NARCh 2011 – Day 3

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Devil Dogs vs. Tour Roadrunners 93 (NY)

The Devil Dogs came into the fourth and final round-robin game with two wins and a loss, needing at least a tie to clinch a playoff spot.

The game didn’t start off well for the Dogs. They trailed 3-1 after the first period, their goalie had let in a bad goal on a long slapshot, and they’d missed on some good scoring opportunities.

They were also coming off a disappointing loss the night before, so I was proud of their mental toughness in coming back to tie the game 3-3 with about three minutes left.

A Roadrunner player took an untimely penalty with 1:37 left in the game. The Dogs were able to control the puck on the power play until, with 11 seconds remaining, they scored on a one-timer off a cross-rink pass for the game-winning goal.

Final Score: Devil Dogs 4, Roadrunners 3

 

Playoffs

That wraps up the round-robin portion of the competition. The top 10 teams get to stick around for playoffs.

  1. Choice Inline Selects (NJ)
  2. Alkali NC (NC)
  3. ISCA Grizzlies (NJ)
  4. Gladiators (PA)
  5. Revision Devil Dogs (CA)
  6. Tour Stealth (CO)
  7. Tour Roadrunners 93 (NY)
  8. Bandits Hockey Club (CA)
  9. Top Gun (NY)
  10. Mile High Mustangs (CO)

The top six seeds go straight to the quarterfinals. The other quarterfinalists are determined by 7-vs-10 and 8-vs-9 playoff games, which both went to the lower seed:

Mile High Mustangs 6, Roadrunners 2
Top Gun 6, Bandits 3

 

Quarterfinal: Choice Inline Selects (1) vs. Mile High Mustangs (10)

The Mustangs were the only team to score against the Selects in round-robin play, although they still lost the game. Chalk up another shutout for the Selects in this one.

Final Score: Selects 1, Mustangs 0

Quarterfinal: Alkali NC (2) vs. Top Gun (9)

Alkali was undefeated in round-robin, including a win against Top Gun, but they are outta here.

Final Score: Top Gun 2, Alkali 1

Quarterfinal: ISCA Grizzlies (3) vs. Tour Stealth (6)

Another upset. The Grizzlies were also undefeated (with one tie) in round-robin. I didn’t like them because the families were a bunch of Jersey Shore loudmouths.

Final Score: Stealth 3, Grizzlies 0

Quarterfinal: Gladiators (4) vs. Revision Devil Dogs (5)

Another poor start for the Devil Dogs. They went down 2-0 in the first three minutes, then rallied to win.

They’re in the semifinals tomorrow morning against Tour Stealth.

Final Score: Devil Dogs 6, Gladiators 4

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NARCh 2011 – Day 2

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Two more round-robin games today, morning and evening . . .

Devil Dogs 6, Detroit Mission Stars 2

Devil Dogs played a great game, best I’ve seen them play this season.

ISCA Grizzlies (NJ) 5, Devil Dogs 3

The Grizzlies are a good, fast team. That said, the Devil Dogs played a subpar game.

Tomorrow is a critical day. Final round-robin games in the morning, after which the top teams start the single-elimination playoff rounds.

By the end of the day, only four teams will be left standing.

If the Devil Dogs win their last round-robin game, they’ll be in the playoffs at 3-1. If they lose, they’ll be 2-2 and could still get a low playoff seed, but it will be a close call . . .

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NARCh 2011 – Day 1

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Devil Dogs 5, MKS (Colombia) 1

The Devil Dogs played their first round-robin game today.

Latin American roller hockey teams typically have a) raucous supporters, b) kids who look suspiciously old for their age, and c) an up-tempo style of play like they’re jacked up on coke, which they probably are.

The first time you see this, you say to yourself, or to someone sitting next to you, “There’s no way they can play at that speed the whole game. They’ll wear themselves out.”

But sure enough, they do play that speed the whole game.

Having said that, the MKS kids all looked age-appropriate, and while they had some fast players, they didn’t maintain the non-stop, end-to-end pace that I expected.

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NARCh 2011 – Travel Day

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Mario Williams

LA to Houston

We’re waiting at LAX for a flight to Houston when a large black man in his 20s sits down near us in the waiting area.

“I could take that guy one-on-one,” my kid announces.

I’m about to mention to him that not every big black dude is necessarily a basketball player when he says, “Wait a minute, isn’t that Mario Williams?”

I have to admit to him that I wouldn’t recognize Mario Williams if I saw him.

He pulls up a photo of Mario Williams on his iPhone. “Yeah,” I say, “that does look like him.”

“And he’s waiting for a flight to Houston? That’s got to be Mario Williams.”

The final clue is that the guy is decked out in Adidas gear from head to toe. A Google search for “mario williams adidas” on the iPhone reveals that Mario Williams has a sponsorship deal with Adidas.

So we’re pretty sure we saw Mario Williams at the airport.

 

Houston to Florida

Continental changed up the seat assignments . . . the boy ends up in Row 8 while I’m back in Row 26.

“I’m way ahead of you,” he says. “I can pick up the rental car and drive to the hotel before you even get off the plane.”

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“Now . . . This”

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“Now . . . this” is commonly used on radio and television newscasts to indicate that what one has just heard or seen has no relevance to what one is about to hear or see, or possibly to anything one is likely to hear or see. . . . There is no murder so brutal, no earthquake so devastating, no political blunder so costly–for that matter, no ball score so tantalizing or weather report so threatening–that it cannot be erased from our minds by a newscaster saying “Now . . . this.” The newscaster means that you have thought long enough on the previous matter (approximately forty-five seconds), that you must not be morbidly preoccupied with it (let us say, for ninety seconds), and that you must now give your attention to another fragment of news or a commercial.

— Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

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Huxley Was Right

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Aldous Huxley painted portrait IMG_7520
Image by Abode of Chaos via Flickr

In Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.

What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one. . . . Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.

— Neil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Death

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Any Lawyers Out There Want This Case?

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LAX

The boys arrived back from their graduation trip, but missed their connecting flight in Philly, which seems to be the rule rather than the exception for U.S. Airways.

They were able to get on a later flight — to Los Angeles though, not Orange County — so the parents drove out to pick them up at LAX at 11:45 p.m.

“We should sue the airline,” one of the moms said.

“That’s a good idea,” I replied, not because I thought it was a good idea, but because I wanted to hear the plan.

“Five sets of parents have to drive all the way to Los Angeles,” she said. “Gas is expensive! Then there’s punitive damages. Frustration. Loss of income.”

“How is there a loss of income?”

“Some parents might have to work at night. You don’t know.”

“How much do you think we should get — a million dollars?”

“No,” she scoffed, like I was being ridiculous. “Two hundred thousand.”

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What Happened to the Hippies? Where Are They?

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Haight-Ashbury's Summer of Love

On behalf of UC Berkeley we are sending this message to Cal families to update you on recent news regarding the 2011-12 tuition . . .

A 9.6 PERCENT TUITION INCREASE!? I THOUGHT YOU WERE A BUNCH OF GODDAMN HIPPIES WHO DON’T CARE ABOUT MONEY!

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Northwood 2011 College Decisions

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Unlike highly recruited athletes, kids who are highly recruited academically don’t get to go on TV and turn over hats so everyone knows what college they’re going to.

Northwood doesn’t have highly recruited athletes, so there’s a Facebook site where they can check in and state their college choice.

Also unlike athletes, who are evaluated on a 5-star scale, Northwood students are evaluated on a 3-star scale, according to the commencement program that I have right here in front of me:

*** = Highest honors (4.3 GPA or above)
 ** = High honors (4.0 or above, but below 4.3)
  * = Honors (Not sure; close to a 4.0 but not quite there)

It looks like Cal got the best recruiting class this year with three 3-star prospects and no one lower than 2 stars. USC and Stanford each got one 3-star recruit, as did Harvard and Yale.

To the kids going to Cal: GO BEARS!

To the kids going to USC: FIGHT ON!

To the kids going to Stanford: CONGRATULATIONS DORKS!

To everyone else: BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!

And to the girls below: I don’t know you but you made me laugh . . .

College decisions

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I’ve Got an Idea for a TV Show

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Let's welcome our next contestant

MEXICO (PIX11) — Mexican drug traffickers are abducting bus passengers and forcing them to fight each other like gladiators according to published reports. The winners of the fights are then ordered to become assassins.

— Mexican Cartel Force Gladiator Fights and Suicide Missions – WPIX

This would make GREAT television! I’m pitching it as a reality show/game show hybrid.

Working title: Who Wants to be a Mexican Hit Man?

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Aside

Sounds Better Than it Really Is Award: Free Slurpee Day — It turns out that a “slurpee” is actually a beverage . . .

Dick Williams, 1929 – 2011

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Dick Williams

Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams, who won two World Series titles with Oakland and led two other franchises to pennants, has died. He was 82.

Williams also managed our local club, the Angels, although he was better known for his work with other teams.

I remember he once said to an umpire, “They’re not just booing that call. They’re booing your whole career.”

RIP Dick Williams

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