Tuesday, April 22, 2014

SECTIONALS PREVIEW - APOCALYPSE NOW


Freeman surveying the troops at playoff time                         Just another Thursday night at LLTC
Somewhere in the deepest, darkest jungles of Houston, USTA Special Forces Colonel Freeman has gone renegade, operating outside the normal boundaries of war employed by the forces of Texas and most of the USTA.  Once a model USTA member who won and let others win as well, Colonel Freeman now leads his own personal army out of the Lee LeClair zone, operates under his own rules, and achieves unprecedented success in his war against the Texas section.  My mission – to find Colonel Freeman, study his methods, and bring him back into the civilized world of Texas sectionals tennis - or destroy his forces in the process. 

I have studied his files.  Beginning as a lowly 3.5 (oops, he just got back down), Colonel Freeman once trained his own armies in the Southern section.  It was during his consulting in Mississippi that he began to take notice of the soft underbelly of the USTA rules.  His report on the Sectionals War at that time was classified by his superiors.  Evidently he didn’t like being limited by the rules placed on him when winning was within his grasp, and they didn’t want his ideas to spread.

Colonel Freeman then joined the Sectionals War in the Texas section.  It was here that he began to really put his theories to the test.  But after constantly butting heads with his superiors back in Austin he began to lead a shadow war all on his own.  As his successes in the Sectionals War grew, so did his detractors.  Seems the rest of the war effort didn’t approve of his methods – found them to be ‘unsound’ – and labeled him insane.  After studying his results I’m not so sure. 

Unlike other commanders, he spreads his forces between different tennis centers and different captains until he needs them, making it impossible to judge his troop strength or really research his self rates.  His ability to pull vast resources together for a single campaign is without equal in Texas.  His main competitors bicker among themselves over which feudal lord will rule over the three good players at each tennis center, diluting their forces to the point that battle with him is futile.  While Colonel Freeman’s loyal followers throw their dignity at his feet just to be one of his Thursday guys.  The more I learn, his genius begins to show through.

Finally, I made my way to his camp and was taken before him by his followers.  His words still echo in my ears, “I’ve seen horrors…horrors that you’ve never seen.  I’ve been beaten at Nationals with teams that had dominated Texas.  You have a right to beat me.  You have a right to do that, but you have no right to judge me.”  It was all making sense.  He didn’t live outside the rules.  He just understood that there was a bigger world out there beyond Texas and it lived by tougher rules.

Just then a fresh can of tennis balls was popped open by one of his followers.  Looking warily at me he said, “You smell that?  New tennis balls, son.  Nothing else in the world smells like that.  I love the smell of new tennis balls in the morning.  Smells like - victory.”

94 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. Way to go out on a limb after he starts the season 0-1.

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    2. Sorry, didn't edit my thoughts well. There is an internal policy on over-sharing. Or there should be. Let's try again.

      Yes, I'm a bit of a Freeman fan. No one is perfect but I do respect the results. You can love him or hate him but he does execute his plan better than anyone going these days in Texas. As the kids say, or at least they used to, don't hate the player - hate the game.

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    3. Respecting Freeman/Pickett/Le results is sort of like respecting Bernie Madoff's results..except for the getting caught thing.

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    4. That's why he's controversial. And perfect for this blog. It hates winners whether they cheat or not.

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    5. "Smells like victory", was that Eddie Janek?

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    6. Possibly. I know it wasn't Beinart or he'd have been yelling it. During your second serve. Gotta love a guy that understands his role on the team.

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    7. Beinart is really Freeman's Thursday night guy with playoff value. He reminds me of a drunken LSU fan with less tact.

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    8. Hard for most to imagine but Beinart makes drunken LSU fans seem pretty tame.

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  2. Is Hunter Emmott the equivalent of going nuclear?

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    1. I've heard LLTC is in a rough part of town but those guys are seriously packin

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  3. Geez, someone in Dallas knows Houston tennis better than most in Houston. I'm impressed with the Freeman machine understanding.

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    1. Most people in Dallas just need to focus on what's going on here. They still don't have a clue what's going on in Dallas.

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    2. Some make it their business to know what is happening in every Dallas player that beats them. If you don't play on their team, you are clearly out of level.

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    3. Everyone in Dallas that has never been should make it a point to attend sectionals Sunday. Not to change their opinion about any subjects discussed on this blog but to just see what's out there beyond Dallas and what playoff tennis looks like. There are some quality matches.

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  4. Sounds like you condone cheating. There is no excuse for cheating.

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    1. That's all you got out of this thread? It's the huge size of his operation that is mind boggling. Especially when you watch how it comes together, splits up then comes back together. That's a lot of work, even if you have zero cheaters.

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    2. I agree. Ask Sisk, I think he got tired.

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    3. Trips to QT don't create move up/split up problems.

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    4. I do not condone cheating. What I really don't condone is humorless blog posts so hopefully you found something in there funny. And I do think it's much more difficult to do a parody of a 2-8 team but I'm game to give it a shot. Mostly I'm going where the current discussion in Dallas leads and adding one person's perspective. Your perspective is always appreciated as it adds to the depth of discussion, whether we agree or not.

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    5. Should be pretty easy to do a parody video of a 2-8 team. It would speak for itself. Finding the video might be problematic.

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  5. What Sectionals are this weekend?? To what league?

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  6. Has any other captain ever been promoted to colonel?

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    1. There are a few like a 3rd world dictator that promoted themselves to General.

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  7. Freaking recreational tennis. Amazing the lengths some people go through to go get their trophy. They must have had a neglected childhood or something.

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    Replies
    1. How many national championship trophies does Freeman have?

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    2. Same number as almost everyone here but he has a lot of trips to nationals.

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    3. Says the guy still waiting on his trophy. Call Captain Clause

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  8. Nobody locally has a 4.0,4.5 National trophy!! Freeman has the best shot to win a Nats trophy!! Go Freeman!

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    1. Why don't we work to beat Freeman and then nationals. Screw rooting for him and Houston.

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    2. That's a good question. Who in Dallas is actually willing to so that now?

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    3. Because anyone that wins is instantly branded a cheater

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    4. What is Freeman branded? Ask who has the thickest skin. Thin skin and winning really don't go together.

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    5. I don't know the Houston guys but if they win we like them as little as we like the people in Dallas that win

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  9. Nobody wants to hear it but to beat Freeman, we have to put egos aside. Rossouw, Pickett, Sisk, Oscar and others would have to pick their best and add a several questionable characters. You can either play the game or continue to get beat by people who play the game.

    Murray understands the game Freeman plays. Most on here are too busy putting a dagger in each others back. What impresses me about the Freeman machine is how many facilities his players play out of and then come back when they can.

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    1. Why don't you just bring peace to the middle east too?

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    2. The problem is most guys in Dallas are so focused on winning dallas that they'll never win sectionals. If They can beat the guys down the street that's better than teaming up with them and winning Texas.

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    3. Pickett and Rossouw are the only ones trying to win and they can't stand each other. At that, they hate the DTA so much they left Dallas. The DTA has to get over itself and get out of the good captains way. The HTA does not hamstring their teams.

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    4. The DTA is code for the Dallas Women's Tennis Ass'n. They bow down to whatever the women want because they're afraid the women will all just go play TCD and Metro. DTA's only interaction with the men's leagues is to make it harder for them to organize teams, run teams and actually win.

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    5. I'm sure glad the DTA wouldn't do that... oops, they always do that.

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  10. what is really being said here is that DTA needs to turn a blind-eye to the blatant tanking so that some folks can feel good about Dallas tennis?

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    1. In reality, they only keep an eye on a few.

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    2. I hate to burst your bubble but tankers don't win sectionals, self rates do. That guy who beat you and got bumped up. The one you're so mad about the possibility of getting back down. He's likely irrelevant to anyone but you and him. Beating Houston, getting to Nationals, doing well there, it's about getting better players than the ones that got beat last year or the year before. They don't have to tank or even rate themselves incorrectly. But Dallas does need better players and more of the to do well. If the guys who got beat before get back down, they'll just get beat again.

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    3. shows the different mentality in dallas leagues. someone says we need to get better and 9:42's response immediately assumes that means we have to condone cheating. the suggestion above was to work together, not legalize tanking. you need to get over yourself and let the adults talk for a minute.

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    4. It's a nice idea but the best shot would be Marc and Joel working together. That's not gonna happen and there's no one at 4.0 that engaged any more.

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  11. Looks like Bazan wants back to 3.5. Losing 1&1... Come on Cary, make it look believable.

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  12. Hey umm, I dont want to come across to strong here but..... I'm new to this area. I was was rated 5.0 in Southern Cal a couple years ago. Through injuries and what not I'm back at 4.0. This level is somewhat boring but you gotta take what the good lord gives you, right. I'm looking for a local team to sign up on and meet people and move up with. Captains, please leave your email address and I'll contact you. Well, hope to see you soon.

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    1. Jason.Freeman@hotmail.com

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    2. You could call Tony Le next year

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  13. Keith Clark's 4.0 team beat Canyon Creek 3-2 today

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  14. Mike Kelly won his 4.5 singles match yesterday. How the hell did that happen?

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    1. Looks like he won 2 sets and the other guy won zero sets.

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    2. Kelly only plays hard for 3 people... PERIOD. Alan, Sisk and Joel. Other than that he will NEVER subject himself to losing a rating.

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  15. Kelly is the biggest tanker in USTA but Joel Huff is getting close. He tanked to Mike Zachary so bad today it is pathetic. To lose that match and only win 3 games is disgraceful!!

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    1. CC lost the match 3-2 today. You think Huff would intentionally lose that match when his team is at risk not to make the playoffs? No.

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    2. Huff is a low 4.0 and nothing more. Zachary is a high 4.0. That should be the expected score.

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    3. Zachary....keep your wife off the blog please

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    4. I was there. Joel had a bad day and Zackary played well. Also, singles is a lot about matchups. Zackary is a tough style for Huff. Zackary doesn't hit a ball Joel likes. Joel prefers lots of pace and that is not Zackary's game. Sometimes the matchups go your way and some days they do not. Yesterday,MIT went Zackary's way.

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  16. I too saw Kelley play in Garland yesterday. He looked like in the games he tried he would beat anyone in Dallas. What a waste of talent to not give a damn.

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    1. His opponent said he was so close and said he didn't know why he is such a big deal.

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    2. How many people were at Garland yesterday? There were only a few people there and almost no one watching that match.

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  17. His opponent thought he should have won. It takes a good tanker to make that happen.

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  18. How can Kelly be a tanker when he wins? Seems people will find fault w whatever he does. People, HE IS NOT TRYING TO ADVANCE TO ANY SECTIONAL MATCH PLAY BEC HE IS A 4.5 "A" appeal. LET IT GO, the guy is not bothering anyone! DAMN!

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  19. That win should shut Corey up for at least a week. You bash him but now you should give him some props Corehawg

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  20. Agree w 8:30 post. Kelly is very loyal to Sisk and will do what Sisk asks him to do. If you want to know if Kelley will win or lose, go to the captain beforehand and find out. Sisk is well respected and calls the shots.

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    1. That's the most ridiculous thing I've read here in a while. Sisk lets Kelly win or lose to keep his rating so Kelly will play for him in combo. I'm not knocking it but all this mutual trust and respect is going to make me throw up.

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    2. So glad to have some Kelly talk. Been missing it.

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    3. It makes you throw up because you can't write your own ticket on anything you do. Like it or not Kelley is the top dog in Dallas tennis. He can call his own shots. Now start bashing.

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    4. Sisk isn't respected by anyone in the tennis community -- at least by anyone who matters. He's a cheat -- just like Kelly!

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    5. You guys keep hatin. That is the reason why Dallas tennis sucks bec you have so many jealous mo fos that you hate to see people win so you bash. Kelly is the king of Dallas tennis, like it or not.

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  21. Kelly's results haven't even been posted.

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    1. Did Kelley beat a 4.0 or 4.5 ? He would never risk beating a 4.5.

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  22. If you have a guy that has NEVER lost a combo match I would let him do what he wants as well. I am here to tell you that if Dallas had 8 Kelley's Houston would look like a pee wee team. Kelly respects Sisk and his coaching so he will do whatever is asked of him. Or you can go to ft worth and play and get pissed on when you decide you want to play elsewhere.

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  23. Oh yeah he beat a 4.0 player 4 and 6. Man I guess I'm totally wrong about the guy. He is a low 4.5 singles player I guess. My player had 20 double faults too so Mike must have really had an off day. He was so lucky to win that match I guess.

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    1. Were you there?

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    2. Sadly I was not. Got the report from my guy after. Didn't even find out until that night that Kelly was his opponent.

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    3. Why is a guy with 20 doubles playing 4.5? I don't blame Kelly for managing him. If you are going to put out a joke like that, he gets what he deserves.

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    4. Well with 20 double faults you deserve to lose which he did.

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    5. And you still complain. If your guy wins, you would complain.

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    6. That is exactly spot on 9:29. You are complaining of a 7-6,6-4 win and would have lambasted Kelly if he lost. Cory, what would have been the perfect score for you not to be mad one way or the other???

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    7. Kelley is so far ahead of the people that think they know what is going on during his match it's not even funny. He knows exactly the ramifications of each and every match and plays accordingly. You think after winning his appeal he is going to win this year?? You people are kidding yourselves.

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    8. First off where did I complain? We won the match 3-2 so I could care less about Kelly. All of his matches are a joke. He's someone who's scared to play 5.0 because he doesn't have lower level players to beat up on. End of story.

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  24. So your guy double faulted 20 times in 10 games? Sounds like your guy is tanking as well. Does he want to get to 3.5 or is "he just playing for fun"? Guy double faults 20 times and you say Kelly had an off day? Incredible

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  25. Well if my guy tanked how does he lose to the God of Dallas tennis (according to the blog) 4 and 6?

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    1. Is the guy that bad or was he playing for fun. What would you have said if Kelly lost but was playin for fun? If anyone on this blog thinks Kelly gives a damn about 2014 they are clueless. U put a 4,0 out there who plays that bad, I wouldn't blame Kelly for losing. I bet that match was to bait Kelly into tanking.

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    2. Half the people that play line 2 singles are 4.0. As if I need to bait Kelly to do that.

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  26. Mike, welcome back to the blog. Thought you had lost your internet connection.

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    1. Nope, just spent so much money on national trips the last few years I had to cut my Internet off a while. However, I am back to putting premium gas in my Ferrari though.

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  27. Playing for fun and enjoying the weather is not tanking. Losing to a 4.0 who doubles 20 times is tanking. Let's see what happens this week when Kelley faces his toughest opponent of the week. I will destroy Kelley.
    OC player

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  28. Tanking is different that score management, which is what happened here. Keep it close with a 4.0, even with a victory it's mission accomplished (for Mike).

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    1. So u think he is good enough to manage scores to a tiebreaker? PLEEZ. $100 to him if he wins 7-6,7-6 this week!!

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    2. You don't manage to a specific score. You just keep it close. Is he good enough to keep a match very close with a 4.0 and win? Of course.

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  29. We will see how Mr Kelly manages this week. He is awful cocky to think he can keep a score close by being down 5-1 and coming back to win 7-6 in second set. Will you people wake up and realize he is making a mockery of this thing!!!! He should be suspended for that

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