Monday, February 11, 2008
Season Eleven Preview... Sorta (BUT FINALLY!)
Yes, if this was my job I'd have been fired for missing the weekend deadline. It isn't, I'm not. Yay internet!
So we're getting ready in just a couple of hours to kick off the 7v7 portion of the MLP season. Let's first take a moment to reflect a bit, and I'll tell you why I really, really like interleagues like MLP, PRO, and PLC. In those 3, you have matches all through the week. In interleagues like UIC, etc. you have a match 6PM on Saturdays. SIP you have them 4PM on Sundays. So really all week there's an interleague match or tourney of some type. But with the week-long series of matches, it allows people like me, and others who just wanna shoot the breeze and watch what might be a decent match between a couple of leagues, actually see those matches. You have 2, maybe 3 going on at the same time, at a maximum.
It also puts a little pressure on the captains to look out for their whole team and their own schedules. Anyone can clear up a fixed time slot for the same night, same time, every single week. And if not, odds are you have plenty of backups who can. But it takes a lot of work, really, to look 4-5 weeks ahead and say "Oh hell... I have a function to go to on the 25th, I need to find a new time for that match." It's not a HUGE deal, and usually it's not taken care of until a week or 2 before-hand, but I think captaining in a season like this takes a little more effort. I'm all for the mental aspect of any competition. It kinda fascinates me - Even on here. Like with any competition, there is no limit at all to the analysis people can come up with, and yes... Even in Yahoo Pool, there are lessons to be learned. They may not stick for the long-term, but if you observe, you can learn a bit about people, and consequences.
With that bit of rambling out of the way... Let's look to the current MLP season. Usually, I give a projected standing list and then I look back at the end of it all and laugh at how badly I overrated or underrated a league. I've been pressed for time all week, I'll do that at the midway part of the season... I hope.
Instead, I'm gonna go on a week-by-week basis like I would with normal predictions, and talk about what to watch for, should you decide to check out a match. Sometimes it'll be a player's behavior in or out of the game, may be the way the captain mixes things up, any number of things.
Tonight is easy. One match - Straightshots @ Cheap Shotz. Here you have a league that is always full of top players, that sometimes underachieves in the regular season but usually comes ready to play in the postseason. With Straightshots, they're not full of big-name impact guys you see in 8brcam or anyone you look for switching to bigger leagues. But they have this odd ability, and they always have during their multiple stints in MLP, to play really close with leagues that are much better, and leagues that are much worse. They're capable of rallying off 3 wins in a row just as easily as they can lose 3 in a row. Tonight I'm not sure how many they'll lose in a row, because Cheap Shotz is coming in a little bit undermanned, so if SS is gonna beat them, this may be the night. It still figures to be a solid Cheap Shotz team. I think SS gives them a tiny little scare, with CZ winning 4-3 but it gets decided in 5 or 6. I say little scare in that I think the SS players will have their share of opprtunities to nab a couple more wins, but come up short.
Players to watch:
Cheap Shotz - Daymo (nwb) - He can affect this match long after he's done, but really you're gonna want to watch his actions. He has the reputation of a loose cannon, and that does go a long way. I think, and he KNOWS, he's probably better than most everyone on the team he'll face. It's going to be a matter of whether or not he plays like it, and keeps his cool.
Straightshots - Steven (steven.rules) - He's the Captain, he's the type who likes to play the more important games in his team's matches, and he'll be helped out by a few former BP players. He's likely going to be matched up with someone like CZ's Captain Mickey, or Chris, depending on how the match turns out. This entire match, though, may hinge on his game. We'll see.
So we're getting ready in just a couple of hours to kick off the 7v7 portion of the MLP season. Let's first take a moment to reflect a bit, and I'll tell you why I really, really like interleagues like MLP, PRO, and PLC. In those 3, you have matches all through the week. In interleagues like UIC, etc. you have a match 6PM on Saturdays. SIP you have them 4PM on Sundays. So really all week there's an interleague match or tourney of some type. But with the week-long series of matches, it allows people like me, and others who just wanna shoot the breeze and watch what might be a decent match between a couple of leagues, actually see those matches. You have 2, maybe 3 going on at the same time, at a maximum.
It also puts a little pressure on the captains to look out for their whole team and their own schedules. Anyone can clear up a fixed time slot for the same night, same time, every single week. And if not, odds are you have plenty of backups who can. But it takes a lot of work, really, to look 4-5 weeks ahead and say "Oh hell... I have a function to go to on the 25th, I need to find a new time for that match." It's not a HUGE deal, and usually it's not taken care of until a week or 2 before-hand, but I think captaining in a season like this takes a little more effort. I'm all for the mental aspect of any competition. It kinda fascinates me - Even on here. Like with any competition, there is no limit at all to the analysis people can come up with, and yes... Even in Yahoo Pool, there are lessons to be learned. They may not stick for the long-term, but if you observe, you can learn a bit about people, and consequences.
With that bit of rambling out of the way... Let's look to the current MLP season. Usually, I give a projected standing list and then I look back at the end of it all and laugh at how badly I overrated or underrated a league. I've been pressed for time all week, I'll do that at the midway part of the season... I hope.
Instead, I'm gonna go on a week-by-week basis like I would with normal predictions, and talk about what to watch for, should you decide to check out a match. Sometimes it'll be a player's behavior in or out of the game, may be the way the captain mixes things up, any number of things.
Tonight is easy. One match - Straightshots @ Cheap Shotz. Here you have a league that is always full of top players, that sometimes underachieves in the regular season but usually comes ready to play in the postseason. With Straightshots, they're not full of big-name impact guys you see in 8brcam or anyone you look for switching to bigger leagues. But they have this odd ability, and they always have during their multiple stints in MLP, to play really close with leagues that are much better, and leagues that are much worse. They're capable of rallying off 3 wins in a row just as easily as they can lose 3 in a row. Tonight I'm not sure how many they'll lose in a row, because Cheap Shotz is coming in a little bit undermanned, so if SS is gonna beat them, this may be the night. It still figures to be a solid Cheap Shotz team. I think SS gives them a tiny little scare, with CZ winning 4-3 but it gets decided in 5 or 6. I say little scare in that I think the SS players will have their share of opprtunities to nab a couple more wins, but come up short.
Players to watch:
Cheap Shotz - Daymo (nwb) - He can affect this match long after he's done, but really you're gonna want to watch his actions. He has the reputation of a loose cannon, and that does go a long way. I think, and he KNOWS, he's probably better than most everyone on the team he'll face. It's going to be a matter of whether or not he plays like it, and keeps his cool.
Straightshots - Steven (steven.rules) - He's the Captain, he's the type who likes to play the more important games in his team's matches, and he'll be helped out by a few former BP players. He's likely going to be matched up with someone like CZ's Captain Mickey, or Chris, depending on how the match turns out. This entire match, though, may hinge on his game. We'll see.
