And that they say....

is where the plot thickens.

For anyone out there that goes to major ultimate tournaments just to watch, like Nationals for example, go to Centex instead. This tournament has been so much fun to be at. Austin is a great city, the weather is unreal. These teams that are invincible in a 16 team Nationals tournament, are actually human believe it or not. I have always thought that 5 pool play games was a marathon but seeing it in real life makes the point so easy to make.

So friday night I get into Austin at around 5pm. I was really nervous because I have never been to to Centex, I have never been to Texas and I was going to be putting my life into the hands of people I don't know very well. In any event, the Lone Star boys did NOT disappoint and they took great care of me. I wish I had more to say but the 27 yager bombs I got stuck buying because I lost at credit card roulette kind of erased most of the night. I will say I got to sleep in Matty C's bed and he slept on someone else's couch, I rule.

First Round: Colorado (13) vs Arizona (9) and Carleton (12) vs Georgia (13)

I should first say that I got to the Arizona/Colorado game a little late. The score was 4-0 when I showed up and Colorado took it to 5-0.

Martin Cochran is definitely back. I asked him how he felt after playing a game where he covered Kershner a little bit and he told me that he "felt like this was the first tournament he had every played in". I figured having been out for a few months would hurt your conditioning but his experience is something that Colorado needs and now has.

I would love to say that the story of this game was Jolian and Mac Taylor dominating but the two Mamabird players that blew my mind were Chris Wicus and Kevin "Pebbles" Schipper. Neither one of them recorded major fantasy points, but my god did they do a good job of resetting the offense. Wicus played at Club Nationals with Bashing Pinatas and after seeing him at NE Regionals and now at Centex, he looks like he has gotten is serious shape. I suppose having to command such a historic offense is a major motivational force. His breaks, his composure, the ability to get the dump and continue the offense played a big role in the how/why's of Colorado's win. Pebbles was also a stud. He is so quick and his disc skills are awesome. Him teaming up with Wicus was great to watch because they are such different players, Wicus is 6'4" and Pebbles is 5'8" but their team work was really cool to see. Pebbles can get open on anyone and Wicus really uses his body size to generate breaks and they did a great job handling the grunt work why Jolian and Mac Taylor were hucking scores to one another.

As far as Arizona goes, I really think they live and die with high risk throws. They are addicted to their upside down throws and I really think that it becomes a liability. I mean, ok say you have a great hammer, even the best handlers don't put up 20-30 hammers because the throw is going to get dropped/D'd 20% of the time. If you are throwing one hammer after another you are going to turn it over. I don't want to say this but, I am beginning to think Arizona got lucky in Vegas. I mean that scoober?!? I don't care who you are, find me a Club Nationals player that puts up something like that. Hammers, scoobers, and break hucks in college are like 3-point shooting in college, streaky. Sometimes everything looks good, especially if the weather is good, but sometimes you get drops or adverse weather conditions. I don't mean to say that they are careless but I think when things are tough, a consistent and veteran team like Colorado will take advantage of those turnovers. The one thing that frustrated me was that Colorado's 0-line would give up the disc and Arizona would put up some backhand break huck with Jolian as a deep defender or an upfield scoober, or something that basically showed that valuing the disc was not a priority. In any event, I think high risk moves really hurt Arizona's chances of collecting the breaks they needed to beat Colorado. They definitely have superb talent though. Kershner was in but he was out shined in this game by his supporting cast. Erik Gafni is such a dominant offensive threat. His ability to get open, his throws and his vertical presence is unreal. Chris Shepard is a phenomenal handler and his defensive ability is really an asset. Henry Scharf is also a great handler and Arizona's second half was definitely better than their first.

Georgia vs Carleton was the first great game of the day. Georgia took half 7-6, which is when I started watching and the second half was really well played. Carleton hucks a lot more than I thought they would considering they are such a squirrely collection of Junior players. Lindsley is a stud, his deep cutting ability really opens up CUT's offense. Adam Fagin handles very well and has really matured as a disc player in the last year. Playing for Mischief has definitely improved his game. Christian Foster has really fit in nicely into CUT's offense and his disc skills and athleticism are phenomenal as well as common on Carleton. Despite giving him shit, I think his transfer to Carleton was a great move and I think he is really happy there.

Georgia actually played a much different game then I imagined. I think Dylan's departure is good for their team. With a such a phenomenal player, I would imagine that JoJah players would take pressure of themselves and put it on Dylan. The motivation to make THE play is not as strong as the security that Dylan would always be there to provide what the team needs. Today, it seemed that every Georgia player really wanted to get D's or scores or whatever, and it really helped the team succeed. Greg Swanson played great on both sides of the disc and his health is definitely something Georgia needs to protect. Will McDonough is a great cutter and defender and his experience really makes him a great on the field. His ability to let Swanson play his game by playing his own really helps get red and white in the endzone. Georgia was up late in the game but let Carleton come back. I think that these World's kids are great disc players but they are still young and composure is still a concern. I also think their abilities definitely compensate for their small size but I wonder if Carleton will be able to get back on top of the Central Region. It seems that Ultimate used to be the sport where the nerdy kid who played was good and the real jocks were preoccupied with better sports. However, now that more and more people are playing our sport, better athletes are saddling up and teams like Wisconsin really benefit from a 30,000 student population. With that in mind I wonder if Juniors talent is going to be enough.

Round 2: NC State (9) vs Michigan (13), Texas (13) vs UNC (12), and Wisconsin (12) vs Oregon (10)

Michigan is good and this is Centex. You can't fluke and win 5 pool play games. This tournament is the most brutal physical challenge I have ever seen in an ultimate sense and winning game after game is really amazing especially with the level of competition they are up against. When the game started Michigan only had 10 players but Will Neff and Ryan Purcell got it done. I really think that Ryan's commitment to ultimate paired up with Will Neff's talent/experience is really similar to Randy Moss and Tom Brady pairing up. Will is so experienced that his contribution goes so far beyond his 6'5" size. His throws, confidence, man/poach D, basically his whole game is such a deep asset which has really elevated Michigan's game to a level they have never been. In this game, Magnum's offense ran very smoothly, very club team-esk and in addition to Will and Ryan, Alex Fegert and Patrick Collins really had knew what they were doing. Fegert is great in the air and Collins is a razor sharp cutter.

As far as NC State goes, sorry Ultie Arnie, I caught you and your guys in a poor game. His handling ability is really spectacular though and I am glad I have had the chance to talk to him a little bit. I asked him what the ultimate scene in Australia (where he is from) is like relative to the US. The first thing he told me was that "the game is much more spirited because the community is much smaller and people all know and make everyone accountable for poor calls and what not". John Norris seems to run their offense and has confidence in the handler position. NC State really took wayy too many chances though, and put up a lot of hucks that sailed out of bounds. Thomas Ward is also a great cutter for NC State and I think he really facilitates things NC State's offense.

Considering that I had been partying with the Texas guys I thought I would watch some TUFF ultimate and I wanted to catch Stephen Presley in action. I wish I had seen the Pitt game (and man did Pitt play, I didn't need dinner because i ate some serious words tonight) but Texas looked good against UNC. They had some issues with UNC's zone but their handling ability was much better than I was expecting. The one critique I had of them was that Presley wasn't in the main handler position in their zone O. His break throws are unreal, he is soo fast, and his field presence is so polished and Sarasota-esk. This guy is definitely callahan worthy, but talent is only part of what it takes to win the award.

North Carolina definitely had a great day despite this loss, hell they made quarters and Texas did not. It is still unclear whether they are above or behind NC State but I think they need more consistency before they will earn that bid to natties. Their offense ran very well though. they didn't rely on bombs or hammers, just good cutting and throwing. Ryan Coffield is a great player and his offensive presence is as consistent as UNC will need to be to make Boulder. They had a lot to think about going into the showcase game with the possibility (which happened) of 3 teams going 4-1 only 2 of which make quarters. The TD's were really scratching their heads on this one, but they all settled on Pitt and North Carolina for reasons I don't fully understand but trust.

I caught very little of the Wisconsin vs Oregon game but I would have to say that Oregon has got to be hurting tonight. They, like Stanford, were probably thinking Quarters and ended up 0-5?!?! Yikes, that hurts. Despite going 0-5, their game against Wisconsin was so painful to watch. They were up 10-7 when I walked over and I guess myself and the rest of the crowd was bad luck. Eli Janin went down with a bad ankle sprain and Wisconsin made 2 suspect calls and both really turned the tables on Oregon. It's too bad that calls can result in such a large degree of frustration which can really affect one's play but it's part of the game. The first call was a deep shot Oregon took and a Wisconsin defender made (what I thought to be) a poor foul call down field. He backed into the receiver who caught the disc and called a foul. Regardless, after A LOT of discussion the disc went back and Oregon turned it. Later on the same point Muffin called a foul on a floaty dump throw from Shane. I am not sure if it was good or bad, but I hear it was close. In the end Oregon sunk themselves. Irrespective of calls, giving up 5 unanswered points is inexcusable. I would like to think this could have been an isolated incident but they let Cal come back from being down 10-4 so I think their consistency is priority #1 on Oregon's agenda. Stout did play very well in this game though. He is a big strong deep cutter, and I think Dusty's handling ability is really facilitated by Kevin's presence. My only critique of Dusty was that he really gave it back a lot. Wisconsin coughed it up twice on one point that I saw and Dusty sent it back the other way on a back hand huck out the back. They also didn't have anything left come their UCSD game and despite wanting to play a game to 7, the Squids were ready for round 5 and we FINALLY beat Oregon. Non-ideal I know, but it's a stepping stone.

As for Wisconsin, they definitely are in world of their own. They have their team mentality, their game plan and they all buy into it. Regardless of what people think about them, they really live and breath Hodag ultimate and it is THE reason they do so well. Apparently Mahowald was out but Will Lokke was spectacular as usual. Muffin and Rebholz keep the offense going, Shane is incredible in the air and basically everywhere on D, but Will is just all over the field. Epic D's, great cutting, great in the air and he seems so impervious to pressure. Very similar to Heijman, he seems to be the guy everyone on the team likes, responds to, and loves being on the line with. I think he has a chance at the Callahan if he gets the Hodag nomination.

Round 3: Freebirds, Santa Cruz (8) vs Illinois (13) and Michigan (13) vs Wisconsin (9)

I did the burrito thing....awesome.

Both Illinois and Santa Cruz had beaten Stanford so I camped out at their field for the game. Illinois looks really good. I spoke with one of their players and he told me that their depth was their strong suit but they have a tendency to play down to teams that they think they are better than. Joel Koehneman is a great handler that is very confident with the disc in his hands. However, he had a poor game against Minnesota in the following round and he put up three lazy flicks while I was watching and I think he will need much more focused to beat Michigan to get out of Great Lakes Region. Regardless, they played great small ball in the wind, which picked up into a more or less of an up-wind/down-wind game. They had the ability to break Santa Cruz with quick tosses and boring disc while hucks didn't got UCSC's way.

I also got to meet DLK who seems like a great guy. His commitment to Santa Cruz seems like it is one thing that really helps the Slugs believe that they are a nationals caliber team. His hucks were great down wind. Russell Wynne is also an unreal down field cutter and I saw him make two consecutive sky scores and was really impressed with his game. However, I am curious to know what Santa Cruz can do in wind. Their deep game seems to be an option they would prefer but they need to have more options if they want to win. Good for them the Northwest (like the Southwest) is such a shit show and no one is definitely in or out. I will say that they were definitely the best NW team at the tournament though. They beat Stanford and Georgia Tech well and while Cal was also 2-3, they barely beat UCSD and got lucky Oregon choked.

When I was watching this game I heard Michigan was up 11-8 on Wisconsin and I trucked it to their game. I wonder if the Wisconsin/Oregon game had anything to do with this loss, but like the NC State game, Michigan just looks confident. Their win against Wisconsin was not like Arizona's or UBC's close games AT ALL. In a 5 game day, beating the deepest team in the country soundly is not a fluke. I really think Will's presence is unreal for Magnum. He takes so much pressure off the rest of the team and really lets everyone just play their game. I talked with Ryan Purcell after the game and he was telling me that "the game had only 6 turnovers" which really says that despite a GREAT offensive showing by Wisconsin, they just got out played. You can't say you played poorly when you commit so few turn overs, and I think Michigan's offense is just ice cold. Very similar to Arizona, UBC, and Oregon, the teams that can get close to Wisconsin are those that really beat teams with crisp offense. Wisconsin can't break you if you don't give them the disc and Magnum's flow seems so finely tuned. I also asked Ryan how he felt about his team this year. Apparently they are having some administrative issues with field space and they have had a tough time getting good weather and competition at tournaments. They didn't go to Vegas so they missed out on getting on some folks' radar which goes to show you that you really can't break into elite discussion unless you show up to one of Skippy's fine tournaments. Bottom line, I thought that Michigan was the real deal last month, and I really hope they can keep it up and play to their potential at regionals/nationals. Again, with a player like Neff this is really going to be fun to watch because this is all pressure Will can laugh at considering his days looking up at DoG while he was on Twisted Metal and his composure will keep Magnum in the spot light.

Round 4: Minnesota (13) vs Illinois (12) and Wisconsin (13) vs UCSD (8)

I am glad I got to see the Illinois/Minnesota game but I think the game got better after I left. At half I went to go support my undergrad buddies but from what I saw, Jeff Anderson and Jerod Johnson really kick ass for this team. Their man D is really good and they managed to grind out a win against Illinois. The game was close the entire time and they were fighting for their right to make quarters. Having never played at a level like this, one would they think they mihght crumble but they stuck it out. They also got a great win over Stanford (ahh, what the fuck happened to Bloodthirsty?) and despite losing to Georgia Tech, they are in the championship bracket tomorrow.

In this Illinois game I think they were a little over confident. Justin Manuel played phenomenal defense and had great in cut as well as deep cut offensive presence. Their offense was clean at times, but like I said, sometimes they don't play their best game.

Wisconsin vs UCSD was as expected. The Hodgas were well in control for the entire game but Eric "Biel" Abhold on UCSD has an Adam "Wormser" Bunn feel to his cuts. He is extremely fast, he can change direction on a dime and is just one of those little guys that cuts deep well. Sophmore Josh Nickerson also had a great sky and I think great plays against a team like Wisconsin is experience in the making that will help this team succeed in the future. Maclyn "Boont" Eick and Mark "Dibs" Johnston run a great team and it makes me wish I was a squid now rather than '03-'05. The team dynamic seems is so close and everyone is so happy. I think they are going to have to suck it up and go to things like the Stanford Qualified next year but the momentum from that 2005 Georgia 15-6 upset in Corvalis that got us into Semis is really running out and it is time for these guys to write their own history.

Round 5: Florida (13) vs Stanford (8)

Florida really is a great team. They are so confident and tall. They are the new Colorado. Despite the fact that they don't have many friends outside their team, they really are fantastic to watch. Their zone completely shut Stanford down. With guys like Brodie in the cup, it literally is a wall and floaty hammers were eaten up by Gibson like ham on Easter Sunday. Florida is also really good at hanging out at that threshold where a double team is or is not. That definitely put unwanted pressure on Stanford and it showed.

I also wanted to say that Kurt is a phenomenal player, there is no denying it. I think in a vacuum, he is the best player in the country and deserves the callahan. His ability to get D's at will, his throws, his jumping ability, unreal. He has comparable athletic ability to Beau but his fundamentals are so sharp and his club experience is spectacular. However, he does yell a lot and seems like a hot head. I think Tim Gehret's presence really kept Kurt in check, maybe even subconsciously, back in 2006 and that is why I think they were untouchable. I hope that he can keep a level head for his team mates sake but who knows? I also wanted to say that I really like Brodie, he had a great heckle in the Wisconsin/Oregon game. A Wisconsin guy made a call and Brodie yelled from the sideline "Thats a Brodie call!!". He, like Gibson, is an absolute hawk in the air.

I only watched 1 Stanford game so I only know so much. I heard from an Illinois guy that they went 6-1 on Stanford in the second half to win 13-7 and by the time the 1 vs 2 round came along, Stanford was already 0-4. They are really young. I wasn't at Stanford Invite but they just don't have depth anymore. Ezra, Schalg, and Sherwood played great games. Sherwood got a sky score on Gibson as did Ezra over Brodie. Scardato even got a great sky D on Brodie and he is 9 inches shorter. However, outside those few, Stanford really doesn't have a consistent play maker outside Sherwood. Ezra is a great deep threat, but he is beatable and his defense on Kurt and/or Brodie is ehh. He just can't elevate to that level on defense. Scardato will be a great player, I hope he sticks with disc, but he is so little. With his skill set, he is right on the cusp of being a great deep threat. Not just a deep threat but a great deep threat. However, with that title, comes unwanted attention. He is a good threat but if their offense relies on him and Ezra, they are each beatable with unfavorable matchups. Maybe they get some sweet skies but defensively, they are going to struggle. Stanford's performance also showed me how valuable Nan Gao and Will Chen were last year. As the two best defensive handlers in the country Stanford, could not only generate D's but once they did, Cahill and Sherwood had not pressure on them to reset the disc. Gao and Chen moved the offense and all they had to do was run. Now Sherwood is handling a lot and while his patented "no fake quick backhand break" gets resets fairly well, it looks like he is stuck playing a role he would rather not and isn't the best at. Stanford's handlers have a ton of pressure on them to get this offense on track and their streakiness just goes to show you how inexperienced this team is. I think Schlag can get it done but I wonder if all the pieces will be in place by May.

I missed a lot of the show case game because I was getting ripped with some undergrad buddies, sorry. I got to tell all my stories over again though, which I never get tired of.

Closing Thoughts

I really hate to say this but I Carleton is in trouble. If you look at their scores they beat teams that they easily have better fundamentals and experience than, (Harvard and Kansas) but their losses are to teams that have their experience and are just bigger. I mean no one on Carleton can challenge players like Erik Gafni (Arizona) or Jolian Dahl (Colorado). I think Georgia has some work to do to get their game a little cleaner but I think a 13-12 loss will just be a 15-12 one at Nationals. It seems like they should succeed but the teams that are at the top always seems to sqweak past them. Georgia in Columbus last year, Georgia today, Stanford in Columbus last year, Colorado today.

The bird is back. Martin told me that they were "just making fundamental mistakes" this year so far and I think they are beginning to realize that that 2004 national championship is just a paper weight to most of the players on the team. They need to do it year in and year out. Riding momentum is nice but it does run out.

Pitt...wow. You guys are good, but I didn't see you play at all. I think the Colorado draw is a nice quarters match up because it will give a team looking for exposure a chance to play a team that is trying to hold onto it. I'll do what I can to catch you play tomorrow but I really want to see what Michigan can do and the Florida/Wisconsin game will be amazing.

I have said this a bunch but Centex is such a gruelling tourney. At nationals everyone is rested and fresh for their 3 games but Centex just sucks the life out of everyone, even the best teams. I saw a lot of hucks go over thrown in the later rounds which made it obvious to me that the legs were a lot more tired than the arms. I am not sure what is a better showing of the best in ultimate, but for outside the series, there is nothing like Centex. Its a tournament where flukes are just non-existent. Vegas has a lot of different teams so some games aren't as hard as others and its also early in the year so cold weather teams are at a disadvantage. But Centex, no way. This is to-the-limit ultimate.

match diesel

PS I didn't get this up until 3am so don't bother with correcting stupid mistakes if I made them. I didn't really get a chance to revise much.