Sorry there haven't been a ton of (or any) updates. Having a pair of disappointing tournaments, being injured and working a lot this summer wasn't fertile ground for regular updating. Just started physical therapy again (after re-injuring myself), so hopefully this might pick up once I'm healthy-er.
If you're from a law firm, hi.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Ultimaxx(x)
There won't be any pictures from this tournament. If someone was stupid enough to have their hands outside their pockets, I'm not sure I want to remember the weekend.
This would be the last tournament before Spring Break and, judging by the number of nagging injuries plaguing the team, it had the potential to be a big flop. We secured a #1 seed in our original pool with a big-time final round match-up against NC State. Of course, someone dropped the day before and the seeding changed abruptly. We found ourselves a #2 seed (seriously, I can't explain the seeding for this tournament) with our big game against Pittsburgh, the tournament's top seed.
Regardless, we were excited for the weekend. A couple of games that would allow us to open our rotation up (something that had proved difficult in Vegas) and a couple of games that would let us figure out where we stood in the Section/Region was exactly what we needed going in to our break.
Of course, the weather didn't cooperate. I drove up Friday night with about half the team to find Greenville being drenched with rain. Woke up to find that the rain hadn't stopped (wouldn't really stop until Monday and then it snowed). At least it wasn't windy. Oh wait, it would become VERY windy VERY soon.
We get to the fields and discover some problems. Although ECU had been told they'd have the field site no matter what, we weren't allowed to play. Of course, back-up fields hadn't been secured, but we managed to find some community rec fields that we could squat on. Rounds were pushed back about 45 minutes and shortened slightly, but we started with expectations of playing the weekend.
Saturday
UNC-Greensboro, 12-4
Our first game was against UNC-Greensboro. Although their coach was kind of fiery, they seemed to be generally nice guys. Berendes didn't want us to give up any points to them, but we couldn't muster the level of intensity necessary for that level of domination. Our all-star line couldn't get the D on the first point, giving them their first and only lead. After that, we punched the disc in and started a nice D run. We gave up another point later, but took half 7-2.
After half, we managed to score our O point. Unfortunately, we gave up the D and then saw our O-line get broken. This threatened to make B-des go catatonic. After the O-line punched it in, the D-line got on the field and never left. Can't remember any great highlights outside of a nice poach layout D by Hagan.
After the game, we got a bye, during which we retreated to our cars. While we were safely ensconced in the heat, the rain picked up, the wind started to howl and the temperature dropped.
Rutgers, 7-4
Rutgers had just finished slapping UNC-G down, so we needed to start with some fire. We scored going downwind and then broke them going upwind to take the quick lead. Unfortunately, our zone D on their ensuing upwind point got broken after a through-the-cup throw went just under Trahey's arm and the popper who caught it put up a pretty nice huck that got over the top of B-des and ended up resulting in an upwind score. Our O-line couldn't punch the upwind in and we ended up falling back on serve. This continued for a couple points until we managed to get another upwinder and this time converted the other direction to score downwind for half and the end of the game.
The weather was a big factor in this game and it included a couple of 10-15 minute points. I think if we had continued to play to full score, we would have won 13-6ish, but time cap got called and the score ended up being closer. Moral of the story: we've got to bring it hard form the get-go or we're going to end up in long games against not-so-good teams.
Pittsburgh, 10-6
This was the game we actually cared about. By this time, both teams were frozen from top to bottom and I can't say that either of us were excited to play. Even so, we managed to bring a good deal of intensity to this game. The first point, with us going downwind, was a marathon. Both teams got within 10-15 yards of the endzone multiple times, but we eventually managed to score to prevent the break. Pittsburgh came back and scored almost immediately. I didn't really notice because I had point-blocked a huck in the first point and after I'd gotten off the field I realized my hand was screaming in pain. I'd eventually get back in, but I can't say that I remember much of what happened in the intervening points. I know we scored to maintain serve and then scored upwind on a gorgeous Trahey step-thru backhand huck that hit Berendes in stride.
After breaking upwind, we converted downwind and took a strong 4-1 lead. Pitt roared back with a nice break through our zone that lead to a two-person fast break and a score. 4-2. We managed to get the next three points with a lot of fight and some fortuitous grabs. The only one I remember was a nice IO flick break from Will Kane to me for a score.
After half, Pitt put the disc in to stop the bleeding and we traded to 9-5. At that point, Pitt managed to score upwind for their first break. I'd like to note that they scored this break with three or four straight up-line handler cuts. When we stopped these cuts, they didn't break us. 9-6. We replied with an all-star line and Trahey put up a big backhand that B-des and a whole pack of Pitt players missed and went straight to Tommy who was waiting for the second effort. Game.
Overall, Pitt played a very physical, very fundamental style of ultimate. I'd love to play them in better weather.
Kenyon, 9-5
We were happy to get our win over Pitt, but quite unhappy to play another game. Our opponents didn't seem interested in playing, so we all secretly hoped that they would forfeit and we'd get the free win. 'Twas not to be. They ended up playing and we ended up playing flat.
We almost gave up a break on the first point, but managed to save ourselves with tight goal-line defense. Their zone was heavily trapping us going upwind and we even had problems with it going downwind. Half ended with us on serve and a total of 0 breaks from each side.
After half, we got our shit together and ran off three straight breaks before allowing them to score upwind and continue the game (we'd agreed to play to 9, rather than 13, due to our later start). We put in a solid O-line and worked the disc up until Trahey hit Nick with a nice backhand for the winner.
The only highlights of this game were Guenther's everpresent hammers, which he threw constantly with a high completion rate. Tommy, in particular, caught tons of these for huge chunks of yardage. I got to play a couple O-line points, which made a nice change of pace, but most of us just wanted to get back to the hotels and shower.
We finished 4-0 in our pool and earned a bye for the bracket on Sunday. This meant we could sleep in until 9:30. When we woke up and looked outside to more rain, more wind and colder temps, it wasn't suprising that B-des got a call that the tournament was cancelled. It would have been nice to play our first round match against UNC, but no one (particularly my quite ill self) really wanted to play in the slop.
On spring break now, visiting Rachel in Princeton. A week or two off my feet is already making my shins feel better and I'm pretty psyched for Easterns at the end of March.
This would be the last tournament before Spring Break and, judging by the number of nagging injuries plaguing the team, it had the potential to be a big flop. We secured a #1 seed in our original pool with a big-time final round match-up against NC State. Of course, someone dropped the day before and the seeding changed abruptly. We found ourselves a #2 seed (seriously, I can't explain the seeding for this tournament) with our big game against Pittsburgh, the tournament's top seed.
Regardless, we were excited for the weekend. A couple of games that would allow us to open our rotation up (something that had proved difficult in Vegas) and a couple of games that would let us figure out where we stood in the Section/Region was exactly what we needed going in to our break.
Of course, the weather didn't cooperate. I drove up Friday night with about half the team to find Greenville being drenched with rain. Woke up to find that the rain hadn't stopped (wouldn't really stop until Monday and then it snowed). At least it wasn't windy. Oh wait, it would become VERY windy VERY soon.
We get to the fields and discover some problems. Although ECU had been told they'd have the field site no matter what, we weren't allowed to play. Of course, back-up fields hadn't been secured, but we managed to find some community rec fields that we could squat on. Rounds were pushed back about 45 minutes and shortened slightly, but we started with expectations of playing the weekend.
Saturday
UNC-Greensboro, 12-4
Our first game was against UNC-Greensboro. Although their coach was kind of fiery, they seemed to be generally nice guys. Berendes didn't want us to give up any points to them, but we couldn't muster the level of intensity necessary for that level of domination. Our all-star line couldn't get the D on the first point, giving them their first and only lead. After that, we punched the disc in and started a nice D run. We gave up another point later, but took half 7-2.
After half, we managed to score our O point. Unfortunately, we gave up the D and then saw our O-line get broken. This threatened to make B-des go catatonic. After the O-line punched it in, the D-line got on the field and never left. Can't remember any great highlights outside of a nice poach layout D by Hagan.
After the game, we got a bye, during which we retreated to our cars. While we were safely ensconced in the heat, the rain picked up, the wind started to howl and the temperature dropped.
Rutgers, 7-4
Rutgers had just finished slapping UNC-G down, so we needed to start with some fire. We scored going downwind and then broke them going upwind to take the quick lead. Unfortunately, our zone D on their ensuing upwind point got broken after a through-the-cup throw went just under Trahey's arm and the popper who caught it put up a pretty nice huck that got over the top of B-des and ended up resulting in an upwind score. Our O-line couldn't punch the upwind in and we ended up falling back on serve. This continued for a couple points until we managed to get another upwinder and this time converted the other direction to score downwind for half and the end of the game.
The weather was a big factor in this game and it included a couple of 10-15 minute points. I think if we had continued to play to full score, we would have won 13-6ish, but time cap got called and the score ended up being closer. Moral of the story: we've got to bring it hard form the get-go or we're going to end up in long games against not-so-good teams.
Pittsburgh, 10-6
This was the game we actually cared about. By this time, both teams were frozen from top to bottom and I can't say that either of us were excited to play. Even so, we managed to bring a good deal of intensity to this game. The first point, with us going downwind, was a marathon. Both teams got within 10-15 yards of the endzone multiple times, but we eventually managed to score to prevent the break. Pittsburgh came back and scored almost immediately. I didn't really notice because I had point-blocked a huck in the first point and after I'd gotten off the field I realized my hand was screaming in pain. I'd eventually get back in, but I can't say that I remember much of what happened in the intervening points. I know we scored to maintain serve and then scored upwind on a gorgeous Trahey step-thru backhand huck that hit Berendes in stride.
After breaking upwind, we converted downwind and took a strong 4-1 lead. Pitt roared back with a nice break through our zone that lead to a two-person fast break and a score. 4-2. We managed to get the next three points with a lot of fight and some fortuitous grabs. The only one I remember was a nice IO flick break from Will Kane to me for a score.
After half, Pitt put the disc in to stop the bleeding and we traded to 9-5. At that point, Pitt managed to score upwind for their first break. I'd like to note that they scored this break with three or four straight up-line handler cuts. When we stopped these cuts, they didn't break us. 9-6. We replied with an all-star line and Trahey put up a big backhand that B-des and a whole pack of Pitt players missed and went straight to Tommy who was waiting for the second effort. Game.
Overall, Pitt played a very physical, very fundamental style of ultimate. I'd love to play them in better weather.
Kenyon, 9-5
We were happy to get our win over Pitt, but quite unhappy to play another game. Our opponents didn't seem interested in playing, so we all secretly hoped that they would forfeit and we'd get the free win. 'Twas not to be. They ended up playing and we ended up playing flat.
We almost gave up a break on the first point, but managed to save ourselves with tight goal-line defense. Their zone was heavily trapping us going upwind and we even had problems with it going downwind. Half ended with us on serve and a total of 0 breaks from each side.
After half, we got our shit together and ran off three straight breaks before allowing them to score upwind and continue the game (we'd agreed to play to 9, rather than 13, due to our later start). We put in a solid O-line and worked the disc up until Trahey hit Nick with a nice backhand for the winner.
The only highlights of this game were Guenther's everpresent hammers, which he threw constantly with a high completion rate. Tommy, in particular, caught tons of these for huge chunks of yardage. I got to play a couple O-line points, which made a nice change of pace, but most of us just wanted to get back to the hotels and shower.
We finished 4-0 in our pool and earned a bye for the bracket on Sunday. This meant we could sleep in until 9:30. When we woke up and looked outside to more rain, more wind and colder temps, it wasn't suprising that B-des got a call that the tournament was cancelled. It would have been nice to play our first round match against UNC, but no one (particularly my quite ill self) really wanted to play in the slop.
On spring break now, visiting Rachel in Princeton. A week or two off my feet is already making my shins feel better and I'm pretty psyched for Easterns at the end of March.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Vegas Photos
Brimstone O-Line
Here are some photos from Vegas, courtesy of Knute.
Write-up from Ultimaxx will probably be up later this week. In one word, rainy.
Washington:
Ultivillage put out a five-minute summary of this game here. Thankfully, the film has been edited to make us look a lot better than I remember playing that game. Also, I had no idea my lame side-spike was filmed.
Guenther! Guenther! Yee-haw!
B-des Going Up
Geoff Trying for the Second Effort
Virginia:
Alex Getting Open
Guenther, Again.
Illinois
Yours Truly, Getting Vision Blocked
Schwartz Hucking With Abandon
Trahey on the Mark and Sick as a Dog
Turned Out to Be One of the Prettiest Throws I've Ever Seen
Guenther, Yet Again.
Knute and B-des Patrolling the Skies...Too Bad the Disc Got Caught by an Illinois Receiver Out of Frame
Wisconsin:
Tommy D-ing Up the Hodags
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Valentine's Day with Rachel
V-Day Dinner
Unfortunately, this post is not going to contain photos from Vegas, but those should be coming soon.
Rachel made the trip down to Durham for V-Day. Instead of going out for dinner, we stayed in and cooked for ourselves. Since the meal turned out fantastic, I figured I'd throw some pictures up on the blog for the masses to salivate over.
Rachel has requested that the previous paragraph be edited to read as follows:
Rachel made the trip down to Durham for V-Day, and IT WAS AWESOME. Instead of going out for dinner on Saturday, we stayed in and cooked for ourselves BECAUSE WE ARE AWESOME. Since the meal turned out fantastic, I figured I'd throw some pictures up on the blog for the masses to salivate over.
I'm George. Yay!
Filet, Onions and Potatoes
Asparagus and Filet
Nectarines, Plums and Peaches with Cream
Recipes used:
Bacon-wrapped Filet Mignon
Rosemary Potatoes
Garlic Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Reduction
Fruit and Mascarpone Cream
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
No Troubles in Vegas
This was my first year attending Trouble in Vegas and I was super psyched to see all of my Alaska friends who play for big name schools. I don't regret going to Princeton, but I do regret not having played for a team that traveled to the more prestigious tournaments. Coming into TiV, Duke had finally started earning some respect and we were seeded #24, which earned us one of the last spots in the elite bracket.
Thursday was spent traveling. Pretty glad I'm no longer a captain as I wouldn't have wanted to coordinate a team of 22 guys and our coach on a cross-country flight involving rental cars, hotels (two of them...more on this later) and a tourney schedule that was straight up made up on the fly. After arriving and checking in (to the hotel and the tournament), I went to bed pretty excited for the next day's games.
The schedule had us playing three pool games spread over two days along with four random crossover games against teams not in your pool spread over all three days. One team from each pool advances to the championship bracket based off their overall record (not just their pool record). We were seeded last in our pool, so there was nowhere to go but up.
Friday
Kansas, 10-7
First game of the tournament was against the Horrorzontals of Kansas. They were in our pool and were only a year removed from being a nationals team, so we expected a bit of fight.
However, they weren't ready to go. They'd just finished a universe point loss to Florida and looked very sloppy. We broke on the first point. After getting the turn and throwing it away on the goal line, they put the disc in to tie the game at 1-1 (should have been 2-0). What should have been quickly became reality, though, as we ran off five straight points to take a 6-1 lead. Kansas finally puts one in and we score to take half 7-2.
After half, we receive the disc and work it to the goal line before B-des puts up a scoober that Tommy drops. Kansas scores the disc and the O-line gets broken twice more. Suddenly, the game is 7-5 and tight. I catch the goal on a great upline throw from Borg to stop the bleeding. We trade points to 9-6 and then a huge argument breaks out. Kansas player makes a great catch and tries to toe himself in, but he lands on the line. He claims to be in, but Trahey argues that he has best perspective. After a 10 minute argument, Kansas eventually taps the disc in on the line and punches it in for the goal, but it's too little too late as the cap sounds during the next point and our O-line manages to score after a lot of turns to take the game 10-7.
I played pretty well catching a goal and throwing three or four. Had a sweet poach D early in the first half that led to a floaty IO flick that Knute tore down. B-des also had a sweet tear down on a floaty throw by yours truly.
Washington, 6-10
Washington had just finished winning a universe point game over Iowa on the field next to us. Unfortunately for us, the adjacent field happened to be perpendicular to the one we'd just played on and the wind, which had been crossfield in the Kansas game, was now upwind-downwind and had increased to constant gale force levels.
The game started great for us as we worked it upwind on offense and put in our first score. We then capitolized on it and scored the downwind break to go up 2-0. However, Washington ran off three straight points to take the lead. After getting another set of breaks (up and downwind), they ended up taking half 7-4.
Out of half, we put a score in, but couldn't stop them from scoring with the wind. We scored upwind again, but didn't convert the downwind break and our O-line got broken on the final point of the game.
Ultivillage was there to film this game, but after playing it I can't say that there was much I want to watch again. Tommy had a sick grab (pretty standard for him) as well as a Callahan on a floaty throw, but I can't think of any other plays that were highlight-worthy.
Virginia, 8-4
After a bye where I got to catch up with Chris, Bill and Kalgin, we got to play Virginia (who had won the ACC championships two weeks earlier). Virginia had pulled the big upset of the tournament earlier that day by beating Wisconsin 10-8 (turned out to be less of a big deal as Washington would beat them and they would finish the weekend with four or five losses). We were on the same field where we'd lost to Washington and the game looked like it was going to be very similar in terms of strategy.
The difference in this game was that we played hard on both sides of the disc.
The O-line did a great job this game and didn't give up an upwind break. The D-line managed to score upwind twice, both times filled with some great plays. Trahey made an absolutely disgusting grab to score the first of the two breaks when he pulled down a floaty throw from Knute that was meant for me. After taking half 7-4, we scored the first point upwind on an upline flick from me to Peter (twice, first one got called back on an "up/down" call) to finish the game and secure the win.
Afterwards, we watched Florida beat Wisconsin 7-6 in a call-fest. Brodie Smith is a fantastic athlete, but their entire team seems designed to stroke his ego (Berendes coined the term "Florida Brodie Fellatio" to describe their team strategy). In order to beat them, you need to be able beat their four-man cup and you need to stop their deep 50-50s. We'll see if it happens.
Saturday
We show up at the fields to zero wind and consistently inconsisent rain. The temperature was a little lower than it had been on Friday, but it was still decent.
Florida, 5-11
Florida had a boner check before the game even started, but it didn't help them much as our all-star line punched in a break on the first point. We held our lead until 3-2 when Florida scored the point and then got the break back to take the lead 3-4. At that point, Florida went on a 1-7 run until the cap sounded. Berendes made a nice sky to score the point and end the suffering.
Florida didn't play any of the zone we'd seen the day before (either because it wasn't windy or because they didn't think it was necessary) and for the first couple points our offense looked very crisp against their man defense. We thought they might change defenses, but they stuck to man and ended up trouncing us. On offense, they put up lots of hucks and 50-50s and probably pulled down about that percentage. To set up their hucks they used a lot of quick handler passes and low break backhands. When we were able to shut those down, they would simply jack it and hope they came down with it. Unfortunately, we didn't score on their turns when they made them and it cost us.
Ethan made some great plays on offense, including two sick grabs, one for the score. Schwartz and Peter made great cuts all game and were consistently open. Guenther had a sick layout D on an upline cut. Vivek played way above his height when guarding a 6'4" dude and D'ing him up twice.
Coming in, we knew they had a reputation for calls and unforunately, it was deserved. There were a handful of borderline foul calls, but what was worse was the way they approached the discussions. Will threw a great upline backhand to Max called back on a travel. When he called out his marker for not possibly seeing his foot, the guy simply replied "Travel" and stopped talking to him.
Oh yeah...the cheating. Trahey made an upline cut and literally had his jersey grabbed and yanked backward. Schwartz had an unmarked huck stopped by a trailing defender locking arms with him. The worst occurred when Borg watched a pull land out of bounds and Windham, the Florida coach, started yelling loudly that it was in. He was forty yards away and Borg was standing over the disc. When Borg placed the disc down to demonstrate where it landed, the dude claimed it was a turnover. Finally, when Borg proceeded to pace off the brick, the entire Florida sideline got in his way and tried to prevent him from pacing it off. Add in calling a phantom call while we were in goal line defense and I felt completely legit with not shaking his hand at the end of the game.
If it sounds like I didn't like this game, that's because I really didn't.
Claremont, 12-10
We followed up the Florida game with a game against the much nicer Claremont Braineaters. Our offense continued their trend of getting broken about as often as they scored. Thankfully, our defense stepped up in a big way this game. The O-line ended a nice D-line run giving up a break to go in to half on serve 6-7.
After half, we stopped fucking around and scored the O point. Unfortunately, they scored and got the break again to take the lead 7-9. Our D-line finally turned it on we ran off four straight to take the lead 11-9. However, we couldn't hold the Braineaters from scoring before the cap went on, which forced us to score in order to win the game. After a couple misfires, we managed to punch it in and win the game.
I had a nice poach D and a run-through that got called back on a foul. Sadly, the game ended with a little controversy when I called a foul on a backhand break to Berendes. My mark had moved over to block the backhand, but I don't believe he was stationary. Had it happened prior to the last point, no one would've cared, but it cast a little shadow on our victory.
Iowa, 11-4
After a bye where the weather turned sour again (it had cleared up briefly during the Claremont game) and none of us really wanted to get out of the cars. Iowa seemed to have the same mindset, particularly since their tournament wasn't going as well as their shocking upset victory at Warm Up. It was wet, shitty and the field was a mud pit and yet, we came out PUMPED.
Starting on defense, we scored three straight breaks. Iowa was a pretty big team, but somehow they could't connect on their deep throws and definitely couldn't get open on their unders. They finally score to stop the run (on a point where we had a chance to continue breaking) and then manage to break the O-line. After we scored and got the defense back on the field, the game was over. Our defense was the best I'd ever seen it (except for a brief stretch in a game coming up soon) and we took half with three more breaks. Iowa put in a couple, but mostly we rolled.
It was really muddy and wet, so miscues happened, but lady luck seemed to be on our side. Or to quote Napoleon, "fortune...favors the bold." I had to layout to catch a hammer from Berendes that ended up being released sixty feet straight up. I had my own problems when I shanked a high release backhand huck to Jeff that ended up going forty yards downfield AND about forty feet up in the air. Nick saved my ass by catching the rebound. Berendes managed to overthrow a lasered flick to one of Trahey's rare deep cuts only to be saved when Alex elevated like whoa and tore the disc out of the sky. Schwartz also went airborne to try and save a hammer from Tommy and managed to get taken out in the process. After the foul was contested, the same play got repeated and Schwartz showed off by nailing the grab.
Our D had nothing to do with luck, however. Nick had a picture perfect full extension layout that was just short of a block. Knute went ho and got the full extension bid after having one of his Ds called back. Hagan had a couple sick Ds including a great poach block (I had one, too) that he knocked down on the goal line. Should've been a Callahan. All in all, lots of plays with our feet and the end result was a rout.
Sunday
We'd gone 2-1 each day to compile an overall record of 4-2. Unfortunately, Florida was 5-1 (their only loss to Carleton) so we had no chance of making the championship bracket. Even so, there was a palpable energy on the sideline. We'd already outperformed most people's expectations and we hadn't found our ceiling yet. Plus, we had a rematch with a team we'd crushed at CCC.
Illinois, 13-12
This team was better than the one we'd played at CCC. But, we were better than we were at CCC. Unfortunately for both teams, that improvement wasn't always evident on the field. The game started off fine with the D-line putting in a break and the O-lines trading to 3-2. Then the O-line got broken twice to make it 3-4. After we punched it in, the D-line got back to work and got two straight breaks to take the lead again 6-4.
Unfortunately, the O-line managed to get broken twice and Illinois ran off three straight to take half 6-7. After half, we had a small run that got us the lead 8-7, but then we self-destructed and gave up four straight points to their defense. This left us trailing 11-8 with eight minutes until hard cap came on.
And somehow, we began to play fucking inspired. Schwartz got the O-line off the field with a sick point block on an Illinois huck and then a nasty toe drag on the back line on an OI flick from Borg. This put the D on the field and we didn't leave until we had the lead 12-11. I guarded #12 on Illinois who called a throwing foul EVERY TIME he threw the disc (even when I didn't touch him). I may have yelled at him during the point, a lot...repeatedly. Thankfully, I managed to D the shit out of him on a dump cut at 11-11 and force the turn. Hagan got a layout, Cameron got two (w00t!) and suddenly, we're in the lead and the cap still hasn't come on.
The D-line finally gives up a score to tie the game at 12-12. Hard cap is on so the next point is universe. We put in our all-star line and worked the field. I catch the final goal from B-des on an OI flick that Hagan also could have grabbed. Duke wins.
This was a great game for our morale considering we dug ourselves a hole and managed to climb back out of it with an emphatic defensive stand. The game ended with a 5-1 run. If the key to success is learning to win close games, this was a huge step for us and we did it on the play of our entire roster, not just our studs.
Wisconsin, 5-15
Of course, because Florida was in our pool, we were excluded from the championship bracket and instead were shunted into a four-team mini-bracket for an undisclosed final placing. Our first game was against Wisconsin, last year's national champions. They'd been having a rough weekend with lots of close (and some not so close) losses, but we did not take advantage of any supposed weakness.
During the bye between this game and the Illinois game, the wind had picked up significantly and to make matters worse, we again were playing on a field that was upwind-downwind. It was also the muddiest field we played on all weekend. Add in the fact that many of our best players were hurting from the long weekend and this game did not feature our best play.
Those are all excuses, but the fact is that we just didn't execute in this game. Wisconsin managed to score upwind five times and we got zero upwind breaks even though we managed to get the disc within 10 yards of the upwind endzone four times! I managed to barely underthrow a wide-open Charlie who missed the bid. Berendes's throw to a fully horizontal Knute doinked off his fingers. Etc. Etc. Wisco's four man cup was particularly effective against us in the weather as we were forced to go over the top and the weather made that particularly difficult.
Even so, there were a couple highlights. Early in the game, Berendes skied Foster on a Trahey huck to set up one of the aforementioned scoring opportunities. I threw a forty yard downfield hammer to B-des that he snatched out of Pat's hands. Most impressively, Jeff G got a SICK layout D on an incut to set up one of our final scores. Unfortunately, Wisconsin made way more highlight reel type catches and they took the game convincingly.
While waiting to find out if we had another game, Nick's parents provided us all with tacos. Unfortunately, I only got one of them (stupid Peter...) as I volunteered to find out if we had another game. Thirty minutes later (and twenty minutes into the final round) we were switched from a rematch against Claremont to play Whitman, who was just as late getting to our field as we were.
Whitman, 6-3
Whitman had made a name for themselves the previous year at TiV. Unfortunately, they didn't look to be having the same level of success this year. The wind was still wreaking havoc with throws, but at least on our new field it was crossfield.
To say that both teams looked unexcited to play would be an understatement, but we both took the field and made a couple of plays. Whitman relies A LOT on quick handler passes (particularly the high release backhand break) and due to the wind they couldn't corral all of them. They also liked to huck a lot for a team that wasn't particularly tall.
We scored the first point on offense and then scored a break before they put a goal in. We scored again and got another break to grab a 4-1 lead. At this point, hell points began. The next two points, both Whitman scores, took approximately thirty minutes and left everyone on the field exhausted. When Whitman finally put the break in, it was time for the all-star line to go out and make sure that the game didn't end up a loss.
After a couple turns, we punched it in and hard cap goes on to guarantee us the win. We agree to play the last point anyway and a mostly rookie line consisting of Jeff G, Charlie, Cameron, Nick, Wade, Venters and Trahey punch it in and give us the double-up. Only real highlights of the game were Trahey huge OI backhand hucks that he was putting both ways to Berendes and Knute for scores. Also, Nick played some great ultimate including shutting down Whitman's stud, Jeremy Norden, for a series.
After basking in our 6-3 record and warming down/stretching out, most of us headed over to watch the finals between Colorado and Florida. Colorado had taken a universe point win over Carleton and it had either effected them physically or mentally as they went down 8-3 at half. They managed to make a comeback in the second half, but lost a capped game 13-11 even though cap had gone on at 12-6 and Mamabird scored the last point. The Florida win was made slightly palatable by the fact that Schwartz and Tommy, who had disappeared immediately after our Whitman game, reappeared mid-finals with a truckload of In-N-Out burgers for the whole team to enjoy.
Overall:
6-3
I thought this weekend was a statement from our team. We played at a relatively consistent level all weekend and only lost games to both of last year's national finalists and an upstart Washington team, all three losses coming in terrible weather games. Our defense is significantly improved over the fall and ACCs, but our offense (and particularly our O-line defense) needs work. The weekend left us with a lot to work on and a great base to improve upon. Ignoring the hate on RSD (although we do appreciate the motivation), I feel good about where we are and very excited for the rest of the season.
The rest of the trip was a nice coda. A number of us went out Sunday night and I technically lost money playing blackjack (big winner was Vivek with his roulette magic). On the way home, we had a long layover in Denver where I won at Egyptian Rat Screw and enjoyed some great airport burritos and TCBY frozen yogurt. Glad to be home, but memories of the weekend are sticking with me. Good job Brimstone.
Thursday was spent traveling. Pretty glad I'm no longer a captain as I wouldn't have wanted to coordinate a team of 22 guys and our coach on a cross-country flight involving rental cars, hotels (two of them...more on this later) and a tourney schedule that was straight up made up on the fly. After arriving and checking in (to the hotel and the tournament), I went to bed pretty excited for the next day's games.
The schedule had us playing three pool games spread over two days along with four random crossover games against teams not in your pool spread over all three days. One team from each pool advances to the championship bracket based off their overall record (not just their pool record). We were seeded last in our pool, so there was nowhere to go but up.
Friday
Kansas, 10-7
First game of the tournament was against the Horrorzontals of Kansas. They were in our pool and were only a year removed from being a nationals team, so we expected a bit of fight.
However, they weren't ready to go. They'd just finished a universe point loss to Florida and looked very sloppy. We broke on the first point. After getting the turn and throwing it away on the goal line, they put the disc in to tie the game at 1-1 (should have been 2-0). What should have been quickly became reality, though, as we ran off five straight points to take a 6-1 lead. Kansas finally puts one in and we score to take half 7-2.
After half, we receive the disc and work it to the goal line before B-des puts up a scoober that Tommy drops. Kansas scores the disc and the O-line gets broken twice more. Suddenly, the game is 7-5 and tight. I catch the goal on a great upline throw from Borg to stop the bleeding. We trade points to 9-6 and then a huge argument breaks out. Kansas player makes a great catch and tries to toe himself in, but he lands on the line. He claims to be in, but Trahey argues that he has best perspective. After a 10 minute argument, Kansas eventually taps the disc in on the line and punches it in for the goal, but it's too little too late as the cap sounds during the next point and our O-line manages to score after a lot of turns to take the game 10-7.
I played pretty well catching a goal and throwing three or four. Had a sweet poach D early in the first half that led to a floaty IO flick that Knute tore down. B-des also had a sweet tear down on a floaty throw by yours truly.
Washington, 6-10
Washington had just finished winning a universe point game over Iowa on the field next to us. Unfortunately for us, the adjacent field happened to be perpendicular to the one we'd just played on and the wind, which had been crossfield in the Kansas game, was now upwind-downwind and had increased to constant gale force levels.
The game started great for us as we worked it upwind on offense and put in our first score. We then capitolized on it and scored the downwind break to go up 2-0. However, Washington ran off three straight points to take the lead. After getting another set of breaks (up and downwind), they ended up taking half 7-4.
Out of half, we put a score in, but couldn't stop them from scoring with the wind. We scored upwind again, but didn't convert the downwind break and our O-line got broken on the final point of the game.
Ultivillage was there to film this game, but after playing it I can't say that there was much I want to watch again. Tommy had a sick grab (pretty standard for him) as well as a Callahan on a floaty throw, but I can't think of any other plays that were highlight-worthy.
Virginia, 8-4
After a bye where I got to catch up with Chris, Bill and Kalgin, we got to play Virginia (who had won the ACC championships two weeks earlier). Virginia had pulled the big upset of the tournament earlier that day by beating Wisconsin 10-8 (turned out to be less of a big deal as Washington would beat them and they would finish the weekend with four or five losses). We were on the same field where we'd lost to Washington and the game looked like it was going to be very similar in terms of strategy.
The difference in this game was that we played hard on both sides of the disc.
The O-line did a great job this game and didn't give up an upwind break. The D-line managed to score upwind twice, both times filled with some great plays. Trahey made an absolutely disgusting grab to score the first of the two breaks when he pulled down a floaty throw from Knute that was meant for me. After taking half 7-4, we scored the first point upwind on an upline flick from me to Peter (twice, first one got called back on an "up/down" call) to finish the game and secure the win.
Afterwards, we watched Florida beat Wisconsin 7-6 in a call-fest. Brodie Smith is a fantastic athlete, but their entire team seems designed to stroke his ego (Berendes coined the term "Florida Brodie Fellatio" to describe their team strategy). In order to beat them, you need to be able beat their four-man cup and you need to stop their deep 50-50s. We'll see if it happens.
Saturday
We show up at the fields to zero wind and consistently inconsisent rain. The temperature was a little lower than it had been on Friday, but it was still decent.
Florida, 5-11
Florida had a boner check before the game even started, but it didn't help them much as our all-star line punched in a break on the first point. We held our lead until 3-2 when Florida scored the point and then got the break back to take the lead 3-4. At that point, Florida went on a 1-7 run until the cap sounded. Berendes made a nice sky to score the point and end the suffering.
Florida didn't play any of the zone we'd seen the day before (either because it wasn't windy or because they didn't think it was necessary) and for the first couple points our offense looked very crisp against their man defense. We thought they might change defenses, but they stuck to man and ended up trouncing us. On offense, they put up lots of hucks and 50-50s and probably pulled down about that percentage. To set up their hucks they used a lot of quick handler passes and low break backhands. When we were able to shut those down, they would simply jack it and hope they came down with it. Unfortunately, we didn't score on their turns when they made them and it cost us.
Ethan made some great plays on offense, including two sick grabs, one for the score. Schwartz and Peter made great cuts all game and were consistently open. Guenther had a sick layout D on an upline cut. Vivek played way above his height when guarding a 6'4" dude and D'ing him up twice.
Coming in, we knew they had a reputation for calls and unforunately, it was deserved. There were a handful of borderline foul calls, but what was worse was the way they approached the discussions. Will threw a great upline backhand to Max called back on a travel. When he called out his marker for not possibly seeing his foot, the guy simply replied "Travel" and stopped talking to him.
Oh yeah...the cheating. Trahey made an upline cut and literally had his jersey grabbed and yanked backward. Schwartz had an unmarked huck stopped by a trailing defender locking arms with him. The worst occurred when Borg watched a pull land out of bounds and Windham, the Florida coach, started yelling loudly that it was in. He was forty yards away and Borg was standing over the disc. When Borg placed the disc down to demonstrate where it landed, the dude claimed it was a turnover. Finally, when Borg proceeded to pace off the brick, the entire Florida sideline got in his way and tried to prevent him from pacing it off. Add in calling a phantom call while we were in goal line defense and I felt completely legit with not shaking his hand at the end of the game.
If it sounds like I didn't like this game, that's because I really didn't.
Claremont, 12-10
We followed up the Florida game with a game against the much nicer Claremont Braineaters. Our offense continued their trend of getting broken about as often as they scored. Thankfully, our defense stepped up in a big way this game. The O-line ended a nice D-line run giving up a break to go in to half on serve 6-7.
After half, we stopped fucking around and scored the O point. Unfortunately, they scored and got the break again to take the lead 7-9. Our D-line finally turned it on we ran off four straight to take the lead 11-9. However, we couldn't hold the Braineaters from scoring before the cap went on, which forced us to score in order to win the game. After a couple misfires, we managed to punch it in and win the game.
I had a nice poach D and a run-through that got called back on a foul. Sadly, the game ended with a little controversy when I called a foul on a backhand break to Berendes. My mark had moved over to block the backhand, but I don't believe he was stationary. Had it happened prior to the last point, no one would've cared, but it cast a little shadow on our victory.
Iowa, 11-4
After a bye where the weather turned sour again (it had cleared up briefly during the Claremont game) and none of us really wanted to get out of the cars. Iowa seemed to have the same mindset, particularly since their tournament wasn't going as well as their shocking upset victory at Warm Up. It was wet, shitty and the field was a mud pit and yet, we came out PUMPED.
Starting on defense, we scored three straight breaks. Iowa was a pretty big team, but somehow they could't connect on their deep throws and definitely couldn't get open on their unders. They finally score to stop the run (on a point where we had a chance to continue breaking) and then manage to break the O-line. After we scored and got the defense back on the field, the game was over. Our defense was the best I'd ever seen it (except for a brief stretch in a game coming up soon) and we took half with three more breaks. Iowa put in a couple, but mostly we rolled.
It was really muddy and wet, so miscues happened, but lady luck seemed to be on our side. Or to quote Napoleon, "fortune...favors the bold." I had to layout to catch a hammer from Berendes that ended up being released sixty feet straight up. I had my own problems when I shanked a high release backhand huck to Jeff that ended up going forty yards downfield AND about forty feet up in the air. Nick saved my ass by catching the rebound. Berendes managed to overthrow a lasered flick to one of Trahey's rare deep cuts only to be saved when Alex elevated like whoa and tore the disc out of the sky. Schwartz also went airborne to try and save a hammer from Tommy and managed to get taken out in the process. After the foul was contested, the same play got repeated and Schwartz showed off by nailing the grab.
Our D had nothing to do with luck, however. Nick had a picture perfect full extension layout that was just short of a block. Knute went ho and got the full extension bid after having one of his Ds called back. Hagan had a couple sick Ds including a great poach block (I had one, too) that he knocked down on the goal line. Should've been a Callahan. All in all, lots of plays with our feet and the end result was a rout.
Sunday
We'd gone 2-1 each day to compile an overall record of 4-2. Unfortunately, Florida was 5-1 (their only loss to Carleton) so we had no chance of making the championship bracket. Even so, there was a palpable energy on the sideline. We'd already outperformed most people's expectations and we hadn't found our ceiling yet. Plus, we had a rematch with a team we'd crushed at CCC.
Illinois, 13-12
This team was better than the one we'd played at CCC. But, we were better than we were at CCC. Unfortunately for both teams, that improvement wasn't always evident on the field. The game started off fine with the D-line putting in a break and the O-lines trading to 3-2. Then the O-line got broken twice to make it 3-4. After we punched it in, the D-line got back to work and got two straight breaks to take the lead again 6-4.
Unfortunately, the O-line managed to get broken twice and Illinois ran off three straight to take half 6-7. After half, we had a small run that got us the lead 8-7, but then we self-destructed and gave up four straight points to their defense. This left us trailing 11-8 with eight minutes until hard cap came on.
And somehow, we began to play fucking inspired. Schwartz got the O-line off the field with a sick point block on an Illinois huck and then a nasty toe drag on the back line on an OI flick from Borg. This put the D on the field and we didn't leave until we had the lead 12-11. I guarded #12 on Illinois who called a throwing foul EVERY TIME he threw the disc (even when I didn't touch him). I may have yelled at him during the point, a lot...repeatedly. Thankfully, I managed to D the shit out of him on a dump cut at 11-11 and force the turn. Hagan got a layout, Cameron got two (w00t!) and suddenly, we're in the lead and the cap still hasn't come on.
The D-line finally gives up a score to tie the game at 12-12. Hard cap is on so the next point is universe. We put in our all-star line and worked the field. I catch the final goal from B-des on an OI flick that Hagan also could have grabbed. Duke wins.
This was a great game for our morale considering we dug ourselves a hole and managed to climb back out of it with an emphatic defensive stand. The game ended with a 5-1 run. If the key to success is learning to win close games, this was a huge step for us and we did it on the play of our entire roster, not just our studs.
Wisconsin, 5-15
Of course, because Florida was in our pool, we were excluded from the championship bracket and instead were shunted into a four-team mini-bracket for an undisclosed final placing. Our first game was against Wisconsin, last year's national champions. They'd been having a rough weekend with lots of close (and some not so close) losses, but we did not take advantage of any supposed weakness.
During the bye between this game and the Illinois game, the wind had picked up significantly and to make matters worse, we again were playing on a field that was upwind-downwind. It was also the muddiest field we played on all weekend. Add in the fact that many of our best players were hurting from the long weekend and this game did not feature our best play.
Those are all excuses, but the fact is that we just didn't execute in this game. Wisconsin managed to score upwind five times and we got zero upwind breaks even though we managed to get the disc within 10 yards of the upwind endzone four times! I managed to barely underthrow a wide-open Charlie who missed the bid. Berendes's throw to a fully horizontal Knute doinked off his fingers. Etc. Etc. Wisco's four man cup was particularly effective against us in the weather as we were forced to go over the top and the weather made that particularly difficult.
Even so, there were a couple highlights. Early in the game, Berendes skied Foster on a Trahey huck to set up one of the aforementioned scoring opportunities. I threw a forty yard downfield hammer to B-des that he snatched out of Pat's hands. Most impressively, Jeff G got a SICK layout D on an incut to set up one of our final scores. Unfortunately, Wisconsin made way more highlight reel type catches and they took the game convincingly.
While waiting to find out if we had another game, Nick's parents provided us all with tacos. Unfortunately, I only got one of them (stupid Peter...) as I volunteered to find out if we had another game. Thirty minutes later (and twenty minutes into the final round) we were switched from a rematch against Claremont to play Whitman, who was just as late getting to our field as we were.
Whitman, 6-3
Whitman had made a name for themselves the previous year at TiV. Unfortunately, they didn't look to be having the same level of success this year. The wind was still wreaking havoc with throws, but at least on our new field it was crossfield.
To say that both teams looked unexcited to play would be an understatement, but we both took the field and made a couple of plays. Whitman relies A LOT on quick handler passes (particularly the high release backhand break) and due to the wind they couldn't corral all of them. They also liked to huck a lot for a team that wasn't particularly tall.
We scored the first point on offense and then scored a break before they put a goal in. We scored again and got another break to grab a 4-1 lead. At this point, hell points began. The next two points, both Whitman scores, took approximately thirty minutes and left everyone on the field exhausted. When Whitman finally put the break in, it was time for the all-star line to go out and make sure that the game didn't end up a loss.
After a couple turns, we punched it in and hard cap goes on to guarantee us the win. We agree to play the last point anyway and a mostly rookie line consisting of Jeff G, Charlie, Cameron, Nick, Wade, Venters and Trahey punch it in and give us the double-up. Only real highlights of the game were Trahey huge OI backhand hucks that he was putting both ways to Berendes and Knute for scores. Also, Nick played some great ultimate including shutting down Whitman's stud, Jeremy Norden, for a series.
After basking in our 6-3 record and warming down/stretching out, most of us headed over to watch the finals between Colorado and Florida. Colorado had taken a universe point win over Carleton and it had either effected them physically or mentally as they went down 8-3 at half. They managed to make a comeback in the second half, but lost a capped game 13-11 even though cap had gone on at 12-6 and Mamabird scored the last point. The Florida win was made slightly palatable by the fact that Schwartz and Tommy, who had disappeared immediately after our Whitman game, reappeared mid-finals with a truckload of In-N-Out burgers for the whole team to enjoy.
Overall:
6-3
I thought this weekend was a statement from our team. We played at a relatively consistent level all weekend and only lost games to both of last year's national finalists and an upstart Washington team, all three losses coming in terrible weather games. Our defense is significantly improved over the fall and ACCs, but our offense (and particularly our O-line defense) needs work. The weekend left us with a lot to work on and a great base to improve upon. Ignoring the hate on RSD (although we do appreciate the motivation), I feel good about where we are and very excited for the rest of the season.
The rest of the trip was a nice coda. A number of us went out Sunday night and I technically lost money playing blackjack (big winner was Vivek with his roulette magic). On the way home, we had a long layover in Denver where I won at Egyptian Rat Screw and enjoyed some great airport burritos and TCBY frozen yogurt. Glad to be home, but memories of the weekend are sticking with me. Good job Brimstone.
Friday, January 30, 2009
ACC Ultimate Championships
BRIM-STONE!
First tourney of the year is over and the results are encouraging if not totally satisfying. The tournament coincided nicely with a visit from Rachel, who spent the last week in Durham with me. She was a good sport and came out on Saturday to root for us, but she made the right move and stayed away on Sunday, which was frigidly cold.
Hopefully the weather starts warming up soon. Even if it doesn't, Vegas in a week is keeping all of our spirits up. Coming into the weekend, it was definitely on my mind that if we didn't perform it could seriously hurt our seeding at Vegas. Whether that happens or not now is up to the TDs, but I believe that we gave a decent showing.
The real feature of this weekend was the modified rules set, which included more active observers and a yellow/red card system. My experience with the system was generally positive, although I got a sweet layout D called back by an out-of-position observer. In fact, I would say that the observers ruled against us more often than not, but I'm not sure we were in the wrong (maybe I can only remember a couple of particularly important reversals in our two UNC games that I disagreed with). Still, it was nice to have a third party to whom calls could be referred. The time limits kept the game moving. Finally, I only saw one card handed out (yellow, for complaining about a travel non-call), so I can't really comment on that part of the system.
On to the games.
Saturday
Florida State, 10-12
First game was against our pool's bottom seed. And we choked. Or at least stumbled, going down 4-7 at half. We picked it up a bit in the second half to tie it at 10s, but then proceeded to lose our composure and give up the D point and then get broken to lose. Florida State had a couple good players and moved the disc quickly, which prevented our defense from clamping down. Their captain (#15) and their midget handler (#2) probably touched 80+% of their throws and they were able to capitalize on some dumb mistakes to win the game.
This would end up being relatively uneventful as they would proceed to upset every other team except UNC to take 2nd in the pool. Still, I wasn't particularly impressed by their play. I felt that we dug ourselves into a hole and simply couldn't get back out. A couple miscues by the offense led to unforced turnovers and on defense we didn't have the intensity we expected and need in order to compete.
Georgia Tech, 13-11
Tech apparently had a great regionals last year and they played like a good team that hasn't yet found itself in the new season. I don't know how many players they lost to graduation, but they didn't look as polished as I might have expected. Their offense relied almost entirely on quick handler movement and throws to the break side. We gave them a break early, took it back a couple points later and essentially traded to 11-11.
At 11-11, we broke to take the lead and then broke again to win the game. Tommy had one of the sickest grabs I've ever seen in this game where he seemed to hang in the air for about 10 seconds before ripping the disc down. Supposedly, it's on film. I'm interested in checking out the video that UNC is supposedly making of the tournament, if only for this grab.
This game featured an interesting result with the new rules. I made a foul call on a huck from Trahey that was immediately contested. I didn't want to go to the observer because I thought the contact was just on the border of a foul and I expected to get overruled. Was pretty surprised when the Tech player didn't ask him to intervene. Ended up scoring the point anyway to force game point.
Footage of the game from the GT perspective can be found here. Note that Tommy's sick grab is missing.
UNC, 8-13
This was the showcase game and we had an audience of maybe 200 people watching, which was definitely a new and awesome experience. UNC is a good team that has a lot of talent top to bottom. Unfortunately, we played terribly in the first half and went down 2-6 before fighting back to lose half 4-7. In the second half, we fought back to 8-9, but then gave up 4 points to lose 8-13.
I feel like I played well this game, considering I scored 3-4 times and had a great trailing layout D (overruled by the observer). Unfortunately, Trahey's hucks seemed to be off and we made a couple silly mistakes that led to relatively easy scores by the home team. Lucas Darden made a nasty grab over Berendes to win the game, which kind of summarized how the game went for us. Even so, was fun to play in front of the big crowds.
Lots of great pictures of this game can be found here. Courtesy of Alan Hoyle.
Sunday
Yours truly, looking dumb.
Still looking dumb.
After having gone 1-2 on the first day, we needed to win in order to make the championship bracket and we were scheduled to play Maryland, the 3 seed. Crazy stuff had happened in the pool on Saturday and FSU was undefeated, Maryland had romped on UNC, but managed to lose to everyone else. All that mattered for us was that it was win or go home.
Maryland, 13-6
I don't know what was different about Sunday (except for the freezing weather and lack of sun), but we began to play like a real team. Maryland looked a little flustered at times, but we managed to play tight defense against a fairly athletic Maryland team and our offense only had to play like six points, getting broken only once when we were already ahead by four.
I got to line up against Freddy Tsai, Eagle and Reuben, which was fun. I felt like I was in bizarro land because every other game we've played (with the exception of the Princeton CUFF game) has B-des assigning matchups based off intimate knowledge of the other team, but I knew enough of the guys on Maryland that I got the job for the first couple points.
Our transition zone looked pretty solid in this game, which gave us a lot more confidence in running it against VaTech and UNC later in the day. My hucks were on point as well. In particular, I put up a break backhand to Berendes who skied pretty much the entire Maryland team to put in the score.
I talked to a couple of the Maryland guys later. Eagle had been in Italy and apparently hung out with Mutton. Sounds like he's having a pretty sweet time in Espana. Maryland sounded pretty confident about their position in the Metro East. I think Pitt is the front-runner, but Maryland and Delaware are probably 1-2 for the second bid.
Virginia Tech, 13-9
Don't know how they upset eventual tourney winner Virginia, but VaTech managed to go 3-1 in the other pool including a come-from-behind victory against Clemson. They played a 50-50 offense that relied on hucks. We broke the first point and took a small lead, then gave it back and went to half on serve. After half, we began to shut down their hucking game and our transition zone began to fluster their mid-cutters. Went on a nice run and ended the game on defense (two in a row!).
This was one of those games where the outcome seemed pre-determined. This was unfortunate in the first half where we weren't working as hard as we needed to and was great in the second half when VaTech started to fold and couldn't muster the same intensity we began to display.
UNC, 11-13
Both the pool play 3 seeds had upset the 2 seeds, restoring seeding to the bracket and setting up rematches of the 1-2 from pool play on either side of the bracket. We got a second shot at UNC and it was a great game that was probably a better showcase of the sport than our Saturday game.
Where Saturday's game was sloppy with a handful of long, turn-filled points, this game was crisp and quick. Lots of hucks, some sweet skies. Great bids (particularly by Hagan who had an absolutely filthy layout on a UNC deep shot where he was trailing his defender by at least five feet.
Tommy went off in this game, tearing down six goals in the game. Also, had a nasty toe-drag on a low huck from yours truly. Unfortunately, we managed to stumble at 11s, giving up the D point and then turning it on a bladed huck from Schwartz to Berendes. After the turnover, UNC gets the disc on the goal line and calls a time out.
I set up on the dump, Guenther on the mark and B-des covering Lucas iso-ed in the endzone. Guenther point-blocks the throw and B-des lays out for the tip and the disc is still caught for the goal. Fishsticks.
Felt pretty decent in this game. I've been playing a lot of handler for the D-line and I'm beginning to feel a lot more comfortable with my I-O flick break and my backhand around break. Got called out by the head observer on RSD (#19! Woot Woot!) as an example of someone who moves IMMEDIATELY after I throw. Made me happy considering I've worked on that aspect of my game a lot in the last year. If I can get my marked hucks down cleaner, I feel that I can make a real difference as a D-line handler. If not, I can always run my ass off cutting downfield.
Overall:
3-3, T-3rd
Decent weekend that serves as a good start to the spring season. We leave for Vegas on Thursday (Super Woot! Woot!) where I'll get to see C-K, Bill, Kalgin, Ian, Tim and a ton of others. My shins were pretty sore after playing on the hard turf and I was sick after the cold weekend, but I should be locked and loaded for next weekend.
Pictures by Doug Wilson.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Getting back home...or the story of how much Seattle sucked this holiday season ('cept for Julia and Sledding)
After I finished exams, I went out with my classmates and got ready for my early-morning train Saturday morning.
Caught the AmTrak up from Durham to Washington DC. Whole trip takes about 7 hours and is only mitigated by the fact that there is a power outlet next to your seat. The only other ray of sunshine was the 10 year old black kid that sat next to me in Richmond and talked to me non-stop until I got off. Seriously, sweet kid who told ridiculous stories while traveling alone and on a massive sugar high. After I explained how calories work, I think I also blew his mind. After a quick teriyaki dinner at Union Station and a short cab ride, I collapsed in my hotel room and watched Gonzaga lose to UConn on a ridiculously clutch shot.
(Would've gone out with some friends but Petums was in PA for some reason and my law school buddy from the area was apparently in Atlantic City.)
Caught a super early shuttle the next morning and hopped on my flight at Reagan National. Was delayed an hour after we pulled back from the jetway because our de-icing machine broke (seriously...omen). As we're landing, I'm super afraid I'm going to miss my flight, particularly when we land and it's a blizzard AND we are stuck 20 minutes trying to get the jetway to pull up to the plane.
Of course, when I get off and realize that my flight isn't even listed on the board I should've clued in and realized I was not getting out. My flight was delayed three times and cancelled, but I got to hang out with some guys I hadn't seen since high school.
After my flight was cancelled, I called up my cousin who had just moved into the area to work for Microsoft. She saved my ass by picking me up and giving me a place to crash. Of course, this awesomeness was tempered by the fact that the airlines couldn't get me home until Dec. 24.
That night Julia and I go out and drink with a friend of hers from Bucknell, Matt, and his two Seattle friends, Alex and Keith. Alex went to Duke undergrad so we had tons to talk about. He's also doing TFA in LA, so we chatted about poor children, too.
After drinking at a local pub called The Attic (baller, highly recommended), we head over to "the hill" to see another of Matt's high school friends. When we get there we're told that we're going sledding. We head over about three blocks to find an entire street blocked off by about 200 very drunk individuals sledding downhill on ANYTHING that will slide (seen: sleds, skis, snowboard, trash can lids, rubbermaid laundry hampers, kiddy pools, street signs, cardboard, garbage bags...). Although my knees and elbows are still bruised, was a ton of fun until the cops showed up at 1:45ish and kicked us off the streets. (Also, a very Asian man got pissed when a bunch of us tried to help him with his stalled car.)
We get home and pass out, only to wake up to my phone and my mother telling me that I've got a seat on an 11:45 flight to Juneau. Run to the airport and skip the RIDICULOUS line (seriously, half mile long probably, filled the entire lower floor of the SeaTac airport) to check a bag as I'd left my bag at the airport the night before. Get on the flight, which is slightly delayed and spend an entertaining time with a ferry master who lives in Juneau.
When I get to Juneau I realize that my flight doesn't leave there for another 7 hours. I order a pizza from a local favorite and watch the Packers get a good lead before leaving for security (later find out that they choked it away). By the time I get inside the terminal again, I find out the plane is delayed again. As it keeps getting delayed, I realize I DO NOT WANT TO BE STUCK IN JUNEAU. When we finally get on the plane, they march us all back off because the attendants can't count! By the time we get back on, we're late and we arrive in Anchorage at midnight, almost three hours after we were supposed to arrive.
Overall, I spent 61 hours in transit in order to get home.
I don't even want to think about the return trip...
Caught the AmTrak up from Durham to Washington DC. Whole trip takes about 7 hours and is only mitigated by the fact that there is a power outlet next to your seat. The only other ray of sunshine was the 10 year old black kid that sat next to me in Richmond and talked to me non-stop until I got off. Seriously, sweet kid who told ridiculous stories while traveling alone and on a massive sugar high. After I explained how calories work, I think I also blew his mind. After a quick teriyaki dinner at Union Station and a short cab ride, I collapsed in my hotel room and watched Gonzaga lose to UConn on a ridiculously clutch shot.
(Would've gone out with some friends but Petums was in PA for some reason and my law school buddy from the area was apparently in Atlantic City.)
Caught a super early shuttle the next morning and hopped on my flight at Reagan National. Was delayed an hour after we pulled back from the jetway because our de-icing machine broke (seriously...omen). As we're landing, I'm super afraid I'm going to miss my flight, particularly when we land and it's a blizzard AND we are stuck 20 minutes trying to get the jetway to pull up to the plane.
Of course, when I get off and realize that my flight isn't even listed on the board I should've clued in and realized I was not getting out. My flight was delayed three times and cancelled, but I got to hang out with some guys I hadn't seen since high school.
After my flight was cancelled, I called up my cousin who had just moved into the area to work for Microsoft. She saved my ass by picking me up and giving me a place to crash. Of course, this awesomeness was tempered by the fact that the airlines couldn't get me home until Dec. 24.
That night Julia and I go out and drink with a friend of hers from Bucknell, Matt, and his two Seattle friends, Alex and Keith. Alex went to Duke undergrad so we had tons to talk about. He's also doing TFA in LA, so we chatted about poor children, too.
After drinking at a local pub called The Attic (baller, highly recommended), we head over to "the hill" to see another of Matt's high school friends. When we get there we're told that we're going sledding. We head over about three blocks to find an entire street blocked off by about 200 very drunk individuals sledding downhill on ANYTHING that will slide (seen: sleds, skis, snowboard, trash can lids, rubbermaid laundry hampers, kiddy pools, street signs, cardboard, garbage bags...). Although my knees and elbows are still bruised, was a ton of fun until the cops showed up at 1:45ish and kicked us off the streets. (Also, a very Asian man got pissed when a bunch of us tried to help him with his stalled car.)
We get home and pass out, only to wake up to my phone and my mother telling me that I've got a seat on an 11:45 flight to Juneau. Run to the airport and skip the RIDICULOUS line (seriously, half mile long probably, filled the entire lower floor of the SeaTac airport) to check a bag as I'd left my bag at the airport the night before. Get on the flight, which is slightly delayed and spend an entertaining time with a ferry master who lives in Juneau.
When I get to Juneau I realize that my flight doesn't leave there for another 7 hours. I order a pizza from a local favorite and watch the Packers get a good lead before leaving for security (later find out that they choked it away). By the time I get inside the terminal again, I find out the plane is delayed again. As it keeps getting delayed, I realize I DO NOT WANT TO BE STUCK IN JUNEAU. When we finally get on the plane, they march us all back off because the attendants can't count! By the time we get back on, we're late and we arrive in Anchorage at midnight, almost three hours after we were supposed to arrive.
Overall, I spent 61 hours in transit in order to get home.
I don't even want to think about the return trip...
Friday, December 19, 2008
1.5L
So I'm done with my first semester of law school. Hasn't really sunk in yet, but so far it's been a pretty fun time. My classmates are all good people and Brimstone took all of my free time and made it awesome. Can't really ask for more.
Kudos to all of you guys; making my job a lot easier.
Kudos to all of you guys; making my job a lot easier.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
WaWaWaluigi...
I've listened to this song 50+ times today and I still think it's hilarious and awesome. There's also a smash bros love song on YouTube using the same melody, but lacking the musical talent. Then again, his octave drop on "Ganondorf" is kind of funny in its own way.
This second video was my study music for the last two days. For those unfamiliar with the song, it's "Coca-Cola" by Jesse Lacey of Brand New. For some reason, I can't get it out of my head.
In real world news, first law school exam is over. Two more to go.
In ultimate news, I've started winter lifting and am also doing some rock climbing on the side.
Monday, December 1, 2008
CUFF...ugh
Two weeks late. I would blame this on me falling disastrously ill immediately following the tournament, but I honestly just didn't want to write about it that much.
Left Durham on Friday to make the five-plus hour drive North to Maryland. The tournament would be at the same fields as Roll Call the previous year, but unlike Princeton's visit there, we had no surplus of members who made their home in the DC-metropolitan area. Then again, Comfort Suites is disgustingly nice for a frisbee team.
Highlight of the drive: Stopping for almost an hour at a weird rest stop in VA, complete with Wendy's, weird quarter gambling machine, crazy knit hats (purchased by Tommy) and a low-rent iTrip that never was made to successfully work.
Second highlight: Driving through Richmond at 8 and listening to the Hot 5 at 8 (back in my day it was the top 8 at 8, standards have really gone down...). First two songs were both political remixes. The best was the remix of Pop Champagne entitled Barack Campaign which goes: "We voted for a change and now we made it, no disrespect to McCain and Palin, we rocked the vote now we celebratin', President Barack and VP Biden...we pop champagne for Barack campaign". Unfortunately, the remainder of the songs were women lamenting about their men. Odds that Joe Biden thought he'd be mentioned in a hip-hop song, VERY LOW.
Saturday:
Rolled up to the fields to discover that it was kind of windy. The fields were set up different than Roll Call and we ended up pretty much upwind-downwind for our first game against Maryland alumni. Princeton was two fields away and I got to say hi to the kids that made the trip (I'm looking at Tomi and Matt Cheng...). As we got ready to start, the Alums had already started drinking. I did enjoy their "Eagle Sucks" hats.
Maryland Alums, 10-9
We broke twice to start the game and then gave them back, but got the last break to take half up one, 7-6. After half we got two breaks to go up 9-6, then gave back three straight to tie at 9s, double game point. We worked it down after a turnover and put it in to win.
The guys were fun and would have been a better team (probably better than us) had they a) not all been at least two drinks in and b) not been out of frisbee for 2-4 years. Cuneo threw sick shit as per normal. Hempstead also played baller. I missed a sick layout D at shoulder height, only to realize that my man had caught the disc even though I trucked him.
UPenn, 7-9
Apparently, Duke lost to these guys last year badly. This year started better with us going up two breaks early 3-1. Then we gave them back and got broken again. We trailed at half 7-5. The wind really picked up from about halftime of the Maryland Alums game to this game and it was solid upwind-downwind. We traded the rest of the way, although we had a couple of chances to convert, in particular at least two turns within five yards of the upwind endzone. Just unacceptable offense.
Spent a good portion of my D points playing on Aman Nalavade, who played for Pike this year. Real fast kid who I would love to play under more normal conditions. Missed a layout D on him to save the game. I knew he'd stutter-step the cut to the cone (it's the Pike endzone cut), but I thought I could bait it a little. We'd get a rematch against this team, but this loss was still really unsatisfying.
Maryland X, 8-5
By far the strangest game of the tournament. Game opened up with the weather starting to get even worse. Wind got gusty and a little bit of rain started falling. Our play got much worse for some reason including some poor decisions by the O-line (this was kind of a theme, but I can't say the D-line strategy was any better) and Maryland went up 5-1. We scored and got the turn and then...the heavens opened. Seriously, sideways rain, hail and lightning.
Horns start sounding for all of us to get the fuck out of dodge. Teams on the far field apparently didn't hear, so while most of us were huddling freezing in the pavillion some teams kept playing and a couple Maryland kids went streaking. When the weather finally broke (about twenty minutes later), we were given the okay to restart.
And lo and behold the weather was clear. A little bit of mist, but absolutely NO WIND. So we restarted the game and either Maryland forgot how to play in normal weather or we're just that badass. Either way we scored six straight to win the game. Guarded Freddy Tsai (ME FoTY last year) who is quick. Scored on him to win the game. Another guy I would like to play again in better weather/situations.
The crossover game was cancelled so we finished 2-1 and second in our pool. The schedule would've had us play GW Alums, but Reuben hooked me up and rearranged the schedule for Duke to play Princeton on Sunday.
That evening we made a really inept caravan into the city to watch Quantum of Solace. I saw Jackie Bello, who was in DC for a funeral (weird coincidence). After a big dinner in the food court (yey enchiladas), we hit up the theatre which was comically overpriced and left the team with mixed feelings. I enjoyed it. When we returned, ice baths ensued for Berendes and Hagan. I pussed out after about five minutes. Ah well.
Sunday:
Weather got a lot colder. Seriously, barely above freezing. Add in 15 mph winds going crossfield and the weather was worse than Saturday, where it had been shitty.
Princeton, 11-6
Playing the old team was weird. Really weird. I knew everyone on the team and so match-ups were kind of fun. Berendes on Petums was entertaining, although Berendes left the game thinking my old team thought he was a dick. Overall, the game was pretty calm and uneventful. I got skyed by Brain and point-blocked by Michael Gibbs. Also scored the game winner (I think).
Old team looked much-improved from last year, although they could really use the old seniors. Isaiah and Bergman in particular really stepped up. Also, Isaiah's "Which Nut?" skills have improved tremendously. He totally tooled me in our impromptu game. Just you wait for better weather and my new secret twist.
Queens-Kingston, 11-13
I've never liked the Canadians and this game got a little heated with calls. Also demonstrated how terrible the weather was in relation to the quality of the ultimate. We got a couple breaks early and then gave a lot of them back as they threw a very aggressive zone. They took half 8-4.
After half, we decided to respond with a zone of our own, which worked to run off six straight to take the lead 10-8. They started to break our zone and scored twice to tie. We scored and then they replied to tie at 11s, game to 13. We then threw a Callahan and dropped an easy pass, which lead to an easy score, for them to take the game.
They ended up winning the tournament, but I think we would have the upper hand on a less windy day. They had some decent handlers and some decent cutters, but I was unimpressed with any one of their players in both areas. We got a good number of turns playing tight defense on their handlers and I think that would be just as doable in better weather.
UPenn, 13-8
Some of their players weren't suited up for the game and we were all freezing. We took the lead with five or six straight points and then both teams started playing a lot of their rookies. I only played two points in the second half, both guarding Aman again, in which both of us managed to do...nothing. Seriously, I want a rematch with better weather.
After the game, both GW and our team were frozen to the core, so we hit up the cars and got going. Stopped after an hour to eat some strip mall food (low-rent Chinese...yum!) and then booked it home. I went to sleep expecting to wake up ready to die and I did. Ended up sleeping for 36 of the next 48 hours and skipped two days of school. Decent tournament (ended up tied for 5th), but the weather was so awful I'm not sure we learned much other than how to play zone in shitty weather.
I'm done for the fall now, although I should be bringing reports in January (ACC tournament), February (Vegas, hopefully) and beyond. Also, some stuff regarding C1 might be discussed and I may or may not die from law school exams.
Pictures may be posted if anyone was stupid enough to have their hands exposed to the elements for that long.
Left Durham on Friday to make the five-plus hour drive North to Maryland. The tournament would be at the same fields as Roll Call the previous year, but unlike Princeton's visit there, we had no surplus of members who made their home in the DC-metropolitan area. Then again, Comfort Suites is disgustingly nice for a frisbee team.
Highlight of the drive: Stopping for almost an hour at a weird rest stop in VA, complete with Wendy's, weird quarter gambling machine, crazy knit hats (purchased by Tommy) and a low-rent iTrip that never was made to successfully work.
Second highlight: Driving through Richmond at 8 and listening to the Hot 5 at 8 (back in my day it was the top 8 at 8, standards have really gone down...). First two songs were both political remixes. The best was the remix of Pop Champagne entitled Barack Campaign which goes: "We voted for a change and now we made it, no disrespect to McCain and Palin, we rocked the vote now we celebratin', President Barack and VP Biden...we pop champagne for Barack campaign". Unfortunately, the remainder of the songs were women lamenting about their men. Odds that Joe Biden thought he'd be mentioned in a hip-hop song, VERY LOW.
Saturday:
Rolled up to the fields to discover that it was kind of windy. The fields were set up different than Roll Call and we ended up pretty much upwind-downwind for our first game against Maryland alumni. Princeton was two fields away and I got to say hi to the kids that made the trip (I'm looking at Tomi and Matt Cheng...). As we got ready to start, the Alums had already started drinking. I did enjoy their "Eagle Sucks" hats.
Maryland Alums, 10-9
We broke twice to start the game and then gave them back, but got the last break to take half up one, 7-6. After half we got two breaks to go up 9-6, then gave back three straight to tie at 9s, double game point. We worked it down after a turnover and put it in to win.
The guys were fun and would have been a better team (probably better than us) had they a) not all been at least two drinks in and b) not been out of frisbee for 2-4 years. Cuneo threw sick shit as per normal. Hempstead also played baller. I missed a sick layout D at shoulder height, only to realize that my man had caught the disc even though I trucked him.
UPenn, 7-9
Apparently, Duke lost to these guys last year badly. This year started better with us going up two breaks early 3-1. Then we gave them back and got broken again. We trailed at half 7-5. The wind really picked up from about halftime of the Maryland Alums game to this game and it was solid upwind-downwind. We traded the rest of the way, although we had a couple of chances to convert, in particular at least two turns within five yards of the upwind endzone. Just unacceptable offense.
Spent a good portion of my D points playing on Aman Nalavade, who played for Pike this year. Real fast kid who I would love to play under more normal conditions. Missed a layout D on him to save the game. I knew he'd stutter-step the cut to the cone (it's the Pike endzone cut), but I thought I could bait it a little. We'd get a rematch against this team, but this loss was still really unsatisfying.
Maryland X, 8-5
By far the strangest game of the tournament. Game opened up with the weather starting to get even worse. Wind got gusty and a little bit of rain started falling. Our play got much worse for some reason including some poor decisions by the O-line (this was kind of a theme, but I can't say the D-line strategy was any better) and Maryland went up 5-1. We scored and got the turn and then...the heavens opened. Seriously, sideways rain, hail and lightning.
Horns start sounding for all of us to get the fuck out of dodge. Teams on the far field apparently didn't hear, so while most of us were huddling freezing in the pavillion some teams kept playing and a couple Maryland kids went streaking. When the weather finally broke (about twenty minutes later), we were given the okay to restart.
And lo and behold the weather was clear. A little bit of mist, but absolutely NO WIND. So we restarted the game and either Maryland forgot how to play in normal weather or we're just that badass. Either way we scored six straight to win the game. Guarded Freddy Tsai (ME FoTY last year) who is quick. Scored on him to win the game. Another guy I would like to play again in better weather/situations.
The crossover game was cancelled so we finished 2-1 and second in our pool. The schedule would've had us play GW Alums, but Reuben hooked me up and rearranged the schedule for Duke to play Princeton on Sunday.
That evening we made a really inept caravan into the city to watch Quantum of Solace. I saw Jackie Bello, who was in DC for a funeral (weird coincidence). After a big dinner in the food court (yey enchiladas), we hit up the theatre which was comically overpriced and left the team with mixed feelings. I enjoyed it. When we returned, ice baths ensued for Berendes and Hagan. I pussed out after about five minutes. Ah well.
Sunday:
Weather got a lot colder. Seriously, barely above freezing. Add in 15 mph winds going crossfield and the weather was worse than Saturday, where it had been shitty.
Princeton, 11-6
Playing the old team was weird. Really weird. I knew everyone on the team and so match-ups were kind of fun. Berendes on Petums was entertaining, although Berendes left the game thinking my old team thought he was a dick. Overall, the game was pretty calm and uneventful. I got skyed by Brain and point-blocked by Michael Gibbs. Also scored the game winner (I think).
Old team looked much-improved from last year, although they could really use the old seniors. Isaiah and Bergman in particular really stepped up. Also, Isaiah's "Which Nut?" skills have improved tremendously. He totally tooled me in our impromptu game. Just you wait for better weather and my new secret twist.
Queens-Kingston, 11-13
I've never liked the Canadians and this game got a little heated with calls. Also demonstrated how terrible the weather was in relation to the quality of the ultimate. We got a couple breaks early and then gave a lot of them back as they threw a very aggressive zone. They took half 8-4.
After half, we decided to respond with a zone of our own, which worked to run off six straight to take the lead 10-8. They started to break our zone and scored twice to tie. We scored and then they replied to tie at 11s, game to 13. We then threw a Callahan and dropped an easy pass, which lead to an easy score, for them to take the game.
They ended up winning the tournament, but I think we would have the upper hand on a less windy day. They had some decent handlers and some decent cutters, but I was unimpressed with any one of their players in both areas. We got a good number of turns playing tight defense on their handlers and I think that would be just as doable in better weather.
UPenn, 13-8
Some of their players weren't suited up for the game and we were all freezing. We took the lead with five or six straight points and then both teams started playing a lot of their rookies. I only played two points in the second half, both guarding Aman again, in which both of us managed to do...nothing. Seriously, I want a rematch with better weather.
After the game, both GW and our team were frozen to the core, so we hit up the cars and got going. Stopped after an hour to eat some strip mall food (low-rent Chinese...yum!) and then booked it home. I went to sleep expecting to wake up ready to die and I did. Ended up sleeping for 36 of the next 48 hours and skipped two days of school. Decent tournament (ended up tied for 5th), but the weather was so awful I'm not sure we learned much other than how to play zone in shitty weather.
I'm done for the fall now, although I should be bringing reports in January (ACC tournament), February (Vegas, hopefully) and beyond. Also, some stuff regarding C1 might be discussed and I may or may not die from law school exams.
Pictures may be posted if anyone was stupid enough to have their hands exposed to the elements for that long.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Classic City Classic...which was classic.
This was the only picture taken of us all weekend. And we aren't even playing, but Knute gets the limelight in the background. Go here if you want to see a ludicrous number of pictures of Emory.
Rolled out of Durham around 6, got into the hotel around 11:30. Considering we were getting up at 6, this was not ideal. The fact that we then got lost (stupid tourney directions labeling Thomas Dr as East Campus Dr, which it is CLEARLY NOT) made for a less than ideal warm-up. The fact that it was about 49 degrees made it more of a cold-up. After Wade almost stepped on my iPod, I was a little worried. Wonder how the day turned out...
Illinois, 11-6
First game of the day against a nationals quarterfinalist and a C1 team. We were a little intimidated, but came out fired up. They didn't. We took half 6-3 on great O line play and solid, intense defense. O line was never broken and I scored a Callahan on a floated dump/swing. Tommy scored a couple goals and threw a blady flick that Ethan laid out for to score and end the game. (1-0 vs. C1)
North Carolina, 8-10
They had just finished earning a double game point win over Texas and we had just tooled Illinois. Both teams came out intense, but a little sloppy. The wind had picked up somewhat (by the third round it would be pretty squarely upwind-downwind) and we dropped an easy pass to give up a break on the first point. UNC made a run to take half 4-6. We made a run back to get it to 8-9, cap goes on and the game is first to ten. Unfortunately, they make a nice grab in the endzone to end the game. (1-1 vs. C1)
Texas, 11-9
Texas is a fun team and Guenther knows every one of their players. Callahan front-runner Stephen Presley seemed real chill and made some baller plays. Even with their star-studded line-up, we managed to get a couple of breaks on them early and late in the game. They evened it up mid-game and closed to 10-9 late, but we managed to punch it in after a couple turnovers. Hagan and I took turns covering Presley and he did a great job (me, I didn't get ludicrously tooled). Berendes made a crazy layout grab to score the gamewinner (disc was point-blocked and D'ed prior to his catch). (2-1 vs. C1)
Virginia, 4-10
We had played them two weeks earlier at Wolfpack and had given them a lead early and then fought back to lose a tight game. This time we gave them a lead early...and lost the game pretty badly. We opened up the rotation after falling at half 3-6 and the game ended at cap with the good guys scoring. They played a very quick offense, moving the disc within the first couple counts as often as possible. First game of the day we had significant problems scoring with the O line.
Ole Miss, 11-5
Two byes later (weird schedule due to field availability), we play our last game against the pool's bottom seed. Considering we came in as the fifth seed, we should have taken them more seriously, but we played lackluster throughout the first couple points. When they broke to take the lead 2-3, we all got pissed and started a 9-2 run to win the game. They had a couple decent players, but our depth was too much for them to handle.
Sunday
Emory, 15-8
Number 7 on Emory is a dick. Lots of travel calls, lots of talk, lots of yelling and lots of turnovers. Unfortunately, I got into it with him. So did Trahey. So did Guenther. Besides him, their team was pretty chill. Sam, their stud, seemed particularly cool and he kept a pretty good attitude considering Berendes had a sick layout D on him in the endzone. A lot of great rookie play sealed the deal for us. Also led to the best quote of the weekend: Emory in their halftime huddle shouts "Second Half, Our Half!" and both Guenther and Trahey simultaneously deadpan "Nope" causing the entire line to double over laughing.
Ohio State, 13-15
Probably the only game of the weekend that I am angry about. They had just finished tooling UNCW 15-6 and we were warned they would be chippy with calls. Didn't really turn out to be true, with two exceptions.
We came out forcing them under and managed to control their hucks for most of the game. Traded the first points and then I threw a big upwind flick for a break...that gets called back on a travel. Not on the throw though, apparently I took too many steps to stop. We work it up and turn it on the goal line. They score, break, break to go up 4-1. We break back later in the half to tie it at 5s. At 6-6, they score and then break to take half 8-6.
After half, we come out pissed and run off four straight to lead 10-8. As we keep trading, Trahey makes a sick D in the upwind endzone that gets called a foul because the guy he was guarding ran into him and fell over. They end up scoring. They eventually get the break with the wind to pull it to 13-12. They score going downwind even after I point-block them on the goal line. 13-13. O-line gets broken 13-14. We get the disc going upwind and manage to turn it over on a reset. I have the disc trapped on the sideline and decide to pressure the mark to throw upfield. Gets to stall 9 and he uncorks a 60 degree blade that gets caught in the endzone. Game over. Fiddlesticks. Sadly, the two calls that stand out end up being the margin of victory. We played pretty well against yet another C1 team and I was honestly not impressed. Had my best statistical game of the weekend with 3 goals, 2 assists and a D (0 turns). (2-2 vs C1)
Davidson, 11-8
After another bye where we watched Wisconsin and North Carolina try to out-call each other (also saw three UNC players carted off the field), we had a trap game against Davidson, who had lost to Georgia. Went up 5-1 on great defense from the rookies and then gave it right back on poor zone play against a four man cup and a 15 mile an hour headwind. Took half 6-5 (we agreed to play a shortened game to 11).
In the second half, we played better against the zone and scored a break or two to win by three. Sadly, my play did not correlate with the team's as I got point-blocked twice in one point. Need to work on my fakes or at least get my low backhand-to-high backhand-to-flick fake more fluid. Screw it, next time I'm throwing hammers.
Random addition: There was a long drawn out argument in this game that I feel should be mentioned. Going upwind, I catch the disc on an in-cut, turn and throw an upwind flick huck as I get bumped by my mark. I call "foul". The disc floats and ends up getting caught by Wade pretty much on the goal line. Wade spikes the disc, which prompts a big argument as Davidson claims he wasn't in, while we argue that his spike obviously indicates he thought he was. Me, I'm forty yards from the play arguing with my man if my foul allows Wade to keep the disc based off "one-throw continuation", which it is quickly pointed out would completely contradict the point of continuation. I back down, only to see my man get into a shouting match with Gunther on the sideline coming from the other argument. Looking back, was kind of hilarious, though it did lead to a great debate about the value of compromise (seriously, that word was used at least 10 times in the ensuing discussion).
Overall, 5-3 weekend for 11th. Finished higher than four of the twelve C1 teams in attendance and got a good win against a sectional rival. Our close game against UNC gives me some hope for the season and the amazing improvement of our rookies in the last two weeks makes me giddy. We need to work a little on our offensive flow (looked good at times, bad at others) and I need to either solidify my handling or find a replacement. Considering we were missing two of our starting O-liners, I'm pretty psyched.
Next week, CUFF and Princeton!
Pictures may be added later if any relevant ones appear on the interwebs.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Wolfpack Invite 10/25-10/26
First tournament of the year with my new team. Saw a lot of good things and a lot of things that can be improved. Was kind of shocked at how few rookies I saw playing on many of the teams we played/saw. I honestly believe that of the eight teams that were playing in quarters, three or four of them were playing 10-15 man rotations with no recognizable rookies.
Saturday
Kent State: 13-7
We came out really sloppy and gave up a break on offense. KState's offense pretty much ran through Doc, a shorter player with a nasty-looking beard (could be good or bad, your choice). After turning up the pressure on defense a little (including a couple points of zone defense), we got the break back and earned one of our own to take half 7-5. Second half was much crisper and the defense continued to earn breaks leading to a final O-line score to end the game.
NC State: 11-7
We had a bye prior to this game and when we came in State had already lost to the pool's 3rd and 4th seeds, ECU and Wake Forest. They had almost pulled off a ridiculous comeback against ECU, coming back from 12-5 to lose 13-12, so they would either come out flat or really fired up. Turned out it would be flat.
We got 2 straight breaks to start. I had a decent poach layout D and a layout huck catch for a score. Kept breaking to take half 7-2. Second half saw State get a break or two back, but the outcome wasn't really in doubt. Scored two straight when cap went on at 9-7 to win.
ECU: 9-13
First part of the game saw ECU playing a little better than us. We couldn't really control them on D (maybe one turn in first four or five points, didn't convert it) and they got a break or two on D to lead at half 7-4 or 7-5. We picked it up on defense in the second half and managed to tie it up at 9s. Unfortunately, our O-line proceeded to get broken multiple times and the game ended before we really knew it.
ECU looked pretty good this early in the season, though they seemed to be playing almost exclusively returners. They ended up making the finals against UVA. #6 (Joey), who I guarded for a large portion of the game, was probably the best player I marked up against all weekend.
Wake Forest: 9-13
Terrible game on our part. Started on D and I proceeded to dink a wide-open catch in the endzone. This would be an omen. After going down 2-1 (on serve), we proceeded to give up three straight breaks to Wake's zone, which featured a very aggresive and tight cup. Once we started going over the top with hammers to downfield players, we managed to fix our O (I think we gave up two more breaks, one more in the first half and only one in the second). Unfortunately, our D never picked up. We forced lots of near stall-outs which led to blady 50-50 hucks that always seemed to go their way.
At the end of pool play, we had gone 2-2 and placed 3rd in our pool, which thankfully gave us 8th place in the seedings and a spot in quarters.
Sunday
Elon: 15-12
They had upset UNC to take the top seed. They played a very tight rotation and we decided to take advantage of it. We played straight up marks and locked down on the hucks forcing them to run a lot. They broke once or twice to take a two point lead into half.
In the second half at 10-7, we put in an all-star line with the ultimatum that if we didn't score we were all being benched. After putting the O point in, we stayed on and rolled off three straight breaks. Normal D-line grabbed another one. Ended up getting another break near the end and closed it out to win by three.
UVA: 12-15
Best game of the tournament in terms of how we played. Night train played very physical and very clean. They got a couple early breaks to take half 4-8, receiving the disc to start the half.
After half, we came out wanting to make it a game, but stumbled a bit and went down further, 10-5. Then we turned it on. Ran off a string of points to close to 10-12, traded out from there to lose 12-15. Had we turned it on earlier, played more consistently we could have given them a game. Luckily, we get to play them again at CCC this weekend, so we'll get that chance.
I played decently. Had a sweet layout D on a huck that left me with a bloody lip. First time I've ever had to invoke the Magic Johnson rule.
Overall: 3-3, 3rd place
Kind of weird to be playing with a team not clockwork, but I'm getting used to it. We were missing our two Ring players, so getting them back will definitely help. Overall, I'm cautiously optimistic about the potential for this team. Next up, CCC.
Photos courtesy of Jim Ashcraft.
Saturday
Kent State: 13-7
We came out really sloppy and gave up a break on offense. KState's offense pretty much ran through Doc, a shorter player with a nasty-looking beard (could be good or bad, your choice). After turning up the pressure on defense a little (including a couple points of zone defense), we got the break back and earned one of our own to take half 7-5. Second half was much crisper and the defense continued to earn breaks leading to a final O-line score to end the game.
NC State: 11-7
We had a bye prior to this game and when we came in State had already lost to the pool's 3rd and 4th seeds, ECU and Wake Forest. They had almost pulled off a ridiculous comeback against ECU, coming back from 12-5 to lose 13-12, so they would either come out flat or really fired up. Turned out it would be flat.
We got 2 straight breaks to start. I had a decent poach layout D and a layout huck catch for a score. Kept breaking to take half 7-2. Second half saw State get a break or two back, but the outcome wasn't really in doubt. Scored two straight when cap went on at 9-7 to win.
ECU: 9-13
First part of the game saw ECU playing a little better than us. We couldn't really control them on D (maybe one turn in first four or five points, didn't convert it) and they got a break or two on D to lead at half 7-4 or 7-5. We picked it up on defense in the second half and managed to tie it up at 9s. Unfortunately, our O-line proceeded to get broken multiple times and the game ended before we really knew it.
ECU looked pretty good this early in the season, though they seemed to be playing almost exclusively returners. They ended up making the finals against UVA. #6 (Joey), who I guarded for a large portion of the game, was probably the best player I marked up against all weekend.
Wake Forest: 9-13
Terrible game on our part. Started on D and I proceeded to dink a wide-open catch in the endzone. This would be an omen. After going down 2-1 (on serve), we proceeded to give up three straight breaks to Wake's zone, which featured a very aggresive and tight cup. Once we started going over the top with hammers to downfield players, we managed to fix our O (I think we gave up two more breaks, one more in the first half and only one in the second). Unfortunately, our D never picked up. We forced lots of near stall-outs which led to blady 50-50 hucks that always seemed to go their way.
At the end of pool play, we had gone 2-2 and placed 3rd in our pool, which thankfully gave us 8th place in the seedings and a spot in quarters.
Sunday
Elon: 15-12
They had upset UNC to take the top seed. They played a very tight rotation and we decided to take advantage of it. We played straight up marks and locked down on the hucks forcing them to run a lot. They broke once or twice to take a two point lead into half.
In the second half at 10-7, we put in an all-star line with the ultimatum that if we didn't score we were all being benched. After putting the O point in, we stayed on and rolled off three straight breaks. Normal D-line grabbed another one. Ended up getting another break near the end and closed it out to win by three.
UVA: 12-15
Best game of the tournament in terms of how we played. Night train played very physical and very clean. They got a couple early breaks to take half 4-8, receiving the disc to start the half.
After half, we came out wanting to make it a game, but stumbled a bit and went down further, 10-5. Then we turned it on. Ran off a string of points to close to 10-12, traded out from there to lose 12-15. Had we turned it on earlier, played more consistently we could have given them a game. Luckily, we get to play them again at CCC this weekend, so we'll get that chance.
I played decently. Had a sweet layout D on a huck that left me with a bloody lip. First time I've ever had to invoke the Magic Johnson rule.
Overall: 3-3, 3rd place
Kind of weird to be playing with a team not clockwork, but I'm getting used to it. We were missing our two Ring players, so getting them back will definitely help. Overall, I'm cautiously optimistic about the potential for this team. Next up, CCC.
Photos courtesy of Jim Ashcraft.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Myth of Injury Games
Had a thought that was worth posting on RSD. Figured I'd repost it here so I don't forget it in an hour.
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It seems that a lot of people from the "top 25" are complaining about the existence of injury games, meaningless games in which the outcome is essentially predetermined. The general location of these games is identified as sectionals, where a team like Wisconsin spends 4-5 games pasting teams who wouldn't win a single game if they played 100 times.
Cultimate's response has been to replace those games with a 34 game regular series which is used as a qualifier for a new national tournament, thus avoiding these so-called "injury games".
My real question though: how many injury games does Wisconsin (or a similar team really play) ?
Looking at Wisconsin's record, they played in Mardi Gras, Vegas, Stanford, Centex, Sectionals, Regionals, Nationals.
At every single one of those tournaments (excepting Sectionals), they were placed in some form of power pool or pre-selecting tournament (I'm assuming this was true of Mardi Gras as all 12 teams competing for 1st place came out of the top 3 pools). Barring one possible aberration game at each "regular season" tournament (Winona State at Mardi Gras - 7th at Regionals, Davidson at Vegas - 9th at Regionals, Whitman at SI - 7th at Regionals) and their first two games at Regionals (against teams who placed 11th and 13th), there line-up of games is already almost solely against the "top 25" (not as Conference1 would have it, but in a more general sense). Even at sectionals, Wisconsin played two decent teams (Marquette and Whitewater) who performed decently at Regionals.
My question then is if playing those 4-5 games (a number which could be minimized if a non-pool play format was adopted for sectionals) is really any impediment to those teams OR if it's any more of a danger than practicing with their own teammates. Considering the level of physicality that has become the standard among high level teams, this seems like a pretty legitimate question.
Also, Wisconsin played 43 games last season not including Nationals. Take away six "injury games" at Sectionals and two at Regionals and you have a 35 game regular season THAT THEY ALREADY PLAY.
If Wisconsin wants to come out in favor of Conference1, they shouldn't do it based off the idea of playing less "injury games", they should do it because they want free jerseys, no entry fees and a rumored travel budget.
*Wisconsin was used as the example because they are the reigning champions and they choose to attend a significant number of tournaments. A cursory glance shows Florida to have done something similar (although they attended Warm Up, a tournament which featured a less impressive roster than Mardi Gras and I imagine held some form of compensation for the team, chose not to attend Stanford), Carleton is in the same boat as Wisconsin, and Colorado's only blemish was Fool's Fest, a tournament which they have traditionally chosen to attend.
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It seems that a lot of people from the "top 25" are complaining about the existence of injury games, meaningless games in which the outcome is essentially predetermined. The general location of these games is identified as sectionals, where a team like Wisconsin spends 4-5 games pasting teams who wouldn't win a single game if they played 100 times.
Cultimate's response has been to replace those games with a 34 game regular series which is used as a qualifier for a new national tournament, thus avoiding these so-called "injury games".
My real question though: how many injury games does Wisconsin (or a similar team really play) ?
Looking at Wisconsin's record, they played in Mardi Gras, Vegas, Stanford, Centex, Sectionals, Regionals, Nationals.
At every single one of those tournaments (excepting Sectionals), they were placed in some form of power pool or pre-selecting tournament (I'm assuming this was true of Mardi Gras as all 12 teams competing for 1st place came out of the top 3 pools). Barring one possible aberration game at each "regular season" tournament (Winona State at Mardi Gras - 7th at Regionals, Davidson at Vegas - 9th at Regionals, Whitman at SI - 7th at Regionals) and their first two games at Regionals (against teams who placed 11th and 13th), there line-up of games is already almost solely against the "top 25" (not as Conference1 would have it, but in a more general sense). Even at sectionals, Wisconsin played two decent teams (Marquette and Whitewater) who performed decently at Regionals.
My question then is if playing those 4-5 games (a number which could be minimized if a non-pool play format was adopted for sectionals) is really any impediment to those teams OR if it's any more of a danger than practicing with their own teammates. Considering the level of physicality that has become the standard among high level teams, this seems like a pretty legitimate question.
Also, Wisconsin played 43 games last season not including Nationals. Take away six "injury games" at Sectionals and two at Regionals and you have a 35 game regular season THAT THEY ALREADY PLAY.
If Wisconsin wants to come out in favor of Conference1, they shouldn't do it based off the idea of playing less "injury games", they should do it because they want free jerseys, no entry fees and a rumored travel budget.
*Wisconsin was used as the example because they are the reigning champions and they choose to attend a significant number of tournaments. A cursory glance shows Florida to have done something similar (although they attended Warm Up, a tournament which featured a less impressive roster than Mardi Gras and I imagine held some form of compensation for the team, chose not to attend Stanford), Carleton is in the same boat as Wisconsin, and Colorado's only blemish was Fool's Fest, a tournament which they have traditionally chosen to attend.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
In Princeton...solidly Conference 2
Visiting the girlfriend during my break. Lots of shit going down in the ultimate world regarding Conference1. Will hold my thoughts on it for the moment (would definitely like more information and want to see how top teams like Wisconsin and Carleton fall), but my knee-jerk reaction is negative. More to come, less to follow.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Brand New Day
Going to start updating again, hopefully on a weekly schedule. I don't want this to be a workout blog, so I'll try and keep my posts centered on stuff people might actually care about.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Clockwork's New Face
I promised I'd show off our new jerseys "soon" and that date kept getting pushed back. Finally, I've got what I believe is going to be Clockwork's new look this year. We've changed it up a bit from previous seasons, but we're definitely going to look baller on the field.
I'm incredibly excited about our new jerseys. We got this kind of sketchy e-mail from Gotham Printwear in October this year and, on a whim, I decided to get a quote for what we were looking at. I can say that their service and their prices are fantastic and if their quality matches, I think we will be working with them for a long time.
The only thing holding us up is the Patagonia jerseys (so our jerseys will finally be orange and no longer "clockwork mango"), but once they ship the whole thing should move along nicely. The current timetable should get us the jerseys by HOTI or at the latest Georgia.
Currently Reading:
Destiny by Elizabeth Haydon
On the iPod:
The Possibility and the Promise by Amber Pacific
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