Boy's Club, Men's League: Playoffs Round 1

I haven't played in 3 weeks. Since my last game, I had to miss one due to an overnight at camp and then we had a bye before the playoffs started. Our final record stood at 5-3, which is not indicative of our actual talent and ability. We lost the first game without our full team, and lost twice to a team who might be the best in the entire league. Other teams did not have as tough a schedule as Maroon did, but you can only play who's on the schedule and thats what we did. The result of our first playoff game? A 112-72 win. 

Actually Good

Our win was actually a forfeit win, since the other team did not have enough players to play a playoff game. So there was no stress when we actually took the floor to have a little scrimmage. 

Actually Bad

It would have been nice to get some real playoff action in against a weak opponent considering it's gonna get real tough going forward. 

Actually Good

Evantz is back. After tearing his ACL nearly one year ago exactly, Evantz was back on the court for his first bit of real action. There's only so much that shooting against 10 year olds can do, so getting some real basketball against actual opponents in a stress-free game is exactly what he needed to knock some rust off. 

Actually Bad

Chris 1 apparently has a broken elbow or something? What is actually going on is pretty murky, I have no idea if thats true or not. If so, it would be a massive blow to our chances. He's great on defense and can contribute offensively. 

Actually Good

Our depth for next week. We have Jake for one game only and it is next week against Black, who has beaten us twice. Now that Evantz is back and we have another kid named Chris who is in the 6'5"-6'6" range, our best lineup with a full squad against black is likely: Jordan/Jake/Chris 1/Chris 3/One of Emmett, Evantz, Chris 2 or me. That should be able to get the job done against a very good team. 

Actually Bad

We are still playing Black and might still not have a defensive answer for them. New Chris (Chris 3) is tall, yes, but Black has someone just as tall and a lot more built and beefy, so we could still get punished down low. and then if we switch to zone to negate him, they can bombard us from deep. Need to figure something out. 

Actually Good

I made a 3 pointer. 

Actually Bad

I only took two shots in a scrimmage.

Actually Good

I had a p good stat line imo. 3 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks. Didn't even play that much either. 

And so, Maroon rolls on. Next week is like a championship matchup happening in the quarter-finals. We will likely not be playing a team as good as this one further down the line should we pull out a W. White could give us a run for our money, and so could Blue, but hopefully those two cannibalize each other like us and Black are likely to do. We need Jake to put up a monster game in his final appearance for Maroon. 

Boy's Club, Men's League: Week 8

Full disclosure, I was not in attendance for this game. I had an overnight at camp so I had to miss out. Regardless, I was told enough the day after that I can put together an abbreviated recap.

Actually Good

Winning by like 30. 

Actually Bad

Not having Jake. We only have a few games left with him and he likely will not be available for a possible championship. 

Actually Good

Winning by like 30 without needing Jake.

Actually Bad

Not being able to play in this game where I could have possibly put up a decent stat line. 

Actually Good

Winning by like 30 without Jake and against a team who is very bad.

I will be back in action next week. Hopefully my groin heals up by then.

Boys Club, Mens League: Week 7

Hard to believe we've been at this for like 9 weeks total now between games, scrimmages and bye-weeks, but we're starting to near the end of the regular season as the playoffs loom large. This week saw a new opponent, the absence of Jake and the return of Chris #2. 

Actually Good

Playing a lesser opponent when we needed a bounce back. Not something we could control, but after dropping a three-game win streak to a team who already blew us out once, we needed a confidence boost. I'm still waiting for the teams we could beat without any of our top players though...

Actually Bad

Help Defense. While it wasn't exactly the most offensively potent opponent we've faced, the defense this week was pretty good. One thing that wasn't good, and in fact actually bad, was the help defense. Aside from one guy who could hit a few threes, their entire game was getting it into the paint through post passing and driving through the middle. We just didn't talk or help on D. That'll kill us when it comes to better teams. 

Actually Good

Rebounding. It might have been a product of our opponent or a product of luck, but the rebounding was much better this game. There were still a few lapses where they got easy offensive boards and putbacks. But it at least shows potential is there to not lose 85% of rebounds per game. 

Actually Bad

Chris #2 does not have his scoring touch back. He had a good first few weeks, but has been off since then. He still can get his buckets, but nowhere near the volume he's capable of. If he gets back on track and hits a stride alongside Jake and Jordan, we will be deadly. 

Actually Good

Scoring inside the three-point line. We normally jack up a bunch of threes, mainly from Jake, that will go in. We still had a fair share of three's from both Chris's, Jordan, Brian and Jacob, but less than normal, and we ht a good amount of them. But a lot more of the scoring came from midrange jumpers, attacking the basket and especially free throws. We got to the line a ton, definitely more than previous weeks, and shot a very good clip from the line. 

Actually Bad 

Relative lack of scoring without Jake. We still put up good numbers, but not the 90 to 100 point outbursts of recent weeks. It's no secret Jake's our best pure scorer. Jordan has better handles and can absolutely score at will, but is more rounded than Jake. Jake is the guy who will drop 50 points with no assists, Jordan is the guy who can drop 50, but would rather go for 20 points and 20 assists, which is awesome but when he's the top scoring option we'd rather he go for the 50 than the double-double. 

Bonus Actually Bad

My groin. Like two weeks ago my right groin got super tight and despite stretching I would just aggravate it anytime I did anything more than walk. It got worse when I played kickball at camp and thought I damn near tore it off the bone. Well flash forward like a week and it still wasn't better, but I still decided to try and play. I played a fair amount to, but my God was I hurting after. Think I have a break this week since I won't be at our game, so that hopefully helps the healing process. 

Back on track with a good double digit win (writing two days after the games is not conducive to remembering the scores exactly). 4-3 on the season with playoffs coming. 

It's Becoming A Chore To Watch The Revs

A few days after a nice Open Cup win, the Revs were back in MLS action, visiting Philly and the Union. I guess I've been in a bit of denial this season, but the Eastern Conference standing that FS1 showed before the game woke me up. The Union went into the game in 10th place. The Revs, 9th. Actually bad! Classic Revs to have so much potential and completely piss down their legs (so far).

Looking at the Revs lineup, it was, well, a lineup...

Today's starting XI at Philadelphia Union. #NERevs pic.twitter.com/TEP9hhUO9s

— NewEnglandRevolution (@NERevolution) July 2, 2017

A real interesting backline with Donnie Smith and Joshua Smith getting starts with Anguoa and Farrell, while Delamea and Tierney starting on the bench. Koffie somehow back from international duty with Ghana, even though he didn't play last night against the USA. Watson and Bunbury also get rare starts. The Revs were a bit depleted, with Kelyn Rowe and Juan Agudelo on international duty with the US, and Diego and Daigo out.

Right from the jump...

Penalty to Philadelphia!!! pic.twitter.com/PcK8AmgHgE

— Total MLS (@TotalMLS) July 2, 2017

CJ Sapong puts it home from the spot.

Sapong converts the ensuing spot kick, and it's 1-0 Philly! #PHIvNE pic.twitter.com/iKWcrKzeD9

— Total MLS (@TotalMLS) July 2, 2017

THIS TEAM MAKES ME DRINK.

Philly almost made it two in the 9th minute, thankfully Cody Cropper made a great save to rush out and slide tackle the ball out of harms way.

Kei Kamara had a decent chance from a Bunbury strip-and-pass, but couldn't finish. Credit to Philly keeper Andre Blake for his positioning and quick close down time, but Kamara just cannot finish for shit.

CJ Sapong has always played well against us and nearly made it two (again), but Cropper came up with a another huge stop (again).

SCISSOR KICK!!!

Oh wow. Ouch. pic.twitter.com/Kdch1B39Gv

— Total MLS (@TotalMLS) July 2, 2017

There was minimal contact from Kei to Onyewu, but that absolutely could have been horrible.   Onyewu is super lucky he didn't get a cleat to the face.

Opening minutes of the second half annnnnnnndddddd.....

Ilsinho makes it 2-0 Philly!!! Great finish! pic.twitter.com/ADvIjwjfp4

— Total MLS (@TotalMLS) July 2, 2017

What a finish. This team still makes me drink.

Not that it would have even mattered but Philly had another good break that Andrew Farrell was able to track down and beautifully slide tackle out of bounds.

One thing that has been slightly annoying is the FS1 announcers saying Koffie like Coffee instead of Koh-fee.

Nail in the coffin...

What a strike by Alberg! 3-0 Philly!!! #PHIvNE pic.twitter.com/g09YL48BI3

— Total MLS (@TotalMLS) July 2, 2017

This is where I will say Cuncel da Saeson without formally Cunceling da Saeson.

As much as I love Juan and especially Kelyn getting the call-up and Kelyn getting his first cap with the USMNT, we NEED them in order to be successful. It's so apparent they influence our play just as much as Lee or Diego. Kei Kamara is no longer a focal point of an MLS team. So without Diego or Kelyn or Juan, Philly was able to focus solely on Lee and snuff out his creativity.

I also think I have one foot on the Heaps Out Train. He needs to light a fire under this team, and needs to do it by Wednesday, or else his job and this season will be sunk before July ends.

Basically it's exactly as the title describes, this team has become a chore to watch when you haven't been tailgating for hours beforehand. They can't finish, continue to have defensive lapses, especially when Toni isn't in, and have the most frustrating potential ever. It's torturous. WE HAVE ZERO (0) ROAD WINS THIS SEASON. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE???? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON???

Man of the Match
Nah. Andrew Farrell was a bright spot of sorts with a few really good tackles, but no way am I giving this award out.

Next up: Red Bull at home on July 5. Whatever.

REVS 0-3 PHILLY

Boy's Club, Men's League: Week 6

As life is for most people, you win some and you lose some. The same holds true for Maroon in the JCC Newton Men's Basketball League. Now, this was the first game after the start of camp for 4 (soon to be 5) of our players, so not to make excuses but we were a little tired. I was playing basically on one leg since I'm pretty sure I tore my groin completely off the bone playing kickball earlier in the day. But like I said, I don't make excuses. Going up against Black, who murked us in Game 2 before we ran off 3 unbeaten, we wanted to win more than ever before given the trash talking nature of their players (mainly one old guy in reality). 

ACTUALLY GOOD

We had enough people there to play since the four of us who had camp earlier in the day did not sleep through the game. Big time moral W. 

ACTUALLY BAD

Rebounding. 6 games in and we haven't exactly figured out rebounding yet. 

ACTUALLY GOOD

Jake was back and showing no ill effects of his collision last week. His stitches didn't rip either. Major Moral W.

ACTUALLY BAD

Defense. Turns out when you play a team that isn't totally one-dimensional, you will have a fair number of defensive lapses and moments where you really don;t know what to do to stop the other team from putting the ball in the net. 

ACTUALLY GOOD

Consistent scoring. Since getting blown out by this team 4 games ago, we've put up at least 90 points in every game, including this one. 

ACTUALLY BAD

Finding out Jake is leaving August 7 and will not be available for the playoffs. That's our leading scoring and probably put best player out. But...

ACTUALLY GOOD

Finding out we could have some MAJOR ringers reinforcements coming for the playoff run. Don't wanna get my hopes up yet, but rest assured if we pull it off we may not win by less than 25, let alone lose, ever again. 

We got murked again by Black, bringing our record back to .500 and halting our 3-game win streak. Next one will be a major bounce back, I can feel it.