Ultimate Injuries

So after seeing Brady go down yesterday, I couldn't help but think about injuries in ultimate to marquee players that may or may not have led to performance issues of their team. Here is a list of what I could come up with. This is by no means a complete list and I do apologize for any drop offs in information. Feel free to add to any or others I was unaware of.

Danny Trytiak - One of the most unsung heroes on Sockeye. He was on the team when they won in 2004 and 2006 but 2007 was an unlucky year for him. At Northwest Regionals he managed to 360 his knee (probably an exaggeration). He broke something like 3 bones and tore his ACL and PCL, if I remember right. Not only did this mean that he would be unable to participate in the series for 2007, but also kept him from competing at Worlds and in the series this year. He was healthy enough to play in the all-star game at Potlatch this past summer so hopefully he is on his way back up but this must have really sucked.

Martin Cochran - In 2005 Colorado was set to defend their title in Corvalis. However, fate would have other plans. Martin made a bid out of bounds in pool play and crashed into a folding chair. This would prove to be a very devastating injury as it would result in a few broken ribs that would puncture his lung. I spoke with Chicken about it and he was telling me that Martin was one of their best players that weekend with a fantasy line of +16. To pay tribute to their fallen team mate, each Colorado player wrote "Martin", "MC" or "#17" on their arms. I thought this was a really nice gesture and I'm sure Martin's team mates missed him as they lost 15-14 to Brown in the Finals.

Derek Alexander - This is probably the most tragic but also one of the most inspiring stories I have ever heard. I heard it from Nick Menzies at Worlds, so I will just let him tell it.

Formally known as "franchise" he fell 3 stories off a scaffolding and broke around 15 bones, including making a total mess of his right arm (80% mobility) 6 surgeries, partially torn acl, metal plate in his head, plastic surgery to fix up his face months after having his first child. This happened in early 2006. We held a team presentation for him on thursday night and MG read the series of emails of how he would make a comeback just for this tournament. He said he didn't care about anything other than playing for his country. Awesome quote "I am the same player as I was before, except I am now left handed". He is a very very quiet person, so this was pretty funny to me. Not a dry eye in the house hearing of his comeback, and how much he wanted this game. We gave him a canadian jersey with a maple leaf with a superman symbol inside. Talk about a special jersey. He built a field in his yard to train on. When I saw him at canadian nationals last year he couldn't run, or grip a disc properly with his right hand.

Derek managed to recover after almost two years of rehab and competed with Team Canada at Worlds last month and won gold. I wish all tragic injury stories ended this well.

Jeff Graham - One of the best products of Northeast ultimate (UMass), Jeff's biggest claim to fame was cracking into the top 5 in the Callahan voting despite not even making Nationals. He went on to start Twisted Metal and routinely competed against Boston's DoG until both teams decided to fuse in 2007. However, in the winter before Boston Ultimate formed, Jeff tore his ACL playing basketball. He managed to stay mobile via a segway, but was unable to play for Boston for all of last year. Number 21 is back in 2008 however, and is once again a fantastic deep threat, this time for Ironside.

Alex Nord - Of the plays that Nord has made over the last 10 years or so, none has stunned as many as his miraculous chest high sky in the finals against Colorado at College Nationals (2001). I would post a link to the picture, but my computer always freezes when I try and get to it on the CUT website. Go to photos --> 2001 --> action and it is the first picture. It made it onto I bleed black as well as the UPA poster in 2002. However, after catching the disc, he came down hard and gave himself a concussion. Here is a summary of the game. He would still record 8 goals in the game so I'm sure this might be the least serious injury of any on this list.

Mike Grant - In 2004 Team Canada won Worlds in Finland, but they would have to do it with one of their best players at less than 100%. Previously (not sure if it was in '03 or '04), Mike injured his elbow on a nasty accidental play against Sockeye. Mike was attempting a backhand huck when Ryan Seguine (covering another player) was running up the field alongside and ran into his arm hyper extending his elbow. He managed to pick up a lefty flick for Worlds, which incited some problems, but they managed to win regardless.

Martin Cochran - He pops up here again because in 2008 Colorado was reminded how good Martin really is. In the Winter of 2007/08 Martin broke his foot and was unable to play with Colorado through Trouble in Vegas and Stanford. He came back for Centex, despite being out of shape, and helped them make semis against Florida. Despite question marks associated with Colorado through most of the year they made their usual Nationals run.

Alex Nord - Nord cracks the list again because in the 2007 Sarasota finals he dislocated his thumb. On a huck to Richter (covered by Nord) the disc sailed over both and both bid for it. However, Mike Whitaker slid in and caught the disc but as he did so, he ran into Nord bending his thumb backwards. I'm not sure how severe the injury was but I do know that he was wearing a brace at Worlds. There are a few nasty pictures of someone setting it, but I can't find them now.

Drew Mahowald - In 2008 Wisconsin was poised to repeat their natioanls run (and did) but they would have to do it with one of their 2007 standouts on the sideline. Drew broke his knee relegating him to crutches for much of the 2008 season. He cleated up in Boulder for Nationals but only managed to get in on a few points. I can remember feeling bad for him as Wisconsin won Nationals without him but then I remembered how much he dominated in the finals the year before.

Brandon "Muffin" Malecek - At Chesapeake a few weeks ago Muffin broke his foot. I broke my foot in April so I can sympathize and understand. Hector seemed to think it was because the fields were pretty hard in Maryland. His intensity and power flick will definitely be missed and it will be up to Sub Zero to adapt as they prep for another run at Sarasota. They look good so far avenging a loss against Machine with a 15-10 win in the finals at Heavyweights.

Lou Buruss - One of Sockeye's older but best players tore his hamstring in the 2005 UPA Finals. He was lining up against Mike Grant at the time and tore it in the first half. Sockeye would go on to lose and Lou would retire from elite open.

Feel free to add more stories or correct mine if need be.

just my thoughts

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