Manchester A at Tier I Nationals

Manchester A ends nightmare season at BUIHA's Tier I Nationals in Sheffield going 0-4 in Group 1 play, allowing 20 goals against in the process whilst only netting three goals for, including two scoreless games.

A season, which was riddled by inconsistency both offensively and defensively, is finally over for Manchester A. The squad drew a group of Southampton, Nottingham, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews -- a group that included the Div 1 North Cup Competition winners (Edinburgh, 16 pts) and Div 1 third place finishers (Nottingham, 15 pts), and a host of ENL talent on Southampton. An A/B mixed Metros team faced St. Andrews in an early season friendly coming out on the wrong end of a 10-3 loss.

Manchester showed up to the competition missing several important cast members who had featured in most of the Div 1 North games including Topi Jylha, Mike Di Paoli, Sarah Hutchinson, and Kieren De'Ath. Shayne Langlois (knee), Max Drakeley (shoulder), Thomas Revesz (knee), and Gino Poulin (hamstring) all missed out due to injury.

Saturday's Game 1 was a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Southampton. The Spitfires were able to jump out to an early lead against a side that looked like they were still in the middle of breakfast and Soton never looked back. Game 2 against Nottingham finished in heartbreaking fashion as it was arguably the Metros' best performance all weekend. But that statement is all too synonymous with their season -- the inability to close games out or to take advantage of opportunities late in the clock. Manchester lost their 2-1 lead with a hair over five minutes remaining and saw a hopeful point slip away when Maverick's Tom Bradshaw slotted in a shorthanded goal with two-and-a-half minutes left. A familiar opponent in Edinburgh was Game 3's matchup in Manchester's last game of the day. Manchester grabbed a lead six minutes into the game and the Brad Valentine (assists: Tom Wilson, Allen Gunn) goal would hold until the Eagles rallied off four unanswered to win 4-1. Sunday's only group game against St. Andrews was a fitting bookend to the weekend. Game 4 was hotly contested early, but two goals within minutes of one another wrote the story. The Typhoons would go on to score five more goals to earn a 7-0 win, keeping Manchester off the board for a second game.

As an organisation, Manchester heads into the offseason the friendly schedule already filling up. 2014/2015 will hopefully be a turn around season for the club as they look to regain stability in an ever-powerful Division 1 North. It will be vital that the club's top team gets and stays healthy next year following the long-term exits of Langlois and Poulin. The "A" team will need to strengthen its ranks at all positions to be competitive against teams rife with ENL and EPL talent. Hopefully a fair few new Freshers faces and current "B" team players can rise to the occasion.

Manchester Tier I Nationals Roster: Matthew Crouch, Matt Lowry, Tom Wilson, Bradley Valentine, Oliver Wallace, Allen Gunn, Patrick Thomson, Jamie Bower, Callum Notman, Tyler Schock, Phil Pearson (G).

For further information, results, and tables visit the BUIHA website at buiha.org.uk.

DevilDriver w/ Sylosis, BFW

Bleed From Within at Manchester Academy 2 (iPhone).

The tour package of DevilDriver,  Sylosis, and Bleed From Within rolled into Manchester Academy 2 Wednesday night for a bit of mid-week metal.

The Scots were up first and they did not disappoint. Bleed From Within is currently still out in support of their 2013 album Uprising so they played several songs off it including the title track, "Uprising", "Colony", "I Am Oblivion", and "It Lives In Me". The quintet played one song from their 2010 effort Empire, which was "Last of Our Kind". Scott Kennedy has some of the best vocals in the game, even post-haircut, as he is able to flawlessly recreate what is heard on the recordings and with tremendous energy. BFW is, by far, one of the best live bands out there and they have a ton of respect for their fans, taking the time to interact with them after the show. Ali Richardson is a monster on drums and Goonzi (guitarist) pieces together some really groovy riffs. Definitely a must see band if, and when they are in your area, which if you are an American hopefully comes soon as both times I have seen them were in Manchester (w/ Rise to Remain 2011). The band deserves a shot at a transatlantic tour.

Sylosis were the main support to DevilDriver. I had listened to them prior on a few occasions, but never delved deep into their discography. Therefore, I cannot list any of the songs they played, yet I can say the quartet was very energetic towards a crowd that craved their music. Guitarist, Josh Middleton, who also doubles as lead vocalist, can seriously shred and he demonstrated that with several sweeping lines. BFW's Ali Richardson filled in on drums for the absent Rob Callard. I am not sure if this is due to Sylosis' RV accident whilst touring the States or not... Ali did fill in brilliantly as he is a technically solid drummer. He just makes it look so easy.

The night of course livened up in the pit for the headliner, DevilDriver. They are a 5-piece band hailing from Santa Barbara, CA (something strange about me seeing loads of American bands in England...). I listened to Fury of Our Maker's Hand back in high school and really dug their sound. Like Bleed From Within, they are quite groovy and their drums are poppy. Since then, I have listened to The Last Kind Words and Pray For Villains. Vocalist Dez Fafara has such a unique style. It is half growl, half back of the throat, and half clean. It is very hard to describe, but it fits their style so well. DevilDriver played songs such as "I Could Care Less", "Hold Back the Day", "Clouds Over California", and "Sail". The California outfit played a strong 45 minute set that was relentless.

DevilDriver entertain the crowd at Academy 2 (iPhone).

Overall, a very solid bill for only having three bands, but Bleed From Within stole the show for me again as they continue to push forward a new era of metal out of Britain that trends in its own direction.

The venue: I had never been to Academy 2, which sits above the UofM Student Union, but it had a terrific sound. It is similar to upstairs at Sound Control without the fear of feeling like you are going to fall through the floor. In comparison with the other venues I have been to in Manchester, Moho Live and The Roadhouse, Academy 2 felt more open, less confined.

Show-going tip: Make sure you note which band member plays what instrument if you plan to tell them nice set so you don't mistake the guitarist for the drummer, or vice versa. Some poor chap told Goonzi, the guitarist from Bleed From Within, that he was a sick drummer. Oops!

Billion Dollar Madness

Aaron Craft after losing to Dayton (via @SportsNation)

UConn pleased a great part of the nation last night when they beat Kentucky 60-54 -- definitely all of Tar Heel Nation. Though who could blame us for being a bit bitter towards seeing a rival getting a shot at another title? And yet, whilst most of our chances at the Buffett's Billion careened off a cliff just two hours into the 2014 NCAA Tournament thanks in part to Dayton's Buckeye upset, (which gave us an iconic photo seen to the left), there was more for this individual to be excited about than blind fortune. My parents arrived to sunny England the morning the tournament started for a week-long visit.

With them, they brought several things that I find myself missing on a regular basis. They are minute things. Things most here might not even understand, but they are things we recognise at the drop of a pen:

• It helped that the hotel had WiFi so the three of us could refresh our phones constantly to check scores (and so that I didn't run right through my crummy data plan on O2). We were the noisy Americans at the table in the hotel restaurant giddy at every update from Buffalo, chatting about the now iconic (memorable maybe?) photo of Aaron Craft laying on the court. #Crafting they call it now.

• Always pull for the ACC really meaning... I'll pull for everyone but Duke, sorry MA. When I arrived to the hotel on Friday afternoon after uni, Duke was stuck in a nail bitter against Mercer that they would eventually lose 78-71. And whilst I breathed Come on Mercer underneath my breath, I kept getting reminders of, "Oh Allen, you want the ACC to do well!". I stayed up late on Tuesday AND Thursday watching NC State. The Wolfpack have my support, especially the women who I grew up hearing about and learning the values of Kay Yow. But Duke. That'd hurt. And it would be immoral.

• Friday and Sunday: Carolina took the court at 11PM GMT to play Providence, but it meant Gameday attire. When I arrived at the Premier Inn for to head out for dinner, I was greeted by another Carolina jumper looking back at me. Smile at the little things -- when we wear our Carolina best. And it doesn't matter if we are watching from Westfield, Cornelius, or Greensboro, or if we are in Syracuse, East Rutherford, San Antonio, or Detroit, if we win we lay the same clothes out for the next round. Carolina Rituals.

• Saturday was a lounging around my house day. Just like we do back at the 408 in Cornelius. Basketball was on my laptop. Pizza on the table. Nancy & I watched. MA read and listened in. Every so often she would chime in about a story she read on Huffington Post or something she saw on Sportscenter. I watched it 9am-3pm most days for my lady, Jade McCarthy. Its nice talking New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Johnny Football, and Jadeveon Clowney. These are the moments we sometimes take for granted, but when you only get to do it once or twice in a seven month span, you miss it. I wouldn't have it any other way even if we were 4,000 miles from home.

• Return to Sunday. Carolina was playing Iowa State at the same exact time I had a hockey game in Sheffield that my parents had agreed to come to. MA watched intently with the parents of two of my housemates. Nancy "watched" from inside the Cafe with her iPad flipped on to the Carolina game. I love hockey, don't get me wrong, but I would've given everything to be up there with her watching the Carolina game. From an early age it became a way of life -- Regionals, Final Fours, the Smith Center.

This may seem a cheeky way to get in a post about basketball, sure, but it is really about the time I got to spend with my parents where we had a few moments of familiarity. Upon their arrival they mentioned eating at Macaroni Grill in Chicago before their flight; subtle name drops of places and people take you back where you well up inside.

My parents gave up a lot to allow their youngest to not only leave home, but to fly across the ocean to attend university. That isn't easy for anyone to do when I used to be an hour and half drive away. I tip my hat to them for every opportunity they've given me.

Oh! When in doubt. Always pick guard play. I did it 2011 with Kemba and Lamb. Should've done it with Napier and Boatright this year I guess, heh.

Cornelius 408 Bracket Challenge: 1) Allen, 39 pts; 2) MA, 35 pts; 3) Nancy, 28 pts.

I think we all wanted a piece of that bill.

Fantasy Hockey League

The house's Fantasy Hockey League concluded this past week with yours truly winning the playoffs as a No. 2 seed.

Fantasy Hockey was the first ever league I had been a part of and it was fun to keep up with week-to-week, which included a bit of in-house banter. Although, the were a few weeks where several of us would forget to set up our teams...

I finished league play in 2nd place behind the Rusholme Kebabhawks with a record 167-125-60 (.560), but much like Greg Popovich's philosophy, it was all about the playoffs for me -- a goal I achieved running away.

Gunnstars roster:
Forwards -- Anze Kopitar, Matt Duchene, Alexander Steen, TJ Oshie, Chris Kunitz, Alex Ovechkin, David Krejci, Max Pacioretty, Blake Wheeler.

Defence -- Niklas Kronwall, Slava Voynov, Kevin Bieksa, Erik Johnson, Radko Gudas.

Goalies -- Semyon Varlamov, Kari Lehtonen, Josh Harding (IR).

Undergraduate Poetry Reading

March 25 was the Reading & Writing Poetry unit showcase at Manchester's Gorilla. It was only the second time that I have read my personal poetry in any setting—the first being at UNCG’s 2013 Poetry Day. As a concept, it is something excites me because I get an instant reaction to my work. And to think, I have only delved into poetry writing within the last three years and having opportunities to read/perform my own work is a bonus (I used to play guitar in a metal band in high school).

Our instructor Nikolai Duffy had reserved the side room for our reading and a number of those on the unit showed up. I’d estimate numbers at around 20, give or take a few. But several individuals not associated with the unit also showed up to listen.

Each student got a slot of roughly five minutes. Whilst a handful of poems followed techniques of those poets we have studied on the unit, some were adventurous combining different forms. I read four poems that are currently still in draft mode that I will be submitting alongside my final portfolio. All four are untitled and will hopefully morph into one long poem regarding human experience and the human condition. Each includes both verse and prose parts, which is something new from the unit. From my studies in Reading & Writing Poetry I have become fascinated with Edmond Jabes and Alice Oswald. I continue to be interested in The New York School poets (O'Hara, Ashbery), Charles Reznikoff, Miklos Radnoti and Czeslaw Milosz.

MMU's Humanity Hallows contribution piece summarising the day can be found here.