First off…apologies to young blake powers for the
draft analysis omission. Not sure how I skipped you. Quality
individual and tennis player. I didn’t check last year's record, but I know
you have had some success. Failure to be forthright with your shoulder
injury is another story. Just what Smash Brothers and the Cuban
needed…another player coming off of injury!
Now lets get to the Recap:
Saint of St. Bernard Sept 19 and Sept 21 Match
Recap/BLOG
Sept 19th, Thursday
6:00
Kiss My Ace Deux Smash
Brothers
Line
1
Russell Anderson Nick
Thompson
6-4, 6-4 Kiss My Ace
Jeff
Thompson
Mark Fair
Had a front row view for this one.
Exceptional tennis. The Ego and Tricky gave "Don’t call me Russell" and the
sweet swinging lefty everything they could, but came up a little short.
Serving was at a premium...,but in the end…KMA prevailed.
Line
2
Michael Schwartz Blake
Powers
6-4,7-6
Kiss My Ace
Mark
Schneider
Mitch Tucker
Score was closer than it should have been
according to one observer. Maybe some opening night jitters for all.
M&M boys prevail in straights leaving the Cubano scratching his head for
solutions.
Line
3
Rudy Kalman
Matt
Dean
6-4, 6-3 Kiss My Ace
Tony Priola
Billy Spiess
Mad Matt came out swinging. And he was hitting those rockets in too. … Always impressed with Free Willy’s game (Dude is in
his upper 60’s still playing at a high level). Patience prevailed mid way through the first set and into the second set and RuPaul and Lil Nadal handle business with "ho hum" straight set
victory.
Line
4
Robby Economides Mike Mesa
7-6, 2-6, 10-3 Kiss My Ace
Burt
Dalton
Mike Lane
This one was close. Until the tie
breaker. The Detective’s game was impressive. Did more than hold his own
even though he was drafted at 13 playing up against higher drafted players. On paper…a 9 and a 6 should beat a 7 and a
13. But that is why you play the game.
Line
5
Sid Hauptmann
Bentley
Harvey
6-3,7-5
Kiss My Ace
Jack
Ellis
Ryan Fornier
Good tennis on court 12. Relegated to
the back, prevented more from seeing it. Overheard some double fault
chants (from Goof) which was "a below the belt tactic" even for Bentleague. Commish
may need a new rule preventing this transgression. Especially right before a person is serving. Heat index was
high that day and may have played a factor for old knees Harvey. Glad KMA went with the youth. Senor’’ Sid’s forehand
came through when KMA needed it …and My boy Jack living up to preseason draft
grade tennis was refreshing to watch.
KMA brings out the brooms and secures the
8pt sweep keeping Kiss My Ace Team win streak intact.
Total
Points
8
0
7:30
Angry Squirrels
The Killers
Line
1
Noah Marquez
Ed
Dauterive
6-3,4-6 10-7 Angry Squirrels
Will
Gement
Gabe Perez
Whoa…Young Gabe showed some Moxy going
head-to-head with Noah and Will the Thrill. Mouth of Mandeville had to be
impressed with the fight even though they came in second. Interesting
choice to move Shane down to line 2. Thinking he wanted a strong net
person paired with the baseline hugger. We’ll see if the Killer’s Capt. stays with this pairing moving forward. Either way…this one was closer
than I thought. Noah and Will were solid but showed some holes that could be exploited in future matches. Not
as dominant as the Angry squirrel was hoping. JS.
Line
2
Jay Butcher
Chris
Kobrock
6-2, 6-3 The Killers
Greg
Gordon
Shane McCarthy
Was it a pairing choice or a lack of
confidence in Shane’s recoverability since the "colonoscopy". How the heck did Candlestick and Gordon Gecko lose 2
and 3? Did Butcher really almost hit Hal on an over the fence toss of the
racket from court 2 to court 4 after a missed volley. If so, that was
more impressive than the tennis evidently.
Line
3
Eddie Burdette
Brad Humphreys
2-6,6-3,11-9 The Killers
Dave
McGuire
Ray Brouillette
Close only counts in horseshoes and hand
grenades. Lop sided sets followed by a 11-9 tie breaker. McGuire known
for coming up short in tie breakers. If Ray Ray’s knees and body can hold
up…he is a candidate for the "Most Value at Draft Spot" award. Damn…I hate
when Brad wins.
Line
4
Hal Neitzschman Max
Agnew
4-6, 7-5, 11-9 The Killers
David
Parnell
Cayman Sinclair
Feature match on first night of
Bentleague. Nerves were exposed at times and was sometimes cringe
worthy. In the end onlookers witnessed some excellent shots. Team that stepped it up in crunch time prevailed and that was the Killers. Fabio Max was monstrous at the net and
Cayman’s Cannon dialed in a few unreturnable forehands when the match was on the line. Great way to finish
out opening night of Bentleague.
Line
5
Seth Monaghan
Keith
Krebs
1-6, 7-6, 10-7 Angry Squirrels
Danny
Butler
Keith Laterrade
Witnessed some of this match myself. Thankfully…not the first set. Saw one close set and a tie breaker. "I’m not David" showed consistency and that made for a good pairing with the Alpha Ginger. Crazy eyes wreaked havoc at the net know Dan the Man was behind him. Again...opening night jitters may have taken a toll as the Two Keith's come up a little short. Swami predicts better days ahead for the two keith's. Hopefully, not against KMA.
Killers take the win, but squirrels were
close as 4 matches go to tie breakers.
Total
Points
3
5
Sept 21st, Saturday
8:00
Smash Brothers The
Killers
Line
1
Nick Thompson
Ed
Dauterive
6-3,6-4 Smash Brothers
Mark
Fair
Gabe Perez
Smash Brothers redeem with straight set
victory. Killers go with familiar pairing, but Swami has to wonder how
long this experiment will last. Ego and Tricky secure first win easily 3 and 4. Tricky must have actually hit a few forehands in!
Line
2
Mitch Tucker
Shane
McCarthy
6-4,3-6,10-6 The Killers
Billy
Spiess
Chris Kobrock
Well, if the Killers don’t mind splitting
line 1 and 2, it looks like they have a good formula for success at line
2. Svelte Mitch and Free Willy made it close but not points for 2nd. Thinking Brad
talked to Jaybo about keeping the lefty on the float boat late the previous night. Last offer of Rum should have been declined Lefty.
Line
3
Blake Powers
Donald
Allen
6-2,6-1 The Killers
Robert Groeneveld Brad Humphreys
Captain of the Killers doing his part with the W but, the favorable pairing didn’t hurt. No Goof No Ferr No Addi hurting Smash
Brothers depth. For all you future captains out there…this is what
happens when you don’t do your homework. Ps. Swami knows The Donald is loving line
3. Won’t have it this easy all the time Donald.
Line
4
Mike Mesa
Jay
Blossman
6-2,6-4 The Killers
Matt
Dean
Todd Delcambre
Ok, Mesa…you must own this one. Unless
Mad Matt couldn’t find the court. 2-4 loss is disappointing. Shouldn’t have been
this easy. Jaybo knows the “process” and how to execute it. Are we talking about boiling shrimp or tennis or both. Big
Head Todd on the tennis court is always a wild card with that serve. If he’s
getting it in, can be really, really, good. will be interesting to see if he is in the line up in round 2. But 2 and 4.
C’mon Mesa.
Line
5
Mike Lane
Steven
Burgess
6-4,2-6, 10-3 Smash
Ryan
Fornier
Cameron Zipp
This one looked close on paper and scores back that up. Swami knows the team that has success in third set tie breakers will be there at the end. Fornier is consistent and the forehand can be a weapon. Lane’s game is underrated and its nice that he got his first win. I like the Burgess and Zipp pairing but both can be wild on some of those ground strokes. And if they both go wild at the same time, it will spell doom especially in a tie breakers as uncle mo is very fickle. Why am I giving inside scoop to the competition…Ignore last comment.
Killers take down Smash Brothers.
Looks like Smash Brothers will be whipping boy for opponents this year.
Total
Points
3
5
9:30
Kiss My Ace
Deux
Angry
Squirrels
Line
1
Russell
Anderson
Noah
Marquez
7-6 5-7 10-8 Kiss My Ace
Jeff
Thompson
Greg Gordon
Line 1 competition did not disappoint.
Gordo really stepped it up. "Just find a way" mantra of KMA prevails, but
not without some intense tennis. Swami hoping that pushed volley at 8-8
in the third by Mr. Marquez don’t weigh on him too long. Good Win for KMA
duo to go 2-0 for the league to date.
Line
2
Michael
Schwartz
Jay
Butcher
6-3
6-3
Angry Squirrels
Mark
Schneider
Eddie Burdette
Ouch. This one hurt. Too nerve
racking to watch as Capt. KMA takes himself out of the line up. The chief
playing up to headline status and no longer an undercard player. Butcher seals the deal by taming that
untamable toss. Word on the street is that the volleys were working for this Squirrel tandem. Not good news when Butcher’s net play is sound and there
are no thrown rackets.
Line
3
Rudy
Kalman
Kevin
Phayer
6-4 6-1
Kiss My Ace
Joey
Dunbar
Hal Neitzschman
Again, hard to be a specter. KMA started off slow by trying to
battle shallow Hal with ground strokes. Too many weapons to let the angry
squirrels dictate pace. Looks like they righted the ship and dominated the
2nd. Good win for this pairing. Good possibility we'll be seeing this pairing in
the future. Joker Joe makes fine debut in B X to secure first win of the season.
Line
4
Thomas
Domingues
Dave McGuire
7-6 0-6 10-7 Angry
Squirrels
Alejandro
Torres
Andrew McQuaid
Geez. Seen Alejandro leaving early and was
wondering what transpired. Seen the first few games and it looked as
though the Big Burrito and Mayor of Mandeville would cruise to victory.
Love it that the KMA Duo initiated a comeback in the first but came up a little
short losing in a TB. What transpired next is troubling. Rumor is that Dave tweaked his
Achilles. In all seriousness…if this injury is legit, we wish him well on
a speedy recovery. If he plays next week, inquiry
light will be on. I’ve seen The Donald throw out some phantom injuries, but this guy
is injured more than Michael Thomas. Here is what the Swami thinks.
Last thing this the XXXL crew (Dave and Andrew) wanted was another long set after a grueling 1st. Who knows if they
would have prevailed in the 2nd, not to mention the wasted energy. The Mayor has
opened and closed many businesses and knows how to work a system. Swami
believe the phantom injury was a smoke screen to go straight to the third set TB
while somewhat still fresh. XXXL crew knew the youngsters would have the advantage
if the match was prolonged. In fact, they overheard the KMA Capt. stating
as much prior to match. “Get it to the Third” against these two and they will wear down. If the Commish let’s this go, we may see this "play one, fake two, go to three" ploy again. I mean…I’ve seen the pro's lay low for a set, saving themselves for the crucial fifth, but
I’ve never seen anyone just go straight to the TB to save energy. We
won’t fall for this next time Dave. You’ll have to stand out there and I’ll
instruct the troops to aim your way each point. As I said, trust factor
is low with these two. And, ... I don’t trust the captain either. KMA needed that first set. Any
team playing these two should be aware.
Line
5
Jack
Ellis
George
Strain
4-6 6-3 10-8 Kiss My Ace
Shawn
Potter
Jeff St. Romain
Boy did we need this one. Bonus point was at stake. Couple of ill timed double faults from St. Ro hurt in the 2nd. Looks like the losing streak for Geritol George
continues too. Just what KMA needed to get that bonus point after the BS
mentioned above.
Jackie Boy came through as KMA's primary in the ">11" lines. "Don’t call me Harry" Potter also delivered with all around
athleticism and tennis game. Wasn’t promising down a set and a break mid-way through the
2nd. But
will-to-win came through. First
getting it to the third, and then prevailing in a hard fought TB.
Three TB’s…with two of them won by KMA was the difference.
And still…
The only undefeated captain in Bentleague History.
12-0 BABY!
Total Points
5
3
Looky, Looky, Here!…
KMA 1st , Killers 2nd,
Angry Squirrels 3rd , and Smashed Potatoes 4th .
Swami was right Tricky. Don’t be traversing the archives. I may not always be RIGHT, but I’m never WRONG!
One more match to we conclude round 1.
Kiss My
Ace
Smash Brothers Angry
Squirrels
The Killers
Total Points
13
3
6
10
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