Sectionals: No Guarantees

a. Tina Charles went first in the WNBA draft. Was anyone surprised? She stays in Connecticut, which is going to be insane. AT to ... Tulsa! She gets to stay in the same state too. Oklahoma loves that girl, I swear. Abi comes to Chicago to hook up yet again with Courtney Paris. Jenna Smith from Illinois was also drafted at 14 to Washington. She lives in my apartment building. I may or may not know more about her and her roommate, Chi Chi, than either of them know. Yikes. But holler.
b. That Situation and David Wright commercial is HILARIOUS. Oh my-freaking-lanta. OH! And did anyone hear that they're casting people for an Asian version of the Jersey Shore?! I'M THERE. I already know what persona I'm gonna have too. I'd be J-Woww, Snickers, and Angelina all rolled into one. I would be annoying as shit (Angelina), I'd give out free beej's to everyone and anyone, but especially people with Ripsticks and fold-up scooters (Snickers/Sarah Rosenwinkel), and I'd get rage blackouts and throw down with bitches (J-Woww). I have so many sweet nicknames too. J-Face. Jizzann. J Baby/Baby J. Slow Puppet. Game ON.
c. My productivity has been lagging in the past two weeks post-spring break, but I think I've found the antidote: a lot of Red Bull and a playlist consisting of Midtown, Millencolin, Allister, MxPx, and other assorted pop punk bands I listened to back in the day. Ooh the stuff I used to listen to was embarrassing.
d. If it's possible to become a professional blogger, I would like to become one. But I think first I have to lead an interesting life? Like Katie Sokoler. Or Alysa Auriemma. I always look forward to their posts, Katie because she is adorable and Alysa because she is hilarious and also very passionate about what she's writing about. Hrm. What should I write about? More importantly, who would consume what I'm writing?
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College ultimate's version of March Madness is here again, and just like in the basketball version, there are underdogs and Cinderella stories, there are big-time programs and big-time teams, and there is no shortage of amazing play, emotion, and fierce competition. This is what teams train for all year, to have a good Series and qualify for Nationals. The learning is done at this point. You have to hope that your team has learned enough to guide them through the tournament, and you have to hope that your team is confident enough to play to the best of their abilities. You just hafta hope that you want it more than the other team, and that you'll fight harder.

That said, I don't have much to say about Sectionals. It seems pretty cut and dried to me -- we just have to execute. I know our team can play well. The Wash U game at Centex proved that to me. I know our team has heart. The way we battled at Chicago Invite proved that to me. I know we can finish games. The way we won on DGP against Illinois State without letting their upwind break get us down proved that to me. Now we just have to string it all together. It's the little things. It's catching and it's focusing on our throws. It's having the confidence that we have the skills to do all these things correctly. Good teams know how to "turn it on". Great teams know how to keep it on. I guess we'll figure out what we're made of this weekend.

We get another crack against Valpo this weekend. They beat us at No Wisco pretty handily. I feel pretty confident that we're going to play better against them this time around. We know what they like, so hopefully we'll know a little better what to expect. This time around, our rookies know how to play zone O, unlike last time when it felt like we were utterly confused on the field. I'm excited to play this game, actually, so the younger players can measure just how much they've grown since the fall.

Our next game is against Notre Dame. Sad to say that I don't know much about them, but it looks like they really got their mileage in this spring. They traveled to a whopping five tournaments all across the country, and they've been winning. Judging from their scores it looks like they've been hulksmashing some teams, and they've beaten some teams we've lost to, including Case Western which is pretty worrisome for us. I think this is going to be a physical game for us. It should be another great opportunity to measure ourselves against another top team in our region.

Next up is Chicago. I think Chicago is actually going to be a much tougher game than their B5 status implies. A number of their girls got some club experience over the summer (Holler holler holler Christina, Spicy what up), and both their captains played with Nemesis. We actually haven't played Chicago since the '08 season, so I'm really curious as to what their team's looking like. Last of the day is Loyola. Again, I don't know much about what their roster's looking like this year, but I think in this the last game of the day, our biggest opponent will be ourselves. It'll be about how well we play when we're tired and not as focused as were to start off the day. We've had a bad record of fading a bit at the end of tournaments, so I want to see us respond differently this tournament.

Now it just comes down to execution and hard work. My team goal for the weekend is to break seed and finish in the top three. My individual goal is to Kelly Faris this sucker -- intense D and no turnovers. That means focusing on my throws and catches, and smart decisions. No excuses. If I do happen to turn the disc over, I'm gonna bust ass to get back on D. No fumes. No rage rampages. We'll see how it works out.

There are only 8 bids to Regies.
There is no such thing as a "sure thing." We are not guaranteed a bid to Regionals. That means we gotta come out and play hard. Every team wants a chance to go to Nationals. We've just got to want it more and work harder. All the wins and losses we've had up until now this season don't mean anything anymore. It doesn't matter who we've beat or we've lost to -- it's about showing up now and playing the way we know we can now. The time to step up is now.
Game the fuck on.