with a last minute spare in Mike Henter, proved to be too much for the Havoc squad to handle, as the Hogs put up 8 goals for a solid 8-4 victory.

Henter opened the scoring in the first after the Hogs were down quickly 2-0. (Some disorganization as the lines were not set, being short 2 people to start the game - everyone arrived soon). Henter took a feed from Cox on the right wing and fed it top shelf to cut the lead in half. Once the full team arrived, Henter was placed on a line with Dom Peluso and Jeff Barton, and they put together some nice offense to get us another goal quickly to tie things up. Havoc would storm back and take the lead with 45 seconds left in the half. In a desperate play to tie things up before the half ended, the Energy line of Bedford, Cox and Menchions put up another nice goal. Bedford won the draw and moved it forward to Cox, who reached forward with one hand and poked it towards the net. Menchions cashed in on the rebound to tie things with 10 seconds left in the break.

The score being 3-3 in the half, and the final being 8-4, I don't have to tell you much about the second half. Both lines played extremely well, with the energy line collecting 2 more goals from Bedford, one on a nice wrister top shelf on a feed from Mike Peluso on D, and another on a fluke back hand that eluded the Havoc netminder. But it was the play of Henter, Peluso and Barton that put on a show, keeping the ball on a string, ripping many shots top shelf to find the back of the net and put Havoc on their heels.

With 45 seconds left, Havoc inexplicably called a timeout, but it was way too late and the Hogs had done the damage. Our D in particular did a fantastic job of shutting down the Havoc snipers, and jumping in on the play down low and in the offensive zone. And Dave came up huge making several key saves, at times getting bombarded with shots and having his crease crashed.

Next game is in 2 weeks, at 10:20 PM against the Maniacs.

Game Day: SWEAT HOGS vs Havoc

2009-02-08T09:58:00.003-05:00

Tonight the Hogs are in tough as we play the 7th place Havoc (7-5-2). The Sweat Hogs (3-11) currently sit in 16th place of the 18 teams in the league, and hold down th last playoff spot. Ball drop is at 7:00 pm.

While Havoc does pose a legitimate threat, it won't be an impossible task to come away with 2 points. The Hogs went toe-to-toe with the third place Flying Elbows (10-2-2) and came away 1 goal short in a 10-9 slugfest. If the Hogs hope to have a chance, they'll need to channel that scoring output from 3 weeks ago.

On a side note, I must apologize to all Sweat Hogs fans who follow along on the website. I haven't updated the site for over 4 games now, as work's become impossibly busy, and home life, just as much. If I'm unable to consitantly update the site, hopefully this Blog will help you follow along.

Look for a game summary here tomorrow. Go Hogs!

#5

I've come a long way, maybe....

2009-02-06T11:07:00.005-05:00

In the 2006, I joined an NHL Keeper Pool as an expansion team. For those of you unaware of the awesomeness that is a Keeper Pool, I shall summarize: It’s a hockey pool where you keep the same players year after year. You’re permitted to keep 15 plus 2 rookies, and have to drop the rest, and there’s a 5 round draft at the start of each season. (Draft rookies, or anyone else not selected.) Your top 8 forwards, 5 D and 2 goalies count for you, and if you trade a player to another poolie, he gets that players accumulated points, and you lose them. I point per goal and assist, 2 for a goalie win and 3 more for a goalie shutout.

Anyways, I was brought in as an expansion team in 2006-07, and as an expansion team, I was to select from a pool of players that were made available to me by the other 11 players in the pool. It was slim pickin’s. Here was my team:

FORWARD
Mike Ribeiro
Mike Comrie
Brendan Morrison
Mike York
Mike Johnson
Trent Hunter
Fredrik Modin
Jeff O’Neill

DEFENSE
Adrian Aucoin
Roman Hamrlik
Nick Boynton
Tom Poti
Patrice Brisebois

GOALIE
Marc Denis
Dan Cloutier

As one of the poolies said to me, "Welcome to the pool, Matt. Your team sucks."

In the draft lottery for that year, I was awarded 2nd pick in each round. Oh the regret. With 2nd pick overall I chose Martin Gerber, who was coming off a career year with the Canes, and was coming to an environment in Ottawa that made Patrick Lalime look awesome. (Our pool does not include playoffs). I chose Gerber, I’m sorry to say, over Ryan Miller and Cam Ward.

Anyways, flash-forward to now, a month from the trade deadline in the 2008-09 season. I’m still mired in last place, but through a TON of wheeling and dealing, and what I like to consider pretty good drafting, I like to think my team has improved significantly. Check it:

FORWARD
Patrick Kane
Jonathan Toews
Phil Kessel
Nikolai Zherdev
Peter Mueller
Tuomo Ruutu
Andrew Cogliano
Jakub Voracek
Marek Svatos
Dustin Penner

DEFENSE
Erik Johnson
Cam Barker
Andrej Sekera
Alex Pietrangelo
Matt Carle
Kris Russell
Chris Campoli

GOALIE
Carey Price
Rick Dipietro
Tuukka Rask
Ondrej Pavelec

Still in last place, but not by much, and with a deep draft coming up in September (guys like Tavares, Hedman in the rookie department, plus undrafted guys in our pool like Mason, Versteeg, Setoguchi, etc) there's definitely room to get better.

Anyways, this is just to give you an overview of my Keeper Pool, so when I update any trades I make, you’ll know what the hell I’m talking about. If you wanna see the pool in it’s entirety, there’s a link to our website on the right.

Blog Overview

2009-02-04T23:58:00.012-05:00

Welcome to my Blog. I've never had one before, but I hope you enjoy it:

The main focus of this site will be my life as a General Manager. Not at work, by day I'm just a lowly graphic designer. It's when I LEAVE work, I become a GM.

In 1999, in it's inaugural season, I became Owner, General Manager, and Captain of the Rogues Fastball Team. We are entering our 11th year, our 3rd in the BMFL, starting in May of 2009.

In 2003, I created the Sweat Hogs Ball Hockey Team, which I have been the Owner, General Manager and Captain of as well. We're currently playing in the OBHL, at the Hunt Club / Riverside Community Centre.

In 2003 I also co-founded the National Capital Poker Tour, and am currently 51% owner. I carry the title of NCPT Regional Manager, and my underling carries the title of Assistant (To The) Regional Manager. I haven't won a tourney since November of 2004. All the regulars make it a habit of reminding me.

In 2009 I took over the reins of Chuck Norrii, a rec Dodgeball Team playing in the OSSC on Tuesday nights. I've been a member since 2007. The name Norrii is the plural of Norris, as there are many of us.

I'm also the GM of my NHL Keeper Pool team. There'll be LOTS of discussion on this topic, as it's a constant source of stress and intrigue, as I follow my poor team through losing season after losing season, faintly hoping that maybe, MAYBE next year will be the year I get out of the cellar. I've built up quite a nice young team....it's just a matter of time!

I'm also bound to yack about TV, movies, music, sports in general, and anything I can think of to adequately waste your hours not doing your job at work while reading my blog. And I'll throw in the occasional Nathan pic as well, the best looking baby that ever existed in the entire history of the universe. (That's my nickname for him).

Anyways, hope you like.

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