"The malcontent of men is the vitality of progression in life, in love, and in sport".
-Phil Cavalcante 2011
Round Five action provided a plethora of highlight reel athleticism and total team efforts that have become a staple in the professional ranks of the Kronum League. Accurate shooting, crisp passing, and synchronized defenses dominated the round and provided fans and viewers plenty to be excited about heading in to the 2nd half of the season.
Then there was the hot-under-the-collar, highly volatile, put the women and children to bed Kronum that we have all come to know and embrace in so many ways. It's the inevitable result that one would expect from opponents that know each other, respect each other, and understand each others tendencies well, but don't necessarily like each other. All love is lost in the heat of the battle. Just ask my girlfriend from college. Whether it is MW3, table-tennis, Bar brawls, or Kronum, one thing is certain; a true competitor shows up to the fight to win. All six teams revealed this stubborn nature in Sunday's games. Respect all around.
Round 5/Game 1: Night Owls vs. Work Horses
A blazing hot performance right out of the gate can offset brief lapses later in the match. Unfortunately for the Work Horses, the Owls were the ones busting out of the turnstiles. They flapped their way to 56 1st period points, 26 of which were netted by ranger Luke Dougan (34 points, 5 assists). His huge 8-point Crown Ring shot set the tone for an offensive explosion of 2 point and 4 point scores that included a mammoth drop-kick blast from crosser Jay Klein. The Horses kept their early focus on consistently trying to score on Owls wedgeback Matt Sola. The plan blew up faster than a warrior brigade led by Leroy Jenkins. Sola turned aside 7 shots on goal in the first, and and hit his own 8-point Ring in the 2nd to walk away with his league-leading 3rd double-double, finishing with 19 points and 12 saves. The Horses relied on rangers Brett McGlensey (16 points) and Kosta Nikolos (16 points) to support the offense early but not often enough. Night Owls wedgeback Greg Ashton, the only Kronum League player averaging a double-double on the season, continued the defensive stonewalling in the 2nd, making 6 saves and finished the day with 14 points, 12 saves, and 4 assists. Kyle McGrath (24 points, 5 assists) pumped in 12 points in the second to keep the Owls offense rolling but the Horses countered with rangers Mike Small (28 points) and Matt Urglavitch (10 points) and outscored the Owls 40-37 in the 2nd. The 3rd was simply a showcase of every possible way to score. Horses crosser Ray Hunter (7 assists) ran wild in the middle of the field getting the ball to his scorers. Fellow crosser Don McCall (15 points) drilled a multitude of kick and drop kick scores while Bill Zane and Mike Small threw from all over the field to lead the Horses to a 108 point total, their highest of the season . Zane finished with a 12-point, 11 save double-double. Marco Menna (6 points), Tim Myers (4 points), and Dave O'Neill (5 saves) killed it for the Owls off the bench helping the Owls to a 149-108 victory. Both teams displayed the talent and hunger needed to get stronger in the 2nd half of the season and I would bet the Horses get their 1st win very soon.
Round 5/Game 2: Urban Legends vs. Nimble Jacks
This match-up was eerily similar to the early game. The Urban Legends came in looking to avenge a loss to the Jet Sets the previous week but the energy of the undefeated Nimble Jacks was evident right off the Prime Rush and they doused any fire in the upset-minded Legends. The Jacks started scoring and did not stop, building a lead that got as high as 28 in the first. The balanced attack was highlighted by a healthy dose of 4-point shots from Ryan Coyne (30 points, 5 assists), Joe Petrino (20 points, 4 assists), Jared O'Donnell (20 points), Ben "Hutch" Hutchison (8 points, 3 saves, 3 assists), and League Assists and team captain Scott Kennedy (season-high 24 points and 7 assists). The Legends played damage control as crossers Kevin Clark and Kyle Miller finished the the period strong with Flex scores to keep it respectable. The 2nd period was a defensive showcase for both squads as the Jacks' stifling defensive rotation allowed only 22 points on 19 total shots from the Legends' offense. On the other side, Wedgeback Scott Anderson (14 total saves) had a brick wall up in his quadrant for the "purple D machine" holding the Jacks offensive weapons to "only" 30 points. Mike Ragan (20 points, 4 assists) provided the bulk of the offense for the Legends in the 2nd, scoring 10 points. At the end of 2, the game pace had slowed, the Jacks were up 30, and nothing stood in the way of me heading to Wawa for Turkey Breast Shorti and a Blueberry Chobani (What? Guys eat yogurt, too). The Nimble Jacks have been in this position a lot, big lead in the 3rd, other team will fold, and we'll pad the stats a bit. Well, nobody made the Legends aware of the standard protocol. Five, yes, five 4-point rings by the surging Legends, 3 of which came in succession from a red-hot Glover (28 points, 7 saves), cut the lead down to 10 midway through the final period. Desperation play at it's finest. Cory Robertson (10 points, 5 saves) stood on his head to keep the ball out of the net. All of a sudden, the blowout in progress was a two possession game and within reach. The Jacks' captain Kennedy rounded up his War Bunnies, made adjustments, and righted the ship in the final 10 minutes. Petrino and O'Donnell hit a few 4-pointers of their own and the Legends' valiant 3rd period charge proved too little too late and they fell 114-92. Lesson learned. Fight the good fight and play 60 minutes. Every game.
Round 5/Game 3: Jet Sets vs. Throwbacks
Find me a Kronum match-up with more attitude and more back-and-forth jaw flapping and I'll give you like, I don't know, 15 bucks. Rollie Massimino impersonator Matt Parsons, still out with a shoulder injury, performed his routine song and dance on the sideline, Steve Vandenberg was closing in on T-Back shooters just as Patrick Willis would on any given NFL ball carrier. John Graham was letting everyone know what he didn't like about what they were doing on the field, and Captain Joe Ferrigno was trying to keep his Throwback crew focused amidst all the hoopla. Well, cooler heads prevailed in this one as Ferrigno did the rest of the league a solid and put the landing gear on the Jet Sets aerial game. T-Back ranger Nick Ferraro (12 points) had countless blocks on the Sets attempts to pass into the goal zone for the slam. Graham (11 points) and ranger Steve Fariss (23 points) had breakout games for the offensively-challenged T-Backs. Air traffic controller Nick DeLuca (12 points, 4 assists) and his Pan-Am crew (Vinny Greco and Jim Andorko) got a few opportunities to continue their Dunk for Dunk campaign with 8 and 10 points respectively but T-Backs were "checking luggage" in the Goal Zone and the threat level showed Red. The re-vamped T-Backs offense stormed to a 35-12 lead after one. With Kronum League scoring leader Jeff Regensburg out, Sets' Crosser Steve Vandenberg was unconscious in the 2nd, connecting for 19 points in the period, to bring the Sets back within 13. WB Ryan Hoff (4 pts, 6 saves, 6 assists) guided the Throwback offense with 5 assists in the 2nd period. The 3rd period was a mad scramble that resembled a prison riot but where the inmates had to hop on one leg. The Sets' Vandenberg continued to fireball the goals, Greco made 8 of his 12 saves while Vince Rota had 6 stops, and the Sets gave fouls galore in an effort to stop the clock for a potential comeback victory. Down 7 in the final 10 seconds, Sets ranger Mike Schaeffer's inbound pass sailed high and they never even got a shot off. Steve Botta, and Jim Bradley made just enough stops in goal to thwart the Jet Sets scoring power and secured an 82-75 win as both teams left the field with 2 win and 3 losses. Parsons is expected back in Round 6 to start the second half of the 2011 season and Regensburg will likely not miss more time.
A wild weekend it was heading into the mid-season bye week. The second half of the 2011 season begins 11/20/11 with some great grudge matches.
1pm EDT: Nimble Jacks (5-0) vs. Throwbacks (2-3)
2:30pm EDT: Night Owls (4-1) vs. Jet Sets (2-3)
4pm EDT: Urban Legends (2-3) vs. Work Horses (0-5)
All the action is live every Sunday. Only at www.kronum.com
Kronum League 2011. Live it. We Do. Join the Revolution.
PC
Kevin Glover was not born ahead of his time. In fact, he was born way AFTER his time. The Renaissance Era tentatively spanned the 14th to 17th centuries as the most significant period of the Late Middle Ages. It's fitting to say that Kevin Glover should have existed back then. Opposing players in the Kronum League would rather he existed then as well. The Urban Legends Wedgeback and co-captain is the master and commander of the feared "Hook Throw" has been torturing fellow net-minders with a blazing shot clocked as high as 63 MPH from the Flex Line at the 2010 All-Star Skills Competition. The mid-air bending and torque-generating twisting motion disallows for an accurate read on where his release point will be and what part of the Kronum Goal his aim is focused on. This wildly-effective shooting method, obviously constructed as part of a scholastic project during his tenure as a member of the varsity soccer team and Cum Laude Mechanical Engineering major at Drexel University in Philadelphia, has led to 43 percent shooting clip over the past 3 games and a team-high 19 PPG heading into the second half of the 2011 season. A 28 point, 7 save effort against the 2-time Champion and currently undefeated Nimble Jacks, in which he led the Legends from a 29 point deficit with three 4-point Crown Ring scores and helped hold the Jacks to zero points over a 7 minute stretch in the final period, highlighted his resume of heroics on the Kronum field. His 8 saves per game in goal puts him in the Top 10 among wedgebacks to boot.