U13 Nepean Storm wins GOLD

The 2010 Cumberland Cobras Snakebite Tournament took place over the June 26-27 weekend. Here's the write-up posted on the Nepean Storm website.

U13 Storm Girls Win 2010 Snakebite Gold! [July 10, 2010]

Congratulations to the U13 Storm Girls who won Gold at this year's Snakebite Tournament, defeating Kanata Lightning 2-0 in the final!

The solid efforts by Alana, Haley, Sara, Chelsea, Sierra, Michelle, Melissa, Lauren, Sophia, Marilyn, Naomi, Sophie, Shannon, Lindsay, Callie, Elizabeth, Caitlin, and Jade made for exciting and entertaining games.

The team competed well with only 12 players on Saturday, earning a 0-0 draw vs the Kanata Lightning Level 4 team, and losing a close 0-1 game vs Ottawa Internationals.
With reinforcements arriving to bolster the ranks on Sunday, the team went on a winning streak. They played a close first match against Glengarry, winning 1-0. Despite going a goal down during their second game, the girls showed resilience and continued to play our team's game. They "stormed" back with 3 unanswered goals in the second half to stun Sudbury 3-1. The win set up the team for the Gold medal match - their best match of the tournament. The girls confidently took control right away, scoring an early goal at the beginning of the first half. They sustained the pressure on their opponents for the rest of the game, scoring an insurance goal to secure first place. Thank you, girls, for an outstanding weekend of soccer, and for exhibiting good sportsmanship and Fair Play throughout the tournament!

Mike, head coach, on behalf of the U13's, thanks the coaching staff of Murray, Bruce, and Wendy for their work motivating and encouraging the girls, and for preparing the team prior to playing. Thank you to Kirsten, our team manager/trainer, for setting us up in the tournament, keeping us on track, and supporting the players. And thank you to the parents and Storm fans for lending helping hands and cheering on the team!

Go Storm!

PS: Our wee Sara scored the winning goal to win the gold medal.

Happy Father's Day weekend

A great weekend of football (aka soccer). I spent nearly the entire weekend either watching football, thanks to the World Cup, or playing football with my kids on the nearby pitch. Throw in a beer or two and a couple of stellar meals and you have a complete Father's Day recipe. Oh and watching Holland advance to the Round of 16 was just icing on the cake (first team to do so btw).

Saturday's meal was a test run of a small Indian restaurant across from the Coliseum on Carling and Wylie. Little India Cafe. It was a hit. Very tasty with just the right amount of spice.

As you can see in the photo above, Sunday's meal was steak (from the local butcher, Pete and Gus) and a fresh spinach salad washed down with a Blackberry Wheat from Long Trail Brewing. Delicious.

Cheers.

PS: Did anybody notice my new keychain in the pic? Thanks Em.

Mountain Jam 2010

Mountain Jam Festival VI
Hunter Mountain Ski Lodge
Catskills, NY
Google map
Festival schedule

After our successful adventure to last year's Mountain Jam V, Steve and I were pumped to see what Warren had in store for 2010. The line-up this year was looking stellar. Aside from the usual two nights of Gov't Mule (as if six hours of Warren jamming with occasional guests wasn't enough) the highlights for me were the Drive-By Truckers, Derek Trucks, Grace Potter, Les Claypool, Michael Franti, Lettuce, Jackie Greene, Jay Farrar (Son Volt) and of course the grand finale birthday special with Levon Helm et al. including Donald Fagen and Steve Earle.

Once again knowing sleep would not come easy, we hit road early Thursday evening and heading due south for the Catskills via our favorite Walmart sleepover stop in Cobleskill, NY.



Joining us on the mountain this year was our old high school buddy Glenn (Eskimo). While Steve and I were leisurely driving down from Ottawa, Glenn was flying from London, England crossing British Airways' picket lines and holding his breath through the deadly volcanic ash. Despite the obstacles Glenn arrived right on time and only managed to miss the setting up of the tent in our VIP camping area.

And then the music started...


Equally entertaining as the musicians on stages are the folks that gather around the mountain side and camp out in the hills. Here's just a small flavor...





As per usual Warren Haynes shared the stage with many of the other artists performing at Hunter Mountain - Grace Potter, Les Claypool, Derek Trucks, Patterson Hood, Ray LaMontagne, Jackie Greene, Dave Mason, Matisyahu, Lettuce, and of course the grand finale with Levon Helm and all his special guests (Steve Earle, Donald Fagen, Allison Moorer, and Sam Bush). A right musical marathon guitar god, Warren is one of a kind.

Of note, Grace Potter was a definite highlight of the weekend. The icing on the cake was when she stepped up to join Gov't Mule on Fleetwood Mac's "Gold Dust Woman". Grace and Warren belted out an incredibly soulful version of a Stevie Nicks classic. Grace's sensuality was pouring over the edge of the stage. Warren's... um, not so much. Here's a youtube clip from the 2008 Jammys - good but not nearly as perfected as it was that night on Hunter Mountain.





A three hour birthday party for Levon Helm wrapped up the weekend. Levon was in top form playing drums and occasionally singing lead vocals on what was mainly a long list of classic songs from The Band. He as all smiles and showed his appreciation at the end of each song to each and every person that dropped by to pay their respects.

Here's a tidbit for you - Levon grew up on an Arkansas cotton farm in a tiny hamlet called Turkey Scratch. Seriously.

Anyhow the weekend was another huge success all around. Great weather, great company, and a great selection of bands. Again VIP was the way to go. Hands down. And the slight adjustments and tweaks to the VIP package did not go unnoticed. Awesome job guys.

Finally a massive thank you Warren and Gov't Mule.
Left to right... Warren Haynes, Matt Abts, Jorgen Carlsson, Danny Louis.