Ho Ho HOrigins Unknown!

Newburyport, MA - Well, I know there are droves of you that come to this site every day looking for an update on Origins Unknown, and leave disappointed every time the page loads and you see "naked Santa" staring back at you. Well, I have heard your voices and decided it was time to get this blog back up and running - and get everyone up to speed on OU.

You know how I can tell that it has been a while since I updated Bloggin' and Ballin'? My profile says that I am 34 years old. Ah... nope.




Current Roster (left to right): Cap'n Mike, "Danger" Dan Fisher, Shu-ter Patel, "2-Point" Pat Murray, Kevin "KBex" Bekier, and "Pistol" Pete Gray.

So, the short story is that OU has still been hitting the court every Thursday over at the Reading YMCA for the past couple years. We've always ended up with winning records, but haven't captured a title since I stopped posting. We've been searching for the right squad since the departure of James "Stretch" Hogan IV, but might finally have the right pieces to make some noise. That being said - Stretch, if you are reading this... Please come home.

The fall session of 2011, which just concluded for us, was overall successful. We finished the regular season tied for first place with a 7-3 record, and had a chance to get to the finals this week, only to fall short to Stiffler's Mom by 2 points. The fall session saw the addition of Pete Gray to the roster. Pete is a scorer in every sense of the word, and led OU (and probably the league) in PPG for the session. We also saw our first major injury ever, as Pat Murray dislocated his shoulder in the second to last regular season game and was forced to miss the playoffs, as he recovers.

The game against Stiffler's Mom was epic, as OU was forced to play with only 4 players, and minus any real inside presence. The mismatch worked to our advantage in the first half, as we hit shot after shot, and built a 20 point lead early on. Both Cap'n Mike and Pistol Pete took turns knocking down long range bombs, while KBex and Danger Dan locked down defensively on their bigger opponents.

The torrid shooting percentage wasn't sustainable though, and the veteran SM team slowly reeled us back in through their own mismatches on the low block. It took almost the entire game for them to get back to even with us, but they stuck to their strengths as we battled to maintain the lead. Ultimately, we were locked in a tied game in the last seconds, but SM found a way to squeeze in a shot with only 2 seconds left on the clock for the victory. It was a bitter end to a game that slipped out of our hands, but sets us up well for next session when we work to get everyone back out on the court.

The session also saw OU sporting new jerseys, thanks to Shu-ter Patel. The Jordan-brand jerseys (modeled by my 2-year old daughter above) are the first cohesive uniform worn by OU since 2006, and a pleasant departure from the rag-tag look that OU had become known for.

Happy Holidays!