Originally Submitted to FurAffinity.net on December 9th, 2010 11:42 PM. Before it was transferred to Inkbunny it had 259 views and 16 favorites.
Albany Lays Down on the Court Too much Pride causes the Alphas to fall flat in season opener By Christopher Whalen
Thursday’s game confirmed what many Albany fans feared – the Alphas are in rough shape. If this game is any indication of the season to come, the Alphas are slated to have one of their worst seasons ever.
Things were rocky from the start, as Albany’s lack of presence at the FBA Draft indicated something was afoot. Though the Alphas picked up Jack Hinks (Landseer Dog, G), their second draft spot went unfilled. After scrambling to fill their roster before the 2010-11 season started, the Alpha’s starting lineup was surprisingly in tact, with four returning players; a luxury Albany has not enjoyed in some time.
Of course, one has to wonder why Wally Wald (Wallaby, G) isn’t starting, as he’s had experience working with the Alphas before. Maybe the Alpha’s staff didn’t want to break up last year’s starters, but given their losing record in years prior, Albany should have been more willing to change things up to start, especially given their poor performance in the preseason.
Despite Albany’s best hopes, the Alphas lacked cohesion from the start of the game. The Pride pushed to take a very early lead in the first quarter, and Albany’s inability to get their game together until halfway through the quarter when Carl Esteban (Jaguar, SF) finally started to focus enough to land some baskets. Still, Esteban couldn’t carry the whole team, as the rest of their playing was so sloppy that the Alphas looked like a highschool team when you compared their lack of rudiments to Newark’s precision engine on the court.
Speaking of high school, when your “secret weapon” is a walk-on fresh out of graduation, you know something is wrong with your franchise. Now, admittedly, Lance Wildfyre (Rabbit, G) put up an impressive display, with 8 points and 3 assists within a span of 9 minutes, but a single look at the overweight, small-statured lapine would tell you that this kid is not suited for basketball at all. Just think of what someone who was 6’2” 145lbs with his skills could accomplish; he’d be a powerhouse. Instead, we have this short, fat kid who’s barely 5’4” and listed at a hefty 198 lbs, but despite his surprising speed and accuracy, watching him huff and puff up and down the court, there’s no way you could be convinced he wasn’t well over 200 lbs. It’s even more difficult to believe the rabbit was once a cross-country runner, considering the way he collapsed on the court between plays. Wildfyre could have made a difference in this game if he had the stamina of a lighter player, but for now, after laying down on the court, he’s just an embarrassment to the team, especially since it’s clear that he has so much potential. He needs to lay off the carrotcake and stick to calisthenics if the Alphas want to utilize him for more than ten minutes a game.
At least the last quarter was somewhat amusing. Evan Ashton (Lion, F) earned a technical for taking his jersey off and throwing it over Gordon Reilly's (Moose, C) antlers. Talk about adding insult to injury for Albany – Ashton was too busy showboating to recognize how his actions reflected on the team, sending the message that the Alphas clearly didn’t care about the win if they’re allowing their players to act like clowns. Still, the crowd seemed to like it, as it was the most entertaining portion of the game’s second half.
It says a lot about a team when they let their players act without restraint. In short, Albany could see one of the best seasons they’ve had yet, if only they’re able to keep their players in line. Their lack of focus is causing their players to go to waste, and unless they want to come in dead last this season, they really need to shape up, or ship out.
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This is Lance after a couple minutes of play - he just got too tired. Though, to be honest, he probably was playing way too hard to try and impress people.
One thing you might not know (but could have probably guessed if you know me) is after he wasn't picked for the draft, he had about two to three weeks where he was really, really upset - not knowing that Rourkie was doing some legwork to try to get him a spot on a team. Well, when Lance is upset, worried or nervous, he eats. A lot (surprise, surprise). So when he was finally signed to the Alphas, he was actually 10-15 lbs heavier than his listed weight. He's since slimmed down again (relatively speaking, of course), but the combination of the excitement of the first game, his overeagerness to play, and the extra weight he wasn't used to carrying resulted in one tired rabbit.
Once again, drawn by the wonderful, talented, and awesome
