Down to their last cans...

Most of the players are down to their last can of balls. They lose a match and lose their can, they're done. Stick a fork in it and all that.
6 people live on and have to stumble twice to be out of the tourney. They'd be SV, KS, DH, TB, CG and TR. Good luck and high humidity/heat to the lot of you!

Recent wins by BW, MG, KB, SV and ZP have forced mn, cd, ca and ki out of the tourney. (And yes, we'll all be in small caps before this is over - all but one of us.) These recent wins have also forced some changes in the rankings. Folks that have moved up a bit would include Teddy (11th to 6th), Natester (14th to 10th), KB (16th to 7th) and The DS (19th to 13th). Look out above!! Like a lava lamp doing its thing these four are on the rise!!

The top of the standings show the same folks all there. MG continues to press BW, but not to pass him. There's also a bunch of folks clumped together; 22 points is the spread between 13 people. From TR in 6th to DR in 18th. One or two matches fall the right way and that batch will easily swap chairs. DR might just be ahead of TR in a couple of weeks.

Took a bit of a sabbatical there - thanks to the peacemakers out there. You know who you are and you make a difference. We are the richer for your influence. Thanks.

ZP wins Southeast Championship!

ZP recovers from 1st-set loss to take Championship from a fatigued KI 5-7,7-5,6-2.

Harmon Park, By Steve England, ESVN - History was made today!  A player who until today has never won a TowerTennis match walks away as a Regional Champion!  Amazing yes, perhaps unfair, but all part of the plan!  I know that some of you with victories under your belt, but eliminated before getting your name on the trophy have legitimate grievances.  However, the bracket was designed to give more than just three, or four players a taste of victory!  It was designed to filter players into brackets of similar abilities.  Giving each bracket it's own satellite championship, and then feed a playoff for the big event!  Although both Southeast finalist came to today's match victory-less.  They both knew that with just one great game, they could win a title!  I think the score shows... that each player came to win!

KI began the match playing very well!  Roger holds a 40-15 lead, then aces ZP to finish him off!  Meanwhile, ZP resorts to lofty underhand serves after a double-double giving KI yet another game.  KI extends his lead to 4-1 before ZP comes alive.  ZP catches KI at 5-5, but falls short when KI hits behind ZP scrambling from off court.  KI takes the 1st-set 7-5.

KI lead the 2nd-set 3-1, and looked like he was well on his way to achieving victory. Until ZP volleys high and deep to tag the baseline.  Zeke, then ricochets a service return to tie it up 3-3.  KI plays catch-up the rest of the set, but falls behind from 5-5 as ZP pulls away for a 7-5 win leveling the match 1-set all.

Perhaps caused by fatigue... KI appeared to be giving up in the final-set.  Zeke motivates KI by bringing this to his attention.  KI punishes Zeke for his insolence - slamming repeated service returns for uncontested winners!  Ultimately, I believe KI ran out of gas.  Zeke demonstrated amazing agility... getting to shots which should have been clear winners, and seemed to have more energy toward the end.  ZP cruises to a 6-2 victory in the final-set becoming the very first Southeast Champion!

North Bracket Championship - JT vs MG!

Dynasty Champion - JT battles MG where in all began!  Monday, 4:30pm, Crossroads Park in West Des Moines!  

Mufasa is about to venture into dangerous territory!  The young lion is hungry, and perhaps getting ready to bite off more than he can chew! To all things there is a season... a time to live, and a time to die!  The young and strong test themselves against the older and more experienced.  Mufasa has earned the right to challenge Dynasty Champion - JT for the North Title!  If successful, the young lion could take over the pride, but the odds are the Dynasty Champ will dine upon his flesh!    Don't miss yet another historic battle... Monday July 2nd Crossroads Park!

AJ falls to SV in shutout 6-0,6-0!

SV secures playoff berth! 

Norwalk Tennis Complex, By Steve England, ESVN - The West Semifinal offered both combatants two opportunities to make the playoffs. With today's victory, SV will either take the West Championship, or make the playoffs as the West Runner-up.  SV joins TR as the first to be guaranteed their names on the Regional Champion's Trophy!  Meanwhile, AJ will play the loser of DH/KS for a chance to get his name on the Regional Champions Trophy!

Today's conditions weren't as severe as yesterday's CA/KB match, but difficult none the less!  SV benefited from AJ's lack of match play this year.  AJ and CG had an unusually large number of byes along their bracket path, and consequently AJ hasn't had a need to play much this season.  Despite his lack of practice, AJ was able to ace SV on one occasion, and fought back from a love-40 deficit in the 5th game of the second set to tie at deuce!  

CA and KB brave extreme conditions to complete their match!

Heat takes it's toll on both, but KB stays more consistent!

Harmon Park, By Steve England, ESVN - When the match ended the actual temperature was 102 degrees!  One can only guess what the radiant court surface felt like, but afterwards I decided to experiment!  Yes, it was so hot you could fry an egg!  Keith came dressed for success, but I think he had the wrong season in mind.  Meanwhile, Chris was a little concerned how he would tolerate the heat, but endured as well as any.  Both players were zapped of energy in the second.  Each waiting for the other to collapse first!  Since both players seemed to lose their vigor at comparable rates - I don't feel the heat gave either one an advantage.  The same consistency KB started with, continued to the very end.  The ralleys were long, with CA frequently being the aggressor! However, "you can't win, if you don't hit it in!" CA seemed to make a slightly higher percentage of errors.  While, KB racked up the points!

KB eliminates CA from 2012 competition 6-2,6-1.  With his win - KB will play for the Northwest Title against "BY".  KB is likely the underdog against "BY", but he may find that consistency works very well against the power strokers!

It was reported that Chris dined afterwards on: Bear-stew, salmon, and whiskey... I don't think he's taking the loss too hard!

CA will brave extreme conditions to take on KB… 2pm Harmon Park!

MG advances to North Finals after 1st-set loss in tie-breaker!

CD plays great… but gets eliminated after MG resurgence!

By Steve England, ESVN - Curt had great placement with powerful strokes, while Gish demonstrated amazing agility to not only reach, but return CD's shots! From a 3-3 tie - CD executes a perfect lob, then slams a service winner to lead 4-3.  MG counters with an outstanding cross-court drop-shot, then follows by forcing two errors leveling the score at 4-4.  Still on-serve in the first... CD rips two service winners jumping ahead to 5-4.  This forces MG to serve to stay alive in the set! Mufasa roars, he finds resolve then easily holds from 40-15, to force a tie-breaker!  In the breaker - CD fighting from a 3-4 deficit... passes MG at the net, then nails several forehand winners, both cross-court and down the line!  CD turns Mufasa's roar into a purr and takes the first set 7-6 (7-4)!

Mufasa takes the loss hard!  With renewed determination his lion's mane flares!  Mufasa breaks CD's serve to edge ahead 2-1.  CD counter-breaks for 2-2, but MG will benefit from a plethora of CD errors!  CD double faults, swings and misses, then hits a forehand down the line wide!  Mufasa takes the second, for a one-set all tie!

MG masterfully drops a back spinning drop-shot over the net to break CD.  He then holds to jump ahead 2-0.  CD fatiguing, and down love-40, watches a shot within reach without even an attempt!  Mufasa leads the final-set 3-0!  Now fighting his way out of a hole - CD lobs... MG leaps skyward and hits... but it's long!  CD shows renewed energy... he nails a backhand passing shot down the line - closing to 2-3!  MG holds after CD attempts a slam which falls into the net, followed by a forehand volley which sails long!  Now leading comfortably, MG finesses a drop-shot winner to lead 5-2, then serves for the match!  Curt knows he's in trouble, but won't lie down!  CD power-breaks Mufasa at love with authority!  CD closes to 3-5, and appears to be dominating... when suddenly, CD watches a drop-shot fall good, then hammers a backhand long!  CD succumbs to Mufasa 6-7(4-7),6-2,6-3!

With his win MG will play for the north bracket title!  A win here will get his name on the Regional Champions Trophy, but first he faces Dynasty Champion - JT!  Will the young lion take over the pride?  Or will a battle with JT cause him to turn tail and run?  Meanwhile, Curt departs tournament competition for the year, but if today's effort is any indication... he'll be back with a vengeance next year!

The most prestigious tournament in the world!

For the next two weeks TowerTennis players can be inspired by watching: The Championships, Wimbledon, (25 June – 8 July). Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious.  It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors being the Australian Open, French Open and US Open. Wimbledon is the only Major still played on grass, the game's original surface, which gave the game of lawn tennis its name.

Morty falls victim to BW!

MN is the first to be eliminated!

By Kevin Broadway, TTN. In what was the first "Elimination" match of 2012 Tower Tennis Tournament play, MN fell victim to BW 6-3, 6-0 in the NE Regional Semifinal. The match started off with MN holding serve to jump ahead 1-0. However that was the only lead Morty would hold all day as BW held serve  and then went on to break MN to lead 2-1. It would close back up to 2-2 before BW went on to take the lead for good and go up 4-2. Morty's game plan was apparent as after each shot he made he started to inch closer and closer to the net. This attack proved to be his downfall as BW would catch MN in poor positioning, repeatedly in "No Man's Land," and hit forehand winners relatively deep and out the side of the court where MN struggled to make positive contact. Set 1 goes to BW 6-3.  

The 2nd set was very much a continuation of the second half of the first, with BW taking advantage of MN's poor positioning. With MN's infamous net game struggling to get going, and in combination with MN starting to hit balls a little too deep, BW took control and went on to roll Morty 6-0 in the 2nd, and with it the match. BW now moves on to play significantly stiffer competition in OC, in the NE Regional Finals.  The winner will earn a coveted berth in the 2012 Tower Tennis Playoffs, as well as their name engraved in the Tournament Trophy. MN's 2012 season comes to a close after wins over AS and CA and losses to East Regional Finalist TR and NE Regional Finalist BW.

TR is first to make playoffs!

East semifinal is a marathon in the heat!

By Steve England, ESVN - With a court-side heat index of 105°, and a match time of 2-hours 35-minutes.  The east semifinal became a battle of endurance, as well as stroke execution!  The phenomenal aspect of this match was the lack of dead time!  Not only was this a lengthy battle, but these two were running nearly 90% of the time!

Ted jumps to a 4-0 lead before RB gets on the board.  TR's shots were lower in trajectory, and strong from the baseline!  It seemed as if TR has a certain range from which he can take a full swing, and execute well paced topspin strokes.  Force him close, and the offensive punch is diminished.  RB relied upon the slice - both forehand and backhand were consistently executed.  Many of RB's slices tagged, or landed within inches of the lines!  RB shakes off the early rust... slowly fighting his way back into the set.  After a 7-deuce game, RB emerges victorious, then goes on to tie at 4-all!  After yet another struggle... TR breaks RB's serve with a deep forehand to RB's backhand.  TR then easily holds at 40-15 to take the first set 6-4.

RB starts the second set repeatedly tagging the baseline to take a 2-0 lead, but TR surges to stop Ryan in his tracks... TR breaks RB at love with a strong forehand!  Players continue to swap games to 3-3, then TR errors three consecutive games away!  RB levels the match at 1-set all!

The third set began at the 2-hour mark, and fatigue was starting to show it's ugly head.  RB's walk appeared labored, and player's were at times bent over winded!  Tied at 1-1 in the final set, RB misses an easy slam, then makes two unforced errors after a 4th deuce to lose his edge.  TR continues to benefit from a growing number of RB errors.  Combined with a backhand volley winner, nailing the baseline, and a forehand winner down the right sideline, and TR finds himself with an almost insurmountable 5-1 lead!  Refusing to lie down... RB breaks TR after a 30-shot ralley - leaving both players nearly spent!  On the final point RB finds himself double match-point down, when TR plays a serve which should have been called long.  RB (near exhaustion)... hits the return long!  TR wins the east semifinal 6-4,3-6,6-2.

Excalibur falls to the Black Knight!

Sopcic shuts Nate out in the first, then climbs back in the second to win 6-0,6-4!

By Steve England, ESVN - The magical powers of Excalibur were rendered ineffective today on battlefield Harmon!  Poised to claim leadership of the 2012 tournament.  Nate unsheathed his newly acquired weapon of devastation, only to have it subdued by the dark powers of Black Knight Sopcic!

Sopcic approached the net whenever an opportunity presented itself.  Nate's first serve percentage was very low today.  This presented Sopcic with innumerable chances to jump on the relatively weak second serves attacking the sidelines!  Sopcic's service returns were either outright winner's or forced Nate into a defensive return, where Sopcic would go in for the kill at the net! Sopcic's game seemed to be on fire!  From his service return to his retreating two-handed reverse overhead lob - The Croatian Sensation was virtually unstoppable!  In the second set, Nate pulled ahead briefly to 4-3, but Sopcic then decides to turn on the magic!  Serving for the match - Sopcic aces Nate on triple match-point, putting an abrupt end to young Excalibur's chances for victory!  Sopcic steamrolls on 6-0,6-4!

Proposed Playoff Structure Change:

When I first developed the playoff structure, my goal was to continue competitive match-ups right to the end.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the way I structured the playoffs duplicated match-ups with the same players who faced each other during the regular season.  Ideally, a chance to play different (but equally challenging) players in the playoffs would offer competitive diversity, and end up being more enjoyable for the participants.

I am proposing that the playoff structure be changed to accomplish this goal.  One of the possible consequences of changing the playoffs is the Fantasy Competition.  After projecting the likely scenarios, it appears that BW has a lock on the Fantasy Championship either way.

I strongly feel the tournament as a whole would benefit by making this change.  I would appreciate public feedback on this issue.  Please share your thoughts on this proposed change by selecting the comment link at the bottom of this post.  Note: When commenting on post, you have to select a profile before your comment can be published.  It is preferred that you select the: Name/URL option.  Only the name portion needs to be completed.  Operating initials, user names, or nicknames may be used.  I feel a public discussion is best before a final decision is made.  I look forward to reading your comments. - Steve England

Nate is back… and armed for battle!!!

Pictured above is OC's new racket.

"Excalibur has been removed from it's stone, ready to lay waste to whoever should come across it's path!"… says OC.

By Steve England, ESVN - The much anticipated battle between "The student, and the Master" is on again!  With time to recover from his rolled ankle, and armed with upgraded weaponry - Nate,  will engage in the battle of the season this Tuesday, June 19, 2pm, at Harmon Park.

Nate's venture into danger will be no small task!  Sopcic, is undefeated this year in tournament play, with victories over both Dynasty Champion - JT, and two time Defending Champion - SV.  Sopcic's rise to prominence could be nipped in the bud however, if Nate executes his formidable strokes with surgical precision!  Don't miss what could be a tournament altering event!  

The fourth-round begins!

By Steve England, ESVN - As we begin the forth-round I'm pleased to report that only one match is yet unresolved from the third.  The OC/TB battle was postponed due to injury, but I'm hopeful Nate has had time to recover, and their much anticipated match will be completed soon.   Looking forward to the fourth-round, we enter the semifinals for most brackets.  Several bye placements give automatic victories to: BY, JT, DR, DNR, and the loser of OC/TB.  The southeast bracket presents a unique situation.  Again, the placement of byes throughout the bracket permits the victor of KI/ZP to become the Southeast Champion.  Conceivably, if one of these individuals forfeit - The other becomes a regional champion without ever winning a match!  An interesting dilemma... one that perhaps needs to be corrected for next year's tournament.

For those of you who do not have a bye this round - keep in mind that you're only one victory away from playing for a regional title, and getting your name on the Regional Champion's Trophy!

ZP forfeits!

Complications from wisdom teeth extraction flaring up!

By Steve England, ESVN - Suffering from dental issues... ZP is forced to forfeit to DS!  As a consequence, DS will advance to the south-semifinal.  DS will face tough competition there against KN... The winner plays DR for the south title.  Meanwhile, ZP will travel to the southeast bracket.  Due to the placement of byes in the southeast - A single victory here gets the winner's name on the Regional Champions Trophy!

We have a tie ballgame!!!

By KB, TTN - A mighty roar permeates the jungle air. There is quaking in the little huts as the villagers recognize the victory roar of Mufasa. Sounding his barbaric yawp across the leafy foliage of the tropic jungle. Little children cling to their mothers and fathers nervously check the location of their spears. The question on their minds - can anyone stop the forward press of MG's climb in the Fantasy standings? Time will tell. Yes, indeed, time will tell.

BW and MG now share the lead as we near the halfway point in this nonsense. The next match played will be the halfway point. And then things get serious. Out of the next 33 matches, 24 of them will eliminate someone from championship contention. Things could get jiggy.

Other than MG there are others making significant climbs. KS (now 5th), AJ (10th), OC (12th), TB (12th) and RG (16th) have all grabbed hold of their bootstraps and are rising amongst their coworkers.

Yes, there's still a pack. It now numbers 10 players in a 12-pt spread. Hmm...

Press on all!

Mufasa backs up the Smack!

MG takes Axtell down! Now he's challenging Broadway for the Fantasy Crown! 

Legion Park, West Des Moines. By Steve England, ESVN - Mufasa's slicing backhand cut through CA's defenses like a knife! Despite playing with a net four inches too low... MG succeeds against an aggressive Axtell!  CA takes an early lead, but is quickly passed when Mufasa starts to roar!  MG forced CA to retreat with deep shots tagging the baseline!  While, Axtell ripped service winners almost at will!  On set point in the first - MG drops a slicing backhand for the winner!  On match-point in the second - CA is forced to lunge after yet another slicing backhand drop.  The ball rolls off CA's strings, as Mufasa wins 6-3,6-1.  

Mufasa sounds off!

MG predicts a Fantasy Resurgence!!! 

By Steve England, ESVN - Just when we thought Mufasa was out of contention, it actually looks like he could take the lead once again in Fantasy!  MG's fantasy fortunes, are now in his own hands.  Yes, he could indeed take the lead... but he'll have to first face fierce competition from CA, CD, and JT!!!

Check out his prediction from the Smack-Talk Board: "Thanks to my sandbagging abilities in tennis, I will soon be taking over in Fantasy. I learned these abilities from our late great Governor Blagojevich. I put 20 points on myself while BW only put 8. Once I cruise through CA and CD, I will gain 24 points on BW. Seeing as I'm only down 12, you will soon be seeing MUFASA back on top."

KN is Supe du jour!!!

KI falls to a suped-up KN 6-0,6-3. 

Harmon Park, By Steve England, ESVN - In this battle for Supe-Superiority, KN utilizes a power forehand with strategic placement to force KI behind the eight-ball!  The first-set was no contest, but KI was beginning to nail his serve near the end.  Using an extreme slicing motion - KI had some success in the second.  KN's service returns would ricochet off his strings so wide, an arriving player asked if they were using both courts.  Meanwhile, SV was forced to take evasive action on several occasions!

It wasn't long, and KN mastered how to contend with KI's extreme slice.  Players mixed it up with drop-shots, lobs, overhead slams, and volleys.  KI started jumping on shots with low trajectory which forced many KN errors. Despite KI's success, KN continued to dominate the offense with his powerful forehand!

Suffering from tendinitis - KN was adorned with knee and ankle supports, but injures himself lunging after a KI return which drifted wide.  KI enjoyed some success while battling an injured KN.  KI even aces KN, then celebrates with an improvised end-zone dance!  Injured, but determined to persevere - KN fights to put KI away.  Meanwhile, KI attempts to take advantage of KN's struggling movements by drop-shots in the final game.  With mixed results, KN holds double match-point against Roger!  Roger lobs... KN strokes a backhand slice, deep cross-court.  KI runs for the volley, but misfires! Game, Set, Match KN!  KN defeats KI 6-0, 6-3.

DNR falls to SV: 6-3,6-4!

DNR battles back from a 0-5 deficit, surviving three match-points, and closing to 4-5 before falling to SV.

photo by Kyle Schewe

Harmon Park, By Matt Sopcic, TTN - The Titan of Tech-Ops battled Two Time Defending Champion/Fair and Balanced Journalist SV.  It was a perfect day for tennis at Harmon Park and the match between very experienced talent in DNR and SV did not fail to disappoint.  SV came prepared by showing up early and arriving in style in his CNN-SV Channel 4 News van (much to the displeasure of JT)  The first set started off with both players exchanging both long and short volleys and games.  It was at a 3-3 tie that SV seemed to kick in into overdrive and steal the next 3 for a 6-3 set #1 victory.  The second set proved to be a much different story.  SV comes out of the gates on absolute fire enroute to a 5-0 lead but the fun times didn’t last for long.  During the break in between games you could almost here the voice of Mick from the Rocky movies in the background yelling at DNR to eat lightning and crap thunder.  Well his game definitely picked up a few notches because he was able to close the gap to 5-4.  DNR sales a cross court backhand a little wide to end the game and second set 6-4.

Nate rolls ankle... Match with Sopcic questionable!

Super Tennis-Tuesday's featured match in danger of postponement!

A sprained ankle is an injury to one or more ligaments in the ankle.  Ligaments are bands of tissue that connect one bone to another and bind the joints together.  Occasionally, a tennis player will land slightly off balance.  Pain, agony, and rehabilitation are usually the result!


Today, one of our best players was victim to this insidious threat!  Nate, rolled his ankle while practicing for his upcoming encounter with Sopcic.  SV rolled his ankle just a few days before his first-round match with Sopcic, and most prominently JT rolled his ankle last year in a match with Dean.  JT's injury eliminated him from last year's competition, and likely changed the course of TowerTennis history.


Fortunately, there is time for Nate to recover!  Although the 3rd-round ends June 15th... A grace period has been established for such occasions.  I would like to emphasize that this type of situation is exactly what the grace period is for!  Unforeseen delays... the exception, rather than the rule!  If Nate can recover, and complete his match with Sopcic by June 23rd, default can be avoided.  For the sake of the competitive spirit of TowerTennis, I hope Nate's recovery is as fast as a WARHAWK!

Super-Tennis Tuesday Fantasy Preview!!

By KB, TTN - There's been 2 matches played since I last wrote an update. BW continues to lead as BW/SV and MG are distancing themselves from the rest of us.
There's been 3 individuals of note making strides up the rankings however. RB has gone from 10th to 7th, TR from 14th to 11th and MM from 18th to 9th!!!

Now, as to the matter of who likes who to win. That's more interesting.

In the KN/KI matchup, BW, SV, RB, MN, DR and CG all are rooting for KN (CG put 22 down on him!!).
Folks that stand to gain with KI include DN, MM, CA, DS, KB and RG.

Everyone is standing in SV's corner. We all gain about the same amount of points. (BW, MG and DN didn't give DNR many points though and are really cheering for SV.)
In DNR's corner there stands a fair number people. Way in the back though stands a tall fellow named SV. You see, SV put DNR down for 22 points. As BW only put DNR down for 11 this means SV gains 11 pts on BW for every win DNR gets. What will SV do? Go for the gain in fantasy points?? Or a real tourney victory? (Especially when there are other ways to make the playoffs besides this match...)

Now for TB/OC. If TB breaks into some of his Tango-Badness moves, it's all over for OC. Every man has his limits and seeing TB's dance moves aren't for the faint of heart.
Supporters for TB includes pretty much everybody. We all ranked him high. The least-highest ranker was MN at 21. Folks that want TB to win because they didn't give more than 15 pts to OC include SV, KB, CG, RG and CD.
Lastly is the bunch cheering on OC. That includes MN. For you see, MN gave Nate 25 pts. (We do expect to see MN courtside with an umbrella and cold Gatorade during the match!)

There you go!! Make kind/vile comments to your favorites as you see them in the hallways. Granola bars, energy drinks and fruits/veggies for your favorites. Plenty of donuts to encourage on those you don't wish to fare so well!!!

TR tops MN 6-4,6-2!

Waveland Tennis Complex. By TJ Brindley, TTN - We started off the match very evenly trading games back and forth to the point where Jeff was up 4-3.  Lots of unforced errors by both of us as many shots went long, wide and into the net.  No doubt the wind played a factor in this.  Any ball not hit on a line or had even a little bit of air under it was at the mercy of the wind.  But I was able to overcome the elements and win 9 of the next 11 games to win 6-4, 6-2.  Can you say Rookie of the Year?

Super-TennisTuesday Preview:

Three matches... one venue!

Starting shortly after 2pm Tuesday, June 12th - The TowerTennis community will be in store for a rare treat!  Three prominent matches will take place at the same venue... Harmon Park will be the venue, but the matches will be staggered one-hour apart!  You'd have to have tickets to a Slam to see this much tennis in such a short period of time!  

In the first match, DNR will battle SV!   DNR derailed SV's "Shock and Awe campaign of overwhelming force" in the 2004 semifinals. This prevented SV from his stated goal of becoming the first TowerTennis Champion!  JT went on to victory against DNR in the infamous battle between AT and AF.  Note: In 2004 Tech-Ops was know as AF (Airways Facilities).

In the second match, last year's runner-up Sopcic takes on his instructor OC!  With decisive victories over two former Champions, Sopcic is the favorite to win this year's championship!  However, OC possesses the strokes to put the young developmental in his place!   

The third match is somewhat unique! In this last encounter of Super-TennisTuesday... Two Supervisors will battle each other!  KN takes on KI at 4pm.  Will this match affect the balance of power?  Only an eye-witness account can tell for sure!!!

Courts get worked over after AJ/CG match!

Harmon Park, By Steve England, ESVN - Despite a score of 6-2,6-2… the battle between AJ and CG was so intense - Des Moines Parks and Recreation had to repaint the court after their match! CG tops AJ ending their long wait to get in the action!  With his win CG advances to the East Semifinals, where he will wait for the winner of the OC/TB match.  Meanwhile, AJ marches to the West Semifinal, where he waits for the victor of DNR/SV.

BW continues to lead as SV won't give up!!

By KB, TTN - BW's lead stays strong and others are succumbing to his relentless pressure. Well, everyone except for SV. Steve is hanging tough as the tournament grinds along.

I usually only write of those on the ascent. After today's McDonald doubleheader that'd be OC's rise from 13th to 10th, MM's rise from 18th to 11th, DH's rise from 17th to 15th and RG's rise from 19th to 16th. However, today will be different. The McDonalds were a bit cruel in the fantasy world to DS (7th down to 11th), CG (12th to 19th) and TR (14th to 16th). MM gained 33 pts on the day and CG garnered 11... MM started the day 6 spots behind CG and finished 8 ahead!

Yes, 'the pack' still exists. There's 14 within 24 pts of each other. In particular there's 11 within 14 pts of each other.

Fill your boots, folks!!

DH fights off debilitating cramps to make the West Semifinal!

DH edges AS 5-7,6-1,6-3!

By Steve England, ESVN - Deanna's new service style is a joy to watch, but applied little pressure on Scott.  Scott was frequently able to force her front to back, and side to side.  Meanwhile, DH attacked Scott with aggressive forehands, and well placed backhands!  Her aggressive plan of attack served her well - as Deanna lead the first set 4-1, and 5-3 respectively.  DH even holds a set-point against Scott, only to watch her edge evaporate!  Scott survives set-point down to overtake and win 7-5!

Down one-set to none, DH comes out swinging in the second. She dominates the action, yielding only a single game as she levels the match one-set all.

Deanna jumps to a 2-0 lead in the third, but begins to show signs of cramping!  Her walk becomes labored, and it seems her game is starting to suffer, as Scott runs her side to side.  Mustering extra resolve - DH endures lengthy ralleys, and even executes a Sopcic-style maneuver!  Scott closes in... but DH pulls away from 4-3, to 5-3!  Now serving for the match - DH aces Scott, as he watches a second serve tag the corner!  Scott is forced to lunge for a forehand on the next point, and succumbs to an extra-long ralley to face double match-point down!  Deanna then executes a lunging two-handed backhand deep crosscourt to the right corner with Scott on the run.  Scott can only watch, as the shot falls good! Game, Set, Match... DH wins 5-7,6-1,6-3!

Schewe makes the West Semifinals!

KS defeats MM 6-4,6-4. 

By Steve England, ESVN - Schewe's consistency coupled with Mark's unforced errors were a recipe for a KS victory.  Although Mark cut Schewe's lead from 5-2 to 5-4... MM loses a Schewe lob in the sun to go triple set-point down!  Serving to stay alive in the first - Mark nails a wickedly smoking serve, only to see the shot returned by young Schewe!  Mark's response is wild-wide.  Schewe takes the first-set 6-4.

Mark jumps to a 2-0 lead in the second.  It's looking good for MM as he extends further to 4-3, but loses his serve permitting Schewe to tie!  Mark's ground strokes weren't quite firing on all cylinders!  This allowed a consistent Schewe to take the lead.  At triple match-point down - Mark attempts an overhead slam, only to watch it sail long.  Schewe wins: 6-4,6-4!

Delano forfeits to Scott!

By Steve England, ESVN - Regretfully, yet another player has been burdened by schedule difficulties.  Today, Delano announced: "I would like to forfeit my match to AS.  In keeping with the highest standards of TowerTennis. I will not, can not hold up, the tournament."

With this sacrifice by Delano,  Scott advances to play DH.  DH now has a window of opportunity (which looked in doubt before Delano's announcement) to complete her match with Scott.  Meanwhile, DS moves down south to play ZP.  DS and ZP have similar levels of experience - this should provide for a very competitive match.  I look forward to reporting on their upcoming encounter!

A Two-fer Tuesday in Fantasyland!!

By KB, TTN - Two matches were completed today, the net result showed some high-level ties. All the players are over 300 pts now as we're well on our way towards the Promised Land of 1000+ pts! Who will be our first fantasy player to reach that milestone? Will it be the first player to reach 500?
Only 'The Shadow' knows.

BW continues to lead despite stiff competition just 4 pts back from SV and MG. SV and MG's tie is only one of many. MN and DN are tied at 358, CA and DS are tied at 338, and TB, TR, DR are tied at 317. Interesting stuff, Maynard! Why all the ties? Is it the water we drink? The headsets we wear? Perhaps the lanyards?

Big moves of the day included DS jumping from 8th to 6th (despite a Real-Life loss to AS), RB climbing from 13th to 10th and TB perambulating from 16th to 14th. Congrats to the three of you!!

Continued perambulations all...

JT wins first battle in the north!

photo and videos by KB

"TOELLE'S TRIUMPH... THE COMEBACK KID?"

By Jason Toelle, FOXJT - "BY" starts off strong, winning the first two sets with an excellent serve (including an ace), and his signature cut shots!  In the third game, the Dynasty Champion turns it on!  Serving up an ace of his own, JT finally adjusts to BY's style and wins the next 10 games!  JT now up 6-2, 4-0, BY counters with his first win of the second set.  Alas, it was too little, too late!  JT goes on to win set two with a score of 6-1.

"BY" demonstrated excellent conditioning, especially for an old, retired controller!  He returned some shots that he had no business even getting to, evidenced by the occasional deposit of lung tissue!  His first serve, when it was working, was excellent and he had some outstanding passing shots!

  Note: At the time of posting, the thumbnail images for each video were experiencing           technical difficulties.  That's what happens when an Android sends video to an iPhone :)

Monday, Part II

By KB, TTN - RB tops BW and becomes the tournament's first 3-match winner!! (Note to self: next time put more points on RB...)

BW extends his lead to 4 matches. A JT or BY win still keeps him in front tomorrow.
The only people that moved up more than a slot were DN, going from 6th to 4th, CA from 9th to 6th, and TB from 18th to 16th. Good on the three of you!

There is still that pack. If anything it's grown. From CA's 6th place to DH/MM's 17th/18th place spans 18 pts (308 to 290). That'd be 13 people in an 18-pt span. Looks like a donnybrook all right!
By the way, how do we know MM and DH didn't help each other fill out each other's entries in this here contest? A tie after 23 matches? Hmm, most peculiar...

Tomorrow promises a JT/BY matchup. Everyone has JT ranked pretty high and a prohibitive favorite. Should JT win, everyone will rise about the same. The biggest change there would be RB bypassing AJ and OC.
Now for the possibility of a BY win: That there would introduce a bit of chaos. DS and DH did put down 21 on him though and would gain the most.

Good luck!

UPSET!!! Burr Blasts Broadway - 2-6,6-0,6-0!!!

Outstanding photos by Kyle Schewe!

By Kevin Broadway, TTN - In what was appearing to be a quick dispatching of RB in third round action after one set, turned into a thorough blasting of BW at the hands of RB, 2-6, 6-0, 6-0. The weather was glorious for tennis with slight winds, sunshine, and temps in the low 80s. Broadway's 1st Set started just as glorious, but the sun that seemingly shined down upon him in the first set, turned black as coal and in came the RB thunder. BW stormed out to a 4-0 lead in the first by executing well placed shots that RB struggled to reach. RB's main weapon, the cut shot, was there but BW seemed to put it right back over without much difficulty, and handily topped RB 6-2 to take the first.

The second set started out with a service break by RB on BW, then RB holds serve to jump out to a quick 2-0 lead without much difficulty. RB then broke BW again to go up 3-0. RBs cut shot now seemingly coming alive, at times causing BW to completely whiff if not put it straight into the net. BW attempts to alter strategy now down 0-4 by rushing the net and smashing RB's returns in an attempt to eliminate the dreaded cut shot. The strategy works, but only when BW doesn't send it sailing out the backcourt (which happened more often than not.) After a multi deuce contest, it's once again RB coming out ahead now 5-0 and serving for the set. BW backs off the net in attempt to rally with RB, but struggles to get his forehand down, continually going out the back court, RB takes set 2 with ease 6-0.

BW begins the 3rd still confident, yet fearing a repeat of what happened to him in 4th round play of 2010. It was then that BW held a 1 set lead over CG, and led 3-1 in the second, only to see CG score 11 unanswered points to take the match.  BW continues to attack the net with some success but at this point in the 3rd set, he's beginning to tire from the energy needed to succeed with such an attack. BW would often go up 30-love or 40-15 only to have RB come storming back with well timed lob shots and precision cut shots that continued to plague BW.  RB fights to a 2-0 lead in the 3rd before another multi duece game, but once again it's RB who has his way with BW, 3-0 now. BW senses his window of opportunity is closing, because try as he may to rush the net or just rally, RB continues to take point after point , now nine unanswered games in RB's favor. With the frustrations showing, and racquet taking some abuse, the plague that had besieged BW would not relent as RB takes 12 straight games, and with them the match.

With the win, RB is now guaranteed to be playing in a "win and your in" match for the playoffs. Whether that be in the 4th round or East region quarterfinals is unknown. BW now slides into the Northeast region where ultimately the path to the playoffs goes through the loser of the TB/OC match. BW's playoffs stock drops rapidly as RB looks to continue his run within the East Bracket.

BW's stranglehold on the lead increases!!

By KB, TTN - Today's action on the hardcourt produced weather conditions that only a curling expert would enjoy. Strong NW winds and moderate temps kept overheating to a minimum. And Curtis was on his game. Yeah, he done good.
Yes, it was a battle of wills....and Will prevailed. It was a battle of wits, and both parcipitants showed up unarmed. It was over hill and dale...and Dale didn't enjoy it. Nevertheless we press on, eh?

What's that? Fantasy you say? BW leads for the 3rd match now and few are keeping pace. There was some other movement on the leaderboards as well. There were some CD fans out there shaking their pompoms and scoring big. SV jumped from 4th to 2nd (look out BW!), KB moved from 11th to 5th, CA from 12th  to 9th, CG from 13th to 11th, TR from 14th to 11th(tie) and DR from 18th to 15th.

There also seems to be a bit of a logjam developing. From OC's 10th place at 290 pts there are a total of 9 people going down to TB's 18th place at 282 pts. A total spread of 8 pts involving 9 people!!! That there be tight now!! Who will emerge from this bubbling cauldron? The future leader maybe???  Hmmm....

High winds help Curt sweep the court with KB!

By Steve England, ESVN- The weather was Curt's friend today!  The high wind affected both players, but seems to have hindered Keith the most.  Combined with temperatures favorable to Curt, and the result... Curt sweeps the court with Keith!

With Curt's victory, he'll play the victor of MG/CA. Curt is positioned well now for a run at the North Championship!  Meanwhile, Keith's loss sends him to the Northwest Bracket.  Both players will face tough competition making the playoffs, but both players are perfectly capable of surprising accomplishments! CD sweeps KB 6-1, 6-2.

BW's lead increases as DH overcomes 'Texas Speed'!!

By KB, TTN - Today's forfeiture by ZP saw BW's lead increase. He now leads MG by 8 and MN by 13. Who will withstand his onslaught? Time will tell.
3 folks jumped more than a place: OC rose 2 places, to 10th, KB 4 places to 11th and MM 3 spots to 15th.

My apologies to any who logged on today and saw some bizarre fantasy standings. There was a brief issue with the sorting. Normalcy has returned...we think.
Hope all are enjoying the beautiful weather. Kind of makes for some of the not-so-good we get on occasion.

ZP forfeits to DH!

By Steve England, ESVN - Burdened by an unyielding schedule... ZP forfeits to DH rather than delay the tournament.  This permits DH to advance, but her next opponent has yet to be determined.  DH will play the winner of the overdue 2nd-round AS/DS match.


Meanwhile, ZP moves down to the South-Bracket were he also must wait for the conclusion of the overdue 2nd-round match between AS and DS.  Sometimes things just don't work out... It's appreciated that ZP stepped up when he realized that he wouldn't be able to make time for his match.  Although I'd prefer that players get a chance to compete.  Any match that delays others, can have a ripple effect throughout the entire bracket.  There's a grace period built in where a match can be overdue, yet still get scheduled and completed before default.  However, this should be the exception rather than the rule!  The grace period does delay subsequent matches, but can hopefully be absorbed if players play two matches within a week.    

Match in Focus:

By Steve England, ESVN -
The Smack-Talk Board is alive with repartee between these two competitors!  Last year they faced each other in the quarter-finals.  "The student has become the master"... Says the young developmental. However, "the student is ignorant, and has much to learn"... Replies Nate!  These two will go at it again soon!   You don't want to miss a match of this magnitude... show your support by attending what could be a great one!

Bracket-Breakdown!

By Steve England, ESVN - It's the start of June, and tennis weather should prevail throughout the season now.  The French Open is in progress, and we're on track to finish up during the US Open as planned.  The second-round has ended with most matches completed, and I'm optimistic that the remaining second-round matches will conclude soon.

As we enter the third-round, the North and South satellite brackets become active.  In the North... JT is the favorite but runs into a potential roadblock with "BY".  The CD/KB match-up should prove competitive, while CA should get valuable experience against MG.

Looking South - DR benefits from two byes, which position him in the South-Final already.  He's certainly the favorite down south, but may face stiff competition getting his name on the Regional-Trophy.  There are two supes down there, and I known Dean would love to battle one of them for the South Title. The losers of DH/ZP, and AS/DS will complete the south action.

Meanwhile, in the main draw... several match-ups promise dramatic potential!  TB vs OC could be the most shocking!  OC could be the one to derail Sopcic's race to the title.  KS/MM will likely be a three set battle, and BW/RB will also be a tight race.  MN may surprise TR, while DNR/SV fill out the third-round.