Fall Brawl 2k10

Ghetto Warriors
The air was 40 and the ground firm, a heavy fog rested on the fields as Ghetto arrived to the Fall Brawl war. Arriving in a fleet of small and midsize sedans on an early Saturday morning, 24 Ghetto warriors (players) cleated and stepped out onto the fields of glory for the Fall Brawl.

Playing Ohio Northern first, Ghetto held the goal of rotating rookies into the rotation. Ghetto was off to a slow start, suffering from early morning syndrome but still having control of the game, Ghetto was able to rotate the many Rookies like Brian Walsh, Danny Murphy, Jacob Malik, Jay Swedyk, Jesse Grewal, Kevin Wogenstahl, Mark Fedorenko, Patrick Kaufmann, Ragen Frost, Ted Lannert and Troy Weigand into the fold. Ghetto took care of business and ended the game on universe 15-14. After a much needed restful second round by, Ghetto Force played Youngstown State. Ghetto didn’t let the game get close as it did against Youngstown, Ghetto veterans picked up the energy and pwned the field. Enjoying the lead, Ghetto relied on the Rookies to keep the energy up and played strong resulting in a 13-8 win. The third game against Miami was a more competitive game, both teams held the goal of working Rookies into the game. However, the trend of dropped discs and flat cutting hampered the offensive weapons throughout the first half, landing Ghetto in a 4-7 hole going into half. Ghetto came out strong after half, but unable to get the win, ending in 11-13 Ghetto’s first loss. Ghetto final game of the first day was against Pen State.

The Championship and its Sprinklers
Finishing 2-2 the previous day, Ghetto was dead set to improve their performance. Facing 3-1 Toledo in the first round Ghetto stepped up its game. Starting strong Ghetto went on a 4-0 run forcing Toledo to take an early T.O. Soon after irrigation sprinklers interrupted the game twice adding a level of frustration and distraction. But the Vets and the Rooks kept up the energy to take half. After the break, Ghetto broke out the big defensive guns and through a water tight Zone. The zone was able to stop Toledo dead in its Northern Ohio tracks, Ghetto capitalized and took a 4-0 run against Toledo finishing the game 15-9. Following the victory, Ghetto faced Pit X a more competitive opponent than Toledo. This game gave the Rooks a great opportunity to observe high level play. Ghetto played a solid game and was able to play long points against Toledo fast paced transition game. However Pits huck game, enabled them to cash in on many transition opportunities. Ghetto went into half 2-8 and ended the game 4-15. The game against Pit was a great lesson to the young team and highlighted some areas where Ghetto needs to work. After the loss to Pit, Ghetto was battling for 5th against Case. Expecting a close game, Ghetto pulled out the stops and played mostly Vet lines. The Force traded points with Case for awhile but after a streak Ghetto enjoyed a 2 point lead. After half Case came back strong and Ghetto lost the edge enabling Case to capitalize, forcing a hard cap. After 2 more wasted opportunities Case took the game 16-13. Ghetto ended the game with bitter taste, but was excited by the talent that the Rooks showed. The next opponent Teets University left early due to lack of hustle, forfeiting and giving Ghetto 7th place. Ghetto kept seed.

Stay Tuned for the report from Glory Days. Ghetto will bring 2 X-Y squads to this huge tournament.

Day 2

Author: Brian Jones

Returning to the booming metropolis of Versailles, Ohio with a perfect
record to its name, Ghetto Force arrived for the second day of the
East Plains Club Sectionals with its eyes on grabbing D2 gold and thus
eternal ultimate glory. Nothing would stand in their way.

The test for the day was to once again defeat Ram Jam from the College
of Wooster. While Ghetto had narrowly snatched a victory the day
before, the level of difficulty in obtaining another was increased
from the previous day. The guidance of coach Evan Corcoran would not
be available, as he was unable to return for the second day.
Additionally, the extremely valuable cutting abilities of Ragen Frost
(lost to the Black Plague) and Pete Larkin (lost to an epic freestyle
battle Saturday night) would not be present. Ghetto did however add
the skills of the unassailable Ross Gueltzow to its already impressive
handling arsenal. The team prepared for the game by unleashing a
perfectly executed rendition of a cheer from Denzel Washington's
classic "Remember the Titans", and UD Men's Club Ultimate was ready to
roll.

Ghetto overcame a rough start to take an 8 - 6 lead into half time.
With Frost and Larkin gone, new Ghetto Superstars were given the
chance to shine through. Showing off great disc reading abilities for
a newbie in his first tournament, Jesse Grewal added more than just
diversity to the team, nabbing several key grabs in scoring points for
Ghetto. Birthday boy Adam Tardio showed off his speed and experience,
and among other key grabs beat his defender to the force side of the
end zone when given the iso-call, catching a flick from Jones for a
key upwind break.

The game remained a hotly contested battle throughout, with Ram Jam
bringing the score to 9 - 10 just after hard cap was blown. This meant
Ghetto would be receiving a pull and would need to score upwind to
avoid a universe point situation. After a few turns/turnts by each
side, "Marky Mark" Fedorenko unleashed a great upwind huck to fellow
freshman stud Patrick Kaufmann. Kaufmann, who proved to be as talented
as he is lanky, snatched the throw out of mid-air just short of the
end zone line. After being advised to by veterans to take what may or
may not have been a legal time out, Kaufmann and the rest of the
offense set up a plan to punch in the winning score. Both teams set up
in the end zone, and the disc was checked in and immediately dumped to
Marky Mark. Wooster's defensive strategy was very formidable, and Mark
was forced high into the stall count. With the taste of victory
tantalizing his taste buds, Jones darted from his right side handling
position towards the far cone looking for a break-side strike throw.
Halfway through the cut however, Jones realized that the throwing lane
was not there. Utilizing a level of agility and quickness that he
quite simply does not posses, Jones planted hard and cut back
horizontally to the force side. Mark stepped out wide and threw a
beautiful outside-in flick into the end zone. Jones' defender made an
admirable bid for the disc, which flew just inches by his outstretched
hand right to Jones in the end zone. The veteran handler, not used to
being on the catching end of a score, performed a textbook head-spike
in celebration of the dramatic victory and the completion of Ghetto's
quest to become the undisputed 2010 East Plains Section Division 2
Champions.

Thanks to Oberlin College's decision to leave the tournament a day
early, Ghetto Force managed to avoid an annoying and inexplicable
scenario in which they would have had to beat a team that did not
compete in Division 2 in order to win the Division 2 Championship. It
is believed whoever decided this system of play has the IQ of a small
soap dish. In short, Ghetto's dramatic win over Wooster was the
conclusion of a very exciting first tournament.

Ghetto appears to be in great shape entering the young season. After
losing many of its top-tier players to an ever present epidemic know
as "graduation" last season, many around the team expected 2010/2011
to be a rebuilding season for Ghetto. However, a plethora of young
talent combined with the great improvement of its veterans has Ghetto
hopeful of a season even more successful than the last. The dawn looks
increasingly bright for Ghetto Force, and the coming season should be
one for the ages.

(Note to the reader from the blogmaster: Below is a short synopsis, written by Josey. I have highlighted a couple paragraphs for your reading convience so you don't elect not to read it because of how short it is)

Ghetto Force entered the fall's first tournament (or "turntament" as
some may say) with a unique challenge to overcome. Several of the
team's seasoned veterans were unable to play for Ghetto due to a
previous engagement with Dayton's premier Club Ultimate team,
"Enigma". This left the team with only two players (Zach Kaylor and
Brian Jones) with more than a year of college ultimate experience
under their proverbial belts. Nonetheless, Ghetto came into the
weekend with one thing on its collective mind; pure domination.

Ghetto Force began the tournament/turnament taking on the first of
three Division 2 foes; Rocket Oxen of Case Western. A very formidable
wind created a point trading scenario for the first half hour or so of
the game, until Ghetto decided to string together by far the best
three point stretch of the weekend and potentially the entire fall
season. After scoring downwind to take a one point lead, Ghetto pulled
upwind. After a turnover/turntover by Case, Kaylor swung the disc to
Jones on the right side of the field. With coach Evan Corcoran
standing just yards away on the side line, Jones summoned some of the
alumn's handling greatness and released an upwind huck that few would
dare attempt. The throw sliced cleanly through the wind, flattening
out and descending gently in the back corner of the end zone to the
outstretched hand of Blue Chip recruit Patrick Kaufmann. A victory cry
of "Crab Cakes and Football!!" was unleashed, and Ghetto celebrated
it's first upwind break of the day. However, much more exuberant and
fanatical celebrating was soon to follow, and for very good reason.

Not 40 seconds after the Jones/Kaufmann connection, Ghetto pulled
downwind to their now shaken foes. The fear which Ghetto was
instilling quickly became evident, as the first handler swing pass
Case threw sailed over the intended players head and high into the
air. With the look of greatness in his eyes, Zach Kaylor summoned the
Ultimate lineage which flows through his veins and darted towards the
disc as it quickly descended towards the ground in the opponents end
zone. With the disc angling away from him and just inches from the
ground, the son of Ghetto Force's founder threw his body forward in
hopes of completing one of the greatest plays a Ghetto member has made
since his father crafted the team so many years ago. A split second
after Kaylor leaped, time stood still. With his body completely
parallel with the earth, Zach clasped his hand around the lip of the
disc only centimeters above the grass. The clouds above opened, and a
choir of Ultimate angels descended on the field to celebrate the
completion of one of the most phenomenal plays that can be made in a
competitive game of ultimate; a layout Callahan. While the events
described in the previous sentence may be a bit dramatized, the play
was freaking awesome. Many players wait their whole lives for the
chance at any sort of Callahan, let alone a layout in the first game
of the season. Understandably, pandemonium ensued.

After the Callahan celebration subsided, Ghetto prepared for another
attempt at an upwind break. After a very solid pull, Ghetto's other
Blue Chip recruit Mark Fedorenko lived up to his first name by putting
on a phenomenal mark and forcing another handler turnover/turntover by Case.
Marky Mark then picked up the disc and tossed it to the Callahan Man
himself, Zach Kaylor, for Ghetto's third straight point and their
second upwind break of the day. Case called timeout in an attempt to
regroup, but it was too late. The momentum from this greatness-filled
three point stretch carried Ghetto to an impressive 13 - 8 victory to
start the day.

In the next game Ghetto took on a slightly more formidable opponent in
Ram Jam from the College of Wooster. Even so, Ghetto put forth another
impressive performance, with the new recruiting class making quite an
impression. Mark Fedorenko proved to be as skilled on both offense and
defense as any opposing veterans the team saw all weekend. Patrick
Kaufmann was a deep threat that opponents simply could not deal with,
using his freakishly lankly build to great effect. Great performances
were not limited to these experienced freshmen however. Ragen "Iceman"
Frost displayed a tremendous understanding of cutter movement and
defensive positioning, all while dealing with a sickness whose
symptoms lead this commentator to conclude that he has a contracted a
case of the Black Plague. Details to follow. Famous rap artist Pete
Larkin also delivered an outstanding cutting performance, even with
some sever injuries to the back of his hands that reportedly were the
result of walls getting in the way of his moving fist. All of these
stellar efforts along with the veteran leadership of Kaylor and Jones
propelled Ghetto Force to a thrilling 10 - 9 victory over Wooster.

Ghetto was left with one more task for the day: Take down the Athens
Bulldogs of Ohio University. While Ohio's top tier players were
competing in the D1 part of the tournament/turnament, Ghetto was still
ready to face a tough opponent. Ohio University is a perennial
powerhouse in the East Plains section, nearly knocking off the ever
dominant Ohio State at last spring's College Sectionals. Ghetto knew
their opponent would be well coached, an expectation which was well
met. The Ohio game was the first time during the day that Ghetto was
forced to contend with a zone defense. With a group of largely
inexperienced cutters and just 3 experienced handlers, this proved to
be quite a test for the young team. However, Ghetto was well up to the
challenge. Red-shirt freshman Josh Weitz quickly mastered the proper
positioning when cutting in a zone offense. Thanks in part to his
blazing speed, and in part to his heads-up field vision, handlers were
routinely able to find hit Josh through holes in cup and get him the
"ball-ball-ball" quite frequently. Ghetto cruised in its final game of
the day, winning 12 - 6 and completing a perfect 3 - 0 record. It also
must be mentioned that newbie handler Brian Walsh caught what was
clearly the grab of the day (minus Zach Kaylor's Callahan of course),
by securing a disc that thanks to odd winds ended up on his lower
back/buttocks region while he was most of the way through falling over
forwards. He was subsequently given a gold star sticker and a Capri
Sun juice packet for his efforts.

With a very exciting day one in the books, Ghetto returned/returnt home to UD
to relax, and many enjoyed a cinematic adventure entitled "Hard Ticket
to Hawaii," which reportedly won the academy award for Best Movie Ever
Made.

Day 2 recap coming soon.

2010 East Plains Division 2 Club Sectionals Champs!!

News Flash! EXTRA EXTRA.

This just in....Following a 5-o victorious campaign Ghetto Force has just been named the 2010 East Plains Division II Club Sectionals Champions... Stay tuned for updates......

Safety In Numbers

With the date of club sectionals looming in the horizon the first ghetto force practice started with the intensity and emotion that comes with one of sex-panthers vegetarian bowel movements. Banished to the badlands of the University of Dayton property (the “fields” at the corner of Main and Stewart), Ghetto Force still managed to draw 28 to the first practice. As the team cleated up, Captain Phil set the tone for practice, deciding that Handler movement to be the focus for the day. After running through the time-honored partner throwing, the team ran through a series of go-to catching drills showing the freshman the speed and intensity that real ultimate is all about. The outstanding freshman class was able to show off their speed and superior hand to eye coordination. After break, Captain Phil introduced some advanced physic theory, known as the “handler weave” or to some as the “dump-swing”. Proving to be an easy task for the team including the freshman. After conquering the handler weave, the team transitioned into some scrimmaging. Still rusty after coming back from the summer off, Ghetto went through some growing pains. Suffering from frequent drops and an obvious lack of breaks, the sub-par performace reminded the team of how much we need to improve before the College season starts.

Stay tuned for news about ghetto’s sectional performance…..

Soaring Eagle, Cowering Snake, Leaping Frog

Day 1 of Ghetto Force Tryouts

Wednesday, September 1st marked the first event leading to the kickoff of the 2010-2011 Ghetto Force season. Working towards an improvement on last years successful campaign, Ghetto hopes to progress deeper into the Regional tournament. Ghetto has high hopes for the incoming class of new players and is greatly anticipating including new talent into the lineup.

If you were to predict the outcome of the season based on the single performance of first day, the outcome would be bright, blindingly bright. The first day of tryouts was an outstanding showing of effort and positive attitude. The new players showed not only tremendous athletic ability but an understanding and awareness of the game. As the team quickly ran through drills, Coach Papa Cork recorded the performance of new players and kept an eye out for the noob chaff to burned in the fires held deep within the Ultimate Mountains of Noob-dom. After some easy going obligatory agility and catching drills were out of the way, Capitans Phil and ButtRexs ushered the team into the perspiration gauntlet, the thresher for noob chaff, a drill only slightly better known as hills. This exercise is the fastest way to separate an Ultimate player from a bleeding heart, liberal, "Frisbee" tossing hippie, after numerous rounds of hills, the team came out the other side of the punishing drill alive and full of energy. "READY FOR MORE!!!" cried the Veteran, Sex Panther into the faces of a few freshman, as he sprinted down the hill ripping his shirt in half which subsequently set the tone for the rest of the try outs. Picking up on this blood thirsty energy, the team then transitioned into partner throwing and a water break.

Filling the remainder of the time was a short scrimmage. It was during this spectacle that many freshman were able to shine and show off their ultimate skillz and potential. Running vertical stack both teams were able to teach the fundamentals such as forces and stall counts. The scrimmage enabled the new recruits to experience only a sliver of what a real game in a tournament would be like. But overall the level of play was outstanding for the first day.

The final task in Tryouts was perhaps the most important, ladders. This drill showed the new recruits how to band together and overcome the physical demands and struggles that they will experience throughout the season. Even though everyone was tired and thirsty, the team still sprinted with the intensity that is expected out of a Ghetto Force squad.

Stay Tuned for More Updates on Ghetto Force and we'll see you at Day 2......

News from around the Ghetto Force Family

Some really cool news is going on in the Ghetto Force Family.

As the previous post indicated, Addison Hoover made the elite Minneapolis club team Sub Zero. Sub Zero recently won their first tournament campaign at the Minnesota Invitational with a 15-10 victory. Sub Zero now has their sights on winning the Colorado Cup as they compete with some of the nations best Club teams such as Furious George, Madison Club and Madcow.

In other news Beth Kaylor, from the renowned and honorable Kaylor clan, has made the Junior Nationals!! Beth will represent the Stars and Bars in the 2010 World Junior Ultimate Championships August 4th in Germany. Beth has been training in Massachusetts at a USA Ultimate team camp. You can follow Beth on her own blog here http://www.usaultimate.org/news/junior-worlds-players-share-their-experiences/

Good luck Addison and Beth in your ultimate endeavors!!!

In case you haven't heard, Addison Hoover is now a member of elite club team "Sub Zero" !!!!
Congrats Addison!

End of an era

Dear reader,

Just wanted to inform you that Corbizzle has graduated and is no longer a contributing author here at the Ghetto Ultimate Blog. Copious thanks to Corbizzle for all his great contributions both to the team and to the blog. I will try to bring you the same great coverage of tournaments and interesting bits from around the Ultimate community.

Hey you. Yes, You. I need your help. If you want to offer a break-down of a game or even a tournament or you might have some Ultimate opinion you want to write about, let me know. I'm not a blog tyrant that wants to horde all the communication power to myself. Send me your post and we'll work together to get it up on the blog. I look forward to keeping everyone updated on the victories of Ghetto Force in this coming season.

Contact me via email bellopad@notes.udayton.edu or my cell phone anytime 678.433.2778

~The Bello

Can Pickle Juice Stop Muscle Cramps?

Phys Ed: Can Pickle Juice Stop Muscle Cramps?

Here's a quick summary:

Researchers at Brigham Young University recently concluded a scientific experiment on college athletes to determine whether if taken during a cramp pickle juce is more effective than water at reducing the cramps.

Athletes were worked on a bicycle with one pedal until reaching a state of mild dehydration, mild dehydration meaning a water loss of 3% of one's body weights. Cramps were then induced by shocking the tibial nerve in the athlete's ankle of which had not been peddling.

Results showed that in a mildly dehydrated state drinking just 2.5 ounces of pickle juice reduced cramps 37% faster than water. Interestingly, the pickle juice stopped the cramps in just 85 seconds which is not enough time to be adsorbed in the stomach, meaning that fluids and salt are not the immediate answer.

Experts believe that there is something smaller at work in the pickle juice, and more likely its something in the vinegar which reacts with specialized nervous system receptors through a biochemical process which signals that disrupt the nerves responsible for the cramping.

At the moment the best their best advise is to avoid muscle fatigue saying, "if muscle fatigue is the cause then train properly, building up your mileage slowly and perhaps adding strength training that focuses specifically on muscles that have cramped in the past, may help." In addition being well conditioned one should always be hydrated, and if need be carry a bottle of vinegar!

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/09/phys-ed-can-pickle-juice-stop-muscle-cramps/

USA Ultiamte College Championships

Nationals was exciting as ever. The weather was sunny and in the upper 80's all weekend. With the lack of cloud cover the heat index on the fields was in the mid 90's...almost exactly the same as in 2009 but with less wind.

Starting in the first round of the tournament on Friday the pools began to explode: 5th seed Wisconsin lost to 14th seed Michigan; 7th seed Harvard defeated 2nd seed Carelton; 17th seed UCSD defeated 1st seed Oregon. On day two 1 seed Oregon lost to 9th seed Georgia, 18th seed Iowa beat 15th seed Illinois, 10 seed UNC-W beat 7th seed Harvard completing a circle of upsets amongst the top three teams in pool C, Colorado the 3rd seed lost to 11 seed Pitt, UCSB the 13th seed defeated Florida the 4th seed (although Florida threw the game with the knowledge they had already won the pool), and finally 12 seed Call beat 5th seed Minnesota.

This resulted in a two way tie for Pool A, a three way tie for Pool B, a two way tie for pool C, and a two way tie for Pool D. Cornell won pool A with its head to head win against the other 3-1 team, Georgia. Carelton won pool B based on point differential in the running against Harvard and UNC-W by 6 points. Pitt won pool C with a head to head win over Colorado. Florida won pool D with a head to head win over Cal.

Here is some vidoe from the final game. You can get a feel for how many people were there and how the game went.

Ultimate Documentary

The first full scale ultiamte documentary since "I Bleed Black"

The Blueprint Preview

Too long to be a trailer, too short to be the real thing. Well, here's something in-between. Get a little bit of everything with a preview of what we have in store for the documentary; the first championship ultimate season ever to be captured in its entirety.

Blueprint - The Preview from Brandon Malecek on Vimeo.

###
"The BluePrint: The Road to the Repeat" is a feature length documentary that follows the full season of the 2008 Wisconsin Hodags. After two years in a row of making finals, losing and then winning once, the Hodags set out to bring the championship back to Madison for a third time in six years. This would be a trial of focus, dedication, and unity for a team beleaguered by a record snowfall winter, and a line up of bitter competitors waiting for their shot at the returning champs.

The film highlights the 2008 Hodag season through eight tournaments interspersed with scenes from grueling workouts and intense field practices. Feel the contrast of a team which thrives on the ideal of Hodag Love, but expects nothing less than perfection from itself. Catch all the action as rivalries with college Ultimate powerhouses like Florida, The Colorado Mama Bird, and The Carleton Ultimate Team unfold.

Pre Sales start this Memorial Day Weekend!
###

Ask Drew Mahowald #21, Kevin Riley #7, or Brandon "Muffin" Malecek #13 to secure your copy in the first order!

Love,
Drew, Kevin, and the Muffin Man

The UPA is now USA Ultimate

The UPA changed its name to USA Ultimate! The organization has been operating under the name "UPA" for over 30 years. USA Ultimate believes the new name will do a better job eliminating brand confusion between USA Ultimate which is used to represent Team USA and the UPA which has traditionally represented ultiamte in the United States.

CEO Dr. Tom Crawford says the organization will begin to focus more externally and grow the sport nation wide. The new website is the beginning of a media, marketing, and communication strategy to increase visibility of the sport and transparency of USA Ultimate.

Senior Salute 2010

This season Ghetto is sending 6 players to the world; Evan Corcoran, Eric Krissek, Geoff Holmes, Travis Knight; Brendan Corboy; and Kevin Galli.

Evan Corcoran, "Captian Corc," "Corc-Juice," Papa-Corc," "Baby-Faced-Corc," "The Pittsburgh-Kid," is a 5 year member of the University of Dayton Men's Ultimate team. Evan captained the team his Sophomore, Junior, and Senior year. Evan lead the team through a period of exponential growth, going from last in the section in the spring of 2006 to 5th over the course of one year. Recognizing that ghetto was a team often short in stature, Corc-Juice introduced the idea of “owning the in-cut,” which as it turned out was quite effective in Ohio’s windy environment. Evan has played with numerous club teams including FORGE, who nearly made nationals this past Club season. Alien abductors have asked him, to probe them. If he were to give you directions you would never get lost; And, you'd arrive at least 5 minutes early. His legend proceeds him, the way lightning proceeds thunder. To quote Captian Corc “don’t cut like a bitch, cut like a man!”Evan graduated in May with an undergrad degree in accounting and an MBA.

Eric Krissek, "The K-State-Killer," "K-State," "K," "The Kansas State Kid," "The Wildcat," "The Purple People Eater," "The D1 Athlete"... K-State is a career ultimate player at UD, but our favorite story to tell is how he got here. K had two choices; either take a division 1 scholarship to play soccer at college, or move to Dayton Ohio to play ultimate. As you know the choice was clear. The Killer turned down his soccer scholarship to play ultimate. In reality, the K-State-Killer turned down his soccer scholarship to become a Berry Scholar, and thankfully devote his free time to ultimate. Many a full moon if you turn your ear to the west you'll hear the Wildcat let loose his growl ... "Leeets GO GHEEEETTOOOOOO!" If you meet the Purple People Eater in the wild remember to never make him angry, anger only intensifies his skills. But seriously, this guy probably has the biggest heart in the force.


Geoff Holmes, "The Werewolf," The Gurnter, "El Grunto," "uuhhhhhh," "Beldar Conehead,"The Runner," "Sherlock Holmes," "nayack,"or simply "Homesy." Jeff played several years with Ghetto Force and improved substantially over his career, finishing senior year as a trusted player. Holmes is known for his willingness to bid for any disc and received most of his nicknames for the sound he produces while bidding, jumping, or doing just about anything on the field. He produces a grunt much like a tennis player (which he used to be) when expelling energy. The grunts resemble those of the Coneheads of SNL fame. El Grunto runs marathons in his spare time and has never been sore in his life. Bledar has never made a negative comment in his life, is always quick with a smile, and always reminds me of Disney World.


"Travis Knight," "T," "Mr. T," "Cookie Monster," "Hardest Working Man in Show-business," "Tizzle,"T-Dizzle," "T-Dawg Knight," "Yellow Cleats," or just plain old Travis. Travis truly was the hardest working man in show-business. T was never injured, probably never missed a tourney, and never resisted playing every point in the cup. Not only was Mr. T a workhorse but he's also the nicest guy in the world- he would walk 500 miles and he would walk 500 more... when he’s working yes you know he’s gonna be, he’s gonna be the man who's working hard for you! T doesn't think he can handle, but he can... as seen at regionals this year. He’s been called the "cookie monster" because we have yet to see him eat anything but cookies and candy. Mr. T's personality is so magnetic, he is unable to carry credit cards. Even his enemy's list him as their emergency contact. Tizzle never says anything tastes like chicken, not even chicken. Travis graduated with degrees in accounting and finance and will graduate with an MBA in August. T is so money and he doesn't even know it. He like a big bear with big bear claws and fangs but he just doesn't know how to kill the bunny.

Brendan Corboy, "Corbizzle,” “C-Bizzle,” “Coach Ditka,” “Bren-dawg,” “Cor-MAN,” or just Corboy, is without a doubt the epitome of all that is man. Whether sporting a Hollywood Hogan blonde mustache or facial hair fit for a highway patrolman (see right), Brendan was a Ghetto leader both on and off the field for 5 seasons. A layout D machine as well as a supreme handler, Corboy rarely missed a tourntament and was quite a Force to be reckoned with. Bringing a variety of new offensive sets to Ghetto, Corbizzle just might have been the first to utter the phrase, “Run the wrap!” in the Great Lakes region. Bren-dawg was quite the enforcer on the field, causing turntover after turntover with his punishing defensive presence, leaving behind a trail of demoralized and defeated opponents even greater than that of the mighty Aragorn. When not using his intergalactic ultimate skills to hit guys with no-look scoobers, he often enjoys moose-watching while shooping down the ski slopes of Wyoming. Brendan graduated in May with an undergrad degree in accounting and economics and an MBA, so suck it nerds!

Kevin Galli, "Galli," "Galli-son," "The Galli-nator," "Pep-band Nerd," "The 5th Year Rookie," "Mr. Motorcycle." Galli's first year of playing organized ultimate was also his 5th year in college. One day we saw him tossing around a discgolf disc and suggested he join the ultimate team. A couple days later Galli was on the squad. It turns out that Galli-son is a fast learner. He always expected more out of himself, conditioning, practicing, and playing hard. If every player had Galli's devotion the team would be much better off. When Galli wasn't practicing, conditioning, and playing he was an enginerd and a senior member of UD's Pepband. the Pepband plays at every home basketball game and travels with the team for important events, such as the A10 tourney, NCAA tourney, or NIT tourney. He's a lover, not a fighter, but hes also a fighter...so don't get any ideas.

Callahan Videos

Here are some videos teams have published in support of their players for the 2010 Callahan Award:

Eli Friedman for Callahan 2010 from Oregon Ultimate on Vimeo.

Brodie Smith #21 is Florida's entry for Callahan

Laura Bitterman from the Wisconsin Bella Donnas... I know you guys cant vote on her but I've played on the same Sandblast team with here several times and she is fast-as-fu(k and real good with the disc.

Laura Bitterman for Callahan 2010 from Emelie McKain on Vimeo.

2010 Callahan Nomoniees

What is the Callahan Award?
The Callahan Award has been established to recognize the most valuable players in men's and women's college ultimate. Each year the Callahan trophy is presented to the man and woman who combine superior athleticism with outstanding sportsmanship, leadership and dedication to the sport of ultimate.

In the eyes of his or her peers, the Callahan winner is the personification of the ideal ultimate player.

Nominating A Candidate?
Any college or university with an interscholastic ultimate team can submit one candidate for the Callahan Award. Teams can nominate Callahan candidates in whatever manner they chose: they can be selected by a captain or coach, voted for by senior players, voted for by all players, etc.

In addition to each team being able to nominate one player, UPA Regional Coordinators can nominate one player from their region as well. Note that this can result in two players being nominated from the same team.

Listed bellow are the 2010 nominees:

1. Brian McDonald Colorado-B

2. Walden Nelson Illinois

3. Ryan Heffernan Michigan State

4. Andrew Walch Texas State

5. JimmyKiselak Rensselaer Polytech

6. ErichMacLaren NC State-B

7. Andrew Otto Grinnell

8. Joseph Foley Nebraska

9. Michael Saeger Nebraska-B

10. Dennis Tarasi Truman State

11. Ben Slade Clemson

12. Adil Delawalla Georgia Tech-B

13. Matt Sheehan Stanford-B

14. Ryan Bigley Kansas

15. Chris Brenenborg Pittsburgh

16. Ken Porter NC State

17. Phil Brock Tennessee

18. Jeff Loskorn Texas

19. Jeff Wodatch George Washington

20. matt stupski Florida State-B

21. David Brooks North Texas

22. Ryan Chard South Florida

23. Gain Robinson Stonehill

24. Eli Friedman Oregon

25. Shane Sisco East Carolina

26. Evan Klane Wisconsin

27. Graham Baecher Dartmouth

28. Peter Dempsey Georgia

29. Rusty Ingold-Smith North Carolina-Wilmington

30. Jack McShane Colorado

31. Andrew Hollingworth Tufts

32. Andrew Schroeder Notre Dame

33. Alex Engel Wisconsin-Milwaukee

34. Kielan Way Carleton University

35. Andrew Roca Central Florida

36. Cassidy Rasmussen California-Santa Cruz

37. Mike Toulouse George Mason

38. Drew Rowny Yale

39. Tyler Conger Virginia

40. Taylor Kraemer Indiana

41. George Stubbs Harvard

42. Ethan Gillett MIT

43. Taylor Lahey California-Davis

44. Steve Roberts Air Force

45. Luke Wildfire Virginia-B

46. Paul Adkisson Missouri

47. Brodie Smith Florida

48. Michael Arenson Minnesota

49. Jordan Hupp Chicago

50. Michael Hanley Loyola Chicago

51. Michael "Trip" Albani Delaware

52. Tom Haynes Michigan

53. Jamie Quella Williams

54. Ryan Kurkul Michigan-B

55. Justin "Bobble" Elliott California-San Diego

56. Sam Kanner Carleton

57. Casey Hooper Arkansas

58. Timmy Beatty California-Santa Barbara

59. Josh Botti Ohio State