World Cup Friday

Go figure, it was another long day. So you know what that means--another abbreviated daily report. Hurricane Sandy--have there really been that many named storms this season?--stalled a bit off the Florida coast Friday driving bands of wind and rain inland from the Atlantic coast. Late night rain disipated by dawn but gusty winds plagued the site all day and kept the planes grounded at Fantasy of Flight.
For the most part the usual suspects sit atop the leader board for Sunday selection in the Pro division but as noted yesterday nothing will be determined until the last match is played on Saturday which will see Dynasty (2-1) squaring off against Heat (2-0). The new kids, Impact & XSV, are a collective 0-4 so far. And despite the fact they don't have a win between them the bottom third of the pro bracket; CEP, Shock, Thunder and 187 have played some solid matches and competed hard. Given the match-ups it is possible 3 teams could end up 4-0 with only two of them receiving the bye into the semis tomorrow.
Turned out the latest reports (see Facebook) of Troll's crippling injury was overstated--or else he was miraculously healed overnight as he sprinted for the snake 3 or 4 times in the XSV match today.
I watched a few 10-man games today too. (My son is playing for the first time in over two years.) Most everyone seemed to enjoy the games whatever they thought of the bunkers. (And yes, I've conducted my very own informal and unscientific poll and the majority do not think the urban inflatable walls are appropriate bunkers for tournament play--throwback 10-man or otherwise. I do think though that a 10-man division could easily become a World Cup staple that brings in up to 50 teams.
Did my bit too to prepare some of the non-Floridian UWL players by explaining what they could expect to find in the shallow pools of stagnant water within the stand of trees by the lake where the games will be played. Let's just they are now somewhat apprehensive despite the fact I assured them alligators wouldn't be a problem and as long as some beaters scared the water moccasins away the chances of a poisonous bite was quite small.
While the winds didn't tear down any netting it did take out the pro field's penalty boxes. The result was an extended delay while some field crew and refs jerry rigged some makeshift alternatives. Or, a couple of $10 dollar pvc pipe penalty boxes take a $400K webcast off the air--or at least delivered some extended dead air.
And finally a special thanks to Cap'n Roy and the gang in the Pirate's Cove for their friendship and hospitality--which always hits the spot.