Thursday, February 19, 2009

Senior League Coming to a Close

I can't remember the last time I posted a thread. I hope I remember how. Since the Oakridge boys and others need some focus I thought I would rundown the Senior League.

In 3.0 Bender is picking out national team uniforms as his team is getting warm up v. the Bender B Team (otherwise known as CANNON FODDER), damn I wish we could have team names, that would be awesome, we should bring that to a vote at the March 7th meeting!? Jane, Brian. What do you think?????

3.5
In Flight A Mark Myers' team has clinched a spot in the playoffs as they are undefeated with 1 match to go. Their roster has some regulars from past senior teams but Parekh is solid at this level and Atlas and Myers are doing well again. Le is a new addition that seems to be a found again gem from a 2002 Adult Sectional roster. He might just be a difference maker.

The second playoff spot will be decided this weekend as Brookhaven takes on Greenhill. Brookhaven seems like the up and coming team since some of these guys won the Adult Fall league but I have learned not to pick against Team Kayser so I think they will win 2-1 this weekend.

In Flight B Oakridge is at the top since they have played one more match but still have two remaining against the 2nd and 3rd place teams. Canyon Creek and Huffines are the other two contenders. These teams all look pretty even and I don't see any standouts other than my favorite Super Senior Terry Newman (he rocks!). Canyon Creek seems to be having a resurgence of late so I have a feeling they might make a breakthrough but it is hard to bet against Ed and team McDermott so I won't, so I see Canyon Creek finishing 3rd here.

We will see what happens over the next two weeks.

4.0
Playoffs seem to be pretty much set with somewhat usual suspects making it. TBar, Bartlett's Brookhaven team, Stonebridge and High Point/Giuhat. The High Point team is a little bit of a surprise since a preseason pick most likely would have been Springpark.

I think this will be a great round robin and I doubt any team goes undefeated. TBar and BH look a tad stronger but in a 3 match team event anything can happen.

4.5
If I am not mistaken the playoff format will be 2 v. 3 and winner plays 1. So that would pit OC v. BH with the winner playing the Village. These teams all seem pretty solid but the Village has some very solid out of towners that might prove to be the difference.

156 comments:

  1. No post's yet because all of the old farts are still sleeping off there night before hangover, then they have to deal with the hemorrhoid issues and so on.... this could be a very late developing thread... In other words "boring"!!!

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  2. In senior 3.5 the two best teams by far are High Point and Greenhill. What a coincidence that both are in flight A!

    Flight B had Oakridge, Canyon Creek and Huffines. All good teams but well below the top two.

    City championship will come down to a High Point vs Greenhill re-match.

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  3. Buddy Jordan's 4.0 team is clearly the best this year. But how will they do at Sectionals?

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  4. What do you guys think about the 3 vs 2 with winner plays 1 format? Personally I'd like to see a round robin. With 3v2v1 format, 2 teams only play 1 match each. Not much of a playoff.

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  5. Most people do not like 3v2v1. I dont no y the DTA does it that way

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  6. Looking at 2009 rosters coming together in 60's . . .

    It seems like everyone is leaving Chuck McDermott. Bob Blesi, Lanny Ereckson, Norm Goheen, Dave Leopard, Herb Ridgley, Bob Haney have all left McDermott and formed a new Garland team. Bob Kayser will soon follow.

    McDermott's team won Dallas last year and was very competitive with the best teams in Texas at Sectionals. But Chuck must have really pissed off some guys.

    The new Garland team will win easily this year and will leave Chuch behind as they advance to SSR Sectionals.

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  7. For what its worth team names would be great. The DTA should allow that.

    Team shirts/uniforms for mens teams would be a good way to show team spirit and pride in your club.

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  8. Exc idea team uniforms. Nancy Noel's team can make a fashion statement and wear pink. Drty Garland/Sisk should wear all black.

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  9. so theyre running from mcdermott like bats out of hell. but who cares about old farts over 60? thats not tennis. thats like one nursing home vs another. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

    guys over 60 should stick to bingo

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  10. Im not sure but i think in over 60s they can let the ball bounce twice

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  11. Again the anonymous show their ignorance and cowardness and you're pissing me off, so when we're done with our "old farts" season and the "young and stupid" 4.5 season begins (not all the 4.5's are young and stupid; some are not so young, others not so stupid), why don't you post your name so I'll know whose ass I'm kicking.

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  12. Yea the AARP has one hell of a tennis team!

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  13. Just read that some boy in Fairfax Va was elected homecoming queen. Nancy Noel must be very jealous.

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  14. Good match tomorrow. Senior 3.5 Grennhill at Brookhaven. Personally I dont think Brookhaven has the stones to hang with Greenhill _ but we'll see.

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  15. Garland = Black
    Northwood = Pink
    Lifetime = Yellow
    Highpoint = Pink Part 2

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  16. Greenhill/Kayser pounded Brookhaven 3-0 today.

    Yep, the DTA again put the two best team in the same flight HP and Greenhill.

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  17. Amazing how little some people understand tennis and most of the time it comes when you reach the 4.0 or 4.5 level. Chuck McDormett actually has put together as good if not better team than last year. Good enough that he is turning away players. Look at each player's record & you will see he has not "lost" his team. Chuck's team will be in the mix if not win it again.

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  18. Question remains: Why did so many strong players leave Chuck McDemott? What did he do to piss off so many good players?

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  19. Ok, this has been some of the best 4.5 competition we have seen this year. The 3 vs 2 plays 1 is ok, but doesn't last long. For the life of me (what's left) I don't get why we don't play 3 full sets in 50-70 degree weather.

    Also as long as I am rambling, any anon that thinks tennis is "bingo like" at 60 has never been to nationals. There are alot of quality players over 50 that consistantly win at all levels here in Dallas.

    Last but not least anons, try to stay within certain boundaries as you fling out classless, vulgar attempts at humor. It is good fun to toss out some off the wall stuff, but the personal attacks just get old. (and I know old)

    In parting I say bring out the best you got anons, Dan and I probably can't beat all of ya, but I bet we can beat most of you.

    Buffalo (nearing the age of dirt)

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  20. anon 4:33pm you may be a nice guy but you sound like a dumb ass. the players running from mcdermott were all bumped to 4.0 but got back to 3.5 by appeal. these are top level 3.5 players which mcdermott cannot replace. these are also the guys that played most of the matches at SSR Sectionals just a few months ago. mcdermott and his team are history.

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  21. Dear Buffalo Chips,
    Yes, we need to clean up the personal atatcks.

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  22. My understanding is that some guys wanted to play more and Chuck had 14 competitive guys on last year's 60's team. When you only play 6 guys each week, it makes it hard to play a lot of tennis. All the guys are borderline 4.0 players and they all play seniors as well as the regular league. They can compete in doubles with a lot of people. The super seniors have some strong teams - notably HP along with Galand & Huffines. GH BK

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  23. I would not under estimate the "other" teams in 3.5 seniors. HP is very very good and so are we. Tie breakers determined who won the regular season and I think the city championships will be decided by a tie breaker. HP won 2 matches by winning tie breakers. The league is very close at the top.

    Brookhaven played very well yesterday. We played a little better in the cold and wind.

    GH BK

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  24. 3v2v1 sucks. thats not a fun set up for players.

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  25. We'll beat HP in the playoffs. We did not have our best players in the line-up against them in the regular season match.

    HP you are going DOWN!

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  26. Ive always thought there was an interesting debate potential on Seniors vs Non-seniors as it plays out in league tennis.

    I am not a senior (although I'm certainly getting a lot closer) but I have enough experience playing and coaching league tennis.

    I view mainly sr teams in regular men's leagues as being incredibly "tough outs" at 4.0/4.5.

    To me, these teams seem to have a few key advantages on the rank and file:
    1) Sr's know what they do well and don't so they are incredibly consistent because of it.
    2) Seniors that are serious have multiple league seasons to play in so they are always game ready. I wish the rest of us had multiple leagues (beyond mix to play in).
    3) Some seniors are semi or fully retired and almost all dont have little kids to chase around or drive to events so they tend to play more every week then others. To me that is a big advantage during the regular season, as consistent practice can make a big difference even for the most athletic, younger foe.

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  27. Many of us wonder if Haney's and Kaiser's senior team from last year had not had so many of those "super Seniors" on their teams going to sectionals at the same time of the senior's playoffs, would it have been the same. Those super seniors were a major part in the winning records of these two teams. Not sure, but feel they contributed at least 50% of the wins. Hope the conflict playoffs will not be this season & teams can have the opportunity to play their true team at the city playoffs.

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  28. That was yet another major DTA screw up. The SSR Sectional date was scheduled 9 mos in advance by the Texas Section. Our Dallas Senior Playoff could easily have been moved up or back one week. That would have been fairer to everyone.

    The DTA is all about getting your $ not about the players

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  29. Folks need to understand that nobody left Huffhines/McDermott pissed off. Each year there is a wave of 60+ players eligible for SS league play. This year alone even with the entry of several new teams, there are a bunch of good 3.5 60+ players who do not have a team to play on. No more room at the inn. And experience has shown us that a team with over 10 players will have a difficult time qualifying the whole team for sectional play in the event that they prevail in districts.
    Any players leaving McDermott were carefully and ethically discussed so there were no surprises.

    If we are fortunate enough to add a strong team each year in SS, the end result will be more and better competition locally, and a winner that will be match-toughened to be an odds-on favorite to win the State Sectional like Huffhines has done in the past.

    In the spirit of good ethics, let's not try to light a fire where it does not exist.

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  30. Well lets see . .
    1 Dbl Bob Haney & Bob Kayser
    2 Dbl Dave Leopard & Herb Ridgley
    3 Dbl Lanny Ereckson & Norm Goheen
    4 Dbl Bob Blesi & whoever

    These guys were the STARS of McDermott's team from last year which competed at SSR Sectionals and they all left him to form a new team. Highly unusual when a very successful team breaks up like that and runs away from their former captain.

    You can put positive "spin" on this but obviously these guys did not enjoy playing for Chuck.

    And by the way, this new Garland/Blesi team kill everyone in the local league.

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  31. Garland has 5 well-balanced teams. A coin flip will probably decide the order of play. That said, unequivocally Kayser will not be in that mix, but instead will play for Huffhines, where there is an opening. Nothing will change the Huffines first line where Newman/Alexander have dominated for several years.
    You need to do a little more homework sport.

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  32. It's certainly true that anyone can play for any team they want. I know its a free agency. However, I captained our 60s team to SSR Sectionals last year. I handled all the administrative chores and did NOT put myself in the lineup at all at Sectionals. I gave all I had for the team.

    The guys that left me to play for Garland/Blesi are just ungrateful bastards. I was a good captain and there was no reason for this mass exit. Hell, now I am having trouble getting 6 guys registered to play. I don't understand it at all.

    My focus this year will be on the 70s. But I sure hope somebody can beat Garland/Blesi 60s this year.

    - Chuck

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  33. This is from the real Chuck McDermott, not the clown who wrote the blog today at 442PM.and signed it chuck.
    Look you despicable jerk how could you write lies about not only me but also the six good guys that are forming the Garland team.

    When Blesi and I realized that there would be 18 players on our team we each took 3 lines to form the nuclues of the new teams.
    The Clown seem to know a little about our teams I wonder if he is some one that wanted to play for us and didn't have the talent or had personal hygeine problems.
    This is the real Chuck McDermott

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  34. Congratulations to Houston for winning Tri-Level - They inched by SE Texas 2-1. Captain Freeman up to his usual tricks

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  35. They left u Chuck. Like rats leaving a sinking ship! It's OK to be pissed. Nobody blames u.

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  36. I do agree with anon regarding the DTA. If you seed teams then you should publish the seeded teams like they do for tournaments. To seed in private but not admit what you are doing is dishonest.

    Maybe its arrogance but I think more dishonesty.

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  37. LEVEL 3.5 SENIOR (50s) PLAYOFFS
    MAJOR LEAGUE (Flight A)
    High Point and Greenhill are easily the best two teams. They both advance to the playoffs. Brookhaven advances as well but must play an additional match against the 2nd place team from the minor league. That will be an easy win for Brookhaven.

    MINOR LEAGUE (Flight B)
    It is a 3-way battle between 3 decent but not impressive teams. Huffines looks like they will take 1st place in the minors with Canyon Creek or Oakridge taking 2nd. The 2nd place team from the minors will be quickly knocked out in the playoffs and will only play 1 match. Huffines will only be a punching bag for HP and GH in the playoffs.

    Yes there are a few minor league players that could make it in the big leagues but not many.

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  38. SSR 60s
    This is not hard to figure out -> Good players leave bad captains.

    Now let's stop talking about wheelchair tennis. Who do you like in Senior 4.5?

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  39. JANE GILPIN BRAIN FART
    In Senior 3.5 3rd place Flight A plays 2nd Place Flight B with the winner playing TWICE more on the same day _ total 3 team matches in one day.

    Tournament guys do that all the time but a lot of Seniors are not in shape to play 3x in one day. That's not fair and doesn't make any sense to me. The 3rd vs 2nd match should be played on Friday not Saturday.

    Brookhaven SR 3.5

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  40. I am rooting for GH to come out on top.

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  41. Greenhill is a major league team and they have at least a 50% chance of beating High Point.

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  42. Hey fake Chuck, take a hike ya knothead. Both Real Chuck and Blesi are quality folks. FTR, Blesi is playing on Chucks 50s team, no animosity there. Chuck's adding some youth (relatively speaking) to his 3.5SS team and should give Garland, et al, a run for the money this spring.

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  43. Be honest numbnuts. For once in your life forget about the "spin".

    We've seen a mass exit and major break up of team that went to Sectionals (and competed very well) last year. The players leaving were the top guys. (Bumped to 4.0 & appealed down.) I dont ever remember this happening before. THOSE GUYS JUST DONT WANT TO PLAY FOR CHUCK. I've talked candidly to a couple of them. Thats the truth and the rest of you guys are just lying to try to smooth things over.

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  44. To ANON 2.22am For someone who thinks he knows alot about Seniors.You overlooked the fact that Brookhaven was beaten out by Shores/Westlake for 3rd so that makes Brookhavens EASY Win impossible.Also if Canyon Creek can beat Huffines again and Oak Ridge can beat Canyon Creek again a 3-way tie will leave Huffines out of the playoffs.A Win by Huffines assures them 1st and Canyon Creek and Oak Ridge will play for 2nd.But dont sell any of these teams short in the playoffs where match ups are so important. Playoffs are never Easy!!!! As far as the other flights teams being so much better thats B.S.

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  45. Just a note on the SS competitiveness. The last two years that 3.5 SS Huff went to Sectionals (including one year to Nationals), they scrimmaged 4.0 senior teams and broke even one match and edged out a win in the other. And those were highly contested years for SS in Dallas so there were plenty of other SS players in the same skill range. SS may not have the numbers as Senior men, but the top players in SS are tough competitors.

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  46. The Senior 3.5 Playoffs are all about GH vs HP. Everyone else is just along for the ride.

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  47. Talk about gutless. Whoever wrote the email claiming to be "Chuck"(McDormett), should be banned from this site. It ahould be an opportunity to write what they think they know or have hard, but to say what they did in the email is a down right lie. If they were so sure of what they found out by the "leaving players interview", there was no need to sign another person's name to it. I have meet & talked with other players who play for other teams, & they have said from time to this they do not really care for the captain, but it is an enjoyable team to be on. I don't think it is my place to post this info on the website, whether it is a winning team or not. Is Chuck the best captain in the league? Well I don't know as I have not played for all of them. However Chuck has taken me to 3 sectionals and 2 Nationals including taking 2nd at Nationals. there not many out there that can say that on their tennis resume. And because team wins a league, playout, or even nationals, you can not place all the wins on the captain. Your players win you matches & that includes the captain if he is playing. A captain can get a player to the court, but he can not serve or volley for them. Has he placed players on the court at wrong time, yes, but he did it based on the knowledge at that time of those players & they either had a bad day or hit a buzz saw opponent. He also has been very open about discussing players with other players to come to his decision.

    This site is getting like the office emails, about 95% are worthless.

    This blog has lost a great deal of worthwhile communications about tennis in our area. It has become a Jerry Springer show. I enjoy reading of evaluation of each player, team, and league, but the lies are getting larger than the truth & the evaluations being made from someone who has no input, but enjoys throwing out messages for the keyboard just to see reaction, truth or not.

    I for one appreciate what Gary has done establishing the site, but the drinking water has turned to sewer water and think it is time to check the filter. Terry Newman, memnber of Chuck McDormett's team and proud to be.

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  48. ^
    |
    Who's Gary?

    Gary Coleman?

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  49. Dont get so high and mighty, Terry.
    Here are the FACTS:
    Top players that have left McDermott:
    Bob Blesi
    Lanny Ereckson
    Norm Goheen
    Dave Leopard
    Herb Ridgley
    Bob Haney
    Others to follow? (Bob Kayser?)

    And some of these guys have been talking about why they left McDermott.

    Top players that stayed with McDermott:
    Terry Newman
    Tom Alexander

    It is VERY UNUSUAL for six of your top players to leave a captain after playing Sectionals and coming close to Nats. In fact, unheard of.

    You are Chuck's long-time buddy and that's great. And you'll defend him right or wrong. But the above guys left for greener pastures. And Chuck was the reason. You think Chuck is a great captain _ your are entitled to your opinion. Others disagree.

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  50. I appreciate and respect all the teams in the various categories for Seniors and SS. To say that one or two teams are a "lock" to advance to the finals is to ignore history. Some guys get to puffing their chest a lttle prematurely. It wasn't but two years ago a 5-3 Senior men's pool team met a 10-0 team from the opposite bracket in the tournament. 10-1 was still a nice season--better than 6-3. No matter how deep you are in talent, you can only put two at time on the court.

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  51. FYI - Bob Kayser is playing on Chuck's team. I didn't know I was playing on Bob Blesi's team.

    Chuck & Bob both have good teams with a lot of good guys on them.

    HP will also be very strong in SS. Haven't seen the other rosters, but Brookhaven could also be tough.

    GH - BK

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  52. I have only been Captain of a team for a short time and it is a difficult job trying to keep everyone happy. I congradulate Chuck McDermott for all the sucess he has had with his teams. In the dealings I have had with him there has been no problems. Bob Kayser has also been a Captain alot longer then I have and doesnt seem to have a problem with Chuck.I think you ANONS have too much to say about what is not your business. And also for all the ANONS who dont like 3.5 or Seniors stay off the site or create your own and shut up.

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  53. All this chatter about 3.5s, let*s have some about 4.0

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  54. The problem with senior citizens is that they all want a discount. A discount for this, a discount for that...does the price include my senior citizen discount, sonny? Discount, discount, discount......BS. I say we all raise prices when we see them coming, and then only knock off 1/2 of the increase. That will teach 'em.

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  55. Why is it Chuck's fault that they left? Maybe they just left because they wanted to play more, or wanted to play at a different place, or one of a hundred other reasons. I haven't heard from anybody who left because he was a bad captain.

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  56. Hey 4:57pm anon, 3:02pm anon is just trying to yank our repective chains. He's probably a victim of the downsizing at Starbuckles and his future is looking pretty bleak (McDonalds) at the moment. And he's undoubtedly jealous of our 10%Monday liquor discount at Sigels.

    Me, I'm just jazzed to be retired and playing tennis whenever and whereever, and, getting pumped about the Huf/CC rematch this weekend in 3.5 Sr.

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  57. The guys left MecDermott's SSR team because they believe that Bob Blesi will be a better captain than Chuck. It has nothing to do with more playing time or location, etc. In fact initially those guys were going to leave Chuck and play for Bob Haney and then plans changed and Bob Blesi agreed to captain. (I'm told that this migratrion has been planned for some time.)

    It does not mean that Chuck is a bad captain by any means. It also does not mean Chuck is a bad guy. But the guys that left believe they can do better.

    Obviously some guys want to put out a different story _ because they want to remain freinds with Chuck and they don't want to have hurt feelings.

    I can't wait for the Garland vs Huffines SSR match _ which will decide the city championship! Guys will be highly motivated for that one.

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  58. So we are supposed to believe you instead of the guys who are leaving?

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  59. You can be as naive as you want to be.

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  60. Corey,
    A couple of those guys are talking and one quite a bit. I'm sure you'll hear the scoop at GTC.

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  61. LEAGUE ADMINISTRATION FOR DUMMIES
    (Help for Jane Gilpin)
    1. Playoffs should be a round robin. Our 4.0 playoffs were messed up last year with the 2 flight approach. EVERYONE prefers RR. Also no one likes the 3v2v1 method. With 3v2v1 2 teams end up playing only 1 playoff match.

    2. Dont schedule playoffs during a Sectional event

    3. Players want more matches not fewer

    4. When putting teams into flights, seed the top teams and distribute the rest randomly. Get some help with seeding (Corey N and Cary B would be great). Be open and announce what you do. The current process makes you look arrogant & dishonest and reflects poorly on the DTA.

    5. Dont schedule teams to play 3x on the same day while others play 1x or 2x.

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  62. Oakridge is goign to take the Senior League with a bunch of good players on their team.

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  63. Ok kids. I read DRazor comments. That is the great thing about you "kids" ya all look great LOSING to those of us that are old. We win but according to others we win "UGLY". I guess when the USTA gets smart they will only award a half a point if you win UGLY and a full point if you look good and win pretty. GO you 4.5 seniors I have seen you play and outside of singles (really were age hurts us) the seniors team that wins it (whomever that may be) could probably win in the Spring with a couple of good singles players.

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  64. Corey,
    Take your geritol and get your butt to bed!
    crickets

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  65. Senior thread, God Help me!
    Reminds me of
    www.lemonparty.org

    Please let the regular season start!

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  66. This, that and the other thing is far better in my opinion!

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  67. SENIOR 4.5
    Steve Franklin's Village team looks like the best team this year but Brookhaven/Harlee is in the mix. Oak Creek/Owen Stewart (5-3)needs a win this Saturday aga Village (7-1) to tighen things up.

    SENIOR 4.0
    A handful of very good teams makes for interesting matches but TBar/Jordan is probably the best. Big match on 3/7 when Stonebridge (8-0) plays HP (7-1)

    SENIOR 3.5
    High Point/Myers and Greenhill/Kayser are both better than the rest of the teams. I like Greenhill to beat HP in the playoffs. Greenhill is just too strong for any team to beat them twice.

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  68. The good thing about senior leagues is a team only has a small window to dominate. Most of the team will die off after a couple of years.

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  69. I know this isn't senior-related but I'm really upset that we now have 22 teams signed up for 4.5. I don't know how they will schedule this but last season we got to play nine matches. If they divide this into three flights, we will only get 6 or 7 (two flights will have 6). I would just rather do 11 matches. Who cares? It doesn't cost them anymore money to schedule more matches.

    Oh well. Maybe some teams will drop out.

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  70. Coredawg,
    Setting up flights and putting teams into flights is something the DTA does very poorly. One person tries to do everything and she doesn't she doesn't know men's players/teams very well. So this is always a concern.

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  71. anon 11:03am
    Yea _ the sooner the better!

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  72. I do agree it wouldn't hurt to get input from some of the captains who have been around a while. I don't include myself in that category since I've only captained three seasons but I do consider myself to be fairly objective. In 4.5 it has been less of an issue because the top two teams from each flight have advanced to the playoffs since there have only been two flights. With three, the flight divisions will be much more important.

    At the same time though, would you really feel comfortable with one of your rival captains deciding which flight your team is in? Just a thought.

    But really all it would take would be a mass e-mail to all the captains to list who you believe the top teams will be. Just like all-star voting.

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  73. To ANON poster 5:57 who cant spell.My Oak Ridge Team has to wait until Huffines/Canyon Creek match this weekend result before we can even make the playoff wildcard.I dont know who you are to think we are going to Win the playoffs. Every team is very quaified and we will be the Underdogs in every match except possibly Shores/Westlake. We are going to do the best we can to defeat Canyon Creek. I guess time will tell!!!!

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  74. I hear you Corey, I think maybe that LBH Jones team might opt not to play but I don't see why with 22 they should think about 3 flights, that would be insane. 6 matches is not a season it is half a season for most areas.

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  75. Most tournaments have a small seeding committee which handles seeding. It would be nice if the DTA would use that approach when setting up flights and when putting teams into flights. (The unseeded teams should be put into flights by random draw _ just like in tournaments.)

    Plenty of guys would volunteer to help but the DTA prefers to handle this w/o any outside input. And they prefer to keep it a secret process so that no one questions them.

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  76. I bet 4.5 ends up with 20 teams.

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  77. LOL - Most tournaments have a seeding committee?

    Maybe for some scrub unsanctioned events. Seeding in tournaments is based solely on points and the computer spits them out.

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  78. I don't see a problem with the way the DTA picks teams. The way I see the DTA handling the spring season is that they look at the fall season and rank them according to how they ended up in the playoffs. Then they spread the teams over the flights. Then they add in the teams that did NOT make the playoffs. This happened in previous seasons in 3.5. The rankings from the fall season were 1) Brookhaven 2) Westlake 3) Canyon Creek 4) Greenhill 5) Canyon Creek & 6) Sammual Grand. I do NOT know if some of the teams will play this year, so that is an added twist. My experience is limited to being a captain 7 times over the last 3 years. This is just an opinion based on observations.

    GH BK

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  79. Coredawg,
    Setting up flights and putting teams into flights is something the DTA does very poorly. One person tries to do everything and she doesn't she doesn't know men's players/teams very well. So this is always a concern.


    In the immortal words of Reese Bobby: "If you ain't first you're last", so get over the stupid seeding and play the matches. Pussy.


    DTA

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  80. We all deserve better league administration

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  81. I'm not even sure that Jane is the one who divides the flights. I would assume based on his title that it is Brian Modic, which would certainly be a conflict of interest in the 4.5 division.

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  82. Right, but there needs to be some transparency. The DTA needs to to tell us how seeding & flighting are done and who does it. Either a letter to captains or a brief explanation on their website.

    It would take very little of their time. But I truly believe they are too arrogant and feel no need to communicate. Or they really have somehting to hide. My guess is Jane does it all and Brian is nothing but a figure head. If Brian had any balls he would at least communicate how things are done.

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  83. Brian M. has been a big disappointment.

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  84. Have you noticed that the DTA is trying minimize playoff matches? Level 4.0 is no longer a RR and all 4.0 teams play fewer playoff matches. Also they are doing a lot of 3v2v1 which dramatically decrease playoff matches played. These are both big changes made recently that reduce # of playoff matches.

    Historically our playoffs have been one of the best things about DTA legaues. Now (with no announcement or input or vote) the DTA is intentionally reducing playoff matches.

    Who cares if your team makes playoffs if you only get 1 more match _ 3v2v1 ???

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  85. "SENIOR 3.5
    High Point/Myers and Greenhill/Kayser are both better than the rest of the teams. I like Greenhill to beat HP in the playoffs. Greenhill is just too strong for any team to beat them twice."

    With regard to the above post--
    you may be overlooking something. Greenhill barely won one line against HP. HP would love them to play the same lineup. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and expecting a different result.

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  86. Greenhill did not have all their top guys in the line-up the first time. Also one of HP's wins was by match tiebreak

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  87. both are very strong team _ it could go either way

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  88. To Anons As a Member of 1 of the minor league Senior Teams Thanks for giving any of our teams NO CHANCE in the Playoffs against High Point /Greenhill. We have beaten them in last years playoffs and can do it again. Thanks again for the extra incentive we need.

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  89. GH BK 9:27
    If you are correct in what u say here are the problems:
    > Using only fall season to seed teams is not a poor/lazy apprpach. You need to consider the prior spring results, seniors, tournaments etc. Not all top teams even play in the fall
    > When you say the DTA "distributes" team to flight that means they place teams wherever the hell they want. In tennis it is std procedure to seed a few teams and place the others by RANDOM DRAW. That is the fairest way for everyone.
    > Finally, if they did not have something to hide the DTA would be open about what they do.

    The result of their poor process is u often see the top 2 or 3 teams ending up in the same flight. Or at least 1 flight much tougher than another.

    Also sometimes u see poor thinking when they set up the flights. They set up 2 flights when 3 would be better or 4 flights when 3 would be better, etc. AND they are trying to reduce playoff matches. The DTA can do better.

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  90. GH BK
    Just because you captaind for 3 years doesnt mean ur not a dumbass

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  91. High Point/Myers will beat Greenhill/Kayser in senior 3.5. Kayser has captained 5 or 6 teams and has never won even a city championship. 2009 will not be any different. His teams have been close but they never get it done when the title is on the line.

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  92. Anon - 5:47 - the key words were "This is just an opinion based on observations." I am not sure if I am correct or not.

    Nothing is perfect and there is always the possibity of inequities with any system.

    Having Cary or someone else give input to the flights has the potential for putting politics into the equation.

    The important thing is to go out and play and have a good time.

    Why worry about this? There are a lot of other things to worry about.

    GH BK

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  93. It is just as easy to do it fairly and correctly as it is to do it poorly. Why not do it right?

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  94. I agree me or anyone else creating flights is a bad idea. But I will say i am curious to know how the flights are made up. I know we don't play teams from our own home courts but after that I am guessing it is random but I could be wrong. I think that is really the only way to do it because seeding teams seems almost impossible unless the rosters are the same which they never are.

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  95. NONE of it is random draw. Jane places EVERY team into a flight based on where she wants the team to go. And thats wrong.

    Even the National USTA uses a random draw process for Nationals. They hold a "draw party" and everyone watches the draw being made. (The USTA posted an article about that on their website a couple years ago.)

    Random draws are are generally accepted as the fairest method of putting teams into flights. It should not be done at the wim of a single DTA clerk.

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  96. I think scheduling the fall playoffs the same weekend as SSR Sectionals was a real screw up. My 3.5 team was really hurt by DTA incompetence.

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  97. If the DTA actually seeds teams (when placing teams into flights) then they should announce the seeding. A little openess and honesty would be appreciated.

    Seeding teams based ONLY on the fall league results doesn't seem like a good idea to me. Why not consider prior spring results as well.

    Also it is never a good idea for ONE person to do all the seeding. Too much potential for abuse.

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  98. It it is a random draw, I would like to see them do it at the captains' meeting where everybody could see. That would be very dramatic. I am 99.9% sure that isn't the case though because in 4.5 as long as I can remember the top 4 teams based on previous season have been split into both flights (2 in each). If it were completely random, the top 4 would end up together at some point.

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  99. I would LOVE them to do a draw at the captains meeting. And if they seeded say 4 teams _ they could announce the seedings and then do the draw. That type of open process which would be preceived to be fair and would reflect well on the DTA.

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  100. SUPER SENIORS RUN FROM MCDERMOTT
    Here is the thing that bugs me about the SSR guys leaving McDermott: NONE OF THEM HAD THE BALLS TO PASS ALONG THE TRUE STORY AND SOME FLAT OUT LIED ABOUT IT. If it werent for a few anon posters we wouldnt know the true story

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  101. Cary, any chance you can put up a poll on who the top seeds should be at each level? Maybe we could send the results to the DTA.

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  102. Prediction for our flight

    Northwood
    Oak creek branch
    Oak creek Feldman
    Royal Oaks
    T-Bar
    Brookhaven
    High Point

    This will be the new grouping to make everthing balanced DTA style!

    old school

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  103. Prediction for our flight

    Northwood
    Oak creek branch
    Oak creek Feldman
    Royal Oaks
    T-Bar
    Brookhaven
    High Point

    This will be the new grouping to make everthing balanced DTA style!

    old school

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  104. ...one more time

    Prediction for our flight

    Northwood
    Oak creek branch
    Oak creek Feldman
    Royal Oaks
    T-Bar
    Brookhaven
    High Point

    This will be the new grouping to make everthing balanced DTA style!

    new school

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  105. In the 3,5 minor league, a nice win yesterday by Canyon Creek. They beat Huffines 3- 0.

    It was fun to see whiney Terry Newman take it up the butt in a match T/B.

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  106. A nice win YESTERDAY by Canyon Creek? Where are you mate? Australia? The match was a few hours ago (well, 7 for me, but 3 when you posted)

    You know, the trouble you're having with the less than cryptic device known as a CALENDAR, can be cured by a good elementary school education.

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  107. ANON - 5:58 Better be careful remembr that he beat you in straight sets the last time

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  108. Well Canyon Creek now has wrapped up 1st place in the 3.5 minor league. Even if they lose 0-3 to Oakridge (not likely) they still finish 1st place.

    Meanwhile High Point and Greenhill stand ready to crush Canyon Creek in the playoffs. And alas, they do not award any trophies for 3rd place.

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  109. In final minor league 3.5 matches:
    Canyon Creek has 1st place regardless.

    Huffines plays Brookhaven/Gilpin. Huffines will win 3-0 because Gilpin's team is terrible.

    Oakridge can take 2nd place with a win vs Canyon Creek. Oakridge is out if they lose 0-3. If Oakridge loses 1-2 to Canyon Creek _ then crazy tiebreakers decide 2nd place.

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  110. Looks like a very bad year for Chuck McDermott. His senior50 team might not even make playoffs and if they do they'll be out really fast. His best super senior60 players pissed on him and left for greener pastures. Garland will kick their butts in SSR60. So that leaves SSR70. Does anybody think he'll beat Harry Klein-Smith's team??? Not likely!

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  111. i am tired of hearing about mcdermmott. can you think of any other examples where a captains best players all left him at one time?

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  112. I cant think of another example where so many high level players left a captain all at once. Those guys all appealed down from level 4.0. They'll be going to Nats this year and leaving old Chuck behind. Pretty crappy bunch of guys.

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  113. SENIOR 3.5 RETARD PLAYOFFS
    Here is the playoff match that I want to see:

    Eldorado/Beatty (0-7) vs Brookhaven/Gilpin (0-7)

    There two teams are so horrible that, if they played, perhaps neither team would win. Most of their players should be rated 3.0 or 2.5.

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  114. In Senior Minor league action-If Oak Ridge beats Canyon Creek they make the playoffs. A Canyon Creek win gives 2nd place spot to Huffines no tie-break ness. since Oak Ridge would have 3 losses and Huffines only 2.

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  115. BOB SOMABUT: WTF ???
    Zoomyourbutt's senior team has had a crappy season. They've pretty much taken it up the shorts all year. It was a surprise the they were not more competitive.

    Now Zoomyourvutt has ZERO guys registered to play in the spring seaosn. Is Bob over the hill??? Is he retiring??? What's the story???

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  116. Don't worry his roster will have about 20 players before the deadline. Somabut will still be the team to beat.

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  117. Oak Creek Stewart snuck past The Village sunday 2-1 in 4.5

    The playoffs were already pretty well set, but it was some very close competition on a great day.
    The Village just has to beat Hackberry and they finish 1st. That could be an interesting match as Hackberry has some good players.

    The playoffs (3v2v1) should be very close and will probably come down to tie-breaks.

    If The Village can get their out of town and state players in they are probably the favorites, but never count out Brookhaven and Oak Creek. Both should be very competitive, especially with the creative line-ups Owen Stewart puts out there,(I meant that in the nicest way possible O)
    Ihihihih, Buffalo

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  118. Yep it will be interesting to see the lineups in that final 3.5B match. I still think Canyon Creek should win it and get Huffines into the playoffs but we will see.

    Bob:
    Yeah, ha as if Bob would retire from this stuff, he is as addicted as I am. Bob does a different style of sign up where he hand picks up until deadline time, the rest of us are just looking for scraps. Just fighting for second place. What about team Eddie, I guess he is using this process as well. How is the shoulder Eddie?

    Corey I will put up a poll just for fun but seeding flights is a wierd thing but I do think it is a valid question to ask this Saturday at the League Meeting.

    All are invited to come out this Sat @ 1p to Brookhaven to find out new info and talk about any ideas for the league, etc. Even Anons can come but you will have to state your name if you want to speak up and actually say something worth talking about.

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  119. Cary, Previously you picked Huffines,Oak Ridge over Canyon Creek now that we have secured 1st place you think we can beat Oak Ridge who we previosly lost to.We have already beat Huffines 3-0 twice and can control who makes it into wildcard match.I guess we are better then you thought we were. When we get to the playoffs we will be ready to suprise H/P and Greenhill.

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  120. I didn't realize the meeting was Saturday. I'm going to have to miss because of the Austin tourney. I would love to hear a rundown but I was trying to think of anything noteworthy that happened last season and nothing came to mind.

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  121. Anons don't make a party out of loving. Like the Hippies out in San Fransico do.

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  122. Lucky Thunder,Thanks for picking Canyon Creek to beat us.We will try our best to beat them and make the Wildcard Match against Shores/Westlake. It should be a interesting match since they have already won 1st place in B Group regardless of the result against us. Congrats to Don and his team!!!

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  123. The problem with AARP tennis is that no one really cares Ed.

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  124. To the last poster If noboby cares about Senior Tennis why is there so many posts on the site. If you dont care stay off it!!!! One of the old guys

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  125. The DTA bases their seedings 100% based on fall season.

    That is stupid.

    The prior SPRING season is a much better predictor of team strength. Take 4.5 for example. Oak Creek/Branch has won 4.5 every year for maybe 7 or 8 years. But they did not make the fall playoffs last season. DOES ANYBODY THINK THEY WONT HAVE THE TOP TEAM IN 2009?

    Some excellent teams do not even play the fall season. Others do not really play it seriously. Some use it to manage (lower) their ratings. To seed teams based SOLELY of fall results is assinine.

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  126. The DTA does not announce their seedings. How about some transparency here???

    If you are going to seed teams, then have the balls to announce your seedings _ just like they do at tournaments.

    ALWAYS HAVE TRANSPARENCY. TELL PLAYERS HOW THINGS ARE DONE. (Unless of course you are ashamed of what you are doing.)

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  127. Finally, the DTA places EVERY team in flights exactly where they want them to go. Nothing is random.

    The most fair way _ is to seed perhaps 1 or 2 teams per flight and distribute the remainding teams RANDOMLY. The random draw should be observed.

    This will not always result in flights being perfectly balanced. But a random draw is the most fair way to do it.

    You might not like the draw but at least you know your team had a fair chance.

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  128. If you want to have a better seeding in the spring, play the fall. Not rocket science. That's the way it works.

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  129. anon 9:56
    You are a dumb ass

    The issue is not how it works. The issue is how SHOULD it work.

    Spring results, fall resutls and seniros should all be considered. If we must use only one, then spring is a better indicator.

    Seeding should be done by a committe not a single clek who knows nothing about mens leagues.

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  130. It sounds like you should join a league at your local tennis center. Maybe they can pacify your whinny ass! Go practice your weak serves.

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  131. NEW TOPIC.. BTW TEAM SWAT?????
    OBVIOUSLY THEY WERE TO0 OVERCONFIDENT LAST YEAR.. GOT SMOKED IN THE FINALS

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  132. Not as overconfident as LTF, who didn't even make the finals

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  133. My 4.0 team only played 2 matches during the playoffs last year. We used to play 4 matches (5 team round robin). The 3v2v1 playoffs are terrible because 2 teams only play 1 playoff match.

    Why does the DTA want to shorten our playoffs?

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  134. The DTA is lazy. Regular season matches don't affect them, whereas playoff matches require USTA officials and DTA reps to attend the event. They see this as a way to cut cost and spare them from having to use their individual time to administer.

    On a separate note, why is noone playing the BH tournament. Deadline is approaching fast.

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  135. Can't wait for the Senior League to finish and the real tennis to begin.

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  136. Funny. I had that same thought.

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  137. No doubt, this is the seniors only time to blog, during the regular season they get smoked and tuck their nads between their legs!!

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  138. I'm sure most of them are at the bowling alley trying to warm up their forehands and getting loaded. Then, on Monday, they will be on here saying stuff like so-n-so won and it was really close.......barely won the Koman 3rd set. And we are like oh really I don't think anyone cares.

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  139. We need a poll - what is weaker, Seniors or 3.5 tennis? Frankly I think 3.5 tennis topics are way more retarded. I mean a Senior may be old, but the 4.5 players will still kick most of these 3.5ers ass.

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  140. STOP calling me Frankly. My name is Frank.

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  141. I am much happier being a wise and financially secure senior at age 51 then a young and stupid junior selling french fries at McDonalds and disrespecting my ability to kick their ass on the tennis court.

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  142. So you were a young and stupid junior selling French fries at Micky D's once upon a time?

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  143. anything less than 4.5 is not real tennis

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  144. Why did O.J. want to move to Beaumont, Texas???

    Because everyone there has the same DNA!

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  145. Please someone start a new tread! Senior stuff is BORING!!!!!!!

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  146. NEW FOCKIN POST GEEZ

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  147. How is Corndawg doing in Austin?

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  148. Now we are getting spam on the blog.

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  149. hey guys, free streaming porn.
    youporn.com
    its good stuff

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  150. Anything decent come out of the captain's meeting???

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  151. LOVE listening to the kids talk smack!!!!! True some of us old guys live in the past, while some of us keep our mouths shut and play line 1 in REGULAR 4.5 doubles and find it easier to win than in the seniors.

    Keep up the trash talking while some of us say nothing except "nice match" and think dream on kiddo a WIN is in your dreams!!!!!

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  152. Funny how quiet Greenhill got.

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