| you have the right attitude, lakdod. the fat lady isn't close to singing yet, and remember xiaoxue that we won two regionals as a lower seed. it would appear that we go either 19-8 or 18-9 for this campaign assuming coach k. can correct course and we still qualify, possibly as a four or five seed which are essentially the same. that scenario would allow us to lose at a nasty place like warrior gym, but not allow us to get swept on both ends of another road series.
i am concerned however of the nature of these losses, which have been that of total domination, with humboldt throughout and with sonoma for the entire second half. that hasn't happened in recent years and leaves coach to consider other options, like benching somebody as a wakeup call. in order for this playoff scenario to happen we likely will need to win out at home, preferably on a roll.
inasmuch as a coyote upset would be satisfying, i'd rather see us lose there, witiness several jack upsets while we go 8-1 the rest of the way as part of a eight game winning streak and jelling at just the right time on the yote floor for the playoffs. we don't want another piece of east gym.
as inconsistent as we have been of late, on the other hand, we could continue losing more than we should and fail to qualify again at 17-10 should sonoma and stanislaus both go on rolls. then xiaoxue you can talk smack with a bit more authority given a mediocre .500 run of 9-9 after being alone in first place early. i somehow think dion simply has too much in him as a leader to let that happen. he has more weapons to employ than last year's seniors, and like bonds and sybesma he may just need to use will to make a difference in a key game. |