The St. Louis Shock hosted MLP St. Louis and set a new standard for how an MLP event should be run. The event took place at a sports arena, which allowed for a great atmosphere. The stands, and therefore the fans, were close to the courts and there was not a bad seat in the house. St. Louis gave out souvenir jerseys and sponsored a whiteout, making for great visuals on TV. Finally, the fans were 110% behind the home team, who responded with a 5-0 performance. Every team hosting an MLP should now look to imitate St. Louis, and give their team the advantage that comes with that kind of fan support.

 

 

The big story of MLP St. Louis was the Shock going 5-0, netting 14 points to overtake the Dallas Flash for first place on the season. Dallas lost twice, to St. Louis and Columbus, and had to settle for 9 points. These results allowed St. Louis to nudge five points ahead of Dallas in the standings. St. Louis has six matches left to play and Dallas seven. The margin is thin, but St. Louis is on a roll and they should be able to secure the #1 seed for the playoffs, St. Louis has a team of stars. Their #2 mixed team includes Gabe Tardio and there is a reasonable argument to be made that Tardio is the best player going right now. Yes, maybe even better than Ben Johns. Tardio wins a lot of MLP mixed matches with Kate Fahey and has won gold medals at PPA events with Jessie Irvine, feats Ben Johns has not matched in recent times. St. Louis trots out four strong doubles teams, and is one of the best DreamBreaker teams, as all four players are well above average at singles. St. Louis was our pick at the start of the year to win it all, and I see no reason to change the pick.

 

 

 

Going into MLP St. Louis, Brooklyn and Columbus were locked in a titanic struggle for fourth and fifth place, with a chance to run down New Jersey for third. The third and fourth place teams get home field advantage in the playoffs, which can be crucial in setting the mixed doubles lineups. In St. Louis, Brooklyn shined, even though they were again without star Dekel Bar. AJ Koller, as he has done several times recently, filled in for Bar and held his own, going 7-5 in his matches against a tough field. Jackie Kawamoto was the star this time for Brooklyn, posting a 9-3 record.

 

 

For Columbus, it was another good, but slightly disappointing event. They beat Dallas in a DreamBreaker for a big win, but lost the head-to-head match against Brooklyn 3-1. That loss to Brooklyn ensured that Brooklyn will finish ahead of Columbus in the standings. New Jersey is certain to catch and pass Columbus in the standings and it is even possible LA will pass Columbus. At this point, Columbus will be either the 5 or 6 seed, and will need an upset to even win a first round match. The biggest issue for Columbus continues to be inconsistency. Andrei Daescu and CJ Klinger would appear on paper to be a very top men’s doubles team, but they were only 2-3 in St. Louis. The Columbus women’s doubles team of Lea Jansen and Parris Todd is equally up and down. They defeated top teams from St. Louis and Dallas, but then lost to Atlanta. Columbus is going to need to find a way to hit on all cylinders at the same time in order to be a championship threat. The talent is there, but the results are not matching the talent.

 

 

 

Chicago is locked into a tough fight for the 10th and last playoff spot. Their chances improved off the court, with Carolina trading away Ben Johns and Miami trading away Noe Khlif. It is now down to Chicago or Miami for the last playoff spot. Miami has a slim three-point lead with five matches to go. It is going to be close, but Chicago managed to squeak out four points in St. Louis, taking both St. Louis and Dallas to DreamBreakers, so there is some reason for optimism for Chicago. If they could clean up their singles game a bit, they have shown they are even a threat against the top teams in any one match.

 

 

 

The Dallas Flash came into St. Louis MLP undefeated. They left with two losses and only two points for a DreamBreaker win over Chicago. Dallas was led by the mixed doubles team of JW and Jorja Johnson. They went 5-0 and proved again that they are the best mixed team in MLP. But, their other three doubles teams all went 2-3 in the event. This is troubling, as it makes them vulnerable to the other top teams. The women’s doubles team of Jorja Johnson and Tyra Black has, at times this season, been nearly unbeatable, but recently they have looked human. Expect everyone to now be a little down on Dallas, which may actually help them. It is hard to be undefeated (just ask the 2007 New England Patriots). Dallas is virtually certain to finish second in the standings, which gives them a first round bye. They have plenty of time to adjust and they still have the best depth in MLP, other than St. Louis.

 

 

 

We correctly predicted that St. Louis would defeat Dallas and take 14 standings points and the #1 playoff seed. Brooklyn was the surprise team of the event. I thought Columbus would win their head-to-head match and that Columbus would secure the 4th seed. Brooklyn again showed they have great depth. For Brooklyn to do this well while Dekel Bar is out is a testament to the other players on that team. They have hung tough. Brooklyn will be a difficult out in the playoffs. Atlanta performed as expected and is, for all practical purposes, eliminated from playoff consideration. Chicago netted four points instead of the expected three, which could be critical for that 10th and last playoff spot.

 

The teams are settling in to where they likely will finish the regular season. St. Louis will finish first, Dallas second, New Jersey third, and Brooklyn fourth. Columbus is likely 5th, and rejuvenated LA (with Ben Johns) is now likely to finish 6th. Texas is on track to finish 7th, Orlando 8th, and Utah 9th. That again leaves Miami and Chicago to fight for 10th. Thus, we could well see a first round playoff match of Anna Leigh Waters-led New Jersey vs. LA-led Ben Johns. Who doesn’t want to see that?

 

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