No surprise with Lil Bougie going with Russ “don’t call me Russell” Anderson at one. Although, the gap is narrowing...clearly the consensus numeral uno. Now, what he did at number two is questionable. Paging Mr. MeHoff...Paging Mr. Mehoff number two caught the audience by surprise. May actually pair better with hard hitting opponents according to the scouting report. At least Kenny knew better than to try a repeat of the Rudy experiment. Eddie the Cruzer at three is solid but he’ll have to prove he can win without Shano in his corner. Probably could have flip flopped four and five. way too early for iron deficient Svelt one. Swami sees familiar pairing of Dino and Perticus Lane paying dividends as they had success MDB down paired with Mark “One unplugged” Ferrer. Which reminds me...quick public service announcement: Jay Blossman is playing the best tennis of his career. May be a key cog in Bougie’s title aspirations. Another solid pairing at 9 and 10 with El Cubano and Equador Dalton. Captain definitely did his homework. G-Money at 11 is great value here and will get W’s. Chris...you paying attention? Swami noticed Kenny going for athleticism with Lowell (how do you say his last name), John Boy Justin, Nice Guy George, and Crabby Krebs. Ended that run when he selected Bogalusa Doug at 16. Athleticism may not have been the right word, but all will compete that much Kenny can count on. Sweet Lou at 17 has the tools but can you really count on anyone who lost to Bentley in singles. Don’t let JCatt being the 2nd best tennis person in his family fool you. High value at 18. Lil Bougie himself slotted at 19 can wound that rubber band forehand up at times and get some W’s. Handstand Paulie G rounding out the squad at 20 is a nice fit. By fit, I mean he is fit. Not sure how many W’s he will get.
Swami Says:
4th Place
Draft Grade C-
Spin Seekers (Senor’ Forehand/Sid):
Promising start for the Spin Seekers. Sid the Kid takes familiar and successful line-one pairing from last year’s title holders (Big Swinging Sticks). No one is underestimating Barney Rubble this year. He really is more athletic than he looks. Word must be spreading about the success Jay “Candlestick” Butcher has been having on Taco Tuesdays. Clearly playing some of his best tennis over the last two years. Samauri at three is the Chris Carter of Bentleague. Just like CC caught touchdowns, Sly finds ways to win. Will be fun watching Rudy and Sly go at it again in singles. Lil Nadal at 4 has high expectations after two injury plagued seasons. Rumor has it that he’s mixing in a jump serve to gain some MPHs on that slurve. Should make for an interesting slice and dice paring with Samauri. Chong Gordon, or is it Cheech, hopes to return to MVP - form this year. Gordo will have to prove he can without Noah to answer the critics. If all goes well, Senor’ Sid will be pleased. Two David’s at 6 and 7 have the pedigree. Pouty has the titles, and David finally gets his chance to prove he is the better Butler brother. Swami hopes Sid got the better one and after suggestions to reunite the pairing were dismissed. Big Burrito at 8 paired with the Squirrel at 9 have proven to be formidable. Swami just hopes Drew figures out some signals to let his partner know when is plans to poach. Super Ray Ray coming off most improved player award in B XI. Sid hoping Ray Ray duplicates his BSS success in B XII. Swami noticing BSS theme on Spin Seekers. Not sure why he didn’t take any of Shano’s advice on draft night. Definitely owned his captainship on draft night by putting his own touch on Spin Seekers line up. Javier at 11, looks solid across his draft line. will be interesting to see stats at the end. Doc Eck is always a stalwart at this stage in the draft. Just make sure he is in the country when you pencil him in the lineup. Sid the Kid will have to rise up in the Captain’s round. Swami sees a noted advantage here for the Spin Seekers.
Swami loves Burgess at 14. Wear all the LA Tech gear you want, just bring SS some victories. Sid went for the crafty veterans at 15-18. League champions may be contingent on the success of these captains’ picks. Bentleague is different and these four are seasoned. Swami sees success where others see age! Time for Old Knees Harvey, Stringing CJ, Sailer Skip, and No Dot Ananth to rise to the occasion. Ananth, get that forehand primed and quit worrying about your net play. Swami believes Josh is ripe for W’s looking across his line. He has to be better than the accountant right. First timer Pat “Gasolina” Lorca will have to prove he can handle the Bentleague pressure. This is a little different that Saturday Men’s Tennis.
Swami Says:
3rd Place
Draft Grade C
Crazy Eyed Starfish (Crazy Eyes Monaghan/Sess):
Hopefully, Seth didn’t pay too much for that outfit he wore to the draft party. WOW. Got the guy he expected in the first round. Nothing wrong with Tricky Nicky in that spot. Just glad captain’s finally broke up the Nick/Fair experiment. Next three are solid but don’t have the WOW factor like the Captain’s outfit. Ed dropping from 2nd overall last year sixth this year is concerning. Too many other hobbies and now succumbing to injuries has Swami scratching his head and we know RuPaul can’t play at line 1. Dude has a one dimensional game that is not suited for line 1. Just ask Hal. Old bait and switch at number 4 with JA. If healthy, can be a steal here unless he plays a team that can lob and produce drop shots. Joey and John (new J&J) pairing should reveal promising results. Hitman Hearns has the fundamentals, but wears the wrong college colors. Minus 2 Dunbar will figure out a way to disappoint. Game is on the rise, but can you really count on that toss and serve with higher expectations. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility. But, if you expect disappointment, then you can never really get disappointed. Looking at Cannon Cayman at seven paired with Net Savant McGuire should be a tough out and get Crazy Eyes some W’s. Singles specialist Ryan will be trouble for someone in the singles round but how good is his doubles game. Sundial Groeneveld always looks ready to shine at his draft position. May pair well with the consistent other Butler brother. Smiley Latterade strong at 12, but can peptides keep him consistent. Starfish re-slotting big ticket discussion prior to the draft. If paired with the right partner can take over the net. Not sure if Smiley or St. Ro is the right partner though. Better as a number 2 vs. A number 1 so Swami expecting to see him play up more often than back. St. Ro coming off a banner year, starting to figure out how to keep some of the balls in the court. Foresee some battle royals against SS’s LA Tech. Eric the Red and the Patriark Anderson looks like a sold pairing across their lines. Should complement each other and make the Starfish proud. Will the thrill Bentleague debut should be fun. This isn’t beer in hand ping pong but Swami knows he has that competitive fire. “Reply All” Coincon can compete with anyone across his line. Good mix of young and senior talent in the latter rounds should make it interesting. Another first timer with Danny Enk, followed by veteran Wayne Durr completes the Starfish roster. Pre draft favorite but does the roster back up the bravado. Solid up and down, but Swami not sold this team merits all the smack talk heard and exhibited after the draft.
Swami Says:
1st Place
Draft Grade A-
String Theory (Steve – The Accountant):
Fair/Addison combo should warrant attention. Swami wonders how quickly the Ego will round into form now that golf season is over. I know Seth was wanting Addi to fall to him for that Nick Addi paring but Toupsie denied that. Pretty even across the board for line 1. Don’t see anyone dominating, but I’d give a slight advantage to Barney and Candlestick. Coonass Melancon is a wild card that’s for sure. Have witnessed the 5.0 Cajun at times. Does the break up with his girlfriend help or hurt tennis performance. May be a blessing for String Theory that we have only two Saturday tennis matches. Can Fabio Agnew rise to the occasion? Swami was high on Mad Max before the draft. Can excel at Doubles with that reach and singles. Should pair well with Chris “I have to take a “ Kobrock . Same with Rehash. I see a lot of flexibility with this line up. Rehash and Cheech (Ronny), Rehash and Chis, just no Rehash and Redbull Robbie. Everyone knows the Allen’s don’t pair well with Redbull. Swami believes we are one Redbull pairing with Ale before the Accountant benches both players. Have to handle this one with kid gloves. Steve really did well with 5 through 11. Wild Wild West racks up W’s. We all know Hairy Hal is slippery on the court and records more W’s than L’s. And let’s not forget about the five time champion. Although he was left in the green room longer than expected, he should fare well against line 11 competition. Well, based on past performance it will be hard to make it worse.
Seen Heil Hauke and Not Bogalusa Doug Dillon practicing the day after the draft with Captain Toupsie. These two had their game faces on. Todd was there too, practicing that toss. So goes the toss, so goes Todd (The wet sprocket). Here’s hoping that toss cooperates against everyone but the Spin Seekers. Mark Millsie Mills is a wild card at 15. Has the game to dominate. Reminds me of Toad a little bit. One ill toss a way from unraveling. Boss Ross will have to figure out the wily veterans across his line to be successful. Bob and Butch more of the same at 17 and 18. All Lines Matter, so the scales could be tipped by who had success drafting in the later rounds. Swami knows no one will sweat more or compete harder than Rockin Toupsie. Will he pull a Tokin Tyler and play himself in all eligible matches. Will win loss records matter. Rounding out the squad is high value Josh Walker at 20. Seen this guy hit and he has no reason to be drafted in the last round. May be between the ears. Bentleague can do that to you.
Swami Says:
2nd Place
Draft Grade B
Summary:
Well, there you have it. Perfect draft position for Crazy Eyes. Definitely capitalized on having consensus top two out of the first six. The accountant made a strong push in the middle of the draft, so it would be no surprise if it becomes a two-horse race. Spin Seekers a little long in the tooth to compete over a three-month season and Lil Bougie we astray on 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 16th round selections. I’m not always right, but I’m never wrong. You can take this one to the bank!