World Bowl XXXI Everything Thread

[Main Nation Ministry]

Somewhere in Training at Main Nation Ministry

First Training Day

"Men! Salute!"

This is what the General said as he entered the training area. The men were lined up in there in their teams. There were 3 teams of Offensive, Defensive and Special teams. The general stood in front of the men on a raised platform in the indoor training area. The training area has been converted into a football field with a football post on each side. The area still was in the normal colors of red, black and white and AstroTurf replaced the floor.

"Gentlemen, this is your first day of training! I trust that you have did your "homework" by reading from the books that we have send you. By now, you should have learned the techniques in football. You will immediately head to your coordinators for training! Also, the one who does a good job in training gets to have their face be in front of Sugar Snake-fish Cereal!

Down at the training area, the men were suited up in what appeared to be bulky football uniforms. A scientist accomplished by the Assistant Head Coach appeared. "Ok men, we got a scientist from the Ministry of Science to brief us on the uniforms.", Jones said to the teams. "What you are all wearing is made with an experimental flexible material that becomes more comfortable, the more you wear it. So the best thing to do now is you should start stretching, so you are more used to it.", the scientist from the Ministry of Science said. "You heard the man, you now should be running 2 laps by now, after you heard that! Now, GO GO GO!", the Assistant Head Coach yelled as the men started running.

Meanwhile, armed guards were escorting prison inmates to the training area. "You said we get let out early from this? This isn't the Ministry of Science.", one of the prisoners said before being silenced by an armed guard. When they entered the training area, the defensive team were already there. The Defensive Coordinator explained the situation, "Ok, Defensive! We are going to use these fellow prisoners from our lovely prisons to help us train! We shall begin with tackling the opposition! One unlucky prisoner was given a football and when they tried to let go of it, they discovered it was covered with a sticky covering that made it hard to get rid of. A whistle was blown and the defensive team ran to the prisoner.

It was too late for that poor soul.

Meanwhile, the General was doing yoga in his office while he was learning to classical music cranked all the way to the top, that didn't make him hear the screams of the prisoners being used as football maneuver test dummies. As he is doing the tree on his yoga mat, he quietly said to himself,
"We are going to win this."

[Fujisawan Territories]

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Listen to the Katie and Bee Morning Show on KATE 88.9 FM and be the 88th person to enter the keyword of the day online at 8:08am to win two tickets to the Fujisawan Territories-Fleuronordicia game at Crosscom Global Arena! The keyword of the day is: CATEGORY FIVE

Coach Tamasaburo Urogataya gave his final press conference before World Bowl action gets underway. Here's a transcript of just some of the highlights from earlier today. You can watch the full press conference at www.kate88fm.co.fjt/gohurricane/media

Q: What is the gameplan for dealing with the tough opponents in our division?

Coach: I think it's going to be a huge challenge. I think if we put a maximum effort into each game, we can make a statement. Uh, obviously, I think, you know, we have- we can't promise to the fans what we cant achieve, so I think we really need to set some realistic expectations. I think that, you know, whenever you are the defending champions like Drawkland are, that there is a certain level of momentum that you carry into the season, uh, and I think that uh, there are so many different factors that can make or break you depending on the character of your team once you've won the big championship. That momentum is something that can propel you very far through the season. We've seen that with the Hurricane in World Bowl VIII, but I think, you know, Drawkland is an elite team, and we have to face them twice. I think they are probably the fiercest opponent anyone will face this season because they have that momentum carrying over from winning the World Bowl. Honestly, we don't have a gameplan for Drawkland other than trying to keep the score as close as possible. How do you prepare for a team of that caliber? And I think you're right. I think that the rest of the division are tough opponents too. I think the gameplan is to play sixty minutes, you know, all sixty minutes of the football game. We have to fight hard and play smart, limit penalties, limit turnovers. We have to be aggressive and assertive on offense. Uh, one of the hallmarks of the early Hurricane teams was the ability to score points on defense. If we have defensive players that can not only create turnovers but to score on turnover plays I think it will go a long way to opening up some opportunities to you know, win some games.

Q: How do you think Masazumi Kozutsami has gelled with the rest of the team?'I don't think we'll see some of the problems we saw with earlier teams.

Coach: Right, and I think he's really connected with the rest of the team. In practices, he's really showed flashes of promising things. We have to remember though the caliber of teams we will be facing and it's tough. It's going to be a hard road and we really have to put up a fight. No, he's been really great in practice and we're all happy about the team that we've fielded.

Q: What do you think of the new Crosscom Global Arena?

Coach: I think it's great. You know, it's a place with a lot of great history. It's always been an intimidating place to play for opposing teams and I hope that trend continues with the new stadium. Historically, we have had an amazing home record, and I would be honored to be a part of continuing that as head coach. It's a beautiful stadium, it's quite modern and very unique. I still haven't gotten the full tour, but from what I've seen, uh, it is spectacular. I couldn't think of a better place to play World Bowl matches than right here in the Global Arena.

Q: You talked about setting real expectations for this season. What are your personal expectations for this edition of the World Bowl?

Coach: I think honestly, we just need to re-establish ourselves on the world stage once again. I think if we can make the playoffs, that would be a great start. It's a long dark road to get there but you know, anything we can do to uh, inspire confidence in our players and fans. I think it's a multi-season approach. I think we have to build on succesive seasons. I think if we can stay competitive in most if not all of our games, we can really say at that point that we had a succesful season. You know, the Hurricane from the World Bowl VII championship team are a vastly different team from the one we have now. I mean, look at us. We're unranked now. We- this is a new start. I'm not going to set goals for how many wins or how many- no, no. I'm going to say that if we want to be satisfied at the end of the season, and say that we have a successful and great season, that we have to have been competitive in every game, no matter how many we won or lost, and we have to have had to limit blowout losses and made decisive defensive stands in games we won. That's the metric for measuring our success this season.

Q: Do you think there is even a small chance you'll make the playoffs this-

Coach: Playoffs? Playoffs? Really? [laughs] No. Don't talk about playoffs. We can't talk about playoffs right now. We have to get through the season first before we start talking about playoffs. Baby steps. We've got a lot of fierce competition to get through. Let's not count our chickens before they hatch.

Q: How do you think this team compares to previous World Bowl teams the Territories have put together?

Coach: I think that the team is uh, very skilled, and I think, you know, we have a great group of players. Great work by the World Bowl Selection Committee. [World Bowl Selection Committee President] Seison Masuko is a great guy. A lot of talent. Listen, I think, I think that we have assembled the best possible team with the best possible players available right now in Territorial football. We can't compare this team to the championship team from World Bowl VII. It's just- that was a vastly different team with a different strategy and I'm just not really ready to say that we are at that level.

[Schottia]

The Leviathans of Schottia

A.F.A
World Bowl XXXI

---

Team Info
Third place at last year's World Bowl in Ethane meant that Schottia's Allamunnic* Footballers reinforced their position as one of the world's top sides, putting to bed any ideas that their win three years ago in Quebec was a total fluke. While it was undoubtedly true that the conditions in the north of Atlantian Oceania were a bit of a leveller, consistently making the last sixteen or better probably shows that this former bunch of amateurs are headed in the right direction. Wins over Kaboomlandia, Gregoryisgodistan, and up and coming nation Banija will have given Schottia a big confidence boost ahead of this one.

Schottia have always been far stronger on the attack than they are at setting up defence, where, for the last three years, they have relied heavily on star quarterback Gabi Alessi to come up with the goods. The Attawapiskat Broncos girl doesn't have quite the same muscle as some of the other players out there, but her pace, and accurate short-range passing are now a huge feature of the Schottic game. A very strong forward line with big hitters such as Rupert Kenny, and James Clee have become doubly important serving to protect Alessi from a rushing defensive line. With three wide receivers and veteran running back Lucas Popescu, Schottia are always on the look out to spring the attack using their pace to hurt their opponents from deep.

In defence, they have a couple of clever players in the form of Nathan Johnson and John Rodgers, but more often than not, they are reliant on 215cm line blocker Alistair Ellan who seems to find himself covering for others on occasion.

There are three new call-ups this year. Handon Fire's defensive tackler Davis Pleev joins Université St. Croix Bleu et Blanc starlets Anna Demberg and Chris Maxwell, who ply their trade with the Quebecois university in NationStates College Football.

*That's what Gridiron football is generally called in Schottia.

Coaching Staff
Head coach: Lewis Patterson 43
Assistant coach: Steven Gregg 59
Assistant coach: Sarah Leighton 42

Offensive coach: Baeryk Vaalburger (Allamunnic States)
Defensive coach: Phil Unbridge 41
Performance analysis: Dave Skead 33
Fitness coach: Mark Young 41
Physio: Gary Thornton 66

Offence Line Up
QB: Gabriella Alessi, 26 | Attawapiskat Broncos
RB: Lucas Popescu, 31 | Handon Fire
WR: Mia Little, 25 | North Coast Sirens
WR: Hank Fitterman, 26 | Lammerton Hawks
WR: Jack Stewart, 22 | Port Patrick & Granton
TE: David Cowden, 24 | Belker Celts
RT: Sara Ofenski, 28 | North Coast Sirens
LT: Harry Grey, 25 | Port James Central
RG: James Clee, 24 | Port Patrick & Granton
LG: Morris Faulkner, 20 | Lammerton Hawks
C: Rupert Kenny, 23 | Draakurr Mariners

Defence Line Up
SS: Stephen Graham, 29 | Soessch Bats
FS: Archie Scott, 35 | Handon City
CB: John Rodgers, 28 | Gaspe Patriotes
CB: Stuart Tantalon, 35 | Port Patrick & Granton
OLB: Crius Lucious Vento, 30 | New Belfast Whalers
MLB: Alistair Ellan, 19 | Lammerton Hawks
OLB: Nathan Johnson, 24 | Ardryk Crimson Tide
RE: Roberto Di Ignasio, 26 | Port Patrick & Granton
LE: Howard Eccles, 21 | Handon Fire
DT: David Pleev, 20 | Handon Fire
DT: Nasat Gibthi, 30 | New Belfast Whalers
---------------------------------
Specials Team
K: Mark Tomkins-Brown, 34 | Port Patrick & Granton
P: Craig McLeod, 35 | Handon City
KR: Jack Stoitkov, 29 | Handon Fire
PR: Leon Caddie, 31 | Soessch Bats
--------------------------------

---Subs---

Offence Line Up
QB: Gerry Bunton, 30 | Soessch Bats
RB: Nick Lovelle, 21 | Port Patrick & Granton
WR: Matthew Randolph, 24 | Belker Celts
WR: Nail Cornor, 27 | Handon Fire
WR: Kara O'Neil, 21 | Lammerton Hawks
WR: Anna Demberg 19 | Université St. Croix Bleu et Blanc
TE: Chris Maxwell, 19 | Université St. Croix Bleu et Blanc
RT: Glen Oldman, 21 | Port Patrick & Granton
LT: Meredith McEwan, 22 | North Coast Sirens
RG: Lachlan Donald, 24 | Handon City
LG: David Henson, 23 | Handon City
C: Lena Stevens, 21 | New Belfast Whalers

Defence Line Up
SS: Gemma Malcolm, 24 | North Coast Sirens
FS: Duncan McRoss, 26 | Handon Fire
CB: Gavin Dorite, 25 | Belker Celts
CB: Bryan Blackburn, 27 | Port Patrick & Granton
OLB: Pablo Deverto, 23 | Vormsi Vikings
MLB: Tom Nicks, 20 | Handon City
OLB: Owen Johansen, 28 | Handon Fire
RE: Daisy Longly , 24 | North Coast Sirens
LE: Ben Wilson, 29 | Handon City
DT: Tom Tin, 23 | Handon City
DT: Willy Perton, 27 | Handon Rams

-------

Home stadium: Gateside Park, Handon. Capacity 18,000

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[Cosumar]

---

Cosumar National Gridiron Team
World Bowl XXXI

---

Basic Information

Nation: The Fiefdom of Cosumar

Demonym: Cosumarite

Nickname: Dragons

Home FIeld: SweetHaven Stadium, Stoneshore (capacity 77,500)

Debut: Baptism of Iron VI (3rd place), World Bowl XI

Ranking: 6th

World Bowl XXX: 1st in Group 7 (7-1), eliminated by Chromatika in Quarterfinals

Style Modifier: Moderately Offensive (+3)

Football in Cosumar: Football, primarily known here as Gridiron or Gridiron Football (varying by region), is the second most popular spectator sport behind only soccer. The Cosumar Football League (CFL) commands a strong Fiefdom-wide following. The most recent season's results can be found here. Cosumar's World Bowl team is a collection of All-Stars from the CFL. Cosumar also boasts two of the most prominent college football programs in the world: Ramusok Capital University (RCU) and Stoneshore College. RCU and Stoneshore have both won the NationStates College Football (NSCF) championship. As such, many of Cosumar's World Bowl players had experience in NSCF with either RCU or Stoneshore College prior to their CFL careers. For example, RCU star running back Avery Broddick was drafted into the CFL by the Jadde Bruins and has become a star there, landing him on the National Team for World Bowls. As previously mentioned, gridiron is immensely popular at collegiate, professional, AND international levels.


Uniform
HOME


AWAY



Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Rod Mason (60)

Assistant Head Coach: Phillip Jennings (50)

Offensive Coordinator: Kirk Keathley (42)

Defensive Coordinator: Lars Björklund (48)

Special Teams Coordinator: David Huxley (57)

Offensive Team Captain: Jeston Boulware (QB)

Defensive Team Captain: Leumas Ren (S)



Roster
Starters in bold
Name - Age - CFL Team

QUARTERBACK
Jeston Boulware - 30 - Morponte Marauders
Brandon Reigner - 33 - Emerald Cove Conquistadores
Binro Aeoleai - 35 - Pelethas Thunder

For the first time in almost decades, the National Team is missing one Jakkrik Levinsson. The vaunted longtime starter and captain just turned 39 this week and is coming off a CFL season in which his age finally seemed to catch up with him. Nevertheless, it's a veteran group of quarterbacks that Rod Mason has called in. Jeston Boulware, who actually started most of World Bowl XXIX four years ago while Levinsson was mourning the death of his son, will replace his CFL Silver Conference nemesis as the first-choice under center. Boulware was never the dynamic and flashy playmaker that Levinsson was, but he's the prototypical quarterback. Tall, strong, with the most powerful cannon arm in Cosumar. Excels doing quick drops and immediately hitting his receivers on slants and other short routes. Brandon Reigner, the longtime second-choice, is noted for his poise and leadership at the end of games, while third-choice Binro Aeoleai receives his first call-up at age 35 after a historic 15-1 season in the CFL.


BACKFIELD
RB Neptune Trevorrow - 28 - Versiaville Vikings
RB Avery Broddick - 32 - Jadde Bruins
RB Tash Walraven - 23 - Keenan Robins

FB Major Ackerman - 27 - Versiaville Vikings

Neptune Trevorrow is a bruising back who loves dishing out punishment at the end of his runs. He hits the hole with aggression and is a beast to bring down. Coach Mason will have to limit his carries to keep him from getting worn down over the course of the tournament. This means there will be plenty of carries available for Avery Broddick, the fan favorite who is the most complete all-around runner in Cosumar even at 32, and Tash Walraven, the young speedster who just enjoyed a fairytale rookie season with the Robins. At fullback, Coach Mason called in Major Ackerman due to his chemistry with Trevorrow after blocking for him in Versiaville for several years.


TIGHT END
Justus Bod - 27 - Kaldukosic Blazers
Kashmir Morrow - 32 - Kaldukosic Kataklysm
Lucas Castillo - 27 - Bayford Blue Dragons

Justus Bod has finally supplanted crosstown rival Kashmir Morrow as the first-choice tight end after his best statistical season yet for the ever-consistent Blazers, while Morrow's Kataklysm stumbled. Bod and Morrow are still clearly the best two tight ends in the CFL by a wide margin. Lucas Castillo, no relation to star corner DuAndre, earns his first call-up as the third TE and a core special-teamer after a nice season in Bayford.


WIDE RECEIVER
Ulises Willoughby - 32 - Pelethas Thunder
Thoumen Kuyengall - 25 - Olask Dolphins
Akim Fjara - 29 - Helfin Mighty Men
Sid Vinceant - 34 - Morponte Marauders
Devin Ferris - 25 - Samaj Spartans

Cosumar will return the exact same receiver corps from World Bowl XXX. Willoughby and Kuyengall starting out wide, as the most dominant receivers from Blue and Silver Conferece, respectively. Willoughby may be 32, but he's playing the best football of his career right now - an elite possession receiver and master route-runner. Kuyengall is the tall, blazing-fast deep threat on the other side. Akim Fjara, noted for his quick acceleration and elusive moves in tight spaces, will line up in the slot, where he has a good rapport killing defenses by a thousand cuts with Jeston Boulware. Sid Vinceant is a respected veteran presence who knows how to read a defense and possesses immaculately soft hands. Devin Ferris is mainly a back-up for Willoughby and Kuyengall as a versatile and athletic but slightly raw young receiver.


OFFENSIVE LINE
LT Gregory Votto - 24 - Ramusok Stars
LT Leighton Kurevic - 30 - Sarmon Spirit

LG Harmon St. Clair - 26 - Sarmon Spirit
LG Varum Na'Golo - 31 - Hagenheim Vagabonds

C Mason Vanderglass - 34 - Pelethas Thunder
C Finn Maki - 27 - Emerald Cove Conquistadores

RG Elsdom Blomsson - 27 - Helfin Mighty Men
RG Jakk Trice - 24 - Emerald Cove Conquistadores

RT Codal Kouyate - 26 - Opjenheim Bulldogs
RT Demetrius Petrov - 29 - Dusk Bearcats

Rod Mason has revitalized the offensive line since World Bowl XXX. Neither starting tackle has played a down for Cosumar before. But both are shining stars ready to power Cosumar forward into the future. Gregory Votto earned All-CFL First Team honors as a rookie out of Stoneshore last year, a stellar pass protector with nimble feet under his massivley muscular frame. Codal Kouyate, once his rival in NSCF with RCU, had similarly impressive second season this year. Kouyate is known for his unbelievable hands. Iron grip - once he has hold of a defender under the chest pads, they're at his mercy. If there's a weakness, it's the interior line. Mason Vanderglass is a future hall of famer but he's, well, 34. Guards Blomsson and St. Clair are solid, but not world-class players like Votto or Kouyate.


DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Maximillian Hall - 27 - Dawchire Eagles
Frampton Scott - 29 - Bayford Blue Dragons
Vaber Dundurand - 25 - Sarmon Spirit
Lothar Grunstein - 26 - Bayford Blue Dragons

Hall and Scott are massive bodies that clog up the running lanes. They stop the inside running game dead in its tracks. They don't do much else, but they perform that one task very well. When the Dragons need more pass rush up the middle, they'll insert Dandurand, who is more of a finesse DT who can also play DE. Grunstein is by far the largest player of the lot, lacking the others' technique but a good option to have as a nose-tackle in the reserves because of his sheer size and tenacity.


DEFENSIVE END
LE Toby Tancredi - 28 - Dawchire Eagles
LE Oskirk Hevermann - 30 - Morponte Marauders
LE Connell Rapoport - 24 - Winnipeg Raiders

RE Antigonus Jameson - 26 - Crawford Comrades
RE Duncan Norwell - 31 - Ramusok Stars
RE Melvin MacDiarmid - 24 - Cassandra Wildcats

It has been a good run for Hevermann and Norwell, who have spearheaded Cosumar's pass rush for close to a decade. They'll still play key roles on this team, but it's now the time of Antigonus Jameson and Toby Tancredi. Both Stoneshore alums, James and Tancredi are also both former NSCF Defensive Player of the Year finalists who have started to achieve that same level of production in the CFL. Tancredi's effectiveness rushing the passer is a huge reason why the Dawchire Eagles have flipped from lovable losers to true contenders in recent seasons. The secret to his success is his flawless technique and arsenal of moves. Jameson, on the other hand, is just a freakish athlete who overwhelms offensive linemen with his speed and power.


LINEBACKER
LOLB Dat Zheng - 30 - Versiaville Vikings
LOLB Quin Wooton - 25 - Morponte Marauders
LOLB Ukko Wilms - 28 - Keenan Robins

MLB Gary Tolbert - 26 - Jadde Bruins
MLB Berahthram Nedved - 26 - Mallox Tigers
MLB Artur Seeger - 25 - Kaldukosic Blazers

ROLB Cygnus Cason - 25 - Na'Malsille Venom
ROLB Wayne Troumper - 32 - Hagenheim Vagabonds
ROLB Lincoln Donohue - 28 - OAS Kingsmen

After being broken in as the back-up last time around, Cygnus Cason is ready for the limelight as the new star of the linebacking corps. His play-reading instincts and closing speed are second to none on the roster. Tolbert is a steady presence in the middle who catches a lot of interceptions, but his being named the starter has been controversial because he's not the athlete or physical presence that Nedved is. Mason may rotate the two quite a bit. Dat Zheng, on the left, is one of the most respected figures in the Cosumarite game. His measurables don't catch the eye, but he's a consummate professional who is great at organizing the defense. It is extremely rare for Zheng to miss a tackle. His back-up, Quin Wooton from the Marauders, is a great, complete linebacker as well who could push Zheng for playing time as the tournament progresses.


CORNERBACK
Hedley Shrewton - 28 - Olask Dolphins
DuAndre Castillo - 32 - Zakhoro Wolfpack
Feanor Eldarthal - 25 - Dawchire Eagles
LaVonte Greene - 31 - Keenan Robins
Sveinn Sneijder - 27 - Samotath Scourge

Shrewton is the centerpiece of the CFL's best secondary in Olask, possessing all the smarts, speed and savvy you want in a corner. He's slightly shorter than you'd like, but that's made up for by DuAndre Castillo on the other side. Castillo is tall, wiry corner (6"5), with springy legs built for outjumping receivers. Don't even try to throw in his direction on jump-ball.


SAFETY
SS Leumas Ren - 29 - Pelethas Thunder
SS Tamkot Piturcarat - 31 - Jadde Bruins
SS Kirum Sexton - 27 - Flen Jaguars

FS Devan Edelby - 28 - Kaldukosic Kataklysm
FS Ethan Telfair - 31 - Bayford Blue Dragons
FS Wes Benton - 26 - Na'Malsille Venom

What do opponents need to know about the Cosumar secondary? Leumas Ren. That is all. The man is arguably the best safety in the history of the CFL and Cosumarite national team, blossoming into an incredible player over the last three seasons in Pelethas that have seen the Thunder dominate the league. Tamkot Piturcarat also revived his National Team career with a resurgent season in Jadde as the Bruins finished second in the Silver Conference under his veteran defensive leadership. He will back up Ren at strong safety. Kirum Sexton is the new blood in the unit, a bright spot on a bad Flen team last year. Behind them at free safety, it's a bit of an uninspiring group but hopefully competend enough. Coach Mason undoubtely likes Devan Edelby for his length and rangy playmaking, while Ethan Telfair (twin of Parrhesia United striker Atherton Telfair in Nephara) is a tried and true option who brings a real fire and lust for contact to his defensive duties. Wes Benton is an undersized but feisty defender who likes to mix it up with big star receivers, but is viewed as too undisciplined for the strict Mason to play him often.


SPECIAL TEAMS
K Xendel Reieffen - 35 - Altamirano Devils
K Latep Na'At - 26 - OAS Kingsmen

P Keevu Schavinski - 68 - Ramusok Stars
P Æðelbeorht Baardsson - 28 - Morponte Marauders

KR Devin Ferris (WR)
PR Akim Fjara (WR)

Xendel Reieffen is as consistent as they come, a bona-fide institution for Cosumar on special teams over the years. Keevu Schavinksi, Ramusok's 68-year-old punter, remains one of the more remarkable stories in all of Gridiron. He's by far the longest-serving member of the National Team and still boots balls downfield like he did 40 years ago. His legendary unorthodox diet and training regimen that keeps him hardy at an advanced age is the subject of much speculation and curiosity year-in, year-out.




Schedule

MD1: @ The Redvale (UR)
MD2: @ Southern Democratic States (32)
MD3: vs. Somersville (UR)
MD4: vs. Main Nation Ministry (UR)
MD5: vs. Schottia (3)
MD6: @ The Royal Kingdom of Quebec (13)
MD7: @ Abaja (16)
MD8: vs. The Redvale (UR)
MD9: @ Vettrera (UR)
MD10: vs. Banija (5)
MD11: @ Somersville (UR)
MD12: @ Christian Isles (UR)
MD13: vs. Santaclausisgodistan (UR)
MD14: vs. The Royal Kingdom of Quebec (13)


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[Schottia]

The Star
Part One

It was a crisp December evening in Soessch on Schottia's North Island, as Gabi Alessi and her long-term partner Stephen McAlister walked arm in arm through the city's Midwinter market.* The entire city of over half a million people had descended on Soessch's central square, or so it seemed to them, as it was almost impossible to even turn round. People of all ages, tourists and locals, all walked between the various stalls with rosy cheek, carrying mugs of glühwein, sausages in buns, and various sweet stacks.

'I told you this wasn't the best idea.' Said Stephen, in his usual droll voice as yet another child narrowly missed his jacket with a stick of candyfloss. The 30-year-old computer programmer wasn't one for crowds, or outdoor spaces, or the cold, or doing something new, or leaving his house for that matter. He and international quarterback Gabi could not have been more different, but somehow it worked. The fact that he was also a coward, with a genuine phobia of blood, meant that he couldn't even watch her matches on the tele for fear of passing out. This trip to the Schottic Sports Personallity of The Year Awards was a novelty in the sense that it was something sports related that they could attend together.

'I said we could just have a little look round,' Gabi looked up at him smiling, giving his hand a tug. 'We agreed, if it was too busy then we would just walk on to the City Hall.'

'Well it's too busy, so let's walk on.' Stephen answered tutting loudly as he looked at the queues. 'Besides, it's only an hour till the thing starts, we don't want to be late, given that you are one of the nominees.' Gabi had been nominated for the top gong, the Schottic Sports Personallity of The Year Award itself. Should she win, she would join an illustrious list of sports men and women including; Rebecca James, Eoin Killanen, Alex Sampson to name a few.

'Och, Stephen!' Gabi narrowed her eyebrows, but she was one of those people who couldn't look cross if they tried. 'It's a ten minute walk at most - we are dressed and ready. And for goodness sake, I'm one of fifteen people up for the award, I think the chances are pretty slim.' It had been a good twelve months for Schottic sports, by the small nation's standards anyway. Wins at the International Tennis Torphy, along with Catherine Kurmins breaking into the world's top ten meant there was stiff competition. Adding to that Schottia's charge to the Cup of Harmony final, and Cornellians qualifying for the Champions' Cup meant that there was a talented shortlist.

'Exactly, we are already dressed, what if we get mustard on our clothes or something? Maybe someone will spill a drink on us.' Stephen protested. 'Can we not come back tomorrow when it's less crowded in the morning.'

'Well, it's only less crowded because it's less good.' Gabi responded, as she herself was on the verge of admitting defeat, looking at the throng of bodies stood before each stall. 'The lights won't be on or anything. But okay moany pants, lets go, we'll take a walk down the river and look at the lights along he waterfront.' Soessch was built on a narrow band of flat land between the North Mountains and the Bara Sea. It had once been a Shalumite outpost back in Colonial times, but had been part of Schottia since the nation's succession from the Ossrioan Empire in the 1860s. The city was built either side of a wide river, and at this time of year, its many bridges were lighten up with Midwinter lights.

In truth, Gabi didn't really know what her chances of winning were, and she hadn't gone as far as to prepare a speech. This wasn't anything new to her, and she had in fact come second the year that her side had lifted the World Bowl in Quebec, picking up the Team of The Year Award in the process. Another trophy was always nice for the cabinet, of course it was, but it didn't bear pinning your hopes on.

Living in Quebec now, Gabi had kind of gotten used to the cold. Her Cacertan heritage meant that she probably didn't quite have the blood for it, but it was amazing what you could adjust to. The riverbanks of Soessch were the traditional city centre so to speak, even if it were no longer the commercial centre. Most of the businesses along the waterfront were bistros, bars, and beer houses, where the City's Shalamite-German influences could still be seen. Even in the sub-zero temperatures groups of smokers huddled together for warmth outside the bars, their plumes of smoke mirroring the icy mist which made its way down the slow moving river.

'How long to you reckon you'd last if you fell in there?' Gabi asked looking over the edge on of the bridges into the black abyss below. 'Do you think it's deep?'

'I think so yeah, boat's come up and down it, so it must be at least head height.' Stephen answered. He was one of those people who could have a good stab at any question. 'But you wouldn't last long anyway, that water is coming straight down from the mountain, a little further up stream the banks are frozen it's so cold.'

The City Hall was at the far end of the central square, but the amount of visitors crammed into the Midwinter Market was such that it made sense to head round by the river. Even here there were streams of people who had the same idea; couples wrapped in coats and woolly hats, and people on their way home from work, just trying to find a short cut. Outside the City Hall there was already a small group of people formed behind the crowd fences, no doubt hoping to get a look at their favourite sportsmen and women. The footballers drew the most attention of course, in spite of their lowly world rank. Gabi was nowhere near that level of celebrity status, even if she was the highest profile player in her own sport.

'Thanks.'

'Thank you.' They both said as a burly yet immaculately dressed official ushered them inside. The overwhelming smell was coming from the red carpet, which had been laid over whatever flooring normally existed. A little further down the corridor a young woman with headphones and a mouthpiece pushed open yet another door, this time leading into the main hall.

'You're at table B2 Ms Alessi, Mr McAlister. That's down the central column, over towards the left, and then one of my colleges will direct you to your seats.'

They thanked the woman once again and headed out into the noise and lights of the 18th century hall, with its high, gilded ceiling. The tables were for the most part still empty, but they were beginning to fill up. Towards the front of the stage the tv channel were setting up, rigging the lighting, and doing some final sound checks. It was a reminder of just how public this event was.

'I'll make sure I'm seated as far to the side as possible.' Stephen said looking up at the tv crew cautiously. 'Just so I'm not in any pictures.' Being camera shy was yet another idiosyncrasy to add to his long list.

'Don't start stressing already.' Gabi said in reply. She gave him a discreet jab in the ribs as they found the said colleague and were shown to their seats. They were the first two to arrive at that particular table, and Stephen craned his neck to see who else would be joining them, not that any of the names would have meant much to him. He was stressing out already.

'Here, have a little water and relax.' Gabi reached for one of the glass bottles of spring water in the middle of the table, pouring them each a glass.

Relax, relax... Stephen thought to himself as he stole a glance in all directions. That was easy for her to say...

*Schottian celebrate Midwinter on the 23rd, as opposed to Christmas on the 25th of December.

[Allamunnic Sporting Commission]

Federation of Allamunnic States
National Gridiron Football Team - The Iron Tide

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Roleplay Information

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Style Modifier: +5
Going for Two: Always
Roleplay Permissions
- Choose Scorers: Please TG first.
- Injure Players: Nothing beyond game-ending without TGing for approval.
- Penalize Players: Keep it reasonable, or TG for approval. The Regulars tend to be fairly well-disciplined.
- Godmod Injuries: Same as regular injuries. Please keep it reasonable or make it hilarious.
- Godmod Other Events: Keep previous permissions in mind. Have fun with it.
- Photographs: Please do not use photographs with any players intended to depict players on my team.
- Additional Notes:
- Offense is mostly run-first. Offensive line is probably the single most-important unit for the offense's success.
- Defense is stout. Strongest part is the front-seven; count on a lot of pressure on QBs and attention toward stopping the run.
- Special teams have traditionally been a relative weakness.
- Team plays very physically.

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General Information

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Overview:
This is not your parents' Allamunnic States National Gridiron Team. Gone is the stuffy smashmouth offense and the boring-but-effective smothering defense that was seen under Baeryk Vaalburger. Instead, to lead the Iron Tide into a new era, Tomus Meyer, named the "Rising Star Coach of the Year" by Allamunnic Sports Network, will be leading a new-look, fast-and-explosive offense complemented by a defense studded with playmakers ready to take the fight to opponents!

Despite the desertion of several high-profile players following a disappointing finish in World Bowl XXX, the Allamunnic Sporting Commission feels confident in the assortment of talented individuals assembled to represent the Federation in this 31st edition of the World Bowl. This team is built to win on speed and athleticism, wearing out opponents with a relentless, explosive attack.

Uniforms:
From left: Home, Away
http://imgur.com/a/lC9N4

Retired Number(s): #58 Honorius Waalturs
Ring of Honor Members: S#1 Isabelle Margussunn, QB#5 Markus Daalhulm, S#10 Elias Mourner, HB#34 Haanryk Stahlburg, FB#44 Ole Nurdsunn, DE#58 Honorius Waalturs, DT#95 Theo Laansur

Home Stadiums
Federal Steel Field, Rikardsburg (Staalmaark)(Capacity: 108,000)
Harborview Stadium, Vaalhulmspurt (Lower Tyrrslynd)(Capacity: 106,000)
Royal Stadium, Onneria (Onneria)(Capacity: 107,000)
Note: World Bowls take place during the Federation's summers; it is frequently rainy and cool, even in the summer.

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Staff

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General & Front Office
Commissioner: Gaarutt Kolvyn (Age: 37)

Team President: Benjamin Jamesunn (Age: 69)
General Manager: Erik Warnur (Age: 52)
Team Doctors: Graagur Maarkussunn (Age: 64)(Head); Rynna Eriksunn (Age: 57)
Athletic Trainers: Maarda Lindersunn (Age: 47)(Head); Bryndyn Nyurdlunn (Age: 46); Torren Udunsunn (Age: 42); Kaarl Mendelsunn (Age: 43); Inna Wyllur (Age: 40); Lyna Henriksunn (Age: 35)
Strength & Conditioning: Harald Vynnsunn (Age: 45)


Coaching

Head Coach: Tomus Meyer (Age: 45) - Tomus Meyer has been a rising star over the last few years in the Allamunnic college gridiron scene, making his bread on a system that is built first and foremost on speed and versatility on offense and defense alike. This line of thinking marks a significant departure for the Allamunnic National Team, and the pressure is on Meyer to prove he can succeed despite breaking from program tradition.

Offensive Coordinator: Nikolus Urbyn (Age: 40) - Meyer has brought with him offensive coordinator Nik Urbyn, who has significant experience in implementing Meyer’s offensive system to its greatest effect. Urbyn is the kind of aggressive play-caller that the system calls for, dialing up a lot of outside runs and throws of all kind, using the inside run almost exclusively as a change-up.

Defensive Coordinator: Leif Coelmunn (Age: 39) - Coelmunn was one of the relatively few members of the previous staff to stick around and receive a promotion after Vaalburger was fired, and the former safety will now coordinate the defense he once played for. Coelmunn’s promotion was largely for the sake of continuity, with Coelmunn continuing to utilize the 3-4 defense the national team has used for quite some time now.

Special Teams Coordinator: Daanyl Mueller (Age: 68) – The Regulars' long-time kicking coach takes over as special teams coordinator following the departure of Haargild Baannun to the AGL for a head-coaching job. Mueller has proven amusingly anti-careerist, only taking the promotion to coordinator at Vaalburger's insistence. Mueller has remained despite most of the coaching changes as an island of stability.

Quarterbacks Coach: Anders Wyrnur (Age: 51)
Running Backs Coach: Mikel Harren (Age: 48)
Tight-Ends Coach: Zak Hall (Age: 40)
Wide Receivers Coach: Mona Kaarlsunn (Age: 45)
Offensive Line Coach: Vaalhulm Rikken (Age: 39)
Defensive Line Coach: Bryndyn Aldyrsunn (Age: 54)
Linebackers Coach: Jason Ridley (Age: 46)
Defensive Backs Coach: Andya Murtyn (Age: 49)
Kicking Coach: Enda Waalturs (Age: 52)
Return Coach: Gretchen Vaalhulmsunn (Age: 41)

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Full Roster by Position

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Offense:

Starting Line-Up - Three-Wide, Shotgun
LT#75 B. KAARLSUNN - LG#62 J. BRAANDUR - C#60 B. ULFSUNN - RG#52 R. KYNYK - RT#59 D. MAARKS
WR#23 O. BRAANDT - SR#12 E. KAARLSUNN - TE#88 J. LINDSTROM - WR#83 H. WYRNUR
RB#22 - E. KAARBRYNN - QB#13 W. GRENN

Quarterbacks
#13 - Waldr Grenn - Age: 25; H: 6'4"; W: 231lbs - Jaarlsburg, OW
#04 - Bryn Skyldsunn - Age: 21; H: 6’3”; W: 223lbs - Nortwatch, NW
#16 - Mathias Mueller - Age: 20; H: 6’1”; W: 210lbs - Ardryk, AK

After several years as a back-up, Waldr Grenn will finally start for the national team. Grenn is a mobile quarterback with a big arm, but with occasionally-questionable decision-making. Bryn Skyldsunn is largely the same as Grenn in terms of his style and physical tools, although he is not quite as well-built as Grenn, and arguably is even more brash than the team's starter. Mathias Mueller, by contrast, is a smaller, classic pocket passer, with a pro-level arm, but not an exceptional one, but with excellent accuracy.

Running Backs
#22 - Ella Kaarbrynn - Age: 26; H: 5'9"; W: 166lbs - Spaal, SP
#24 - Brandt Hendriks - Age: 28; H: 6'0"; W: 216lbs - Tyrrswatch, UT
#26 - Dexter Shraedur - Age: 33; H: 6'0"; W: 243lbs - Skaarphulm, LT

Ella Kaarbrynn was one of the few Regulars to return to the team after Baeryk Vaalburger was fired, and will continue to be the feature-back in a newer, faster-paced offense. Kaarbrynn is both an effective rusher both inside and outside (although she is better to the outside) and is an effective receiver either out of the backfield or out of the slot. Brandt Hendriks is a stronger back whose primary duties will be running between the tackles as a change-up runner to Kaarbrynn. Dexter Shraedur is a fullback whose duties will primarily be blocking and occasionally catching passes out of the backfield as a check-down target, or running in short-yardage situations.

Tight-Ends
#88 - Junn Lindstrom - Age: 29; H: 6'5"; W: 251lbs - Onneria, ON
#30 - Martyn Wyrmurs - Age: 23; H: 6’4”; W: 243lbs - West Roan, AL
#37 - Kaallyn Junnsunn - Age: 20; H: 6’3”; W: 253lbs - Korynnsburg, AK

Junn Lindstrom is another holdover from the old roster, a big, physical tight-end who can play effectively as both a blocker and a pass-catcher. Martyn Wyrmurs by contrast is almost exclusively a receiver, with decent height and big hands and a significant degree of athleticism. Kaallyn Junnsunn is primarily a blocker, although he is capable of contributing as a receiver as well.

Wide Receiver (2)
#23 - Ole Brandt - Age: 28; H: 6'1"; W: 214lbs - Hillen, AL
#83 - Harlyn Wyrnur - Age: 22; H: 6’2”; W: 212lbs - St. Mikel, ON
#81 - Paul Jaans - Age: 25; H: 6'0"; W: 200lbs - Torrenhuld, UT
#84 - Andya Haartly - Age: 21; H: 6’0”; W: 168lbs - Erikspurt, NY
#80 - Arnulf Faarynalunn - Age: 22; H: 6’3”; W: 218lbs - Shornsburg, LT
#82 - Veronika Riggs - WR - Age: 21; H: 5’11”; W: 172lbs - Haelsburg, HL

Ole Brandt is a converted running back with the skill set of a complete wide receiver: a solid build, good hands, and explosiveness after the catch. He is also an asset on sweep plays. Harlyn Wyrnur is in much the same mold as Brandt, with a large frame, excellent hands, and an ability to jump up to make contested catches, while having the speed to break away from coverage given the opportunity. Paul Jaans is a little more explosive than Brandt and Wyrnur, but has some dropping issues and is not quite as strong as the two receivers ahead of him. Andya Haartly is an explosive, chain-moving target who has the speed to get open on short routes, but not necessarily the strength and hands to reliably make contested catches. Arnulf Faarynalunn is a possession receiver who lacks elite speed, but is a safe receiving option in traffic. Veronika Riggs is an explosive receiver who is at her best on screens or short passes that allow her to show off her after-the-catch abilities.

Slot Receiver
#12 - Emma Kaarlsunn - Age: 28; H: 5'10"; W: 164lbs - Vaalhulmspurt, LT
#11 - Jana Graelunn - Age: 29; H: 5'8"; W: 162lbs - Vaesthuld, VY
#07 - Wyanna Hoenur - Age: 21; H: 5’10”; W: 165lbs - Junnsboro, RU

Emma Kaarlsunn is another holdover from the Regulars, a chain-moving slot receiver with the ability to get open and then make big plays after the catch. Jana Gaelunn joins her, a smaller, more explosive receiver who is in her element with the ball in space. Graelunn is also the team's leading kick returner. Wyanna Hoenur is another very explosive, potentially-drop-prone receiver who relies on getting the ball in space. She is an alternate kick- and punt-returner as well.

Left Tackle
#75 - Bryndyn Kaarlsunn - Age: 26; H: 6'6"; W: 327lbs - Harrensburg, HR
#63 - Erik Kleiner - Age: 25; H: 6’6”; W: 319lbs - Rumanika, RU
#73 - Grimm Lyndursunn - Age: 22; H: 6’5”; W: 324lbs - Hendriksburg, OW

Bryndyn Kaarlsunn is a big, immovable left tackle who is at his best in pass-protection, although he is capable as a backside run-blocker as well. Erik Kleiner is geared even more for pass-protection. Grimm Lyndursunn is more of a run-blocker, although he is competent as a pass-protector.

Left Guard
#62 - Junn Braandur - Age: 27; H: 6'2"; W: 316lbs - Dunnmaar, DM
#72 - Harald Rorynn - Age: 26; H: 6'3"; W: 318lbs - Helter, FL
#76 - Fradryk Nyurdsunn - Age: 21; H: 6’3”; W: 314lbs - Daalhulm, FY

Junn Braandur is a balanced guard, capable as a pulling guard on runs to the right, and as a lead blocker, and as a pass-protector. Harald Rorynn is similarly balanced, and can competently play in a pinch for Braandur. Nyurdsunn is another guard with balanced tendencies, although he was largely recruited on his abilities as a pass-protector.

Center
#60 - Bryndyn Ulfsunn - Age: 22; H: 6’3”; W: 318lbs - Joergun, DK
#61 - Andrik Fyurd - Age: 21; H: 6’2”; W: 304lbs - Maartynsburg, VY
#71 - Kaarl Eriksunn - Age: 21; H: 6’2”; W: 302lbs - Broomfeld, NW

All of the centers are new recruits, with Bryndyn Ulfsunn being the most balanced and overall most-talented of the new trio. All three were recruited for their skills as pass-protectors and their abilities to move quickly on screen and zone blocks, with Andrik Fyurd and Kaarl Eriksunn both recruited for those traits in particular.

Right Guard
#52 - Rikard Kynyk - Age: 28; H: 6'3"; W: 317lbs - Broomfeld, NW
#68 - Gaarutt Faelyxlunn - Age: 30; H: 6’3”; W: 311lbs - Baartunn, HL
#65 - Zakary Annsunn - Age: 21; H: 6’1”; W: 314lbs - Graeburg, ON

Rikard Kynyk is primarily a run-blocking guard, although he is competent as a pass protector, a skilled technician at guard but lacking some of the fire of his predecessor as the starter at the position (Snaari Knutsunn). Gaarutt Faelyxlunn and Zakary Annsunn were both recruited primarily as pass-protectors and players who could zone-block well, moving away from the team's old power-blocking scheme.

Right Tackle
#59 - Derrik Maarks - Age: 28; H: 6'5"; W: 326lbs - Aldhuld, PK
#54 - Bronn Hendriks - Age: 26; H: 6'5"; W: 319lbs - Skarrsboro, US
#78 - Rikard Waalburg - Age: 20; H: 6'6"; W: 319lbs - Kleinsburg, HR

Derrik Maarks is competent in both primary skill-sets for offensive linemen, although his strength is as a run-blocker. He is one of the few linemen who stayed with the National Team after Vaalburger's firing. Bronn Hendriks is a fellow holdover, although he has spent his entire professional career as a back-up. Rikard Waalburg was recruited mostly for his pass-protection abilities; he leaves a lot to be desired as a run-blocker.

Defense:

Starting Line-Up - 3-4 Base
DE#92 J. IZAAKSUNN - NT#97 D. WAALKUR - DT#96 R. THEODUR
SLB#48 D. HARREN - MLB#49 R. ERIKSUNN - WLB#42 B. NYURDSUNN - RLB#94 O. RYNNUR
CB#14 K. BRONN - SS#18 M. ULRIK - FS#08 L. DONALSUNN - CB#29 C. BAARTUNN

Defensive End
#92 - Junn Izaaksunn - Age: 28; H: 6'2"; W: 308lbs - Onneria, ON
#90 - Alaryk Skmyt - Age: 22; H: 6’0”; W: 302lbs - Grimmeburg, VY
#98 - Viktur Vaallunn - Age: 22; H: 6’3”; W: 301lbs - Grimmea, US

Junn Izaaksunn is a versatile defensive end who can contribute in the pass rush or against the run, and can set the edge effectively. Alaryk Skmyt is meant a little more as a pass-rusher, although he is not incapable against the run. Viktur Vaallunn is most definitely a pass-rush specialist who will likely see only very situational action, and may be an actual liability against the run.

Nosetackle
#97 - Donal Waalkur - Age: 25; H: 6’1”; W: 338lbs - Shraedurpurt, LS
#74 - Joran Haargrave - Age: 21; H: 6’3”; W: 322lbs - Alderhall, HR
#91 - Baard Ulryk - Age: 20; H: 6’4”; W: 334lbs - Corvik, BW

Donal Waalkur, Joran Haargrave, and Baard Ulryk are all new faces recruited primarily for their run-stuffing abilities in the new 3-4 defense. There's not much drop-off in skill between the three, but it's unclear as to how effective any of them will be.

Defensive Tackle
#96 – Rikard Theodur – Age: 31; H: 6'4"; W: 321lbs – Roan, AL
#64 - Mikel Bronnsunn - Age: 29; H: 6'2"; W: 310lbs - Andersburg, BW
#93 - Harald Baaltrlunn - Age: 26; H: 6'4"; W: 312lbs - Wyndursburg, OW

Rikard Theodur was the only one of the Regulars' starting defensive linemen to remain with the team after Vaalburger's firing, and he has been moved to weakside defensive tackle, a primarily run-stuffing position that is also used to generate inside pressure against passers. Theodur is still effective in both aspects of his role. Mikel Bronnsunn is a long-time back-up who can play both tackle and end and will likely be a multipurpose back-up on either end of the defensive line depending on the situation, and will be the first player to come in in 4-3 sets. Harald Baaltrlunn is another "old-hand" who can rotate freely to help keep Theodur and Bronnsunn fresh.

Strong-Side Linebacker
#48 - Daanyl Harren - OLB - Age: 26; H: 6'3"; W: 257lbs - Wendeltunn, OW
#99 - Izaak Skyldhaaltur - OLB - Age: 21; H: 6’2”; W: 260lbs - Vaddurhulm, OW
#55 - Graagur Loedy - OLB - Age: 21; H: 6’4”; W: 256lbs - Erikspurt, FY

Daanyl Harren was a back-up during World Bowl XXX who is perfectly capable in both coverage against tight-ends and as a edge-setter against the run. He can contribute to the pass-rush, although it is clearly not his forte. Izaak Skyldhaaltur is primarily an edge-setter who will play primarily in obvious running situations. Graagur Loedy is a more athletic SAM linebacker who is at his best in coverage and contributing to the pass-rush, although he is a capable run-stuffer. Loedy's main problem is inexperience in recognizing the play, which sometimes leads to him being caught out of position.

Middle Linebacker
#49 - Rikard Eriksunn - Age: 26; H: 6'4"; W: 252lbs - Arksfurd, OW
#56 - Kaarl Jornur - Age: 24; H: 6'2"; W: 253lbs - Skaarphulm, LT
#53 - Harald Kaarllunn - Age: 22; H: 6’2”; W: 251lbs - Junnsboro, RU

Rikard Eriksunn is an athletic tackling-machine in the middle who can capably play either in coverage or against the run, even being useful as a situational pass-rusher when called on. Kaarl Jornur and Harald Kaarllunn are built in largely the same mold, if lacking Eriksunn's sheer physical ability.

Weak-Side Linebacker
#42 - Bryndyn Nyurdsunn - Age: 28; H: 6'2"; W: 248lbs - Vaddurhulm, OW
#51 - Aeryn Warryk - Age: 21; H: 6’3”; W: 243lbs - Laedynburg, BW
#50 - Kaarl Koebyn - Age: 21; H: 6’2”; W: 246lbs - Broomfeld, NW

Bryndyn Nyurdsunn is a capable back-side pursuer against the run as well as valuable in the pass-rush and is capable in coverage. Aeryn Warryk is much better as a coverage man, hanging capably with all but the fastest receivers and backs, but is somewhat a slipshod tackler. Kaarl Koebyn is better against the run and as a pass-rusher, although he's not a liability in coverage. Still, Koebyn is overall not as good as the other two weakside linebackers.

Rush Linebacker
#94 - Olaf Rynnur - Age: 26; H: 6'4"; W: 272lbs - Sorfurd, SM
#43 - Kaarl Voegyl - Age: 21; H: 6'4"; W: 265lbs - Roan, AL
#57 - Faeryk Joergsunn - Age: 20; H: 6’4”; W: 263lbs - Aldhuld, PK

Olaf Rynnur has made most of his bread as a pass-rusher, and he will play both as a lineman and as a linebacker depending on the situation on the weak side. Rynnur is okay against the run, is a liability in coverage, but is an exceptional pass-rusher. Kaarl Voegyl was a new addition during World Bowl XXX, and has come into his own as a versatile linebacker who is dangerous as a pass-rusher, but is also strong against the run and is competent in coverage. Faeryk Joergsunn is mostly a pass-rushing specialist, although he is competent against the run, but is lacking in coverage.

Cornerback
#14 - Kaarl Bronn - Age: 28; H: 6'0"; W: 206lbs - Vylfhuld, BW
#29 - Clay Baartunn - Age: 30; H: 6'0"; W: 207lbs - Northuld, NW
#15 - Soryn Laands - Age: 27; H: 6'0"; W: 203lbs - Amburg, ON
#25 - Vithimyr Groebun - Age: 22; H: 6’1”; W: 207lbs - Vymsburg, VY
#31 - Kaarltunn Gaaruttsunn - Age: 21; H: 6’0”; W: 205lbs - Haefeld, DK
#02 - Wyllun Hardisunn - Age: 20; H: 6’0”; W: 198lbs - Rynnurspurt, ON

Kaarl Bronn, Clay Baartunn, and Soryn Laands both opted to remain with the team while top corner Rikard Junnsunn departed the team, and they will form the top trio for the Iron Tide's corners, with Bronn and Baartunn as the primary corners with Laands as a slot-corner. Vithimyr Groebunn is a large, physically gifted cornerback who often finds himself in coverage against a team's best receiver. His technique leaves a lot to be desired, but the hope is that he will round into excellent form. Kaarltunn Gaaruttsunn is similarly gifted to Groebunn, although he lacks his elite speed, but has better technique at present. Wyllun Hardisunn is smaller, but has the speed to keep up with even the quickest slot receivers.

Strong Safety
#18 – Mikel Ulrik – Age: 32; H: 6’0”; W: 215lbs – Kristinburg, ON
#28 - Loren Sult - Age: 30; H: 6'0"; W: 206lbs - Leifspurt, HR
#17 - Aldryk Baerunsunn - Age: 21; H: 6’1”; W: 218lbs - Skarrsboro, US

Both Mikel Ulrik and Loren Sult are holdovers from the previous roster, and the older strong-safety duo will rotate fairly freely, and are capable in both types of coverage while contributing against the run or even as pass-rushers on designed blitzes. Aldryk Baerunsunn should shape up into a good safety once he has had adequate opportunity to learn his trade from a duo of skilled veterans.

Free Safety
#08 - Lyna Donalsunn - Age: 27; H: 5'10"; W: 154lbs - Innusburg, SM
#06 - Raechl Kaarlsunn - Age: 29; H: 5'8"; W: 151lbs - Leifspurt, HR
#03 - Ryanna Koelbur - Age: 22; H: 5'10"; W: 171lbs - Spaal, SP

Lyna Donalsunn and Raechl Kaarlsunn are both returners from the previous squad, and the ball-hawking Donalsunn will get most of the snaps at free safety, while Kaarlsunn will mostly get snaps as a return specialist and occasionally spelling Donalsunn. Ryanna Koelbur is mostly being groomed to one day take over for Donalsunn. She is a much better tackler than the other two, but makes too many mental mistakes in coverage.

Special Teamers

Kickers
#46 - Kaarl Hunt - Age: 27; H: 6'2"; W: 225lbs - Lyndur, AK
#19 - Junn Wylsunn - Age: 21; H: 6’0”; W: 245lbs - Roan, AL
#32 - Vaeryna Joergun - Age: 22; H: 5’10”; W: 173lbs - Nortwatch, NW

Kaarl Hunt returns as the team's primary place-kicker, with good reliability inside of 45 yards and decent accuracy outside of it. Junn Wylsunn is a capable, if unremarkable punter with the unenviable job of replacing long-time punter Wyatt Skode. Vaeryna Joergun is competent as both a place-kicker and punter, although she is definitely a better place-kicker.

Long Snappers
#39 - Lana Kaarlsunn - Age: 21; H: 5’11”; W: 195lbs - Aldertunn, SM

Lana Kaarlsunn is a very reliable longsnapper. That is her entire job.

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Schedule

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Schedule for the Allamunnic States Iron Tide

MD1 - vs. Thereisnogodistan (22)
MD2 - vs. Drawkland (2)
MD3 - at Frenline Delpha (11)
MD4 - at United States of Devonta (20)
MD5 - at Fujisawan Territories (UR)
MD6 - vs. Korizland (UR)
MD7 - vs. Republic of Rawn (UR)
MD8 - at Thereisnogodistan (22)
MD9 - vs. Fleuronordicia (36)
MD10 - at Ethane (12)
MD11 - vs. Frenline Delpha (11)
MD12 - vs. Selvera (UR)
MD13 - at Oisinistan (72)
MD14 - at Korizland (UR)

[The Redvale]

OOC: This takes place before the World Bowl... I also wanted it to be a bit longer, but I'm still not feeling so great so I posted it early.

Los Federales

Chapter One: Blackmailed

The man in the black hoodie and the orange shades knew that his life was over if he didn’t do exactly what was expected of him. He knew, as he walked through the streets of suburban Maris, towards the waterfront, that if he didn’t follow every instruction exactly as it was given to him, that he would lose his career and his reputation and even his friends and his family. He knew that he was a dead man walking, and if he wanted to change that status, he’d have to make sure that he did exactly what was asked. Things wouldn’t end well for him if he didn’t.

It was a nice day out, and the mood of the people around him was completely different than his own. They were smiling, laughing, enjoying the coastal weather, and were enjoying their days as usual. As the man got closer to the beachfront, he could see more and more people in swimming clothes, heading there to relax and have fun. He wished that he could relax at a time like this. That was impossible. “Just do what they want, and they’ll let you go,” he muttered under his breath, looking up from his phone to see that he was only a block away from the building that he was supposed to arrive at.

The man patted his jean pocket, making sure that the pistol was still there. He didn’t quite know how to use it, or what would happen if he did have to use it, but he had been instructed to get one and to bring it with him, along with the rest of the contents of the backpack that he had slung around one shoulder. He had been told to never go somewhere without the backpack and the contents of it, until he was informed that it was alright to leave it. The man had no clue why the things inside were so important, but the people had told him that he would need them and that he couldn’t forget them.

After a few more minutes of walking, he arrived at the place. A parking lot, one that was filled with the cars of those who were heading to the beach and with cars from tourists who were paying exorbitant prices to park close to the water. He had a look around, and then looked back down at his phone to see if he’d received a text for further instructions. When he didn’t see one, he called the number of the person who was sending him these instructions. Someone that called themselves Glen. Glen picked up after two rings, but didn’t speak until the man did.

“I’m at the car park. Am I supposed to meet someone here? I don’t see anyone,” the man said, looking around again and keeping his voice to a near whisper. “Or am I supposed to drop off the stuff in my bag somewhere?”

“There should be a red SUV at the northern edge of the lot,” said the electronically altered voice on the other end of the call. “Get inside, and wait for another member of your group to receive his instructions. There should be three others in the SUV.”

Before the man could reply, Glen hung up on him. “Damn it,” he muttered under his breath, standing there and looking over the lot once more before seeing the SUV that he had told him about. There were indeed three others inside, and the man could make out their shapes through the grey tinted windows. Slowly, he approached the SUV until he was standing next to it, but the three people inside didn’t notice him. They were too busy arguing. After standing there for a few seconds, the man tapped the window with his knuckle, making all three of them jump in surprise and turn to him. “Excuse me, I was told that I’m supposed to join you,” he stated.

A woman in the passenger seat rolled the window down and pointed to the back. “Yeah, we’re all waiting for you. Get in,” she said, and he obeyed and climbed in the back seat next to another man, or rather, a boy. College aged, wearing a similar outfit consisting of a red hoodie, a black Castle Hornets baseball cap, and a pair of tinted glasses. The disguise worked for a second, but then the man realized that he knew the boy.

“Wait a minute… What the hell are you doing here, Luis?” he asked, recognizing him as Luis Arana, the kicker for Castle and the soon to be kicker for the national gridiron football team. “You’ve gotten pulled into this, too? What did you even do to get here?”

Luis blinked a few times before recognizing the man as his teammate, Kyle Stratton. “I could ask the same question about you, Kyle,” he sighed, looking Kyle up and down one more time to make sure it was really him. “Some guy called Glen has dirt on me that’s going to end my career before it starts if it gets out. You know that kickers are expendable… We get less chances to fuck up than the rest of you. The real question is how did a star linebacker like you end up here? Whatever they have, it must be big if you’re doing what they say.”

“Not career ending big, but big enough to cost tens of millions of dollars,” Kyle admitted. “Who are the others? I don’t recognize them. Are they from Castle also, or…?”

“The guy that’s driving is Maso, and he’s from Outer Avgaria. The slightly hysterical woman is Lana, from here in Maris. I don’t know what they did, but they talked to the same guy. He has dirt on all of them. They aren’t famous like us, but their careers could still be done if this shit gets out. Glen said that we’ve all been brought together because we have skillsets that fit well together,” explained Luis. “He told us that one more person was coming and told us to wait. I think he was talking about you.”

“He said he was going to give us more instructions when I got here-”

“Speak of the devil,” said Maso, as his phone chimed and a new text appeared, from Glen. It was telling him to head to Avgaria, and it said to be there by tomorrow. The text also warned the group that if they ran instead, Glen would release everything he had on them. “What do they want us to go to A-Town for? I just drove here from there and now he wants me to head right back? This can’t be right-”

“Let’s just go there and do what he says,” said Lana, breathing deeply to calm herself down. She shook her black hair out of her eyes, staring straight ahead and inhaling and exhaling slowly. “He probably sent you here to pick us up. You’re the one with the truck, so he sent you to get us and drive us around. That’s why you don’t have a backpack, like the rest of us.”

“Right,” said Maso, pulling out of the parking lot and turning onto the avenue that would lead them out of the city. “What’s in your backpack, Kyle? Glen told Lana not to open hers, and Luis has one that’s filled with some kind of set of uniforms. We don’t know yet what they’re for, but Glen told Luis that they would be important and that he had to make sure not to lose them.”

“I don’t know. Glen told me not to open the backpack or to lose it. He said that it’s very important,” Kyle answered. “At first I thought I was supposed to deliver it to someone, but then he changed the instructions and told me to get in the SUV with you three. Someone left it in the bushes outside my dorm, and when I got wrapped up in this, the first thing he told me to do was pick it up and keep it close. Like I said, I’ve got no clue what’s inside.”

“My guess is that we’ve gotten involved with a group of criminals that want someone to run their blood money for them,” shrugged Maso. “It’s too risky for them to get caught doing it themselves, so they blackmail us into doing it for them. There’s also a chance that they backstab us no matter what we do. But we have to do what they want anyway, if we want to have any chance at them not letting our skeletons out of the closet.”

“We could try to fight back and figure out who’s doing this,” Luis sighed. “We could try to track the number and find out who this Glen guy is, and then we can go to the police-”

“That’s the fastest way to get our shit released,” Lana snapped, putting up a hand to stop Luis. “Don’t even think about it. We’re going to do what he wants until he decides to leave us alone… I’m not letting you guys take the risk of going to the cops.”

“Right,” Kyle said. “Let’s not do that. There’s too much risk in it. If we do what he wants, then maybe he won’t release everything. If we go to the police, everything will definitely get out. We don’t even know what he wants us to do in Avgaria… It might not be too bad, who knows?”

“When I don’t know, I always assume the worst,” Lana stated, and with that, they turned on the highway towards Avgaria. “I have a bad feeling about this. There’s a good chance we get burned no matter what… But right now, the important thing is minimizing the chances of that… We can only do that and hope the best.”

=====

“This is the Redvale Federal Police, open up!” shouted Lieutenant Caden del Bay, standing with four other cops outside of the latest raid target: a mansion by the eastern edge of the suburbs that was believed to be owned by the Legion rebellion that normally operated out of Janford. “This is a raid, and you have one minute to open the door and surrender! Do not fight back, the house is surrounded and we are authorized to use lethal force!” he added, before turning to his colleagues. “Go to the unlocked window, now. We’re not giving them the full minute.”

“Aye, Lieutenant,” said Constable Valentia Sanchez, motioning for a pair of others to follow her as she hopped down from the porch and ran around the side of the house, to the part of the building where the living room was. There was shouting from inside, and Valentia pressed herself against the wall under the window and paused to listen in on the conversation going on in there.

“We’ve got hostiles at the door,” one voice shouted from another room, and footsteps could be heard as someone moved throughout the house and closer to the window. “They want us to open up in a minute, or they’re knocking the door down… Yeah, they’re armed.”

Another voice shouted back. “Who are they with?”

“Um… Los Federales,” the first voice responded, and then Valentia waved her men closer and spun around so she was facing the window. She lifted herself up and let one of the other officers give her a boost, and then she climbed into the large windowsill and lifted the window up until she was able to squeeze through. “Shit! They’re coming in already!” the man that the first voice belonged to shouted, and he started to reach into his shirt for a gun.

“Get on the ground!” Valentia screamed, but when the man kept reaching for the gun anyway, she raised her shotgun and fired a shot that went into his chest, knocking him backwards and onto the ground and spraying blood onto her face, the one part of her body that was exposed. So that was what it felt like to shoot someone, with a shotgun no less… Valentia felt strange after doing that, but there was no time to contemplate on if shooting the man had been necessary. She pumped the shotgun as her coworker, Constable Jordan Anjos, climbed through the window and took a look around the room.

“Damn, I see you’ve already got quite the welcome to the force,” Jordan stated, referring to how Valentia had just joined from the Janford Police Department. “How many more are in here?”

“At least one, the briefing said three people-”

As Valentia was speaking, Jordan raised his SMG and fired a burst of shots at someone who had been trying to sneak into the room through the hallway, holding a rifle. “Two down, one to go,” he remarked, pulling up his skull balaclava and reloading the SMG. “Let’s find ‘em and clear the rest of this place before it goes boom… Like the last Legion building we raided. If they get raided, they just burn everything to the ground and go to the next hideout.”

“So I guess it’s pretty important that we work quickly?”

Jordan nodded, looking through the scope of his SMG and walking slowly towards the hallway as more police officers entered the building from the front and back doors. “Yeah… If we want to get out of here alive, at least.”

[Free Republics]

Free Republics National Football Team

Base Formation: I-Formation (Offense), 3-4 (Defense)
Style Modifier: -1.5
Colors: Blue and White
Head Coach - Jak Hamilton
Offensive Coordinator - Niels Juhl
Defensive Coordinator - Canine Berggren
Special Teams Coordinator - Godemir Tomic
Assistant Offensive Coordinator - Prudencio Orosco
Assistant Defensive Coordinator - Nicanor Pirogov
Assistant Special Teams Coordinator - Martin Enersen
QB Coach - Edvin Berg
RB Coach - Pall Istvan
WR Coach - Pejo Herceg
TE Coach - Conall Black
OL Coach - Casper Eriksson
DL Coach - Riccardo Li Fonti
LB Coach - Dominic Challis
DB Coach - Luka Marjanovic
Conditioning Coach - Valdemar Thygesen
Coach - Alexandre Garceau
Coach - Vasilije Grajfoner
Coach - Lucas Bumgarner
Coach - Olli Maenpaa
Coach - Bent Klausen

Roster (age in parentheses)

Starting Offense

QB - #64 Wibe Rus (22)
HB - #90 Matthijn Admiraal (22)
FB - #1 Jacob Naylor (24)
WR - #9 Anes Kokoravec (33)
WR - #79 Roman Vesely (24)
TE - #39 Bartha Myricoorish (33)
LT - #37 Alex Bech (34)
LG - #68 Leon Collins (28)
C - #23 Vlad Maslow (33)
RG - #58 Etienne Kopinya (28)
RT - #67 Joshua Howard (22)

Starting Defensive

LE - #29 Jasper Dallachy (24)
NG - #97 Big Mo Henderson (29)
RE - #75 Scott Bruce (25)
LOLB - #14 Daniel Friedman (26)
LILB - #65 Gregorio Trevisano (36)
RILB - #49 Valentin Immonen (25)
ROLB - #82 Michel Lizotte (25)
CB - #69 Simon Gregersen (30)
CB - #74 Prewitt Ayot (37)
FS - #27 Marcus Ikonen (24)
SS - #86 Ismail Holm (36)

Extra Defensive Backs

Nickel - #16 Fedro Colombo (23)
Dime - #71 Ostap Mordvinov (28)
Extra Safety - #17 Stanislav Loncar (29)

Special Teams

K - #18 Dean Kevin (33)
P - #3 Ludvig Eide (27)
KOS - #63 Ewan Wilkinson (29)
KR - #11 Pomeroy Therriault (25)
KR - #62 Casto Armijo (35)
PR - #8 Gianleone Siciliani (31)
LS - #50 Jost Majoranc (31)
COVER - #55 Branislav Obad (31)
COVER - #51 Folke Jonsson (31)
COVER - #20 Mark Ritter (31)
COVER - #43 Roman Hernandes (36)
COVER - #78 Jens Klug (25)
COVER - #25 Sander Mogensen (31)
COVER - #92 D'Arcy Tanguay (30)
COVER - #40 Saturno Velez (33)
COVER - #70 Aron Hunter (29)
COVER - #15 Ivan Cermelj (28)

Backups and Reserves

QB - #89 Rene Duerr (29)
QB - #12 Carlo Pirozzi (31)
QB - #95 Jacob Knudsen (30)
RB - #36 Jorma Isometsa (26)
RB - #85 Gabe van Veelen (31)
RB - #28 Xhafer Jericek (34)
RB - #13 Castore Schiavone (27)
FB - #77 Klonimir Milic (32)
FB - #26 Laurentius Drok (22)
WR - #44 Fran Pavlovic (32)
WR - #88 Zak Cross (22)
WR - #61 Petr Rybar (28)
WR - #5 Carst Zoutewelle (23)
WR - #72 Prvoslav Kralj (32)
WR - #6 Lazarus Zhirov (23)
TE - #60 Carl Curtis (35)
TE - #87 Anders Brandt (27)
TE - #94 Amund Haugen (30)
OT - #98 Eliot Lafond (22)
OT - #54 Daniel Dujmovic (34)
OT - #57 Oskari Ikonen (28)
OG - #19 Victor Mortensen (32)
OG - #33 Stanislav Loncar (25)
OG - #22 Montague Dostie (33)
C - #46 Cvjetko Brajkovic (37)
C - #30 Neri Arreola (22)
DE - #24 Roberto Cosic (37)
DE - #80 Tigran Tokaryev (36)
DE - #76 Fatty Clark (33)
DT - #47 Johan Aas (33)
DT - #56 Peter Sabela (35)
DT - #41 Alcide Conti (22)
DT - #52 Rashied Haverkate (28)
DT - #2 Armen Vela Alba (29)
OLB - #84 Andreas Olsen (35)
OLB - #45 Noah Theriault (26)
OLB - #4 Eligio Mazzi (26)
OLB - #10 Joaquin Ojeda (28)
OLB - #83 Vetle Tveiten (25)
ILB - #42 Marco Finkel (30)
ILB - #73 Emile Lajeunesse (34)
CB - #93 Seth Baume (31)
CB - #35 Joseph Grimes (24)
CB - #66 Tyko Nevalainen (34)
S - #91 Tim Landreth (36)
S - #96 Christopher Barker (24)
S - #59 Jakub Horak (37)
K - #7 Kevin Antonsen (34)
P - #99 Apolinario Velasco (28)

Stadiums

VS Equatorial Zeldaen

Stadium: Podvez Field
Stadium Location: Yellow Bay, Vorita
Stadium Capacity: 65,397

VS Firebolt

Stadium: Olden Stadium
Stadium Location: Falkamore, Nejax
Stadium Capacity: 92,681

VS West Angola

Stadium: AllMartDome
Stadium Location: Reco, Jolarus
Stadium Capacity: 88,234

VS Smertonosnyy

Stadium: Kountry Bank Stadium
Stadium Location: Albertope, Roxawa
Stadium Capacity: 83,802

VS Pacificana Islands

Stadium: Olympic Stadium
Stadium Location: Baseton, Amolotopia
Stadium Capacity: 107,432

VS Chromatika

Stadium: Gem of the Oceans Stadium
Stadium Location: Republica, Republica District
Stadium Capacity: 101,208

VS Nassau-Hessen

Stadium: IslandDome
Stadium Location: Toakameau, Falatulu
Stadium Capacity: 66,666

RP Permissions
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my scorers: Y
Choose scoring events: Y
RP injuries to my players: Y
Godmod scoring events: Y
Godmod injuries: Y
Godmod other events: Y

[Saintland]

West Saintland National Gridiron Team

Captain: Georgius Didius
Style: -2
Base Formation: variable (offense), 3-4 (defense)
Colors: Red and White
Demonym: Sanctii
Stadium: Royal Stadium
Stadium Location: St. Petrus
Stadium Capacity: 62,383

Roster

Offensive Committee

QB: #5 Thomas Ulpius
QB: #6 Paulus Salvius
RB: #32 Petrus Maximius
RB: #38 Lucas Plinius
FB: #49 Alessandro Ancharius
WR: #82 Matthaeus Epidius
WR: #89 Thomas Lusius
WR: #83 Ioannes Oranius
WR: #84 Nicolaus Lusius
TE: #80 Paulus Favonius
TE: #88 Thomas Tuccius
LT: #74 Lucas Floridius
LG: #68 Ioannes Conconius
C: #75 Abraham Nemetorius
RG: #65 Isaac Secundius
RT: #77 Marcus Nigrius

Defensive Lineup

LE: #92 Thomas Calventius
NG: #90 David Vargunteius
RE: #99 Andreas Cammius
LOLB: #52 Georgius Didius
LILB: #55 Matthaeus Publicius
RILB: #59 Lucas Sepurcius
ROLB: #50 Silvester Didius
CB: #23 Lucius Curtius
CB: #26 Lucas Desticius
Nickel: #28 Paulus Rufrius
Dime: #22 Stephanus Praesentius
FS: #25 Matthaeus Stlaccius
SS: #20 Marcus Stlaccius

Special Teams

K: #9 Philippus Francus
P: #8 Josephus Polus
Long Snap: #69 Adam Sennius
Return: #84 Nicolaus Lusius
Kick Cover: #51 Petrus Roscius

Backups

QB: #2 Andreas Polus
RB: #31 Matthaeus Loreius
FB: #44 Lucas Matius
WR: #86 Alessandro Norbanus
OT: #72 Petrus Vassinus
OT: #79 Paulus Vassinus
OG: #73 Lucas Valgus
OG: #62 Antonius Terentia
C: #66 Ioannes Sidonius
DE: #93 Ioannes Minucius
NG: #97 Petrus Maelius
OLB: #56 Andreas Oclatinius
ILB: #58 Lucius Mucius
CB: #27 Adam Lampronius
S: #24 Paulus Placidus
S: #29 Lucas Lutatius

Notes

The defense of the Sanctii National Teams that once dominated the World Bowl remains intact, but their aging offense was decimated during their three World Bowl absence. Gone are King Petrus XX, star running back Andreas Tuccius (now the Prime Minister) and both of their leading receivers. What remains is an aging, but still capable defense and a much more cautious offense led by two quarterbacks who alternate snaps. Salvius does not have a particularly strong arm, but he is the more accurate pocket passer of the two. Ulpius is a big quarterback with a very strong arm who can run a little, but he is known to have issues with his accuracy. The backs are also a collection of role players. Maximius is a pure speed back and is very undersized for the position. Loreius is a great pass catcher, but lacks elite power or elite speed. Plinius is probably the best pure runner on the team, but he simply isn't a very good pass catcher. Ancharius is a large fullback who moves pretty well and can make some plays. Matius is a pure blocking fullback. At receiver, this team lacks a true #1 or #2 receiver, so those roles will be filled by committee between the extremely tall Epidius, Thomas Lusius (who is very fast, but frequently drops balls and doesn't run very good routes), Oranius (a balanced receiver who is mediocre in all facets of his game) and Nicolaus Lusius (also the team's kick returner and a poor man's version of his brother Thomas). At tight end, they aren't in much better shape either as the youngest of the Favonius brothers, Paulus is their only remaining tight end from the glory days and he has always been the least talented of the three brothers. Finally, Thomas Tuccius is the younger brother of the Prime Minister and primarily a blocking specialist. All of the defensive linemen are big players that would be defensive tackles in a 4-3. Georgius Didius is an elite pass rusher. His brother Silvester is more of a coverage OLB. The Stlaccius brothers are known for their hard hits. The defense is extremely aggressive and tends to show alot of different looks. They use movement to throw the opposition off guard. Offensively, this team tends to play it safe whenever possible. Didius expects his offense to merely not lose games.

RP Permissions

Choose my scorers: Y
Choose scoring events: Y
RP injuries to my players: Y
Godmod scoring events: Y
Godmod injuries: Y
Godmod other events: Y

[Allamunnic States]

Innusburg Huskies Practice Facility
Alsen Suburb, Innusburg, Staalmark
A few months after World Bowl XXX

Practice had stretched on longer than usual that day, and, despite the lightness of the day's drizzle, Ryan Smart was thoroughly soaked. Nevermind that it was the offseason; the best teams practiced constantly, even if it was walkthroughs, padless practices, and pure conditioning that was being worked on. The offseason minicamps were a godsend for a coach as meticulous as the former Regulars' coach.

By the time he had called it quits from the national team, he did not imagine he would miss the job much. It had become draining, even a little boring, spoiled by too much success in too short a time. His role as a member of the board of the Allamunnic Sporting Commission was one he had seen relatively little joy in. He liked Baeryk Vaalburger. He was a good man, but despite his need to be done with the thing, it had hurt to see another person taking care of his baby, so to speak.

These thoughts ran through his mind as he squeaked down the linoleum hallways of the Huskies' headquarters, heading to his office to take care of a little bit of paperwork before going home for the day. Not that that would be the end of his work. Smart lived on the gridiron, even when he was not physically on it.

He swung open the door to his office, a relatively sparse, utilitarian chamber that was not uncomfortable, merely not ostentatious, to find someone seated in the chair in front of his desk. He was puzzled, even as he caught a glimpse of a pair of brown eyes making a quick glance over his shoulder.

"Can't say I was expecting any visitors, but I imagine Helen at the desk let you in," he said, walking past the uninvited guest and settling down at his own desk chair. He settle into it, enjoying the relaxation that being off of his feet for the first time in hours brought. "And I can't say I recognize you. But maybe there's something I can do for you?"

The man sitting across from him was meaty. Not "bodybuilder muscular". Meaty. He looked like he had the strength to haul a semi, and the brute force and attitude to pull Smart's arms from his sockets if he wanted to. If the old young ball coach were not so used to dealing with the sort on the sidelines, that might have intimidated him. As it was, the familiarity of the face simply left him wondering who this person was that he did not quite recognize.

"I'm the fullback," the man explained rather unhelpfully.

"You're not my fullback," Smart countered. "Because I'm damn sure my fullback was at practice today, and you sure as shit weren't."

"No, from the Regulars," he continued, somewhat more helpfully. Smart, however, perhaps taking some small revenge for being distracted, remained obtuse.

"You're sure as shit not Ole Nurdsunn, either."

The self-identified fullback rolled his eyes, even as a small smile quirked at the corners of his mouth. "I should hope not. Torren Tormundsunn? I played for Coach Vaalburger's Regulars." Smart nodded. That made sense. He had not been a stranger to Vaalburger's squads, even if his involvement in them was minimal. He pulled off his billed cap, dropping it on his desk with a sodden plop, leaving his hair, darkened by wetness, sticking up at odd angles.

"Yeah, I recognize you now, Torren. I'm afraid if you're hunting down the members of the Commission, I'd have to recommend you start with the ones that actually voted for Kolvyn. Were I not busy, I'd be happy to help you do it, too." Smart had, for his part, been almost as furious as the players when he learned that Gaarutt Kolvyn had terminated Baeryk Vaalburger's contract after World Bowl XXX.

Tormundsunn actually grinned, then. "Not that I'm not tempted, Coach Smart, but that's not why I'm here." For the first time, Torren relaxed a little bit, easing back in the stiff-backed chair, comfort seeping into his posture. "I am here to ask for your help, though. See, as I'm sure you'd understand, a lot of us were rubbed the wrong way by what that bastard did to Coach," he began. Smart nodded, before speaking.

"Us?"

"Me, Traewyk, Wyrth, Knutsunn, Waalturs, Eriksunn, Junnsunn, Farrangur, Unger..." he began rattling off a list of names that Smart knew belonged to players on the World Bowl XXX roster. He cut Torren off with a nod. "Well, anyway, we were looking at making our own team to go compete in the World Bowl. Sure, they probably won't let us, but we figured we'd take a crack at it."

Smart narrowed his eyes. "You do realize that only one team can play as 'the Allamunnic States,' right?"

"Of course I do," Torren said. "That's why I filed the paperwork to do so yesterday." Smart, who had started drinking from a water bottle, gagged, but mercifully did not do a spit-take. "Apparently, little Gaarutt Kolvyn is not half as good at his job as Mr. Thornburger was, because if he was, the slot wouldn't have been open. I got approval just before I came here. We're good to go."

"You... you registered as the Allamunnic national team to take the spot of the official team?" Smart asked, incredulous, his voice still hoarse from his coughing fit. "You do realize they're going to sue you into the ground, right?" Torren shrugged.

"My brother was a law student. Says they don't have a case, and that he'd love to take the case pro bono if it comes to that. Name 'Jaarl Tormundsunn' ring a bell?"

It did. Jaarl, Smart recalled, had a fair share of billboard advertisements up around Innusburg. He passed one on his way to work every day. He nodded back.

"Yeah, so I'm not super worried about the legal side of it. The trick, of course, is getting coaches for our ragtag group of misfits," he said cheerfully. "Maarkus Daalhulm said he's in. So is Andy Ierunmungur. But I wanted to ask if you'd be willing to coach the whole shebang."

Smart sat back, steepling his fingers and looking at Torren, before sighing. "You have heard, I trust, of these things called contracts, yes? Unfortunately, I'm locked into one with the Innusburg Huskies that says I am not permitted to coach for another program. I rather suspect they included that clause so I could not try to coach the national team on the side, despite my protests that I intended to do no such thing. So unfortunately, my current contract gets voided if I coach for you. And while the money's not that important... It would go against my personal ethics to leave a team in the lurch without advance notice."

Torren nodded. "I understand. I'm not thrilled, but I get it."

Ryan raised a hand. "I wasn't done. What my contract does not forbid is almost anything else. So if you want me to help you recruit, or fundraise, or..." he paused, seemingly searching for a word. "Consult," he said, cheerfully having found the word. "As long as we don't call it coaching, no matter how many positions you want me to help out with..." he shrugged, "...and as long as I can convince my higher-ups that it's not a threat to my work with the Huskies, which shouldn't be too hard, since it's the truth, they should respect the distinction."

The Regulars fullback was smiling now. "Yeah, I think that will do quite nicely, if you're willing..."

"If I'm willing? You bet I'm willing. Fuck Kolvyn. Fuck the suits. All they know is how to count the coins and look good in a suit in front of the cameras. Guy like him doesn't even understand the minutiae his job actually calls for. So fuck him. It will be my pleasure sticking it to him and the company men that put him in charge of the Commission."

"Well, that is just fantastic," Tormundsunn said without an ounce of sarcasm. "This definitely solves the problem with filling a good chunk of our coaching staff... but not the problem I came here hoping to fix." He looked at Smart. "I don't suppose you'd have any suggestions on who might be able to take the head job?"

"Well, that really depends. Is Rik Olafsunn helping Kolvyn's squad?"

There was a laugh. "Like hell. Shit-canning someone's mentor is not going to get you in their good graces," he said. "From what I heard, he tore Kolvyn a new one when he called to make the job offer, laughed at him, and then told him in no uncertain terms to fuck off. At least so Maarkus said."

"Well, then, I'd start with him, then. I imagine he'll be as motivated as I am, if not more," Smart suggested. "Do you have a contact number for him?"

"Yeah. Do you want to help with recruiting starting right now?"

"Sure thing. Make the call."

[Free Republics]

This is your Matchday 1 Cutoff, presented by Sporting World. Sporting World: Covering the World of Sports as We See It!

---

MD1 Results

All-Mart Conference

RT&T Division
Banija 32–27 Abaja
Main Nation Ministry 32–0 Christian Isles

  RT&T Division                     Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Main Nation Ministry                1   1  0   32   0 +32
2 Banija                              1   1  0   32  27  +5
3 Abaja                               1   0  1   27  32  −5
4 Christian Isles                     1   0  1    0  32 −32

R&K Bank Division
The Redvale 13–31 Cosumar
Royal Kingdom of Quebec 34–7 Somersville

  R&K Bank Division                 Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Royal Kingdom of Quebec             1   1  0   34   7 +27
2 Cosumar                             1   1  0   31  13 +18
3 The Redvale                         1   0  1   13  31 −18
4 Somersville                         1   0  1    7  34 −27

FreedomCola Division
Vettrera 6–23 Southern Democratic States
Santaclausisgodistan 0–23 Schottia

  FreedomCola Division              Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Schottia                            1   1  0   23   0 +23
2 Southern Democratic States          1   1  0   23   6 +17
3 Vettrera                            1   0  1    6  23 −17
4 Santaclausisgodistan                1   0  1    0  23 −23

Sporting World Conference

RepublicSoft Division
West Saintland 7–43 Allamunnic States
Qasden 54–7 De Dreamland

  RepublicSoft Division             Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Qasden                              1   1  0   54   7 +47
2 Allamunnic States                   1   1  0   43   7 +36
3 West Saintland                      1   0  1    7  43 −36
4 De Dreamland                        1   0  1    7  54 −47

O'Reilly Organization Division
Kebec 34–0 Cumhact
The United States of Saints 13–13 Gregoryisgodistan (22–19 OT)

  O'Reilly Organization Division    Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Kebec                               1   1  0   34   0 +34
2 The United States of Saints         1   1  0   22  19  +3
3 Gregoryisgodistan                   1   0  1   19  22  −3
4 Cumhact                             1   0  1    0  34 −34

Olden Division
The Fair Republic 22–18 Newmanistan
Kaboomlandia 36–7 Jeckland

  Olden Division                    Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Kaboomlandia                        1   1  0   36   7 +29
2 The Fair Republic                   1   1  0   22  18  +4
3 Newmanistan                         1   0  1   18  22  −4
4 Jeckland                            1   0  1    7  36 −29

Nicholls Enterprises Conference

Bank of Acedonia Division
Oisinistan 10–15 Drawkland
Fujisawan Territories 17–7 Fleuronordicia

  Bank of Acedonia Division         Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Fujisawan Territories               1   1  0   17   7 +10
2 Drawkland                           1   1  0   15  10  +5
3 Oisinistan                          1   0  1   10  15  −5
4 Fleuronordicia                      1   0  1    7  17 −10


Bank of Republica Division
Frenline Delpha 33–3 Korizland
Allamunnic Sporting Commission 17–25 Thereisnogodistan

  Bank of Republica Division        Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Frenline Delpha                     1   1  0   33   3 +30
2 Thereisnogodistan                   1   1  0   25  17  +8
3 Allamunnic Sporting Commission      1   0  1   17  25  −8
4 Korizland                           1   0  1    3  33 −30

Baseton Mutual Division
Republic of Rawn 21–14 Selvera
United States of Devonta 13–6 Ethane

  Baseton Mutual Division           Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Republic of Rawn                    1   1  0   21  14  +7
2 United States of Devonta            1   1  0   13   6  +7
3 Selvera                             1   0  1   14  21  −7
4 Ethane                              1   0  1    6  13  −7

Dixon Light Conference

New Republican Wrestling Conglomerate Division
Smertonosnyy 6–26 Free Republics
Nassau-Hessen 33–0 Equatorial Zeldaen

  New Republican Wrestling Conglomerate Division Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Nassau-Hessen                                    1   1  0   33   0 +33
2 Free Republics                                   1   1  0   26   6 +20
3 Smertonosnyy                                     1   0  1    6  26 −20
4 Equatorial Zeldaen                               1   0  1    0  33 −33

National Organization for Men Division
Greater Vakolicci Haven 44–10 West Angola
Northern Shrekistan 10–47 Chromatika

  National Organization for Men Division Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Chromatika                               1   1  0   47  10 +37
2 Greater Vakolicci Haven                  1   1  0   44  10 +34
3 West Angola                              1   0  1   10  44 −34
4 Northern Shrekistan                      1   0  1   10  47 −37

BearOil Division
Abanhfleft 29–8 Firebolt
Cryandolap 38–15 Kosovakia

  BearOil Division                  Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Cryandolap                          1   1  0   38  15 +23
2 Abanhfleft                          1   1  0   29   8 +21
3 Firebolt                            1   0  1    8  29 −21
4 Kosovakia                           1   0  1   15  38 −23

OOC Notes: The Conference Standings tables will make their debut tomorrow. In addition, expect tomorrow's cutoff to be during my cutoff window, not 30 minutes or so after it.

[Kaboomlandia]

Phoenix flatten Jeckland at home for first win

Andrew Michaels runs the ball in a 36-7 demolition of Jeckland Tuesday night.

The 31st World Bowl campaign for the Kaboomlandia Phoenix gridiron team got off to an auspicious start Tuesday night with a 36-7 win over unranked Jeckland, who are a former powerhouse in the sporting world, though they have declined in recent years. Following a foot injury to Tyler Martin that kept him out of this World Bowl, 29-year-old Travis Reuben took the reins as the undisputed starting quarterback for the first time in his career and looked promising in the starting role, completing 21 of 26 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns in three quarters, before being replaced by Russell Jones for the fourth quarter. "Travis looked good out there and saw the field well, though we would like to see a bit quicker effort from him to get the ball on the pass. Overall I liked his game, and we'll likely go back to him on the road trip to Qasden." In the first quarter, the Phoenix looked a bit rusty but went back to basics, using their tried-and-true smashmouth offense with Andrew Michaels. Reuben was decent in the first quarter, but it was a neat little fake play leading to a Brett Schremp touchdown that really took the cake:

"Reuben behind centre and takes the pass from the Jeckish 11-yard line. He starts running left... and what's this? Reuben lobs the ball back to Day cutting back. Connor Day with the ball now, looking for a target. Day now tossing the ball into the end zone...TOUCHDOWN, BRETT SCHREMP! The rookie wide receiver gets the Phoenix' first touchdown on a creative trick play! It's 7-0 Kaboomlandia!"

After the trick play, the Phoenix forced a punt play from Jeckland late in the first quarter. After the field switch, the Phoenix struck again early in the second quarter when a series of running plays allowed Michaels to bull the ball in from the 3-yard line. Jeckland, however, would strike back when a wide receiver went for a 47-yard run down the sideline untouched to make the score 14-7 for the Phoenix.

In the second half, the Phoenix poured on the heat as Reuben threw for 83 of 228 yards in the third quarter, including two touchdowns. The first one was a 21-yard pass straight up the middle to a wide-open James Malone, while the second was a play where Reuben had to scramble for his life before uncorking a 23-yard shot to Manny Hayes in the end zone. The rest of the game was fairly uneventful after Reuben was pulled for rest in the fourth quarter, though Russell Jones had a pretty nice play when he perfectly executed a play-action pass before firing a 16-yard pass down the right sideline for Brett Schremp's second touchdown of the night.

Up next for Kaboomlandia is the first of a two-game road trip at 49th-ranked Qasden, who levelled De Dreamland by a lopsided score of 54-7.

[Schottia]

The Star
Part Two

Should Stephen have been filled with more pride? It was hard to say really. His girlfriend had been named the third best athlete in the country for the calendar year, her second award of this nature. It was surely like winning employee of the month or something... just bigger. People in his life, especially his friends at work, asked him how it was going out with a celebrity - but the truth was, he paid so little attention, that it barely impacted on his life. He had no doubt that if he were to have followed the sport, then it would have been a great novelty, however, gridiron football factored so little in his list of interests that she could have literally been anyone.

Gabi stood on the stage, looking at the array of cameras assembled in front of her. She hoped that there were some of the picture where she didn't have her with her eyes closed, but the firework display of flash photography was dizzying. Three women. That was most likely going to be the talking point tomorrow - first, second, third - for the first time ever. Gabi already anticipated the questions regarding whether or not this was good for women's sport in general. Part of her kind of wished that there had been a man in there, somewhere, just to break the thing up a bit; that way they could focus on the sport instead of issues around gender.

Maybe she was being harsh though, it was all well and good for her standing up there saying that being a woman had never hindered her; undoubtedly it was harder for some. The only thing was, she would have cringed if she thought for a second that this result had anything to do with positive discrimination.

It was surprising how much the award actually weighed, probably a sign of quality. A silver-plated sculpture of a man leaping into the air and catching a five sided star, fixed to a heavy oak base. Written round the rim, there was a list of former third place winners, dating back to the sixties. It would make interesting reading later, but for now she didn't have the time to look. In a lot of ways Gabi was a lucky player. That could certainly be said of her timing, and when she emerged on the scene. Had it been even two years earlier, she would have entered into a sport which had literally no financial backing in Schottia, and no professional coaching system. As it was, she had arrived just as Schottia were on the way up in the world rankings, and had joined in that ascendency.

Last year they had definitely put a few of their critics back in their box - the countless sporting purists who saw their win in Quebec as a fluke, and purely down to the weather. That's why in some ways the third place had been more important to the players - if not less special. It had given them what they thought was a right to be at the top table. You could look at it and say that their rank had been falling for three years, or you could say that they had been consistently ranked in the top three ever since their initial triumph. In actual fact, both statements were true.

World Bowl Thirty-one was going to be an altogether different experience, as it brought about the prospect of playing at home for the first time. In Schottia, the S.A.L had rather boringly adopted a somewhat soccer-centric league system. By the organisers reckoning, anything else would have confused the association football mad population. Gabi had certainly wondered if this were a mistake, as it didn't really give the fans much credit. However, for this reason, the new system of conferences and divisions was likely to come as a surprise to a few of the players who plied their trade back home. Gabi new that there had been one or two fans moaning about it, but you could find someone who would complain about anything if you looked hard enough. For her, it didn't make any difference, she would go into every match looking to win. Whatever the system, it didn't change the fact that they needed to win as many matches as possible. They could be playing on a space station for all it mattered, because if they won every match, like they did three years ago, then they would lift the trophy.

Steven wondered how often they would be back here. He had kind of enjoyed his evening, even if his face hadn't shown it. He guessed that depended on how Gabi did next year, but he couldn't even tell you where she was playing. He remembered Quebec, mostly because of the stories of the ice and snow, but other than that he knew she was travelling, and that was about it. It wasn't that he didn't care, he just couldn't muster any interest. People talking sports around him was like him reading pages of programming code to someone else. He just couldn't concentrate supposing you gave him caffeine pills. All the same, it had been nice to get out of the house, to leave his four walls. Sitting sipping mineral water in a new setting had broken up the monotony of his week nicely. Perhaps there was hope for him yet. Perhaps there were ways he could enjoy this whole "going out with a sports star" gig, without actually getting involved in sports at all.

[Drawkland]

WORLD BOWL XXXI OFF TO GOOD START
Written By: Phillip Ward and Ben Lincoln

---

RECENT RESULTS
FROM BANK of ACEDONIA DIVISION:
Oisinistan 10–15 Drawkland
Fujisawan Territories 17–7 Fleuronordicia

' Bank of Acedonia Division         Pld   W  L   PF  PA  PD 
1 Fujisawan Territories               1   1  0   17   7 +10
2 Drawkland                           1   1  0   15  10  +5
3 Oisinistan                          1   0  1   10  15  −5
4 Fleuronordicia                      1   0  1    7  17 −10

World Bowl XXXI Schedule - Grid Corps
Home Team Listed First
1. Oisinistan 10–15 Drawkland
2. Allamunnic Sporting Commission - Drawkland
3. Drawkland - Fleuronordicia
4. Drawkland - Selvera
5. United States of Devonta - Drawkland
6. Fujisawan Territories - Drawkland
7. Drawkland - Korizland
8. Drawkland - Oisinistan
9. Frenline Delpha - Drawkland
10. Drawkland - Republic of Rawn
11. Fleuronordicia - Drawkland
12. Drawkland - Thereisnogodistan
13. Ethane - Drawkland
14. Drawkland - Fujisawan Territories

WORLD BOWL XXXI
Coming off hot after becoming World Champions in World Bowl XXX, the Grid Corps was ready to take on a new, slightly weirdly-formatted edition of the World Bowl, held in the Free Republics. In this 31st edition, the teams were divided into 4 Conferences of 12 teams each, which in turn are split up into 3 Divisions of 4 teams each. Conferences and Divisions, instead of having letters or numbers, are named after household name companies in the Free Republics, which all sound vaguely familiar but not enough to complain. The top team in each division will advance to the playoffs, and the best non-first place team out of each conference advances as a wild card. Considering some of the Divisional matchups this group draw dictated, this is gonna be a tight berthing all-around, and it's highly likely some really good teams will be left out.

Maybe even the Grid Corps.

Let's suppress those crippling fears. Instead, we'll look at the schedule Drawkland has to look forward to, and predict how we think the other Conferences will go, and to top it all off, we'll go over the first match of the Bowl, a close W off of Oisinistan.

PREVIEW
Some people this format confusing, and while it's not your traditional round-robin top-2 berth scenario, it's actually not that hard to understand. It was probably a nightmare for those in the Free Republics to organize, but the fruit of their labors isn't as bad as many think. It's quite simple, really: a team plays a round robin against their division and a round robin with the entire conference. Or a double round robin with their division and plays once against everybody else in the conference. Whichever nomenclature you prefer. If you're an eagle-eye, you'll notice this is actually quite similar to the format the Gridiron League of Drawkland uses, except instead of a division round robin on top of a full conference round robin, it's a full league round robin added onto the division round robin. If I have to type round robin one more time I might shove the mechanical pencil on my desk through my solar plexus.

Here's the conference and division groupings, because we're much too lazy to copy/paste them for you here.

Anyhow, off to the right you can see the Grid Corps schedule for this World Bowl. You'll see a few newcomer or low-ranked teams across the conference, like Selvera, Korizland, or the Republic of Rawn. Some are vaguely familiar if you're a nerd who pays attention to every matchup during the Bowls, like Oisinistan, Thereisnogodistan, or the United States of Devonta. Some are household names, if for some reason your household talks about international sports a lot, like Frenline Delpha, Ethane, and the Allamunnic Sporting Commission, which is basically the Allamunnic States national team, except it's not. It's pretty confusing and we haven't figured it out. Mainly because it doesn't matter because we're gonna beat them anyway.
You may recognize Fleuronordicia, who hosted the recently-completed International Cup of 7ball 3, which Drawkland won. If you're a real nerd, you'll know it's actually the same team (well, kinda) that Drawkland had to face in their first-ever World Bowl, Peuples Nordique des Fleurs. They had a revolution or something. In fact, the match against Peuples Nordique des Fleurs was the first win by the Grid Corps on the international stage: a good old-fashioned 8-30 beating.
And if you are in the upper echelons of international sporting nerdiness, you may recognize the name Fujisawan Territories, who not only are in the Nicholls Enterprises Conference, but are in the Bank of Acedonia Division alongside Drawkland (and Fleuronordicia. And Oisinistan). Fujisawan Territories won World Bowl VII (edition 7? damn they must be good), and have just returned from a long hiatus. This is what's making analysts nervous, the Hurricanes are barely returning to the World Bowl, yet they seem to be in top-notch condition and might even qualify ahead of Drawkland for the playoffs, which means that every win counts just in case it comes down to a Wild Card record.

Predictions? Wins against Oisinistan, Fleuronordicia, Selvera, Devonta, Korizland, and Republic of Rawn. Close wins against the ASC, Ethane, Thereisnogodistan and Frenline Delpha (just kidding, 50-23). Honestly, we're expecting losses against Fujisawan Territories, or very close wins in either case. And, well, that WILL kinda screw us in H2H, which is why we should really hope to win both games against them. Actually we should hope to win every game, as we should on paper. Although as Taeshan may attest last edition, that probably isn't the case.

Around the rest of the Bowl, we have a few premonitions. The All-Mart Conference will send Banija, Cosumar, and Schottia from the RT&T, R&K Bank, and FreedomCola Divisions. We expect a close Wild Card chase between Royal Kingdom of Quebec and Abaja, but considering Abaja's track record from last edition, we think they'll make it through.
Sporting World Conference will send out Allamunnic States, United States of Saints, and Kaboomlandia from the RepublicSoft, O'Reilly Organization, and Olden Divisions, with another close Wild Card scene between Qasden, Gregoryisgodistan, and Newmanistan (another golden oldie like Fujisawan Territories, but unlike the Fujisawans, has never won a World Bowl). Ultimately, it's expected that Qasden or Gregoryisgodistan will make it through, as it's expected for Newmanistan to not be able to make it all the way through after a long absence.
Nicholls Enterprises Conference we expect will offer Drawkland, Frenline Delpha, and Ethane as the Bank of Acedonia, Bank of Republica, and Baseton Mutual Division winners, with Fujisawan Territories squashing Allamunnic Sporting Commission and United States of Devonta for the playoff spot. At least, this is what we hope.
And finally, the Dixon Light Conference will likely send Free Republics, Chromatika, and Abanhfleft (losers) to the playoffs from the New Republican Wrestling Conglomerate, National Organization for Men, and BearOil Divisions. Nassau-Hessen will make it through to the playoffs in this utterly bare and easy conference. It's too bad Drawkland isn't in this conference or we'd surely have an easier time making it to the playoffs.

We'll make playoff predictions when the time comes and when we're not so worried about not qualifying.

vs OISINISTAN
Unfortunately, Drawkland had to travel on the road to Oisinistan to start off the World Bowl XXXI "season." However, the excited Drawkians came out in droves to the nation to see how the Grid Corps is set to fare these next couple weeks. Drawkland won the toss and Dak Waterman, the quarterback/captain, elected to defer. A kick sent flying by Matthew Watts was brought in by Ian Mountbatten on the corner of the field at the 2 yard line, who attempted to return at least to the 20, but was flattened by the oncoming Drawkian block tide at around the 13 yard line. The Oisinistanis were held to a 3-and-out following 2 ruthless sacks by Jordan Tomek and an incomplete pass swatted away by William Peers. The punt was returned by Daniel Madison for a huge gain, taking it to the Oisinistani 30 yard line before being pushed out of bounds. That drive was quick and efficient, and in classic Drawkian style, the Grid Corps ran the ball thrice and passed twice, which ended in a touchdown pass received by Michael Hughes for the first score of the game, 0-7 (with the PAT courtesy Watts).

Unfortunately, no more scoring for either side happened until late in the 2nd quarter, where Oisinistan quarterback threw a hail mary pass to Colin Snythe in a desperate attempt to score before halftime and having to give the ball back up to the Corps. The pass was actually fruitful, as Snythe broke away from the secondary defenders for the huge gain which resulted in a 47-yard touchdown, an impressive 30 yard carry after the catch. Stan Parkman, the kicker, parked one between the uprights to tie the game up at the half, 7-7 (a squib kick to the Corps killed the clock and brought the half to a close).

After the half, it was clear the right decision was the defer, as the Corps needed the possession to attempt to get the score back up. And that they did, the Corps marched up the field, killing clock all the way, until they reached the Oisinistani 8 yard line, 1st and Goal with about 10 minutes left on the clock. The first play, Waterman passed one off to the corner to try and hit Dominic Bishop for the touchdown pass, but lo and behold, Oisinistani defender Liam Colbert intercepted the pass, and brought it forward before being smashed at the 3 yard line. Unfortunately for Oisinistan, however, the Drawkian defense called a hard blitz which knocked Shane Woods down on the end zone before he could even hand the ball to Paul Kimberly to run it. Oisinistan suffered a Safety, and Drawkland took the lead, 7-9.

But despite getting the ball right back, the Corps couldn't handle it well, and a good punt return and drive by Oisinistan brought them great field position, where Stan Parkman did his job well again and got the Field Goal, bringing the score to 10-9 at the end of the 3rd.

The Corps was losing the entire 4th quarter, and Oisinistan hogged the ball and clock as long as they could, but eventually a great blitz and cover series brought them to punt, which Daniel Madison returned for a touchdown with 30 seconds left on the clock. The Corps didn't bother kicking the extra point, and simply did a joking two-point conversion, which failed. The game was won, 10-15, in a close and awesome victory.

OISINISTAN	0	7	3	0	10
DRAWKLAND	7	0	2	6	15

PREDICTIONS
In the next game against the new but powerful Allamunnic Sporting Commission, it's expected a Drawkland win by another close margin. It's pretty clear we have the upper hand in this case, with the momentum and the high-class rank that ASC simply cannot match.

Lay them down, Grid Corps.

[Frenline Delpha]

May Contain Murder Part 1

The winter wind nipped at Susan's heels on her walk home from the library. It was only eight at night, but the sky was so black that the White Revolution Movement (FND's KKK) would probably have tried to lynch it back in their hay day. The only thing that guided her home through the deserted street were the few streetlights in this part of town. Recently, President Samuel Snaker had implemented a policy of adding more streetlights in order to promote safety. However, the project had yet to reach this part of the nation, as the crews were busy working on the larger cities. However, in less than a week, the project would start off in Freklire, but it wouldn't be long until it made it to Susan's city of Fishlick, about twenty miles north of Ice Peak.

However, that wasn't any comfort for Susan, as she still had to walk down the dimly lit streets of Fishlips until the project was complete. She adjusted her coat again, trying to shield from the cold and let out an involuntary shiver. Little did she know that today would be the worst day of her life. Not that she would remember it.

* * *

The man looked out the window, his eyes scanning the streets below for signs of life. He lived on the fifth floor of the seven story apartment, in a room located at the front of the building. Its position was perfect for what the man had planned, as a streetlight was across from the building. Another one was just to the left of the buildng, giving the man a clear view of the front of his buildings in order to scout it out. In fact, the man had planned this location. He visited twenty different apartments before he found this location for sale, and the second he saw it, he knew it would work. He moved in seven days later. He knew what he was doing was risky, but it didn't matter. He was going to be famous, and nothing was going to stop him.

Suddenly, he spotted the ideal lifeform. She looked frail, defensless, and, best-of-all, alone. He knew this would be his time to strike. He grabbed grabbed both knives, identical both in shape and size. However, one was made of a stainless steel, while the other one was a more ornate, bejewled knife. The latter would be the murder weapon, but he had a plan for both of them. Grabbing his trenchcoat, he stepped out of his apartment with the knives, and a few other instruments, concealed. He didn't need anyone in the apartment to grow suspicious of him. He wasn't even halfway through with his plan. After jogging down the flights of stairs to the ground floor, he crashed through the enterance and into the bitterly cold outside. Looking to his right, he saw the lady still heading in a straight line. This was his chance.

* * *

Susan passed the fateful apartment without a pause for thought. She was too busy thinking about an upcoming job interview she had. After four years of library work right out of college, she had managed to secure a job interview at a big time accounting firm. It would take place in just a few days, and Susan could finally afford a better apartement than the one she rented with her sister, who was disabled after bull crushed both her legs during a rodeo. Once Susan got this new job, she would be able to afford both her sister's medical bills, and a new apartment. She couldn't wait for the day to come. She loved the library, but it was not the job she wanted to live her life on. It had worked up until her sister's injury, but now it wasn't enough. Since thoughts were racing through her mind, she didn't hear the man sneak up behind her. Suddenly, she felt herself grabbed by the bakc of the neck. She let out a scream, but the man slipped a ballgag into her mouth, silencing her. However, Susan wasn't going down without a fight. She kicked the man's shin and turned to face him, her heartbeat pounding in her ear. However, she froze up when she saw the knife in the man's hands. Noticing this brief pause, he lunged at her, plunging the knife deep into Susan's shoulder. Maaaaarrrrrrrgh! came the muffled sound from the gag as her knees let out.

* * *

The man reached towards his knife,now planted in his victims shoulder, and grabbed the handle. He plunged it into the other shoulder, and then into the chest. As the lady breathed her last, he grabbed his less ornate knife and grabbed the actual murder weapon. After planting the "murder weapon" in the victim, he left the scene, heading back to his apartment. It wouldn't be long before the body was found, with his two calling cards. He knew the ballgag and knife would be the focus of the police investigation, and that's what he wanted. Thank goodness he wore his gloves.

---

Ice Peak News at 6

Poppy John: We cone to you with breaking news. A body was found at 1:00 this morning in an alley off of Carter Street in Fishlick. The body was found with three stab wounds, one in each shoulder and one in the chest, which proved to be the fatal blow, as the knife pentrated the heart. The victim, a 26 year-old librarian named Susan Gordo, was found with a ballgag between her lips. The knife was also found in her chest, and police believe this to be the murder weapon. Forensics has yet to come back with a confirmation. Neither item contained fingerprints, but this appears to have been planned. We'll keep you posted on further details as we get them. If anyone has any information, please contact the Fishlick police at (598)724-5361.

[Fujisawan Territories]

Hoji Metropolitan Daily Record

Territories upset Fleuronordicia 17-7 in the Global Arena

Hoji, Iwosaka-- However astounding it may sound, the Hurricane have managed to pull off a 17-7 upset in their World Bowl debut following a two decade hiatus. The win is bittersweet as there were plenty of flashes of brilliance during the game as well as issues that will need addressing very quickly. Fleuronordicia was ranked #36 in the world coming into the season, while the Fujisawan Territories was unranked.

Historically, the Hurricane have been a team known for their slow starts and the season opener at Crosscom was no different. The Hurricane went scoreless until late in the second quarter.

Doppo Nitta opened scoring for the Hurricane with 2:34 left in the first half, on an end around scamper into the end zone on 2nd and Goal from the three yard line. The Hurricane worked on perfecting the goal line end around play known as Sea Turtle 18 Black (made famous by the Tokuzawa Sea Turtles in domestic play) in practice all week long. Nitta, whose traditional role is as the third receiver in three receiver sets, executed the brilliantly called play to perfectoin, using his explosive speed to propel into the end zone untouched.

After Nitta crossed the goal line, a sold out Crosscom erupted into a deafening cacophony. Stadium staff collected the historic ball from Nitta and it will eventually make its way to the Territorial Gridiron Football Museum as the first score in the new Crosscom Global Arena. The frenetic camera flashes from the Territorial media seemed enough to cause seizures. Many a tear of joy streamed down the faces of Hurricane fans. This was more than a simple touchdown. It truly meant that it was Hurricane season once more in the Fujisawan Territories. The team that won it all more than two decades ago was back on the world stage in the Global Arena.

The Hurricane took their 7-0 lead into halftime and spirits inside the Global Arena were at an all time high. During halftime, the next class in the Territorial Gridiron Football Hall of Fame was announced. Getting the honors are Takato Liberty RB Aifric Harku, Coastal Atsuzai Volcanoes K Shisakit Munie (a World Bowl VII veteran), Territory Bay Discovery LB Kenta Ogawa, Magiku Voodoo QB Kaito Ishikawa and Coastal Atsuzai Volcanoes WR Naoki Matsuda. Munie got the belated honor largely for his contribution in the World Bowl VII and VIII seasons. He was accurate and reliable, and "Munie in the bank" became a popular buzz phrase among Hurricane fans during the team's championship run.

The Hurricane added to their lead on their first drive of the third quarter, when Shoyo Oka punched it into the end zone from eighteen yards out on 3rd and 7 just 1:27 into the third quarter. As the lead grew to 14-0 following the PAT, the partisan crowd once more exploded into ear splitting bedlam. It was starting to sink in that at this rate, the Hurricane could actually pull off the upset win against Fleuronordicia. Fleuronordicia did however cut the lead in half late in the third, with 3:19 on the clock.

Nursing their 14-7 lead for most of the remainder of the game, Torazo Yogi added icing to the cake with a thirty six yard field goal with just over four minutes left in the game to extend the lead to ten. The Hurricane would go on to preserve the lead and margin of victory, gaining the upset victory over Fleuronordicia 17-7.

The Daily Record Hurricane Report Card

Offense: B+
The offense got of to a trademark Hurricane slow start, but once the gears got moving, the Hurricane moved the sticks with ease. However, this didn't necessarily translate to points. The Hurricane got two touchdowns, both on the ground (one from a wide receiver no less to boot), and the passing game fell anemic at times. The Hurricane had some red zone troubles which will need to be ironed out in the coming weeks. The Hurricane had two drives which ended up in the red zone without a point. The final disposition of those drives were a Masazumi Kozutsami fumble recovered by Fleuronordicia and a missed nineteen yard field goal. The Yogi field goal in the fourth quarter was the product of a promising drive that stalled after two consecutive incomplete passes in which the intended receiver was overthrown both times. Kozutsami looked fatigued towards the end of the match. Overall, the offense boasted a lot of promise, but there is definitely ample room for improvement.

Defense: A
The defense was quite surprising to say the least. Holding Fleuronordicia, the #36 ranked team in the world, to a lone touchdown is a accomplishment. That's considering the fact that the Hurricane are unranked. Defensive Coordinator Tetsuya Tsuchie, of the Magiku Voodoo, was told in no uncertain terms when he was given the job for the World Bowl team, that if he did not keep the score in the majority of games close and competitive (expecting a fair amount of losses of course), that he would not be back next season. The Hurricane outperformed all expectations in the Global Arena yesterday on defense. This is actually one of the best all around outings on defense in Hurricane history, and thus it is very unlikely to be duplicated in the remainder of the season, especially against such heavyweights like Drawkland. Tsuchie has made an impressive opening statement in the case for keeping his job next year.

Special Teams: C-
Yogi was one for two on field goals, and his miss was from the nineteen. Ouch. Kick coverage was below average. This is the one area that needs the most improvement. I have no doubt that the coaching staff will do everything they can to rectify this unit prior to the game against #20 United States of Devonta.

___________________________________________________________________________

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[Allamunnic States]

A field near Dunnmaar, State of Bluwaald
Mid-morning, about six months prior to WBXXXI

Stepping onto a dewy practice field, Rikard Olafsunn was a little surprised to be coaching at all. The spray paint on the field was minimal and somewhat crude, the roster was about twenty players short of being an AGL team, and he was getting paid hourly for his trouble (not that he had not stashed away a fair amount of money over the last few years, so it was not too much of a problem) but it was, definitely, a coaching gig. And after he had basically gotten himself blacklisted from the Allamunnic Gridiron League by blowing a gasket at their sock puppet Commissioner from the ASC, he half-suspected nobody would touch him.

Well, at least he had not alienated the sufficiently-desperate. The call from Torren had been unexpected, but one he had been happy to get. Just as with the fullback and "consultant" Smart, Rik was eager to embarrass the Allamunnic Sporting Commission in public fashion. It was even a plan he quite approved of: show up and beat the country's official national team at their own game.

The roster they would have to do it with was small, but what a roster it was!

Tormundsunn, the man who had made the calls and done the legwork to get everyone together, was himself a World Bowl MVP, and a member of two different championship squads. For several past years, Tormundsunn's crushing blocks had been featured on weekly highlight reels during World Bowl season, and he was widely considered a key part of the Regulars' success over the last several campaigns.

Then there was most of the rest of the offense.

Truthfully, even after two years Rik was not quite sure what to make of Graagur Wyrth. The guy had a strong arm and uncanny deep accuracy, and even a little mobility to keep plays alive, but he had no sense of 'dialing it back,' which always made short throws a little too much of an adventure for Olafsunn's taste. Still, Godwyn Braanur and Waaldr Hoerst were well-practiced at hauling in the blistering throws even at close range, and Ole Haensley, a new face among the starters, had already started acquitting himself well over the last few days. And he knew that teams would be scrambling to stop the run game powered by the Haanryk Staalburg-esque Bryndyn Traewyk, who had steadily improved from being a good runner to being one of the world's elite backs over the last few years.

But what really gave him the idea that they had a chance to succeed... well it was the offensive line, which he knew so well. Jorvik Staaghyrt and Baeryk Astyr were relatively new faces, but Torren Rikardsunn, Tyrrus Ungur, and Snaari Knutsunn were well-known to him. Rikardsunn was quite good at the blindside position, but what really gave him peace of mind was Ungur and Knutsunn. If there was a better center-guard tandem in the World Bowl, they were hiding themselves well. Knutsunn in particular combined the form and attention to detail of a veteran technician with the brutish glee of an old-time street tough in the way he mauled defensive linemen and linebackers alike.

The defense gave him no less confidence. Most of the secondary had stayed behind, but Rikard Junnsunn, arguably the best cornerback on the whole World Bowl XXX roster, had left in disgust when Vaalburger had been fired. He had been joined by a few of the team's young, rising defensive backs, including the imposing Claetus U'Daanyl, who had already delivered some hits in practice that had made Rik ache just watching. Further forward, almost the entire defensive line and linebacking units had returned, anchored by Pio Farrangur and former National Team rising stars Odyn Graahulm and Nyurd Svaartwynn. Aldryk Jaarlsunn was playing the weakside end, which meant he was also playing a pass-rushing linebacker depending on the situation, and that suited Rik just fine.

Behind them, Junn Haaldur and Kyl Waalturs remained underrated stalwarts in the middle of the defense, ready to do whatever the unit asked of them to ensure that the more explosive players could freelance around them. It had worked very well for the Regulars over the last several years, and there was no reason to think that would change. Especially not with fellow stalward Fradrik Eriksunn manning the edge-setting SAM linebacker spot, ready to hammer rushers and tight ends alike.

A lot of that was very similar to the team he had left the year before. What was different were the people behind them. A bunch of players Rik barely recognized (a few back-ups from the old Regulars' roster, but a lot of new faces, including a fair number of AGL castoffs). Made worse by the fact that every single one of those players were expected to practice both ways, since, with their funding short (even with the minor miracles worked by Smart in getting donations for the team, many of them from people that probably should not have been supporting them), they were running a 33-player roster, meaning that they had one set of back-ups to go around. They would not be able to be a two-platoon team two-deep like they were used to.

Now that, he thought, might be a problem. A big part of the Regulars' success had been built on superior depth. They were not always better at all, or even most positions than their opponents, but they had superior depth that allowed them to stay fresh and wear out opponents over the course of the game. Taking that away might prove to be a problem.

He put a whistle to his lips and blew, and the piercing shriek of the whistle but the air. The team quickly gathered around him. "Alright, I've got some good news. Approval just came through from the World Bowl Committee. We're in." There were cheers and laughs all around from the team. "We are approved to play. And, best of all, we are registered as the Allamunnic States' team."

With that note made, Torren stood up from the crowd of players who had taken a knee. "Best of all, the attempt by the Commission to sue us for registering in their place got thrown out. Judge said they had nobody but themselves to blame for not registering, and that since we were not attempting to directly profit off of their trademark or anything (thank the gods for registering as a non-profit), they had no case to stop us."

There were more laughs. "So we are all cleared. We're going to be able to play in the World Bowl. That's final."

[Allamunnic Sporting Commission]

Allamunnic States Daily
Sports Section
Special World Bowl Coverage

Iron Tide Fails to Roll
National Team sputters against Thereisnogodistan

Onneria, ON --- The Allamunnic National Gridiron Team met an inauspicious start to their World Bowl XXXI campaign, suffering a crucial injury before losing a close game against #22 Thereisnogodistan, 25-17. The Iron Tide actually started off strong, suggesting a certain amount of effectiveness of Tomus Meyer and Nik Urbyn's offensive system. However, the loss of starting quarterback #13 Waldr Grenn to a possible ACL tear is extremely concerning for the future of this season.

The Iron Tide actually started off fairly strong, pinning Thereisnogodistan's squad back around their own 16-yard line, then holding them to a short drive to their own 39 before forcing the punt. Taking over at their own 21, the Iron Tide offense took the field and almost immediately marched down the field, gashing their opponents with chunk play after chunk play. After only five snaps to cover 58 yards, Grenn hit WR#23 Ole Brandt for a 21-yard touchdown strike down the sideline. The PAT after was good from #46 Kaarl Hunt, and the Iron Tide actually led, 7-0.

The teams exchanged punts on relatively short drives before the Allamunnae managed to move to the opposing 24 yard line before settling for the 41-yard field goal to extend their lead to 10-0. On the ensuing drive, Thereisnogodistan HB#3 Johnny Varn ran in a 3-yard touchdown, followed by a successful two-point conversion (QB#1 Kelly Profit to TE#6 Karl Haar) closed the Allamunnic lead to 10-8.

The team battled back admirably, seeing another efficient drive move quickly down the field, with Grenn tossing the ball to HB#22 Ella Kaarbrynn on the option run for a 6-yard touchdown. Kaarl Hunt put in another PAT to give the Iron Tide the 17-8 lead. However, disaster also struck on the run, with a low tackle taking Grenn in the knee, causing him to fall to the ground. He required help to leave the field, and he was eventually carted back to the locker room for examination. He did not return finishing his day 9/15 for 146 yards and a touchdown , and he was filled in for by QB#04 Bryn Skyldsunn for the remainder of the game. This would come back to haunt the team.

The offense sputtered for the rest of the first half, leaving the defense on the field progressively longer and longer. This turned out to be a problem, as their opponents were able to capitalize with an effective two-minute drill to close the half, with the drive capped by QB#1 Profit hitting WR#4 Matthew Boughton for a 12-yard touchdown. After the PAT, the Allamunnic lead had been cut once more to two points, 17-15.

When the second half began, the Allamunnic team got the ball, and preceded to do very little with the possession, making it to about midfield before an out-of-sync offensive line conceded a strip-sack of Skyldsunn, spilling the ball and allowing the opponents to recover. Although the defense was able to hold, they still conceded the field goal, giving the Thereisnogodistan Community College the 18-17 lead.

The game steadily got worse, with drives sputtering out constantly, with Skyldsunn turning the ball over two more times (both interceptions) to kill otherwise promising drives. However, his third-and-final interception of the game was ultimately the one that destroyed any chance of a comeback. Despite driving the length of the field with a balanced attack, Skyldsunn managed to make a poor decision and threw into double coverage in the endzone, resulting in yet another interception. However, this time, the resourceful Safety #18 Avery Manor ran back with the ball 100+ yards for the touchdown to seal the game, 25-17. Skyldsunn finished 12/25 for 121 yards with 3 interceptions on the day.

The loss was exacerbated by the decisive victory of a certain other team that has taken the field at the World Bowl, impersonating the legitimate Allamunnic National Team, still using the defunct name "Regulars." These "Regulars" rode a strong rushing effort by HB#35 Bryndyn Traewyk (28 rushes, 241 yards, 3 TDs) combined with an explosive vertical passing attack led by QB#10 Graagur Wyrth (16/25, 258 yards, 2 TDs), and a stout defensive effort (174 total yards, 7 points allowed, two interceptions, and two fumbles (including one scoop-and-score)) to dominate #25 West Saintland on the road.

After the game, Head Coach Tomus Meyer faced his first postgame press conference, where he was bombarded with questions regarding the Iron Tide's offensive meltdown, as well as the status of the quarterback position moving forward.

Asked about what happened to the offense, Meyer noted the loss of Grenn impacted the game plan, but that there were problems from the very start involving an offensive line that looked out of sync, and receivers who had some amount of trouble going after contested catches. "Obviously, we'll need to take a good long look at the tape," Meyer told reporters, "so we can figure out exactly what it is we need to fix before we go out against a team like [#2-ranked, defending champions] Drawkland."

When asked about the quarterback situation, Meyer remained noncommittal. "We're going to need to talk to the doctors to figure out what Waldr's status is, going forward." When asked to clarify what that meant regarding the starter against Drawkland, he refused to clarify. "Once we know what is going on with Waldr, we're going to take a good long look at our options. We'll review in practice which of our quarterbacks will give us a better chance to win against Drawkland. If you're asking right now, Bryn [Skyldsunn] has the inside track, but it will most likely be a game-time decision."

[Fujisawan Territories]

Hoji Metropolitan Daily Record

Fujisawan Territories-United States of Devonta Pre-Game Coverage

Category Five Hurricane Talking Points of the Day

Category One
Defense Wins the Day

A legitimate question to ask is whether the Hurricane won the game or Fleuronordicia lost the game. The defense stepped up in a big way last night. Though the Hurricane only came away with one takeaway compared to Fleuronordicia's two, the defense kept the Hurricane in the game by limiting Flu on offense. It's not an understatement to say that without this effort by the defense, perhaps the Hurricane would be sitting at 0-1 right now. The offense moved the ball through the air, but not where it counted the most, the red zone. Moving the chains without scoring points is not a winning strategy either. Without the best single game performance from a Hurricane defense in memory, the offense simply wouldn't have had enough to stay competitive in the game.

Category Two
Point Differential Matters

Most of the analysts had said in the pre-game fluff that point differential is very important. That was illustrated last night when the Hurricane took the top spot in the division by virtue of point differential. It's not enough to win games. Point differential can come back to haunt a team come time for the playoffs. That's why every game, every drive and every point matters. The one thing the so-called sports experts got right was that any path to the post season for the Hurricane will rely on it.

Category Three
Keeping the Crowd in it to Win it

Going up 14-0 at home was a huge boost for the fans. Even when Fleuronordicia cut the lead to 14-7, the crowd was still in it. Keeping the fans engaged and the noise level up will prevent opposing teams from being able to run their offenses efficiently. If visiting teams can run up an early lead and take the crowd out of them game, the Hurricane are in danger of losing many home games. Part of the reason Fleuronordicia seemed to struggle was the intensely deafening crowd noise. The lack of rhythm on offense for Fleuronordicia was abundantly noticeable.

Category Four
Timely Play Calling

Doppo Nitta's end around for a score was a brilliant play call. Utilizing seldom called plays at opportune times can give the Hurricane a huge advantage if they are executed correctly. The play that Nitta scored on was a risky one, but it worked because it was run effectively at the best possible time. There are a lot of trick plays in the book to choose from. Not being afraid to put them in action at times where there is a chance for huge rewards is essential to keeping opposing teams guessing.

Category Five
Drawkland Looms Large

The one team the Territorial World Bowl staff was afraid of being drawn into a division with was Drawkland. As it turned out, the Hurricane were drawn into a division with Drawkland, meaning the Hurricane will have to face them twice. The first meeting against Drawkland looms darkly on the horizon of the schedule. It's not likely that the Hurricane can post a win in either match against Drawkland. Prior to opening day, the Hurricane staff analyzed the schedule game by game and identified games where they thought they might have a chance to win. Both Drawkland games were immediately discarded as even being remotely possible to win. They have all but been written off as losses already. In fact, when the schedule was first released, many in the Hurricane administrative staff had a defeatist attitude. Having won the first match of the season, the Hurricane players, staff and fans find themselves cautiously optomistic, yet doubtful of anything other than two significant losses to Drawkland on the horizon. A lot of the tone for the season depends on the results of tonight's game against #20 United States of Devonta.

[The Redvale]

OOC: This was supposed to be three times as long, but I really didn't have time to finish it. Here it is anyway, you'll see a return to my normal post length tomorrow. I think I did pretty good for something I wrote in like fifteen minutes.

Los Federales

Chapter Two: Raided

“Everyone on the ground! Now!” shouted Jordan Anjos, bursting into the master bedroom of the mansion alongside Valentia Sanchez and a few other SWAT officers, while Lieutenant Caden del Bay lurked in the background along with another higher ranking officer. There was no time for formalities and no time for figuring out the best way to apprehend those that were inside the room. If the raid was to be a success, it would have to happen very, very quickly. “Put your hands in the air, and get on your knees next to the bed. If you reach in any other direction, we shoot.”

“What’s going on?” asked the man that was just waking up. He was dazed, confused, and still in his underwear… Which was fitting for the early hours of the morning, when the raid was taking place. His wife was in the same state, and she was just as confused. Both of them had slept through the slew of shotgun blasts, a somewhat impressive feat, and they were now waking up to a team of armed Federal Police standing in their bedroom and aiming shotguns and rifles at them.

“Los Federales are here,” muttered the woman, and while her husband started to slowly get out of bed, she tried to reach under her pillow, most likely for a pistol that was being stored under there. That was a bad move. A terrible move. A deadly, life threatening move that would be the end of her.

“I said to get on your knees next to the bed!” shouted Jordan, and one of the other officers squeezed the trigger on his shotgun and put a round into the woman’s abdomen. When she wasn’t completely dead after that, Jordan raised his SMG and made a point of shooting a burst of bullets into her face. The man ducked, and the woman’s body went limp and stained the white sheets with blood. All the guns in the room turned to the man, who looked up and then slowly moved his hands above his head… The Federal Police meant business, and he now realized that more than ever.

“You can’t do this to me,” he said. “I’m an innocent man, I haven’t been convicted of anything. Not dissent, not inciting rebellion, not anything. You folks aren’t with the Inquisition, you don’t have the authority to just burst into my home and shoot my wife and tell me to get on the floor-”

“Your wife was a member of Legion. You don’t get to have rights,” snapped Valentia, looking the man over and then pulling him off of the ground, holding onto his wrist with a black gloved hand. “I think if you study the law code better, you’ll find that not everybody gets the same privileges, and that certain people, that would be us, have the authority to step around those rights of yours,” she added, and there was true disgust in her voice. It likely had to do not just with the man being a member of Legion, but of him being originally from Janford along with his wife. Janford was more than the home of the mysterious rebellion that challenged the gods, it was a contrarian city that had always stood for liberalism and intellectualism in the face of the authoritarian rule of the Theocracy.

Valentia threw the man to the ground in front of her colleagues, and pointed her shotgun at him. “You Janfordians make me sick. Always thinking that you’re enlightened and that you’re better than all of us. Always saying that you’re better because you pay less taxes on your stupid island, always claiming that you’re smarter because your local government invests in science… And now your compatriots dare to rebel against the crimson and white flag. We should’ve burned the place to the ground and sunk the northern half of the island under the sea after the first round of riots, but we let your people live, and this is how you repay us. If we didn’t need you, I would’ve shot you by now.”

“Tell him how you really feel, Val,” teased Jordan, and Valentia sighed and lowered the shotgun.

“Sorry. I’m just a bit on edge because I lost friends to those Legion bastards when they broke into Janford Max,” Valentia stated. “Plus, I used to work in their police department. I’ve seen first hand that Janfordians are almost all ungrateful little shits who only have loyalty to their own island and not to the Theocracy…”

They looked back to the man, and Jordan pulled him up and led him to a computer that was set up on a desk. “I believe this is what the briefing said we were coming for,” he stated, opening the computer. “Mr. Verez, it looks like you’re going to have to decrypt this hard drive for us. You help us, and all we do is arrest you. If you don’t help us, we’re still going to blow your brains onto that wall. You’ve got a minute to decide what you’re going to do.”

“Our friends will save me,” the man muttered, though he didn’t sound so confident.

“The guys that met us at the door?” asked Valentia. “Yeah, no. They’re dead. You slept through it somehow, but we already met them. They were just as surprised as you were, and they barely put up a fight.”

“Okay, fine,” Mr. Verez said, and he sat down in front of the computer and started entering a password to decrypt the files on the hard drive. “I can decrypt this for you, but I have to warn you, my wife hid things well. You aren’t just going to find the names of everyone in Legion, or anything like that. It’s all well hidden… Even I can’t get to most of it.”

“We’ve got people who can figure it out,” Jordan said, stepping back and letting him up once the files were there in front of him. He turned to look to Caden, and gave a thumbs up. “We’ve got what the boss wanted… The files that will be the first step in taking the fight to them. It’s about time we’re able to strike back at this so called Legion. The op could’ve been cleaner, but that’s beside the point… We did what we needed to do.”

[Newmanistan]

(In a nation that is not Newmanistan)

It was the third quarter, and Vince Thompson’s Enfield High School had just taken a 42-3 lead over rival Northampton. Receiver Carnell Backman, Jr. had just caught his third touchdown reception and added in an over the top celebration after spiking the ball deliberately in front of the opposition’s cheerleading squad while the referee was not looking.

“Carnell, you can sit for the rest of the game!” coach Thompson exclaimed, “That’s not the way we play football.” Thompson was upset that his receiver would look to rub it in like that. “We’re gonna win the game, there’s no reason to get them wound up. We could see them again and they are just having a bad day tonight.”

Backman nodded in a sarcastic matter with a “Sure, coach!” mumbled under his breath. He went over to the bench and knew he could simply act like he was going to be rested for the rest of the game and no one would know he was being disciplined by the coach, since the score was out of hand. Passively, he watched the rest of the game, with his primary focus being some of the cute girls sitting in the bleachers behind him. Coach Thompson was aware that this was taking place, but was concentrating on the game. At the end of the eventual 42-24 win and the subsequent team meeting, Thompson took his star receiver aside.

“Carnell, look, you are a great talent and I see a great future for you, but that is just something that you cannot do. It provided a lift for them. It woke them up, and it’s a good thing we had already built the big lead.” Thompson explained.

Backman sighed, “Coach, I’m just having fun. I can’t play football if it is not fun.”

Thompson, having been young himself before, looked into his receiver’s eyes, “I know, and it should be fun. But for a player of your skill set, you have to realize that colleges are watching you and they consider character a big component of the recruiting process. You are a junior this year, this is the main year for you to make an impression on these school’s, and I know they are beginning to watch you.”

“They’re already calling me and stuff, coach,” Beckman replied, “I get the things in the mail. I see the people watching and I know they are looking at more then just me, but they need to remember me. I have big plans. Good college, then be a first round pick, make a bunch of money, and then even get to the World Bowl.”

Thompson hesitated. “I know what it takes to get the World Bowl. There’s a time for fun and games, but the World Bowl is the best there is out there. I know what it’s all about.”

Beckman grinned, and to be nice replied, “Yeah, I watch it on TV too.”

Thompson smiled, “Let me show you something.” He walked over to a special room in the coaches’ office that most people, even school administration, thought was just a simple closet, but instead it was a huge mancave full of bunch of memorabilia. He walked inside and took out a photo and showed it to Carnell. Beckman nodded and thought it was interesting, and knew it was going to mean something but did not understand right away. “That man right there is my grandfather, Jeremy. He was the head coach of the Newmanistan Rockets World Bowl team for several editions. Never won a World Bowl but came close countless times.”

“What was Newmanistan? One of those countries that ceased to exist?” Beckman asked.

“It was once a great sporting country,” Thompson said, “Hosts of the very first World Bowl that took place at the great Tundra Falls Proving Grounds. So many great games in all sports were played there. The greatest football players back in that era from all over the world played there. Man, there was some amazing moments and I really wish I was able to see them.”

“How did you end up here?” Beckman asked.

“Well, many in Newmanistan knew the disaster was going to happen.” Thompson replied, “Not everyone was able to get out, but a lot of people were able to make their way to other countries. My grandfather came here since it is known football country but things would never be the same. When the disaster hit, and the Empire essentially ceased to exist, it was like everything he ever worked for, also ceased to exist.”

“I never knew. I’m sorry.” Beckman said while placing his hand on his coach’s shoulder.

“Deep down, you are a good kid, Carnell.” Thompson explained. “I’m sure my grandfather would have loved to have the opportunity to meet you and to coach you. There’s a time and a place to have fun, and to do a little dance in the end zone, and a time to just give the ball back to the referee. Make sure that when people think about you, they first think about your talent, you’re natural speed, agility, and uncanny ability to make some amazing catches. Then, let them see you as a team player, who works hard and goes to battle on every snap for the sake of the team. Then, once you’ve achieved that, a dance here and there in the end zone is just fine.” Beckman smiled and the two made some brief small talk before the player excused himself and went on his way, leaving Thompson alone.

Out of no where, there was this clapping, and a voice, “Very nice, coach.”

Thompson said thanks before it even occurred to him that was no one there. He looked around, checked the mancave, and the halls, but they were completely empty. While he still thought that was really weird, he tried to forget about it and act as it never happened. Lifting his bag to start packing up, he noticed a football in there that was never there before.

“That’s for you.” Stated a voice. But nothing accompanying that voice.

“It’s a game ball from World Bowl 1,” the voice stated. Alright, this was weird. Clearly someone was hiding somewhere in this office, or outside the window or wherever. Probably a prank from a janitor, or something. After checking every possible inch that he could, and the voice remaining silent as he did this, Thompson still had no idea what was going on, but decided he was just going to continue going home. That is, until the ghostly figure appeared.

“Oh my God! What the ?#%$! What is going on?!” Vince exclaimed becoming concerned and in an obvious state of shock.

“Don’t you know who I am, Vince. It’s me, Jeremy. You’re grandpa.” the voice replied.

“Well, uh, uhm, I guess you do look like him. But what is going on. You’re a ghost! I’m talking to a ghost!” Vince nervously exclaimed.

“Yes, Vince, getting over the fact that you are talking to something paranormal can be tough. Technically, I am not a ghost. I am Spirit.”

“A spirit. Ok. You’re a spirit and my grandfather.”

“That is correct. I have become an honorary Tundra Falls spirit. I have come here to bring you home, Vince.” the spirit exclaimed.

“I’m not ready to die!” Vince exclaimed in great concern.

In a soft re-assuring manner the Spirit tried to comfort him, “Oh no, no. That’s not what I mean. I am here to bring you home, to Newmanistan.”

“Newmanistan is gone! Isn’t it?” Vince asked.

The ghost shook its head, “Newmanistan was never gone. It only ceased for the non-believers, which unfortunately, was everybody. No one believed in the power of the Spirits to allow the Empire to survive the disaster. Everyone just left and went on their way. The Spirits were greatly betrayed that no one believed in their powers. They gave up hope, until very recently. They want to give people another chance and I have come to get you and bring you home. The Spirits need to see that people can be believers. Come to Tundra Falls. I’ll be back in two days to get you.” The Spirit explained.

Speechless, Thompson replied, “It’s so much. Two days, I mean, I need more time and everything to think it over. What about everything I have here.”

“Either you believe in the Spirits, or you don’t. When I come to get you in two days, you can tell me you don’t believe in the Spirits, and betray them again. Or you can come with me.” The spirit replied.

Just as Vince was beginning to respond, the spirit disappeared. He pleaded for it to return, but there was no use. He went back to packing his bag and saw a post-it note on that mysterious football now. “Two days!” It read.

[Main Nation Ministry]

After the First Matchday

The teams were cheering. Main Nation Ministry destroyed the Christian Isles with 32-0. The General immediately ran up to them with a smile on his face. "I can't believe this! This is our first time and we were trained to be naturals! Now, don't let your guards be down! We need to keep training the same way! I shall have more prisoners for you to train with. Now, we will return to training!"

During the 2nd day of training, the prisoners who volunteered either left the training area on a stretcher or in a body bag.

Meanwhile...

The number one fan was carrying a duffel bag, smiling. She was here to honor the Leader, but she wants to have the Leader honor her back. She did what she wanted to love him, but he branded her a terrorist for it. It makes sense, seeing how the Leader compared her if Ted Bundy and Charles Manson raised a child. Her charisma was high enough, that no one will question her, even if she was threatening them with a gun saying how it's from a movie. She was in in her "home" with her "parents". Her "parents" lifelessly sat at the chairs at each end of the table, frozen in time, already dead. She turned on the TV and saw the news of the football team winning the first match day. She got herself a bottle of the Leader's favorite soda and sipped it.

And now, back to Training...

The general was sipping his own drink. A guilty pleasure of snake fish oil with vodka. He looked down back at the training area, where the defensive team were once again, tackling another poor soul. The general simply smiled again, knowing that his team is going to win the next match day. He went back to his office and admired the photo of him with the former Second In-Command. "You will be missed.", the General said, frowning a little. He already made a call to the Ministry of Truth to write the team's first win in the history books. The general put on his cologne and put his little silver snake fish pin on. When the team wins the next match day, he will make a press conference addressing the team and having the population encourage them to win.

"For the history books."

Back at the training area, Ray Wilkerson was practicing kicking the football to the goals, laces out as always. James Millers walked up to Ray who kicked a goal. "Ray, my man!", said James. "Mr Millers, I'm practicing as always." "I know that, Ray. But you need to stay focused. I saw you almost about to taunt the crowd from the opposition side. You need to remember the consequences of things." "Mr Millers-", Ray stopped because he stepped in a puddle of blood from another unlucky prisoner. "Ray, I know you can do good, those Christian Isles parasites were weak. They deserved to lose. You still need to remember to stay on your guard." "Yes, Mr Millers.", Ray said as he walked to the restroom to wash off his bloody cleat.

[Free Republics]

This is your Matchday 2 Cutoff, presented by the Salvation Circle. Visit your local Salvation Circle church this Sunday morning to learn how you too can gain forgiveness for your sins!

---

MD2 Results

All-Mart Conference

All-Mart Conference
Banija 55–13 Vettrera
Main Nation Ministry 19–3 Santaclausisgodistan
The Redvale 30–0 Christian Isles
Royal Kingdom of Quebec 29–16 Abaja
Schottia 44–0 Somersville
Southern Democratic States 3–45 Cosumar

                               Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
 1 Schottia                      2    2   0    67    0  +67
 2 Cosumar                       2    2   0    76   16  +60
 3 Main Nation Ministry          2    2   0    51    3  +48
 4 Banija                        2    2   0    87   40  +47
 5 Royal Kingdom of Quebec       2    2   0    63   23  +40
 6 The Redvale                   2    1   1    43   31  +12
 7 Southern Democratic States    2    1   1    26   51  −25
 8 Abaja                         2    0   2    43   61  −18
 9 Santaclausisgodistan          2    0   2     3   42  −39
10 Vettrera                      2    0   2    19   78  −59
11 Christian Isles               2    0   2     0   62  −62
12 Somersville                   2    0   2     7   78  −71

RT&T Division

                              Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Main Nation Ministry          2    2   0    51    3  +48
2 Banija                        2    2   0    87   40  +47
3 Abaja                         2    0   2    43   61  −18
4 Christian Isles               2    0   2     0   62  −62

R&K Bank Division

                              Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Cosumar                       2    2   0    76   16  +60
2 Royal Kingdom of Quebec       2    2   0    63   23  +40
3 The Redvale                   2    1   1    43   31  +12
4 Somersville                   2    0   2     7   78  −71

FreedomCola Division

                              Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Schottia                      2    2   0    67    0  +67
2 Southern Democratic States    2    1   1    26   51  −25
3 Santaclausisgodistan          2    0   2     3   42  −39
4 Vettrera                      2    0   2    19   78  −59

Sporting World Conference

Sporting World Conference
West Saintland 6–7 The Fair Republic
Qasden 13–69 Kaboomlandia
Kebec 30–26 De Dreamland
The United States of Saints 3–16 Allamunnic States
Jeckland 0–36 Gregoryisgodistan
Newmanistan 43–6 Cumhact

                                Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
 1 Kaboomlandia                   2    2   0   105   20  +85
 2 Allamunnic States              2    2   0    59   10  +49
 3 Kebec                          2    2   0    64   26  +38
 4 The Fair Republic              2    2   0    29   24   +5
 5 The United States of Saints    2    1   1    25   35  −10
 6 Newmanistan                    2    1   1    61   28  +33
 7 Gregoryisgodistan              2    1   1    55   22  +33
 8 Qasden                         2    1   1    67   76   −9
 9 West Saintland                 2    0   2    13   50  −37
10 De Dreamland                   2    0   2    33   84  −51
11 Jeckland                       2    0   2     7   72  −65
12 Cumhact                        2    0   2     6   77  −71

RepublicSoft Division

                               Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Allamunnic States              2    2   0    59   10  +49
2 Qasden                         2    1   1    67   76   −9
3 West Saintland                 2    0   2    13   50  −37
4 De Dreamland                   2    0   2    33   84  −51

O'Reilly Organization Division

                               Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Kebec                          2    2   0    64   26  +38
2 The United States of Saints    2    1   1    25   35  −10
3 Gregoryisgodistan              2    1   1    55   22  +33
4 Cumhact                        2    0   2     6   77  −71

Olden Division

                               Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Kaboomlandia                   2    2   0   105   20  +85
2 The Fair Republic              2    2   0    29   24   +5
3 Newmanistan                    2    1   1    61   28  +33
4 Jeckland                       2    0   2     7   72  −65

Nicholls Enterprises Conference

Nicholls Enterprises Conference
Oisinistan 33–3 Republic of Rawn
Fujisawan Territories 20–19 United States of Devonta
Frenline Delpha 38–0 Fleuronordicia
Allamunnic Sporting Commission 17–37 Drawkland
Ethane 37–19 Thereisnogodistan
Selvera 34–20 Korizland

                                   Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
 1 Frenline Delpha                   2    2   0    71    3  +68
 2 Drawkland                         2    2   0    52   27  +25
 3 Fujisawan Territories             2    2   0    37   26  +11
 4 Oisinistan                        2    1   1    43   18  +25
 5 United States of Devonta          2    1   1    32   26   +6
 6 Ethane                            2    1   1    43   32  +11
 7 Republic of Rawn                  2    1   1    24   47  −23
 8 Selvera                           2    1   1    48   41   +7
 9 Thereisnogodistan                 2    1   1    44   54  −10
10 Allamunnic Sporting Commission    2    0   2    34   62  −28
11 Korizland                         2    0   2    23   67  −44
12 Fleuronordicia                    2    0   2     7   55  −48

Bank of Acedonia Division

                                  Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Drawkland                         2    2   0    52   27  +25
2 Fujisawan Territories             2    2   0    37   26  +11
3 Oisinistan                        2    1   1    43   18  +25
4 Fleuronordicia                    2    0   2     7   55  −48

Bank of Republica Division

                                  Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Frenline Delpha                   2    2   0    71    3  +68
2 Thereisnogodistan                 2    1   1    44   54  −10
3 Allamunnic Sporting Commission    2    0   2    34   62  −28
4 Korizland                         2    0   2    23   67  −44

Baseton Mutual Division

                                  Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 United States of Devonta          2    1   1    32   26   +6
2 Republic of Rawn                  2    1   1    24   47  −23
3 Ethane                            2    1   1    43   32  +11
4 Selvera                           2    1   1    48   41   +7

Dixon Light Conference

Dixon Light Conference
Smertonosnyy 7–12 Abanhfleft
Nassau-Hessen 40–26 Cryandolap
Greater Vakolicci Haven 63–0 Equatorial Zeldaen
Northern Shrekistan 16–37 Free Republics
Kosovakia 9–23 Chromatika
Firebolt 16–7 West Angola

                            Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
 1 Greater Vakolicci Haven    2    2   0   107   10  +97
 2 Chromatika                 2    2   0    70   19  +51
 3 Nassau-Hessen              2    2   0    73   26  +47
 4 Free Republics             2    2   0    63   22  +41
 5 Abanhfleft                 2    2   0    41   15  +26
 6 Cryandolap                 2    1   1    64   55   +9
 7 Firebolt                   2    1   1    24   36  −12
 8 Smertonosnyy               2    0   2    13   38  −25
 9 Kosovakia                  2    0   2    24   61  −37
10 West Angola                2    0   2    17   60  −43
11 Northern Shrekistan        2    0   2    26   84  −58
12 Equatorial Zeldaen         2    0   2     0   96  −96

New Republican Wrestling Conglomerate Division

                           Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Nassau-Hessen              2    2   0    73   26  +47
2 Free Republics             2    2   0    63   22  +41
3 Smertonosnyy               2    0   2    13   38  −25
4 Equatorial Zeldaen         2    0   2     0   96  −96

National Organization for Men Division

                           Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Greater Vakolicci Haven    2    2   0   107   10  +97
2 Chromatika                 2    2   0    70   19  +51
3 West Angola                2    0   2    17   60  −43
4 Northern Shrekistan        2    0   2    26   84  −58

BearOil Division

                           Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Abanhfleft                 2    2   0    41   15  +26
2 Cryandolap                 2    1   1    64   55   +9
3 Firebolt                   2    1   1    24   36  −12
4 Kosovakia                  2    0   2    24   61  −37

[The united states of Saints]

U.S. Saints National Football Team

---

OOC Note: I started this after the second matchday cutoff but am putting it now so I don't forget.
Basic Information

Nation: The united states of Saints

Past Appearances: World Bowl XXIX

Nickname: Paladins

Colors: Magenta and White (previously maroon and gold)

Offensive Strategy: Believes in the run game, if you can run the ball well then you can open up a lot of opportunities offensively. Does have the capability to pass the ball occasionally.

Defensive Strategy: runs a 5-3 defensive front. Pass Defence plays zone coverage a lot but will definetely go man to man. Strong point is stopping the run game.

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Tony Agresta

Assistant Head Coach: Jackson "Ducky" Shaw

Defensive Coordinator: Mark "The Bear" Robert

Offensive Coordinator: Bailey Choppin

Special Teams Coordinator: Dillon Monjure

Starters:

QB - #10 David "Parker" Rogers
HB - #22 Miguel Black
FB - #44 Diego Sanchez
TE - #83 Buddy Kyle
WR - #1 Christian Celino
WR - #9 Sebastian Howl
C - #50 Hunter "Titan" Cerise
OG - #72 Caleb "Godzilla" Sampson
OG - #52 Dylon "Pablo" Cook
OT - #68 Gerrard "Smiley" Jerome
OT - #57 Chase "Ape" Appe

Subs:

QB - #12 Matt "Big Red" Whelan
HB - #31 Karpos Alexander
FB - #40 Andor Teague
TE - #85 Anselm Rossi
WR - #89 Kristian Benitez
WR - #6 Faris Sylvestri
WR - #15 Travis Lecompte
C - #51 Braden Leahy
OG - #90 Ryan Hardy
OG - #94 Jonathan Simpson
OT - #75 Nick Keiffer
OT - #60 Wesley Brown

Starters:
Nose Guard/DT - #65 Matthew "Spiderman" Palencia
DT - #70 Jacob Herrington
DT - #53 Zach Ballard
DE - #99 Daniel Hickey
DE - #84 Josh Holloway
MLB - #46 Andrew Earhardt
LOLB - #49 Sam Smith (not the famous one)
ROLB - #56 James "J.J." Jones
CB - #33 Josh Landry
CB - #29 Benjamin Valentinov
FS - #17 Rhett Delle

Subs:

DT - #55 Bent Randal
DT - #68 Zalmon Fitzroy
DE - #95 Norman Peterson
DE - #78 Kay Butler
MLB - #43 Mark Rey
LOLB - #40 Michael Wilson
ROLB - # 37 Jamie Sencial
CB - #24 Dominick Vega
CB - #25 Zack Grey
FS - #35 Papp Monroe

Dominick Vega
K - #5 Louis Nakamura
P - #18 Wendell Hill
Other players on the field:
Long Snapper - Hunter Cerise
Jamie Sencial
Daniel Hickey
Norman Peterson
Wesley Brown
Zalmon Fitzroy
Buddy Kyle
Josh Holloway
Kick Returner - Papp Monroe

World Bowl XXXI Schedule:
MD 1: Gregoryisgodistan (7)
MD 2: Allamunic States (4)
MD 3: Kebec
MD 4: Kaboomlandia (10)
MD 5: Qasden (49)
MD 6: Cumhact 
MD 7: Fair Republic (14)
MD 8: Gregoryisgodistan (7)
MD 9: De Dreamland
MD 10: Jeckland
MD 11: Kebec 
MD 12: Newmanistan
MD 13: West Saintland (25)
MD 14: Cumhact

My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
Choose my Scorers: Yes
Choose Scoring Events: Yes
Godmod Scoring Events: No
RP Injuries to my Players: Yes (no longer than two games)
Godmod Injuries to my Players: No
Godmod Other Events: No

Style Modifier:-3

The Paladins have returned to the World Bowl in its 31st edition. The only time the Paladins have ever competed in this prestigious event was World Bowl XXIX their inaugural year into international leagues and the World Bowl. Many back then didn't think they would get a winning record, much less getting past the group stage. However, the Paladins proved those who thought that wrong and then some. They manages to make to the semi-finals in the playoffs where they would be beaten by eventual champions Anglatia 8-6. In the third place game The Paladins faced Banija and won by a score of 13-3 claiming 3rd place and going from an unranked to 19th.

The momentum and excitement for the next would mostly disappear in the offseason. A natural disaster struck the small-sized, but powerful nation, a 8.6 Earthquake. This earthquake devastated nearly half the country, crippling it economically with hundreds of billions of dollars in damages. Thankfully, the Capital City Aprilia was on the half of the country that not hit by the earthquake. Government officials immediately called for a Crisis Emergency Session to figure out what would need to be done to repair everything and get back to where they were. The officials then declared the plan to severely cut many things including sports financing and sent the money to service organizations to help the people and recover from the earthquake. As a result of this cut there was not enough funding to support the national leagues and the international teams, forcing the Paladins to sit out of World Bowl XXX.

Now to the present, The United States of Saints is doing a good job recovering, but still has a ways to go. Enough money was put together to support the sports leagues and teams, allowing them to start their seasons and prepare for international sporte competitions. We hope the Paladins will do well this edition of the World Bowl to get the people of The United States of Saints to forget the disaster and look forward to another season of football. The University of Angelwood-Aprilia is doing just that in NSCF 15 so the Paladins can do the same. Even though they are now ranked 26th for missing World Bowl XXX they should still do well.

[Main Nation Ministry]

After the Second Matchday

The general was standing back in front of the team again, but they were sweating and almost appeared to smell like candy canes and gingerbread men, but it was possible that it was in their figment of their imaginations.
"Another successful victory! However, I noticed some things during the game. Firstly, the opposition team got 3 points, but you all got 19. Secondly, you lost 3 points from people wearing Santa suits! No time for the blame game. I shall have you all on a strict diet and exercise course of intense practice and orange slices, water and snake fish to eat. Now report to the training area at an instant!", the General yelled at his team to do so.

Meanwhile...again

The number one fan was sitting at the TV, watching the sports. She made cookies shaped like football and ate them with glee. She looked down on the floor where there was a chalk outline covered with photos of her favorite person in the world, the Leader. The Leader isn't dead, but she wants him in her "house." Noises came from the bedroom, which started with knocking, but she get the knife soon. She didn't want her guest making too much noise. Besides, she lined the bedroom with egg cartons and covered the bedroom floor with paper.

Back at Training

The team were at the cafeteria, staying hydrated with bottles of fresh water, orange slices, and tasty snake fish cuisine with help of the government approved nutritionist. Ray was talking to himself practicing "Laces out" as he finished eating and went back to the goals to start kicking. The general was eating his own meal with ingredients to make him stay focused. A business agent walked up to him at the cafeteria and started talking. "General, sir. I'm from S.I.G.H.T and we were wondering if you let us advertise Stanley the Snakefish mascots to people in Main Nation Ministry to spy on our citizens and keep them entertained with the Bowl. Can we make the toys now?" "Of course, we need to have the Leader be happy when he gets back from the Welcoming Ball." "Yes, General, sir.", the agent said before walking away with the General's statement.

The general drank another glass of his guilty pleasure, then yelled at his team in the cafeteria, "Ok, men! I hope you all are full and hydrated. We shall begin training as usual! We shall have the prisoners hold knifes when you are practicing with them, so you all are prepared and focused! Now when you all enter the training area, you will immediately run two miles around the training area!" The general gets a watch and yelled again, "The time starts...."

"NOW!"