Tom seems to not have anything on the go today, so I'll throw this out there for the forwards -- the backs might find it a bit involved and should probably just stick to this inspirational story.

I don't know about you, but the latest update from our Prez got stuck in my company's Spam filter. Apparently it doesn't feel that words like "your own cash" and "get success" are suitable for consumption. While I agree with not wanting to receive e-mail with the former, it doesn't bode too well if it doesn't let you use the s-word via e-mail. Meanwhile it has no problem with "shady drink-fest". Hmmm...maybe it's not so bad after all.

Anyway, unlike Dubya, our Prez is willing to call a spade, a spade and say that the trip to Amoskeag is a Crusade! Indeed it is, although we fully intend to be out of there by June 30th, with an interim government in place. As a result, many old players have been "activated", and Military Sealift Command has arranged for a bus to carry our brave boys in to action. Your club needs you, so sign up with Matt Winch today for an eighteen-month rotation.

Additional campaigns are planned at NERFU and Bull Moose, and before any of that there is the spectre of Old Gold, so it is imperative that you get out to training. If it ever stops bloody raining, we will be at Fox Street tonight, 6pm.

Speaking of Bull Moose, apparently there will be a "panoply of resort amenities", including horses. But it's not what you think.....apparently you ride them.

Panoply. I think that's my new favorite word.

In my continued quest to scrape up the dregs from the very bottom of the Internet, here is today's offering. It's a panoply of dumb ass stuff.

Some PRFC-SSA pictures from this past Saturday. Not the best, but some do make you wonder what was going on and there are also a couple of CB and his evil twin.

Well, the Maine Collegiate Rugby Championship is now behind us, and those irrepressible Colby Mules have done it again. They overcame some tough resistance to capture both the Men's and Women's titles, on a day perfectly set for their own brand of running rugby. Pictures and a full recapping of the day's events will no doubt be forthcoming on the MCRC Website, but for now I will just send thanks from the club and all present to Dom Tracey for his tireless work in making this event possible, and to all our sponsors, and in particular to Charlie Hews and Hews Truck Bodies and Equipment for their continued financial support.

Portland RFC 24 South Shore Anchors 10

Amidst all the youth and vitality of the MCRC two "grown up" sides took the field in an attempt to show these young shavers a thing or two about how to play rugby. Whether they did or not, or whether anyone was even paying attention, is open to debate, but the two sides enjoyed a spirited encounter in some blustery conditions.

As usually my recollection is limited to a few brief vignettes, and the bucketful of beer afterwards doesn't seem to have helped my memory any. As I remember it the game began at a frenetic pace, and it wasn't long before Portland was pressuring deep in to the South Shore half. It also wasn't long before Andy Nelson found himself in the wrong end of a Tractor sandwich, and as a result he now has a few more bits to his collar bone than the rest of us, and a spare sleeve in most of his sweaters.

In the mean time the Portland pressure paid off with a couple of tries, one for Matt Winch which I don't remember much about (sorry Matt) and another for Shaun Durfee which came from a lineout scrap. Moving at full speed from about ten yards out, there wasn't too much that was going to stop him. South Shore had a few lineout scraps of their own, and they capitalized on some tap ball to string together a few passes and score their first try.

Well, that's enough about them. The second half brought in plenty of fresh legs; some of them even attached to fresh bodies. Portland continued to dominate in the scrum and spent a prolonged period camped on the South Shore line. But there were no Smores (or scores) for the home team, when the inevitable try was disallowed because the ball carrier was apparently held up by some invisible force. But hey, I'm not bitter about that, godammit it!

No matter. The concerted pressure soon paid off when Matt Winch was able to shrug off a couple of tacklers to score his second try. According to Matt his two scores were still one less than he deserved, but hey, maybe he's going to need to get his own blog if he wants to go on about that. So, instead of a hatrick for the Winchenator, Mike Desalle took the bull by the horns and carried it, the ball, and a couple of Anchors over the line for another score, Durfee-stylee.

But those plucky old Anchors never quit, and continued hoisting the ball cleverly in to the swirling winds. This paid off for them when they were able to scoop up a dropped ball and run in it for their second try. Anyway, that's about as much as I can remember of the match, and those of you with conflicting accounts should write them on the back of a twenty dollar bill and send them to me, and I'll make sure that history reflects your philanthropy.

Thanks go to Shaun Durfee and Sarah for their hospitality after the match, and to Joey D. for his entertaining picnic table dismount. I'm afraid that he may have hit his head on the way down, since he was incoherent for the rest of the night.

There. I wrote this whole thing and didn't once refer to them as South Shore Wanchors. Such restraint.

If you thought that our coach was already an angry, young man, then this is sure to send him over the edge. On this day 990 years ago King Brian of Ireland was killed by "tree Vikings fellas" at Clontarf, which I think is a pub outside Dublin. Bloody Vikings! As a result Ireland fell in to anarchy, and some might say that it's remained that way ever since. In true Irish style, they named a pub after their dear king, Brian Boru. And, much like Ireland, it is a very dark and depressing place.

No, really....I kid because I love!

Anyway, lets win one for Brian (and coach) tomorrow. We will be facing the South Shore Anchors, who, if their roster is to be believed, have a few players to resemble the famed Irish giant, Finn mac Cumhail. We'll see about all that.

Once again I'll turn again to that famous non-Irishman, Kipling, for words of inspiration,
"For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack."

Think about it.

You want something to get chippy about? I have seen the future, and it's name is "Kaguya". I think that's Japanese for "men suck" and it's the name of that mouse they created with two mums and no dad! Today mice, tomorrow sheep, and the day after that little girly-men. Well, I guess the best we can hope for is that we get to watch before we get put back in our cages at the zoo.

On a brighter note, this weekend is the 3rd Annual Maine Collegiate Rugby Championship, where some of the brightest minds in Maine come together to get concussed. Here are some approximate directions for you (go to Fairgrounds Road). This will be a veritable carnival of rugby, although arguably it will be missing the sideshow freaks and deep fried Twinkies, so you are welcome to bring your own. That action starts at 9am and runs all day, including a game for Portland Youth Rugby and our own side against South Shore Anchors. So come on out to Cumberland County Fairgrounds and revel in this celebration of higher learning and the benefits of a liberal arts degree - do you want fries with that?

Oh god, there goes my afternoon....