www.NOMTFA.ca Weblog

After three weekends and the first set of mid-week games, NOMTFA appears close to every league’s goal: parity. There are no undefeated teams, only one without a win, and most have had both impressive victories and disappointing defeats.

The Argonauts (3-1) have pulled into the No. 1 spot in the rankings after back-to-back wins this past week. The Roughriders (2-1), who have yet to play their midweek contest, are now second after a very lopsided win on the weekend. The previously undefeated Lions (2-2) lost both games and have fallen to third in the rankings, followed by the Alouettes (2-2), the Eskimos (2-2) and the Tiger-Cats (0-3).

After next Tuesday’s games, when all teams have played five games, the league executive will determine whether or not any player reallocation will take place.

Alouettes 20 Lions 19

The day’s most exciting game saw the Alouettes come from behind to win in the final seconds, with the help of a controversial penalty. Taking the ball over with six minutes left and down 19-12, the Als’ Joe Cardi marched his team the length of the field, combining pinpoint passes with mad scrambles. A pass on third and goal fell incomplete, but the Lions were called offside, giving Cardi another shot. He made no mistake, finding Ken Horton open in the end zone, and then connecting with Steve Abel on a two-point convert for the win.

Cardi also hit Nick DeNobile for a TD and scored himself on one of his many runs. John Henderson had two sacks for the Als.

Cameron Powley scored two touchdowns for the Lions and Pat Carey added another. Two of the scores came on passes from Alex Wysocki III and the other on a bizarre play when the Alouettes made one too many laterals on the second-half kickoff, tossing the ball into the arms of a waiting Lion who waltzed into the end zone. Andrew Salamon added a one-point convert and a sack for the Lions, who suffered their first loss of the season.

Argonauts 18 Ticats 0

Rob McFarland and John O’Brien combined to throw three touchdowns for the Argos, spreading the ball around among all the receivers. Jeff Chamula, Mike Lambert and Michael Vos scored the touchdowns, with Vos in particular having an exceptional game.

Despite being shut out, the Ticats had two or three good drives but came up just short in the red zone.

Roughriders 37 Eskimos 0

In the biggest blowout of the young season, the Roughriders laid a whipping on the Eskimos, who were without starting QB Len Watkins. QB Allen Elson led a well-balanced offence, spreading the ball around and throwing a season-high six touchdown passes. Mike Soroka, with two, Mario Belsito, Larry Rourke, Peter Andruski and Carmen Gassi scored touchdowns for the Roughriders. Mark Rippin had a one-point convert, Rourke had an interception and Marc Nantel recorded his first three sacks of the season.

The Eskimos failed to score despite a season-high four interceptions by Carleton Grant, two of them when the Riders were in scoring range.

Eskimos 28 Alouettes 12

The Eskimos were full value for the win, as Len Watkins led four scoring drives, connecting three times with the aforementioned Carleton Grant and once with Glen Mitchell. Grant added two interceptions and a convert, Luc Brunet had two sacks and a convert, Mitchell had a sack and a convert, and Brian Hoffman recorded a sack.

The Argos played short-handed, starting the game with just eight players and dropping to seven early on due to injury. In the absence of Joe Cardi, NOMTFA rookie O.J. Gleeson made his first start at quarterback and acquitted himself well, throwing two touchdown passes to old college teammate Brett Gaskell. Gleeson also intercepted a Watkins pass.

Argos 18 Lions 6

The Argos fell behind 6-0 early but came back with three unanswered touchdowns to record their third win in four games. Rob McFarland had a great game running and throwing for the Argos.

The game was tied 6-6 in the fourth quarter when McFarland intercepted a pass and returned it for the go-ahead TD. Late in the game he hit Mike Watson on a long pass-and-run TD to finish up the scoring. Mike Lambert had the other Argo touchdown, and captain Rick Capron added an interception.

Andrew Salamon played QB for the Lions in the absence of Alex Wysocki III and did a good job, marching his team the length of the field to score on their first possession.

Hi Guys.

Just a short newsletter this week, since we rehashed the most recent games in last week’s edition.

There is one really important piece of news: the remaining schedule has now been set. It includes a total of three games the next two Tuesday nights (one game for each team) at 6:30 sharp, and the remaining games on Saturdays. This coming Tuesday it’s Eskimos-Alouettes on the South Field, and Lions-Argonauts on the North Field. On Sept. 18, it’s Roughriders-Tiger-Cats on the North Field.

For now all Saturday games are scheduled for 11:00 and 12:30, but that may change later to 9:00 and 10:30, depending on rugby schedules.

Playoffs take place Nov. 17 and 24, with the championship game (and the post-season celebration) on Dec. 1.

Team Captains (Call your Captain 24 hours ahead if you are going to miss a game)
Alex Wysocki (905) 469-5673 - Lions
Allan Hrynyshyn (905) 257-1278 - Ticats
Allen Elson (905) 257-7757 - Roughriders
Andrew Todd (905) 864-6919 - Eskimos
Paul Woods (905) 681-8675 - Alouettes
Rick Capron (905) 849-3735 - Argos

Finally, on a sad note . . . Many of you know Marc Nantel, the longtime rusher extraordinaire and my predecessor as editor (and indeed, founding publisher, if I’m not mistaken) of this rag. I'm sorry to report that Marc suffered a deep personal tragedy last Saturday when his dearly beloved alma mater, Michigan, suffered an ignominious defeat at the hands of previously unheard-of (even in their own town) Appalachian State. So much for an easy season opener to move up in the rankings.

The good news is that after plenty of bed rest and unprescribed medication, Marc is recovering nicely and clinging to the belief that some day Ohio State might lose to Simon Fraser. Rumour has it he may be up to playing this week. If you run into him on the field, first tell the ref it was an accident, then let Marc know he’s in your thoughts and prayers.

See you on the field.

Hi Guys.

First, the really important news: THERE ARE NO GAMES THIS WEEKEND. We take a break over the Labour Day and Thanksgiving Day weekends. So don’t be showing up this Saturday or you might get recruited into the rugby league.

Action resumes a week from Saturday (Sept. 8) with two games at 11 a.m. More on those later, but first the other really important news: the league has just about ironed out scheduling issues with Crusaders Field, and there’s a good chance there will be two or possibly three weeknight games the week after next, specifically on Sept. 11 and/or 13. That should be finalized soon, so stay tuned for more info next week.

Now a look back at last week’s action.

Lions 14 Eskimos 7

In the first-place showdown, the Lions (2-0) prevailed in a rain-soaked game marked by strong defensive play and a lot of dropped balls.

The Eskimos (1-1) scored first on a long drive that culminated in Glen Mitchell’s second touchdown of the season, a beautiful catch with defenders draped all over him. Esks captain Drew Todd says Mitchell “is proving that it doesn’t matter who is covering him, he is going to fight for the ball. He is quickly going to gain a reputation in this league as a go-to guy.”

The Lions took then a 7-6 lead when Andrew Salamon scored on a long pass-and-run play, with Mike St. Jacques converting. The Eskimos tied it on a punt single by QB Len Watkins late in the first half, but the Lions scored the winning points in the fourth quarter when Lyle Benson snagged a 10-yard TD pass from Alex Wysocki III. After the Eskimos punted the ball on their next possession, the Lions marched again and Wysocki booted a single point to increase the lead to 14-7.

The Esks still had some fight left in them, marching late in the game. A deep pass by Watkins was caught but the receiver was touched at the two-yard line on the final play.

Les Maroszan and Wayne Flynn each had a sack for the Eskimos, and wily veteran Bill McManus showed he’s more than just one of the best snappers in the league as he snagged an interception.

Drew Todd made two exceptional plays for a big man. On the first, he ran hard to catch up to an overthrown ball on an out pattern, turning on the jets (although when it was suggested later that his “jets” were akin to a turbo-prop, he admitted that “it was more like one of those little hand-held fans, with low batteries”). After the play, Todd set an unofficial NOMTFA record by asking the ref if it was permissible to take 18 timeouts in a row so he could catch his breath. (It wasn’t.)

Later, with the Esks trailing by seven, Todd dove (reputedly for the first time in his entire football career) for a pass in the end zone. He maintained he caught it but it was ruled a trap. Even Wysocki of the Lions said that there were some brutal calls in the game, although there’s no word what he thought of that one in particular.

Alouettes 24 Tiger-Cats 6

In the other early game, an at-times torrential downpour did not stop Joe Cardi from leading a dominant offensive display as the Alouettes squared their record at 1-1. Cardi spread the ball around effectively, throwing touchdown passes to four different receivers as the Als ran up an 18-0 lead and coasted to victory.

Michel Boileau, Steve Abel, Bob Ingram and Ron Orlita all scored for the Alouettes, and John Henderson recorded a sack. Abel, Henderson and Orlita have all played winter ball but are new to the outdoor league. Ingram, by contrast, has been around since the league’s second season, when some of us (er, make that some of you) were barely out of diapers.

Cardi made the most amazing play of the game, scrambling backwards at least 40 yards behind the line of scrimmage while fending off a double rush, and still managing to complete a pass on the play.

Allan Hrynyshyn scored for the Ticats (0-2) on a pass from Glenn Stevenson.

Roughriders 20 Argos 12

The Riders led the whole game, going up 14-0 early. The Argos closed the gap just before the half to 14-6 but did not score again until late in the game.

Captain Al Elson made his first appearance at QB for the Riders (1-1) and played a cool, confident game, marching his team down the field for several long drives. He was also helped by several diving catches and jump balls reeled in by his receivers.

Mario Belsito, Larry Rourke and Mike Soroka each scored a touchdown for the Roughriders, with Mark Rippin adding a two-point convert.

Mike Watson scored both Argo touchdowns, grabbing short passes from Rob McFarland and outlegging the defence to the end zone. Erick Lippert and Stephen Sweeney each had a pick for the Boatmen (1-1), and Mike Vos made several catches.

Upcoming Games

It’s too early in the season to be talking about possible playoff previews, but a big matchup happens a week from Saturday when the No. 1-ranked Lions take on the No. 2-ranked Alouettes at 11 o’clock on the South Field. In winning their first two games, the Lions have scored 35 points and surrendered just seven. The Als are one of four teams with a win and a loss, but are ranked second overall on the strength of points for (30) and against (13).

The other 11 a.m. matchup on Sept. 8 sees a rematch of the “real” Labour Day Classic as the Ticats take on the Argos on the North Field. At 12:30 on the North Field, it’s the Roughriders vs. the Eskimos.

See you on the field!

Hi guys. It’s a pleasure to take the reins of the newsletter from the fine hand of Marc Nantel. After seven years producing weekly reports for fall and winter seasons, Marc has opted to scale back his involvement ever so slightly, although we’re fortunate that he remains a member of the league executive (as the important-sounding Vice-President, Administration) and of course as a player, this season on the Roughriders. On behalf of everyone in the league, I want to thank Marc for his tireless stewardship of the newsletter. And in one final act of tribute, please rise and join in a rousing rendition of The Victors:

Hail! Hail! to Michigan
the leaders and best
Hail! to the victors valiant
Hail! to the conqu’ring heroes
Hail! Hail! to Michig – OK, enough of that!

The plan this year is to have the newsletter focus on what’s happening around the league: accounts of the games as well as interesting news nuggets about players, etc. For this to work, I need contributions. I’ve asked team captains to provide me with the lowdown on their teams/games, but I would also welcome submissions from anyone else. Stats are part of it, of course, but what I’m really hoping to get, for everyone’s edification and enjoyment, is the story behind the stats: how the games ebbed and flowed, what the big plays were, what led to the outcome, who stood out, and so on. In short, the kind of stuff we all talk about in the clubhouse afterwards. I’m hoping the newsletter will round up key events of the previous week, and set the scene for upcoming games.

Any information you want to share can be delivered to me either by e-mail (paul.woods@thecanadianpress.com, or pandlwoods@sympatico.ca) or in person. The more colour and description I have to work with, the more interesting the accounts should be. I can’t promise to include everything I get – and in fact I plan to edit quite aggressively, with the goal of producing an information-packed but tight read. A little editing never hurt anyone, and I assume there are plenty of wannabe sportswriters in our league.

In case you’re wondering what makes me such an expert, well I’m definitely not an expert, but I was once an actual (as opposed to a wannabe) sportswriter for The Canadian Press, the national news agency. I’m now in Human Resources, but for the first 20 years of my career I was a journalist, including two years as a correspondent in Calgary, where I covered the Flames and Stampeders. I reckon if I survived covering CFL games with endless lead changes in the fourth quarter, and filing them in time for use by newspapers two and three time zones east (in the pre-Internet days of acoustic couplers, 300-baud dialup connections and Radio Shack Trash-80s) surely I can put together something decent about what’s going on in a really important football league, NOMTFA.

So here goes with the first roundup of 2007. Comments, suggestions, contributions, brickbats, bouquets, beers, etc., are not just welcome but strongly encouraged.

The 2007 season kicked off with a dominant performance by the Lions, a dramatic contest between the Tiger-Cats and Eskimos, and a titanic defensive struggle between the Argos and Alouettes.

Lions 21 Roughriders 0

The Lions were full value for their win over a Roughriders team that was missing several players, including quarterback/captain Al Elson. The Lions put together a long drive to score on their first possession (on a touchdown pass from captain Alex Wysocki III to Pat Carey) and never looked back. Their defence forced several turnovers on downs, and Andrew Salamon had an interception to go along with a TD reception. Carey had a second touchdown on a deep post pattern early in the game.

The Roughriders played quite well defensively, picking off no less than five Lions passes, but were unable to capitalize. The most unusual play happened with the Lions up 21-0 and inches from scoring again. Marc Nantel, who had been rushing most of the game, dropped into coverage and promptly intercepted Wysocki, rambling about 30 yards before inexplicably (by his own account) trying a lateral which went straight into the arms of one of the Lions. “If you see me walking down the street shaking my head and moaning, it’s because I’m remembering the most boneheaded play of my football career,” says Nantel. “Kudos to my teammates for not running me out of town on a rail, tarred and feathered.”

Wysocki, for his part, cautioned that no one should read much into the lopsided score. He attributed it to the fact that his opponents were missing key players, and said he still believes the Roughriders are the team to beat this season.

Eskimos 18 Tiger-Cats 13

The other 11 o’clock tilt was a back-and-forth affair, with a lead change and impressive plays by both teams. The Ticats jumped out to an early 13-0 lead but the Eskimos scored before the half, and added two touchdowns in the second half for the win.

The most exciting play of the game saw Eskimo receiver Crosley Grant split two defenders on a deep route, snag a pass from captain Drew Todd and romp about 75 yards for a touchdown in a play highly reminiscent of what we’ve seen over the years from Crow’s brother, Carleton. “We take a shot deep down field,” says Todd. “The safety jumps up and the ball goes right over his hands into Crow’s hands, and he takes it in for a TD after running it in from about the 45-yard line.”

Luc Brunet and Glen Mitchell scored the other TDs for the Esks on passes from Todd. Carleton Grant had two picks, one in the end zone, and Pat O’Connor added one for the Esks.

Matt Ahrens scored a touchdown and a convert, and Brett Bruce had a TD for the Ticats, all on passes from veteran pivot Glenn Stevenson, a lifelong Argo fan who is still coming to terms with wearing black and gold. NOMTFA newbie Jeff Carson had an interception for the Cats. “We dominated the first half but they came back with some big plays to beat us,” says Ticats captain Al Hrynyshyn. “It was a good game.”

Argonauts 7 Alouettes 6

In the final match of the day, the Alouettes and Argos squared off in one of the lowest-scoring NOMTFA games in recent memory. With each team missing five players, it was difficult for either to establish any rhythm on offence.

Rob McFarlane’s second-quarter touchdown pass to Mike Vos, and Vos’s ensuing one-point convert, stood up in a 7-6 win.

The Argos made a game of it when, with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, QB Joe Cardi found Paul Woods on a post pattern for a touchdown. The Argos opted to go for a two-point convert rather than try to tie the score, but Cardi’s pass to the end zone managed to hit the goal post, leaving the Argos ahead 7-6. Neither team could muster any offence after that, and McFarlane sealed the win with an interception on the Alouettes’ final possession.

Erick Lippert and Anthony Koves also had picks for the Als. In addition to his TD pass, Cardi recorded a sack (surprisingly, the only sack of Week 1), and NOMTFA newcomer Oliver (O.J.) Gleeson had an interception for the Argos.

Highlight-reel play of the game was an amazing catch by Angelo Gabriele of the Alouettes, who managed to keep the ball against his body as he tumbled to the turf, then alertly pitched out to a teammate for a few extra yards.

Coming Up

This week’s featured game is a match between two 1-0 teams, the Lions and Eskimos. It takes place at 11 a.m. on the North Field. At the same time on the South Field, the Ticats (0-1) take on the Alouettes (0-1). In the closer at 12:30, the Argonauts (1-0) play the Roughriders (0-1).

See you on the field!

11 January 2007

Hi guys,

Well, I hope you all had a great first week of NOMTFA football (except the Eskimos, who were on a bye week, of course). It’s always exciting to start a new season… (DF: a special thanks to the dozen or so guys who supported our newest sponsor, Philthy McNasty’s on Saturday. We are in discussions with the management there about opening a bit earlier than 11:30 am so that the guys playing the early games will have a spot to gather and raise a glass. I’ll keep you posted on our discussions.)

I’ll be writing – and David will be sending – this newsletter every week and we’ll also post it on the NOMTFA blog on our website at www.nomtfa.ca (is that right, David? DF: Yep!). This is just to keep you abreast of what’s going on in the league and in various subjects relevant to football. Lucky you, the college football season ended, so you won’t have to suffer my continual Michigan Wolverines season update like the Fall 2006 guys had to. Heck, I’m sure I’ll find something annoying to say once in a while. If YOU want to communicate something useful or funny to the rest of the league, feel free to drop me a line and I’ll see if I can fit it in (marc.nantel@oce-ontario.org). (DF: on that note I need some help. I am learning how to play “D” and would welcome any insights or tips from guys who know better than me. I will be assembling a web based learning piece from any tips I receive. I figure, “since I’m an eLearning specialist I may as well put my skills to use for NOMTFA.” If you contribute a tip to me at webmaster@nomtfa.ca , I will make sure that you are acknowledged as the guru of “D” that you are!)

Stats from the draft! This year, we had a different format for the draft. In an effort to increase draft fairness and parity, we had a collaborative draft where all the captains helped pick all the teams. At the end of the draft, the captains drew a number out of a hat to see which team they were going to lead. That way, all had an incentive to make the teams as well-balanced as possible. It actually worked out on paper. Check out these stats:

The team average for the ratings of all twelve players:
a. 2 teams had a player rating average of 3.8
b. 2 teams had a player rating average of 3.9
c. 3 teams had a player rating average of 4.0

The team average age for all twelve players:
a. 2 teams had a player average age of 36
b. 2 teams had a player average age of 37
c. 2 teams had a player average age of 41
d. 1 team had a player average age of 42

Not bad, all in all. It will take a few weeks for all the teams to figure themselves out into some kind of steady state, so don’t get fooled by early-season standings. Ideally, all the teams would finish 5-7, 6-6 or 7-5. It’s our goal, anyway, for your entertainment pleasure…

On to the results!

Last week’s games:

Stampeders 14 vs. Lions 36
Alouettes 41 vs. Blue Bombers 40
Tiger-Cats 41 vs. Argos 58
Eskimos Bye

In the newsletter, I’ll also list the stats leaders in the main categories: Points, Sacks, Interceptions and QBs. If you don’t think your stats are accurately represented, please tell your captains to get them in after the game. Most of the time, missing stats are the culprits. This week, I still haven’t received the stats for the Argos, for example, hence the missing stats…

Well, that’s it for this week. Have a good weekend and see you on the grid-iron!

Take care,

Marc (and David).

LATEST NEWS (no bye weeks, two divisions (East & West) and 7 sponsors!)
*** WE START Saturday, 12 August 2006
*** WE HAVE 6 Teams
*** WE HAVE 83 Players, including you Mr. Fisher.
*** The average player age is 41 years young.

*** First to our Captains: Here is a listing of all those who have thrown their hats in, to select and then guide a team of 14 eager men in the pursuit of the NOMTFA season-long dream – to hold aloft the NOMTFA Fall trophy at the end of the season and share in the glory and bragging rights that accompany a successful athletic quest of this magnitude. If you want to play with them let them know – if you don’t want them to pick you - then let them know that too.

Captains and their Co-Captains:
*** Alex Wysocki - coachalex@canada.com (905) 469-5673
*** Allan Hrynyshyn - allanh@htech.ca (905) 339 2278
*** Allen Elson - allen.s.elson@aexp.com (905) 257-7757
*** Andrew Todd - atodd74@sympatico.ca (905) 864-6919
*** Paul Woods - pwoods@cp.org (905) 681-8675/Lyle Benson - lylebenson@peakperformanceinternational.com (905) 257-4556
*** Robert McFarland - rmcfarland@cogeco.ca (905) 847-9499/Joe Cardi - chezbud@aol.com (905) 453-4557

Your 2006 NOMTFA Executive:
*** President: Daniel Neibert - dneibert@cogeco.ca (905) 844-0487
*** Vice President - CFO: Bob Ingram - robertbingram@hotmail.com (888) 475-1880
*** Statistician/Record Manager: Marc Nantel - marc.nantel@oce-ontario.org (905) 849-0369
*** Webinator: David Fisher - djfisher@cogeco.ca (905) 257-3316

Dates, Notes, and Other Important Pre-season Missives:
1. New Player Evaluation – Tuesday, 08 August 2006, 7:00 pm at White Oaks Secondary School - 1330 Montclair Drive ALL NEW PLAYERS are asked to attend and be ready to run – catch – kick – toss and/or jump real high – all former players are encouraged to come out and meet the new guys. (Loosely scripted directions: Trafalgar Road to McCraney Street to the fields at White Oaks)

2. Player Selection Draft – Captains and Executive Members Only - Tuesday, 08 August 2006, around 8:00 pm following the new player “run-around” at White Oaks.

3. Season Begins – Saturday, 12 August 2006, Crusaders Rugby Club at 2214 9th Line. (1 game at 9:00 am – 2 games at 10:30 am)

4. Special Dates in Schedule (the schedule will be updated and available online at www.nomtfa.ca following the Player Selection Draft) – we have some Wed. night games: We have a single Wednesday night game for each team which will start at 6:45 pm due to available sunlight in September (2 games on 06 Sept. and 1 game on 13 Sept.) Please check the schedule for your team so that you know what day you will need to rush home to make it to the Crusader’s fields on time.

5. Team Sponors:
(Green) Roughriders: HTECH www.htech.ca – a company that Allan Hrynyshyn founded and made flourish!
(White) Alouettes: The Fuel Genie Corporation www.thefuelgenie.com – a company Bob Ingram works for!
(Blue) Argonauts: tenbelowzero – www.tenbelowzero.com a company Dave works for!
(Black) Renegades: DLC – www.dlc-inc.com a company Dave works for!
(Red) Stampeders: plugged.com – www.plugged.com a company Dave is helping to start!
(Orange) Lions: PDE Inc. – www.djlfisher.com Dave’s company!

6. New Awards Sponsor: Omega Performance Corporation www.omega-performance.com – a company Dave works for! They have offered to sponsor the “Omega Performance Awards” for season achievement at the end of the Fall season. Additional awards sponsorships are also available - if you know of any other worthy organizations that would like to “ante up” a few dollars.

7. Thanks to Pat: Patrick Wallwork has resigned his position on the NOMTFA Executive as the Equipment Manager due to work commitments (he’s really busy) and personal priorities (he has a daughter getting married). We hope to see Patrick back with us in the Winter season once things settle down a bit for him and also hope that he will at least come out to the Crusaders field a few times to join us in a glass of… Smirnoff Ice??? (as long as he is buying – I guess it’s okay!)

Are you ready?
Are you psyched?
Are you in game shape?

See you on the fields…

Cheers
David Fisher
(sent to you with the blessings of Marc Nantel, Daniel Neibert and Bob Ingram)

David Fisher
Webmaster NOMTFA
Cell: 905.617.0366
Office: 905.257.3316
Fax: 905.257.0369
www.nomtfa.ca

P.S.: Here is a quick list of all of our 83 eligible, waivered and paid players:
Anderson, Bradley
Andruski, Peter
Bachoumis, George
Barazzuol, Gino
Becker, James
Belsito, Mario
Benson, Lyle
Bettig, Klaus
Blaskovic, Richard
Boettner, Jeff
Boileau, Michel
Bruce, Brett
Cabillan, Joe
Capron, Rick
Cardi, Joe
Carey, Pat
Charles, Peter
Cooper, Steve
Cronin, Paul
Dales, Kevin
Davidson, Bob
DeNobile, Nick
Dever, Geoff
Dodaro, Frank
Egan, Pat
Elson, Allen
Fisher, David
Flynn, Wayne
Gabriele, Angelo
Galloway, Shawn
Gaskett, Brett
Gaspari, Roland
Gassi, Carmen
Gillon, Whitmore
Gowing, John
Grant, Crosley
Grant, Carleton
Hencher, Clyde
Hoffman, Brian
Horton, Ken
Hrynyshyn, Allan
Ingram, Doug
Ingram, Robert
Koprich, Stephen
Koves, Anthony
Koziey, Brad
Lambert, Mike
LeBlanc, Drew
Lippert, Erick
Mackan, Gregory
Maroszan, Les
McCabe, Michael
McFarland, Robert
Mitchell, Glen
Nantel, Marc
Neibert, Daniel
O'Brien, John
O'Connor, Patrick
O'Sullivan, Peter
Oxley, Mike
Phillips, Scott
Pope, Paul
Pringle, Travis
Racette, Tim
Rippin, Mark
Rourke, Larry
Salamon, Andrew
Schultz, Phil
Sim, Brent
Singh, Peter
Soroka, Mike
Stevenson, Glenn
St-Jacques, Michel
Sylvester, Matt
Todd, Andrew
Tratch, Ron
Underwood, Mike
Vieira, Tony
Vos, Michael
Watson, Mike
Westermann-Duncan, Herman
Woods, Paul
Wysocki, Alex

Hi guys,

Right then, listen up, o NOMTFA gentry! We will be playing this Saturday on the 1st of April. But I'm still expecting each and every one of you to conduct himself with the highest of decorum, as it becomes gentlemen of your fine and higher breeding. Sportsmanship, camaraderie and generally good-natured merriment are the order of the day. The first one to replace an official NOMTFA-sanctioned football with a dead fish will be flogged and paraded through the town square in shackles. This is Oakville, by Jove, a jewel of latter-day Victorian rectitude! Please restrain your more beastly instincts and foul humours from seeping through your lily-white complexion!

Right! Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I'm reminding you that we'll be playing two (count them: 2!) games this week and for the next few weeks to come. So even if you're still wondering what I might have been smoking before writing the previous paragraph, pay attention to the schedule below to make sure you don't miss an important game.

Last week's games:
Stampeders 32 vs. Alouettes 32
Ti-Cats 43 vs. Lions 34
Argonauts - BYE

What a set of exciting games! When the lowest score is 32, you know the offences were on fire! I didn't see the second one, but all I can say is that the Stampeders trailed the Als 0-19 at the half of the first game, came back to tie it 26-26, just shy of the last 5 plays, only to be stunned by the Als, who scored a TD with 3 plays left. And then they themselves stunned the Als by scoring another tying TD on the last play of the game! There were 3 TDs in the last 6-7 plays! Amazing finish, certainly the most exciting I've seen since the Winter 2004 Bubble Bowl Championship Game!

This week's games: Sat. Apr 1/06
9:00 AM - Dome #3: Alouettes vs. Argonauts
10:00 AM - Dome #3: Lions vs. Stampeders
Ti-Cats - BYE

Thur Apr 6/06
7:30 PM - Dome #2: Stampeders vs. Ti-Cats
7:30 PM - Dome #3: Lions vs. Argonauts
Alouettes - BYE

Note that both of Thursday's games are played at 19:30, and that one of them is on field #2. And don't forget the special deal our sponsor Rumours Pub and Grille is offering us after the Thursday night game: 45-cent wings, $5.40 for three HUGE ribs.

Matt Sylvester, our QB rating specialist, revised his formula to make sure things didn't go nuts with Cor Doret's rating, and it worked. Of course, it also gave Robert McFarland a 685 pass rating, of which he'll be able to boast about the next time he sees you. This anomaly is based on the fact that the best way we found to include a "completion percentage" in the calculations was to equate it to "conversions/TDs", since most TD passes are followed by a conversion attempt (exceptions being when the conversion is declined). Well it so happens that our friend Robert threw only one TD (6 points) but six conversions! Screws up the stats… It also means that Duncan McMillan, his co-QB, probably suffers from an artificially lower completion rate if he let McFarland throw conversions attempts after he, Duncan, threw the TD. Ah, the intricacies of sports statistics! It keeps many TV commentators and newsletter writers in their jobs!

That's all for me! See you on the grid-iron, not the iron maiden (ouch!).

Take care,

Marc (and David).

Two tight games - one loosening up a bit in the 2nd half while the other stayed close right until the final plays.

Our first contest featured the red shirted Stampeders against the always competitive, but statistically unrewarded, Argonauts. The game was very close in the first half but a few key plays by the Stampeders in the second opened up the field and the scoring. The first half was marked by a strange play whereby the Argonauts intercepted a ball, threw it back across their goal line and had a safety charged against them when the ball touched the ground. Final score Stampeders 48 to the Argonauts 25.

During this game, a new statistical record has been requested to be logged, unofficially, for our defensive players. Brent Sim reports that he has had 7 knock-downs during this season. What about others? As a rusher I have had 4 knock-downs that were not caught by the offense. I know that Peter Charles had 7 tipped balls in one game – but he mentioned that some were caught. Now is your chance - in this forum - to let us know how you have done on “D”. How many knock-downs have you recorded this year? Is Brent the big man on “D”?

Game two pitted the #1 Tigercats against the #2 Alouettes team in a battle for weekly bragging rights. In a see-saw battle, the Tigercats looked like they were poised in the final moments of the game, as momentum was shifting, to come back against the Alouettes who had been leading by 18 points earlier in the game. With the score logged as 27 Tigercats to 34 Alouettes with 5 plays remaining, the Tigercats scored to make it 33 to 34 and attempted a 2 point convert which was subsequently unsuccessful. The Alouettes, with 4 long plays remaining, watched the ball bounce harmlessly “far and away” from any defenders as they hung on to win by just 1.

An exciting mid-point to our season.
Team - W & L: Pts.
Alouettes - 6 & 2: 12
Tiger-Cats - 6 & 2: 12
Stampeders - 5 & 3: 10
Lions - 2 & 6: 4
Argos - 1 & 7: 2

Hi guys,

Welcome back to Winter! Seems like every year something similar happens: it's warm in early March and you think Spring is here, but all of a sudden cold hits for a week! Oh well, unless you like snow, you can't complain too much about this Winter…

And now, an important message from one of our sponsors: Rumours Pub and Grille. As you know, we'll be playing evening games in April. In order to encourage us to celebrate our victories or drown our defeats in the best of suds, Rumours is giving NOMTFA players post-game specials, even when our games are on nights when these specials are not offered to the general population (so make sure you mention you've just played; showing your sweaty jersey would be the best proof of participation; if the waitress insists on smelling the jersey to make sure it's really sweat and not just water, just keep in mind that it takes all kinds to make a world and that she probably had a hard day…). The specials are the following: 45-cent wings and $1.80 ribs (I'm told they are HUGE ribs, and that they have to be ordered by threes, for $5.40). Let's all thank our steadfast – though not currently playing – President, Daniel Neibert, for having secured this deal for all NOMTFA players! I hope you'll avail yourself of it; it'll make it easier to convince Rumours to sponsor us again next season…

And now, in an effort to continuously improve your reading enjoyment of this newsletter and of the webpage (at www.nomtfa.ca, of course), we bring you another stats tweak, thanks to the ever-keen Matt Sylvester. It's not a raw stats, but a derived one: the QB rating. Aaaaah! Now we know why Matt busted his butt to get all the interceptions right last week: you need to know how many INTs were thrown by a QB in order to calculate his rating! Since we don't really keep the same stats as professional football leagues (completions and attempts, for example), Matt's equation is a little bit different. But we calibrated it in such a way as to get a final answer that is similar in magnitude to the pro QBs. Here's how Matt put it:

"TD/INT Ratio: 6/1 is a perfect 158.3; 1/1 is a 26.3; Multiply Ratio by 26.3 to get a rating.

Conversion percentage Divide 1 & 2 pt. converts by TDs to get the closest thing we have to completion percentage and multiply the percentage by 158.3.

Then average the two."

When we did that, the numbers came out pretty low, so we added the following tweak:

"Looking at what the NFL does, it considers a 70% completion rate to be perfect. Maybe we could do it that way to keep the stats up to pro standards. Also, maybe 6/1 on TDs is high, but I agree it's the conversions that are the problem. If we multiply the percentage by 142 [making it out of 70% not 100%] then we get the following:

Jordan: 78.40
Ron: 76.09
Cor: 121.91"

Not too bad. A Peyton Manning and a few Brett Favre's and David Carr's. I think that's on par with the NFL scoring system more."

That's from last week's stats, so a little different from this week's. But we had a problem with Joe Cardi and Rick Zanon not having thrown any interceptions, leading to divisions by zero and an infinite QB ratings! We could have taken the limits as x goes to zero and apply L'Hospital's rule to avoid those pesky infinites (remember that from Calculus II?), but here's how Matt suggested we resolve in instead:

"As far as the zero thing they will be treated as though they have one pick and one extra TD. That way if they threw 3 TDs and 0 INTs then they get a 4/1 ratio which is good enough for a 105.2. Anything better than 5 TDs with 0 INTs is a perfect 158.3."

In any case, check out the QB ratings in the QB Leaders stats at the end to see how your QB rates! Remember: there's no new information added here, just a different representation of the raw stats, massaged a bit. Thanks again, Matt!

And now, to the results!

Last week's games: (March 11, 2006)

Argonauts 14 vs. Ti-Cats 43
Alouettes 38 vs. Lions 13
Stampeders - BYE

This week's games: (March 18, 2006)
9:00 AM: Stampeders vs. Argonauts
10:00 AM: Alouettes vs. Ti-Cats
Lions - BYE
("A-wim-oh-way, A-win-oh-way, the Lions sleep toniiiiiiiiight!")

Points Leaders:
(McFarland's running away with this category, with a few guys currently in the 50-60 range…)

Sacks Leaders:
(It's a two-man race for now, but you never know what can happen with a few strategically-placed fumbled snaps!...)

Interceptions Leaders:
(Hey, QBs, I suggest you identify this Jason Nicols guy and give him the respect he deserves, eh!)

QB Leaders:
(Until Rick Zanon throws an interception or 4 more TDs, he'll be "??". So Rick, do us all a favour and thrown an interception, okay? Maybe to Jason Nicols, while you're at it?)

Well, that's it for now! See you on the grid-iron (not the 56Fe).

Take care,

Marc (and David).