COME PLAY IN DAWG BOWL I

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I know there are a bunch of men's league hockey players that read this crap, because I get emails from all over the country. I design a lot of my articles for the beer league in general, and my Dawgs teams in particular. It's amazing how many of you guys out there relate to the stories, especially the goalies. I've discovered that I'm not the only broken down old fart trying to hang onto his youth, and honestly, it's nice to know I have company.

Well, if you play here in the Denver area, and I guess even if you don't, we'd like to invite you all to our first ever adult men's tournament, being held the weekend of April 1-4 at the Edge Ice Arena in Littleton, Colorado.

We're calling it Dawg Bowl I, and we'll be hosting 24 teams in four different divisions. The fees are going to be better than any adult tournament in Colorado, and all proceeds will go to a special charity that we've just recently set up. I'll tell you all about that in a minute.

If you sign up before the end of February, the cost of the event will only be $800 ($850 after that). Compare that to other tourneys, which normally run over $1000 for the same amount of games. Hell, those of you that have ever played in Las Vegas know that you can pay up to $1800, so this is a rockin' deal.

Now, if you will just give me a minute, I'll tell you why you should enter:

1) There will be a division you can play in. We're going to have four different brackets- Novice (E level/beginning teams), Bronze (Lower C/D level), Silver (high C/lower B), and Gold (A and high B levels).

We're setting that Gold bracket up for a very hot skate, so make sure you know we're talking about former junior league players and that type of level. The reason we included "High B" is that in some areas like Superior and The Edge arenas here in town, the B is the best skate, and they can certainly hang in that division.

2) Three game guarantee. Each division will have three games of pool play, and the top two teams will face off Sunday for all the marbles and a very cool trophy that we've designed.

3) Silent auction- The Colorado Avalanche and others have come on board with us, and we already have some items that we're planning to silently auction off during the weekend. They include everything from a laptop computer, a signed Adam Foote Canadian Olympic jersey, a stick signed by the entire 2010 Avalanche team, and even a helmet signed by one of the best players on Earth, none other than "The Great 8"- Alex Ovechkin.

4) Food and Drink- The Breckenridge Brewery here in town has graciously supplied beer for us, and we will be selling it for charitable contributions during the entire weekend. Also, we will be grilling up hamburgers, hot dogs, and brats, along with other food items, so you can stop by before or after your games for some terrific and inexpensive food. One thing for sure about us old farts- we know how to barbeque.

5) The Edge Ice Arena- The Edge is one of the nicest places to play in the Denver area- two sheets of ice, big locker rooms, lots of seating for all your fans, plenty of parking, and a beautiful view of the mountains.

6) Our charity- Pay attention now-here's the best part. Every dime of the proceeds from the entry fees, auctions, beverages and food goes to the new charity set up by Dawg Nation. We've recently come across some guys that play adult hockey that have either hurt themselves badly in games, or have gotten seriously ill and need help with their medical bills. Our foundation was set up to give a hand to our hockey playing brothers and sisters, hopefully lightening their load a bit as they recover.

A good example of one of the guys we're going to help is a player named Dennis, who shattered his ankle going into the boards in an Over 40 game. He had surgery to put everything back together, but caught an infection during the surgery. He's had to have several other operations, but the effects of the infection have remained. Bottom line is that he has to have one more surgery, but it's a coin flip right now as to whether he gets to keep the leg or not. He's a good guy- just the kind of person we want to help with our foundation.

Kids, there is not another adult tournament I know that is set up so that 100% of the net goes to charity. So many tournaments say "a portion" of the proceeds go to a cause, but it ends up being like 5%. Not one of our board members or volunteers is taking a cent for the hundreds of hours an event like this requires.

So not only do you get to play great hockey at a good price, but you'll be doing a nice thing for your fellow player. I can't sell it any better than that.

Like I said earlier, I have a bunch of readers from outside Denver, and if your team would like to make a road trip, we'd love to have you here in town. There are several hotels close to the arena, and there is absolutely nothing like Denver in the spring. In fact, the Colorado Rockies team will be opening their season here the same weekend, so you could make it one hell of a hockey/baseball trip.

Dawg Nation now has their own website, and here is the link to where you can sign up for the tournament.

https://sites.google.com/site/dawgnationhockey/hockey-tournament

Oh, and if you're not a hockey player but would still like to contribute auction items or a couple of bucks, we will absolutely take it. Our biggest expenses will be ice time and referees, so anything that would put a dent in that and push more money to the bottom line would be greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions at all, please shoot me an email at sfg35@comcast.net. We only have room for 24 teams, and we're already getting a huge response, so please sign up quickly in order to assure your spot. We're going to work hard to guarantee that you have a great experience, and also to make sure you come back next year for Dawg Bowl II.

Thanks from the entire Dawg Nation family, and we'll see you in April!