PRESEASON CLUB SCOUTING REPORT 1999 – OPEN

OK, I've been sitting on this for a long time now. I was trying to write a Tune-up story for the Newsletter, but by the time it comes out this will be irrelevant. So read on and enjoy. Most of the info comes from Tune-Up (there will be a story on Tune-up still in the newsletter). I will try to work on the women's side of things for next week.

OPEN–TOP 8 IN TUNE-UP FINISH ORDER

Furious George. The vanguard from Vancouver is stacked with 6-footers who like nothing better than to sky for discs. You aren't going to beat them in the air, but their tireless ground defensive unit is just as impressive. "We try to win every tournament we play in," says co-captain and scoober machine Jeff Cruikshank. Furious gave up no more than 7 points en route to wrapping up Canadian Nationals. They skipped this year's Scottish Worlds rite to save money for the party they have been craving–UPA Nationals (also referred to as U.S. Nationals). Winning Tune-Up, however, is a curse, but don't tell them that. They won all their games here in Chicago, beating DoG twice, the last time 15–11 in the finals. Furious is entirely intact from the last two years, but they are still young, athletic, and hungry. Leader Andrew Lugsdin pulled a hammy during pool play, but he'll be fine in October. This team, more than any other, is tight offensively and defensively and they know how to win big games. Cruikshank assured me that Furious is better prepared and better adjusted to the wind than last year's 3-3 Nationals appearance. If it's true, watch out. Everyone on the team this year fully remembers last year...

Death or Glory. Soap Opera in Boston, as usual. First person I saw cleating up for DoG was Paul Greff, TGPITG, who, according to your Nationals 98 press, was supposed to be retiring this year, along with Jeremy Seeger, who was the second person I spotted. So these two vets are back, but Corky is out for sure, perhaps involved in a trade-off, while Mooney and Billy Rodriguez, not in attendance here, will be at Nationals. Bob Lobel is off in Vermont, working, with a wife. He'll never make it to San Diego. Yeah, right. Count him in for 99, as well as these super six: Forch, Justin Safdie, Nathaniel Wicks, Ben Worthen, Lyn Debevoise, and Tom the nice guy proto-player. Some of them were spotted wearing Dark Horse shirts, "Hey - they're nice shirts," but the six can't be dismissed solely out of bad taste. They can play disc, even if alone they can't make it work as their own oligarchy. Dark Horse is now Dead Horse thanks to their Choptank carrot. Threesome Forch, Safdie, and Wicks were not in Chicago, but Zaz was, and living here too, playing with the top-level Chicago team.

As usual for this tournament, DoG relied on a little luck and a lot of mental toughness to emerge undefeated in pool play, escaping Sockeye with a defensive stop on the first pass off the pull to win 11-10. Anodyne also had DoG on the ropes before Boston pulled out 13-11. Seeger told me that DoG had suffered through three practices the past week before coming to Tune-Up, a "conditioning tournament" for them. "I think our legs may be a little heavy. We're not at the best tournament strength," he added. I tend to believe him and I know the addition of the missing players will keep them in the hunt for the title in October.

Houston Houndz. Last year's stars Jon Gewirtz, Bob Demann, and Calvin Lin have all departed for Gewirtz's new attempt at needling Boston, Blaze of Glory. Not to be worried though, because Sandy Ganzell benefitted from Turbodog's demise as superstar poster-boy Brian Harriford joined the Houston lineup along with teammates Mitch and John Malone. Harriford especially gives the team a weapon that few can match. He's fast, can sky anyone in the league, and has great defensive presence. He still could use some work on his forehands and his anger-management, but bet by Regionals that this team is ready to go. The Houndz whooped it up in big wins over Ring of Fire, Sub-Zero, Anodyne, and others. Their only loss was to DoG in semis by five. Pony commented afterwards, as players have been saying for years, "you can't make any mistakes against them." People might be saying that about Houston in the future, but there's still some green showing behind the gallon hat skeleton (new shirt designs too). The loss of Demann may hurt their composure, but like Ring of Fire two years ago, the Houndz are tough to stop when they get fired-up. If they can keep up the intensity and learn from the big wins they've earned here and at Nationals 98, they could be in contention for Finals in San Diego.

Sub-Zero. Looking pretty good for the Minneapolis crew. A few missed chances in games set them back, but a win over Ring of Fire put them in the semis. Although Zero already won Choptank convincgly, it is my opinion that they still have a few kinks to work out. 6'6" Kaiser (Josh Wilhelm) from Carleton and Chris York from Big Ass Truck joined the lineup, along with Z's Joe Cesario and Dave Boardman, two hard-nosed veterans. This defintely strengthens Paco and Steve Steury's crew giving them the added professional experience they will need for Nationals. Sub Zero runs as hard as anyone and has a bevy of playmakers and they seem to just keep coming and coming at you. But one mental error that materializes can demoralize the team and put the winning vibes into a cold freeze. As for their lineup–they were pretty much the same team here as you will see in San Deigo. Wins include 13–10 over Ring, and losses were to Furious (twice–the last one 13–11 in semis) and Houston.

Ring of Fire. Missed semis on point differential after failing to keep up the focus against Sub Zero. They tried with all their might to get it back the next day in a face-off with Houston, but the Houndz had too many big dogs and too much yahoo. Ring has to work in some younger players as college heroes Kris Bass, Bobby Croom, Brian Lang, Carl Erickson, and Loki joined the team. Former Philly player John Proctor rounds out the new faces. Mike Soo has officially left to join the local Co-Ed scene, leaving the reigns of power in Augie's capable hands. But Augie could use some help keping the still youthful team focused and ready to win the big games. The losses at Tune-Up should help them keep up concentration in preparation for a Regionals showdown with an improved. Ring of Fire is still a tough team capable of winning any tournament they play in, but their Nationals success guarantees that teams will be gunning for them, and this year there are more teams than ever.

Anodyne. I think DC looked as good as anyone at Tune-Up. They run exceptionally hard, play great defense, are spirited and tough enough to win games when they count. Unfortunately they have no one over 6 feet tall playing for them, which will be very problematic at Regionals and beyond. Watching them play Furious was almost comical, though they started off fantastically, running under and around the striding monkeys. At this point in the season, it was confided to me that Babs, a former All-Stars standout, would not be playing with them this year, even though he has been living in DC. Instead, Mr. Babkow will apparently be picking up on BoG's free agency roster.

Sockeye. BoG really snared a lot of Sockeye's top fish. Gone are Tom Barnouw, Greg Shiring, Keith Monohan, Chris Page, Ricky Melner and Gary Brady. But E.K. and Lou Burruss are still holding down the fort and you have to hand it to them–they still have a very competitive team. They picked up a new recruiting class of recent Stanford graduates and Rage leader Steve Finn. Seattle really should have won against DoG, which would have spiked their confidence, but they played quite well in most of their games throughout the days nonetheless. Might be a surprise out of the Northwest.

Sohei. Identity crisis in Boulder? Johnny Bravo and Colorado Gun Club have combined, with the name Sohei chosen for this tournament. However the name might not last. Whatever they're called, Boulder has some talented players and a great feeder program from the Mamabird. It looked Dan Revelle was calling the shots on this new team, but don't hold me to it. In some games, they looked great. in others they looked bad (Houston went up on them 6-0 to start). They need some stars and go-to men to get over the hump. But if they get a good run going, they could cause some trouble. Must tangle with the Condors and San Diego to make it to, well, San Diego. Regionals is in Fort Collins.

NEXT 8 IN SOME SORT OF ORDER

Chain Lightning. "A southern college All-Star team" suggested one player, pointing at former UGA, Georgia Tech, Clemson, and other school's star players. It's a young and hungry team again, with grandfather Stu Downs still along for the ride. Chain played well on the weekend, and might've made the top 8 had they not been placed in the initial pool with Sub Zero and Furious. Watch for them to mix it up in the South and regain their Nationals bid (especially now with three bids.)

Second Wind. Sounds like a Master's team, but they're just the opposite. A bunch of youngsters playing with the remains of Z. Some key Z personnel retired., some moved to Minneapolis, and captain Rich Farmer is taking a year off to attend to a new baby (congratulations Rich!). Rick Fowler is now holding the reigns of the Chicago scene. Second Wind was good at times and worse at others. They will need some help and some height as usual. A loss to Chain Lightning and a tight game with Kansas City were not good signs for Chicago.

Florida. The combination of brown Vicious Cycle and bright orange Refugees shirts meant one thing: Miami and Gainesville were united. There was some fear from oppenents to start the tournament, as Florida had won Easterns this year, surprising many. But this squad, whatever it was, was not good enough to finish in the A bracket. A true scrappy team that got a reputation at this tournament, at least, for making a lot of calls. You never know who will come out of the Sunshine State this year, though, to take them to Nationals.

Cloverdale Invaders. Like Florida, the state of Michigan regularly puts together a scrappy "best of" team to get them to the Big Show. Big Ass Truck has been ditched and the Invaders formed from spare parts. Cloverdale advanced from the B division and played well, besting an unaware Sick of It All and losing only to Chain and then Florida.

Sick Of It All. These San Franciscans still maintain their identity and still have some old school talent guiding the team (K.K.) and a lot of LPC graduates. Still, Jam lifts a few players every year and this year was no exception. Sick beat Sohei earlier this summer, but lost by five or so here in Chicago, bouncing them down a bracket.

Rounding out the bracket were Black and Gold (Pittsburgh), Kansas (Kansas City and Lawrence) and Cash (Ohio combo). Black and Gold and Kansas both looked respectable. Bounced from the A bracket initially were Philly Rage (practically a new team without Finn, Brendon, the 6'8"guy and John Proctor), Red Tide (recruited some Northeast talent, but missing Dobyns and EO), Madison (U of Wisconsin and locals) and MagnUM (U of Michigan and locals). Other teams to note were Tanasi (Tennessee) LoveGun (San Francisco) Undertow (Tampa) and Cutters (Indiana)

NOT IN ATTENDANCE

Condors. Tough off-season for Santa Barbara. Spiritual leader Steve Dugan splintered his arm at Worlds and won't be ready for Nationals. A big loss for them. The team toyed with having Cribber play for them, which may have unbalanced their psyche. James and Hollywood are still smarting from their College Nationals loss (first one in four years). And their secrets to success are out of the bag. Can they maintain presence for a return trip to Finals? Everyone will be gunning for them this year, unlike the anonymity they enjoyed at Nationals 98. We shall see.

BoG. Talk of the town in Ultimate circles. In fact, most of the team has already been mentioned above, as Gewirtz has selected only the finest for this foray into free agency. Call him the Steinbrenner of Ultimate, only in this case there's no money involved. But Gewirtz has convinced scores of superstars to follow his lead in a final bid to unseat Boston. Gewirtz has built his own super-squad and they are ready to tangle with the Big Boys in the Nortwest, Jam in particular, and Furious George and Sockeye too. They've already won a few tournaments (Santa Barbara) and lost in the finals to Jam (Labor Day). The roster is indeed impressive (throw in ex-New Yorkers Josh Faust, Cribber, and Babs to the ex-Sockeyes and ex-Houndz) and the team name an open challenge. Leave it to Gewrtz to take it to the next level. But can he take the team to the next level too? Three bids in the NW will help. Watch out for the tinderbox effect. One flame could ignite a 'ball of flames'. But, on the other hand, this Ultimate team clears up the sticky subject of loyalty. Everyone here is playing for themselves. Sounds like a very successful 90's concept of a team to me...

New York–WSL All-Stars. Keeping a low profile despite kicking it up at Worlds (a minor incident turned into a Press incident because of New York's hotheaded reputation). '98 captain Josh Faust has left the building, but youngster Allon Katz has settled into the reigns along with Dead Horse's Dan Cogan, now running the defensive team, and Chicken Joe hanging around for support. Still, it is a team of mostly new and younger faces. New York will run very hard and they have the talent and dedication to make a return trip to semifinals. Can Fritz and Marty raise their level of play to become the stars that the team needs?

Jam. Still led by Rowdy Mike O'Dowd and John Shelton, Jam is still and always will seemingly be in contention. They lost to New York at Worlds, but that's water under the bridge already after they won Labor Day over BoG. Karlinsky is still in the parking lot, as is Big Jim Schoettler and current sensation Surferboy Scott Johnston. It should have helped that the Bay Area scene was quiet this year. The pressure is definitely off these guys, and if history holds up, that's a good position to make semis (Condors last year, Ring in 97, Z in 96, Seattle in 95, Chesapeake in 94, Rhino Slam 93)

PLACE YOUR BETS NOW–TONY'S PRESEASON TOP 10

1. DoG
2. BoG
3. Furious
4. Houston
5. Condors
6. Jam
7. Ring of Fire
8. Sub Zero
9. WSL All Stars
10. Anodyne

GET GOOD ODDS PICKING THESE TO MAKE SEMIS AT NATIONALS:

Jam
Sub Zero

REGIONAL PREDICTIONS IN ORDER (why the hell not?)

NE (3 bids)
DoG
WSL All Stars
Red Tide

MA (2 bids)
Anodyne
Ring of Fire

South (3 bids)
Houston
Chain Lightning
Florida

Central (3 bids)
Sub Zero
Second Wind
Cloverdale

NW (3 bids - whoa this is a tough one to call)
Jam
Furious
BoG

SW (2 bids)
Condors
Sohei (boulder whatever)

This was posted to RSD. The prediction were decently accurate, especially picking the order of finish for the NW that year.

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