Transcript
Sully Shaheed: Ladies and gentlemen, we are less than one week away from the, what, 43rd, 42nd national tournament ah being held in Novi, Michigan. And we here are joined by a special guest to break down the A and the B division, our thoughts, predictions, and a couple of special surprises at the end that you have to stick around to find out.
Sully Shaheed: This is the What in the World East edition. Here we go.
Sully Shaheed: And welcome in to What in the World, East Edition. I am your host, Sully Ali Shahid, representing Cleveland C. I am joined by, of course, my tag team partner in crime, Chili Olva, representing Cleveland A. And a special guest tonight here back in the home confines of his home center, Kyle Phillips, ladies and gentlemen. Kyle Phillips joining us from Atlanta,
Sully Shaheed: freshly moved into his new place brand new babies we we got we got kids going on we got moves new houses we got everything and he has joined us gracefully to break down the b and a division of course give us predictions picks and insights on what to expect in novi in less than one week so chilly what's going on man welcome back to the show how's everything going
Chilly: Man, everything's going good. ah You know, we got Kyle back in the house. ah So that's cool. It's good to have guests on here. um I mean, you know, Hanson set the bar real low. So it won't be that.
Chilly: So it won't be that bad for you to, you know, you know, be the best guest we ever had. you know, hey.
Sully Shaheed: Right, right. Easy bar to clear right with Hanson.
Chilly: well
Sully Shaheed: So you're good.
Chilly: Yeah. Yeah. And just remember, this is the mean podcast. So you're allowed to say what you want, throw digs wherever. Again, know, we don't, there's no kissing ass on this podcast. All
Sully Shaheed: Yes, we don't sugarcoat, we don't hold back, and I think that's why people get a little offended. And Kyle, you're being the one one of the ones that have been offended by our said podcast.
Sully Shaheed: um So Kyle, how's everything going with you, man?
Kyle: Not offended.
Sully Shaheed: Welcome to the show.
Kyle: Thanks, man. Appreciate it. Yeah, glad to be here. no I feel like I'm at home. Get to talk a little trash, you know, not hold anything back. And I wasn't offended. I was motivated. So I had to go out there and prove my point.
Kyle: So, you know, I needed that little tip of my shoulder.
Sully Shaheed: Yes, yes.
Kyle: So I appreciate it.
Sully Shaheed: Yes, absolutely. We got a couple more guests coming on post-Nationals. Luke will definitely be joining us one time. Got to catch up with him. He's a busy man. And ah Timmy has asked to get on the show a couple times. So we're definitely going to get his insight with everything.
Sully Shaheed: Hopefully it's, you know, and not everybody can win, of course, when they go to Nationals, but we hope everybody has a good time, has a good showing, and have some competitive, competitive whirly ball this year, man. It's going to be a fun, fun year.
Sully Shaheed: So we are here today to break down The B and A divisions. And of course, B is a little smaller, so we can get through that a little quickly. And then A, of course, requires a little more insight. But ah before we get into the Nationals breakdown, of course, um Kyle, what are you looking forward to the most when it comes to Nationals? Like what what what is driving you minus Whirly Ball?
Kyle: I mean, it's Whirly Ball, right? At the end of the day, it's the competition. I love it. I do love all the people, so it's good to see everybody. Good to catch up. People like yourself, right? Good to see you, Chili. Good to see your brother, you know, all the, you know, Seattle, just everybody in general, right?
Chilly: Yes, sir.
Kyle: um The other thing is I'm bringing my family this time. So we have, my wife has a bunch of family.
Sully Shaheed: Hey, fam's going to be in the house.
Kyle: Yeah, yeah.
Chilly: Nice.
Kyle: um I know someone who was bitching about babies, I think, on the Seattle. I mean, there are a bunch of mutants up there, so they wouldn't know nothing about it. Yeah. Yeah, so, you know, to have the whole family up there and you know, my wife's family is from out there as well. So it's going to be good time.
Sully Shaheed: That's great to hear, man.
Chilly: Again.
Sully Shaheed: and and you know, it wasn't the complaining about the babies. It was more so complaining about the space that was limited for the babies to show up. So Michigan is a big center.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: It's got a lot of open space.
Chilly: Yeah.
Kyle: Big center.
Sully Shaheed: So we're you're good. Bring the kiddos.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Everybody bring the kiddos. Whatever. i don't care. ah Chili, what are you looking forward to the most, man?
Chilly: yeah
Chilly: ah Just ah seeing everybody. um So that's going to be pretty cool. Obviously the worldly ballpark, getting to play against everybody again, that's, that's going to be cool. um I think what this year, I think we're up to like 39 teams ah as a total.
Sully Shaheed: Big number. Big number. Yeah.
Chilly: ah So that's really cool to see that the sport is growing. I feel like it was a little stagnant for a little bit, but to see, we're getting some new blood in the door.
Sully Shaheed: Mm
Chilly: That's pretty cool. So oh and All in all, man, just ready to play some Worley Ball.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, I think we've i think ah you know I need to ah bubble wrap myself before I go. ah Sustain another damn injury. First it was the back. Now it's the hamstring. So, I mean, but I'm going to be great come next week. But damn, man. so It's like God was like, don't you slow your ass down?
Sully Shaheed: Because it's been a...
Chilly: but Man, you got to stretch, dude. You're old. You got to stretch.
Sully Shaheed: Boy, don't be calling me old, all right?
Chilly: dismiss
Sully Shaheed: I'm in my prime, all right?
Chilly: What?
Chilly: Listen, i know I know black don't crack, but like come on, you've got stretch.
Sully Shaheed: it it it It definitely gets pulled. I can tell you that. It might not crack, but fuck, dude. Hamstring, back, shoulder, God dang. But just like I told ah you guys at practice, I'll have plenty of ah plenty of ibuprofen, plenty of Aleve.
Sully Shaheed: i got I got the foam roller. I'll bring that. I got a couple braces. So if anybody needs to do rehab, I will have everything in the hotel room. So by all means, stop on by the Sinesta Suites and I got you.
Sully Shaheed: So, um, so yeah, man, I'm excited too. Like I said, it's all about the people. I love doing commentary. I obviously love playing with my guys, um, playing with some different people as well. You know, those pickup games are always fun when we get the opportunity to do so.
Sully Shaheed: And, uh, yeah, like you said, just seeing everybody, uh, hanging out, having some drinks, going out, getting some good dinner. That's, that's what Nashville is all about, man. We're a big old, big old disgruntled family. And it's always in an honor and a pleasure to see everybody. So it's going sweet, man. It's going sweet.
Sully Shaheed: So without further ado, you guys ready to break down the B division and see our predictions, what we like, what we don't like, who's going to struggle, who's not going to struggle?
Sully Shaheed: but You all ready to get into it?
Chilly: I'm ready.
Kyle: Let's do it.
Sully Shaheed: Let's do it, man. Chili, why don't you, ah you got the team list brought up so you can start wherever you want, break it down, and we'll go from there.
Chilly: Yeah, I mean, we'll just ah we'll go, i guess, this whatever, in alphabetical order. So we will start with.
Sully Shaheed: Oh, alphabetical. I like that. I like that.
Chilly: we will We will just start here ah with a with the Atlanta B team. um I guess I'll let the expert over here kind of let him introduce his B team and um and break it down, let us know what's going on and and proceed from there.
Chilly: So I'll kick it over to Kyle for the insight on the Atlanta B team.
Kyle: Yeah.
Kyle: So as I was telling you guys earlier, right? So there's been some changes. So Eddie is no longer able to play this year. He had a little accident. He's doing well. um And we hope he starts to feel better soon. So they're looking for a fifth. So we we might have someone narrowed in But the team today is Carl. um You got Trey Royals.
Kyle: Did you get it?
Sully Shaheed: I got it. I got the gnat.
Kyle: Okay.
Sully Shaheed: He's dead.
Kyle: All right. I saw you eyeball that thing.
Chilly: Yeah. i think
Kyle: Trey Royals and then Roy from Michigan. And Jacob as well. So it's a pretty good squad. you know Carl is ah just as is an animal out there. I mean, I think he's probably one of the top shooters in B, in my opinion.
Kyle: if we If we had a center to practice in, Carl would be top or B and A at this point, right? He's just... pure athleticism. And then you got Trey playing defense along with Jacob. So, and then you got Roy, who's just a great shooter. So i think they'll be surprising. I think they surprised some folks last year. So I think they'll bring the heat and it'll be a good year for them.
Sully Shaheed: Can we please have a moment of silence for Eddie?
Kyle: Yes.
Chilly: ah not Not like how we do it on the deli when they're hurt.
Chilly: excellent
Sully Shaheed: He's hurt. I mean, he's hurt. You know, Eddie's one of my favorite people to hang out with, to kick it with, to actually, you know, the rare times I've gotten to play with and against him. It's always been awesome, man. And Eddie's a good guy.
Sully Shaheed: And, you know, we wish him a speedy recovery.
Kyle: Love him.
Sully Shaheed: Obviously hate that it happened um the way it did. But Kyle, why why don't you ah won don't you let the proverbial cat out of not necessarily the bag, but sneak him out the bag. Who did you ask to play with you on that team?
Kyle: Well, if we're not able to find somebody, i asked Sully if he wanted to double dip.
Sully Shaheed: Who? Yeah, that's right.
Kyle: So I think he would bring a lot of good energy to the team and be a good fit for the team.
Sully Shaheed: That's right.
Kyle: So, um yeah, we'll see. See if you can match it.
Sully Shaheed: Any opportunity I can get to block Steve, I'm going to take it. The answer was a resounding yes.
Kyle: Yep.
Chilly: He's not.
Kyle: Yep.
Sully Shaheed: All right. So if if there is no other person that can fill in, I will be the fifth on that team. And best believe I'm extending every single play.
Kyle: And I'm reffing every single game.
Sully Shaheed: Every play. And every single game.
Kyle: so
Sully Shaheed: So...
Chilly: But just remember, Steve says he's not shooting.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, because he don't want the smoke. And he really won't want it when he sees me on the court. So there's your call out. There it is. Switch positions for a game. See what happens. Since you're the best shooter in Illinois.
Sully Shaheed: So, yeah.
Chilly: he He did say that verbatim.
Sully Shaheed: Verbatim. Verbatim. Chill, what are your thoughts on that Atlanta team?
Chilly: ah it's a It's a great team. i think it's a team that if they probably had a home center, ah probably would have won B by now, if not like finished like pretty close to the finals.
Chilly: Yeah. it's got ah i mean it's got ah It's got a boatload of talent. um i mean I thought last year Jacob played pretty well in A, truthfully, for just kind of getting the call up.
Chilly: I don't feel like he played bad.
Kyle: Yep.
Chilly: So I think he's going to have a lot of valuable experience to bring to the team. um Obviously, Kyle mentioned Carl. ah Carl is probably one of the better B players. um So, again, it's a great team. um Obviously, they got to see how they're going to gel with Roy, which kind of, you know, and then plus, you know, they're going to have to gel with somebody else. So that would just give me some cause for concern. But it's a team that definitely will figure it out in seeding and then probably can't be ready tournament time.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, I think that's a good take. um it's It's tough playing with A, not having your own center, and B, playing with now two people from different centers. But again, if you get, like like I said, if I were the fifth on that team, you bring a lot of experience. Roy's been playing forever. I've been playing forever.
Sully Shaheed: And then you have guys that performed at, a again, a pretty high level last year in A. So I think it's going to be one of the one of the sneakier teams. um do we Do we put the Dark Horse label on this team already?
Sully Shaheed: Should we do it?
Sully Shaheed: Chili, should we do it? you' you see the beat You see the rest of the B teams.
Chilly: thank yeah
Sully Shaheed: Should we do it? Should we put the dark horse label on Atlanta right now?
Chilly: i i think my my dark horse is going to go to a really random team.
Sully Shaheed: Okay.
Chilly: So it's like that team, the team I'm going to put the dark horse label on, I think could win if they just follow a simple formula and we'll get there. But I i don't expect Atlanta to go to an out.
Sully Shaheed: Okay.
Sully Shaheed: Understood. yeah I'm cool with that. I'm good with that. I'm good with that. Okay, ah who else we got in B? Who's next in alphabetical order?
Chilly: We're going to, we're going to make a stop to the city of Chicago. um All right. and we'll start with this team first. We have, ah we have dead.
Chilly: We have Sean Roberts. We have Brett Coons. We have Andy, ah John, John Aloft, and then Chequan rounds out this team ah for Chicago.
Sully Shaheed: Okay.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: is that Is that one of two c team or B teams they have?
Chilly: that is That is one of two. I believe a lot of their CEIs who finished second last year moved up. ah so that So that is one of two.
Sully Shaheed: Understood. Okay.
Sully Shaheed: All right, Kyle, give me some insight. Chicago won. What do you think?
Kyle: I like it. I mean, they got a lot of good experience with dead. You know, he's probably gonna be the leader on that team. He was the leader, in my opinion, on their team last year and probably during their b year. So he brings a lot of experience.
Kyle: ah I think their lack of defense, to be honest, it's just gonna be dead in the hole most of the tournament, which I think is,
Sully Shaheed: Mm-hmm.
Kyle: You know, they got a lot of shooters, right? I mean, i know he Andrew loves to shoot the ball. No offense, Andrew. It's just the truth. Chequan's really good shooter. John's a good shooter, right? Brett likes to shoot. So I think that they might get a little overwhelmed with too much offense and be lacking on some defense, but think it's good. And then the second team, they're pretty well-rounded. I mean, and I think they're in the same position. as it's Does Scott play defense?
Kyle: I guess Scott plays defense, so they're probably more rounded, right?
Chilly: Well, whoa we'll get to the second team here in a second.
Kyle: Okay.
Chilly: We'll break down this first team first.
Kyle: Oh, oh. Yeah, yeah.
Chilly: but we'll We'll get to Chicago b two
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, I mean, I agree with a lot of sentiments that Kyle said. um where Where is the defense going to come from, right? um If Dead can't be the vocal leader to four other guys that like to shoot the ball, um it's going to be tough to defend.
Sully Shaheed: And I mean, like you're dealing with a lot of teams that can shoot the shit out the ball.
Kyle: No.
Sully Shaheed: So how are you going to defend that? And um yeah, I think it's still a solid, well-rounded team. However, I think the one, like you pointed out, the one major d weakness is the defense. So I don't know.
Sully Shaheed: Chill what you got.
Chilly: Yeah. Um, I think this is a good, I think this is a good team. um I will give credit where credit is due. ah when we did have that combined practice a couple months ago, ah dead played really well, uh, against a teams as well.
Chilly: Um, so, uh, again, kudos to him. I think this team will go. I think this team kind of rides and dies on Andy. um you know i think Andy sometimes has a tendency to kind of play for himself a little bit. ah Again, it's good, Matt. I get it. Shooters want to shoot. But um I think the the team goes as far as him. um I think looking at it, I do believe this is the better Chicago team of the two. um And we'll break down the second team here in a second. But I think this team goes as far as as what Andy –
Chilly: ah Kind of allows them to do. I expect dead to be the leader and the voice out there. um But yeah, I think this is going to be the better, better one of the two.
Sully Shaheed: Excellent.
Chilly: i And then we'll get to the, the second Chicago team.
Sully Shaheed: Excellent.
Chilly: We have Michael Langenfield. ah We have Walter Dan Doherty, Scott McCarthy and cliff ah Thompson, Tom Thompson, something like that.
Chilly: Cliff.
Sully Shaheed: Is Thompson hard to pronounce? Like, you okay? Yeah.
Chilly: Well, and on onlinless on Clint's list, there's not a P. And I'm like, I think there's supposed to be a P there. Maybe I'm wrong.
Sully Shaheed: The P is not silent. It's just missing.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Thompson. Thompson.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: All right. I'm good with that.
Chilly: ye
Sully Shaheed: um I'm unfamiliar with a couple of their players, but I know, you know, I said Dan Doherty, obviously I've played against him. um A couple of the other guys as well. But I think that, I think you're right in the sentiment that Chicago's b one on paper, you don't know how it's going to be on the court. Obviously things can change, but um I think it's a little better and more well-rounded. i think offensively they're significantly better um than that other team, but it depends on, you know, how well they play defense. So I think it's going to come down to who stops, who first, and who can get on a couple more runs between those two teams.
Sully Shaheed: So, but I think again, it's well-rounded, but I'm not familiar with a couple of their players. So I need to get more familiar as I commentate and watch and potentially play against. So.
Chilly: Yeah, as ah as I'm looking at this team, the only person... like I mean, ah like Walter is a good driver. um he'll He'll get in for layups. But like the only person on this team that really, to me, shoots screenshots pretty consistently is Michael Langenfield.
Chilly: um And like ultimately, to...
Sully Shaheed: hmm.
Chilly: Maybe to, I mean, to his credit, but it also goes get, I mean, he's such a team player that he'll probably just end up playing defense for that team. If they, if they need them to, although like, I think he needs to be shooting more.
Chilly: Um,
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, I think it f can shoot. that that That's facts.
Chilly: ah
Sully Shaheed: so
Chilly: But I mean, i mean i think this this particular team has a lot the C guys that did move up. um But I think their lack of outside shooting could be their detriment.
Chilly: But again the tea again, it's not played on paper. So that would be my concern with that Chicago team.
Sully Shaheed: facts
Sully Shaheed: Facts. Kyle, what do you think about Chicago B2?
Kyle: Yeah, kind of in the same boat with Chile. I think a lot of that team, kind of like Team 1, rides or dives on Michael, right? He's probably their key shooter. Dan's a good shooter. mean, let's not take the credit away from Dan.
Kyle: Yeah, i just it's they're kind of limited, right? They got they got a good defense, which that's why i don't think Michael will play as much defense because I feel like Cliff plays decent amount of defense and stays back there a good bit.
Chilly: We are
Kyle: Yeah. um Yeah, I don't know. I do think the B1 team, though, is, you know, again, it's on paper. I think they'll see the show. And Walter is also a really good shooter and driver. So we'll see.
Sully Shaheed: I like it. I like it. ah Who else we got? Where are we traveling to now that we've left the confines of Chicago?
Chilly: traveling
Chilly: we are traveling to
Chilly: We are traveling to Minnesota.
Sully Shaheed: Say it's got to be Minnesota, right?
Chilly: ah we We got Minnesota.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Chilly: They're first...
Sully Shaheed: welcome Welcome to be baby.
Chilly: ah We got Minnesota, their first year in B. Congratulations to them. We have Luke. We have John. ah Alex. We have Chris. We have Tyler. I'm just going to not pronounce you all's last names because ain't doing that.
Chilly: I'm going to butcher people's last names. I won't disrespect you like that.
Sully Shaheed: You don't want to give it a shot like buckets. I mean, he did pretty well. ah he He knew pretty much everybody's last name. So.
Chilly: Yeah, yeah. i'd I'll leave that for Buckethead.
Sully Shaheed: First names are cool. We're good. Yep.
Chilly: we We have their coach. He can break it down.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, that's right. That's right.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: We do have coach Kyle on the line for Minnesota. That's right. Okay.
Kyle: I...
Sully Shaheed: Well, first year in B Kyle, I got to go to you first. What do we think about the squad from Minnesota?
Kyle: I think they'll surprise a lot of people. um They've been working, they came to me, ah Luke and Alex did, with a bunch of things they've been working on, which, you know, it's, they're working on high level stuff, right? So I think they'll have a good game plan going into it. If they can execute it, I think they'll do well.
Kyle: um You know, they're, they've really kind of taken a different stance on how they played the C and they're trying different things in D. So i think it would be a good year for them. Again, they may be the dark horse, in my opinion, outside of Atlanta. um think if they get hot, I think they could run it again, to be honest. so
Sully Shaheed: Okay, just a rocket ship straight through, straight through early ball.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: D champs, C champs, potentially B champs, and welcome to A next year in their home center, Minnesota.
Kyle: Yep.
Sully Shaheed: Can you can you tell a better story? Can you tell a better story?
Kyle: The incredible one.
Sully Shaheed: like My goodness. I like this team. I like this team on paper. um I think they're going to take a lot of lumps in ah you know their first set of seeding games when it comes to B.
Kyle: Mm-hmm.
Sully Shaheed: um I think it's going to be a big culture shock because it is a change from from C to B. um It's a faster-paced game when you go up, but I think that you know being coached by somebody like you um will have them ready for it.
Sully Shaheed: and I think they're completely up to the challenge. i mean like they They have no fear. They don't like being you know, mentioned in different podcasts on these streets, um you know, but ah don't sleep on them.
Sully Shaheed: You know, we did that last year and see, and guess what happened? um I think a lot of teams have to take them seriously. And if as they continue to gel throughout the tournament, I might, I'll consider them for dark horse as well. You're right. You're right. a hundred percent. ah Chill. Thoughts on Minnesota.
Chilly: Yeah, I mean, i'll I'll be their motivator here. um I'm sleeping on them
Sully Shaheed: Oh, no.
Chilly: on them. I'll be the bad guy here. I did
Chilly: ah i think my main concern is I don't think it's a lack of talent. It's a lack of them playing against talent. Because eventually, like I think through C and D, you can kind of scape by playing um you know people that aren't as good. And then once you start to get up in B and a I think just that process slows down.
Chilly: So I just think they're going to hit a little bit of a lull. Again, I don't think it's for a lack of talent. I think they have really good people. But like I think the days of... like like in C, you don't see teams are like, we're just going to take out Luke and B they're going to take that guy out. Like, and it's going to maybe depend on some of these other guys. Like, so I think I, that's why I think they're just going to hit a bit, a little bit of a law. Do I see them getting blown out every game? I don't think so. I don't think that should happen. I think defensively, they defensively, they've always been a really good sound team.
Chilly: um But I, I just think experience and lack of, skill that they are currently playing against at home or practicing. I think that's where it's going to be more of a factor in B.
Sully Shaheed: Respect, respect, 100%.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: um Kyle, what is the best advice you've given that team so far? Now, don't give any secrets, but what what did you tell Luke and his squad to look forward to?
Kyle: To take their lids. Don't panic. You know? um you Like, you guys get it. mean, remember when we first went to A? I mean, get your you get your your shit kicked in for the first year, right?
Kyle: So just don't panic and continue to have fun.
Sully Shaheed: No, I don't remember, no
Kyle: What chili does. Or when you moved up, right?
Chilly: was
Kyle: I mean...
Chilly: Hey man I took i took a lot of I took a lot of whoopings in C That's where I took the most beatings Yeah man that's where Yeah I mean we just In C we took a lot of ass whoopings B and B we were okay Like we didn't take too many beatdowns in B Still happened but not as many as C was probably the worst
Kyle: hey
Kyle: Yeah, I got stuck in C for a long time, too. That was brutal.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Fair enough.
Kyle: But yeah, so as long as they have fun and play well, I think, you know, think they'll be fine.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah. And even if like, you know, they get, they take their licks, as you said, ah for this year, next year is their home court. So you take the experience, you build on it.
Kyle: Yep.
Sully Shaheed: And now, you know, your center, your cars, you know, and, and then at the target will be on your back at that point, but building off what happens in 2026 will propel you into 2027.
Chilly: Thank
Sully Shaheed: So I like this team and I think they're, they have, they're all young. So they get a lot of growth potential when it comes to the game. So, you know, like I said, no team in recent memory, minus maybe a couple of Seattle teams back in the day, have rocket shipped so fast through divisions as a unit like Minnesota has.
Sully Shaheed: So the join when they did to win how they did to do what they did in different centers, um it's it's it's it's great for the game.
Sully Shaheed: It's great for growth.
Kyle: crazy.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, and it's awesome. um Chill, where are flying out to next, man?
Chilly: We are going to Seattle. ah We will start with this Seattle team first. We have one. ah so we have Steve. We have Nathan.
Chilly: We have Dan, Stan, and Gage rounding out this team.
Sully Shaheed: Stan. I just kicked Stan. It's just my favorite thing every time I freaking see him, man.
Chilly: Wow.
Sully Shaheed: It's just so good. I love it. I freaking love it. Can you tell um Steve to stop worrying about Whirly Ball and focus on his actual like baseball team right now?
Sully Shaheed: Because they've been sucking ass a lot lately.
Chilly: Oh, oh yeah.
Sully Shaheed: So could we like shift the focus?
Chilly: Are we, uh, are we getting our ass beat by the brewers again or?
Sully Shaheed: Nine to four. Yeah, we're getting clapped.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah.
Chilly: Yeah. Well, we lost like three of our best hitters and our offense was already shit with them.
Sully Shaheed: Well, you tell Steve Vogt to stop fucking around with this whirly ball shit and go coach my Cleveland Guardians, all right?
Chilly: pet
Sully Shaheed: Like, we need help. Sick help. That's it. So, Kyle, what what are you thinking about this squad, man?
Chilly: Oh,
Sully Shaheed: What do you think about this? Is this Seattle 1?
Chilly: Yeah. yeah
Sully Shaheed: Okay.
Kyle: I like it. I think they lack defense, but they have a lot of shooting power. Dan is a nasty shooter.
Sully Shaheed: Agreed.
Kyle: i Watching him play last year, it's just the guy is just automatic. um But I don't know. I like it. I think overall, I think they're missing a little bit of defense, but I think they can win with just overpowering people with just...
Kyle: shooting lights out. So they got a lot of good shooters and I think they've all been playing in B outside of Dan and Gage, right? So they got three guys with a lot of experience in B for a long time. So that will that'll be really beneficial to
Sully Shaheed: Chili, where are you at on Seattle one?
Chilly: Yeah, I mean, I think on paper, if we were doing some Vegas odds, this probably has to be the favorite MB, wouldn't you think? I mean, we'll get to Seattle too.
Kyle: them.
Sully Shaheed: would yeah I would think, yeah.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: I would think so as well.
Chilly: yeah Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Yep.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Mm-hmm.
Chilly: Again, ah great all-around team. Yeah. I mean, again here, it's a lot of shooting power. um i think defensively they may be okay.
Chilly: um I just think in B right now, plus or minus a couple of people, like there's not like... I wouldn't say like there's a lack of offensive firepower in the B division in general, but um I think a little less defense isn't going to hurt them. I mean, Steve is already on record saying that, you know, he's basically playing goalie back there. um We'll see.
Kyle: The range is open.
Chilly: so So, again here
Sully Shaheed: Right.
Chilly: ah again, a ton of these guys, a lot of experience. I mean, Steve has won B before. i believe Gage and I think Stan were in the finals last year.
Chilly: so again, it's just it's ah it's a ton of experience. Dahl is really underrated, too. ah i willing to bet that Dahl was probably close to maybe making one of their A-teams.
Kyle: yeah
Chilly: I feel like he was probably on the cusp. um So all around, I think this this is the team that's probably the favorite.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, I agree. um Like I said, their their lack of defense can probably be made up by their offensive prowess. um They have a lot of shooters on that team. and ah But if if a team can come in and kind of exploit their defense per se, it brings one of those guys back to always be aware of what's going on on the other side of the court. So if a team can go bucket with bucket with them and play just a little more defense, then they might be in trouble. But at the same time, like you said, they got a lot of experience. They've got guys that won B. They've got, you know, guys that have reached finals. I mean, that again, they're probably the favorite.
Sully Shaheed: um I don't want to say overwhelming, but if you look at every team on paper, I would say that's the target um is their team. So I think they'll do well. I think they'll do extremely well. You know, top three finish without question. And um it's just going to be, you know, the allocation of shots, of course, and who's going to step up defensively for that team. So. Yeah, I mean, it's a good all-around team, and I think they i think they are favorited for a reason.
Sully Shaheed: So I'm good with it.
Chilly: Yeah. And then we'll get to the we'll get to the second Seattle team, which is really good as well. ah We have Kiefer. We have Brandon White. We have ah Mark Mills. We have Jeff Jackson and Brandon Stewart rounding out the Seattle B2.
Sully Shaheed: Listen, man, if Chief Keef is on the court, Look the fuck out. And I think that's where their defense is going be, quote unquote, exploited by, you know, height and the ability to get one-on-one shots.
Kyle: Yep.
Sully Shaheed: Because i don't think... There's a goalie in B that's going to be able to subdue Kiefer one-on-one. um If he plays motivated in the key, he can set screens for his other guys. And um Brandon plays enough defense to limit um the other team's offense on the other side and get the ball down into Kiefer to be able to set up or go one-on-one. That's where a game can get out of hand. So I think overall in that division, he's probably my favorite player. I've made this very clear to a lot of people that I love me some Chief Keefe.
Sully Shaheed: But um yeah, if anybody's going to direct competition to that Seattle team, Seattle one, it's probably going to be Seattle two. So I like that team. They're they're well-rounded. Brandon's very active on defense. And they got a lot of solid pieces around them. So that that' ah that's going to be a good team.
Sully Shaheed: That's going good team. Kyle, thoughts?
Kyle: Yeah, I agree. Kiefer's definitely the maker breaker for those guys. I mean, just a phenomenal shooter. He can beat up on defenders. He's beat up on me. I mean, he beats up on anybody that's down there with him, right? So I also think Brandon White, you know, he's a sleeper. If Kiefer can't get a shot off, Brandon has a really good deep shot that I think can play really well. Also plays really good...
Kyle: I you're Brandon, Brandon you were talking about, but Brandon White could also play pretty good defense. So um I like it. I think it's, a again, it's it's a well-rounded team. I think they could probably run. you And again, they play against those B guys probably on a weekly basis. So um I think they'll give that top team you know run for their money each game. But yeah, overall, it's pretty balanced and decent team.
Sully Shaheed: Chili Seattle too.
Chilly: Yeah, I think for the Seattle teams, it's really going to come down to which one of the teams adapts better to the cars. um I know Kiefer likes to get his shot one-on-one. It'll be interesting to see if he can do that in the Michigan cars.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Chilly: So it'll kind of just be interesting to see which one of the two teams adapts. um Again, i fool I do expect this Seattle team as well to have a ah high finish. um I think if either one of these Seattle teams were to go out early in the tournament, I think it should probably be a disappointment.
Chilly: um At least if if I was on one of those teams, I'd feel like it was a disappointment if we went out that early in a tournament. So um I fully expect this team to be there close to the finals. um Either way, i again, here, I just,
Chilly: it it it's a little bit offensively. Again, if Kiefer is doing his thing in the key, um i think they'll be okay. ah But again, here, is there is there enough offense on that team?
Chilly: um You know, be interested to see.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, facts, facts. um Are we traveling to Texas next? Or does Seattle have another team? They have two or three.
Chilly: ah No, they have two. They only have two B teams, 8 million C teams.
Sully Shaheed: Okay.
Chilly: ah Yes, and then this is and then this is where it gets it gets fun. ah So we get the Texas B. ah At this point, I do believe it is Josh Montgomery.
Chilly: it is Troy Montgomery. it is Little Dave. I believe Greg Garcia is back on that team. And then they have Josh from Michigan.
Sully Shaheed: Excellent. Excellent. Chill. I'll start with your thoughts on that team because you brought em up at practice. So might as well spill it out now.
Chilly: Yeah, this to me is the dark horse team. um That team has so much firepower on it. And I get it that Josh, I think, lives in Oklahoma, so he might not play as much, and then, um you know, give or take. But, like, I think if if Troy Montgomery can just play the Billy O role and just sit on defense and let the four other guys go up and shoot, because, like, I'm sorry, in B, if If Josh gets going and be nobody stopping him, nobody in B is, is going to stop Josh.
Chilly: Nobody's stopping that lob shot. Nobody is stopping that man from having a good time. Now, no, Josh likes to party. We'll this we'll call it that.
Sully Shaheed: Okay, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Chilly: but but she but but But, like, i mean gray I mean, Greg has played well in A, you know, and great shot.
Sully Shaheed: You're right, you're right.
Chilly: Josh has got a great shot. um Little Dave can just pull fucking anything out of his ass. I mean,
Sully Shaheed: Oh my God, he's so frustrating to defend. He is so annoying.
Chilly: And then again, and then again like you have Josh who like he may not look like he's taking it super serious, but like that guy hates losing. like don't like He may be out there for a good time, but like just like if if when the game starts to get close and he feels like he needs to take over, he's gonna. said and like And and like let's not forget, like they're in their cars. I mean, you give that guy the rocket car,
Chilly: He's hard to stop.
Kyle: Thank you.
Sully Shaheed: Fair.
Chilly: I've watched. I remember in 2011, the Seattle unlimited team had a hard time stopping him. I know that was like 15 years ago, but like they had a hard time stopping that guy.
Chilly: So, you know, it is what it is. But that to me is that's the dark horse team. That team could that team could go out and lose every game for all I know. But that that would be that's my dark horse team of the B division.
Sully Shaheed: But when tournament time starts, that's all that matters. So hey they could just be the bottom seed and run it. So you're right. you're You're totally right. I mean, I like all your takes. don't really i have too much to say about that. I like i like watching the Montgomery's play. i Always got a soft spot for Texas, obviously. But man, like you said, if if one of those two guys get going, it might be it might be curtains for everybody else. So that's true. And I'm I might join you on the dark horse. I might join you on the dark horse. Kyle, what are you feeling about this team?
Kyle: I'm jumping on the bandwagon as well, I think, because forgot Josh was playing that team in Chile. I mean, remember that, what was that invite that we did in Michigan two years ago when he just ate everybody up?
Kyle: I mean, nobody could stop Josh.
Chilly: Yeah, yeah.
Kyle: I mean...
Chilly: He almost got put into the lowers. and And then we were like, okay, we got to move him to uppers.
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: And, like, I know my team struggled to stop him. Actually, will yeah, he beat the brakes off of us.
Kyle: Oh, he beat the...
Kyle: Yeah, he lit me up, dude. lit I mean, it's that lob. And the funny part is, it's just like such an easy, nonchalant lob. You don't think he's going to shoot in it. it just goes that little floater over your head, and it's ding, ding.
Chilly: yeah Yeah, you're going to watch him come up the court.
Kyle: So I think, again, yeah. Yep.
Chilly: He's going to dribble the ball, and then he's going to just lob it over you.
Kyle: Yeah. and the
Chilly: Or if he has a window, he'll actually shoot from his forehead if there's like a tiny window. Other than that, it's probably the best lob shot, right?
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: Or it's close.
Kyle: And you know, him and little Dave are going to play, I think really well together because as we all know, you have to pay attention to little Dave, right? And guess who's going to be flying down the rock and they also have the court while a little Dave has two guys on him. Right.
Kyle: And i think it's going open up a lot of shots. Many of Greg, I mean, Greg is again, an A caliber shooter. you can shoot really well.
Chilly: I think, yeah, Greg is under, he's underrated. he's ah He's a little underrated.
Kyle: Very, very, um, So, again, I think there yeah Troy can play defense with with but Josh, and Josh can come up and take those deep shots.
Chilly: He just, yeah, Troy, this has to be Billy O.
Kyle: So, yeah.
Kyle: Has to.
Chilly: Just let the, let the four other guys on your team, just this come along for the ride. All right.
Kyle: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's not like Troy can't shoot. Let's not, you know, he he can he can put it he can put it away.
Chilly: Listen,
Kyle: But I'd rather him play defense.
Chilly: let' my dad
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: right Listen, my dad came down. He maybe shot two, maybe two to three shots a game. ah But they were open shots and he hit them. Troy can absolutely do that.
Kyle: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Chilly: But the thing for Troy is if he hits those shots, that doesn't mean keep shooting.
Sully Shaheed: ah
Kyle: Agreed.
Sully Shaheed: Human heat check. yeah Fair enough. Is that it for B?
Chilly: That is it for me.
Sully Shaheed: ah Give me predictions. Now, who's in the finals? Who's winning it? Before we head over to A, give it to me. Right now. Right now. Off the cup.
Chilly: All right.
Sully Shaheed: Chill. Who you got?
Chilly: I am going to, i am going to take the Seattle team that we said is a favorite ah with Steve and them. And I'm going to put them in the final against the Texas team. I'll go out on a limb here. i will say that Texas team is going to make the final.
Chilly: And then we get the old rivalry, the Raven Steelers rivalry of Seattle versus Texas in the final.
Sully Shaheed: Okay. Okay. All right. And your winner is.
Chilly: Man, give me Texas. Give me Texas.
Sully Shaheed: Hot.
Chilly: hey man Hey, the last time the last time the B division was in Michigan, nobody expected the Texas team to win then. i think that was the great white Buffalo, and that was KB, Doc, Little Dave, Greg, and I think Josh. So give me Give me Texas.
Chilly: give me give me taxes
Sully Shaheed: Okay. Kyle, who you got?
Kyle: I'm going to have to go Texas in the finals as well, but I'm going to switch it up. I think the Seattle B2 team is going to make it to the finals.
Sully Shaheed: God damn it.
Kyle: I think, that yeah, I think Kiefer is going to, I think Kiefer is get on the hot streak. I think a lot of defenses are going to struggle with that. And yeah, I can see that. And again, I just think there's so much firepower in the Texas team that they'll disrupt a lot of people.
Kyle: So I can see those, those two teams.
Sully Shaheed: And your winner is...
Kyle: I'm going to go Seattle, Seattle B2 keeper and his team.
Sully Shaheed: Well, my finals are the exact same. You stole my goddarn thunder. Seattle 2 versus Texas. And give me... got i can't i can't agree with you. So just because for sport, I'm going to take the Texas team. um yeah go I'll take the Texas team.
Sully Shaheed: Seattle 2 versus Texas.
Kyle: I love it.
Sully Shaheed: Give me Texas. if If Greg Garcia is confirmed to go.
Kyle: Yes. Yes.
Sully Shaheed: If Greg is off that team, take everything back, I said. And I'll go Seattle 1 versus Seattle 2.
Kyle: Yeah. Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: But he's a key cog in that team.
Chilly: Yeah, it I think ah I'll just go if if that Texas team isn't what that is, but I think it is. um I will go Seattle against ah Chicago.
Chilly: ah The team went dead on it. I think that'll be think that'll be a good a good finals as well.
Sully Shaheed: Gotcha.
Sully Shaheed: Hell yeah. Well, I think we're ready to move over to a we'll we'll We'll go a little quicker, but you know we still need the official breakdown. So why don't we go in reverse order so we don't start with Atlanta. we We'll end with Atlanta this time. How about that?
Chilly: Perfect.
Sully Shaheed: So let's start in Texas. Let's start in Texas again.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: How about that?
Chilly: Yeah. ah We'll just go the Texas. So we have ah welcome back, Mr. Juan. Good to see him back. ah Mario, Brad, Austin Carter, and KB for the first or for Texas A2.
Chilly: So that's who we got here.
Sully Shaheed: what I mean, what needs to be said about that team? um Well-rounded, great defensively. um Obviously, like i said, you get you get a couple of the guys going that um can either dominate in the key or hit outside shots. um they're They're hard to stop, hard to defend. And again, they got the car advantage. you know like This is what they're used to.
Sully Shaheed: So they can work the shit out of a car, and I think that's going to be to their advantage. So um that team should perform very well. And having Juan back is a you know a blessing. I think he's an awesome player. i think he's an awesome shot. Great team player. And I think they'll do well. I think they'll do very well. I mean, all the there there's going to be a lot of praise for every A team. Let's just be real right now. We're not going to find like super, you know, deep weaknesses in these teams. They're an A for a reason. And I think that it's all going to come down to, you know, how they gel and how they
Sully Shaheed: can play against their certain matchups because there are certain bad matchups for teams. There are. And whoever gets hot, whoever can defend a little bit, whoever can limit the turnovers and things like that um and be able to hit outside shots and work the shit out of the cars.
Sully Shaheed: I mean, like the cars are going to be a big factor in what we experience in Michigan because this ain't Seattle, baby. This is a lot different game when it comes to Michigan.
Kyle: Mm-hmm.
Sully Shaheed: so But again, Texas is used to this. They're used to working the shit out of the cars. They're used to getting in good positions. And I think this team will do very well. So Kyle, what are your thoughts on Texas one?
Kyle: I love Texas. This is Texas too, right? Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Oh, Texas is two.
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: Yeah, yeah, it's Texas 2.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Texas two.
Kyle: I, I love this team.
Sully Shaheed: We're going backwards. That's right. Texas two.
Kyle: We're going backwards.
Sully Shaheed: Yep.
Kyle: I love this team. I think they have two of the best team players in all of World of War Mario and Austin. Those guys are very, you know, they'll they'll do anything right. I mean, they're very good instrumental players on the court. Mario is probably one of the best at playing that role. He's a very good shooter. One, you know,
Kyle: incredible shooter as well. I don't know. I think this team brings a lot They're kind of, they're very high up in this, in the list for me. That's who's going to make it right. um I'm excited to play against this team.
Kyle: And I think it's going to a lot of fun. So, yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Texas 2, chill.
Chilly: ah Yeah, I mean, I think everything that's been said, i don't I don't think I need to say it. Great team. Good to see Juan back. um Again, Mario and Carter, like you said, like two of the ultimate team players willing to do whatever it is for the team that needs to be done. um Obviously, you have Reading, um who could be a little bit of a wild card at times, but can also... score points and a lot of spurts.
Chilly: um So again, all around good team. They're going to be very tall defensively with KB and Carter back there um all around a good team.
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: I can't wait to see one trying to shoot on the Dobies. That's going to be entertaining. Cause like, cause like Jarrett, Jarrett is going to extend out of his ass to block one shot.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah. yeah
Chilly: And Juan is just going to look at the ref, like what the fuck?
Sully Shaheed: True. True.
Chilly: So it'll take him a second to get acclimated with whatever, with what he's shooting on, but I'm i'm sure he'll, he'll dial it in pretty quick.
Sully Shaheed: Excellent. Excellent. Texas one. What we got?
Chilly: Yeah. So we got, ah we got Ross, we got Bolte, we got snowy, we got doc and we have Zach Montgomery rounding out Texas a one.
Sully Shaheed: Hit them with it. What are your thoughts on this team?
Chilly: I'll let Kyle go first.
Kyle: I want to like this team. And I do. I think Ross and Bolte bring a good dynamic. It just depends on Ross, you're going to listen to this. It depends on where he's going to play. If that guy plays defense, I think everybody in is going a really bad weekend.
Kyle: Um, but I think he kind of can help the dynamics of that team with, with doc back there. I mean, you're putting two guys who are, you know, over six, what's there? Six, five, six, six, they're they're huge. Right.
Kyle: and then Ross can also shoot a really good deep ball along with doc. So I like the team Bolte, one of the top, probably best shooters in a, in my opinion. Um, he's up there in the top three for sure. Uh, if not one or two, right.
Kyle: Um,
Sully Shaheed: Hey, listen, we make the list around here, okay?
Kyle: Yeah, yeah,
Chilly: yeah
Sully Shaheed: We don't determine if Bolte is a top three shooter or not, all right?
Chilly: okay
Sully Shaheed: Because we have the definitive list.
Chilly: Mm-hmm.
Sully Shaheed: No no arguments, no discussion. It is Chill and I.
Chilly: Mm-hmm.
Sully Shaheed: We are the voice of Whirly Ball. So do not say that Bolte is a top three shooter unless Chill and i say he's a top three shooter.
Kyle: Chili did nod, so I took that as the keep going. ah
Sully Shaheed: Yeah.
Kyle: So... Yeah. Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Uh, good times.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: I like that. I like that. Uh, yeah, I agree with everything you said. Um, like you said, when Bolte gets going, it's, it's hard to defend. And again, if they go, I guess it would be, I guess it would be considered their defensive set, right? Like if you move Ross back to defense along with, ri it's like two, six, four, six, five, six, six guys back there.
Sully Shaheed: That's tough. That's tough for anybody, you know?
Chilly: I mean, Zach is Zach is pretty tall as well.
Sully Shaheed: So yeah.
Chilly: um May not.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah.
Chilly: He might not be the driver right now at that like Ross and Doc are, ah but still pretty, pretty good, pretty sound defensively.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, true that. So what are the rest of your thoughts on that squad, man?
Chilly: ah I think that team, um obviously, Bolte is going to carry a lot of attention on that team. I think that team kind of goes as far as ah how good of a weekend Snowy is having.
Chilly: um If Snowy is hitting shots and he is opening up the floor for Bolte and Ross and hes and he's hitting his shots, then I think that team becomes very dangerous. um Obviously, Doc is trying. Doc has been shooting pretty well. um You know, I know Doc is trying to get better at coming down the court and shooting range shots. So I think that team realistically kind of will go s i like their defense is going to keep him minute. But offensively, like if Snowy is knocking down the shots that he has to knock down, um that that team can make a run.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, yeah, I'm with it. um Headed to Seattle for three teams, right?
Chilly: Yeah, we're going to three.
Sully Shaheed: Four? Five?
Chilly: No, three. Four. Could you imagine? All right.
Sully Shaheed: It won't be hard to imagine soon, I'm sure.
Chilly: Yeah, so ah all three teams are good. ah First team, A1. We have Joe Tiffany, Brad Elke. We have Noah. We have Jay. And we have Christy rounding out Seattle A1.
Sully Shaheed: um I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's got hall of fame clout, right? Like, you know, when you got the, when you got a couple of people that are members of the hall of fame, um you know, they can play, they play well together. um It's just going to be a matter of can, can their offense keep up with their not definitely not lack of defense because like Joe Tiffany can be on the goalie list as well as the shooter list, right? Like he's that good of an all around player.
Sully Shaheed: um It depends on who gets hot, right? And I think that that team can hang with anybody offensively, but, you know, can they get enough defensive stops um to keep themselves in the game?
Sully Shaheed: um I think they're obviously well-rounded, and we can't say enough about any Seattle team that we're going to list, but, um you know, it's going to be one of those things that who's hitting the shots consistently, and then i think they can make a deepest run as anybody in the tournament, so...
Chilly: Yeah, don't forget, remember, Noah wants to try to make the goalie list, so I fully expect to see Noah playing defense back there.
Sully Shaheed: Ah, yes! Yeah, that's right.
Chilly: Um, I obviously great team to hall of famers.
Sully Shaheed: That's right. That's right.
Chilly: I think on this team, particularly, ah this team is going to play probably really good. this I mean, all Seattle teams play really good team ball. I think this team more particularly will have to do it. Um,
Chilly: I think Joe Tiffany is going to have to probably play a little bit more offense on this team. um Obviously one of the best, you know, you know, top, top three overall player in the game, top two, top one, arguably. So um again, great team. um Obviously most of these, I think all of these guys have won a, so um again, all around a good team. um Yeah. Again, I mean, all three Seattle teams are good. So,
Sully Shaheed: Yeah. Yeah. What do you, what do you feel about this team in particular, Kyle?
Kyle: Yeah, I'm in the same boat. It's it's a great team. like you know Joe being, again, top player in all of Roly Ball can pretty much play more on the court. So depending on, and I do see him playing more offense. I think if Noah is true,
Kyle: wants to play more defense, right? Then I see Joe playing a lot more offense. Brad Elke, probably one of the best technical players in Morley ball, right? Just really good about setting up people, being a team player, just understands how to work a cart.
Kyle: Jay's a phenomenal driver. So it's, it's a really good team. I couldn't agree more. They're going to play a lot of team ball and it's still gonna be fun to watch.
Chilly: Yeah. Yeah. And like, and Chris and Christie will play wherever the team needs her to play.
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: So like should be a good team.
Kyle: Yep.
Sully Shaheed: Big time, big time.
Kyle: Yeah, she'll eat you alive on the outside shots. so
Chilly: Yes.
Sully Shaheed: oh Yeah, oh yeah. ah Show Seattle two, who you
Chilly: Yeah, ah this team, again, another who's who here. We have Barrett Davis, we have Jordan, we have Raph, we have Karl Straub, and then I do believe making his debut in A is Rob Vaughn.
Sully Shaheed: got?
Sully Shaheed: and We talked about this a little bit off air um that Barrett won't be able to do in Michigan what he did and is able to do in Seattle. Right. um Obviously, he's a great shooter. He's a great player. He's great inside. But his game changes completely in different cars.
Sully Shaheed: like let's Let's be blunt. And he won't be able to dominate the key like he did in Seattle because he can't push people around in Michigan cars. Not saying he won't get his opportunities because he will. Let's let's be honest.
Sully Shaheed: But um like you said, Chill, there's new new blood in the water with his team. um But then they do have Hall of Fame clout, right? We got future, probably potential Hall of Famers with with Jordan and Barrett. And then Karlstrom is just...
Sully Shaheed: Amazing. Like he is just such a solid player all around. So ah this team could surprise some people. um And it's hard to surprise people in a right. But this team in particular with the combination of experience and inexperience and the different different cars.
Sully Shaheed: Not saying they're going struggle because they won't, but games might get a little tighter than you would expect when it comes to this team.
Sully Shaheed: Kyle, your thoughts.
Kyle: Yeah, I would agree. I think it's going to be interesting to see how they incorporate Rob because he plays mostly, is he plays offense mostly, right? I guess kind of but both.
Chilly: Um, I, no, I, I think he, ah yeah I think he's a really, um, he's a really good team player. um I know at the last invite in Minnesota, ah some of us were arguing for Rob to actually be in the uppers.
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: Um, so all around Rob is going to do whatever that team wants him to do.
Kyle: Yeah, which would be good because, and again, Jordan, in my opinion, is probably the one of the best like team leads in all of Seattle. I think he's really good at commanding the court.
Chilly: Yes.
Kyle: um And so if you know if if Rob kind of cues onto that and follows Jordan's instructions, you know it's i think, yeah, again, it's hard to pick the Seattle teams.
Kyle: My goal is they all cannibalize each other, know I mean, and kind of just let us let let the rest of us fight for ourselves.
Chilly: Right. Yeah.
Kyle: So...
Chilly: I mean, I'll tell you this. It gets real personal when one team wants to be the three seed or the other teams. Like I'll go in James's bracket. Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: ah
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: And then James is sitting over there telling Jordan that they don't fucking respect you. You know, it's like, Oh, holy shit, bro.
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: God.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: okay Oh, okay.
Chilly: official
Kyle: Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Chilly: horrible
Sully Shaheed: Okay.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Great.
Kyle: Fuck, man.
Sully Shaheed: All right.
Chilly: god
Sully Shaheed: All right. So what do you think about the squad, man? I know Carl's one of your favorite players.
Chilly: Yeah, man. carl Carl is definitely one of my favorite players.
Kyle: Carl.
Chilly: um He's probably one of the best drivers, if not like the best driver in Worley ball. a guy can just That guy can out drive you in anything. doesn't matter. Clutch car, brain car. does it It doesn't matter. um Yeah, and again, man, Carl can just, he can do it all.
Chilly: Again, this is going to be a great, again, it's how do you pick apart this team? It's going to be a great team. Like Kyle said, um you know, it'll be interesting. If Rob can hold his own, the team will be fine. And I'm pretty sure he'll be he'll be fine. um You know, he might have a rough couple games here and there. and Maybe they'll account for that. Obviously, Jordan will fix whatever issue. that team is experiencing it come tournament time. That team will be ready to go. So even if they're struggling and seating, I just wouldn't count on them struggling for long. um
Chilly: But yeah, man, again, overall, it's a great team. Yeah. You have what, what two, what three unlimited champions on it. Raphael wins a year.
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: So like, no yeah. So it's, it's, it's just so hard to pick apart a Seattle team, but again, man, just they're good.
Sully Shaheed: Flat out. Just, they're good.
Chilly: fucking man like What you going to do?
Kyle: you just yeah
Sully Shaheed: yeah What else got to say?
Chilly: yes ah Well, Seattle three.
Sully Shaheed: um And Seattle won, chill.
Chilly: ah So we have we have ah we have James. We have Eric. We have Brad Peters. We have Ian. And then we have his first year in a Adam Miller.
Chilly: Welcome to a you are with James.
Sully Shaheed: ah Right. Congratulations. Congratulations. You know, best goddamn players, if not the goat. I mean, not if not, he's the goat um of Worley Ball.
Chilly: i mean I mean, back in the day, that just means he's probably won an A in his first year, right?
Sully Shaheed: So you get to play with him.
Chilly: I mean, that's just what it means back in the day.
Sully Shaheed: That's what it means. That's what it means. That's so true. So true. Kyle, what are your thoughts about this team? Because I'm rolling a little bit around in my head about how I feel about this team.
Kyle: James Gill, you know? um Again, this is going to be a really, as a defender, this is going to be a really fun team to play against. You've got a lot of shooting power.
Kyle: Brad Peters, again, just one of those really good guys who plays ah play really good team ball. He's proved it in Unlimited you know multiple years in a row now. i He brings a lot to the table. You have James, you got Eric, probably the one of the fastest shots in all Worldly Ball, in my opinion, and the guy shoots lightning fast.
Kyle: And Chili, you've seen it.
Sully Shaheed: It's the quickest shot in Whirly Ball, let's be honest.
Kyle: I mean, yeah, it's nuts.
Chilly: um not i would I would say in every other year, yes. I don't think it's the fastest this year.
Sully Shaheed: Oh, because there's a certain player in Michigan that you want to discuss that might be faster.
Chilly: I'm sure we'll we'll get there.
Sully Shaheed: we We did have this.
Kyle: Oh yeah, that is true that he is.
Sully Shaheed: We had this conversation.
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: dick
Kyle: I'm scared of him the most by the way.
Sully Shaheed: We.
Kyle: So we'll, we'll, we'll get to that person. I know exactly what we're talking about.
Sully Shaheed: That guy.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: That guy.
Kyle: That guy. um Ian, Ian's a great shooter. playing a long time. i i love love that he's back. It was great to see him last year thrive and in Seattle, right? So, yeah, again, just a great team, and it's going to be fun to see how it all shakes out.
Sully Shaheed: yeah and just a reminder to to um to Ian that I'm not Austin, and Austin is not me. um We had a little... We'll debate about that.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: That might've pissed off one of my friends from Michigan.
Chilly: yes
Sully Shaheed: So um just letting you know, I'm the guy with the braids and I'll probably have my twist in ah Austin's the younger He plays in Michigan. I play in Cleveland.
Sully Shaheed: So little bit of difference, a little bit of difference. um I mean, when you got James Gill, you know, it's, you got a chance, right? So it's really, really not a lot of analysis. If, if LaPlante can get going,
Sully Shaheed: um that's That's a hard, hard team to stop, man. So they just need a just need a little bit of defense here and there. Set each other up midcourt. I think they'll be great. so But again, what I feel like I'm just blowing the shit out of Seattle right now, which I'm not. You know what?
Sully Shaheed: Ain't none of them making the finals. Fuck all those teams.
Kyle: got
Sully Shaheed: How about that? yeah Yeah, you too, Rafael. I love you, but you ain't winning A this year. How about that? Bold call. There it is. There fuck it fucking is.
Chilly: that's That's real bold.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, man. I love Rafael. i just It's the default choice. What team is Rafael on? They're winning A. Moving on. um Where do you want to fly to next, man?
Chilly: Well, i think ah this I think this team will – I mean, if Adam Miller is – if he's really good back there on defense, I mean, I've seen him play in B. I mean, he's tall.
Chilly: And if he's playing pretty good back there, like defensively, that team's going to be really hard to beat.
Sully Shaheed: Mm-hmm.
Kyle: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Sully Shaheed: Yep, yep, absolutely.
Chilly: But ah we will, where are we flying off to?
Sully Shaheed: We're coming home, right, Michigan?
Chilly: Oh, ah We're going to Michigan. We'll just start from the bottom. Michigan A3, shots fired. We have Clint Fisher. We have Timmy, Kalen, BJ, and Pat.
Sully Shaheed: Mm.
Sully Shaheed: Mm.
Sully Shaheed: who Whoever wants to start with this one, because I'm a little perplexed about this team, too.
Chilly: ah sorry ah listen it listen ah I'll I'll start.
Kyle: I don't... Yeah, go for go for go for it.
Chilly: I'll be that guy. Okay.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, be that guy for us, please. Be that guy.
Chilly: I mean, again, Timmy is one of the best shots at Morley ball. Obviously I had him in my top two. He was behind James. Again, he didn't like it, but he can argue with me that nationals.
Chilly: um I mean, at this point, this team kind of is – I mean, if you just wedge Timmy and if you're going to let BJ beat you, i think he kind of just live with it.
Chilly: ah ah BJ's got a great shot. I'm not going to take anything away from him. um But I feel like if you take away Timmy from this team, where is the offense consistently coming from?
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: ah Yeah. Yeah.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: yeah a
Kyle: I mean, Kalen. Kalen, I mean, that's that's the only other place.
Chilly: but like But here's the thing. like One of them have to like float, right? So BJ has to float or Kalen has to float. So like – because I don't think Clint – yeah, right? So again, Kalen and BJ can definitely put the ball in the bucket.
Chilly: But like – At that point, it's like you it's almost like a tip of the cap, right? It's like, show it to me first, and then like you adjust later.
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: Again, both of them, great shots, obviously, and then Timmy is Timmy. But like can Timmy's team get him free? Obviously, Timmy is good enough to carry any team um on a pure shooting level. But at this point, this team is just like, if you wedge Timmy, it's going to be really hard for them, I think, to sustain offense.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, i think you're right. I think it's that cherry picking spot, right? Like, where where who's going to generate the offense? Who's going to get Timmy's looks, right? Like, that's who's going to be the setup person. um I think they're going be fine defensively um with Clint directing the court, um making sure that he's the general out there like he always is.
Sully Shaheed: And, um yeah, where's that where's that second wave of offense going to come from if they take away Timmy, right? Because we're going to see times during this tournament where he's going to get dogged.
Sully Shaheed: I mean, like, we rarely we rarely see the the dogging aspect of it.
Chilly: Oh, yeah.
Sully Shaheed: But when people play this Michigan team, they're gonna he's going to get dogged. Like, let's let's be honest. And what does that team do to um either get him out of that or, like you said, chill, prove it.
Sully Shaheed: Like, tip of the cap, if BJ's hitting shots and Kalen's hitting shots, then okay, we we'll adjust then. But until that point, fuck that guy.
Chilly: Yeah, and I think and i think this team originally was supposed to have Arkell, and then Arkell couldn't play or whatever the case may be there.
Sully Shaheed: And that's it.
Kyle: yeah
Chilly: Yeah. Again, man, this is Pat's first time playing in a while. Obviously, he gets to practice against their other A players, but now you're going to be going up against some of these other A guys.
Chilly: It's going be new looks. And Pat plays a good... He is team player. It's just like, can he find his shot? Has he found his shot? um Because he's got a nice little lob shot, too.
Chilly: So, you know, it could the offense go from there?
Sully Shaheed: Right.
Chilly: Again, it's... You know, again, this team, you know, a can Timmy get his looks?
Kyle: Yeah, it rides your dives on Timmy. And I also, I mean, again, Clint can shoot. Clint can drive well. I think Clint can shoot. Clint can shoot good threes if he needs to. But I don't think Clint can sustain that for as many games as we're playing and then take that to the tournament. You know what I mean? So if if it has to go to him too much, I think it's going wear him out.
Chilly: Yeah, and I think Clint – I think the thing is, is, like, I think Clint would be willing to sustain the offense. But the issue is, is if Clint is on offense, where is your defense?
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: Because, man, that leaves that team, like – unless it's Kalen's back there because Kalen has some size and he's he's decently tall. Like, other than that, like, yeah.
Kyle: Good extender.
Chilly: And then, like, if it's not Kalen, like, Pat is short, BJ is short, Timmy is short, like – it's Your defense goes way downhill when you take one of the best defenders out of there.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, big time.
Kyle: Yeah. Timmy can't even spell defense, so you'll never see him back there. You know what i mean? Like...
Sully Shaheed: yeah
Sully Shaheed: Fair enough. Fair enough. Hit me with another Michigan team, man.
Chilly: go to Michigan a two We have Ben Heisel. We have Zach Jonner. We have Doug. We have Dave. And we have Austin Willis.
Sully Shaheed: um This is my favorite Michigan team. I mean, there's no secret, you know, about how much I like Austin as a player. Doug's always been one of my favorite players in the game. Talks a lot of shit, but I love it. He can back it up.
Sully Shaheed: um I think Heisel needs to, um I mean, he's home, right? Like these are his cars. So he'll be a lot better off defensively than he was in Seattle.
Sully Shaheed: um So I think he'll make a solid return back to the list this year with a good showing, of course. You know, you still got to go out there and prove it. Still got to do your thing. um austin's a great driver um so you know they can get their points in the key with him um doug and johnner they are great outside shots and johnner's a great defender as well he can pick a he can defend he's a great all-around player um i think this is by far my favorite michigan team and i think that as far as a deep run i think this is the team that i would be on the lookout to do so uh chili are you thinking
Chilly: Yeah, I think on paper, this is probably the best Michigan team. I think all around, they're probably the best of the three. um Again, here, um you know, basically, I mean, they have five a players.
Chilly: And it's not to say anything against BJ or Pat from the other team. I know they have both played A, but Pat is coming back off of a hiatus. BJ was gone for a little bit. I think he missed, what, one season or two?
Chilly: ah Well, I think one. So he missed one.
Sully Shaheed: I think one.
Chilly: So, yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, one. Yeah. Yeah.
Chilly: Yeah, so one. So again here, this team has five you know a players. again ah Again, couple guys that have won A. Zach's won unlimited. Ben's won unlimited. They're in their cars. They're home. I think for this team, if this team doesn't finish high in the tournament, again, I think this that would be a disappointment for them. um This was the hardest team that we played against on that weekend. We split with them one and one, I do believe, or – i think we I think we beat them and we tied once. um
Chilly: But either way, ah definitely a really hard team. Great defense, great offense. They're in their cars, their center. i think this team should make a run, and if they don't, I think it would be a disappointment for them.
Sully Shaheed: Kyle, what thinking? Michigan 2.
Kyle: Yeah, I'm in the same boat with you guys. I mean, this is a really good overall team. Zach's probably one of the hardest working drivers, especially in his own center. Austin is, I don't know, in my opinion, I think top two shooter in Michigan at this point now.
Chilly: Yep.
Kyle: I mean, I think he's kind of been shooting lights out for the last couple years. He just doesn't get the attention he deserves. So maybe top three, but um I won't steal y'all's thunder this year. don't
Sully Shaheed: yeah ah
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: We make the list.
Kyle: know.
Chilly: yeah
Sully Shaheed: Okay.
Kyle: I like this team, though. This is my favorite Michigan team, for sure. I mean, it's a lot of good just a lot of good overall shooters, a lot of good overall just balance of the team. they're definitely my favorite from the Michigan side.
Kyle: Geriatric.
Sully Shaheed: All right. Let's round it out with Michigan one.
Chilly: Yeah, I mean, we'll call this the, ah this is like an old Michigan team, right? This is the season vet team of, ah yeah we have set we got Sam, we have Driscoll, we have Tommy, we have Billy, welcome back Billy, and then we have Justin Trudeau making his debut in a with all of the senior citizens that he is playing with.
Sully Shaheed: Mmm. Mmm.
Kyle: Geriatric.
Sully Shaheed: Mmm-hmm. Mmm-hmm.
Sully Shaheed: Well, I mean, chill, as we alluded to, um anybody that's going to challenge LaPlante for the quickest shot and worth of all, it's Billy.
Kyle: Woo.
Sully Shaheed: um This dude is one-on-one, two-on-one, three-on-one is damn near impossible to defend.
Kyle: Scary.
Chilly: Mm-hmm.
Sully Shaheed: Um, he'll shoot through you. He'll shoot around you. He'll, he'll do whatever it takes to get ball, um, in bucket. And I think that if this team can have him as a well-rounded player, they'll be fine. If it turns into Billy ball, it's over. They're going to lose.
Sully Shaheed: Um, he can, he can win you a game single-handedly and he can lose you a game single-handedly. Um, he He garners a lot of attention defensively because of his shooting and because of who he's surrounded by.
Sully Shaheed: um he might give them more open looks because, you know, you still can't leave Sam open. Justin's a good shot. I mean, they they just got a good team. But the focal point of that team is it's Billy. yeah It's Billy. It's but fucking Billy.
Sully Shaheed: So, Joe, you have a little more experience when it comes to playing against these guys. what are your thoughts?
Chilly: Well, I have a lot of experience playing with them because three out of five people on that team was my invite team. um So, ah yeah. So, so again here, i mean, I'm not going to lie. if you, that team just has to keep Billy in a good mood.
Chilly: um
Kyle: Mm-hmm.
Chilly: I think Sam and I, I think Sam and I did a pretty good job of that.
Sully Shaheed: Ah.
Chilly: Like just, you just, just fuck around with Billy and have fun. And like, come tournament time for us, at least he was playing defense. He was playing offense. He was going back and forth.
Chilly: He did play picker for a little bit. I mean, the issue, if the issue with Billy is if they are starting to lose or the game gets close, that to him is the sign of like, Oh, I need to go win the game.
Sully Shaheed: No.
Chilly: So, ah so again, here, um, when you have two high level players, two hall of famers, like Sam and Billy, um you know, on that team, you know, offense could, could go, but ah that team will go as far as Billy, you know, what is the attitude of Billy going into these games?
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: We obviously know Tommy does not want to shoot the ball at all. ah So we know he's going be back there on defense.
Sully Shaheed: no
Chilly: So I figure it's probably just, it's probably Tommy and Driscoll or Tommy and Justin back there on defense. So ah a scary team.
Chilly: Like they they get the scary team label. I think,
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, because of Billy.
Kyle: Oh, sure. for Sure.
Sully Shaheed: ah
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Fucking Billy.
Kyle: I think for them, what makes them so unique, I mean, in my opinion, I don't think they're really going try or give a shit through seating.
Sully Shaheed: Oh, man.
Kyle: And I think that's going to leave a lot of us guessing on how they're going to come out and play. you know, they could be that sneaky team because again, they're old, right? So they got to kind of save that energy. They're probably the most testosterone on the court is going to be when those guys are out there, um you know, just running through their veins and a bunch of blue chews.
Chilly: Oh, yeah.
Sully Shaheed: They're old.
Kyle: Um,
Chilly: ah well
Sully Shaheed: Not the blue. Oh, man. Not the blue shoes, brother.
Chilly: Not the...
Kyle: I don't know. I like this team. it's ah It's fun. Billy, again. it's Again, Billy is make or break it for him. But if Billy's hot and Billy's on, you're fucked.
Chilly: He's... I
Kyle: I mean, there's nothing you can do about it. Yeah.
Chilly: i mean, Billy is an experience, to say the least. like i don't
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: Like, he is an experience, whether you're ah playing with him or playing against him, man. He is...
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: He's an experience.
Kyle: and And I think Tommy will keep him in a good mood. You know what I mean? Tommy's really good about that. So is Sammy. mean, I played against you guys in that invite, right? Really smoked me, dude.
Chilly: Right.
Kyle: I mean, it's just, it's not even fun being on the other side of that. So.
Chilly: Yeah, like I said, I think the key is just keeping that guy in a good mood. If you keep the mood light and and you have a good time with him and you know and like he's got his ah he's got his bourbon and he's drinking his bourbon, I think he'll be just fine.
Chilly: But but like you said, they're not going to care during seeding.
Kyle: Mm-hmm.
Chilly: I think Tommy's going to care.
Kyle: No.
Chilly: I think Tommy's going to care and he's just going to be like, come on, guys. And then Sam and Billy will be like, we'll see on Sunday.
Kyle: Yeah. Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Hey, listen, I don't know if Billy listens to our podcast. If he does make sure to find me because this bottle of bourbon that I bought is phenomenal.
Chilly: you
Sully Shaheed: So if he is a bourbon enthusiast, I want to make sure that he gets some courtesy of myself and, uh, you know, he'll have a good time. So it is, it is damn good bourbon. Um, where we get it to next. Are we, are we in Cleveland yet?
Chilly: i think we're I think we're in yeah we're in the land. ah So you have myself, you have Anthony Ola, you have Jarrett and Brad Dobies, and then we have the Seattle defector himself, Justin Dewitt, rounding out our team.
Sully Shaheed: You can't just like, you know, just do it. Such a good guy. i get just like defector.
Chilly: He's a great guy.
Sully Shaheed: Like it's a bad thing. You know what I'm saying? Like it's good. He's good.
Chilly: it's not it's not It's not bad for us.
Sully Shaheed: no No, no, no. um I mean, you know, Chile, you have the, you have more of an insight because these are your guys. So let's start with you and see what your thoughts on ah Cleveland is.
Chilly: Yeah, i think um I think playing that weekend where like justin where Justin was in the area and he did like come to Michigan, um able to play those two days as a team um helped tremendously.
Chilly: ah We were, able again, here – And everything kind of like naturally flowed in. um So, again, we were able to kind of work out any kinks or questions we may have on people doing what.
Chilly: um You know, we did ah we did manage to have like a film study as well with the five of us to kind of break down some stuff and what we're looking to do.
Sully Shaheed: Yep.
Chilly: um But that point, even if it was for those two days, just being able to play with Justin for those couple of days really knocks out lot the stuff that we had to knock out.
Chilly: We played really well that weekend, so hopefully can translate to Nationals, but um I'm pretty excited, man. I think he's going to play well. Obviously, you know, we're all still, you know, this is only our third year in A, so we're all still, you know, even though it's our third year end, still feels new.
Chilly: ah So, you know, especially for us, since we don't get to play against high-level competition all the time. So obviously we'll have our own.
Sully Shaheed: you
Kyle: Damn, Sully, you going to
Chilly: Yeah, it's
Sully Shaheed: Right. Like, I'm right here. What the fuck?
Chilly: fine. You're one person.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, I know.
Kyle: take that?
Sully Shaheed: Okay? I know. don't don't Don't let me point out that y'all got billyballed by our C team and lost to us the other practice, okay? So I want to fucking hear it, all right?
Chilly: Yeah. Yeah, we lost.
Sully Shaheed: High-level competition, you jerk.
Chilly: Yeah, we lost.
Sully Shaheed: You get enough experience playing against us, okay?
Chilly: well
Chilly: wait will
Sully Shaheed: Don't you dare.
Chilly: Well, we lost the 10-minute game. we We didn't get to switch cars.
Sully Shaheed: You're goddamn right. ah was you All I heard was you lost, right?
Chilly: it
Sully Shaheed: So, no, but but I get it, man.
Chilly: yeah
Sully Shaheed: To your point, it's ah it's it's a different world, you know, when you're playing against Hall of Famers and you're playing against guys that have been unlimited champions and guys that have won X amount in X division.
Sully Shaheed: um It's a completely different world. And ah you guys have the luxury of being able to study film. um You guys have the um the the luxury of getting those two days of experience with your guy. And I think that's going to be super beneficial to you guys in the tournament.
Sully Shaheed: um Again, getting the experience to play against you guys every Sunday and every Monday. um it's It's a learning experience because like even – even half the guys that you have don't show up to our practices. I mean, Brad comes late, so he gets less experience. Jared's hit or miss when it comes to coming.
Sully Shaheed: So um it's, it's, it's hard to gel a team when you don't have five consistently. And I know, I know I'm preaching to the choir with Kyle cause he doesn't have a fucking center period. So, I mean, it's like, you guys have to build organically through these type of film studies and talking and,
Sully Shaheed: seating is like your most important like part of getting into the flow of the game with your guys so I get it um but yeah i mean you guys would do well I mean you guys are veterans to the game you guys can shoot the shit out of the damn ball so it's more so you know where you guys are gonna be in your rotations who's hitting shots who's not and obviously from a home base experience you got a couple attitudes to keep in check I mean there's family dynamics on the team Right.
Sully Shaheed: So it's your, you, you and your brother. And then there's another set of brothers on the team. So, you know, tempers can flare egos can rise or be deflated. depending on who you talk to.
Sully Shaheed: And he you guys, like I said, gaining more experience um in that tournament, man, is, is, is, is worlds of, of good.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: It moves the XP bar closer and closer to leveling up. So I think you guys will be just fine. i think you guys do very well. So Kyle, what are your thoughts on the land?
Kyle: I like y'all's team, to be honest. um I think Justin gives y'all the ability to let Jared shoot a little more, which is a good thing. i think Jared's a really good shooter. I mean he's a killer defender, right?
Kyle: But I do agree with Floyd. The family dynamics so always make it an interesting tournament. especially we we can get you guys chirping at each other. That's the best. Just watching you guys. in flow But again, I'm speaking from a personal perspective of because I've done it multiple times.
Kyle: I've exploded on my team. So no, I think you guys have a good team. I didn't realize you guys had issues with practice. That does suck. Right. and yeah Being able to practice and then not show up, especially when you're finally make it to the highest level. Right. That's when you really want to kind of start turning it up, you know.
Kyle: um But no, I like y'all's team. I think with you and your brother, I mean, you guys just have a lot of experience. You're you're a good defender, chi that you cheat your ass off, but no one ever calls you on it.
Chilly: I do.
Kyle: So, you know, it's I love it.
Chilly: Hey, man, when i when i get when I get called on it, I sit down.
Kyle: And... No,
Kyle: you don't. None of us do.
Chilly: yeah ah sit down for a play or two.
Kyle: but Yeah.
Chilly: For a play or two.
Kyle: um But no, I'm excited to play against you guys again. I love that you guys are in AA. It's been... I think it's gonna fun.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, absolutely. And I know that, you know, obviously he doesn't know what Worley Ball is, but we need to let Dan Howzen know to uncurse Cleveland. The Knicks have already done their thing.
Sully Shaheed: We're done. So could you not just kind of uncurse the Cleveland Worley Ball scene? And let us have some fun.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Dan Housen, that'd be great. Our shirts are themed after you. Our team names themed after you. So, you know, Dan Housen, if you're out there somewhere in these streets, it's kind of uncursed Cleveland for us. That would be sweet.
Chilly: what that We'll have to take a picture and then tag him on X and to see if we can get a reply.
Sully Shaheed: Oh,
Sully Shaheed: we're doing it. We'll make a full-blown video. I don't care. I'm down.
Chilly: right.
Sully Shaheed: I'm in. I'm in. um And are we are we ending where we started? Is Atlanta the last 18 we have to break down?
Chilly: no Yeah, Chicago.
Sully Shaheed: Oh, fuck, Chicago. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Fuck, Chicago.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: So anyway, Atlanta. um now it
Chilly: <unk> yeah yeah
Sully Shaheed: I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I look i like all those guys from Chicago. Let's not let's not go there. um they're They're good.
Chilly: ah Yeah, so Chicago, um you know, we we have Sean, we have ah Maddie Ice, we have George, we have Bill, and then they get the upgraded ah addition to one Jeremy Bennett, the Hall of Famer himself, the unlimited and A champion himself.
Sully Shaheed: They're good dudes.
Chilly: Welcome back to the Whirly Ball scene and welcome back to A with Chicago.
Sully Shaheed: Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Kyle, we'll start with you, man. what are your thoughts on Chicago?
Kyle: I like this team. I think that they they can't they can't make Jeremy play too much defense. Jeremy needs to be moving around. i think Sean and Matt going to have to play back more if they want to be successful.
Kyle: um Jeremy brings a lot of experience that they don't normally have. So i know he's been able to make practices as well.
Chilly: Yeah.
Kyle: So I think that's a good benefit for them. um Again, this is their second year, so they have a lot to learn. I think their first year playing in Seattle was pretty rough. I think anybody's first year playing in A in Seattle is gonna be rough.
Kyle: So I'm excited to see how they come out and play.
Sully Shaheed: Tall task.
Kyle: Yeah, it's it's a lot to to handle. So I'm mix excited to see how they play in Michigan. I know they've made to the practices. Chile, I'd love to hear insights on how they played.
Sully Shaheed: Yes.
Kyle: But yeah.
Chilly: yeah Yeah. Like I said, um, they did have at the practice I was at, um, they did have three, they had Jeremy, uh, they had, uh, they had Sean and then they had, uh, they had George. Um, and I mean, like, I think Jeremy naturally does play a lot of defense. That's just who Jeremy is. Um,
Chilly: I mean, fantastic leader, obviously like him and Jordan are probably like pretty close to, in terms of just like, just that floor, je like that floor general, um, again here, uh, I think this team is going to play really well.
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: Um, I don't think this team should be, i don't think this team should get blown out. I think they should be close to being in every game. Um, I think if they get blown out, it'll be on their own their own fault. um i mean dave well like That team always has issues with like turnovers for some reason. like i don't know what it is. i don't like i don't want to say it's like jitters, but like that team turns over the ball a lot. Um, but again here, like if they get blown out, I think it's more or less their fault. Um, I think they should be super competitive. Uh, I think they're going to be good to defensively with Jeremy. think Jeremy's going have these guys in the right spots. Um, offensively, I think, uh, I think Sean is very underrated shot, uh, offensively. Um, I, Bill, Bill always is pretty good at shooting as well. Um, George has kind of stepped it up with the offensive department. Um,
Chilly: So again, I think all around, think they're going to have a better, a better showing. Obviously Seattle's hard um to play there. So all around, I think, I think this team's going to play pretty well.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, I could see it. And like you said, when you slap a Hall of Famer on your team, you're not going to get worse. Right. So, um yeah, I agree with Kyle, you know, like get him get him up the court a lot more often than you have him back. Again, I know his natural prowess is to play a little bit more defense because he can dictate what goes on the court. Right. But if he can get out of that mentality, not not into the mentality of I have to shoot 80 percent of the time.
Sully Shaheed: but be a for more offensive forward general than a defensive forward general. I think they'll be great.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: um
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: So, you know, and in a right, you can't be an underrated shooter or whatever. You just got to be good. You just got to be a good shooter. And I don't think they're there yet, but they can get there.
Sully Shaheed: So all the experience that they're gathering within this division, I think it's going to be beneficial. And again, you add a hall of famer, you ain't going get worse. So I think there'll be great. I think there'll be just fine.
Sully Shaheed: um So let's, let's finish it out with Atlanta. Unless I'm missing another Chicago team or fucking Boston or a letter that's before that I just can't get.
Chilly: No, no, no, no. All good. No, no, no Boston.
Sully Shaheed: Boston whirly ball.
Chilly: I don't know. It would that would be pretty cool, though. I don't know. I've never been to Boston. Seems like it'd be a pretty cool spot to go.
Sully Shaheed: Kind of agree.
Kyle: Yeah, not bad.
Sully Shaheed: I haven't been Boston myself. So.
Kyle: It's not bad.
Sully Shaheed: Oh, just not bad.
Chilly: All
Sully Shaheed: Just there.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Okay. Fair enough. Fair enough.
Chilly: right, Kyle, you want to.
Sully Shaheed: Who are you guys for ATL? Yeah. Yeah. Kyle, introduce your team for ATL.
Kyle: Yeah. All right.
Chilly: Yeah.
Kyle: We'll start off with Beckett. Everyone knows Beckett, right? we got Beckett, we got Brad Batinia, we got Chris Mears, we Ben Hanna, and then we got myself.
Sully Shaheed: You mean, Brad, I should be in the Hall of Fame, Batinia? hu
Kyle: He should be in the Hall of Fame. Brad should be in the Hall of Fame.
Chilly: I
Kyle: So if you're listening to this, he should be in the Hall of Fame.
Chilly: right
Kyle: Yeah.
Chilly: I agree yeah I I mean that this that's a whole one hour discussion here
Sully Shaheed: cough cough
Kyle: Yeah.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: you're right you're right uh cow how you feeling about seeing man
Kyle: if if
Kyle: I like it, to be honest. i you know We loved playing with Jacob last year. We appreciate him coming up and playing. I think he did really well, to be honest, for his first year in A in Seattle.
Chilly: I think so. I think so too.
Kyle: i do Jacob, I do need to apologize to you I yelled at you a lot, but it was all out of love and coaching, right? so But Jacob's been playing with me for almost my entire, actually my entire whirlyball life, Jacob, I've been playing with Jacob.
Kyle: so Um, but I think Ben brings a different dynamic that we haven't had, right? We really do need a solid cherry picker and someone that can kind of float back and forth where we need them. So I, we don't practice. So that's our downfall.
Kyle: Uh, but we come out every year and we compete and, you know, Beckett has a goal put up in his backyard somewhere that he shoots on every day. You know, i shoot on, I shoot as well every day.
Chilly: Bye.
Kyle: Right. So we're, we all stay pretty much active outside of mirrors probably. And, I don't know what Ben does, but I like our chances this year, um, to, to least make some noise.
Kyle: Um, I'm going to be shooting more probably, which is nice. I've been getting comfortable with shooting over the last couple of years. so That's been fun. I get to come out a hole a little bit. um So I think we'll have some fun.
Sully Shaheed: At the end of the day, let's have some damn fun, right? ah
Kyle: have some fun.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah. Chili, how you feeling about the ATL, shouty?
Chilly: A good team. ah Ben brings a lot. Obviously, unlimited champion has won a so, you know, say less about Ben. Again, the only pitfall to the team is they literally don't have a center to play at. ah So again, a lot of their I think they just work out a lot of their kinks come, um you know, deceding. and figure out what they want to do.
Chilly: um Obviously, again, another competitive team. I know every time we play them, like it's always like a two to four point game every time. And like, it doesn't matter.
Chilly: That game is going to be, it's coming down to the last two minutes. um
Kyle: Mm-hmm.
Chilly: So again, good team, fully expect them to play well. And I think they'll make noise. i don't see them going to and out again, especially if Ben's cherry picking, I think that gives them um something that they lack a little bit.
Chilly: I, So I think Ben helps out a lot. um Obviously, Kyle is one of those elite floor generals as well, directing his team. And then Mears, again, Mears is always going to be solid at no matter what he's doing. So, again, with the addition of Ben, um again, this ah this is not a shot at Jacob because he did play well. But they do get they do get better Ben.
Chilly: ah with ben
Sully Shaheed: Ben's on the list of one of my favorite players, too. um Ben's just so solid when it comes to the game. He's intense. um he He plays the game every possession like it's his last. And I think he's a solid addition to that team.
Sully Shaheed: um It's going to come down to like like Kyle mentioned, you know, when he creeps up, can he hit those long distance shots, those three, four five welders, you know, a couple of threes here and there. and ah play solid and sound defensively.
Sully Shaheed: um And like you said, Chill, you know, it's always competitive game with you guys and they're going be competitive with a lot of teams. So it's who's going to hit those extra one or two shots to get those two to four point victories, you know, because I think, you know,
Sully Shaheed: You know, and it's obviously not a shot at anybody that's playing ah on that team or any team in general, but there ain't going to be no blowouts. OK, you ain't going kick nobody's ass and they ain't going to kick your ass. So it's literally going to be who's going to come up clutch to hit those one or two shots that puts you over the top.
Sully Shaheed: And yeah, like you said, make some noise. I think it's very appropriate to describe the Atlanta team. So um I think it's definitely not a two and out situation.
Sully Shaheed: I think that, you know, you get those clutch shots from a couple of players. A deep run is definitely in the cards. It is a amon it's a non-zero chance that you're a top three finish. So I'm just putting it out there.
Sully Shaheed: um it I don't want to say Dark Horse. i don't think I've named a Dark Horse. I don't think any of us named Dark Horse. But um yeah, wellll we'll kind of take the evaluations from there.
Kyle: Yes, ma'am.
Sully Shaheed: So Chili, who's in the finals?
Chilly: but
Sully Shaheed: Who's in the finals? Who's taking A?
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: And if you want to put out a Dark Horse, you may.
Chilly: All right. I'm just going to label the the Cleveland team as the dark horse. ah Because, again, i mean, like I'm pretty confident. i just I just hate doing this from a perspective and putting my team in the finals.
Chilly: It's a little cliche to me. I'm kind of...
Sully Shaheed: It's your podcast, bro.
Chilly: okay No, it's actually your podcast.
Sully Shaheed: Our podcast.
Chilly: um
Sully Shaheed: ah our podcast
Chilly: Um, so I think at this point, what I'm looking at is, uh, so I'm kind of torn between three teams. I think the Michigan team with Doug and John are in them on it.
Chilly: Um, I think that team can make the finals, uh, the Seattle team right now, i'm leaning more, I'm leaning towards Gil, uh, but I have a hard time not putting Joe Tiffany in the finals.
Chilly: And then like, I do, I do really like the Texas team, uh, uh, with the, with Juan and Mario on it as well.
Sully Shaheed: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Chilly: i So I think at this point, give me, i think, I think one of the Texas teams is definitely going to finish in the top three. So give me, at this point, I'm going to take the Michigan team with Doug and them on it. ah And you know what? this Let's see. They'll see ah Joe Tiffany and gang in the finals.
Sully Shaheed: And gang. And gang. Okay. a good good Good solid picks. Good solid finals choice. And who's taking home the banner?
Chilly: Uh, man, you know, let me, let's, nah, I'll, I'll go Joe, Tiffany, I'll go Joe, Tiffany, Christie, Noah, uh, Brad Elkie and, uh, and friends.
Sully Shaheed: Okay.
Chilly: Right. And, uh, who, what, what other elite player am I just forgetting on that team?
Sully Shaheed: I like it.
Sully Shaheed: yeah
Chilly: oh, Jay and Jay.
Sully Shaheed: Right, right. Gotcha. Gotcha. Kyle, give me a prediction, man. Who's in the finals? Who's the dark horse? And who's taking the banner?
Kyle: I think I'm in the same boat with Chili on this one, not to be on the bandwagon again, but I think it's going to be Joe and that Seattle team with Doug and John and those guys.
Kyle: And I think my dark horse is the Texas team with Juan and Mario, the Texas two team. They're my dark horse in this one, but I see it being Joe, and I think Joe's going to take on the the ship this year.
Sully Shaheed: I'm here for it. I'm here for it. You know my prediction. Who's Rafael playing for?
Sully Shaheed: this Okay. There you go. there No analysis needed. um I think that i think like we're all in same boat. I think that Michigan team, on the Michigan 2 team, is going to have a good home showing. And I think they're just the most well-rounded team.
Sully Shaheed: um i think that I think they'll go against Rafael's team in the final. And I think i think Michigan defends home court. I think Michigan's going to raise the A banner this year.
Sully Shaheed: And Dark Horse is Billy's team.
Kyle: a Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Because of fucking Billy. right He's ridiculous.
Kyle: True.
Sully Shaheed: He's absolutely freaking ridiculous.
Chilly: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, if I had to take our team out of the Dark Horse category, to me, either one of those two Texas teams, I mean, Bolte can catch fire and dominate a whole tournament.
Sully Shaheed: I love those Texas teams, man.
Chilly: So I think for me, I think both of those Texas teams are just, those are my two Dark Horse teams.
Sully Shaheed: Goddamn.
Sully Shaheed: I think this will probably be the most competitive a tournament we've ever seen.
Kyle: Mm-hmm. Yeah, would agree.
Sully Shaheed: Truthfully, i think it will be the most competitive.
Chilly: I think.
Kyle: I would agree.
Chilly: I'd agree.
Kyle: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, I think it's going to be super exciting, super fun to commentate.
Kyle: yeah
Sully Shaheed: I'm i'm i'm excited for it. um So, yeah, we've been talking for about an hour and a half. That's the A and B breakdown. However, i said I did have a little surprise for everybody. um We've got new merch, guys.
Sully Shaheed: We have honored eight individual players with, in collaboration with Jared Dobies, our first wave of Whirly Ball trading cards.
Sully Shaheed: We have honored eight select players. And if you're not watching the YouTube video, you might not see this. But we do have the first wave of player cards. So I know it's tough to see in the microphone with some of the lights.
Sully Shaheed: But our first honor is the first official Clint Fisher card. We got the Clint Fisher going there. ah We've also honored k Christy Schmidt.
Sully Shaheed: Hall of Fame, Christy Schmidt right there. um There's a couple others that I won't put on camera, but I do have them. And of course, we had to make the old Joe Tiffany. So we got the Joe Tiffany popping off there.
Kyle: e
Sully Shaheed: Got the nice Joe Tiffany card. So if you at Nationals would like to acquire your own personal trading card, not personal as in I made one for you because I'd be damned if I make one for every fucking whirlyball player. But the eight people that I've made the first wave of, if it gets a good reception, um these can be acquired for two bucks.
Sully Shaheed: ah Two whole whole dollars ah per card. If you buy the set of Hall of Famers from each center, um the Clint Fisher, the Jeremy Bennett, um and then the Sam Kim, three for five.
Sully Shaheed: um And the three Michigan ones, three for five as well. Get the whole set. 10 bucks. So as we go along, if you want, or if there's a demand for you as a player to have your own personal player card, it's got the little whirly ball trading card thing in the back there.
Sully Shaheed: So if you want us to design your face and player stats on these cards, Let us know. We'll get your design going. We'll get some orders out. So it's cool that, like I said, we've expanded with podcasts. We've expanded with live streams. We've got the the technical thing going on with um the the video production.
Sully Shaheed: I mean, I think this game is growing exponentially. And doing the little stuff like this is cool. um And I'm excited to have everybody participate. So ah Kyle, thanks for joining us, man. Closing thoughts on Nationals 2026.
Kyle: I'm excited. I can't wait to see everybody. can't wait to get back on the court. i appreciate you guys having me on and look forward to getting out there and competing next week. Next week. It's crazy.
Sully Shaheed: Next week, dude.
Kyle: Comes up so fast.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Next week.
Kyle: love it.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: By the time that most listen to this will probably be early Thursday morning.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: The first wave of people that listen to our podcast. It'll be five whole ass days before on the court. Holy shit. Chili closing thoughts, man.
Chilly: Yeah, again, excited to be ah excited to be back out there on the court. Excited to see everybody. Excited to meet some new faces. um For those of you that are playing in A that want to get on the list, um again, just ah i just know I'm not saying you i can be bought, but I can be swayed.
Sully Shaheed: yeah List!
Chilly: um i I've had, i listen listen, I've had some people come make their claim, right?
Kyle: That is true.
Chilly: That they got to be higher. or what they've done. Again, I go back and watch all the AACD games after Nationals anyway to kind of get a better analysis of the list.
Chilly: So, um again, man, if you want to make this list or if you want to you want me to keep an eye on you, just let me know, and I'll just be sitting over there with my notepad just, you know, scheming away.
Chilly: okay
Sully Shaheed: Yeah, we wish everybody safe travels, whether you're driving in or flying in. um Make sure you get there safe. Make sure, you know, getting your hotels checked in. All good. Pay your entry fee. Don't forget to pay your entry fee.
Sully Shaheed: And um like I said, we got I got plenty of Worley Ball trading cards. So if you want your favorite players, like I said, I'm to have. um Some of the guys and girls that I had cards made of, make sure you you're getting autographs. i need i need your autograph.
Sully Shaheed: you know i'm saying? I need to have them. um And then, yeah, my my list is not restrictive to A. So if there's any B or C players that want to stake their claim, plant their flag, we'll be...
Sully Shaheed: We'll be taking notes. So, ah yeah, be on the lookout for post-Nationals follow-up. um Like i said, we're going get Luke and Timmy on to get some recaps going. And then, you know, our favorite show of the year is the the official list of defenders and offensive players within the game of Worley Ball in 2026.
Chilly: Yeah.
Sully Shaheed: Remember, you must attend Nationals 2026 to be considered for the list. So anybody in the past? that, you know, nope, you're not eligible. Sorry. You got it. You got to be here.
Sully Shaheed: So it's been fun. It's been a good show, guys, for chill, for Kyle joining us tonight. Thank you all. And we'll see you in a week. Sorry. it again. And we'll see you in a week.
Sully Shaheed: Peace.
Sully Shaheed: Because. Because.
Chilly: Hehehehe. thank
