The Inshredible Bulk: Not Trending, Not Roll Spiking Either

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 09 Mar 2009 14:15

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Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 14 Mar 2009 21:27

Don't know how much sleep I'll be getting tonight. Supposed to leave early tomorrow morning to hook with CLCK to drive down to Salem Illinois to play net with the Memphis crew. It'll be the first session of the year for me, what a hellova way to start off!

Movie nights have been very fun and is a great chance to hang out with CIC. Played my first MTG game. Don't think I'll be getting into it though. If I had played years earlier I would have been hooked for sure. My other hobbies have also helped pass the time this winter.

My roommate's guests (all 8 of them) have all but taken over the single washroom in the apartment. Hopeful they will have found other lodging arrangements for the remainder of their stay in Chicago. They're nice people but it's just too much. They brought their own dog too and Tenoch spends a lot of time on top pf my bed when I'm home to keep from being annoyed by the smaller dog. In fact, puppyfart is sprawled out on my bed right now, crashed out like it was his

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 16 Mar 2009 20:35

Memphicago 3.1 was awesome!!!!!! For those that don't know, its when the Chicago and Memphis net crews get together for an afternoon of pick-up games in Salem Illinois. I missed 2.2 but the guys that did make it happened to make it to the local paper.

I got up at 4 (after only 3 hours of sleep), packed my things then left my house @ 5:15. Bus to the blue line train then took that to the end of the line at Forrest Park. Three minutes after getting off the train, the rest of the guys show up in Bryan's massive red truck. I should have taken a pic of this thing! Scot rode shotgun with me and Cory lounging comfortably in the back, extremely spacious and comfortable! Damn can that thing haul ass! I think we averaged about 80mph most of the time.

We make it to Salem in just under 4 hours and even managed to run into Ben at a gas station as we picked up some last minute food and drinks. We get to the park, unpack, set up 2 courts and started warming up. We played 1 game to 15 then the winning team would split and team up with another winning player from the other court, losers did the same. Then winners play winners and losers play losers. It worked out well and everyone got a chance to play with everyone else at least once. Here's the attendance breakdown:
4 Chicagoland area
-Bryan Nelson
-Cory Current
-Scot Hansen
-Zeke
3 Memphis and
-Ben Alston
-Ken Hamric
-Walt Houston
1 downstate Illinois.
-Mike Bellman

I think I did an ok job on the court for it being the first full session of the year and going up against that much talent. I overset most of the day and it was the cause of many lost rounds. Didn't use my left leg when the bag came to that side. Watched too many passes land 'in'. Passed up so many sweet sets. Serve returns were pretty bad. Despite all that I did have a lot of fun.

On the positive side, I think I played well defensively. Got my second blocked shot, stuffing Mikey on a side axe attempt. That gave me the confidence at making more of a presence at the net and challenging shots. Got a couple good digs and got my foot on several spikes. Hustled all day to run down shanks. Offensively, my serves were ok. It would be foolish to expect them to be as hot as they were near the end of last season. They were ok. I still don't spike nearly as often as the other players but the ones I did connect with had some heat on 'em. Absolutely crushed an overset with a sideaxe early in the day playing against Scot. Blasted a toe jam past Hammer. Hit a couple good scuffs and one big sweep that found their way to the back court. Failed at pretty much every sunback I took a swing at. My timing was just off.

Bryan had an off day and didn't play nearly as well as I've seen. Mike played well and has a wicked toe jam. Scot was solid and his sweep serve was giving everyone problems. Cory had a slow start but was his usual self as the afternoon progressed, He ended the day by getting game point with a massive crush.

I spoke with Walt briefly before warm-ups and he mentioned he was coming off a bad ankle sprain and dealing with some hamstring/groin problems. This was the first time I've played with and against him and he wasn't nearly as explosive as he was during last years WCC but still fun to watch. His cousin, Ben Alston, is even more fearless in the air than Tommy (too bad he couldn't make it to this) He takes these massive swings at such crazy angles that I'm usually more worried [as a defender] about not getting hit with one of his spikes than actually trying to defend it. It's funny to hear the random things they say on the courts and I found them both to be very encouraging partners.

Ken really made an impression on me Sunday. He was making crazy digs and sliding into the ground. His sets were perfect and his sweeps are a thing of beauty and . I even managed to get a good photo of him crushing one in the air. I was fortunate to be able to partner with him a couple times during the day.

In between games we ate Bryan's home made sloppy joes. He brought them in a crock pot that he connected to an electrical outlet at the site. I killed at least 3 of those things, they were friggin' great! I would have had more if I wasn't playing the rest of the day. Played to music on his radio and relaxed on 4 folding chairs. We had food, music, great weather, 8 players for the first session of the season. Memphicago 3.1 was awesome!!!!!!

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 18 Mar 2009 08:18

Added some pics taken in November to my footbag.org gallery

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 20 Mar 2009 07:10

Fun week so far. Last Thursday we watched Taken at Reiles. Friday, I played squares with Tom, Cuba and Marty at Welles. One of the first group outdoor sessions and I had this terrible headache. I still tried to enjoy being outside. Got a haircut then played RE5 at Reiles. Saturday got a quick last minute session with Tom and Nathan. Sunday I played net in Salem.

I was stuck indoors at work during that gorgeous Tuesday while 3 people text me asking if I was free. Another round of RE5 Wednesday night then a squares session yesterday at Welles. I started the session setting up my net court near a wall at the park for some light spike practice. Cuba, Marty and Tommy soon arrive. Twitch shows up later to a warm (gay) reception. Freddy made a brief appearance and received and even warmer welcome. Unfortunately he was only stopping by on his way home. Still good to see him. Aaron, another former Lane kid, randomly shows up and joins the game.

Squares was so much fun, specially with 5 on the court. We played a bunch of games straight up, 2 games of Ace Everyone (play to 50 points) then a game of Highlander Gamma. A game of Spin Rule was started but was quickly squashed. I struggled throughout with both outside kicks and defending weak side shots but my offense started to open up allowing me to score bunches of points and stay competitive. I was snaking more, self screening, and changing up my arc and angles.

I won both games of Ace Everyone after recovering from committing the same stupid mistake in both games. King was serving to 2sq while I was in 3sq. I faked a kick at the serve hoping to force a shank from the receiver. Instead, both times the receiver flat out whiffed the hand toss and the king was awarded an ace (and the defenders points) - ON THE SERVE!!!!!! Predictably, Marty waited until me and the other players scored a handful of points then starts acing us to steal 20-30+ points in just a few sneaky plays. I don't know how he does it when we all know its coming. Luckily, I managed to snake him (for that juicy chunk of points) and work my way to king through many hectic and frantic rounds for the win.

I also took Highlander Gamma and one or two games straight up. The temp started to drop and play was winding down so we eventually decided to eat at Giordanos. Ordering 2 pizzas we all liked wasn't terribly difficult but keeping the inappropriate conversations to a a quiet minimum was a complete failure. Hopefully another round of Resident Evil tonight then squares and net this weekend.

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 22 Mar 2009 16:25

HAHA, I remember catching Rocky 3 in cable about a year ago and thinking to myself, wow, this is really gay. I just ran across this article after signing out of hotmail:

MSN Movies wrote: A Manly Manâ€™s Guide to Bromance Films

"Rocky III" (1982)

Just as it is easy to confuse bromance with typical male bonding, it is often easy to find bromance teetering on the precarious tightrope of unadulterated homoeroticism. Some bromance films, like "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "300," come very close
... more to crossing the line between non-sexual male love and the sort of love that can get you into trouble in some states. No film, however, is more overt in displaying its bromance as one tongue kiss away from being completely gay than the third film in the "Rocky" franchise, in which former rivals Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) come to love each other, and even frolic on the beach while waves crash over them.

Frank_Sinatra · Post by **Frank_Sinatra** » 22 Mar 2009 16:34

I like how the outlines of their bodies are almost forming a heart.

Squares today was very bromantic.

BOOOOOOYYYY

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 14 Apr 2009 10:11

Me: We had a hard time getting a hold of you, we weren't sure if you were coming in or not. No one picked up [the phone] at home and there was no [answering] machine.

Patient - in a matter of fact tone: Well, it's best to call peoples' cell phones.

Me: You didn't give us your cell phone!

Patient: ...

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 14 Apr 2009 10:30

So, it looks like I will be heading to Memphis next weekend to compete in my first event NOT in Illinois. I'll be leaving Thursday night and getting back in late Sunday/early Monday. Haircut and hanging out with my brother tonight. Possible net session after work Wednesday late afternoon. Would like to do RE5 Wednesday night, if Reile is available.

Senor Grommet · Post by **Senor Grommet** » 14 Apr 2009 15:18

see you in Memphis! Whoooooooo!

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 20 Apr 2009 21:15

Memphis write-up and pics to come.

During the Mud Island Belt, I played my best on Saturday. I hit a vicious sunback early during pools vs the Chaos team of Jack Harris and Jeremy Mirken. It came streaking down their right side. Jack dodged the near-tattoo as the bag hit their back corner for the kill. "You're trying to kill me!" he said as the play ended.

"I gotta make some kind good first impression" I replied, trying to be clever. It apparently didn't scare him enough since they beat us in 2 straight games. I took many big swings trying that same spike during the rest of the day only to hit the net or just plain whiff the set. Our final match that day was against Memphis veterans WillI and Chuck. Mikey gave me a sweet set from back court. I got into position with my back to the net and waited as the bag sailed into range. I decided not to try and scissor kick the sunback (as I had done in all the previous attempts) and just hit the spike standing. This is how I normally hit it during solo wall ball sessions, not sure why I try to scissor kick during games... anygay, the set came down and I swing my right leg upwards. I grunted as I connected solidly with my toe. The bag goes screaming down the right side as it did before. But this time it does not hit the grass in the back corner, instead, it smashes into Chuck's left collar bone! This was no grazing contact - it was an epic collision. Everyone's reaction erupted at the same time. Even Kenny, who was judging our match was like, "OOOOOOH!!!"

Normally, I instantly get pumped after giving a tattoo but it hit him so hard I actually felt guilty and asked if he was ok. We were all able to joke about it afterward. Good times.

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 21 Apr 2009 22:47

You can view the entire set here. If you just want to skip to some of the better action shots, check out this gallery

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 22 Apr 2009 08:24

Memphis was incredible! I had such a great time there and I want to thank everyone that made it possible. The entire Memphis crew went out of their way to show all of us that legendary southern hospitality and make sure all the players needs were met.

Thursday Tommy picked me up after he got off work then we drove off to Aurora to pick up Cory and switched cars (better fuel consumption) and headed downstate to crash at Mike Bellmans. They talked about how big the footbag scene was in Illinois back in the day (22 people in a caravan to Worlds!) We get to Mikey's place around 2 in the morning where he had 3 folding cots and freshly washed sheets set up for us. We spent sometime outside just staring at the big open night sky. Being in the city most of my life, I rarely get to see so many stars (shooting stars too!) in such a quiet setting - no orange glow or sounds of police sirens and car alarms. Friday morning started out pretty slow, we took our time to get going. Now, the trunk was pretty full before we got to Mikey's but Cory did this amazing re-pack of all our stuff + Bellmans bags that any Tetris master would be impressed with. I can't believe how everything fit so perfectly with just about every square inch of space being used. I should have taken a picture of it.

We roll into Memphis in true Chicago footbag fashion - late. We get to the site at about 3pm where a couple of nets were set up and players were already warming up. I think most everyone was already there except the Portland team. I immediately spot Jeremy, Ben and Elliot since they were the only players there I was most familiar with. It was pretty cool to see Mirken, since he's such a C.O.C. that he's the closest thing to an Inner Circle member I'm usually accompanied with on the rare occasions that I travel. He commented that he was probably more excited to see me out of my own state than I was. I got to meet Tuan and Kenny again, I had not seen them in person since Worlds 99. Also met Manu for the first time. There were so many open level champions here!

Friday was just pick-up games and the atmosphere was pretty laid back. The weather was gorgeous being mostly sunny, warm with a slight breeze, perfect footbag weather. I finally got to play with my shirt off this year! After everyone was warmed up we had 3 courts set up, A, B & C. From what I understood, if your team won you would move up a court earning your way to A and staying there until you lost. If you lose a game you drop down a court. Losing in the C court meant your team sat out the next round while a 7th team got in and tried to work their way up. Mike and I never got past B. We played well together considering it was the first time we partnered up for a comp. We finished 2-2 for the day. Mike decided to call it quits early and not wear himself out while Elliot and I did some hand toss rallies to warm down. Elliot was only there for that day and had tickets to see a show back in Nashville during the weekend. I think I played ok. Overset a lot though. Spikes are still inconsistent but defense and hustle kept us in the game.

Afterparty was at Tommy C's house, less than a block away. BBQ Pork sandwiches, egg salad (I think) and fresh brownies... mmmmmmmm. Hung out a bit with and stretched out with Jeremy. Met Willi (pronounced will- eye) for the first time. Me and Mikey were gonna stay with him at his girlfriend's place. He was very friendly and had a lot of cool stories from back in the day. The 3 of us left the party early because Willi had been up since 4 that morning. We get to his gf's after 20 minutes of driving and I was greeted by their monstrous 14month, 68 pound Golden Retriever named Cash. That dog was very friendly, was just dying for attention and had a habit of running off with your belongings. Tess, the smaller black dog was quiet and content to just sit around and be pet. I don't know what kind of accommodations everyone else got but me and Mikey were treated like Kings! We had our own rooms with comfortable beds. Her shower had a wide spray and excellent water pressure, perfect after an afternoon of Net. As usual, I'm the last to sleep and first to get up (certainly not for lack of comfort!) but feeling rested and not very sore. We have another long lazy morning but get treated to a nice hot breakfast with eggs, coffee, OJ, fruit and fresh baked blueberry muffins. Fresh. Baked. Blueberry. Muffins. Christ, what a great way to start the day!

It had rained all night and for most of the morning. It stopped a couple of hours before we left for the site. Willi told us that there was a high sand content in the soil there so the moisture drained pretty quick. Sure enough, we get to the site and the place didn't look like it rained there at all! It was so odd to see. We started by helping set up the tent, tables and courts . I picked up the bags I bought from Manu. He also gave me one extra since I waited to just get them from him personally instead of him shipping them to me a week or two earlier. I should have bought more while I had the chance. Mike and I took our time and warmed up slowly with power kicking, serve/returns and hand toss rallies. All the other Chicago players competed singles. I was able to watch a bit of Mikey vs Seibert and most of Cory's matches vs Dr. Mike and Jeremy. I have a lot of respect for singles competitors but it looks absolutely grueling. I do not regret saving my energy for doubles.

For Doubles, there were 2 pools of three teams and our pool of 4. It was best of 3 to 15 and top 2 teams advance to semis. Mikey and I faced the Portland team of Chris Seibert & Steve Dusablon first. I think they were seeded 3rd over all. Chris has it all; hops, flexibility and great touch with the bag. He makes contact with the bag so high above the net it ridiculous! His pulldowns were killing us early. Steve was very solid all around but I didn't have an impression of him until he calmly bumped some of my harder sweep serves during warms up. Then, I was like, "shit..." He totally killed me physiologically because I lost complete confidence in using it for most of the day. I had a couple greasy toe reverses and some digs. Mikey played well too but we just didn't have enough to compete with these guys. They took us in 2 straight. I think 15-5 was the best we could manage against them.

Next was the Chaos team of Jack Harris and Jere Mirkinnennnenenennenennnn (don't forget to roll the R's). Another tough team. Jack's Sweeps, Toe Reverse and Scuffs are a thing of beauty! Absolutely explosive technique with that last second snap of the leg. His long legs and flexibility enable him to spike onto the front court or even hit scuffs from the back court, it's a nightmare to defend against! Jeremy is actually is as impressive as he clams to be! (Just fuckin' with ya, buddy) airJerbeargernaut (has too many nicknames &) can spike from damn near anywhere on the court and I'm impressed with his eye for strategy and technique. Despite a few good plays on our side, they were just too much offensively and defensively for us to really challenge them. I don't remember the scores but I don't think they were very close. After 2 straight wins the Chaos team did give us some helpful advice on our matches to come.

In between matches I jumped on the golf cart with Ben and Chris to use the washrooms at the sponsor restaurant down the street. As we started rolling away Tommy and Manu jumped on the back with me. We barely made it over incline to get to the road. The whole time I was scared we were going to flip backwards and have the cart tumble right over us. The back tire on my side was looked flat as we slowly rolled next to the road to cross the street. Thankfully the drivers were decent enough to let us go first. It seemed to take an hour to cross all four lanes. I get done with my business and have a friendly chat with Chris and Ben back at the cart. Some people were dining outdoors near us and they did not seem to appreciate our speculative conversations on what terrible horrors Manu and Tommy were unleashing in the john. On the way back we tried to do a wheelie down the slope but all we managed to do was make the tires sag even more.

Even after 2 lost matches versus really strong teams, I don't think Mikey and I played poorly all things considered. Our final match was against Willi/Chuck. They were seeded below us at the 10th spot but we knew better than to just blow them off. The veteran Memphis team took the first game 15-13. We jumped to a strong start but they soon caught up and took a commanding lead for the rest of the game. We scratched our way to within 2 points but they managed to finish us off before we could finish our comeback. Our next game was a blowout! I tried a couple sweeps serves and scored early points. Eventually I gained some confidence and started serving the heat again then changing up with dinks to throw them off. With a few shanks, some good defense and a little luck, we jumped to an 8-0 start. Mikey was looking bored. A couple side outs later and I serve up another 7 points for the win. Someone said I just threw down a serving clinic. I don't remember the exact score, but it was definitely not close. Our rubber match was more competitive. By now Mikey and I were getting in sync and playing more fluid. Mikey got the best of 2 jousts nailing side axes right over the top of Willi to keep us ahead. Then he delivered that set that eventually drilled Chuck. I got the final serve and intended to finish in strong fashion by bringin' the heat again. Instead, I accidentally shanked a floater that barely managed to clear the net and hit their front right corner for an ugly finish and match point.

We finished early enough to watch the other doubles matches still playing out. I watched Tommy/ Cory vs Hammer/Tuan. This was a tough game as Hammer and Tuan were playing very solid against the Chicago team. Cory blocked Hammer 4 times in one match but it still wasn't enough to win the their match.

At the end of the day we helped pack up the site just as the rain started. By the time we were done and drove back to the restaurant for the players party it was pouring pretty bad. We joined 6-7 tables and to form one long one in the middle of this pizza place then waited for the 9 pies we ordered. Ran into Tuan Vu in a line to use the washrooms. He asked how I played and I could not help but mention the tattoo I gave Chuck. Kenny chimed in and confirmed the nastiness of it all as he passed by. When i got out, Hammer and Willi were still talking about it, LOL!

Back at the table I took my seat at the end of the table with Tommy, Mikey, Jeremy, Dr Mike. Edwin, Tuan and his son Joey. I learned Edwin used to live in Chicago back in the day and Tuan is a huge UFC fan. He let me look at his phone where he had lots of pics with many fighters. Dr Mike seems to have endless energy and enthusiasm. The pizzas eventually started to trickled out. Some pies disappeared almost as soon as it hit the table! The most interesting topping by far was the pulled BBQ pork. I had one slice of those and it pretty much stopped me dead in my tracks, man was that heavy! Near the end of the night Cory made his way over to me. Next to us, Jeremy was talking to Tuan about how good his defense is going to be in a year. Tuan turns to us and agrees that in one year Jeremy will have learned good defense then added that in two years he may learn some humility. Cory and I cracked up simultaneously. Mr. Mirken didn't find it nearly as funny as we did. Hammer picked up the entire bill for the party. Some people went to his place to watch a UFC fight, others went off bar hopping while Mikey and I were happy enough to head back home with Willi.

I showered, stretched and iced up my knee. Got my things packed up then crashed. I actually got a good nights sleep. It seemed to rain all night and well into the morning. I woke up feeling good, slightly sore but nothing major. My knee felt fine. Again, I thought we would be playing indoors as we continued to watch the rain and the weather forecast. Calls were made and so was the decision to play outdoors. Ate McDonald's for breakfast this time. We got to the site well before anyone else showed up. The grounds didn't look too terrible despite a few puddles. It definitely improved as the clouds blew away and the sun dried out the remaining moisture. Mikey and I just relaxed and talked about the tournament so far. Then we help set up a few courts as more players and gear started to trickle in.

Today We were going to play out the losers bracket to see who would finish 7th to 10th. I was a little surprised to see Tommy and Cory in the bracket with us. The other teams were Edwin/Tommy C & Willi/Chuck. I took my time getting ready to play. Mikey and I powered for a long time then did many rounds of serve/returns. We split off to stretch. I managed to do my whole routine which generally takes about half an hour. A photographer was buzzing around various players then focused on me for several minutes as I was stretching my groin. It was odd, to say the least. We faced off against Edwin/Tommy C first. Winning team would face the winner of the Chicago vs Memphis veterans match and play for 7th and 8th. The two losing teams would play for the last 2 spots.

Edwin and Tommy C were way too solid for me and Mikey to keep a lead on them. We were hustling our asses off just to stay in the game but I started breaking down near the end to the point where I lost it and just started screaming obscenities after every fuck-up. Cory and Tommy had won their match early and came to watch us. I was hoping to play against them for 7th but we just couldn't finish. I was really disappointed at how i fell apart at the end.

I'll have to finish this later

Frank_Sinatra · Post by **Frank_Sinatra** » 22 Apr 2009 10:32

Zeke wrote:perfect footbag weather...

There's something about that phrase that makes me salivate.

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 22 Apr 2009 13:15

I'm setting up a Net at Welles on Thursday @ 2pm. Cuba, Ronnie and Cynthia Chia so far.

Senor Grommet · Post by **Senor Grommet** » 24 Apr 2009 17:15

Singles can teach a man a lot about his manhood or lack thereof.

As Kenny so delicately put it at The Belt, singles is for men, doubles is for little boys, and mixed doubles is, well . . . singles with an obstacle.

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 25 Apr 2009 08:40

I went to empty my email's junk folder and found a single message from Benjamin Skaggs titled, "Ladyboy Movies"

That reminds of a conversation about scoring with twins on an airplane at the past NYJ

AZ: Wow that's it! That's the ultimate threesome and and Mile High Club at the same time! You do that and you're done, you can retire!

EG: Well no, what about paraplegics and quadriplegics?

BS: HAHA, he's more ambitious than you!

AZ: No, I got those outta the way first, I mean, where were they gonna go?

BS turns and looks at me with an expression that was equal parts

,

&

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 26 Apr 2009 09:44

goddamn, piece of shit, useless, sonuva bitch, punk ass, dip shit, dick weed, cock suckin, goat fuckin, corpse sodomizing, sphincter rimming, felching, crappy, shitty, miserable, dick faced, scrotum breath havin, good fer nothin, jail raped, footbag hatin Chicago weather.

Fuck you and you shitty parks.

Fuck you and you Nazi security

Fuck you and your 3 weeks of nice weather

Fuck you twice sideways.

Fuck you with a barbed, splinter havin', baseball bat that was dipped in swine flu juice and retarded ape piss.

Die of Aids pox you you fucking whore anus of a city!

FUUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just wanted to play some net today...

CIC flurry · Post by **CIC flurry** » 26 Apr 2009 22:06

Yeah!

I think this helped cuz it was nice to be outside today.

Zeke · Post by **Zeke** » 27 Apr 2009 09:26

I dunno about helping the weather but it certainly brightened up my mood yesterday. I'm glad people made it out. I kicked by myself for an hour while it steadily got more cloudy before the fist person showed up.

I'm off Wednesday. I would love to play, net preferably.

Added more to my Memphis write-up