Week Nine Sets Seeds Shakily

15 October | MUD Newsdesk

It started when Take Five beat Fourplay in Saturday's first game. Had they won out, Fourplay would have grabbed the top seed in the playoffs. On the opposite field, Dave defeated Dirty, maintaining his 3rd place tie with Take Five and keeping his own hat in the ring for that first seed.

After Fourplay's loss, the door was open for Hat Trick. The Trick needed one win in week nine to own the top seed. In the second round, it was up to bottom-ranked Reverse Predators to spoil. The Predators had the score tied after half, but Trick pulled out a 10 to 8 win. First place. At the same time, Dirty shook off its near-savage loss to Dave and threw an upset right back at Take Five. Winning 11 to 6, Dirty stayed out of last place and perhaps gave Take Five a wakeup call.

Fourplay came out of the bye determined to lock up second place. They defeated the Predators, who went LL for the third time this season. After Fourplay's 12 to 9 win, the second seed was almost definitely theirs.

Dave couldn't take the top seed away from Hat Trick and needed to win by 12 or more to get second place. So Dave found himself feeling like the 2007 New York Giants against the first-place Patriots at the end of the regular season. It was a game that ultimately didn't matter—both teams were going to the playoffs—but Dave still had a chance to make a statement. More so than the eventual champion Giants, Dave made that regular season statement. Upsetting Hat Trick 12 to 9, Dave finally got back to the WW club and has forced the Trick to have to worry all week about everyone in the "S" pool.

FINAL SEEDINGS and overall win-percentage rankings:
1. Hat Trick (9-5) Hat Trick is ranked 19th of all 84 MUD teams and is ranked 5th of 24 Fall teams.
2. Fourplay (8-6) Fourplay is tied for 25th of all 84 MUD teams and is tied for 6th of 24 Fall teams.
3. Dave (8-6) Dave is tied for 25th of all 84 MUD teams and is tied for 6th of 24 Fall teams.
4. Take Five (7-7) Five is tied for 38th of all 84 MUD teams and is tied for 13th of 24 Fall teams.
5. Dirty Discs (6-8) Dirty is tied for 56th of all 84 MUD teams and is tied for 17th of 24 Fall teams.
6. Reverse Predators (4-10) Predators are ranked 72nd of all 84 MUD teams and are ranked 21st of 24 Fall teams.

Scattered Reports of Week Eight

8 October | MUD Headquarters

Although it seems there were in fact games this past Saturday, hardly anyone can recall the results. It was as if a mysterious fog of forgetfulness settled over the rides home from Inwood. Remember that strange fog? Of course you don't. Due to a cheesesteak-eating tournament, a massive Ohio wedding, and whatever John Kim was doing, only two captains were present. Luckily, for the sake of data collection, those two captains did not play each other. However, the absent captains apparently hired goldfish to keep an unblinking eye on the scores.

From the wispy recollections of obviously distracted teammates, what we can piece together is that Dirty became the fifth team this season to win both games. Their first victory was over the Predators, and their impressive second was over the first-place Hat Trick.

Of those supposedly 1-1 teams: After beating Dave, Take Five lost to Reverse Predators, who we've already discerned lost to Dirty. Prior to their defeat of Dave, Fourplay started the day out with a loss to Hat Trick. Dave, you feeling all right, man?

No seeding has been clinched for playoffs on the 19th. The current top four teams each have a rubber match against another top-four team in the upcoming last week of the regular season; hard to call any of those games. Dirty has a tough next two and Predators have the hardest final week, but with Dirty's recent triumphs and the resilience of the Predators, upsets may even be expected.

W7: Winter Cancelations Cometh

31 October | MUD Headquarters

If you were at the Inwood fields on Saturday, just sitting there waiting while white, wet, weighty weather soaked and sogged you, you missed the memo that Week Seven was a week without games. Hopefully you stayed inside though. It wasn't such a wonderland out there as habilimented Halloween hopefuls howled at the sudden storm that canceled the local Randall's Island tournament, which was meant to replace our MUD games. My goodness, our commissioner can howl.

Five Takes Win 4 and 5 in W6

24 October | MUD Headquarters

Take Five won the week and rode the WW train all the way home, laughing between their gulps for air. Their first win did not come easily as they slipped by Dirty on universe point (12 to 11). Next they battled Hat Trick, who had just completed a league trick of five wins in-a-row. That means they beat every team in the league, one after the other! However, Take Five refused to let the Trick even think of pulling off such a feat twice (let alone three times). Five won 11 to 8.

Dirty Discs went LL (which is pronounced lub-lub, and is supposed to sound like drowning) for the second straight week. After losing to Five and then to Fourplay (10 to 15), Dirty seemed to be offering Reverse Predators a hand up out of the dumps.

The Predators seized the opportunity. After a surprising one-point defeat of Fourplay (10 to 9), Reverse was threatening to do the same to Dave. Dave pulled on universe point. However the Predators didn't make it very far before Dave's Joel Daniels leapt across three poach lanes to get the disc back for Dave (it should be mentioned that Daniels was expected to make such a defensive play considering he had at least three similar plays already in the game). It took Dave about eight patient throws and one near timeout call to silence the threatening Predators, 14 to 13.

The one game alluded to earlier but not yet discussed was the first game of the day: Hat Trick defeated Dave 12 to 8 even though Dave probably really wanted to win.

Fourplay Joins the Club in Week Five

17 October | MUD Headquarters

Fourplay got a pair of wins (both at 10-7) over Dave then Take Five, and then met Hat Trick for drinks at the Dubdub Club bar. While Fourplay came out with impressive power in both games, Hat Trick's second straight week of wins is the best of the season so far, and vaulted the Trick into first place.

Trick's first game against Dirty Discs featured an eight-turnover opening point. Zone favored Trick though and they ended up winning 11 to 8. The wind relaxed in the next round and Trick's zone failed on Reverse Predators. Predators were fresh from a slump-ending win—their first win since the first game of the season, though this week's came from a Take Five forfeit. Forfeit? Booo. Against Hat Trick, the first half was tight but Trick got away from the Predators with man/woman defense in the second half. Trick won 14 to 8.

Dave also cleaned up against Dirty. Finishing that game 12 to 9, Dave managed to hang on to second place although their record matches Fourplay's. Battling for the league's top spot, Dave faces Hat Trick at 1pm this Saturday. However, Fourplay has their eye on the same prize. They will face Dirty and Reverse, slumming at the bottom of the standings. Does that upset anyone? Fred? Jordan? Well, let's see some upsets!

Week Four is Tricked out

10 October | MUD Headquarters

Unfortunately, Hat Trick (formerly Three Fish) fell one game short of a hat trick this weekend, only managing two decisive wins and moving into a tie for first place. Apparently, ditch the fish and wins come your way. We know what you're thinking, Reverse Predators: if only you knew you were allowed to change your name mid season, then maybe you would stop losing your games every Saturday. Well, don't give up that golden moniker just yet. According to Trick's captains John and Jeannine, managing a successful double W campaign is about having "great numbers, good decisions, and remembering how to dump/swing." In other words, those captains say, it was "just dumb luck."

Besides the victories of Hat Trick, who won against Take Five and then Fourplay, and the troubles of the Predators, whose loses came from Dave and then Dirty, Fourplay messed up Dirty, and Take Five out played Dave.

This coming weekend, the more successful club players in the region return from their Boston bouts, and those who sounded the shofar can actually eat some brunch before the games. Let's see if another team can join the DubDub Club, which will call for tattoos, obviously.

A Leader Emerges in Week Three

2 October | MUD Headquarters

If only hardly, Dave grabbed the top seat in the standings after nothing but wins in the third week. Though this separates Dave from the majority of the pack by just one game, significant perhaps is that these games were won convincingly, and that Dave is the first team to go 2-0 in this young season.

Four teams repeated week one's dance of parity and went 1-1 once again. Reverse Predators, however, went the wrong way and suffered two losses.

Besides a display of rather impressive, score-catching speed by Take Five's bandleader Bob, and Hat Trick's anxiety-inducing zone that produced four stuff-and-scores in-a-row and held Dave at game point for much longer than the score of that game would suggest, and also some tense moments after foul calls made by one of the Predator's deep threats, this reporter failed to note many of the highlights in week three's games. But look! There's a comments section. Tell us what you saw.

No Games Week Two

23 September | MUD Headquarters

Due to weather (kind of), low numbers (but not terrible numbers), and something about the parks dept. (the likely culprit), there will be no games this weekend. The schedule is readjusted so that each week is bumped back. Thus teams will play tomorrow's scheduled games next Saturday, and so on. This really only matters if you've memorized the schedule, or if you spent hours typing it all into your computer phone. Yikes!

All Even after One

19 September | MUD Headquarters

Reverse Predators squeezed by Dirty Discs, Dirty edged out Hat Trick, the Trick turned one on Fourplay, Fourplay smeared Dave, Dave trounced Take Five, then Five took it to the Predators. And all things looked fair after MUD Fall's first six games.

As each team flirted with chemistry, captains credited their win to clever drafting and blamed their loss on missing players. At least one team learned that it's better when people show up on time, but everybody's biggest complaint seemed to be the rock quarries and scattered evidence of mining or trench warfare that now constitute those Inwood fields. Sand and wood chip relief was brought in during the first round for the worst spot, however it seems our fields are due for a volunteer-heavy overhaul. While the uptown site certainly has its charm, I bet those of us who've seen a few seasons would be willing to trade nostalgia for a rototiller, a dump truck, and about an acre's worth of seed and soft soil.

Do we need another fundraiser? Or is there some old-fashioned method that will limber up that craggy pitch upon which we play? It doesn't seem as though even the hardest cuts in even the newest cleats is doing all that much.

MUD's 12th Season Begins

15 September | MUD Headquarters

Representing the completion of MUD's third year, Fall 2011 Competitive is here. Check back weekly (or more frequently!) for scores, highlights, comment(s), and maybe more all season long. Welcome fine friends, good luck.