Top Guns Take Flight in Dallas City Playoffs

 

Ice-pick was the Iceman and Top Gun this weekend, taking the 4.5 City title.   Word on the street was that Joel was having his team practice nothing but Komen 10 –point tie-breakers, knowing that 4.5 would come down to that, separating the boys from the men.  The payoff couldn’t have been any sweeter.  HP wins 4 out of 4 breakers in the finals to take the title from Royal Oaks.  They defied the odds and took 5 out of 6 breakers for the weekend, showing they had nerves of steel and that hard work pays off.  This is one talented squad of aces, and should represent Dallas well at Sectionals.

Nice job Ice-pick.



In  4.0 land, it was Maverick (aka Arcaria) who first had to out ace Jester (aka Sisk) in their flight show down.   What looked like would be a nasty dog-fight turned into a routine drill for Lifetime who gunned down both singles.   These weren’t ordinary wins, but rather beat downs of the mighty Flora and the once feared Yaramenko.   Arcaria better hope the rating gods play favor to his self-rate and he can keep him for Sectionals.   Corcoran and Zachary get beat by fellow teammate Conan the barbarian, and Maverick walks away with a 4-1 win. 

What would appear on the surface to be a nail-biting showdown for the finals with Lifetime and HP Bob, it was anything but that.  Let’s just say it was interesting.   While I like the fact that 2 teams from Dallas typically go to Sectionals in 4.0, it tends to steal from the drama for the claim to City title.  Both teams wanting to protect self-rates, throw in the benches and have the oddest line up for City I have seen in some time.   (Well, maybe it has been only a year since BMO ungraciously “retired” at match point last year to take the easier flight the Wild Card was dealt.)

We still do not know who Viper (aka Somabut) has hidden in his squad of self-rates, but from the looks of things, I didn’t see anything unusual that makes me believe he has 2 singles ringers at hand.  He still relied on Kargel for one of his lines, but he most likely knew he wasn’t going to be challenged all weekend.   I guess we won’t know until Sectionals.  The question is, who got the easier path, the City Champs or the Wild Card.  Only Bob knows!!   

Anyhow, credit to Lifetime for getting past GTC to claim the title.

In the lower squadron of players but still not unnoticed, it was Commander Tom “Stinger” Jordan (aka Bender) who took top gun awards at the 3.5 level.  Having to duke it out with Sisk again, Bender prevailed again.  Like the 4.0 level, both teams get to go to Sectionals so all the cards aren’t on the table as to what both teams have, but my feeling is Bender is “jonesing” for not being at a National event for the past 10 months.  Looks like Sisk had another tough day at the office.

Well there you have it, the wrap up of the Dallas City Playoffs.  Congratulations to all the Top Gun Winners.  Go represent our city well in Sectionals!!

CF

Who Wears the 4.5 Crown this weekend?

Well, well, with the Cities coming up this weekend, I have to say there were some surprises at the QT. T Bar M, who managed to SQUEEEEAK into the QT comes out the winner!!! - And how did they do it? By having 4 3rd set tie breakers against Noel and coming up the winner at 3-2. Wow! What an exciting match!!! I understand it came down to the last 2 lines played in that match and both final lines for both teams (Modic AND Noel) were match point down and both teams came back and took victory from defeat!!! The result ended up with a 3-2 win (the Hard Way in Table Craps speak) for T Bar M.

QT summary said we now have the cities upon us, where we seem to have some pretty good teams out there. A little bird told me that there are some surprises in store, and that HP might not be the shoe-in that everyone thinks!!! On a COMPLETELY side note as I am looking up players, - who the Hell is Max Stevens (an Open player). ANYBODY that can beat Johan Mudsam 6-0 6-0 has to be a pretty exciting player to watch!!! Okay, where was I? Back to 4.5...

T Bar M - Not really liking their schedule. They come out against Royal Oaks, and then have to come and play HP that same day (and btw, it's going to be HOT!). So having to decide which singles guys to rest to prepare for the toughest match in the heat of the day against HP does not bode well for TBarM. That seems to be a slippery slope.

Oak Creek - It can be nice playing the hardest team on paper the first round, because it is easy to get looked past and you know you can go 5 lines strong as your "must win" match is your first match. Unfortunately for OC, HP is so depth laden, that they can play 8 guys in the morning, and play a completely different 8 guys in the afternoon and not really have a drop off in talent.

Royal Oaks - Not really tested, IMO in flight B. Bartlett, who lost to RO 3-2 during the regular season was run over and destroyed in the QT. That does not sit well with me. Rothwell is going to have to do the Captain dance a little bit, as he will want to get his guys warmed up but not too over worked for the big match at 7/24 at 11 am.

I have always felt that captain's have over estimated needing to rest guys too much in playoffs, as having a good match or two under your belt really helps with the playoff jitters.

HP That's all you really need to say about them.

GOOD LUCK GENTLEMEN!!! AND HAVE FUN!!!

2011 Early Season Ratings

The 2011 Early Season Ratings for USTA League Tennis players are now available.

How do I appeal my rating down? Click here for the official online appeal form. You will be asked to 'register' for a team. Put in your USTA number along with the team number 0000713237 for women or 0000713236 for men. You will get a note that your rating is too high for the team entered and will see the option to appeal your rating. When you do appeal, the system will immediately determine whether you are within the allowable range. If your appeal is granted, it will be automatically and immediately changed. If denied, then your appeal cannot be granted. 

Start Appealing You Pussies!!!!