With the sun out in full force these days, be sure to take extra care and protect your eyes to the best of your ability. And just how can you do that? That’s right - blueblockers! Bar none the highest quality sunglasses on the planet, just ask my Dad, he bought a pair after watching this famous late-night infomercial. It must have been this rap that sold him!
Who’s this? Svea Elina, or the Queen Mom?
Well, if you thought we got carried away with our competitiveness during the Dong Bei Cup, you should take a look at these guys who hang around street corners and play cards all day long. Earlier, I discussed that this particular game of cards is very popular in China, and that around holiday time it becomes even more noticeable. I am not sure of the actual rules (or concept) of the game, but it seems to be played a lot like the classic game of “fish” from our childhood days. The only exceptions as far as I can see is that more decks of cards are intermixed and played with, and, that when it is your turn to lay your cards down, you must slap them down in your own passionate and flamboyant style and then give the boys a little trash talkin’, just to let them know. It is great fun to watch, even if you don’t really know what they are doing. Enjoy!
Well folks, I would like to take this time to thank all of you for tuning in to the 2007 Dong Bei Cup coverage here at The Engleson Files, it has been a lot of fun. Now, I am sure many of you looking in may have thought all this Dong Bei banter to be rather silly and contrived, and, for the most part, you are not that far off - but you see, therein lies the charm. We take this thing as far as we can go because, a) we have all collectively told ourselves that this is a big deal and that we will play to our best ability to try and win it, and b) we have also been able to successfully dupe the kids into believing that we are actually any good; so really, it is a win-win situation for all involved. There is no other place in the world where 28 out of shape weekend athletes would be able to play ball hockey in front of hundreds of students and have them scream and shout and treat us like stars - it is simply fantastic and we are all living out our childhood hockey fantasies through this tournament. Every year this event continues to grow and each year it becomes more ingrained into the social fabric of our campus - a Dong Bei spirit is alive and well at Maple Leaf School and that is something I am very proud of. While it is a lot of work to put this event on, I simply would not trade it for anything in the world - so until next year Dong Bei fans, Commissioner E bids adieu!
Click here to see more great photos of the final game.
Yes folks, it’s official! Team Green has become the second team in Dong Bei Cup history to win a championship by going undefeated - with, of course, the 2005 team black being the other. In front of a sell out crowd of roughly 400+ students and teachers, the championship final proved to be more of a chess match rather than a hockey game. The attention to detail from both teams was clearly on the defensive side of the game, and in the end, green came away with a 3-1 victory; with both teams going scoreless in the second half. For green, they showed everything that was needed in this tournament to prove that once and for all they were the best of the bunch in 2007 - offence, defence, it didn’t matter, they had it all. One major highlight of the final game saw tournament MVP Euan Frew break his hand by an errant follow though of an opposition’s stick. This occurred at the end of the first half, but, after a quick tape job, Euan was back out on the court and finished the game. How will this moment be remembered in Dong Bei folklore? Well, we will just have to wait and see how Euan “remembers” the story and re-tells it to us all over the next month! Now, exactly where this team green will remain in the annals of the Dong Bei Cup is still yet to be determined, but as for right now, they are on top as quite possibly the best ever.
Game Stats:
Team Green
Conradi - 3 pts (2g, 1a), 9 shots, +2
Ng - 1 pt (1g, 0a), 6 shots, +2
Frew - 0 pts, 10 shots, +2
Secret - 0 pts, 5 shots, 0
Brown - 0 pts, 3 shots, 0
Amin - 0 pts, 1 shot, 0
Team Turquoise
Carbol - 1 pt (1g, 0a), 4 shots, +1
Hazel - 1 pt (0g, 1a), 4 shots, +1
Helgason - 0 pts, 4 shots, -3
Davina - 0 pts, 3 shots, +1
Weregland - 0 pts, 3 shots, -3
Kemp - 0 pts, 7 shots, -3
Goalie Stats: (5 game accumulative)
Engleson - 133 shots, 20 goals against, 4.00 GAA, 85.0 Save %
McRann - 152 shots, 22 goals against, 4.41 GAA, 85.6 Save %
PRESS RELEASE
for immediate release
May 23, 2007
CANADIAN GAME OF CROKINOLE IS BORN IN CHINA
AP - The Chinese Crokinole Championships were held for the first time on May 18th in Dalian, China, which is in the northeastern region of China. The championship is the brainchild of Craig S. Engleson, a Canadian teacher who has been living in Dalian for the past five years. Engleson says that the Canadian teachers who are living here are all keen crokinole fans and he thought that a tournament in China would not only enable his fellow ex-patriots to have a day to celebrate being Canadian, it would help promote the game of crokinole in an area of the world that has never seen it before. Engleson says that the tournament was very successful and “I feel we have definitely started something here that will continue on throughout the years.” The winner, Adrian Conradi, is awarded a berth into the World Crokinole Championship held Saturday, June 2nd in Tavistock, Ontario.
Engleson said that the Championship used the exact same standards as the World Championship. He recently had a custom crokinole board made in China and “did everything within my means to make the board of the highest quality and standard.” He is very happy with the overall product. He decided to have insignias burned on the buttons the light coloured button shave “Hao Ren”, which means good people, and the darker coloured button shave “Hui Ren”, which means bad people. “This way, every game will be the good people versus the bad. I like that!”, he commented.
The World Crokinole Championship (WCC) will host its 9th championship this year. Past competitors have come from all across Canada as well as from New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, California, Texas, Tennessee and Michigan. There has also been representation from the Yukon, Germany and England. Prince Edward Island has their own provincial championship tournament and send their champions to compete in Tavistock. Germany held their first European Championship last year and plans to encourage their winners each year to compete in the World Crokinole Championship.
Crokinole has its roots in Tavistock. Historians believe that the game developed in southern Ontario during the 1860s. That notion is confirmed with the fact that the oldest known crokinole board in the world was made just outside of Tavistock in 1876 by a local craftsman, Eckhardt Wettlaufer, as a birthday present for his five-year-old son, Adam. The board now resides at The Joseph Schneider Haus Museum in Kitchener, Ontario.
At this year’s Championship, there is $5000 in cash and prizes to be won, with the top prize of $1000 being awarded to the Champion Adult Single. The recently introduced Recreational Division, with a top prize of $200, has been well received and will again be a category for those wishing to play in the tournament at a recreational level. It’s one of the goals of the WCC executive to promote crokinole as a game that’s fun for everyone. It is a game with no age or gender barriers or advantages, as many children will play with or against grandparents. Competitors at the World Championship often range in age from 6 to 80.
Registrations are available at the Tavistock & District Recreation Centre, 655-2102 or by visiting www.worldcrokinole.com.
Due to the fact that the weather has not been cooperating with us, the Dong Bei Cup had a very historic night on Tuesday night - double-header semi-finals! The first game saw the second place team turquoise go against the third place team black. In what proved to be a hard hitting competitive match up, the once again controversial big turqs fought hard to a 5-4 victory, thus eliminating Bill Colorado and his 2007 Blackhawks. “This year we just did not get the right bounces and all in all a very unsuccessful tournament,” stated the team captain and goaltender. “Back to the ol’ drawing board for next year, I guess.” So now, the turqs (who everybody now loves to hate) is moving onto the championship final on Friday.
Click here for more great shots from Hubert Wong
Game Stats:
Team Black
Spensley - 1 pt (1g, 0a), 5 shots, -3
Defieux - 1 pt (0g, 1a), 11 shots, -3
Nguyen - 2 pts (1g, 1a), 4 shots, +2
Campbell - 1 pt (1g, 1a), 4 shots, -1
Bradbury - 0 pts, 1 shot, 0
Forde - 1 pt (1g, 0a), 5 shots, +2
Team Turquoise
Helgason - 4 pts (3g, 1a), 5 shots, +1
Kemp - 1 pt (1g, 0a), 4 shots, +1
Carbol - 1 pt (1g, 0a), 5 shots, 0
Hazel - 1 pt (0g, 1a), 2 shots, 0
Davina - 0 pts, 0 shots, 0
Wergelund - 0 pts, 3 shots, +1
Goalie Stats:(4 game accumulative)
McRann - 118 shots, 19 goals against, 4.75 GAA, 83.9 Save %
Colorado - 109 shots, 20 goals against, 5.00 GAA, 81.7 Save %
In the second game, the first place team green took on fourth place team blue. In what should have been an easy game for green (on paper), turned out to be anything but. In the first half, team green stormed out of the gate to a 6-0 lead and looked to be in total control. “I thought it was over right then and there,” commented one fan. But then, team blue dug in deep and fought back in the second half thus earning themselves the deepest respect from all who watched. In the end, the game ended with an 8-6 victory for green and a date into the championship final against team turquoise. “We played an excellent first half and a real stinker of a second. It was a lesson for us and we simply can’t do that in Friday’s final,” commented team goaltender Craig Engleson. So folks, the big day is set - Green vs. Turquoise, stay tuned for the big update!
Game Stats:
Team Green
Conradi - 3 pts (1a, 2a), 8 shots, +2
Frew - 3 pts (2g, 1a), 7 shots, +2
Ng - 2 pts (2g, 0a), 10 shots, +3
Secret - 3 pts (2g, 1a), 9 shots, -1
Brown - 1 pt (1g, 0a), 10 shots, 0
Amin - 0 pts, 11 shots, 0
Team Blue
Beeke - 3 pts (3g, 0a), 6 shots, 0
Manhas - 2 pts (0g, 2a), 5 shots, -1
Colangelo - 3 pts (3g, 0a), 11 shots, -1
Friesen - 1 pt (0g, 1a), 3 shots, -3
Friesen Jr. - 0 pts, 1 shot, +1
Ferguson - 1 pt (0g, 1a), 3 shots, -2
Goalie Stats: (4 game accumulative)
Engleson - 108 shots, 19 goals against, 4.75 GAA, 82.4 Save %
Iwasaki - 151 shots, 31 goals against, 7.75 GAA, 79.5 Save %
So, going into the third period we have Blake Defieux and Kevin Chow tied at 6 points, Adrian Conradi with 5 points and Dougie Sumo trailing in at 4 points. It is still anyones pool to take here, so, without further adieu - here’s period three!
Well, a couple of days ago the little girl turned 4 months old. It is amazing to see how she is changing everyday. Happy birthday old girl!
Yes, 8 years ago today on a sunny day at Rainbow Park in Prince George, BC, Kristin and I were married. I first met Kristin at the College of New Caledonia and was smitten ever since. She claims I stalked her out afterward, but it was clearly the other way around (I mean, she knew she could not let a handsome young catch as myself slip away!) We dated for a couple of years before tying the knot and have since gone through many wonderful experiences with each other. We have two beautiful children and a very happy home and I look forward to sharing many more wonderful years with each other. Happy Anniversary and I love you very much!
Well, after one period everyone (with the exception of Dougie Sumo) got two points - one from Nieuwendyk and Gretzky. So we have a very tight battle going into the second period, will a clear front runner now rise to the top?
With the big Dong Bei week ahead of us, this song just seems perfect for team green. Focus boys, focus!
