The first week of league is complete. Most teams decide that reporting scores is optional. It was a very uneventful weekend in Dallas but the best Dallas teams of Wagon Wheel/Rossouw did play Southlake/Dolemite. Dolemite slapped Rossouw's small roster 4-1 with the help of a default. I can't get my mind around how Rossouw can't get enough players out. Scott Baker gets beat by a 4.0 bump up 4&1. Either Baker is trying to get back to 4.0 or he is really injured. I will give him the benefit of the doubt. Since Rossouw defaulted Line 3 doubles and played someone who is clearly not ready to play, that means he could only get 5 players out. That is 5 out of 25 roster players. This is head shaking...
Since this is the Dallas league, lets talk about this rather than Fort Worth.
4.5
Flight A - This is the only flight that all scheduled reported. T-Bar has a very good team and they handled High Point with no issue. Interesting result, Carey/Modic easily took care of Newman/Voss... 0&1. I would have been surprised in Newman/Voss won that match but wouldn't guess that result. All in all, a real beat down of 5-0. I know life gets tougher on T-Bar. McKinney beats Royal Oaks 5-0. This is not a Rothwell Royal Oaks team. I wouldn't read much into McKinney being a contender. Oak Creek/Herget defeated El Dorado 4-1 but their one loss was a default. This team is.. 'experienced' but still a good team. Brookhave wins 3-2 over Stonebridge. Good match between 2 solid but not spectacular 4.5 teams.
Flight B - Rossouw was able to win the only match played/reported. They beat T-Bar and they were able to get 8 players out. Maybe the distance to Fort Worth is too much. They won 4-1 with the only loss being the usually reliable Jay Benjamin.
Flight C - Only two matches were played (or reported). Village beat Oak Creek. Village only won 3-2 over a pretty medicore team. The Village has some really good players but may have some depth issues. Too early to tell. High Point/Le lost to LB Houston. Le was more competitive than I would have thought. They lost 3-2. The pre-season tanking prediction is too early to make any decisions.
Week 1 is in the books... sorta but at least the season has finally started.
Le loses (again) at line 3 dubs......what a surprise. Tanker of the week award goes to Le, and I suspect he will win many more.
ReplyDeleteAs predicted! Everyone knows that Le/Vo dont want to win, and neither do Arcaria and Cuevas otherwise they wouldnt be playing 4.5 league singles. And that 5-0 sweep that Somabuts boys took was equally as embarasing, Newman/Voss, Beardon/Carlquist and Brouer/Robinson all should be up for the Tanker of the season award! Nice job Captains Le and Somabut!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure Somabut/Le are next years 4.0 Super Team. Considering the captains brain trust with Arcaria, Somabut and Le, that is a lot of guys willing to what is necessary.
DeleteSo because guys play 4.5 singles it means they don't want to win? The Le team is a group of 4.0s and recent 4.5 bump ups. But since we lose we are tanking? Give it a rest. The team is for a bunch of us who just want to have a season for fun. There will be a number of guys that will play singles. But if they lose I guess they do not want to win this season based on this theory. Had Glasgow lost or anyone else you would have accused them of tanking too.
ReplyDeleteArcaria, so you are trying to convince us that losing at line 2 singles to a recent 4.0 bump up was fun. Stop playing dumb would you. And while you're at it could you point us in the direction of Le's last league win. Too obvious. Just fess up and cheat like a true tanker.
DeleteWhy would they tank,? They can get back down without tanking.
Delete5:04 you are obviously someone who claims to be my friend otherwise you wouldn't be paying any attention to this and calling me out by name. I have a good idea of who you are but I won't go there. You obviously do not get it and you just like to start shit. Losing is not fun, but playing singles is. Playing in 25 mph wind that day is not what I would call fun, but having the opportunity to play singles every now and then is a good time. So STFU and talk about something you actually know about.
DeleteArcaria
No, because Glasgow actually plays singles and wins. Really, are you trying to put Cuevas and Arcaria in the same singles class as Glasgow? I see 6 or 7 guys on that team that would be much better options at singles if Le really wanted to win. Stop waisting everyones time already.
ReplyDeleteYou obviously cannot comprehend. The team is for fun.
DeleteLosing matches on purpose is fun?
DeleteSomabut has a sectionals finals team and they get bumped to 4.5. He gives his 4.0 team to Le who runs into Houston the next year, just like Bob did. Now they have a lot of guys at 4.5 and two teams to get them back down on. No one is hiding it, just follow along.
ReplyDeletePlaying for fun is usually code for tanking but I really don't have any idea in this case since I don't really know the players involved. I will say that anyone who wins 90 percent of their matches at one level can easily move up and win 50 percent at the next level. But being a 4.0 doubles player and moving up to play 4.5 singles is totally different. It's conveniently the simplest way to get moved back down also ;).
ReplyDeleteLeads me to a question: In my mind there are three degrees of tanking. 1. Going out and losing on purpose to weaker players. Literally missing shots, making errors, not trying for balls, etc. 2. Putting yourself in positions where you know you will lose even if you try. So not tanking on court but tanking with lineup position. 3. Going on court and playing away from your strengths e.g. serve and volleying when you're a baseliner, running around your forehand to hit your weaker backhand, practicing slice, whatever.
ReplyDeleteWhich if any of these are acceptable by popular opinion? Numbers 2 and 3 are technically not losing on purpose. But some would define tanking as not doing everything in your power to win. But then couldn't stacking the lineup to win a big match also be considered tanking for players that get sacrificed? I'm interested to hear what anyone thinks on this. And who do we know that's guilty of 1, 2, and/or 3?
2 and 3 are not tanking.
DeleteHow about #4? Tanking to get down, winning at sectionals and not having to take brief about it on the blog. Oh, wait. That's Houston!
DeleteThey take grief too. It is just their blog is dead. No blog = No grief.
DeleteMaybe I'll start posting again. The Dallas blog is so much more fun nowadays.
DeleteI'm a Houston guy too. Been lurking here for awhile and have to say since the new guy started, this blog has some posts that are a riot. H-Town, please start posting a little more often.
DeleteWelcome Htown and colleague. Please don't be a stranger. We give you Houston guys a lot of well deserved respect and a lot sometimes deserved disdain but you are always welcome. We are glad to have you.
Delete1. Keith Clark and Tony Le
ReplyDelete2. Arcaria
3. Will be hard to find good examples, takes to much work on the part of the tanker
Tim Newman and Doug Voss are tankers #1
DeleteWhat is the story with Rossouw only able to get 5 healthy players out? I know many of you read this blog. By sheer numbers many must read it.
ReplyDeleteRossouw didn't want to take a real loss to Pickett until the playoffs.
ReplyDeleteHow many losses does he need? Looking at the rosters, Rossouw is about to lose...again. He tried to bully Kelly, Jean, Pickett and now Kiron, has had the tables turned. He runs to FW to escape and gets hunted down.
DeleteMeow, ouch kitty, those claws are sharp.
DeleteCan Corey be anymore of a hypocrite?? Just a couple of a seasons ago you mentioned multiple times you were captaining a for fun 4.0 team. That you didnt think your team would be competitive. So does that mean you were tanking and your team was tanking??
ReplyDeleteCorey, dont you know if you have a team that can make a run or not at the city title or flight title when the season starts? Obviously sometimes a team can surprise once in a while but we all know who the good teams are.
So when then is saying a team is playing for fun considered tanking? No, a team playing for fun is letting everyone play equal amounts if they want, it is letting guys play singles or doubles if they prefer, and it is not win at all cost.
Every team I captain is for fun? How is that relevant? If I don't have players good enough to advance that certainly isn't tanking. I'm confused by this post.
Delete"Playing for fun is usually code for tanking" is what you stated. That is not true. The above poster said guys were playing for fun and this was your statement. Why would you state that? Can they not play for fun, which might mean playing different players at singles, doubles pairings where friends play together rather than thinking about what is the best way to win a match? Playing weaker players as much as the stars of the team. That is tanking in your opinion based on your statement.
DeleteI also said right below that that I didn't know if that was the case here? I didn't accuse anyone of tanking. I also asked what people consider tanking to be. Never gave my opinion actually.
DeleteNow if you want my actual opinion I do think not trying to win a match that you could win is tanking. A team match not an individual match. Because if you aren't playing to win then why join a league? You can have fun for free on the weekends without paying league fees. The real question is were these guys trying to win their individual lines or not? I really don't care one way or the other.
It's pretty much been proven by Houston and certain Dallas teams that it takes the right combination of tanking, ringers, self-rates, and talent to advance to the national level. The goal seems to be to do it artfully enough where you don't get caught.
You are wrong. It takes people who don't care.
DeleteI think Corey's last paragraph above is right in the 18s league. The 40s & 55s still show that you can get to nationals without self rates or people tanking to get down. There it's more luck than an evil strategy. And a lot of knee braces.
DeleteIt takes people who don't care to make nationals? And yes agreed it's a little more honorable at 40s and 55s.
DeleteI think he meant it is people who don't care if they get caught tanking. People get accused whether they are or are not tanking. All you have to some be willing to take anise here.
DeleteI thought all teams were for fun. Why play if it isn't?
ReplyDeleteCorey's theory on tanking reminded me that there have been clinical studies done on the mindset of tankers. The researchers found that most tankers have underachieved in important areas of life, be it professionally or in their private lives. So these underachievers develop a deep-seated need to prove their value to their one friend. As they search for ways to affirm their worth, they become consumed to get a trophy that will help boost their self-esteem. This need manifests itself in becoming a tanker.
ReplyDeleteThis affliction has now been given a name - Obsessive Tankers Disorder (OTD). Big pharma is working on developing a pill to cure this little-known disorder. Until then, those suffering from OTD don't deserve your disgust, but rather your pity and empathy.
The first step toward rehabilitation is to get the tankers to come out their bunkers in the basement of their parent's home
DeleteI've noticed Asians have a bigger predisposition to OTD. Look at Le, Vo, Sombut, Nguyen and most the Houston sectionals players.
DeleteChildren, children. Didn't you read my post a few years back. To refresh your memory......
ReplyDeletehttp://dallasleaguetennis.blogspot.com/2011/10/good-readings-for-fall.html
CF
2:30 poster, you are clearly describing most of the players that I have ever played from Lifetime! Thanks for the explaination.
ReplyDeleteMy vote for tankers of the week goes to Paul Kiron and Bobby Smith. Way to keep it close guys but still achieve your end result.
ReplyDeleteClark & Zackary doubles loss in their 4.0 match on Sunday should be a case study for those researchers on the dreaded OTD.
ReplyDeleteSo for those of you who have played at sectionals or nationals or just watched it, how does Dallas stack up in your minds? We can all look up the results but there are a lot of teams at these events that Dallas doesn't play. I heard that last year Freeman's 4.0 team had the bad luck of playing the eventual national champions in the first match at nationals. Of course Tony Le's team had the misfortune of playing Freeman the first match at sectionals. Seems like Dallas has been slipping in recent years.
ReplyDeleteDallas has been pathetic. Tony's team was not good. Freeman has left us far behind.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts. When was the last Dallas team to win sectionals at 4.0? Pickett win a few at 4.5 but we haven't been competitive in a few years. Our best are playing for Marc in FW and getting totally fucked up by Houston.
DeleteAbsolutely, for a bunch of tankers, we don't have much to show for it
DeleteOther than Oscar, there is not much to show for 18+ mens. Of those Pimps they were either 40s or Mixed. Oscar is the only one that really succeeded. I think Murray needs to change his winner to Oscar.
DeleteLot of truth in that. It's basically our jr varsity can beat your jr varsity. But your A team kills us.
Delete4.0 seems to be the weakest link in Dallas tennis and the level where people seem to be the most hung up on their results. It's just a contest to see who is the tallest midget.
ReplyDeleteDallas has some good players but it's captains that get a team to nationals. I look through the 4.0 ranks and don't see one of that are gonna get a team there.
DeleteI don't see any team in Dallas that will be able to get out of its flight at sectionals. There are some pieces on some teams but not enough on any one team. Canyon Creek probably has the best team but they only have pieces.
DeleteSomabut does not have his usual ringers. Sisk lost to Westlake. WTF??? Bazan has a whole new team, all of these teams are decent but none are scary.
Sad but probably true. The last good run Dallas had was Somabut and Sisk both getting beat on Sunday at sectionals but that was the weakest year at 4.0 sectionals in the last 7 years. And Freeman effectively took that year off. I'd say Somabut and McHugh have the two best teams with the current rosters.
DeleteThere you guys go again disrespecting Canyon Creek. This is the year CC makes some noise at sectionals.
ReplyDeleteNobody is disrespecting anybody. Geez,people think you might have the best team in the city and you take offense. Tell us why the mighty Canyon Creek has a chance against Houston and the rest of the state.
DeleteWell, you make enough noise here. CC must be the only place in town where they get picked as one of the top two teams in town AND they complain about being disrespected.
DeleteCC needs to worry about getting out of their own flight..
ReplyDeleteGuys play 1 match and are accused of tanking. You anons are laughable. Why don't you get a life than worry about what certain players are doing after 1 single match.
ReplyDelete"You anons are laughable." - signed Anonymous
DeleteNice. :-)
It amazes me how we fight among ourselves. We say everyone is tanking but then we say they aren't any good. If someone does tank, what can you do? Absolutely nothing. Ask Marc and Brandon who really tried to get players they deemed tankers removed. It didn't work.
ReplyDeleteThe while idea of tanking is interesting. If you're a 4.5 bump up you should still win? And if you're a 4.0 and you lose, you should never lose? I know it's not that simple but losing one match hardly seems like an indictment. Losing 4 or 5 in a row, ok, yeah.
DeleteAgreed,recent bumpups getting grief for losing is stupid.
DeleteAlthough 0-1 is pretty obvious. Could someone ask Newman and Voss to at least try to fake it a little.
DeleteCorey said an art to not getting caught. I don't think Newman and Voss care.
DeleteHey guys, since we are always the team to beat and our 8.0 mix team is going to SECTIONALS then you all should start calling us "THE CHARLIE DANIELS" of Dallas League Tennis. Not because we think we are better than you but because we are the best there's ever been.
ReplyDeleteGreat, someone else doing their CC douche impersonation. Of course it's hard to tell the difference between CC and the I posters. They do sound the same.
DeleteI'm a little tired of the CC ridicule myself. In 4.0, I think they have the best team. They still have to win it but they just have the best roster.
ReplyDeleteTheir players are all good guys and deserve respect. Who knows, McHugh may get a nomination for Pimp of the Year.
You are right, nobody needs to impersonate them and make them look like douchebags. They don't need our help at all.
DeleteOh my god! There a scorpion on my back and I hope it's not Sisk.
ReplyDeleteSisk actually won his match
DeleteWhen I think of CC I think of AC/DC because they have a whole lot of Rosies. 42, 39, 56 you can say they have it all.
ReplyDeleteI found it to be rather funny after the 4.0 HP & CC make up match in 40 and over CC had their butts handed to them and the Hey Guys were standing around shaking hands and saying stuff like that was alot of fun, see you next time, etc. Translated for all you Huffines and LBH guys it meant alright good buddy, I'll keep my ears on and will catch you on the flip flop. We gone bye bye.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't call it butts handed. We lost three third set breakers. We could just as easily have won that match.
DeleteWhat the hell? Do you post this from your CB radio?
DeleteWe didn't think the HP people would leave. They came there with their Schlitz Ice and brown bag bologna sandwiches. Never saw such a celebration for beating a third place flight team in three tiebreakers.
DeleteIt's hard to find good bologna sandwiches these days; I'd be interested in knowing where they came from. I think you can get Schlitz from the RaceTrac next to High Point, for those of you looking for it.
DeleteI love these guys who late night drunk post. Probably the same ones who late night drunk email and text. Both of them are annoying as hell and mostly rip on their own team mates.
ReplyDeleteNot that there is anything wrong with it, but this blog might not be the best place to announce that you "love" guys late at night who are drunk and in the mood to post.
DeleteI know the teams are off for Easter but will any matches get made up? I thought you had to do it within 14 days or the DTA will automatically schedule it. Klamecki is probably itching to force a lot of double defaults.
ReplyDeleteThat rule has never been enforced.
DeleteThen why have the rule?
DeleteTo try to encourage makeups to be scheduled fast. Which obviously isn't working.
DeleteLooks like Murray needs to come up with a new post.
ReplyDelete