Thursday, April 24, 2008
The Triumphant Return
He hasn't played net in about 5 years, but I am pleased to announce that I personally witnessed the triumphant return of Bryan Nelson to the rectangle. Bryan joined Cory and I last night for a light session of singles vs doubles rallies. He looked really good, especially considering that he hasn't played in a lifetime. He served well, set as well as to be expected, and he even started connecting on some spikes later in the evening. Welcome back buddy! It's great to see you back on the court.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Hillary Clinton Wins Pennsylvania. Time for the Parade?
The Chicago Bears have a guy on their team by the name of Devon Hester. He is, without a doubt, the best thing that ever happened to kick returns in the history of the sport of football. I mean, the guy is magical. The only way to stop him is to not kick it to him. As a result of this guy's abilities, the Bears had the best kick return game out of all 32 teams in the league.
It's funny, because I live in Chicago, and I pay close attention to professional football, but I just can't seem to remember the parade that celebrated the big victory. They won! They were the best team in the league in kick returns. Where was the parade?
Oh yeah, now I remember: they finished the season with seven wins and nine losses; not even good enough for the playoffs. They were the best in one specific category, but their defense chronically underacheived, they had no quarterback, and their coach made too many bad decisions. If you want to win the Super Bowl, you can't just have the best kick return team; you need all the components of your team to be top-tier.
Enough about the Bears. Let's talk about the Democratic Primaries. Since the field has dwindled to just Clinton and Obama, I must say that both candidates have been impressive at times. I can finally understand why some people like Senator Clinton: she's intelligent, quick on her toes, and she knows her material better than her opponents. In other words, she's on top of her shit. Senator Obama, on the other hand, is even more impressive. He's insightful, eloquent, and he has the perfect mix of intelligence and naivete: a strong enough resume to show that he can handle whatever comes his way, but just enough inexperience to follow his own path and buck the status quo. He's grown on me a lot. By the time the Illinois Primary rolled around, I was excited to give him my vote.
Hillary Clinton won the battle in Pennsylvania yesterday. I can admit it. I wish it didn't happen that way, but I didn't have the opportunity to make it happen any other way. There's no way to spin it: Clinton took Pennsylvania by 10 points. Good for her. But Obama still leads in popular vote, he still leads in super-delegates, and he has an almost unsurmountable lead in pledged delegates. Unfortunately for Clinton, winning one contest late in the game by 10 points isn't going to be enough. Clinton will need to win each of the remaining primaries by a score of 68-32 in order to overcome the lead that Obama has on her. To date, she has not won a single primary by numbers anywhere near that figure. The chances of her winning the whole thing are slim to none.
So why are she and her supporters celebrating? Squeaking by in a state where you had previously held a 25 point margin and gaining about 8 delegates when you're down over 150 is no cause for a parade. It may have made the game a little more interesting, like when Devon Hester runs one back for a quick six; but in the end, if you can't come out of it all with a winning record, what difference does it make? If she wants to bask in her temporary glory, be my guest. But at the end of the season, it's Barack Obama that will be in the parade.
It's funny, because I live in Chicago, and I pay close attention to professional football, but I just can't seem to remember the parade that celebrated the big victory. They won! They were the best team in the league in kick returns. Where was the parade?
Oh yeah, now I remember: they finished the season with seven wins and nine losses; not even good enough for the playoffs. They were the best in one specific category, but their defense chronically underacheived, they had no quarterback, and their coach made too many bad decisions. If you want to win the Super Bowl, you can't just have the best kick return team; you need all the components of your team to be top-tier.
Enough about the Bears. Let's talk about the Democratic Primaries. Since the field has dwindled to just Clinton and Obama, I must say that both candidates have been impressive at times. I can finally understand why some people like Senator Clinton: she's intelligent, quick on her toes, and she knows her material better than her opponents. In other words, she's on top of her shit. Senator Obama, on the other hand, is even more impressive. He's insightful, eloquent, and he has the perfect mix of intelligence and naivete: a strong enough resume to show that he can handle whatever comes his way, but just enough inexperience to follow his own path and buck the status quo. He's grown on me a lot. By the time the Illinois Primary rolled around, I was excited to give him my vote.
Hillary Clinton won the battle in Pennsylvania yesterday. I can admit it. I wish it didn't happen that way, but I didn't have the opportunity to make it happen any other way. There's no way to spin it: Clinton took Pennsylvania by 10 points. Good for her. But Obama still leads in popular vote, he still leads in super-delegates, and he has an almost unsurmountable lead in pledged delegates. Unfortunately for Clinton, winning one contest late in the game by 10 points isn't going to be enough. Clinton will need to win each of the remaining primaries by a score of 68-32 in order to overcome the lead that Obama has on her. To date, she has not won a single primary by numbers anywhere near that figure. The chances of her winning the whole thing are slim to none.
So why are she and her supporters celebrating? Squeaking by in a state where you had previously held a 25 point margin and gaining about 8 delegates when you're down over 150 is no cause for a parade. It may have made the game a little more interesting, like when Devon Hester runs one back for a quick six; but in the end, if you can't come out of it all with a winning record, what difference does it make? If she wants to bask in her temporary glory, be my guest. But at the end of the season, it's Barack Obama that will be in the parade.
Training Tracker
Good training is the key to success!
It's impossible to play any better than you practice. I'm committed to training harder this season than I ever have in the past. The practices will help my physical game, but the mental game is just as important. With my mind in mind, I decided to start tracking some things. I will use this thread all season to record stats from each practice. When I'm down in Game 3, and I need a win to get out of my pool, I'm going to think about the numbers on this thread and know that I have run more hills and spent more time on practice than my opponent, and I will remind myself of that fact as I pull it together in my head to get my body to do what's necessary to overcome and win the match.
So, here's where I'm at so far:
3/29/08 2 hour practice in Aurora, all fundamentals. Did we play any games? I don't recall.
4/13/08 2 hours inside at Navy Pier, all fundaments with 4 people! No room for a net.
4/15/08 1.25 hours in Aurora. All fundamentals. I played like shit.
4/18/08 2 hours at The Hill. 31 hills (ouch). One game (CC 11-9). GREAT workout.
4/19/08 1.25 hours at a yoga class.
4/21/08 Ran a little less than a mile in the morning before work.
4/22/08 2 hours at The Hill. 16 hills. Two games (CC 11-2, 11-9). Another great one.
10.5 hours so far.
46 hills so far.
It's impossible to play any better than you practice. I'm committed to training harder this season than I ever have in the past. The practices will help my physical game, but the mental game is just as important. With my mind in mind, I decided to start tracking some things. I will use this thread all season to record stats from each practice. When I'm down in Game 3, and I need a win to get out of my pool, I'm going to think about the numbers on this thread and know that I have run more hills and spent more time on practice than my opponent, and I will remind myself of that fact as I pull it together in my head to get my body to do what's necessary to overcome and win the match.
So, here's where I'm at so far:
3/29/08 2 hour practice in Aurora, all fundamentals. Did we play any games? I don't recall.
4/13/08 2 hours inside at Navy Pier, all fundaments with 4 people! No room for a net.
4/15/08 1.25 hours in Aurora. All fundamentals. I played like shit.
4/18/08 2 hours at The Hill. 31 hills (ouch). One game (CC 11-9). GREAT workout.
4/19/08 1.25 hours at a yoga class.
4/21/08 Ran a little less than a mile in the morning before work.
4/22/08 2 hours at The Hill. 16 hills. Two games (CC 11-2, 11-9). Another great one.
10.5 hours so far.
46 hills so far.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Practice days and times
It looks like our schedules are working themselves out for the season. Zeke said earlier that he will be at Welles Park for training on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I can only assume that Carrie, Tommy and Vince will be there when they can. Cory and I will be training on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in the western suburbs. Bryan Nelson says he's going to start getting back into it too, so maybe we'll see him out on the court as well.
Hopefully we'll all be able to start getting together on most Sundays either at Welles or downtown at Jane Addams Memorial Park near Navy Pier. I will be more than happy to come out to Welles on Wednesdays when Cory is busy.
Cory and I worked on a lot of fundamentals last Friday, and we ran sprints up the hill no less than 30 times. I've been sore all weekend. Can't wait for more next week.
Hope you are enjoying the High Holiday today!
Peace.
Hopefully we'll all be able to start getting together on most Sundays either at Welles or downtown at Jane Addams Memorial Park near Navy Pier. I will be more than happy to come out to Welles on Wednesdays when Cory is busy.
Cory and I worked on a lot of fundamentals last Friday, and we ran sprints up the hill no less than 30 times. I've been sore all weekend. Can't wait for more next week.
Hope you are enjoying the High Holiday today!
Peace.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
2008 Windy City Cup Net :: Sponsorship Proposal
I figured it might be a good idea to post the logo for this year's tournament and the Sponsorship Proposal PDFs 11x17 (ledger size) & 8.5x11 (letter size) so that you all might have easy access to these files. Like Scot (or Willie Winston) said earlier: "...Talk to anyone you know that might be down with helping out...When you are talking to potential sponsors, remember that no amount of money is too small, and don't think for a second that you have to stick to the various sponsorship levels on the proposals. If someone is going to give us money, take it! Print out the proposal and see what you can do..."
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
June 13-15th: 2008 Windy City Cup Net Footbag Championships
Originally announced on Mar 17, 2008, on the Footbag net forum.
http://www.footbag.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4910
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********************************************************************************
Hey Footbag Friends!
The Net players of the greater Chicago-Land area are proud to formally announce and cordially invite YOU to the "The 2008 Windy City Cup" Net Footbag Championships, to be held June 13-15th in the beautiful city of Chicago, IL.
http://www.footbag.org/events/show/1203102773
We are very honored to team up with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, who will host our finals site (Sunday, June 15th) at Navy Pier, the premiere tourist attraction in Chicago. Navy Pier boasts over 1,000,000 visitors EVERY weekend in the Chicago summer. (Some of you may recall that the Freestyle Finals for the 1999 World Footbag Championships were held on Skyline Stage @ Navy Pier. Our Finals Net court this year will be right @ the Front (and only) entrance of the Pier.)
Bleacher style seating will surround our finals court to seat a minimum of 300 spectators, and we expect HUGE crowds all day long. Our site is situated @ the only entrance of Navy Pier, and the sheer volume of expected foot traffic should place this tournament in an area of unheard of promotion for our sport. (In other words, if you want to showcase your skills in front of large crowds, this tournament will exceed the standards proposed in this forum.) We will also offer food and beer vendors on-site.
Our event will feature competition for all levels; amateur, professional, and women net events will be offered. Our IFPA sanctioning has been approved. This will be a Prize Money Event.
Plan your vacation time and buy your airfare now! We are working on host hotel arrangements. You may never have the chance to play in front of this many people again in your life!!
More details will follow here, so check back frequently...
http://www.footbag.org/events/show/1203102773
-Cory Current, Scot Hansen,
& CIR (Chicago Inner Rectangle)
http://www.footbag.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4910
********************************************************************************
********************************************************************************
Hey Footbag Friends!
The Net players of the greater Chicago-Land area are proud to formally announce and cordially invite YOU to the "The 2008 Windy City Cup" Net Footbag Championships, to be held June 13-15th in the beautiful city of Chicago, IL.
http://www.footbag.org/events/show/1203102773
We are very honored to team up with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, who will host our finals site (Sunday, June 15th) at Navy Pier, the premiere tourist attraction in Chicago. Navy Pier boasts over 1,000,000 visitors EVERY weekend in the Chicago summer. (Some of you may recall that the Freestyle Finals for the 1999 World Footbag Championships were held on Skyline Stage @ Navy Pier. Our Finals Net court this year will be right @ the Front (and only) entrance of the Pier.)
Bleacher style seating will surround our finals court to seat a minimum of 300 spectators, and we expect HUGE crowds all day long. Our site is situated @ the only entrance of Navy Pier, and the sheer volume of expected foot traffic should place this tournament in an area of unheard of promotion for our sport. (In other words, if you want to showcase your skills in front of large crowds, this tournament will exceed the standards proposed in this forum.) We will also offer food and beer vendors on-site.
Our event will feature competition for all levels; amateur, professional, and women net events will be offered. Our IFPA sanctioning has been approved. This will be a Prize Money Event.
Plan your vacation time and buy your airfare now! We are working on host hotel arrangements. You may never have the chance to play in front of this many people again in your life!!
More details will follow here, so check back frequently...
http://www.footbag.org/events/show/1203102773
-Cory Current, Scot Hansen,
& CIR (Chicago Inner Rectangle)
Monday, April 7, 2008
Ken Hamric had a revenge this past week-end beating Chicago local player Cory Current and his partner Yves Archambault in the semi-finals of the Southeastern Championships in Memphis, Tn. We just wanted to remind him that it was not always the case
Ken Hamric is a former World Footbag Champion on the come back trail
The Chicago Inner Rectangle Footbag Net Club was born today
Yes it's official after 50 years of existence the club finally has a name. The Inner Rectangle. Footbag Net after all is played on a 20 by 44 badminton court. Footbag freestyle's club The Inner Circle inspired us for a good laugh, sorry guys.
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