Northwest:
Favorite: Seattle Sockeye. Sockeye has had a dream season, picking up a few more star players who seem to have fit right into the system. They beat the defending world champions twice, and they have two losses on universe point (Boston, Jam) and another while short-handed (Johnny Bravo). They are beatable, but they are cut above the rest of the teams in the country. They should come in extremely focused and will not falter at regionals.
Contenders: Revolver has the second seed by virtue of their sectionals win over Jam, and Jam is the only team in the NW with a win over Sockeye. Furious has looked unimpressive all season, except for a dominant performance at Canadian Nationals, where they stormed past an extremely determined and likely UPA quarterfinalist GOAT. Rhino has been lurking in the background all season, but they seem to have cooled off following their finals appearance at Solstice. They are still firmly ahead of Voodoo and YR, two young teams that seem unlikely to break through for a few years.
Qualifiers: Sockeye storms through to the finals, beating a resurgent Furious in the semis, and meeting a Jam team that avenged their sectionals loss to Revolver. In the backdoor, Furious and Revolver roll through YR and Rhino and Furious secures the third bid when they beat Revolver. Revolver comes out as the NW #4 and will be a very difficult draw as the second seed in pool play at Nationals.
Southwest
Favorite: Johnny Bravo has had an extremely impressive summer and fall season. This may finally be the year that they can step up and make a finals appearance at Nationals. They're 4-1 against Jam (1-0 on neutral ground) and 1-1 against Sockeye. They lost to Condors, their regional rival, in their only meeting, but they will be the favorite by virtue of their impressive performances at Colorado Cup and Labor Day. This is a team that has had time to gel and teammates know each other. And having Beau to fall back on never hurts.
Contenders: Barring a monumental upset, Condors are the only other team with a shot at Nationals. SD United, Monster, and Last Call all fell way behind Condors at SoCal Sectionals, and Condors have posted some impressive wins at elite tournaments (Bravo, Boston, Jam). They're a bubble team at Nationals between prequarters and quarters, depending on which Condors team shows up.
Qualifiers: Bravo takes the region in commanding fashion, and Condors are clearly a cut above the rest.
South
Favorite: Last year's surprise semifinalist Chain Lightning remains the favorite from the South. They've added Josh Ziperstein and traveled across the country this summer. They beat Doublewide on their own turf and got experience playing NW teams at ECC, even beating Johnny Bravo in a shortened game. But Chain has not fared as well close to home, falling to Ring, Truck Stop, and Boston. Still, they are the regional favorites, but their Nationals results may end up depending on whether or not they match up favorably against their opponents.
Contenders: Doublewide is the clear choice to take the second bid out of the South, but a new-look Vicious Cycle and the other Florida teams believe that they have a shot at Nationals. DW looked impressive at Labor Day, and their aggressive style may have ruffled some feathers. But South region teams are more used to physical play and will not be intimidated.
Qualifiers: Chain Lightning wins the region in a close game over Doublewide, who win an equally close game-to-go over Vicious Cycle. We'll see whether Doublewide brings the stylish or hideous uniforms to Nationals this year.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Club Regionals Preview: NE, MA, CN
Northeast:
Favorite: GOAT - the Canadian runners-up have had the most impressive season of any east-coast team, winning five tournaments and coming second in two others. They have since avenged their double-game point loss to BAT and their only other losses come to Boston Ultimate during tryout season and Furious in the finals of Canadian Nationals. They've beaten every team with Nationals aspirations in the Northeast, Central, and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Contenders: This is a three-team race, with Boston Ultimate and PoNY rounding out the field. New Noise is the fourth-best team but a long distance back. Boston has had the better season to date, and although their head-to-head with PoNY is 2-2, they won the most recent meeting 13-6 at Chesapeake. Their travels out west to the Colorado Cup and ECC brought better competition than CHC, and they performed better against the higher-caliber teams. Both Boston and PoNY are struggling with a lot of new additions trying to gel, and I expect that this matchup will be for 1/2 in the region next year, not 2/3.
Qualifiers: GOAT wins and Boston beats out PoNY in a close game-to-go.
Mid-Atlantic:
Favorite: Ring of Fire. It's been a long time since Ring has lost MA Regionals. They proved that they were in good form with a second-place finish at Chesapeake, and their wins over Chain and Boston earlier in the season bode well for their performance at Nationals, which has been disappointing in the last few years. They traveled out to ECC as well and beat up on the 5th and 6th teams in the NW Region. Ring is a team that relies on their athleticism and aggression to create difficult matchups for opponents, but they have been known to crack under pressure at Nationals.
Contenders: Truck Stop and Pike both have Nationals ambitions, with Burgh lurking in the background. Truck Stop is the clear second team in the region, and they will not be "just happy to be there" if they qualify for Nationals for a second straight year. With that experience under their belts, as well as travels to Colorado Cup and Labor Day, they are well-poised to make pre-quarters at Nationals this year. Pike is looking to play spoiler, still trying to regain the form that saw them upset Sockeye and make the semifinals at Nationals in 2004. Atrocious performances at Chesapeake and a lackluster CHC makes them the definite 3rd option for the Mid-Atlantic.
Qualifiers: Ring of Fire and Truck Stop, with Pike not nearly as close as last year.
Central:
Favorite: Sub-Zero is the clear top dog in the Central Region, and they've only strengthened by picking up six new college champions from Wisconsin and a few young guns from Carleton. They were 3rd at Colorado Cup, 5th at ECC, and 2nd at CHC. They beat Chain, Revolver (twice), Condors, Boston, Truck Stop, and every other contender from the Central region except Front Line, whom they haven't played in a competitive game. Their closest in-region games were two-point wins over BAT and the Van Buren Boys at CHC.
Contenders: The Central Region is the most competitive in terms of the number of teams who legitimately have a shot at Nationals. With the size bid all but wrapped up, BAT, Machine, Madcow, Front Line, Van Buren Boys, and possibly General Strike (should they make the trip to Tulsa) will be fighting for two spots. The way things look to shape out are BAT taking the second bid, and then Madcow, Machine, and Front Line fighting it out for the third. But Madcow seems to be a bogey team for BAT, and they could upset things depending on how the brackets are formed. BAT and Machine are the only teams with victories over Nationals-caliber teams (GOAT/Ring and Revolver/Boston respectively). If chemistry is the decider as it often is, look for Machine to get their return bid to nationals.
Qualifiers: Sub Zero sweeps through the region with little difficulty, but Madcow upsets BAT in the semifinals and loses to Sub Zero in the finals, then BAT in the backdoor in the grudge match. Machine takes the last bid to Nationals over an exhausted Madcow. VBB and Front Line are still on the outside looking in.
Favorite: GOAT - the Canadian runners-up have had the most impressive season of any east-coast team, winning five tournaments and coming second in two others. They have since avenged their double-game point loss to BAT and their only other losses come to Boston Ultimate during tryout season and Furious in the finals of Canadian Nationals. They've beaten every team with Nationals aspirations in the Northeast, Central, and Mid-Atlantic regions.
Contenders: This is a three-team race, with Boston Ultimate and PoNY rounding out the field. New Noise is the fourth-best team but a long distance back. Boston has had the better season to date, and although their head-to-head with PoNY is 2-2, they won the most recent meeting 13-6 at Chesapeake. Their travels out west to the Colorado Cup and ECC brought better competition than CHC, and they performed better against the higher-caliber teams. Both Boston and PoNY are struggling with a lot of new additions trying to gel, and I expect that this matchup will be for 1/2 in the region next year, not 2/3.
Qualifiers: GOAT wins and Boston beats out PoNY in a close game-to-go.
Mid-Atlantic:
Favorite: Ring of Fire. It's been a long time since Ring has lost MA Regionals. They proved that they were in good form with a second-place finish at Chesapeake, and their wins over Chain and Boston earlier in the season bode well for their performance at Nationals, which has been disappointing in the last few years. They traveled out to ECC as well and beat up on the 5th and 6th teams in the NW Region. Ring is a team that relies on their athleticism and aggression to create difficult matchups for opponents, but they have been known to crack under pressure at Nationals.
Contenders: Truck Stop and Pike both have Nationals ambitions, with Burgh lurking in the background. Truck Stop is the clear second team in the region, and they will not be "just happy to be there" if they qualify for Nationals for a second straight year. With that experience under their belts, as well as travels to Colorado Cup and Labor Day, they are well-poised to make pre-quarters at Nationals this year. Pike is looking to play spoiler, still trying to regain the form that saw them upset Sockeye and make the semifinals at Nationals in 2004. Atrocious performances at Chesapeake and a lackluster CHC makes them the definite 3rd option for the Mid-Atlantic.
Qualifiers: Ring of Fire and Truck Stop, with Pike not nearly as close as last year.
Central:
Favorite: Sub-Zero is the clear top dog in the Central Region, and they've only strengthened by picking up six new college champions from Wisconsin and a few young guns from Carleton. They were 3rd at Colorado Cup, 5th at ECC, and 2nd at CHC. They beat Chain, Revolver (twice), Condors, Boston, Truck Stop, and every other contender from the Central region except Front Line, whom they haven't played in a competitive game. Their closest in-region games were two-point wins over BAT and the Van Buren Boys at CHC.
Contenders: The Central Region is the most competitive in terms of the number of teams who legitimately have a shot at Nationals. With the size bid all but wrapped up, BAT, Machine, Madcow, Front Line, Van Buren Boys, and possibly General Strike (should they make the trip to Tulsa) will be fighting for two spots. The way things look to shape out are BAT taking the second bid, and then Madcow, Machine, and Front Line fighting it out for the third. But Madcow seems to be a bogey team for BAT, and they could upset things depending on how the brackets are formed. BAT and Machine are the only teams with victories over Nationals-caliber teams (GOAT/Ring and Revolver/Boston respectively). If chemistry is the decider as it often is, look for Machine to get their return bid to nationals.
Qualifiers: Sub Zero sweeps through the region with little difficulty, but Madcow upsets BAT in the semifinals and loses to Sub Zero in the finals, then BAT in the backdoor in the grudge match. Machine takes the last bid to Nationals over an exhausted Madcow. VBB and Front Line are still on the outside looking in.
Monday, September 3, 2007
DEVYL Registration and Google Group
The Delaware Valley Youth League (DEVYL) league website and registration page are located at: http://ryan-thompson.home.comcast.net/join.html
There is a Google Group for the league with important league information and forms at http://groups.google.com/group/devyl-fall
Registration has begun! Everyone must register online.
There is a Google Group for the league with important league information and forms at http://groups.google.com/group/devyl-fall
Registration has begun! Everyone must register online.
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