Quick Thoughts on Week 12

"I'm a hard workin' man,
I wear a steel hard hat.
I can ride, rope, hammer and paint
Do things with my hands that most men can't .
I can't get ahead no matter how hard I try
I'm getting really good at barely getting by."
Brooks and Dunn - Hard Working Man

As accurately predicted (there's a change!), work has been busy, but since I find myself with 10 minutes before Scrubs, here's a few quick thoughts about this week's match-ups.

- Grey to beat 2 x 12s. Grey's got a great mix of speed and skill that when combined with fantastic coaching, should be enough to beat 2 x 12s.
- Threezerburn to lose a close one to Corn. Corn's coming off a huge upset last week, and will have their hands full against the Threeze. However, rumor has it that P-Star promised his gf a win ;-)
- Army to march past Cup. It'll be fun to watch the veteran handlers on both teams go at it, but I think Army will prevail based on their edge in athleticism and rules knowledge.
- Ocho may be our toughest test in the second round (with all due respect to Grey and Corn). Their guys are solid and smart enough to let their talented women do most of the heavy lifting. Furthermore, they're well-coached, run their plays, and have a nucleus of players who've played together. With all those strengths, I still think we can beat them based on playing them close until the last 10 minutes in our first encounter. It'll be a matter of the Hammers playing smart (a monumental challenge for yours truly), keeping up the intensity for 75 minutes, and taking advantage of mismatches when we have them.
- Predicted Quote of the Week:
Mama Fish after Ocho's traditional cheer:
"That's not how you count to eight in Spanish!"
(which will induce tired laughter from one purple loving freak).

As I was gently reminded over the weekend, there was no all-starved squad this year as of mid-season. It's not for a lack of deserving players, but instead for lack of time, and better judgment than last year. Afterall, there are others who are much better qualified to list the top (five?) males and females playing on the lesser side of the curtain ;-)

Since I like to test my luck, it's hard to argue that Giddy-up wasn't the most valuable female in the inter-remedial division during the first half of the season. Not only does she 'bring it' every shift, you can learn so much just by watching how smart and aggressive she plays. Similarly, as is evidenced by a new pretty picture on the OCUA forums each week, Steve has skyed his way to first half male MVP. Although not quite as dominant as Ahmad was last year, as he continues to get healthier, he elevates not only his status, but the game of everyone he comes in contact with.

On that note, I'm off to disprove the popular belief that I'm the 'King of the tool shed'. Until next time, happy hucking!