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-- has he been banished from practices?
-- drugs? women? late nights? missed curfews? Taco Bell at midnight?
-- since he is the youngest, maybe his GS is the result of too much work, some hazing. or working on his high school term paper.
i can't figure it.

All of the above. Cipriani is a "special" player. Now that I'm deep into overextension, this will probably be his last week. 2500/week is just too much.

I heard he was a Johnny Manziel's Friday Night Party.....he was over with Josh Gordon in the corner doing "something"

that was a memorably ugly game last night on TV --

five players for the Register-Guard fouled out, as did Mikuska for the Rocket Scientists.

the Scientists shot 6 for 72 from the free throw line.

both teams have been banned from any further appearances on TV.

thought i would take a look around and see what is in store for the coming week, but before we get to the relegation and playoff games, first a fond farewell to Bullish Mentality and the Hawks.

Bullish Mentality
if not for injuries, i figure this team would have won three straight NBBA titles. AZ never complained or railed against the gods the way he had the right to, another reason to respect his management. be that as it may, BM descends to the netherworld with three good prospects, including "Dobie" Ben Gillis, and i would guess a draft pick keeper or two. however, his squad is burdened with a couple of the ugliest players i've seen, or at least outside the Milwaukee Lethargy charity ward. these two players, the ancient Brandao and the wonderfully named Lucky Gray, have skill sets that would strike a viewer blind. otherwise, there are five veterans ready for battle in DII. i think dropping divisions is tricky, for there are plenty of good teams down there, and getting back is not a given, nor easy. that said, AZ should have a chuck of change to help him rebuild.

the Hawks
i think Mr. GoodKnees seems in better shape for relegation. two very young players, S.K. and Littlefield, are already very good, but under 25. there are a couple of MVP prospects who are around 20 / 21, plus a superstar prospect who is under 20. i assume a good draft pick is coming, as well. lots of development here, plus some salary cap room. i don't think the Hawks will be back in two seasons, but when he gets back, several of these players will be at the heart of that team.

good luck to both squads.

Relegation? one real match in store

Delta vs. Rocket Science
skill or luck, Delta has found itself in the Cup championship and a relegation opponent who recruits his team from the fans. i will say Rocket Science looks to be dropping down with what i figure is conservatively 4 million, maybe much more, in the bank.

Chargers and Kurgan
this is a brutal matchup -- #8 and #10 teams in the country. Chargers have a couple of possibly significant advantages -- HCA is the major one, and right now they have better GS, but if they chose, they could PON on Thursday and get a ENTH boost not available to Kurgan. on the other hand, Kurgan could PON for the first game, and negate the ENTH advantage the Chargers possibly has on Thursday. Just as Delta is sitting quite relaxed, so jista26 is faced with what i think are difficult decisions: winning the Cup is possibly a once-in-a-career game, but staying in the NBBA would save so much effort that would otherwise be spent getting back. For the Kurgans, the stakes are more stark -- win or disappear, and one of those wins must be on the road. losing Karakurt was a terrible blow. i don't know, but from my perspective, this series is the Chargers' to lose.

good luck to all teams.

Thanks!

And yes, I tried harder than I should have to make sure I landed the #1 pick. Not sure if I want to tank again immediately for D.III, the youngsters are doing out of position training.

Not too happy with the draft prospects I've seen so far. Spent 35 points, not sure if I want to spend any more. I suppose that's the problem with trying to train odd players. At least the new draft info you can get is a big improvement.

I think you are vastly overstating my chances. I have gutted my team down to a lean group of players I trained and some additional fodder. This team would struggle in D2 and is not a real threat to the Chargers.

Good luck to everyone next season and I will be back in about 7 years when my as of yet acquired players are ready.

finally, a word or two about the playoffs, before they begin:

Tucumcari
is clearly the favorite. my read on ozone's plan is that he is placing all his chips on red -- he wants to win, and this is the year. he has carried a very large salary all season, without the benefit of a long Cup run or USA NT players. even with good gates, i don't see how he was doing much more than breaking even all season, and now he has added another $200,000 in salary for the playoffs. his team is older (with key players Enil, Xiaobin, and van der Lande into their twilight years) and even his younger players (such as the injured Ravinski) probably can't be sold for replacement value. in other words, there may be a future for this team, but i don't see how it would be achieved, and decline next season seems imminent after these playoffs, as this team has few resources for a rebuild on the run. i figure ozone made a calculation early that to win the championship he needed HCA, and that is why he more or less blew off the Cup. he has his team in tip-top GS. Losing Ravinski was a terrible blow, but ozone went out and got a more than adequate replacement.

Toronto
a most interesting team, in large part because this squad is both talented and young. thylacine has quietly pulled together an awesome frontcourt that may capable of carrying a relatively weak backcourt. like me, late season moves have kept his players from being ready this season, but next year . . . and for five seasons after that . . . this team could be a powerhouse.

Barbarians and EDH
both very good teams, but simply lacking the firepower to keep up with or seriously challenge Tucumcari, especially on his court.

Beware of Dogs
normally, i would be quite frightened of TnT's squad, but as he has noted in this forum, his team is in decline, and -- a sure sign of bad karma -- his very talented SF got hurt and is probably lost for maybe the first week of the playoffs. even in wheelchairs, this squad is very good (he kissed off the last two games) and despite TnT's self-deprecating rhetoric, this team is dangerous.

The King and I
home to four, count 'em, four USA NT players and coached by one of the most imaginative managers i have ever run across. i drew this squad in the playoffs and i have literally no idea what lineup i will see. if there wasn't so much at stake, i would call that fun. anyway, this is a squad with immense talent, affordable (i would love to see what the merchandise revenue for this squad is like -- i would bet it approaches $200,000) -- like the Dogs, a very dangerous team.

In Your Face
talk about your elastic effect -- relegated two seasons ago, back this season in the playoffs and up to #4 in the country. i would guess xtc's record suffered because of the long Cup run. his game against the Dogs should be a very good one.

Eugene Register-Guard
out of shape and fully expecting to pass the crown onto Tucumcari in less than two weeks.

good luck to one and all.

Congrats to Xtc and his In Your Face on kicking these Dogs a$$ tonight.

Congrats to all the other winners tonight as well. We're going to have new champs in both NBBA CUP and league this season.

and, i'm sorry to add, a new #1 team.

crazy idea: NBBA winner faces USA Cup winner in some kind of showdown. Sure, there is no time, but it might be interesting ...