Nation,
Pool Play- I have no idea how we made it all work and everyone got their games. So much had to go right and be done. Hence, Miracle in Manotick.
- Pool play had great parity and teams like General Strike, Red Circus and Toba Party impressed opponents.
PartyYou heard it here. The party was won by the following cities
There were other star cities, but sheer numbers and partying gives the above a nod.
In the Win a Wii costume contest, people went above and beyond the call of dressing duty. The finals pitted Dave "Axel Rose" Hennigar versus Dee "Jacko" Roderique. I had said before the contest that no MJ lookalike could win, unless they moonwalked. Dee did that and saved some break dancing for last. The fans chose her as the winner.
I should also mention that a male player named Aaron did a full own costume of
Jennifer Beals from Flashdance. The crowd went WILD.. but he didn't save the water splash till the semis and finals.. and that spelled his fate. Amazing concept though.
Dee has won two party titles in a row. I want a picture if anyone has one, and I want people to try and dethrone this champion "show dawg"!
PlayoffsHere is a rundown of the men's and women's Championship bracket.
Women'sWe were very happy to have Brute Squad from Boston make the trip this year. They are a great team and feature players like Dory Zipperstein that Canadian fans know of and want to see. Further, we have equally strong teams at Borders like Lotus, Stella and Storm who are making this tourney a strong event for women's top clubs to consider.
Pool Play for both power pools went exactly as seeded. That might be the only time ever for me.
PPF and Sugarshack were relegated out of the top 8 after day one and a surprisingly strong Toba Party from Winnipeg and Salty from Halifax made the jump to Sunday Quarterfinals.
Stella, Storm, Lotus and Brute Squad made semis as expected. Brute and Lotus made it to finals and put on an amazing show for Rogers TV and the fans that gathered. With the score tied 10-10, the game went into hard cap. A hard fought point ended when Brute Squad won on universe and became the 2009 champs. The image in this post is from Rene Champagne and he will upload many tourney picks at his
siteTaking off my TD hat, here were my observations from watching women's play when I could stop dealing with fields and admin
- Malissa Lundgren has come a LONG way from Zen and looks to be a big body presence that can make d's and make throws. I was really impressed with her play
- Brute Squad was a deserving champ and their talent is spread out through the team. I hope we have helped spark rivals that will lead to a return from them
- It seems like Lily has drastically pulled away from Scarlett in the Toronto-Ottawa B team rivalry, and I hope by nationals this will not be the case
Men'sProud to say our tournament has gotten to the point were quarters provide excellent parity, and very good teams go home at this point. Red Circus, General Strike, GLUM and Medicare had this happen to them despite a realistic shot of winning it all.
In semis, Phoenix Moondoggies was an epic battle of Toronto versus Ottawa. Specifically, the match up of Ottawa Native Colin Green versus Phoenix's Kielan Way one on one was what fans really keyed on. Moondoggies won and moved to the final.
Mephisto overcame a 5 point deficit with NADS to take their semi. NADS were a great team this year and their chance to win No Borders was very real this year. However, Mephisto continues to have the mettle to win these kinds of great battles.
The finals were set. Mephisto allowed a short benched Moondoggies to add some great pickups to make the TV a real challenge. Clearly, tough quarters and semis hampered both teams, with Moondoggies reaching a little deeper for a 13-7 win and the No Borders Championship.
My Thoughts
- Phoenix had a strong weekend at times and proved to many they will be a Nationals threat
- I did not get to see General Strike play due to non stop TD work.. which sucks. I can tell you that Kyle Parker and company look like big organized squad that might win Nationals on home turf this year.
- The Montreal program is on the rise. Mephisto is classy.. and so is Demon (way better this year) and Magma (also improved).
- I hope the NADS make another run to win next year. I thought this might have been the year
- GLUM might be the best masters team I have ever seen