The Big East Appalachian Super Tournament II, aka the BEAST II, is the biggest regular season tournament this season in terms of teams attending. In fact, it’s bigger than Nationals 2009 at Grand Valley! With 10 schools going, it will be a monumental task for any team to pull out the championship, as most teams will be playing five games. Hosted by James Madison University, it also includes Saginaw Valley, Central Michigan, Ohio State, Kent State, Towson, Virginia Commonwealth, Rochester Institute of Technology, Western Kentucky, and Miami.
Author: hiller87
Former Captain of the MSU Club Dodgeball Team, former NCDA Chief of Content.
2013 All-Star Game- The Brave Little Toasters vs The Monstars
The 2013 All-Star Game will be unique compared to the previous two All-Star Games. The first ASG (played at Nationals 2011) was Michigan vs The World, with Michigan picking up the win. The Michigan schools got on average six All-Stars, but the World schools only got two each. The game was one sided, with the Michigan schools dictating the game play and pace, and games were played during the second half. Still, it was a great first effort for an ASG, and it was enjoyable to play in and watch. The second All-Star game at Nationals 2012 gave teams All-Stars based on how successful they were during the regular season, and drew players out of a hat on which team they were on. While there was more parity in the game, it looked like the players weren’t as interested in the game. So Zac Brown (UK #13-C) has come up with an alternative for the next ASG.
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Michigan Dodgeball Cup Preview
The oldest tournament in the NCDA is also the best regular season tournament in the league, and the Michigan Dodgeball Cup will once again take place in East Lansing as the #4 Spartans host #5 GVSU, #6 SVSU, and #9 CMU in the toughest collegiate dodgeball tournament during the regular season.
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Alumni Appreciation: Early Girls of Dodgeball
Two pioneers of the NCDA game for women, Andrea Mason (MSU #12) and Molly Fannin (DePaul #17, retired) all played in multiple Nationals tournaments, countless games, and were just as good with their male counterparts. Continue reading “Alumni Appreciation: Early Girls of Dodgeball”
Alumni Appreciation Month: Jimmy Stokes (GVSU #40-C)
There have been plenty of excellent dodgeball players that have come through Grand Valley. Jimmy Stokes is another one of those great players, however besides being an amazing player, he also was a 2 year captain for the Lakers which came at one of the most important times for Grand Valley Dodgeball.
Most people can remember Jimmy Stokes by the #40 he donned each year in a Laker uniform to, his devastating throw in the mid to upper 70’s range that would tail off or even knuckle, and at times could even be mistaken more for a homing missile then a dodgeball, where seemingly more often than not, it connected with its intended target.
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AJP #25
Hosts Mike Van Ermen and Sam Hiller recap the Chicago Dodgeball Open, and preview the Ohio Dodgeball Cup, Michigan Dodgeball Cup, and BEAST II, as well as discuss the All-Star Game format.
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The Ohio Dodgeball Cup Preview
Ohio State will host the Ohio Dodgeball Cup on February 2nd, currently including the Buckeyes, Kent State, Bowling Green, Miami, and non-Ohio school Rochester Institute of Technology. The tournament will feature three founding teams of the NCDA, a former National Champion, and some of the best players in the NCDA. Unlike the Michigan Dodgeball Cup, which is held in East Lansing every year, the ODC is switching from Kent, where it was the previous two entries, to Columbus this year. Last year’s ODC was a weird tournament- Kent State, OSU, and BGSU all went 2-1, and RIT went 0-3. This year could be the same way. Kent State, OSU, and BGSU are all known entities, and all three could beat each other up, but RIT and Miami are wildcards and could pull off some upsets.
VCU Looking To Emulate Success
#16 Virginia Commonwealth (0-5) hasn’t gotten off to the start they were hoping for, but they’ve been getting praise from some of the other captains in the leagues. They have lost to JMU (twice), Kent, Maryland, and Towson so far this season, but the Rams are playing like a typical first year team. For example, Towson went 0-6 their first year, Maryland 1-4, Kansas State 1-4, and Moody went 1-8. So for every James Madison or Grand Valley or Western Illinois, there’s a team who doesn’t play well their first season. Led by Shadeed Drakeford (VCU #14-C) the Rams will try and pick up their first win in program history in one of their upcoming tournaments- a round robin at Maryland, the BEAST II, and the Richmond Dodgeball Cup.
Towson Travels to Maryland for Round Robin
On February 2nd, Towson will travel to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins and VCU Rams, and they’re looking to get some valuable wins and some even more valuable experience as they play in their first tournament of 2013 ahead of the BEAST II, Richmond Dodgeball Cup, and Nationals 2013.
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BEAST II Schedule Posted
The Big East Appalachian Super Tournament Two, aka the BEAST II, is a month away. Featuring host #3 James Madison (9-2-1), #2 Kent State (13-6), #6 Saginaw Valley (4-3-1), #13 Towson (1-5), #10 Ohio State (2-6), #15 Miami (0-8), #7 Central Michigan (3-3), #16 Virginia Commonwealth (0-5), #12 Western Kentucky (1-4), and unranked Rochester Institute of Technology (yes, that is a TEN team field!) this tournament should be a great one. Read the schedule after the jump:
Dodgeball Outside the NCDA
I sit here in my living room watching the Ultimate Dodgeball Championship, on Fox Sports Detroit. It’s really cool that there’s dodgeball on television again, after the failure of the Extreme Dodgeball show on Game Show Network. While it doesn’t have the intensity or excitement of top level NCDA matches, the Ultimate Dodgeball Championship is still dodgeball, which means it’s definitely watchable. The championship came down to Team Doom from the USA vs Team Canucketeers from Canada, with Team Doom coming away with the championship (and the prize money!)
Why I Play The Game, By Dan Shackelford
Dodgeball means many things to different people. Apparently it means two different words to Microsoft’s spell-check. As I enter the second semester of my fourth year playing in the NCDA, I have to take a step back and consider how this sport has impacted me so profoundly and why I have chosen to give so much of my time and energy to it.
Alumni Appreciation: Aleks Bomis
Much has been made of the contributions that Aleks has made to the dodgeball world, whether it’s been starting the MSU team, helping create the NCDA, helping out with the Nationals 2011 video, doing a variety of posters in Photoshop, being the short lived commissioner of the NCDA, he has truly done everything in his power to help the league grow.
Alumni Appreciation: Mike McCarthy
You all know him- the man, the myth, the legend. Mike McCarthy (CMU #55) was one of the greatest dodgeballers to step out on the court. He could throw 75 mph, catch anything, rocked a mohawk, led CMU to a National Finals appearance, and helped them win their first Michigan Dodgeball Cup. He’s still very active in the NCDA community despite being out of the game since 2010.
Next Up For the NCDA: A Michigan Rivalry
Things always get heated when Michigan State travels to the Ryder Center to face off against Saginaw Valley, and the two have had a great rivalry over the years, with almost all the matches being close ones.