Ambush Story

So most folks are aware that Ambush was strapped with two suspensions this past club series. I wanted to write a piece on this story because I think it is 1) a very interesting and compelling story and 2) another major event involving the UPA and suspensions. I am lucky that I have friends out in the ultimate community and I could not have done this without the help of an Ambush player and friend of mine, Iana Aranda.

First I wanted to start with a little bit about the team and where they come from. Ambush is a women’s team that is based out of New York City and this year marked their 10th year of existence (hence the Hamilton dime jerseys at natties). The team is made up of young female professionals and students with the average age being around 25. In addition to being talented female athletes they also bring the ruckus and enjoy a good party, (cough) Tucker. I asked Iana to give me some background on Ambush and one thing that really stuck out in my head is how difficult it is to play disc as a woman in NYC. First, there is basically zero field space. Combine every downtown you have ever lived near and that’s NYC for +180 city blocks. I dunno how NYNY was so dominate. There are fields off the island (an hour away) and it is no surprise that teams struggle for patches of grass. I have heard from several folks that fields in dangerous neighborhoods riddled with broken glass are not uncommon. Not only does this bring some major challenges to all disc players but I can only imagine what this would be like for a woman. Having to put yourself in harms way, in a bad area, at night, repeatedly? I cannot imagine what this must be like. And as if this were not enough of a challenge, you are also living in NYC. The poor college kid mentality is non-existent. People in NYC laugh at 40-hour workweeks. The 8a-8p workday is not uncommon considering that the cost of living rivals that of any major city in the world, and it's not like NYC is the safest place. In addition, the average duration of living in NYC is 3-5 years for most people. Folks are always moving in and out to try the city out, work a little then they take off to an easier city to live in, go back to school or take their life/career elsewhere. Needless to say, I just wanted to articulate that playing in NYC is no picnic and any team, men’s, women’s, co-ed, masters, is brave and noble for even trying. In addition, I didn't realize how difficult this region is to compete in. Unlike college, NYC is in the Northeast region (it's the metro east in college) and has to compete with not only all the Boston/New England teams but Eastern Canada as well. Having to start/develop/maintain a team in such an ominous region (not unlike the NW) has to be extremely difficult and hats off to these women for making it to nationals in the face of such adversity.

The main story revolves around two players, Amanda Goodin and Alison Kling. Amanda is a cutter and a defender, not to mention Ambush's tallest player and veteran. After accepting a clerkship for a judge in Baltimore mid-season, she moved out of NYC. Despite this departure, she still maintained her commitment to her team and made the 5 hour weekend trek (each way) to NYC, healthy or injured. She also volunteered to call subs, and coming from a club captain, having someone else call subs makes things infinitely easier. Alison Kling is a long time club ultimate veteran who was playing for Ambush for the 4th time in the series. She was a second year captain and a main handler for Ambush. As described by Iana, Alison was "an ideal captain" who is "the first to teach and the last to criticize". I thought this last comment was particularly interesting because it is often that those that teach also criticize the most and having Alison's pairing would be quite nice in a teammate/captain.

When the team first submitted their series (sectionals and regional) roster Amanda was mistakenly left off by Alison. Regardless, Ambush as a whole competed in the club series and earned the 4th and final bid out of the NE by defeating Storm, a women’s team out of Montreal. The problems ensued once they made it to nationals and had to re-submit their rosters. When you make nationals you have to re-submit your roster of players that are going to compete because you pay per player for your team. When the UPA received the roster for Ambush, and compared it with their series roster, there was one name that was not on both lists, Amanda Goodin. Once the UPA discovered this, they notified the captains of Ambush to let them know of their invalid roster status and that potential punishment would ensue. Alison, the team's roster/organization captain, quickly protested the possible suspension of Amanda because it was her (Alison's) fault that Amanda had been left off the roster and it was simply an oversight. The UPA convened to determine what they thought to be the most appropriate course of action.

Possible punishments could be 1) suspending the entire team (which has happened many times in the past), 2) suspend Amanda, or 3) some other combination of suspensions. After deliberation, the UPA decided to suspend Amanda, the ineligible player, because she was not on the original series roster, and then as a penalty for playing with this ineligible player, they suspended Alison, the captain in charge of rostering. Obviously this hurt the team in more ways than can be articulated here. A team already limited in numbers (16) was now cut down to 14. However, the tickets had already been paid for, the journey was already set in motion, the question then became, what next? At the request of the entire team, both Amanda and Alison decided to attend Nationals, despite the fact that, as of now, they were not allowed to compete.

In a desperation move to try and sway the UPA, Becca Tucker sent a letter to the UPA and simultaneously posted on RSD concerning the situation that had occurred. Ambush felt that this punishment was too excessive considering it was simply a "clerical error" and the resultant punishment was quite severe and unjust. After all this is club, not college. There are no eligibility issues regarding how long a person can play and the only 2 major restrictions concerning a series roster is that 1) a player must be on it by the due date and 2) they cannot be on any other roster. Because it was simply a clerical error, surely having these players compete at nationals does not compromise the competitive nature of the sport. However, the UPA is strict on their rules. The guidelines for registering a team and submitting rosters are announced with sufficient time to put together a roster while abiding by their limited restrictions. Considering that other teams had committed similar moves like this, albeit in college disc, the UPA felt like they were lenient in suspending only 2 players as opposed to all 16. Never was there a more prominent case of this situation than in 2004 with UCSB Black Tide (check out blog entry Sports Scandals - Ultimate, 7/25/07).

After posting the news/response on RSD, the team captains of Ambush discovered a rule known as the "Captain's Clause” which stipulates that "A game may be played under any variation of the rules agreed upon by the captains of the teams involved. In tournament play variations are subject to approval by the event organizer". They took this to mean that they could contact the 15 other women’s teams competing at nationals and ask for their compliance in allowing these two players to compete, thereby over ruling the UPA's suspension. Despite this Hail Mary effort to save their teammates, the action was staunchly opposed by the powers that be and was rejected at the captain's meeting even before a vote could have taken place. Most of the teams in attendance were in support of this utilization of the "Captain's Clause" and I am curious to know what would have happened had a vote actually taken place. Regardless, Ambush would have to compete with 14 players and 2 devoted fans.

Ambush then set out to compete minus these two players. The words that Iana used to describe the situation are far better than I could ever muster: "We banded together as a good team should. Our resolve was strong even if our numbers were not. At nationals, you compete against the best of the best in the country. Every player is crucial. Every play is full of energy. Our small squad took a serious beating. Injured players pushed themselves to critical points. Exhaustion set in both physically and emotionally. Alison and Amanda were a permanent presence on our sideline. We played for them. It was painful in every sense of the word. We needed Alison's strong and accurate throws and Amanda's smart cuts and long reach. We needed them desperately but we are women of integrity. Neither of them played a single point."

When the dust settled, Ambush was scratched and scarred, battered and bruised, but they still gave it their all and competed at the highest level in a manner that is worthy of pride and acclaim. They are women of integrity and for their efforts both on and off the field and for their unlucky teammates they were awarded the spirit award. Despite the events that precipitated these suspensions they still exhibited class, composure, and as far as their peers were concerned, the spirit of the game.

One of my biggest questions for Iana was, "What advice would you give to team organizers out there? " To which she responded: "On a practical note, I would advise team organizers to share the task of administration. Captains have immense responsibilities. Mistakes WILL happen and team organizers cannot bear the entire burden of a time consuming job. Furthermore, the UPA needs to help these hard-working, dedicated athletes do their jobs better. Yes, there are automated notices of roster additions currently sent out, but additional checks should be provided earlier in the season. Whether physically at sectionals or via improved online rostering cross-referencing tools."

Considering that this team overcame similar obstacles in the past and made nationals in 2001, I am sure that they will have little trouble overcoming this set back. This situation should serve as, if nothing else, motivation for next year and the year after and so on. Coming this close only makes teams stronger and helps to recruit and continue the success that has already been reached.

The only regret that I have for this situation was when I asked Iana if she was aware of previous teams that had been suspended due to ineligible players before this situation occurred. To which she replied: "Honestly, I wasn't aware of previous teams prior to our situation. At this point, however, I'm quite familiar with a number of squads who've endured similar circumstances." This is one of many reasons why I write this blog. The history of ultimate is not about the rosters, the titles, the numbers, or the dates. The history of this game is in the stories, both good and bad. The legacies and the failures. The legends and the unknowns. Sad stories like that of Ambush are not uncommon but they should be. Players all over the world should have learned from Santa Barbara but that wasn't the case. I suppose this could be one of those lessons where you never really learn it until you commit the mistake. I for one am very glad I have the best administrative captain out there, Jacob "Assman" Kravitz. I am also thankful for another player in my past, Jake "Bamboo" Chang, for taking care of me and the rest of the UCSD Air Squids. Do not overlook those rosters or the people that organize them. They are as important as all the practices and track workouts and play makers out there.

I want to say that I make NO judgments concerning this story. I have been on the positive side of this situation and have celebrated the strict nature of the UPA, so bashing the UPA would make me a hypocrite. I have also been on the administrative side of this situation and can say that organizing rosters is no easy task. I will say that I hope this story, along with many others, are not soon forgotten. The mistake of Ambush should serve as a lesson to teams at all levels out there. The UPA is the real deal and should not be taken lightly. However, the perseverance, team dedication and devotion of Ambush in response to this should serve as a positive affirmation to every player out there that this game matters to all of us. We as players should do everything in our power to honor, respect, and protect our fellow players, both teammates and opponents.

match diesel

Ultimate Upsets

I was watching my favorite college basketball team (Kentucky) get rocked by Gardner-Webb by 16 the other day and it made me think about upsets in the ultimate community.

I first want to say I think that tournaments outside the series are basically irrelevant. I can understand that there are a lot of great games out there, but looking at non-series tournaments is a bit too subjective. You never know about injuries, when teams are gonna peak, and who is trying their hardest (especially in club). With that in mind I thought I would talk about a few upsets that I think are interesting.

Delaware 15 Florida 13, College Nationals 2007 (Pool Play)
First and foremost, probably the biggest upset in college ultimate over the last few years has got to be Delaware over Florida this past year at nationals. I made predictions for college nationals and this was the only game I got wrong. I mean come on, Florida, former champion, the 2 seed in the tournament, favorites to make at least semis. Delaware, an up and coming team, has never played in bracket play at nationals, the 11 seed and WHAM!! They take down Florida 15-13 in the first game of pool play. The year before Florida only had 15 points scored on them in all of pool play (actually it was 22, but who's counting). They also played Delaware last year and took them out 15-5. However, in 2007, minus TG, the gators get upset HUGE in the first game. I wish I could have been there to watch it but I was over at the Stanford/Georgia game. Regardless, Delaware really showed in 1 game that the Metro East isn't all that bad. I have a friend on the team, Dan Cuoco, and he told me going into nationals 2006 that they were gonna turn some heads at nationals. Didn't happen that year but it DID happen in 2007. Good for Sideshow. Too bad they left it all on the field and an absolutely gassed team got their tits lit by Oregon 15-3 and they lost again to Indiana 15-10. Oh well maybe Delaware will make Pre-Quarters next year, good luck to them.

Georgia 17 Colorado 16, College Nationals 2006 (Quarterfinals)
Another huge upset that I also think was really interesting, albeit depressing for my region, was the Georgia over Colorado quarterfinals game at nationals in 2006. This game was actually really exciting to watch because Beau and Dylan were absolutely tearing it up. I think that Colorado came in wayyy over confident and it hurt them in the end. They had been to the finals the previous 2 years and had a great team with Jolian, Beau, Rabbit, Chicken, etc... However, the previous day they pulled out an AMAZING double game point win against Stanford. I feel like this should have been a wake up call to Mama Bird letting them know about their weaknesses. In my opinion I think the major weakness of Colorado that year was their D line. Their O Line was ridiculous and like most elite teams now a days, they played a strict O/D line game. However, this is college, everyone is bound to screw up at some point. I think that Colorado assumed their O line was perfect (and it was close) and their D line would get them the breaks they needed to win. However, there are some good defenders out there and they got breaks that Colorado wasn't expecting. In the Georgia game, the Colorado D line could not put the disc in the end zone. They have some great defenders, and they would generate Ds, but they would just give it back. I guess that’s what happens when your best offensive players are on the sideline. Anyway, by the second half, Georgia was already up enough and despite the fact that Beau and Chicken played every remaining point, they didn't have the time to get back in the game and they lost 17-16. This game showed me two things, 1) Dylan is really good. He played so well and I think it was when he peaked. He didn't seem as good in 2007 but this game, he was on. 2) Beau is ridiculous. I mean he had jumped over David "Runner" Flock at Regionals that year but I can remember a huck going up to Dylan and maybe Jolian was covering him. From half way across the field Beau comes a running and as usual, skies the piss out of both of them. Guy is an athlete.

UCSB 15 Colorado 11, SW College Regionals 2004 (Finals)
Keeping with the Colorado upsets, I think the UCSB/Colorado regional finals game in 2004 is another great example of an epic upset. Since I have played disc Colorado has always won the SW. They won it this year and last year and the year before and so on. However, arguably the best Colorado team (2004 Champions) lost in the regional finals to a soon to be DQ'd UCSB Black Tide team. Now this team got DQ'd but Nate Bouxsein was not one of their marquee players. He was a better version of Sean Laing. An experienced guy with good disc skills that was there to support the team, not dominate, so despite the fact that he got UCSB booted form natties, doesn't mean he really helped them get there on the field. Now I have talked about this game a number of times, and I just want to express how big a deal this game was. I mean this Colorado team had everyone, there weren't any "just graduated" players worth mentioning. Richter, Parker, Beau (at his best), Rabbit, Chicken, JV, they were all there. This was the Colorado team that beat Cal 15-7 to win nationals and they lost to UCSB? Black Tide? Yeah they were good in the late 90's and what not but they hadn’t made a nationals run in some time. Yet their zone D completely shut down Colorado's offense, in a stadium no less. How do you do that? Regardless, this game was amazing to watch not because I liked UCSB (in fact I hated them) but just because I was there, I got to witness a perfect team get pwned. It did suck however because then UCSD had to play a pissed off Colorado team and Beau went up and down the field on Kubiak and Colorado won 15-11.

UNC Wilmington 17 Carleton 16, College Nationals 2001 (Pool Play)
If you look back a bit further another great college upset that needs to be remembered (and I think Gerics will agree) is the UNC-Wilmington/Carleton game at nationals in 2001. This was the last time a team lost a pool play game yet still won nationals. In Devens, the year Nord went horizontal over a Colorado player and knocked himself out, they lost a pool play game. UNCW beat them on double game point (17-16) in the second round of pool play. That has got to feel so bizarre. You beat a team that wins nationals AT nationals. This is similar to the Delaware/Florida game in that UNCW didn't manage to win another pool play game, but at least they took down CUT. I really think a game like this should never be forgotten (well maybe forgotten by that CUT team but no one else) because it goes to show you that not every national champ is perfect. I know Wisconsin basically treated the competition at nationals this year like asian schoolgirls at my house this past year but these teams can still lose. Florida can, Colorado can, CUT can. As Chris Berman says, "upsets are why we play the game" and I think college players out there should know that a seed or a ranking is just an arbitrary number and any team can have a bad game, any team can lose and any team can win.

UCSD 15 Georgia 6, College Nationals 2005 (Pool Play)
In keeping with the college theme, another upset that was awesome was the UCSD/Georgia upset in 2005. I am biased cuz I was a squid, but that game was so cool. You have Georgia, a team that was really breaking into the elite circle with their first 1 seed (4th overall). They were the 13th seed in 2003. First pool play game was against UCSD, the 9th seed, and the Air Squids took Jo-Jah down 15-6. This was awesome because it was totally unexpected. I thought Ice (UCSD A) was gonna have some serious trouble against such a hot team but Georgia's composure really was not there and they went down without much of a fight. This game was the main reason UCSD made semis that year, because this, and Georgia taking out UBC, spring boarded us to win the pool and we got to skip pre-quarters. Georgia did come out on top in pre-quarters but had to play a very experienced Stanford team. They were so close to winning that game but a costly huck perpendicular to the field on double game sent Stanford to the semis AGAIN and Georgia out of it.

Oregon 15 Stanford 13, NW College Regionals 2003 (Semifinals)
Another college upset that I think is HUGE is the 2003 NW Regional semifinals game between Oregon and Stanford. What is worth mentioning is that Stanford had won nationals the previous year with a 37-1 record (one of the best teams in history), but for whatever reason, there was only 1 bid for the NW the following year. In any event, Stanford and Oregon meet in the semifinals. This was Wiggins’ 5th and last year and this game is where this picture of Nick Handler comes from. However, apparently, everything went Oregon’s way (or so a friend of mine, Cameron Shelton, who was on the Stanford team tells me) and Oregon made it to the finals. I wish I had more information concerning this game, but I just can't find it. In any event, I think Oregon went on to beat Oregon State in the finals and Ego made it to nationals as the 2 seed but lost in the finals to Wisconsin. This is probably the 1 game I wish I knew more about. I would also like to mention that since 2002, this was the only year that Stanford has not made at least semis at nationals. It also seems like Stanford and Oregon have a serious rivalry, very Wisconsin/Carleton esque. In 2006 Stanford was the 1 seed going into Regionals. They rip through their pool and Western Washington to make the finals against Aaron Bell and Ego, who had just taken out Oscar Pottinger, Morgan Hibbert, and the rest of the 2nd seeded UBC Thunderbirds. In this game, Oregon completely blew Stanford away (something that just isn't done) 15-10. I don't know if Stanford was over confident or what. However, it did set up a great Robbie vs Oscar game in the backdoor finals and Stanford made nationals. I would also like to add that Stanford did get the last laugh though. At nationals, as if by some stroke of good/bad luck Stanford and Oregon meet in quarters after Stanford toppled Michigan in pre-quarters and Oregon had won their pool. This game would be all Stanford though and they won 15-11 making semis AGAIN and managed to be the 2nd team to upset a pool winner that year. Oregon was relegated to a consolation game with UCSD to see who would get the strength bid, the NW or SW and Oregon did what they always do to UCSD, won, 15-11. One of the few reasons why I butt heads with Greenough.

Rhino 14 Justice League 13, NW Club Regionals 2006 (Pool Play)
Taking a break from college, I think another great upset was the pool play game between Rhino/Justice League at NW Regionals last year. You have Justice League (aka Jam) and they are up and down all year, talented but not polished. They did win Solstice by by beating Rhino. Actually there is a great ultivillage interview after that game with Kevin Cissna where he acknowledges that Rhino is good and will be tough to be beat in the series, foreshadowing? Needless to say, JL was an elite team, period. However, Regionals was not their tournament. There were 4 bids to nationals that year and all JL had to do was get past Rhino or Revolver. They had beaten Revolver 13-10 at sectionals but boy did they have a tough Regionals. They lost to Rhino (6 seed, JL was 3) in pool play 13-14, ok, lets not panic. Then they lost to Revolver by the same score in the backdoor semis. Ok, now it's crunch time. The prospect of not making nationals is becoming very real. Justice League now has to beat Invictus and then Rhino to take the last bid to nationals. They take out Invictus 15-9 but then get taken out BIG time by the same score only it was Rhino 15 and JL 9. This was really surprising. I suppose it just goes to show you that winning is about a team effort and despite the talent, Rhino was just a better team and peaked at the right time. They had a forgettable performance at Nationals but boy I am sure they relished that JL upset. I think the bigger story than the 4th place game, was the pool play game. Justice League was really knocked down a few pegs by not winning their pool and I think it put them in a huge hole. They would have to go through the best young teams in the country to get out of the region and I think all those games just go to them. Had they won that pool play game and been playing from ahead in bracket play as opposed to being the under dog, maybe they would have made nationals. Regardless, they came back with a vengeance this past year and made semis. Good for Idris, Cissna, Watson, Damien, Gabe, Hodges, and the rest of the Frisco gang.

Rival 15 Shazam 12, Mixed Club Nationals 2007 (Pool Play)
Another awesome upset, and a game that is analogous to the Carleton/UNCW game, is the Rival/Shazam pool play game 3 weeks ago. Here you have Shazam, everyone's favorite to win nationals by leaps and bounds but they lose in pool play to Rival, the 8 seed?!? Shazam had only lost once the entire year (Brass Monkey 13-11 at Labor Day) yet they go down relatively big 15-12 to the 2 seed in their pool. This must have been huge for this Atlanta based team seeing that they had not beaten a top tier team all year. Kendra from Slow White told me that their offense (Rival) is awesome and considering the lack of wind early at nationals this year, I suppose the results aren't too surprising. Too bad they never got to face off again, I wonder what Bestock and the rest of the Seattle folks would have done to Rival in bracket play. AMP would get the honors and got the better of them 15-10 in quarters. I do hope that this game, as well as the UNCW/CUT games are not soon forgotten. As JP said in Angels in the Outfield, "It could happen".

Vagabonds 16 Team USA 15, Potlatch 2005 (Semifinals)
Thinking about coed, another game that must have been spectacular to be on the winning side of was the Vagabonds/Team USA game at Potlatch in 2005. Now this isn't a series game, but it's still a pretty cool story. You have Team USA, who was hand picked by the UPA and coached by Ted Munter. Now let me make sure I articulate this well. This Team USA was going to World's in Germany. This is not like the WUCC World's in Perth last year or the WUGC World's coming up next year in Vancouver (confusing I know). This World's is a coed tournament where the players are chosen, it's not like a team earns the chance to make it to this particular World's. This Team USA had a collection of all stars that were chosen not only based on their ultimate skills but their service to the game as well. It had greats like Zipp, Watson, Namkung, Miranda Roth, and Chase. However, it was not a team per se, like Sockeye will be next year. Anyway, you have this all-star team (Justice League-esque) playing at Potlatch as a warm up for World's. They had already won Poultry Days and looked like they were the best coed team in the country (better be). They managed to take down Canada in the showcase game (great game) and were looking good, at least to make the finals. However, the Vagabonds, a pickup team from Portland, had other plans. They took down team USA in the semifinals, I don't know what the score was, I had to catch a flight. This propelled Vagabonds to the finals where they lost to Team Canada. I think it is worth mentioning however that team USA probably got a wake up call and went on to dominate at World's beating Australia 13-11 in the gold medal game. I would imagine Keith Monahan gets drunk at bars and talks about how the Vagabonds were the best co-ed team back in '05, at least I would. But he's got a few club championships to keep him happy.

Truck Stop 15 Furious George 10, Club Nationals 2007 (Pool Play)
Another game that is a huge upset (and I don't want to write this but I will) is the Truck Stop/Furious game a nationals this past year. I think this is up there as the biggest upset in recent club ultimate history. I think Furious was better than 15-0 in pool play over the years and that loss to the boys from DC was probably earth shattering. Had Furious actually pulled that game out they might have made a decent showing at nationals. It seems like Furious doesn't enjoy losing and really doesn't play their best once the odds are heavily stacked against them. I think everyone in the country was surprised by this game. I am curious to know what feeling was more intense, Furious' depression or TS's elation. I would like to go with the latter, but I think it's the former. In any event, hopefully Furious re-groups after this and I think TS will be able to pick up some serious talent now that they have a win like this and a great overall nationals performance under their belt.

Illinois X 16, NC State 14, College Nationals 2003 (Pool Play)
I am going to be honest, I don't know a whole lot about this last game but I know it was a big deal. NC State was looking very good this year. They were 37-1 going into nationals, they had 3 tournament wins (probably some combination of Terminus, Southers, Easterns and Ultimax) and because Stanford lost at their regional tournament, they were granted the #1 seed at nationals. Now this pre-dates Centex so there was no nation wide tournament before nationals that really helped establish who was the best in the country. Oregon had won Pres Day (the best college tournament on the west coast at the time) as well as the NW region so they were given the #2 seed at nationals. Wisconsin and Carleton were the other 1 seeds. I like to think that this NC State team was not dissimilar to Queens-Kingston back in 2005. They were a team that had a good record but hadn't necessarily seen the best in the country. Needless to say they took out Michigan (the 3 seed) 15-10 but then played a really close regional rematch against Georgia 15-13. This left them moderately gassed for Illinois X (2nd seed, 8th overall) who took them out 16-14. NC State then went on to pre-quarters against another regional rival, William and Mary, and lost 15-11 sending them from the 1 seed all the way down to a 12th place finish. I think it is also worth mentioning that at that same nationals, Colorado (10th seed) went from a 1-2 pool play showing all the way to the semis with huge wins over higher seeded Ohio State (7th) and Illinois (8th). They were also the only team at nationals that year to score more than 10 points on Wisconsin, 15-12 in semis. Lastly, the Oregon/CUT semis that year was probably one the best games in the history of college disc. The epic Chase/Seth picture (cover of Parinella's book) is from that game. Can you believe that Chase (CUT) and Seth/Ben (Oregon) are now team mates on Sockeye? And Jimmy Chu (CUT) used to be in that mix as well before he moved to LA. That just seems weird to me.

I am sure that there are a ton of other games out there that I have neglected to mention. Feel free to contribute.

just my thoughts

match diesel

Parallels in Ultimate

I had an interesting thought today and I thought I would share it.

In the wake of the 2007 club championships I have realized some things that I find really cool. Take the recent champions, Sockeye. Forget about how dominate they were/are and take a look at their roster, who do they have? A lot of superstars, but one in particular, Tim Gehret. Now this kid is just the balls, absolutely ridiculous. Now the reason he came up in my head is that he has the chance to do something that only 1 other person has done, win a college national championship, the callahan, a club championship and a world title. Few people in the world can even enter the realm of this achievement and TG has 3 of the 4 now and with this national championship it will be possible for him to get the world title. He is in good company in that if Sockeye remains at the top for the next year, Alex Nord will also have the ability to get all 4. Aside from this though, I thought about how Tim Gehret is similar to the other player that has all 4, Fortunant Mueller, or Forch. The similarities are actually staggering and really amazing when you think about it.

First off, Forch was a national champ and callahan winner at Brown University. He was there from 1997-2000 and won nationals in 2000. He got his national championship (2000) and the callahan (1999) in different years, but has them none the less. Now TG is more of the same. Won a national championship for Florida and won the callahan in 2006. Ok, who cares?

After college they both went on to join dynasty ultimate teams. Forch played for DoG in 1999 before he graduated and was on the team that won their last national championship and has played in Boston since. Tim moved from Florida where he played with Vicious Cycle and is now on Sockeye. I doubt most folks will say that Sockeye now is as dominant as DoG then, but they are at least comparable. They also have a regional rival within 2 hours (DoG - NYNY, Sockeye - Furious) who seem to be the only team that can get the better of them when it matters.

Take a closer look. They are both very similar players, both in play and in appearance. They are both smaller players at 5'10", they are both "all around" players meaning that they are very versatile and can cut as easily as they can handle. They are both work horses in that they run their opponent into the ground and they are both very, very good defenders. And they both have single digit numbers. Well that last one really doesn't matter. I also want to say that their height is really a thing of interest for me because there are very few players out there that can dominate at this level on both sides of the disc yet not be in the 6'2"-6'5" range that you see of a lot today. Zipp is another good example as is Dan Heijman and most of Stanford.

Now back to Forch and TG. I think this comparison is really useful because it can help predict the future. I believe that Tim Gehret is going to be a club juggernaut. I was watching the ultivillage ECC footage of the Sockeye/Buzz Bullets final. In the first point or so, Sammy CK makes an UNREAL incut layout grab. Now, what most won't realize is that immediately after getting this layout in-cut catch (around a speedy buzz bullet defender) he mistakenly threw it away while attempting a dump to Sam O'Brien. However, as if someone had scripted it, TG gets a HUGE layout catch block 3 throws later around his opponent. It was as if he could will his team to victory and would succeed despite anyone else's play (in a team game no less). This is not unlike what Forch is known for on Boston. After watching the Boston/GOAT regional final, I began to realize why Forch is so revered in New England. For most folks across the country, Forch is not all that well known, I didn't know of him until I got here. However, he is a local hero in New England and being in Connecticut where he used to live, people really, really, really like this guy and I am beginning to see why. In that game, Forch made an unreal D that was very similar to the one I previously mentioned. Huge layout catch block between 2 defenders, on double game point no less, followed up by an enormous layout goal to win the game, the regional title, and trip to Sarasota.

So with this comparison, I think that Tim will be the next Forch. Now this is also interesting because with Forch's emergence into the club circuit his team performance has dwindled (albeit barely). After Forch joined the team in 1999, Boston went on to win the club title in San Diego. This allowed them to go to Germany where they won gold. However, since then Boston has yet to repeat, even a finals appearance. Now Sockeye has just won its 3rd national title in 4 years. Not as good as 6 in a row but hey, pretty freaking good. Does this mean that Sockeye's performance will falter as well? I definitely do not believe so, but it’s an interesting comparison. I think Boston is a fantastic team and their lack of championships is mostly due to the rest of the country improving, not Boston sucking. In any event, I think that Sockeye has aligned themselves nicely and I really am looking forward to seeing what Tim can do in Seattle over the next 5-10 years (if he stays).

This also got me thinking a lot about other players out there that one could make an analogous statement about. The first one that comes to mind, in the wake of TG and Forch is Ben Wiggins and Jim Parinella. They are also both extremely similar in the ultimate community. Jim is a competitor and a true student/teacher of the game. The guy wrote a book, not to mention won 6 national championships, a world title and now a masters championship. Ben is also a fierce competitor and brilliant student of the game. He has traveled across the country giving seminars about ultimate subjects such as marking and coaching and has worked as hard to improve the ultimate community around him. They also seem to be very cerebral players that rely on their strategic approach to the game, rather than just athleticism. Parinella basically invented the idea of taking what the defense gives you (a game plan that every NE player tries to utilize). I also remember hearing about Ben spending a lot of time working meticulously on intricate parts of the game such as release points. With this sort of comparison it is easy to see that they are not necessarily fantasy all stars, but none the less still vital components of their respective programs. I am sure their eyes for the game are the best in the business and I am sure that they both offer extreme expertise on the sideline. It is also worth mentioning that they are also of similar build at 5’10”. However, I think that their playing presence is slightly different. Parinella seems to be more of an offensive AND defensive player where Ben is a huge offensive impact factor. I would say that at 26(?) Ben is well on his way to writing a book or at least achieving the same sort of accolades that Parinella can boast. I am very interested in wondering what the relationship between Forch and Parinella, and Wiggins and TG is and if they are/will be similar. I also wonder if Wiggins is half as good at Goaltimate as Parinella is.

Another other example out there that I think is equally interesting is Richter and Mike Grant. They were both very good in college, Josh won the Callahan at Colorado and Mike Grant helped build UBC to be the program it is now. However, I think that their best performance in the game was at the club level. I think that Richter is very good but probably was not the best player the year he won the Callahan (2004). I think Chase was. However, as he has matured he has really shown himself to be a leader on Bravo at all fronts. Intensity, work ethic, defense, offense, the works. In watching Ultivillage footage of him over the last few years, it appears that Richter is definitely the rock that Bravo guys can depend on and draw inspiration from. Beau, Jolian, and Popiel might make the big skies but Richter will keep every guy motivated to beat their man to the spot and not quit till the game is over. Chicken comments on this on Disc 2 in an interview. When I first saw this interview I was didn't really take notice because Richter was part of a regional rival but after watching him in the 2006 open series, the college Nationals showcase game and now in 2007, I am very confident he is as good as he is intense and I think Bravo utilizes it a lot. I think Mike is very similar for Furious. Over the last 10 years or so, he has gone from a youthful phenom, to a true leader exhibiting focus, intensity and consistency. It always seems like he has his head in the game, never commits mental mistakes and really is a person that his teammates can depend on. I believe that this role is also huge because it allows the younger players on the team to play more relaxed considering they have a bail out, or someone they know will make a difference, taking some pressure off. I think Richter will continue to establish himself in this way and what is more interesting is that he is a serious veteran for Bravo despite the fact that he is only 25(?). His youth is definitely as big an asset as his skill and intensity. I think with his presence (not to mention the 10+ guys they have over 6’10”) will help keep Bravo strong and potentially a national championship team in the future.

Another example I think is cool, is Chicken and Lugsdin. These two are very "Poster Boy" esk players. They are both very well spoken, very inteligent, and very talented. Chicken, who was a molecular biologist at Colorado, is a very solid and smart player not to mention an articulate person on Bravo. Always seems to be the guy talking to Rob and in person he is really nice and approachable. In the 2 or 3 conversations I have had with him he seems like a really grounded person, something that I wasn't expecting for a national champ and club all star. Lugsdin is more of the same. Physics major at McGill, very nice guy, very smart and approachable. Lugsdin is a bit taller but they both play good disc on all fronts. Have great throws, great composure, defense, fundamentals, leadership skills and best of all they aren’t overly arrogant (at least not in my experience). They seem to respect their opponents and the game itself, something that I wish more players did. Also Lugsdin is #9, Chicken is #10. Although I gotta say the blond goatee and hair-do Chicken is sporting is suspect, as is the pink hat he used to play in.

There are a lot more examples that I find interesting but I won’t go into too much more detail. I think that Nick Handler will become a player similar to Will Deaver. They are both springy as hell, ridiculously tight defenders, and seem to always have a mental advantage on their oppenent. Jacob Goldstein has the potential to be the next Jeff Cruikshank. They are both gifted offfensive players, have exceptional throws, and play surprisingly good defense given their over shadowing handling abilities. Kurt Gibson could be the next Damien Scott because he is tall, fast, and has basically every tool in the game to pull from. Both players seem to control the game at will and seem to play better with more pressue on them. I will say that I don’t know what Kurt is like on the party front and I hear Damien is one of the best.

I also find that if you look at ultimate like this you can potentially see where the game is going and what one can potentially expect. Not to say that these players have to succeed in the ways that some have in the past, but I think it is similar to comparing A-Rod to Hank Aaron, or LeBron to Jordan. Another reason why I bring these things up is that in my opinion a lot of people out there think disc is different across the country (or maybe its just me). The west coast is known as a more flashy/tall game and the east is more conservative with smaller players. However, the game is changing. Players are moving across the country and playing disc in a variety of cities. The country is shrinking and the play is getting better everywhere. Teams like Madison in the North or Florida in the South, Stanford in the NW, Brown in the NE, and so on. However, if you look at these sorts of players you can see that the kinds of players out there and the impact they have on their respective teams is uniform across the country. Perhaps the influence of ultimate is moving westward from the east (New Jersey, where it was born) across the country. I suppose the game in 20 years will become more homogeneous or maybe I am just spouting out the things that make good programs and its the same and will be forever. I hope that it’s the former. I wasn't alive in the early 1900s to see football, baseball, hockey or basketball become the sports they are now, but I am at ground zero for ultimate and the next 30 years are gonna be really cool.

just my thoughts

match diesel

College Disc: 1st Big Weekend

So this weekend is probably the first big weekend for college ultimate. I for one love college disc, probably more than club, because there is so much history, pride, spirit, and best of all, turn over. You have teams like Florida that came out of nowhere to win nationals in 2006, UCSB has been off the radar for awhile but they are coming back with a vengance, Oregon looks like they are ready to make it back to the finals. Also, there are teams that are close to the top every year. It has got to be extremely difficult to be among these teams because players can only play college for so long. Wisconsin, Stanford, and Colorado all did very well last year but they have been at the top for so long, which should serve as a reminder that these are "true programs" and will always be at the top.

So with that in mind, this weekend there will be 5 tournaments scattered throughout the country that will pit some of the best programs against one another. These tournies are 1) Sean Ryan in Santa Cruz, CA, 2) Missouri Loves Company in Jefferson City, MO, 3) Delaware Showdown in Newark, DE, 4) Sundodger in Burlington, WA, and 5) Brown in Providence RI. Of these 5 tournaments 10 of the 2006 college nationals teams will be playing: 1) Wisconsin 2) Colorado 3) Stanford 4) Carleton 5) Oregon 6) Indiana 7) Ohio State 8) Delaware 9) Brown 10) Kansas. I dunno about other folks out there but I am amped for the college season and I wanted to talk about each of these tournies and some others that have happened or are happening soon.

First off I should say that these are fall tournies and the results are pretty worthless. A lot of these teams are going as split squads or only sending certain players so they are defintely not at their best, but it is nice to have these teams play eachother so early. I can remember a time when most of the best teams never saw eachother outside of centex, ultimax, southerns, or nationals. Now they are playing in November?!?! Awesome.

Sean Ryan
This is a tourney that is dedicated to the memory of Sean Ryan, who was part of the Santa Cruz ultimate team from 91-95. He was an avid outdoors men and became a park ranger after college. However, he died tragically during a resuce. In his memory, the UCSC team created the Sean Ryan Award for a person on both the men's and women's team that embodies the spirit of Sean Ryan. Sammy CK won this when he was an undergrad there in 2002. This tourney is the first really bad ass west coast tourney. It used to be that there was only this and SoCal in San Diego. The SW teams went to SoCal and the NW teams went to Sean Ryan. However, this year there will be teams from all over the west coast in attendance. First Stanford, ok their my boys, and they have won this tourney. They have been to the semis at nationals 5 times in the last 6 years, they are gonna be awesome this year. Oregon is also gonna be there. A team that used to win tournies (NW regionals and Pres Day back in the Ben Wiggins era, 2003). They won regionals in 2006, made quarters at nationals this past year and they are arguably the best young team in the country. They are ready to break into the top 4 at nationals. Black Tide will be there as the 3 seed. This team is ready to make another nationals run. They gave Colorado a close game at SW regionals last May and they are ready to take that 1st/2nd bid out of the SW. UCSD will make their first apperance at this tournament. When I was there, it was only SoCal in the fall which kinda sucks. I am really glad they are sending a team this year. UCSC and Cal will also be there and my sources say that they were the top teams at Santa Clara last weekend. LPC is also a quality team that seems to be the rock in a lot of elite team's shoes due to their cagey veterans and experience, thank god for Div III nationals. Other SoCal notables include UCLA and Claremont. It is nice to see that the SW is finally playing tournaments in the fall, something that should have been done a long time ago.

Missouri Loves Company
This is probably one of the top 3 fall tournies. I would say #1 is Classic City Classic, #2 Fall Collegiates and this would be #3. This year it will be the first look we'll get at Wisconsin and Colorado. I would say Wisconsin is the pre-season favorite and there are the annual Beau rumors circling about eligibility and what not. Carleton will also be there. Despite losing Goldstein, I think this team is the real deal. They picked up Christain Foster (2006 Junior World's #1 scorer) from Connnecicut College. I got the chance to play against him a number of times. Definitely fast, great throws and plays bigger than he looks, too bad he isn't as well liked off the field. Maybe he'll like North Field better than New London. Indiana, Ohio State, and Kansas will be there, not to mention Wisconsin Whitewater (2007 Div III national champs). Michigan will be there as well. Probably hoping to get back on that nationals horse. Too bad there is no Texas, we'll have to wait till CCC to hear that "Texas Texas Yee-HA!!" cheer (yuck).

Sundodger
This is a tournament I am not very familiar with but exciting none the less. There aren't any nationals qualifiers but there are 3 programs that will be making their '07-'08 debut in Washington, UBC, and Western Washington. I think Washington is a good team, they have been at nationals recently although not withouth Ray Illian. UBC is also another team that has shown signs of greatness. I think they were at their best in 2006 when they still had Oscar and Morgan and made the finals at Stanford. They had a good showing at Canadian College nationals, despite losing 15-11 in the finals to Toronto. Morgan was on the team in Vancover, I wonder if he is still on the team now. I also like seeing a new face in NW college disc in Western Washington. They have been knipping at Stanford's, Oregon, Cal, and the rest of the NW's heals and they are right at the edge of breaking into late Sunday play at regionals. I hope they can at least make semis at regionals this year.

Delaware Showdown and Brown
I wouldn't call these elite tournies persee but they will have Delaware and Brown at them. I wonder what the weather in Newark is gonna be like because Providence is gonna SUCK. Hopefully no one gets hurt or frostbitten.

There have also been some good tournies that have already happened in Fall Collegiates, Purple Valley, and Coffee Cup. I suggest reading Mike Gerics' write up of the UNC/Pitt final at Fall Collegiates on RSD, sounded like it was a GREAT game. Purple Valley had Harvard winning the whole thing. They have this kid, Zirui Song, from Johns Hopkins. Guy is nasty, very Will Chen esk. Played against him and Johnston while they were with New Noise. Not sure of their eligibilty status, but they can really help out a veteran Harvard team coached by the psychotic Josh McCarthy. Coffee Cup wasn't as exciting as it could have been. Weather made it only a one day tourney but Williams managed to win the thing.

Classic City Classic is also coming up December 1-2 in Tennessee. This will be the first chance we'll have at seeing Florida, Texas and Georgia. I am also amazed at what teams go to this thing. I don't know who plans it, but Cal has been in attendance in the past and I can't believe Colorado and Wisconsin are going to this and MLC. Those that think that disc is just a sport in the spring aren't paying attention to all these tournies. I am excited.

match diesel

Sockeye/Bravo Finals Thoughts

Now that Rob has posted the Sockeye/Bravo finals, I had a chance to take a peak and I had some thoughts about it.

First off, I think the weather must have been an issue. A friend of mine was there and he said it was really windy. I also heard that Sunday was the first really bad day of wind and teams had potentially not adjusted yet and this game would be not as crisp as previous ones. With that being said I am sure that playing top shelf disc in said weather is difficult, especially offense. However, this is club nationals, this is Sarasota, its always this windy in the finals and these teams are the best. However, considering that they are the best in the world, I don’t think they played like it. This game looked much more like a college finals than anything else, I mean Bravo was down 5-3 and then went on a 4-0 run? Took half 8-6, but lost 15-13? That doesn't happen in the finals at Club Nationals. I wouldn’t call it sloppy but it definitely was not what I was expecting. Now, this is very presumptuous of me to say seeing that I am about 2 or 3 light years from this playing ability but I still have some observations.

When I saw that Bravo made the finals, I was really stoked. They made semis last year, a really good bunch of players, very experienced, very athletic, and so on. However, this was their first finals appearance and it was for the ability to play at World’s. That is a ton of pressure and I think it got to them. You have really stellar play from a lot of great players but there were also some HUGE mental mistakes like easy throw aways and hasty decisions. I don’t want to knit pick a team that just made the finals, but it just did not look like they played their best offense. I mean you have a team throw a callahan AND drop a pull. You look at just those two things, no way you predict Sockeye to win the game. That should be 2 easy breaks, which should be all you need at this level. However, Bravo tossed up some poor spittle and Sockeye made them pay.

This is by no means the end of the world for Bravo and I feel like this sort of loss has to happen for a team to improve. It has got to be damn near impossible to just swoop into the finals and win the first time, especially against a team that is playing in like their 5th finals, their 4th in a row. This is not dissimilar to the GOAT/Boston regional final I keep talking about. A great team has to learn to be great and situations like this teach them. It would be nice if these lessons can be learned verbally but I think that Chicken will be a better handler now that he has had a tough loss like this. I am sure every dump throw he tosses will be perfect from now on and a cutter going up the line better be DAMN open and NOT covered by Mike Caldwell for him to toss that outside in flick. I have had some really poor moments in my career and I can say that events like this really precipitate improvement, they haunt you forever but they make you better. That is how experience is earned and I will say that I think Bravo is going to be the team to beat next year. Sockeye will have to peak twice to win it all next year, something that hasn’t been done by the previous 2 world title holders. I think Jam or whoever else will give Bravo a game next year but the boys from Colorado will have all the tools to win it all in 2008, experience, athletes, and the memory of 13-15 silver medal.

Ok, Bravo lost, way to kick them while they are down Match, dick! Now for Sockeye. This is a weird team. There is so much footage of them so folks like myself have seen them play a lot, despite the 3,000 mile separation. However, they sometimes seem to play to their opponents, not their own game. Take last year for example. The 2006 finals was an extremely well played game. I remember watching the score reporter in lab and seeing that Sockeye had taken half 8-6. At that point I knew Furious was screwed and they were, down a few breaks to a team like Sockeye and your chances of victory are pretty slim. Elite Open ultimate is all about possession, ie not turning it over. These elite squads have the ability to play games with less than 10 turnovers, it is almost expected at this point. With that in mind I think Sockeye really wanted to beat Furious last year, a team that had sprung their proverbial bear trap on the Fish in the past. They played patiently, their cutters were on fire and they took advantage of a few Furious mistakes, not to mention 2 HUGE breaks in a world greatest and the Skippy hammer incident. However this year, not unlike 3 years ago, Sockeye was not playing Furious in the finals and they played less composed and more aggressive. There were many big plays, skies and hucks, but there were also A LOT of turnovers and layout Ds. Layout Ds are really nice, and in college they happen a lot because handlers are not as good. They see a guy and think he is open and a defender either makes up some serious ground or comes out of nowhere. In club though, these handlers are conditioned by years of mistakes so they know when to throw and when not to. In this game however, there were so many layout Ds, I mean watch last years finals and you will see some HUGE bids, but most folks came up empty. Valdivia, Beau, Jolian, Caldwell, JD all made great plays (although technically not a layout D by JD). But the throws that allow these Ds should not have been tossed in the first place. I suppose playing in the North East has made me slightly more conservative and it just amazes me that at this level, a game like this happened. Also, like the Sockeye/Jam finals there were a lot of turnovers, especially on game point. Double game point in 2004, I think each team had 2 chances to score. Last weekend, Sockeye needed 3 possessions at 14-13 to seal the game, and that is 2 too many. I mean Tim's outside in flick to Seth with Beau covering him? Really? On game point? However, considering the composure status of Bravo, its not surprising that they got it back and won the game.

Aside from being an ass, my main reason for articulating this point is that I think Sockeye has their work cut out for them at World’s. Japan is a really good team and they are going to take advantage of miscues like the ones Sockeye made on Sunday at nationals. Their defenders are top notch and if Sockeye thinks they can just play their deep game and hope to generate Ds here and there, they have another thing coming. I think they have the personnel, the time, and the motivation to be the best in the world but it is by no means a guarantee. There were a few points in that ECC final where the Buzz Bullets got pretty close to sealing that game and they will be hungrier than ever before next August. With that being said, I think Sockeye will be ready because they know what Japan is capable of. Wiggins exhibited an amazing amount of class and respect when he spoke with Rob after the ECC final regarding Japan. The Fish know their competition, and I wonder what their game plan will be.

Ok, way to bash the two best teams in the world, how about some positive points.

First, I was really impressed with Nord, he had a really great game, something like 2 goals and 3 assists. Over the last 2 years or so I wasn't sure if Nord was playing his best. He is so big, I mean the guy is like 6'5" and he is lanky as all get out. Chase is also tall but he is built like Brian Urlacher and Nord is more like Nowitski. Going into this tournament, I was curious to know if his size was becoming an issue and if he could move the way he used to. I mean if you watch the finals from last year, he just doesn't really make that many plays, which is fine, he was probably covered very well. However, this year, it seemed like he was back to his 2005 status when he had huge performances at regionals and nationals. He made so many great plays in the air and downfield, not to mention that he was just really heads up the whole game. Come on, that snatch and quick toss for a score? Someone was paying attention. I am glad to be proven wrong and it was really nice to see Nord dominant again. Hope that thumb isn’t too badly injured.

Another fantasy allstar in this game was Hector Valdivia. Wow this guy played well, on both sides of the disc. His quick huck score to Beau off a turn was absolutely beautiful, as was his SICK layout D at 9-8. I also like his scoop score from Popiel to take half. I really didn't know who he was before this tournament but I know who he is now. I also like seeing guys that can play all sides of the disc. I think he finished with 3 goals and 2 assists.

Another player that I think had a great game was Mike Caldwell. Over the years the only real thing I can say about Mike is that he isn't Roger Crafts. It seems like they look a lot alike, what with the shaved heads and facial hair. Plus Crafts is #2 and Mike is #20. However, this guy played awesome. He had a great catch to tie the game at 10s (his 2nd goal) not to mention his biggest play, which was saving Sam O'brien's ass getting an EPIC layout D after the dropped pull. I also know for a fact that Caldwell is an insane athlete (watch the celebration after Sockeye won it all last year and you will see him jump like 3 feet in the air) and it is nice to see him kick ass. I wonder if his son will be as good a player as Dad.

I think Chase had an interesting game. Most folks (myself) consider him a deep cutter because of his size but he was putting up hucks left and right. I also like the hammer he tossed to Nord (who skied Seth, his own team mate) for a goal. Interesting to see him throw the hammers in the finals instead of catching them.

I also like seeing Jolian Dahl and Ray Illian play well. I think both have tough situations to deal with in ultimate. Ray was a stud at Washington but didn't really have much of a supporting cast plus he had to compete with all the talent in the NW so he was overshadowed a lot. I think he is a great player and I don't think enough people know that. He had a great game with some great scores, skies and defensive efforts. Jolian is similar in that he has played with Beau for so long and they appear to be similar players, except that Beau jumped over a guy once. I will say that Jolian is straight up filthy. He is a GREAT player who carried Colorado at college nationals and seeing him get that hugtastic layout D on Sammy was really cool.

There were also just a lot of really cool plays to see in this game. Parker's out side in flick score to Whitaker (actually I think he meant to throw it to Beau) was awesome. Chicken's callahan was pretty cool. I didn't think TG would toss something up like that. It also should serve as a lesson to kids to work on their pulls. A back corner starting spot is not fun to work with. Richter had a nice layout score followed up by his patented head spike (I tried to get him to do it at the college nationals showcase game, but he wouldn't). I also like how Sammy quietly threw 4 scores. I also laughed a little bit when Parker claimed a disc was up when it literally bounced off the ground.

All in all this was a really entertaining game. I think many lessons were learned on both teams and I really think that Bravo is taking the steps to really become a giant in elite disc. And can I also say that none of my writing would be possible without Ultivillage. Thanks a lot Rob, you are doing a fantastic job. Aside from buying every UvTv subscription, your DVDs, and plugging you weekly in my blog entries, is there anything else I can do to support your company?

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.

match diesel

2007 UPA Club Nationals Predictions

Now that the seeds and pools are set I thought I would give my thoughts on what I think is gonna go down this weekend in sarasota.

Pool A
Here you have the 1,8,9, and 16 seeds. I think Jam will take this pool nicely. they will have their first game against Ring, which I think will be their toughest. I think Ring's fire and intensity will be nice in the first half but Jam is too deep and will take the game in the ball park of 15-11. Next Jam will face Van Buren Boys in an expected blowout 15-6. The score might be closer because Jam might take it easy in the 2nd half but they will be control for the whole game. Goat will play VBB first and take that game. Goat is a good, tall team that I think will work out well for them. The A2-A3 (GOAT vs Ring) will be the game of pool play. You will have Ring who has been here before and GOAT, a squad that has yet to win a big game in a series tourney. I think Ring will take them out in a potential double game point game. Wish I could be there. In the last games of pool play Jam should take Goat out easily after a tough game against Ring (even if Goat wins, they will be wayyy gased to beat the 1 seed) and a fired up Ring will take out the 16th seed.
Jam 1, Ring 2, GOAT 3, VBB 4

Pool B
Sockeye will take this pool. They will have tough games against a smart boston team and rhino, who they play a lot, but they should take both. They should then take down Pike relatively easily. Boston is the question mark. I am going to try and make some friends of enemies and say they take down Pike AND Rhino. Boston/Rhino willl be a good game but I think Boston's experience will be the X factor. The athleticism and talent of both teams should be around the same (good college kids on both squads with big time college experience and SOME good club experience). I think Forch will have a great game and that will get the rest of the team up. Dusty and Goldstein will run great offensive units but I think the unknowns on boston will be more confident that Rhino's and Boston will win a close one. Despite the loss, Rhino will come out and beat Pike and Sockeye will take out a tired Boston.
Sockeye 1, Boston 2, Rhino 3, VBB 4

Pool C
I for one don't like seeing this pool. I really wish Condors and Bravo were not playing eachother on the first day. With a region like the southwest and with a pool of teams that are so close in ability, pitting these two regional rivals against eahother really sucks. They might get a chance to play against eachother in power pools or bracket play anyway, but on thursday? I don't like that. I am sure the Condors are cool with it because you can't seed them higher and if you put them as the 7 seed they would have to play Sockeye and I think they would rather play Bravo than Sockeye. Anyway, Bravo is ready (at least for pool play) and sweeps easy. Condors will FINALLY do well in pool play at nationals after a performance hiatus and take out DW and Machine. Condors/DW will be a great game but the experience of the condors will work out well for them and the lack of experience for DW will work against them, I mean Labor Day was their toughest tourney. Machine has some good players but they will have a tough time lining up against any of these squads.
Bravo 1, Condors 2, DW 3, Machine 4

Pool D
Furious doesn't lose in pool play and I don't seem them losing to anyone. They should be able to take out a college player heavy 2 seed in Sub-Zero and no one else in the pool should pose a problem. I find this pool interesting because if I were to look at this pool after last year's nationals results, I would be shocked. Chain the 4 seed?!?! They were in semis last year and who is Truck Stop? I think Sub-Zero has played good disc this year but the wind in Florida will hurt them. Heijman, Jack, Muffin, Shane, Miller and the rest of the Wisco guys are good but they are college kids. Their grip, rip, and layout D style won't hack it at club nationals and Furious will make an example of them. I think they will have the ability to take out Chain once again considering Chain's disappointing season (considering their finish last year and Zipp as a pick up). The game to watch in this pool though will be Chain against Truck Stop. By far the only C3/C4 game worth watching. You have a DC team with a higher seed than a semis team last year. I like chain in this game. Both teams will be winless going into this game and this matchup will be for pride and I think chain will take out Truck Stop. Rob you better get footage of this and the GOAT/Ring game.
Furious 1, Subzero 2, Chain 3, Truck Stop 4

Now for power pools. With the results I have suggested, the power pools will be:
Pool E Jam (1-0), Bravo (1-0), Condos (0-1), Ring (0-1)
I think that Jam/Condors and Bravo/Ring will go as expected. Jam has a bunch of former Condors, oddly enough, and I think Namkung and the gang will have the boys from Frisco prepared against Santa Barbara. Bravo is fast and talented and they should take Ring down as they did at ECC. The Jam vs Bravo game will good though. I think Bravo will win this. I think that power pool play at nationals this year will be similar to the way it was in 2005. You will see the top seeds lose and then come back and win in bracket play. I think a young Bravo will be ready and anxious to take out Jam and be fired up lead by richter. I think the wind in Sarasota will hurt Jam because they rely on Gabe's breaks and Bart's upside down throws a bit too much and their still forming team will have trouble clicking on offense with tough Bravo defenders. As far as Condors and Ring, I think the Condors are ready to start winning at nationals and can take out Ring. This puts Ring in the quarters play in.

Pool F Sockeye (1-0), Furious (1-0), Subzero (0-1), Boston (0-1)
I think Furious has Boston's number given their level of experience and superior talent. I think subzero's best can match Sockeye's best athletically, but Sockeye is wayyy to deep to lose to a bunch of college kids and I think Tim Gehret will get the better of the Hodags once again. As far as Furious/Sockeye go, I think this will be just like Regionals. I think Furious will take out Sockeye, but this will not be the last we'll hear of sockeye. Like in 2005 when Sockeye beat Furious in power pools but lost in the finals, I think Furious will try and prove that their offense is well established/prepared (unlike last year when they had no challenge until the finals) and come out fired up against Sockeye in power pools. Sockeye will try and play the mind game with Furious, one that the monkeys have won historically over the years, and set Furious up for a fall. I think Boston vs Subzero will be the perfect Experience vs Talent game. Forch will lead a verteran squad against Heijman's stellar athletes. Boston will not screw up though. Good weather would favor SZ, but the wind usually builds at nationals and Friday will not be kind to Subzero and Boston's patient game will break subzero regularly and sub zero will have to play in the quarters play in.

Pool G Goat, DW, Machine, VBB
I think GOAT will try and show that they belong in sarasota after a tough showing in pool play. I see them taking out VBB easily and the game against DW should be good. GOAT is a collection of tall burly Canadians and I think DW is more of the same with corn fed boys from Texas. I think it will be a battle between Hassell and Tank, one that I think Hassell will win putting GOAT in the play in game. Machine will take out their regional rivals in a closer game than their 11-4 one at 3 weeks ago. This will put GOAT in the quarters play in game.

Pool H Rhino, Truck Stop, Chain, Pike
I think Rhino will want some Ws after going 1-2 in pool play. This team made quaters last year and I think they will really fight to do that again. I think the Rhino/Chain game will be close because Chain will be amped after breaking seed in pool play but Rhino has a better team with talent distributed among more players. Chain's all stars will be good but their 4-7 players won't be able to keep a lid on Rhino's cagey offense and Rhino should be able to get the breaks they need to win. I think Pike's experience will help them against Truck Stop. Rhino should not have trouble with Truck Stop after a loss to Pike and Rhino will make the play in game. Chain and Pike will be a good game, these two were top 8 at national just a few years ago and I think Chain will chalk up another good win.

Quarters play in games
SubZero vs GOAT
Again, like the SubZero vs Boston game, this will be experience vs youth. I think GOAT is a really good team and will repeat their Chicago Heavyweights result over Subzero. I think Subzero will come out and take half but GOAT will creep up on them and take advantage of miscues from the huck happy muffin. I think SZ will also find themselves in a position where their intensity and layouts won't get them a win. Hopefully they will be patient, because GOAT's lessons at regionals will teach them to take advantage of mistakes and avoid them themselves, but I don't see it happening.

Rhino vs Ring
This is a game I am having a tough time with. Power Pool teams don't usually lose in play in games and if I picked GOAT to win, how can Rhino win as well? I think Ring will get into power pools based on their lucky seed (9) which allows them to play the 16 seed and an less experiesnced GOAT earning them the wins to play in power pools. Rhino on the other hand is only 1 seed below (10) and will have had to beat Chain, Pike, and Truck Stop to get this far and will have had some lessons learned against Boston. Plus Rhino can win when they need to, ahem, Revolver, plus I am sure they don't want to be the only NW team to get left out of quarters. I think the weather and the exhaustion factor will help Ring considering they are really experienced and will be able to play well tired, but if Rhino can keep a large rotation, they should be able to make it to quarters.

Backet Play
If things like I have laid out precipitate the quarters matchups will be as follows:

Bravo vs Goat - Good luck GOAT, you got his far but Bravo is good and should win easily

Sockeye vs Condors - The new heros will take out the old legends. Condors will make an honorable exit though with a nationals tournament they can be proud of

Furious vs Rhino - A NW regional rematch, but Furious seems to do well late in the year so I think they'll will be able to take out a battered Rhino team.

Jam vs Boston - I think Jam will assert their depth here. Boston is a good team but their no names can't compete with the loaded roster that Jam has. I think the Damien Scott vs Forch matchup will be nice and these two veteran teams will make up the best quarters game. I don't see Jam losing though

Semis
Bravo vs Sockeye
Last year these two teams met eachother and played a great 15-13 battle. I think Sockeye this year is not as dominant as they were last year and I think Bravo is only getting better. However, with that said, I think Sockeye will still win. Like a better version of SubZero, Bravo is still led by a young group of players. I think Richter is playing his best disc (and after watching some ECC footage, I am remembering why he won the callahan depsite his 2005 performance hiatus) and will lead an intense Bravo team into battle. However, Richter, Chicken, Jolian, Beau, Rabbit, Valdavia, Tripoli, these guys have played in maybe 4-5 club series' each. They will have to go against Crafts, Cram, CK, Moses, Will Henry, etc... who are playing in their 8-10th. With that in mind, I think Sockeye will/should play a more conservative game than usual to ensure that they don't give up stupid breaks. Bravo will play intense but their talent and experience are not held by the same population of players and I think they will have a tough time playing their best disc against their toughest opponent. Plus this is nationals, Sockeye is kinda good at this tourney.

Furious vs Jam
This is a tough game to call. A Jam/FG semis game is so historic. In 2004 they met in semis and Jam took out an over peaked Furious. Furious for the most part, has not changed in the last 3 years, plus Mike Grant's health is an issue. Being one of the most consistent yet dominating players in ultimate, if he isn't at his best, Furious will struggle. However, Furious is also crisp at every level, their 5-7 players are all very good and can match Jam's firepower. Jam is also a team known for choking and considering that they have gotten this far this year after not making nationals last year, they are on borrowed time. This game could easily go either way pending weather, injuries and god knows what else. I am hoping for wind, which will favor Furious, so that Gabe's breaks and Bart's scoobers will be limited. However, Damien leads a good team and the likes of Cissna, Namkung, Idris, and Steets know how to ball. I think Furious is a clutch team however. Last year they played a close final to Sockeye and got unlucky with a greatest and Skippy's hammer catch. Plus Furious seems to improve at every stage of the series and plays their best at nationals. I like a 3-peat for a the finals and I think Furious will take down Jam.

The Finals:
Sockeye vs Furios
So cliche I know, but if I pick every game on a game to game basis, this is where I end up. Here, you will have 2 teams that have already played eachother at nationals, with Furious taking down Sockeye. I don't see it happening again. Sockeye is just too good when they need to be. They play 2 real tournaments a year, ECC and Nationals. They may have lost in pool play to Boston at ECC, but they came back and won the tourney AGAIN. Furious beat Sockeye at regionals but I think Sockeye is the better team. Their youth, talent, and experience is unparalleled and I don't think they will lose when the stakes are this high. However, i will say that the only team that can take down Sockeye is Furious. Because these two teams play eachother so much, they go back and forth, not unlike the Yankees and the Red Sox. I would love to see my boys get another championship but I want to be objective. Sockeye is the best team in the world and I think will win another national title.

The Co-ed, womens, and masters tournaments should all be very good as well. Shazaam seems to be the team to beat and could roll through the tourney unlike any team I have ever seen. Hopefully women's won't go as predicted as last year. As far as masters goes, I think Parinella and Big Ego are making master's nationals something to watch, in addition to that double game point callahan last year. I am hoping for a Big Ego vs Above and Beyond final, a Boston/NYNY rematch for the ages). I wish I could be there.

my thoughts

match diesel