Team Analysis (IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER): Last updated 9/9/2009 - 9-9-9 (a real rarity)!!!!
BARONESS: Sienna Miller fans? Hopefully. Big fans of Lee Byun-hun who plays Snake Eyes? Maybe. Soccer editor Jen Chang comes into the season with yet another new iteration of a band of brothers who will hopefully pull together like the good guys of GI Joe to win the day. While Chang is the team’s Duke, Noh Joon Choo is undoubtedly their Heavy Metal, a Mauler driver who will clear space in the lane and bump heads with the enemy’s bigs. Jimmy Chang will try to be Bazooka, the guy who launches missiles. Who then is Quick Kick, the stunt guy turned GI Joe martial arts expert? By virtue of being Asian, everyone.
| BEARMEN 2.0: Why does this name sound vaguely familiar to those who played last season in the AAA-Elite? We had the Bearcats and the Ironmen and now - genius! Those two teams did what the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles did in 1943 during World War II when the draft decimated the teams’ rosters, forcing them to merge into one. There’s a war going on currently as well, but that’s not the reason Danny Chin and Kash Miah decided to join forces again. After taking some time apart with their own respective teams last season, they knew that two heads together was better than one. Or, maybe two hands, rather. Two of the top long distance marksmen, with Chin and Miah heat-checking this season on the rest of the AAA, this version 2.0 of CEMQ may be the last man standing when this campaign’s all said and done.
| FIRSTRADE: When you take your lumps in your inaugural season of the DL, coming back the next season with a new name and new attitude isn’t a half bad idea. CS Hsia repositions his Pay4Bugs team and hopes that they’ve sprouted some wings and are set to fly, if even only for short spurts. They have nowhere to go but up after last season’s forgettable season in which no player averaged double figures. That’s priority number 1: to find a legitimate stat-sheet stuffer to anchor the team. If their new moniker is any indication, they’ve made a trade to address this first issue. Here’s to hoping anyways.
| GOOD NEWS BEARS: You bet Sung-Mo Cho is going to be checking his former team’s performance from his perch on the West Coast. Last season’s leader jumped over to LA to pursue an acting career, but he’s left his brothers in good hands. As a good percentage of this team is comprised of players who went to Penn State, SMC is apparently taking a Joe Paterno approach and “coaching” from the box (LA.) Yohan Lee returns and is ready take over the top dog billing (insert own Mike Vick joke there as he’s a Philly Eagle fan.) Andrew Jun joins the fun and we guarantee that, as last season, this team will have the best fan base around. That alone is worth one additional win a season, if not two.
| NEW BLOOD: At press time, GM Nick Gao was still solidifying his roster. Always a good thing when hours before the season starts, and you’re still wheeling and dealing. Well, so far, it’s landed him Joe Yen, the eternal free agent. With the two big and brawny power forwards with a penchant to shoot outside playing together this season, are we going to see something on the court that has never been done before? These two guys essentially play the same spot and have similar games though Yen yells more and Gao has a sky hook as part of his arsenal. I mean, imagine two Shaqs, two Barkleys, two Clarence Weatherspoons on the floor at the same time. Is two too much? Basketball, after all, is not a game of Noah’s arc in which good things come in pairs. On the other hand, we’ve never seen this, so it could be great. And, above all, Yen joining yet another new team – his 501st in the last 5 seasons – keeps his remarkable streak alive.
| NYC GRITTY COMMITTEE: For the first time in a long time, this team sets sail without Elbert Kwak on the roster. It’s not unlike the Houston Rockets starting their life after Hakeem retired. A bit sad for fans, but life goes on. It always does. Plus, it’s not like EK isn’t having the time of his life right now living in Hawaii. Gritty gets after it this season still full of hope however after their best regular season record ever at 7-2. It all begins with big Vic Chia who will now be the complete focus of attention from defenses down low. Before, playing the partner in a twin tower scenario was easy. Now, teams will be coming after him. Can he handle the pressure? Kyu Lee and Kwon Lim must keep playing at a high level, but the real glue that made the team go last season was Jason Chin. Now that the PG has a season under his belt with the team, look for him to let it rip. Expectations are high in this committee, they’d have it no other way.
| OLD BOYS: There once was a team with this name, but this is not that one being brought back to life. While that one was a Nick Gao band, this one is different. It’s like the Cleveland Browns becoming the Baltimore Ravens and then another Cleveland Browns team being formed. We don’t have much dirt on this new team that has pieces left over from last season’s Fast-Forward Boogie. Elitar Kim waited till the last second to get this squad together and as this is being written, he’s making phone calls and sending texts to guys he hasn’t seen in years about playing. Some of the names are Dan Kim, Stan Chu, Eric Cho, Rich Kwon, and David Yao. Some of them are wondering what Elitar looks like now as they just said yes to his pleas to join his squad. Guess everyone – including themselves – will find out what they’re all about soon enough.
| RUN & GUN: Not too much intel on this Tommy Zheng led team. TZ made an impact on the AAA-Elite last season taking Rookie of the Season honors after averaging 12.7 ppg, 2.5 apg, and 1.2 spg. Suddenly, he is now The Man with this expansion team after Kash Miah decided to roll his team into the Bearcat 2.0 experiment. It’s a bold move, but TZ’s a bold player. With him at the helm, the team figures to be good, and based on their name, one is inclined to think they’ll do as they say. Keep your eye out here as we update anything we get or see about this unknown.
| TEAM BINY: Biny brought home the AAA-Premiere trophy last season and essentially returns with the same teams but minus one instrumental component in Carson Yiu. That could be a huge factor, especially as the AAA reverts back to one. MVP Eden Chuang checks in again although his attendance figures to be spotty at best. With GM Rich Cheng proclaiming himself semi-retired (still punch drunk from last season’s chip perhaps), he seems content to just sit back, drink from his brown paper bag while cradling last season’s trophy and watch the likes of Chris Di, Jason Chan, and Jeff Fang go to work. You know what? It just might be a good strategy. If EC plays regularly, this team has the goods to repeat.
| THELONIOUS DUNK: After several seasons, we have finally figured out to spell TD’s team name right. Talk about being the Rodney Dangerfield’s of the DL. No respect! Well, maybe it’s merely coincidence, but just as we learned to spell correctly, it comes at a time when TD earned the league’s respect with a solid 7-2 season in which Dave Wang had his coming out party averaging 19.2 ppg to go along with 4.3 apg. John Lee plays better as the 2nd banana and had a solid 12.1 ppg, 7.2 rpg season and the two figure to continue to develop their chemistry and pick and pops they do pretty well. John Ng has a retro-style throwback game with his Jamal Wilkes-like jumper and that’s not a half-bad thing. He surprised teams and should he return to the line-up, ought to get more looks after having earned his team’s trust with his awkward but effective shot. Mike Choi will continue to put the hard hat on and go to work even while expecting twins this fall to pop out of his wife Roseanne.
| TRI-STATE OLD SCHOOL: As always, this team has the goods to go all the way. Between a pure scorer (Dave Wong), the reigning Defensive Player of the Season (Arif Ansari), the most underappreciated guard around (Felix Shen or is that Eljay Aquillo?), a Cal grad (Aly Ghovani) and two married guys (Ray Huang and Andre Liu), Old School has the know-how and life experiences to get things done. What they ought to do is just show up at games with their 2 or 3 championship trophies, a couple recliners, a cooler, a beagle, and let their game speak for itself. When you accomplish what these guys have done and have the collective oldest average age in the division, you’ve earned the right to coast. But they won’t. It’s not in their DNA. Plus, a certain drill sergeant of an instructor named Catherine would hardly ever let them get complacent. Once again, a threat to…go…all…the…way.
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