Mud Hens and 
Blue Hens...For a moment or two, got the hens mixed up. Springtime means mud for the Vermonters, and spring training baseball for a lot of other people. It's always good to cheer on your local teams - and this seems especially true when it's your local minor league baseball team. Totally different experience to go watch a minor league game - lots of baseball drama as major league players who might be rehabbing from an injury come to town, and a lot of other aspiring players trying to get to The Show, or the big leagues. Baseball has been around a really long time in the US, with a number of cities claiming teams that go back to the 1880s.
Toledo has a minor league team called the Mud Hens, and they're a farm team for the Detroit Tigers. Toledo got its present day minor league team in 1965 (there have been several minor league teams named the Mud Hens in Toledo) when the team was called Toledo Glass Socks in honor of Toledo's glass industry. At one time in the late 1890s, the team played at Bay View Park - an area surrounded by marshes inhabited by mud hens (a marsh bird with short wings and long legs). The abundance of mud hens near the baseball park delivered the nickname to the team - although there have been efforts to change the name, it's still the one. Its mascots are Muddy and Muddonna
, and they have a team of young dancers who are called the Chicklets. Turn back your tv time dial to the hit series M.A.S.H. The character Klinger (who was always trying to get a section 8 dismissal) was supposed to be from Toledo - and often wore Mud Hens gear.
Bears a striking resemblance to a mud hen's description of short wings and long legs..... The Blue Hens are the teams of the University of Delaware, and this is also the state bird of Delaware. Some view the University of Delaware as a Cinderella team in the current NCAA Women's Basketball tournament. The team has an impressive 30-3 record and is playing North Carolina this afternoon for a chance to go to the Sweet 16. The most well known Blue Hens player is Elena Delle Donne - and she is predicted to go second in the upcoming draft...right after Britney Griner of Baylor. Now you know.
Meanwhile, back at the rowing machine, the 5K Honor Board threatens to dip below the 900 mark, and the 10K and 2500 m board members are digging in their erg riding heels. And, btw, Mudness Winners don't have to be on the honor boards, they just have to be chosen from the population of the rowing universe that has rowed either 5K or 10K on the selected day. Wouldn't that be better incentive if people had to be on the Honor Boards to win!? Wowzer...that would improve the chances of winning! If you're still on the Boards, keep going going going! If you've fallen off the edge, keep rowing rowing rowing!!
Getting more rowers and we're closing the gap! Whoop, whoop!1 FRENCH INDOOR ROWERS TEAM Virtual Club 12,853,203 236 54,463
2 Age Without Limits Virtual Club 11,903,155 165 72,140
3 Free Spirits Virtual Club 6,965,610 134 51,982
4 Community Fitness Pointe of Munster, In. Health Club 6,573,463 372 17,671
5 RowPro Team Virtual Club 5,879,090 88 66,808
6 LUNA-TICS Virtual Club 5,689,593 75 75,861
Season meters as of 328 / 365 = 137,797,221 m
Total meters on the day = 467,294 m
Oars in space (participation) = 30 percent
MILESTONES...Bragging Rights...Celebrations:
5.5 MM Richard T
3.65 MM David A
2.3 MM Rebecca
1.7 MM Marty
1.6 MM Roger
1.4 MM Ross
850 K Tom M
700 K Kevin
600 K Rick C
400 K Kerry
Thanks, everyone, for rowing with us!
Bobbie 3,000 m
Tony
m 
Zander 4,500 m
Andrew 4,965 m
Brian C 5,000 m
Lynne 5,000 m
Mike M 5,000 m
Paul S 5,000 m
Sorin 5,022 m
Jodi 5,082 m
Jay R 5,318 m
Fritz 5,527 m
K2 5,562 m
Andrea 5,934 m
David T 6,000 m
Greg C 6,338 m
Karyn 6,353 m
Ross 6,648 m
Marty 6...7...8...9 ....10,11, 12 hahahaha!
Rosi 7,000 m
Tammy 7,000 m
Stephen 7,543 m
Tom M 8,165 m
Roger
m Brian M 10,000 m
Kerry 10,000 m
Kevin 10,000 m
Rebecca 10,000 m
Rick C 10,000 m
Howard 10,017 m
bg 10,125 m
Ron 10,308 m
Bruce 10,800 m
Sarah 11,126 m
David A 11,176 m
Peter G 12,000 m
Jeff P 12,500 m
AJ 12,637 m
Ronnie 13,000 m
Jay 14,000 m
Ed 15,000 m
Jim 15,411 m
Paul R 16,370 m
David W 18,649 m
Dave H 20,000 m
Laurie 21,097 m
Richard T 43,000 m
A Hole in One Greg C
To the erg! 
bg 13,693 m - giving her running a bit of a cool down before The Big Day
