#16 and counting...
So, looks like I will be playing in my 16th Open National Championships in a few weeks (19 if you include college). My absence in the blogosphere has been noticeable (I'm going to have to work to get my hit counts back up), but I was off in Paris for 9 days with the family, bringing the kids for the first time, but that will be a topic for a separate post. Suffice it to say, it was a very different experience travelling to a foreign country with the twins for the first time, but especially to France where I have family and have visited probably 30 times in my life.
During my absence, this also meant missing comments like this one from Parinella, "Obviously, for some people like Alex, it's limited by physical attributes. For all the lack of raw physical talent he seems to exude (gee, too bad he's out of the country right now and might not ever read this), he's coordinated and he's good at things like tennis and ping-pong and pool." A topic for yet another post.
But back to the topic at hand. DoG succeeded in defending its Regional title and qualified for Nationals this weekend, defeating Twisted Metal in the winners bracket game to go 15-12. This was the 10th consecutive regional championship for DoG, and 13 out of 14 (if you include Commies and Big Brother, 11 out of 12 otherwise), broken only by the 17-6 pasting by Cojones in 1995. Fortunately, we got'em back at Nationals for that one...
Funny, in the Ultimate History Book, I am listed in the Special Accomplishments section under one or two categories, one of which is Nationals appearances with the same team, and I was tied with Jim and Bill at 11. Before the spring season, when Parinella looked like he wasn't playing, I saw it as an opportunity to stand alone in that category, only to have him keep playing and clog in the paint. Oh well, at least we will knock Billy off the list. I hope this doesn't mean I'm going to get hurt in the next few weeks.
Regionals took place in Fort Devens, MA this weekend, site of the Boston Invitational and numerous other tournaments. The weather was terrible, with light to heavy rain the ENTIRE day Saturday, although fortunately the temperature held up so that shirt and shorts were sufficient (if you were able to get in the game often enough, which was a problem for the offense). On Sunday, the weather was significantly colder, but the predicted rain held off for the most part, with just an occasional misting. The weather report prompted the wearing of polypro upper and lower garments, and my wife said I looked like a clown as I left the house Sunday morning (short sleeve and shorts over the poly pro, and the pants weren't pulled over my white socks yet). That's why I love her. I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoy NOT having to travel for Regionals or the Invite, as in my dotage it is more difficult to take that additional time off from the family. So kudos to having a small region. I can't even begin to imagine being in the NW, SW, actually, any other region except the mid-atlantic where they have to fly to regionals, especially since they rotate regionals pretty regularly for fairness. Pshaw.
The score reporter tournament summary can be found here (btw, that is a great tool). It would have been awesome had the Northeast gotten 3 seeds, because we would have qualified for nationals in 3 games while having 8 points scored against us. That is a topic for yet another post. I need to write these all down somewhere so I don't lose them... As it was, the offense played 8 or 9 points all day Saturday, and we got handed a couple of D points so that we wouldn't stiffen up and break something, after maybe a 5 point D run, but otherwise it was a lot of standing around. At least we didn't get broken on the day, although we did turn it a few times. That was the only way to actually get some running in.
The game against PoNY in the second round was somewhat of a disappointment. Despite my original low expectations of that team, I had heard/read a little bit of buzz, and was hoping for a good game to sharpen our skills for the remainder of the tournament. However, they fulfilled my expectations and bent over pretty thoroughly to a 15-4 pasting. In the first round, WUFO was fortunate to score the 1 point they did. Then we had to wait a round while the masters played their 3rd pool play game, or something inane like that. Why they don't give the elite division our proper due and respect and let us get out in 3 rounds, who knows. I guess I'll take the first round bye we got. Finally, the long awaited matchup with Chuck Wagon, who had beaten DoG 2 at White Mountain Open (unfortunately, I was on that team). This time, with Chuck Wagon missing Siegs, who we had (mis)appropriated in the meantime, we were able to take a little revenge and beat them 15-3.
The quick finish allowed me to catch the end of the more exciting semifinal between GOAT and Twisted for the right to play us in the morning. We had gotten chewed out at various points when we peaked over at that game while playing ours. Unfortunately, it was not a field adjacent to ours, but on a diagonal, so there was no easy way to pretend to watch the action on our field but focus on the next field over. You actually had to turn and face their field, which meant it was easy to get busted. I got to their game at 9-8 Twisted. From talking to one of the players, other than an early 2 point lead, it had been tied or a one point lead the entire way. However, once I got there, Metal ran off the next 3 points to make it 12-8 (in a game capped to 13), so I took off so I would be home in time to say goodnight to the kids. The whole interlude only kept me at the fields for another 15 minutes, as GOAT got scored on VERY quickly on two quick turnovers on their part.
After a leisurely morning with the kids, I left the house at 10AM to get to the fields at 10:30 for the required 1 hour warmup time, which of course means walking around, catching up with people, seeing what is happening in the other games, and finally running and stretching at around 11AM. I have always had problems with really long warmups. It is almost too much time spent getting ready for a game without actually playing it. I'm not describing it really well, but it is probably NOT a topic for another post.
At least in the Metal game, the offense finally got some action. In the first half, the O gave up 2 goals, one early and one late, both on stupid turnovers. Fortunately, the D turned right around and got both of them back, including all-universe half point, which was nice because Twisted was receiving in the second half, and I hate losing that 1/2 goal going into half. Those were the only 2 goals that we gave up, as the O served out the game in the second half, including one point in which we turned the disc over within 15 yards of our endzone, Twisted called timeout, we set up a zone, and hounded them into an ugly turnover after they had already lost 15 yards. We may have to work on that zone for Nationals. The D got two more in the second half and missed a couple of other opportunities to put the game away. The final score of 15-12 was the same score as Sectionals, although the game didn't feel quite as certain, maybe it was the qualifying nerves, maybe something else.
In the betty bowl, which I was unable to see because I had to run home to see some friends before they headed back to DC, sounds like GOAT wasn't ever in the game, despite an early lead. Will also be interesting to see if they continue their experiment in the frozen north, or go/slink back to their respective cities.
I'm not sure why Twisted seems to have a mental block against us. I guess it may be the big brother/little brother thing. It will be inconvenient if and when they get over that. The two teams do play a very different game. They definitely match up better with some of the other teams going to nationals. It will be interesting to see how we both do. If neither team does very well at Nationals, how long will it take before the two teams combine to try and get the title back, a la Titanic/Earth Atomizer in 92, DoG/Snapple 99, and DoG/Boss Hogg 04. The first merger worked (eventually), the second one worked the first year and then never again, and the third one is still in progress. Based on the progression, it looks like we will merge in 2007. And then the next and final merger will be in 2008, and then we will be back to the yearly name changes. I assume I will be long gone by then.
On a personal note, I had a turnover-free Regionals, although I have to give a shout out to Sam/Hummer for making an incredible catch on a hammer I threw that sailed wide right and in the middle of a pack of defenders, although shockingly enough, no one else really made a play on the disc, but it still required an incredible effort on the part of plasticman. I might be able to count turnover-free regionals on all of one or two fingers. As I have aged (like a fine wine?), my turnovers have decreased pretty consistently (and not just total turnovers that might go along with a reduction in playing time, but turnovers per throw). Whether this coincides with me having less carte blanche to continue playing when I'm playing poorly is left up to the reader (I would say the whole carte blanche elimination thing results from the team being less able to overcome the turnovers than in the past, which makes each possession that much more valuable). I remember when Wicks was still on the team we would compete to see who would have the fewest turnovers during tournaments, keeping track as the tournament went on. We would both have turnover free days/games. He typically didn't have many turnovers, except for some nasty streaks, which made it challenging for me, but the overall impact was definitely positive. As I mentioned in another post, a lot of this is probably attributable to a decrease in long throws.
During my absence, this also meant missing comments like this one from Parinella, "Obviously, for some people like Alex, it's limited by physical attributes. For all the lack of raw physical talent he seems to exude (gee, too bad he's out of the country right now and might not ever read this), he's coordinated and he's good at things like tennis and ping-pong and pool." A topic for yet another post.
But back to the topic at hand. DoG succeeded in defending its Regional title and qualified for Nationals this weekend, defeating Twisted Metal in the winners bracket game to go 15-12. This was the 10th consecutive regional championship for DoG, and 13 out of 14 (if you include Commies and Big Brother, 11 out of 12 otherwise), broken only by the 17-6 pasting by Cojones in 1995. Fortunately, we got'em back at Nationals for that one...
Funny, in the Ultimate History Book, I am listed in the Special Accomplishments section under one or two categories, one of which is Nationals appearances with the same team, and I was tied with Jim and Bill at 11. Before the spring season, when Parinella looked like he wasn't playing, I saw it as an opportunity to stand alone in that category, only to have him keep playing and clog in the paint. Oh well, at least we will knock Billy off the list. I hope this doesn't mean I'm going to get hurt in the next few weeks.
Regionals took place in Fort Devens, MA this weekend, site of the Boston Invitational and numerous other tournaments. The weather was terrible, with light to heavy rain the ENTIRE day Saturday, although fortunately the temperature held up so that shirt and shorts were sufficient (if you were able to get in the game often enough, which was a problem for the offense). On Sunday, the weather was significantly colder, but the predicted rain held off for the most part, with just an occasional misting. The weather report prompted the wearing of polypro upper and lower garments, and my wife said I looked like a clown as I left the house Sunday morning (short sleeve and shorts over the poly pro, and the pants weren't pulled over my white socks yet). That's why I love her. I have to admit, I thoroughly enjoy NOT having to travel for Regionals or the Invite, as in my dotage it is more difficult to take that additional time off from the family. So kudos to having a small region. I can't even begin to imagine being in the NW, SW, actually, any other region except the mid-atlantic where they have to fly to regionals, especially since they rotate regionals pretty regularly for fairness. Pshaw.
The score reporter tournament summary can be found here (btw, that is a great tool). It would have been awesome had the Northeast gotten 3 seeds, because we would have qualified for nationals in 3 games while having 8 points scored against us. That is a topic for yet another post. I need to write these all down somewhere so I don't lose them... As it was, the offense played 8 or 9 points all day Saturday, and we got handed a couple of D points so that we wouldn't stiffen up and break something, after maybe a 5 point D run, but otherwise it was a lot of standing around. At least we didn't get broken on the day, although we did turn it a few times. That was the only way to actually get some running in.
The game against PoNY in the second round was somewhat of a disappointment. Despite my original low expectations of that team, I had heard/read a little bit of buzz, and was hoping for a good game to sharpen our skills for the remainder of the tournament. However, they fulfilled my expectations and bent over pretty thoroughly to a 15-4 pasting. In the first round, WUFO was fortunate to score the 1 point they did. Then we had to wait a round while the masters played their 3rd pool play game, or something inane like that. Why they don't give the elite division our proper due and respect and let us get out in 3 rounds, who knows. I guess I'll take the first round bye we got. Finally, the long awaited matchup with Chuck Wagon, who had beaten DoG 2 at White Mountain Open (unfortunately, I was on that team). This time, with Chuck Wagon missing Siegs, who we had (mis)appropriated in the meantime, we were able to take a little revenge and beat them 15-3.
The quick finish allowed me to catch the end of the more exciting semifinal between GOAT and Twisted for the right to play us in the morning. We had gotten chewed out at various points when we peaked over at that game while playing ours. Unfortunately, it was not a field adjacent to ours, but on a diagonal, so there was no easy way to pretend to watch the action on our field but focus on the next field over. You actually had to turn and face their field, which meant it was easy to get busted. I got to their game at 9-8 Twisted. From talking to one of the players, other than an early 2 point lead, it had been tied or a one point lead the entire way. However, once I got there, Metal ran off the next 3 points to make it 12-8 (in a game capped to 13), so I took off so I would be home in time to say goodnight to the kids. The whole interlude only kept me at the fields for another 15 minutes, as GOAT got scored on VERY quickly on two quick turnovers on their part.
After a leisurely morning with the kids, I left the house at 10AM to get to the fields at 10:30 for the required 1 hour warmup time, which of course means walking around, catching up with people, seeing what is happening in the other games, and finally running and stretching at around 11AM. I have always had problems with really long warmups. It is almost too much time spent getting ready for a game without actually playing it. I'm not describing it really well, but it is probably NOT a topic for another post.
At least in the Metal game, the offense finally got some action. In the first half, the O gave up 2 goals, one early and one late, both on stupid turnovers. Fortunately, the D turned right around and got both of them back, including all-universe half point, which was nice because Twisted was receiving in the second half, and I hate losing that 1/2 goal going into half. Those were the only 2 goals that we gave up, as the O served out the game in the second half, including one point in which we turned the disc over within 15 yards of our endzone, Twisted called timeout, we set up a zone, and hounded them into an ugly turnover after they had already lost 15 yards. We may have to work on that zone for Nationals. The D got two more in the second half and missed a couple of other opportunities to put the game away. The final score of 15-12 was the same score as Sectionals, although the game didn't feel quite as certain, maybe it was the qualifying nerves, maybe something else.
In the betty bowl, which I was unable to see because I had to run home to see some friends before they headed back to DC, sounds like GOAT wasn't ever in the game, despite an early lead. Will also be interesting to see if they continue their experiment in the frozen north, or go/slink back to their respective cities.
I'm not sure why Twisted seems to have a mental block against us. I guess it may be the big brother/little brother thing. It will be inconvenient if and when they get over that. The two teams do play a very different game. They definitely match up better with some of the other teams going to nationals. It will be interesting to see how we both do. If neither team does very well at Nationals, how long will it take before the two teams combine to try and get the title back, a la Titanic/Earth Atomizer in 92, DoG/Snapple 99, and DoG/Boss Hogg 04. The first merger worked (eventually), the second one worked the first year and then never again, and the third one is still in progress. Based on the progression, it looks like we will merge in 2007. And then the next and final merger will be in 2008, and then we will be back to the yearly name changes. I assume I will be long gone by then.
On a personal note, I had a turnover-free Regionals, although I have to give a shout out to Sam/Hummer for making an incredible catch on a hammer I threw that sailed wide right and in the middle of a pack of defenders, although shockingly enough, no one else really made a play on the disc, but it still required an incredible effort on the part of plasticman. I might be able to count turnover-free regionals on all of one or two fingers. As I have aged (like a fine wine?), my turnovers have decreased pretty consistently (and not just total turnovers that might go along with a reduction in playing time, but turnovers per throw). Whether this coincides with me having less carte blanche to continue playing when I'm playing poorly is left up to the reader (I would say the whole carte blanche elimination thing results from the team being less able to overcome the turnovers than in the past, which makes each possession that much more valuable). I remember when Wicks was still on the team we would compete to see who would have the fewest turnovers during tournaments, keeping track as the tournament went on. We would both have turnover free days/games. He typically didn't have many turnovers, except for some nasty streaks, which made it challenging for me, but the overall impact was definitely positive. As I mentioned in another post, a lot of this is probably attributable to a decrease in long throws.
posted by Alex de Frondeville at 6:04 PM
10 Comments:
Ok, I'll comment.
Hey, congrats, my team advanced, too. And this is MY 10th consecutive Regionals title, too.
Re: Devens, 5 of my 10 tournaments this year have been there, 4 have been out of region and thus plane flights, and only the White Mountain Open was a drive to/stay overnight (but not both nights) tournament. Compare this to 1992, where I went to 8 drive/stay two nights tournaments with only 2 local ones (and 2 plane trips).
Re: PoNY, I thought we just played well that game, outperforming expectations.
Re: Metal game re: sectionals, it felt different because in the Sectionals game we opened up an early lead and stretched it out over the course of the game before we let them score two breaks at the end, whereas in this one we weren't up a break until the second half.
Re: Twisted. It's aesthetically pleasing that they play a different game, whereas Snapple/Dark Horse/Boss Hogg was always just a poor man's DoG.
Re: turnover-free, you also had two other questionable hammers in that first game before your fourth one was finally well-thrown. Plus, you never have to throw to yourself or watch yourself get shut down and look elsewhere. And that _was_ a great catch by Sam, who wasn't the intended receiver even.
I had 4 out of 6 tournaments there, plus 1 drive and 1 fly (WMO and Santa Cruz). The only non-DoG related tournament was the Masters tournament at Devens (and that had old DoG).
Re: PoNY. Also true, but they still disappointed. Playing well shouldn't have necessarily meant 15-4 with the hype. They disappointed on offense.
Re: Metal game re: sectionals. Makes sense.
Re: turnover-free. Incorrect. I threw an early one on a 2nd pass from the pull to Doug as part of the play. The one to you for a goal went where I wanted it to, but you were a little more closely covered than I thought. The blade to Doug went exactly where I wanted it to, that was stall 9 and the window was small. The one to Sam was for Josh who was 15 yards open, and it sailed WIDEEEEE right, and yes, great catch again.
And easier to throw to me near the disc as opposed to a receiver blazing in straight towards the thrower who will barely be able to shift off his line if the throw veers off-center at all.
And easier to throw to me near the disc as opposed to a receiver blazing in straight towards the thrower who will barely be able to shift off his line if the throw veers off-center at all.
Yeah, but that's a drop, not a throwaway.
Nate didn't have a turnover this weekend, either, unless you count bad subbing decisions.
Face it, everyone wishes they could be part of our conversations (that is, until they hear a real conversation and are appalled).
Begorrah, J-co's right. After catching up with some Sunday night TV, I was forced to go out to the Cambridge Common and meet up with the team to celebrate. After a few hours there, we all decided to crash the Twisted Metal in nearby Somerville. Boy, were they surprised to see me (us?). And, of course, they had kicked both kegs by the time we showed up. Highlights of the party were finding the hidden stash of hard liquor in the bottom drawer and doing sippers the rest of the night of straight rum, vodka, and tequila. Also, the ro-cham-drink the mystery cup (which I fortunately did NOT win) which I only entered after I was able to sniff the contents. I eventuall stumbled home at around 2:30AM, on a 'school' night no less. I'm glad they made me go out though. It was fun to see the Metal guys celebrate their first trip to Nationals.
What's the difference between the style of DoG's game and Metal's game?
As has gotten much play these days on rsd, DoG is more of a possession-oriented, small-ball team, whereas Twisted is West moved East, playing the same big-play offense of hucks to space.
you've changed dude... you've changed.
Also, Metal plays a lot of 1-3-3 defense, while (at least some) people on DoG have described it as "the defense that never works".
I thought that was the Clam.
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