my article on Uganda ultimate is up on Sky'd finally.
Update on the team is that the captain/founder Alex Matovu is going to a meeting at the Italian Embassy in Uganda to see if he can swing a deal to get the team to come.
The question is whether or not some players will defect to Italy/Europe and not return to Uganda. It may be a valid question, I don't know enough of the team or the process to pass judgment. But at the moment that is a sticking point -- the Ugandans need to find a way to prove or insure their return to Kampala.
anyway, here is the article
Seven Hills to the Sands of Lignano Sabbiadoro
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
All the Wildwood 2011 Results At Once
if you just click on this one link! Guaranteed!
All Sorts of Sandy: Wildwood 2011
Except for the following bits which I learned in the last few hours about the competitive 2-2 division, parties and USA vs PoNY showcase game.
Party Q&A Number 1: Friday
Was there beer served for the 400+ captains who had to wait hours in line to register? Apparently not. Fail.
Was there a lotta dancing at the Bolero and fun n games on the Boardwalk? Yes.
Party Q&A Number 2: Saturday
Was the tournament video shot on Saturday and edited that night kinda cool? Yep
Did the beer at the beer tent on the sand run out with 400 people waiting? Yep. And one has to wonder: for a tournament gathering in which a staggering $143,000 is generated just by team registration (and an equally unsightly low number representing expenditures is conjoined) how is it humanly possible to run out of beer? There should be 150 kegs just on standby. There is simply no excuse for that. This tournament used to have free and very tasty food after the games and that's gone and the expense is the same. I would wager tournament organizers are pocketing 10-15K easily from this tournament. Turns out that capitalism and ultimate DO go together, who knew?
USA vs PoNY Showcase Game
During the aforementioned beer freeze and, I guess, some of the beer consuming too, the tournament set up a showcase match between USA and a gathering of New York PoNY players who were down for the weekend competing on various different teams. This would be USA's first and only real 5-on-5 open game before Italy as sand events preceding had either been coed (Sandblast, Wildwood), scrimmages (versus us, Team USA Masters) or 4-on-4 (Wildwood again). but in this game they extended the field to BULA 5-on-5 and brought out the big guns and wow -- what a difference. The conservative give and go offense that looked, at times, ineffective for USA at Sandblast and WW was nowhere to be seen. Instead nothing but streaking deeps, massive under cuts and huge field length bombs for scores by both teams but far more effectively by Team USA. Their defensive speed and pressure was also highlighted as they put a thorough beatdown on PoNY and impressed all watching and the video crew filming it [full discretion: i was a commentator for the action and if it ever sees the light of day you can heckle me for my miscues].
Except for those at the beer tent because they were blocked from watching the game by ugly plastic neon orange terrorist fence material used at Guantanamo Bay. So you either had the choice of drinking beer (at least it was good beer -- Magic Hat came from one of the taps) or watching the showcase game but you couldn't do both. Or if you were wise you waited until the $143,000 worth of beer ran out and ran over to watch the action.
Competitive (called the Open division) 2-2
Here's what I got from Kim Tischler and Drew Jones who played in this division on the team People I Like (Plus Drew Jones)
Drew: "We lost in semis to Hennessy [at Halftime] 13-16. Stout, Teddy and Cal were tough to overcome."
Kim: "We lost in the semis to Hennessey. Great game. Mostly everything we did ran through our women. They mainly used their men namely Stout and Calvin. O-Pig bested them [Hennessey] in the finals in a big way. Fans were denied a third game."
All Sorts of Sandy: Wildwood 2011
Except for the following bits which I learned in the last few hours about the competitive 2-2 division, parties and USA vs PoNY showcase game.
Party Q&A Number 1: Friday
Was there beer served for the 400+ captains who had to wait hours in line to register? Apparently not. Fail.
Was there a lotta dancing at the Bolero and fun n games on the Boardwalk? Yes.
Party Q&A Number 2: Saturday
Was the tournament video shot on Saturday and edited that night kinda cool? Yep
Did the beer at the beer tent on the sand run out with 400 people waiting? Yep. And one has to wonder: for a tournament gathering in which a staggering $143,000 is generated just by team registration (and an equally unsightly low number representing expenditures is conjoined) how is it humanly possible to run out of beer? There should be 150 kegs just on standby. There is simply no excuse for that. This tournament used to have free and very tasty food after the games and that's gone and the expense is the same. I would wager tournament organizers are pocketing 10-15K easily from this tournament. Turns out that capitalism and ultimate DO go together, who knew?
USA vs PoNY Showcase Game
During the aforementioned beer freeze and, I guess, some of the beer consuming too, the tournament set up a showcase match between USA and a gathering of New York PoNY players who were down for the weekend competing on various different teams. This would be USA's first and only real 5-on-5 open game before Italy as sand events preceding had either been coed (Sandblast, Wildwood), scrimmages (versus us, Team USA Masters) or 4-on-4 (Wildwood again). but in this game they extended the field to BULA 5-on-5 and brought out the big guns and wow -- what a difference. The conservative give and go offense that looked, at times, ineffective for USA at Sandblast and WW was nowhere to be seen. Instead nothing but streaking deeps, massive under cuts and huge field length bombs for scores by both teams but far more effectively by Team USA. Their defensive speed and pressure was also highlighted as they put a thorough beatdown on PoNY and impressed all watching and the video crew filming it [full discretion: i was a commentator for the action and if it ever sees the light of day you can heckle me for my miscues].
Except for those at the beer tent because they were blocked from watching the game by ugly plastic neon orange terrorist fence material used at Guantanamo Bay. So you either had the choice of drinking beer (at least it was good beer -- Magic Hat came from one of the taps) or watching the showcase game but you couldn't do both. Or if you were wise you waited until the $143,000 worth of beer ran out and ran over to watch the action.
Competitive (called the Open division) 2-2
Here's what I got from Kim Tischler and Drew Jones who played in this division on the team People I Like (Plus Drew Jones)
Drew: "We lost in semis to Hennessy [at Halftime] 13-16. Stout, Teddy and Cal were tough to overcome."
Kim: "We lost in the semis to Hennessey. Great game. Mostly everything we did ran through our women. They mainly used their men namely Stout and Calvin. O-Pig bested them [Hennessey] in the finals in a big way. Fans were denied a third game."
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Coming Up: The Ultimate Scenes in Kampala, Uganda and Chennai, India
For this years WCBU11, aka, Beach Worlds 2011 in Italy this August, I have been interviewing two unique teams coming to the tournament for the first time: the Kampala-based Team Uganda and the Chennai-based Team India.
Their stories are similar but different and will be recognizable to all who have played ultimate in developing nations. Typically, expats and NGO workers from UK, USA, Canada, Australia and the like support ultimate in local "international" schools and show up for informal pick-up games in towns and cities.
Eventually local players start to fill out the ranks and build up viable clubs, leagues and traveling teams.
Team Uganda, long-time leader Alex "Queenie" Matovu explained to me, used to be 70% expats and NGO workers but is now reversed with 90% Ugandans (with a few Kenyans and Rwandans in the mix).
Team India founder Narayan has a twist on this story however, as the Chennai team was founded by Indians who studied in the United States and played ultimate, returned to India and started up the scene.
This week look for full interviews with both Queenie and Narayan on the WCBU11 site and the Beach Blog on Sky'd Magazine.
Their stories are similar but different and will be recognizable to all who have played ultimate in developing nations. Typically, expats and NGO workers from UK, USA, Canada, Australia and the like support ultimate in local "international" schools and show up for informal pick-up games in towns and cities.
Eventually local players start to fill out the ranks and build up viable clubs, leagues and traveling teams.
Team Uganda, long-time leader Alex "Queenie" Matovu explained to me, used to be 70% expats and NGO workers but is now reversed with 90% Ugandans (with a few Kenyans and Rwandans in the mix).
Team India founder Narayan has a twist on this story however, as the Chennai team was founded by Indians who studied in the United States and played ultimate, returned to India and started up the scene.
This week look for full interviews with both Queenie and Narayan on the WCBU11 site and the Beach Blog on Sky'd Magazine.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
“Even Shameless, Pathetic Losers Occasionally Bumble Their Way to The Top"
One has to ask -- when does age disqualify you from success in Summer League?
If you have an 80 yard bomb in your arsenal and a savvy knowledge of throwing lanes why can't you dominate a seasonal series filled with part-timers, college undergraduates and parking lot drunks? My guess from both experience and from this particularly noteworthy roster--
Westchester Summer League (NY) - Team White Open Draft Division
-- suggests that, well, most readers here, even those on this team, have a few generations to go before age prevents them from playing at a sustainable summer league level.
But therein lies a conundrum. Can an aging core (conveniently labeled [core] in this roster) get by with skills and thrills in a league where speed is cheap? From my experience playing Open league WSL there's a ton of wheels out there and trying to cover all of them is like trying to eradicate graft in Afghanistan.
So even if Team Red has been labeled a bunch of shameless losers by a veteran war hand who knows how to put down an insurgency or two, will it matter in the end?
I don't know a single name on the Red roster. On White I've played with half of them and at 38 I pre-date that half. Put that White roster circa 1996 up against PoNY circa 2006 and I think White's got more than a chance. But maybe, just maybe, an ungrateful shameless foul bunch of losers like Red circa 2011 have more than a shot against the aging former champs.
Only time will tell.
If you have an 80 yard bomb in your arsenal and a savvy knowledge of throwing lanes why can't you dominate a seasonal series filled with part-timers, college undergraduates and parking lot drunks? My guess from both experience and from this particularly noteworthy roster--
Westchester Summer League (NY) - Team White Open Draft Division
-- suggests that, well, most readers here, even those on this team, have a few generations to go before age prevents them from playing at a sustainable summer league level.
But therein lies a conundrum. Can an aging core (conveniently labeled [core] in this roster) get by with skills and thrills in a league where speed is cheap? From my experience playing Open league WSL there's a ton of wheels out there and trying to cover all of them is like trying to eradicate graft in Afghanistan.
So even if Team Red has been labeled a bunch of shameless losers by a veteran war hand who knows how to put down an insurgency or two, will it matter in the end?
I don't know a single name on the Red roster. On White I've played with half of them and at 38 I pre-date that half. Put that White roster circa 1996 up against PoNY circa 2006 and I think White's got more than a chance. But maybe, just maybe, an ungrateful shameless foul bunch of losers like Red circa 2011 have more than a shot against the aging former champs.
Only time will tell.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Chicago Sandblast Sunday Finals
Sandblast Final Results
Sandblast finals Sunday
The clouds came in the afternoon today making for a temperate finals with a touch of wind. Great weather for watching.
As expected, top seed Team USA was in the finals with their deep bench and bounty of speed. They matched up against Drazba XX, presumably a team going back to the Southern Illinois days or at least named in homage to the SIU captain killed in a car crash in 1985.
Now a Chicago-based core who has played together for more than ten years, Drazba added Ron Kubulanza and Alicia White to the mix, formidable pickups for any team. The combination proved effective as Drazba took half 8-7.
Team USA finally reeled in Drazba by converting giveaways and looked to close it out at 14-11 before Chicago rebounded with two straight to make it 14-13. Finally a Jared Inselmann forehand down the line to a streaking Brett Matsuzaka provided the win for the Beach Worlds team.
In semis, it was Drazba over Team USA2, aka the Masters team, 15-12. A sloppy game for the most part on both sides but Drazba proved more up to the task, completing the big plays and buckling down when needed. It ended a nice run for us (Team USA 2), playing together for the first time and initially seeded 11th.
In the other semi Team USA defeated Red Stripe. Red Stripe then removed their Speedos, donned velour tracksuits, set up the loudspeaker, and live commentated/heckled the finals entirely in Italian. To understand more, you have to see the DVD.
Beachface, the ND alumni team always sporting the camouflage, took the betty pool with three straight in the morning to win out for 9th and an overall 6-1 record.
In the Sky'd writers versus Sky'd writers II (who knew so many Chicagoans?), Team USA 2 defeated Randy Graves and the Kansas-Deerfield combo team Beach for America in quarters. This was the game I learned the bro-smash and hope to employ it as a psych-up tool at the next tournament.
As usual tournament director Twirly provided plenty of giveaways for everyone. Spirit winners Drunkards and Dragons received some nice schwag, the tournament champions on Team USA got shirts and a free bid for next year (!?) and everyone got plenty of drinks from Fuze, 5 Hr. Energy and Cruzan Rum at the Saturday night party.
No, actually, no one paid me to write that. I just thought it would be nice if I did.
Sandblast finals Sunday
The clouds came in the afternoon today making for a temperate finals with a touch of wind. Great weather for watching.
As expected, top seed Team USA was in the finals with their deep bench and bounty of speed. They matched up against Drazba XX, presumably a team going back to the Southern Illinois days or at least named in homage to the SIU captain killed in a car crash in 1985.
Now a Chicago-based core who has played together for more than ten years, Drazba added Ron Kubulanza and Alicia White to the mix, formidable pickups for any team. The combination proved effective as Drazba took half 8-7.
Team USA finally reeled in Drazba by converting giveaways and looked to close it out at 14-11 before Chicago rebounded with two straight to make it 14-13. Finally a Jared Inselmann forehand down the line to a streaking Brett Matsuzaka provided the win for the Beach Worlds team.
In semis, it was Drazba over Team USA2, aka the Masters team, 15-12. A sloppy game for the most part on both sides but Drazba proved more up to the task, completing the big plays and buckling down when needed. It ended a nice run for us (Team USA 2), playing together for the first time and initially seeded 11th.
In the other semi Team USA defeated Red Stripe. Red Stripe then removed their Speedos, donned velour tracksuits, set up the loudspeaker, and live commentated/heckled the finals entirely in Italian. To understand more, you have to see the DVD.
Beachface, the ND alumni team always sporting the camouflage, took the betty pool with three straight in the morning to win out for 9th and an overall 6-1 record.
In the Sky'd writers versus Sky'd writers II (who knew so many Chicagoans?), Team USA 2 defeated Randy Graves and the Kansas-Deerfield combo team Beach for America in quarters. This was the game I learned the bro-smash and hope to employ it as a psych-up tool at the next tournament.
As usual tournament director Twirly provided plenty of giveaways for everyone. Spirit winners Drunkards and Dragons received some nice schwag, the tournament champions on Team USA got shirts and a free bid for next year (!?) and everyone got plenty of drinks from Fuze, 5 Hr. Energy and Cruzan Rum at the Saturday night party.
No, actually, no one paid me to write that. I just thought it would be nice if I did.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Chicago Sandblast Saturday
Sandblast Saturday
First, some answers from Thursday's preview.
1) Team "Threat Level Magna" is actually a typo as the team is supposed to be Threat Level Magenta. In the high-stakes action on the beach today the defending champions TLM were upset by Scottie's Revenge, a team entirely outfitted in Scottie Pippen #33 Chicago Bulls pinnies. Led by some monster with huge ups named Tyler, the Scotties rolled as TLM faltered badly.
2) Team USA – will they lose in the semis like that Potlatch year or win the whole thing like several other iterations? Right now their number one seed looks spot-on as they rolled. Their speed is just too much for most teams and when you realize it's Team USA Open + Team USA Women's then you kind of get how good they are with very little fall-off top to bottom.
3) Team USA 2 found themselves in the aforementioned pool with TLM and the Scottie Pippens and finished 4-0 fairly easily, ending the day with a thrashing of the TLM defending champions who never looked comfortable. "On second thought we shouldn't have gone with a roster of 21," reflected captain Matt Davidman afterwards. The USA2 win also ended a personal challenge as I defeated Sky'd founder Elliot Trotter and he owes me a six-pack.
4) Number of teams representing the Midwest with an over/under of 48. This is a tricky one. Of the 20 teams I polled, only four weren't local. You do the math.
In other news, in the Spirit division the Teenage Mutant Ninja BUFF squad, alumni and undergraduates from Bradley University playing in the D5 position and dressed entirely in Donatellos, Leonardos, Michelangelos and Raphaels, won 13-12 on double game point in the last game of the day.
Euro-themed Red Stripe sporting swank banana hammocks underneath their Euro-styled velour warm-ups, finished 3-1 with a win over the 2nd place team to advance. I think this is actually the same group of guys from the original Speedo team I remember from 2005.
Notre Dame alumni Beachface fell to North Park (Chicago-based, likely alumni) in a reversal of College Regionals past. Beachface may have a chance to advance to quarters based on point differential.
Party tonight is at a rather large bar eatery called Mad River on North Sheffield. Much drinking to be had by all as wristbands get competitors free beer for some amount of time.
First, some answers from Thursday's preview.
1) Team "Threat Level Magna" is actually a typo as the team is supposed to be Threat Level Magenta. In the high-stakes action on the beach today the defending champions TLM were upset by Scottie's Revenge, a team entirely outfitted in Scottie Pippen #33 Chicago Bulls pinnies. Led by some monster with huge ups named Tyler, the Scotties rolled as TLM faltered badly.
2) Team USA – will they lose in the semis like that Potlatch year or win the whole thing like several other iterations? Right now their number one seed looks spot-on as they rolled. Their speed is just too much for most teams and when you realize it's Team USA Open + Team USA Women's then you kind of get how good they are with very little fall-off top to bottom.
3) Team USA 2 found themselves in the aforementioned pool with TLM and the Scottie Pippens and finished 4-0 fairly easily, ending the day with a thrashing of the TLM defending champions who never looked comfortable. "On second thought we shouldn't have gone with a roster of 21," reflected captain Matt Davidman afterwards. The USA2 win also ended a personal challenge as I defeated Sky'd founder Elliot Trotter and he owes me a six-pack.
4) Number of teams representing the Midwest with an over/under of 48. This is a tricky one. Of the 20 teams I polled, only four weren't local. You do the math.
In other news, in the Spirit division the Teenage Mutant Ninja BUFF squad, alumni and undergraduates from Bradley University playing in the D5 position and dressed entirely in Donatellos, Leonardos, Michelangelos and Raphaels, won 13-12 on double game point in the last game of the day.
Euro-themed Red Stripe sporting swank banana hammocks underneath their Euro-styled velour warm-ups, finished 3-1 with a win over the 2nd place team to advance. I think this is actually the same group of guys from the original Speedo team I remember from 2005.
Notre Dame alumni Beachface fell to North Park (Chicago-based, likely alumni) in a reversal of College Regionals past. Beachface may have a chance to advance to quarters based on point differential.
Party tonight is at a rather large bar eatery called Mad River on North Sheffield. Much drinking to be had by all as wristbands get competitors free beer for some amount of time.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Sandblast 2011 Preview
This may also be posted on Sky'd Magazine as we are doing a cross-promotional beach tour '11.
---
My last trip to Sandblast was in 2005. That year I shot, edited and commentated the finals for the tournament DVD and played with Hurt Locker. Back then there were several teams that could make finals but you couldn't tell who they were. The crew wearing thick tans and thin Speedos? Bunch of guys and girls in button-downs and ties? And there were friends you didn't recognize because you weren't used to seeing them on sand.
I'm back for 2011 and have to wonder about the tournament and how much it's changed or remained the same. Here's a few questions I am asking myself for the overdue return to Chicago.
---
Defending champions Team Esquire changing their name to Threat Level Magna — mistake, typo or savvy marketing? (answer tomorrow from captain Matt Davidman).
Team USA @ Sandblast – Potlatch semis losers or Poultry Day champions?
Team USA 2 – First losers, second-tier winners or the age-defying 2011 Dallas Mavericks?
Number of teams representing the Midwest out of 60 total across both divisions. Over/under: 48.
Quantity of Fuze drinks given away by Fuze, the Official Sponsor of Chicago Sandblast 2011. I'm gonna guess 750.
A question we've all wanted to find out the answer to: who plays better on the sand, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids or Sheboygan?
Beach etiquette: should I call that travel or just maybe hold it back because the sand is really deep today and heck, it's only beach?
Looking at the pools I see eight teams with dirty, double entendre names referring to adult situations. How many more can there be?? The eight I have are: Ski Unit, Highlighter Nation, Labor Party, Hoffman's Mom, Big Fun, Crunkzilla, Team USA2 and Beach for America. Gnarly stuff.
Crystal Ball: Looking to the future USA Ultimate is starting a Beach Division in 2012. There's a theory that the beach game could go big like beach volleyball's raging success in the 1980s. Let's say the ruse works and beach ultimate is the hippest activity on the planet. Does Zima provide the first major sponsorship? Or Kangol?
How many months away is the 2011 World Championships of Beach Ultimate this August 21-28?
If something happens on the beach, does it stay on the beach?
---
Answers to some of these questions, a Q&A with Davidman and other burning answers tomorrow sometime.
---
My last trip to Sandblast was in 2005. That year I shot, edited and commentated the finals for the tournament DVD and played with Hurt Locker. Back then there were several teams that could make finals but you couldn't tell who they were. The crew wearing thick tans and thin Speedos? Bunch of guys and girls in button-downs and ties? And there were friends you didn't recognize because you weren't used to seeing them on sand.
I'm back for 2011 and have to wonder about the tournament and how much it's changed or remained the same. Here's a few questions I am asking myself for the overdue return to Chicago.
---
Defending champions Team Esquire changing their name to Threat Level Magna — mistake, typo or savvy marketing? (answer tomorrow from captain Matt Davidman).
Team USA @ Sandblast – Potlatch semis losers or Poultry Day champions?
Team USA 2 – First losers, second-tier winners or the age-defying 2011 Dallas Mavericks?
Number of teams representing the Midwest out of 60 total across both divisions. Over/under: 48.
Quantity of Fuze drinks given away by Fuze, the Official Sponsor of Chicago Sandblast 2011. I'm gonna guess 750.
A question we've all wanted to find out the answer to: who plays better on the sand, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids or Sheboygan?
Beach etiquette: should I call that travel or just maybe hold it back because the sand is really deep today and heck, it's only beach?
Looking at the pools I see eight teams with dirty, double entendre names referring to adult situations. How many more can there be?? The eight I have are: Ski Unit, Highlighter Nation, Labor Party, Hoffman's Mom, Big Fun, Crunkzilla, Team USA2 and Beach for America. Gnarly stuff.
Crystal Ball: Looking to the future USA Ultimate is starting a Beach Division in 2012. There's a theory that the beach game could go big like beach volleyball's raging success in the 1980s. Let's say the ruse works and beach ultimate is the hippest activity on the planet. Does Zima provide the first major sponsorship? Or Kangol?
How many months away is the 2011 World Championships of Beach Ultimate this August 21-28?
If something happens on the beach, does it stay on the beach?
---
Answers to some of these questions, a Q&A with Davidman and other burning answers tomorrow sometime.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Team USA's Beach Tour 2011 -- Chicago Sandblast
my return trip to Sandblast is just around the corner. It's been far too long since I've experienced the tournament. THe giveaways, always a treat in this low-profile sport.
The radio station at the fields. The effervescence of Tournament Director Adam "Twirly" Levy. The team that plays in speedos. The warm water. Heck, Chicago is even in its early summer glory.
Six years have passed since my last trip to Chicago for the tournament. Last time I got to throw down with a pretty good bunch of Wisco and CUT guys and girls. This year I have the privilege of playing for Team USA in the masters division at Beach Worlds and one of our "training" tournaments is Sandblast.
Of course Sandblast doesn't have age-specific divisions and is 100% mixed male and female. So it's not quite so much a practice in terms of strategy and structure. More like a chance to get out on the sand, comingle with teammates, and TAKE DOWN REIGNING CHAMPS ESQUIRE!
There. It's been said. Bring it.
The radio station at the fields. The effervescence of Tournament Director Adam "Twirly" Levy. The team that plays in speedos. The warm water. Heck, Chicago is even in its early summer glory.
Six years have passed since my last trip to Chicago for the tournament. Last time I got to throw down with a pretty good bunch of Wisco and CUT guys and girls. This year I have the privilege of playing for Team USA in the masters division at Beach Worlds and one of our "training" tournaments is Sandblast.
Of course Sandblast doesn't have age-specific divisions and is 100% mixed male and female. So it's not quite so much a practice in terms of strategy and structure. More like a chance to get out on the sand, comingle with teammates, and TAKE DOWN REIGNING CHAMPS ESQUIRE!
There. It's been said. Bring it.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
College Nationals Turns a Corner
Simply put, there are some kinks to be worked out,but the coverage of Nationals is the best yet and the concerted effort from USAU and Skyd and others is paying off for viewers and anyone with internet access.
thumbs up.
thumbs up.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Badminton Tries the Toad Method
For years certain member of the ultimate community, like badly-trained dogs, have insisted, among other things, that ultimate ought to have cheerleaders. You know, to bring some fans to the game. Like the NFL, Toad would insist. Like ultimate and the NFL are even in the same stratosphere.
Well, maybe Toad should watch badminton!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/sports/badminton-dress-code-for-women-criticized-as-sexist.html?_r=1&hp#
Well, maybe Toad should watch badminton!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/27/sports/badminton-dress-code-for-women-criticized-as-sexist.html?_r=1&hp#
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Cheerleading Dances on Our Gravestones
well, you know, there's lot of competition out there to hit the big time. Here's another.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/sports/gender-games-born-on-sideline-cheering-clamors-to-be-sport.html?_r=1&hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/23/sports/gender-games-born-on-sideline-cheering-clamors-to-be-sport.html?_r=1&hp
Removed Portion of Article on Skyd
This email came to me this evening:
Hey Tony,
FYI, USAU has requested that a portion of the article be taken down. You are welcome to reword it but you'll have to check with Andy Lee to see what they want out there -
This was removed:
And once again the semifinals and finals will be broadcast (not live, of course) on a television network, CBS College Sports. Since the niche cable outfit College Sports Television (CSTV) and the UPA worked out a deal in 2003, broadcasting the Championships has been an awkward affair.
There really aren't a lot of spectators out there for the game despite all of ultimate's best attempts. The UPA kept the details of the CSTV deal under wraps but suffice to say the UPA paid for that coverage, which sort of undermines the common perception of how the business model works for sports and broadcasting.
But ultimate is surely not the only niche sport to pay for its own broadcasting and if you think the sport is popular enough to sustain media interest, think again.
"The last contract we had with CBS College Sports expired this fall. So we took the opportunity to test the market. We pitched to Versus, Fuse, NBC—there was no interest. CBS was the only show in town," spoke USA Ultimate's Marketing Director Andy Lee in a recent conversation.
"With CBS it's a barter deal. We cover production costs and in return we get inventory which is advertising time," explained Lee. "CBS wont give out ratings of their shows but it was a good sign that the deal got significantly better. This year was one-quarter the cost and three times as much coverage."
Hey Tony,
FYI, USAU has requested that a portion of the article be taken down. You are welcome to reword it but you'll have to check with Andy Lee to see what they want out there -
This was removed:
And once again the semifinals and finals will be broadcast (not live, of course) on a television network, CBS College Sports. Since the niche cable outfit College Sports Television (CSTV) and the UPA worked out a deal in 2003, broadcasting the Championships has been an awkward affair.
There really aren't a lot of spectators out there for the game despite all of ultimate's best attempts. The UPA kept the details of the CSTV deal under wraps but suffice to say the UPA paid for that coverage, which sort of undermines the common perception of how the business model works for sports and broadcasting.
But ultimate is surely not the only niche sport to pay for its own broadcasting and if you think the sport is popular enough to sustain media interest, think again.
"The last contract we had with CBS College Sports expired this fall. So we took the opportunity to test the market. We pitched to Versus, Fuse, NBC—there was no interest. CBS was the only show in town," spoke USA Ultimate's Marketing Director Andy Lee in a recent conversation.
"With CBS it's a barter deal. We cover production costs and in return we get inventory which is advertising time," explained Lee. "CBS wont give out ratings of their shows but it was a good sign that the deal got significantly better. This year was one-quarter the cost and three times as much coverage."
Monday, January 31, 2011
Polar Bears go Nationwide
As we know now from reading the USAU Magazine, the national-champion mixed team Polar Bears got their name from the pickup line:
PICKUP ARTIST: How much does a polar bear weigh?
PROSPECTIVE MATE: I don't know.
PICKUP ARTIST: Enough to break the ice. So, what's your phone number? Let's have sweaty Eskimo sex.
I added that last line about sweaty Eskimo sex because it gets to the point and here in New York that's the point.
It's a creative, albeit hackneyed and perpetually silly pickup line, but when paired with an ultimate team of giggling 20somethings egging on teammates to use the line (the team did not take it seriously) then you've got a good story and at least some legitimate context.
And then came Hollywood. Coincidence? Of course not. Hollywood knows all about ultimate. Joel Silver, one of Tinseltown's most famous mega-producers, co-founded and helped popularize the sport. He knows what's up.
So the movie trailer for the latest cheeseball flick "Hall Pass" should come as no surprise. I've looked for links online and found this below:
Hall Pass
But oddly enough, it doesn't have the "Polar Bear" pickup line (i've seen a different version on TV ads) yet it does contain a scene with some chicks throwing frisbees.
Make your own judgment call on all this.
Hollywood + ultimate. It's happening. Be prepared.
PICKUP ARTIST: How much does a polar bear weigh?
PROSPECTIVE MATE: I don't know.
PICKUP ARTIST: Enough to break the ice. So, what's your phone number? Let's have sweaty Eskimo sex.
I added that last line about sweaty Eskimo sex because it gets to the point and here in New York that's the point.
It's a creative, albeit hackneyed and perpetually silly pickup line, but when paired with an ultimate team of giggling 20somethings egging on teammates to use the line (the team did not take it seriously) then you've got a good story and at least some legitimate context.
And then came Hollywood. Coincidence? Of course not. Hollywood knows all about ultimate. Joel Silver, one of Tinseltown's most famous mega-producers, co-founded and helped popularize the sport. He knows what's up.
So the movie trailer for the latest cheeseball flick "Hall Pass" should come as no surprise. I've looked for links online and found this below:
Hall Pass
But oddly enough, it doesn't have the "Polar Bear" pickup line (i've seen a different version on TV ads) yet it does contain a scene with some chicks throwing frisbees.
Make your own judgment call on all this.
Hollywood + ultimate. It's happening. Be prepared.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Some Basic Lei-Out Results
To follow will be more tales from the sea and Santa Monica.
But for the meantime, here are the results.
Semifinals in A bracket was Strawberry Love, not sure where from but I recognized Jared Inselman from DC/Truck Stop on the team, against Sb Antimony III -- a Santa Barbarba/Condors-based team with Husak, Dugan, Steets, Burfiend, Regetz, others I am sure.
And apologies for not knowing the women. I recognized a few of them but not as much as the guys. Strawberry goes up 2 or 3 but eventually loses by 2 I think?
Other semifinal was Woodies in LA in their Munich-gear and random pickups (Kimberly and Rocky Beach conjoined! No relation, however, except for perhaps one category) versus San Fran outfit Crazy Go Nuts University with 3 PoNY guys and others. CGNU basically crushes in this game to make finals.
Finals was good. i missed the first half to watch the Jets take down the Patriots at a bar on Muscle Beach with some NY teammates and let me tell you, this was a good call. Tallboy PBRs, a bunch of meatheads and those upstanding Patriots getting faced was primo.
Anyway, second half I get back and SB Antimony is up a couple. Husak making a bunch of plays basically. Some dicey turnovers from CGNU and also some good plays on D. SB Antimony wins by three eventually and Hollywood Husak, according to Corey Sanford, becomes the winningest Lei-Out player in its 12 year history.
In B pool the competition seemed pretty good. We escaped a team called Straddle with some Huck Finn players on it by making some pretty dicey in/out calls apparently (I really can't say much except that one of our players was very insistent on a few calls so the disc went back to thrower) to get to B quarters at 6-0. We played Mustache Rides, an Austin-based team with Straw and a bunch of dudes and dudettes from Doublewide, Showdown, Dirty Birds, Chewbacca, etc. Basically all Nationals talent. Not sure how we even kept this close although I think me, Babbino, Tucker and Tisch held the fort as long as we could before falling 11-9.
B-pool semis was then Mustache versus an A-bracket descender, Pandangerous. Pandangerous seemed to be winning. Other side was Guns of Westwood (presumably ex-UCLA?) versus PieMo (presumably Pie Queens + Ugmo, the two sides of Cal Berkeley). I think PieMo won this one.
Shenanigans in next report.
But for the meantime, here are the results.
Semifinals in A bracket was Strawberry Love, not sure where from but I recognized Jared Inselman from DC/Truck Stop on the team, against Sb Antimony III -- a Santa Barbarba/Condors-based team with Husak, Dugan, Steets, Burfiend, Regetz, others I am sure.
And apologies for not knowing the women. I recognized a few of them but not as much as the guys. Strawberry goes up 2 or 3 but eventually loses by 2 I think?
Other semifinal was Woodies in LA in their Munich-gear and random pickups (Kimberly and Rocky Beach conjoined! No relation, however, except for perhaps one category) versus San Fran outfit Crazy Go Nuts University with 3 PoNY guys and others. CGNU basically crushes in this game to make finals.
Finals was good. i missed the first half to watch the Jets take down the Patriots at a bar on Muscle Beach with some NY teammates and let me tell you, this was a good call. Tallboy PBRs, a bunch of meatheads and those upstanding Patriots getting faced was primo.
Anyway, second half I get back and SB Antimony is up a couple. Husak making a bunch of plays basically. Some dicey turnovers from CGNU and also some good plays on D. SB Antimony wins by three eventually and Hollywood Husak, according to Corey Sanford, becomes the winningest Lei-Out player in its 12 year history.
In B pool the competition seemed pretty good. We escaped a team called Straddle with some Huck Finn players on it by making some pretty dicey in/out calls apparently (I really can't say much except that one of our players was very insistent on a few calls so the disc went back to thrower) to get to B quarters at 6-0. We played Mustache Rides, an Austin-based team with Straw and a bunch of dudes and dudettes from Doublewide, Showdown, Dirty Birds, Chewbacca, etc. Basically all Nationals talent. Not sure how we even kept this close although I think me, Babbino, Tucker and Tisch held the fort as long as we could before falling 11-9.
B-pool semis was then Mustache versus an A-bracket descender, Pandangerous. Pandangerous seemed to be winning. Other side was Guns of Westwood (presumably ex-UCLA?) versus PieMo (presumably Pie Queens + Ugmo, the two sides of Cal Berkeley). I think PieMo won this one.
Shenanigans in next report.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Scripts in Santa Monica: Lei-Out 2011
There's been much to write about about and little effort to do so. From New Year's Evening celebration with some ultimate dignitaries and a few purposefully unpublished photos.
After that: New Year's Day hat tournament in the snow when some Swedish guy skyed me and then left during the third game on cross-country skis. Lots of snow. Great tournament, as always, as its a great way to start the new year.
But one thing you cannot get in the new year 2011 in New York is a prescription for medical marijuana which is something that come very naturally if you walk down a street in Santa Monica and run into a guy holding a sign that says "4:20 doctor." If you ask the doctor for s script you will have to go through a checklist and sign off: name. reason you are requesting a prescription. are you a resident of california. what is your medical condition?
apparently all you have to do is answer all the questions pretty much straight-up except the residency status. you want to say "california" for that one. go for ADHD as your illness, talk the guy down from $100 for his doctor's consultation to $65.
then pop on over to one of the green pharmacy sign/dispensiary and get a recommended strain/dosage, fork over $55 for a 1/8th and voila! You have medical relief for your troubled ADHD.
And that's the day before Lei-Out. The results of the tournament and some other tidibits will follow.
After that: New Year's Day hat tournament in the snow when some Swedish guy skyed me and then left during the third game on cross-country skis. Lots of snow. Great tournament, as always, as its a great way to start the new year.
But one thing you cannot get in the new year 2011 in New York is a prescription for medical marijuana which is something that come very naturally if you walk down a street in Santa Monica and run into a guy holding a sign that says "4:20 doctor." If you ask the doctor for s script you will have to go through a checklist and sign off: name. reason you are requesting a prescription. are you a resident of california. what is your medical condition?
apparently all you have to do is answer all the questions pretty much straight-up except the residency status. you want to say "california" for that one. go for ADHD as your illness, talk the guy down from $100 for his doctor's consultation to $65.
then pop on over to one of the green pharmacy sign/dispensiary and get a recommended strain/dosage, fork over $55 for a 1/8th and voila! You have medical relief for your troubled ADHD.
And that's the day before Lei-Out. The results of the tournament and some other tidibits will follow.
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