PALMS, FUGITIVES WORK OUT FOUR-PLAYER SWAP
14 October 2031
by Luke Rodriquez, Miami Herald

Just a few months after a thrilling seven-game quarterfinal series, the Palms and Fugitives switched from competitors to collaborators Tuesday. Miami will be sending a pair of W/ZBs to their division rivals, namely, Rich Abbott and Josh Kolberg. Nashville will be sending back W/C Ally Rucker and F/ZB Jeff Dutton. None of these are huge names (though Palms fans may remember Abbott for providing a game-winner against Philly in last year’s playoffs), but all of them will be decent role players.

Statistically, Abbott was the best of the bunch, and I’m sure many fans will be sad to see him go. That said, Rucker is an excellent defender, and while he plays center now, he does have experience at keeper from his days at Marquette, which may be something the Palms can experiment with if they want to give one of their young B/Cs (Andrew Raulston and Eli Ruff) more playing time and/or give 36-year-old Joel Drain some time off. Dutton is also a solid defender, and with those two slotted into their starting lineup, Miami’s defense looks much stronger than before. Of course, Nashville’s offense looks much better with the addition of Abbott and Kolberg, but the best trades help both teams.

OCHOA SIGNS MASSIVE CONTRACT IN PHILLY
17 October 2031
by Austin Buckley, NJ.com

Well, we knew somebody was going to pay W/ZB Benny Ochoa handsomely this offseason. Several teams had shown interest in the 29-year-old, who was by all measures the premiere free agent in this season’s class. Turns out the Philadelphia Row really wanted to keep him around, and they shelled out a king’s ransom and a leg to do it.

Ochoa’s contract will reportedly last 13 years and cost Philly a grand total of nearly $197 million. The cost per year doesn’t quite match the contract W/K Will Orleans is under in Nashville, but that total value is the highest in NDL history by nearly $25 million. The contract will hold up until Ochoa’s age-42 season, so the Row should expect to have him for the rest of his career (unless of course that contract gets them in cap trouble down the line, in which case they may have to take more drastic measures).

NDL FREE AGENCY 2021: SEATTLE GETS THEIR GUYS
12 November 2031
by Logan Jackson, Logging the Northwest

Well, the gamble paid off.

The Sawyers went all in, with a new GM, a new head coach, and a new logo and uniforms, and it all came together in a big way today, as they were able to get both F/C Michel Blanchard and W/ZB Merlin Jorgensen back on board. Both players signed on until age 38, which is two years for Blanchard and four for Jorgensen, and at a pretty team-friendly price, too - they’ll combine to be less than $8.5 million against the cap this season.

Now, let’s set some expectations here. Will this immediately make the Sawyers relevant again? Probably not on its own. At the moment, they’ve got pretty much the same roster they did last year, which is not really the way to build from the worst team in the league. What they seem to have been able to do is to get this team to believe in the future. This year will be a big one in trying to prove themselves right.

RUSSELL, LAWRENCE DAVIS HEAD TO ATLANTA IN MASSIVE DEAL
4 December 2031
by Mitch Gesme, Chicago Tribune

If you weren’t convinced that the Frost are going all in this year, this should certainly do the job. 22-year-old phenom W/ZB Isaiah Russell is headed to Atlanta, as is W/ZB Lawrence Davis, whom Chicago just signed this offseason. In return, they’ll pick up W/K Albano Alvarez and B/ZB Abe Gonzales from the Records, as well as 21-year-old prospect F/ZB Zechariah Ogle.

The popular opinion seems to be that the Frost are throwing away their future by trading Russell, and it’s true that they’re giving up a huge piece who looks like a really special player. You want my opinion though? I like this trade. With two players (B/C Ralph Rashke and W/K Nico Boyer) turning 39 by the start of the season, now seems like as good a time as any to make a push. Plus, even if he’s not Isaiah Russell, Ogle is a pretty promising prospect, and they’ve already signed 24-year-old F/C Gerardo Real and 23-year-old F/ZB Derek Davis to add to a pretty legit squad of under-25s. The future will be fine.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So yeah! That's the offseason. What you think of the new format? Do you like the more explicit article style? Do you like it being split in half? Did you not read any of this and just want to see new logos and uniforms? Do you want to see more NDDL? Do you want me to quit and start a quidditch series instead? What's your favorite social security number? Are there hot women in your area? Let me know!

I really like the new format, it's a creative use of the spoiler tag. Not sure if the player movement needs to be split, although if there are more notable moves then splitting it might be the better way to go. Definitely looking forward to the new branding stuff but I think this offseason will be pretty big. Good on Ochoa for getting paid, hopefully that doesn't backfire on Philly.

I like the off-season format, I’d imagine it’s helpful to you for organization of the important stuff.

Also, this may have probably been asked before, but as for college dashball: what’s the breakdown of that? Are smaller schools poised to remain powerhouses, or are the larger schools ready to pounce?

Last edited by CCLXXXVII (7/27/2021 8:46 pm)

CCLXXXVII wrote:

I like the off-season format, I’d imagine it’s helpful to you for organization of the important stuff.

Also, this may have probably been asked before, but as for college dashball: what’s the breakdown of that? Are smaller schools poised to remain powerhouses, or are the larger schools ready to pounce?

Smaller schools still have a presence, but so do larger ones. You can sort of see that by looking at the first round; you've got a lot of state schools there but there are also a few that you wouldn't expect to see. I expect that this is more or less how things will remain for the immediate future.

For Montreal, I like the new font. I think the Seattle update is fantastic. Feels like a natural upgrade to their set and I'm a big fan of the saw blade shoulders and striping. Nice work.