7th Annual Memorial

"It's about the dudes..."

- Scott Walker (2005)

The 2012 Memorial

Several weeks and months have passed since we last had any discussion about the status of the 2012 Memorial. I wanted to take this opportunity to stress unequivocally that the 2012 Memorial will run and will be a return to years previous!

We have moved the date from Memorial Day (previously non-negotiable) and will now be holding the 2012 Memorial on the last weekend in June - much to the chagrin of Peezy's arms and sunburned face. The first wave of invitations went out last week and I suspect you have all received them by now. The decision date is set for May 1

One final note: Let's get back to our old ways and get the chatter back up on The Blog. There is no reason to let this thing die because of laziness, miscommunication and a general disinterest. We all know that this is the best event - other than Arbor Day - of the year. Let's start acting like it! To quote the great Dan Devine in Rudy: "You are an All-American and our Captain, act like it!"

I switch it to: "You are a Memorial competitor and MVP-trophy candidate...Act like it!!"

The H is O

3 Days and counting! Wooo! Can't wait. It's been a tumultuous couple of weeks. Injuries and birthdays and jobs and homosexuality really wreaked havoc on the usual suspects. But we perservered and are on the verge of another great weekend at Guffey Estate.

The Biz is offering up his house on Thursday night for anybody who is in town and is looking for some pre-Memorial festivities. Get in touch with him for details. Please plan on arriving at The Estate by 6-7 pm on Friday if at all possible. The sooner the better but the team drawings will occur at the usual time of whenever Peezy says the F it happens!

For any Greenhorns making their first Memorial appearance, here is a list of items that you may want to consider bringing along:

- Spikes & Gloves

- Swimming gear / towel

- Sleeping stuff (pillow/blanket). Some choose to sleep outside by the fire or in a tent also. Up to you.

Here are the events to mentally prepare for:

4-Beer Beer Chug

Logsaw Mania

Shuttle Run

Dead Man's Carry

Blind Man's Beer

Egg Toss

Canoe Race

Tire Toss

Eliminator

E-Swiminator

Tug-O-War

Everything else is taken care of and I will be arriving in Greensburg on Friday early afternoon. If you have any questions or for directions to The Memorial Barn, contact Greg, Bluebeard or me. I know the location is on Pattern Shop Road in Greensburg. Not sure of the actual address. Bluebeard can probably chime in on that. Otherwise, looking forward to the weekend and hopefully winning the cup! I'm coming in hot!!!

2011 Memorial

We have had a very interesting couple of weeks. Memorial staples have withdrawn, people have refused the invitations and others have just gone MIA. However, through it all, we were still able to scrape together a solid field of competitors who will give their all in hopes of tasting a beer out of those elusive Cups! We have 10 guys who I feel comfortable going to battle with and I am excited and counting down the days until May 27!

No matter what we are guaranteed of a few things. Included:

- Bluebeard will say little but when he does speak it will be a quote we remember until 2018
- The fate of many will be in the capable and trusting hands of Peezy come Friday night at 11:30
- The Memorial Cups of Champions will absolutely have a new home and 2 new champions' names engraved into Memorial history!

So, without further ado, let's say hello to field for The 2011 Memorial:

1) David "Bluebeard" O'Nan, 4-year veteran, 2008 champion, 2007 runner-up, 2007 & 2008 MVP. This will be his 5th Memorial
2) Dan "Crazylegs" Conte, 5-year veteran, 2007 time champion, 2009 & 2010 runner-up. This will be his 6th Memorial
3) Jon "The J Man" Cobb, 5-year veteran, 2010 runner-up. This will be his 6th Memorial
4) Greg "The Beekeeper" Plundo, 5-year veteran, 2008 runner-up. This will be his 6th Memorial
5) Jon "The King" Plundo, 3-year veteran, 2009 runner-up. This will be his 4th Memorial
6) Grant "Brisket" Holloway, 2-year veteran, 2010 MVP. This will be his 3rd Memorial
7) Josh "Biz" Becker, 2-year veteran. Baldest Competitor. This will be his 3rd Memorial
8) Clint "Cadillac" Kotuby, 1-year veteran. Tannest Competitor. This will be his 2nd Memorial
9) Curt Cottrell, 2011 Greenhorn. Can't wait to see The J Man haze his ol' buddy on Friday night
10) Shawn Kohlman, 2011 Greenhorn. He is a competitive son of a bitch who enjoys the booze as much as all involved. Hence the invitation. He's excied and ready to compete!

The trophies and t-shirts have been ordered! I will be driving up on Friday morning. Bluebeard will arrive on Thursday night as will Cobb. Biz is planning a party for Thursday night for anyone who will be around. Why doesn't everyone else post their arrival times so we can try to coordinate rides. King gets in around 8:30. Greg gets in around 5pm.

15 days, fellas! Let's get some chatter going and get the excitement levels to where they usually are!!

1,000 Days Later

It's official...Rattsfield is out of the 2011 Memorial. May 2008 couldn't seem further from today. Ratt has gone from two-time runner-up to a non-participant to an AIDS-ridden lesbian to a non-participant. What a sad fall from grace.

From a man who I think any Memorial veteran would have been proud to collaborate with toward a triumphant sip out of the cup to a neutered, shell-of-a man who hasn't successfully completed a Memorial since George W Bush has been in office. What a sad fall from grace old Poopsfield has undergone. How about this timeline!!

From 2008:

to 2010:

and finally, 2011:

What a disgraceful end to a mediocre Memorial career! Who wants it!?!Beard wants another. Rhino wants another. Legs wants another. Jigs, Greg, Biz, King & Brisket want their first! Who else is coming aboard!?

D-Day!

The April 1 deadline has come and past and we still have people on the fence. It's time to make a decision or be left behind. The Memorial will move on with or without you!

So far I have the following as verbally committed:

The Beekeeper

Jiggaman

Bluebeard

Biz

Legs

The King

Brisket

Rhino has said that he won't miss The 2011 Memorial. Ratt is assumed to be in but nothing concrete. We will have 12 strong competitors either way. Who wants on board?! The train is leaving the station shortly!

Invites and New Appointment

As you all should know, official invitations for the 2011 Memorial have been mailed out. We're closing in on the magical time of the year of reserving slots. We already have received our first letter of intent and deposit. Any guesses on who it was? It was the enigmatic, the slyest son of a bitch this side of the Rockies, the most spiteful man out there: The J-Man, Jon Cobb!!!!

Which brings us to an announcement. The J-Man has always been integral to the planning, successes and decisions made for the past 5 years. But he was always more on the fringe - providing input without the fanfare or power that comes with being a full-time committee member. Well, that ends here. I'd like to officially welcome El Jiggerino onto the committee and we will be brainstorming with him in the coming weeks. His passion, desire and dedication to the Memorial year in and year out speaks for itself and we wouldn't have had the successes without him.

We made a decision that is sure to change the landscape of the Memorial competition this year and for years to come. Out is the Log Toss as an event and in is the SawBlast 2011 Event where the two competitors will do a timed log cut on a tandem saw that Bluebeard is crafting. Rest assured that a chug will be involved though. We feel pretty confident that this event will spice things up and add a dimension that may have been missing. Good times!

One last word on the invitation statuses...4-time champion Bowler has suffered a knee injury and his status is in doubt. He may be healed and healthy enough but I am wondering if he will be able to compete. Huge developing news and if he is unable to compete it will provide a major blow to the field. Stay tuned for updates.

J-Man is signed, sealed and delivered. As am I. Who is next?!? Anyone have any potential greenhorns to add for consideration??