Damn, Texas-Philly again? Meh, here's hoping for an exciting series at least.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Philadelphia Row hosted the Texas Redbacks for Game 1 of the NDL Championship Series. Philly may have had the higher seed, but while the Redbacks had a rather smooth first two rounds, the Row had stumbled a bit, including an unprecedented first-round loss in Game 3 against Chicago. It was quite the surprise, then, when Texas came out of the gate with a messy, unpolished Game 1 performance. The team that normally ate up other teams’ mistakes suddenly found itself in the other position. It looked to be an easy, clean win for the home team, but as luck would have it, it wasn’t to be. Late in the game, B/ZB Kenton Snowberger reaggravated an elbow injury, which it was later revealed he’d been playing through for much of the playoffs, but which forced him out for the remainder of the series. Philly would still cruise to a win, but losing Snowy left them without the four best players from last year’s championship run. As a result, they looked out-of-sorts in Game 2, while Texas had regained their composure. W/ZB Larry Whitt’s 41 points turned out to be the margin of victory, the Row’s second-biggest loss of the season and a dozen points higher than their next home loss.

With the teams sitting at a game apiece heading into Dallas, the play on the court finally looked even. Game 3 was a battle for the full 64 minutes, and the lead was only able to reach double digits for a single possession. With under a minute to go, B/C Kevin Hur found F/ZB Dakota Valdez for what Hur thought was a 5-point toss to put the game out of reach, but referee Tobie Muhammad correctly noticed that Hur’s toe was on the line, calling it as a 3-pointer and leaving Texas up by just 5. Hur was beside himself, but fortunately for him, it wouldn’t matter, as the Redbacks defended the perimeter tightly and a W/ZB Leon Leyva jumper from near mid-court rimmed out. Texas would hang on, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven.

Game 4 would continue the trend of close games, and while the final score wouldn’t reflect it as much, it was nearly as tight as the game prior. The defenses stepped up a bit more, but it was Texas’s D who really stepped up down the stretch, forcing 4 consecutive stops in the last five minutes to allow their team to pull away. With the First Trophy meeting the teams in Wells Fargo Arena for Game 5, Philadelphia would look to extend the Finals to six games for the first time since 2023. They made good progress in the first half, taking a 7-point lead into halftime, but as they always seem to, the Redbacks would not die. They pulled ahead late in the sixth, and it would be the last time the Row led all season. With a 146-132 victory, the Texas Redbacks would claim their eighth championship in the NDL’s fifteenth season.

Congrats to Texas on yet another championship.

I was kinda expecting Philly to go Back 2 Back

EDIT:  ALL HAIL THE REDBACKS

Last edited by ZO82 (6/09/2021 2:35 pm)

Hey, we're back! I'm trying something new again this offseason, which is splitting it into two parts. Everybody's doing it! In all seriousness, this has given me a chance to experiment a little bit more with my format and also write more about each individual thing, which has been fun. Basically what I'm trying to say is: there will be more offseason coming. Anyway, we now travel back to the future or whatever...

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KIRKPATRICK JOINS SEVERAL NDL GREATS IN RETIREMENT
28 August 2031
by Nick Sierra, ESPN

Spoiler »Over the past week or so, we’ve seen several notable dashballers call it quits, most recently Lights B/ZB Dan Kirkpatrick. Kirkpatrick joins B/ZB Maurice Caumont, B/ZB James Terry, and W/ZB Dwight McCann as the major names to hand in their metaphorical badges and guns. Obviously, there are others, but these four probably have the greatest legacies, so let’s run through them real quick to see who we’ll miss the most.

In terms of championships, Kirkpatrick has three, and with three different teams; one in his rookie year in California in 2018, one with his longtime Hogs in 2020, and one in his single year with Texas in 2028. Caumont has two, winning in 2029 and 2030 with Philly, Terry has one, with Chicago in 2019, and McCann retired without a championship. Terry and McCann probably have the best chance at having his number retired, though, as both spent nearly a decade as by far the best player on the Sawyers and Tooths, respectively. In terms of awards, Caumont won the league’s inaugural DPOTY award, while McCann won back-to-back OPOTYs in 2021 and 2022.

In the end, it’s hard to compare legacies, and that’s why I’m gonna cop out and say that all four of these players will be well-remembered by their respective fanbases. Everybody has a different way of measuring these types of things, so let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Spoiler »Just a few weeks after clearing out their front office, the Sawyers held a press conference today to introduce their new general manager and head coach. At GM, they brought in Hunter Sharp, who has been assistant GM for Philadelphia since 2027. While Connor Baughman deserves most of the credit, Sharp has spent several years learning from one of the best general managers in the league and should be able to convert that expertise into progress in Seattle.

The bigger name, though, is unquestionably Sacha Ponce, whom the Sea Lions let go earlier this month. Pitt head coach Austin Rosenow was also in the conversation, and now looks extremely likely to take over the California job, but Ponce is definitely a big get for a team who was definitely looking for championship experience.

The hope for Seattle is that these two will be able to not only turn around their disastrous season last year, but also convince their top two free agents, F/C Michel Blanchard and W/ZB Merlin Jorgensen, to re-sign with the team. Blanchard in particular is a huge wildcard, but maybe, just maybe, the two championships on each new hire’s résumé will convince him to stick around.

Spoiler »8:02 PM - Well, we finally know which of the “Big Three” Seattle had an eye on, and it turns out it was F/ZB Myles Dunton. Dunton was rated third out of the three, but has by far the best offensive talent, as the other two top prospects are far more defense-oriented players.

8:13 PM - The first trade of the night is here, and surprisingly, we haven’t left the top three yet. Montréal is passing on B/ZB Eliut Martin to move down a couple of spots, possibly with the aim of selecting W/C Austin Zatarain. Atlanta gives up quite a haul for the Jackson State star, sending a 2032 2nd-rounder and a 2033 1st-rounder in the deal.

8:21 PM - No sooner had the Magma got their guy than another deal was announced. Chicago moves up to six and takes W/K Samuel Amato, who played his college ball just a few hours away at UW-Madison. California will receive the 9th and 22nd picks in this draft (the latter of which actually belonged to the Sea Lions initially), as well as the Frost’s 1st-rounder in 2033 and their 3rd-rounder in 2034.

9:24 PM - And B/K Mike Hall is off the board to Texas, making him the last pick of the night. Tonight’s winner might be DC just for having three picks in the first round, but the two teams who moved down got pretty good hauls for those draft positions as well.

1. SEA - F/ZB Myles Dunton (Charlotte)
2. BOS - F/ZB Joseph Dew (Air Force)
3. ATL (from MTL) - B/ZB Eliut Martin (Jackson State)
4. DC - B/ZB Jehu Chambliss (Tulsa)
5. MTL (from ATL) - W/C Austin Zatarain (Colorado State)
6. CHI (from CAL) - W/K Samuel Amato (Wisconsin)
7. CAL (from TOR) - W/ZB Justin Benda (Tennessee)
8. MIN - B/ZB Connor Jornada (Colorado)
9. CAL (from LA via CHI) - W/ZB Johnny Herring (Illinois State)
10. NY - B/ZB Logan Wall (Cal State Fullerton)
11. DC (from CHI) - B/ZB Ethan Mynatt (SMU)
12. NSH - W/K Trevor Rasmussen (Minnesota)
13. SEA (from ORL) - B/ZB Deonte Terrell (Nebraska)
14. DC (from MIA) - B/K Stephen Stirling (Massachusetts)
15. PHI - F/K Jerrad Jones (East Carolina)
16. TEX - B/K Mike Hall (LSU)

Spoiler »Redbacks B/C Kevin Hur has signed an 11-year contract, reportedly worth $119 million, with the Nashville Fugitives. Hur has been one of the few younger players to rise up into the Redbacks elite recently, and has carried the torch as the only Cambodian-American player in league history. Losing Hur will mean the Redbacks will have to find another solution at center, whether that’s W/C Ernie Starling or a free agent signing of their own. Nashville, meanwhile, finally has a good replacement for F/C Michel Blanchard, at least at center.

This news comes just two days after F/ZB Walt Duncan inked a deal with Toronto, meaning that Texas has lost their top two free agents in this class. They can take a bit of solace in knowing that the Row have yet to sign any of their FAs to a deal, and have in fact lost B/C Ben Elkins to Miami. Also, F/ZB Dakota Valdez is reportedly “very close” on a deal with Texas, so that’s something to look forward to.