Glory Days preview

Team X- Has a great top 4 with Joel, Chuck, Lamp and Zubair. Also has very good veteran depth with no weak links on the team. Their rookies are solid and should be able to contribute especially Austin who has already played in a couple tournaments. The rookies should be able improve with Joel's leadership. Joel won Glory Days last year and probably expects to do the same this year. As long as the expectations and pressure don't get to the rookies, expect a repeat from them.

Keys to Victory-Making sure nobody gets hurt on Saturday, so they can turn up the intensity and let Joel loose on Sunday. Getting the rookies to look for Joel as soon as they get the disc.

Potential Problems-If Lamp and Chuck show any signs of rust from not coming to practice, the team could struggle on Saturday. If that happens, they will have a tougher road than expected on Sunday.

Team Y-Has a pretty good to great top 4 with Dave, Walden, J-man and Rip. Probably the best defensive top 4 out of all three teams. If they meet another Illinois team during the tournament, they should be able to match up very well against them. However their biggest weakness is the lack of veteran depth, after the aforementioned top 4, they have basically nobody. However their squad of rookies are good, especially with Rado and Caleb. Team Y will be relying on the rookies to make plays more than the other teams. This will determine how far they go.

Keys to Victory-Making sure the top 4 play the important points and having at least one of them play every point. Their deep game should be the best out of all three teams, with Dave and Walden being able to huck it to whoever goes deep.

Potential Problems-If the team has to rely on the second line to do some damage, the team will be looking at a very short Sunday.

Team Z-Has a stellar top 3 in Denis, Pat and Pavan. They have the best veteran depth with Miles, Brad, Domingo and Hidaka. However, Denis will only be there on Saturday so the team has to be able to account for his loss. Since they have very good depth, if someone is able to step into the void caused by Denis, they will challenge Team X for the title. They have a decent group of rookies but they will improve playing with Denis and Pat. As long as Pat remains patient and doesn't think about his past Fall-Out teams, this team should be fine. I predict that they will have the best record on Saturday but they will falter on Sunday as Denis' loss will be too great.

Keys to Victory-They should be able to work the disc under all day with Denis throwing and the rookies cutting off of Pat. If they can discover a deep game, they could be very dangerous.

Potential Problems-The void caused by Denis on Sunday could be too much to overcome. Also if they run into another Illinois team on Sunday, they will have match-up problems.


Picks to Click Veteran Edition

1. Zubair-He is well known for his ability to dominate against lesser opponents. During the club practices he completely desecrated Brad and Cozza. However he struggles against players in equal or greater ability. So as long as Team X does not run into Team Y, he should be a major player throughout the tournament.

2. Ripsky/J-man-Both of these guys are extremely fast and should be able to cover anybody at the tournament. Because of this, I expect a ton of in-cut d's where they just outrun their opponents to the disc. They also aren't bad in the air and should be able to come down with a lot of hucks over the weekend.

3. Denis-If the last practice was any indication, he will be a force to be reckoned with. Even without Pat, he led his team to the best record. He is also very enthusiastic about playing this weekend and this should rub off on his rookies.

Picks to Click Rookie Edition

1. Austin-He has already played in two Club tournaments and knows what to expect. Also playing on Joel's team should be a big boost. He won't feel any pressure to make plays and should be able to have a great weekend.

2. Rado-Also has played in two Club tournaments. Unlike Austin, his team will be looking at him to make plays, and I think he will be able to. With Dave and Walden being able to throw deep to him and having J-man and Rip there to teach him the long position, he is in good position to step up this weekend.

3. Kurt-He has definitely played well during the last couple of practices. He also has some very good veteran leadership around him in Denis, Pat and Pavan. If he is able to adjust to tournament play, he will have a very sold weekend.


Player with the most pressure-Pat, his last couple of Fall-Out teams have under-perfomed greatly. Lets hope he gets his act together and has his team make a deep run this weekend.

Handicaps

Team X even odds

Team Y 3-1

Team Z 5-2


Tourney Prediction-Teams Y and Z meet in semis and have tough drawn out game which Y pulls out. Then Team Y gets destroyed by X in finals.