Thursday, April 30, 2015

Co-Owner of San Diego Growlers Talks AUDL Team Costs

One of the owners of San Diego Growlers talked about the process for owning an American Ultimate Disc League franchise, including the cost for a team.

Below are excerpts from 'Putting the Ultimate in Frisbee 10 Disc-throwing for fun and profit' [San Diego Reader; 04/29/2015]

Justin Goodman (Growler's co-owner): "There was lots of meetings after that, discussions with the league, but it was relatively simple. The league needed papers signed and a territory agreement. We made out a check and provided proof we'd set up a small business."

"What was the buy-in? What does a franchise cost?"


Goodman: "Last year it was $15,000, but that has gone up to $25K. So, it's doable for most people. A normal person could get up the money and buy a franchise."


Read the full article.

[Photo via SDG website; quotation added to image by SLUDGE]

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

PSA for USAU College Eligibility

An education campaign was quickly created after the news of a men's ultimate team disqualification from participating at USA Ultimate's College Nationals. The PSA's purpose is to help ultimate players in the College Division understand their eligibility, and hopefully prevent another Tulane Rex situation in the future.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Seattle's Matt Rehder Up & Over on Defense

Matt Rehder (Seattle Cascades in white) goes UP and OVER - like a raptor - against Marc Leduc (Vancouver Riptide in blue) on this soaring defensive block.



Rehder would finish the game with 5 goals and 3 D's in Seattle's 26-22 win on April 25, 2015.

Monday, April 27, 2015

San Dieg0-4 Growlers

After 3 weeks of the 2015 AUDL season, the biggest surprise might be the winless San Diego Growlers. The Growlers are sitting in the West Division basement at (0-4), losing by an average of 6 goals. In San Diego's 4 losses, they average just over 21.25 goals per game, while giving up 27.25 goals.
Pre-season rankings placed San Diego in the top-10 of the entire American Ultimate Disc League and in the middle of the West pack. Ten games remain in their regular season. Their May 2015 schedule is against San Jose, Seattle,  Vancouver, San Francisco (2). In the last 5 games, San Diego plays L.A. four times.

Friday, April 24, 2015

MLU Snapshots (2015)

A regular look at the numbers and trends in Major League Ultimate.

Week 14 (August 8)
MLU Championship
Boston Whitecaps beat Seattle Rainmakers 31-17 to win the 2014 MLU Championship in Chester, Pennsylvania.

With their 2 wins in the postseason, Boston Whitecaps extend their consecutive winning streak to 7 games. Only 1 other team (Portland) won more than 6 games in the MLU this season.

-14 = largest point differential in a Seattle 2015 loss. (A 15-goal regular season defeat vs Vancouver in June 2014 was Rainmakers largest loss.)

(2-0) = Boston's 2015 record in all games when they score 30+ points

(9-3) Boston Whitecaps 2015 record, including playoffs

(2-3) = Boston's 2015 record in games when they allowed at least 17 goals

Eastern Conference teams are undefeated (3-0) in the MLU Championship game

31 = ties for the most goals scored ever by Boston Whitecaps. via
(The only other time Boston scored over 30 goals was a win on June 6, 2015.)

Jeff Graham (Whitecaps) is the only two-time MLU Championship MVP. via

# of goals scored by runner-up in MLU Championship
2015: 17 goals
2014: 17 goals
2013: 15 goals

The MLU Championship on August 8 was Major League Ultimate's 3rd inter-conference game ever.

This is Boston Whitecaps' 2nd "tidal" in 3 years.


Week 13 Postseason (July 18)
Boston Whitecaps are now (2-0) at home in the Eastern Conference Final.

Records in the Eastern Conference Final (2013-15)
(2-1) = Boston Whitecaps
(1-1) = Washington DC Current
(0-1) = Philadelphia Spinners

Boston is the only MLU team to win 2 conference titles. [via]

Home teams are now (3-0) all-time in the Eastern Conference Final.

21.4 = average # of goals scored in 2015 regular season by Boston Whitecaps
21 = goals scored in Eastern Conference Final by Boston vs Philadelphia

17.0 = average # of goals allowed in 2015 regular season, Boston Whitecaps
16 = goals allowed by Boston in Eastern Conference Final vs Philadelphia

22.3 = Boston's average # of goals scored in 2015 regular season versus Philadelphia Spinners. (1 win, 2 losses)
21 = goals scored in Eastern Conference Final by Boston vs Philadelphia

15.6 = Philadelphia's average # of goals scored in the last 3 games of the 2015 regular season versus Philadelphia Spinners. (1 win, 2 losses)
16 = Philadelphia's total goals scored in Eastern Conference Final vs Boston

This the second MLU Championship berth for Boston Whitecaps.



Week 12 Postseason (July 11)
The 17-16 score in the Western Conference Final was the 3rd consecutive WCF decided by 1 goal. [14-13 in 2014, 18-17 in 2013]

Records in the Western Conference Final (2013-15)
(1-0) = San Francisco Dogfish
(1-0) = Vancouver Nighthawks
(1-1) = Seattle Rainmakers
(0-2) = Portland Stags

Road teams are now (2-1) all-time in the Western Conference Final.

This the first MLU Championship berth for Seattle Rainmakers.

Portland had a 7-game winning streak at home before Saturday's 16-17 loss. This was the Stag's first home loss since May 17, 2014 (vs Seattle).

16 = the lowest home game goal total Portland scored this season.

Portland Stag's (9-1, 0-1) only other loss this season was also by 1-goal; 17-18 loss to San Francisco.

Peter Woodside (Portland) end zone block D made SportsCenter's Top 10 at #5. On the play Woodside broke his right wrist and later broke his left elbow. [via]


Week 11 (June 27-28)
Portland Stags claim the best MLU 2015 regular season record with a (9-1) record.

Portland Stags become the first and only MLU team to win back-to-back regular season titles - accomplished in 2014 & again in 2015 for the Western Conference.

Boston repeat as winners of the Eastern Conference regular season title - accomplished in 2013 & again in 2015.

0.625 = home team winning percentage in the 2015 regular season. Home teams won 25 out of 40 games.

5 games = consecutive wins by Boston Whitecaps.

In the Spinners' 13-goal loss, Philadelphia scored their lowest game total of the season (13 goals).

13 goals = margin of victory by Boston Whitecaps in week 10, vs Rumble
13 goals = margin of victory by Boston Whitecaps in week 11, vs Spinners

4 games = consecutive wins by Portland Stags.

Seattle's mascot has been officially named "Dewey".

Despite winning 1 more game in 2015 than 2013 (when DC made the playoffs), the DC Current (5-5) did not reach the postseason.

(1-7) = combined record of MLU teams in back-to-back games. (Boston, DC, San Francisco, Vancouver*) *Vancouver's back-to-back was scheduled as a home-away, and won on the road.

Is there an MLU Championship runner-up curse?
San Francisco Dogfish lost in 2013 Finals, then finished last in the West in 2014. Vancouver Nighthawks lost in 2014 Finals, and also finished last in 2015.

In MLU history, 7 out of 8 MLU teams have ever advanced to the post-season. With Philadelphia making the MLU playoffs for the first time this year leaves New York Rumble as the only MLU team never to advance to the MLU playoffs.

Joe Anderson (New York Rumble) was honored during halftime of his last game before "Smash" moves to Colorado.

Week 10 (June 20-21)
Boston secured their 3rd consecutive MLU playoff appearance.

DC Current (4-5) will not make the playoffs for the first-time in their history.

With DC's loss, MLU will not have a repeat champion in 2015.

10 minutes: 55 seconds = duration of DC Current's scoreless drought in their 14-17 loss to Spinners. [via]  (Each MLU quarter = 10 minutes)

Spinners' 6 wins in 2015 is their highest # of victories in any MLU season.

(0-6) = combined record of MLU teams in back-to-back games. (Boston, DC, San Francisco)

+7.25 = New York's average goal differential in 4 losses versus Boston.

New York Rumble become the only team to lose 6 road games in an MLU 10-game regular season.

New York has lost 13 consecutive away games (2013 - present). The Rumbles' last road win was June 1, 2013.

San Francisco (3-7) = the first MLU team to complete their 2015 schedule. The Dogfish finish with 1 more win than in 2014.

MLU playoff teams have been decided; Portland Stags vs Seattle Rainmakers, Philadelphia Spinners vs Boston Whitecaps.

New York Rumble = only MLU Eastern Conference team not to make the playoffs (2013-2015).

MLU West playoffs: Seattle Rainmakers (#2) @ Portland Stags (#1)

2015 MLU Championship is scheduled for August 8 at PPL Park (Chester, PA).


Week 9 (June 13-14)
New York Rumble Record when scoring:
20 or more goals= (1-1)
<20 = (1-5)

Since 2013, the Boston @ DC series is tied (3-3).

Final Scores (2013-2015) of Boston Whitecaps AT DC Current:
20-19, Boston
23-19, Boston
17-18, DC
17-18, DC
18-19, DC
18-17, Boston

+1.5 goals = average margin of victory by San Francisco in their 2 wins over Vancouver.

With Portland's 20-18 win, the Stags extend their winning streak over Seattle to 5 games. (2014-2015)

Seattle Rainmakers Record when scoring:
20 or more goals = (4-1)
<20 = (0-3)

15 = # of possessions of 20 or more throws in the 2015 season. [via]

How many ultimate throws can you name in 6 seconds??


Week 8 (June 6)
No Sunday games were scheduled for this MLU weekend. All 4 scheduled games were played on Saturday.

Boston Whitecaps won 31-24 over New York Rumble. 55 goals = record for highest combined score in a MLU game.

31 goals = highest # of goals ever in a game for Boston Whitecaps in their 31-24 win over NY.

24 = Rumble's scored goals in game vs Boston, which is 2 more goals than their combined goal total in NY's previous 2 games.

26 goals = combined score from May 30th game between NY vs Boston.
24 goals = # of goals scored by NY Rumble in June 6th game vs Boston.

First Quarter Scoring by Rumble vs Whitecaps (combined):
Week 6: 1 goal
Week 8: 17 goals

New York Rumble scored over 20 goals for the first time in their last 9 games.

Box scores via MLU Fantasy app
Seattle Rainkmakers won 28-27 over Vancouver Nighthawks. 55 goals = ties record for highest combined score in a MLU game. The record was set only a few hours prior on the east coast by Boston & New York.

28 goals = highest # of goals scored ever by Seattle Rainmakers in their 28-27 win over Vancouver.

4-game losing streak for Vancouver Nighthawks.

(2-0) = DC Current record in overtime games; 1 OT + 1 2OT

Portland Stags (7-1) are (4-0) at home.

Nick Purifico (Philadelphia Spinners) was ejected from the Spinners vs Current game. [via]  Nick was banded in last week's game vs Rumble. [Watch the infraction AND keep watching for Chris Mazur (NY) - not the ref - banding Purifico (PHL)]

Week 7 (May 30-31)
Clay Dewey-Valentine (Rainmakers) scored a Callahan.

15 = goal difference in the recent loss by New York (1-5)

0 = # of break goals by NY Rumble in their 10-25 loss to Philadelphia. [via]

Philadelphia Spinners scored more goals by halftime (12) than Rumble scored in 4 quarters (10).

4 games winning streaks:
Spinners over Rumble (2014 - 2015)
Stags over Seattle Rainmakers  (2014 - 2015)

Spinners Wins in MLU
3 wins in 2013
4 wins in 2014
5 wins already in 2015

Before Spinners 15-goal win, Philadelphia's average goal difference in wins = 2.25.

In 26 MLU games, Philadelphia Spinners have scored 25 or more goals twice.

It's official! Portland's jerseys are orange.

2 = # of games on the MLU schedule -- the fewest of any weekend in MLU 2015.

Week 6 (May 23-24)
Delrico 'Rico' Johnson (Current) scored the first Callahan of the 2015 MLU season.

3-game Winning Streaks
Philadelphia Spinners (4-1)
Seattle Rainmakers (3-2)

Combined Current Record of 2014's MLU Playoff teams
WEST: (6-5) [Stags (5-1) + Nighthawks (1-4)
EAST: (6-6) [Current (3-3) + Whitecaps (3-3)]

Road teams went (3-1) over the weekend; (2-0) in the East.

Portland lost to San Francisco is their first L of the season, but still have the best record in the MLU at (5-1).

With San Francisco's 18-17 win over Portland stops a 6-game losing streak versus the Stags. The Dogfish last beat the Stags on June 22, 2013.

In the 10 meetings between Seattle vs Vancouver (2013-2015), the Rainmakers lead the series 6-4.

Seattle teased forecasted a likely chance of mascot for Sunday's game. Is that a caped raindrop?

MLU Live was scheduled to broadcast Boston @ New York game on Sunday, but flexed to Saturday's Philadelphia @ DC game.

Current's 18-19 loss at home was their first loss at the D.C. stadium they refer to "The Dojo" (their home field since 2014). DC's home record, since 2014, is now (10-1).

Before Philly's 19-18 win against D.C. on Saturday 5/23, the last time Philadelphia Spinners beat DC Current at home was on June 22, 2013; the score: 19-18.

Spinners (4-1) have equalled their win total in all of the 2014 season.

Spinners are the only team averaging 7+ throws per possession. [via]

14.8 = average # of goals/game by New York Rumble (1-4)

Boston's 14-12 victory at New York Rumble was Whitecaps (3-3) 1st road win of 2015 season.

1 = # of goals scored in the 1st quarter of the Boston vs New York game. (It was windy.) [via]
Week 5 (May 16-17)
Philadelphia's 22-21 win at Boston was the first road win by an MLU East team.

(0-2) = Boston Whitecaps' record in 2OT games this season

With Boston's recent loss at home, their all-time home record is (12-2), 0.857

The last time Boston lost by 1 goal to Philadelphia (5/18/2014), the Whitecaps won their next game by +17 goals, versus New York.

Seattle has scored exactly 20 goals in 3 consecutive games

4 games = San Francisco Dogfish (1-4) losing streak

5 games = winning streak by Portland Stags (5-0)

With DC's 21-17 win over NY Rumble, the Current extend their home winning streak to 10 games.

(2-11) = New York Rumble's road record (2013-2015)

Evan Boucher (Dogfish team MVP 2013) was released by San Francisco.

Week 4 (May 9-10)
(0-4) = combined record of MLU East teams during back-to-back games

New York Rumble's 16-13 win over DC Current was NY's first win since May 3, 2014.

0 = # of turnovers by New York's O-line in the first half of the game vs DC. [via]

2 = # of losses by DC Current; 1 more loss than entire 2014 season when they went (11-1)

11 games = DC's loss ended the 2nd longest winning streak in the MLU; longest win streak = Boston Whitecaps (13 games) [via]

Peter Prial (DC) finally lost an MLU game! In 24 MLU games played (12 games with Boston Whitecaps in 2013 + 12 games DC Current in 2014-15) Peter Prial was (24-0) until Saturday's loss to Boston.

(0-7) = combined record of MLU Eastern Conference teams on the road.

Philadelphia Spinners and New York Rumble have never won more than 2 games in a row (2013-2015) [via]

Portland Stags (4-0) are the only undefeated MLU team [via]

6 games = Portland Stags winning streak over San Francisco Dogfish. (2014-2015)

MLU refs (in black) blended in with the black DC Current jerseys.
via MLU Live

Week 3 (May 2-3)
Seattle's 20-17 victory over San Francisco Dogfish on May 3, 2015, was the Rainmakers' first home win since May 4, 2014.

(2-1) = combined record of home teams over the weekend.

At Nighthawk home games, the Vancouver Ultimate League (VUL) presents a 'Most Valuable Spirited Player Award' to a player on each team. [via]

In only 4 of 22 games (2013-2015), New York Rumble have scored 20 or more goals. Their record over 2+ seasons is (5-17).

8 games = NY Rumble's consecutive losing streak (2014-2015)

Chris Mazur (NYR) and Trey Katzenbach (PHS) both played in Saturday's MLU night game, and then went to Virginia Beach to help their respective beach ultimate teams to a gold medal on Sunday at U.S. Nationals; AND THE WARHAWKS (Mazur), Swamp Rats (Katzenbach).

Week 2 (April 25-26)
The Seattle vs Vancouver game was the 2nd annual "Border Bid" game. Vancouver won 22-20 and took home the wooden disc trophy. [via UltiPhotos]

With Vancouver's win, the Nighthawks extend their winning streak over Seattle to 4 games. (2014-2015)

6:27 = duration of an early point in the 2nd quarter of Portland Stags @ San Francisco Dogfish. [via]  (That 1 point took up nearly 65% of the 10-minute 2nd quarter)

With Portland's win, the Stags extend their winning streak over San Francisco to 5 games. (2014-2015)

With DC's win 18-15, the Current extend their winning streak over Philadelphia Spinners to 5 games. (2014-2015)

New York Rumble's home opener was relocated 200+ miles away to Boston's home stadium in Medford, Massachusetts.

With Boston's 20-13 win, the Whitecaps add to their (11-1) record vs New York Rumble. (2013-2015) 3 wins in a row for Boston.

Week 1 (April 18-19)

Peter Woodside scored the the first goal of the 2015 MLU season; assist by Topher Davis (Portland Stags).

Cody Bjorklund (Stags) played with a cast on his non-throwing hand. He caught 16 passes, 1 for a goal & threw 4 scores. [via UltiPhotos]

A mascot is in the works for NY Rumble. Expected release date is in 2016. [h/t SEA v POR broadcast]

Christian Foster (Boston Whitecaps) was ejected from banded in Saturday's game versus Philadelphia.

(4-0) = combined record of home teams over the weekend.

Sunday's Boston Whitecaps vs DC Current game went into 2OT (sudden death).

Every season's first-meeting games between Boston vs DC have been decided by 1-goal. (2013-2015)

1-Goal Margins in DC Current vs Boston Whitecaps Games
BOS 20-19 DC; April 27 (first meeting 2013 season)
DC 18-17 BOS; April 19, (first meeting 2014 season)
DC 18-17 BOS; June 28, 2014 (last meeting 2014 season)
DC 19-18 BOS; April, 19, 2015 (first meeting 2015 season)

Attendees to the Vancouver at San Francisco game were provided a headset for listening to the play-by-play. [via]

(0-2) = record of Boston Whitecaps after week 1. First time in franchise history with a record under .500. [via Dusty Rhodes]

10 games = DC Current's winning streak (2014-2015 seasons)

8 games = DC Current's home game winning streak (2013-2015 seasons). DC's last home loss was June 1, 2013, against Boston.

5 games = Seattle Rainmakers losing streak (2014-2015 seasons)

[Chart] Average # of Throws on Scores. [via Luke Ryan]

Attendance for 2014 Madison Radicals

Another season of Radicals ultimate went by without having to invite baby goats to the ultimate field! (see very end)

Attendance to 2014 Madison Radicals home games increased to over 800 per game. The Radicals averaged nearly 830 attendees per game in 2014 - a 17.6% increase compared to Madison's average attendance in 2013.

  • In 2014, Madison's total attendance reached 6,627 during 8 AUDL games
  • Over 825 (828.38) = average attendance per Radicals game
  • $33,135 (estimated) ticket sales for Radicals, in 2014
NOTES:
May 9th game was changed from a 7pm start to 5:30p due to broken stadium lights.

July 19th game was a playoff game.

-----------------------------------

Months prior to Madison's first AUDL season, the team owner was asked about the economics of team ownership in 2012. Here is his amazing quote:

Via Isthmus:
"It just takes enough to pay for the stadium, the uniforms, the cost of travel and give the players a little something," Tim DeByl says when asked about the chances for success. "People in Madison love something to do. I brought my kids out to a farm to see some baby goats and 500 people were there paying $7. If I can't match that, then maybe I'll just invite some baby goats to the field."

Thursday, April 23, 2015

Sponsor Change for Winless Boston Whitecaps

After losing both games during the 2015 MLU opening weekend, Boston Whitecaps has received notification that their title sponsor has been reassigned. Until further notice, Coca-Cola (the original title sponsor) will be replaced with Coke Zero, a carbonated Coca-Cola drink product with 0 sugar and 0 calories.


At (0-2), this is the worst start in Boston's franchise history. Their only other 2-game losing streak happened in Weeks 9 and 10 of the 2014 MLU season.
MLU Eastern Conference standings after week 1

Jerseys with the updated sponsorship logo are expected to be available at the Whitecaps' upcoming game on Saturday. Players were said to be thirsty for their first win of the season. Coaching staff predicts this unexpected uniform change won't last very long.

[spoof]

Ben Fleming's Defense Keys DC Current Victory

Washington D.C. Current's defensive line was able to create a turnover on the first point of their home opener on Sunday against Boston Whitecaps. After a Ben Fleming (DC Current) dropped the disc on offense, broadcaster Dusty Rhodes snarked, "Sometimes you're on defense for a reason."

Indeed! Here are two highlighted plays as to why Ben Fleming is on DC's defensive line:

1. With 3 less than one second left in regulation, the score was tied at 16s. Boston had one last pass into the end zone (not captured on video) which was denied by Ben Fleming (DC Current) with a leaping one-handed game-saving catch-D.
UltiPhotos: Highlights - Boston Whitecaps at DC Current 4/19/15 &emdash; DC Current vs Boston Whitecaps

2. The game was still tied (18s) after a 5-minute overtime, which led to a sudden death overtime. Boston received the disc on offense where Jeff Graham sent a 70-yard flick huck to Christian Foster (in white). Ben Fleming (in black) ran down the disc and had a full layout defensive block. Fleming's defense helped set up DC's next possession into the game-winning goal.


Here's a photo of the big defensive play by Ben Fleming:
UltiPhotos: Highlights - Boston Whitecaps at DC Current 4/19/15 &emdash; DC Current vs Boston Whitecaps

[Pictures by UltiPhotos]

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

B'Earth Day 2015

Happy Earth Day!



Grab a reusable tote bag to show your love for both the environment and our sport.

Globe Ultimate Tote [huckrs]

Info: The black bag is available in 3 sizes with a beautifully designed world map silhouette atop a white disc.

Price: $22

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

MLU Ref Hand Signals

Attendees of Major League Ultimate games were offered a printed program containing adverts, the roster of the local team, a season schedule, rules of the game and this "handy" guide of ref signals - demonstrated by a handless figure with varying arm lengths.
'Common Referee Signals' [via 2015 Official Program]
Read 2015 MLU Rulebook.

RELATED: Ref caricatures (2012).

Monday, April 20, 2015

High on Math

This 420 idea was not fully realized until the creative side joined the stats division.
The proper match equation is....
4/20 = One/Five Ultimate.

OR, even better. . .


(Thanks, Five Ultimate)

Dude, Where's My Car?

Have you seen this automobile with the phonetic spelling of our sport?
"ALTYM8"
RELATED: More license plates

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Ty Burrell (aka Phil Dunphy on Modern Family) Attends MLU Game

Look out, Stony the Stag, Ty Burrell might be eyeing your gig!

Actor Ty Burrell (Phil Dunphy on Modern Family) attended the Portland Stags' home opener on Saturday night.  Burrell - an Oregonian - was born in Grants Pass, grew up in Ashland, and graduated from Southern Oregon University. Ty Burrell currently plays goofy dad on ABC's television comedy, Modern Family and has won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2011, 2014). Apparently, he is a big Oregon sports fan.

Stags won the first game of their Major League Ultimate season 21-12 over Seattle Rainmakers.



[h/t @WilliamCurb]

Friday, April 17, 2015

Sportsbook: 2015 Pro Ultimate Games - MLU

Betting lines - point spreads - for professional ultimate games are for entertainment purposes only. Please enjoy responsibly! View the full MLU 2015 schedule.

Favored team shown as ( - #).

Week 14 MLU Championship
Saturday August 8 in Chester, PA
Seattle Rainmakers vs Boston Whitecaps (-4.5)

Week 13 Playoffs
Saturday July 18
Philadelphia Spinners @ Boston Whitecaps (-2.5)

Week 12 Playoffs
Saturday July 11
Seattle Rainmakers @ Portland Stags (-3.5)

Week 11
Saturday, June 27
Washington DC Current (-3) @ New York Rumble
Philadelphia Spinners @ Boston Whitecaps (-1.5)
Portland Stags (-3.5) @ Vancouver Nighthawks

Sunday, June 28
Vancouver Nighthawks @ Seattle Rainmakers (-6)

Week 10
Saturday, June 20
Washington DC Current @ Philadelphia Spinners (-1.5)
New York Rumble @ Boston Whitecaps (-5)
San Francisco Dogfish @ Vancouver Nighthawks (-2)

Sunday, June 21
San Francisco Dogfish @ Seattle Rainmakers (-4.5)

Week 9
Saturday, June 13
Boston Whitecaps @ Washington DC Current (-1.5)

Sunday, June 14
Vancouver Nighthawks @ San Francisco Dogfish (-4.5)
Seattle Rainmakers @ Portland Stags (-2.5)
Philadelphia Spinners (-5.5) @ New York Rumble

Week 8
Saturday, June 6
San Francisco Dogfish @ Portland Stags (-4)
New York Rumble @ Boston Whitecaps (-4.5)
Washington DC Current @ Philadelphia Spinners (-2)
Seattle Rainmakers (-4) @ Vancouver Nighthawks

Week 7
Saturday, May 30
New York Rumble @ Philadelphia Spinners (-3.5)

Sunday, May 31
Portland Stags (-3) @ Seattle Rainmakers

Week 6
Saturday, May 23
Philadelphia Spinners (-2) @ Washington DC Current
Seattle Rainmakers @ Vancouver Nighthawks (-3)

Sunday, May 24
Boston Whitecaps (-5.5) @ New York Rumble
Portland Stags (-5) @ San Francisco Dogfish

Week 5
Saturday, May 16
Vancouver Nighthawks @ Portland Stags (-4.5)
New York Rumble @ Washington DC Current (-2.5)
Philadelphia Spinners @ Boston Whitecaps (-5.5)

Sunday, May 17
Seattle Rainmakers @ San Francisco Dogfish (-2)

Week 4

Saturday, May 9
Washington DC Current (-1.5) @ Boston Whitecaps

Sunday, May 10
Washington DC Current (-4.5) @ New York Rumble
San Francisco Dogfish @ Portland Stags (-5.5)

Week 3

Saturday, May 2
New York Rumble @ Philadelphia Spinners (-4.5)

Sunday, May 3
Portland Stags (-3) @ Vancouver Nighthawks
San Francisco Dogfish (-3.5) @ Seattle Rainmakers

Week 2

Saturday, April 25
New York Rumble @ Boston Whitecaps (-3.5)
Philadelphia Spinners @ Washington DC Current (-1.5)
Vancouver Nighthawks (-2) @ Seattle Rainmakers

Sunday, April 26
Portland Stags (-4) @ San Francisco Dogfish


Week 1

Saturday, April 18
Seattle Rainmakers @ Portland Stags (-4)
Boston Whitecaps @ Philadelphia Spinners (-2)

Sunday, April 19
Vancouver Nighthawks @ San Francisco Dogfish (-3)
Boston Whitecaps @ Washington DC Current (-4)

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Greatest By Charlotte Express on ESPN SCTop10

Sean Kelly's greatest hit #8 on SportsCenter's Top 10 last night. In the play, Charlotte Express' Kelly completes the greatest after Micah Hood layout-catches to keep possession. Hood establishes a pivot foot and finds Kelly in the end zone for a score versus Atlanta Hustle.

Transcription of ESPN Co-Anchors
Stan Verrett: This is "ultimate disc" I'm told. I guess they don't like Frisbee. Maybe Frisbee is a brand name? Sean Kelly makes an acrobatic save. Micah Hood lays out for the diving catch. And, and, they score.

Neil Everett: You ever an ultimate player?

Stan Verrett: No, I never, never played. I played football like that.

Neil Everett: Didn't think so.



Full version of last nights top 10 from ESPN.
Posted by American Ultimate Disc League on Thursday, April 16, 2015


AUDL Snapshots (2015)

A regular look at the numbers, trends and stuff in the American Ultimate Disc League.

Week 17 (August 8-9)
San Jose Spiders become the first back-to-back (bot-to-bot?) champions in the AUDL.

In San Jose Spiders 17-15 win over Madison Radicals, the +2 goal differential ties for the smallest point diff in an AUDL Championship game.

2 = goal difference in 2015 AUDL Championship game (17-15)
2 =  goal difference in 2013 AUDL Championship game (16-14)
[Madison Radicals lost both 2013 & 2015 Championships.]

(0-2) = Madison's record in the AUDL Championship game

(2-0) = San Jose's record in the AUDL championship game

(6-0) = SJ Spiders all-time record in AUDL postseason

17 goals = fewest goals scored by San Jose in a Spiders' win in the 2015 season.

The last time the Spiders scored 19 goals was a loss vs FlameThrowers on June 6, 2015.

(0-2) = SJ 2015 regular season record when the Spiders scored fewer than 20 goals - both losses to San Francisco.

The last time Madison scored fewer than 20 goals was a 16-13 win versus Chicago on May 15, 2015.

Madison Radicals scored over 20 goals in 14 of 16 of 2015 games (reg season + postseason).

Raleigh Flyers scored 20+ goals in every 2015 game except their 19-22 semifinal loss to Madison Radicals.

With Spiders 25-20 semifinal win over Toronto, San Jose is still the only U.S.-based AUDL team to beat the Rush.

Three of 4 final four teams in 2015 were the same as in 2014.

Estimated Attendance: Saturday = 1600; Sunday = ~2200. [via]

Record by Divisions in the AUDL Championship
Western (2-1)*
Eastern (1-1)
Midwestern (0-2)
*In 2012, Indy AlleyCats played in what was called the "Western Division".

All-time Interleague Record for Final 4 teams
San Jose Spiders: (4-0)
Raleigh Flyers: (0-1)
Toronto Rush: (1-2)
Madison Radicals: (1-3)



Week 16 (July 24-26)
Six of the 8 playoff teams from 2014 returned to the 2015 postseason.

The 11-team playoffs is the largest AUDL postseason ever.

For scheduling purposes, the #2 seeds in 3 divisions did not play their wildcard playoff games at home.

After Chicago's 23-24 OT loss to Pittsburgh, Wildfire's 2015 record in 1-goal games = (0-4)

Chicago Wildfire's previous 1-goal loss was also vs. Pittsburgh Thunderbirds; on June 28th

1 goal = margin of victory in the last two Pittsburgh wins over Chicago; on 6/28 and 7/25

The Pittsburgh vs Chicago game was the first-ever playoff game to go into overtime. The game was tied at 21 at the end of regulation; Thunderbirds won 24-23.

Chicago and Pittsburgh played their playoff game in Madison, Wisconsin - only the second time a wildcard playoff game was played at a neutral site.

New York Empire won 33-20 over Montreal Royal.
33 goals = most goals scored by Empire this season.
+13 = largest margin of victory by Empire this season.

Toronto Rush are (3-0) vs New York Empire in the East Division Finals
2013: Toronto beat New York, 23-18
2014: Toronto beat New York, 31-16
2015: Toronto beat New York, 25-19

With Madison's 24-21 win in the Midwest Division Final, Madison extends their home winning streak to 23 games.

Consecutive Division Titles:
3 = Toronto (East)
3 = Madison (Midwest)
2 = San Jose (West)

The Jacksonville vs Raleigh game was the first-ever double overtime (sudden death) playoff game. The game was tied at 23 at the end of regulation; Flyers won 28-27.

With Raleigh Flyers' 28-27 2OT win over Jacksonville Cannons, Flyers becomes the inaugural South Division Champion in the AUDL.

Prior to last night's thrilling 2OT win, Raleigh was (0-2) in OT during the regular season.

Tyler Kinley was the acting coach for Seattle Cascades in their 2-goal win over San Francisco and their 2-goal loss versus San Jose Spiders.

Before Saturday's 19-21 loss to Seattle, San Francisco's 2015 record when scoring fewer than 20 goals = (1-4).

Before Seattle's 19-21 loss to San Jose, the Cacades were (0-2) in the 2015 season when scoring fewer than 20 goals.

21-19 was the score of both the West  Division's wildcard game and the divisional final.

In the 3 divisions with wildcard games (West, Midwest, East), the #2 seeded team won and advanced to the division final.

In all 4 divisions, the #1 seeded team won their division and advanced to the AUDL Championship Weekend.

In the history of the AUDL playoffs, the 2013 Madison Radicals are the only team not to win the regular season title AND advance to the AUDL Championship Weekend. In other words, the 2013 Radicals is the only lower-seeded team to win an AUDL playoff game.

Winless in AUDL Playoffs [2012-2015]
(0-3) Chicago Wildfire
(0-2) San Francisco Flamethrowers
(0-1) DC Breeze
(0-1) Jacksonville Cannons
(0-1) Montreal Royal
(0-1) Philadelphia Phoenix
(0-1) Bluegrass Revolution
(0-1) Rhode Island Rampage


Week 15 (July 17-19)
Fifteen games were played to closeout the 2015 regular season.

The first-ever weekday (Thursday) AUDL game was played.

45 goals = # of goals Minnesota Wind Chill in their 45-11 win over Detroit; the highest number of goals scored in an AUDL game.

+34 = largest margin of victory in an AUDL game by Wind Chill versus Mechanix.

-50 = combined margin of defeat in Detriot's 2 losses of 11-45 + 12-28

Detroit Mechanix (0-28) have posted back-to-back winless seasons.

Indianapolis AlleyCats (7-7) miss the AUDL postseason for the first time in their franchise history.

-14 = largest margin ever by San Jose in their 18-32 loss to San Francisco.

It rained in San Diego, California on Sunday.

(13-1) = best record in the 2015 AUDL regular season by Toronto Rush (East) and Madison Radicals (Midwest).

Atlanta Hustle (10-8) is the only AUDL team with double-digit win to not advance to the playoffs.



Week 14 (July 10-12)
DC Breeze hosted their first-ever Friday night home game vs Philadelphia.

DC won their first Friday night home game, score vs Philadelphia.

DC hosted their first-ever back-to-back weekend.

10-0 = Madison's record vs Indianapolis. [via]

Philadelphia Phoenix (1-12) won their first game of the 2015 season by beating Rochester (1-12). Philadelphia's last AUDL win was on July 5, 2014, against Rochester.

Week 13 (July 3-5)
4 games = total # of scheduled games; this weekend had the fewest number of games on the AUDL schedule.

0 scheduled games in the West & Midwest Divisions.

5 games = winning streak for Jacksonville Cannons.

Since May 2015, Cannons have won 8 of their last 9 games.

(6-1) = New York Empire's all-time record vs. Rochester Dragons

With their 26-25 win in Ottawa, the DC Breeze chalk up their first-ever win in Canada. [via]

Five teams with double-digit wins:
Madison Radicals (11-1)
Toronto Rush (10-1)
New York Empire (10-3)
San Jose Spiders (10-3)
Raleigh Flyers (10-3)

The Montreal Royal (9-5) are the first team to complete their AUDL regular season. Their reported game attendance was 8,775.

Week 12 (June 24-26)
Four teams with double-digit wins:
Madison Radicals (11-1)
Toronto Rush (10-1)
San Jose Spiders (10-3)
Raleigh Flyers (10-3)

24.2 = average score for winning teams in week 12. (10 games)

Brett Matzuka (Chicago Wildfire) completed 113 of his 116 passes (97.4%) in a 26-27 OT loss vs Pittsburgh.  [via]

Saturday's Philadelphia @ DC game was canceled due to rain.

3 = # of 1-goal losses by Chicago (7-5); versus Indy, Madison and Pittsburgh) [via]

(4-12) = combined record of AUDL West teams on 2nd day of back-to-back games. [via]

26 games = consecutive defeats for Detroit Mechanix, Mechanix are now (0-11) on the season.


In their 10-goal loss to Chicago, Detroit Mechanix were held to 11 total goals - their lowest scoring of the 2015 season.

Vancouver Riptide (3-9) have lost 4 games in a row since beating SJ Spiders (May 24).

11 games = consecutive losses by Philadelphia Phoenix (0-11)

In their 9-goal loss to New York, Philadelphia Phoenix were held to 13 goals - their lowest scoring of the 2015 season.

8 games = consecutive losses by Nashville NightWatch (1-9)

6 games = consecutive losses by Charlotte Express (1-10)

In their 17-goal loss to Toronto, Rochester Dragons were held to 10 goals - their lowest scoring of the 2015 season.

Minnesota Wind Chill record when they score...
> 20 goals = (4-1)
< 20 goals = (0-6-1)

Watch: Creative disc pick up by Olivier St-Denis (Montreal Royal).

Week 11 (June 19-21)
There were 2 back-to-back/home-and-away games this week:
1) Madison @ Chicago on Friday, Chicago @  Madison on Saturday. (147 miles)
2) New York @ DC on Saturday, DC @ NY on Sunday. (228 miles)

With Chicago's 22-23 loss to Madison breaks the Wildfire's 14-game winning streak at home.

With Madison 24-16 win at home vs Chicago, the Radicals extend their home winning streak to 21 games.

8-to-7 = lowest scoring AUDL game ever in the New York versus D.C. game^ on June 20th.

15 goals = combined score total in NY Empire's 8-7 win over DC Breeze. ^The game ended early in the 3rd quarter due to heavy thunderstorms.

With Toronto's 24-18 win over Montreal, the "Rumble Cup" returns to to Rush.

16 minutes: 20 seconds = duration of scoreless drought by DC Breeze in Sunday's loss to New York (game 2). [via]

In San Jose vs Seattle, the Spiders scored 35 goals - the most goals they have scored all season.

San Jose Spiders (10-3) have secured the #1 spot in the West Division.

Montreal Royal became the first team to play a doubleheader, and also became the first team to play 3 games in 1 weekend. The Royal finished (2-1) with a +3 overall, scoring 65 goals and allowing 62 in their 3 games.

149 minutes = total game time Montreal Royal played. Their first game of the doubleheader and second game of the weekend went into overtime.

11 = # of wins by Madison Radicals (11-1) in 2015
11 = # of wins by Detroit Mechanix since 2012

The first-ever AUDL Radio broadcast occurred on Sunday, June 21, for Seattle Cascaes vs San Francisco FlameThrowers. Evan Lepler broadcasted the game solo. Listen to the final 2 minutes of regulation.

Week 10 (June 12-14)
Chicago Wildfire's home game winning streak extends to 14 games with their 16-19 win over Pittsburgh.

16 = lowest # of goals scored by Pittsburgh in 16-19 loss to Chicago. This is the 2nd time the Thunderbirds were held below 20 goals in the season.

Pittsburgh Thunderbirds Record when they score...
> 20 goals = (7-0)
< 20 goals = (0-2)

San Jose Spiders in 2015: (7-0) in first 7 games, (2-3) in last 5 games.

Jacksonville Cannons "swept Carolina" with a 18-17 win over Charlotte and then a 28-26 OT win over Raleigh.

-2.33 goals = average deficit in Raleigh Flyers' 3 losses

3 = # of Jacksonville player ejected in their last 3 games. [via]

LA Aviators Record when they score...
20 or > goals = (3-2)
< 20 goals = (0-5)

Montreal Royal vs Canadian Teams
(1-0) vs Toronto
(0-2) vs Ottawa

Rochester Dragons won their 1st AUDL game of the season - their first win since April 18, 2014! The 19-18 victory over Philadelphia (0-10) snaps a 19-game losing streak.

(15-15) = cumulative record of home teams in the West Division [via]

Losing Streaks
25 games = Detroit Mechanix (0-10) [July 2013 thru present]

10 games = Philadelphia Phoenix (0-10); last win was July 5, 2015, vs Rochester

7 games = Nashville NightWatch (1-7); last win was April 25, 2015, vs Jacksonville

4 games = Charlotte Express (1-8); CLT's only win was against Nashville on 5/16


Week 9 (June 5-7)
Saturday night's San Jose Spiders' 17-18 loss breaks their home unbeaten streak. SJ's regular season home record is now (12-1), since 2014.

Saturday's loss marked the first time E-V-E-R in 27 games the Spiders have scored fewer than 20 goals in an AUDL game.

Madison's 22-26 loss breaks their 14 regular season game consecutive winning streak.  Last loss was May 23, 2014

Madison trailed in a game for the first time in the 2015 season. Perhaps, they were celebrating National Trails Day on 6/6!

26 goals = highest # of goals allowed by Radicals defense EVER. (42 games)

Pittsburgh Thunderbirds set a scoring record in week 8 with 44 goals, and in this week's win, Pittsburgh scored 26 goals - the highest # of goals scored ever against Madison.

San Francisco FlameThrowers = the only West Division rival & only AUDL team to have beaten San Jose Spiders, twice.
Montreal Royal = the only East Division rival & only AUDL team to have have beaten Toronto Rush, twice.
Chicago Wildfire = the only Midwest Division rival & only AUDL team to have have beaten Madison Radicals, twice.

Toronto continues their streak against East Division teams from the U.S.; unbeaten in 31 games.

Losing Streaks
24 games = Detroit Mechanix regular season (July 2013 thru present)

19 games = Rochester Dragons (0-6); last win was April 19, 2014, vs Philadelphia

17 games = Cincinnati Revolution (2-8); since an April 18, 2014 win versus Chicago, Rev post an (0-17) record vs Midwest teams other than Mechanix. Cincy is a (5-0) versus Detroit.

8 games = Philadelphia Phoenix (0-8); last win was July 5, 2015, vs Rochester

6 games = Nashville NightWatch (1-7); last win was April 25, 2015, vs Jacksonville

3 games = Charlotte Express (1-7); CLT's only win was against Nashville on 5/16


Week 8 (May 29-31)
44 goals = Pittsburgh set a single game scoring record by an AUDL team on May 30, 2015.

64 goals = total combined goals in Pittsburgh Thunderbirds' 44-20 win over Detroit.

Pittsburgh Thunderbirds scored more goals in the first 2 quarters (21) than the Detroit Mechanix scored all game (20) in the Thunderbirds' 44-20 win.

With 64 total goals scored in 48 minutes of play in the Thunderbirds vs Mechanix game, that averages to 1 scored goal every 45 seconds.


-24 = Mechanix's goal differential in first 2 games of 2015 season
-24 = Mechanix's goal differential in most recent 20-44 loss vs Thunderbirds

Detroit is scheduled to play Pittsburgh 2 more times this season.

Madison Radicals (7-0) have scored 1st in every game played this season. [via]

(7-0) = record of the only unbeaten team in the AUDL -- Madison Radicals

Saturday's Charlotte @ Nashville game was cancelled due to weather.

Week 6's postponed Chicago @ Minnesota game appears to recorded as a tie.

Streaks
12 games won, San Jose Spider regular season at home (unbeaten)
14 games won, Madison Radicals regular season (last loss was on 5/23/14)
22 games lost, Detroit Mechanix regular season (July 2013 thru May 2015)

3 winless teams in the AUDL
Detroit Mechanix (0-7)
Philadelphia Phoenix (0-7)*
Rochester Dragons (0-4)*
*Phoenix plays Dragons on June 14th.

Week 7 (May 22-24)
(2-0) = record of Madison Radicals on Friday night games

Only 1 Unbeaten Team remains in the AUDL: Madison Radicals (6-0)

3 winless teams in the AUDL
Detroit Mechanix (0-6); 21 game losing streak
Philadelphia Phoenix (0-5)
Rochester Dragons (0-3); 16 game losing streak

Winning Streaks
30 games, Toronto Rush's regular season record vs U.S.-based AUDL East teams (since 2013)
19 games, home winning streak for Madison Radicals (2013-2015)
13 games, Madison Radicals regular season (last loss was on 5/23/14)


With Vancouver's 31-24 win on Sunday, the Riptide become only the second AUDL team to beat the San Jose Spiders. (San Francisco FlameThrowers beat SJ in May 2014)

372 days = duration between losses for the San Jose Spiders

San Diego Growlers now have a mascot, Phillip the Growler. [Fill up the growler?]
2 goals = average margin of victory by LA Aviators (3-4) in their 3 wins.
2 goals = average margin of victory by DC Breeze (3-4) in their 3 wins.

May 24, 2015: Sarah Itoh (DC Breeze) becomes the first woman to coach a win in pro ultimate as the Breeze beat Rochester 26-25 in week 7 of the AUDL season. Itoh - hired as Assistant Coach - was acting Head Coach for the DC team over the weekend.

Week 6 (May 15-17)
Team with their first-ever franchise win: Charlotte Express

All new franchises (as of 2015 season) have now won at least 1 AUDL game.

The Minnesota Wind Chill vs Chicago Wildfire game was postponed due to weather (lightning); the game was 12-12 in the 4th quarter

Indianapolis AlleyCats' 2015 Record
(4-0) in Friday night games
(2-3) on Saturday games

Friday's 3 games were the highest # of Friday games on the 2015 AUDL schedule.

20 games = home winning streak for Madison Radicals (2013-2015)
20 games = losing streak for Detroit Mechanix (2013-2015)

Winning Streaks (Regular Season, 2014-2015)
14 games, San Jose Spiders - last loss was on 5/17/2014
12 games, Madison Radicals - last loss was on 5/23/14

After an (0-5) start, San Diego Growlers have won 3 straight

2 Unbeaten Teams in the AUDL: San Jose Spiders (7-0), Madison Radicals (5-0)

There are 3 winless teams in the AUDL; 2 in the East Division -- Philadelphia Phoenix (0-5), Rochester Dragons (0-2) & Detroit Mechanix (0-5)

(29-0) = regular season record of Toronto Rush vs U.S.-based AUDL East teams, since 2013

May 17, 2015: First time a professional ultimate team has rostered a female player. Jessi Jones (#50) becomes the first woman to play in a professional ultimate game as the Raleigh Flyers played the Nashville NightWatch. [via]

Week 5 (May 8-10)
Team with their first-ever franchise win: San Diego Growlers

Deep into the 1st quarter of Montreal vs Rochester, the game was postponed due to weather (rain).

20 = # of consecutive regular season games San Jose Spiders have scored 20 or more goals. (19-1) record during that 20-game span.

(3-0) = Indianapolis AlleyCats' record in Friday night games

25.5 = average score for winning teams in week 3 (13 games)

(6-7) = combined record of home teams; 0.461winning %

11 games = winning streak for Madison Radicals (2014, regular season)

+12.75 = Madison's average point margin in their 4 wins
-12.75 = Detroit's average point margin in their 4 losses

59 goals = combined scores in the DC Breeze OT win over Philadelphia Phoenix 30-29

After 5 weeks of the 2015 season, the San Diego Growlers (2-5) are halfway through their schedule while Rochester Dragons (0-1) have only finished 1 game.

2, 732 goals = total goals scored in 60 AUDL games played. [via]

2 Unbeaten teams in the AUDL [via]
San Jose Spiders (6-0)
Madison Radicals (4-0)

4 Winless teams in the AUDL
Philadelphia Phoenix (0-5)
Detroit Mechanix (0-4)
Charlotte Express (0-4)
Rochester Dragons (0-1)

Week 4 (May 1-3)
Each division has only one undefeated team.
West: San Jose (4-0)
Midwest: Madison Radicals (4-0)
East: New York Empire (3-0)
South: Raleigh Flyers (3-0)

At the end the first quarter, San Jose Spiders were up 7-1 vs LA Aviators. Spiders scored 7 straight goals (1st point on offense + 6 breaks) to start Sunday's game vs LA.

The Spiders have scored 7 consecutive goals before; during their July 12, 2014 game versus San Francisco.

LA's last 2 games have been decided by an average of 1.5 goals.

(2-0) = record of home teams on Friday games (both Indy wins).

(5-2) = combined record of teams in the second game of back-to-backs; 0.714 winning %

(6-8) = combined record of home teams; 0.428 winning %

6 Winless teams in the AUDL
San Diego Growlers (0-5)
Philadelphia Phoenix (0-4)
Charlotte Express (0-3)
Detroit Mechanix (0-3)
Minnesota Wind Chill (0-2)
Rochester Dragons (0-1)


Pittsburgh Thunderbirds Head Coach David Hogan goes full mohawk. [screengrabs via]

Week 3 (April 24-26)
Team with their first-ever franchise win: Nashville NightWatch.

Rochester Dragons is the only team yet to play a scheduled game.

Toronto Rush regular season record (2013-2015)
(3-2) vs Montreal Royal
(29-0) vs rest of AUDL East teams

2 = # of AUDL teams that have ever beaten Toronto Rush (Montreal Royal, San Jose Spiders)

2 games = Royal winning streak over Rush (2014-2015)

30.6 = average # of goals/game Spiders have scored (3 games, 3 wins)

13 = average # of goals/game Madison has given up (3 games, 3 wins)

25 = Revolution's total goals in 2 games (9 + 16) this past weekend
25 = total goals by Revolution in their only win this season (25-18 over Detroit)

27.9 = average score for winning teams in week 3 - same as in week 1. (11 games)

(0-4) = combined record of teams in the second game of back-to-back games

(9-2) = combined record of home teams

Home Winning Streaks
15 games = Madison Radicals (2013-2015)
11 games = San Jose Spiders (2014-2015)

Losing Streaks
17 games = Detroit Mechanix (2013-2015)
4 games = San Diego Growlers (2015)

Week 2 (April 18-19)
Teams with their first-ever franchise wins: Jacksonville Cannons, Ottawa Outlaws, L.A. Aviators.

(3-7) = combined record of home teams

(0-3) = combined record of home teams in Sunday games.

(3-0) = combined record of teams in their second game of back-to-back games.

9 = # of goals scored by Cincinnati in entire game vs Madison
9 = # of goals scored by Madison in 1st half in their 23-9 win over Cincinnati.

9 of 10 games were decided by single-digit margins.

+5.0 goals = average margin of victory. (10 games)

After 2 weeks (& 21 games), there are 3 AUDL teams yet to play a scheduled game - Minnesota Wind Chill, Chicago Wildfire and Rochester Dragons.

After week 2...
Raleigh Flyers (2-0) are the only unbeaten South Division team.
San Jose Spiders (2-0) are the only unbeaten West Division team. [via]

8 = # of teams that will advance to the 2015 playoffs, per San Francisco FlameThrowers; 3 top teams each from West, Midwest and East divisions + 2 top teams from South.

Week 1 (April 11-12)
First goal of the 2015 season was scored by Seth Collins; assist by Chip Cobb (DC Breeze).

April 11th was the earliest start date for an AUDL season.

Teams with their first-ever franchise wins: Raleigh Flyers, Seattle Cascades, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds, Atlanta Hustle.

10 of 11 games were decided by single-digit margins. [via]

+6.5 goals = average margin of victory. (11 games)

27.9 = average score for winning teams in week 1. (11 games)

In 11 games, only 2 teams failed to score at least 20 goals [DC Breeze (17) and Detroit Mechanix (18)].

Kyle Stapleton (Atlanta Hustle) scored a Callahan, during their 27-25 win over Charlotte.

Vancouver Riptide vs San Francisco FlameThrowers was the first OT game of the 2015 season; a SF win, 26-25.

(5-6) = combined record of home teams

(3-1) = combined record of teams in their second game of back-to-back games.

Toronto Rush scored more goals in the first 2 quarters (18) than the DC Breeze scored all game (17) in the Rush's 37-17 win.

16 games = losing streak for Detroit Mechanix (2013-2015 seasons)

58 goals = total scores in the 48-minute game of San Jose Spiders 32-26 win over Vancouver Riptide. [via]

Raleigh's mascot is a flying pig named "Sunny" (@FlyersMascot)

Sweet Tweets

53-year-old Ed Fox assisted in Charlotte's first-ever goal.

Sean Kelley (Charlotte Express) had a Greatest which led to his goal.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Review of MLU 2014 Season

Ahead of this weekend when Major League Ultimate's third season begins, below is an assessment of MLU's 2014 season.

CONTENT
MLU demonstrates a clear understanding of the value of content in the sports entertainment business. Beyond game pictures by UltiPhotos and broadcasted video coverage of games, MLU publishes full write-ups before AND after the game for all eight teams. Whether you want it or not, each and every MLU game has hype.

Big props for not shying away from unflattering content about an MLU team. (See Dusty Rhodes' coverage of Boston's 17-point win over New York.)

The immediate game recaps "Rapid Reaction" were invaluable [Example.] Looking forward to the next evolution of these content media - merging the Rapid Reaction text + the game footage into a narrated video summary.

VIDEO
The Plays of the Week (best play on offense, best D, best catch and best throw) were a must-watch as were the weekly highlights. Video quality was steady all season long. Disappointed in the editing of 2014 championship highlights which seemed less put together than the 2013 video.

PODCASTS
*The John & Greg Show (now Luke & Greg Show)
This podcast consistently pumped out geek-out minutiae for MLU fans (hey, a new tagline?). Sad to see John go, but encouraged to hear Luke's perspective in the conversation.

*Cleats & Cufflinks
I have a love-hate relationship with this podcast. The insider info gained from Snader & Nic's chatter is entertaining. The downfall, though, is when discussion strays from league topics. Episode 22 edges close to a shark jump by talking about random sh*t that was thinly related back to the league. If I wanted to eavesdrop on a conversation about TV shows, I'd just go to my local Chipotle. Hoping C&C find their way again as the season starts, or consider a more succinct podcast.

SEASON FORMAT
The 10 game regular season, and 10-minute quarters are both keepers. Speaking of 10...10-yard end zones should be considered as a field dimension tweak to help defenses and be visually intuitive for the audience.

UNIFORMS
So I criticized the 2013 MLU's shorts for being too baggy. Well, in 2014, both shorts and shirts were meant to be tailored with an "ergonomic fit" yet ended up being poorly sized. MLU's PUMA jerseys were designed with much thought, but the shorts were boring with their lack of design. Of note, the 2014 MLU shorts were never offered available for sale.
[NOTE: Jerseys for MLU's 2015 season were produced by Canterbury.]

BREAKING NEW GROUND
MLU created this stunning minimalist field design for the championship game.
ESPN
Exposure via ESPN is always a goal. When MLU's championship game showed up on ESPN's Streak for the Cash was certainly unique.


Congrats on your second season! Looking forward to what's in store for MLU: Season 3!

NOTE: I'm first & foremost a fan of ultimate. I attended MLU games in DC and followed the 2014 season. These suggestions are meant as constructive feedback to aid the sport.