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HOGS, ROW AGREE TO FOUR-PLAYER DEAL
8 December 2033
by Jared Jalowiec, NDL.com

The first major trade of the NDL offseason arrived today, as Philadelphia and Toronto agreed to a deal that will send F/K Cai Lai and W/ZB Devin Martinez north of the border in return for W/K Zachary Tull and F/ZB Walt Duncan. The Hogs will also receive the Row’s second-round pick in next year’s Entry Draft.

Notably, this move sees the Row commit to positional diversity in their lineup, while the Hogs take over the mantle of only rostering F/Ks. Speaking of which, this trade also reunites Lai with former Philly teammate F/K Ray Thomas, though of course, they’ll be playing on different squads. On the other side of the trade, the 37-year-old Duncan is now back where he started his career, as he joined the Row as a rookie all the way back in 2017.

HOW CAMERON BOGGS COULD BE THE KEY TO A CHARGERS TITLE RUN
19 December 2033
by Isaac Chavez, New York Post

As so many wonderful fans around the league have reminded us, the Chargers blew a 3-1 lead in last year’s semifinal against the Lights. As painful as it is to be reminded of that fact, the boys in bronze were just one win - one shot, even - from playing for the First Trophy. Now, they’ve re-signed their biggest free agent - W/ZB Isaaq Davis - and now they’ve landed a big fish from another team in LA’s B/C Cameron Boggs.

I don’t think it’s ridiculous to say that - if things go well - Boggs could end up giving the team that extra push it needs to get into, and even win, the NDLCS. He’s certainly an upgrade at center over fellow B/Cs David Reinink and Phil Carey, and he’s at least as good at Reinink when it comes to offense. Who knows - I mean, the rest of the team is still only getting older, after all - but you gotta believe they have as good a shot as anyone.

CORDOVA TRADED TO TEXAS FOR FORRISTAL, VALDEZ
13 January 2034
by Pablo Villa, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Records took a pretty major step in the direction of a rebuild today, or at least that’s what they did in theory. They didn’t get a whole lot younger by sending F/ZB Fabiano Cordova to Texas, but when you get F/ZB Dakota Valdez and B/ZB Dustin Forristal in return, it’s hard to complain. Both are just a hair under 30, and what’s more, have some legit playoff experience, which the rest of the team is lacking.

Of course, there is a catch, which is that both players - Valdez in particular - carry a pretty heavy cap hit with them, but with the cap only set to go up, that shouldn’t be a major problem going forward. This also gives the Redbacks an upgrade at the forward position, which obviously isn’t the best solution. But honestly, I’m finding it hard to see much of a downside to this trade. With these two guys added to the young core the team has been building? I think we could be back in the playoffs - legitimately this time - in just a couple of years.

NDL SEASON PREVIEW: CONTENDERS, PRETENDERS, AND DEPENDERS
27 February 2034
by Courtney Connor, FOX Sports

It’s almost dashball season again, so let’s break down who’s hot, who’s not, and who might have a shot. Starting with:

Contenders:
Sea Lions - The champs were able to re-sign B/K Kyle Zorya and add B/K Rufo Torrez, and most of their core is just hitting their prime. They’ll be back.
Lights - Like Cali, Minnesota brought back a major piece - W/ZB Kristen Paez - and added a veteran presence in B/ZB Dewitt Golf. They should have no trouble competing again.
Row - Philly’s only getting older, but they added several pieces this offseason and are always a scary team as long as they stay healthy.
Chargers - There’s a lot of hype around this team, and there’s a reason, but they’re also well past their prime. That said, New York should be a lock for the playoffs this year.
Redbacks - You just can’t count this team out, but it has been two years since they won a playoff series, so they find themselves at the bottom of the contenders list.

Dependers:
Orbits - The Orbs miss out on being a contender solely because they still feel so dependent on W/ZB Frank St. Peter. If he does well, so will they, but if he struggles or gets hurt, good luck.
Fugitives - The boys in Trashville stood remarkably pat this offseason while a lot of other teams improved. It’ll be weird to see them miss the playoffs, but I wouldn’t be that surprised.
Statesmen - DC made a leap last year and nearly got into the playoffs. I expect them to take another step forward this year, and if they’re lucky, it could earn them a postseason berth.
Sabertooths - Losing B/C Cameron Boggs will mean a downgrade at center, and there’s some controversy at the forward position. If things don’t go well, it could be a tough year.
Frost - Chicago has been very mediocre the last couple of years, and the high-end talent is there, but the depth isn’t. They should be around the cusp of the playoffs, though.
Hogs - Bringing back 41-year-old F/K Ray Thomas back and pairing him with 35-year-old F/K Cai Lai sure is a choice. The odds exist, but they’re not in Toronto’s favor.
Palms - B/ZB Gerald Hartline and B/C Ben Elkins might need to turn back time in order to get this team into the playoffs. They’ve got good depth, at least.

Pretenders:
Commodores - Boston’s made some strides, and they’ve stayed alive for at least one more year. They’ll need a lot of help to have a good year, but they probably won’t have another terrible one.
Records - They picked up some decent talent this offseason and have a lot of young guys. They’ll be good soon, but they aren’t now.
Magma - 24-year-olds B/K Travis Hauser and F/ZB Nick Goldring keep getting better, but it’s still gonna be an uphill battle before they start competing for real.
Sawyers - Oh boy, these guys look rough. Double-digit wins will probably be a major achievement for this group. Enjoy that #1 pick, Seattle.

dc: the purple is better without the quarters imo. As for the new uniform. I like the pink, however, I think the 2 shades of red kinda clash with the uniform, something just makes it feel like it's doing too much at once. 

texas: I think the new third is classy and fits in with the team. It's a nice call back to the team's name.

Coming in hot with a full redesign this season are the Nashville Fugitives:

Old logos and uniforms:

The Fugitives haven't changed their primary logo at all since joining the league a dozen years ago, and they felt like it was time to give that logo a refresh. Here's a comparison, with the old logo on the left. You'll also notice that the team's shade of gray is a touch lighter as well. Controversially, however, they've demoted the raccoon logo to secondary status, replacing it with a minimalistic logo featuring the logo's mask and characteristic tuft of fur. Owner Anthony Jones reportedly liked it because it reminded him of a superhero emblem and insisted that it be the primary. They've also added another alternate logo featuring the shape of Tennessee and the team's iconic five stripes.


The uniforms also take that five-stripe motif and expand on it, with five bold stripes across the chest and lower-opacity stripes repeating along the rest of the shirt. The shorts feature the new primary interrupting a thick gray stripe with the five black stripes across it. The jerseys also feature a new font, which is basically their old font but a bit bolder and unitalicized.


The court features all three logos, with the raccoon logo still at center court, the mask logo painted in full inside each three-point arc, and the Tennessee logo on the sideline.


Would love to know your thoughts before we dive into the 2034 season!

Last edited by ItDoesntMatter (2/21/2023 1:34 pm)

Overall, its a good update. The uniforms especially are an upgrade, I like the new stripes, it just feels super clean, but also fresh and new, tho I agree with Dan on the numbers for the white jersey, I could see that being hard to read at times. The new raccoon head is great, it makes the raccoon look much less like he's just seen a fellow raccoon go face-deep into a jar of mayonnaise and more fierce. Obviously, not as much of a fan of the new primary, only because it is a secondary logo design imo being made a primary, which I like in the context of the story being a fun, controversial decision. It's still a solid design tho so great job!