Sunday, December 18, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The Fall of an Empire?
Standing outside of Empire Gym waiting for the New York City Empire's home opener. We find season ticket holder Marc Sunshine. Although his team started 0-2 on the road, he still has much faith in his team.
"I've waited a long time for the league to get over labor talks and start playing again. In my opinion, I am so lucky to live in New York to see the greatest team play. We have been blessed with a really good squad the past few years." - Marc
That is the same faith most everyone in Empire Gym had during the Interceptors/Empire game. Most everyone interviewed said that the Empire would definitely make the big dance. But after another lackluster performance from the Empire, and especially super-diva Williame, the fans and the everyone around the league are starting to have their doubts.
During the off-season the Empire had another great regiment with 3 improvements of players. Riding high at #6 coming into a crazy good North with the Dizzy Devils and Seadogs, who have both ranked #1 in the season so far. And to add to the craziness, the Empire easily have the toughest schedule this season. Facing the Seadogs and Dizzy Devils twice. Then out of division games with the Toros, Dragonfish, and Interceptors. All Championship contenders.
The Season began in London as the Seadogs opened up their brand new Seadog Place. The Empire were slammed in 2 sets, but no worries because it was the first rusty game and the Seadogs were really good. The worry really really began when EMP traveled to Minnesota to play the supposed easy win Margays. And looking at their schedule, they needed all the easy wins they could get their hands on. Now, the Margays played tough, but the Empire still were much more talented and lost in 3 sets, ending the Margays unreal home drought.
Panic seriously set in outside of the dedicated fan base. It may seem like only 2 games, but in the past 5 years, only 1 of the 21 teams that have started 0-2 have made the post season! And in the history of the Empire they had never been ranked #15 or #16 ever, green or red rankings. But if there were any team talented enough to make it, it would have to be this one. A young promising center in Lawrence, Garcia starting to really contribute, and of course Williame centering it all.
Team Owner Chris Ramos was bombarded with complaints by the shareholders after this shameful loss. He told everyone to keep cool and look at his track record. They quieted and knew that the Interceptors game would be the real litmus test.
"This is our shot to show everyone we are not only relevant, but a real force to be reckoned with in the North that we have OWNED for years now." -Lawrence #44 before the Interceptors game
It was seriously a playoff atmosphere as the unbeaten and highly touted Midwestern juggernaut entered Empire Gym on a sunny afternoon. It was do or die mode. It showed in the players desperation throughout the game. Effort was definitely there. But the Interceptors were a brick wall. They kept Garcia and Williame out of the game and rolled on to a 3-set victory. Empire Gym collectively held it head in disbelief.
"Were looking for a mircale at this point! And it's crazy because we still have the Dizzy Devils, Seadogs and Dragonfish coming into our building!! Not to mention the away games I have to sit through on TV!" -A very worried Marc Sunshine.
He has reason to be worried, in the history of the league only the Cat's in the 2008-3 season have started 0-3 or worse and made the playoffs. And with the schedule the Empire have, it'll be even harder than those odds.
I sat down with owner Ramos and asked him about the outlook on the rest of the season, here is the gist:
"We have to take it one came at a time. But it is looking tough realistically"
"We are looking not to rebuild, but reload next year. Contracts might be shaken up, personnel may be shaken up too."
"I don't care if the media knows, Williame is on the hot seat, what has he done for us in 3 years?"
"I have already had one horrible (4-6) season under my reign, and we bounced back strong (2 #1 ranked seasons) quickly. The shareholders need to calm down I got this."
"I hope our fans show their dedication and keep coming to our games, the team needs support."
The Empire's next game pits them against the Margays, hoping to get their revenge and sting of embarrassment out of their system. It would be a nice first step on the road to recovery. Good Luck.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
League Unveils New Logo
Regardless of whether this is a good logo or not, fans are more concerned with the halt in playing. No worry, the league worked out the AP™ Ranking system trial and games will resume shortly.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Offseason Review 2011
-West-
The West is looking its weakest in a long while. 2 years ago they started out the season with 1,2 and 3 rated teams. This year, the Silverbacks are the only team ranked, coming out as #8. There was a shake-up of Centers as all but 1 teams Centers wanted their options opened. It is a wide open division, each team has its own legit reasoning for thinking they can win this division.
Gold - C+
The Gold weren't their usual selves this offseason. They let Nathan slip away. They didn't switch-up any draft picks or use their salary cap. They were able to resign Desmond and Peletierre however. Willis kept his 3 rating, trying to replace Nathans hole. They couldn't lure in any hot free agents and settled for Petr. Peletierre did improve to a 5, so the Gold are working with 2 power players.Diamonds - B-
It would seem the Diamonds had a pretty good offseason, dealing Miller to get the awaited phenom Sebastian. But they gave up too much in that trade. If they were able to nail a deal with Miller down, they could have gotten a 3 out of the draft instead of getting a 1 in Izett from free agency. Sean performed well in the preseason tourney like alway, so if him and Sebastian can develop a chemistry, this team should be explosive. Silverbacks - B
The Silverbacks had a ho hum, but solid offseason. Resigned Sanchito for 3 years, Ethos improved to a 3 and the Rookie Zeno improved to a 4. This team is looking to become more than Kenneth this year, with an acutal supporting cast that can be consistent compared to last year. They are in the hunt with everyone for this West title. Pharoahs - B
They played it pretty lowkey this offseason. They were too busy trying to find a suitor for Rob and then trying to get Rob to sign to have their fingers in other places. They signed a great rookie in Walter, so things are looking to slowly get better for this team on the verge. -South-
The South is the juggernaut division of this Conference as the North is of theirs. The Dragonfish took everyone by surprise. The Toros had to improve to be at their level. The Cat's and Skylarks would be tops in other divisions so this division is going to be rocking and rolling with many upsets this year.Skylarks - B+
The Skylarks are building something. This is a chemistry oriented organization and it seems to be slowly coming together. They preemptively resigned Keith for $3mil/4yrs which is great for them now that he improved to a 5. Maurice also improved to a 5, so they have themselves a young duo now. Potts went down to a 3 unfortunately, but the young and hip culture of this team will have great chemistry in the future. Its just sad to see them in this crazy division. Dragonfish -A+
Everyone expected this team to keep going into a deeper and deeper decline as their stars aged. They made waves when they swapped their draft pick for Paolo of the Interceptors. But it was really the offseason regiment the team had that turned heads. Nobody got worse, and 4 players improved. They have no weak-links and 3 power players. They capped it off by singing all the way to become the Tourney Champions and be #1 ranked coming into the season.St.Cat's - B+
The Cat's keep having good to great offseasons. It is coming together slowly for them. They angled in Joseph as a replacement for the legendary Kirit. And they got Arthur out of the draft. Ausonio improved to a 5 to give the Cats a power-player duo. They are in the race for the South, but they are gonna need Arthur and Joseph to step up immediately. Toros - A-
Coming into the offseason from their 2nd straight title, they didn't have much to change. They were young and very very talented. The only problem was money for the future and keeping their stars aligned. They preemptively signed Semere and Rayquan to good money. They traded for a good pick in Martin to keep the rookie phenom train going, but he went down to a 2. Good news is they have three, count 'em, three 6's as Semere and Rayquan improved. No other team has two 6's. Everyone thought they were gonna walk away with it again this year, but they may not even win the division.-North-
Empire - A-
Another successful offseason for the Empire. They got rid of Bruce to clear up some money issues that are going to be inevitable later on. They got a draft pick in return; Thompson. He improved to a 4 along with Garcia. Lawrence improved to a 5 to join Williame in the power players ranks. This team really never loses a step. Seadogs - A
They didn't get involved in all the crazy deals, but they still pulled together a solid offseason. The big thing was keeping James. He was all in and signed a nice contract. They also nailed down Corey for 3 years. They drafted Ronnie, but he went down to a 2. However, 3 players improved including Corey and Wayne improving to 5's. One of 3 teams to have 3 power players. Margays -C
They didn't do anything to step out of the misery. And with this division, its looking to be a long year, sorry to say.They couldn't go into the free agent sweepstakes because of a tight cap. And that folks, is the reason its dangerous to sign a fat fat contract to one player, especially when the talent level keeps rising in subsequent years. Dizzy Devils -A+
If there was ever a turnaround this has to be it. After last season this team was looking at a grim situation, nobody thought that they could rebound after losing Alexi and not having much to bargain with other teams with. But they had some deeeeep pockets. They made a wise trade with Toros for Thomas a 4. Only giving up a draft pick and having to pay their rookie signee. They won the Nathan sweepstakes and were rewarded for paying him 7mil by him improving to a 5. Three players improved, even their rookie J.Jordan who was a 2, and none waned as they went to the Tourney Championship. Now they come in a #3 ready to roll woth the likes of the Seadogs and Empire. -Midwest-
Interceptors - A-
The first order was to resign Salem, and he agreed to a great deal for 3 years easily. So, they had time to focus on more endeavors. Paolo wasn't so agreeable however, but they traded him for a 3 rookie. So they picked up Kyle and Roman from the draft, both 3's. Dian improved to a power player and Ricky improved to a 4. This team is looking like the clear favorite in the Midwest.Gremlins - C
This team had some awful luck. They made their intentions clear for Nathan by drafting a Wing. But they lost out on both accounts. Their rookie Melisizwe turned out to be a bust, and they only could pick up Michael. Three people went down in rank including Donte who is a 5 now. They are the only team in the league with 3 weak links.Reapers - B+
They had a really solid offseason, which is going to pay dividends for years to come. They traded their coveted 1st round pick, for Miller who they courted as a rookie years back, but now they can pay for him. Their draft pick panned out in Reid, he improved to a 4. Jason also improved to a 4. So in coming years they will be up there. They do have a chance for a playoff run this year too. Scarlet Ember - B+
They actually did a good job for what they had to work with. They had to fill 2 retirement spots. So they couldn't cut their weak link remaining players and had to build around Jack. They took a nice trade for Bruce. And then got Matt from free agency. Jack improved to a 5 so he will head up this strikingly old team.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
New Boyz: Combine huge success
"The level of play in this league will be on a whole 'nother level this year compared to last year. Pretty much everyone will get themselves a fresh rookie. And as opposed to past years, they will be absorbed right into the main roles of the team. The presence of this class will be impossible to ignore this year. Everyone is excited." - Gold Owner Randy Ericsson
"Aw man, this is just crazy. What was in that Z-Aide at the Combine, haha. I knew alot of those people from my college days, but maaaaaan, I didnt know that much talent was there." -Kenneth #2 Silverbacks
"I just came out and showed everybody what I could do. I had done it for 4 years at UV, and I knew it was in me. Getting the throws record like that was great, but I wanna show everyone I am a complete package. Need to work on that speed alittle though, haha. It hasn't hit me yet, but I know the pressure will be on the minute I step on the court in the Preseason Tournament. Im ready for the challenge to play with these phenomenal dodgers." -Sebastian #3, First ever power-player entering draft.
We'll see where this new era of talent ends up on the Draft, stay tuned!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Pharoahs Money Scandal Exposed!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Dynasty?
The issue comes down to competing ego's of Darren, Semere, and now Rayquan in the long term. And also the fact that Semere is the lowest payed player on the team and the lowest paid "power-player" in the league. With such a monster of a trio and no one else in the league having a true big 3, These 3 may want their celebrity to be able to breathe more -- alone. All 3 have kept mum about this so far, but when negotiation time comes, actions will speak louder than words.
Toros owner Austin Johnston has only said he expects the level of performance to stay where it is and only get better from there. Sources say Toros management will keep these 3 until the wheels fall off. And looking at this teams very forgettable past history, it would make sense. They are entering into untread terrain; the 2 other Back to Back title holders (PHA, DD) fell off sharply after they won the titles. The Toros are easily above everyone else talent-wise coming into the offseason. So why not get a third straight ring?
The potential to build an even better team.
Everyone knows what the Toros decide to do with Semere will dictate how this year's offseason will work. The most clear suitor for Semere if the Toros dealt him would be the young and skill-less Reapers. They need a tried and true veteran (even though he'll only be 3 years old, but hey, he's played 40 games in 2 years). And the Toros could pocket a hot 1st pick in the draft to be the next star and probably build some more cap room for potential later diva problems. That would be the best fit.
The Dizzy Devils are also in the hunt, they need a replacement for Alexi, but the problem would be Semere would be #2 to Russell. The Scarlet Ember would also be enticing because Hobbs and Andy will be leaving Rookie MVP Jack all alone to lead the team. Semere could step in and be the #1...kinda. Jack has definitely captured the spirit of the team. But the problem with DD and SE is they couldn't match what the Reapers can offer the Toros.
The only reason the Toros would deal Semere is to get an exact replica of him and some more money or personnel to build an unstoppable beast. The Reapers give them the best chance, but, the safe route would be to get another ring and then deal with the firestorm next offseason when Semere's contract is over.
This offseason should be a good one with not only Semere in talks, but also James, Salem and Casey at the end of their contracts.
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