Friday, May 18, 2012

Changing Landscape

Obviously the Sugar Creek loss in 4.5 was the big news last night. What a three horse race it's shaping up to be in that division! Next week's battle between the Mob Squad and Sugar Creek will be a must-see for me.

I'm just looking at the scores now, but I've already noticed a HUGE development in 4.0, as Copperfield has added Cy-Falls star Zach Salinas and Langham Creek's Heath Bromley. One high school coach I spoke with absolutely raved about them. With Daniel Kallus and Mike Salinas manning the singles slot, they have three very good lines. If they add another junior or two, they will be a notch above anyone else in 4.0.

People are telling me that there will be only one Wild Card in 4.0? Is this confirmed? Incidentally, one of my biggest pet peeves is the fact that the number of Wild Cards is not announced before the season starts. Can you imagine if the NFL or MLB did something like that?

Rolido Boys won 4-1 last night and stayed in contention for the Wild Card(s?). Current second place teams with 4 matches recorded: Rolido Boys 14-6, Mob Squad 14-6, RPM 13-7, Sienna 14-6, Phoenix 15-5, Pin Oak 13-7. If there's only one spot, that's quite a dogfight.

The Good-er guys are the surprise of the season in 4.5, and they kept rolling last night, with Jannuzzi's loss to young, talented JT Fischer being the only blemish.

The Blast kept rolling last night, with both singles guys putting up ridiculous double bagels. Don't think I've ever seen BOTH singles guys do that before. If the Jedi Knights ever disbanded, Tom Caine would get a big free agent contract offer.

73 comments:

  1. div3: good win lakeside. next week's battle with mob squad vs jam is almost a do or die scenerio, with lakeside winning. the big factor is sydney playing or not. i think sydney and simon playing is a slam dunk for jam. otherwise, they might find themselves missing the playoffs.

    div2: gooder guys might make history by eliminating the canes from ever making playoffs. cooper is destroying people.

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  2. Yeah Cooper has been a strong lunch pail kind of player for a long time. Not flashy but very effective and seems to continue winning and stay under the radar. Good job Coop.

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  3. At the rate juniors keep popping up on the Copperfield roster, Salinas & Kallus will soon be riding the bench. Never thought I would see the day where 4.0 rosters were composed of high school kids. Gotta love league.

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  4. Who started this junior crap?

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  5. Prob the same people who get ex-college players into 4.0 and 4.5. That would be Red, Freeman, Greg, and etc... Copperfield is just following in their footsteps

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    Replies
    1. Red ? In college? I didn't think he finished High School

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  6. Of course Jason Freeman has Adam Berry on his team. He wins love and love in 4.5 but barely wins in his 4.0 doubles? Okay.

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  7. He did not exactly play a 4.5 stud in singles.

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  8. Adam Berry plays horrible doubles. Have you seen him volley. He has no volley.

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  9. Seriously....Freeman. "He has no volley." Everyone in league and on the blog knows about tanking and "ratings management".

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  10. Will the Hurricane propaganda machine please report to the tennis blog. We have an emergency.

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  11. It's a good day in Houston and my life when I can get my son, Zach to play on my league team before he goes off to college. Houston is a little behind in junior visibility. 25 yrs. ago I was playing Austin tennis league Div. 1 and 2 for three years of high school. The rules have probably changed, but having good juniors on the teams helps the juniors develop and challenges the adults.

    Fyi, our new junior additions have yet to beat me in singles. If they do, I'll congratulate them!
    In the summer playoff heat, I'll welcome the juniors helping us out and giving the old guys a rest.
    Mike Salinas

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    Replies
    1. 25 years ago??? Are you sure about that? I know how old you are!!

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  12. Congrats Mike! It's a great experience to share the game with your kid. Hope this league experience will help Zach.

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  13. anyone know the scores or line up from clambakes vs mob squad, lakeside vs jam?


    4.5 playoffs after 1/2 season

    div1:
    dbags
    copperfield

    div2:
    canes
    gooder guys
    blast

    div3:
    jam
    lakeside
    mob squad

    div4:
    blacksheep
    gypsies

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    Replies
    1. Mob Squad destroyed Clambakes 5-0
      Lakeside beat Sugar Creek 3-2

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  14. NICE TO SEE COPPERFIELD DOING IT THE RIGHT WAY!!!!RED AND FREEMAN GIVE HOUSTON A BAD NAME!!!COPPERFIELD SWEEP!!!

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  15. In a note from Allison that explains NOTHING...

    Citywide Playoff details are not solidified yet, but here is the info that is posted on the league rule pages on the HTA website:...Every line you play counts. Most divisions will have wild cards included in playoffs, just because you’ve lost a match or two doesn’t mean you’re down and out. More details to come on number of teams/how many wild cards included this year.

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  16. @1:16... How is it doing it the right way when you have added 2 self-rate juniors ... sounds like Copperfield is just a red/freeman copycat.

    Mike - if you really wanted to give your son the experience you should have played w/ your son @ 4.5 to give him better competition than the slower paced 4.0

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  17. Zachary Salinas was a superchamp in 2009. Nice 4.0 addition.

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  18. And illegal... go get him Kerig.

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  19. I believe the Copperfield juniors were not added to the team until USTA had officially signed off that it was ok to avoid having to go through all the usual "other teams trying to disqualify a player" bullshit.

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  20. you believe "wrong."

    it's illegal.

    time to report the cheaters!

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    Replies
    1. Grow a pair and do it yourself. treed@texas.usta.com. You don't even have to be a captain.

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  21. Or let them play the regular season, give them a sense of confidence and protest them a week before city.

    At this point it is too late to add new players and the city playoffs are favored towards the teams who cheat the old fashioned way...tell me I am not the only one who sees it this way?

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  22. Michael: Son, I want you to join our Adult 4.0 team.
    Zach: Dad, I don't think I can do it. I was Super Champ.
    Michael: Don't worry son. I will just tell everyone that I am just happy to play with you before you go to college.
    Zach: I don't think I will have much fun. Isn't this 4.0 and mainly for Adults?
    Michael: It's okay son. I will tell everyone that I am better than you and your friend, Heath.
    Zach: Okay dad. I don't know if they will believe that.
    Michael: It's okay. I will just play you and your friend in doubles and I will play singles. People will think I am better.
    Zach: I am not sure what I am going to gain by playing and winning 6-0, 6-1 every time. Won't I feel bad when I beat Adults like that?
    Michael: Son, life is about winning! Shut up and play!

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  23. Why nobody is posting the results on time???

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  24. @909a - Well played.

    @1110a - Saving money. Back on Dial-up. be-dong-be-dong...ssshhhh.. be-dong. You've got mail.

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  25. Todd doesn't make decisions but he is the person to send your protest to. There is a committee that makes all the determinations. The superchamp/minimum 4.5 rule is an easy one. The problem is no one ever files an actual protest, they just send complaining emails to Todd.

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  26. Zachary was a super champ is 16's not 18's. He never got out of champs in 18's which qualifies him as a 4.0. You can protest all you want since it's was approved by the higher ups.

    Good luck

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  27. 12s, 14s, 16s, 18s doesen't matter. all that matters is superchamp within past 5 years of self-rating. just look at the 3 everyone knows about from 2011 in Houston:

    Andrew Kwan - supers 16s, champs 18s - DQ'd as 4.0 and moved to 4.5
    Nicholas Van Bemmelen - supers 16s, champs 18s - DQ'd as 4.0 and moved to 4.5
    Benjamin Saul Smith - supers 16s, champs 18s - DQ'd as 4.0 and moved to 4.5

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  28. Rule #1 under "Verification" in the Texas USTA rules looks pretty definitive.


    VERIFICATION
    1. If a player was a Super Champ in the past five years, he/she must self rate at or above a 4.5 NTRP level; former High School players can not play below the 3.0 level.

    http://www.texas.usta.com/USA-League-Tennis-Pages/1532_Regulations/

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  29. i hate cheaters!

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  30. Mike you still have time to switch Zach and his friend to 4.5 before we do it for you so you do not cause your team any DQs....

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  31. Mike don't listen to them... Zach is OK at 4.0

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  32. if you want to cheat, he's okay at 4.0.

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  33. Teach 'em young.

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  34. everybody wants an even playing field...

    that's why we have USTA guidelines.

    i know i do now that i am getting up in age.

    having a young punk super champ beat me 6-0, 6-0 is not okay!

    i would kick their asses afterwards if it were legal to do so.

    who the hell does mike think he's kidding?

    i can beat both heath and zach?

    you couldn't even beat phuong so shut your pie hole!

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  35. what will sugar creek do this week? both 4.5 and 5.0 are at their home courts. both are big matches, but the 4.5 match is bigger. are they going to load up with simon, sydney, day or will they take their chances in 5.0 against copperfield? if mob squad loses to them, their season could possibly end next week at lakeside. if mob squad wins, they are a definite lock for the playoffs, with the wide margins of individual wins.

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  36. Mob Squad can't win. No one is a ringer like Simon. Simon, Day, Burmann, Lotz, and etc... 4-1 to Sugar Creek vs Mob Squad.

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  37. james and hung can beat any of the above. sydney will beat james and hung. simon, day, burman, lotz will dominate the doubles. 4-1 sugar creek, only if they put their best line up.

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  38. Sydney and Simon can play both 4.5 and 5.0.

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  39. Why are people talking about Simon like he's a strong 5.0 player. He's a question mark at 4.5. I agree Sugar Creek wins 4-1!

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  40. Adam Berry didn't play that 4.0 doubles match a few weeks ago at LLTC. It was someone else and whoever entered the scores put Adam Berry

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    Replies
    1. First time that's ever happened

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  41. Big matches this week. There will be a lot of teams out of the playoff race after Thursday night.

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  42. There will be no Sydney or Simon in 4.5. Mob Squad takes the singles and finds a way to win a doubles. This will knock Sugar Creek out of the playoffs.

    Copperfield rolls 5-0.

    JCC wins 4-1.

    Black Sheep win 5-0.

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  43. Does anyone know how many wild cards there will be? I heard they were only going to have the 4 winners and 1 wild card in 4.5. Is there any truth to this?

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  44. Need 2 wildcards as some divisions are tougher than others.

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  45. Good er guys playing Jcc Blast is a big match this week.
    Did anyone notice what Copperfield 4.5 did to schwinng last week? Talk about showing no respect ? It will come back to bite them.

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  46. if gooder guys win, it puts them in a good position to knock off blast or canes out of playoffs. underdog story of the season. another good match is copperfield vs dbags. copperfield will bring out the young guns and take it 3-2. in other news, black sheep wins 5-0, in a non-competitive div....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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  47. Another good match Sugar Creek vs Mob Squad expect a lot of fireworks!

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  48. Ward was right!!!!!

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  49. Jason put a player in his score card who did not play? I'm shocked! Jason is Red's brother from another mother. Two of a kind. Instead of posting the news on this blog, the guy should be contacting Todd Read. If he has any proof. Let's burn these cheating mother fockers.

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    Replies
    1. That has not happened this season.

      I am of the opinion where everyone should take a pic at the net holding your TDL before the match. Eliminate all of this BS - you can use the metadata on the pic to confirm date of photo and TDL to confirm who was there. Problem solved. Send me my check.

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  50. Copperfield will lose to Deucebags this week.
    Good Er Guys will upset the Blast.
    Mob Squad will defeat the Jam.

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    Replies
    1. What possible line-up could the D'bags use to take 3 lines off of Copperfield?

      The Gooder Guys would have to play another perfect match with perfect lineups to take 3 lines off of JCC. It won't happen.

      I agree that Mob Squad has a shot but they would have to get great match-ups as well.

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  51. Why won't the HTA release simply information related to the playoffs? Do they really not know what they are going to do?

    Has anyone had any luck getting any type of response from Allison?

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  52. The old HTA website was confusing and poorly constructed. But at least it had some info on it. Allison, apparently, is incompetent. It's ludicrous to wait this long to release playoff info. I want to play some people on the end of the bench but don't know if I can afford to. Way to put me in a tough spot, Allison. You suck.

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  53. Just got an auto-reply from Allison:

    My head wil be up my ass til further notice! Thank you for your league and membership fees.

    Allison
    The award winning HTA

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    Replies
    1. Allison doesn't get to make those decisions. Aim your blame a little higher.

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  54. Last time I checked Allison is allowed to respond and inform the masses. Sadly, even in its dormant state this blog provides more info than the HTA.

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  55. Must be nice... Read below:

    The Houston Tennis Association was honored at the United States Tennis Association Community Tennis Development Workshop held Jan. 13-15 at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel in New Orleans, La., the largest annual gathering of grassroots tennis leaders in the United States. In addition to receiving a plaque and banner recognizing its achievement, HTA will receive all-expenses paid trips for six representatives to attend the 2012 US Open in New York City. They will also be guests of USTA President Jon Vegosen and recognized in Ashe Stadium during the first week of the tournament. The USTA will interview representatives of the organization to be broadcast on www.usopen.org during the two week tournament.

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    Replies
    1. It's a good thing the USTA doesn't interview the people that actual pay the fees cause if they did the HTA would probably be shut down.

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  56. The HTA has to wait till the teams getting into the playoffs are a little more defined. That way if there is a team that they don't like that is on the bubble they can change their make it so that they don't get in.

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  57. The HTA hates Asians. The cutoff line for playoffs will fall just above Chancellors in the standings.

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    Replies
    1. What? HTA would never do that. HTA cannot take 12 teams to the 4.5 playoffs.

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    2. Or is it because Chancellors has a history of cheating and lying...?

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  58. Get involved if you don't like the way things are run. Then you can shape policy and make things work based on your objective POV.

    HTA has many volunteer positions open so that folks who play/pay can participate.

    I do think that when the schedules are published that the playoff selection and format need to be published as well. But I am an OCD neat freak.

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  59. You are a board member right Chris;so this is the way you think it should be run?

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  60. Chris, with respect, it’s a bit of a cop-out to tell people that if they don’t like it, their only recourse is to join the Board or a Committee. I actually think the people lodging complaints here are going about it the right way (though perhaps in the wrong forum), by attempting to influence their representatives on the Board and on the League Committee, just as a democratic representative government is supposed to work. The HTA’s unconscionable practice of not revealing at the start of the season something as fundamental as the number of wild card teams, leaves the HTA justifiably open to question and to charges of favoritism. Why create these doubts in the players’ minds? What purpose can possibly be served by delaying these simple decisions that can easily be made in April? What new information could the HTA possibly be waiting for? “Emily” poses a good question, but I don’t want to make this about you, it’s about the HTA management (and I don’t mean the Board or the Committees), which tends rather too much toward the autocratic. Perhaps it is up to the Board and the Committees to reshape League policy, but they (we, I’ll admit it) need to listen, “man up” as you would put it, and act.

    signed,
    a League Volunteer

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    Replies
    1. I am not actively involved in the HTA board since 2010. I was just too busy.

      Fair enough - maybe the answer is to have an open session with the league committee and let them know what folks want.

      I honestly don't understand why the structure of the playoffs has not been published. I would think that when you make the brackets, you also map out the playoff makeup.

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