Sunday, July 18, 2010

Star Wars 7 - Decimation of the Sith (aka GTC)


There were battles of galatical proportions this weekend throughout the DCC from 3.5 to 4.5. All season long we heard about the army of players Darth Sisk had recruited and that City Championships were in the bag for 3.5 and 4.0. His side-kick Nancy Noel defects from his home base to form a 4.5 team out of GTC, hoping to ride his coat tails and have 3 teams from Garland go to Sectionals.


While the hype has been about GTC and their dominance in recruiting ringers, out of state players, college players, nationally ranked juniors, high school ringers, ex-convicts, and the extra-terrestrial (not to mention playing “dirty”), it was all for not as the stars were aligned against them. Their “dirty” tricks could not break the power of the Force and the mighty Jedi. Call it Fate. Call it Karma. But the lines went against him. The Death Star implodes, and Garland is shut out of post season play, losing the DCC with no teams advancing as wild cards to Sectionals.

THE CAST:

Jabba the Hutt (aka Sisk) – Known for his evil and menacing ways, he has recruited an army and built an empire of warriors for the Rebel Alliance, boasting of their ability to attract the most experienced of players to the Dark Side. Between his 3.5 and 4.0 teams, he has recruited close to 60 players. However, this vast army of players were unable to capture a title, and were choked off at both levels 3.5 and 4.0.
 
 
 
Salacious Crumb (aka Nancy Noel) – Known as Jabba’s sidekick and pet, and for burrowing his head into Jabba’s back side. As an avid supporter of Jabba the Hutt, he leaves his base of Northwood to join the Rebel Alliance and form a 4.5 team out of Garland. Unfortunately, Jabba’s hands are too full with is other teams, and Salacios Crumb was unable to get the manpower to compete. While making a respectable showing this weekend, Obi-Wan and his Jedi knights decimated too many along the way and taunt him with a Sunday win, knowing he still falls short by lines.  Karma strikes again.
 
 
 
 
 
Master Yoda (aka Bender) – Known in the galaxy for his power with the Force, and for using it to go to a place called Nationals. Yoda has made the trip too many times to count, and has won almost as many titles as Federer’s reign at Wimbledon. His focus is to go their again with his team of newly recruited Jedis, who have sharpened their skills with the light-saber at level 3.5.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Han Solo (aka Traeger) - Although not officially a Jedi, this warrior can compete with the best of them and proved so this weekend by giving the upset to Garland at 3.5. They were underdogs from the beginning, but pulled themselves together nicely to secure a wild card spot at Sectionals.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Luke Skywalker (aka Arcaria) – This young Jedi apprentice steps in with no prior experience but quickly gains respect from his peers. He is lured by the Dark Side in questionable recruiting practices, but is quick to stay resolved in the Force, and benches his self rates before the post season. While questioned of his ability to go up against other seasoned captains, this Jedi paved the way with some impressive wins over worthy opponents to secure a spot at Sectionals. He hopes the Council looks favorably on his newly recruited Jedis, and that all of them can join him in the post season.
 
 
 
 
Anakin Skywalker (aka BMO) – This Jedi fled his home turf to establish his own Alliance force . He was rumored to have the most powerful Jedis at 4.0 throughout the City, but were put to the test early in the season by a loss to the Lakes, ony to face Déjà Vu again this weekend. However there upset win against Jabba himself and decimation over Brookhaven gave them lines needed to make the finals. They put pride aside and lay down to team Arcaria in the finals hoping for an easier path in Sectionals. But nothing in life is ever easy. It will be interesting to see if Anakin made a wise choice.
 
 
 
 
Obi-Wan Kanobi (aka Branch) – This veteran Jedi knows what it takes to build a powerhouse and Force of domination. This year was no exception as his slew of the most talented Jedi knights, decimated anyone that came up against them.  Their experience is next to none, and appear to be the most capable of all Dallas teams to take the Sectionals title.
 
 
So the drama is over in Dallas, and now it is time to pull our forces together and root for our home teams.


Good luck to all in your Quest for Nationals. And may the Force be with you.

Enjoy Commenting…….

137 comments:

  1. That was damn hilarious and true.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Captain Fantastic - as a blog administrator you are in a class all by yourself! Thanks for the laughs.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm not a Star Wars fan but I thought this was great. The Sectionals dream isn't dead for us yet though.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Capt Fantastic - That was GREATNESS!!!! Very funny!

    Terry, Your JJ played well. I really thought we would beat you the 2nd time for shizzle. Dint happen the 2nd time either. It just worked out for us in match ups. Everyone should be happy with their teams. It was obviously very close.

    We got lucky, but sometimes you got to get a little lucky.

    Good Luck to everyone advancing.

    Cheers,

    Brian

    ReplyDelete
  5. Arcaria has shown he should be around for a while. Sisk and Somabut head back to the drawing board. GH make the best move of cities, paying off GTC and BH to roll out questionable lineups. Whatever it takes!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Captain Fantastic, I bow and take my hat off to you, that is one hell of a post. Now the quest is on to find the Captain's true identity. I had my previous suspicions, but that post killed them.

    This was one hell of a fun weekend (other than the hellish heat) and looking forward to sectionals.

    ReplyDelete
  7. best post ever. very well written!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great post Capt Fan. I watched a lot of the 4.0 tennis this weekend and finally got to see many of the players in action thaty have been mentioned on this blog at one time or another. Most of the talk had been about self rates and to be honest I did not notice anyone way out of level. Some of the names include Sierp, Wertz, Vassberg, Carey, Hguyen, Quist, and all the young kids from Sisk team. There were some very good players that could play at 4.5 but I did not see anyone that should have been or will be dq'd. From this point foward it only matters for GH and Lifetime and I hope Michael Carey, Sam Hguyen, Tim Vassberg, or Robert Wertz to just name a few of the self rates do not get dq'd. I do not know any of their final scores except that Wertz lost a match, but they all looked very good but not worthy of being dq'd. Each of the names above seemed to have tough matches when I watched regardless of what the outcome was. Many great points, many long games, it was fun to watch and good luck to all those moving on. Let's hope everyone moves on too so Dallas can be represented well.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Really? Did you actually watch the sisk kids play against the lakes singles players? Those kids are college bound players that were not even close to 4.0. Lakes pulled out one line but it was a dogfight. I didn't see any other singles close to those kids from gtc.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I walked out on the court Sunday in our match against GTC to see a 19 year old waiting for me (Tyler).
    I lost to him is a third set breaker... he played great at crunch time.

    He was a really nice kid and can play some tennis. I haven't been playing league tennis long enough to know if those kids are palying "out of level" but here's the deal for me. Why in the world would these kids want to play against 40 something guys like me? What do they get out of that?

    Blake S (Lakes)

    ReplyDelete
  11. So Lakes splits singles, the loaa coming in a 3rd set tie break and you are bitching about out of level? So since Lakes has 2 very good computert rated singles players they are allowed to win every match against a self rate? Get a clue. Sounds like they were 2 good matches. Because a self rate beats a good computer rate does not mean he is way out of level. Should he eventually be bumped, yes, should he be dq'd, hell no. Quit your whining.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Blake S,
    All due respect to you for a great season, but your comment is ignorant. Because a kid is 18-20 years old he cannot have fun playing tennis against 40 and 50+ men? You guys had a great match that I am sure was fun for him as well. How is that beating up on you? You certainly have done your share of beating up on people. Young kids I am sure have fun with the competition and the hope of making it far in the playoffs as much as anyone else.

    I know it stings because that match was a difference maker, but assuming it was not DCC and the team match was not on the line, can you tell us that you didn't enjoy that tough fought competitive match even though he was 18.

    ReplyDelete
  13. We all knew it would happen after the Lakes lost, the whining begins!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Blake - it's because Sisk will buy them beer for their parties - DUH! Lol!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Look lets all be honest with ourselves. The way things are now if your competing at City's chances are there are a few guys on your team that are out of level. If you are winning at city's or winning city's most of your guys are out of level. If you compete and win at sectionals all of your guys are out of level. I'm not condoning it, but that's a fact.
    Bitching and complaining is not really gonna do anything other than make you look like a sore loser.
    Congrats to all of the teams that made it to sectionals!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. You gotta love when the know it all captains get shown up.

    Sisk, who's your daddy now?

    ReplyDelete
  17. I played in a 4.0 adult tourney when I was 18 in Abilene and got almost booed of the court. I literally had 20 adults watching my semifinal match violently cheering for my opponent. Blake isn't whining it's just the era of tennis we came from you play open tennis when you are a college bound player, period. I never played another 4.0 match after that Abilene tourney until I was 38years old with a 17 year layoff from tennis. Matt was a very nice kid I just don't get playing with old guys like us. I guess times have changed and that's no longer the case from when I played in the 80's. By the way before I am crucified I'm pulling out of the Ft. Worth major zone as a 4.0 and have played my last match as a 4.0 unless my rating gets changed again at some point.
    One other thing, I really like all the guys over at Greenhill but I have to give you a little ribbing. You made it to sectionals...but not by beating us! Just kidding good luck BMO and company at sectionals you guys deserve it...great playing this weekend.

    Blake Whitaker

    ReplyDelete
  18. Same story every year. I beat you, I'm good and you're not. You beat me, you're out of level. Thanks to all the new self rates every season for carrying on this proud league tradition.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Blake W and Blake S,

    you are obviously very good singles players. I did not think you would even come close to GTC's singles, but you both did well. GTC was your 3rd match this weekend, right? How did it feel physically?

    In sectionals you both would have to play 6 tough matches in one weekend. Neither of you would last playing line 1 and 2 for 6 straight matches in just 72-hour period. Eventually you would lose to some deeper team with fresh players. And you know well, some of your dubs team are not very competitive. Besides they would also come to the point where JJ and Hans and few others would simply could not bear winning in and out for the 6 straight times.....

    So, even though you've got some goods on your team, you would not last to the final in sectionals. GTC or GH are much deeper teams. Either of those two has a chance to last 6 matches and win for Dallas. Lifetime is so so in depth and hopefully they dont lose anyone to DQ this week...

    Good luck to you, guys in 4.5.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Blake - ha ha! I know, right? A little weird that you beat us twice, but then it ended up the way it did.

    If you have a chance to go to the Master's as a 4.0 i would do that. I don't know all the in's and out's of it, but I do know at the end, its the top 8 ranked in the state or something like that. Regardless, POINT IS, I heard it is fun, and if you have a chance for that you should go for it.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I'm glad I was told about this blog. You've given all of us "self rated, TJC club tennis players" a reason to come back and kick your 40+++ year old butts in the fall. We played in this league for fun. I'll be honest though, playing in a league with grown ass men who whine constantly, make terrible line calls, and are sorry enough to post a 21 year old players criminal record on the internet isn't fun.....it's a disgrace to the game of tennis. Thanks for the motivation guy's. You made it personal. You stay classy, Dallas!

    ReplyDelete
  22. To the last poster you are absolutely right on all counts and I agree. I can barely walk today and my feet are blister fest. I was cramping up by the second match against brookhaven and had to limp into tiebreaker to pull it out. I had enough time to recover and play matt from GTC well (by far my most fun match of the year) but no way would I have pulled off anything like that at sectionals. Because of their depth of players available GH and LFT are better prepared for sectionals. I hope they represent Dallas with W's.

    Blake Whitaker

    ReplyDelete
  23. Wickman is 59 years old. Blake's want to play him?

    ReplyDelete
  24. By the way I beat my 19 year old from GTC. I won it for all us old guys! BMO I'm going back into hibernation for awhile. It's to dang hot to be playing tennis.

    Blake Whitaker

    ReplyDelete
  25. if you are so concerned about age, start playing 35s or 45s. 19 is the minimum age - stop whining.

    ReplyDelete
  26. From what I can see by looking at results, Brookhaven was the most important team in the flight. After going 0&2, Bartlett put other guys in for playing time. Morrison got lucky by playing them last. Bartlett did the right thing by playing others when they could not win.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Everybody has to do what is best for their players. So, if you are out of it, get everyone some playing time.

    I orginally came back on here one last time to say that I can't believe that Noel beat Branch!!! WOW! BUT immediately took it on the chin by Royal Oaks.

    I always pictured Branch as untouchable. They have to be a little worried going into Sectionals. I hope they do well. That was a nice win by you Corey, but then a very tough loss.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Nice job on the blog captain fan! I am still laughing my ass off.

    I know 4.0 was going to be tight, but what happened to Sisk at 3.5?? Those guys were supposed to steam roll everyone I thought? Bent Tree breaks them on Saturday and Bender nearly rolls them 5-0. I see Berco was giving lessons to Donnie Davis and their match wasn't even close.

    Where is GTC Guy now?? What happened to you guys??

    ReplyDelete
  29. BMO - Noel's team lost to Royal Oaks on Saturday. The Sunday match against Branch was the last match. Branch basically had it wrapped up and got some guys some matches that hadn't played.

    Top 8 vs Top 8 would be 4-1 Branch on average.

    Branch team was about what expected except that their bottom 8 would not be the 2nd best team in the city :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Wow, how good was that Lifetime team with Ritchie and Reynolds?

    ReplyDelete
  31. Wow, how good would the other 4.0 teams been with Gene Davis and Michael Kelly? Better I think than LFT with Richie and Reynolds.

    ReplyDelete
  32. 2010 Tentative Men’s 4.0 Sectional Schedule
    July 30th – August 1st.

    Flight 1 Teams
    Corpus Christi
    Houston
    Wild Ft. Worth
    San Angelo
    Valley

    Flight 2 Teams
    Wild Austin
    Waco
    San Antonio
    Ft. Worth
    Abilene QT

    Flight 3 Teams
    NOHO
    Midland
    Austin
    NETX
    Wild Dallas

    Flight 4 Teams
    Amarillo
    SETX
    Wild Houston
    Lubbock
    Dallas

    ReplyDelete
  33. Blake W,
    You still have a shot at Greenhill this week!!!!! Look, Oleg is in your draw in Fort Worth. You can still get some revenge out of it!!

    ReplyDelete
  34. So, 4 flights in sectionals. Winner of each goes to semis, right? Winner of which flight plays who? Is it possible for Dallas and Wild Dallas to meet in the semis?

    ReplyDelete
  35. No DQ's for Dallas. It looks like a member of the Houston Freeman team was DQ'd after this weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Way to go little nuffin!

    ReplyDelete
  37. .....That's muffin!

    ReplyDelete
  38. there was a lot of trash talk about garland 3.5. but never bet aga bender. his teams dont brag about how good they are. they just go out kick butt & theyve been doing it for years.

    also congrats to bent tree. lot of people aaid they didnt belong. but they proved everyone wrong. they also gave benders team a darn good battle.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Capt. Fantastic, Great write-up but where's the picture of Nancy in the "Gold Bikini"????

    ReplyDelete
  40. Thanks for the flight info keep us posted on locations and times. Go Dallas tennis!

    ReplyDelete
  41. 2010 Tentative Men’s 4.0
    Sectional Schedule
    July 30th – August 1st.


    Flight 1 Teams
    Corpus Christi
    Houston
    Wild Ft. Worth
    San Angelo
    Valley


    Friday 7/30
    7:00 am.
    Houston vs. Valley (Greenhill)
    Wild vs. San Angelo (Greenhill)

    10:00 am.
    Corpus Christi vs. Valley(Greenhill)
    Houston vs. Wild (Greenhill)

    1:00 pm.
    Corpus Christi vs. San Angelo (Greenhill)

    Saturday 7/31
    7:00 am.
    Valley vs. Wild (Greenhill)

    10:00 am.
    Wild vs. Corpus Christi (Greenhill)
    San Angelo vs. Houston (Greenhill)

    1:00 pm.
    Houston vs. Corpus Christi (Greenhill)
    Valley vs. San Angelo (Greenhill)


    Flight 2 Teams
    Wild Austin
    Waco
    San Antonio
    Ft. Worth
    Abilene QT


    Friday 7/30
    8:30 am.
    Waco vs. Abilene QT (Greenhill)
    San Antonio vs. Ft. Worth (Greenhill)

    11:30 am.
    Abilene QT vs. Wild (Greenhill)
    Waco vs. San Antonio (Greenhill)

    2:30 pm.
    Wild vs. Ft. Worth (Greenhill)


    Saturday 7/31
    8:30 am.
    San Antonio vs. Abilene QT (Greenhill)

    11:30 am.
    Wild vs. San Antonio (Greenhill)
    Ft. Worth vs. Waco (Greenhill)

    2:30 pm.
    Waco vs. Wild (Greenhill)
    Ft. Worth vs. Abilene QT (Greenhill)


    Flight 3 Teams
    NOHO
    Midland
    Austin
    NETX
    Wild Dallas


    Friday 7/30
    7:00 am.
    Midland vs. Wild (LB Houston)
    Austin vs. NETX (LB Houston)

    10:00 am.
    NOHO vs. Wild (LB Houston)
    Midland vs. Austin (LB Houston)

    1:00 pm.
    NETX vs. NOHO (LB Houston)

    Saturday 7/31
    7:00 am.
    NOHO vs. Austin (LB Houston)
    NETX vs. Midland (LB Houston)

    10:00 am.
    Wild vs. Austin (LB Houston)


    1:00 pm.
    NOHO vs. Midland (LB Houston)
    Wild vs. NETX (LB Houston)

    Flight 4 Teams
    Amarillo
    SETX
    Wild Houston
    Lubbock
    Dallas


    Friday 7/30
    8:30 am.
    Dallas vs. SETX (LB Houston)
    Wild vs. Lubbock (LB Houston)

    11:30 am.
    Amarillo vs. Dallas (LB Houston)
    SETX vs. Wild (LB Houston)

    2:30 pm.
    Amarillo vs. Lubbock (LB Houston)

    Saturday 7/31
    8:30 am.
    Wild vs. Amarillo (LB Houston)
    Lubbock vs. SETX (LB Houston)

    11:30 am.
    Dallas vs. Wild (LB Houston)

    2:30 pm.
    SETX vs. Amarillo (LB Houston)
    Lubbock vs. Dallas (LB Houston)

    Sunday 8/1

    7:00 am.
    Semi-Finals (Greenhill)

    10:00 am.
    Finals (Greenhill)

    ReplyDelete
  42. The guy from Houston Freeman was not that great. Freeman still has 4-5 guys better than any of the top Dallas "4.0" players. League is all about cheating and bending the rules. It's a matter of who gets caught and who doesn't. It's hard to respect any of these "captains" now since they will do anything to win. Yay you are a great captain cause you can cheat better than the other guy, way to go!!!

    ReplyDelete
  43. That's what Freeman thought a couple of years ago when he came to Sectionals and couldn't make it out of his flight losing to Dallas(SpringPark).

    ReplyDelete
  44. I think the schedule favors teams with depth since matches being scheduled 3 hours apart.

    ReplyDelete
  45. I was expecting Garland Sisk to be the toughest team at 3.5 and they turned out to be the weakest. They only just got the 3-2 win over HP vincent in a tie breaker. HP vincent looks to be a team of regular 3.5 players with no self rated singles guys.

    Big surprise was how tough bent tree was. Strong self rated singles guys that gave even HP bender a run by taking a singles line from them.

    Best matchup of the weekend was HP bender vs Bent tree with 4 of the 5 lines going to a tie breaker.

    Funniest thing I saw was John Sisk and Donnie Davis scouting out Berco Neiman for over an hour in his match on saturday afternoon only for donnie davis to go down 6-2 , 6-1.. oouch....

    ReplyDelete
  46. I'm betting the tennis gods are going to show some mercy to Garland, and their long-suffering captain, Coredawg. They are going to get an invitation to 4.5 Sectionals as Wild Dallas because another team will be unable to make it.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Sisk tried to run too many teams and it didnt work out very well. He had a 4.5 team, a 3.5 team and two 4.0 teams. No one can do a good job captaining 4 teams all playing at the same time. Plus thats a ton of work & little reward. Must be about ego.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Classic Post. I love that Corey is a scrawny nasty looking ass burrower. Ha that's so funny!!
    He has a good team this year, and if the rumors are true he will be joining Branch at sectionals. According to Corey he's never seen a sectionals match. Well, he'll be in the group of death and is gonna get a very interesting welcome to sectionals.
    Welcome to the big boy table. Lets see what you think about the talent at this level.
    Corey, you've been very critical of some of the teams in this city. Lets see what you write after playing your 3 matches at sectionals.

    ReplyDelete
  49. I've hardly been critical of anybody. I haven't even talked bad about the branch team so I'm not sure where that came from, nor do I know how going to Sectionals would change that.

    I'm still holding out hope that our team can go.

    ReplyDelete
  50. I think you will blessed by the tennis Gods and make it to sectionals Corey.

    ReplyDelete
  51. I hope so too, but the later we find out the less likely it will be to field a strong lineup.

    ReplyDelete
  52. I agree. Now, that was a post! Sorry to barge in on your blog guys... Just wanted to dish out some props to Rusty Branch and his guys. Congrats and Good Luck at Sectionals. I picked you guys as one of the favorites to be back in the final four. Miller and Benzon both have another good squad, but only one of them will make it out of their bracket alive, and it might be your year. Incidentally, I don't know how you keep doing it year after year and not get bumped up. Hopefully, I'll see you in 5.0 soon my friend, cause it appears with this new National Rating guru, I am not coming back down any time soon. Good luck & I'll see up there my friend. Craig Bobo

    ReplyDelete
  53. Has anyone heard from Big John? Is he o.k.? I know this weekend was a hard blow, but c'mon. I am sure this post was done in fun.

    We need to know you are o.k. and will be back in the Fall. The DTA needs your money and all of your player's money!

    ReplyDelete
  54. Can we at least hear some comments from Garland players? I see the Lakes at least conceeded of the tough competition, why can't GTC ??

    Are you guys really that prideful that you can't admit you were beaten by some good talent? I know it was a close call at 4.0, but you especially had it given to you at the 3.5 level.

    comments??

    ReplyDelete
  55. Its a little late for the Garland teams to show good sportsmanship. Very few of their players congratulated the winning players & teams after the DCC.

    ReplyDelete
  56. The 4.0 GTC team lost a couple of key players due to availability, while unfortunate for them, everybody goes through it so not a legit excuse.

    Our 3.5 team were for the most part inexperienced. For alot of us, this was our first USTA season. We hadn't seen a team this season that where the entire lineup pushes the ball quite as much. They whipped us and whipped us good. They deserved to move on and hopefully represent Dallas well in Sectionals.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Push the ball?? You have to be kidding me?? You might be able to say Berco pushes but Cueves whipped your line 2 singles. Your telling me Bill Toney's lefty serve is a push?? Much less Toney Monk schooling your line 1 dubs?? They were able to handle York's big serve. Of course most of the time he was serving into the net.

    There was little pushing going on and a lot of assing whipping.

    That is the lamest excuse I have ever heard.

    ReplyDelete
  58. That is funny, calling the Bender team, pushers. What a joke of an excuse because it is totally false. Berco is the primary pusher but everyone in Dallas knows it and it works. The rest of the team does not clasify as pushers. Your GTC was not good, period. That is a pathetic and false excuse by a GTC player. Look at your own game because you are obviously not that good.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Good players don't play 3.5.

    Noel, you're out of luck for Sectionals Wild Card.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Any Predictions for the Fort Worth Tourney this weekend?

    ReplyDelete
  61. Looks like Dallas got a tough draw at 4.0. Not only do they get Lubbock, but the get Houston Wild who looks to be very good.

    ReplyDelete
  62. How do you know Noel's out of luck for a Wild Card?

    ReplyDelete
  63. Actually Benders team did not look that good at the DCC. They were just the best of a very weak group of teams. The level of play in 3.5 is far below what it used to be.

    ReplyDelete
  64. The Dallas/Fort Worth players will win all the events.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Anon 9:05 AM poster -

    "Good players don't play 3.5."

    Your comment is assinign. You play at the level you belong and are rated. I agree that for the most part, during regular season 3.5 was much weaker than 3.5 from last season. However, the post season was very competitive and I would not call it bad tennis. The bulk of the guys playing "3.5" last season in the post season are getting mid-season ratings of 4.5 this season. I guess you could suggest perhaps some of them were playing out of level??

    To the 10:23 AM anon - Did you really watch the match?? As I mentioned before, the level of play was not what it was last year, especially in the regular season. But to say the post season play was "weak", especially when all we heard was how STRONG all of Sisk's 3.5s were and how half of them could have been on his 4.0 A team. That is BS.

    I guess we will see how "weak" Bender's team is when they represent Dallas well and march on to take Sectionals and Nationals. My guess is that they have a better shot at Nationls than our 4.0 teams do.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Who are this "bulk" of 3.5 players with 4.5 midyear ratings?

    ReplyDelete
  67. Go ahead and keep bashing Sisk and his team while they're down. Enjoy it while you can. Everybody loves it when the people on top stumble. Sisk will be back in the fall with a good team and chances are you'll probably be watching from the sideline again.

    ReplyDelete
  68. I see Kaiser is back posting full force today.

    ReplyDelete
  69. To July 20, 2010 11:33 AM, any prediction with Names??? Any favorites??

    ReplyDelete
  70. Keep an eye out for NOHO Benzon and Freemans self rate ringer Bharath Gururaj. Real name is Raj Bharath and he played futures in India

    ReplyDelete
  71. No one (that I am aware of) on the GTC 3.5 team displayed poor sportsmanship or appeared to be cocky going into the matches. Even though there was a lot of hype regarding GTC 3.5 team, those guys did not play with a chip on their shoulder. In every match they lost, they simply got out played. Nothing more. Those that lost congratulated the winners with respect after each match. So get your facts straight AND be more specific with your comments before throwing the whole team under the bus. The constant barge of GTC is nothing more than a bunch of liars, cheaters, and AH's is tiresome to read on this blog. Captain's captain and do what they do...but the players just play. Geez!

    ReplyDelete
  72. Just wanted to congratulate Team Branch on winning DCC. Obviously, they were the favorites, but I'm sure they still had to go out on the court to prove it. Their team does have a lot of depth and unlike other years they have Todd Feldman helping with some crucial decision making. With so much talent on the roster it will be hard to beat them.On paper this looks to be their year to take home a sectionals title.

    I'm hoping that the Garland Noel team does get a wild card. Sectionals is an exciting atmosphere that every one should experience. You may have a stacked team, but they still have to perform under the pressure.

    Can't wait for sectionals and that Dallas Heat...

    All it does is rain in Houston.

    ReplyDelete
  73. JOHN KRAEMER WHERE ARE YOU HIDING?
    Several times you promised us info about how teams are placed into flights. Why you don't want to post this info???

    We know you are a busy & important guy & all that crap. But do your job.

    ReplyDelete
  74. I posted all my well wishes in the previous thread. IMO Bender has a stout team and has the best chance to advance to Nats. I had BMO's fate at the end of my pen,but elected to play to win. We must rally behind our teams and move forward. It's not Nats or bust for GTC----teams that got to the post, worked their rears off to get there.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Who in the hell does this Captain Fantastic think he is with all this Star Wars crap.

    Congratulations to Lifetime fitness, you spanked all the non-believers.

    Yo go LITTLE MUFFIN !

    ReplyDelete
  76. GTC 3.5 player here

    We got whooped by a good Bender team. I honestly thought we would put up a better fight but for whatever reason, we got taken back behind the woodshed.

    And for the poster who said they were able to handle York's serve is mistaken. He held serve every time. It was his partners, mine, serve that they demolished.

    Congrats to Bender and Bent Tree.

    Andy M.

    ReplyDelete
  77. And...we have our first Star Wars Hater out there!!!

    ReplyDelete
  78. i dont think that benders pushers will do very well at sectionals.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Where can I see the rosters for the sectional teams on tennislink?

    ReplyDelete
  80. There is probably an easier way, but I went through Somabuts team last year and their sectional results. Find the team you are looking for where are all the results from sectionals are. Find some guys on that roster that are still 4.0 and put them into tennislink and it should bring you that league.

    ReplyDelete
  81. Has the Texas Section published flights & match schedules for Sectionals? If it available why don't they post it so everyone can see? Why do we hear everything second hand?

    ReplyDelete
  82. TRANSPARENCY
    I agree with the comments about lack of transparency. The DTA should post their procedures for putting teams into flights. Thats the appropriate thing to do.

    But its not just the DTA. The Texas Section should post that type of info as well. It sounds like the Texas Section has a good random process for wildcards. But post it on the web so we all know. Like the DTA the TX Section should post their methods for putting teams into flights for Sectionals. I'm sure they do a responsible job. But why not post the process so we all know it is done fairly & consistently?

    Why do they want to keep it a secret?

    ReplyDelete
  83. I just posted all the Sectional schedules for week 1.

    Enjoy.

    - Tosha

    ReplyDelete
  84. Any men's 4.5 flight predictions out there? Teams to look out for or players to watch?

    ReplyDelete
  85. Houston blog has a 4.5 preview of sorts.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Yea, watch out for the NOHO ringers, self rate Barath and former touring pro Femi Thomas

    ReplyDelete
  87. NOHO also has 3 guys from last year's team that went to Nationals, Benzon, Vernon & Mills. Almost everyone on that team has been to Sectionals, and it's going to be a very tough flight that includes San Antonio.

    ReplyDelete
  88. Dallas 4.5 has an easier flight and should advance to the semis.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Doesn't look like Femi can play. Only 1 match, and that was a default.

    ReplyDelete
  90. With all the 4.0 bump ups, who's going to be the front runner in the fall? Looks like some of the good teams lost alot of players.

    ReplyDelete
  91. NOHO is "done" with their "league"

    ReplyDelete
  92. Lakes only lost 2 guys, although they relied heavy on those 2 players. Lifetime only lost 2 as well, both singles, but still have a solid core left over. Sisk should have a strong team, but will probably manage them well to have them around for next Spring. GH is done and Somabut will reload for the Spring.

    ReplyDelete
  93. NOHO has 1 match not played yet. 100 bucks Raj plays in that one. Red always has 1 match unplayed late so he can add his guys. Look at 2 years ago. Wanja got in on the last match he recorded. Just the way Red rolls.
    Houston is like the wild west of tennis. There are no rules down there. Here, we whine about every little thing and that's one of the main reasons why Houston owns Dallas.

    ReplyDelete
  94. actually, Red has 2 matches left unplayed on his NOHO schedule. Time for him to load up with Femi and any other ringers. Just watch, those will be some suspicious scores that come in on those unplayed matches and Tosha will be nothing about it. Dallas is and always will be Benzon and Freemans Biatch!!!

    ReplyDelete
  95. 1:26 PM poster is correct. We do a lot of whining here. In fact I would say it is epidemic. Not sure what can be done. Maybe we should try shutting our big traps and let our racquets do the talking just like Houston and the legendary Kern do.

    ReplyDelete
  96. I think that noho will be a lot weaker than all the hype their getting. Same old people complaining about same old things. Oak Creek Branch/Feldman will walk on the court and compete with anyone at sectionals. They don't need to talk because they know how to win.

    ReplyDelete
  97. I think Branch needs to be wary of Abilene, they have a ringer, much like Bell, and also Mitch Aston who has done well at 5.0, they need to be cautious and ready to play or they could get surprised.

    ReplyDelete
  98. I would not count on Somabut and Sisk reloading and returning to their usual level of excellence. At their advanced ages, they are both getting weary, just like Longhorn football coach Mack Brown, of going into high-schoolers' homes and trying to convince their parents to let their children play for them. They have both had distinguished captaining careers and it may be time to pass the torch to the next generation. Bender on the other hand is ageless just like Joe Paterno, in keeping with the football coach comparison.

    ReplyDelete
  99. I'm pretty sure this is who AR Hacker is talking about:

    Eric Bein is a clear cut grievance waiting, he has signed with ACU, a Top D2 school and should be 5.5. See Clayton Morgan and Sahal Taweel, and where Trent Broach should have been, if he played league anywhere but Houston. Also he is no different than Luke Trautman who moved to 5.5 after signing with Incarnate Word

    ReplyDelete
  100. Yes, abilene will be tough. Another one of their ringers is Mitch Aston. I went to college with Mitch Aston for 2 years and we both played on the tennis team together. He played #2 singles and I played #5 singles. He then went on to play at Abilene Christian. He was a very good player back then and I'm sure he is still very solid. Their team will not be taken for granted.

    Walt Williams
    OC Branch

    ReplyDelete
  101. July 21, 2010 2:32 PM - Good Idea Kern. Point well taken

    ReplyDelete
  102. BMo holds a great chance of winning his flight, if he does not make any more line up screw ups, like he did in QT & DCC.

    He needs to bring his best line up against NOHO, not try to pull one more of those "Wertz or Vassberg on singles" stupid moves.

    ReplyDelete
  103. BMO doesn't have the singles players to win diddly. He doesn't deserve to be in sectionals to begin with. Were it not for luck of the draw and Brookhaven, the Lakes would be in this thing as they own BMO and his team anyways.

    ReplyDelete
  104. Here's the thing about 4.5 sectionals. Until Dallas figures out that to compete with Red the rules need to be bent, in some cases broken (Broach). Red is an incredible recruiter and knows the rules and how to get around them.
    As long as Dallas has Roussow and others who are hell bent on calling people out, appealing, and generally making it impossible for guys like Branch to consistently throw out a ringer here or there Dallas will never beat Red.
    In 4 years he's taken 3 teams to Nationals. If it wasn't for the 50 mile rule he'd have probably done it in the 4th year too.
    People on the this blog bag on Branch's team and the "tanking" that happens. Seriously, if the Branch team didn't exist Dallas would never make it out of group play, that's a fact.

    ReplyDelete
  105. So basically you are saying that you need to cheat to go to nationals and because Houston does it, everyone else should. Correct?

    ReplyDelete
  106. Has Red been banned from USTA? Has he been sanctioned? Has anything happened other than his team going to Nationals? No, so he's not cheating. Until USTA decides it's cheating it's not, end of story.

    ReplyDelete
  107. I see where your morals lie. It's ok to be a cheat, until you get caught or somebody does something about it. Screw nationals if that's what it takes.

    ReplyDelete
  108. The Houston 4.5 team that went to Nationals last year had 1 self-rated player on their team, and their "ringer" was beaten badly in both of his singles matches. The rest of the players were all computer rated. The tough job was recruting the top talent from 4-5 teams and convinced them to play on the same team. Even with all this talent, they were a 3rd set from losing to Austin and SA in the semis and finals.

    When do you think Dallas can put together a super team like this? Will the top players put aside their ego enough to play on the same team like Miami Heat? I don't know, but someone should try.

    ReplyDelete
  109. ^
    What the hell do you think Branch's team is this year? It is the "super team".

    Seriously, who else could they have picked up from other Dallas teams that would be guaranteed top 8 that were known commodities coming into the season?

    ReplyDelete
  110. How is it cheating if he's operating within the guidelines that USTA has set up?
    Red is not a cheat, he just doesn't have to deal with as many babies in Houston as Branch does here.

    Spare me the moral high ground stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  111. "BMO doesn't have ...Were it not for luck of the draw and Brookhaven, the Lakes would be in this thing as they own BMO and his team anyways."

    Every team played every team in our flight, so it wasn't really the luck of the draw so much, IMO.
    Each team had its weaknesses and strengths in our flight.

    I know we are scheduled to play The Lakes on Monday. Thanks for helping out to get us ready and to represent Dallas well - if you actually play for The Lakes.

    Hopefully our singles players are feeling better next weekend and we give it a good run to represent Dallas well. I think we have a good shot to represent well.

    ReplyDelete
  112. I have to agree that BMO's singles players will be lucky to split their matches and that is with a good matchup.

    Typically at Sectionals the singles players who are "know" will get beat by the self-rates and "bumpdowns" on the stronger teams.

    Carey on LFT is a very good player, but will probably finish .500 for the weekend.

    ReplyDelete
  113. Newsflash....Newsflash..... Beat down the captains that beat Branch and Red. We need to pull for our local boys then our State. Get a grip, if you can't stand the way it works, don't play.

    ReplyDelete
  114. anybody better than me is a cheater and should be DQed

    will the whining ever quit?

    ReplyDelete
  115. I don't play for GH or The Lakes, (or was even in that draw for that matter), but I do want to remind the poster July 22, 2010 6:57 AM that The Lakes finished 3rd.

    ReplyDelete
  116. Everyone knows that Whitaker played on a D1 college team. He was appealed, and computer rated, so he become legit, but he obviously got better and better. Sinclair was right there with him. They would probably be rated the two best singles players easily in sectionals or Nationals if their team had made it to either.

    ReplyDelete
  117. Everyone knows that Whitaker played on a D1 college team. He was appealed, and computer rated, so he become legit, but he obviously got better and better. Sinclair was right there with him. They would probably be rated the two best singles players easily in sectionals or Nationals if their team had made it to either.

    ReplyDelete
  118. Lets see some 4.0/4.5 sectional previews. Just 7 days away.

    ReplyDelete
  119. We are the ONLY city that does scouting reports on our own teams. I doubt the question below was even from someone from Dallas area. How about THIS year, we do scouting report ONLY on the other cities and leave our teams off?

    ReplyDelete
  120. talk aboug shooting ourselves in the foot.

    ReplyDelete
  121. No wonder Dallas never advances. We have all sorts of inside knowledge on our own players, but then just the bare minimum information on the other cities because we simply don't know them as well.

    ReplyDelete
  122. Houston Blog has a preview of the 4.0 and 4.5 teams if interested. Biased as it may be.

    ReplyDelete
  123. In recent years OC Branch has came so close to winning sectionals. This year, they've combined Feldman/Branch rosters and are taking it very serious. Don't know if you can find a roster as deep as theirs around the state. Their doubles is stronger than any 5.0 roster around the state. They will be playing Sunday and if they have anything to say about it they'll be making their way to Tucson Arizona for Nationals.

    ReplyDelete
  124. Definitely don't scout our own teams, because that is probably someone from out side Dallas looking for info.

    As far as 4.0 goes here is what I know. It looks like the teams to beat other than Dallas, include Houston, Lubbock, Houston Wild, and possibly San Antonio. I am sure Austin will come with a strong squad as well. Of those teams Lubbock and Houston looked to be very good.

    Lubbock - This team returns almost all of the key players from the team that went to nationals less than 2 years ago. How they are back at 4.0 is beyond me and is a complete joke. They have 2 very good singles players. Lance Coleman is a former 4.5 who did very well at that level, beating some very good players and going 3 sets with Huffman (Oc Branch). He was not even part of that national team and makes them that much better. Shaunaman was part of that national team and is their other singles player. Most of their doubles players were all the national team. That national team did beat the Dallas 4.0 team from Springpark, which included Charles Rasor, Eugene Davis, Jim Walters, Greg Odell, etc. All of which are still at 4.5. This team will be strong.

    Houston - Another strong contender. This is a Freeman team who always has solid squads. They are led by their 2 stud singles players Ellingsen and Knutson. Both are top 4.0s in the state. As a doubles team they beat Somabut/Palacioz 6-1 6-1. Doubles are strong but the core of the team is those 2 singles players.

    Wild Houston - they lost to the Houston Freeman team 3-2 in the final. Another team with strong singles with Wooten and Larrazolo. Wooten has a win over our John Kraemer and Mark Anderson locally in singles and did not lose in league this year. They look to be very strong.

    As you can see 2 of the top 3 teams fall into the Dallas flight. That will be a dogfight.

    DQ's coming into sectionals there are 3 of note, Dwyer from Austin is big. He was a key player. Jason Wait was a dq for Amarillo, and was one of their top players and Scott Whitney from Houston Freeman, although they have plenty of firepower left.

    ReplyDelete
  125. Nice scout report.

    ReplyDelete
  126. Kris Knutson was the #1 singles players on Houston-Freeman's 4.0 2007 team that beat Somabut in the Sectional finals. That team also included the late great J. Kern, and did not play up to their considerable talent at Nationals. Knutson was apparently so depressed that his tennis game slumped badly and he found himself bumped back down to 4.0 last year. He has since regained his form and is hoping to win it all for Kern.

    ReplyDelete
  127. Ok can we please stop talking about that nobody Kern! I mean look at the two most important 4.5 Sectionals matches he has played. 1-3 loss to Slezak/Williams in the deciding pool match in '08 (Branch should have thrown that match to keep the Houston team that beat them out of the semis) 2-3 to Arringdale/Miller in the semis last year (if we would have won that match I'm convinced Gene would have pulled out his for the 3-2 win).

    Thanks to the poster about Knutson being the #1 singles player on the 07 Nationals team (all computer rated by the way for you self rate haters) I needed a good chuckle. Kris was a great player then and even a better 4.0 now but we had a singles player who never lost a match.

    As far as 4.5, I think Miller and Branch have probably the
    most talent this year. I certainly think my Noho teammates will put up a fight as well but my gut tells me this is Dallas' year. I will be rooting for them in every match except hopefully one. The brackets broke out perfectly for them as they will be able to keep their Sunday singles guys rested in pool play. Their semifinal opponent will have come out of the most difficult pool so may be a tiny bit tired. The get to play the better opponent IMO at 7am while it is still cooler and they are rested which is a nice bonus when you have older players.
    Looking forward to seeing some good tennis.

    ReplyDelete
  128. It was great to see scumbag Sisk shutout from Sectional play this year.

    ReplyDelete
  129. checking out the Houston Blog, lots of DQ's have come down. 2 on Abilene, 1 Waco, 3 Valley, none of the bigger cities which is hard to fathom.

    ReplyDelete
  130. That's b/c the bigger cities police their own during the regular season better.

    Maybe Corey's team will make it in after all. I can't see Valley making the trip now. They don't even have 8 4.5 rated players left on the roster.

    What's the word Corey?

    ReplyDelete
  131. No word. I'm sure some team will show up with 6 players and would rather default a line or two each match then drop out. It's a little late for me to get my team together now anyway. Oh well. I'm over it.

    ReplyDelete
  132. The Valley teams usually are not very good representatives. They had a 4.0 team a couple of years ago who lost on the first day, went out partying that night and many of their players went home the next morning. They went from being a pretty tough team on the first day to a shell of a team the second day.

    Valley teams are a joke. The are the Tin Man of Texas Tennis, No heart.

    ReplyDelete
  133. Who wins between Branch and Abilene Sat 7am match?

    ReplyDelete
  134. I can predict with confidence that Branch's team will win Sectionals and represent Texas at Nationals.

    ReplyDelete