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UMBAA Hockey Sheep Blog
Monday, July 12, 2004
Friday, June 04, 2004
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Latest note from Scotland:
The jersey is here The jersey is here! So excited, wearing it now, got a few stares this morning taking the kids to nursery school, you don't see any hockey jerseys out here that's for sure! Esp. with sheep on them!
Thank you so much for getting one for me, and I LOVE THE TEAM PIC!!! I have it on my pinboard right now, it's too cool.
Best Regards,
Helen
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Now that our inaugural season is over, I'd like to thank the Sheep and the fans for making our first season a success, despite our 0-12-2 record. I had a good time, and we will reassemble in the fall to give this another shot. During the off season, don't forget to exercise your wallet at our store, so you're ready for next year!
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Here's a note from our Scotish Sheep fan. I just mailed an official Sheep sweater to her:
THANK YOU SO MUCH!! So excited, Jono mentioned the jersey today and I went woohoo! Can't wait! Will let you know as soon as it hits this side of the pond! Already wear my Cafe Press hoodie to death and get lots of comments, as this is MAJOR sheep country out here! All the lambs are springing about in the fields, too precious! Too bad they will all be lamb chops come the summer! I hope and anticipate a brighter future for your hockey team!
Best Regards to you and the team!!
Helen
Message from Jennie:
My undefeated record as Shepherd was broken. We lost 4-2. We were actually winning 1-0 after the first on an unassisted goal by John T. Our second goal came with under a minute left, scored by Chris R with an assist to John Z. I wrote down the penalties in a hurry, and as I look at it again, it can't be correct. They show us with 3 minor penalties, #2, #3, and #3. We didn't have a #3 on the ice. I remember penalties to John Z, Jon R, and Bill. Game got a little ugly at times. We remained remarkably cool - and I was pleased.
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Stats for Playoff Game #2 Goal to John H, Assists to Zach M and Brad C. John Z 2 mins for holding, Pete L 2 mins for roughing. Final Score 5-1.
We are low on players for the final game of the season vs. the Ice Rays on Sunday, May 8 at 11:30pm. The Lost Sheep are Joe, Brad, Pete L, Matt P, and of course Andy. If we get both subs (Bill and Marty), you will be up to 8F, 4D, and 1G.
That's right, I will not be at the last game. HP has decided that it is very important for me to be in Cincinnati at 8am on Monday morning. So I have to fly out either sunday night or 6am on Monday. Sorry flock, but I just don't love you enough to pull an all-nighter. So Jennie will be leading you into our final Sheep battle. Since she is undefeated as a Shepherd, I expect great things.
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Final score for Playoff game #1 was 5-3. I must say that I personally had a great time at that game, and it is fun to play against an opponent that is in our "league". Goals for the game were from Pete Dalton and two from Jon Rice. Assists went to John Z, Ken C, Brad C, and Pete D.
Playoff Game #2 is Sunday, May 2 at 10:20pm. We have a full roster (10F, 4D, 1G). Let me know ASAP if you can't make the game.
Monday, April 26, 2004
Playoff Info for the next two weeks:
Wed, 4/28/2004, 10:50pm, Hessians vs. Sheep
Sun, 5/2/2004, 10:20pm, Old town Tavern vs. Sheep
Sun, 5/9/2004, 11:30pm, Sheep vs. Ice Rays
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
From the Ann Arbor News: Don't Count On Sheep
Te Kuiti, a New Zealand town of about 5,000, was looking to create a Pamplona-like tradition by running 2,000 sheep through the center of town. The inaugural event, however, came off less than bullish. No participant was chased. In fact, instead of running down the planned route, the sheep reportedly split into groups and headed in different directions. Spectators had to help round them up.
Monday, April 19, 2004
Final last night was 9-1. John Torrance (wearing #99) scored unassisted in the 2nd. Pete D. served 2 minutes for too many men/women.
Thanks to the fans who came out last night to cheer us on. For those wondering what those biblical reference signs in the crowd meant, here's the low-down from http://bible.gospelcom.net/
John 2:18 -- Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"
John 18:24 -- Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.
Matthew 15:35 -- He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. [My personal favorite, and prehaps the most applicable aside from the "miraculous sign" quote above - JG]
Peter 5:13 -- She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.
Friday, April 16, 2004
There has been some discussion about taking our momentum from this week's tie into a summer league. The Ann Arbor Ice Cube has a "Spring D League" (which will hopefully be slightly more "D" than the Vets league). If we keep our current roster of 10F+4D+2G, the cost will be $200/skater ($100 for each goalie).
Here is everything I know about the league:
ANN ARBOR ICE CUBE
TEAM REGISTRATION
D LEAGUE
~18 Games + playoffs $3000
~Season runs May-August (first night of games is May 8)
~Rosters are limited to 20 skaters plus two goalies.
~Wednesdays and Saturdays, with some Fridays
~Three 20-minute run-time periods
~Registration deadline is April 25
~$500 Deposit required with registration.
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
New Multimedia Available: The Slasher!
Since we have an early game this Sunday, all roster players are invited to come and join in on the fun. We will shoot a pregame team picture and go get some postgame munchies. If you can't make the game on Sunday, April 18th at 8pm, please let me know ASAP. If we get everyone, we will have 12F, 4D and 1G.
The UMBAA vs. MMB game is likely being moved to Saturday (April 17) afternoon at 3pm. Pete D. has more details.
Monday, April 12, 2004
Special Announcement from Pete Dalton:
I am trying to put together a last minute 2nd annual one game championship between the current Michigan Marching Band (MMB) intramural team (the Winnebagos) and mostly marching band alums D team (the Sheep). I would like to invite both current Sheep team members to participate, plus any other MMB alums who were unable to do the full Sheep season.
Based on available ice times and the fact that the school year is nearly over for the Winnebagos, we are considering a potential ice time this Friday, April 16, at Yost Ice Arena. We will get 90 minutes of ice time starting at 9:30 PM.
Just so we're all on the same page, we're going to try to make this a regular game with three 20 minute periods, refs, and everything. Full equipment is required, and a face shield is highly recommended. (If you don't wear face protection and you get hurt, it is entirely your own fault and liability!!!) This is a no checking game open to both men and women. We will wear white jerseys. (Sheep will be in Sheepwear.)
I am still in negotiation for the ice time at Yost, and I expect that our per player cost will be around $10.
Please let me know if you're interested and available for this Friday. If you know of other hockey playing MMB alums who should be invited, please pass this message along. Since I expect that we will have a full team with current Sheep and a few additional band alums, I don't think that we need to invite "outside" players at this time.
Let me know if you have any questions. I will confirm ice time by tomorrow AM.
What a game last night! Two evenly matched teams, duking it out for bragging rights in the lower tier. We scored first at 6:01 in the 1st (Joe, from Ben and Pete D), and they respond 10 minutes later at 16:33. The Sheep killed Brad's tripping penalty at 6:43 in the second, but they add one at 9:47 in the second to pull to a tenuous lead. But we come back in the 3rd with a bouncer to tie it up at 9:52 (Andy, from Chris and Pete D -- again!). The end of the game got crazy -- we were down a man for the last 38 seconds as Andy served time for Holding, but we killed the penalty and skated to a 2-2 tie with Old Town Tavern and got our first team point of the season!
Thanks to Ben for filling in for us on very short notice. We look forward to adding you to the fold when you graduate in a year or two.
The next game -- #9 -- is Sunday, April 18 at 8:00pm. This is the game that had the time change. Hope to see you all there.
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
There will be an informal, non-mandatory pre-game team meeting tomorrow (Thursday) at Banfield's Westside (NW corner of Jackson and Zeeb). I plan to get there between 8 and 8:30pm and watch some hockey to inspire me.
Speaking of Game 7 (Thurs, April 8, 10:15pm), Marty will be filling in for Brad C, who took a shot off the ankle on Sunday and needs more time to recover. As you recall, Marty blew us off for a UM game a few weeks ago, so he owes us...
We also need a videographer for Game 7. If you know of anyone who needs to stay up late, drag them along with you.
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
There was a slight schedule change when we got our new schedules a week or so ago, and I missed it until just now. Game 9 on Sunday, April 18 has changed from 11:30pm to 8:00pm. Yea for us! I like swapping a late night game for and early game. I might even make it in to work before 10am that Monday!
Our opponent will be the Rink Wraiths (grey jerseys, from game 4; former Ice Cube never-ever team; beat us 0-6 with literally a last second shot, so we have some inspiration). As of today, I only show Andy out for that game. Let me know ASAP if you can't make this new time.
Fans -- I expect a full arena for this new time. Even you schoolteachers can make an 8:00 game! We have a fighting chance against this opponent -- what we need are adoring masses to urge us to victory! (OK -- well, that and a lot of practice. And maybe more than our fair share of luck...)
Monday, April 05, 2004
Results from last night's game are on the Goalie page. Let's put it this way -- I didn't need to update the leaderboard page! Game 7 is Thursday, 4/8/4 at 10:15. Please bring any of the game DVDs if you have them so we can pass them on to other flockers. Jersey re-orders are in to Perani's, and will be sent to the printer tomorrow. Cost will be $23 each (same as the original order, thanks to Pete's fabulous negotiating skills).
Friday, April 02, 2004
I've had two reports about the Ann Arbor Aces (the team we play this weekend). Both are not good... Tom played with this team last year in the Master's league, and said that they are very aggresive. Sandy Dunham reports that they were taking slapshots inside the circles in the 3rd period when up by 10 goals on her team a few weeks ago. So we're gonna get our money's worth from these guys. We'll need to play tight D and be very agressive in the offensive zone. Defense, don't be afraid to carry the puck on a breakout; and wingers, watch for this and play back if you see your D pass you by.
On an unrelated note, Andy sent me a message saying that he is being transfered to KY in mid-April. His last game will likely be on the 11th. We need to get him a W before he changes sports from Hockey to NASCAR...
See you all Sunday night.
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
Monday, March 29, 2004
Please note that the dates and times for the last three games of the season are now determined by our playoff position. Last night's score was 4-1; great goal by John H. I though we played much better: we broke out of our D zone much cleaner, we skated harder, and kept our heads up when in the offensive zone. We also played tough, and only got called for an obvious slash in front of the ref (nice try though, Andy!). We still tend to get "stuck" out on the ice for too long; my suggestion would be to change too early if you have a chance (1 minute shift?), rather than get stuck out for 3-4 minutes.
Friday, March 26, 2004
Thursday, March 25, 2004
To clear up any confusion, we now have a Goalie Info Page available. Please let me know ASAP if you are out for Sunday's game. I currently show a full team of 10F, 4D and 1G on the list, with no subs. Game time is 10:20pm on the 28th.
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
It is very strange to be posting about Sheep hockey while sitting on a grassy knoll in Orlando with the sun in my eyes. But I'll give it the old flocking try. The final was 5-0 on Sunday; not out best outing. Many thanks to Megan for playing with us; we really needed her with the injuries during the game. My wrist is getting better; I'm listed as Questionable for sunday's game. Zach reports that he is feeling better, I'll put him down as Probable. Not sure what our goalie situation is yet -- all we know for sure is that someone named "Matt" will be between the pipes. When I return north on Thursday I'll have more info about our upcoming Sunday game (10:20 at Vets).
Friday, March 19, 2004
The final score last night was 10-1. Bill E scored our goal (thanks for coming out, Bill!). Penalty minutes were: 2 mins to John T, 12 minutes to John H (including a misconduct! Well done!). I created a Leader Board; you can access through the main site. Sunday's game is at 8pm. John H and Matt P are MIA on my sheet - that leaves us with a full team of 9F and 4D (Jon - I'll need you to play D). See you then.
Thursday, March 18, 2004
We are expecting a surprisingly large number of players tonite, even with the 11:25 start. Pete L will be able to join us, since he has (correctly) decided that hockey is more important than work. Bill E is already contracted to play with us, which is a good thing, so we'll go with 5D and 9F. If you decide to be a wuss and blow off the game tonite, call me at 248-763-8093 ASAP. I'm also considering going to Banfield's Westside tonight before the game since I am going to just watch basketball anyway. If I go, I'll be there around 9pm.
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
Check out the new mug design at the store. We have a few orders for our second run of jerseys. Kobe (the jersey manufacturer) claims to have up to XXXL, so if you want to buy a larger jersey, they might be available. We are now at 8F, 4D, and 1G for Thursday's late game; I'm trying to get a sub to get us to 3 full F lines.
Monday, March 15, 2004
Looks like we're going to put in another order for jerseys. Matt R has orders for 3 or 4, and some other folks have expressed a desire for official on-ice sheepwear. It's unlikely that we'll meet the 12-sweater break point, so I expect that jerseys will run about $30 each for this run. If you want a jersey, please send me your name, phone number, jersey size, and the number (if any) you want on the back by Thursday, March 18th at 11:25pm. We'll place the order on Friday morning.
I don't think we should focus on the final score from last night's game. Nor should we emphasise the whole "who won and who lost" concept. And six goals against isn't that bad, really. The important thing is that we scored! Not once, but two times! Woo Hoo! Here's our current points board:
John Z. 1G, 1A
Chris R. 1G, 1A
Pete D. 1A
John H. 1A
Now, if we can just show that much improvement for Thursday nights game. Speaking of which, Thursday's game is at 11:25pm. I show Jon R, and Matt P as MIA, so we won't need subs for this one. At least not until someone wimps out because they have to be up early on Friday...
Friday, March 12, 2004
Marty M. will be filling in for John T. on defense on the game on Sunday night. See you all at Vets around 8:30pm.
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Well, 0-1 is not the best way to start the season, but at least no one fell down 20 seconds into their first shift. Oh wait -- some one did. But that's OK, because he was the guy who sets the roster, so he won't lose any playing time! :-) The official final score against the Purple People last night was 5-0. We spent a lot of time in our defensive end, so I don't think the score was too bad, all things considered. Next game we will all be veterans, so I'm sure we'll do better.
Speaking of the next game, it is Sunday at 9:10pm. I know that Matt P is still DL-ed, and I also have John T and Brad C out, so we're going to activate a sub. That will keep us at 3 F lines and 2 D pairs. And a goalie. Please feel free to send me any comments about line suggestions; if you don't complain, then I'll leave them the way they are.
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
All of the flockers who sent me their ISI forms are now signed up. I sent in our info via the web, to make sure we were all legal before the first game. You will get your ISI membership info via snail-mail in a few weeks. Tonight's game is against Team Mudar (sp? Michelle, Joe junior, etc...). I'll be at Banfield's Westside between 9 and 10; feel free to stop by. Otherwise I'll see you at Vets.
Saturday, March 06, 2004
Thursday, March 04, 2004
So far we only have one conflict for Wednesday's game (Chris) and one person on the DL (Matt P). That leaves us 8 forwards, 5 D, and 1 goalie. I'll call that good, so subs are permitted to make other plans for Wednesday night! We can either move a D up to F for a full 3 forward line set, or we can do some other fun combination. I'm open to suggestions. Also, I want to emphasise that we need to take short shifts, especially with a nice full bench. I'd like to go for shifts between 1 and 2 minutes - the shorter the better. I'm not exactly an experienced hockey coach, but I do want to make sure we all get about the same amount of ice time, and I think that short shifts will help accomplish that. In other news: I will have a green release form that everyone must sign before the first game (it is from Vets), and Pete L. has picked up the Jerseys, which are available either directly from him or you can get them before the first game. It turns out that they do have blue shoulders, which is cool. Also, I may fill out online ISI forms for all of those who submitted them to me, just be sure we are covered for the first game. I'll let you know if I do this for you.
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
The new schedule is here! The new schedule is here! And it's on the main sheep page! I know -- the times are not very good. Unless you are vampire. But I didn't have any choice, and everyone in the league got the same set of time slots. And the added one Wednesday and four Thursday games to our schedule. I expect that will cause some pain, especially for the out-of-towners. Let me know what you cannot make, and I will tap into our sub list. I especially need to know if you can't make the first game, Wednesday, March 10 at 10:50pm. In other news, everyone is paid in full (yea!), and we added Bill Ellsworth to the sub list, to make up for Sandy who will now be the competition (team 8, I think). There are several teams coming in from other leagues; two from the Cube "D", and 4 from Vets Masters: NSF, Max&Erma, Busch's, and Life Support. I was assured that the Master's teams are not coming in tact, and that the league will still be "D" level. I'm sure that's as true as the promise to play only on Sundays between 8 and 11...
Friday, February 27, 2004
Well, nobody from Vets has called about the Manager's meeting yet. I guess it isn't going to be this week! I did talk to Dennis over there, and he told me that we now have 8 teams, and we may go up to 10. There are five time slots with starting times between 6:30 and 10:30 on Sundays dedicated to the league, although we may end up having one or two non-Sunday games. There is no schedule yet, so you can choose to trust him or not. I did hear that our league may have some C/BB level teams in it (Max & Erma's), and since the Cube isn't running a spring league, we will also have some teams from there (mostly D-level, I think). In the area of merchandising, I will be ordering some helmet stickers soon. You can see them on the CafePress site -- they are the Bumper Stickers. Since I'll get them in bulk, they will cost about $27 for 150 stickers (there are 10 to a sheet). Everyone owes me 18 cents. Oh yeah -- and John T. paid me on Thursday at Steve's class, so that just leaves one laggard.
Tuesday, February 24, 2004
News from Pete L.: I spoke with Perani's yesterday. They tell me that the physical jerseys have arrived in Flint and have been sent to their screen printer in Lansing. I am assured that they will be available for pick up on Tuesday, March 2.
Also, we have our first international fan. Helen, the owner of Knit-o-Rama, and a resident in Angus, Scotland, loves our version of the sheep cartoon from her web site, and was the first customer at the (non-profit) Sheep Store. Welcome aboard, Helen! We hope to make you proud when we actually get on the ice!
Monday, February 23, 2004
There are new items in the store, including a sweatshirt for Mom Pickus, a metal lunch box, and men's underwear for those who don't fit into women's junior thongs. I cashed all of the checks I had as of Friday night. I have since received payment from John H. and Chris R., leaving Matt R. and John T. as the only remaining slackers. They will be hunted down.
Friday, February 20, 2004
I have uploaded the "flat" version of the logo in both Black & White and Color. I also put them onto our e-commerce site on a few shirts. I also added a stein at Pete's request. If you want, I can create a shirt with any combination (front and back) of the logos for your shopping pleasure. Incidentally, I am not marking up the cost of any of the items at CafePress, so the price you see is the "wholesale" price. But, if we order 15 or more of any one item (they can be multiple sizes), we get about 35% off the price you see. This may be a good way to get Sheep undergarments for everyone. And I received payment from Zach yesterday.
Thursday, February 19, 2004
Although Pete D. will be our official marketing executive, I have created a sample (and functional) online store with official UMBAA Sheep merchandise. We will probably update this later, but if you can't wait, you can order Sheep logo stuff for the whole family today. (BTW: also got payment from Brad yesterday.)
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Here is a full-color version of the "Pete the Angry Sheep" logo. It is the leading candidate for our T-shirt design. (Also received payments yesterday from Pete L. and John Z.; thank you!).
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
There are photos of some of the Sheep who attended the practice/party at John Heins' house. Click on the camera icon on the main page to see your Sheep in action.
The official UMBAA Sheep Logo is available electronically. Click here to see a medium-quality GIF of "Pete, the Angry Sheep".
Friday, February 13, 2004
In honor of ESPN's commercials about Watersmeet, here are the Son of Swami's top 10 Upper Peninsula nicknames:
1. Watersmeet Nimrods
2. Kingsford Flivvers
3. Bessemer Speedboys
4. Ishpeming Hematites
5. Gwinn Modeltowners
6. West Iron County Wykons
7. Calumet Copper Kings
9. Manistique Emeralds
9. Marenisco Milltowners
10. Houghton Gremlins
I have received payments from Tom, Ken, and Andy so far. Pete and Jennie are paid up because they are fronting the jerseys. Joe is also paid up because I paid the initial deposit. No word on when the manager meeting is -- should be sometime in the next 2 weeks. Andy and Ken overpaid by $5 (see ISI explaination on the main page) -- I'll refund their money or put it into the post-game-celebration kitty at their choice.
