For the second time in less than eight months, I'm a champion. My slo-pitch team won our division last September and tonight my dodgeball team won the co-ed division.

Dodgeball is fun when you're losing, but it's hellishly fun when you're winning. We dominated tonight, and that's the best.

It's probably for the best that I've had my fill of winning, because my slo-pitch team is about to kick off a season in the comp division, the cream of the crop in the ever-expanding RSPA. I'm about to get a dose of humility, but for now I'm a champion once more.

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"If you want to have dodgeball victory, you have to grab it by its haunches and you gotta hump it into submission!" ~ Patches O'Houlihan, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

Even though I missed a good chunk of the season with an injury, I returned last week to help lead my team to victory in the Toronto dodgeball league semifinals. Tonight, we play for championship.

"It's time to separate the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys, the awkwardly feminine from the possibly Canadian." ~ Cotton McKnight, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story

It's show time.

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After several weeks on the shelf, I made my return to dodgeball just in time for the semi-finals. We were facing the team that beat us in game one, a bunch of bearded dodgeball playing misfits who had a great regular season. The competition was fierce.

I played my best game to date, and it was super fun. Once you get in the groove, I don't think there's a more fun sport out there. It's 60 minutes of non stop dodging, catching and throwing, with a little trash talk sprinkled in for good measure.

We dominated. We're off to the finals next week. We could be the recreational dodgeball champions of Toronto.

If we prevail, you can etch that on my tombstone.

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I got the call. The dodgeball team I played with earlier in the year before quitting on the advice of my doctor needs me. They're short a guy for their semi-final playoff game tonight.

This is not an April Fool's Day joke. I'll be on the floor tonight with the season on the line. It's time to dodge some balls.

I've been waiting for this moment all my life. I'm ready.

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This afternoon, about two months after my right leg quit on me, I met with Dr. Grant Lum, MD, CCFP, Diploma in Sport Medicine. The dude acts as a consultant to the NHL Players' Association and he really seems to know his stuff. I told him my story, most of which you can read here, and performed his many tests.

The doc believes it's my sacroiliac joint. That's the joint between the sacrum, at the base of the spine, and the ilium of the pelvis, which are joined by ligaments, don'tcha know. It's either fractured or knocked out of whack and the result was a complete shut down of the posterior kinetic chain on my right side. Posterior kinetic chain isn't just fun to say, it's also a bunch of important muscles like the hamstring and glutes. With my posterior kinetic chain shut down, I simply don't have the strength to do what I'm used to doing, so after a 3k of running it hurts too much to continue.

He's got a six week treatment that should get me back running, but since he thinks I could have a fracture, he wants me to completely shut down for six weeks. No running, no long walks and no dodge ball. I had to convince him my one hour of skating with James each Saturday could be nothing more than a light walk-like glide to support my six year old. My treatment starts with a chiropractor as we get the alignment right again so my posterior kinetic chain works again.

I know how exciting this is for you all, so I'll post updates along the way. I can't believe my illustrious dodgeball career is over after a mere three games. I could have been somebody. I could have been a contender.

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Tonight, I played my second game of dodgeball this season. We lost the first game last Tuesday but tonight we destroyed the competition. I thought I'd share my thoughts of the game of dodgeball now that I've had some seasoning.

First and foremost, dodgeball is hard on your throwing arm. By the end of the hour, your arm feels like it's going to fall off. Even lifting my arm to touch my right ear hurts. You're drilling the ball at the opposition with all your might but you can't let them catch it, so you just throw like a maniac. By the time my arm is feeling normal again, it will be time to mess it up again with game #3.

Dodgeball is far tougher than you'd think. There are four balls in play at all times and sometimes the opposition will have them all. That's when you're weaving and dodging and flipping and flopping to stay alive. With every game I got stronger as I got a feel for the timing and strategy, and now I'm loving it. It's a fantastic way to spend 60 minutes.

I just hate our team nickname. It's Duck Or I'll Hit You In The Face or something like that. I would have gone with something snappier. Just try yelling "Go Duck Or I'll Hit You In The Face Go!"

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I've never played dodgeball, but I've seen the movie. It looked like a lot of fun, and soon I shall see. I've joined a dodgeball league.

My first game is tomorrow night, so today I hit the web to learn the rules. I learnt about the opening rush, the 5-second violation, and how you substitute.

I don't know if I'm any good at dodgeball, but I'm about to find out. If it's as fun as the movie made it seem, I'm going to have a blast.

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