Bear Market Blogging

Seems that most of the BPL blogging community is in hibernation this week (we really hang out for those Power Rankings, Spaz), with the one notable exception of the ever-friendly & lighthearted Heroes media outlet. Okay, so maybe no-one but the Heroes themselves cares that their training has been re-scheduled, and perhaps that's something that might be better communicated via team email rather than worldwide blog post, but nonetheless Carl did manage to put in a trailblazing BPL blogging effort a few posts back... He even had time to grumble about the crumble of the BPL fields - couldn't agree more, Carl.

Hmmm... You know how when you read a Jeremy Clarkson article in the paper he spends at least the first 500 words rambling on about something totally unrelated to the subject of his review? Well we'd been hoping to adopt a similar approach with this post, picking up on shreds of gossip and innuendo from the many other BPL press agencies out there and building some sort of LD-annoying controversy out of it. But reading back over what we've written it appears that we've accidentally succeeded in building a reasonable word count out of very little material, and wouldn't be the least bit surprised if most readers have already clicked away to some of the much more interesting content the internet has to offer... Hi Lee.

Oh okay, let's talk briefly about the game against Heroes last Thursday night. Yes, Sensei C appeared to be in dire need of some laser eye surgery, flailing around for a spinning white blur on several occasions. Too much time staring at the "New Post" screen on the Dojo blog perhaps??? Otherwise it was pretty much the usual situation against Heroes - Dojo turn up expecting an easy win (thankfully with a team this week), then spend the first half doing some lazy trading, lurch into halftime with a dodgy 8-6 (or was it 8-7?) lead and finally decide that games against Heroes need to be won in exactly the same way as against any other BPL team i.e. significant effort and commitment required. So with socks pulled up and appropriate exertion applied the kenshi roll through the second half to a 15-8 win.

Heroes have some useful-looking new recruits this season, and with Matt Boevink now in an on-field Captain-Coach role, they should see some significant improvement in depth of ability and availability of multiple options. However having said that, every second pass is still going to Jangles, and relying on a key player like that is never good for any team. Just look what happened to the Bugs without Mike last season...

Sorry couldn't resist. But hey, if you're going to be so tactless as to advertise yourselves as "Brisbane's current Premier Ultimate Frisbee Team" (which might need a re-write to bring it up to date BTW) you really are asking for trouble...

The Above&Beyond poll is updated above right for a fresh round of voting....

Like Kryptonite

Last night was the first BPL outing for both the new-look Dojo squad and the new-to-the-league Heroes team. The result was a pretty brutal 15-2 to the Dojo, and we think we know why: the Heroes shirts are the same colour as Kryptonite!

Is the head of Heroes' merchandising possessed of a deeply ironic sense of humour? Or perhaps they're styling themselves more as the Greenzo sort of modern eco-hero? Either way, one thing we know for sure is that there was no colour more feared by the original man of steel than green. OMG - man of steel hating anything green? Superman was the original comic-book poster boy for environment-destroying industrialists!

Anyway, at least the Heroes have gone for a colour that no other team already had (a simple concept that has eluded the Cobras and even MBB in the past), and they certainly looked a lot more unified than the anything-white-will-do Dojo. With all the roster shakeups of late, a new batch of Dojo shirts can't arrive soon enough.

Anything worth noting about the game? Well, rather than participating last night, this writer observed the first half from a comfortable seat atop the field-side esky, and what was clear even from there was that the Heroes have a lot settling in to do before they start to seriously challenge in the BPL. LD Stu could be heard on the sideline criticising the Dojo's use of zone defence against a rookie team, but really - it's not the Brisbane Preparatory League, and everyone knows that when you play the Dojo you will face zone D. Best get used to it early.

No doubt the Heroes will be much improved by the time we meet again in the second half of the season, and after all they are the only BPL team ever to have a dedicated, non-player coach (one Mr Matt Boevink), but the new additions to the Dojo roster will be much more firmly embedded by then as well...

Ah well. After what can only be described as a poor blogging effort last season, we've resolved to return to our usual up-to-the-minute standards this season. As such, the first round of Above&Beyond voting is now open - vote away on the right. Maybe next week we'll even return with the video camera...