According to Indian medicine in it’s traditional form, Chakra “is a concept depicting wheel-like 'force-centers' of energy in humans that rotate throughout subtle matter.” Pssh….Who doesn’t know that?
Apparently, the Urban Legends.
Amidst the VERY necessary championship game-day hoopla and fanfare, where a less stable team could get lost in the hype, the Nimble Jacks stood firm and fully harnessed their inner Chakra (or all seven Chakras as popularized in the Western version) to collectively remain focused on the task at hand. All of the pre-game tailgating and ladder golfers in the world could not distract the Nimble Jacks. The two-time defending champions had been here before and knew what was at stake. They were locked in on their target hours before the initial Prime Rush. They were poised, punctual, and prepared. On the other side the Urban Legends were equally as focused and possibly a bit brash, as they rode the crest of a wave that included 6 victories in their last 7 games, with their only defeat in that stretch coming at the hands of that day’s adversary, the Nimble Jacks. But is was evident that the Purples had erased their previous losses from memory. Kronum is a game of forgetting. You must forget sub-par performances, your off-target shot attempts, your errant passes, and forge ahead. But not before burning every tendency of your opponent into the back of your mind for the next showdown. With this in mind, the Legends would have to properly hone their Crown Chakra, which is described as “engaging physical action with meditation and mental action with universal consciousness with unity.” (In no way did I research this on Wikipedia for 90 minutes. All information have been taken from journalized entries recorded during my travels to New Delhi in search of rare spices and expensive rugs.)Everything else aside, the key strategy for both teams was to limit shot attempts from the Cross Zone. The mark for the Jacks was Kevin Clark. The Legends’ crosser has scorched the Kronum League with high-flying, acrobatic athleticism that would suffice for a Cirque du Soliel show. On the other side of the sphere, Jacks’ captain crosser Scott Kennedy uses patience and his other viable scorers as decoys to gain open shooting lanes from the 17-yard point. The game-changing Cross Zone has been aptly re-named the “Clark Zone” due to Clark’s pension for drilling 4-point chamber shots and more recently 8-point “Kronum” Crown Ring scores. A tall task lay ahead for both defenses as each team’s supporting cast has shown an uncanny ability to pick up the offensive slack when needed.
Contenders ready! Gladiators ready! Right off the Prime Rush the Jacks and Legends came out fast and loose, moving the ball with pinpoint passing and outstanding field vision. Legends’ ranger Brian Sperling (team-high 28 points) was lights out, connecting on shot after shot from the Flex at what seemed a one-hundred percent clip to tally 12 points in the period while wedgeback Kevin Glover (12 points, 12 saves) baited Jacks shooters into read-able shots and made 7 saves. Clark (16 points, game-high 15 assists) tried endlessly to find an opening from the Cross for the big score but Kennedy and the Jacks literally stood at the point to take away any open look. Clark went another route, dishing to open teammates instead of forcing and dished out 6 assists early on. When the Jacks needed a jolt, Joe Petrino had the bolt. A ranger and ROY candidate, Petrino (game-high 34 points) drilled multiple 2′s, a 4-point Ring, and a devastating 8-point “Kronum” to account for 20 of the Jacks 44 points in the opening frame. On the defensive end, rookie wedgeback Pete Weiss (6 points, team-high 10 saves) was the only Jacks netminder to figure out the Legends offense, making 4 saves. Offensive and defensive highlights were plenty on both sides but the 8-pointer from Petrino proved to be the exact difference as the Jacks went into the first intermission leading 44-36.Flip-flop the first period and you have the second. The Legends controlled the pace throughout hitting 23 of their 39 total shots from the field, and all of but one were of the 2-point variety. Todd Wampler‘s booming penalty kick for 3-points was the lone "non-deuce" scoring effort for the Legends. Not exactly a bad plan at all, as shot efficiency from the Flex and Wedge zones has guided many Kronum League teams to victory throughout the season. Sperling added another 12 as wedgeback Cory Robertson (12 points, 11 saves), hero of the semi-final shootout win over the Night Owls and Mike Ragan (20 points, 5 assists) chipped in 8 apiece. Robertson was big in goal as well, making 7 huge stops off the arms and feet of the Jacks. Scott Kennedy (20 points, team-high 12 assists) and Ryan Coyne (28 points, 4 assists) got in gear after a slow start as both drilled home 10 points keep the Jacks damage control effort in check against the hot-shooting Legends. Jason Shegda and Nick Caton continued to step to Clark at the point and Dustin Gebhard made 5 of his 9 saves in the frame but the crisp ball movement and 56% shot success rate of the Legends was too much. The gap was closed as the Jacks clung to a single-point lead, 84-83, after two with plenty of fireworks to come.
Our favorite Philadelphia NBC 10 chief meteorologist Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz could have made a correct prediction, for once, at this point. Not for snow, sleet, or a heat wave but for a Jacks’ “endurance mode” effort in the third. A one-point lead is trouble for every other Kronum League squad, but not the Jacks. They instinctively dangle the bait of placing pressure on their opposition in close games and the opposition routinely bites. The Legends turned to desperation mode when it was unnecessary. Maybe it was the fact that they were held to zero Cross Zone points in the first two periods or maybe they wanted to go for the jugular of the Hares and make a statement. Whatever the case, the Jacks smelled a 3-peat and played with the same poise that earned them the opportunity to do so. Coyne stayed hot, nailing a 4-pointer and multiple 2′s to register 14 points in the final 20 minutes. Petrino took the 2nd period off to collect himself after a mind-bending 1st, hitting two 3-point penalty shots to help build a late lead. The Legends only bright spots in the 3rd came from 4-point Rings from Glover and Ragan but the deficit was too much. The Jacks saves their best for last. Again. They outscored their opponent considerably in the final period again. Again. They earned a championship. Again. It’s funny how all their tactics can be deciphered, studied, and manipulated throughout a Kronum match. But all the Jacks need is a third period. Place them in an NHL game down two on the road and without any professional ice hockey experience, or any at all for that matter, they’ll probably win.3rd period. 3rd title. They go hand in hand. Fortunately for the rest of the teams in the Kronum League there is no 4th period if the two are somehow related.
Congratulations on the 3-peat, Nimble Jacks. You have harnessed your inner Chakra. That’s enough.
Join the Celebration at www.kronum.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment