Monday, July 19, 2010

A Tale of Two Citywides

Complete and total parity in the 4.5 division. Out of all reported matches, only one was not a 3-2 score. Literally a few points here and there could have resulted in a complete reversal of the standings. The 4.0 division, on the other hand, was the complete opposite, as three teams (Hurricanes, Lakeside and Sienna) proved to be on a completely different plane from the rest of the division.

Two guys who've taken a lot of ribbing on the blog this year came up big: Ken Douds and Ward Jannuzzi. Jannuzzi's wins are but a footnote as his team was unable to overcome the absence of Borkop. I will say he's been telling me for a year that he would beat Sarosh (in fact, he and Pumma may have bet on it?)...and he backed it up beautifully.

Coming into the 2010 playoffs, there was little reason to think we would "remember the titans". Ken Douds 2009 team went 4-5 in the regular season. Subtracted from that team were Sean Straley, Jason Cooney and Luis Fernandez. Added...John Griffin. How do they go from sub .500 to city champs? Well, it helped that the competition was down a peg or two.

Clearly Antoine Ford was the MVP of the playoffs. As I've noted before, last year he had to play Omon, Odion and Aadrian, losing to all three in the third set breaker. While there were some quality players in the playoffs this year, none were of that caliber, and Antoine's game has probably raised a notch this season.

I'm happy for Ken Douds. Every year he puts together a quality team. He does his best each offseason to improve his roster...a few years back he did his best to scoop up some of my old Mob Squad teammates to strengthen his chances. It's nice to see him get up to Dallas with a team comprised completely of "his guys". Good luck to him and everyone (Toney, Freeman, Spoor) who did a great job getting their teams to Dallas.

152 comments:

  1. Oh yeah...anyone notice a glaring omission in the poll to the right? Oops.

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  2. Weakest 4.5 Houston league ever. Exciting though.

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  3. Best 4.5 City Playoffs EVER!

    Hey Betsie, so much for you saying Julie's singles players suck....

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  4. I don't think Betsie said Julie's singles players were bad. Especially since Holly was and still is by far one of the top womens players in 4.5's. Congrats to Julie and her team. Best of luck at sectionals.

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  5. Thanks 8:11 you're right about that. That isn't what I meant but in hindsight I can understand why it came across that way. My thought was that the best chance for Julie's team was to sweep singles because while not impossible I wasn't sure Julie could take 2 lines of doubs from TGs. I have a lot of respect for the Top Guns doubs teams after last year and felt they were deep enough at singles to at least split. My preference is always to stack my singles bc doubs is so unpredictable. That being said, while not necessarily having the best singles player out there a team can still win (and do well) as long as they can definitely split singles and they've got really solid doubs.

    Definite props to Julie D for beating Nori. Nori is a backboard so Julie must have played lights out. Great job to Julie for her inaugural year captaining and to both teams. I'm glad there's a 4.5 WC - both teams deserve to go and should do well in Dallas.

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  6. Trivia: Best record for a 4.5 doubles tandem over the weekend? (Donny Bishop was 4-1 with multiple partners, but this duo matched his record)

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  7. Betsie, most people knew what you meant or at least assumed you weren't being disrespectful to Julie's singles players. A lot of the people on the blog are quick to criticize.

    Bringing forward a post from another thread regarding Alex Ellingsen and the implication. Alex is one of the nicest, respectful guys in Houston tennis and that's just complete crap and wreaks of sour grapes.

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  8. douds and marco?

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  9. I know they ran the computers last night being Houston and Dallas had their playoffs over the weekends. Any DQs?

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  10. Still a couple of scores not in the computers in Houston. Maybe waiting for that data?

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  11. Yeah, how come there's only 3 scores for DBags?

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  12. Is Ellingson another Freeman ringer? He put a double donut on somebody in the 4.0 finals.

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  13. I heard Nori is hurt - it's why she only played Sunday.

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  14. can anyone tell me details of the ward vs ahmed match. where there any fireworks? i bet there was a lot of drama. what was the score?

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  15. We just experienced one of the most exciting City Playoffs for 4.5 Men and we're discussing a bunch of soccer moms. I think everyone is having a Monday morning tennis hangover.

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  16. 9:05. Alex is someone who started playing again a few years back. He did the right thing and self-rated 4.5 however his strokes weren't there yet and he was rusty so he was downgraded this year to 4.0. He'll be 4.5 next year but for now let's not steal his thunder. Give a guy the benefit of the doubt and don't automatically think the worse of them. If he's feeding someone double bagels then it's not like he's trying to protect his rating.

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  17. Wouldn't surprise me if it was Marco and Douds. Douds had something to prove with all the blog BS. Maroo brought it all weekend with a huge serve and forehand.

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  18. Ellingson is a 4.5 bump down, like Jim Wooten and Knutson. He has been playing tournaments and league for a long time in Houston. He is a solid player with few weaknesses.

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  19. Anyone have the details of the wildcard standings?

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  20. I don't think we'll know of any DQ's til mid afternoon today. Deucebags have not completed their match with Westside Black Sheep yet. Blacksheep are up 1-0 with 4 lines left to be played.

    Ellingsen is one of the top 4.0's in the city.

    The score between Ward and Sarosh was 6-4,6-3. Don't know about any drama.

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  21. H-Town, what's the answer to the trivia question? Guesses would be Douds/Marco or Lacy/Waithe

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  22. Does anyone know the 4.5 sectionals schedule for men and women?

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  23. 4.5 WC will probably go to Blacksheep. Deucebags are out of it and have no incentive to win the make up match and will lay down. Like someone said earlier, the Duecebags will decide who goes to Sectionals.

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  24. Does any body know the lineups for the Bags-Sheep battle?

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  25. So, do Burmann & Ford go with NoHo or Westheimer?

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  26. Hey Hacker, you got it wrong. Marco/Douds were 4-0. Beat Hurricanes II, Lakeside, Westside, and the Deucebags. Marco was 4-1 overall with a loss with Day.

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  27. Douds was 4-1 with a loss with Epstein

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  28. Great strategy for Freeman. Give up Ford to play Houston playoffs and shake up the results then get him back for Sects

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  29. Chambert/Grego were 4-1 and there 1 loss was 7-5 7-5

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  30. OK. I was going by tennis link results...one of those Douds/Marco matches hasn't been reported.

    Red/Freeman don't get Ford back for Sectionals. Burrmann will be with NOHO and Ford will be with Houston.

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  31. I had no problems with sarosh,his calls and sportsmanship were fine the whole match!old time tennis can still win.Greg thanks for the congrats. ward jannuzzi

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  32. But Ford can rejoin NoHo for Nationals....assuming that is how it happens.

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  33. If Waithe and Lacy win against d-bags, they'll be 4-1 too. Lots of answers to this trivia question

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  34. Who had the best singles record in cities? Ford?

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  35. ford was on a roll. the best thing that happened to titans were the rain delays and playing indoors on their home court. but that's how it goes and congrats to them.

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  36. Rain delays and indoors had nothing to do with it. The difference was DOUDS!

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  37. Antoine Ford had a great playoffs! He, Simon Jim, John Day, and Tim Marco are the big guns for Westheimer Indoors. Congrats. Well done!

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  38. 10:45 - want some cheese to go with that whine?

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  39. The real question is will NoHo want/need Ford for Nats.

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  40. Not sure indoors was the reason for all the bad line calls.

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  41. Wasn't Simon Jim the guy who Lindloff self rated 4.0 last year on his mixed team? NICE - goes from a 4.0 self rate to top dog in the 4.5's.

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  42. One right out of Benzon's book? Get them rated in Mixed so no one notices.

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  43. No that was John Kim

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  44. But Kim did have a nice 3,2 win against Glenn Wright and Phi Huynh

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  45. Why did John not play on Rothe's team this year? God knows they could have used the help.

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  46. Scott Whitney was dq'd.

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  47. Did anyone see line one doubles in the mens 4.0 finals?

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  48. and Scott lost at #1 doubles in the finals.

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  49. DQ after the fact in playoffs just means a player can't go to sectionals...is that how it works?

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  50. From the Dallas Blog!

    2010 Tentative Men’s 4.0
    Sectional Schedule
    July 30th – August 1st.


    Flight 1 Teams
    Corpus Christi
    Houston
    Wild Ft. Worth
    San Angelo
    Valley


    Friday 7/30
    7:00 am.
    Houston vs. Valley (Greenhill)
    Wild vs. San Angelo (Greenhill)

    10:00 am.
    Corpus Christi vs. Valley(Greenhill)
    Houston vs. Wild (Greenhill)

    1:00 pm.
    Corpus Christi vs. San Angelo (Greenhill)

    Saturday 7/31
    7:00 am.
    Valley vs. Wild (Greenhill)

    10:00 am.
    Wild vs. Corpus Christi (Greenhill)
    San Angelo vs. Houston (Greenhill)

    1:00 pm.
    Houston vs. Corpus Christi (Greenhill)
    Valley vs. San Angelo (Greenhill)


    Flight 2 Teams
    Wild Austin
    Waco
    San Antonio
    Ft. Worth
    Abilene QT


    Friday 7/30
    8:30 am.
    Waco vs. Abilene QT (Greenhill)
    San Antonio vs. Ft. Worth (Greenhill)

    11:30 am.
    Abilene QT vs. Wild (Greenhill)
    Waco vs. San Antonio (Greenhill)

    2:30 pm.
    Wild vs. Ft. Worth (Greenhill)


    Saturday 7/31
    8:30 am.
    San Antonio vs. Abilene QT (Greenhill)

    11:30 am.
    Wild vs. San Antonio (Greenhill)
    Ft. Worth vs. Waco (Greenhill)

    2:30 pm.
    Waco vs. Wild (Greenhill)
    Ft. Worth vs. Abilene QT (Greenhill)


    Flight 3 Teams
    NOHO
    Midland
    Austin
    NETX
    Wild Dallas


    Friday 7/30
    7:00 am.
    Midland vs. Wild (LB Houston)
    Austin vs. NETX (LB Houston)

    10:00 am.
    NOHO vs. Wild (LB Houston)
    Midland vs. Austin (LB Houston)

    1:00 pm.
    NETX vs. NOHO (LB Houston)

    Saturday 7/31
    7:00 am.
    NOHO vs. Austin (LB Houston)
    NETX vs. Midland (LB Houston)

    10:00 am.
    Wild vs. Austin (LB Houston)


    1:00 pm.
    NOHO vs. Midland (LB Houston)
    Wild vs. NETX (LB Houston)

    Flight 4 Teams
    Amarillo
    SETX
    Wild Houston
    Lubbock
    Dallas


    Friday 7/30
    8:30 am.
    Dallas vs. SETX (LB Houston)
    Wild vs. Lubbock (LB Houston)

    11:30 am.
    Amarillo vs. Dallas (LB Houston)
    SETX vs. Wild (LB Houston)

    2:30 pm.
    Amarillo vs. Lubbock (LB Houston)

    Saturday 7/31
    8:30 am.
    Wild vs. Amarillo (LB Houston)
    Lubbock vs. SETX (LB Houston)

    11:30 am.
    Dallas vs. Wild (LB Houston)

    2:30 pm.
    SETX vs. Amarillo (LB Houston)
    Lubbock vs. Dallas (LB Houston)

    Sunday 8/1

    7:00 am.
    Semi-Finals (Greenhill)

    10:00 am.
    Finals (Greenhill)

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  51. based on the city playoffs. Were there any omissions from Mid-Year Ratings? Who should we see bumped up on the men's and women's side? Who was not bumped up mid-year that will be by year-end?

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  52. I watched some of the finals match on line #1, 4.0 doubles....4.0 level? WTF?

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  53. on the singles side that are in jeopardy of year-end bump up- hung, borkop, hess, bui, davila, ford, moser, lock, bharath, cooper

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  54. Nobody cares about bump ups, the regular team captains will find other ringers.

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  55. 4:32, you know that 4.5's are what it takes to win 4.0, and 5.0's for 4.5, 4.0's for 3.5, etc. Maybe someday the USTA will find a way to fix that, but not today.

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  56. Line 1 doubles in a finals match to decide which team wins city playoffs, did you expect average 4.0 players? Duh, these are the top players in league. One of players got DQ'd, and he was on the losing team. It was very good tennis, but nothing compared to what you would see at Sectionals or Nationals. So you need to get a little reality check.

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  57. Lakeside looks to have a very tough flight with both Dallas and Lubbock. Dallas is always tough and the Lubbock team has a bunch of guys who went to nationals just 2 years ago and are back at 4.0.

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  58. Does Lakeside stand a chance? Can Larrazolo and Wooten win at sectionals? Does doubles have enough? We all know The Freeman team will contend, what about our wild. Can both advance?

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  59. Wow, I heard Deucebags beat Westside 3-2. What does that mean for the wild card slot? Somebody do the math and let us know.

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  60. Sounds like Hurricane III is in.

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  61. If that is the case, then that has to be one of the biggest choke jobs ever by Westside. All they had to do was in and they had their ticket booked to Dallas. Andy they were up in all the remaining lines.

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  62. Hurricanes with a 3-2 record edge out lakeside by 1 set to take wild card spot.

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  63. You talk about a close race. Canes 3 are in with the Wild-card by losing one less set than Lakeside. Wow!

    Team Name Team Score Indiv. Score Sets Lost Games Lost
    Wins Losses Wins Losses
    ***** Westheimer Indoor Club-Titans
    4 1 15 10 26 236
    ***** LLTC-Hurricanes III
    3 2 13 12 28 248
    ***** Lakeside CC- Men
    3 2 13 12 29 246
    ***** WSTC-Black Sheep
    2 2 11 9 20 163
    ***** MPTC-Deucebags
    1 3 8 12 25 191
    ***** LLTC-Hurricanes II
    1 4 10 15 34 264


    Craig Bobo

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  64. Props go out to all the teams and captains, as well as the Cheryl, Diana, & Lera for an exciting playoffs. I watched a lot of the action on both Saturday and Sunday. There were some good matches. It was a cinderella story for my buddy Ken Douds Team who I gave an outside chance to in my predictions a couple of weeks back if: my former players in Antoine, Heimstra, & Herr could come up big for them and help Jim, Day, Marco, Douds, and team carry the torch. And they did... they played huge. Antoine & Simon are both playing better than I have seen him in years. Tim Marco also deserves an applause... that boy has lost a few lbs. and his playing like a monster right now. Congrats to Captains Douds & Marco... well deserved trip to Sectionals. Herr had a big win early on, but wasn't available this past weekend, but will give them another solid doubles player up at Sectionals. Up at Sectionals, you are now HOUSTON, so represent H-town well!! My pick to win it, was Canes 3, and they seemed like they were on cruise control until Sunday am, but after 2 tough losses on Sunday, they still sneak in by 1 set over Lakeside. So, congratulations to my buddy Jason Freeman and former team-mates Phong & Henry and the whole Canes 3 Team... represent H-Town well fellas at Sectionals. My buddies Tom Ristau & Alain Tran were a little short-handed this weekend, as well as, Steve Ash. If all 3 would have had more of their horses, it would have been even more dramatic weekend and finish. However, it was exciting stuff to watch and follow. Good luck! Craig Bobo

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  65. Yeah, Congrats to my fellow Hurricanes, Hurricanes III. Led by Phong and Henry, what is this, the seventh or eighth time they have been to Sectionals? They are taking a new crop of Hurricanes with them, which is exciting. The team is a bunch of great guys and I am happy for them.

    Congrats to Jason (a great Captain) and the Titans. Do Houston proud!

    Herb

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  66. Good luck to the following Captains & Teams up in Dallas. Now your cheering/bragging rights is Houston. Good luck & represent H-town well fellas!!

    Open - Enquist
    5.0 - Met (Toney/Bobo)
    5.0 - NOHO (Teague/Bobo)
    4.5 - Titans (Douds/Marco)
    4.5 - Canes 3 (Freeman)
    4.5 - NOHO (Freeman/Dwyer/Benzon)
    4.0 - Hurricanes (Freeman)
    3.5 - Hurricanes (Freeman)

    Not sure who are the 3.0, 3.5 & 4.0 NOHO Champs, nor wild-cards for HTA. My apologies fellas. However, Congrats to you as well, & good luck to you guys and bring home a title for H-town!!

    Give your boys a little taste of where Nationals is and hold the carrot out there for our H-town boys Captains: Nationals dates & sites are on Tennislink.

    Go Get 'em in Big D.
    Craig Bobo

    BTW - We never settled this on the blog big Al, but Roll Tide baby! Might be another one for my Bama boys this year... poor Horns.

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  67. There was a Hurricane 3.5 team? Jesus!!!

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  68. Craig, you have been officially banned from the blog for your Alabama comment!

    Hook 'em!

    Looks like Freeman is gonna' be busy up in Dallas...

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  69. Lakeside's chances depend on matchups. They proved that they can hang with the Hurricanes by taking them to the brink of defeat in the finals without their best lineup.

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  70. Now that I've seen the 4.0 Sectionals brackets, it has become clear to me what a HUGE match that was between Lakeside and the Hurricanes. I haven't studied every team, but in my mind coming into the weekend the top 4 4.0 teams were the Hurricanes, Lakeside, Lubbock and whoever emerged from Dallas. Three of the four are in the same flight. Can anyone emerge from that flight and still have enough left for Sunday?

    Lakeside may need another singles player to emerge to help lessen the load on Wooten, Ruiz and Larrazolo.

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  71. i did not see the score bs vs d-bags. they were suppose to finish up. i'm assuming that d-bags won and put canesIII in.

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  72. Until the scores are posted, it's not official. Where did this rumor start, and why the delay in reporting the scores if the match was finished yesterday? Is there something going on?

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  73. Sorry Greg... I like the Horns from being here years now, but my Bama roots bleed Crimson Tide all the way baby. So, I root for the Horns except when they are playing Bama.

    D-Bags match was finished last night at Westside and should be entered today. D-Bags won 3-2. Westside was up 2-0 after ths singles and in the drivers seat and lost all three dubs in 3rd set breakers is what I've heard. Tough loss for my buddies Ristau & Lacy. Good comeback for D-Bags... D-Bag's might be heading to Dallas again if they had Borkop this weekend. Exciting finishes. Craig Bobo

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  74. Flight 1 Houston wins but San Angelo makes it a contest.
    Flight 2 Toss up between Waco and Ft. Worth. Flight 3 Wild Dallas.
    Flight 4 Lubbock.

    Lubbock vs Houston in the Finals.

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  75. Anyone have the Sectional draw for 4.5? And predictions?

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  76. tough lost for bs, they had the right team this year. tough lost for lakeside missing it by one set. borkop would have made an impact, but d-bags needed more then that.

    sectionals:
    titans- ford is rolling and will be hard to beat
    jim is too flashy and cocky will get killed in the heat

    canesIII- sarosh has shown his true stripes; lost last two matches and didn't make it to the final match
    plummer will be hard to beat in line #2 singles

    noho- what can you say about them, they will destroy everyone in their path

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  77. In 4.0- dont overlook 17-0 San Antonio team. They have one singles that is lock to take his line and 2 doubles teams that should not lose-plus have previous sectionals experience.

    In 4.5- Dallas Branch and Canes 3 should be a battle. NOHO and SA in same flight but really their match determine who is in the final. Wild SA (Torres) always tough. Austin- not sure they have the horses and depth to take them far- have to have some favorable bounces to make out of their flight.


    4.5 Finals: NOHO/SA Winner vs Dallas Branch
    4.0 Finals: Houston (Canes) vs SA

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  78. 4.5 Flights:
    Flight 1 Teams
    Austin
    NETX
    Wild San Antonio
    Ft. Worth

    Flight 2 Teams
    Houston
    Lubbock
    Waco
    Wild Austin

    Flight 3 Teams
    Dallas
    Wild Houston
    Abilene
    SETX

    Flight 4 Teams
    Amarillo
    NOHO
    Valley
    San Antonio

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  79. HTown Hacker, do you know anything about the Dallas and Lubbock teams? What are their strengths, etc?

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  80. 10:02 - Jim will get killed in the heat? He teaches 4 to 5 hours a day in the heat. Ford and Jim want it as hot as it will get.

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  81. Lubbock has almost their entire roster back from the team that went to Nationals two years ago. Mel Mcree, who was their best player, is gone however.

    Joe Schaunaman and Lance Coleman are their top two singles guys. Schaunaman grew up here in Houston and played juniors with my old teammate/friend Tuan Tran. His dad has been playing league out of Copperfield for years. He's very good and will be a tough out.

    Lance Coleman used to be a top flight 4.5 tournament and league player. Small but steady, not super powerful. I don't know what kind of shape he's in nowadays or how sharp he is, but knowing him, I'd expect him to be ready. Very likeable guy.

    It looks to me like the Dallas team relied on two singles horses, Carey and Huynh, who played all three matches in their flight in the Dallas City Championships.

    The two players probably did tank their match in the city finals (or maybe they're lousy doubles players?). Both were undefeated, playing only singles prior to that match. They're both self-rates, but since the computer won't be running during Sectionals, they'll be spared. Of course, if Dallas DOES make it to Nationals in 4.0, it would be hard to see them avoiding three strikes and making the trip.

    If you really wanna' know about the Dallas team, check out their lineup against Somabut in citywides. Somabut dominates Dallas 4.0 like Freeman does here. Surely Lifetime played their best lineup available in that one.

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  82. The scores have been posted for the Blacksheep/Deucebags match, and as stated before, it was very close. What do those doubters have to say now about Deucebags "laying down"?

    What, nothing to say? I thought so!

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  83. They were drunk, so they played out of their minds. Otherwise, the BS would have rolled over them.

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  84. The most laughable thing is how much talking all of the loser teams were doing before citywides. The two winning teams were quiet as church mice. Karma.

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  85. Quiet!?!? Biggest dickheads I have ever played!!!

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  86. wow, duecebags came in 5th place and still talking trash and rubbing it in. how tacky and tasteless. they are really douchebags

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  87. who you talking about 2:34?

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  88. That's a great question 2:37. Who are you refering to 2:34?

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  89. The only team with bragging rights are the Titans. They made some comments before the playoffs, but were able to back it up. CanesIII were in prime position but finished 0-2 on Sunday, and lucked into the wild card.

    As for biggest dickheads during the playoffs, I didn't see any example of very poor sportmanship. Sure, it's a given that all of us are competitive and want to win, but I thought all of the matches were played well.

    If you think there is an example of bad behavior, then post and we can debate about it.

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  90. Htown Hacker,
    What about the Lubbock 4.5 and Waco 4.5 any thoughts?

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  91. Yes Greg, look into your magical crystal ball and tell us who shall prevail. =)

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  92. Lubbock and Waco 4.5 will be happy to be there teams. The wild card will be the toughest team in that flight.

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  93. How does a team that went to Nationals 2 years ago have the majority of the team back at 4.0 already? It has actually been less than 2 years. I do not even show many of those guys playing 4.5 to tank and get bumped back. What gives?

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  94. Don't hate the player hate the game....

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  95. The playoffs are over! There were some asses, but lets give it a rest. Overall it was fun and the tighest race ever. For once there wasn't any major ringers to blow out anyone, which was great.

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  96. I would completely agree. No one dominating ringer. Although same captain and teams (Freeman) may be going. There will be a lot of new faces at the playoffs that emerged from City.

    So despite all of the complaining about the bump-ups, it did achieve more competitive city playoffs.

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  97. I new to the Houston league and would like to know who are some of these asses. That way I have something to measure against if I ever play against them, and I don't paint the rest of Houston players with the same brush.

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  98. John Day's behavior this weekend was uncalled for.

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  99. haven't played or met john day, but saw him walking around like he's some kind of big shot. what wrong with the guy and why does he look pissed off all the time?

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  100. Thanks, good to know about Day. I've never played against him but have seen him act up a couple of times, but chalked it up to being competitive.

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  101. IF I HAD A SUPER MODEL WIFE AND A GAME LIKE JOHN DAY, I WOULD WALK AROUND LIKE A STUD ALSO. HIS GAME BACKS IT UP AND I BELIEVED HE WROTE THE SONG CAN'T TOUCH THIS.

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  102. I would love to be like John

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  103. Hey...............
    Enough BS about players like Dugas,Tran,Douds,Day,Ward,Jim etc. Let's drop the rackets and go at it. Sound like talking crap about good players was your back up plan to get back at them is not affecting them. guess your actually scared ALL THE ANONYMOUS BLOGGERS

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  104. Props to John and Simon, It's very very hard to concentrate and play guys like Laurel and Hardy, very distracting, I wouldn't be able to concentrate. He He

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  105. Hello 9:02, If you haven't me John Day, Why all the prejudice towards the player who I think is trying his best to perform to the best of his ability, Would you like it if people you don't know judge you because your ugly or a real bad player? John is the best guy to be around with, you need to get to know him. he really is a Titan

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  106. Man, This blog has started their prediction again. lets not be ignorant about bouston tennis.

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  107. Douds has the supermodel wife ... just an opinion.

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  108. John Day went 1-4 over the weekend. Only team bad enough to lost to him was Zachary/Vu.

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  109. Day is a good guy and a great competitor. There was some gamesmanship that went on in the match with Lakeside. I'm sure everyone has experienced a match were emotions run high in the heat of a competitive match. Regardless, the match is over now and we should leave it at that.

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  110. Who the hell cares about their wives, this blog is about tennis.

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  111. Speaking of soccer moms and model wives, Betsie, any thoughts now on the 4.5 Women? How does Houston look now that you see the flights.

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  112. Well there is a clear advantage to the Houston winner this year (vs WC Houston).

    Flight 1 (San Antonio, Austin, NOHO, Abilene QT)
    This is where the real battle will be with San Antonio and Austin in the same flight. NOHO is no slouch. For a "sham league" they managed to pull together an all-star team of N Houston women. If San Antonio can figure out a way to split sets against Austin then they will win. I'm not sure what the TTA is doing about the Abilene QT team as there was no 4.5 team at the Quali in Abilene. I assume they'll give a WC to Dallas in which case that flight becomes even harder.
    Prediction: SAN ANTONIO

    Flight 2 (Houston, FT Worth, SETX, CC)
    This is the softest flight. Not because Houton is in it but because FT Worth looks a lot weaker than past years. In the past FW typically fielded a decent team being the sister city of Dallas but this years winner looks like mostly 4.0 bumps. SETX looks pretty strong with former 2005 teammate Tara Shelander and my buddy Kelly Herr. But in this case 2 good players shouldn't be enough to win the flight. If SETX can somehow split singles then it's a contest. CC also looks weaker than past years comprised mostly of 4.0 bumps.
    prediciton: HOUSTON but fortunately for SETX there is a WC into the Semis so I predict SETX will take that spot since it's the weakest flight.

    Flight 3 (WC Houston, Dallas, NETX, Valley)
    This is the 2nd strongest flight. Dallas looks pretty tough this year as does NETX. Both teams are beatable for Houston however they've got their work cut out for them. Both Dallas and NETX have at least 1 good singles player and lots of depth at doubs. Valley is new to 4.5 league being their first time playing in as many years as I've had a 4.5 team so they should be a non factor. If Houston can manage to split sets they should emerge from this flight. They've still got the doubs if they don't, however, we all know how hard it is to sweep doubs.
    prediction DALLAS

    Semis: Dallas vs SETX (DALLAS)
    SA vs Houston (SA) this will be an interesting semi for Houston. They definitely could bring it home if Julie plays like she did against Nori. Should be a good close match.

    Finals: Dallas vs San Antonio (Dallas)

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  113. is douds the short guy that or the big husky guy? either one, they seem to be cool dudes. as for the pretty blond, yeah she was hot. the only problem that i had against the titans is three of their players. ford and jim, seemed arrogant. how arrogant were you when you got beat by sarosh? good thing sarosh put them in their place. day seemed like he needs to loosen up

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  114. Anyone have any flight predictions for the Men's 4.5? Who are the teams to beat? Player analysis?

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  115. Dude.... Ford played 3 outball match points again Sarosh and Sarosh did him wrong by calling his shots out when it hits the lines and then Sarosh came back and played Simon and calls Simon's serves long when he is unable to return it. I Think the Titan Studs just don't want to be in the same court with a cheater..

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  116. Yeah, I'm not from the Titans team, but I saw Ford and Simon play twice. They both had great stamina in the heat and were very fair with their line calling. Sure, they do have a swagger on the court, but that's how you're supposed to appear -- not shoulder slumping. Even when one of Ford's opponents took verrrry extended breaks during changeovers due to the heat, he just sat back and waited without raising any issues. Good players, good sportsmanship....good luck and represent Houston well. That goes for Titans and Canes.

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  117. THE TITANS ARE THE TITANS YOU ALL KNOW WHO THEY ARE. LETS NOT PRETEND LIKE YOU BLOGGERS DON'T KNOW WHOS IS WHO. THEY ARE THE "TITANS" AND IT IS WHAT IT IS

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  118. I will bet you 9:45 is a player and one who appreciates a good player

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  119. Who are the Titans?

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  120. If you look like a Titan, you must me a Titan, very simple, a Titan is always a Titan

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  121. My wife is hot too!!

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  122. Guess John Burmann is not a true Titan, I believed he abandoned ship thinking they had no chance in the city playoff. like Cindy lauper said."True colors Shining Through" Ford could have done the same thing but DID NOT. That goes to show you what kind of person he is and who he is. A TITAN

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  123. Ford just probably did not know any better....

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  124. the dbags need a new captainafter last weekend,how can tran be on the sidlines when he plays dugas and ward j. at line one in the first match on thursday.ward is old and derrick chokes,what was tran thinking! then sunday he sits out again,he cost his team a chance at dallas more than borkop not playing.

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  125. I do agree that Alain should have played himself more. Perhaps he was too unselfish. He was 14-3 in men's doubles this year and 23-7 last year. That's really good.

    I know that when I'm captain I try to play other people if I think our abilities are equal. Maybe Alain has a similar philosophy and also underrates himself.

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  126. Alain is a good guy and enjoys his buddies/team-mates. He is a great competitor and does play to win, but doesn't stress about it nor cross any lines. He just puts his guys out there and they lace 'em up and go play and enjoy the game win or lose. Craig Bobo

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  127. craig,said it all,alain is all about team and giving all his players a chance even the old one.alain thanks for letting me play .ward jannuzzi

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  128. Douds wife is friggin hot! I went to a couple of their matches just to get a glimpse. She's a TITAN!

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  129. Ok ok... let's not talk about people's wife or girl friend. I'm sure Douds is very proud, but lets not act like high schoolers.

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  130. I think the Hurricanes 4.0 have a chance to sweep singles each time, only needing to win 1 doubles line each match and will make it easy for them advance. Lakeside does not have the singles to sweep each match. Can they count on winning 2 doubles matches? I think that is why I do not see them advancing. How can they beat Lubbock, I would think Lubbock would sweep singles. Can Wooten and Larrazolo hold up against them?

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  131. Why do you think that Lakeside can't sweep singles? Wooten and Larrazolo haven't lost a singles match all year I'm interested to hear your rational.

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  132. Sweeping in league is different than sectionals. Both Canes singles would sweep the Lakeside guys, sorry but true. At sectionals there will be players on par if not better than the Canes singles. But not only that, they will play back to back matches each day. They cannot play all 4 matches, can the doubles hold up?

    Maybe I am off, do others think Wooten and Larrazolo can win all their matches, even against the Lubbock guys?

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  133. Both Wooten and Larrazolo have lost 4.0 singles in tournament play. League singles is alot stronger than tournament play.

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  134. Any more DQs come out this week? I saw several 4.0 guys that looked more like 4.5 guys this week among the top 3 teams (Canes, Lakeside, and Sienna). Any thoughts on who should be in this category if not bumped up already?

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  135. Ellingsen and Knutson for sure. Howard, heck most of the Hurricanes should be 4.5 or will be soon. Not sure about Sienna and Lakeside, as I have not seen them play enough. Others would be better to tell.

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  136. Is sectionals that much tougher than league play? I know the big cities will have good teams, but other than Lakeside and the Hurricanes in 4.0, do the other Houston teams compare to the smaller city teams at sectionals. I guess what I am saying does are league prepare teams well for sectionals, aside from Lakeside and the Hurricanes who we know can compete.

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  137. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  138. Greg, Ok 7:37 comment is out of line Please delete, not cool

    Thanks
    Lito Diano

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  139. I agree. Enough is enough.

    Tim Marco

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  140. I agree 7:37. Maybe we should all play on Douds Team just to hangout with his wife.

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  141. Done. Guys please try and keep it focused on tennis.

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  142. Thanks Chris. I often don't get online after 3PM so sometimes some stuff can slip through for a while.

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  143. Looks like Tropical Storm Bonnie might win next weekend in Dallas.

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  144. I go from never supposed to putting myself in the lineup to a cool dude with a hot wife ... its amazing how things can change sometimes ... lol.

    Only thing I'm pissed at these days is that now my wife says she has to go shopping before next weekend!

    Ken Douds

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  145. Tell her she can do all the shopping she wants.....

    in Dallas!

    Congrats to you and the Titans.

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  146. July 20, 2010 11:14 PM, you yourself are being a Anonymous blogger. did they scare you off too? We all talk crap about other players, some more then others. So, is it better to say it anonymously, or not? It is easier to call these people "good players" if they are ones that don't talk crap at all.
    -JNF

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  147. Wtf that was 4 months ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  148. He must have dial-up. Give him a break.

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