KanJam

Kan Jam World Championship...and great live sporting events

The Kan Jam World Championship is just a little over 2 months away so I hope everyone is preparing for the event. The tournament will be on Saturday August 14 and for more information on the tournament and to register go to kanjam.com.

The Kan Jam World Championship got me thinking about what are some of the best sporting events to see live, so here is my top 6(I excluded Bills playoff game and Sabres Stanley Cup game because I'm looking at the specific event and not the teams playing in it.)

6. Olympic gold medal hockey game:Admittedly most gold medal final games will not match the excitement and intensity of the US Canada game of 2010 but I have always found olympic hockey much more entertaining than the NHL and to be at the game where all of the players are laying it on the line for the gold medal for their country would be a great moment

5. NFL Conference championship game: The Superbowl is for all of the corporate suits, the conference championship game is when the real fans show up in the cold and snow and cheer on their team to the Super Bowl

4. US Open (Tennis) - I don't watch a second of tennis during the year but for some reason the US Open always hooks me in. I think it's the combination of matches under the lights plus New York City that does it for me. I think it would be pretty cool to go see Andy Roddick at the Open.

3. The Masters - I have been to one golf US Open and one PGA Championship but everyone says that Augusta National is something that has to be seen in person. I watch the tournament every year and it has always been one of my dreams to be at the Masters for the weekend.

2. World Cup - I flipped back and forth a few times between numbers 1 and 2 finally deciding on the World Cup in the second spot. Like most Americans I don't watch soccer, but I also don't hate the sport. It would be a huge thrill to be able to attend a team USA game live, just the raw emotion that seems to pour from the stands is something that everyone should witness in person.

1. The Ryder Cup - Much like the World Cup in that it pits country against country, I chose Ryder Cup over World Cup for the simple reason that I like golf a heck of a lot more than soccer. My favorite Ryder Cup memory is still that final Sunday in 1999 when Justin Leonard's 45 foot putt capped off an amazing US comeback from down 10-6 to clinch the cup.

What are some great sporting events that you guys would like to see in person?

Until next time,

Alex

California Kan Jam

This past weekend we took Kan Jam to Mission Beach in San Diego for the 2010 Kan Jam College Championship.

The winners were team 68+1 and team members Alec Rynaski and Kramer De Laurentis made custom shirts to commemorate the tournament.

A fun time was had by all, including Olympic gold medalist Jonny Moseley, who was the official tournament starter. Moseley became the first Olympic champion to our knowledge to try out the game and quickly became a master Kan-Jammer, consistently scoring three points per throw.

The Kan Jam tournament was through the CBS Alt-Games and if you would like to watch Kan Jam and all of the other events you can catch everything on CBS College Sports Network throughout the spring and summer and on CBS on June 19. Check back for more information on when the tournament will be held.

For now just check out some great photos from the tournament.

Olympic gold medalist Jonny Moseley

 

Tournament champions: team 68+1

Alt Games Kan Jam TOurnament!

I am assuming everyone who reads this blog is a fan of Kan Jam and knows how to play the game. If you meet those standards and are also a college student who lives in or near the San Diego area than we have a great opportunity for you!

On Saturday, May 15, college students from the San Diego area will be competing in a Kan Jam Tournament at the Alt-Games, which is run by the CBS College Sports Network. The Kan Jam tournament will air on the network at some point during the summer. We are looking for 16 teams of 2 who are willing to compete for the Alt-Games Kan Jam Championship.

If you have any interest in participating in the event email me at alex@kanjam.com or go to https://cbscollege.wufoo.com/forms/kan-jam-registration/ to register your team for the tournament.

Until next time,

Alex

Clutch Kan Jam Moment

Tonight (Monday) is game six of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals for my Buffalo Sabres. They started the postseason strong with a win in game one before losing games 2-4 to put themselves in a do-or-die situation where they  had to win three games in a row to win the series.

Buffalo took care of business Friday night with a convincing victory now they head to Boston for game six and another must-win game.

So my question for everyone today is what is your favorite clutch memory regarding Kan Jam?

Mine happened last summer when my two friends who claimed to be the best of the group challenged me to find any partner and they would win. Well my partner and I won three out of the five games we played.

What's everyone elses favorite memories?

Until next time,

Alex

New Kan Jam T-shirts!

Today is a big day at Kan Jam HQ as we are unveiling two new t-shirts.

The first is an I love Kan Jam t-shirt. You can choose to buy it with or without the Buffalo in the heart. The shirt will sell for $19.95 and you can buy it at kanjam.com

The second shirt is an "old fashioned Kan Jam sodas" t-shirt that comes in either blue or black. You can also buy this shirt at kanjam.com

Kan Jam Winter Klassic

Hope everyone is ready for a great weekend. I know with the NHL playoffs in full swing and the NBA playoffs starting tomorrow, I won't mind the fact that it will probably be 40 degrees and raining at Kan Jam HQ on Saturday.

The weather didn't matter last weekend for the Kan Jam Winter Klassic Tournament because, because it was played indoors. 2009 Kan Jam World Champions Rebel Survivors (brothers Eric and Dan Klavoon) took home the Winter Klassic crown as well, defeating the Little Lebowski Urban Achievers (Mark Stein and Jackson Trinh) in the finals.

For a full recap of the tournament check out the official website. You will also find a video there from skunkpost.com that captures Kan Jam co-creator Paul "Swish" Swisher nailing an instant win.

Everyone enjoy the weekend!

Until next time,

Alex

ButlerandGordonHaywardComeThisCloseToNailingTheInstantWin

Who watched the Men's basketball championship game last night? I was absolutely enthralled by Butler's tenacity as they stayed with one of the best college basketball programs of all time. The only way the game could have been better is if Gordon Hayward had made his desperation halfcourt shot as time expired. The problem with that scenario is that I wouldn't have believed it. I would have been absolutely certain I was watching a video game or movie.

Hayward's half court heave will go down along with Jim Harbaugh's hail mary at the end of the Indianapolis-Pittsburgh AFC Championship game in 1995 as two of the most exciting "just-missed" attempts in sports history. 

The real question is how did Butler get this good? After beating Syracuse, Kansas State and Michigan State and having every opportunity to beat Duke you can't say the Bulldogs were cinderellas or lucky. They were the second best team in the country. How does a small school from the Horizon League find one of the best college basketball coaches today in Brad Stevens? How does this same small school find a player like Gordon Hayward and convince him to play at Butler? And most importantly does this mean that college basketball has become the equivalent of college football where the better mid-major schools can compete and win at the top level? Because that didn't use to be the case. In the past a team like Butler (or George Mason a few years ago when they went to the final four) would win a game or two, become the national story, and than get wiped out by a better team from a big conference.

But that didn't happen, again Butler proved They were the better team in every game except Duke, where they met their equal.

So congratulations to Butler, as a fan of the University at Buffalo Bulls, a small school in the Mid-American Conference, you have given me hope that my team can one day compete with the big boys.

Until next time,

Alex

Kan Jam Winter Klassic

For those in Western New York who are looking to test their skills in a Kan Jam Tournament, you should consider entering the Kan Jam Winter Klassic on Sunday April 11th.

The Tournament will be Sahlen's Sports Park in Elma, NY from 5-9 pm and will cost 30 dollars per team with all of the proceeds going towards "Carly's Club" at Roswell Park Cancer Institute.

You can register for the tournament at kanjamleague.com and registration will be limited to 60 teams.The deadline for registering is April 7.

If anyone else has a Kan Jam Tournament that they would like advertised on the Kan Jam website and Facebook email all of the information to alex@kanjam.com.

Until next time,

Alex

March...the greatest month of the year

March is a beautiful beautiful month.

- The NCAA Tournament brings hours upon hours of glorious basketball (I will be spending the entire first two days at Tully's as per tradition)

- The NHL season ramps up as teams begin to make a desperate playoff push

- Some league called the NBA plays games I believe

- Pitchers and catchers report for spring training

- Oh and this is important enough to be mentioned twice...MARCH IS THE MONTH OF THE NCAA TOURNAMENT!!

- Well this year there is something new to add to that list...Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland will be released this weekend. I have been waiting for this movie for months, ever since June when I saw the Johnny Depp poster dressed as the Mad Hatter.
There is no way that this movie, which will be in 3-D by the way, won't be outstanding.

Who else will be seeing it opening weekend?

Anyways, besides all of the sports that are on our television and movies that will be on our big screens, March is also the first time on the east coast where you can start to believe that maybe the winter is almost over. There are days like today when I actually don't need a jacket...I'm still wearing a hoodie, but hey...NO JACKET!

March tells us that it's almost time to pull out the golf clubs and its definitely almost time to break out the Kan Jam sets. In fact I will be taking out the Kan Jam goals this weekend, in my quest to throw an instant-winner.

I have been playing the game for almost 4 years now and as amazing as it may sound, I still have never thrown the disc through the instant win slot. It eats at my very soul that I haven't accomplished this feat.

So starting this weekend I will take my camera and Kan Jam goal and document my journey to throwing an instant-win. It will happen this summer. I can feel it, March is in the air. It's a new season. This is my year to throw the instant win.

And if not?...well than I will have a lot of camera footage.

Until next time,

Alex

Do you Kan Jam?

Happy Thursday everybody, only one more day until the weekend.

As I've mentioned in this space before, this weekend is the Powder Keg Festival in downtown Buffalo. There will be a lot of great events this weekend including an outdoor Kan Jam tournament. If you haven't signed up already, than email Chris Catanzaro at chriscatz6@hotmail.com to get involved in the festivities.

Also, today starts a great new challenge that we at Kan Jam are giving to all of the players across the country. Do you Kan Jam? That's the question, and we're looking for the answer.

We want all of the Kan Jam players to take their video cameras or video camera phones and go out to the public with one question in mind, Do You Kan Jam? Ask anyone the question. If they say yes, than ask how they found out about the game. If they say no, well than it's your job to tell them what the game is all about.

All video's should be about thirty seconds in length and the funnier and more creative the better.

Send all videos to alex@kanjam.com and we'll put the best videos up on our Facebook page as well as the blog. Some may even make it up to the official Kan Jam website.

Until next time,

Alex