Wednesday, June 10, 2009

4.5 Week Seven

Alright guys,

Sorry for the delay in 4.5 posts but the divisions have really gotten interesting. Both flights have only four teams left in contention with only the top three teams from each flight making the QT. Some of these teams face each other this weekend and we should know a lot more after Sunday.

4.5 A

Status: Oak Creek/Branch and Royal Oaks are on a collision course with a combined 53-7 record. They don't play this week but Royal Oaks could drop significantly with a loss against Feldman this week. ROCC plays the top three teams the next 3 weeks so that is when we will find out what they are made of. T Bar is on life support and can't afford another loss if they want to make the QT.

This Week: Only two compelling matchups this week as ROCC takes on Feldman and T Bar takes on the overachieving Bovermann team. There is a youth movement in 4.5 and ROCC and Feldman are an example with at least 3 players under 21 between them. Interesting to see how they will fair against top-level 4.5 opponents. T-Bar should roll over Bovermann to stay in the hunt.

Predictions:

ROCC d. Feldman 3-2
T Bar d. Bovermann 4-1
Branch d. Hackberry 5-0
High Point d. Stonebridge 3-2
Village d. Collin County 3-2

4.5 B

Status: This flight was totally shaken up last week due to Greenhill's 3-2 win over Huffhines. There is now a 3-way tie for first place with the top two teams only being separated by two sets. High Point is a close 4th but will need a lot of help to have a chance at winning the flight. Only three of these teams can advance to the playoffs and we still have Huffhines v. High Point (this week) and Greenhill v. Brookhaven (next week) to come. High Point will be all but eliminated with another loss after their crushing loss to OC/Juhn a couple of weeks ago.

This Week: The feature match of the week is Huffhines v. High Point. HP has done well against my teams in the past so I'm expecting a tough match. HP has added a couple of new players to the roster too so I'm sure they will choose this week to bring them out. None of the top 4 teams can afford to lose another match if they want to win. Springpark could provide a tough test vs. Greenhill if they are still playing to win. Springpark has underachieved this season but they have an undefeated line 1 singles player to go against Greenhill's 1-2 singles punch. How will the Plano Open impact the matches with Griggs and Howard both playing 4.5 singles?

Predictions:

Huffhines d. High Point 3-2 (you know I have to pick my team)
Lakes d. LB Houston 4-1
Greenhill d. Springpark 3-2
Juhn d. DFW Hilton 4-1
Brookhaven d. T Bar 5-0

Let the trash talk begin!!! Welcome back anons, I missed you like I miss hemmorhoids.

137 comments:

  1. Springpark has played all the top teams very close this season. I pick them to pull the upset this week with Griggs and Howard out.

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  2. I would like to agree with you but the problem is that Griggs and Howard play each other early in the tourney so at least one of them will be available Sunday. I really don't see Springpark winning two of the three doubles, and I actually think their superstar Brandon Underwood would lose to Griggs or Howard.

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  3. Will feldman bring out a formidable line up against ROCC? ROCC being ran by Rothwell has no chance of advancing.
    Obviously Captain Rothwell has recruited heavily if he has to pull some Super Champ Juniors into the mix. Team Rothwell really is an average team.

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  4. 4.5 MAJOR LEAGUE
    Contains the top 3 teams from 2008 DCC (OC/Branch, RO/Rothwell & T-Bar-M)
    Those 3 teams plus Oak Creek/Feldman puts the FOUR BEST level 4.5 teams in Dallas all in the same flight. (Way to go DTA!)
    Branch has this already won but the other 3 teams are still top notch. The battle for QT slots is fierce.

    4.5 MINOR LEAGUE
    None of the teams would be in the top 4 if they played in the Major League. (And none would make the playoffs if they played in the majors.) However, even in the minors someone has to win. Although the minor league teams are not top quality _ the race is now interesting. I do think Nancy Noel's team will finish first and advance to the DCC _ where they will bend over against the Major League teams.

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  5. It's fun to say Flight A is the major league and Flight B is the minor league. But the disparity is not that great. I don't think TBar would crack the top 3 in either flight.

    Tough to judge Royal Oaks as they haven't played anybody yet. Not sure if this week will tell us much either. Feldman has little incentive to bring the A team. But if they did, I would say 4-1 Feldman.

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  6. does anyone recall how the Fall champ and the QT work. I know if OC/Feldman were to win 4.5A that they go and then there is a QT for the 2nd spot. What if, let's say, OC/Branch comes in first and OC/Feldman finishes 2nd. I know both make cities but does that mean there is a 3rd team coming out of 4.5A through the QT?

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  7. Here is how 4.5 playoffs work:

    The DCC will be a FOUR team round robin. The 4 teams are 1st place A, 1st place B, Fall winner OC/Feldman) and the QT winner.

    Assuming OC/Feldman finishes either 2nd or 3rd place in Flight A, then the QT will be a THREE team round robin. The teams will be 2nd place B, 3rd place B and 2nd or 3rd place A.

    If OC/Feldman finishes 4th place (not likely) then the QT is a FOUR team round robin with 2nd and 3rd place teams from both flight A and B.

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  8. Clearly the top three 4.5 teams in Dallas are all in the same flight. (I'm not sure about T-Bar-M.) So I think the "major league" and "minor league" classifications are somewhat realist.

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  9. Ouch! In previous years, didn't
    4th place teams make QT. I also recall some years where the Fall champ did't do well in the spring so 5 teams made cities. A change for this year?

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  10. This year the DTA published a written explanation of playoff procedures. I think all captains received copies. It does look a little different from prior years.

    Gotta give the DTA credit for documenting how playoffs work. That was a good thing to do. Captains should circulate copies to their players.

    But now the DTA needs to document how exactly they assign teams to flights _ and if teams are seeded, then seeding should be transparent (announced). We really should not have our three best 4.5 teams in the same flight.

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  11. According to the 4.0s, the best teams should all be in the same flight :).

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  12. Only in the spring dumbass, and not a usta league.

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  13. I think the 4.0 guys are planning an elite 4.0 competition in the FALL for their top 6 teams. I've heard a few of the captains already talking about it. Sounds like a good idea to me.

    I wonder if 4.5 captains might be interested in this sort of thing. The advantages are 1) tough match every week and 2) scores not posted into TennisLink.

    The fall is strictly a local league anyway. This could be fun.

    Or maybe we should wait to see how the 4.0 guys make out.

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  14. Ouch. I'm betting some teams were thinking they were in better shape to be in the QT or DCC based on rules from past years.

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  15. This "elite" competition seems a bit arrogant to me. "We think we're too good, and it's not worth our valuable time to waste it on a team not as gifted as we are."

    Another problem is how to decide on the best six teams? There are a number of teams that are bunched up at around that point.

    Especially with it being more difficult to make the DCC, I don't like the idea. Play the traditional fall season to give yourself another chance at a bid to the DCC.

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  16. An elite league is a stupid idea at any level. More so at 4.5 level. The higher up you go, the better the competition is from the "weaker" teams.

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  17. Happen to know the playoff procedure for 5.0

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  18. As I've already said, the depth of flight B is much stronger than in flight A. Not to mention the fact that my team beat Branch and Feldman last season, but I'm sure if we were in their flight we would be getting crushed.

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  19. Let's get deeper into the depth argument. Let's do like early NCAA basketball and go conference v. conference style. Head-to-head predictions. 1st place v. 1st place, etc. Going by current standings:

    1st OC/Branch (A) v. Huffhines (B)
    I'll take Branch (1-0 for A)

    2nd Royal Oaks (A) v. Greenhill (B)
    Gotta take Royal Oaks (2-0 for A)

    3rd Oak Creek/Feldman (A) v. Brookhaven
    A again. My money is on Feldman (3-0 for A)

    4th T Bar v. High Point
    4 in a row- TBar (4-0 for A)

    5th place- OC/Boverman v. Lakes-
    tough one to call but I'll go Boverman (5-0 for A)

    6th place-Village (A) v. OC/Juhn
    B is on a roll with Juhn (5-1)

    7th Hackberry (A) v. Springpark
    back to A with Hack (6-1)

    8th High Point v. DFW
    close but I'll give ya DFW (6-2)

    9th Stonebridge v. TBar
    B picking up ground with the lower ranked teams (6-3)

    10th Collin Co. v. LBH
    A is back with Collin Co. (7-3)

    Just a fun hypothetical to debate but I thing Vegas would set the over/under for this match-up at 6 1/2 in favor of A.

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  20. I like HP, The Lakes (if they play their top guys), and SP in B.

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  21. "As I've already said, the depth of flight B is much stronger than in flight A. Not to mention the fact that my team beat Branch and Feldman last season, but I'm sure if we were in their flight we would be getting crushed."

    Depth at the bottom means nothing. You are grasping at straws for validation if you are hanging your hat on beating fall Branch and that Feldman team doesn't look like they played half of their top guys.

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  22. true. the point is that our 4.5 flights are very unbalanced this year. since the dta will not tell us how teams are put into flights and because they are very resistant to change we cannot be sure this wont reoccur in the future.

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  23. 1 set of people wants all competetive matches - another set is unhappy if they don't see more cream puffs each year. Where does it end

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  24. Can someone confirm what would happen if Feldman's team wins 4.5A? What place teams go where in the QT and DCC?

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  25. Branch is clearly the best team in the overall league, but beyond that the rest of the top 4 in each league are pretty even. ROCC went 0-3 in the playoffs last season so I'm not ready to crown them yet as being great, and OC Feldman only added 2 new players this season and lost to my team in the fall. T Bar would definitely be doing better in flight B but that's what happens when you don't make fall playoffs.

    I'm excited to see how the last three Royal Oaks matches go. They could finish 1st or as low as 4th in the flight. Neither outcome would surprise me.

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  26. T Bar averted near disaster by eeking out a very tight 3-2 win over Stonebridge last week.

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  27. T Bar averted near disaster by eeking out a very tight 3-2 win over Stonebridge last week.

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  28. Congrats on the hemroids

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  29. Nice wins by Jean Nguyen in men's open singles at the Plano Open. He defeats a recent B18 super champ and then the third seed before losing in three in the semis to a 5.0 rated player.

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  30. High Point 4.5 beat Huffines today 4-1.

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  31. That result changes everything. One of Huffhines, Brookhaven, Greenhill, or High Point will miss out on the playoffs altogether. All four teams are deserving, so it will be a shame that one of them will be on the sidelines.

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  32. I agree with that comment but one of those teams was already going to miss the playoffs regardless of what happened today. I predict HP's new doubles team will not lose a match in regular season or playoffs. Really the deciding match of the flight will be Greenhill vs. Brookhaven next week. I believe the winner will win the flight and the loser will miss the playoffs on tiebreakers. A lot of pressure on both teams there. It is especially important for Brookhaven because I don't believe they will have a chance to make the playoffs with a loss and their numbers.

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  33. I must say nice pick-up for HP o0n their last 2 recruits s they are perennial 5.0 level players, plus add Phy and they will give teams fits at State if they all play.

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  34. Just curious since it seems fairly obvious he will be a 4.5 by the Fall Leagues, who has the inside track on picking up Mike Kelly? I am assuming Branch or Feldman would be leaders since has played with most of the them.

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  35. Hacker, where you been?

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  36. It looks like HP and Huffhines have the inside track on postseason bids even though they're a loss behind GH and BH in the standings. I agree that the loser of GH and BH will likely be on the outside looking in come postseason.

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  37. Guessing Kelly would end up with Branch

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  38. Mike Kelly has been tanking every match all season, he hasnt won more than 1-2 games in any set he has played. He hasnt even tried to make it look good either, not running for shots or anything. Blatantly obvious if you watch the match. Somebody should file a complaint against this guy. How does the Springpark captain still put this guy in his lineup knowing he is doing this?

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  39. Mike Kelly is well Mike Kelly, no different than what I saw in Arkansas this past weekend playing 5.0 State. Happens everywhere. Either way Kelly would be a huge pick-up for any 4.5 team.

    Anon 8:05
    Been lurking for awhile with lots of adoption stuff personally, keepin busy.
    Also for some reason I was made president of local association, so no time to yak it up with you guys.

    Good luck to everyone will be fun to see the scores roll in as the season winds down.

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  40. Looks like Corey just became Greenhill's biggest fan. A close 3-2 Brookhaven win over GH could leave Huffhines on the wrong end of tiebreakers.

    Corey - you are going to crown that doubles team after a win over YOU in DOUBLES? Funny.

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  41. Flight A is pretty well set.
    Royal Oaks looked good yesterday. With their full lineup, I'd say they will be the favorite to make it out of QT.

    Vik

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  42. Anon 4:05 am
    Filing a complaint against someone you say is tanking is a total waste of time. You SAY they are tanking (and it's obvious) and they SAY they are playing hard. It can never be proven either way. No action will EVER be taken about someone tanking because it cannot be proven.

    That type of complaint just identifies you as a big baby. Shut up and play asshole.

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  43. Huffhines has nothing to worry about. Their last two matches are against teams low in the standings. The loser between GH and BH won't be able to finish above them. Those two teams play solid teams in their final two matches.

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  44. For a team that thought they would win city, they definitely have something to worry about.

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  45. Huffines is way overrated. Their singles lineup has been swept the last two or three weeks. Losing line 1 doubles yesterday to a line 3 HP team, now that shows just how overrated they are. I look for them to get killed in the qualies, if they even make it.

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  46. Well to be fair, it looks like Corey is trying to put out the worst lineup possible.

    Doubles players playing singles, and singles players playing doubles.

    Maybe he pulls names out of a hat to determine the lineup?

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  47. Since Royal Oaks lost to Feldman, is it a given that the winner of the Royal Oaks/T Bar match will be the only team from flight A in the QT?

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  48. Huffines is pretty weak. Only reason we lost to them is our top singles players were out. Now we are back on top of the division. My bet is that Greenhill and High Point head to the QT. Huffines will be left wondering only where to play next season.

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  49. tbar will crush royal oaks and then oak creek branch will crush royal oaks. tbar heads to the QT.

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  50. So it appears Branch has the trip to DCC now regardless of how their RO match goes assuming they win next week.
    If T-Bar beats Royal Oaks next week, Branch would have the ability to knock RO out if they won the match or they could knock T-Bar out if they lost to RO. Feldman's defeat of RO defined a lot in DCC.
    Essentially now DCC is Branch, Feldman, winner of Brookhaven and Greenhill (I agree the loser of that match is probably out all together) and QT winner.
    QT is HP, Huffines and RO/T-Bar winner. I could be totally wrong as I'm not totally clear on all the fine print.

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  51. "Looks like Corey just became Greenhill's biggest fan. A close 3-2 Brookhaven win over GH could leave Huffhines on the wrong end of tiebreakers."

    After relooking at it, I can see how this would be true. How bitter would CoreDawg be?

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  52. Huffhines may well win their last two matches 5-0. I can't see them finishing behind the GH-BH loser. They'll be fine.

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  53. Saw part of the HP v Stonebridge match.
    Lorenzo Ruiz III was drinking beers on change overs and complaining that he was playing 4.5 to play good players, and that Bazan and Shichijo were 3.0 players,
    then I see he only won his match by a score of 6-4,6-4 and his team lost the match 1-4,

    What an Ass Clown.

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  54. Lorenzo Ruiz is a horrible player. He should play line 3 for LB Houston.

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  55. Huffines wins their next two matches 3-2 and 4-1 not making the QT by 1 match to Greenhill. Take that! What a fall.

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  56. I think you're being unreasonably pessimistic about Huffhines' chances. DFW Hilton and T Bar are two of the bottom three teams in the flight. DFW Hilton in particular has been mailing it in recently.

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  57. It would be very surprising if Huffines and HP were not the QT representatives from pool B. However, I would think Huffines is the least likely to come out of QT but that's why we play the matches.

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  58. We are definitely not performing well over the last two weeks. I love the comment from a supposed Brookhaven player about how the only reason we beat them is because they were missing their top singles players, even though we won all 3 doubles.
    As far as the comment about putting out the worst lineup possible, I played doubles as a last resort when one of my players cancelled two hours before the match. And Ben is #3 in the state in 4.5 singles so I would like to know how he is a doubles specialist.
    If we win two third-set tiebreakers yesterday we are in first place but we didn't so we're not.
    Also love the comment about my line 1 doubles team being overrated considering they hadn't lost since spring 08 DCC, including wins over the line 1 teams of Feldman, Branch, and Brookhaven along the way.

    I will say that outside of Branch, this is the most competitive I can ever remember both flights being this late in the season. Usually the positions are pretty well decided by now but there are still many teams in the hunt for playoffs and even first place.

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  59. Our team has no problem playing the underdog role. We have never been expected to win any matches so that puts us in a situation where we have nothing to lose. See you in the playoffs Jason.

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  60. That's a bit disingenuous about not being expected to win. Huffhines was fully expected to make it straight back to the DCC. Your road may just be a little tougher this season.

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  61. I wouldn't be surprised if the post on Huffines poor lineup choice came from a Huffines player.

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  62. I would be seeing as we discuss every lineup before the match. When you lose 4-1 and with two third-set tiebreaks, it isn't because of the lineup.

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  63. "Our team has no problem playing the underdog role. We have never been expected to win any matches so that puts us in a situation where we have nothing to lose."

    I assume by WE, you mean everyone except YOU. YOU have repeatedly made posts that you think you have the best (or 2nd best) 4.5 team in Dallas.

    QT should be interesting. Any team could get hot and win it.

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  64. "When you lose 4-1 and with two third-set tiebreaks, it isn't because of the lineup."

    zzzzz. Almost every team could say that every week. A good lineup doesn't put you in the position to have to win coin flips (tiebreakers).

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  65. I didn't say I put myself in the underdog role. I still believe we are one of the top 3 4.5 teams in Dallas. The last comment barely deserves a response. Is there any team in Dallas (besides Branch of course) who hasn't had to rely on winning third-set tiebreaks to win big matches? I would love to know the lineup we could have had where we win yesterday. Please tell me.

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  66. I think that it is so funny that Corey thought that he would beat HP 3-2. But looked like HP didn't have all there top players in the line up or it would have been a 5-0sweep. Great job HP for putting Huffhines in there place BH....

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  67. Jason Warren has the worst sportsmanship I have ever seen (and not to mention the worst strokes). Allowing him to be a captain is a disgrace to Dallas tennis.

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  68. The real question is how did HP lose to OC/Juhn? The last comment is a well-known fact.

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  69. DFW will beat Muffhines this weekend, 3-2.

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  70. one thing to note on the ROCC/Feldman match is that Molina did not play and Kelly did not play which are both stronger players than at a couple of the guys that did play, so it easily could have flipped to 3-2 ROCC. They should beat T-BAR and put up a good fight against Branch.

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  71. Lorenzo Ruiz is 9-1 at 4.0 and 3-3 at 4.5. He's a strong 4.0 player.
    Cary and Sam definitely didn't play power tennis but lobbed and hustled for so many points that it was frustrating. I'm sure his comments weren't meant for Cary and Sam to hear. I'm sure we've all made comments to ourselves in frustration that weren't meant to go any further. As for drinking beer, I don't see the problem.

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  72. The Royal Jokes will get destroyed against t bar. T bar is playing their 5.0 players this weekend.

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  73. I've played Ruiz. He is a joke playing 4.0. The guy would struggle at the top end of 3.5.

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  74. Lorenzo was visibly frustrated during our match but we know each other and talked after the match so nothing said hurt my feeling or Sam's for that matter. We played our style of tennis and just about won the match. I am hoping to fine tune my game so I can be of help to my team in the coming weeks.

    I am glad someone said something about Jason Warren. I had heard it before but in our first match we had issues with him. It is unfortunate someone that represents the Village (a nice place) acts like he does at times. I hope in the future he can improve his on/off court behavior.

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  75. HP didn't need all their top players to play Huffhiness to win. Huffhiness is not that great. I laughed when read corey's predictions. Corey you think way to highly of yourself and team. Also HP loss to OC Juhn was obviously because all of their top players were out.

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  76. I've played at the Village. It's not that nice. In fact, I would rather play at Keist Park and Old Dogs.....new tricks only works with prostitutes. Take that Village Fan!!

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  77. CoreDawg,
    The underdog role is always more fun anyways. You have been making steady progress in the 4.5 world it seems. In '07 you didn't make the playoffs. In '08 you won QT but lost all three in DCC. This year you should make QT and have a chance to improve again while being the underdog. Hawkins is a very solid player and can compete in singles each week and you obviously have some other solid players but on paper I would give the edge to HP and Royal Oaks. Hopefully you guys will prove the naysayers wrong.
    DCC should be very competitive and on any given day anyone could win, that's what makes it fun.

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  78. Corey and McCord would have swept singles against HP. That's where the lineup went wrong.

    ROaks will be tough w/ Andrus & Molina playing singles. That's a 2-0 start against most teams.

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  79. You have to give CoreDawg some credit. The guy has heart. If he could recruit all the top players or find ways to get on the teams that make sectionals like Kern does he would get more respect in this blog. Kern not that you are, you are just good at what you do when it comes to joining teams. They guy does his research very well. He does everything he can to make friends with those that can help him. Coredawg you should see if your buddy Kern can get you on with Branch’s team next season or which ever team he joins. You need to make sectionals dude. You and Keran can play doubles together. Right Keran? :-)

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  80. CoreDawg is a good player and yes he does need Kern's help to him get in with the good teams. I don't see them losing in doubles together plus they can wear matching skirts to make it fun since Kern is all about having fun anyways.

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  81. "Kern not that you are, you are just good at what you do when it comes to joining teams. They guy does his research very well."

    Check your facts. When you win, good teams find you. And Kern wins matches. Corey's a good player, but not on Kern's level.

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  82. Kern is a heck of a guy. Lay off Kern. Kern is now surrounded with a great group of guys that loves him, pampers him, lets him play when he wants to play and even lets Wesley message his tenders when they are sore.

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  83. sounds like Kern now has lots of boyfriends. What a stud. haha

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  84. Kern is who finds the good team. He knows how to work it. haha. All the anon standing up for Kern add your names. Curious to see if any of you are on Branch's team.

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  85. First of all, my point was I do have respect for what CoreDawg has done but I would still say he is the UnderDawg after their loss to HP. i have respect for all the captains that succeed, as it takes a lot of work. I just jump on for the ride.
    I'm sure it's none of my Branch teammates sticking up for me. I'm just there for entertainment value and to bring Sleazy and Gene water during Sectionals. I'm still trying to find more people to make friends with so I can actually get to play. I just have a good PR firm that gets me the decent teams team numbers so I can sign up and pretend I'm a part of it all.
    I'll wear the skirt if you can find one big enough for my fat rear but matching is a little much, how about just color coordinated.

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  86. Kern you're such a funny guy. You are better than Sleazy and Gene. At sectionals you will get all the play time you want and those two will be bringing you the water. Wesley will be there to make sure your sore muscles get massaging from all the playing. This is no joke either. Kern is top dog now. Wescoup and huffman can't compare that's why they don't get any play time. Kern wins matches. Heck of a guy that Kern.

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  87. Kern, are you posting all those Anonymous posts again?

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  88. Kern usually just rides Freeman's coattails, but Freeman moved. I heard he found out Branch's team #, and just signed up. Branch didn't even realize Jason was on his team until the season was almost over.

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  89. I'm tired of dwelling on this but if Matt and I win singles, which is very questionable seeing as Matt's last singles match was in the Fall DCC, and I have already lost twice this season, where does the third win come from? Our line 1 team lost to their supposed line 3 team, so how are any of our other teams going to win?
    I would love to play doubles with Jason but I am way below his level, at least in doubles. You are one of the best doubles players I've played. To make a slight correction to your comments, I have captained this team for four seasons now.
    Season 1: We finished second in Fall 2008, losing 3-2 to Branch, including a line 1 doubles 13-11 loss.
    Season 2: We finished fourth at the spring DCC, but one of my doubles players pulled a leg muscle at line 3, leading to a close loss.
    Season 3: We finished third at fall DCC, even though we beat Branch, Feldman (the fall champs), and Royal Oaks. A 10-7 tiebreak loss by me v. Brookhaven was a huge loss.
    Season 4: ????

    I'm happy to be on a team that is consistently in the hunt for playoffs but it is also incredibly frustrating to be so close every time. I know that my recruiting is not up to the level of Branch, Sisk, or Somabut, but I feel like I have added some nice key players over the last couple of seasons that have been a huge part of our consistent improvement.

    I like to think that most of the comments on here are for fun and not mean-spirited and I can take them with a grain of salt. In the end we are all just playing tennis for the exercise, fun, and good competition.
    Also, I'm not quite ready to join the enemy (even though I doubt he would have me). I will have to lose to Branch a few more times first.

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  90. I can vouch that Kern does steal team numbers and, more importantly, he has clearly been riding my coattails for years now.

    Good luck getting rid of him Branch :)

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  91. CoreDawg, no need to have to explain your finishes. Players know that you've had good success the last few years.

    This spring has been very competitive, and a number of teams have improved themselves over past seasons. It's no longer possible for teams to stand still if they want to finish at or near the top. They have to add quality players and either drop or not play less successful ones or risk losing ground.

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  92. Sorry CoreDawg, you are correct, I was neglecting the Fall since I'm not used to it counting.

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  93. Anyone notice that Huffhines had been undefeated until CoreDawg got behind with posting the weekly 4.5 thread? Hmmmmm ...

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  94. What are you talking about Freeman?? Not even you could get rid of Kern. He was willing to drive to Houston to play once and cheer for the other players that got to play more matches than him. Good thing for him this time is that he's getting all the play time. Kern is probably one of the best players on Branch's team now, well liked for two good reasons, #1sucking up and #2 winning matches. Who wouldn't want a guy like that on their team.

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  95. Kern is one of the best players in the world.

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  96. The guys who don't suck up.

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  97. Can Jason Warren please be banned from 4.5? He is a weak player and an even worse attitude. Has anyone had a good time playing Jason Warren and come off the court on good terms with him?

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  98. Kern will be lucky to get any playing time at cities or sectionals or nationals or worldinals or galaxinals or solar systeminals on his current team. i thought he was a 4 point 0 anyway.

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  99. Shut up dude. Kern will get plenty of play time, just you watch. Everyone is just so jealous of him. He's freakin’ awesome and everyone knows it.

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  100. kern will not be in the lineup at cities or sectionals.

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  101. Like Gene Davis, Kern was way above level at 4.0. They'll both get plenty of playing time at 4.5 DCC and beyond.

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  102. Kern is a much better player than Davis. Kern don't lose matches.

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  103. Davis hasn't lost a 4.0 or 4.5 match in several seasons. In fact, he's also 1-0 at 5.0. So much about him losing matches ...

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  104. Kern and Davis are both boys, playing in a mens league now on a very good team with top players.

    4.0's don't usually go to sectionals at 4.5. Once you get to cities - the real players play and 4.0's bring the towels and water.

    Towel Boy

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  105. neither have played 4.5 in the heat of summer either. different world.

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  106. Kern stop posting comments about yourself.

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  107. it's not kern, it's me, Eugene.

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  108. Don't worry about Davis. He played plenty of years at 4.5 and 5.0 before he played at 4.0.

    Kern has already proven in league and tournament play that he's one of the top 4.5 players. For whatever reason, he originally self-rated at 4.0 a few years ago, but was well out of level and bumped up.

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  109. we shall see. talk to you after the city tournament. time waster -giving meaningless stats from years ago. i am talking about this year, not when they were young and in shape.

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  110. Just because they don't support your argument doesn't make them meaningless ...

    "Don't confuse me with the facts!"

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  111. Kern is the man. Yes he was the last add on the team but a great one. Glad he didn't give up. The texts and calls everyday helped. He belongs with us.

    Slezak

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  112. Slezak, have you come out yet?

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  113. It"s good Kern is on Branchs' team. They will be in the semis again this year and be sent home wondering what if?

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  114. You, on the other hand, will be at home playing with yourself on the couch.

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  115. I will be very surprised if they don't make it this year. Rusty now has Kern who will be a big help to his team. He will give all the information he can dig on players and teams. He will even tell him how he would do the lines. No one else knows all the players out there like Kern, if he don't he will find out. Don't forget he has nationals experience not that he got to play at nationals, once maybe twice, but he did go.

    I bet Kern is hating this thread. He hates being the center of attention.

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  116. Now, that's what i am talking about. Kern is the man and will be ready to roll come playoffs.

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  117. Kern is the best 4.5 player out there. He never loses.

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  118. Kern a very solid 4.5. He has no weakness in his game. He will anc can carry any player who plays with him. No one out there can beat him. Rusty better play this guy every match at 4.5 DCC and beyond.

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  119. If they intends to win, he will. If he don't play Kern every match they will lose. Branch is nothing without Kern.

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  120. Can Kern beat Givhan?

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  121. My momma can beat givamma. Kern would destroy her.

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  122. Kern for President!!!!!!!!!!

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  123. Kern would eat OBAMA's black balls!

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  124. Person making that last comment has some issues. Who does he think he is? Chef from South Park?

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  125. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM9rnqdAx00&fmt=18

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  126. Kern= MICROPHALLUS

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  127. Dallas-area 4.5 players really took it on the chin in Tyler today.

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  128. Corey wanted to make sure he was fresh for Sunday.
    That Corey, he's such a team player.

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  129. If you enter a tournament, don't cause a walkover for the opposing player whether in the main draw or consolation. Honor your commitment or don't enter. In the case of consolation, it might be one thing if it was advertized as voluntary, but it wasn't here and isn't in most all tournaments.

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  130. That's right. I'm all about the team baby.

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  131. How about the Dallas League Tennis blog? No 4.5 Week Eight thread. Do we need rocketman to take over that responsibility from now on?

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  132. Was the default (emergency) due to hemmorhoids?

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  133. I didn't volunteer for the job, rocketman can take over anytime he wants. Nobody here wants to talk about matchups anyway, they just want to demean others.

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  134. What about all the gushing comments about Kern?

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  135. Never mind that it was from the Branch camp.

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