Athletes Unlimited 2022

[Lax247]

Oh, and everyone gets a zero for class participation today.

I had taped the games and was watching them on delay so I figured I wouldn’t chime in.

Last night I watched two games from last weekend. Getting caught up. Somewhat confusing to go from last week’s teams to this week’s with all the personnel changes.

Agree that Trenchard did a good job on North today. She always does. Don’t understand why the other team didn’t jump out to double her at the end. Her team obviously wanted her to take the shot.

But North wasn’t the story of the game today. It was Kenzie Kent who had a mammoth game.

Kent was great today but to the winner goes the spoils....

[DMac]

But North wasn’t the story of the game today. It was Kenzie Kent who had a mammoth game.

You betchya, Kenzie was everywhere doing everything (on the O end) today.
Moreno, two OT games, two Ls. Pretty tough.

[DMac]

Oh, and everyone gets a zero for class participation today.

I had taped the games and was watching them on delay so I figured I wouldn’t chime in.

Last night I watched two games from last weekend. Getting caught up. Somewhat confusing to go from last week’s teams to this week’s with all the personnel changes.

Agree that Trenchard did a good job on North today. She always does. Don’t understand why the other team didn’t jump out to double her at the end. Her team obviously wanted her to take the shot.

But North wasn’t the story of the game today. It was Kenzie Kent who had a mammoth game.

Kent was great today but to the winner goes the spoils....

What's this mean? Without Kent's 12th goal there is no OT.
There's no comparison in the game North and Kent played today.
North was taken out of her game and pretty much shut down by Trenchard for a real big chunk of this game.

[Lax247]

Oh, and everyone gets a zero for class participation today.

I had taped the games and was watching them on delay so I figured I wouldn’t chime in.

Last night I watched two games from last weekend. Getting caught up. Somewhat confusing to go from last week’s teams to this week’s with all the personnel changes.

Agree that Trenchard did a good job on North today. She always does. Don’t understand why the other team didn’t jump out to double her at the end. Her team obviously wanted her to take the shot.

But North wasn’t the story of the game today. It was Kenzie Kent who had a mammoth game.

Kent was great today but to the winner goes the spoils....

What's this mean? Without Kent's 12th goal there is no OT.
There's no comparison in the game North and Kent played today.
North was taken out of her game and pretty much shut down by Trenchard for a real big chunk of this game.

Who ultimately scored the winning goal?

[DMac]

That thinking is too shallow for me.
Who ended up with a whole lot more points today
(the way AU tallies 'em up)?

[njbill]

Lax247, I watched the same game you did. North had an up-and-down game. She did some good things. She did some bad things. The best thing she did was score the game-winning goal in overtime. That’s a real good thing. On balance, I think she had a decent game, but not a great game.

Kent had a great game. You say to the winner go the spoils. Well Kent was one of the winners today so she shares in the spoils as does North.

North takes too many shots. She isn’t the only one in the league with a bad shooting percentage, but she is one of them. She took way too many shots and had a horrible shooting percentage in the gold medal game in the World Cup. That was absolutely inexcusable given the importance of that game. She came up small in the most important game in the sport in five years. She came up big at the end of an essentially meaningless exhibition game today. Big whoop.

She holds the ball way too much and too long in a game with a 60 second shot clock. Look at how long she holds the ball compared to other players in the league. Her team uses some number of seconds, maybe upwards of 10, to get the ball into the offensive end. Pass the ball around a little bit, maybe consume another five or 10 seconds, then the ball goes to North who holds it for 15-20 seconds or so while she dodges back-and-forth trying to probe for an opening. If she finds one, shoots, and scores, that’s great. She’s helped her team. If she spends all that time, shoots, and the shot is saved, that’s effectively a turnover. If she shoots wide of the net and the other team backs it up, that’s a turnover. If she shoots wide of the net and her team backs it up, invariably there is little time left on the shot clock, and her team has to rush a shot.

Having said all that, she is a good scorer. She has a very hard shot which she uses to beat goalies. Often times the same shot would be saved if it had less speed. She also can be accurate, which sounds counterintuitive since she misses the net so often. But I think it is a fair comment on her play. And she varies her shot location perhaps better than anybody in the game today. Plus she has improved her feeding this year. It is still not where it should be, but it is better. Lastly, her redefend at least has a pulse now.

Her game is hurt by the fact that this league has no shooting space or three seconds rule. She doesn’t get to the 8 m line like she did in college where it was her bread and butter. I already mentioned how the shot clock hurts her. Also, defenders can rough her up more than they could in college. That impacts her ability to score, as it does all offensive players in this league.

Over the past couple of years, it has become obvious how to play her. You simply have to run a double team at her, and she usually gives up the ball. I frankly don’t think teams have defended her very well in this league. While Trenchard does a good job on her, at times she needs help, as she did on the last play of the game.

[njbill]

Game times are now 10:30 and 1:00 tomorrow, both on the U.

[DMac]

Game times are now 10:30 and 1:00 tomorrow, both on the U.

Thanks for the heads up. So we go from Saturday breakfast game to Sunday brunch game. Nice, gives everyone time to go to church and get back in time for the game. Stop at the bakery on the way home and pick up some just out of the oven pastries for gametime snacks. Probably won't be as good as my mulberry torte thing, but tasty and satisfying nonetheless.

[Bart]

Lax247, I watched the same game you did. North had an up-and-down game. She did some good things. She did some bad things. The best thing she did was score the game-winning goal in overtime. That’s a real good thing. On balance, I think she had a decent game, but not a great game.

Kent had a great game. You say to the winner go the spoils. Well Kent was one of the winners today so she shares in the spoils as does North.

North takes too many shots. She isn’t the only one in the league with a bad shooting percentage, but she is one of them. She took way too many shots and had a horrible shooting percentage in the gold medal game in the World Cup. That was absolutely inexcusable given the importance of that game. She came up small in the most important game in the sport in five years. She came up big at the end of an essentially meaningless exhibition game today. Big whoop.

She holds the ball way too much and too long in a game with a 60 second shot clock. Look at how long she holds the ball compared to other players in the league. Her team uses some number of seconds, maybe upwards of 10, to get the ball into the offensive end. Pass the ball around a little bit, maybe consume another five or 10 seconds, then the ball goes to North who holds it for 15-20 seconds or so while she dodges back-and-forth trying to probe for an opening. If she finds one, shoots, and scores, that’s great. She’s helped her team. If she spends all that time, shoots, and the shot is saved, that’s effectively a turnover. If she shoots wide of the net and the other team backs it up, that’s a turnover. If she shoots wide of the net and her team backs it up, invariably there is little time left on the shot clock, and her team has to rush a shot.

Having said all that, she is a good scorer. She has a very hard shot which she uses to beat goalies. Often times the same shot would be saved if it had less speed. She also can be accurate, which sounds counterintuitive since she misses the net so often. But I think it is a fair comment on her play. And she varies her shot location perhaps better than anybody in the game today. Plus she has improved her feeding this year. It is still not where it should be, but it is better. Lastly, her redefend at least has a pulse now.

Her game is hurt by the fact that this league has no shooting space or three seconds rule. She doesn’t get to the 8 m line like she did in college where it was her bread and butter. I already mentioned how the shot clock hurts her. Also, defenders can rough her up more than they could in college. That impacts her ability to score, as it does all offensive players in this league.

Over the past couple of years, it has become obvious how to play her. You simply have to run a double team at her, and she usually gives up the ball. I frankly don’t think teams have defended her very well in this league. While Trenchard does a good job on her, at times she needs help, as she did on the last play of the game.

I think if you looked at many other players in the league with the same lens you would come up with many of the same conclusions.

[DMac]

Okay, tithings in, TVs on, game time.
All 25-30 fans are in the stands. Aint
no way Apuzzo is taking two Ls in a
row. In case you didn't know, Courtney
is a five time Natty Champ.
Game on.

[DMac]

Gilbert goal, then gets the draw. Speedy.
Apuzzo 1-0

[DMac]

Izzy McMahon with another very quick wrist sidearm shot.
1-1

[DMac]

We've already had our sermon before the game today, easy on the preaching here folks that's not what we tune in for.

[DMac]

3-2 Moreno, end of 1.

[DMac]

Geiersbach from the blazing Kennedy.
4-2 Moreno.

[DMac]

Apuzzo to Arsenault with seconds on the shot clock.
4-3
Apuzzo all by herself, 4-4.
1 minute to go in the half.

[DMac]

Tied at the half.

[njbill]

I think if you looked at many other players in the league with the same lens you would come up with many of the same conclusions.

“Many?” If you said “some,” I’d agree. “Some” of the other players and “some” of the same conclusions.

But the focus here was on North, as it always is. Her talent level does not warrant all of the attention she gets. In their heydays, Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan deserved all of the attention they got because they clearly were the best players in their sport.

North is a good player, but there are a lot of good players in this league, and others who aren’t playing in the league this year. She is not the best, or even among the very best, players currently active in the world today. Notwithstanding that, the networks and the commentators treat her as though she’s the second coming. I have said this before: I don’t blame North for the attention she is getting. I doubt she has asked for it.

If you are a big fan of hers, that’s fine. You are entitled to your opinion. I’m not a big fan.

[njbill]

I like that Joe is opinionated when there is a close call or something. But I wish he would learn the rules (e.g., goal circle foul).

[DMac]

10-9 Apuzzo, final.
The GSD is just unbelievable when behind.
Great finish.