Discos Calientes Preview

It finally happened - a cool picture of myself playing ultimate. Only took 4 years.

Everyone else is writing their Chico previews, so why not? I can't wait for this tourney, because we get to play all the teams that I've been wanting to play this season. I've also been eager for some redemption after Colorado. I think this tournament is huge for us because it's our last test before the series. Next stop after this: sectionals.

Pools were finally posted. They're gonna look something like this:

A

Condors

End Phase

Army of Darkness

Buddies

The Pirate Bay

B

Strike Slip

Monster

SCUC

Seduction

Club Sac

According to the schedule, we should have a first round bye, which is OK in my book. 7:50 is awfully early to play ultimate. However, the heat is going to be a factor, and playing in the cool early morning might actually be better. We're going to have 3 straight games between 930 ish and 1230, but at least were done before the hottest part of the day rolls around. It's supposed to be in the high 90's. I guess we should be more used to the heat after our 100 degree Pasadena practices.

For me, the biggest challenge with playing in extreme heat is staying hydrated. I need to drink as much water as I feel like I should drink, and then double that. Last year at Chico, my calves cramped up in the third round (and got me in a rhino highlight video getting pwned). Friday night will definitely include buying some pickle juice, gatorade, and clif bars. I'm going to experiment with playing with a hat again, too. I stopped because I felt like it was impeding my field vision, but sunscreen is just not doing it for me right now.

Before I jump into the teams, I need to make a point: Can teams please pick a name and stick with it! What's up with YR and Santa Cruz changing their name every tournament. It's annoying, it makes it hard to seed you, and you lose all the name recognition that you earn over time. Your team name is your brand, and you have to sell your team to people all the time - in recruiting, seeding, and tourney bids. A team should be an institution, and not named after the inside joke of the week. (Unless you're BCBC, in which case you're named after a joke that you keep telling over and over again...JK Calle)

Buddies

Cute name. Looks like they're a bunch of Davis guys, so they should be a decent. They'll be a good warm up before our SC game. But can someone please explain to me what is the point of this crossover game? Why do we play A4? It's so random.

Santa Cruz

We lost to these guys at Cal States in one of our worst games of the year. Dan Chaizin and Joaq are very, very good when they're clicking. The open division is totally mis-seeded. They're going to blow the doors off of Monster.

We're a different team than we were at cal states, and though it will be a tough one, I think we can take this game. This is our first big test of the the tournament.

Monster

This game is going to be super fun. Monster is lots of young guys from Irvine, Long Beach, and UCLA. Lots of my good friends are playing for them. They're not going to be a pushover, but I think we win this game. They're missing Danny and Steve, apparently, but they're bringing Biclops, Box, Stig, Bishop, Falco, Big Jake... ooh, it's gonna be good. I know you guys are reading this! We're coming for you!

Seduction

International team of mystery.

The way I see it, we'll be playing in the semis against either Condors or End Phase. If we lose to SC, we'll most likely end up as B2. Then, we play the winner of the Condors/End Phase match up. The only way this doesn't happen is if we drop a second pool play game, which i think is pretty unlikely. I think it's probably a toss up between the two teams, though I give a slight advantage to End Phase because of their chemistry. The wild card is Army of Darkness out of Oregon. I haven't got a clue who they are. Oregonians grow sweet beards and play good ultimate, right?

End Phase

These guys are a tough team. They're gritty, and they've played together forever. They never seem to quite break into the ranks of the elite teams, but they always seem to be nipping at their heels. They're very dangerous to a new team like ours, and this game scares me the most of the games I'm looking forward to. They love to break the mark and work the disc with squirelly handler movement, but they don't really have the tall athletes to match up to other teams. Then again, neither do we.

Condors

Ohhh yeahh... I think this is the match up that everyone wants to see. This is the bigger, badder version of the Monster game. I was giddy with excitement when I thought this might be the showcase game, but instead we'll get to see Metro vs. BCBC (fingers crossed, anyway). They only have three returners, but somehow, Santa Barbara always maximizes what it has. Silverman, Ian and Dirty Dan are formidable players, and I'm sure they've whipped their newbies into shape, especially The Arbiter. They've been silent since Cal States, quietly plotting their return in their beachfront apartments. My point is, I don't care who they have, they're going to be good.

We have a very legitimate shot at winning this tournament. I still have yet to win a club tournament of any kind, and I'm hungry for it. I remember the stacked Monster team from 07 losing a heartbreaker to YR in the finals of Discos two years ago. Let's look inside ourselves and find out if we're winners.

DPLP

I've still never been in the river there, and I hear it's awesome. Cheap Sierra Nevada is probably the best reason there is to go to Chico (and still not that compelling), so maybe we'll make it to the party this year. In prior years, the heat has really taken it out of me and I've passed out a sunburned mess.

Last night was Chotchkie's birthday dinner, and we had a blast in Santa Monica. Biking to bars is probably my favorite night out, and I like the Library Alehouse almost as much as Chotch. Here are a few pics:

You can follow Strike-Slip this weekend on my twitter account:

www.twitter.com/danoettinger

Also, keep your eye on the scores from ECC. Should be an interesting weekend.

Game on!