Predictions: The Big Show -- Achimedes

[Joe Johnson]

There are just too many teams to pick from. Really. I have managed to whittle my tips & locks down to a manageable list of 12 Teams per Division.

Tips: A team to watch. Should have a pretty good run after lunch on Saturday.

Lock: This is a team that I feel has a better than 50% chance of making it to the finals of their division.

Here we go...

TIPS:
Team Rush (#27). They are going for the Chairman's Award again this year but they also have a great robot. A nice big shallow ramp that lifts in a hurry at the end of the match. Plus a serviceable arm that is not much of a threat but can't be left alone either. They will surprise a lot of teams.

Beatty (#71). They haven't had great runs in either outings this year, but Beatty always peaks at the Championships. It should help them be on their game that they are competing for the Chairman's Award too. Good teams often do well both on and off the field. They should be a tough team in Atlanta.

Swamp Thing had a pretty good run in Florida. Look for good things from #179 at the Championships.

Despite being 8-11-1 in seeding matches this season, Lake Orion Dragons (#302) have been finalists twice. Keep your eye on them. They will hurt you with a ton of tube quick if you don't.

They were Finalist in up state in Rochester. They followed that up with a win in New York City. They can really get the job done. Look for the G House Pirates (#354) to raise the Jolly Roger in the Dome.

I don't know how they do it but the Martians just keep on keeping on. Piling up the wins. They were finalist in Ypsilanti and Champs in Grand Rapids. Team #494... ...always in the right place with the right move.

They have an impressive 14-3-1 seeding record. They were finalist in OR and Champs in Davis Sacramento where they seeded #2 and were drafted by the #1 seed. All this points to a huge coming out party for the Spartan Robotics team (#997) out of Corvallis, OR.

Champs in both the Big Apple & New Jersey. Team #1302's über tüber is going to be racking up the points in the Dome.


LOCKS:
With a seeding record of 15-1-0 and a huge win in week 5 at Davis Sacramento, Team #100 is peaking at the right time. They are certain to do well. Book it.

Buzz (#175) won big back in Week 1 in NH. They had a tougher time in MD, but I suppose that what doesn't kill them only make them stronger. Team #175 is always tough in Atlanta. They have been divisional champs more than most teams can even dream about. They'll be the divisional finals at least -- a good bet for Einstein.

Cheesy Poofs (#254). FIRST doesn't get any better than the these guys. They ONLY won 2 of 3 regionals this year. Folks are thinking some of the cheesy may be flaking off the poofs since they didn't make their magic happen in San Jose again this year. But those folks are just plain wrong. The Poofs have had enough regional success for a lifetime. It is Championship Gold they are aiming at. This is the year for them. They are Einstein bound. The bigger question for me is who are they going to bring with them to take on the rest of the FIRST world and will it be enough?


Joe J.

[=Martin=Taylor=]

They have an impressive 14-3-1 seeding record. They were finalist in OR and Champs in Davis Sacramento where they seeded #2 and were drafted by the #1 seed. All this points to a huge coming out party for the Spartan Robotics team (#997) out of Corvallis, OR.


Actually, they were champs in both Davis and OR :cool:

997 and 254 are the only robots on Archimedes to have won two regionals this year.

[Alpha 997]

Actually, they were champs in both Davis and OR :cool:

997 and 254 are the only robots on Archimedes to have won two regionals this year.

Thanks for the correction:) . It was a pleasure to work with you guys at Davis.

[Pirate_Nelly354]

They were Finalist in up state in Rochester. They followed that up with a win in New York City. They can really get the job done. Look for the G House Pirates (#354) to raise the Jolly Roger in the Dome.

It's been a good year for us. First time going to two regionals, first time in like 3 years being finalists, and first time winning a regional. I hope our luck can continue to the Championship.


Champs in both the Big Apple & New Jersey. Team #1302's über tüber is going to be racking up the points in the Dome.

It's great that we're in the same division! WHOOO!!!!


Cheesy Poofs (#254). FIRST doesn't get any better than the these guys. They ONLY won 2 of 3 regionals this year. Folks are thinking some of the cheesy may be flaking off the poofs since they didn't make their magic happen in San Jose again this year. But those folks are just plain wrong. The Poofs have had enough regional success for a lifetime. It is Championship Gold they are aiming at. This is the year for them. They are Einstein bound. The bigger question for me is who are they going to bring with them to take on the rest of the FIRST world and will it be enough?

I've never seen them in a regional but I have on video! They're pretty awesome. Hope we can get to play with them.


I wish every team out there luck. We have some pretty good teams/robots in our division.

[Sgraff_SRHS06]

Look for the Maryland teams in this division to be a factor. After all, Buzz and Spike are not the only things to come out of maryland besides Crabs and the Purple Pain. (Who cares about the Orioles anymore?)

[Sgraff_SRHS06]

It's been a good year for us. First time going to two regionals, first time in like 3 years being finalists, and first time winning a regional. I hope our luck can continue to the Championship.



It's great that we're in the same division! WHOOO!!!!



I've never seen them in a regional but I have on video! They're pretty awesome. Hope we can get to play with them.


I wish every team out there luck. We have some pretty good teams/robots in our division.

The Poofs are also the only team to ever win a National Championship after their National Chairman's victory. A tough feat to do since thousands of people will be constantly teeming around your pit.

[Dan Petrovic]

The Poofs are also the only team to ever win a National Championship after their National Chairman's victory. A tough feat to do since thousands of people will be constantly teeming around your pit.

Wait... what?

Poofs won Chairman's in 2004.

I'm pretty sure they didn't win it then, they were finalists in 2005, and they were'nt on Einstein last year.

[Ian Curtis]

The Poofs are also the only team to ever win a National Championship after their National Chairman's victory. A tough feat to do since thousands of people will be constantly teeming around your pit.

IIRC, the Poofs have never won a Championship. They've been finalists at least once (they lost to Beatty in '01 or '02). 67 on the other hand, won the Championship Chairmen's Award and the Championship in the same year.

That's why last year was ridiculous. Beatty and the Poofs were on the same elimination alliance for the first time in history, and they got knocked out in the QFs.

[Corey Balint]

IIRC, the Poofs have never won a Championship. They've been finalists at least once (they lost to Beatty in '01 or '02). 67 on the other hand, won the Championship Chairmen's Award and the Championship in the same year.

That's why last year was ridiculous. Beatty and the Poofs were on the same elimination alliance for the first time in history, and they got knocked out in the QFs.
Poofs were finalists in 01 and 05.
They lost in SF's last year.

[Sgraff_SRHS06]

What is more fun is that any 254 vs. 71 matchup will occur in the division

[Ryan Dognaux]

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/Evilstanley/1646.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/Evilstanley/DSC00088Small.jpg

We're ready to be rolled up on tomorrow.

[Michael Hill]

Awesome pics Dognaux

[George A.]

Actually, they were champs in both Davis and OR :cool:

997 and 254 are the only robots on Archimedes to have won two regionals this year.

1302 also won two regionals this year, NYC and NJ

[Jeremiah Johnson]

So... was anyone else suprised by the division finalists consisting of 85, 107, and 386? I was definitely suprised that they knocked off the alliance of 254, 997, and 494. That was a great, high scoring alliance. Just a few unlucky bumps for 254, though.

[sdcantrell56]

I wasn't exactly surprised. The alliance of 254, 997, and 494 was not particularly strong as a whole. I do feel that 254 had the best robot in archimedes as long as they weren't flipped over, which I also thought should have been penalized, but o well. I think if 233 and 254 teamed up with 71 then there would have been no stopping them at all. The 494 alliance probably should have picked another ringer instead of a second lift robot so that they could continue to score after 254 got flipped but o well thats just how it goes. I do want to say that I enjoyed playing with and against so many of the teams that I have looked up to for many years. Thanks everyone and see you next year.

[Alpha 997]

So... was anyone else suprised by the division finalists consisting of 85, 107, and 386? I was definitely suprised that they knocked off the alliance of 254, 997, and 494. That was a great, high scoring alliance. Just a few unlucky bumps for 254, though.

Ummm. Well... I was. :(

[Alpha 997]

I wasn't exactly surprised. The alliance of 254, 997, and 494 was not particularly strong as a whole. I do feel that 254 had the best robot in archimedes as long as they weren't flipped over, which I also thought should have been penalized, but o well. I think if 233 and 254 teamed up with 71 then there would have been no stopping them at all. The 494 alliance probably should have picked another ringer instead of a second lift robot so that they could continue to score after 254 got flipped but o well thats just how it goes. I do want to say that I enjoyed playing with and against so many of the teams that I have looked up to for many years. Thanks everyone and see you next year.

They picked us for our defense. I'm just sad that we didn't have the chance to prove that defense does win championship. :(

Towards the final matches in Einstein, most offense robots were playing defense and so no ring was scored in like first half of the matches. I think we would've done fine if we didn't have bad lucks like that.

[sdcantrell56]

I thought you had an excellent robot that was very good at what it did however, without 254 scoring, your alliance really didn't have a good way of scoring other than your awesome lifts which are only 60 points. Unfortunately, 494 was not strong enough at scoring to carry the scoring duties after 254 was flipped. I still wish they would have called a penalty for flipping 254 because I really wanted to see you guys play the 233 alliance and it looked pretty malicious from the stands. I think the outcome probably would have been the same but it would have been really exciting. Again your robot was awesome, but I think it would have been more beneficial for the alliance if they picked a scorer/defense hybrid instead of a second lift bot.

[Alpha 997]

Yeah, we didn't have a chance with our best scorer out. 2-on-3 with one scorer on the 2 side just doesn't work in that kind of level of competition. I really wanted to play against the pink team too. I really admire their robot.

[hoorayforpink]

we at the pink team are pretty happy with how everything turned out but we did regret not getting a chance to play 494, 254 and 997, as sson as the alliances were picked i was so extremely excited to see that match

[pakratt1991]

yeah that would have been an awesome match,
the guy from 254 had us watching how to play defense against you, to bad it was a little early :P

that's how the cookie crumbles, it was a good year, and Pink did a great job :D

[meaubry]

So how'd my friend and prognosticator extraordinaire Dr. Joe do, you ask???

Well, first off he had a problem counting to 12, as he only picked 11 (too many good ones to pick from, he must have gotten confused)

Elims-
he picked 9 of the 24 teams

Qtr Finals -
he picked 7 of the 12 teams

Semi's -
he picked 2 of the 6 teams

Finalists of Archimedes -
he picked 2 of the 3 team

Pretty darn good if you ask me - no small task when you consider he was one pick short of his allotted amount.
Even though you didn't pick us, we still love ya - Ooga! Ooga! Ooga!
Go Chiefs

Nice job, my friend

Mike A

[=Martin=Taylor=]

I'm rather surprised that nobody has mentioned the RUSH bot. If you ask me, it was one of the best robots on Archimedes....

It had VERY good ramps, and a pretty darn good manipulator to boot.

Very defensive too; it could push just about anything out of its way... which is what it did when playing against powerful tube scorers :]

Out of five times we played them we lost four :( And we lost only three matches in the qualifiers...

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I was very happy with our alliance-two strong tube scorers and a good lifter. The fact that we lost in the quarterfinals was just a matter of luck. I was hoping to make it to the Semis and play against PINK though :rolleyes: