Who are those people who Won Comp Finals?
10 August | MUD Headquarters
Strangers (white) and Green Eggs & Hammer (green) huddle up before MUD Sm14 Finals. Photo by Winston
Of course, you were all there, or at least you saw the live-tweets about finals because you all follow @MUDLeague. So you know that Strangers won the championship 15 to 13 over Green Eggs & Hammer, using a trap zone to switch the momentum to their team after Hammer had taken half 8 to 5. Strangers entered the finals after walking through two 15-5 games against Olé Olé Olé and then Wesley Snipes. Snipes had dusted Individuals in a sloppy quarterfinals; Strangers began their quarterfinal 6 on 7 while waiting for their second woman, Elise Lontos, to arrive and accompany the ever-impressive Josie on every line.
Arguably, Hammer had a more difficult path to the finals. They first faced Benevolence who brought 4 women, 3 men, and no captain to the quarterfinals. By half time, more of Benevolence’s roster had arrived and they could actually abide by the league ratio standard. Hammer was perhaps suffering from over-confidence and let Benny back in the game in the second half. The final was 15 to 11. Hammer then played the 8th seed, We’ve Got a Biter. Biters had recently advanced by defeating the top-seeded, undefeated I Barely Know Her at universe point in what was probably the most exciting game of the entire summer season. Though it looked like the Ryan Drost, Jesse Mang, Amanda Dobbyn and Frazer show for several points, every present member of Biter played some of the best ultimate of the season to put together that win. I Barely Know Her and the league was shocked. All except Petterson, who had predicted that his team would face a bunch of tired Biters in the semifinals. Despite their fatigue, Biters gave Hammer a game but lost 14 to 12.
The finals, like so many have been, was a battle of attrition. In one of Strangers’ timeouts, Mateo told his team “the team that wants to keep playing this game will win this game.” The comeback victory was Mateo’s league-leading eighth finals’ victory, and 14 of his players got their first championship wins, including 8-season veteran speedster Steve Kramer and 6-season standout Rose Comaduran. Other (perhaps interesting) statistics of the tournament were that this was the sixth time a 3rd seed has won the finals; it was the fourth (second in a row) time a bottom seed has defeated a top seed, and Frazer has been a captain or a member of three of those upsetting teams; it was the third straight season that a rookie captain has lead his team to finals (and the third loss for those rookies).
Though “Strangers” won the championship, by the day’s end, no one was a stranger as the league with sidelines, huddles, and crowds of cheering, tweeting, water-sharing, fantasy-choosing, and lots and lots of heckling proved itself, as usual, a community of competitive, spirited and proper enthusiasts. We have Commissioner Winston to thank for this wonderful weekend and this dynamite league. Respect to all. See you in the fall.
The W8 Seeding Shakedown
8 August | MUD Headquarters
Tuesday: Wesley Snipes Swipes His 4 Seed
Snipes went three for three against Olé on the season and locked up the 4th seed in the process. This puts them at Field 74 on Randall’s Island at 9:30am against either Individuals or Benevolence. If lightning cancels the rest of the week, it would be Individuals. If Individuals defeat We’ve Got a Biter–and nothing left to play for except upsetting the undefeated team–on Wednesday, then the Snipes vs. Individuals matchup is in stone. It would take an Individuals’ loss and a Benevolence win to bump Individuals down. In that case Snipes would quarterfinal against the well-meaning and kindly team.
Wednesday: Biters Clobber Individuals and Give Benevolence and Strangers Pause
In Week Eight’s second 15 to 5 game, We’ve Got a Biter proved their full squad is not to be considered lightly. Individuals played down a woman, and couldn’t contain Drost. However, capt. DQ says he’ll have his top line out there on Sunday, “even Nielsen is back.”
This gives Mateo and Andy something to think about. Strangers want to win; then they’ll play Olé Olé Olé at 9:30am on Sunday. Strangers feel they completely out match Olé, though they only proved it once this season, early. Benevolence wants to win too, or do they? They win and they’ll play Wesley Snipes in the morning, a team Benevolence has a +3 record against this season. If Benevolence loses tomorrow, they have to face Barely or Hammer; however, they’ll get that first round bye. Thursday should be a stakes-heavy game then, even if Benevolence has mixed desires. Giddy up.
Thursday: 3-seed Strangers Strangle Benevolence, Prepare for Olé
Outdoing the blowouts of Tuesday and Wednesday and matching their own monstrous win differential from Week Six, the late-peaking Strangers won 15 to 3 over Benevolence tonight. The win jettisons Benevolence to the 7th seed and kindly gives Benny a bit more sleep on Sunday. But Benevolence will wake up to face the 2nd seed, which will be the loser of tomorrow’s season-ending bonanza of a game. Strangers get the Olé Olé Olé match-up they wanted. “The first of three,” according to Stranger star Andrew Werblin. That’s three games, not three Olé’s, we assume he means.
Friday: Barely Know Her Captures the 1 Seed and the Undefeated Crown
Becoming the first regular-season undefeated team in MUD history, I Barely Know Her won their last game of the regular season against Green Eggs and Hammer, 15 to 7. They also set new standards for best start and best streak as was mentioned before in this publication. 14 is the number to beat now, and not every season will even offer the chance. Well done Travis, E. Grad and co. You deserve the top spot.
The second set of quarterfinals is finally set. Barely will now face We’ve Got a Biter @ 11:30am. Green Eggs & Hammer will face Benevolence, also @ 11:30am. For the record, Petterson predicts a Hammer vs. Strangers final.
Glory for Barely in W7 and W8 Sunday: Seeds Just About Set
3 August | MUD Headquarters
Though dozens of MUD players came home from Wildwood with trophies, MUD’s tournament is still getting sorted. But after Week Seven and Week Eight Sunday, our standings are almost solidified.
The Winners
Turns out that the top four seeds won their games in Week Seven. Barely outplayed Olé Olé Olé 15 to 12. Wesley Snipes slipped one by Benevolence, winning 11 to 10 (with East-River soccer players’ permission to finish the point). Green Eggs and Hammer devoured Individuals 15 to 7 while several Individuals were indulging themselves elsewhere, across town: (Tell Reynaldo we say goodbye, and thanks!) And Strangers didn’t even bother to take names while smothering We’ve Got a Biter 15 to 4.
Barely is the biggest winner, of course. They won both games on Sunday and advanced their record to 13-0. Milestone alert! That’s the best start and the best streak MUD has ever seen. Strangers did give them a scare on Sunday, and they’ve got the heavy-hitting Hammer on Friday, but they’re just one win away from terrible, never-achieved perfection. And we all know it. Somewhat controversially, Barely may give up their captured #1 seed if they lose on Friday. Eyes will be on that game. Regardless of the seed-dealing afterward, that game will be a preview of the possible 1 vs. 2 match up that Sunday’s finals may await.
Strangers will enter the tournament as the #3 seed by virtue of being the only other team with a winning or even record. Their close captainless game against Barely, however, suggests this could tournament could go a number of ways.
Wesley Snipes need only defeat Olé on Tuesday and the #4 seed is locked up. Considering the Blade star has defeated the fútbol chanters twice already, this should go Snipes’s way.
The Losers
In addition to losing their Week Seven games, Individuals and Benevolence got rained out on W8 Sunday. Olé really let the door hit them when they forfeited both Sunday games. Biters got smoked and even the forfeit win couldn’t keep them from obtaining the 8th Seed. At least that’s a first round bye.
The 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and apparently the 1st seeds are up for grabs in Week Eight. Let’s see what shakes out.
Week Six Finally Gives Us Plenty of Games
25 July| MUD Headquarters
The Winners
Benevolence almost pulled it off on Sunday. It was 11-11, vs. I Barely Know Her, universe point. A huck went up to Barely’s Tom Kucera. Ben Graf, on defense (and known for his late-game, game-saving deep Ds), had read the put beautifully. At the last second a Riverside gust popped the disc over Graf and Kucera snatched the win. On Wednesday, Barely made it 10-0 and tied the record for best start in MUD History by beating Wesley Snipes 15 to 10. Barely is this (and so far every) week’s big winner.
Green Eggs and Hammer regained their customary spot in the winners’ column during Week Six. Strangers gave them a hard time in the second half of the 4pm Riverside game on Sunday, but not enough to make up for the mangled first half where no Stranger could read the–sometimes terrible–hucks to Matt Wiener, which he always caught.
On Thursday, Hammer debuted a zone defense against We’ve Got a Biter and quickly got a couple of turns and breaks. Biter responded with poachy D and chilly O. According to Capt. Sean, Hammer “worked real hard to take half at 8-7.” In the second half, Biter bit back and got it to 14-13. Then Petterson made a sweet grab on a hammer to bring about universe. After a quick turn, Wiener hucked it to Calvin Vannoy, who milked it with Ryan Drost pursuing for the win. Drost actually stripped the disc from Vannoy and despite the call being settled, Vannoy insisted that Hammer not “win the game on a call like that.” They played another point and Hammer scored that one too. This is an example of a spirit flaw. Giving the other team (or player) an unwarranted advantage is not good spirit. Playing by the rules is. Apparently Vannoy wanted the chance to throw away two hammers before the game was officially over, which he did.
After the game, Petterson said that this was one of the “games of the year.” He added that “with Frazer and Hunt throwing to Jessie Mang and Drost deep, Biter is finally turning into something impressive.”
Despite the aforementioned loss, We’ve Got a Biter is our final Week Six Winner. They went into Inwood Sunday 0-8 and left with VIP passes to the WW Club. Defeating Individuals and Wesley Snipes and barely losing to Green Eggs, gives Biter serious clout and a chance to do some damage in the end of the season.
The Losers
Individuals really bombed Week Six. They lost all three games. That’s four in a row and seven on a season with such a promising start. Losing deep threat Eric Nielsen to injury has hurt the whole team. Attendance hasn’t been great (including the captain) and the chemistry seems gone. When Strangers beat them 15 to 3 on Thursday (the season’s biggest win/worst loss), they had trouble putting more than two throws together. They need a spark. Surely they know that they have three games left; and their veteran Mark Chen has 97 wins. They could give the league another centurion and even their record. Let’s go people.
Wesley Snipes can’t get a break. They started Sunday with a 15-12 win over Olé. Then they fell to Biters 12-11. Wednesday was the Barely Know Her defeat. This is the sixth week in a row that Wes has been in the losing column, and that includes the week when rain made them lose the chance to even play. Despite this awfulness, they’re only one win away from grabbing fourth place.
Benevolence makes the losing list this week after falling to Barely in their one and only game. Friday was considered a travel day for the great big beach tournament and Benny and Olé called it such. In Week Seven, they play that standings changing-game against Snipes. Winner gets 4th place, loser gets 7th. Wild.
Even Stephens
Strangers and Olé Olé Olé went 1-1 on the week. Strangers managed to stay truly even. Olé hung on to that coveted fourth place. Those bottom six teams are all .500 or under, and all within two wins of each other. Are we suspicious that teams are reverse vying for the first round bye? Doubtful. Teams probably want to avoid playing Green Eggs or Barely. Maybe.
Three Games to speak of in Week Five
19 July| MUD Headquarters
The weekend was terribly rainy and (no MUD player will ever admit) the World Cup Final was beckoning on Sunday. Considering at least three of our teams reference this summer’s ball-kicking in Brazil, games were canceled. The same went for Tuesday, but that was legitimate rain.
On Wednesday Green Hammers won 15 to 11 over Olé. Olé jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead and took half 8 to 7. Hammer snatched back two breaks to start the second half and the teams traded points until 11 to 11. Soccer bros were encroaching, so Hammer got four quick D-and-scores to end the game. Capt. Sean claims that Olé’s early lead can be attributed to the fact that Matt Wiener thought the game was at Riverside and had to take a cab to East River, arriving late. Green also had savage ladies but Allie Wassel “got open about a million times.”
On Thursday, Benevolence made it two in a row with a 15-11 win over the Biter who, now at eight losses in a row, seem to be sniffing the 0-10 worst start of a season record set by Smile Crab Poop Stars in Fall 12. Biter will have a shot at shame or avoidance thereof with two games this Sunday. For their part, Benevolence joins the three teams with three wins crew all vying for the third place spot currently possessed by the four-win Individuals.
If you’ve been counting, or are just astute, or were at the game, you’ve figured out that Individuals lost on Friday. Yet another team falls to and fails to stop Barely Know Her’s juggernaut. The game was 15 to 10. That’s 8 WINS in a row for the sophomoric-named team and its sophomore captain Travis. An undefeated MUD team? Venu and John Kim must be rolling around in their graves. Wait; they’ve alive. And wait; John Kim is on Benevolence and can take out Barely on Sunday. Rah Rah parity.
100 Wins for Sarah Skeist
29 June| Riverside 72
The second Centurion of Summer 14 has been named: Sarah Skeist. Skeist has been with us since Sum11 and that one time in Sum09. 180 games and twelve teams later, she’s got 100 wins. Sarah is two for three in championship appearances. Her last win came in Fall12 with Rabble Rousers. This current season, Skeist is on a roll. Her team, I Barely Know Her, has been a boon to The Centurions this season: two already! Now that she’s in MUD’s big time club, she can set her sights on being part of MUD’s first undefeated team. Goodness!
Weeks Three and Four and We’re Half Done
12 July| MUD Headquarters
Week Three had only Sunday Games. Week Four had only weekday games. Let’s Go.
The Winners
Travis‘s team of Urban Dictionary aficionados busted up the league after slamming the Biters 15 to 8 and going the extra mile against 3xOlé 17 to 15. Biter? I barely know her! That’s six MUD seasons in a row where a team has tricked the league, beating every other team, one after the other. Congrats to Barely. They’re still undefeated. Who’s gonna stop them?
Capt. Sean is making some waves. His Green Eggs and Hammer is still on the winners list, big time. They’ve got five in a row now. In Wks 3 & 4 the Hammer put down straggling Strangers, three Olés, and the day-walking Wesley Snipes. Hammer has the league’s best differential, and the league’s newest captain. Are all these winners unstoppable?
That’s where our third winner comes in. Damn straight, it’s Benevolence. These guys have been stopped, but not by Wesley Snipes. Due to weather, the Murder at 1600 star was the only team Benevolence was able to put the beat down on in Wks 3 & 4. And it was a special win for Capt. Andy. For the first time in five seasons, Andy defeated Gabe Finkelstein. Gabe had been holding that statistic over Andy at each of their previous 11 meetings, and nearly all of Andy’s visible frustration could be attributed to it. Andy is a liberated man. His team of surprise winners are looking to start a streak going into Week Five. It’ll start with the Egg heads.
The Losers
If you’ve been paying attention, it’s obvious where Wesley Snipes belongs. It’s impossible that Sakon was just being nice against Benevolence, but still Snipes lost. Against Green Eggs, Snipes was down 6-2 and then brought it back to 10-8 with his deep game. Petterson took a quick timeout to slow Snipes’s momentum, and it gave Hammer the energy they needed to close out the game. Wesley plays Individuals and then Strangers next. He’ll try not to get confused.
The Biters are still down here on the losing list. In fact, at this point they’ve been 0-7 league licked (that’s losing to every other team, one after the other). Barely and Strangers did the final honors this week. We’ll see how they fair against Olé Olé Olé and Benevolence upcoming.
Strangers and Olé round out the losing teams for Weeks 3 & 4. Both went 1-2 and both played Hammer and Individuals at Inwood. Strangers haughtily played their first Inwood game 5 on 7, and creepily played their second game 6 on 7, savage. They lost, but no one was happy. On Wednesday they sneaked past We’ve Got a Biter to begin their season perfectly-even at 3-3-1. Olé beat Individuals and lost fairly to Hammer. On Thursday of Week 4, Olé lost to Barely in a protracted 17 to 15 game. They end the fourth week at 3-4.
Individuals
The 1-1 team of this week was Individuals. They suffered a canceled game on Tuesday after going loss-win on Inwood Sunday. That win, even if it was with a numbers advantage, was good to get Individuals back on track. They enter Week Five at 4-3.
Mateo is twice the Centurion you are
22 June| Riverside 72
It’s official; MUD has a player who has won 200 games. Of course it is Mateo. In his 20th season, after 307 games, the winningest player in MUD history has set a new standard. Mateo has won seven championships and has captained eleven teams to the finals. His Fall 08 team, Six Pack, still maintains the record for best winning streak in MUD (12 in a row). In Spring 13, The Funeral (widely considered the best team MUD has seen) had the best start in MUD history, winning 10 in a row. Mateo is one of three players who have played every MUD season. Winston and John Kim are the others, and they have 42 and 53 games to respectively win before they join Mateo. This season, Mateo’s team of Strangers is off to a winning, but slow start. Will he three-peat his Spring/Summer championship run? Only time (and perhaps Travis and Sean) will tell.
Stark Standings After Two Weeks
28 June| MUD Headquarters
The Winners
I Barely Know Her looks to be the team to beat this season. They continued their tear through the league defeating Wesley Snipes and Benevolence at Inwood Sunday and then surviving Individuals on East-River Wednesday.
Green Eggs and Hammer liked it on the west side in Week Two. The Suessian puns gave Individuals their first loss on Sunday, and then Eggs defeated the beleaguered We’ve Got a Biter on Thursday. So far, Hammer’s only loss was to the aforementioned undefeated team.
Strangers join the winners circle in Week Two, though they narrowly earned their spot here. After walloping Olé Olé Olé on Sunday, they faced the evasive Wesley Snipes on Friday. The 57th passenger was up 14 to 8 as the sky began to darken, and apparently, that was to the Strangers advantage. Six D-and-score points later, the board read 14-14, but the captains spiritedly agreed it was too dark to continue. They registered the first official tie since Spring 2012 and the eleventh tie in MUD history.
The Losers
Benevolence is reluctantly placed among the losers in Week Two. Though they lost to Hammer and Olé on Inwood Sunday and Riverside Tuesday, respectively, they found their first win (and it was a decent one) against the Biters in game one on Sunday. Their next task: beat a team that’s won a game.
We’ve Got a Biter fell to 0-5 after facing Benevolence, Snipes, and Hammer in Week Two. This is familiar territory for both Biter co-captains Frazer and Hunt, who began last season losing five of the first six games, on separate teams! The glimmer of hope here is that their next game is their sixth; however, they face the undefeated squad, so that might make history’s repetition difficult.
The worst of the losers, subjectively, are Individuals. These charmers stormed the league in week one, romancing the wait staff at the WW Club and showing how it’s done on Riverside. The magic was expired in Week Two as Individuals faced the top two teams and lost both times. We’re all looking for a rebound in Week Three as the Individuals attempt to consume some lighter fare against a couple of middling teams.
The Others
Speaking of the middle, Olé Olé Olé went 1-1 this week, blowing it against Strangers on Sunday and then finding their World-Cup prowess on Tuesday vs. Benevolence. For now, Olé is keeping their heads above water at 50%, but their next match-ups are against two higher-ranked teams. Luck favors the attending in MUD; it is a hard-line truth.
Wesley Snipes gets an honorable mention for this week’s performance. It has been a while since a team has spent a week losing, winning, and then tying. Snipes’s loss came against Barely; their win was had upon the Biters, and, as discussed, they tied Strangers. Coming up, they’ve got a winnable game against Benevolence, though that game may determine just who is the better team. Stay tuned. Week Three is inevitable.
Stefan Loble Is Finally a Centurion
17 June| Riverside 72
You’ve probably seen this guy on the field, and if not you’ve heard his high-pitched indication that he’s wide open for sure. Stefan‘s in his 13th straight MUD season and joins the 100 Club after 193 regular-season games. Like his fellow Centurion Jeannine, Stefan has only been to the finals one time in Spring 2013, and he and Jeannine and The Funeral won that series handedly. His current team, I Barely Know Her, is undefeated and has big plans. Know Her’s captain Travis and The Centurions told the Latest they are proud to at last have Mr. Loble among their ranks.
Week One Divides the Teams
15 June| MUD Headquarters
After Sunday You’re Either Winless or Undefeated
Riverside: The rematch of last season’s championship captains went poetically. Travis and Emily Grad‘s I Barely Know Her upended Mateo‘s Strangers 15 to 9. Both teams had nearly two lines of subs and despite barely knowing each other, Barely figured themselves out before the bunch of strangers on the other line did. In the second game, Bob‘s World-Cup inspired Olé Olé Olé defeated Frazer and Hunt‘s World-Cup memetic We’ve Got a Biter 15 to 11. Both offenses were clicking well, Olé’s defense just stepped it up in the end.
Inwood: Recently divorced from Hunt, DQ showed off as a first-time solo captain. His Individuals robbed the Money Train, 15 to 11, over J9/Sakon‘s Wesley Snipes and then sucker punched Andy‘s Benevolence 15 to 4. Slightly more impressive was Sean Petterson‘s WW club weekend with his team Green Eggs and Hammer. The rookie captain had some beginners luck (or was it swagger?) and beat Benevolence by 10 and then Snipes by 8. Great start for those winning teams; they play each other next Sunday. Snipes might be waiting for their jerseys before they become Unstoppable, and Benevolence is going to need more than 9 points in two games to make a mark in this season. They might want to drop the nice-guy act.
Barely Nearly Wears Out Their Team Name as They Scramble Eggs and Hammer
Obnoxious punch lines aside, Barely proved two things on Tuesday: they’re more used to playing with each other and they’re more used to playing without cleats at Riverside. The Dr. Seuss reference seemed like the more green team despite their dub dub weekend. However, Hammer can’t blame their loss entirely on fresh faces and slippery fields. Throughout the second half they were putting on a bad decision clinic. Their deep threat Matt Wiener was terrific in the air, but he couldn’t complete a pass after his massive skies. Barely passed the early test of Capt. Travis’s plan to return to finals, 15 to 10.
Strangers Rebound Against a Struggling Benevolence on Wednesday
Speaking of returning to finals, Mateo assembled a bunch of Strangers this season, using an unorthodox method to try to dominate the league. It seemed to be working on Wednesday against Benevolence. The game featured mostly hammer-scores and nearly a dozen MUD rookies, and it began before Benevolent captain Andy could get to East River. His team never quite gained the focus they needed. As the games in the first week of Summer often do, this one showcased plenty of bad decisions and loose chemistry. Strangers took a lesson from their Sunday loss and hit the dump swing and the in-cuts; that gave them the 15-9 win.
Thursday: Wesley Snipes Goes All Demolition Man on Olé
Who says White Men Can’t Jump? Have you seen John Sakon? It was New Jack City all over Olé Olé Olé; Snipes won 15 to 10.
Individuals Head Into the Weekend Still Undefeated
DQ has really turned his captaining around. Last season his team became a contender only in the last weeks. And this Friday’s win against We’ve Got a Biter is only the second time in his 14-season MUD history that DQ has begun a season with three wins. Keep it up Individuals. And Frazer and Hunt, people are depending on you two. Work it out, baby.
Summer 2014 Gets Going
14 June| MUD Headquarters
Welcoming nearly 50 MUD rookies to the competitive league this summer, our eight teams are about to dive in. Veterans, rookies, champions, even new captains are ready to show how hot they can get this season. Here we go.
Summer 2017, Spring 2017
Fall 2016, Summer 2016, Spring 2016
Fall 2015, Summer 2015, Spring 2015
Fall 2014, Summer 2014, Spring 2014
Fall 2013, Summer 2013, Spring 2013
Fall 2012