This should be 2 posts....

...but its gonna be one. I wanted to get something up for USA/Japan yesterday but I met up with some guys from South Africa and I got side tracked. I also just watched Canada/Japan and thats a whole post in and of itself. However, I gotta get it out of the old noodle before I forget.

USA/Japan

The most frustrating thing about this game was the fact that it wasn't in a deserving venue. The fields are fairly sparsed here and as luck would have it, this game was on the satellite fields in a nearby park. As the teams were warming up a woman came up and asked me what was going on and I had to tell her it was basically the two best teams in the World and this game was kind of big deal.

As for the game, Sockeye started out on O and quickly asserted themselves. They run very strict O/D line sets and I think that this is the future of the game. It seems like in club it is better to be really good at one or two things then try and do everything. Wiggins, Sammy CK, Mike Caldwell, Ray Illian, Moses, Bestock, and Nord and a few others carry the O-line with experience and consistency while Jaeger, Jimmy Chu, Crockford, Biggins, Roger Crafts, Winkleman and Idaho run a suffocating D-line.

Conversely, Japan runs a very Florida-esk tight rotation. As I figured, Mashiro Matsuno (#10), Satoshi Senda (#4), and Yohei Kichikawa (#12) were the main playmakers and they never leave the field. I am sure they are in the shape to run all day but I can't help but think that when a team is running intense defense and then needs to switch to chilly offense, some changes in personnel and assignments might be advantageous.

Things started off a bit sloppy, which is cool, everyone's been doing it. Both teams went to the huck right away and players like Jeremy Cram had a few hucks drift out of bounds from the side line. Biggins also had some questionable hammers/blades but he seems to like to test his recivers and with his strength, his full field flick huck is usually successful. They managed to take advantage of equally aggressive Japan turnovers and converted a break early to go up 2-0.

Japan would answer back but would then conceed a second break going down 4-1. It seems like their offense relies a lot on the cross field flicks. They seem to hang out on the sidelines a fair amount and then when given the opportunity they get a continuation cut, put up a hard back hand fake to draw the mark and then WHAM, a cross field OI flick completely back the other way and their reads were awesome. In the Canada/Japan game, Canada's cutters would usually sweep away from an outside in flick and attack it but they conceeded position often. However, Japan is always on a line to the spot. They rarely ever misplayed the disc and were never out of position.

After going down early they seemed to calm down and went point for point for a while. USA was really bringing the D but Japan had the agility to constantly be one step ahead of their defender. Sockeye threw zone a fair amount to take away the deep option but the weave ability of 10, 12, and 4 was stellar and when given the chance, they would strike quickly with a cross field flick.

At 7-5 Japan took advantage of some offensive miscues on Team USA's part and earned back a crucial break to make it 7-6. Sockeye came out focused however, and took a capped half at 8-6. Ray Illian had a great game not only because he can basically posterize at will but because he can be as effective underneath and across as he is going deep.

For the second half Japan continued to be chilly and scored out of the gate. They traded back and forth for several points and it was becoming apparent that Sockeye's O would not let Japan earn a break back. At one point, Japan was knocking on the door to even the game and on a huge huck, Winkleman came up with an insane 4 foot high layout D to save the break. His ability to keep up with these Japanese cutters was phenomenal and it is one thing that few defenders at this level can do. Canada played good containment D on Japan but if one cutter got loose, he was rarely caught.

Team USA would break Japan and again that is when things began to go against Japan. They had slight miscues that really hurt them and with the level of throwers Sockeye has top to bottom, their D-line was stellar at converting on mistakes. Biggins and Crockford are great strike D-line handlers and despite the fact that a ton of Biggins assist attempts are pure muscle lobs, Sockeye managed to real them in.

One thing that frustrated me down the stretch was that Japan really got pulverized with calls. Not that Sockeye was exhibiting poor spirit but at least 3-4 goals were called back on travels and those were the moments that hurt the most because on half of them, a turnover was 3-4 throws away. Conversely, Japan didn't make too many calls. I saw Nord bump one of them when they were marking up on him, but he didn't call anything. I thought well maybe he was flopping but why would he flop if he isn't going to call anything? Anyway, I wonder if Japan's agility game translates into their vocal game. They seem to love the weave and the fluid disc movement and stop and go ultimate can potentially be inhibiting. However, in the end it just shows Team USA's level of focus and consistency to play well frustrated and to keep things cool.

In the end Japan seemed to get broken every 3rd of 4th point and before I knew it the game was fairly out of reach. Sockeye had a Wisconsin esk intensity and they just were not going to let up. These are some of the best competitors in the world (in our sport) and they just want to win as definitively as possible. What also is amazing is their emotional switches. Crafts and Crockford play insane D but they are so chilly when they force a turn. Phenomenal poise and that was very instrumental in collecting breaks.

I went over to the Team USA sidline after they sealed the deal and I did an interview with Matt Rehder. First off, the kid looks 16. He played great D when he got out there and got one of 5-6 Ds that were turned into breaks. My first question was how the thought the Bullets were. Harder, easier? and he basically said that the scouting report was really accurate. "Really good throws and so quick".

I was also curious to know what Team USA thought about playing Japan again. In 2004 Canada had to beat the Condors twice and at the time, a rematch is very possible. Matt had the feeling that despite a back and forth record for the last year or so, Team USA was ready. This was the first real time Sockeye and BB played in a game that mattered. Yes ECC and Dream Cup are important games, but at no point was the future of either teams tournament success at stake.

However, the loser faced Canada and the winner moved on to Australia. This game mattered, the gloves were off, everyone was there for Team USA (save Sam O'Brien) and they came to play. Considering Japan's tight rotation I don't see them bringing anything new if/when they play again so look for any potential rematch to go USA's way.

Canada vs Japan

This game was a big deal for Canada. Everyone has been doubting Furious (including me) for the last 8 months and this was THE acid test. Sockeye scortched them at Sockeye Invite but Sockeye has wins like that all the time against the Monkeys. However, Japan is a very good 3rd party and they are either right in between USA and Canada or behind them both.

The game itself was not as clean as I expected. Both teams were very aggressive deep and despite some amazing layout scores by Kirk Savage (he's still got it), every point seemed to drag. Mike Grant is playing a fantastic tournament and he followed up his stellar Sweeden performance with an equally good Japan game. He and Hassell are two peas in a pod and are connecting left and right. I wanted to pay more attention last night but I met up with some folks from Mexico and caught up with them instead of watching the Canada/Sweeden game.

This game did have the feeling I thought Team USA/Japan would. Very tit for tat. Breaks here, runs there, tie game, one team goes up, lead changes, a very "in doubt" kind of feel. Canada took half 8-6 but the lead wouldn't last. Japan tied it at 10s and no team could afford any miscues. The second half, at points, was DoG clean with single D's or drops making all the difference. Oscar had an epic layout D to earn a break for Canada and Hassell had an equally amazing D a few points later to save a break.

In the end, this game, like the Team USA game, came down to composure. I don't think the BB have played Furious or Sockeye when they are peaked and it showed. These guys have their peaks and their valleys just like every team out there but both were ready for Worlds. Japan is stuck having to scrimmage themselves instead of face elite competition constantly and I just don't think their game is finely tuned enough. Seeing a 16-14 game through to completion with all the emotion that a game like these bring, is truly a challenge and I don't think Japan is there yet. It was funny, I was talking to some South Africa folks yesterday while watching Japan/USA and I was telling them about Furious at Nationals last October. They had played them and figured they were the best but I had to tell them about how 3 other US teams went right through them at Nationals.

In the end Canada rattled of the scores to win. With the international cap it gets tough to know what the score is going to so after every score I waited for the game to be over. The last score was fairly exciting with some misfortunate macks going Canada's way. Two D's were popped back into the air and Kirk Savage scooped up one and Mike Grant the other. MG hit Hassell on a short flick to end it and Canada maintained their 1 seed undefeated status.

Closing Thoughts

I'm a little unsure of the tournament format so I'm not positive about what stage in the tournament we are in. Power pools continue today with Team USA playing Australia tonight. That should be an epic game after Team USA steam rolled Sweeden this morning. As for Quarters/Semis/Finals I'm not sure. I think if Canada beats GB they'll draw a fairly easy quarters game and have to play the loser of Team USA/Australia in semis. If Sockeye wins tonight and Japan beats GB, we'll see a Team USA/BB rematch on the other side of the bracket. This would set Canada and the US to play in the Finals if each continues their success. Lugsdin was telling me on Sunday that they really wanted the chance to play the US in the finals and we might see it.

I've already got my outfit figured out for the finals if it goes down this way. I'll have my Furious shorts and my new team USA jersey. I've been getting all kinds of shit for liking Canada and the more confused looks I get the more I want to be confusing. I root for Furious in the Series and I'm having a hard time separating a Furious/Sockeye final from a USA/Canada one. If the Yankees were to represent the US in a baseball tournament I don't think a hard core Boston fan would root for them, even then. I do have some national pride and if USA wins, good for us. I'm a big fan of "let the best team win" and I think the US is that. Furious is my team but I respect everything Sockeye has accomplished. They have raised the bar in so many ways and their depth, their commitment to Juniors and their polished appearance is something teams are going to have to emulate if they want to over take them. Like Wisconsin, Sockeye will remain on top until another team brings the same energy and effort. They are the best and seeing it play out that way is exactly what I want.

Be that as it may, I'm excited for Australia/US tonight. I finally caught Australia yesterday afternoon against Colombia. They played a very good game and one of their photographers said it was their best. Brett got a sick layout catch block and it was nice to see him role. I want to say that they'll bring it against Sockeye but I wonder if Sockeye's chemistry will be wayy to much for Autralia's mixed nature, as opposed to team nature. The live game feed will be sick and the Block Stack guys are doing a great job.

Stay Tuned folks Bracket play is gonna be sick.

just my thoughts

match diesel