OU Tattoos Millwall

Reading, MA - Millwall was in town for a Thursday night battle with Origins Unknown - fresh off their trans-Atlantic flight from London - Millwall FC. A little background before we get started... Led by Demos K, the Millwall Reading YMCA Man's basketball team, is his latest business venture in the world of high-level professional athletics.

Well, maybe not exactly. The game was less about high-level athletics and more about aging warriors who look forward to Budweiser as much as they do the tip-off. On this night, the OU 'athletes' took it to Millwall most of the game, and cruised to a 88-55 win.

OU and Millwall have been playing for years, and some of the long-time players are still on hand to hoop it up on Thursday nights. For Millwall, there's the feisty point guard, the solid swing-man, and Demos. OU original gangstas Cap'n Mike and Shu-ter Patel were on the court, with help from other veteran OUrs - KBex and "2-point" Pat Murray. In addition, OU had the extra help from Nothing But Net's Nate and Pistol Pete's son Danny - whose presence was felt throughout.

The game was a bit sleepy to start for OU, as Millwall started out of the gates solidly leading 7-2. But OU soon found the range, and the crew started spreading the ball around. After short bursts of offense, OU would sub in their new bodies to keep the pressure squarely on Millwall. And, as they ran and ran, OU quickly caught Millwall, and then built a lead that wouldn't be relinquished.

Millwall's Leroy played a gritty game, but was hampered by a very gimpy calf. He wasn't able to free himself for his 'typical' array of shots, and the lack of scoring punch hurt Millwall's ability to keep it close. OU, meanwhile, was grabbing rebounds, hitting the breaks, and finding the open jumpers that they needed to sustain.

As the lead hit 10, 20 and eventually 30 - OU found scorers from all positions. "Scoretable Pete" would later say that OU had multiple double-digit scorers and no one with more than 16 or 18 (although no one is quite sure that the scoring is ever accurate).

For the game, Cap'n Mike was 2-2 from the line and now sits at 4-6 for the session. More importantly, the loss led to the feisty point guard getting the Millwall Lion tattooed on his leg (picture below) to show his loyalty to the squad.

OU Survives...Barely

Reading, MA - Origins Unknown was able to put together a great first half of basketball Thursday night at the Reading YMCA, and held on tight during a crazy second half to win by three over a un-killable Midnight Express team, 82-79.

The game saw OU get off to a scorching offensive start, as they built a double digit lead in the first 5 minutes. Cap'n Mike kicked off the game with a put-back rebound while flying in from the weak side, and after another 15 quick points it looked like OU was on their way to a blow-out. Midnight Express was unable to find their range, while Pistol Pete Gray, Shu-ter Patel and K-Baller Bekier knocked down shot after shot. After seemingly shooting 80% in the first 20 minutes - OU was "only" up 18 at the half.

They would need that 18 point lead (and could have used a bigger lead) as the second half would be like a scene out of Hoosiers for Midnight Express. Midnight Express came out guns a blazin and quickly started knocking down shots. With 12 minutes left in the game, OU's lead had shrunk to 10, and Midnight Express had a guard that was borderline unconscious at this point, making everything that he put up. OU meanwhile, was relying on one on one play too often, and they started missing many of the shots that were going earlier in the game. Cap'n Mike in particular, had several open looks, but was unable to knock them down (slamming head against the keyboard right now).

As the game wore on, OU battled hard and Pistol Pete kept them slightly ahead as Midnight Express continued to apply pressure. As the game neared the end, Midnight Express was still trailing by a few points and started to foul. Unfortunately for OU, even their good free throw shooters were unable to convert and left the door slightly ajar. Leading by 2, Cap'n Mike was fouled with just 2 seconds left. He calmly knocked down the first free throw, but missed the second as Midnight Express cleared the rebound and called an immediate timeout. This set up their final play, which ended up being an oh-so-close heave from half court, which ended up rimming out. In fact, I had seen this shot before, with almost the same exact outcome...Where was it... Oh yes, that's right! The missed Butler shot that gave Duke their most recent championship!



The win gets OU to 1-1. Cap'n Mike was a measly 1-2 from the line in the game, and now sits at 2-4 on the season. Cue the boos.

OU Stumbles In First Test

Reading, MA - Origins Unknown was back on the court this past week at the Reading Superduper Dome for their first game of the winter session. Unfortunately, they were matched up against a gritty Muskets team that is no longer quite as 'crusty', but are certainly still able to get under OU's skin.

The game felt competitive throughout, even as the Muskets pulled away by 20+ points for the win. The combination of 3 big Musket bodies, and some cold shooting by the OU bunch ultimately led to the loss. It was the first game back for Pat "toe the line" Murray, who didn't disappoint as he came off the bench to drain his first shot... which was OF COURSE a long 2 with his right toe on the three-point line! Poetic, theatrical, ironic? All of the above!

The game itself was a bit of a slugfest, which saw OU - a more finesse team - taken to town on the blocks. For their part, OU was able to keep the game tight in the first half, but was relying on jumpshots too often. The Muskets on the other end, had a balanced inside/outside attack that allowed them to slowly build the lead to double-digits at the end of the first half.

The second half saw OU keeping it close through some nice shooting by Pistol Pete Gray, even though he seemed to have Musket defenders draped on him at all times. When Pete wasn't able to find his range, the other OUrs contributed sporadically, but not consistently enough to get it under 10.

For the first game back after a month off, the OU bunch didn't leave too distraught as they ease their way back into league play. Next week they will get the services of new Dad Kevin Bekier back, and consistency should start to return as the weekly 'grind' of the season continues. As Danger Dan Fisher said after the loss over a cold one at Chili's, "It's early. We'll be fine." It isn't known, however, if he was referring to the team's progress - or the amount of beers they were attempting to consume that night.

Cap'n Mike was 1-2 from the line.

Allllmost There

Newburyport, MA - Origins Unknown is one short week from being back to business in the Reading YMCA league. The OU schedule can be found in the links to the right, and you can follow our success (or failure) all session right here. I'll give you the game by game report, my free throw shooting success, and hopefully a little bit more.

Please check back soon!

Cap'n Mike