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Predictions Week 5: Last Stop Before the Big Show... ...Part 2
The Fun never stops.
I just put in 13 hours at work after a late night of predictions yesterday and now I will put in another 5 or so working on the 2nd half of week 5 Predictions... ...I am not complaining.... ...well yeah, I guess I am so I had better shut up and get on the PREDICTIONS!!!! Let's get to it then. Lone Star Tons of tipsters on this one. Unlike those sore losers from the Deep South who complain about poor coverage and then offer unethical bribes[4], these folks from Texas know how to get a story in print: send tips to the writer on deadline ;-) Quote:
Hokey Smokes! If you haven't seen it, you need to check it out (here). The video doesn't show a robot climbing their ramps (and that is probably a good thing), but their double roller tube gripper gig is CERTIFIABLE GENIUS![5] Their ramps may have to be tossed overboard but their arm & gripper (and the strange seeding match generator FIRST is using this year) will be enough to get them to the picking in TX. These guys are rookies so somebody make sure they have a scouting team working for them. Team #2158 -- mark it down. Now back to normal meat and potatoes analysis. TX is hard to predict is some ways, it is a biggish regional (53) with about 1/3 having been out already this season. It has 4 teams that have been in the Finals of another regional this year. But it has one of the highest median team number of any regional this weekend save NV & CO. Tough to get a handle on. But that is why I make the big bucks: To see black and white where others see only shades of gray. Let me start with a cheeky quote from a tipster that was my favorite before he got so brazened: Quote:
I would be blind if I didn't see that Teams #148 is going to be a force majeure in TX this weekend. Big Time Mentor Big John V-neun has kept a year of being on the sidelines bottled up inside him and he has unleashed that energy this year to rebuild the FIRST Greenville Franchise. I haven't seen a robot this good out of Team #148 since, well, since the IFI guys were knee-high to a grasshopper and helping out Greenville as a lark while working at Raytheon. Seriously though, these guys can really put up the tubes. They could have (should have?) won St. Louis. I expect they will be #1 seed in their home court. Go Robowranglers! Speaking of ALMOST winning the big trophies, Teams #118 & #364 are back in action again this week after ALMOST having won the Bayou Regional. If one or both of these teams seed high it will be interesting to see if they let emotions or their scouting teams drive their picks... I have 5 regionals to cover and only so much time so I am going to just have to list the other teams I think are worth watching in TX. #462 was the first team drafted in LA and took home the Big Blue Banner. They were a big part of the reason #118 & #364 don't have a banner (yet) this year. Look for them to go early in the draft if they don't make the top 8. Baxter Bombsquad had a pretty good outing in Kansas City but the stars didn't align for them. You can't keep the boys from Mountain Home down for long. They should be Finalist at least in TX. My heart pick goes to Team #1 --I saw the Juggernauts at the Great Lakes Regional. Frankly they looked better than I have seen them in years. They tell me they have a ramp they are planning on adding for TX. I hope they leave it off and go with the arm they've got. It looked pretty solid to me. Scouts in TX should keep an eye on Juggy. They may be available later than they should be. Another heart pick is Team #57. They are a Chairman's Award caliber team through and through. And this year they have a pretty fair double ramp bot. They looked great on Sat. morning at the GLR. I hear tell they ran into some reliability issues after lunch but I am betting they have worked out the kinks and will be ready for action in TX. Las Vega Forget about slogans, there is NO WAY what happens in Las Vegas is going to stay in Las Vegas. First the numbers: 51 teams, 28 teams having been to at least 1 regional this year, median team number is very high but I don't see that being much of a factor given the many veterans with tons of experience, 7 Teams have made it to the finals of a previous regional this season. This regional should ROCK. Let's start it off with a comment or two from the tipsters: Quote:
Quote:
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Here is a fair summary of about 1000's tips I got about the upcoming LV Regional: Quote:
AND... ...they are going to win the darn thing! What do you want me to say? It ain't braggin' if you can do it and these guys can do it. I don't care what kind of trash talk the Poofs are having to put up with since losing the San Jose Regional FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! Please. Do you think one loss is going to tarnish any of the laurels already sitting on the Cheesy Poofs' heads? If you get over to the Strip sometime before Saturday afternoon, place a bet on the Poofs to WIN. It's Easy Money. Final note. What is with all the FL teams heading to LV? It can't be for the sun? What gives? The answer comes from yet another tipster: Quote:
Philly Starting out with the cold hard numbers: 44 teams, 27 with prior experience playing Rack & Roll, 4 of which come to the City of Brotherly Love having been in the finals at their last regional. This regional has one of the LOWEST median team numbers of any regional this season (only Pittsburgh was lower). Drexel will be hosting a lot of experience even if they don't have a lot of marquee names. But to say they don't have a lot doesn't mean they don't have any. To the tipsters we go... Quote:
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One more quote and then I got to get on to the next regional: Quote:
Oh yeah, forget about all those question marks raised by all those tipsters, the smart money has Team 103 on the Championship Alliance. Take it to the bank: #103 adds to their Banner Collection this weekend. Callin' 'em as I see 'em. Looooooooong Iiiiiisland Here is a surprise to me: Long Island has the 3rd lowest median team score of all the regionals in the WORLD this year -- true true. More numbers: on the smallish side with 41 teams and only 9 with a week of competition under their belts and only 1 of those made it to the finals of there regional. BUT.... ...that one Team is none other than the legendary Cyber Blue Team #234 from Indianapolis. They have a great quote from Jimmy Dugan[6] on their website by the way -- go check it out yourself, definitely worth the clicking. My spy (shown here) at the Boilermaker Regional RAVED about Cyber Blue. This was a team that showed they could put the tubes on the rack (and was rewarded with #3 seed and the first team drafted) AND they could get down and dirty when the defense turned it up a notch or two (or 4 in the case of the Boilermaker Regional ;-) Here is a great tip from the tipline: Quote:
As to Team #870, traditions matter. Team RICE has a tradition of winning.... ...and building pretty competitive robots.... of course they'll need partners and luck. Question: Do they have the enough to keep their wining ways rolling? Answer: "Well, I am sure I don't know, darling. Luck favors the prepared. " -- Enda Mode[7] True enough. Let me bottom line it for you and get out. Pick #229 and #234 to make it at least as far as the finals. Slight edge goes to #234 to win it all but it could go either way. Partners decide which of these to are Champs. If they manage to get together on the same alliance, they win in a cake walk -- #870's traditions not withstanding. TO BE CONTINUED... It is too late for me to get to Western Michigan tonight. Stay tuned... Joe J. Notes [4] Hey, Peachtree & Palmetto Regionals, I know this is a cheap shot -- but you have to remember this is not supposed to be a boring nice nice column. Entertainment is the standard of measure. To be honest, I felt bad that I didn't know enough about GA to make good comments back in Week 3 and I was so tired last night, I just rushed through the SC regional without connecting the dots that I was shorting 2/3rds of the souther regionals (FL? Everyone knows that Florida is part of the North East or Midwest or some such. One thing I can say for SURE is that while it may touch GA and AL, FL left the Deep South generations ago -- except Miami and we don't have a regional in Miami yet, so there. VA? Well, they've got good people in the Commonwealth but as to VCU being a Souther Regional? Are you are out of your mind? ;-) Let's not speak of this any more. Seriously though, if you want coverage in this column, dish me interesting tips. I am desperate. [5] I can certify it myself (I am an actual licensed Professional Engineer with one of those cool stamping/embossing doodad and everything ;-) You may not believe, but I the day of kickoff, I sketched up almost that very gripper design. I practically BEGGED 3 different teams build it (INCLUDING my own daughter from team #573). Nobody thought much of it. But they didn't know the power of the gripper nor the power of YouTube. These guys will be sorry now won't they? Well... ...they SHOULD BE even if they aren't. [6] Jimmy Dugan is a movie character but the quote is still awesome. [7] Edna Mode is also a movie character but again the quote is awesome even if it is a rip off of earlier quotes just as Jimmy Dugan's quote was. Awesome does not always imply original... Last edited by Joe Johnson : 29-03-2007 at 16:59. |
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