Sat 19-Dec (2pm) Christmas concert at Gateway Community Church Reynella, Sat 9-Jan (tba) Brad Smith's wedding, January pre-season training (details tba).
Welcome to the home of the Somerton Thunder, Movember and Jultopia
Established in 1992 as the ACH Gungadins, the Somerton Thunder represent Holdfast Baptist and play in the Salvation Army Basketball Assoc (SA) at the Distinctive Homes Dome and the SA Church Basketball Assoc at Mars Stadium, and are affiliated with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. See the headlines for more history. Photos used with permission. If you object to any material on this website, email us at thunder2009@optusnet.com.au (new address). Many characters and events on this website - even those based on real people - are fictional. Many player quotes are impersonated ..... poorly. The following website may contain offensive material and due to its content it should not be viewed by anyone.
Julius Hodge was immature, ill-conceived, juvenile and just a tad misguided December 9, 2009
Huge night on Monday as the Thunder took home the bacon and onion chips, with centre Michael Reu dominating and guard Cal McKinnon rewarded with the Association's runner-up Best & Fairest and the Thunder's B&F for Season Two for 2009. However, we're putting aside talk about the grand final - and the recent Port Pirie clash we're yet to talk about - to wrap up the entire Julius Hodge incident on Saturday night. The above picture is from his graduation day with North Carolina State University where clearly, he didn't study psychology or human relations.
In the words of the NBL's Chuck Harmison, Julius Hodge was immature, ill-conceived and juvenile. We wish to add that he's a tad misguided. His actions reflected a year of frustration and in his own mind, were perhaps warranted but that's where the misguided part comes in. Julius Hodge was a big deal in college - a legitimate basketball stud. His lack of success in the NBA was partly due to being drafted by an already swingman-heavy team in the Denver Nuggets, and the fact his jumpshot needs work. That said, his athleticism and courtsmarts are top notch, and he clearly has the competitive juices flowing. The real issue though, is the off-court issues. He reportedly refused to play in the D-League after being asked to do so by Denver, didn't get along too well with Denver coach George Karl, and these "problems" followed him to Adelaide and we all know where that ended up. It's sad, because the cat can play. We just hope he gets some better advice, support and counsel soon because he's headed down a slippery slope and it can be hard to turn that around. For what it's worth, we thought he was a dill on Saturday night - we went along and sat near the man in the dress - and should apologise but we won't be holding our breath. To Julius, we simply say:
"Julius dude, get some help. Whoever's been giving you advice - your agent, friends, family - whoever it is, it's time to do the exact opposite. Consider it "Opposite Day" ala The Simpsons, and see how you go. You're a great talent and an engaging personality but seriously dude, you're not going to play forever and when this is all said and done, you're going to be one seriously lonely soul at this rate. Send us an email to thunder2009@optusnet.com.au if you want a chat or need help. We'd be only too happy to help out and when all is said and done, if you're looking for a team, there's always a spot for you at the Somerton Thunder and with South Australia at the Jultopia carnivals."
Back soon folks, with a full match report on the Thunder's SABASA grand final win over the Seaton Spartans, and Cal's Best & Fairest win.
A dominant Michael Reu leads Thunder to the SABASA premiership December 8, 2009
Playing arguably his most dominant game in the black and gold, centre Michael Reu led the Thunder to a 66-50 win over the Seaton Spartans and in turn, gave the Thunder the ultimate Christmas present - the 2009b Second Season SABASA premiership. More details coming soon.
Game preview: Somerton Thunder v Seaton Spartans December 7, 2009
Should be an interesting game tonight as the year that was 2009 draws to a close. The Seaton Spartans have taken all before them and if it wasn't for the fact that the Thunder are 15-Coke Zero and in omnibus form after their recent Port Pirie win, you'd be raving on and on about the Spartans. They've claimed every scalp so far but one and it's with that in mind that we bring you the 2009 Second Season Grand Final preview.
LAST GAME HEAD-TO-HEAD
Somerton Thunder 51 d Seaton Spartans 31
2009 SECOND SEASON RECORD
Somerton Thunder: 15-0
Seaton Spartans: 12-1-3
GAME PREVIEW
It'd take a brave man to tip against the Thunder. With no injuries and understandably fired up after the Melbourne Tigers' Julius Hodge stamped all over Cal McKinnon's signature on Saturday night, they should bring home the bacon and onion chips. Their big men remain in good touch, whilst the guards continue to knock down plenty of outside shots to keep the defence honest. That said, the Spartans are doing everything right and come into the game on a fair winning streak. The first 10 minutes will be critical because if the Thunder can break the game open early, it'll be all over, red rover. Then again, if any Seaton player goes all Julius Hodge and stomps on Cal McKinnon's signature repeatedly, it'll be all over, red rover too. We like the Thunder by 12 in what should be an entertaining contest. Get there early for a good seat.
Julius Hodge stomps on sportsmanship as a man in a dress looks on December 6, 2009
Interesting times yesterday at the Dome as Julius Hodge stomped all over good sportsmanship as a man in a dress looked on. Yes, we know it sounds too strange to be true but these are strange times. It was a big day as Thunder Captain Brad Smith celebrated his final few days of singledom before his approaching wedding, with Thunder teammates among the paintballers who took great delight in bombarding the buck with a few choice shots to the head, back and other parts of the body. The night then moved on to the Dome where Julius Hodge returned to Adelaide for the first time since their much-publicised divorce last year. The game itself was exciting and not entirely uneventful as the two teams went hard at it but it was what happened post game that unfortunately overshadowed a pretty darn good contest. After the Melbourne Tigers ground out a surprising overtime win - they were 4 points down with 25 seconds remaining - Julius went all Ron Artest and the crowd obliged. First he taunted the crowd about his jumpshot - an interesting angle to take given his 6-for-14 from the foul line - and then stomped repeatedly on favourite son Brett Maher's on-court signature. Not once, not twice, but thrice for everyone to see. Pandemonium erupted as a man in a dress (see above) looked on, with Adelaide 36ers' officials pushing him away and as an embarassed Mark Mackinnon and Sam Worthington led Hodge away to the changerooms, fans spat and threw drinks on him too. No word of a lie or hyperbole, we were staring Ron Artest MkII in the face here folks as Hodge charged several fans. Sadly for sports journalism but good for humanity, his teammates held him back and once the Tigers had finally left the building and driven past the waiting hordes who were understandably but not justifiably baying for his blood, it was finally over. Scars though, take time to heal and so do memories of a man in a dress. Strange times, strange times.
PS. In the light of day and as cooler heads prevail, one would've thought a certain J.Hodge would make a media release along the lines of:
"Folks, thanks for being here today. First up, I'd like to apologise for my behaviour last night. It's been a big buildup and without going over old ground, I'm obviously not thrilled with what took place and the circumstances surrounding my leaving Adelaide last year but that's in the past and we move on. I was hyped to the hilt last night and when the Sixers stole defeat from the jaws of victory and Wortho and I hit the final few buckets, I got excited. Some stuff was said to me during the game that was a bit over the line - racism and stuff - but it doesn't excuse what I did to Brett's signature and I unequivocally say sorry. Sorry to Brett, sorry to the fans, and let's move on. I hope the club does something about the idiots who spat and threw drink at me but I played my part in that too. Life's too short to spend it like this. So again, sorry to Brett, sorry to Scott, sorry to the club, sorry to the fans - let's just move on, folks."
Now that would've made sense. Instead, we got this from a player who is clearly dancing to the beat of a different drum to the rest of us:
"It is like I was holding that in for close to a year. Holding everything in, all the comments that their players have made and the coach (Scott) Ninnis had said, how everyone was feeling towards me, as if I was the bad guy for leaving because I wasn't getting paid. I just held everything in and once I got to show it on the court and just release everything, it definitely felt good. If I could do it again, I would have continued to step on it and step on it and step on it. I want them to remember how it felt for the rest of their lives and I'm sure they will and every time I play there I will make it my personal effort to try to go out there and destroy them. You're having drinks and cups thrown at you, people were just way too upset, it was like someone had died, it really wasn't necessary."
No Julius, what wasn't necessary was your response and it beggars belief that you still haven't apologised. You were apparently in fear for your life. Now let us think, mmmmm, your post-game statements are certainly going to help with that, aren't they? Silly times, silly times.
Julius Hodge returns to the Dome December 5, 2009
Interesting night tonight as Julius Hodge returns to Adelaide on the same night Thunder Captain Brad Smith commemorates his last few weeks of singledom. Put the two together and you've got an interesting plot in the making. We have no idea where this will go but tonight, the two stories collide at the Cal McKinnon Court and we're tagging along for a look. And while we're at it, enough of the whole "If I'd played in Adelaide for another two years, they would've named the court after me." No, they wouldn't have, Julius. It's already named after Cal McKinnon #5 and you wear #24 so there's no way this would ever have worked. Deal with it, dude. It's Cal's court. Back soon with more updates.
A reminder to those who have RSVP'd to Thunder Captain Brad Smith's bucks' night for tonight, to contact Andrew Brook or James Smith for details if you haven't received an SMS message yet. There's two particular events, one starting at 3pm (meet us at Port Adelaide) and the other from 7pm at Findon (game starts from 7.30pm). It's a private function so for obvious reasons, details can't be posted on the interweb but you can be rest assured that pictures will be. Oh yes, there'll be pictures. Good times, good times ..... for some anyway.
Happy Birthday Michael Reu! December 4, 2009
Thunder centre Michael Reu, who was a controversial no-show for the match against Port Pirie last weekend, turned 43 on Wednesday amidst much hype and fanfare about the discovery of one of his ancestors, Michael Reu (above), who looks strikingly much like the 2009 version. Professor Michael Reu, taught at Wartburg Seminary (Iowa Synod, then the old ALC of 1930) for 44 years, 1899-1943. One blog quotes:
"Reu was a giant among scholars. He started out more liberal. If memory serves, he was the one who worked against inerrancy when the 1930 merger took place. Lenski in Ohio was on the opposite side, so a committee was formed to keep Lenski silent."
Oh, that Lenski in Ohio. He would just never shut up and was always arguing with Reu. He was one of these guys who would go on and on, kind of like a 1930s Bruce McAvaney. But Reu got him, courtesy of the bothan spies of the day (sadly, the story left that detail out). Reu spent Wednesday at home continuing his family tree research so we don't want to say too much for fear of distracting him from this all-important work. From everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, we wish Mike a Happy Birthday and many more seasons in the black and gold.
AFL football says goodbye to West Lakes December 3, 2009
In summarising the situation in as few words as possible, here it is. AFL football is saying goodbye to West Lakes and moving to Adelaide from 2014. It will either be played at the revamped Adelaide Oval (see above) or at a new indoor "City Stadium". The decision is yours and while we're not a political website, we're not afraid to call things as they are. Vote Labor at the next state election and get a revamped Adelaide Oval. Vote Liberal and get a new indoor "City Stadium". Either way, it's bon voyage to West Lakes and from everyone at leaguelineup.com and the Thunder, don't let us be the ones that say "we told you so". Our bothan spies however, have a slightly different view of things.
The bothans made the trip to AAMI Stadium yesterday to spy on proceedings and after spending the entire day counting the seats (with apologies to AAMI for putting black texta marks on every seat - how else could they remember where they were up to?), they found that Football Park has 51,515 seats (more if you include toilets) and Adelaide Oval will have 50,000 seats. Isn't that a backward step? Also, with the Thunder's membership approaching 50,000 (currently 47,913), the Thunder will have to find an even bigger venue to play at. Complicated times. Our bothan spies tell us this isn't over yet, and to watch for the competing factions (or "fractions") to fracture over the ownership and fraction of the membership pie, and to increase the capacity closer to 60,000. Again, don't let us be the ones that say "we told you so".
