GoRedSox96 wrote:

Maybe the big bad Redbacks can actually lose it this year? By the way is there a Dashball video game and is Dashball on TV at all?

Dashball has been on TV since its inception, usually on local networks (think regular season NBA/NHL), though certain games and playoffs are on national TV. If you'd like me to be more specific, I can be, but to be honest, I haven't thought about it too much.

ProsecutorMilesEdgeworth wrote:

Chicago, do us all a favor!!!

GoRedSox96 wrote:

Please Chicago! The Redbacks are the Yankees of driveball! Someone needs to stop them! Just please! If Texas wins it all i might as well just throw up! (Long time lurker of these bords but joined yesterday as of the time im posting this comment)

Chicago plays Philadelphia in the second round; Texas plays Nashville, so Chicago can't do anything about Texas yet. On a related note - would it be helpful if I included a bracket in the playoff posts? I've sort of assumed people can keep track of it, because I can, but I'm not sure that was a valid assumption, especially with more playoff teams since I've come back.

Texas Redbacks vs Nashville Fugitives
For the first time in four years, the Texas Redbacks would be starting a playoff series on the road, as the Fugitives welcomed them to Bridgestone Arena for Game 1. They didn’t seem fazed by that, or the narrative that their time was up, because they came out and immediately stepped on Nashville’s throat. The Redbacks went up 13-0 on just three possessions and cruised from there, with B/K Semarias Garcia piling on all game, finishing with 67 points contributed. Combined with W/ZB Larry Whitt’s 59 and F/ZB Sean Perez’s 46, Texas put on a 194-point clinic and picked up a statement win on the road. Nashville would rebound, earning the split in Game 2, with F/C Michel Blanchard and W/K Will Orleans leading the way in a 34-point win for the Fugues, but as the series moved to the Lone Star State, the Redbacks seemed to be firmly in the driver’s seat.

In Game 3, it would be Texas’s defense which would step up, holding a very strong Fugitive offense to just 103 points, led by W/C Elide Amigazzi’s 17 blocks. Injury would be added to insult for Nashville, as B/K Will Baker would reaggravate an ankle injury which had been giving him problems all season. B/K Paul Cox was subbed in, and in Game 4, was able to match Baker’s defensive play, but wasn’t the same threat on offense, and while the Fugitives were able to improve to 134 points, it wouldn’t be near enough, as the Redbacks would go up early and never look back, taking a 3-1 series lead. With a chance to end the series in Game 5, Texas would once again embarrass the Fugues in front of the Trashville faithful, and were off once again to the Finals with a 171-128 win.



Chicago Frost vs Philadelphia Row
With Philly having to run the gauntlet of the East Division in the playoffs, it soon became clear that things wouldn’t be as easy as they’d had it in the regular season. Chicago, led by the dynamic duo of B/ZBs Al Eaton and Tony Bennett and a somewhat radical defensive strategy, came out swinging in the first half of Game 1. Frost head coach Leonard Fisher instructed his O-squad, who would be facing off against three of Philadelphia’s “Four Oarsmen,” to double up each of those players and let the defensive squad deal with the remaining three players. Bold, sure, but effective, as Chicago would take a 21-point lead into the half, a big lead to overcome in yet another defensive series. At halftime, though, things turned around, and with a revised gameplan from head coach Erik Bryant, the Row began to turn things around, and B/ZB Wayne Jones hit a 5-point bucket which tied the game at 122 with just over a minute left. The teams would remain deadlocked from there, and with all the momentum going Philly’s way, they dominated the extra quarter, ultimately winning by 20. The Frost managed to regroup, though, and in Game 2, managed to hold their lead late, with some clutch stops from B/C Ralph Rashke and W/ZB Ed Maxwell stalling enough of the Row’s momentum, earning them a 17-point win and a tied series heading to Chicago.

Game 3 would be a tight one all the way through, with runs going back and forth each way, until ultimately, Chicago would break the late 122-122 tie with a rather cheeky goal from W/ZB Jim Choate and then add a 5-point dagger when Tony Bennett found B/ZB William Overton in the front corner of the end zone, giving them a 7-point cushion that would hold as the final score. Game 4 was the same thing, but turned up to 11, with one stretch in the seventh inning leaving both teams scoreless for 2:31, a playoff record. Ultimately, Chicago would come away with another tight win, 110-100, giving them a 3-1 series lead. Philadelphia, meanwhile, suddenly had their backs against the wall, needing a win at home in Game 5 to extend the series. That fact only seemed to motivate them, as they gave their fans a spectacular defensive performance, holding the Flakes to just 82, and leading to quite a few transitions where the Row’s stars could finally make things happen on offense. B/ZB Kenton Snowberger contributed 37 and F/K Ray Thomas scored 31 to go along with 15 saves on the other end, the only time one of the Oarsmen would score even 25. Unfortunately, none of the momentum from that dominant win would carry back to Chicago, as the Frost again got out to an early lead and carried it to their second NDLCS berth in franchise history.

Last edited by ItDoesntMatter (4/26/2021 11:02 am)

Redbacks again...in related news, I am SO ready for the expansion teams to officially join.

All the haters can stuff it! TEXAS runs this league!

just gonna drop this here and walk away slowly

GoRedSox96 wrote:

Jesus Christ, how far can the Redbacks go! I'd say they meet their end by 2040 hopefully.

Probably not much further. This year was supposed to be the end of their title run, but both Philly and Nashville got bounced in the semifinals (fun fact - this is the first time ever that the #1 seed has not participated in the NDLCS) and by the time they were hosting the Finals, they were pretty heavy favorites. Everybody seems convinced that expansion will nerf them a bunch, and it probably will, but I think a bigger concern for Texas is that both Larry Whitt and Elide Amigazzi are free agents this year, and both of them will want to get paid. Expansion will probably just take every existing team down by about the same amount without leveling the field much.