Boston Invite and MD's return

So, first off, sorry I haven't published anything this month. I have been working on some administrative things and they have caused some setbacks. However, after having just been in Devens, I can't keep a lid on my writing anymore and I want to get somethings out for you guys.

Boston

Yikes, these guys are really freaking good. I know I started this whole blog thing off with a not so nice piece about Boston and they have sort of hated me ever since. I'm not sure I regret what I did but hopefully 2008 will be a new year with some good content from the BU boys.

Judging from a year ago, this team has really improved. I can imagine with guys like Holzer, Ryan Todd, and Jeff Graham coming over from Metal, it was a little tough to get them integrated into the BU system. In addition, guys like Goldstein, Teddy, and Jasper were also new fish that needed to get up to speed. However, after a year of ironing things out, it looks like Boston is ready for glory.

They also have a ton of new pickups. Colin Mahoney is back, Will Neff is a new D-line handler and George Stubbs is my pick to carry the Boston torch into the future. In the early 90's it was Steve Mooney, mid 90's it was Parinella, late 90's it was Forch, then Zipp sort of, and if he keeps it up, Stubbs. This Harvard kid is incredible and he is only 19. I only watched the tail end of the GB game (which he caught the game winner) and the finals where he more or less did everything. He had a huge layout scoop to save a score, he got up and over pile after pile in the endzone, and he reeled in his fair share of amazing layout Ds. His combination of youth and skill puts him up there as one of the best prospects in the country and I would look for him in the Callahan race in 2-3 years.

Oh and Boston also has this dude from Florida named Kurt Gibson, I hear he is good. Bottom line, I think Boston is a semis team this year, and if they can put the pieces together at Nationals they could make it back to the Finals after a decade of missing out.

GOAT

I have to say, I was not impressed with GOAT this weekend. They made the finals at BI which is an amazing feat but their performance in the finals left me flat. They also had extremely close games against Bodhi (quarters) and PoNY (semis) on their way to the finals and I think they have a lot of work to do before they can think about Sarasota.

GOAT this weekend reminded me a lot of what Colorado looked like at TiV and Stanford this year. John Hassell is easily their biggest weapon and like Jolian, he is stuck having to hang back with the disc and basically do everything. He never comes off the field, but despite his skill and composure, he's just not getting much help. GOAT seemed to want to jack it a ton and based on their size I'm not surprised. However, Boston's man D was superb and their zone really slowed GOAT down. Boston's offensive efficieny is a third concern and these things made it relatively easy for BU to dominate.

What is surprising is that they do have other weapons like Jeff "Link" Lindquist, who played a phenomenal tournament. This guy was playing with Team Fisher Price and GOAT and he was uncoverable. He is lighting fast with great cutting ability and I think he will be very valuable for GOAT this year.

What's weird is that GOAT is good. They were like 50-6 last year with several tournament wins including Boston Invite. They have confidence and experience but it just didn't look like it yesterday. They also need to work on their intensity. I got the chance to meet John Hassell, who is a really nice guy by the way, but he, like the rest of GOAT, seemed a bit passive. Boston was rushing the fields and getting up after every score/D and GOAT just wasn't. Maybe its because Boston is playing more or less on their home turf, but this team was nowhere near what they were last October at Regionals when they got as close as anyone to beating out Boston for the Regional title.

In the end, I think it is still early and tournament experiences like this are tough but they are what helps you learn. I hope with this experience and previous ones, GOAT will keep on improving and give Boston a better game in 3 months.

Oh and like last year, GOAT has THE BEST jerseys. Apparently one of their players works for VC (bonus) so look for me to talk up their new threads this year.

Bodhi

Wow, this team is the real deal. I am going to write a full fledged article on them (and I will for Boston, GOAT, PoNY, and a bunch of other teams) but for right now, i just want to say that these guys are legit. When I did my Juniors Team USA article I did an interview with Andrew Hollingworth and he told me that the best thing about 2006 was the friends he made and how he wished he could have more time with them.

Well, in 2008, he got his wish. Bodhi is more or less the best Junior Worlds talent in the country (save Stubbs, he gets to play with the big boys) and they have all the pieces. They are all talented, young, committed and experienced. Andrew, Christian Foster, Russell Wallack, Sam Roberts, Micah Flynn, Patrick Roberts, etc.. are all world class Juniors talents and either ARHS alums or just great young flat ballers. Miles is also a very talented player from Slow White and guys like Charlie Upton, Tyler Auer, and Chris Skipper are all motivated college veterans who want to play with like minded players.

With all of these things to consider, it is not surprising that this team has all the pieces and they are going to give PoNY some pressure from underneath as the 3rd team to come out of the NE, if not better.

PoNY

I talked with Jody Avrigan about his team and these guys are excited for 2008. They are headed to Seattle in two weeks and Jody also told me that they made it into Labor Day. PoNY has been a team that has been trying to break into the National scene for sometime and 2008 could be their year. They have some new pick ups like Aaron Bell (Oregon) and Nate Raines (Dartmouth, Juniors Team USA 2004), not to mention scores of veterans like BVH and Bailey Russell. However, they have their work cut out for them. Bodhi is easily their biggest challenge in 2008 and despite the fact that PoNY made semis and Bodhi lost in quarters, the youngins still are 1-0 against the Pride of New York. Their advantage is experience, but not by much, and they will have to rely on their Club Regionals experience while Bodhi relies on their experience in the College Series.

As a tangent, one thing that got me thinking after talking with Jody was about how Club tournaments differ from College. Since Skip came onto the scene with Cultimate, College Ultimate has really gone nationwide. Vegas, Stanford, and Centex are all tournaments where regional location mean very little. This is the future of ultimate and I love seeing teams face eachother from across the country. However, club ultimate seems to be more like what college ultimate used to be. Boston Invite is very East Coast heavy and Solstice, Cal States, and Labor Day are all West Coast heavy. This kind of reminds me of the way Pres Day, Stanford, and Ultimax used to be with teams staying close to home. There are some exceptions with tournaments like Colorado Cup and maybe Seattle Invite if it stays around, but they still have a long way to go before they are like Centex, Stanford, or Vegas.

There was some talk about how teams should be organized/seeded on RSD a while back and with tournaments with like 8 teams in the "elite" division, it really doesn't do a whole lot for parity. I know it is hard to travel a ton as an adult (which is probably why club teams stay close to home) and teams want major challenges if they travel across the country, but wouldn't it be nice if the top 12 or so teams at Nationals saw eachother a few times before nationals? I hear Labor Day is going to be pretty close to that so maybe that'll shut me up but for the last few years, it seems like tournaments could be a bit more Sarasota-esk.

DoG

We got the chance to play DoG again and despite the fact that I'm still out, it was still cool to face them again. I think Parinella is still bitter about WMO last year because he was really fired up for this game. Our most athletic player lined up on him and despite the fact that he is a fantastic athlete and an experienced player, Jim scored at will. I think he had 3 or 4 deep scores on John and despite the fact that Korber is half Parinella's age, he still got taught a lesson or two.

I also got the chance to finally meet Alex de Frondeville and my only regret was that I didn't save any Keystones from the previous night so we could shotgun, oh well. I'll have a few more chances. In addition, before Jim or Alex get the chance to poke fun at me, I thought I would just mention that I spent most of Sunday with duct tape on my mouth. I always lose my voice at tournaments and the best way to get it back is to just not talk. Even if there is no one to talk to, I'll just talk to myself and the duct tape is the only way to shut me the hell up. Jim had a good line saying "thats a good look for you" and I wish I could have tossed a jibe back at him but, I had duct tape on my mouth.

The game itself was fairly frustrating to watch. Like most masters teams, they were just more patient and crafty than us. They capitalized on mistakes and punished the youth of our team. I think the one thing that was effective, and this worked against Above and Beyond last year, is the huck. Masters teams are usually a bit slower (although Jim and a bunch of other DoG guys routinely smoked us) and I think it is a good idea to be aggressive. Playing small ball will not work because the old guys do it better but if you play a bit grip and ripe you can be successful.

Colt 45

As for my own team, we played a great tournament. I feel like a lot of elite players don't know what it's like to lose, but we do. We were 0-8 in pool play at BI the last two years but this year we went 2-2 on Saturday. We beat Firebird, a team that beat us 13-8 previously, and kept a lid on Run Silent, Run Deep as usual. In addition, we came out on Sunday fired up and took out Medicine Men, a team we have lost to a bunch of times and never beaten, on universe.

The game was actually pretty awesome. We traded breaks the whole game and after a few miscues we ended up tied at 14's for universe, with us receiving. Korber had tossed a few flick hucks in the game, all turnovers, and he put up a lazer that one of our cutters couldn't reel in on a layout. Bottom line, we turned in on double game. However, like the superstar that he is, John came up huge on D. One Med Men player tossed a cross field swing in the end zone and John came out of nowhere to sky Bill Mill (sorry buddy) for a game ending Callahan. The player who tossed the Callahan was more than a little peeved, but thats ultimate. We rushed the field. it was bad ass and despite losing our last game to DoG, we felt good about BI, for once.

One thing I think is funny is that when I got home I watched "Semi-Pro" with my roommates and it is nice to see a movie about not winning it all, but just winning a realistic game like "4th place". Most competitors don't get to be #1 but we still can have glory and success and our experience at Boston Invite was just that. Great work guys. It has been a challenge to play with Colt the last 3 years but it looks like we are finally picking up some deserved momentum and I hope it lasts.

Closing Thoughts

As for the rest of the summer, I'm not entirely sure what my content is going to be like. I have a ton of ideas and I have already done interviews with captains/reps from the Buzz Bullets, Furious, Sockeye, Jam, Bravo, SubZero, Chain, GOAT, Boston, the Dingos (Australia), Bodhi, and PoNY but I'm not sure how the information will be published. I have been trying to get more of my stuff onto mssui which is what has slowed me down a little bit, but I'm not sure the format will be the same. For the last year I have become what most folks call a "gonzo journalist" in the Hunter S Thompson sort of way. However, mssui seems to be a bit more formal. I feel like I can write both ways but I really enjoy the informal Bill Simmons "bloggey" style. I feel like I have established myself as a personality in this sport and the writing itself doesn't stand alone, but has my sort of spin on it.

So with that being said, I have a poll up, Informal or Formal. What do you guys like? Do you like my MD style more or my mssui-esk style? I prefer the former but i'll let you guys vote.

Thanks again for your support and patience. I really love this stuff and I appreciate all the people that come up to me at tournaments telling me they read my stuff. Stay tuned.

just my thoughts

match diesel

Jerseys to Sport and Jerseys to Burn

So I was thinking about all the jerseys out there that I wish I had and for symmetry I was also thinking about all the jerseys out there that I wish I could watch burn. Ok maybe not burn, but jerseys I don't like.

Top on my list to own would be the Stanford's 2002 jerseys. Great White/Black backgrounds with a sick red logo. These things are awesome and Stanford went an unheard of 37-1 that year managing to win Chico, Santa Barbara, Stanford, Davis, Easterns, Sectionals, Regionals, and Nationals. They also made the finals at Kaimana but lost to this team with some guy named Mike Grant on it. Notable Holders: Bart Watson (Jam), Nick Handler (Revolver), Mike Whitaker (Bravo), Jit Bhattacharya (Revolver), Danny Cox (Revolver). Truth be told however, I actually like the 2003 Stanford 2003 Stanford jerseys better but that was the year they failed to make nationals. There was actually a guy on my winter league team last year that has one, Cameron Shelton. I woulda mugged him for it, if I could catch him. Their new ones are also pretty bad ass and I especially like how they have the names of each player on the back.

Next would have to be Team Canada from World's 2004 . I like this one because the blend of the Furious Monkey and the Candian Maple Leaf is pretty stellar. This team also just happened to be the best team in the world at the time. I would have this one at #1 but I already have 2 Furious jerseys so I suppose I can't be greedy. These things are freaking sweet though. Notable Holders: Mike Grant, Andrew Lugsdin, Oscar Pottinger, Al Nichols, Jeff Cruikshank, Kirk Savage etc..(Furious). I also think that their new red jerseys are awesome, but we all know what they did this year.

One jersey that has been constant through the years and always seems to strike fear into the hearts off opponenets everywhere is the Colorado Gold. I know that UCSD has fallen to the boys wearing these more times than I care to count. I think this jersey is particularly awesome because the logo is very classical and the gold is a color that I don't think anyother major college team can boast, making it unmistakeable and just as intimidating. They wore this jersey in the 2005 finals and lost so I guess it can't be that intimidating. Then again they wore black in 2004 when they won it all and in 2007 when they lost in the finals. I suppose its a crap shoot but if you see gold on the other line, you know you are in for a tough game. Notable Holders: Richter, Beau, Chicken, JV, Jolian, Parker etc...(Bravo)

Another one that comes to mind that I wouldn't mind sacraficing something significant for is a 2004 No Tsu Oh jersey. No Tsu Oh is a pickup team of basically the best 15 guys in the world and they play at a beach tournament in Italy every spring called Paganello. No Tsu Oh is a team that is loosely connected to the orginal Houston Houndz, a club team out of Houston. The name is not exactly creative, just Houston spelled backwards. They have won this tournament several times and they have awesome jerseys every year. In 2004 though, their jerseys were particularly sweet, what with the retro Houston Astros layout. Notable Holders: Mike Grant (Furious), Damien Scott (Jam), and Mike Namkung (Jam). On a sad note, No Tsu Oh failed to win this tourney this past year and the grass equivalent, Nada Mooger, failed to win Kaimana stopping their streak at 7 in a row. Tough year, but hey they all have overflowing trophy cases anyway.

Following this trend of all-star pick up teams, I think the absolute holy grail for jerseys would be an MLU NW Wolves jersey. This team was the ultimate (ha, play on words) fantasy team in that it was the combination of the two best club teams in the world (Furious and Sockeye). The colors weren't great and neither was the mascot but to be able to wear a jersey that carries such a symbol for elite ultimate has got to be pretty awesome. The best part about the UvTv footage from Potlatch that year was the time outs. I mean you have Buruss or Lugsdin calling plays in the huddle and he is rattling off, "I wanna see Moses, Shank as dump, Al Bob at the front of the stack etc.." I mean come on. That'd be like Steve Nash in the huddle and calling on Kevin Garnett to get the rebound, dish it to Kobe to make his own shot and if that doesn't work, give it to LeBron to go the hole. I wonder if there is a team out there that would be able to beat that MLU team (given sufficient practice time). I also like how the names are on the jerseys and they have the numbers on the front and back. To be totally honest I think the SW Entourage jerseys were probably the best MLU jerseys. Most original team name and logo, but the NW won it all and so their green and grey stands for quite a lot. Notable Holders: Mike Grant (Furious), Chase (Sockeye), Alex Nord (Sockeye), Andrew Lungsdin (Sockeye), Roger Crafts (Sockeye), Al Nichols (Furious), you get the picture.


Lastly I think another jersey that I would love to have in my closet would be the Black 2001 Carleton jerseys. This team was absolutely stacked and half of them are now on Sockeye. Nord was wearing this jersey when he made his epic concussion sky and when he toed the line against UCSB in the semis. They also had white and red jerseys at nationals that year but I like the black and red ones better. Notbale Holders: Alex Nord (Sockeye), Sam O'brien (Sockeye), Chase Sparling-Beckley (Sockeye), and Jimmy Chu (Condors). I think it is also funny that Carleton makes just about every color permuation of logo and jersey you could ever imagine and who wouldn't, their logo is probably one of the best ever in ultimate.

Ok now for those jerseys that I wouldn't miss if they vanished from the face of the earth

First and foremost, those god awful Black Tide series jerseys. Oh do I hate those things. Every year we would see Santa Barbara at SoCal, Santa Barbara Invite, Stanford, Centex, Vegas the works and they always have the same black jerseys with the same oil rig logo on the back, no numbers, just BLAAAACK TIDE (yuck). Anyway, for sectionals, regionals, and nationals they pull out those atrocious two toned POS. I suppose the advantage is that you never have to chose between light and dark, you just always have yellow dipped in blue. There are a lot of folks out there that think that these jerseys are the absolute best ever and I could not disagree more. I think that they are original but if I never saw another one of these the rest of my life it would be too soon. Notable Holders: Mike Namkung (Jam), Greg Husak (Condors), Brandon Steets (Jam), and Jason Seidler (Condors). I am sure I am going to get some angry responses over this one and I will say that I have nothing but respect for the players that pulled these jerseys over their heads, but I don't have to like them.

Another jersey that has left some visual stains in my brain is the Brown 2005. I mean come on, when has there ever been a champion with weaker jerseys? I mean they have made progress, they changed it to some sort of fish thing, but anything would be better than just "BROWN" across the jersey. I will say that there are probably some nostalgic reasons and maybe some pride issues concerning these jerseys but boy are they just butt ugly. When I saw these at nationals I thought 2 things immediately 1) Wow, Brown is the real deal, that #2 is legit and 2) So thats the best an ivy league ultimate power house can come up with in the jersey department? What? Aren't there like graphic design or whatever majors at Brown? I make fun but they are good, everyone knows that, but the last time they won it, their jerseys sucked. Notable Holders: Josh Zipperstein (Chain Lighting) and Colin Mahoney (Tandem).

Now in 1999 DoG was the best and they knew it. Everyone knew it. During the late '90s, DoG was far and away the best ultimate team and maybe the best in history, or at least tied for that title with NYNY. This team came to San Diego and won their 6th national championship and earned the right to represent the US in 2000 in Germany for World's. Now the only thing worse than having a team kick ass like this and really beat everybody in every way, is a team that does all this and has these jerseys. I mean come on, not even a logo, but more of a drug induced halucination with the psychodelic color scheme to boot. I can't believe they got Forch to put this on. Well I am sure he was humbled with the oppurtunity, but over the years they developed (slowly) to a decent logo but yellow and black? At least they had an OK logo which Parinella simply describes as "art". As of their final year in existence they had come a long way and I am sure Forch was glad to finally get something a little more stylish. I will say that having your team name on a jersey that says Team USA Germany World's 2000 has got to be pretty sweet and I am sure thats why Parinella still plays in that old rag. Notable Holders (DoG 1999): Jim Parinella (DoG), Fortunant Mueller (Boston), Justin Safdie (Jam), Steve Mooney (DoG).

Just my thoughts

match diesel

Congrats to Sockeye, Shazaam, DoG, and Fury

Wow, this was an exciting Club Nationals and I was 1,500 miles away. I had some friends there in Sarasota feeding me information and given the results and the energy, I can only imagine what it would have been like to be there. I know that there will be lots of talk about how teams won or lost, but I just wanted to contribute some thoughts.

First off, ahh, Furious, you broke my heart. Eshk, maybe it was the new jerseys. Couldn't really get a good look at what they were sporting from the UvTv footage, but my sources say they looked cool. I suppose it’s a nice switch from their usual white. I don't think there is anything I can say about their performance considering I have no idea what it takes to win at such a high level for so long. Maybe it was CUC, ECC, Labor Day, Sectionals, Regionals, and Nationals all happening within 2.5 months. This team is stellar but this team is also getting older. Mike Grant turned 30 this summer, Lugsdin is 38, Shank and Savage are both 33. They have been at the top for nearly a decade and most of their talent could easily qualify for masters (34). Not to say that Furious is out of it forever, but they need to get some new talent. Oscar is an absolute gem considering his game experience and the fact that he is only 24(?). However, at this level, Furious has to reload and pull talent the way the likes of Sockeye, Boston, Chain, and Bravo are doing. I have spoken with folks close to Furious and it seems like this has been a problem for a long time and I think it just finally caught up with them. I will say that they did battle back and win all other games earning them 9th place. I think that they will need to get more kids like Sean Boyle, Oscar, Morgan, etc... if they are going to get back to the top in the future.

Bravo Johnny Bravo. I know they lost in a close game, but this team made a HUGE leap into their ultimate future. If you look at Bravo's performance over the last few years they have been sooo close to making the finals and now they have done it. I think that Bravo now is what sockeye was 5 years ago. You have a rich crop of young talent that is getting experience at every series tournament. With additions like Popiel and a farm system like Mama Bird, it is only a matter of time before this team wins titles. I really think that playing a team like Sockeye in the finals is really a tough draw. Had Jam beat Sockeye in semis Bravo would have easily won nationals. However, this was the first time Bravo was ever in the finals at nationals. This was Sockeye's 4th trip in a row. I can't even imagine what kind of pressure that was and I think a 15-13 game is really admirable given the circumstances. If you look at Cal in 2004, it’s a similar story. You have a team that truly dominated all year but had never made the finals, at least not recently, and they couldn't handle a fired up and charged Mama Bird and they got rolled. However, in this instance, it was a 15-13 game, not 15-7. I think Bravo is only gonna get better and they have all the pieces to win it all in 2008. I also think that their win against Jam 15-9 in power pools is their biggest win of the season. Bravo comes in under seeded at 3rd (wow, underseeded at 3rd?!? But its true) and takes down the 1 seed as effectively as they had anyone else all weekend. Good for them. I also think however that it’s a curse to not be challenged until the finals. Before the finals Bravo had not played a close game taking out the likes of GOAT, Jam, Boston, Condors, all of them by at least 4. At no point was their offense really put to the test. Their defense always earned them the breaks they needed to win. However, when you get paired with a perfect team like Sockeye, not only does your D need to get you breaks, but your offense has to be perfect and that just didn't happen. If Bravo had faced a loss or even a double game point situation they would have the motivation to make the changes they needed in their offense, but like Furious last year, they just had no real challenge until it was too late. This is not the end though, be afraid Seattle.

Phew, Sockeye, way to make it exciting. Here you have a team that could have made worlds every year in between 2004 and now. They won it all in 2004, made the finals against Furious in 2005, losing, but they still woulda made World's. They win it all last year, so they would have been in, but in 2007, pulses were raised. You have a late season loss to Furious resulting in a 2 seed at nationals and you have to play a RED HOT and peaking Bravo not to mention an elite and experienced San Francisco Jam. I suppose it was lucky Furious wasn't at their best, because I cannot imagine how Sockeye could persevere through another challenge. They did however, This team is at dynasty status. I think they should be mentioned with DoG and NYNY. They might only have 3 titles but talent is more distributed now than it was in the 90s. There are better athletes, more youngsters and more teams. Sockeye is second to none and I am really glad to see them make it to Vancouver. They are the best team and I am proud to have them represent the USA next year. I was however kind of looking forward to writing of a Bravo/Sockeye upset that would have put Bravo in Vancouver instead of the Fish. That would have been a money blog entry, but alas, the Seattle boys are clutch and Sam O'Brien is a lucky (albeit extremely talented) SOB. Good luck next year.

Jam, way to battle back. This team really showed that they are not out of it. They deserve to be at the top. It goes to show you that at this level, it’s not all about personnel. You can't just throw together the best in the game and expect to win. You have to have a team dynamic and Jam has now earned that, either that or it’s all Damien Scott. I am sure disappointment is a total understatement when talking about Justice League, but as bad as Kevin Cissna, and Idris, and Bart must have felt, they must feel considerably better now then a year ago. They have completely redeemed themselves and have set the tone for their program in the future. Recruiting, reputation, all of that is now taken care of and this program will be the elite for years to come. My only criticism, the jerseys, come on, really? Could they have been any uglier.

Boston, way to really revamp while still keeping your competition at an impeccable level. Folks, if you want to start your own team, take notes. You have a team like Justice League, which basically did the same thing last year, only did not make it out of NW regionals when there were 4 bids. Boston however, not only in the face of intense competition in New England (and believe me the gap between regional champ and 3rd place is A LOT closer than anywhere else I have played), you also have to play against your former team mates. Forch, Sam Rosenthal, and Danny Clark had to make it to nationals when BVH and Bailey were suited up with other teams. They didn’t have to play each other in the finals at regionals but they sure as hell had to face them at Boston Invite not to mention know that during the series their former best was now trying to take their bid to nationals. But they did it. They looked opposition in the face, they totally revamped and recruited a whole new team with non-Boston Open players in Teddy, Goldstein, Gibson, and Jasper. Not to mention the fact that they still won NE regionals AGAIN. Forch still lead his team to greatness despite immense pressure from every angle (myself included). Hats off and you truly are one of the best programs this game has ever seen.

GOAT, holy crap, who ever thought this team was going to make semis? I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. There is this Canadian team that is making a run at the finals and it’s NOT Furious? They AREN’T from the northwest? How is this possible? Take a team that no one knows about, they have been there before, but 55-4 going into nationals? They won Boston Invite? Who are these guys? I think Hassell did a great job taking this team to a new level and I am so glad that the North East is opening up its talent pool. I think Boston is a great team but come on, they have won the region like 12 years in a row. A sectionals streak that long, fine, but regionals? It is nice to know that Boston has a challenge and these guys are only gonna get better. A turfed game winner will not happen next year. Forch’s layout D may get them the disc back on double game point, but only if GOAT gives up 4 breaks again. This team should strike fear in the hearts of Boston, but that will only make them better. That will give Boston the fire and the motivation to revamp and keep themselves honest. Its not Metal where you have a team of pseudo-Boston wannabes, you have a new program that plays in a different country that doesn’t play your brand of disc. It’s good for all parties and I am really proud of GOAT and am sooo glad they have off-centered jerseys, cuz my club team does to and GOAT is the reason why.

Sub Zero, yikes, boy was I wrong about this team. I hope folks see Sub Zero’s results and realize how good Wisconsin really is. Ok, they were a 5 seed and were expected to make quarters, but come on, how many national champs USED to play for Sub Zero. Nord, Chase, Sam O’Brien, and I am sure there are more. Plus you lose a player like Goldstein and your whole program is basically Madison college kids. They came off a national championship, but I have always thought that a club team cannot win if all their talent and experience comes from college kids. That was Bravo’s problem in years past. You have JV and Chicken and Richter all in their early 20s leading a team against players that have been playing since they were in Junior High. I think Sub Zero really showed themselves to be a young yet legit organization. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to recruit players to go to Minnesota but they do it or at least win with what they have. I am impressed and these guys, if they keep it up, are really gonna make/keep a name for themselves.

Chain, way to snap out of it. I have been watching Chain really closely this year because I had really high expectations. They were a semis team last year and they picked up ZIpp. How is that not a recipe for success? However, all year they had forgettable performances. They got owned at ECC, they were a 13 seed, they didn’t even win their region. They lost out to Double Wide who wasn’t even at nationals last year. I don’t know how but they got it done. Hammond and Simpson and Dylan all played their cards right and almost made it back to semis despite criticism (at least from me). Good work.

Condors, I liked seeing their results this year. I know that they didn’t exactly dominate but they did well. They have nothing to regret and they have really showed that they are not down and out. After 2005 and 2006 I was really wondering what it was gonna take to get these guys to win again. I feel like ultimate teams move in cycles and I hope Furious takes a lesson from Santa Barbara. The Condors were 1-5 in pool pay over the last 2 years yet they managed to go 2-1 this year. I suppose Jimmy Chu is quite the pick up, must be the Ninja Leggings he wears. I think this team will be able to recruit the best from a great UCSB team and hold on to talent that they have lost to co-ed and other teams.

Truck Stop. To be perfectly honest, I don’t know anything about this team. I know they are from DC but they did have a HUGE win that will never be forgotten in ultimate. They come out on Thursday and take down Furious in pool play as the 12 seed (3rd in their pool). Since 2002 (cuz that’s as far back as I could find) Furious is undefeated in pool play, that’s 15 straight wins on Thursday. I suppose that sort of win really propels a team and it did to the quarters play-in where they actually won, something that has not happened since 2005. Good for them and hopefully they can build the personnel to challenge Ring for that regional championship.

I should also give props to Shazaam, I think their dominance was only questioned twice this year. A loss to Brass at Labor Day and a pool play loss to Rival. However, much like Stanford Bloodthirsty did in 2002 when they lost to Davis in pool play at Davis, Bestock and the rest of the Seattle crew came back with a vengeance and macheted their way through bracket play. I also find it interesting that Bestock went from a national champ open player to a national champ co-ed player. I don’t know many folks that have done that. Jimmy went from Shazaam to Sockeye but I find this reverse migration interesting.

I also have to give it up for Parinella and the DoG guys. I find it really cool that after their exodus from Boston they immediately showed that they are still really really good with stellar, composed play in every game, 4 of which were within 2 points. I also think that its funny that they ditched the team name “Big Ego” and just went back to their roots with “DoG”. I am really glad I got the chance to play against this team, and sorry Parinella, I am also glad Korber tossed that world’s greatest to Linneman and we won at WMO.

As far as women go, it would be nice to see more parity. Not to take anything away from Fury or Riot, they are fantastic teams, but not many folks want to keep seeing a NW/NW final. Fury is amazing though. I remember when I was an undergrad with Alicia White and she was UCSD Psycho’s go to woman. I never thought I would see her get this far. I suppose I just didn’t know what I was around at the time. Good work.

I would love to write more about more teams, I just don’t have the information. Great work all around to teams like Slow White, AMP, Barrio, Lady Godiva, Machine, Rival, you all played very well in your respective divisions and I am really glad I know some players out there on these teams, great job and enjoy the winter break.

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