MLP Orlando DAY 4

Finally we get to see the Slice debut, but they couldn’t have a tougher task with Dallas.  As bullish as I am on the Slice, I just can’t give them much of a chance.  I think Jimmy gets a mixed win if he matches up with Ge/Black, but otherwise DAL 4-0.

• WOMENS:  Johnson/Black over Smith/David: I don’t see myself picking against Jorja any time soon
• MENS:  Johnson/Ge over Ignatowich/Freeman:  This is a possible win for Chicago if the boys come out hot, but probably they won’t be hot enough
• MIXED 1: Johnson/Johnson over Ignatowich/David:  Hopefully this is a battle
• MIXED 2: Ge/Black over Freeman/Smith:  Augie is better than Max at this point, and Tyra is better than Callie

Ahhh, the boys had a chance there, at least I saw them up 9-8, but Dallas was just a little too much to start.  Gender scorelines make you bullish on Chicago, and then not so much in mixed, but there’s time for the Slice.  Dallas clinches playoffs 😉

• WOMENS:  DAL wins 11-6
• MENS: DAL wins 11-9
• MIXED:  DAL (Johnson/Johnson) wins 11-1 (Ignatowich/David)
• MIXED: DAL (Ge/Black) wins 11-3 (Freeman/Smith)
• Nailed it 🙁

Rivalry Sunday starts with this one!  The Girlies break up (sad face) and have to face each other right off the bat in MLP.  At least it’s right off the bat for Anna Bright, Rachel has been in the trenches all weekend.  Can the Shock get into the flow quickly enough to take this? Will the Girlies face off directly in mixed?  I’m going to show my true colors here as a Shock homer and go STL 3-1.   What I’m really saying here too is that Kate loses mixed.   This is such a hard match to call, but I’m so excited to see it.

• WOMENS:  Bright/Fahey over Rohrabacher/Kawamoto:  Will there be chirping?  I think there will be a lot of yells and “Come on”s.  Can Jackie meet the intensity?
• MENS:  Patriquin/Tardio over Bar/Newman:  Will there be chirping?  Yup…I’m so pumped for this one.
• MIXED 1: Bright/Tardio over Bar/Rohrabacher:  I think we will see this team from the Shock, and again, amazing match up.
• MIXED 2: Newman/Kawamoto over Patriquin/Fahey:  Of the 8 super solid players, Kate is just a slight step below the mixed play of the others.

Let’s go!  The Shock women were fired up and looked great, running away after going 4-4.  The mens match was hard fought and close with the youngsters hanging on.  I’m looking good as Brooklyn beats the Shock B team, but Rachel and Dekel get the HUGE win over Bright/Tardio, who I think will win a lot of matches this year.  The dreambreaker was crazy too, STL comes out extremely hot going up 9-3 in the first 3 matchups, but Jackie gets the sweep of Anna Bright to go 9-7.  The Shock were able to pull away though, and win the DB 21-14.

• WOMENS:  STL wins 11-4
• MENS: STL wins 11-9
• MIXED: BRK (Newman/Kawamoto) wins 11-7 (Patriquin/Fahey)
• MIXED: BRK (Bar/Rohrabacher) wins 11-8 (Bright/Tardio)
• Me?  I went 3-1 in doubles, picked the winner, but not the DB

I guess it’s really only Rivalry Sunday on Championship court.  Utah has tons of potential to be a fun team, and the guys are coming off a good win.  Columbus is too tough and battle tested in this event, and I think they will feel like they need this one.  COL 4-0.

• WOMENS:  Todd/Jansen over Jones/Erokhina:  The Slider ladies are too much here
• MENS:  :  Daescu/Klinger over Loong/Garnett:  I’d love to see Utah take this one, but I have them coming up just short
• MIXED 1: Daescu/Todd over Loong/Erokhina:  Again, I think there is a decent gap between the teams in both mixed matchups.
• MIXED 2: Klinger/Jansen over Garnett/Jones:  This one seems a litte more getable for the Black Diamonds

Well Allyce Jones put up a good fight, but as expected, Utah gets blanked by a better team.  Very tough tournament for Loong, might be a somber KOTC this week, but I hope they bounce back.

• WOMENS:  COL wins 12-10
• MENS:  COL wins 11-7
• MIXED:  COL (Daescu/Todd) wins 11-9 (Garnett/Jones)
• MIXED:  COL (Klinger/Jansen) wins 11-4 (Loong/Erokhina)
• My picks were correct here!

Back to the grudge matches on center court, we have former partners squaring off.  And again, ALW has been grinding all weekend, and Catherine only has one match under her belt, one in which her womens team got crushed by Rane/Bui.  Sadly for CP, I think Anna Leigh will play like she has something to prove even though it was her that did the dumping.  Is AJ Koller back on the bench after showing out yesterday?  MLP website thinks so, so I’m going with that (edit: what was I thinking).   I wish I had been able to watch MIA v LA before this pick, but I have to go NJ 4-0.

• WOMENS:  Waters/Dizon over Parenteau/Kawamoto:  If you can’t beat Miami, you can’t be NJ here
• MENS:  : Howells/Navratil over Koller/Duong:  Mad Drops must be live here based on their scorelines yesterday
• MIXED 1: Waters/Howells over Duong/Parenteau:  Again, I think there is a decent gap between the teams in both mixed matchups.
• MIXED 2: Navratil/Dizon over Koller/Kawamoto:  Toss up here, but I think there is an intimidation factor

What a big statement by the Mad Drops to push this one to a 2 pt loss in a dreambreaker.  Even with the loss, Catherine has to be feeling good that she handed ALW her first loss of the year in womens.  She also won her mixed, albeit not against Anna Leigh.  The Dreambreaker was super interesting, and I’m confident LA would have won it with Hunter Johnson in there rather than AJ.  The Mad Drops put Catherine out second?  Was this an attempt to just not have to go head to head with Anna Leigh?  Catherine seemed massively outclassed by Zane, and Anna Leigh looks better than AJ.  I don’t know if it goes a ton better if you switched the matchups, but I think they have a better chance.

• WOMENS:  LA wins 11-8
• MENS:  NJ wins 11-9
• MIXED:  LA (Parenteau/Duong) wins 11-9 (Navratil/Dizon)
• MIXED:  NJ (Howells/Waters) wins 11-1 (Koller/Kawamoto)
• My picks:  Winner (check), 2-2, but didn’t predict a Dreambreaker

Okay, this is at least a minor rivalry between Big Papa and the Tweener King.  Alshon has definitely had the best of it recently, but I think Jimmy is on his way back in a big way.  I want to pick him to win twice, but I can’t quite.  TEX 3-1.  So glad to finally be seeing Chicago out there but this is a rough opening 1,2.

• WOMENS:  Tuionetoa/Pisnik over Smith/David:  All vets here, but the Rancher women have definitely been better in the last year
• MENS:  : Alshon/Oncins over Ignatowich/Freeman:  I want to be wrong here so badly
• MIXED 1: Ignatowich/David over Alshon/Tuionetoa:   That’s right folks, Daddy’s home
• MIXED 2: Oncins/Pisnik over Freeman/Smith:  Texas is too deep

I can’t believe I didn’t believe in Jimmy and Max!!!  Chicago walked right into the fire with these two late-event matches, and got only one game win out of it, but it was a big one over Alshon/Oncins.  Also Max and Callie really pushed Alshon in mixed.  I think the Slice can be a playoff team, they looked okay against 2 of the very top teams, so if they can feast on the have-nots in Premier, they can be in the mix.

• WOMENS:  TEX wins 11-4
• MENS:  CHI wins 11-7
• MIXED:  TEX (Oncins/Pisnik) wins 11-6 (Ignatowich/David)
• MIXED:  TEX (Alshon/Tuionetoa) wins 11-9 (Freeman/Smith)
• 2-2 in doubles, score and winner correct

What’s the rivalry here?  Fed vs Hunter from that singles match debacle a few weeks ago?  Or bad blood from Shaq going to the Lakers?  This could be a great match, even without any true rivals in there.  I think the Squeeze men are a level above LA, but again I said that yesterday about the Mad Drops.  I’ll take ORL 3-1 with low confidence that I’ll pick the right 1.  These are both great DB teams so I hope I’ll see one here.

• WOMENS:  Parenteau/Kawamoto over Schneeman/Parker:  Riding the momentum from that big rivalry win!
• MENS:  : Staksrud/Frazier over Koller/Duong:  Just a little more steady
• MIXED 1: Staksrud/Schneeman over Parenteau/Duong:   CP is very good in mixed, but I believe in Fed and Lacy
• MIXED 2: Frazier/Parker over Koller/Kawamoto:  Close call here, I should have said Dreambreaker

CP and Jade kept the momentum and were able to win womens, then Orlando took over for mens and Staksrud/Schneeman, Frazier/Parker took a lead and lost a couple of match points, letting LA climb back to 10-10 (1) before winning 4 straight points to take it.  Great event for Orlando, going 4-1!

Busy weekend for both these teams, but I think Columbus gets this one comfortably, COL 4-0.  Khlif/Rane have an outside chance of getting one against Oncins/Pisnik, but still probably not.

• WOMENS:  Todd/Jansen over Rane/Bui:  too much class from Columbus
• MENS: Daescu/Klinger over Devilliers/Khlif
• MIXED 1: Daescu/Todd over Khlif/Rane
• MIXED 2: Oncins/Jansen over Devilliers/Bui

Another mismatch in this wealth inequal league.  Jay and Mya looked like they might pull the upset, but Daescu/Todd turned it around it time.  Good finish for Columbus who went 4-2 in the event.

• WOMENS:  COL wins 11-3
• MENS:  COL wins 11-3
• MIXED:  COL (Daescu/Todd) wins 11-8 (Devilliers Bui)
• MIXED:  COL (Klinger/Jansen) wins 11-8 (Khlif/Rane)
• Got this one too, looking like my best day of picks yet

This is the big one!  I’m cheering so hard for STL, both Annas have faced some adversity today.  I think the Shock win both gender doubles, and that Bright and Waters win mixed if they aren’t head to head.  If they are, I’ll pick Waters/Howells and Patriquin/Fahey.  So either way STL 3-1

• WOMENS:  Bright/Fahey over Waters/Dizon:  So close, my heart wants it though
• MENS: Patriquin/Tardio over Navratil/Howells:  Most confident of the group here, so I’ll probably lose.
• MIXED 1: Waters/Howells over Bright/Tardio:  Probably the only time I pick against this mixed team all season, my heart does not want this one
• MIXED 2: Patriquin/Fahey over Navratil/Dizon: Don’t want to see Big H and Kate start 0-2

I can already tell you, this one is going to start more than 2 hours late.  I wonder why?  Long matches?  Was there a delay I didn’t see?  It did seem like LA v NJ went on forever.   This one really lived up to the hype, the women’s match was insane, the Shock just come out on fire and quickly push to 10-3, then NJ fights off 9 match points as they crawl back in it before STL finally finishes them off.  The Shock teens start just about as hot, and give up a little less of a late run to the Fives guys.  ALW on a mission beats the Shock B team badly, but then Anna Bright and Gabe Tardio didn’t mess around, closing this one out emphatically to hand NJ their first loss.  Big statement for the Shock.  There was also a bit of an incident after the first mixed match where Big H apparently said some regrettable things directed towards Anna Leigh and she took issue.  Curious to find out exactly what those things were, but it’s a ton of fun that these players and teams care so much.  Amazing way to end the event.

• WOMENS:  STL wins 11-8
• MENS:  STL wins 11-7
• MIXED 1:  NJ (Waters/Howells) wins 11-3 (Patriquin/Fahey)
• MIXED 2:  STL (Bright/Tardio) wins 11-4 (Navratil/Dizon)
• Nailed my conditional picks, and this is finally one where I went a little bold.