first crack at the offical seeding
thoughts from an old dude that's seen two open tourneys this fall season. i love how this is the "condor blog" and there are no current condors that post here. here goes.
1. jam
what can you say, the ex-condors bring a good vibe. at least, most of them do. couple it with what i might call the best veteran team out there (Damien, Pete, Idirs and the Davis boys), they have a great chance to break the "curse of '88" and bring back a title to San Fran. Possibly a double with the Bay Area masters seeded #1 also? Who would have guessed?
2. sockeye
The vegas odds favorites, returning the same old mix. Looking at a "curse" theme, will Kubes bad luck continue? So strong from top to bottom and always underrated at their best strength - defense. you will never work harder to get open than when you play sockeye.
3. bravo
i play at tempe with these guys each year so i feel like i have to plead the 5th here, but i love this team and if they won, i would be happy for so many guys. it really feels like the maturity of the former mama bird champs is at the right level for a club title and it's impossible to stop both parker as a handler and beau as a target. watch out for one of the most underrated players in the game, steve rouisse. he makes big plays in every big game he plays in. very unmentioned in the write up on the epic Condors/Bravo regional final was the fact that bravo was down to 16 guys at the end of the game. if they don't get their injuries (matty, popes) in line they could disappoint at the end of a long tourney but if they get healthy it could be break through this time and bring home a title.
4. furious
i talked to mg for a bit at labor day as we poached beers from woody's cooler. nothing changing for furious there, nothing changing for them in sarasota. they will probably be in the semis like the last 8 years, making them the best team in all of ultimate over the last 10 years.
5. sub
didn't see them anywhere, but great results this year.
6. condors
from rebuilding to contenders in a very short time. jimmy chu and steve dugan bring their (5? 6?) championship rings and that confidence has spread to everyone. sure, they have lost way more ring holders than that since '05, but these two are so much more infectious with their energy, everyone on the team is walking and talking the way a team should in October. After playing better than bravo - but still losing to them - in the regional final, the condor question is can they put together the energy they've brought in their games against jam, sockeye and bravo (a respectable 2-3 against all three with every game tight) or will they throw out the first day jitters of '05 and '06 and not make the power pools? this year, i see them and bravo making quarters and bringing a strength bid back to the horribly unstrong southwest.
7. boston
glad to read all the stories about forch. having known him since he was in high school and seeing him not really go huge since i got a layout block on his throw in the finals of worlds '02, i'm glad he's got his confidence back. haha. i don't know much about these guys but there is so much ultimate in boston, the combo of the two teams from the last few years must be powerful. will they need a year together to fully gel?
8. goat
i see a great record from this team but i'm unable to believe any first year UPA champies team will make noise at their virgin natties. speaking without ever seeing these guys, look for them to really make noise next year, a la a furious '98.
9. ring
every year, back at natties. they will finish their standard 3rd - 11th, depending on luck of the disc.
10. rhino
seeded too high. predicting they won't make q'finals this year like last. of course, i don't know if link is there and if he is, then ignore this and put them at least into wildcard play-in game.
11. doublewide
stunned at the disrespect the south is getting. as per parinella's conversations, i love to look at an overall great result and making the semis at labor day makes me seed this team in the top 10, especially with a regional title. they will finish higher than this seed.
12. truck stop
don't know much about these guys, but i can't imagine their 8-15 record (and oh-fer against the top 10) will get them out of the lower bracket.
13. chain
same commet as doublewide. classic case of just not having a great result this year, but semis last year and adding zip, they will be a q'finalist is my guess, if not a return to semis. i don't know too many guys outside kid, zip, crawford and jason, but if they have any depth beyond 13 guys, they'll do great.
14. machine
dn't know much about these guys except for the fact that cash plays for them and that guy is the best basketball play at nationals. and he knows the condors so that will help the chi town boys match up against a condor team they don't usually see.
15. pike
good luck
16. van buren
welcome to FLA. team full of RSD "hackers" label could win a game or two with natties experience in coed and an obvious ability to play the physical game.
I'll finish up with my q'finals picks:
jam, sockeye, bravo, furious, condors, boston, chain and double.
look for pool C or pool D to be the "pool of death" that could land more than 2 q'finals teams.
good luck everyone.
1. jam
what can you say, the ex-condors bring a good vibe. at least, most of them do. couple it with what i might call the best veteran team out there (Damien, Pete, Idirs and the Davis boys), they have a great chance to break the "curse of '88" and bring back a title to San Fran. Possibly a double with the Bay Area masters seeded #1 also? Who would have guessed?
2. sockeye
The vegas odds favorites, returning the same old mix. Looking at a "curse" theme, will Kubes bad luck continue? So strong from top to bottom and always underrated at their best strength - defense. you will never work harder to get open than when you play sockeye.
3. bravo
i play at tempe with these guys each year so i feel like i have to plead the 5th here, but i love this team and if they won, i would be happy for so many guys. it really feels like the maturity of the former mama bird champs is at the right level for a club title and it's impossible to stop both parker as a handler and beau as a target. watch out for one of the most underrated players in the game, steve rouisse. he makes big plays in every big game he plays in. very unmentioned in the write up on the epic Condors/Bravo regional final was the fact that bravo was down to 16 guys at the end of the game. if they don't get their injuries (matty, popes) in line they could disappoint at the end of a long tourney but if they get healthy it could be break through this time and bring home a title.
4. furious
i talked to mg for a bit at labor day as we poached beers from woody's cooler. nothing changing for furious there, nothing changing for them in sarasota. they will probably be in the semis like the last 8 years, making them the best team in all of ultimate over the last 10 years.
5. sub
didn't see them anywhere, but great results this year.
6. condors
from rebuilding to contenders in a very short time. jimmy chu and steve dugan bring their (5? 6?) championship rings and that confidence has spread to everyone. sure, they have lost way more ring holders than that since '05, but these two are so much more infectious with their energy, everyone on the team is walking and talking the way a team should in October. After playing better than bravo - but still losing to them - in the regional final, the condor question is can they put together the energy they've brought in their games against jam, sockeye and bravo (a respectable 2-3 against all three with every game tight) or will they throw out the first day jitters of '05 and '06 and not make the power pools? this year, i see them and bravo making quarters and bringing a strength bid back to the horribly unstrong southwest.
7. boston
glad to read all the stories about forch. having known him since he was in high school and seeing him not really go huge since i got a layout block on his throw in the finals of worlds '02, i'm glad he's got his confidence back. haha. i don't know much about these guys but there is so much ultimate in boston, the combo of the two teams from the last few years must be powerful. will they need a year together to fully gel?
8. goat
i see a great record from this team but i'm unable to believe any first year UPA champies team will make noise at their virgin natties. speaking without ever seeing these guys, look for them to really make noise next year, a la a furious '98.
9. ring
every year, back at natties. they will finish their standard 3rd - 11th, depending on luck of the disc.
10. rhino
seeded too high. predicting they won't make q'finals this year like last. of course, i don't know if link is there and if he is, then ignore this and put them at least into wildcard play-in game.
11. doublewide
stunned at the disrespect the south is getting. as per parinella's conversations, i love to look at an overall great result and making the semis at labor day makes me seed this team in the top 10, especially with a regional title. they will finish higher than this seed.
12. truck stop
don't know much about these guys, but i can't imagine their 8-15 record (and oh-fer against the top 10) will get them out of the lower bracket.
13. chain
same commet as doublewide. classic case of just not having a great result this year, but semis last year and adding zip, they will be a q'finalist is my guess, if not a return to semis. i don't know too many guys outside kid, zip, crawford and jason, but if they have any depth beyond 13 guys, they'll do great.
14. machine
dn't know much about these guys except for the fact that cash plays for them and that guy is the best basketball play at nationals. and he knows the condors so that will help the chi town boys match up against a condor team they don't usually see.
15. pike
good luck
16. van buren
welcome to FLA. team full of RSD "hackers" label could win a game or two with natties experience in coed and an obvious ability to play the physical game.
I'll finish up with my q'finals picks:
jam, sockeye, bravo, furious, condors, boston, chain and double.
look for pool C or pool D to be the "pool of death" that could land more than 2 q'finals teams.
good luck everyone.
posted by Corey at
10:28 PM
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