2016-17 begins October 6

Gentlemen,

Take a moment to dust off your shoes and get ready for the start of the 2016-17 Mamba season, which begins on October 6. If you can't find your shoes because they are buried beneath a pile of empty Shake Shack bags, it might be time to start worrying.

Let's take a minute to reflect on some highlights from last year:

1. The Fox - You know how when a team wins the Super Bowl, every other team in the league makes it their personal mission to beat that team? That's sort of what it's going to be like for Fox, who, after his lone loss in Week 4, rattled off an incomprehensible 11 straight wins. Needless to say, it was enough to steal the Mamba trophy from Chris.

2. Dunk - I wasn't there to witness it, but I heard that Cameron had Mamba's FIRST EVER dunk in a game. It's pretty sad that it took 8 years to happen, but impressive nonetheless. Cam could be our version of Ray Allen, dropping 3s from all corners of the court. Could it be enough to steal the Offensive Player of the Year from Makesi, who won for the second year in a row?

3. Bloody Face - Esan decided to close out the last game of the season by elbowing me in the face. I assume this was intentional, since he is still very bitter about losing the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2014-15. Here's a picture of me during the game:

 

 Luckily I was able to perform emergency first aid using those brown "paper towels" they have in schools that don't really do anything except move liquid from one place to another. I would have thought playing through the pain would have been enough to win Hustle, but instead that award went to...

4. Oak Tree - Congrats to Patrick, aka Oak Tree, who stole Defensive Player from me and won his second Hustle award. This makes him our only 2 award winner for the 2015-16 season. I'm starting to think he dives head first on purpose, just to win the damn award.

5. New Faces - Saw some good new talent, including Ace, Chris, Dave, and Cameron. Hope they can make it back this year.

6. Outliers - Last year I kept a record of everyone's individual wins and losses. Do they matter? Should you consider them when picking teams? That's up for debate. Most players fell somewhere in the .500 win percentage range. But then there are the outliers, people like Sam and Aidan, who win a lot more than they lose. And then there are Esan and Jeff, who, let's just say have A LOT to prove this year. My guess is that Esan would have had a much higher win percentage if he wasn't taking flights to Trinidad and California every 2 weeks.

7. Jorge - Now a homeowner. Congrats!

See you on Oct. 6.

-neal