Thrilled 32 / Round 2 : Day 2 - 2014 May Mayhem Tournament of Champions

Welcome back to the Thrilled 32 round of the 2014 May Mayhem Tournament of Champions!  A little behind schedule today, as I got sidetracked with planning a trip to a Mariner's game later this summer, and getting things together for sloshball on Friday evening after work.  It'll be an active couple of days, so let's get this party started.

First, to honor America, this YouTube video performance of our National Anthem...



And now, to proceed with the Round 2 / Day 2 action:

12) Tara Arnold  vs.  13) Alisha Finke

While I have known Tara since college, I don't really have many recollection of interactions with her.  However, I do remember (a couple of years ago, I think) when I was at the Winnerhawks games and saw her on the jumbo tron, giving the safety information.  I'm not sure if she was a Rose Bud at the time, though; however, I know that in the UP days that she was part of the dance team, and that her good friend (and equally awesome) Kendall Shepherd have both been involved in dance for as long as I've known them.  Regardless, that is one thing that always comes to mind about Tara: being able to claim, at the time, that I knew her on the jumbo tron.  A small claim to fame but bragging rights nonetheless -- so long as I wasn't at the game with other UP folks who could make the same claim.

The first memory that comes to mind with Alisha was when she posted a picture of how she used her waffle iron to make a grilled cheese sandwich......and, essentially, changed my culinary vision FOR. EV. ER.  I seriously went on a kick of making grilled cheese sandwiches and other grilled concoctions (on my George Foreman, as I don't have a waffle maker) for a solid month.  It consumed me......before I consumed it.  I had never even considered the possibility of using such tools to make grilled sandwiches -- having used it, nearly exclusively, as a grill for burgers and chicken; such like that.  Anyway, even though I also don't see Alisha much, her grilled cheese post has forever changed me.  And there is no going back to the way things were before.  That's good enough for a Smooth 16 berth I say.... and I may go make a sandwich now, too.

3/10: The picture that started it all.

3) Trent Finlay  vs.  11) John Studzic Dudzic

Almost of my interactions with Trent have been either on Facebook or at MVM meetings -- speaking of which, their annual Benefit Concert is just a few weeks away (May 30)...information is below as the sponsor of today's "Marquee Match-Up" -- and so most of my stories and memories of Trent may not be too exciting to the rest of the people: it's mostly him sharing his expertise, talking about music/drumming, and then adventures with the kids, and the occasional quest for a garage sale.  Still good times - just not something that probably gets the people excited to hear about.


Likewise, I haven't seen Studzic in a long time, but my favorite story/memory with him was when -- at their house -- a group of us watched "The GingerDead Man": it's a crappy horror movie classic.  It stars Gary Busey as a criminal/killer who gets executed, but his mom collects his ashes and distributes them into a bag of gingerbread dough at a local bakery -- why? Your guess is as good as mine; it's never explained or elaborated on. Maybe the bakery shorted her on the cake commemorating her son's execution?? *shrugs* -- which then is made into a gingerbread man, which then comes to life with the spirit of Gary Busey, and goes around killing people.  Never mind that he's like 8" tall and edible -- he is able to kill with great efficiency.  Anyway, Studzic provided some good commentary for the viewing and, as someone who likes talking/commenting on movies while watching them, good commentary is always something that I enjoy.  I also enjoy advancing folks to the Smooth 16 and so Studzic will be joining the rest of the Smooth 16 next week.

1) Jennifer Mattson  vs.  8) Calley "CalBrow" Ekberg

Even though the Winnerhawks lost this week, a lot of my favorite memories with Jennifer come from their games over the years -- where numerous nominations for Ryan Awards have been born.  One memory that stands out as being particularly delightful, was at a game -- I think two seasons ago -- where there was this awful noise that I kept hearing, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from.  Eventually, I was able to catch the source: it was this little kid (I can't tell ages) who was trying to blow one of those long plastic horns, but he didn't quite have the lung capacity to make it work...so it sounded like some sort of animal dying an agony-filled death.  I then proceeded to turn it into a fun conversation with Jennifer on the topic of "Sounds You Wouldn't Want To Hear While Camping" -- of which, I put that kid's horn, near the top of my list.  I have heard raccoons fighting/having sex (some say that it is one in the same) outside of my tent while camping, and it sounded way more horrifying than that.  

Being that Calley and I go way back, I'm digging deep on this story that I just remembered the other day, randomly, of when I made a holiday pinata for the office a few years ago -- his name was Petey, and he was a spider....I'm not sure why, but I think it was because Calley didn't like spiders.  Actually, Calley's irrational fears and odd discomforts (i.e. puns) are quite fascinating to me.  Not to say that a fear of spiders is irrational.... or is it?....but, rather, Petey - the Holiday Pinata - was, clearly, a comical spider: complete with giant white, cartoon eyes.  If they made googly-eyes large enough, I would have opted for that.  Oh, and his "legs" were tubes of construction paper; not at all intimidating or frightening.  Anyway, I remember Calley -- in addition to being late....as we only had a lunch hour to have our shenanigans and her (with a few other partygoers) didn't show up as scheduled -- was not a fan of Petey the Holiday Pinata, and, I believe, was opposed to us blind-folding her, as well.  Ergo, she cheered on Greg Baron and Boone "Diggity" Langston as they tore up poor Petey the Holiday Pinata, giving candy to us all.  To this day, it is the only pinata that I have ever made.  Ahh.  Good times.  Well, unfortunately for CalBrow, her good times in this year's Tournament ends tonight but I reckon she will be back! She is a stalwart of many of these shenanigans.


AND NOW....the Round 2 / Day 2 "Marquee Match-Up", presented by My Voice Music...

 

You don't have to be a philanthropist in order to make a difference and be charitable.  Take me, for example: I'm not a philanthropist; I prefer to spread the word of great local organizations that are doing great work in our local communities.  Organizations like My Voice Music.  

Perhaps they do something that you dig and would like to support? Maybe they do something that is important to someone that you know and/or love?  Either way, anyone can make a difference -- whether it is attending their Benefit Concert (5/30) or donating that guitar or bass that you haven't played in a long while, or maybe volunteering at their Rock Camps for kids, or even just tossing a few bucks their way to get new strings, or drum sticks, or cords for the kids.

There are DOZENS of ways to help and show support, so look inside yourself and see what one fits you best.  :-)

3) Andrew BDub Fuchs  vs.  11) Ken Hallenius

I go way back with Ken Hallenius.  While not one single memory or story stands out from my experiences with Ken, he was a prominent figure over the course of my years at the U, first as the Asst. Hall Director in the Res Life Office (where I worked) and later with my interactions with him as a Summer RA and then regular-season RA on campus.  One of my first memories of Ken, though, came from the Res Life office where he would craft the Res Life Newsletter (I forget the publication's name) and I always enjoyed the humor, creativity, and delivery that he utilized to make the reading more easy-going.

As a young kid who enjoyed writing as well as good comedy, he probably was the first inspiration or influence for when, a couple of years later, I founded the famed "2A Times".  Which, as I go into Al Bundy mode now,  at its peak of popularity, it had -- I believe -- 184 subscribers, residing in 6 countries, and on 4 continents....but who's keeping count?  ;-)  While the content in the Times may not have been of the same brand that Ken utilized in his style, he was the guy that showed me that it could be done; that newsletters and such publications could have ridiculous antics, humor, and entertainment elements.

Probably my favorite story with BDub was the one New Year’s morning, years back, when we awoke and he was nowhere to be found.  His bed was made from the day before, so we were pretty sure that he wasn’t around, and Housemate Joel had last seen him around 10:40pm the night before, with a special lady-friend.  It is now probably pushing 11am and he's not answering his phone or responding to text messages, so we do what is standard procedure amongst guys in their early 20s: we went to breakfast and would continue the search afterwards.  ;-)

So the rest of us go to New Year’s breakfast at the Shari’s up the road from the Castle, and as we are leaving Shari's (coincidentally), he finally calls me back. Not only was he alive and well, but he was at a hotel downtown, enjoying its complimentary breakfast.  He then told the tale of how he had left the party with the aforementioned and anonymous special lady-friend (I never met her.....or at least I don't think), and that they were going to take the party from the Castle to Downtown Portland......but that long, cold, brightly-lit MAX train will sober anyone up real quick; and that's exactly what happened.  

Anyway, so they get to her hotel, she no longer wants to keep the party going, but BDub has no interest of leaving -- he just got there -- so, I believe, he slept on either another bed or the couch or something, in order to then capitalize on the complimentary guest breakfast in the morning.  The significance of this story is that it spurred the creation of the famed "Hater of the Year" Ryan Award, of which no one has won more often than BDub himself.  It's a good memory (albeit, told in an abbreviated fashion) and fitting of someone appearing in the Smooth 16.

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And, with that, we are half-way through the Thrilled 32 round of the 2014 May Mayhem Tournament of Champions!

-Ryan.
Commissioner
May Mayhem Tournament of Champions