Sectionals

I set out this past weekend on a mission to destroy as many weasel's as possible. Mission complete. I conquered any weasel on me and made sure they knew by spiking it multiple times. It would be a waste of everyone's time if I wrote anything else about playing anyone but Michigan so I will cut to the chase. We won. After 3 years, We finally got our first win in the Sectional championship game. Our team physically outmatch magnUM and managed to avoid a classic MSU second half collapse by pulling out of a nail biter on universe point. This means we will likely be the #1 seed in the Great Lakes regional tournament in Bloomington, IN, May 1st and 2nd.

Make it happen.

All Section Team

Me
Me
Me
Me
Me
Me
Heff

2010 Season Preview

Great video put together by Dave Hochalter highlighting the summer and fall seasons.

Hit It

The Return of the Burning Couch

From 2002-2006 Michigan State was a perennial Nationals contender. I joined the team in the fall of 2006 fresh off top 10 finish at Nationals with hopes of carrying on the tradition of Great Lake dominance. Ryan Heffernan, Alex Edinger, and Weston Laabs were all young naive freshman at the time however, Alex did not look like a freshman at all. I remember the first time I met him I thought he was a senior or grad student. Behold, the power of facial hair. Ultimate was something to be excited about and it helped me meet a lot of my best friends at Michigan State. I will never forget the rookie core heading to Chicago Heavyweights for our first tournament with the Couch. We all had our own struggles throughout the fall, Heff couldn't throw a forehand, I did not understand the force at all, Wes could only throw trick throws, and Alex had a really, really big head (hair not ego) that made it hard for him to run. However, spring came and we evolved. We were given animal names. Heff was at first the cougar but ended up with the Sloth. Weston was always a Beagle. Alex became Dingo. Finally, I went from the Toucan to the Sheep.



Our tournament that spring was the Michigan Indoor. We lost on universe point to Ohio State in the finals. The leadership was pleased with the performance and we thought we were right where we needed to be. The slump began, we would finish the season 14-28 highlighted by a loss to Padiea High School which started a 13 game losing streak. We lost two games on Saturday at Regionals. It never feels good when your season ends in a 13-8 loss to Wheaton College. We were pissed.

That summer, Heff and myself put together a club team called Kitten Herd specially for the development of MSU's younger players. We had a great time, gained a ton of playing experience, and played a lot of savage ultimate. The next fall we picked up Jesse Ellwood, Aaron Zigler, and Christo Ferguson. We had a good fall season, everyone was looking forward to making up for last seasons shortcomings. We were driven. We had an up and down spring. Its very hard to be consistent when the average age of your team is 19. Our spring was highlighted by a 9th place finish at Roll Call. Sectionals came and we put up a good fight against magnUM in the finals but fell short losing 15-11. We got the 5 seed at Regionals were we beat Ohio in the first round, lost to Ohio State in the second, beat Oberlin in the next, then faced Miami Ohio. If we won, we would be playing on Sunday. It was a game for the ages but we fell short, losing 13-12 on double game point.

Summer ultimate happened again, we made it to five tournaments and had more than ten people come pretty consistently. We started the fall off with new leadership, Heff and Dingo were the captains of the team. We had a decent fall, nothing to write home about. We were anxious to prove ourselves because no one who was on the last Nationals team remained. The spring started off with a disappointing finish at the Hellfish Bonanza. We peaked early finishing second at the Tally Classic. The rest of our year was plagued by injuries and inconsistency. We rolled into Regionals with hope of making noise, we did but not in the way we planned. We avenged last years loss to Miami Ohio in the first round then fell to Ohio State in the second. We faced a Xavier team who we took too lightly and it cost us our season.

Something changed, for the first time I had been on the team, people stopped trying to pretend we were the Michigan State of old. We didn't earn those Nationals beths, we were resting on the laurels of dedicated athletes who had graduated. We made the summer count, we worked hard, really hard. No Surf was a great tournament for us, we did extremely well and broke seed by ten spots finishing 5th. The summer continued to roll, so did we. The highlight was a universe point loss to Madcow at Motown Throwdown. On a side note, I finally beat my first masters team this summer, it is a relief! We were finally having some success combining our talent, potential, passion, and effort. To start the fall, we traveled down to Ann Arbor for what has become an annual showcase game for the Weasels recruiting process and beat magnUM for the first time since the Michigan Indoor in 2007. Jesse Ellwood, Wes, and DIngo were named captains and quickly conceptualized a plan which could translate the summers success into our college season. We added Chris "Hump" Spittal, a longtime Madcow player, OSU alum, and good friend of the East Lansing Ultimate community, as our coach. We went 21-4 over the course of the fall season. Our young players like Ryan Morsdstadt, Zach Albright, Brad Morsdstad, Dave Hochalter, and Ryan Mariouw were playing with patience and confidence. TJ Bartzack, Andy Barnhart, and Mike Eiesnsmith found their way back onto the team and provided leadership and height as well as some good jokes.

The spring season was our most successful yet. We started off by pumping every team at Glow-in-the-Darkhorse finishing 7-0 on the weekend. Vegas was a blur and mostly a vet excursion into the gates of hell. Not only were 2 days cancelled, but we finished with a less than stellar 2-2 record. Queen City Tune Up provided an official coming out party for the new Michigan State as we took first in our pool beating the tournament's #1 seed Pitt with relative ease. We rode the momentum into Sunday were we found ourselves playing in the finals against Georgia. ALthough we lost, we proved we were back but still had some work to do. Back in East Lansing, we were fortunate enough to have Duffy two times a week, we took advantage. We came out flying at our next tournament, the Tally Classic and ran through Saturday beating LSU, Valdosta State, Central Florida, and Notre Dame. Heading into Sunday we were seeded #1. We beat Wheaton in the quarterfinals pretty easily and found ourselves up against Virginia's Night Train in the semi's. You can check out the write up of the game right here. It was a very well played game however we had some costly drops at the end of the game and ended up losing 13-11. Chicago Invite came and went, it was rather uneventful mainly because we saw another day of ultimate be cancelled due to poor weather. 4-0 on very windy Saturday helped us gain more experience throwing in the wind however everyone left feeling very frustrated with the weather.

As the final weeks of school approach, the UPA Series starts consuming our thoughts. For me, this is my last year on the team and I want nothing more than to end my MSU ultimate career with a Nationals birth. Our success this season has propelled the Great Lakes to new heights making a strength bid realistic for our region. 3 bids to Nationals from the Great lakes. Michigan State is currently ranked #11 in the UPA poll and #13 in the candc25.com poll. These serve as a remeinder for us to keep working hard to reach the big show and there are about 400 teams we should beat making it impossible to be complacent. I am looking forward to my final series with you guys. We are a family and nothing would make me happier than playing my final college ultimate game in Madison, Wisconsin on Memorial Day weekend.

My brothers of the Couch. I'd rather play alongside you than any team. Let no opponent forget how menacing we are. We are lions. You know what's there waiting for us? Victory! Take it. It's yours!


Gentleman, it is our time.

Sectionals Preview: University of Michigan

MagnUM

MagnUM returns 16 players with Nationals experience, poised to help the team continue on its past series success. Adding 8 new recruits, MagnUM has a good mix of veterans and rooks. Look for Will Neff and Ollie Honderd to anchor the O-line with chilly offense and tenacious D on the turn. The D-line is led by Dave Fumo, with huge D’s also coming from sophomore Ben Deland. Currently, MagnUM is coming of a great Centex, going 6-1 and beating Texas, Cal, Washington, Santa-Cruz, OSU, and Rice, and is headed full steam into Huck Finn and then the series.

MagnUM Reserve

MagnUM Reserve is a developmental team with a few veterans leading the squad. Captain Eric Haywood will try to help the team to advance to Regionals and upset the small school A-teams from around the state. This team will have to rely heavily on the future A-teamers stepping up at sectionals for success. So far, Reserve has had a successful season, finishing 9th out of 48 teams at the Chicago Invite. Reserve also finished 2nd at Double Down, a tournament featuring many sectional teams, such as: Central, Western, Eastern, Hope, and Alma.


http://www.magnumultimate.com/

Sectional Preview: The Kalamazoo Kontenders by Alex Shipps

Kalamazoo College - The Ultimate Buzz
It’s a love hate relationship with this team. I love beating them at the beginning of the season and hate how they always get the last laugh in April. Definitely you would be hard pressed to find someone in the section who hasn’t underestimated what they can do. Who can blame you though. Kalamazoo College isn’t necessarily known for its athletic achievements and the school isn’t necessarily an ultimate destination. But somehow Watts, Jacob, and Wheelright have done a good job of reversing the brainiac stigma that has been following the school in past years. Massive recruiting efforts have led to flood waves of KCollege players on the sidelines to intimidate even the great? Schmidty. (See last year’s matchup against MSU). And standouts like Ayres leave feelings that Jacob wasn’t just a recruiting fluke and more of a designed product. Wonderboy has been skying the best and will probably be roasting your top defenders in the post season. This team always finds a way and you can count on Kalamazoo to make its way into regions one way or another.
7 of 10 Discs

Western Michigan - Darkhorse
Right now western has a laundry list of problems. The upside for them is that all the hard stuff is taken care of. They have recruited. They have trained their players. They have some decent talent. At least enough talent to make moves in the section, possibly in the region. But there are still a few mental hurdles to this team. Overconfidence, lack of intensity, and reluctant steal the bacon syndrome are keeping this team from being where it needs to be.
The last of the old darkhorse is slowly trickling into the real world and leaving an emotional gap. So at the moment western is looking for someone to take over the program. Baby worsfold looks like the most likely, but an ego eclipse can cripple even the best players. On the field it looks like old yellow mustard ultimate, where the 7 on are more worried about getting off the field then pushing the disc to the end zone. So it has got to start with attitude. But don’t get me wrong, if they get their s*** right, watch out for a well balanced attack with primo talent. This team is once again on the up, but like anyone else will need to work through their growing pains before they get there. They are still a Darkhorse in the end. Look for Jager, baby Worsfold, and Priest to push for a regional birth. Look for the top teams in the section to push back. Hard.
5 of 10 Discs

All Kalamazoo Team (In no order) - March 2009
• Will Watts (Kalamazoo)
• Colin Priest (Western Michigan)
• Ben Ayres (Kalamazoo)
• Mark Worsfold (Western Michigan)
• Brian Jager (Western Michigan)
• Tom Nudell (Kalamazoo)
• Merrill Murphy (Western Michigan)

Michigan Power Rankings - March 2009
• Michigan – Reigning sectional champs with enough firepower to repeat.
• Michigan State – A definite #2, maybe a #1 come sections?
• Kalamazoo College – Always seems to come together by April.
• Michigan Reserve- Underdogs for the 3rd spot
• Calvin College – A growing program.
• Western Michigan – A team without an identity.
• Eastern Michigan – Fast but inexperienced.
• Central Michigan- TBA? Lost to Michigan State X 13-7 at High Tide
• Michigan State B – One of the top seeds for Double Down
• Grand Valley State – Should end up about the same as previous years
• Hope College – Should end up about the same as previous years
• Albion – Lost their best player to Western’s women’s team.
• Alma – Has a team now?
• Waterloo – Welcome to Ultimate, see you in 3 years.

Top 5 Reasons why Shipps is better than the Sheep
• Backwards Hammer Fake
• Has scored a Callahan on both Daghers
• 2 chicks at the same time
• Has played with more than 7 college teams
• Can beat Sega Genesis’s Aladdin in 23 minutes

Thoughts on NUMP

Florida- I hope everyone saw that highlight video from Stanford Invite
Carlton College- I think people just vote for them because of Grant Lindsley
Colorado- Mac Taylor for Callahan? Yes please
Wisconsin- YO HODAGS, I liked your jerseys last year more.
Oregon- Will Dusty Becker and crew underachive again this year?
Washington- Remember Vegas 2007 when we could have beat them but Schmidty turned it over 4 times on universe?
Michigan- Your basketball team is still inferior to ours no matter what happens
Cal Berkeley- UGMO, I almost bought one of your hats last year, almost.
Harvard- George Stubbs, I just said too much.
Notre Dame- What more can they do this season to gain respect? Beat magnUM.
Pittsburgh- Will they lose the regional title game again and mess up Nationals seedings AGAIN?
Stanford- This summer, I played a kid on this team, he was good, really good.
Cornell- You guys did not seem this good when you beat us 13-11 at Force Freedom.
Georgia- WTF happened at the Stanford Invite?
Texas- Franchise is back, will Texas be back at Nationals?
Iowa- C'MON man! Figure your shit out.
Virginia- BE A CONTENDER
Western Washington- Are two Sockeye players enough?
Minnesota- I am really into your dark jerseys.
UCSB- Live it up and grab that second spot to Natties.

Bust up line

Tired of being looked off when going upline? Sick of going back, losing 5 yards, and swinging the disc? I know the Raven isn't but that is only because he doesn't huck. Ideally, you will have around 8-13 yards to set up an upline cut. If all goes well and you don't have a rookie cutter trying to throw an upline pass (D line is a love hate relationship a lot of the time), you might be becoming the player you hope to become. Nothing is more satisfiing than roasting someone upline save a six pack of Oberon or giving your drunk enemy a "smokers cough" shot. A few times a game, you will see some jaw breaking upline cuts. Once upon a sectional final, I had one on Ryan Purcell but I was looked off FML. Since that moment, I have been committed to observing, testing, and asking everything about upline cuts in order to accommodate my throwers comfort level and my desire to obtain the disc.

Rule #1 If it's not happening, It's not happening. Accept this.

Every defender wants to take it away and the majority of the time, he will be giving you the back. Live to fight another day and punish him by swinging the disc effiecently. This will open up your offense more and slowly draw him back towards you more so that he is able to cut off the swing.

Rule #2 Know when to abandon ship

You go up, you go back, you go up, you go back, and you are still covered? WTF REALLY? Unless you are Chicken , CLEAR THE FUCK OUT. You are in most cases the dump, the stall is already high, the last thing you need to be doing is reliving the days when DDR used to rule high school basement parties. The sooner you clear out, the sooner Santa comes, sometimes with a swing around to you if you bust your hot sauce across the field. By you clearing out, options will open up like a public pool on memorial day weekend.

Rule #3 Even if you are wide open, some people suck and don't throw it sometimes just to piss you off.

I'll get you next time, what are you doing, why didn't you hit me, it slipped, all acceptable answers in bed with the slut from the bar. However, this is not my bedroom, we are on the field. Being looked off when open is very similar to getting blue balls especially when you look up and seeing a cutter busting deep knowing that you are going to put it. Bigger letdown than Hilary Duff after she left the Lizzie McGuire show, I did enjoy Cadet Kelly though. Bottom line, don't go upline for these people it will only end poorly. There is nothing worse than feeling someone throw a disc into your back.

Rule #4 The Morning After

Sometimes, you get some love in the morning. However, this really isn't much consolation because the damage is already done. When clearing back around, keep an eye open, sometimes the thrower may have a crafty little break throw that will hit you in stride. Not as cool as an upline but better than nothing especially if teammates downfield see it happening and react accordingly.

More to come.

Tally Classic

This weekend 23 of Michigan State's finest traveled down to Tallahassee. Florida for the 4th annual Tally Classic. We were in power pool A with Notre Dame, #1 seed overall, and Louisiana State. Our first game of the day was against LSU. Two cars consisting of many of our O line players arrived when the game had already started, down 2-1, due to a timing mistake. However, we would fight back but LSU took half 7-5. The wind started to pick up and our O was able to score upwind and downwind with ease but out D line offense was never able to close the gap. LSU 13-10 over MSU.
Our second game was against Notre Dame. This is the first time we have ever played Notre Dame in recent years. They are having a very good season and I would consider them the team to beat in the Great Lakes region at this point. Notre Dame came out running but the weeks of track workouts had us prepared. Both offenses held until we gave up a break right before half. They received the pull after half and went up 8-6. Our O line, who played great all weekend, held and put our D line on the field with a chance to tie it. Rookie Ryan Maruiow came up with a D and we were able to work the disc up the field but dropped a disc in the end-zone. Notre dame went on to score, then took advantage of a few of our mistakes, and finished the game. 13-8 Notre Dame.
After reseeding, we were slated to play North Park and Syracuse. The North Park game was very very close but we were able to get an upwind break early then we broke upwind again for half. Zach Albright threw a beautiful upwind flick to Mariouw for another break. We rolled through the rest of the game. 13-10 MSU.
This fall, we beat Syracuse on universe point at Force Freedom. We did not take this team lightly and the score showed. We started the game off really hot and went up 5-1 before dOOm even knew the game begun. Syracuse never found their footing and we rolled to a 13-4 victory.

My cousin Liz, who is a sophomore at Florida State was able to house 8 of us in her very nice Villa de Lago apartment. Holler, thanks for that. She was also a great fan.

Sunday

We faced Auburn in the pre-quarters. Playing on a shorter than normal field, we were able to keep our momentum from Saturday and have it carry over to Sunday. I credit this directly to Heff and Dingo who did a fantastic job of captaining all weekend and really kept up the intensity with their words and play. Auburn had no chance as we broke early and often. Highlight of this game was Fergie's greatest to a Heff layout. Fergie was called out but most Auburn players were so amazed that many of them were chanting "Just give it to them! That was Amazing!". Burning Couch 13- 6

Rematch with LSU in the quarters. No words were needed to get us ready for this game. We walked over to see LSU sitting down waiting for us, not even warming up. Easy O point, their O turned it over, we convert upwind, and complete the cycle. LSU could never recover and we never let up breaking more and taking half 7-2. Opened up the rotation some and closed the game just as strong as we started. 13-5 Burning Couch gets its revenge

North Carolina-Wilmington, #17 in the National Ultimate Media Poll (heck I even put them as high as #13 at one point in the season), was our semi-final opponent. They always have a strong program and we were committed to come out early and show that we would not be intimidated. Starting on O, we ran a German, I broke it to Dingo, Fergie wide open for the continue, two more touches and we were in the end-zone. D line comes out and gets a D using the special sauce and we break upwind. Things get out of control quickly and before you know it, we are up 4-1. Timeout UNCW. This is the first time in which I have seen our team play with such a killer instinct. We never let up, yes we were tired and it was really hot out, but we proved to ourselves that we are slowly becoming the team that we have the potential to be. We traded a point or two with UNCW then broke three straight times for the win. The sauce was a big part of us winning this game. Rusty Ingold-Smith and this crew were unable to figure it out. This was a very big win for our team. 13-6 MSU!

FInals - Notre Dame vs. MSU
Great Lakes Final- only two strength bids? CMON man

Eighth game of the weekend, everyone was tired but we were really fired up. Notre Dame is a very good fundamentally solid team with a fairly large rotation. We had been playing the same 11 guys all weekend and were running on low. I am not going to use this as an excuse but just the reality that good teams have depth. Notre Dame came out really fired up and we were not able to match that energy. For most of us, this was the first time we had ever played in the finals of anything, it could have been that or our legs, but we simply did not play our game. Notre Dame 13-7 and taking home the $700 prize.



Check this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtEgrWZImvk&feature=PlayList&p=B01D1C0E9B67E49F&index=0&playnext=1

NUMP Poll

1. Colorado
2. Wisconsin
3. Florida
4. Carlton College
5. Pitt
6. Iowa
7. North Carolina
8. Georgia
9. Stanford
10. California
11. Virginia
12. Georgia
13. NC State
14. Tufts
15. Minnesota
16. North Carolna Wilmington
17. Illinois
18. Oregon
19. Ohio State
20. Minnesota Duluth

Virginia (ACC Championship), Iowa (Florida Warm-Up), and California (Santa Barbara Invite) all moved up in the rankings because of tournament wins.

Who to watch in 2009 in the Great Lakes and Central Regions

Great Lakes
David Vuckovich (Ohio State)
Will Neff (Michigan)
Aaron Zigler (Michigan State)
Luke Johnson (North Park)
David Fumo (Michigan)
Craig Poeppelman (Ohio State)
Daniel Reimer (Notre Dame)

Nationals Frontrunners (2 bids): Michigan, Ohio State, and Notre Dame

Central
Ben Feldman (Wisconsin)
Tom "The Animal" Annen {Wisconsin}
Grant Lindsley (Carleton College)
Sam Kanner (Carlton College)
Alex Versackes (Iowa)
Michael Arenson (Minnesota)
Adam Fagin (Carlton College)

Nationals Frontrunners (4 bids): Wisconsin, Carlton College, Minnesota, Luther and Iowa

NUMP Poll

I was recently named to the Panel of the National Ultimate Media Poll. What this means, each week I have to submit a ballot with the 20 top teams in the country, men and women.

Here are my pre-season top 20 for the open division;

1. Wisconsin
2. Carlton College
3. Colorado
4. Florida
5. Notre Dame
6. Pitt
7. Minnesota
8. Stanford
9. North Carolina
10. Texas
11. Michigan
12. Harvard
13. Georgia
14. Tufts
15. Iowa
16. North Carolina Wilmington
17. Illinois
18. Oregon
19. Minnesota Duluth
20. Ohio State

Here is a video of Iowa at Missouri Loves Company. Look for me, I am in it quite a bit (bad).

Sheep's tip of the Week

Before tournaments or games, get into a ritual. It could be having a power bar, not tying your shoes until the first drill, keeping a shirt on over your jersey, stretching with your favorite rookie on the team, whatever it is, get in the habit. It will help you prepare for each game and help develop the same mindset before games.

Sheep's Tip of the Day

When throwing, try to put the disc to certain parts of your receivers body. Make it easier for them to beat their defender, make it simple for the break throw to be in the flow of their movement, make every player love to be your receiver. Find their sweet spots and make it happen.

-Sheep

Introducing the 2008-2009 Burning Couch of Michigan State University

Congratulations to everyone who made the team. We look forward to a great year of ultimate.


Alex Edinger
Ryan Heffernan
Aaron Ziegler
Andy Barnhart
Weston Laabs
Michael Hagop Dagher-Margosian
Connor Grant
Hatham Shawqi
Jesse Ellwood
Christo Ferguson
Kevin Stowe
Phil Garcia
Brad Morstadt
Ryan Morstadt
Scott Alton
Dave Hochhalter
Keith Johnson
Jason Mirjah
Zach Albright
Mike Chase
Zach Simmons
Alex Birko
Eric Flatley
Dan Blue

Burning Couch vs. magnUM Showcase Game

Some of you may know that each year Michigan plays a showcase game against BAT to show their prospective players a real game. However, this year, they asked us to come down to Weasel Town hoping to draw a bigger crowd. A total of 13 returns plus the promising young talents of Ryan and Brad Morstadt made the trip down to Ann Arbor. The game started at 6 at Palmer Field right in the middle of campus. The Couch started on offense using Ryan Heffernan, Aaron Ziegler, Jason Mirjah, and Christo Ferguson as cutters and Alex Edinger, Kevin "Marty" Stowe, and Connor Grant (myself) as handlers. Ziegler caught an in cut and immediately looked deep to a streaking Heff who came up with a nice one handed snag on the goal line. However, the disc was turned over as magnUM took a shot at working it up-field. Due to excellent sideline help, wild marks, and hard dump defense, we were able to force a turn and Marty was able to break his mark and hit Heff for the first tally of the game.

Weston Laabs, Hatham Shawqi, Dagger, Andy Barnhart, Ryan Morstadt, Heff, and Jesse Ellwood stepped on for our first D point of the game. After some hard man D, we were able to get a turn but not able to convert. MagnUM then took Ryan Morstadt deep who caught up step for step with his man but a weird hang on the disc prevented him from coming down with the D giving magnUM their first score of the game. The O got broken the next point but the next point was able to score when I ripped a forehand blade to a wide open Ellwood. 3-2. Our D line this game was just giving Michigan nothing. Throughout the whole game, we were able to get them were we wanted for our guys to make some plays on the disc. There were multiple magnUM turfs, stall 9 toss up throws that for the most part we were able to D, and great dump defense allowed for myself, Laabs, Ferguson, and Mirjah to get layout D's on dump passes. Fast forward a few points and we find ourselves down 5-2 on O. The we turn the disc but get the d right back after a nice layout d by Heff. Heff then takes off deep with Dave Fumo guarding him as I proceed to pick up the disc and jack it deep to him. Heff is able to box out one of the best defenders in the region then layout for a huge point that then made the game 5-3. Magnum was able to take half 8-4. We were able to break the first point after half and sent out a sick D line to try and bring the game to 8-6. Jason Mirjah came up with another sick layout D which turned into a perfect Dingo up-line huck to Justin Hentemann who was able to run it down inside the end-zone. Michigan was able to go up 10-8. If there was one thing that killed us this game other than a few poor decisions it was out D line's inability to convert after we got the turn, however, this will come with time as we work on disc skills and chemistry develops. On another note, one thing that really brought this game down in my eyes were the very very poor foul calls by magnUM. At one point, some chump that Weston was guarding called a foul on him because the guy ran into Wes when he was fronting him. Marty also had numerous Busch league calls made on him. We were able to maintain our composure and not stoop down to weasel call status.

The run starts. Our original O line comes out ready to make a statement. As I get the disc in the middle of the field, I see a match-up made for the ages: Aaron Ziegler with Ollie Honderd guarding him. My eyes light up and Ziegler, as well as the rest of the Couch, know what is coming. I let a forehand bomb go as Ziegler somehow moves his 6'3 frame gracefully towards the end-zone with the future leader of the weasels following him deep. Boom!!! Head Shot!! It was a true beaut' to see Ziegler bag the shit out of the Great Lakes Freshman of the year. No fear at all. I would like to take a moment very quickly and say how proud I am of our second year players who came to this event. You guys have progressed so much. Jesse, you are turning into one of the most reliable handlers on the team and have been able to develop into an excellent defender as well. Christo, not only are you always able to get open, but you disc skills are so much better than last year. When you come back to handle, you have every throw we need. Ziegler, when I first laid eyes on that massive frame of yours two summers ago, I knew that you were destined for ultimate greatness. It is this progress from players like you guys that will make or break a nationals run. Even with out sidelines echoing in Ann Arbor and our handlers shredding magnUM's marks, we found ourselves pulling 12-10. Our D was able to get down and stop the second throw, making one of magnUM's handlers very uncomfortable. We were able to get the turn and Alex Birko threw a nice forehand blade to Laabs making the game 12-11. After I pulled it out the back (nOOb), Fumo got the disc on the force sideline. Our downfield D shut down everything, looking dump Fumo threw up a 8 count backhand to space for his handler. It never got there. Jason Mirjah came soaring through the air, snatching up the disc and landing gracefully in the endzone. CALLAHAN! This was by far the biggest play of the game so far. At 12-12, his layout Callahan brought this game to universe.

The Universe line was called. Zigler, Heff, Laabs, Dingo, Marty, Christo, and myself all stood on the line waiting for the Weasles stumble out onto the line still shocked at what had just happened. After a fairly decent pull on my part, we were able to lock down on our men. After a few swing passes, they finally gained the courage to look upfield. As Gordon Siegfriedt passed to a magnUM cutter, I saw a green blur whose body I will always recognize (howdy sailor). Heff came in red hot for a soaring layout D on universe. We started running our endzone and were able to find some success for a while. However the endzone stalled and Dingo ended up throwing a stall 9 desperation hammer to me which was D'ed. Gordon picked up the disc and jacked it to Ollie. Wes was able to catch up but Ollie just simply had better position. Game 13-12 Magnum.

Couch, throw your throws, accept the risk, and know that errors are not evenly spaced. This was one hell of a game. We need to use this as motivation to become even better and not be satisfited with were we are but were we can be. We can go up or down. Get high like planes.

Regionals 2008

    About a week later, sitting at home eating a pint of Rum Raisin Haagen-Dazs ice cream, I finally think I should write about regionals.  The most important tournament of the year was finally upon us.  The track workouts, plyos, drills, and tournaments had prepared us for this day.  Seeded 5th overall, we faced the University of Ohio in the first game of bracket play.  The defense stepped onto the field ready to set the tone for the game.  I had the honor of the first pull and did not disappoint.  As the D line sprinted down the field, you could feel the sense of urgency.  Hard handler D shut down Ohio and caused them to throw up an errant pass which landed out of bounds.  Alex Edinger called for an end zone, I Hotttt.  I got the disc, dumped to Hatham Shawqi, then beat his man upline, seeing this, Edinger cut breakside.  I throws a invert forehand break for the first break of the tournament.  Unable to break Ohio's O again, MSU's O line stepped onto the field ready to prove that they could score easier than Heff on a Thursday night.  However, this game would be highlighted by the O line's inability to work the disc into the end zone.  Broken 5 times in a row, the D was finally given the chance to get back on the field and provide the match the Couch needed to get going again.  I gave the disc a ride again and the head galloped down ready to munch on Ohio.  Matt Dagher-Margosian, who proved to be the best handler defender on the team, was possesed.  This was his point.  Marking up on their stud handler, Dagger gave him the business then called his mom to say thank you.  Hand block city.  Hype as shit, there is no way the D line is going to give this back unless Pat O'Callahan tries to squirt ink at it.  The handlers go UpLine like there is free beer in the back of the end zone and I find myself in an all too familiar spot.  Aaron Zigler is being forced sideline and I see the mismatch, being more accessorized and prettier than his opponent, I soon find myself in the end zone drop kicking the disc like it was a bag of kittens out of an airplane.  3-6.  The O line muffs the disc and somehow we find ourselves down 7-3 against Ohio.  Game time.  Justin Timberlake, I mean Matthew Mcconaughey, wait no, David Vuckovich, had warned me earlier not to look past Ohio.  Good looking and intelligent, watch out, especially if his MLU career falls through.  Needless to say, he was right.  We were in a dogfight and needed to make plays.  Somehow,  Phil Sommer was able to come up big time after time and put us in position to score.  The miracle 9 was complete.  Burning Couch 13-9.  

     Finally, a shot at Leadbelly, who was looking rather professional in their black jerseys, quite unexpected ( I was hoping to see Beemer's "World's Best Cheddar" tee, but it was not in the cards).  Coming out in the Special Sauce, we were looking for a big stop to get this game started with a break.  OSU had too many handlers who were hitting the spots.  Man called.  Goal scored. 1-0 Lead.  O line steps onto the field ready to keep the squad in the game.  Leadbelly must have seen that we had been struggling with zone and immediately threw one on us.  This is the first time I have ever seen a zone from Ohio State who is known for their man defense and not having jerseys.  Were we really playing Ohio State?  After a few turns on both ends, Leadbelly got the break.  3 more breaks followed and suddenly we found ourselves in a hole again.  OSU was keeping a tight rotation in as Timmy, Jimmy, Beemer, and T Lake were running the show.  The Couch was able to battle back to make it 10-7 at one point but Ohio State refused to let us back into the game.  Final score 15-10, Leadbelly.

     Losing at regionals sucks.  Everyone goes into the weekend with dreams of making it to nationals.  Surprising people and going on that Cinderella run is everyones hope.  Time to move on, Oberlin was waiting for us.  

     We had played Oberlin twice this season already and beaten then rather easily 13-4 each time, we expected this to be an easy game.  It was Regionals though and this was a different Oberlin team ready to run.  We found ourselves in a dogfight just letting them hang out, but took half 8-6.  During the second half, we finally came out with some intensity and were able to put them away 14-9.

     Miami Ohio stood in the way of us and Sunday.  The only time we had played them had been in the fall as a split squad at Best of the Midwest.  Taking second place in the East Plains, we knew we could not take this team lightly.  The game started with MSU on O.  The Couch was really fired up for this game as most of us remembered how we already had been eliminated.  This game went back and forth until MSU went up 12-9.  The game seemed to be in hand until Miami somehow gained momentum back and won 14-13 on universe.

      

  

         

Callahan Shortlist

   Unlike last year, we enter Regionals without a defined Callahan front-runner.  Many names have been mentioned throughout the season ranging from Joe Kershner and Jolian Dahl to Kurt Gibson and Ben Feldman, but none have shown the leadership qualities or spirit that recent winners Dan Heijmen or Timmy Gehert displayed.  All play on great teams and play important roles.  Kershner is the heart of Arizona, the Cinderella team of the year.  Jolian leads the perennial powerhouse Mamabird.  Gibson leads the current #1 team in the land and their seemingly endless supply of 5 jerseys and shorts.  And Feldman is the rumored creator of the "Boom!  Head Shot!" cheer.  With that being said, here is my Callahan shortlist.

#6  Dusty Becker- Oregon

Although Oregon has underperformed this season, Dusty has still played well and has been able to steal a few close games for Oregon.  Look for him and the rest of Ego to pick it up come Regionals.

#5 Drew Mahowald- Wisconsin

Possibly the best player on the Hodags before he broke his knee not to mention he is the keeper of the "Golden Hand."

#4 Will Neff- Michigan

As soon as I heard Neff was transferring to Michigan, my heart sank a bit.  Magnum was a good team last year, returned most of their big guys including Ryan Purcell, who could be the most accessorized player in the game.  The addition of Will immediately transformed this team to Nationals caliber.  Enough said, I can only say a few nice things about the Weasels before I begin hitting myself.

#3  Joe Kersher- Arizona

Best short, hairy pirate in the game.  He makes big plays when his team needs them.  He is the main reason Sunburn broke into the tier of elite college teams this season.  If Erick Gafni, Austin Gregersen, and Joe can take this team to nationals, he could find himself holding the trophy.

#2 Jolian Dahl- Colorado   

Golden boy of one of the most storied programs, Jolian can do it all.  Took Mamabird a little while to get on track this year mainly because they were breaking in new players but Dahl has been constant.  He also has very pretty eyes.  Look for Martin Cochran, Mac Taylor, and Dahl to take this team back to the finals game in front of the home town crowd.    

#1 Kurt Gibson- Florida 

Kurt has been the best player in college ultimate over the past two years.  Although he may not be the most spirited player, his skills speak for them self.  The guy is a human highlight reel who has every throw in the book.  His Madden rankings were near perfect, well except for spirit, and his 70 plus yard upwind hammers are one of a kind.  No one can take over a game like Gibson and when paired with Brody Smith, Cole Sullivan, and Clye Van steal my teams funds, this team can go anywhere.  With Kurt at the helm, this team continues to be lead with fiery passion and somehow always manages to find a new set of jerseys.   

Sectionals Recap Sunday

     The morning started out against an upstart Western Michigan squad who came in with a record of 16-2.  Renamed the Zj's, Alex "Skipper" Shipps and the rest of the team was out to prove that this team could compete for a bid to Regionals.  Friendly words had been exchanged before the game and both teams were fired up.  Michigan State started on D.  We came out with hard marks and tight handler D which eventually forced an ill advised deep shot.  Aaron Zigler was able to get the D and our handlers took over from there.  Connor "sheep" Grant picked up the disc on the goal line and quickly swung it to Hatham who hit Zigler on a wide open in cut.  Weston Laabs made a well timed continue which allowed Hatham time to set up a nasty O2 cut.  Hatham was able to swing the disc back to the middle where the Sheep fired a shot to the endzone and hit Pat O'Callaghan in stride for the break.  The team stormed the field jacked to get more breaks.  Excellent pressure on the marks and tight man defense by Michigan State forced Western to put up a lot of desperation looks which State defenders ate up.  Once again, the D line offense was flowing as the rotation opened up.  Phil was a huge presence deep throughout this game.  Eating up just about everything then racing up field to keep the offense from stalling.  Couch roared into half up 8-3 after Jason Schmidt had a huge layout D past Shipps on the goal line to set up a score.  The Burning Couch came out in the second half fired up to close out this game with authority and prepare for an all too familiar opponent in the finals.  We wanted it more.  We started the second half on O and patiently worked the disc up the field to the goal line where Kevin "Marty" Stowe hit Christo with a push pass for a tally.  The defense came out crazy.  Marks were flashing over and making throwers uncomfortable as the downfield defenders covered their men tighter than a lid on tupperware.  Overwhelmed, Western soon found itself down 14-5.  Hoping to close out the game, the Couch pulled to Western and sprinted down the field.  Once again the defense was taking care of business until Shipps put up a long boy to prodigy Mark Worsfold who made a nice grab for a score.  The offense took the field one more time and was able to work the disc down the field until Christo Ferguson put up a nice huck to a wide open Mike Martin.  15-6 Michigan State.

Heading into the finals game, Burning Couch knew they were the underdogs.  After a spectacular showing at Centex, MagnUM had risen to 7th in the national rankings.  Loaded with experience and throwers like Will Neff and Ryan Purcell, we knew we would have to play one hell of a game to win.  Schmidt had set up a nice field inside the middle school football stadium and tensions were running high.  The showdown was set to start at 2 pm.  

  

     Michigan State would start the game on D.  Dan Blue, my former roommate and member of the Couch, was announcing the game.  The starting D line, T.J. Bart, Jason Schmidt, Mike Dagher-Margosian, Connor Grant, Weston Laabs, Hatham Shawqi, and Ryan Heffernan, stepped onto the field to face the talented Michigan offense.  Coming out with the Special Sauce, the magnUM offense was temporarily stalled until an overthrown hammer from Purcell was pulled down on a miraculous grab by Tom Haynes who somehow managed to land in bounds.  The zone was broken and Michigan punched it in.  1-0 magnum.  As the O line stepped on the field, Michigan started chanting one of their "Great Lakes, Great Times" or "If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you" cheers which seemed to make them very happy.  After a typical Will Neff pull, the offense was set and flowing until Heff was unable to pull in a disc thrown behind him.  The weasels were able to capitalize on the turn and took a 2-0 lead.  The O was looking to make some plays against a stingy U of M defense however, the pressure got to the handlers as a swing pass hit the ground instead of hands.  Neff picked up the disc and put up a nice huck to Pat Collins for a 3-0 lead.  Too much, timeout State.  Our O took the field again composed and patient.  Ryan Heffernan busted in out of the split and immediately looked deep and put it to Phil who made a spectacular layout grab for State's first score of the game. 

     The D was able to get on the field but could not capitalize on the turn they got, 4-1 magnum. The offense took the field again and could not work the disc down the field.  Magnum looked deep again and found a receiver in the end zone for the score, 5-1.  Another break for Magnum followed, 6-2.  Again the O took the field with Weston Laabs replacing an injured Christo Ferguson.  Good cutter flow allowed MSU to work the disc up to half field before Heff jacked a forehand blade to Laabs.  Somehow, Laabs was able to come back to the disc and snag it right before the sticky hands of  Dave Fumo could.  Some debate ensued but after they typical gestures, the point was awarded to the Couch, 7-2.  The D came out fired up hoping to get a break and get back in this game.  Throwing the Special Sauce, Couch forced a turn.  Handler movement was crisp and the disc was being worked well up line.  T.J. Bart got a look and put one up for Zigler who came down with it for the first break of the game, 7-3.  Couch O stepped on the field but could not put it in as magnUM took half 8-3. 

 

     During halftime, Phil set a fire under everyone which proved to be contagious.  The sideline became louder and more involved which invigorated the players on the field.  Michigan State held on O after half and was able to bring it to 11-9 at one point.  However, even with the momentum of one of the sweetest "greatests" by Mike Martin, finished off by a Schmidt hammer to Heff, the Burning Couch was unable to get back in the game and suffered a 15-10 defeat.  Although we lost, the second half proved to be a positive as we played even, 7-7 with one of the best teams in the land.  We were awarded the 5 seed in a very competitive Great Lakes region and hope to bring the Couch back to Nationals. 

Sectionals Recap Saturday

 The weekend started off with a team grill out at Hatham "Seal" Shawqi's house.  Highlights included my excellent grilling skills, Jason Schmidt drinking a bottle of ranch dressing, and the Aaron "Hippo" Zigler forcing himself to throw up in an attempt to make Schmidt throwup.  Riding the momentum from a 9th place finish at Roll Call, the Burning Couch hoped to come out and take care of business on Saturday.  Especially since we found new motivation in the eye black that won us so many games at Roll Call.

Game 1  Burning Couch vs. Kalamazoo College Ultimate Buzz

     The Couch came out hot right out of the gates as we were able to break their O on the first point of the game.  Yet from then on, we traded points, hoping for Kalamazoo to cough up the disc and allow us an easy score.  Jacob "The Jeweler" Meyers was keeping his team in the game through numerous layout D's, handblocks, and skys.  The Ultimate Buzz continued to show that they were not going to fade away.  Our intensity had dropped and we were in need of a spark.  A huge handblock on The Jeweler from Ryan Heffernan was the wake up call the Couch needed.  We picked up the intensity and found ourselves up 12-11 on O.  The O line patiently worked the disc up the field until Schmidt put up a forehand huck to a streaking Heff for the game.  However, it was slightly under thrown and The Jeweler was able to come up the D.  K College was able to work the disc up the field for the break.  Universe.  Somehow we had let Kalamazoo stay in this game and now it all came down to one point.  Starting on O, Alex "Dingo" Edinger set the disc to Schmidt who hit an unstoppable Phil "Roo" Sommer with a wide open in cut.  Cutters were flowing well and Heff was able to punch in the score to Christo Ferguson who was streaking toward the back cone.  13-12 Burning Couch

Game 2  Burning Couch vs. EMU Hellfish

     This game got out of hand early as the Couch was riding momentum from their Universe point win.  Handlers were able to break mark and go up line with ease and the cutters were finding ways to get open at will.  EMU handlers and cutters were being forced to work very hard as Michigan State defenders were blanketing their handlers and cutters.  Cutters could not find anywhere to go as MSU defenders were using the famous "bump um" tactic.  Couch quickly went up 7-1 at half and never looked back.  Game point came and hailed MSU rookie Lakin "Chicken" Brown was able to pull down a huge D to set up the score.  13-2 Couch.

Game 3  Burning Couch vs. Calvin College 

      By underestimating Calvin and a lack of intensity on defense, we found ourselves down 7-6 down a break at half.  With such a young team, finding consistency and knowing when to flip the switch has proved to be our biggest problem all year.  This time was different.  Throwing the Special Sauce on Calvin, their handlers had no idea how to advance the disc.  Mike "dagger" Dagher-Margosian was able to get a HUGE handblock which set the tone for the rest of the game.  We were hungry for D's.  Paired with our new found intensity and Calvin's inability to figure out the Special Sauce, we rattled off 6 straight breaks to take the game 13-7.  D line offense was run very well this game as myself, Dagger, and Hatham were able to flow at the handles while Hippo, Pat "POC" O'Callaghan, Roo, and the Weston "Beagle" Laabs were able to cut at will and beat their men in or deep anywhere on the field.

Game 4  Burning Couch vs. MSU B 

     This game was a preview of what the Couch will look like next year.   A lot of promise was showed as players stepped into new roles and gained good playing experience.  Win for Couch 08-09.