Rugrat wrote:

I can’t clean because I moved out but this league has turned into nothing but into a one team operation. I’m surprised that this is still around to be honest that everyone knows Texas will win each and every year. Surprised interest in the league hasn’t declined. Until Texas loses I will eat one dark chocolate bar (my least favorite candy) my mom sends me each year on my Birthday that I don’t eat per post by IDM on this thread

You don't like dark chocolate? Dark chocolate is great!

As for your other points, it did seem like a given that Texas would win in the past, but the last two years, not so much. It hasn't been inevitable as much as it's been something everyone feared would happen and then did. In 2027, they came in as the three seed behind Philly and Nashville teams that were probably better teams than them but blew it in the second round, and while they were the second seed in 2028, Philly was a juggernaut and really should've performed better in the Finals, especially with home-court advantage. Speaking of which:

QCS wrote:

Man, that is wack. I would've been ok with a tightly contested series, but a sweep? It's a great day for Redbacks fans which means it's a bad day for the rest of us

It really should've been a tightly contested series. Texas had a slight advantage numbers-wise, but the teams matched up really well, and Philly had actually gone 63-1 during the regular season despite Texas being better on paper, so I expected it to be a classic. Instead, the Redbacks won four in a row. That's actually part of the reason why it took me so long to write this, because I couldn't figure out how this Row team could choke so hard so quickly.

Thehealthiestscratch wrote:

ProsecutorMilesEdgeworth wrote:

Thinking about it, the league should be facing huge backlash for letting the Redbacks walk through all the other teams. That could hurt a new league like this, especially with it being a new sport. New leagues shouldn’t be monopolized at all when trying to gain momentum. Maybe some discovery finds the Redbacks are undermining the salary cap, and I know it’s simulation, but even still, it always seems too fishy.

This seems like less of a should/shouldn't for a new league and more of a thought geared towards lack of variety in a fictional story. This start is actually fairly common for very successful leagues.

I keep telling myself that, too, but it hasn't made me feel any better. I do think I've found a better way to put this into context, though. So far, the Redbacks' run has lasted 8 years (not counting their loss to Toronto in 2020), from 2021-2028, and they've won 7 titles. From 1991-1998, the Bulls won 6 titles in 8 years, and like the Redbacks, never lost in the Finals. Really, the Redbacks' run can't be much worse than the Bulls', right? Right?

Steelman wrote:

*ahtr*

Looks like it's time for another digit on that sig. Gonna run out of room at this rate! 

Don't sell yourself short. You get two new digits:

Dark chocolate compared to milk chocolate is like comparing Trump to Lincoln.

Rather than harping on how Texas is still seemingly unbeatable, we get two new expansion teams this offseason right? Washington and Minnesota?

August 21, 2028
The NDL has just released its official schedule for the 2029 regular season. The new 66-game schedule will see the season stretch from Friday, March 2, until Friday, July 27. Each team will play its divisional rivals six times while playing the other twelve teams in the league four times each. Notably, the Canada Day game between the Hogs and Magma looks to be a lock going forward, and a game between Philadelphia and the as-of-yet-unnamed Washington team has been scheduled for the Fourth of July, potentially suggesting the start of a similar tradition.

September 21, 2028
One of the NDL’s first true legends announced his retirement today. B/C Thomas Notz used his 45th birthday today to confirm the rumors that he’d played his last game of dashball. Notz began his career as a 33-year-old on the California Sea Lions, leading the team to the first two NDL Championships and winning Finals MVP in 2018, before playing in Nashville and Toronto and eventually finishing out his career with the Atlanta Records. Notz said that, even at age 45, he thought he could still play, but that “spending a year on the bench doesn’t really excite me.”

October 5, 2028
This year’s expansion draft was headlined by one name: Dan Kirkpatrick. Only one year after trading away B/C Tiziano Torres for the veteran B/ZB, Texas left him on their unprotected list, effectively making the trade a total flop. That’s just how good the Redbacks have gotten, though. Still, it was a no-brainer who Minnesota would take with the first pick. Not only that, but only three picks later, DC would take the second Texas B/ZB in as many rounds in Max McCrory. The other big name of the night, Row B/C Sora Matsuѕhita, came off the board second, and will be joined by Palms W/ZB René Siemann in the nation’s capital. In turn, Frost B/C Russell Collins and Sawyers F/ZB Kevin Simmons are headed to the North Star State.

October 6, 2028
Similarly to last night’s expansion draft, the entry draft was headlined by one name. This time, it was Jacksonville State W/C Matt LeBas. LeBas is head and shoulders above any other player who declared for this year’s draft, and may be the best draft prospect the NDL has ever seen. Despite rumors that they would trade the pick for more value, DC ended up sticking with it and selecting LeBas. After that, not a whole lot happened of interest, though it is notable that a lot of smaller schools found themselves represented here, including JSU, NJIT, two from a blossoming Fairfield program, and the resurgence of Robert Morris, among others.

1. DC - W/C Matt LeBas (Jacksonville State)
2. MIN - B/ZB Sterling Siegel (Nevada)
3. BOS - W/ZB Matt Powers (NJIT)
4. MTL - B/K Cody Ramos (Bowling Green)
5. LA - B/ZB Seth Shelton (Iowa)
6. ORL - B/ZB Dan Greiner (Cal)
7. TOR - B/C Eddy Nguyen (Fairfield)
8. BOS (from CAL) - W/ZB K.D. Gonzalez (Northern Iowa)
9. PHI (from ATL) - B/ZB Conrad Howze (Appalachian State)
10. SEA - F/ZB DeVon Holmes (Boise State)
11. MIA - B/K Malcolm Wallace (Kansas)
12. ATL (from NY) - F/ZB Andrew Burns (Fairfield)
13. NSH - W/K Josh Child (Robert Morris)
14. CHI - B/ZB Ty Foster (UAB)
15. PHI - B/C Ryan Alamos (Stony Brook)
16. TEX - W/ZB Steve Ramos (Wisconsin)

October 19, 2028
Frank St. Peter is now a very rich man. The wing/zone back re-signed with Orlando for a record-setting 12-years and $172 million. It’s not the highest value on a per-year basis (that honor still belongs to Nashville W/K Will Orleans), but it is the highest in terms of total value in NDL history. While not quite the best free agent of the year - Philly F/K Ray Thomas inked a new deal with the Row earlier in the offseason - St. Peter is about a decade younger, which naturally led to a higher payout. The Orbits, meanwhile, lock up their star for likely the rest of his career, as he will be 39 when the deal expires.

October 29, 2028
DC’s decision to hire James Canfield is looking like a really good one at the moment. The former Sea Lions GM has been very aggressive so far, and it’s paid off to the tune of several free agent signings. So far, Canfield has managed to bring in LA F/ZB Emerio Garcia, Atlanta B/ZB Ethan Keller, Miami W/ZB Ali Davis, Montréal B/ZB Jamie Stearns II, and Texas B/ZB Matty Machado. Obviously, none of these guys are world-breakers, but with this many experienced pieces, it’s hard not to see DC going places. They might not be a Vegas Golden Knights, but they might be an Atlanta Records (though it’s not clear how this has worked out for the Records, who have made the postseason in all of their first four seasons but have won exactly one of their seventeen playoff games).

December 1, 2028
Reports from multiple sources confirm that the Texas Redbacks have traded F/ZB Jerry Miller to Atlanta. In return, the Records are sending F/ZB Colby Peters, F/C Nathaniel Anderson, and third-round picks in each of the next two drafts. This is the second time that Miller’s contract has gotten his team in cap trouble; the Redbacks acquired him as part of a deal with Orlando in 2025 when the Orbits needed to free up space. Peters is a bit of a downgrade, but a lot more cap-friendly, and should certainly be capable of filling Miller’s shoes. The Records, meanwhile, now have what should be a very exciting pair of F/ZBs in Miller and Fabiano Cordova.

Last edited by ItDoesntMatter (10/19/2020 4:39 pm)

Sevsdast wrote:

Expansion teams when?
 

When IDM is ready to post them (should be in the next day or so)