Tournament Bumbles and Recommendations

08/20/2008 By Laxpunk

Punk made it down to the Ocean City Lax Classic this weekend and started thinking wow, this game is growing.  There were 40 men's teams in the tournament and about 80 in all  It's always a great weekend, but the tournament overall was questionable.

Here are Punk's thoughts:

1.  40 teams is a lot even if there is an A & B division - somehow, separate the good from the bad.
2.  Winning teams should not play in the morning.  Save that for losers.  Punk couldn't tell you the amount of guys that were on winning teams and were telling me that they had 8,9,10am games.
3.  Sunday games are a no-no unless you are playing for the gold.
4.  Take into account that the atmosphere is why folks go to your tournament.  Set up tournament parties and have local watering holes and eateries involved in some deals to draw players.  Bikini and or wet t-shirt contests are always welcome. :)
5.  Find an arena that can handle the amount of teams.  If not available have concessions and stuff available at all locations. 
6.  If the tournament rules are set in advance, have all refs and tournament officials stick to them.  Some games had 4 poles, some 5, some 6. 
7.  Re-seeding the teams on Friday night at 10:30pm is bad.  There were some rain delays so it had to happen, but seeding should take place at the beginning not half way through and you don't know when your team is going to play.  Use this years finish to seed for next.  New teams get the lower seeds by default.

Punk still loves the OC tournament and will be back for years to come to hang out and party and really likes the fact that the game is growing so much to handle 40 teams in the elite division of a tournament.  But don't be so greedy in the future. 

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All-Star Re-cap

07/21/2008 By Laxpunk

The MLL has done some strange things in their day, but overall Punk feels that the MLL does a good job with what they have right now.  But Punk is wondering if he should register his discontent on the MLL-All Star Game or give the MLL praise?

Punk understands that it's critical to get the kids to follow the game, so all the college stars that haven't even played a half of a season, make the all-star game.  Good work guys!

31-15...that's the kind of scoring that the league wants, so was that a good thing?

2-Point Accuracy Shot?  Benson Erwin was basically rolling the ball into the net.  Pretty cheesy.  Punk could've gave these pros a run for their $$ in that event.

Berger's flying acrobat shot was actually more funny that anything.  I guess its tough to think of a new and exciting lax shot.


What are your thoughts on the game?  Good, bad...ugly?

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Mid Season: MLL

07/10/2008 By Laxpunk

Punk thinks that this has actually been an exciting season in the MLL thus far.  With Philly on the road all year and losing its first 3 games, they have really turned things around but have Long Island to deal with to take the East title.  Go figure that Denver is the top team in the West and probably the entire league.  They had 20,000+ at a game last week.  That's awesome!  Denver is handsdown the best sports city in the US.   They'll put fans in the seats for just about anything. 

Two teams have been a disappointment so far.  Both Rochester and LA have winning records, but they should be doing a lot better.  Jr. and Casey on attack...are you kidding me!? 

And finally, who knows what's going on in San Fran and Chicago.  Punk expected good things from both and has been let down.  Perhaps more draft picks next year?  Something has got to be done.

Check out the names on this years all-star team.   This league is pretty darn good.

Eastern Conference All-Stars Attack Spencer Ford (Long Island Lizards) John Grant Jr. (Rochester Rattlers) Mikey Powell (Boston Cannons) Merrick Thomson (New Jersey Pride) Midfield Stephen Berger (Long Island Lizards) Kyle Dixon (Washington Bayhawks) Chris Fiore (Long Island Lizards) Shawn Nadelen (Washington Bayhawks) Matt Poskay (Boston Cannons) Paul Rabil (Boston Cannons) Matt Striebel (Philadelphia Barrage) Joe Walters (Rochester Rattlers) Face-Off Peter Vlahakis (Long Island Lizards) Defense Brodie Merrill (Rochester Rattlers) Chris Passavia (Boston Cannons) Nick Polanco (Long Island Lizards) Kyle Sweeney (Philadelphia Barrage) Goal Chris Garrity (Washington Bayhawks) Rob Scherr (New Jersey Pride) Coaches Bill Daye (Boston Cannons) Tony Resch (Philadelphia Barrage)

Western Conference All-Stars Attack Jake Byrne (San Francisco Dragons) Kevin Leveille (Chicago Machine) Brendan Mundorf (Denver Outlaws) Ryan Powell (Denver Outlaws) Midfield Steven Brooks (Chicago Machine) Greg Downing (Los Angeles Riptide) Benson Erwin (Denver Outlaws) Matt Hanna (Denver Outlaws) Kyle Harrison (Los Angeles Riptide) Brian Langtry (Denver Outlaws) Jeff Sonke (Denver Outlaws) Chazz Woodson (Los Angeles Riptide) Face-Off Anthony Kelly (Los Angeles Riptide) Defense D.J. Driscoll (Los Angeles Riptide) Brett Hughes (Los Angeles Riptide) Eric Martin (San Francisco Dragons) Lee Zink (Denver Outlaws) Goalkeeper Mike Gabel (Chicago Machine) Jesse Schwartzman (Denver Outlaws) Coaches Brian Reese (Denver Outlaws) Denver Outlaws Coaching Staff

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Previous Posts

08/20/2008
Tournament Bumbles and Recommendations
07/21/2008
All-Star Re-cap
07/10/2008
Mid Season: MLL
06/05/2008
1st Annual - Punk Awards
05/14/2008
Punks Playoff Picks - Update
05/09/2008
Punks Playoff Picks
04/30/2008
Punk: Almost Playoff Time!
04/01/2008
Punk Poll Update 4/1
03/12/2008
Punk - Lax Ramble
02/27/2008
Punk's Lax Update

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