MyTeamIsDr.Pepper wrote:

As for the new playoff tree, I’d swap the Heralds v Neptunes game with the Herons v Killers game, that way you know how we ended up with the semifinal matchups.
Great work though, the new tree is a big upgrade over the last one.

Thanks! I probably shouldn't call it a playoff tree, as I go by seeding instead of brackets. That's why I went straight across 1-4 for the semi-finals, it just looks weird because there were so many upsets.

Stickman wrote:

As for the playoff graphics, I agree with Pepper that setting it up so that your eye can naturally follow who will face who in the following round would be a good idea.  I also think I'd put the finals matchup a row underneath the semifinals, so that your eye doesn't automatically get directed to the finals matchup and spoil how the semis went before reading them.   For me, when I read these, I like to slowly scroll down to take in each round, (I'd imagine some other readers do this too...... you guys do that too, right?....right?)   Other than that, huge improvement on the playoff tree!

Yeah that's harder to do when doing seeding vs a bracket style playoffs. I really appreciate your feedback. I do like the old style of series-by-series but it's super time consuming to do every season. But I'll take that into consideration. (will also update that #7 seed issue, good eye!)

Dan O'Mac wrote:

I feel that the graphics are great, but the presentation could use a bit more spacing out. So the image for the Wild Card round, followed by the recaps you have. Then the image for the Quarterfinals, followed by the recaps. Then the image for the Semifinals and the recap, and then the finals preview. By spreading them out, it makes it easier to read and still be surprised by the outcomes through the finals.

Thanks, Dan. I see what you mean. I condensed everything because it was so time consuming to do individual series graphics even with a template, but perhaps I can separate the rounds out a bit more. Appreciate the feedback!
 

Oh an expansion. Congrats to the Heralds on a 3 peat. Hopefully someone new can win next year

That was quite the series! Well fought by both teams but the Heralds blossoming dynasty was just too much for the Bucks.

Also, expansion? Colored me excited! 

1983 OFFSEASON



League News

The league office in Trowburgh was abuzz as soon as the season ended with the owners in deep, sometimes heated discussions about how the league was progressing and their future plans. Commissioner Hatch was adamant about wanting to expand the league while the owners were hesitant to expand again so soon after the merger. Among the loudest dissenters was longtime Whales owner Seymour Duval and things got so heated that several owners no longer wanted to work with Duval. The Commissioner jumped at this opportunity and set the table to force Duval into retirement and give full control of the team over to his son, Steve Duval, who had already been running some of the operations with GM Don O'Donnell since 1981. After more heated discussions, Seymour officially stepped down and Steve took his place. This brought a younger, more progressive voice to the table.

The early success of the Blazers, Killers, and Swans combined with the recent success of the Bucks was the main argument for Hatch in favor of another quick expansion to take advantage of new markets. The league, however, even with a huge cash influx from the recent playoffs, was still operating in the red after such big acquisitions and the majority of the owners were against the idea. Hatch was unrelenting in his pursuit of the idea and recruiting a major bargaining chip to persuade the owners: Soon to be Hall of Famer Gary Wisniewski.

Hatch wanted the massive Alko market. The UHA only had middling success there with the Wildcats but attendance was good and Alko is the biggest city in Torland. Hatch believed that a THL team in the market would be at a better advantage than their former rivals. Gary Wiz played for the Wildcats for four years and his legend only continued there before his final year in Vensessor. Hatch sold him on the idea of being part of an ownership package of an expansion team in Alko where he could also run the team. The power and draw of the Gary Wiz name alone would be worth the price of admission. Wisniewski loved the idea but they had to find an investor to carry the price tag and weight of the cost of an expansion team. Hatch found a businessman named Eric Barclay who owed him some favors and formed an ownership group with Gary Wiz to get the expansion bid.

With Gary Wiz on board, the owners were still split but Hatch had forced their hand because Wisniewski was heading into the Hall of Fame amid huge fanfare and it would have been a PR nightmare if word leaked they'd turned down such a beloved nationwide legend. With Barclay and Wisniewski booked, attention turned to adding a second team to keep the numbers even. Again the owners were split on the idea and Hatch's swing vote carried the day with placing a team in the growing city of Sina. The owners in Fort Bevin, Portarra and Yubay were none too pleased at the decision but Fort Bevin native Fred Winkler was chosen to lead the new team. News pundits, while excited about Gary Wiz “owning” a team, panned the league harshly for the “afterthought” in Sina and they weren't wrong. The league meetings ended on a sour note and tensions between the owners and commissioner were at an all-time high.

League Expansion

1983 Alko Wizards



Eric Barclay is the money man in Alko but Gary Wiz will be face of it and run the team. Alko is the biggest city in Torland. The Wizards will practice at the former home of the Wildcats, the Rosa Nence Arena, but a newer facility called the Misty Center will be ready for the regular season.

The nickname Wizards was chosen as a play on Alko's nickname of Misty City and it being a mystical place and home to many spiritual centers. And of course, an homage to the man himself, Gary Wiz. Some fans say all the fame has gone to Gary's head. Some classic Alko colors of claret and light blue were chosen. The logo is an A with a wizard's hat in the negative space. Alko also has a unique wordmark. The uniforms feature a full-length yoke, diagonal sleeve stripes, double-outlined numbers, and oversized NOB's.


1983 Sina Serpents


Despite his franchise being treated like the extra step-child, Fred Winkler was very excited about the opportunity to build a new brand and team in a growing city like Sina. (Prounounced "see-nuh", like John Cena) The city has ballooned with suburbanites and a surging downtown area. Sina draws very similar comparisons to Las Vegas in the States, along with Atlantic City and New Orleans. A vibrant entertainment and gambling scene on the iconic Red Boulevard where it intersects with Snake Street near the Landing on the shore of Lake Furben is a hotspot for celebrities. The population of Sina has risen past other THL cities like Vensessor, Lecayne and Abrieden but hasn't been considered a viable hockey market due to it's close proximity to Fort Bevin in particular. Winkler decided to throw caution to the wind and build a unique brand beginning with the name Serpents. A retrofitted an old arena into a professional hockey capacity which was named the EverStar Center.

The logo is a snake in the shape of an S in the team colors of red, green and white. The tail is wrapped like a hockey blade. The uniforms are primary red with green pants. A classic block font with two outlines is used for the numbers and paired with double striping. Winkler wanted something that looked modern while still classic to put his new team on the map.


League Realignment

With the addition of two new expansion teams, the divisions were adjusted for geographical relevance. The Wizards were added to the Hatch Division. The Killers were moved to the Rankin Division to join their west coast mates and the Serpents were put in their place in the Willard Division.

cont'd

Quite the offseason!

Expansion:  Loving the drama and in-fighting over if expansion should have happened or not!  Both sides of the argument certainly had their points, so it was nice to see both sides fleshed out!

Alko Wizards:  I was wondering if you'd jump on the claret and blue bandwagon that seemingly everyone else on the site has been on, lol!  I will say this teams looks really cool, nice logo as well, (only thing is that the A in the backspace of the logo doesn't look much like an A, although to be fair it's pretty obvious what it's supposed to be).  Very nice job on this one!

Gary Wisniewski: Very nice to see the legend be back in the storyline, this time as owner/general management/guy who got his team named after him!  I'm guessing he's going to make waves during this time-frame, although maybe not for the good of the Wizards.  Superstar athletes don't usually turn out to be the best of owners and general managers, (see Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson for two recent examples) and I suspect Gary Wiz will prove a bit too controlling and could cost the team a lot of progress.  Just a guess though!

Sina Serpents: I really love that logo!  Very simple and effective, although it does sorta look like the poor snake has developed chicken pox!  The jerseys are interesting.  I'll admit I've never been fond of red and green for team colors myself, but I think you did pretty good here.  I do see that the home set clearly has a red focused feel to it, while the away jerseys seems to imply green is the main color for the Serpents.  It'll be fun watching if this team decides what color that want to be or if they have it both ways.

Fort Bevin Rockets Redesign: As much as red, navy, and white are severely overused in North American sports, it never ceases to amaze me how few fictional teams utilize the color scheme, (probably because the authors are tired of seeing that color scheme in real life, lol).   I think this was the right place to take the Rockets design, as I always thought the yellow on top of the red, white, and blue was a bit too much.  This simplified approach looks much better to me!  

Sigs:  Digging the autographed style a lot!  Very creative!

Great job as always!