For those that don’t know the premise: A good person, chooses to do a bad/illegal
thing, for a greater cause.
In the land of crystal meth, Walter White is a humble
chemistry teacher who gets terminal lung cancer. Rather than being a burden to his family with medical bills and
leave them behind in debt, he cooks meth to make money to provide for his
family for the rest of their lives. As
he becomes deeper involved, he finds himself doing things he never
imagined.
In League tennis, where everyone is trying to get their
hands on the “Crystal” from Nationals, we are seeing the same thing. Good people, doing bad things, for a greater
cause. The lines of morality begin getting crossed, and what once looked black, now looks grey.
It initially begins with recruiting out-of-level players,
managing scores, and tanking in the Fall.
As they get deeper in, they realize they must go further. Get collegiate level players down to 4.5,
have them lie on their self-rate questionnaire, create bogus leagues and enter
false scores. Anything to build a squad
to get to the “Crystal”.
The Playas:
Walter White (aka Jason Freeman) – Walt is a
chemist. He is thorough, precise, and
calculating. He leaves nothing to
chance. He produces the best product on
the street, over 99% pure.
Like Walt, Freeman has the manufacturing process down and
produces the most teams to get through Sectionals. While he hasn’t gotten his hands on the real “Crystal”
(yet), he has made the most runs at 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 trying. At least 8 attempts that I count, that he has
led directly or indirectly a team that has made it to Nationals. You would think being 0-8 one would give up
trying. But not Freeman. He cooks up a more potent batch of players
each year to make his run to try and bring home the “Crystal”.
Jesse Pinkman (aka Tony Le) - In the show, Jesse really is a good kid. His indiscretions however cloud his better
judgement which leads him in to constantly getting into trouble. Unlike Walt, who is methodical and
calculating, and who leaves nothing to error, Jesse tends to be a bit careless
and sloppy.
Like Jesse, Tony means well, but hasn’t provided enough
oversite of his players and has allowed too much “breakage” in the process in
the form of DQ’d players. In the land
where execution and precision is key, these slip-ups have weakened his overall
team. While he is still capable of
producing a high quality product, he has made it harder on himself to get his
hands on the “Crystal”.
Gustavo “Gus” Fring (aka Craig Fox) – Like Gus, an inconspicuous business owner
and under the radar person, he has the largest manufacturing and distribution
of the crystal. He goes against the
Mexican Cartel, cutting them out of the business.
In his footsteps is Fox, who has formed a super team of
former Lamar University teammates coming from countries like Chili, Peru, and Budapest. Most of these players have been ranked
collegiately or nationally in some form or fashion, and are planning to derail
any dream of Dallas or Houston. While we
think what Freeman and Le have done is bad, Fox has taken it too another level.
It will be interesting to see how good
these guys really are, and if Lamar spits out top level D1 players. If they are as good on the courts as they are
on paper, I don’t see anyone stopping these boys from getting the”Crystal”.
Tuco Salamanca - (aka Mike Vogl) Known for his connections to the Mexican Cartel, Tuco is a heavy weight wholesaler north of the border. Vogl, a former Arkansas Hog and runs one of S.A.'s Country Club tennis centers, has been recruiting strong ex-college players as well. With S.A.s proximity to the border and college ties, they bring a formable team and aren't a write-off.
Hank Schrader with the DEA (aka Todd Reed with the USTA –
Texas Section) -
Like Hank who spends
every waking moment chasing down those breaking the law, Todd Reed has been
busy busting Pinkman’s (Le’s) street peddlers by handing out DQs.
Like in the real show, Hank always had his
nose up Pickman’s ass, totally neglecting the real perpetrators, Walt and Gus.
Behind the scenes cast members (for grins):
Saul Goodman (aka Todd Feldman) – While Saul isn’t one of
the main characters, he is the shyster attorney that comes across as a used car
salesman, always orchestrating and plotting a plan behind the scenes to cover
things up.
Like Saul, Todd goes unmentioned but seems to always be on
a roster of a team in the playoffs, and has been to the big dance himself back in
2010. While not a shyster lawyer, he may
hit you up for insurance when on the court.
(Not that he reminds me of a used car salesman.)
Skinny Pete (aka Sean Arcaria) - One of the playas from Jesse's possey, Skinny Pete introduces Jesse to Tuco who is a wholesaler for the Mexican cartel. He also gets held up and has "spillage" of product.
While behind the scenes, he has Jesse's ear and is a sounding board he uses for advice. He has been around the block before, and knows betta. He shouldn't have allowed for the spillage and DQs occurring on their self-rates.
Combo (aka Bennett) - another one of Jesse's possey, Combo gets shot which puts a hole in their street peddling.
Bennett was one of the last players to play with Gilson before getting his final strike and DQ. Perhaps he could have kept Gilson more in line??
So there you have it. The cast is in place and drama set for the weekend for those chasing the "Crystal".
If you are a Breaking Bad fan, I hope you enjoyed. If you aren't.....I bet you become one.
CF
