Michigan State Championship

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by Wayne TenBrink

I want to explain the TRUE reason that the NC Gears didn't repeat as MSC Champions. It wasn't our robot, our drivers, our strategy, our opponents, or our "other" alliance partner - nothing as rational as that. It was the NC Gears/Martians Curse! Since 2009, the NC Gears have been winners or finalists at every event we attended with a few "curious" exceptions:

- 2009 TC Disrict: No Martians - Finalist
- 2009 Lansing District: With 494 Martians - Semifinalist
- 2009 WM District: No Martians - Winner
- 2009 MSC: No Martians - Finalist
- 2009 Newton: No Martians - Finalist
- 2010 TC Distric: No Martians - Winner
- 2010 WM District: No Martians - Finalist
- 2010 MSC: No Martians - Winner
- 2010 Archimedes: With 70 More Martians - Quarterfinalist
- 2011 TC District: No Martians - Winner
- 2011 WM District: No Martians - Winner
- 2011 MSC: With 494 Martians - Quarterfinalist

Not only that, but 2 of the 3 qualification matches we lost at 2011 MSC were with or against Martians. Yikes!

Oh, well. The NC Gears, Martians, and More Martians all qualified for the Championship. I just hope that we wind up in different divisions!

As you may know, my younger brother Jay is a mentor for the Goodrich Martians (494) & More Martians (70). As kids, we always played well together. As adults, apparently we don't. Maybe our Mother needs to have a few words with us.

But seriously, MSC was a great event. In the five matches we played on Saturday, there was only one where the losers (us) scored less than 100 points! Congratulations to everyone who made it there. Thanks to 494 for selecting us and 3539 for joining our alliance. Congratulations to 33, 67, and 70 on a well deserved victory. Thanks to all who make this event possible!

Why didn't you tell our alliance captain on archi last year that you two were a black hole together!

Congrats though on 3 very successful seasons!

[RyanCesiel]

Originally Posted by Richard

I recall that match -- was sitting right behind 548, across the aisle from 2337, so I had a good view of the tower. I thought 245's deployment might have been a little early, but it was a close call.

Generally, I thought the MSC refs got nearly all of the close calls right. The endgame moves very quickly, making those calls very tough for the refs.

I agree. With the increased competition in the minibot deployment and race, I think our referees did an excellent job.

[Akash Rastogi]

Only in Michigan can the 8th seed alliance put up a score of 143 points...just wow.

Watching youtube match videos all day

[Wayne TenBrink]

Originally Posted by BrendanB

Why didn't you tell our alliance captain on archi last year that you two were a black hole together!

Congrats though on 3 very successful seasons!

We hadn't established much of a trend by that point...Sorry. Same to 3539, I guess. As for me and my brother, perhaps we should have listened to Mom when she said "Play nice together or somebody is going to get hurt!"

[AMYO]

WOW you do not sound bias at all. Did not know that the simply two letters would cause so many folks to get all bound up inside "slandering other people/teams." Really? OK PLEASE READ THE POST BEFORE RESPONDING SIMPLY COPYING IT INTO YOUR POST IS NOT THE SAME.

WHAT r the facts: 3 mini bots went up two were scored???

[Josh Fox]

Originally Posted by AMYO

WHAT r the facts: 3 mini bots went up two were scored???

That seems to be the case. As stated previously, it looks like 27's mini won the race, even though it didn't appear activate the tower. That Adambots may have deployed slightly early as well from the look of it, justifying the tower deactivation.

I don't really understand how hearing opinions from the teams on the winning alliance has anything to do with GP.

[Andrew Schreiber]

WOW you do not sound bias at all.

You're right, I'm not. I have reasons for wanting both teams to win.

Did not know that the simply two letters would cause so many folks to get all bound up inside "slandering other people/teams."

You are the one who called out 27/245/1023, not me. You are the one who, instead of asking for clarification. No, wait, you asked for GP... whatever that is. " it would be nice if we could get some GP out of teams 27 245 1023 lets hear from you guys."

Really? OK PLEASE READ THE POST BEFORE RESPONDING SIMPLY COPYING IT INTO YOUR POST IS NOT THE SAME.

Better? Did I read enough of your post this time? Remember, you are the one who called out teams. Had you asked for clarification for why things turned out as they had I doubt anyone would have had a problem explaining it. Instead you claimed 2337 should have won and, as I read it, that the alliance that won was not displaying GP. I'm not even sure how you are defining GP or why it is relevant to a call a ref made but the point is YOU called out teams. I responded because I have had experience with several of the teams you called out.

[Jazonk]

Talking to the refs after the match, they said this:

27's minibot won the race, despite the tower lights not activating.
1718's minibot came in second.
245's tower was disabled due to an early deployment.

There is your clarification.

[J_Miles]

Originally Posted by Jazonk

Talking to the refs after the match, they said this:

27's minibot won the race, despite the tower lights not activating.
1718's minibot came in second.
245's tower was disabled due to an early deployment.

There is your clarification.

Watching from the stands, it looked extremely close. Because we were the Blue Alliance team, I obviously was immediately inclined to say that 1718's minibot went up first; however, watching the match video, I can't call it. It was so extremely close that there was no honest way for me to tell, since I can't watch both towers simultaneously. I think it could have gone either way, but it looks to me that RUSH's minibot scored first by a millisecond or two . Regardless, it was a close quarterfinals match. The red alliance and blue alliance matched each other in points throughout the round (Red by 3, then Blue by 43, then Red by 40, I believe). I trust that the referees made the right decision. That entire alliance was absolutely phenomenal, and I only regret that our alliance partners were having the sort of trouble that they were; otherwise those last two matches might have been as exciting as the first one.

Congrats to teams 27, 245, and 1023 for playing hard in the eliminations and coming within one point of upsetting a STACKED #2 seeded alliance, not to mention beating a strong #8 alliance in the semis. For anyone from that blue alliance in the quarters, please let this go. Sometimes mistakes are made, but don't go pointing fingers, especially since, in this case, I don't think there was one.

[Coach#3536]

A huge thanks from 3536 to all the teams we played against and with over the weekend. We believe that we really were part of something cool with the tube hang and the minibot race this year so far.

As the highest rookie seed we really enjoyed how the teams pulled with us in the end. We were able to keep our HIGHLY defensive robot up there in a mix of excellent tube hangers. While the Mini bot we had was consistent, it was no match to the blistering bots put up by Foley Freeze, TORC, Enginerds and by far not least MARTIAN were really awsome. I know there were many others that I didn't get to watch that I failed to mention. We hope to mimic some of the designs ideas we saw and have it on EPIC for St. Louis to help our role in the alliances next time.

We knew the defensive role in itself would be a tough sell at the end of the day. Even with keeping the hangers points down or off the board as we showed we could. Sorry to those that got knocked in the 1 vs 8 story. That was a heartbreaker. But it also is what makes a compelling story too. Yep MSC was wild for our first experiance there, crazy for sure. But alot of cool teams and the rookie tube hanging done by 3539 was impressive. Nice Job to EVERYONE we met very cool, thanks!

[Eric Kosek]

As the driver of Team 1718, that in the heat of the moment I thought that we beat 27 in the mini bot race and when they gave it the first place, like any driver would have been, I was very mad. After looking at it on video i realized that it was actually a very close race and that it was too close for to call. The ref already has one of the hardest jobs there is and I beleive that he made the right call. I realize that if I had been on 27's team, i would have been mad if 1718 got the first place points and cost us to lose the match so i beleive that even though it was a tough call, the ref made the right decision. The quarterfinal ended up going to a third match anyways although we had some drivetrain issues and I give all the credit in the world to 27, 245 and 1023. They were a very strong alliance, as was every alliance there, but to take the strong number 2 alliance to three matches in the finals was a feat in itself. The finals were three of the most exciting matches I have ever seen. Great job you guys.
Also congrats to 33, 67 and 70 on winning the championship. You guys all have awesome robots this year and I cant wait to see you guys down in St. Louis.
And thank you to Team 2337 for choosing us as your alliance partners and team 326 for joining our alliance. Both of you guys had two awesome robots this year and it was an honor to play with you guys.

[techvikesmom]

Congrats to TEAM 2054 "TECH VIKES" you did awesome, too!!!
You were reliable and a consistent robot in every concept of the tournament!!! We are so excited about going to Nationals at St. Louis.
Good luck to all teams going and see you there!!!

[Michael Corsetto]

Originally Posted by Jazonk

Talking to the refs after the match, they said this:

27's minibot won the race, despite the tower lights not activating.
1718's minibot came in second.
245's tower was disabled due to an early deployment.

There is your clarification.

Thanks for the clarification!

I am concerned about 27 receiving the points despite the lights not triggering. Per TU#18, "So moving forward, we will be relying on the automated scoring of the MINIBOT RACE."

Is this not to be taken as a rule, and instead more of a guideline? At the Sacramento Regional, our (1868's actually) MINIBOT didn't trigger the tower in our last final match, but it was clearly first place in the MINIBOT RACE. We were not awarded the points, but it didn't matter since we won without that minibot. Earlier in the day, our actual MINIBOT (a slow one) hit one of the bolts as it attempted to trigger the tower, didn't trigger it, and we did not receive the points again.

So, is this a matter of inconsistency in the refereeing? Or was there something different about the situation with team 27? Because as I understand TU#18, if the tower doesn't show those lights, no points.

Also, for anyone interested, I attached a screen grab of 245 deploying early. You can see that the yellow light is still on the tower base and their MINIBOT is just barely within the BASE projection.

Awesome matches at Michigan, the World Championship is going to be intense!

-Mike

[nikeairmancurry]

Originally Posted by Michael Corsetto

Thanks for the clarification!

I am concerned about 27 receiving the points despite the lights not triggering. Per TU#18, "So moving forward, we will be relying on the automated scoring of the MINIBOT RACE."

Is this not to be taken as a rule, and instead more of a guideline? At the Sacramento Regional, our (1868's actually) MINIBOT didn't trigger the tower in our last final match, but it was clearly first place in the MINIBOT RACE. We were not awarded the points, but it didn't matter since we won without that minibot. Earlier in the day, our actual MINIBOT (a slow one) hit one of the bolts as it attempted to trigger the tower, didn't trigger it, and we did not receive the points again.

So, is this a matter of inconsistency in the refereeing? Or was there something different about the situation with team 27? Because as I understand TU#18, if the tower doesn't show those lights, no points.

Also, for anyone interested, I attached a screen grab of 245 deploying early. You can see that the yellow light is still on the tower base and their MINIBOT is just barely within the BASE projection.

Awesome matches at Michigan, the World Championship is going to be intense!

-Mike

Its seems the Ref right there... Jason was spot on...

[EricH]

There've been a couple of cases where lights just didn't work on a tower for some reason, but the scoring system picked up the points anyway. (Or, in the case I'm thinking of, it was known that the tower's lights weren't working and they hadn't fixed them, so they went by FMS times.)

It's triggering the tower, not turning on the light, that is important.