February 29, 2004Mid-game meltdownBilly Idol still doesn't know what hit him. But it wasn't the evil orange plastic ball, as the neophyte netminder gave up seven straight goals midway through Sunday's game to cost his team their early lead and ultimately the game, 25-20. "They got from five goals to 15 pretty damn quick," says Idol, who was a surprise starter after regular rearguards Ottoman and Lobsterboy were unexpected scratches. "There were some bad bounces, deflections. They had big shots today, really good shots that curve. It catches you off-guard." But the mid-game meltdown wasn't limited to the crease, says notorious gameshow host gone bad, Wink. "We should have made those saves, we should have got on those guys. You look at any facet of our game and there wasn't one guy who played well." Against a potent offense piloted from the point by the hard shooting Colonel and Cowboy Bill, their opponents were quick to take advantage. And seize the game's momentum. The collapse started when Wendel converted a nifty three-way passing play from the Colonel and the Living Legend. It snowballed as Cowboy Bill found the five-hole and Paul One owned the top corner. "It was just one of those games where we got all the bounces," says Wendel, who returned to the court after missing the last two games traveling to a faraway country. "We got some goals that were one-in-a-million shots, they just kept going in. They really made the difference." "The team showed a lot of heart," says Gump, who was all smiles after the victory as he was able to redeem himself for his truncated performance in last week's game. "We started to get a couple of good bounces. We got that point shot going, and that changed the pace of the game." "We were able to jump on some chances," says Paul One. "We started to get some confidence and we were beating guys to the ball. The other team just seemed to let down a little bit." That's putting it mildly, says Wink, who was disconsolate in defeat. "We got beat on bad goals, we got beat on good goals, we got beat on bad backchecking, we got beat on not converting our chances. We got beat on a lot of things today. It all comes down to work and effort and we didn't have either of those things." Even a late surge that narrowed the gap to four goals and unnerved the leaders wasn't enough to salvage the difficult day. "Everyone was starting to get tense," says Gump. "Anytime you have a big lead and see it start to slip away, it gets the team a little tight." "I think we were coasting a bit," says Wendel, who snapped his side from its somnambulent swoon when he fed a pinpoint pass to the Colonel for the gamewinner. "Once we got past 20, we started to think okay, we're almost there. The other team was turning up the pressure a little bit, they were fighting to get back into the game." But it was too little, too late. "I think we gutted it out," says Wink. "There was no way we should have give up as many goals as we did." Comments
Come back Otto, I'm sure as much as Billy Idol wants a rematch he probably would rather play out. Easier to goon the aged veterans that way. Posted by: Wendel at March 4, 2004 04:54 PMWe will welcome you back with open arms Ottoman ... don't even hesitate to come out Sunday. We can jest about a rematch all we want but we are all well aware that it would never happen. Besides, we wouldn't want to break with the time-honoured "tradition" of watching Legend give all our sticks a good Sunday morning pulling. Posted by: TheColonel at March 3, 2004 10:54 PMWho's going to be the first to bring back the Colonel/Rudy shenanigans picture? I'm planning on being there this Sunday, sorry if it kills the rematch idea. The only thing that might keep me away is if work is still crazy busy. Posted by: ottoman at March 3, 2004 05:46 PMWhat's this about Wink getting lucky? Is there unsanctioned sex going on here?!? Posted by: Wendel at March 3, 2004 04:36 PMOh come now, don't be that way Wink. One of these days you'll get lucky too! Posted by: TheColonel at March 3, 2004 02:36 PMYeah, you missed Colonel's lucky day... Posted by: Wink at March 3, 2004 08:38 AMElvis is right, some different people probably will show up this week...I know I will be there. Yes Beetle Boy will show up rain-or-shine and screw up the prospect of an exact rematch. Sounds like I missed one hell of a game last week. Posted by: Beetle Boy at March 2, 2004 11:10 PMLoad up the Aztec, Otto. Posted by: Living Legend at March 2, 2004 09:56 PMShould I take this weekend off again then, with it being rematch time? Posted by: ottoman at March 2, 2004 08:28 PMIm with Wink! REMATCH! I'm all for another go at a team that was nothing more than lucky last week. And to avoid the technicallity, Im sure there will someone who wasn't there last week, who will show up to ensure its not an exact rematch ...just to keep the commish from pooping his pants completely. Posted by: elvis at March 2, 2004 08:08 PMI'm all for a rematch, but I'm worried about the voices that the Colonel is hearing ... Colonel talks funny. I don't know if I want anything that he wants.... Posted by: Wink at March 2, 2004 01:54 AMTradition is important but there are also times when tyranny is veiled beneath the guise of "tradition." Would you choose to have us seal our fates as mere conformists happy to exist beneath the unchallenged rule of the oppressor? Nay I say! The roadsters have chosen to speak with a united voice and I have clearly heard them say "REMATCH, REMATCH, REMATCH!" Posted by: TheColonel at March 1, 2004 11:55 PMPaul One, I'm one of the aged veterans too you know, and my comment was intended to savour our victory over the likes of the Kid, Bird, Elvis, and that honorary speedy youngster Wink. As much fun as it would be to beat them again, being a conservative old geezer at heart I wouldn't want to mess with our time-honored tradition of new teams every week. Traditions are important and deserve our respect. Posted by: Wendel at March 1, 2004 10:35 PMI'd ride with Billy as my team's goalie any time, any place, any where. He ain't afraid of you guys. All the lucky bounces can't be with you guys two weeks in a row.... I think it's a great idea. Back to back weeks beating up on the Kid / Elvis / Others’ team. Unfortunately, I think that Billy Idol might disagree. What terribly scary nightmares he would have as Sunday morning approached! Posted by: TheColonel at March 1, 2004 04:27 PMEr, may I interupt your lovefest to remind you guys the ONLY time teams carry over from one week to the next is for the Stanley Stick. Posted by: Living Legend at March 1, 2004 04:26 PMI think that would be great. I think we should keep the same teams again, just so things can be sweet again for Wendel, and Paul One and the rest of the veteran crew. I'm glad that so darn happy... Posted by: Wink at March 1, 2004 02:39 PMWendel, "Aged veterans"? You may not have hit me with a shot yesterday but apparently you've still managed to launch one at me. By the way, Wink is my favorite "speedy youngster" and I'd love a chance to face him and the other "youngins" again. Posted by: PaulOne at March 1, 2004 01:35 PMIf things were so damn sweet for you why don't we go with the same exact teams next week then? Signed Oh sure, just like ALL of my shots and passes going EXACTLY where I intend them to be (with a few exceptions, as Paul One's eye knows). I noticed that the media declined to mention another positive story from this game ... namely how our side was stacked with aged veterans but we still prevailed over the speedy youngsters. That made yesterday's victory especially sweet for me. I was more impressed with your game-ending "pin point pass" than your “sea” gull jersey. I must say, it was just incredible the way you deliberately played the ball off the backboards behind the net and right out front on to my stick. In fact, it was just amazing! I hope your bruises heal faster than Kid and Elvis’ egos :) I'm terribly disappointed with this week's photo coverage. Not even a glimpse of my spiffy new jersey. Sniff sniff. Posted by: Wendel at February 29, 2004 08:56 PM |