HURTIN' UNITS VS. THE BLUES BROTHERS.
Hurtin' Units win 11-7
Team Record- 3-3-0
Keogh Park- The Blues Brothers are back and playin' to a new crowd. The Grumpy Old Js have been reunited (okay half reunited, kinda like the Blues Brothers have been reunited with Jim Belushi and not John Belushi) and are back as the Blues Brothers this season as one of the new teams. If you recall the Lucky Stiffs and Banshees both folded their franchises this winter and the Blues Brothers and the Draft Kings were the new teams that replaced them. Welcome aboard boys!
The weather for this game was chilly to say the least. At 4:00pm on Thursday afternoon the temperature was 13 degrees and there was a strong breeze that made it feel even cooler. At game time the light rain had started to fall, but we were determined to get this one in. The rain didn't let up at all during the game, in fact it started falling harder as the game went on. We managed to get the whole game in and the 9:30pm game even got played. We've discovered that the Units are a bunch of mudders.
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| Where's Phil? I hope he's okay. |
At game time (8:15pm) we had only 9 players in the black and yellow, ready to take on the Brothers. Jamie M., Coxy and Phil were all absent. I knew about Jamie, Coxy sent me an e-mail around 6pm and I don't know what the heck happened to Phil.
Since this is already a lengthy blog, I'll let the boxscore tell the story about this game.
There is one more little Jimbit of information I would like to mention about our games this week.
" I'm not a smart man"- Forest Gump
There are times when we all have Forest Gump moments. For some people it's just a brain fart, lapse in judgement or an inept moment and then we quickly just move on. But for others, these moments seem to come in bunches, I know for me they usually come in groups of 3s, for some people it's only a one time thing.
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| Ricky Bobby in the dugout, after recovering his cleats. |
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| "Lucy you have some esplainin' to do". - Ricky Ricardo |
On Thursday evening, the Units played the Blues Brothers and won 11-7. The score should have been 12-7. In the later innings, Ricky Bobby hit a walk off homerun into the tennis court at Keogh Park, Ricky jogged around the bases, in his recovered cleats, and as he came home he stepped on home plate. Stepping on home plate is not permitted and Ricky was called out...D'oh!!! Oh Ricky you're so fine, you're so fine, you blow my mind... Hey Ricky! Hey Ricky!
The publishers of Baseball World Magazine have compiled a list of 100 fascinating facts about the Hurtin' Units:
1. The Hurtin' Units changed their logo after the first season. The first season was a player sliding in the dirt. Bender was introduced in 2011.
2. Jimmer and Mike captained another team before captaining the Hurtin' Units. The team was in the Tottenham Oldtimers Fall league, the team name was the Dark Knights.
3. Chris Ross played for the Hurtin' Units in 2010 and was drafted again in 2011, but decided to take the year off to coach soccer. Chris was replaced by rookie Brad Moye.
4. Three players in the league have played with the Units more than one season. Al Hayward played in 2010 and 2012. Richard Gabourie played with the Units in 2011 and 2013. Paul Gyori played in 2010 and 2011.
5. 41 T.O.T players have played for the Hurtin' Units.
6. The furthest the Hurtin’ Units have ever gone in the playoffs is to the semi-finals vs. the Brew Jays in the 2012 playoffs.
7. The Hurtin’ Units wore the colour Royal Blue in the first two seasons. The first season with white lettering and the second season with yellow lettering.
8. The Hurtin’ Units best regular season was the first season (2010) with a record of 19-5-2.
9. Hurtin' Units sister team (tournament team) is named the Squirtin' Units.
10. Bender, the Units logo, is a character developed by Matt Groening, the creator of the Simpsons.
11. The Hurtin’ Units still have a yellow bat in their bat bag.
12. Jimmer and Mike became captains when the team Recycled called it quits. Captains Dan Steinburg and Darryl Hall were the Captains of the Recycled.
13. The Hurtin’ Units number one picks over the last four seasons were (2010) Robin Dickson, (2011) Kevin Moon, (2012) Cameron Clark, (2013) Phil Glecoff.
14. Mike O. was injured for most of the 2012 season.
15. Mike’s family dog was hit by a car one night when the Units were playing.
16. Hurtin’ Units were the first team to win against the Dusty Cleats in 2011. The Cleats were unbeaten until August 15, 2011, with a 19-0-0 record. The Units won the game 15-14 to snap the Dusty Cleats perfect record.
17. Hurtin’ Units first overall pick as captains (2010) was P1 Jerry Wallace.
18. The Hurtin’ Units regular season all time record over the first 3 season is 38-31-6, 7 games over .500.
19. The Hurtin’ Units were playing the Brew Jays the night Rob Hayward broke his wrist. The ball was hit to the outfield by Cam Clark, Rob dove to catch the ball landing on his arm.
20. Bill Jonkman and Al Hayward are the most veteran players to play for the Units.
21. The most attractive player to play for the Units was Bob McCullogh... Woody is a close second.
22. The most serious injury to a Hurtin’ Unit player was Bill Jonkman. Bill was running to first base and tripped over the bag, he tumbled to the ground. Bill bruised his ribs and collapsed a lung. Wasn't able to play for over a month.
23. In 2010 the Units won the regular season and became league champions with a record of 19-5-2.
24. Hurtin’ Units and Brew Jays came in to the T.O.T. league in the same year. (2010)
25. This blog is not the first blog by Jimmer. In 2007, Jimmer played for the Rusty Rebels and blogged the entire season.
To view the blog go to http://rustyrebels.blogspot.ca/
26. Since changing the Units Logo in 2011, the character Bender has appeared in every posting of the Hurtin’ Unit blog.
To view the blog go to http://rustyrebels.blogspot.ca/
26. Since changing the Units Logo in 2011, the character Bender has appeared in every posting of the Hurtin’ Unit blog.
27. Mike and Jimmer played on 2 other teams together, the Hottub Woodys (2006) and Rusty Rebels (2007).
28. Bender’s catch phrase is “ bite my shiny metal ass”.
29. Mike was voted "Most Sportsmanlike Player" in 2012.
30. Hurtin’ Units have never been shut out in a league game. The Units came close to being shut out in 2012 against the Beer Bros., Units scored a single run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
31. Hurtin’ Units shirt colours have been Royal Blue with white lettering (2010), Royal Blue with gold lettering (2011), Kelly Green with gold lettering (2012) and Black with gold lettering.
32. The Magazine "Baseball World" is a cover designed by Jimmer which uses pictures of Hurtin' Unit players or others to show a magazine facade. These pictures are some of the most fun in the HU blog.
33. Mike hated not being able to play for the Hurtin’ Units in 2012. An injured knee kept him out of the lineup. 34. Hurtin’ Units have only played once on Sunday in the playoffs…2012 against the Grisslies (quarter finals) and the Brew Jays (semi-finals).
35. Only 2 players, in the Units history, have not finished the season due to injury. Dave Kidd (knees) and Mike Olliffe (knee).
36. The Hurtin’ Units sister team (Squirtin’ Units) has won the August Tournament fun division the last 2 years (2011 and 2012).
37. Jens Lepa, who played for the Units (2010), is a captain for the Gruesome Devils.
38. Two league presidents have played for the Hurtin’ Units. Chris Ross (2010) and Jamie McClean (2013).
39. Umpire Chris Nyers played for the Hurtin’Units in 2010.
40. The Units outfield in 2010 consisted of Jim MacDonald, Chris Ross, Jens Lepa, Don Curran and Chris Nyers.
41. The Hurtin’ Units won the Coors Light Keg party in 2012.
42. In 2012, the Units played 6 weeks in a row at Coventry Park. (And we still won the Keg party).
43. The Units have a trophy for most sportsmanlike for the Hurting’ Units. The recipients are Tom Perry (2010), Bill Jonkman (2011) and Al Hayward (2012).
44. In 2012 the Units had a broad range of team shirt sizes… 1 player wore a medium shirts and 1 player had a XXXL.
45. In 2012, the Units had 5 one run losses and 2 two run losses.
46. Cal Russell is the only switch hitting batter to ever play for the Hurtin’ Units.
47. Jimmer, Jerry Wallace (2010) and Calvin Steeves (2011) all played together on the 2008 Lucky Stiffs Championship team.
48. Jimmer wears # 93 on his shirt, Mike wears #14.
49. In 2011, the Hurtin’ Units called for only one substitution entire season.
50. Hurtin’ Units have entered a team in the HTKP tournament every season. In 2012 they went to the semi-finals against the Brew Jays. The Brew Jays would defeat the Units and go on to win the tournament.
51. Bender, the character on the Units shirt, drinks alcohol and smokes cigars.
52. Jimmer and Mike are both Toronto Maple Leafs fans.
53. In 2011, the Hurtin’ Units played on the evening that the Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup.
55. The 2012, the Hurtin’ Units first 2 victories on the season came against the Dodge City Rounders in back to back games. May 30, 2012 by a score of 16-6 and June 2, 2012 by a score of 19-10.
56. Gord Robinson (HU 2012) played for the Dusty Cleats in their 22-2-0 season.
57. Gord Robertson (HU 2012) played on the 2011 Championship Grisslies team.
58. Dan Chaisson and Gary Cox both played with Jimmer and Mike on the Hottub Woodies in 2006.
59. Rick Lyon (HU 2013) and Jimmer played together on the Banshees in 2009.
60. The Hurtin’ Units first ever win came on May 4th, 2010 vs. The Red Dogs, final score 14-10.
61. The Hurtin’ Units still have a composite yellow bat in the bat bag.
62. The Hurtin’ Units rookies over the last four years were/are: Chris Nyers (2010), Paul Evans (2011), Craig Slater (2012) and Darrell Hager (2013).
63. Hurtin’ Units were part of the Grisslies fan appreciation night in 2011.
64. The most runs ever scored by a Hurtin’ Units team was 29 vs. the Brew Jays on September 10, 2012. The final score Hurtin’ Units 29, Brew Jays 9.
65. The most runs ever scored against the Hurtin’ Units team was 27 vs. the Rusty Rebels on September 21, 2010. The Rusty would win by a score of 27-12 in the first playoff game.
66. Alumni Unit Rob Rumboldt supplied the beer for the 2013 Hurtin’ Unit practise.
67. Rob Humboldt (HU 2012) was mister awesome for the Squirtin’ Units in the August Tournament.
68. Clayton Avery (HU 2012) was the winner of the “Most Improved Player” award in 2012.
69. Clayton Avery (HU 2012) was attacked and bitten several times by a vicious dog while trying to get something out of his car trunk.
70. The Hurtin’ Units came in to the league the year that Keogh Park got a major makeover.
71. Hurtin’ Units sponsors over the last 4 seasons were: Cora's (2010), Taste of Freedom (2011), PC350 (2012), Neighbours Country Depot (2013).
72. Bob McCullough (HU 2011) pitched for the Units in the HTKP Tournament and won all 3 games in the round robin portion of the tournament.
73. The Hurtin’ Units were a Jekyll and Hyde team in the 2012 season; some nights they could score 20 runs, but the defence was not good, other nights the defence was stellar, but the batters couldn’t muster up any consecutive hits or runs.
74. The Hurtin’ Units in this young 2013 season are averaging 16 runs for per game.
75. The Hurtin’ Units team shirt colours (2013) are based on the Pittsburgh Penguins and not the Boston Bruins. Boo Bruins!!
76. Dan Chaisson wears number 81 because of Terrell Owens, not Phil Kessel.
77. Mike O. dislikes the rock band “Rush”, but likes bare naked ladies (not sure how he feels about the band) and icy cold, delicious beer.
78. Hurtin’ Units have 2 ties in each of their first 3 seasons.
79. The Hurtin’ Units very first blog posting was on Tuesday April 6, 2010.
80. Gary Cox and Mike Olliffe played on the same oldtimers hockey team in 2012-13. The team won the championship.
81. Cam Clark (HU 2012) is a Boston Bruins hockey fan. Get him….
82. In 2012, the Hurtin’ Units picked up 2 new players to replace injured Mike O. and Dave K. The replacements were Mark Butler (Mike) and Davey Stamp (Dave).
83. Mike Olliffe, James Taylor and Cam Clark all live next door to each other. It’s a Cam sandwich, hold the pickle.
84. Neighbour Country Depot is the Hurtin’ Units sponsor for the 2013 season.
85. Mark Doyle name appears on a scoreboard sign, in a picture, in one of the blog postings.
86. Pictures of characters from the Simpsons, Family Guy, Seinfeld, Flintstones, Munsters, Woody Woodpecker, and Futurama have all appear in blog postings. There are probably even more, but I'm not going looking...
87. The Hurtin’ Units lost to the Wild in a 2010 elimination playoff game. The Wild would go on to win the championship.
88. Jimmer’s favourite author is Stephen King. King is referenced or appears in the blog on several different occasions.
89. Chris Ross, Unit alumni, past president, took 2 years off to coach soccer.
90. Rob Rumboldt’s nickname is Tumble. Tumble’s name appears in several different postings of the blog. A tattoo on a baseball babe’s arm, as name on Herman Munster’s shirt, written on a wall with Bender and as Tumble bobblehead doll.
91. Jimmer takes pictures of the game sheets following each game to assist with the blog and boxscore.
92. Hurtin’ Units have never won anything at the C.R.I.C dance, although we have had a team ticket every year.
93. The Brew Jays are the Hurtin’ Units nemesis; in season one (2010, the first season for both teams) the Brew Jays and Hurtin’ Units battled all season for the first place seed, it came down to the final games to decide, the Units would prevail and win the league title. In 2012, the Brew Jays would beat the Units in the regular season in 2 very close games. The two teams would meet in the semi-finals of the HTKP tournament, the Brew Jays would go on to win the tournament. In the first game of the 2012 playoffs, the Hurtin’ Units would have their revenge by beating the Jays 29-9. The Brew Jays and Hurtin’ Units would meet again in the playoff's semi-finals, the Brew Jays would prevail by a score of 14-8 and go on the the finals.
94. Jimmer, Jerry Wallace (HU 2010), Claire Wallace and Rob McCarron have a annual Oldtimer euchre tournament in the baseball off season.
95. In 2012, in Mike Olliffe’s last game before calling it quits because of a torn meniscus in his knee, he hit a towering homerun in to the tennis courts at Keogh Park. Not to shabby for a guy with a bad knee.
96. Last season the Hurtin Units bats were jinxed, there were blogs written about how bad things had gotten. With only a few games remaining in the 2012 regular season, Jimmer went outside the box and had the Units bats smudged. The smudging seemed to work, the Units would go undefeated in the final 3 regular season games and would go on to the semi-finals in the playoffs. This season the smudging was done before the season began.
97. Hurtin’ Unit Rick Cudnik carries around a baseball bat filled with hydraulic cement.
98. Hurtin’ Units drank five 26oz bottles of Sambuca in the second half of the 2012 season.
99. Jimmer sends a “next game reminder” to all current Hurtin’ Unit players the evening before game day.
100. The plastic lineup board used to hang the batting lineup and player positions is actually a cutting board from Dollarama; Jimmer put a holding clip and chain and hooks to use it for the lineup.
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