100 YEARS TO COMPETE

Doubles 100 Tournament – starts January 6

100 years. That’s a long time. I’m not even half way there although at the end of the work day I often feel like I’ve well surpassed it. Looking at old photos of myself, I wonder how on earth I morphed into what I am today. (Or how I could possibly have carried that appalling hairdo! How were mullets ever in style?!) I find history very interesting and it’s fascinating to look back to see what was happening in our sporting world 100 years ago…

Babe Ruth made his MLB debut in June 1914. He actually was recruited for his pitching abilities rather than his hitting. Maybe there is hope for Phil Coke…? Tug-o-war was an Olympic event in 1912 in Stockholm, which still leaves hope for all squash enthusiasts that ‘obscure’ sports can actually get accepted! The Indianapolis 500 was won in over 6 hours at an average speed of 83 mph. We drive faster than that on Michigan highways! Compare that to this year where the winner won in 2 hours and 40 minutes at an average of 186 mph…!

The great squash champion Hashim Khan was born in 1914 (reportedly) and squash never looked the same again. A man ahead of his time, I wonder who will be remembered in the squash world 100 years from now the same way? World champion Nick Matthew had a baby girl this year (or his wife did) and James Willstrop’s wife had a boy last year. The genes are no doubt helpful here, so will the squash world be looking upon one or both of these kids in a century time with the same wonderment as we do Hashim?

Which brings us to the 2015 Doubles 100 event! No, you don’t have to be 100 years old to compete, but the combined age of your team does. So you better start acting quickly to find the right partner at the right age. We will have an A and B draw (for which I will decide where to place you).

Things to do when entering:

1. Do it BEFORE the registration deadline. This, by the way, will be Friday, January 2. It’s impossible to add you into the draw once it has been sent out.
2. Enter WITH a partner. It is your task to find a partner. So be quick. Sending me an e-mail that says “I’m in” isn’t particularly helpful.
3. Make sure your MATH is sound. 100 does not mean “99 with a making an exception”.
4. Be prepared to be FLEXIBLE with your schedule when organizing the matches. Deadlines will be issued, and it is expected that matches are completed within the set time limit.
5. If you will away for a period of time during the tournament (more than a week at one time) then probably better NOT to enter. We can’t have the event held up.
6. Winning the category will get you a prize. It will NOT get you remembered 100 years from now.

Over the years we have had some very close finals results, so you can expect to get tough matches in this tournament. And with more people playing doubles, it only stands to reason the matches should be even tougher! Up for the challenge?

BUTTER NUTZ DO IT AGAIN

Boasters League first half~

Who’d have thunk it? But is really all that surprising? Sante Fratarcangeli and his “Butter Nutz” compatriots continue to impress as they once again end up on top of the standings after the first half of the 2014-2015 Boasters League season. However, it was oh so close!

Captain Josh Slominski and his “Space Geckos” were edged out of top spot at the 11^th hour. When the deadline passed and I started going through all the last minute scores, the “Space Geckos” held a slim 3 point lead. Given that they had the last week ‘bye’, they did an excellent job of playing many make-up matches – the most of any of the other teams. Unfortunately for them, the “Butter Nutz” kept pace with their make-ups as well, and as it turned out it was just enough (with the points they scored from round 9) to pip the “Space Geckos” at the post. This will no doubt motivate Josh and his team even more for the second half, maybe we are witnessing the birth of a healthy rivalry?

Actually, all the teams made a notable push in the final week. Too little too late for some, but I will mention that “Vivio’s” picked up the most points of any team from week 8 onwards. Even “Foss Nation” stepped up and scored the third most points. Not that it helped them out of the cellar.

Let’s look at the statistics of the first half, shall we?

• The league has a record 153 players. 76% of total matches were completed. That’s more than the first half last year – with so many more players, it’s an excellent trend.
• “Space Geckos” played the most matches with 86%.
• The next best percentage of matches played with 78% goes to… “Foss Nation”!
• Surprisingly, “Butter Nutz” only played 74% of their matches. But they had the best win percentage with 61%
• “Foss Nation” had the worst winning percentage with 40%.
• Only once did two teams play all 17 matches in any one round. That was “Vivio’s” and “Space Geckos” in round 1.
• The most points picked up by any team in one single round were “Wardogs” with 40 in round 1.
• “Wardogs” also scored the least points in any one round with 15 in round 9.
• You’ll never guess with team had the most bonus points… Yep! “Butter Nutz” with 89.
• And the least bonus points… right again! “Foss Nation” with 58.
• Only 6 players picked up all 8 bonus points.
• An amazing 39 players played all 8 matches. Wow!
• 5 of those 39 players were also undefeated.
• Marc Topacio (“The Nicker Ballers”) scored the most points of any player with 30.

The general trend is for play to dip in the second half. That’s hard to believe considering that January and February are typically our busiest months on the courts. There is a lot going on, but let’s see if we can buck that trend and keep up with the matches. All the captains need to step up and encourage as much as possible. From the feedback I get from players who do have the more active captains, their efforts are greatly appreciated and it does make a difference.

The second half kicks off on January 7. There will be some movement in the ranks and some of you will even jump teams. All teams start from scratch, but now you will be fighting for one of the six play-off spots come March. Can anyone stop the “Butter Nutz”?

NOT A MUN-DANE CHRISTMAS

Holiday Tournament - Dec 5

Shockingly, we didn’t reach capacity for the 11th Annual Holiday Tournament. We ended up with 17 (to a maximum of 24), and it always makes me wonder why more don’t enter. It was a wonderfully social evening of squash, drinking, gift giving and choosing. Some may have over indulged as indicated by one player watching outside court 7 as he enquired to what the large white stain on the court floor could be. None of us could figure out what he was talking about until we realized he was observing the reflection of a towel lying on the carpet outside the court...

All matches were played three games to 7 points without a tie-break. (Sudden-death at 6-all). Opponents were randomly drawn based on accumulative points and I think everybody had a chance to play against somebody they had never done so before. Many results ended up 2 games to 1 which is always great to see.

Sante the Naughty Elf

Many of the faces we are all familiar with. It’s turning into a tradition, but we can’t not mention the effort Sante puts into his “dress-sense” year after year. Color co-ordinated as always, the ‘naughty’ hat was icing on the cake and more than appropriate for him. He is proof in the pudding that their is a Yin for every Yan - right, Liz? Others donned either red or green for the occasion all that was missing was Patrick Petz in his non-matching squash shoes. Bob Rogers is also a regular for this event and if you can’t remember, he was the one bouncing off the glass back wall. I must remind him that it is the ball he needs to get into the back corner, not his backside.

The good news is that everybody ended up with at least 3 points. By the time the fourth and final round was upon us, three players had a chance to take the top spot. Both Jim Stroh and Dane Fossee had 9 points and Sante had 8. As luck of the draw would have it, Jim would have to play Sante, and Dane would play the only player in the DAC shorter than himself - Bob Rogers. (I had to get on my knees to take that photo.)

Lauren Kirchner, Julie Vande Vusse, Liz McClure

Dane and Bob played first. The two love running so much that they must have made a pact between themselves not to ever hit a winner. “Let’s keep the ball in play as long as possible, shall we?” Making sure they covered every squash millimeter of the court at least 5 times per rally, it was Dane who crawled of the off the 2-1 winner. Now with 11 points, Dane needed Sante to beat Jim.

He didn’t. He did take the first game though and looked strong. But Jim would be too steady for the following 2 games. The rallies were hard fought, and both players moved the ball around fairly well. A point to both players however is that even though they would hit length and get to the ‘T’, they both would let reachable volleys pass them at mid court, thus they would relinquish that ‘T’ position all too easily. Jim ended up with the 2-1 win.

Dane Fossee and Jim Stroh

Now, both Dane and Jim had scored 11 points. A one game to 7 points to win it all was decided. My thought was that Jim had the edge since he had just finished his previous match and was still warm. Dane had had time to cool down a little and chug some beer while watching. But beer is a mystical brew and Dane drank just enough to be inspired. He came out on fire and would not be denied. Reaching 6 points with solid squash, Dane did start to struggle to win that final point. He gave up 2 before he closed his eyes on a forehand stroke from the front corner and on one leg used the frame of his racquet to shank a short cross-court for a winner that even would have caught Ramy Ashour flat-footed with a look of disbelief and disgust on his face.

Congratulations to Dane! An unexpected, but well-earned tournament victory. He of course chose the biggest gift on the table first and ended up with 2 six-packs of beer. (Dane of all people should know the best things come in small packages, right?) And thank you to all participants for a fun-filled entertaining evening!

CLUB CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE

Hops Challenge – December 10

I know that we have all been spoiled rotten the past couple of years with the professional exhibition put on by our dear friends David Palmer and Thierry Lincou for this event. However, one of the best (if not the best) matches that we witnessed in last season had nothing to professionals, but was performed in the Club Championship final between Jed Elley and Peter Logan.

The two went 5 games, three of them to tie-break, including the 5^th that fell 12-10 in Jed’s favor. So, in an attempt to repeat the past, we’ll have them play again for something even more important that DAC immortality… BEER!! No one plays harder when this precious item is on the line and I’m sure they’ll stop at absolutely nothing to claim the prize of not having to pay for the keg – the keg that everyone else will get to drink for free!

Before we witness such squash glory, you can register to play a match yourself. Whet your appetite by playing a best of 5 match against a tough opponent that I will arrange, and once you’ve sweat yourself thirsty, grab a cold one, a vantage point, and get ready for the action!

 Let’s get ready to rummmmmmmbllllllllle!!

In the right corner, weighing in at a misleadingly flimsy 140 pounds soaking wet, rumored to have found the ‘fountain of youth’ and to be a direct descendant of Methuselah, originally from Grosse Pointe but feels more at home in the wild, coming in with a 2014 record of 2-2 but a life-time record of ‘a lot’-‘a lot less’, the zippy little hippie, the impossibility of durability, PETER – I-have-never-owned-a-razor – LOGAN!!

And…

In the left corner, weighing in at 165 pounds (or a tad more after a long weekend with the boys), very fond of mixing in with those boys in scrums playing ‘hot potato’ (or “rugby” as it’s commonly referred to), originally from the vast expanses of the migrating wildebeests of South Africa, coming in with an impressive and perfect 2014 record of 8-0, the veracity of tenacity, the teeth gritter hard hitter, JED – there’s- never-been-a-beer-I’ve-turned-down – ELLEY!!

Peter has won the DAC Club Championship multiple times, and Jed is our current title holder. We should be in for a real treat. Not only will the keg be on the line, but for these two, almost more importantly, so will their pride!

If you wish to play a match of your own before the final showdown, make sure you register by Monday, December 8. We can take a maximum of 32 players; matches will start around 4pm. Even if you don’t / can’t play, I suggest you come anyway, drink their beer and cheer on the lads. Enjoy the atmosphere – it will be brilliant!

CAN THE SPACE GECKOS HOLD ON?

Boasters League round 8~~

So it’s really turned into a two-horse race leading into the final round of the first half. “Space Geckos” lead the “Butter Nutz” by 14 points which sounds like a solid buffer, but they have the unenviable ‘reward’ of having to sit out the last round. “Butter Nutz” will no doubt make that up easily. The good news for the “Space Geckos” is that they have two weeks to get in as many make-up matches as possible. They have been doing well in that category, but with Thanksgiving in the mix, the task will be made more difficult.

The “Wardogs” have given themselves an outside chance of taking top spot by picking up a week’s best 35 points and are within arm’s reach of the top two teams. They will need to push very hard to overtake them though, I am sure their team captains are already e-mailing their players to get on court! Strangely though, the “Wardogs” – who played against “Vivio’s” yesterday – did not play a single match all evening. They picked up some bonus points and had 3 results come in early, but between the 2 teams only 9 players turned up – both “Space Geckos” and “Butter Nutz” had more representation than that on their own.

The “Wardogs” and “Butter Nutz” coincidentally have to play each other in round 9. Does that help or hurt?

The team trying to avoid ending up last (or are they?) is “Foss Nation”. They will need a season best performance in round 9 to avoid that dubious honor as – like last week – they remain 13 points behind 8^th position. They actually play that team in round 9 (“Nick at Night”) so it is a very good opportunity to catch up. If, of course, they can get on court.

Activity last night was low, not helped by the wonderful weather we are getting. Who doesn’t want snow in November? Buffalo? From those who did brave the wintery blast, here a couple of noteworthy results: Kelly Smythe (“The Nicker Ballers”) scored her second win of the season in a not-so-easy 2-1 victory over Lauren Kirchner (“Nick at Night”). It’s great to see more women getting involved in the program. That being said, I have to mention Liz McClure (“Butter Nutz”) who beat Peter Fromm (“Foss Nation”) 2-1. Liz has only dropped one match so far and leads the “Butter Nutz” in points. Sante is no doubt very proud.

Speaking of Sante, he missed out on his chance to display his fashion prowess against Andy Adamo (“Foss Nation”). His planned stripping of his winning boasters league shirts after each game (he had them all on at once) couldn’t come to fruition as Andy had to retire injured after the first game. We wish Andy a full and quick recovery, and we look forward to their next encounter and Sante’s ‘vogue’ statement.

So next week is off as we for some reason celebrate a strange holiday that involves turkeys and pumpkin pie and football (?). It’s a great time to get matches in. The standings by the time round 9 even starts may be drastically different to what they are now.