Summer 2019 draft recap

The captains convened at Casa de Gopher to draft teams for the summer season. Ryan, representing Green, ran all the way there from Beacon and still managed to arrive first. Tom took the Black like the Night's Watch. Chris re-upped his leadership of the Blu Tang Clan. Cody returned as the captain of White. Schmack signed on as a first time East Fishkill captain, repping Red. Zac and Keegs retook the helm leading Yellow, who won the league in Summer 2018.

With both Keegs and Zac attending, the plan was for Keegs to obsess about the draft and all the player data, freeing up Zac to focus on humorous live tweets on the league's Twitter. Unfortunately, the plan failed because Zac didn't have the league's Twitter logon on his phone anymore, and we couldn't remember the password. We'll get that fixed, and apologize for not live Tweeting the draft. You'll just have to trust that it was hilarious, as usual. I'm also pleased to report that, in spite of the hilarity, it was probably our quickest draft ever. It was done in a little over an hour - perhaps because the sign-ups were nearly 50% baggage this time, so a lot of picks were of two players instead of just one.

Rosters are posted on the website.

What do the teams look like?

Green - Ryan returned to EF Ulti after spending time out West. We're happy to have him back. He assembled a strong team that includes all-stars Brian Funicelli and Gary Chasteen - known as the Chasticelli baggage. Instant credibility. Boyd, Kate, Tyler, Gabby and a variety of other players should make this a deep and well rounded squad.

Black - Tom was still stinging from last Fall's tie with Cody and the White team. He returns hungrier than ever to win a championship. He began that quest by selecting Caro and Jimi - adding two of the three captains of the Hudson Valley Funk with a single pick. They are joined by Matt Stew, Vicki, Matt Capone, and a number of other experienced players, including the ultra experienced but not so athletic Commish. The wild card: Tom took a chance drafting the currently injured Walter Roosa. If Walt gets cleared to play before the end of the season, he could put Black over the top.

Blue - Chris has got to be pleased with this summer's version of the Blu Tang Clan. I expect they'll prove they "ain't nothin' to $%^& with." With Isaiah, Dr. B, Wilcha, Cara, Peri & Allison, Matt Vaccaro and a host of other experienced players, this roster looks like it could seriously contend and have a lot of fun doing it. Blue quickly received a lot of likes when the roster was first posted.

White - Cody re-upped his connection with perennial all-star Justin LaMarche and welcomed Christina Pacella back to the league. They'll be joined by Eli, who continues to gain top level experience with Carlton Cut, as well as Cortland and Funk players Hanz and Gertz, and EF Ulti cutting sensation Tom Banney. They also secured the high level experience of Tisch and Tony, and they have a roster spot ready for league favorites John "back by Wildwood" Waldie, and another for Willard if he visits the area.

Red - Schmack did well as a first-time captain drafting a team. She'll be joined by Bri, Marisa, Raeburn, Rob, Malouf, Ben and others. This team is crawling with great cutters. Apart from Schmack herself, I'm interested to see how the handler role is defined - especially who will bust big throws over the top.

Yellow - With Keegs and Zac co-captaining, this team had to be a championship favorite before the draft even happened. The team wasn't able to retain the services of Hanz, Gertz, or Tom Banney, all of whom played big roles in last summer's championship squad, but they add league favorite Bobby Owens, who expects to be able to play much more this summer. They also retain Cheyenne, who won the ladies' Callahan last year, and they add Noam & Dan, Graham, and a number of other quality players. This will be a sick team again.