My admittedly garbage Nationals preview

As we all know, CUC 2008 is taking place this week. As is becoming a tradition, the Hounds will be well-represented: Carla and Connie will be playing with Lotus; Bonnie, Nat, Sarah and Frogger will be kicking ass with Tundra, Lyanne will be trying to lead Big Hammers to an improvement on their 7th place finish last year...and Tien will be working on his anger management with Roy.

Play well, have fun, and bring back some shiny medals!

Now, as much as I like to act like I know everything, I actually don't. Please, don't be so shocked...it's true. So, with the bar being set really low, here are my somewhat-but-not-really-informed Nationals Predictions:

Mixed

Does anyone else think that Ontario got a bit of the shaft with these seedings? I mean, I know that most teams stunk up the joint at Mixed Up, but the top seed is Monster with the 8th seed. Really? Last year there were 4 teams from Ontario in the top 8, so this year if seeds hold there will be one. I disagree. Although that's because I am going to totally crap over the Alberta and Prairie teams (who I know nothing about).

Pool A looks pretty simple with TFP and Monster likely to finish 1-2, unless TFP loses its focus after winning the Worlds. Swarm will finish third, which could be the highlight of their tournament. Don't worry about Wannabego.

Pool B is where Tundra is, and they have a tough road ahead of them as the 15th seed. They have championship contenders Gecko as the top seed, Saskquatch (I wonder where they are from?) and the always solid Mayhem. Gecko takes the pool easily, and I'm calling Mayhem and Tundra to take down the farmers. I think Tundra will really have to come out firing and utilize their women and height against Mayhem. If they can stop Mayhem's flow, they can take second in the pool, which would be great considering not much will be expected of them coming in.

Pool C looks like the Group of Death, with Psychoplastique (AB #1), RIP, Clearcut (BC #2) and Big Hammers all with legitimate claims to the top seed. Anyone in this pool could finish first or last, so I'm going to say it ends up being RIP, Big Hammers, Clearcut and Psychoplastique, in that order. I don't expect anyone to escape this pool with a 3-0 record.

Pool D is Onyx's for the taking, and 2nd likely comes down to who wins the Liquid/Bronco game in the morning. I don't see good things in BFC's future...I think they are a solid team, but I think others will rise above them. Although they could surprise and nab the 3rd spot on their experience from last year (yeah, I'm hedging a bit).

Quarterfinals - I'm going to go with TFP, Monster, Onyx, Liquid, Gecko, RIP, Big Hammers and Clearcut as the final 8, with TFP and Gecko meeting in the finals. That's right, I'm really going out on a limb to predict the top two seeds make the finals!!

I think Tundra will finish around 10th (although I'm really hoping for top 8), and if they do better, it's because Bonnie got mad at someone and took over.

[As an aside:

Dear Ontario teams,

Please do well and place as many teams in the top 8 as possible.

Sincerely,

Me

Given the number of touring teams in the province (especially compared to every other region) we need as many bids as possible for Nats. If Snipe beat Gecko last year on Day 2, Ontario gets another bid and Zen makes it to Nationals. Just sayin'...]

Women's

Unlike Mixed where a case could be made for half the teams to win the whole enchilada, Women's looks like it doesn't quite have that same depth. I see Stella, Storm and Lotus (as long as they take Bushfire seriously) taking their respective pools, leading to an all-Ontario final that will be the closest final of the day. If I have to make a choice, I'll say that Stella takes it on universe point over Lotus. PPF and Bushfire are my darkhorse picks.

Open

Last year Invictus finished third behind Furious and Goat (they almost beat Goat on Day 2). So, not seeing either of those two teams playing this week, plus the fact that Invictus will be playing at home, I'm calling them to win it over Nomads from BC. Phoenix might surprise and make the finals. Then again, they might not.

I don't envision anyone seeded 9th and lower moving into the top 8. If Roy beats it's 12 seed, that means they had a good tournament.

Juniors

I have no clue, so I'm just going to say that the BC kids beat the Toronto kids again this year.

Masters

All I know about Masters is that when your team is seeded 3rd, and your leaders see me in a bar 3 days before the tournament begins and ask if I'm old enough to play, then your team is probably in trouble. So, don't expect much from Fossil this week.

It doesn't really matter, GLUM will win, probably over Figjam.

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So, there you have my predictions. I'm curious to see how close I end up . Although, with no posts up yet on the esteemed sites (Cultimate, Canadian Ultimate) or even the non-esteemed ones (cough *Big Fish guy's blog* cough) these could be the definitive prognostications for CUC 2008.

Does that make my guesses sound more valid? No? Oh well...that's what I figured.

Good luck Hounds!

Nat and Tien beat me to it

While we're on the subject of video-taping awesome plays (or not, as was the case on Tuesday), I believe Nat and Tien have the honour of being the first Hounds to appear on the "Clip of the Day" on UltiVillage. Click here to see their shining moment (look behind Lugsdin).

Now I'm bitter that UltiVillage wasn't at my league game on Tuesday. Or at the game where I skied (skiied? No, that one's for downhill...I think I got it right) our favourite opponent Mad Dog (what an awesome feeling that was). Or at the game where I pulled the disc into the end zone and then caught the first pass for a Callahan. Or...um...ok, that's all I got for 4 years-worth of playing ultimate. Dammit...I suck.

Memo to UltiVillage:

You can be boring and follow the tournament circuit...sure, Furious and DoG will make great plays from time to time. But if you want some real footage, you should follow me around to capture the one highlight-worthy play I manage to pull off each year. I think it'll be worth the investment.

Nationals wrap-up

The Canadian Ultimate Championships ended on Sunday, and the Hounds who took part had some excellent results.

In Masters, Tien and Chris teamed up with Graham on a pick-up team that was created due to Mule backing out. We gave it our all, but weren't able to overcome the handicap of unfamiliarity and lost every game. But it was a lot of fun to be able to play.

In Open, Dan N's team, Seek the Righteousness, impressed on Saturday and won two games and ended up with a 13th place finish, up from their original 18th seed. Dan L and Too Bad had trouble sustaining the momentum from Friday, as they finished 16th in the country.

In Women's, Carla and the Diggers had a matchup with Storm, who seem to have the Diggers' number. Their bad luck against Storm continued, as the ladies from Montreal prevailed. Diggers bounced back and finished the tournament strong, taking their final two games and 5th place. Laura and Feisty had a great Saturday, winning their first two games and ending up in 10th place, up from their 13th seed. In addition to this, they were also crowned the Spirit Winners for the Women's Division!

Nat, Lyanne and the Big Hammers had a tough Saturday. They lost their quarterfinal to Bostrich, and some dubious calls sure didn't make them feel any better. This was followed by a close loss to Monster, and then a bit of salvation with a win over RIP to take 7th...10 places higher than their original seed!

The Rest of Canada

It was quite impressive to see a full Varsity Stadium take in the action on Sunday. Even the rain during the finals didn't dampen our spirits (just our clothes).

Masters

The story of the over-33 division was Tombstone, which has some players that we'd recognize from Mandrew. They were seeded first, and for good reason. They steam-rolled through the tournament until a reach the finals and a tough match-up with Glum. A strong second half had them pulling away to a victory over the Ottawa side. On the bad side, they lost Morrow on Friday with an achilles injury.

Junior

Dirt rolled through the tournament and came up against an equally-strong Back Bone team from Vancouver. Dirt appeared to have the title in hand, with a lead of 12-7 in a game soft-capped at 14. Back Bone roared back and won the game 14-13 on universe point...ouch. The highlight, or lowlight, was some questionable calls (on both sides) that had fans actually booing 16 year olds!

Mixed

Bytown Flatball Club from Ottawa carried Ontario's hopes against Team Fisher Price from Vancouver. The game was close to start, but TFP went to a four-person cup which BFC seemed to have trouble adapting to, partially due to their strategy of playing three male handlers. TFP was especially strong though, and were full-value for the win.

Women's

Capitals and Traffic engaged in the most entertaining game of the day, with countless layout-d's, lots of calls (Boring!) and intense plays by both sides. Traffic took a late lead, and the Caps seemed to turn the momentum on one of those layout d's, but a throw-away right after sealed their fate.

Open

GOAT put up a valiant fight, but they just could not match the speed, skill and athleticism of Furious George. Their game plan seemed to revolve around striking deep, but they had some trouble converting, whereas Furious were able to take advantage of their chances.

My favourite moment was when a GOAT player scored on a long run on a Furious player, Noel Pullen (who went to my high school; aforementioned for dating my sister). The GOAT player was pumped up and spiked it at Noel's feet. Noel then picked up the disc and chucked it away...it was a great reaction, considering Furious George had a commanding lead at the time.

It was a great Nationals Tournament. Vancouver took four of the five divisions, but Toronto was right there in three of those finals. Hopefully this bodes well for the future of ultimate in the city. Perhaps more of us will be there next year in Calgary...

Time to play: "Where's Tien?"

Nationals: Day 2

Lots of action today, with there apparently being a near bench-clearing brawl in the GOAT v. Invictus game (near in that it was bench-clearing only...also Simon, why did we go back to the Big Hammers game?), and a "Greatest" for a point for TFP against Snipe. Later that night I confirmed that my sister dated a player on Furious George in high school. Oh, if only I didn't accuse him of cheating on her! *

The biggest story, however, is that Tien and I have magically aged 2 and 4 years and are playing in the Masters Division. Okay, so it's a team of "volunteers" who are taking the place of a team that pulled out at the last minute. What's better than watching ultimate? Playing ultimate. Unfortunately, this means that I don't have a full account of the day's events (doesn't help that the results aren't posted). But on the bright side, I feel like I earned the right to spend $40 on merchandise.


Of course, the real Hound contingent continued on, with the most promising stories being Carla, Lyanne and Nat having made the top 8 in their respective divisions. I believe the Diggers went 2-1 today (losing to powerhouse Capitals). This should put them in 3rd today, meaning they'll play the 2nd place team from the other pool. If the Diggers win their quarterfinal game, they will play Capitals again, so they'll be in tough to advance any further than that. (Fearless prediction: 4th place overall)

Big Hammers went 1-2 today with a win over Mayhem (giving them 3 wins over Ontario teams so far) and losses to TFP and Gecko. This puts Big Hammers in 3rd place in their pool and a tough matchup with Bostrich. A win likely puts them against TFP (uh-oh), with a loss resulting in a fun-looking consolation matchup with Monster. ("I'm putting it on the Internet" prediction: 7th)

Too Bad had a great day going 3-0, including a win over Seek the Righteousness (not sure how STR did). This gives them a shot at 9th, as I think they can win their quarterfinal, but the semis will be tough if they do get there. (No idea predition: 11th place)

As for Feisty, two of their losses (to Capitals and Salty) were somewhat expected (although apparently not allowed to be watched). They then lost a tough one to Catfish, which sets up a very interesting Feisty vs XX quarterfinal. (Promaybely prediction: 11th).


* I didn't really do that.

Day 1 at Nationals

Bonnie, Simon, Tien and I met at Sunnybrook this morning and watched a whole lot of ultimate. The weather wasn't great, but not bad either (cool, little bit of wind, no sun, a few drops of rain). With 79 teams playing, there was definitely a lot to see. The Hounds' teams had an up-and-down day.

The big news of the day was the impressive showing by Big Hammers. Seeded 17th, they easily won their first two games over Crude and Les Bouettes. Their third game had a showdown with the infamous Snipe, seeded 1st out of all the Mixed teams. After a slow start (down 4-1), Big Hammers turned it on and took control, winning an intense and chippy affair14-11. They were definitely the talk of the port-o-potties. They are now seeded 1st on Friday, so we'll see if they can keep it up as the tournament progresses. My prediction (and keep in mind that I predicted them to win one game Thursday) is that they'll win one game on Friday, putting them in 4th in their pool and in the top 8.

On the Open front, Dan L and Too Bad had a tough start, losing to 14-10 to Invictus after the score was tied at 9-9. This was then followed by them being upset by Q, essentially knocking them out of the running for the top 8. Hopefully they can bounce back and have a shot at 9th.

Dan N had a tough day, as expected. Seek the Righteousness had a small squad and was over-matched in their 4 games. The highlight for Dan had to be playing against Furious George and marking their star, Andrew Lugsdin (pictured below...my camera sucks). Hopefully they have a shot at beating Sherbrooke tomorrow, which appears to be their best shot at a victory. There is also a Dan vs Dan matchup at 10:15 to look forward to.


Laura and Carla started their days on opposing sides, and Diggers (Carla) took it to the less-experienced Feisty (Laura). Unfortunately later in the day, Diggers couldn't pull out the upset over Alberta, so they finished 2nd in their pool and are looking at a potential matchup against Storm in the quarterfinals. Feisty did get the win they needed over Amazone, so they are in the running for the top 8, however their chances are slim. I think they have a win in them tomorrow, but I'm not sure if that will be enough to make the quarters.

Not a bad down for the Hounds, as only one out of five teams finished below their seedings. Hopefully there will be more success as the tournament goes on. For the full results, check out the CUC website.

The Hounds take on Canada

The Canadian Ultimate Championships are upon us, and the Hounds are well-represented with 6 players taking part. Here's my quick take on their chances this weekend. Please keep in mind that I don't really know what I'm talking about...for rankings from people who have a clue, please check here .

Nat and Lyanne: playing with Big Hammers in Mixed (seeded 5th out of 5 in their pool, 17th overall)

Even though the top team is in their pool (Snipe) this could be the weakest pool of the four. I expect them to beat Les Bouettes, and a win against Liquid or Crude is possible. But considering the Hammers haven't played in a tournament since Mid-Season, I doubt it. My heart says 3rd (to make the Friday playdowns), by my head says 4th and out of the running. Will end the tourney 15th.

Carla: playing on Diggers in the Women's Division (seeded 2nd out of 4 in their pool, 5th overall)

Ontario's second-ranked team will go 3-0 to win their pool, and finish second on Friday to Capitals. I think they can make the semis, but will be in tough against BC's top team, Traffic. I see them finally beating Storm to take the bronze.

Laura: playing on Feisty in Women's (seeded 4th out of 4 in their pool, 13th overall)

In the same pool as Carla and Diggers. Good shot to make it to Friday playdowns (must beat Amazone from Sherbrooke), but it ends there. An 9th place finish is possible, but I 'm going to say they improve on their seeding and finish 11th.

Dan L: playing with Too Bad in Open (seeded 3rd out of 5 in their pool, 12th overall)

Too Bad is notorious for having an ever-changing roster, so we'll see who's coming out. I like them to finish 3rd on Thursday. They need to upset Blackfish and Nads to make it to Saturday, which is doable. After that they hit the wall, and my guess is they'll finish 8th.

Dan N: joining Seek the Righteousness (seeded 5th out of 5 in their pool, 18th overall)

Don't see much happening with this team...0-4 on Thursday is my guess. A 17th place finish would mean a successful weekend for this squad. Hopefully Dan can lead them to some wins.



It should be a fun weekend, and we'll see how my random projections play out. I'm planning on watching lots of flatball over the next 4 days...see you at Sunnybrook (and hopefully Varsity) supporting the Hounds.