THE MORNING AFTER (nearly)

Apparently a few people were expecting a BLOG update today...so here is a hastily thrown together one. Thankfully traffic was brutal today, so I was able to make some notes on the way to work.


THE DRAFT

In short, the draft was spectacular! I thought our elected executive and assorted volunteers did an outstanding job running things and keeping order and control while still having a ton of fun. I have only seen a small portion of the advance work (mainly the rankings) that goes into the draft and I’ve never participated in the execution of the event. However, the fact that everything unfolds so fluidly is a testament to those involved. There are many hours of prep that go into pulling off that 2 hour exercise. Exceptional job lads, you have done us proud once again.

Another quick note on the draft, I really liked the reverse draft order! I noticed that a lot of the 1’s, 2’s and 3’s were a little ‘edgy’ as the day went on. It could be my imagination but I think there was a little heightened drama because of this.  By the way, the reverse draft was NOT my idea.  The easiest way to tell if it was my idea or not is just to check and see if it actually passed. 

Grisslies Scouts at the Draft Table

Now that the draft is over, there are no more #1’s or #8’s or #12’s. You will never see ratings referenced here (unless there is an opportunity to poke fun at Cudnik), as of now there are only teammates and everyone will be a contributor to their team.

THE PREDICTIONS

Ahhhh, the predictions. This is a bit of work, so I’ve brought in some high-priced talent to help me out. Many of you will remember Happy & Lucky who did the sports centre style review of the Annual General Meeting last year. If you don’t remember, you can find them here ===> AGM 

Well these two investigative sports journalists have agreed to do a 3 part pre-season forecaster. The first one will be out this coming Friday (15th) and will cover the Banshees, Beer Bros., Brew Jays, Dislocated Joints and Dodge City Rounders. 

On the 19th they will have The Dog Catchers, Dusty Cleats, Grisslies, Hot Tub Woody’s and the Hurtin’ Units. 

The series will conclude on the 24th with a compelling review of the Lucky Stiffs, Red Dogs, Rusty Rebels, The Wild and the Torn Ligaments.

THE GRISSLIES 

Last year’s Grisslies will now be spreading that Grisslie good will across the league. Simon Smith is now with the Banshees, Pierro Del Greco with the Beer Bros., Timmy ‘two beer’ Osmond with the Dislocated Joints, Brett Mabee (not) with the Dusty Cleats, Calvin Steeves to the Hurtin’ Units, Danny Chiasson to the Lucky Stiffs, Ingofische Bartons with the Red Dogs and Kevin ‘Radar’ Boston to the Torn Ligaments. I’ve heard however that Cheryl will continue to support the Grisslies. She’s good that way.

Returning to the Grisslies are captains; me and Rob Farah and we were fortunate to select Dave Argue with our pick for a second pitcher. The good news is that Dave can pitch and play good defense at any position  which is great for the Grisslies. The bad news is that I’ve harassed him in the BLOG last year to the point of exhaustion. After the moustache and BLOG and the leader of the young conservatives BLOG, I think I may actually be out of ideas. Bad news for me, probably good for Dave.

Our new Grisslies look AMAZING!!! And as of this morning we are in first place with no losses or ties. I believe we have a shot at remaining undefeated for another 3 weeks...our schedule is THAT good! I was going to wait until opening day to announce the team; what with all the fanfare, Mike MacEachern throwing out the first pitch, Steve Brooks talking Celine Dion into singing the anthem. But alas, I’m too impatient.

Here are your 2011 Grisslies: Dave ‘the contradiction’ Argue, Dave ‘don’t call me Terry’ Doucette, Doug ‘The Blogger’ Dwyer, Rob ‘Zappa’ Farah, Rob ‘The Nerd’ Hayward, Jimmy ‘The’ Hunter, Jim ‘Tiny’ Mannell, Jerry ‘The Gangsta’ Muirhead, Gord ‘The Screwdriver’ Robertson, Bill ‘For Those About To Rock We’ Sallustio, Stephane ‘Rene’ Simard and Bobby ‘Minnesota’ Smith.

Oh, one final note for collectors. The Grisslies have changed their colours this year. Gone is the traditional Columbian Blue. Yes, Columbian is ALSO a colour!  Who knew? The Grisslies have adopted a new grey shirt with red lettering. In the words of Rob Farah, “Strictly from a strategic marketing sense, we’re trying to reach a younger demographic. Our design and implementation team has seamlessly blended traditional athletic colours with a young ‘today’ type of look that borders between the Hollister look and a more urban hip-hop culture. I believe there is real synergy here, in a Wyld Stallyns changing the world kind of way.”

I have nothing to add to that, it was brilliant.

PS:  Hoping that Stephane on our team has a sense of humour.  Someone will hit me one day, maybe soon.  Here is pic of Simard in case you don't know him yet.