Quad Quips: Week Five
Submissions undergo light copy editing for clarity.
MLQ athletes have a lot to say and now we’re giving them space to broadcast those opinions weekly. “Quad Quips” is a series consisting of player thoughts and feelings from around MLQ. Each week a randomly-selected batch of athletes are sent a number of questions and prompts for which to respond. The majority are open-ended though multiple choice surveys are sometimes included.
Week Five Survey Results
Which seeker will have the most grabs in the SotW?
Neil Peterson (DET): 47.4 percent of votes
Christos Kaldis (TOR): 26.3 percent
The Field: 26.3 percent
Each SotW team has played one series. Which beater will walk away from the weekend with the highest series plus/minus?
Ryan Hsu (DET, -7 vs CHI): 36.8 percent of votes
Piotr Makuch (TOR, +10 vs CLE): 31.6 percent
Rei Brodeur (DET, -6 vs CHI): 31.6 percent
Which Jackson Johnson (AUS) are you hoping to see this weekend?
Beater: 63.2 percent of votes
Keeper/Chaser: 26.3 percent
Seeker: 10.5 percent
Who is the player to watch this weekend and why?
“No one from Austin after that last performance.” - Johnny Tran, New Orleans Curse
“Nick Love: Last season Love led Detroit in stops as a rookie in only eight games. After a quiet week one, expect him to bounce back to the top of the stat sheet in a pivotal matchup.” - Jack Levy, Detroit Innovators
“PJ Mitchell. Y’all don’t wanna mess with that dude when he’s got a Round Rock Donut in him.” - Joshua Mansfield, New Orleans Curse
“Piotr Makuch is definitely the player to watch this week. That +10 statline was from ONE game (about 11 shifts). Excited to see him get that energy out from the last two games he'd missed. Look out Detroit!” - Callum Noble-Gresty, Toronto Raiders
“Toronto rookie Lauren Matheson is going to dunk on Detroit. She’s just got a thing for being in the right place at the right time.” - Brittany Taylor, Toronto Raiders
“John Alvarez and Mel Kite, they are two players for the Outlaws that will make a huge impact this weekend for us.” - Jay Stewart, Austin Outlaws
“There must be something in the family genes because Ryder Fried just joined the sport in May and he’s already better than 90% of Toronto’s chasing core.” - Ryan Hsu, Detroit Innovators
“Riley Usami, after their performance last season, there’s no doubt they’re going to have an electric debut especially after missing the first series.” - David Avila, San Antonio Soldados
“Derek and Brittany Taylor are going to bring the heat from our beater core. They’re a criminally underrated beater pair that can go toe to toe with anyone.” - Christos Kaldis, Toronto Raiders
Which player matchup deserves all eyes this weekend? Why?
“Ryan Hsu and Rei Brodeur vs. the Taylors. Think you have chemistry? Try going up against a married couple.” - Brittany Taylor, Toronto Raiders
“Jay Stewart vs. Ryan Mehio–UTSA-Creighton grudge match, inject it into my veins.” Bryan Melchior, Toronto Raiders
“The USNTDA beater lineup (Madi Namanny, TJ O’Connor) from Kansas City vs. the USNT beater lineup (Jackson Johnson, Bailee Fields) for Austin.” - Annika Kim, New York Titans
“Ryan Mehio vs Louis Sanchez. Mehio’s drive vs Sanchez’s point defense will be a deciding factor in this series.” - Ryan Hsu, Detroit Innovators
“Kasye Bevers vs. Lauren Smith–Very underrated matchup. The proven vet vs. the up-and-coming star who are both very vital to their teams.” - Jay Stewart, Austin Outlaws
“Alex Pucciarelli vs. Cameron Castilaw. Both have emerged as names to know in the Southern beating game since the COVID pause. If New Orleans is gonna have a chance, it’s going to be through their beaters. On the flip side, the Austin beating game was the least impactful it’s been probably ever even with the pair of Tracy and Castilaw looking great. important for them to get back on track.” - Tate Kay, New York Titans
Our #MLQ2024 Series of the Week is the Detroit Innovators vs. the Toronto Raiders. This is the first regular season meeting of these two teams since 2019. Give us your thoughts.
“When they met at the North Division Championship in 2022, Toronto won both games. It's true that Detroit has gained experience and some strong players since then, but Toronto has made important improvements to our offense under Sinan Keyder's coaching and added some excellent young talent. I like our chances.” - Emma Sherwood, Toronto Raiders
“If Leo Fried was on the 2017 Cavaliers, I’d say they would sweep the Warriors in the finals that year. One of these teams has Leo Fried and the other does not.” - Tate Kay, New York Titans
“Detroit goes +1000.” - Joshua Mansfield, New Orleans Curse
“We will find out here if Detroit are frauds.” - John Alvarez, Austin Outlaws
“Toronto scores under 21 goals across the series as Detroit smothers them defensively, sweeping the series.” - David Banas Jr., Detroit Innovators
“The Raiders are going to come in high off their win against the second worst team in the league. We’ll show them just how big the talent gap can get in the North.” - Ryan Hsu, Detroit Innovators
“It might be the first time these teams have met in the regular season since 2019, but these two have a recent history. The young college players that joined Detroit in 2022 were denied a trip to Maryland because of two close games with the Raiders at the North Division Championship. Look for these now experienced Innovators to gear up for revenge.” - Jack Levy, Detroit Innovators
“Leo Fried goes over 85 percent on one-handers. New Orleans has a wonderful time. Kansas City gets a lot of cards.” - Tate Kay, New York Titans
“Ryan Hsu gonna pop off as always, expect domination.” - David Avila, San Antonio Soldados
Whip out the magic 8 ball and give us your Week Five predictions that you have not already provided.
“My 8 ball might be broken; all it’s showing is Ws [for Toronto].” - Callum Noble-Gresty, Toronto Raiders
“I would guess Austin has a bit of a chip on their shoulder after losing to League City, and that their performance in the upcoming SuperSeries will reflect this. I predict that Austin will come into this series with a renewed intensity, looking to re-establish their dominance in the South with a sweep.” - Amanda Margolis, Detroit Innovators
“The South SuperSeries is going to be INTENSE. No sweeps all weekend.” - Brittany Taylor, Toronto Raiders
“No team in the South SuperSeries goes home without a loss this weekend.” - Jack Levy, Detroit Innovators
Taunting is Legal
“Someone better figure out who to call to pick up roadkill because that’s what these raccoons are about to be after the series.” - Amanda Margolis, Detroit Innovators
“@Toronto: The best thing about your team is the waistbands on your shorts, and we can't even see that half the time.” - Gwen Pratt, Detroit Innovators
“Nobody can guard me and I will show everyone why this weekend.” - Jay Stewart, Austin Outlaws
“What do the Raiders and non-qualifying Olympians have in common? They both are traveling internationally this summer to not even compete.” - Jack Levy, Detroit Innovators
“I’m glad the Innovators grabbed a win against Chicago, Detroit sports fans don’t have much to cheer for–Red Wings, Tigers, Pistons, or any other Innovators season.” - Bryan Melchior, Toronto Raiders
“Just dropped off my Keyder jersey at Goodwill. Figured a Raider’s jersey won’t be worth much after this weekend.” - Ryan Hsu, Detroit Innovators
https://detroitraccoon.com/livonia.html (We promise the link is safe for most) - David Banas Jr., Detroit Innovators
“Jay, did you nerf Austin?” - Annika Kim, New York Titans
Grab Bag
“T-Time is my all-time favourite quadball media.” - Emma Sherwood, Toronto Raiders
“From League City taking the series against Austin to Detroit stealing a game from Prowl, there’s already been some pretty early upsets which I think has proven that no one knows for sure what’s gonna happen. It’s been really exciting to watch teams defy people’s expectations and prove why they shouldn’t be underestimated, and I am excited to see what other team may surprise us next.” - Amanda Margolis, Detroit Innovators
“Jackson Johnson… come back to the dark side.” - Ryan Hsu, Detroit Innovators
“To best enjoy the south super series, take a shot every time Riley Usami windmill dunks.” - David Avila, San Antonio Soldados
“MLQ be like: ‘This week we’ve brought you some of the most interesting weekends in quadball in the South division. Also make sure to tune in to the Series of the Week to see a North division team get absolutely obliterated’.” - Joshua Mansfield, New Orleans Curse
Become a member of the MLQ Network to catch live games and coverage of the season all summer along.
