I’m starting to give up on this. When was the last time Texas actually lost a stupid game?!?!?!?!?!?!

Holy... Mother of God! 50-0 is absolutely insane. What was the probability of that happening?

Even God loves the Redbacks

All Hail...

Steelman wrote:

Holy... Mother of God! 50-0 is absolutely insane. What was the probability of that happening?

I mean a few years earlier, they went 40-0 and lost only one game in the playoffs, to Toronto of all teams. 

Atlanta Records vs Texas Redbacks
If this one gave you a major sense of déjà vu, you’re not alone. If these series were actually competitive, Atlanta and Texas might be developing into one of those cool out-of-division rivalries that happens when two teams meet in the playoffs every year, but instead, Records fans just hate the Redbacks for the same reason everybody else does: because they just keep on winning. Atlanta can take solace in the fact that this series was quite a bit closer than the last one, with an average margin of victory of just 44 points, but the Redbacks were always gonna win this series, and they continue their undefeated streak into the second round.



Seattle Sawyers vs Nashville Fugitives
In contrast to the 1-vs-8 series, the second through seventh seeds were all expected to be very close. Seattle’s record wasn’t all that close to Nashville’s, but they came into the playoffs rather hot and were expected to at least give the Fugues a run for their money. They certainly did that in Game 1, as the two teams turned in a classic, trading points and occasionally runs back and forth until a 5-point toss from B/K Will Baker to F/C Michel Blanchard gave Nashville some breathing room, and the Fugitives would go on to win by 11. Unfortunately, Game 2 would be disastrous for Nashville. In the first inning, W/ZB Fred Stinson went down with a wrist injury, and then in the third inning, his replacement, W/ZB Tracy Battle, also had to be taken out of the game with a shoulder injury. Nashville was forced to turn to rookie W/ZB Ian Hills, and while Hills made some incredible plays on defense, his offense was a bit of a liability. In part due to that, and in part due to sloppy play all around, the Fugitives only scored 80 points in front of their home fans, letting Seattle run away with an easy win and a split as the series shifted to the Pacific Northwest.

With more time to plan, the Fugues came into Game 3 and seemed to have patched things up. They slowed the pace down, cleaned things up, and stayed in the game, even holding a lead as late as the sixth inning. Unfortunately, Seattle’s defense came in clutch, particularly their four-headed monster of F/ZB Walt Duncan, W/ZB Earl Howard, and B/ZBs James Terry and Clyde Kamai in the end zone who did not allow a single touchdown pass in the final frame, giving Seattle a 2-1 lead. Game 4 went similarly, and the game was within one possession for the majority of the time. It came down to the final minute, where Seattle F/ZB Williams Denson hit a dagger 5-point bucket to put the game away. With their backs against the wall in Game 5, Nashville couldn’t get anything together in the first half. The Sawyers went up 84-57 at halftime, and while the Fugitives would mount a valiant comeback, it would ultimately fall short, and Seattle would move on to face Texas in the second round.



California Sea Lions vs Miami Palms
If Game 1 between Nashville and Seattle was a classic, Game 1 between California and Miami was legendary. The teams battled back and forth the whole game, and when Palms B/C Steve Locke found W/ZB René Siemann to put the home side up 1 with just 4 seconds to go, they thought they’d clinched it. The crowd thought the same thing, and many in attendance were still cheering, even as the clock hit zero and even as Sea Lions B/ZB Kenton Snowberger’s half-court heave gave the Sea Lions a thrilling last-second win. Miami came out in Game 2 looking to avoid losing two in a row at home, and they did just that, as B/ZB Gerald Hartline’s 44 led them to a 160-124 win in Game 2. They were able to take the lead in the series in Game 3, holding the Sea Lions to just 103 in front of their home crowd, highlighted by multiple highlight-reel plays by both Hartline and W/ZB Terry Rothgeb to knock away potential scores.

Like Miami earlier in the series, California would be trying to avoid dropping back-to-back home games in Game 4. W/K Will Orleans scored 35 opposite Snowy Snowberger’s 33, but their combined performances weren’t enough to put the game away. Miami came out strong in the final frame, eventually taking the lead and sealing the deal when Terry Rothgeb picked off a forced pass by California B/ZB Amando Thomas. Rothgeb found B/K Joel Drain for a dagger, putting the Palms up 3-1 in the series. Back on the black court in Miami, the Palms would cruise past the dejected Sea Lions to clinch a spot in the semifinals.



Philadelphia Row vs Chicago Frost
Let’s see: two division rivals, two original teams, two groups playing at about the same level? Yup, we’ve got all the ingredients for one hell of a series. That came through in flashes in Game 1, where the Row won a defensive battle that very much benefitted their style of play. Chicago didn’t take kindly to being held under 100 points in front of their home crowd, and came out with a vengeance in Game 2. The Frost changed up their style of play, avoiding the crease almost entirely in order to stay away from F/K Ray Thomas and B/C Ben Elkins on one squad and B/K LaVarius McCargo and B/C Sora Matsuѕhita on the other. More importantly, though, their passes were hitting and their jump shots were falling, and with B/ZB Tony Bennett’s 36 leading the way, they dropped 159 to tie the series at one game apiece.

Game 3 in Philadelphia was the first where neither team was really able to control the pace of play. The Frost offense was running smoothly, but the Row came up with some big stops and were able to keep up. Ultimately, two clutch shots by Chicago F/C Ben Bowman gave the Frost the lead down the stretch, and they would hold on to win by 9. Philly would respond in Game 4 with another big defensive performance combined with their best offensive showing yet, with Thomas and McCargo combining for 102 points contributed on opposite squads, leading the Row to a convincing win and evening the series up once again. In an all-important Game 5, Chicago’s defense would step up, highlighted by several huge stops from B/C Ralph Rashke and a dominant night in net by W/K Nico Boyer. The Row would only reach a century in garbage time, and the Frost would take a 3-2 lead as the series moved back to Philadelphia.

Game 6 was a shootout, or at least as much of a shootout as these two defense-heavy teams could muster. The lead went back and forth the whole game, with 13 ties and 24 lead changes. With the Row playing for their season, the game would come down to a final possession. With the Row down one, B/ZB Charley Parker found W/ZB Isaaq Davis inside the three-point arc. Davis went up as if to take a jump shot, but instead, fed a pass through the crease to a streaking Sora Matsuѕhita. With just seconds left, Matsuѕhita had to get the ball out of his hands somehow, and decided his best course of action was to drop it to his foot. His kick just beat a diving Nico Boyer to give Philly the lead. Chicago didn’t even have enough time to dig the ball out of the net before the buzzer sounded, and the two teams would be headed back to the Windy City for a seventh game. In that game, the Row were able to pull away in the third inning thanks to a 20-point inning by Ray Thomas, and they held the Frost just far away enough for the rest of the game, taking a 127-115 win and the final spot in the second round.

Last edited by ItDoesntMatter (6/14/2020 12:22 am)