Dear readers -- my apologies for the very long hiatus on the Poll. If you haven't noticed lately, the economy is not so great. And one of my coworkers got canned a few weeks ago, and I am now stuck with almost all of her caseload, and that last week was my review. On top of that, NY Star (starting season 3 as president, season 4 unofficially), which is our biggest kickball league in the Big Apple, is only a few weeks away and (surprise) there are still plenty of unresolved issues (re: no bar, registration not closed, shirts not ordered).
So all of this means I've been hard pressed to check in with the message board as often as I would like. I'm hoping to tunnel myself out from under this huge pile of to-dos soon ... and to do a much better job of doing so (like actually waking up early for work and finally convincing my workplace to give me a laptop from which I can answer e-mails and update databases from home).
The plan: get this post-FC poll out of the way first. I intend this poll to be a snapshot of the top teams right after FC. Then, get a fall poll out by week's end (Thursday, says the optimist in me; Saturday, says the pessimist) second. Many teams do not play in the fall, so this poll will look very different, and it will take into account a lot of developments since then.
Finally - what I considered in terms of specific statistics:
W-L, Run %, quality wins, quality losses, and level of advancement at Founders Cup
Division Strength of Schedule
Tournament Strength of Schedule (counting a team's tourney performance from 2007-on)
A word of caution to all teams that stayed at home on Labor Day, or throughout this year's tourney season. It will be increasingly hard to justify a ranking against teams that should be rewarded for playing tougher competition and gaining valuable experience in tourney play where the opponents are not every day foes. We rely on the major tourneys (that, admittedly, require travel) and the regional ones (which don't - so kudos to NorCal, SoCal, and VA Beach) to get much better windows onto a team's real mettle on the toughest stages.
In the end, like all polls, this one is not perfect. It doesn't determine who's holding a trophy at the end of a Saturday - the best, most consistent play does. What I hope it does is continue to spark a healthy discourse on the growth of the game, and to encourage a thriving tourney scene (at least 4 tourneys next year, between Miami, Tidewater, DC, and Founders Cup) that provides great competition and great camarderie.
Without further ado:
1 Frosty Balls (VA Recess) - Top of the mountain, and an obvious choice for #1. Who remembers their first tourney in Richmond in 2006 -- anyone? They've been around longer than folks think, and a powerful D anchored a well-deserved title.
2 Meatballs (FL West Palm/FL Beach) - In my opinion, the Meatballs don't have to prove to anyone any more that they're elite. An aggressive offense and stellar interior defense led the white shirts all the way to the FC finals in their official tourney debut, the best showing of all the SoFla teams.
3 Hey Whoa (NY Gotham) - A tough semifinal loss to a game Frosty Balls team, but no less of a doubt as to lime green's status as one of the top sides in the game.
4 Kick Asphalts (VA Dominion) - Still relevant, still in the discussion of the game's best. A tough loss to the Meatballs, but more fodder than anything to retool and reload for future tourneys.
5 Screw the Team (FL Riptide) - A raw deal in terms of drawing the Group of Death. But the talent is still there, and future iterations of this franchise will continue to anchor a dangerous Florida contigent for seasons to come.
6 Young Guns (FL West Palm/FL Beach) - Dominated a pool that we thought would give them more trouble, but fell short against KA. Still as fast and potent an offense as there is in the tourney scene.
7 Menace 2 Sobriety (DC Rock Creek, DC Memorial) - After a testy group of death at the 07 Open, M2S shut out its pool and notched another quality win in the knockout round before dropping a quarterfinal game to the Meatballs. Look for the Menaces to carry the torch for DC squads from here on out.
8 Off in Public (DC Liberty, DC Memorial) - Very tough to place anyone that didn't come to FC. Hard to count out a storied franchise like OIP; hard to tell if they are reloading not just for division play but for a return to the tourney scene.
9 Blue Balls (VA Recess, VA Shore) - Also a team you might not know to have 3 years of tourney presence, and one you feel could break through even more on the tourney scene next year. We'll see if the much-heralded additions get them there, with the first test being Shore's fall.
10 Dumpster Fire (NY Freedom) - A gutsy, year-long journey, with 4 tourney stops, pays off with a sweep of pool play that included a monster win against the defending champs.
11 We Kick Your Balls (AZ Valley) - We officially welcome our friends from the desert to the Poll. We hope it's a great sign of things to come, and that they and Ludicrous become mainstays of the tourney crowd.
12 Friends With Benefits (VA Dominion) - Another very, very tough team to place. Hard to tell whether it would be the team that did well at the 07 Open and is hanging tougher with KA these days or the one that came away from Tidewater without a quality win.
13 Gonzo (VA Alexandria, VA Arlington) - It is hard to think this stalwart in the tourney scene might have made its last tilt in current form. No one has set the bar higher over the past 3 years in terms of travelling for any and all challenges.
14 Sofa King Good (CA Hollywood) - Another official welcome to SKG, for an impressive first national tourney, and for proving the Poll right about the development of competitive ball in SoCal.
15 Best Coast Ballers (CA Gold Rush) - NorCal finally has its torchbearer. Hard to miss pink shirts playing quality ball and causing lots of playful mischief in Vegas.
16 Gym Class All Stars (DC Monument) - Yes, this seems low for a team comprised of lots of folks from squads listed above here. Yes, all signs point to GCAS' tourney days being long over. But with DC/NoVa itching to rise to the challenge from other regions, never say never. And sometimes GCAS' fierce division rivals rise to the occasion and catch 'em napping.
Watch List
DWAKP (FL Beach) - Beach has caught up to the Drinkers since their magical run of 2007. With the loss to D-Fire, so have other squads. DWAKP may have lost a step, but they're still running, and last time I checked, no other Florida squad has hoisted a Founders' Cup.
Champs Like It Tickled (MA Minutemen, MA Ironsides) - CLIT shows it's still a competitive team. We hope they'll continue to grace the tourney scene with its presence and drag some Beantown brethren with them.
Tiki Titans (VA Shore) - We get the feelings it's only a matter of time before the Tidewater's original tourney team recaptures its current form.
Ballers and Shot Callers (DC Capital) - We're fans of BSC's passion to defend the Ancient One's pride, and we hope more teams from the Association's founding division follow in the footsteps of their showing in Vegas.
Riff Raff (FL Beach, FL Riptide) - We would love to see the Floridians in pink make their debut on a national stage and shake off their playoff jitters.
nWo (DC Liberty) - The ballers in black were strong in a DC spring scene that has been a little down in recent years.
Super Bad (CA Riptide) - A tough-nosed team that could easily break through in future tourneys and raise Riptide's profile as a more elite squad in an improving region.
3rd Base Is Overrated (DC Lightning) - A proud squad hoping to carry the banner for future team's from the nationa's capital. A season in one of the DC power divisions might be a good tune-up for a tourney run in 2009.
Ludicrous Speed (AZ Fire) - Tough to draw a group of death and show off the desert talent. The close win against WGTR didn't help, even as the close loss to STT was encouraging. We'll still keep on eye on the top of the roost in Arizona's oldest division.
Valley Girls (CA Studio) - The talent is there, but the lack of depth caused the Gals two disappointing losses in pool play. But certainly a squad that could anchor a great SoCal presence on the tourney scene, both on the field and off.
Kung Fu Grip (CA Tinseltown) - We expected a tad better from a #10 ranking, and hopefully the experience at FC and the SoCal tourney plants the seed for future tourney incarnations.
Real Talk (CA Surf City) - A surprise showing from a peskier than expected division. The folks from Huntington are part of a huge mass of SoCal teams that could break through.
Ridiculously Good Looking (CA Dogtown) - Kind of a middling showing for the representative of SoCal's #3 power conference. We're hoping it was more of an off day than an indication of a weak (and not a strong) parity in Venice Beach.
K2 (CA Crown) - Credit where it's due to making it to the knockout round. But drawing the "pillow fight" pool isn't going to turn many heads of Poll watchers.
....watch out