Regionals Predictions

I started writing a blog directed to Flaming Moe, but I got halfway done and ran out of steam. Here's the gist of it: Look, you're good enough to win the whole thing...do it. If you don't, you need to remember that you don't have to win regionals to make nationals. All you have to do at regionals is qualify. If you lose, which is likely, only one team wins after all, you need to play like you still want to go. The last two years you have followed up losses at regionals with half-hearted losses in your next game. Make this year different. It's up to everybody on the team, not just your captains to prepare you after a loss. Keep a positive attitude and believe in yourselves. Florida in late October is very nice. Saturday morning quarters at nationals is even better.

Regionals predictions:

Pool A: The Chad Larson Experience takes the pool
Pool B: Mr. Briefcase takes the pool
Pool C: Flaming Moe takes the pool
Pool D: Ice takes the pool over Salsa Police. Will it be close, I don't know.

Flaming Moe beats Mr. Briefcase in the B/C pool matchup. I don't care what everybody is saying about Briefcase and how everybody thinks they'll be champions. Briefcase won't finish higher than third. They are not scary, they are good, but not scary. Look, how many times has Kaze/Disco Demolition/Mr. Briefcase ever won Cooler/CHCs/regionals? Zero! How many times have they even made finals of a big tournament? Once! Just because it happened to be recently doesn't mean Mr. Briefcase is going to clean up at regionals. Moe wins a good one.

The Chad Larson Experience v. Ice in the A/D pool matchup will be a tough one. I'm going to say one of two things happen. Either Ice cleans our clock, our CLX wins a close one. It's unknown who Ice will even have, but they potentially have the best players from their U of Iowa nationals runs including Elijah Edwards, Dan West, Mike Francis, Colleen Roarty, Sara Hill, Mackenzie, Mary, Mark G., in addition to Zach, Kresowicks, Matt Klemm, and others. Of course, who knows who will be there. This game will have the feel of a quarters game at nationals. Who wins? Can I really say my own team loses? Let's put it this way...the winner of this game wins regionals. I'd bet the house on it. What the heck...CLX wins.

Front door: Moe v. CLX. Well, I kind of have to lean towards CLX here.

Back door: I don't care how any of the other teams do, its between Ice and Mr. Briefcase to play Moe in the back door finals. Ice wins. Mr. Briefcase falls to the fourth place bracket.

Back door finals. Redo of the front door finals, since CLX will turn down their nationals bid. Ice wins. Moe takes the second bid.

Double back door finals. Mr. Briefcase plays Salsa Police and Briefcase takes the 3rd spot to nationals.

Wow. That's probably really wrong. There are four teams that can win this tournament, maybe five if Carleton is strong, but I feel like this isn't their year (or do I just want it to not be their year?). How those four will end up is a mystery. That would be neat if I was right. Then CLX would have won regionals, Moe would have made it, and Mr. Briefcase would have finished third, maybe even fourth, I'd accept a Carleton 3rd bid just to see Briefcase stay at home again.

Prove me wrong children, prove me wrong.