Maybe that is a bit of an overstatement. We shall see. I for one don't see the 3.0 to 3.5, 3.5 to 4.0, 4.0 to 4.5, and 4.5 to 5.0 (oh wait, there weren't any) bump-ups eagerly signing up for events in 2010. Will the 2009 30th-ranked 4.0 want to drive 200 miles to get spanked by the top 4.5 guys who stayed put? I doubt it. Will a team of 4.0s who couldn't win their division in league play be excited about the prospect of getting humiliated by the latest edition of the Freeman All-Star team. I doubt that too. But I bet the 41st ranked 4.0 from 2009 who was left at 4.0 for 2010 is pretty darn excited. That guy only has Kris (I know how to game the system to get bumped down a year after making Master's Cup) Knutson between himself and 4.0 domination. Obviously I am a bit skeptical of the USTA's recent move. Maybe it will be a good thing. Typically, these type of decisions made by bureaucrats at the National level never achieve the polyannish objectives they envision. In this case, it must have been to level out the competitive landscape for league competition, tournament players be damned.
Other than that, I don't really know what to expect or look forward to in 2010. Maybe instead of seeing the departure of unexpectedly bumped players, we will see the return of players that have been missing from the circuit the past couple of years. Lots of Houston die-hards that in the past played every event no matter how far away seem to have faded from the scene. Work, Family, Decline of Game, Bad Economy - who knows the reason, but I don't see a lot of the faces around Houston courts (let alone at tournaments) that I used to consider permanent fixtures on the scene. Kinda hard to talk and/or joke about you if you are not out there playing. Let's hope we see everyone back on the court in 2010 and that unexpectedly USTA got it right and somehow tournament tennis is a more enjoyable experience for everyone in the new year.
See you on the courts.
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137 comments:
Good summary. I think USTA is going to see further revenue erosion in 2010 from an already down 2009 due to the bump ups. I know I am in that boat of not wanting to pay $35 to get killed.
The internet leagues are looking better and better this coming year....
I will be cutting down my tournament play for next year. It is just not worth it to get whipped by the top 4.5 players in early rounds. I think my game will improve overall next year because of it, but I don't think the joy of competition will be there next year. 2010 will be a total waste thanks to those idiots in Austin. Anyways, happy new year to all.
Not for sure if this info was on the blog or not, but I heard a bunch of guys are getting together on New Years Day for all day tennis. Does anyone have more information on this and are they allowing more players to join.
I like to face challenges. So I am planning to practice hard and try to hang in the 4.5. It is what it is. Let's just stop complaining and think of ways to improve your game and fitness. Where there is a WILL, there is a WAY.
- A former top twenty 4.0 league and tournament player.
OK, OK, I'll try to do my best in 4.5s next year. But the first time I get spanked 6-0, 6-0 I'm throwing in the towel.
If you are Knutson, wouldn't you feel like a fool showing up to play 4.0 in a tournament? A successful 4.5 sandbagging down against a fresh crop of bumped-up 3.5s. I sure hope he doesn't go around bragging to anyone about how good he is doing at 4.0.
Oh yeah, he will without a doubt!
If Kallus does not play in 2010 neither will I.
Greg
Journeyman ever gonna be revealed?? I for one think it's none other than Daniel Kallus fighting to stay relevant.
There are only about 8 possible people it could be since that is probably the number of guys who give a shit about this blog, including me.
OK class, one more time:
Journeyman = Greg Dwyer
Class dismiss!
I am pretty sure it is neither Dwyer or Kallus. Why does it really matter anyway? I get the whole "staying anonymous" thing. If everyone on this blog knew who was saying what in every post then no one would ever say anything and it would either be as boring as the Austin and Dallas blogs or there would be no posts, as was the case when we had to post with individual IDs. Nice idea, but no way it works given how we like to "playfully" rip on our fellow players.
Its definitely Daniel Kallus b/c he's always fighting to stay relevant and he has played every level from 3.5/4.0/4.5/5.0.
Kallus,,,,,Journeyman,,,,,Nah.
Three ducks are in a court room. The first duck comes up to the bench and the judge asks what is your name, the duck says quack...then he asks, what are you in for? the duck answers i was blowing bubbles in the pond. judge gives him 4 months. the second duck walks in and the judge asks whats your name? the duck answers quack quack...then he asks and what are you in for...the duck then answers i was blowing bubbles in the pond. the judge gives him 4 months. then the last duck walks in...the judge says let me guess...quack quack quack? the duck then replies..no, im bubbles
We should have a poll who is journeyman.
1. Greg Dwyer
2. Danial Kallus
3. Jason Freeman
4. Red Benzon
5. Christopher Towle
I am not journey man. I use my ID, man up and use yours too.
I vote for Daniel Kallus as blogger(journeyman)!!!
It must be Chris the way he reacted gave it away.
If I told you who I was, half of you would be disappointed and the other half would say "who the hell is that?". Either way, none of us gain anything from it.
Journeyman is Kallus.
Without a doubt it's Kallus!!!
I no without a doubt its Kallus.
It is "know" not "no" but you are right, it's Daniel.
Daniel Kallus....Journeyman....Nah.
Journeyman- Daniel Kallus, O Yeah its him!!
Repeat after me,
Journeyman = Greg Dwyer.
Happy New Year y'all!
Fact or Fiction
Sarosh and Green both played college tennis and both played 3.5s?
That's a fact, Jack.
Correct,
Fact or Fiction
Dwyer and Green have played all four of these levels 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0?
That's a fact, Jack again.
i am not the journeyman and run only the league blog. i believe it's been several years since i played a tournament. despite my 3.5 strokes i have never officially played 3.5 tennis or been rated 3.5. i started out as a 4.5 player and am rapidly deteriorating.
GD
Come on GD, fess up now. I got reliabe sources tagging you as JM.
Just go back and look at the original posts in 2007 when this blog was formed and just follow them until now looking only at Journeyman's comments. It is obvious that the Journeyman is Kallus.
for Christ sake, Daniel Kallus....Journeyman....Nah.
JM has directed a lot of smug/nasty comments at many players throughout the years and sat back and allowed anonymous posters to attack and smear Houston-area players without policing even the most horrible comments. I doubt anyone would ever confess to being such a jackass.
I couldn't agree more. You nailed it on the head.
Not to distract anyone with actual tennis talk, but does anyone plan on playing any of the January events? There is a tourney at Lee Leclear and one in Austin. They are the same weekend. I wouldn't mind playing one of them but have no interest in messing with a tiny draw. Any takers?
It makes sense.
Kallus sucks...
This blog sucks...
Therefore this must be Kallus' blog.
Flawless logic. Glad I just saw Sherlock Holmes to help with my deductive reasoning skills.
Journeyman once posted that he played 3.5 thru 5.0 tennis. If GD never did, then he must not be JM.
Has Kallus ever played 3.5s?
How many players have played all four levels as JM has claimed to have done in the past?
Tim Green yes
Sarosh not sure if he ever played 5.0s
Kallus?
Greg S.?
Greg Dwyer? Greg D. states he has never played 3.5s.
Anybody knows who has played all 4 levels?
USTA? HTA? Non-sanctioned? Local? Major Zone? What's my point, I have never been a 5.0 rated player or even 4.5 rated for that matter but I have played local stuff at both 5.0 and Open to get practice and try to improve. Based on that, someone saying they have played at both the 3.5 and 5.0 levels over the course of time really does not mean very much.
Mr Towle you seem like a smart dude perhaps you could help with this matter. Please let us all know what local players have played all four levels 3.5, 4.0, 4.5 and 5.0.
This way I Sherlock can figure the ID of the evil Journeyman.
Please assist in this matter.
S.H.
If a player never played 3.5s then he cannot be JM. Most players have never played 3.5s. If they have any tennis background they would know 3.5 players is the weakest division. I for one never played 3.5s and everyone I know never played 3.5s.
I believe that last post was from JM.
I will throw my hat into the ring - I have played, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0 and now 4.5.
Yippee - big deal.
PS - I started playing tennis when I was 27, am self taught and have never taken a lesson (other than on the court from a superior opponent).
Daniel Kallus has played in every level from 3.5/4.0/4.5/and 5.0. He is always trying to stay relevant and he is DEFINITELY the Journeyman!!!
Ignore JM's statement about playing all the levels and trying to stay relevent. Just look at what has been said, how it was said and who it was said about. JM is Kallus.
I looked at some of the older posts. I don't think I agree. A lot of negative comments have been directed at Kallus on the blog over the course of time and some of it came from Journeyman himself.
Exactly, self-depricating comments about himself, just like Dywer does every time he mentions himself or any team he is on over on the league blog.
JM = Kallus.
WHO CARES? TALK ABOUT TENNIS!
I agree.
Looks like the "Kallus sucks" guy has moved on to a "Kallus is Journeyman" fixation. Dude has issues.
Can't wait til we get some good weather so I can hit the courts. Holiday food killing the waistline.
I think participation in tournaments will be up in 2010. The ratings bump at the lower levels was the right thing to do. 4.5 will have some lop-sided matches but the other divisions will be competitive (this should be incentive to push the better 4.5 players into playing 5.0). Actually, if a new 4.0 bumpup to 4.5 was actually wanting to make it to Austin for the Masters then they should play 5.0 - you can probably get one of those last spots with under 100 points. Also, if enough bad players play in the 5.0 division then they will get points off of each other.
So the weakest 4.5 players are better off playing 5.0? As stupid as that sounds, it actually makes sense.
I like it. At a minimum, a weak 4.5 can end up with a much higher year end ranking at the 5.0 level due to the lack of players to be ranked. I think 4.5 participation will be up early in the year and then after losing repeatedly, the fresh bump-ups will stop playing or start trying to tank matches in hopes of getting bumped back down.
Case closed JM is Kallus
S.H,
I will move on now.
If you play 4 to 5 major you will automatically make the Austin Tournament. That's how that idiot Knutson made it.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Hey Journeyman,
Let's do a poll to see who you are. It would be fun Daniel..OOPS..
Daniel, Who in Houston is likely to play the San Antonio Tournament?
Will the point hunters go to Abilene or will the economical tennis players go to San Antonio? Anyone have any insight to which tournament is better to play?
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
Abilene vs. San Antonio tourneys:
Without a doubt, SA tourney is a better tennis environment than windy and cold Abilene. However, since you brought points and economics of things, I would have to go with Abilene for the total bang (points) allowed for given effort. I would like to go to either one of them, but hard times has got me shut down.
If you live in anywhere Austin and north from there (Waco, Fort Worth, Dallas), then Abilene is the better choice since there is no economic or time disadvantage in making the drive vs. San Antonio. I have played both and both local tennis organizations do a good job running things. When the event was held at Newcombes, I did not like the fact that you never knew before hand where you be playing and not all facilities were equal with others. Now that it is at McFarlin, it is a better tourney. Better competition at Mabry and probably a keg of free beer. Abilene, better chance of picking up points. Both will be very windy though Abilene likely worse and possibility of extreme cold. Personally, if I play either this year, it will be Abilene.
Can someone sponsor me for tournaments this year? I don't have that kind of loot to blow away on tourneys!
Do you play for points, fun, or to improve? If the answer is either of the last two, there should plenty of low cost opportunity to play tennis here in Houston. We should do like some of the guys did this weekend and have more organized multi-player tennis outings. Some round-robin or other 1-day format competition with no entry fees (yeah!). You would think this blog would be a good place to put such events together but I guess that would take time away from blasting each other or wasting time trying to figure out who Journeyman is.
Yeah that's right, I heard a bunch of guys got together on New Year's Day for all day tennis. Does anyone have more information on this and any other activities and are they allowing more players to join?
Bring back the Houston Challenge Ladder from a few years back that handicapped match-ups so that all level players could compete in a manner that made it worthwhile for all players. I played. It was fun and cost nothing. I think Greg Schumucker was the guy who did it.
Who cares about getting guys together and playing a round robin. I'd rather find out who the Journeyman really is. I'd like to see Daniel this year so I can confront him about being the Journeyman.
MS
I agree completely witht he original post of Journeyman. His facts are right on. And I think his expectations of redcued participation and revenue for USTA is right on. The USTA took an imperfect system and totally screwed it up. It takes skill to F things up as much as the USTA does.
I will notbe participating. What is the point? Hope they lose a ton of money.
I think getting guys together and playing a round robin on weekends is an excellent idea and you stay in good form & shape. USTA tournaments are just too expensive and the winner's prizes have gotten too cheap in my opinion.
The USTA won't suffer that much. However, the local organizations like the HTA will suffer. Less players will mean increased entry fees to I suspect.
Noone will suffer. The only people complaining are the sandbagging 30% who got bumped up. Everyone is happy. Tennis will grow in 2010.
Only 4.0s suffered outright while previous 4.5s received the least benefit since no one was bumped up to 5.0 to make room for the newbies. 5.0 was winner cause no new competition was bumped up.
I think I go and play in the 5.0s this year since there are less 5.0 players in that division than there are 5.0 players in 4.5 division. I know it's a fucked up math but it actually makes sense!
Makes sense to me. Beat 1 5.0 and you are in the finals whereas in 4.5, you might have to beat up to 3 consecutive 5.0s before you get there.
My theory on why so few 4.5s got bumped is that there are hardly no 5.0 leagues around & many of the 4.5s had they got bumped would not be playing league & thus no $$$ to the USTA. Keep the majority at 4.5 & you can still get their league fee money. Follow the money boys, follow the money. The execs gotta keep getting paid..
Berry Creek 4.5 draw up to 21 players as of 10:50 with deadline at midnight. Already means Friday night play for at least 10 guys. A Friday night in January after driving in from Houston. No thanks. Maybe 5 years ago, but I just don't really care about tennis that much any more to put in that kind of work. Especially for a 100 point tourney. Feel free to guess who I am, since that seems to be the latest thing.
Daniel, is that you again?????
I totally agree with the previous blogger about the 4.5 theory. It's all about the mighty $$$. USTA could not generate any revenues if they bumped up the 4.5 players to 5.0 that's way so few (3 people) got bumped up to 5.0s. I think I'll pull a Knutson this year and lose all my matches.
"Juan" will be No. "One" in 2010.
only probably about "pulling a knutson", is that he did not lose on purpose
Kallusman, start a new poll.
I predict the 2010 draws will be up. The Gallery Furniture Draw will be up at least 10 percent from the previos year. You can take that to the bank.
finally, it's not the stinking gallery furniture tourney anymore. this year it's called the HTA tourney. as for me, it's always going to called the Coke
It will always be known as 'Coke' to us die-hards regardless of what they call it next.
Brian should win sportsman of the year every year. He is the only player that gives a hundred precent all the time. Brian could be winning 6-0, 6-0 or losing 6-0, 6-0 and still giving hundred percent. On a different subject who breaks the most raquets at tournaments?
Here we go again. Every year, we get the Brian or Chris Leach are sportsman of the year and Herb Morton breaks lots of racquets. Let's go ahead and cut right to the who has the best forehand question since that will be next.
Hey Journeyman, it's firkin cold outside...Brrrrrrrrr...I saw some num nut practicing his serve last night around 10 PM. I don't know if that's pure dedication or pure stupidity.
4.5
best forehand: moser
best backhand: bergmann
best serve: odion
best volley: tran
best slice: bui
best mover: odion
Interesting start to year participation-wise. Berry Creek has 26 guys playinig 4.5, 23 guys playing 4.0, and only 21 guys playing 3.5. Looks like we will see some of the 4.0 bump-ups give it a shot before reality sets in. A couple of years ago there was supposed to be a great bumper crop of 4.0 bump-ups that included Kern, Warren, Janek, Knutson, etc. Have any of them beside master-tanker Knutson even played a tourney in the past year?
Kern recently played the cotton bowl and faired well. Janel played some tournaments in the Open division but didn't fair so well.
Pick for 4.5s Berry Creek - Steven Atherton
Steve Atherton & Greg Taylor are perfect examples of why bumped-up 4.0s will give up on 4.5 pretty quickly. Only top 2009 4.0 sandbaggers will stand a chance in 4.5 in 2010. Everyone else are just food for the lions.
lol....you are too funny dude.
is it too early to talk about the coke?
Nah it's never too early to talk about coke. I pick Tiger Woods I mean Roger Federer to win the men's open division.
Anyone think Knutson can be the watered-down field to take 4.0 at the coke? I don't. Cause no matter how many bad 4.0s you bump up, there will also be at least 5 new self-rated (likely recruited by Freeman)4.0s in the field to rob the "on paper" 4.0 favorite. He'll still have the goofiest smile in the tournament, so he's got that going for him no matter what else happens.
the word "be" at the beginning of the last post should have been "beat". Am I a moron if I catch my own grammar errors?
Nah you are not a moron if you catch your own grammar errors. No LOTS patrol here bud. I think someone that we have never heard of will take 4.0 & 4.5 at coke as usual. That seems to have been the norm lately.
So what does everyone on this blog think of Knutson tanking all of his matches last year so he could get bumped down to 4.0? Personally I think Knutson is an idiot for spending money to enter a tournament just to tank his match, but in the long run I guess it paid off for him. Funny thing though Knutson cannot win a MZ because he is so out of shape and the draw sizes in 4.0 will still be big which is a deadly combination for someone that needs to lose weight to compete in the summer.
Knutson won't be a factor in 4.0s b/c he is out of shape. Some of Freeman's freshman boys will take him out in the early rounds. Tournament money and time wasted.
Kallusman this blog sucks.
Greg Schmucker your buddy will wln the 4.5s Coke. He is in awesome shape.
Here we go again
Best Forhand-Herb
Best Shape-Schmucker
Best Backhand
Best Volley-Green
Best Sport=Goldbberg
Best person to attack on the blog-Kallus
I want not concur on it. I assume precise post. Specially the appellation attracted me to study the intact story.
With all the 4.0's bumped up do you think the 5.0 Men's division will actually be bigger this year? I have thought about playing 5.0's this year mainly because the draws always start on a Saturday except for the HTA/Coke in Houston.
schmucker in shape, who cares. he's not a factor in 4.5 anymore. doesn't have the skills.
Greg S. has been worked alot last year. I hear he is playing everyday and is ready to kick some ass.
Schmucker doesn't have the game to win a tourney. With the few 4.0 dump ups like foster, chambert would crush him. do you remember the last 4.0 bumpup, knutson, he whooped him 6-1, 6-0
I disagree with your assestment of Schmucker's game. I think it just depends how many tournaments Schmucker plays this year. Funny how many of the die hard tournament players have either cut down on tournaments or stopped playing them like:
Kallus
Schmucker
Sangren
Steve Stoner
Danny Vu
Pogue
Tim Pepper
Ronnie Johnson
Pat Abshire
Steve Atherton
Does anyone know what happened to Steve Stoner and Ken Sangren?
looks like everyone on that list has a losing record
Nevertheless, they are bunch of damn good tennis players.
What's the point in playing, when blogs like this will cut you down or talk shit about you. Some of these players stop playing because they were tired of the personal attacks. I know I am. I would love to see this sight shut down.
But is it sort of like radio or TV. You can choose not to look at the blog. I am confident that 80% of the HTA community doesn't know about the blog.
It site BTW.
Agreed the personal attacks are unwarranted.
if you have a losing record with your current rating, maybe it's a clue that you should play at a lower level. do the math
Radio and TV don't talk shit about you. If a lie is repeated long enough it presumed to be truthful.
A losing record means you should be playing at a lower level? Yeah, you are right. But tell it to the USTA. If a guy is rated 4.5 and losing at the level, USTA has it wrong in keeping him at 4.5. It is not the player's fault, so no players rated 4.5 with a losing record deserve to be ridiculed for not having winning records.
A losing record means you should be playing at a lower level? Yeah, you are right. But tell it to the USTA. If a guy is rated 4.5 and losing at the level, USTA has it wrong in keeping him at 4.5. It is not the player's fault, so no players rated 4.5 with a losing record deserve to be ridiculed for not having winning records.
a certain number of players sign up to play above their rating and always lose. is it cooler to say that you signed up for open, but lost in the first rd. or you signed up for 4.5 and won it.
I think I know where you going with this.
Its cooler to play tennis, have fun, and not get hung up on whether you are always winnin or not. I lose plenty and usually have just as much fun while doing as when I win. Of course, I am not usually paying $30 every time I lose cause I really don't play tourneys anymore. Despite that and despite losing just as much as I win, I am enjoying tennis more than I ever did when I am out on the court.
Perhaps the reason those players don't play any more is that they are all in their 40's. I know Schmucker is at least 45.
I think it is because of age for some (lost a step) and because of this blog for others (couldn't take all the negativity). A few on that list were never really tournament regulars. Vu? Pepper?
From the person who posted on 1/7 I wanted to say thanks for recognizing me giving 100%. That's just the way I like to play either winning big or getting crushed myself.That's the challenge I love because you never know how it's going to turn out until the last point. Hope to see you at the tournaments in 2010 while working on my fitness and game for this year. It was also nice to see positive comments on the blog as irregular as they are.
Brian
I can vouch for Brian. We had a blast playing the Masters, he carried us to a 2nd place finish. We beat 2 very good teams, and it was due to how well Brian played.
Anyone who saw us beat Torres/del Campo, will tell you that for that match, Brian was the best on the court. He played great.
He always gives 100%.
Herb
Amiable brief and this mail helped me alot in my college assignement. Say thank you you for your information.
2010 Australian Open picks:
Men – Nikolay Davydenko
Women – Serena Williams
So Herb, if I understand you correctly, are you saying if I am putting together a league team or looking for a doubles partner, I should take Brian over you?
i pick brian over herb too. brian is much more crafty and makes less errors
Herb and Brian are great guys and I pick them both. They are two of the nicest guys in Houston tennis and although they can play great one match and terrible the next, they always play hard everytime they step on the court.
Right on dude. I totally agree with that statement.
Journeyman
Goldberg and Herb both great doubles players. Probably the best double players in 4.5s.
Next poll which player is the better doubles player Brian Goldberg or Herb Morton?
I was looking up my own stats today just for fun, and decided to look up some others as well.
Tournament play only, and doesn't distinguish 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, or Open.
These are W - L records (singles doubles, mixed) for Houston area guys since 01/01/2006. I'm sure I missed a bunch of people, so if you have numbers throw them out there.
Tim Green 119-44
Odion Dibua 125-26
Omon Dibua 99-31
Greg Schmucker 77-77
Daniel Kallus 110-99
John Patch 39-43
Jochen Moser 172-102
Wayne Morgan 21-10
Herb Morton 89-88
Sean Lacy 10-23
Brian Goldberg 71-60
Matt Sumrall 18-7
Dat Bui 26-11
Aadrian Hasker 53-48
Miguel Morales 61-38
Daniel Morales 53-42
Alain Tran 33-14
Derrick Dugas 49-44
Trey Dugas 58-57
Michael Letan 38-35
Lance Loken 48-49
Mike Salinas 21-12
Red Benzon 51-22
So Moser has played twice as many matches as the next in the past 4 years and that includes a 10 month period that he was living out of the country. Active guy. Schmucker .500, surprising to me. Thought his record would be better. Kallus almost got himself 100 losses and like Moser that includes the fact that he really has played much the past 2 years. The guy must have wasted $K's of money on tennis in 2006 and 2007 to compile that many losses.
herb and brian the best 4.5 doubles player? are u kidding me? what league match or tournament have they won? NOTHING!
you should show stats on how many tournments entered and how many tournaments won.
We were the runners up in the Master tournament last year in Austin and we beat alot of good teams. I do have to give most of the credit to my partner Brian.
Herb
no one cares about the 2nd place or remembers second place. it's all about 1st place
If you get a trophy to go with your t-shirt, then it matters. That is my philosophy and no it is not influenced by the fact that I once was the king of consolation.
I don't know who posted on 1/24/10 at 753p but it wasn't me.
However it is true that Brian played well at the Masters.
Herb Morton
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