IBS IX Discussion Thread (OOC, Signups Closed)

[Gregoryisgodistan]

UPDATE: Signups for the tournament are now closed and this is now the discussion thread. All OOC posts should be made here, not in the Everything thread. Purely OOC posts in the Everything thread may result in RP Bonus penalty and/or reports to moderation, at Nova Anglicana's discretion. IC posts in this thread will not necessarily be reported, though they may result in penalty to RP Bonus at Nova Anglicana's discretion. Additionally, certain posts that blur the line between OOC and IC, such as "Death to Nation X" will be interpreted as OOC if posted in this thread and may lead to moderator action if they would violate the site's rules (which wishing OOC death certainly would.) So use the IC thread for IC stuff and this for OOC stuff.

The following information is included for record-keeping purposes.

Welcome to signups for International Baseball Slam IX: Nine for Nine. As the World Baseball Classic has ended, I am opening signups now to get as much done as possible before World Cup Qualifying starts.

Last tournament, Gregoryisgodistan defeated Noa Anglicana 3 games to 0 in the final and has really widened the ranking gap. Will they four-peat, or will someone finally break their dynasty.

To sign up, simply state your desire to be in and include a nickname and trigramme (three-letter abbreviation code.) As an example, my signup is as follows:

Gregoryisgodistan Bat Slaves (GGS)

If you do not include a trigramme, one will be selected for you based on your name. If you do not include a nickname, the host reserves the right to pick one for you and make it as insulting as they want.

Only one puppet is allowed per nation, at the discretion of the host. Puppets must be declared. Undeclared puppets that are discovered will be ineligible for signups and the master nation will be disqualified as well. Per NS Sports Puppet rules, I reserve the right to run a puppet check as organizer prior to the host being chosen, and then the host(s) may do the same following their election. However, I will only do this if I have reason to suspect puppet rules are being violated, and most prospective hosts would have the same policy.

IBS I: hosted by Shadowbourne/Super-Llamaland, championship: Costa Luna beats Shadowbourne 3-0.
IBS II: hosted by Sangti, championship: Gregoryisgodistan beats Sova Empire 3-1.
IBS III: hosted by Super-Llamaland/New Wolfopolis, championship: Gregoryisgodistan beats Nova Anglicana 3-1.
IBS IV: hosted by Gregoryisgodistan, championship: Gregoryisgodistan beats Arana 3-1.
IBS V: hosted by New Wolfopolis/Oakbrook and Calvarie, championship: Super-Llamaland beats Orennana, 3-1.
IBS VI: hosted by Noboru Taiyou, championship: Gregoryisgodistan defeats Abanhfleft in double-elimination final
IBS VII: hosted by Patistan, championship: Gregoryisgodistan beats Super-Llamaland 3-2
IBS VIII: hosted by Gregoryisgodistan, championship: Gregoryisgodistan beats Nova Anglicana 3-0
IBS IX: Could be you!

And that brings us to the other part of the IBS signup process: HOST BIDS.

Want to bid to host the International Baseball Slam? If so, you need to cover all of the topics listed here, the last successful bid for the IBS. This is a good tournament for those with no prior host experience to bid for, but we recommend you have at least some experience participating in tournaments on the forum in order to gain trust. Host bid deadline is set for June 11, 2015, at 12:00 PM EDT (UTC-4), though this may be extended by a few hours depending on my schedule.

So, just signup below! Welcome to the Slam!

Signups:

1. Gregoryisgodistan Bat Slaves (GGS)
2. San Llera San Llerans (SAN)
3. Lunar Republic Galaxy (LRI) [Lunar Republic Isands]
4. Kaboomlandia Kings (KBM)
5. United States of Devonta Thundersticks (USD)
6. Frenline Delpha Anacondas (FND)
7. Nova Anglicana Lions (NOV)
8. The Sword Bloke Thunder (TSB)
9. Abanhfleft Revolution (AFT)
10. Coconutstan Trojans (CCS)
11. Free Republics Sinners (FFR)
12. Aloquirbe Arachnids (ALQ)
13. Nassau Eagles (NAS) [Nassau-Hessen]
14. Schiltzberg Schiltz Burgers (SZB)
15. Volcanoc Lava Battlers (VLC) (Puppet of The Sword Bloke)
16. Losthaven Rainbirds (LHV)
17. Coconut Isle Dwarfs (CIS)
18. Patistan Green Macaws (PAT)
19. Southern Democratic States Southern Bears (SDS)
20. Ridora Fruit Bat Mafia (RFM) [The Central Shadow Nation]

Host bids:

1. Nova Anglicana
2. The Sword Bloke
3. Frenline Delpha

Rankings

[San Llera]

San Llera San Llerans (SAN)

[Lunar Republic Isands]

Lunar Republic Islands (LRI)

[Kaboomlandia]

The Kings will sign up for the IBS IX!
(KBM)

[United States of Devonta]

In!

Nickname: Thundersticks

[Frenline Delpha]

Frenline Delpha Anacondas (FND) are back in the swing.
Puns

[Gregoryisgodistan]

In!

Please state a nickname and trigramme. Otherwise you will use trigramme USD and your nickname is at the host's discretion.

Lunar Republic Islands (LRI)

And you need a nickname.

[Nova Anglicana]

Nova Anglicana Lions (NOV) sign up.

[The Sword Bloke]

The Sword Bloke Thunder (TSB) are signing up. May send along a host bid, depending on dates.

[Lunar Republic Isands]

Edit from the signup

Nickname: Galaxy

[Abanhfleft]

Abanhfleft Revolution (AFT) returns.

[Coconutstan]

Coconutstan Trojans (CCS, +5) make a return to IBC.

[Free Republics]

The Legion of Lucifer enters the Free Republics Sinners (FFR)

[Nova Anglicana]

Nova Anglicana hostbid for IBS IX


Who are you?
Nova Anglicana has been an active member of NS Sports for nearly two years now, playing in every World Baseball Classic since WBC 27 and every Slam since edition III. Nova Anglicana is a consistent WBC and IBS playoff participant, currently ranked 8th in the WBC and 2nd in the IBS. Nova Anglicana has hosted the Londinium Rugby 7s tournament and the 31st WBC and has scorinated various domestic leagues for multiple seasons. Nova Anglicana is also the current President of the WBC and a baseball enthusiast.

What kinds of nations are you?
The Sovereign State of Nova Anglicana is a nation located in North America, with an administrative zone in Esportiva. It is democratic, hospitable, Christian, and pretty darn invested in its sports teams.

How will the Group Draw play out?
I'd like to try out doing an IC group draw on IRC. It would be conducted a few days in advance of the first matchday. The groups would then be edited into the OP.

What will the format look like?
The group stage will be run similarly to most previous International Baseball Slams, with a double round-robin group stage format. Here are some of the formats that might appear:

• 20 teams: 4 groups of 5, top two from each group advancing, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and 3PPO all best-of-three, finals best-of-five

• 24 teams: 4 groups of 6, top two from each group advancing, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and 3PPO all best-of-three, finals best-of-five

• 28 teams: 7 groups of 4, top two from each group advancing + 2 best third-placed teams, Ro16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and 3PPO all best-of-three, finals best-of-five

• 32 teams: 8 groups of 4, top two advancing, Ro16, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and 3PPO all best-of-three, finals best-of-five

What scorination method will you use? How will RPs be scored?
I will be using the most recent version of xkoranate, v0.3.3, with the NSFS formula. This does display linescores, but in keeping with NS Sports unwritten rules, the linescore will not have to be followed. It's worth noting that my personal preference is to follow the linescore, but this will not affect anyone's RP bonus whether they follow it or not. In any case, you don't have to follow it if the linescore does something impossible, such as the home team winning a tied ballgame in the 9th by scoring five or more runs in that inning. Additionally, as always, if you contradict your opponent’s previously-posted RP, whether you scrupulously follow the linescore or not, you will lose RP bonus.

I will be offering a roster bonus to incentivize participation and help out opponents with their own RPs, but it will amount to 2 (two) points at maximum. RPs will be graded for quality over quantity, and graded on a scale of 0-5. RP bonus will be cumulative, and will be added directly to the coefficients. RP bonuses will be halved at the end of the group stage (after potential tiebreaker games). In the case of bye days, RPs will be graded and added to the next day's coefficient. Violation of RP permissions will result in a grade of 0 for that day, and RPs for potential tiebreaker games will be counted for those game(s) only.

If I should advance to the playoff rounds, I will be requesting experienced 3rd party scorination. Cutoff will likely be between 20-23:00 EST (UTC-4) each day.

How will ties be broken?
Tiebreakers are in order, as follows:
1. H2H Record
2. Tiebreaker Game(s) <- Should three or more-way ties occur, a single round-robin will be used (Should three teams end up with a record of 1-1 each in the tiebreak matches, then run differential will be used as the next tiebreaker. If two teams remain tied after run differential, then H2H record will be used. If three teams are tied after run differential, runs for will be used. This is to avoid putting extra wear and tear on teams instead of having them play additional tiebreak matches.)

I have a question, comment, or concern regarding your host bid!
Feel free to post it below.

[Free Republics]

I have a question for Nova Anglicana: Will you be using my modified version of the NSFS formula or the unmodified version and why?

[The Sword Bloke]

THE SWORD BLOKE BID FOR IBS IX

OOC Info: Yo, I'm Sword, and I'm bidding to host the 9th International Baseball Slam. I haven't got any previous hosting experience, but I am experienced in Xkoranate, and I have scorinated 3 seasons of my domestic soccer league, one with results and all, and the first 2 with only the final positions shown. I have been participating actively on NS Sports since December 2014, and now it is time to bid.

IC Info: The Sword Bloke is an awesome nation located in the awesome region of Esportiva. We have 38,000,005 people living in our nation, and Shop Owner rules all of them. Who is he? An immortal dictator who commentates every Swordean event and likes killing people. Did I mention he owns the Busko Fried Chicken? I know, crazy. Cars are banned, books are banned, in fact, just think of something, and likely chance is that that item is also banned! Ah, such a beautiful nation.

Format: Currently, 11 teams have signed up. I have formats for 16, 20 & 24 teams.

16 Teams: 4 Groups of 4, top 2 from each group into quarter finals, 3 game quarters, semis & 3PPO, 5 game championship series.
20 Teams: 5 groups of 4, group winners + 3 best 2nd placed teams into quarter finals, 3 game final series for Quarters, Semis & 3PPO, 5 game championship series.
24 Teams: 6 groups of 4, group winners + 2 best 2nd placed teams into quarter finals, 3 game final series for Quarters, Semis & 3PPO, 5 game championship series.
I will be scorinating with the unmodified version of the NSFS baseball Scorinator, with the latest version of Xkoranate.

Tiebreakers: The tiebreakers used will be the same as Gregoryisgodistan's in the recent IBS. They are:

1. Wins
2. Run Differential
3. Runs Scored
4. H2H Record
5. H2H Run Differential
6. H2H Runs scored
7. Coin Flip

Other Stuff: I will grab a third-party Scorinator if I make the knockout stages, to scorinate games involving me. The RP Bonus will be generous, and I should mention that you will get a little more of a bonus if you include a little extra something in your RP. Maybe it's coloured text, or positive references to Shop Owner, or even large fonts! Who knows what it will be... But an RP of "george smith got a home run tday and we won" or something along those lines won't help your bonus. Cutoff time would be 6:00am Melbourne Time. As well as that, you will have a week to post your rosters and first RPs, with the first day of scorination on the 25th if I win the bid. During that week, I will do the group draw and other necessary items.

So yea, that's my bid. If you have any questions for me, my Telegram box is open and hungry, and you can also post in the thread if that suits you. Thanks!

[Aloquirbe]

Aloquirbe Arachnids signs up.

[Nova Anglicana]

I have a question for Nova Anglicana: Will you be using my modified version of the NSFS formula or the unmodified version and why?

In response, now that I have downloaded and tested the modified version, I will be using the modified version, as I believe it deserves a chance to see how it performs in a tournament setting.

[Nassau-Hessen]

I think I'll toss my cap into the ring again...

Nassau Eagles (NAS)

[Schiltzberg]

I'm in!

[Frenline Delpha]

I'm in!

I'll just save Greg the trouble. Please include a nickname and trigrame within your signup.

[Gregoryisgodistan]

I'm in!

I'll just save Greg the trouble. Please include a nickname and trigrame within your signup.

Temporarily assigning you SCZ since SCH is Schiavone, who is a prominent member who might come back.

[Schiltzberg]

Okay, I'll call my team the Schiltzberg Schiltz Burgers if that is cool. And yeah, I would have liked to have gone by SCH, but if that is taken, I'll go by SZB.

[Frenline Delpha]

IBS IX Host Bid: Frenline Delpha

IC Information

The Democratic Republic of Frenline Delpha is a massive, safe nation, ruled by Samuel Snaker with a fair hand, and remarkable for its national health service, keen interest in outer space, and punitive income tax rates. It is known to be incredibly immigrant-friendly. Baseball is the biggest sport in Frenline Delpha, with an average view of 57 million views/ 8 games. Frenline Delpha is composed of 1.477 billion Frenlins, most of which enjoy great civil liberties. The economy is worth a frighteningly efficient 140 trillion Theories a year. Unfortunately, the tax rate tends to be a little high, at 79%. Although, this makes for really high quality of life at a really cheap price. Visitors will enjoy many freedoms, and cheap prices on all goods and souvenirs. Frenline Delpha has also started to use video reviews for close plays. All foul balls, outs, and home runs are reviewable by the review board in Bloodbenderopolis.

OOC Information

Experience

Baptism of Fire 58
World Cup LXXII (72)
World Baseball Classic 33
International Baseball Slam VIII (8)

Scorinating

Frenline Delpha Water Polo Domestic League
Soccer Friendly Scorinations

Tiebreakers

In case of ties in the group play of the tournament, a specific set of tiebreakers are set in place in order to prevent any confusion. They are:

1) Points
2) Runs For
3) Runs Against
4) Run Difference
5) Wins
6) Head-to-Head Runs For
7) Tiebreaker Game

Format

I am expecting 28 teams, but I also have plans for 24, 16, and 32 teams. I WILL remove puppets shall it be needed to fit the tournament style. All group games will be double round robin.

28 Teams: 7 Groups of 4; Top from each group + Best Second Place Team; Group A-D Winners will play on one side of the double elimination tournament; Winners E-G plus Best Second will move onto the second double elimination; The winners of the two Double Eliminations will play in a Best-of-5 series to determine the winner.
24 Teams: 6 Groups of 4; Top 2 from each group; 4 of 6 third place; 8 Best-of-3 "Super Regionals"; Winners to two double elimination tournaments; Two winners play in Best-of-5 championship; winner is champion
32 Teams: 8 Groups 4; Top 2 advance; Winner of A will face Second of H, etc...; Best-of-3; Winner of series will advance to a giant Double Elimination tournament; Winner of tourney is champion
16 Teams: 4 groups of 4; Winner A and Second D, etc... to one double elimination; Winner B and second C, etc... to second double elimination; two winners play in Best-of-5 for championship

20 Teams: Since 20 teams seems to be what will be happening this tournament, I will go into greater details about this format. The second team listed will be "home" team on the scoreboard.
5 Groups of 4

Double Elimination 1

Game 1: Winner E vs. Winner A
Game 2: 7th Overall vs. Winner D
Game 3: Winner 2 vs. Winner 1
^Game 4: Loser 2 vs. Loser 1
^Game 5: Loser 3 vs. Winner 4
Game 6: Winner 5 vs. Winner 3
*Game 7: Loser 6 vs. Winner 6

Double Elimination 2

Game 1: 8th Overall vs. Winner B
Game 2: 6th Overall vs. Winner C
Game 3: Winner 2 vs. Winner 1
^Game 4: Loser 2 vs. Loser 1
^Game 5: Loser 3 vs. Winner 4
Game 6: Winner 5 vs. Winner 3
*Game 7: Loser 6 vs. Winner 6

Both winners will advance to a best-of-5 series for the championship.
^Elimination Game
*If necessary

RP Bonus

I will be scorinating using the un-modified, latest version of Xkoranate. I will be using the baseball formula, using the NSFS3 version. As a note, you will not be required to follow the linescore. No penalty will be assessed if you don't follow the linescore. As for RP grading, I will be using a high RP grade, as Gregoryisgodistan has a frightening command of the ranks. Keeping this in mind, I will be grading RPs on a scale of 0-10. This will be cumulative. Rosters will be graded on the 1-10 scale. As should be expected, violating another nation's RP permissions will result in a penalty in the RP grades up to that point. The penalty will most likely be -10 to -20. Your skill can't fall below zero, but it is very likely that after a couple violations, you will find it hard to get it above 0.

Group Draw

The group draw will be done on Randomlists.com. The groups will then be edited into the OP. I will probably set up a Chatzy to announce the Group Draws.

Notes:

The cutoff will probably be held sometime between 12 P.M. and 4 P.M. EST. I will open the everything thread when the required number of sign-ups is reached. Any question can be asked here, or TG'd to me. Thank you.

[Gregoryisgodistan]

You can't do negative rank without changing the min, which I wouldn't advise. I suppose you could do what I've said I'd do and input a negative rank as 0 but add future RP Bonus to the negative, but it isn't immediately clear from your bid that you'll do that.

Also, since signups are uncharacteristically low so far, I'm going to ask all bidders one more question - what will you do if you get less than the expected number of signups?