The Hourglass

September 21, 2000

A Publication of the Connecticut Grey Rugby Football Club
Greg Louganis, Editor

Spotted Owl? It's what's for dinner!

GREYS WIN SEASON OPENER

The Grey hosted the Lion Kings on Saturday, September 9th, at the Woodhouse Avenue field in Wallingford. A home opener at a home field usually brings out droves of Grey, however, whether it was too early, too many Grey attending the UConn home opener football game (oops, it was a night game) or there were too many other things for many of the Grey to do that day, there weren't the numbers that we normally see at a home game. With about only 21 Grey, it was still a good showing except for the fact that the Kings only showed with 10 players and, once again, the Grey had to conscript several of our own players to field a full opposition side. Anyway, with the temperatures in the upper 70's and the humidity slightly higher it was thought that we had ample numbers and talent to exact a serious toll on the younger Kings. In the first period this belief was in doubt for a while. The Grey played well but too many mental errors and the lack of any physical exertion on many players for the full three month summer left the Grey in a hotly contested match from the onset. After the first half of the period things did settle down somewhat and the Grey were able to get some good breaks (from backs) and with support from the forwards who were also able to make some nice breaks from the loose, found themselves in a nice open field when John "pickpockets" Kerr stole a ball from the back of the Kings' set scrum and ran about twenty yards before dishing to Tony Johnson who took on several Kings to the goal where he flipped it back to Kerr in support who dove the one meter for the score. The conversion by Don Brancard was good and the Grey were ahead 7 - 0. The period ended and with substitutes and refilling of the Kings' lineup by the Greys who were spelled for the second half (some rest, eh?). The second period began. Much more of the same except that it was the Kings' forwards who were showing signs of strength and were able to keep the ball in the Grey half for most of the first part of the period. Penalties by the Grey and poor ball handling added to the Kings' offense but the period was pretty evenly matched and ended with no additional scoring. The third period was much different. Without a full 15 side, the Kings found themselves at the end of their stamina and with that sense of victory in sight, the Grey poured it on. Good forward push and pursuit found the ball deep in the Kings' end and with a nice maul rolled the ball into score with Kent "new-guy" Newcomb touching down. The conversion by Brancard was good and the Grey led 14 - 0. Now, another sure try soon followed as a great backline movement began with Brancard dishing out to Grayson Gregory who outted it to Bob "boo-boo" Casey and again to Steve Tenenbaum who took it up field and drew the defender in to spring Chris Rose who scampered thirty yards into the end zone and onto the posts to touch – er – well, knock on? Anyway, the try was nullified and the Kings were awarded a twenty-two drop. Sensing the win, and the let up on the part of the Kings, the Grey were able to spring another backline move with Grayson taking the ball at the fifty and running through several Kings before he was tackled at the goal line but flipped the ball to Ed Carr in support who touched down for the score. The kick was wide and the Grey now led 19 - 0. This is how the game ended and with the convincing win (hey, we played against many of our own players for most of the game) the Grey retained the coveted (?) Sugar Bowl. Man of the match was awarded to Ed "Chuck Wepner" Carr for his valiant effort at flank – and score – and broken nose. Also a round of thanks to those Grey who played the entire game for the Kings: Dean Jorgensen, Bill Stimple, Bud Harvey and Kevin Trammel.

GREYS DOWN LES VIEUX IN NY

On Saturday, September 16th, a day that was suppose to be cold and wet, the Grey fielded an away game at Randalls Island against the ever-powerful-at-home Les Vieux squad. Coming off a good start with an opening win and with the memory that we beat Les Vieux this past spring at home, it was our assumption that Les Vieux would come out strong at home to avenge the spring defeat. Well, we were wrong. Not only was it relatively warm and sunny, but by the time kick-off was scheduled to start, there weren't as many Les Vieux players as we would have thought for their home game. In fact, the Grey were there ready to go in numbers, 18 in all, and even Chicky was there before game time. Anyway, the Grey did have ample bodies – the problem was they were all of the wide-body variety, meaning they were all forwards. With about 13 forwards and 4 or so backs, it was obvious that Captain John and First Mate Facey, needed to make a few adjustments. I commend their foresight in selecting Mark Collins as our new outside center and send my regrets to Daryl Garrison who has been relegated to fullback for life. So, at kickoff, both teams were in full sides and from the looks of their backs, it was going to be a long day – or so we thought. The game was really hard fought through the first half with mostly forward play and a sprinkling of Grey errors that kept us pretty much in an area from around mid-field to points closer to our goal. Now I can't actually remember how this all started but I do remember seeing a Grey (Kerr or Carr) come from around a Les Vieux maul and scamper down the side line dishing off a pass to Kevin Conner (that I am certain of) who took it upfield another 20 meters (some say it was only 5 but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he can actually run slightly more than 5 meters) then back out to John Kerr who touched it down in the corner for the score. The conversion by Brancard was wide and the Grey were up 5 - 0. Still, the momentum of the score was short lived as Les Vieux really started to pressure the Grey and had numerous rucks and sets within the Grey 22. Finally, on a quick out, Les Vieux was able to spin the ball out to the backs and a missed tackle resulted in a Les Vieux try. From directly in front of the posts, the Les Vieuxian was unable to convert a drop kick and the score was knotted at 5 all at the half. In the second, Les Vieux were supplemented with several White Plains players who needed some game time. The Grey started the second with a real spark and had a couple good attempts at the goal but were turned away by good defensive pursuit on the part of Les Vieux. A won ruck found the ball with Trunksie who floated a pass over one defender to Brancard who cut inside and around two others for the score. The conversion by Brancard was good and the Grey were now up 12 - 5 with lots of time remaining. From this point on the game became a real mess as the Grey were constantly on the defensive and with a lot of luck and some good tackling were able to keep Les Vieux out of the goal for most of the half with the exception of one try. The conversion was missed and the Grey still led 12 - 10. The Grey were able to tally a penalty kick by Brancard from the Les Vieux 22 meter line and extended the lead to 15 - 10. Still more defensive play by the Grey kept Les Vieux stalled at the goal on two occasions. By this time the tempers started to flare and a little rough-housing was noticed on each maul until the situation got pretty heated resulting in the ref blowing the game (why not, he blew most of the calls). No, really, the refereeing wasn't too bad for Les Vieux players but it would have been better if a real ref were available. Still, it was pretty evenly called. The final was a resounding 15 - 10 victory for the Grey – mission accomplished. Man-of-the-Match was awarded to Daryl Garrison who did have a fine game at fullback and I personally want to thank Mark Collins for providing excellent support – both offensively and defensively at outside.

GREYS WELCOME NEW PLAYERS

There were two new players/members at the Lion Kings game that hopefully become permanent fixture on the Grey lineup (that's more than we can say about their game time playing as opposition with the Kings). Welcome Kevin Trammel, former Hartford Wanderer whom we don't think ever played for the Yahoos – that could be a plus in this case – and Kent Newcomb who has played for, well, let's just say he's played for about every team in the southern New England area, including the Yahoos. Kent actually got some time with the Grey as Kevin was forced to play the entire game for the Kings. Also seen at the game was Kevin Conners who has played for the Grey in the past and may be making a pseudo-comeback since he's no longer nursing. We were also wondering who that new guy named Truncali is. He looks a little like Trunksie but much smaller (or thinner). My guess is that it's either Drew who is obviously retaining water (like Lake Erie) or it's Trunksie who has obviously spent his summer vacation in Somalia.

NEXT GAME BERKSHIRE

The next scheduled game is Berkshire away on Saturday, October 7th. Let John Kerr or Jim Facey (and not me!!!) know if you plan on traveling to the game. Directions will either be forthcoming or can be found on the website. Remember, we beat these guys last spring so we can go 2 - 0 for annual sweeps with a win that weekend. Remember, this is the last game before the October break unless of course you plan on going to Montreal which will mean you only have two weeks off that month. Bets are still being taken on the Brahmins game. Place your bet on how close to game time you think the game will be called off.

MONTREAL

What is on then off then on again more than the refrigerator light in Ronco's apartment? Answer – the trip to Montreal. According to an e-mail I received, the team has reservations for 20 rooms in the Holiday Inn Downtown for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Call Reservations at 514-842-6111 and ask for a room with the Connecticut Grey. If you are attending call immediately so as not to be shut out. The room rate is $149/night Canadian (approx. $100 US) which includes breakfast and local telephone use (for making dinner reservations). If you feel this is exorbitant, sorry, but this is the only hotel in downtown not completely booked. Please be sure to e-mail Chris Rose after you make reservations to let him know you're coming (or going?). I guess you guys have a game but against who and where and when is a mystery to me (and a few others). I understand John Jones is scheduling the match that weekend in Toronto.

AROUND THE FIELD

Based on the play of some of the Grey in the first game, we have some recommendations to make. First, we hope that Joanie never passes off little Andrew to Dave and second, we now have to hope that Rosie trips in the goal so that he falls on the ball or with the ball – either way, it doesn't matter.

It's become a common sight to see the Guz-man picking up the empties around the field for the nickel deposits but when it comes time to "clean out the garbage cans" this chore has taken on new perspectives. Recently we witnessed Guz pulling the tinnies out of a collection can and suddenly coming across a pair of discarded Grey game socks. "Wow, gold mine," a perfectly good pair of socks – now who would do that??? Doesn't matter that the elastics were completely expended, there were absolutely no holes in them darn socks. What will he pull out next? Bets are that we will see these socks at the next game.

Missing from last weekend's match against Les Vieux was Guzzio who was sorely missed. Guess it's tough fulfilling all your rugby commitments when you're playing for four different teams. Word is that Guzzio missed last week's game because he was playing for the Yale football team in their 800th victory. It was also learned that Guz will miss our next game since he's traveling with New England to play the Seahawks and the entire month of November when the Flyers make their Canadian tour.

In the "just when you thought you'd seen all there is in rubber-wear for the rugger" department, we have a new line of protective apparel sported by Trunksie at the last game. Donning the full chest-shoulder pad assembly and a slick looking helmet, the rubber-man has become even more difficult to recognize – especially at night. So let's see, that just leaves his knuckles exposed at this point. Really, that helmet looks like something out of a WWF magazine – are you sure it's for rugby and not Halloween? Actually, I think the covering makes him somewhat invisible or how else could he have ended up with the ball so many times standing at least five meters behind the Les Vieux scrum? I still say he looks like a tick!

The drop-kick conversion attempt by Les Vieux in the first half was quite lame and several Grey were seen snickering at the break. Who would have guessed that that minor blunder could be outdone by one of our own? Hungry for a score and boasting in a feminine sort of way (like stating "I'm going to buy new shoes today" – like, WHO CARES!) at the beginning of the game that he was going to score a drop kick, John Kerr lined up a pass from the scrum from within the Les Vieux 22 for his place in the sun only to drive the ball about three feet off the ground directly into Trunksie's ass. I mean, even Brad Daluiso can hit his own players at at least head height. My guess is that we will see Trunksie with some new sort of rugby pants next game with special rubber pads in the seat – just in case Kerr tries another kick. And, with that kick John has now qualified for the muscular dystrophy olympics to be held in East Timor this spring in the "I kick like Dean" event so please help John and buy one of his candy bars to fund his trip and uniform.

What is the shortest way to get to Mamaroneck from Randalls Island? Most of us know but I would suggest you don't ask Ed Carr or John Kerr. Must have headed into the city looking for more dashboard garlic bread.

And, finally, the top ten things I like about Randalls Island

10  No grass stains on my jersey after a game
9   The ethnic diversity
8   Mooning the Circle Line boats on the East River
7   Watching the rats beat up cats
6   That neat sound my metal cleats make when running over cast iron manhole covers
5   The always cheery toll booth attendants on the Manhattan bridge
4   367 different places to stop and drink beer between West Hartford and Randalls Island
3   Being able to wave 'Hi' to everyone using only one finger
2   It's not in New Jersey
1   Leaving!