1996, 1997, and 2001 Halloween Foosball Tournament champion Greg Ouellette will likely be heading into the 2005 HFT cold and without practice as he had to cancel his planned practice session/ trip to Lowell because of a work commitment. A much bigger story is that Greg will have to work at his restaurant in Boston until 5 p.m. on Saturday, putting The Big Game, in jeopardy, and also making some wonder if Greg will even be able to take part in the doubles tournament. However that is as far as it will go. "Although we are concerned about the likelihood of Greg's arrival being much later than we had hoped, the Halloween Foosball Tournament will not take place without him." Halloween Foosball Committee Chairman James Ostis said on Monday.
James also is hoping that Greg accepts his idea of "pulling a Silvio" and setting fire to the restaurant the night before after it closes up shop. If there is an "accidental" fire due to a "faulty stove" then there would be no need for any waiters on Saturday morning, and Greg can be in Lowell for the entire Halloween Foosball Tournament extravaganza.
The news of Greg's likely being too late to play football comes on the heals of the already established fact that co-captain of the G.A.Yackadoodles, Angel Nales will also not be arriving until later in the evening. With both Greg and Angel out of the lineup, its almost impossible to think that that Yackadoodles will actually be able to field a team to compete with the Mr. Cyrs on Saturday. The Big Game may need some reshuffling or perhaps even a brand new redraft.
If Greg misses the doubles tournament, that would bring up another question, who would serve as Jim's doubles partner? The longtime rivals teamed up for the first time in 2004 and advanced to the finals before losing to the Mexican team of Steve Ostis and Corey "Humperdink" Pinkham. Jim however has yet to confirm whether or not he and Greg were planning on teaming up this year again either. Most assumed they would, given it would be the last chance ever that all four of the Big Four could be playing at the table at the same time with Corey's impending move to Florida. However, if Greg does not arrive in time for both of the foosball tournaments, Jim is not worried, "I have someone in mind for a partner anyway, I just have to ask her first."
