World Bowl XXXV (35)- Everything Thread

[Newmanistan]

NEWMANISTAN ROCKETS

WORLD BOWL 35 ROSTER

"Proudly underachieving since World Bowl I"

Starters (Offense) (Standard Formation, Multiple Formations will actually be used)
QB- #6- Alex Nelligan, 29, Tundra Falls Mariners
HB- #22- Cameron Hall, 28, Putnam Lake Eagles (Averages 60% of carries)
FB- #48- Jimmie Gordon, 33, Daytopia Racers
WR- #83- Kevin Ambroziak, 28, Putnam Lake Eagles
WR- #80- Eddie White, 33, Olympia Gladiators
TE- #86- Clyde Sanders, 25, South Charlotte Condors
LT- #77- Ricky Longhurst, 37, Pocono City Capitals (Offensive Captain)
LG- #66- Kevin Shields, 31, Putnam Lake Eagles
C- #69- Peter Dorsey, 33, North Charlotte Wildcats
RG- #62- Darius Chansler, 31, Eastport Falcons
RT- #63- Michael Janssen, 25, Southport Tigers (First time starter)

About the offense:
Despite many people criticizing him, especially Brianne Henry with The Rocket Report, Alex Nelligan led the Rockets to an improbable run to the World Bowl 34 title game. It was the first time that the pocket passer had been declared the starter, and while some thought he was only named that because he plays for Marvin Dineen (head coach) in Tundra Falls, proved people wrong. Now, he just needs to prove it wasn't a fluke. In World Bowl 34, there were many new additions to the starting lineup, so given their success, turnover is limited to a retirement replacement.

The offensive line is mainly in tact from last time. Ricky Longhurst returns again, and this man is simply not going to be outsmarted. He is a mastermind of the game, and a true warrior. He will not be beaten tactically. You may beat him physically, but not tactically, and he is almost never called for penalties. More then likely, it’s the other side of the line guilty when that key holding call is made against us.

Starters (Defense) (The Rockets Generally Use a 4-3 Base)
DE- #95- Lavion Santiago, 27, Putnam Lake Eagles
DE- #91- Keith Koening, 28, Tundra Falls Mariners
DT- #98- Pedro Cardenas, 32, Putnam Lake Eagles
DT- #97- Anthony Holliday, 27, Jessicaville Millionaires
ILB- #55- Jorge Santana, 28, Pocono City Capitals
MLB- #50- Paul Helmer, 33, Concord Broncos (Defensive Captain)
OLB- #53- Harvey Bishop, 26, Tundra Falls Mariners
FS: #27- Brian Headley, 25, Springfield Thoroughbreds
SS: #28- Tyler Baynes, 29, Putnam Lake Eagles
CB: #21- Taeshawn Gilles, 31, Southport Tigers (Shutdown Corner assigned to your #1 WR)
CB: #31- Marques Cordova, 30, Centralia Cougars

About The Defense:
The defense had five first-time starters on the roster during World Bowl 34, and many thought it would be a weakness of the team. However, the would gel as the season went on and had a great playoff run. Not surprisingly, this unit has been kept in tact. Gilles had a monster season in the last World Bowl.


Bench (Offense)
QB: #7- Evan Desorbo, 27, Daytopia Racers
QB: #15- Donovan Williams, 24, North Charlotte Wildcats
HB: #33- Rudolph Hicks, 30, Loudon Leopards (Averages 35% of carries)
HB: #30- Anthony Padula, 25, Southport Tigers (Averages 5% of carries)
HB: #32- Kevin Bellemore, 22, Nashua Broncos (First Time on team)
FB: #49- Randy Harriman, 31, Putnam Lake Eagles (occasional usage)
FB: #44- Jerry Jamieson, 21, Springfield Thoroughbreds (Minimal usage, if at all) (First time on team)
TE: #89- Greg Hoffman, 26, Brighton Bulls (Blocking Specialist)
TE: #82- Nick Freeman, 31, Southport Tigers (Occasionally used)
WR: #85- Chris Culver, 28, Eastport Falcons (Primary KR/PR, 3rd WR)
WR: #87- Drew Oliveras, 24, Pocono City Capitals (First Time on team)
WR: #19- Patrick Hofstetter, 27, Pocono City Capitals (secondary KR/PR)
WR: #18- Oscar Desjardins, 27, Loudon Leopards
WR: #88- Kyle Scandella, 23, Olympia Gladiators (First time on team)
G: #65- Gary Stovall, 34, Loudon Leopards
G: #64- Hans Fredrikssen, 27, Olympia Gladiators
G: #60- Marquis Pavlak, 28, South Tier Stallions
G: #76- Brett Nardellis, 25, Centralia Cougars
C: #61- Steve DeWitt, 29, South Charlotte Condors
C: #70- Ezekial Robinson, 27, Springfield Thoroughbreds
T: #68- Mark Jones, 28, Silver Lake Seagulls
T: #73- Kenny Schira, 29, Brighton Bulls
T: #78- Kevin Johnson, 25, Dover City Mountaineers
T: #79- Davis Alfonso, 22, Seminole Bay Gators (First time on team)

Bench (Defense)
DL: #94- Jason Young, 24, Putnam Lake Eagles
DL: #93- Eddie Suarez, 28, Dover City Mountaineers
DL: #90- Myron Billiard, 28, Jessicaville Millionaires
DL: #96- Stanley Harris, 27, Centralia Cougars
DL: #92- Parnell Washington, 26, Hampton Knights
DL: #72- Darien Francona, 21, South Tier Seagulls (First time on team)
LB: #56- Lawrence Miller, 27, Loudon Leopards
LB: #52- Sven Holstrom, 27, Centralia Cougars
LB: #54- Robert Stevens, 31, Loudon Leopards
LB: #59- Antonio Chavez, 27, Jessicaville Millionaires
LB: #57- Kurt Reilly, 30, South Charlotte Condors
LB: #75- Steven Rheingold, 26, Southport Tigers
DB: #36- Prince Corbitt, 33, Jessicaville Millionaires
DB: #37- Brian Carner, 33, Olympia Gladiators
DB: #43- Perry Hughson, 29, North Charlotte Wildcats
DB: #24- Jason Mackey, 27, Centralia Cougars
DB: #23- Terrance Cherry, Jr., 34, Daytopia Racers
DB: #25- Peter Benninger, 22, Tundra Falls Mariners (First time on team)

Special Teams
K: #5- Michael Krizman, 30, Centralia Cougars
P: #8- Matty Gray, 33, Loudon Leopards
Backup K: #14- Daniel Levy, 31, Putnam Lake Eagles
Backup P: #9- Matt Shapiro, 43, Olympia Gladiators
Preferred KR/PR: #85- Chris Culver
Secondary KR/PR: #19- Patrick Hofstetter
Occasional KR/PR: #23- Terrance Cherry, Jr.
Special Teams Gunner: #36- Prince Corbitt
Long Snapper:#61- Steve DeWitt

Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: Marvin Dineen, 52, Tundra Falls Mariners
Offensive Coordinator: Brad Beyer, 54, Springfield Thoroughbreds
Defensive Coordinator: Marion Yampolsky, 57, Olympia Gladiators
Special Teams Coach: Brandon Aldridge, 51, Springfield Thoroughbreds

Misc Important Stuff:
Modifier: +2
Home Uniform: Sky Blue with White Trim
Away Uniform: White with Sky Blue Trim
Helmet: Sky Blue with a white center stripe. The rocket in our flag is on both sides of the helmet.


RP Permissions:
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, but only say they are hurt and I will determine the severity.
Godmod Injuries to my Players: No
Godmod Other Events: Unlikely. But if you think it could fit what I am RP’ing, send me a TG first and I may allow. If not pre-approved, then the answer is no!

[Vangaziland]

Vangaziland National Football



QUARTERBACK: #10 - Dan Bundison - 5'10 - 185 lbs (pocket passer)
HALFBACK: #25 - Filip Skog- Junior - 5'9 - 205 lbs (speed back)
FULLBACK: #40 - Taye Poconos - 5'11 - 220 lbs
LEFT TACKLE: #76 - Kent Isaakssen - 6'3 - 295 lbs
LEFT GUARD: #75 - Milo Horvak - 6'4 - 300 lbs
CENTER: #65 - Charles Quarter - 6'3 - 305 lbs
RIGHT GUARD: #72 - Mag Villjon- Senior - 6'3 - 290 lbs
RIGHT TACKLE: #60 - Max Vanderberg - 6'5- 295 lbs
TIGHT END: #88 - Fred Loxingsen - 6'3 225 lbs
TIGHT END: #85 - Steven Archer - 6'2 230 lbs (blocking TE)
1st OPTION WR: #84 - Parker Vangaard - 6'2 - 200 lbs (hands)
2nd OPTION WR: #15 - Erik Bergum - 6'0 - 175 lbs (speed)
3rd OPTION WR: #82 - Matty Julius - 5'11 - 185 lbs

STRONG SAFETY: #34 - Chris Ingebritson - 6'1 - 210 lbs
FREE SAFETY: #38 - Karver Price - 6'1 - 194 lbs
DEFENSIVE END: #90 - Winton Cathcart - 6'3 - 300 lbs
DEFENSIVE TACKLE: #91 - Tomas Lillegard- 6'4 - 300 lbs
DEFENSIVE TACKLE: #92 - Devino Hutch - 6'6 - 304 lbs
DEFENSIVE END: #99 - Matt Ivarssen - 6'4 - 290 lbs
LINEBACKER: #54 -Richmond Tiller - 6'3 - 240 lbs
LINEBACKER: #57 - Taylor Barnacles - 6'5 - 250 lbs
CORNERBACK: #32 - Dan Skaar - 6'2 - 202 lbs
CORNERBACK: #22 - Amante Ellison- 6'1 - 200 lbs
CORNERBACK: #21 - Earnell Gordonsen - 6'0 - 190 lbs

KICKER/PUNTER: #3 - Antonio Herrera - 5'9 - 170 lbs
LONG SNAPPER: #62 - Randall Lawford - 6'1 285 lbs
HOLDER: #6 - Don Adebaygo - 6'2 - 195 lbs (backup QB)
PUNT RETURNER: #82 - Matty Julius - 6'2 - 209 lbs
KICK RETURNER: #15 - Erik Bergum - 6'0 - 175 lbs (speed)

Staff
Head Coach: Kenton Tillford
Assistant Coach: Gavin Wicks
Defensive Coordinator: Mike Waterhouse
Quarterback Coach: Ray Butchingson

Common Formations
Offense: Shotgun, I-Formation
Defense: 4-3, Nickel

RP Permissions
Choose my scorers: No
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: No
Godmod Injuries to my players: No
Suspend my players: No
Godmod suspension events: No
Godmod other events: Yes

[Free Republics]

Sporting World

World Bowl XXXV Preview: Legendary Republican Coach Jak Hamilton Seeks to Go Out on Top
by: Henriette Lecuyer

World Bowl XXXIV saw the Free Republics emerge on the international football scene in a big way, finishing in 4th place. After this successful result, 83-year-old living legend Jak Hamilton decided to return for a 60th year of coaching football and persuaded the entire Republican National Football Team to return for one last run at a World Bowl title. Just like last year, the naysayers claim that this team, made up of alums from the greatest university in the Free Republics (Ren Rep University, of course!), is "too old" and that Coach Hamilton "needs to retire" because apparently they don't want the National Team to be coached by a legend.

The Free Republics National Football Team is once again quarterbacked by my unbelievably cool boyfriend Wibe Rus. As you already know, Wibe is so hot and he's such a great quarterback who understands that he needs to let the great defense work its magic and win football games. On the defensive side of the ball, ageists of all kinds are running around saying that Gregorio Trevisano, Prewitt Ayot and Islmail Holm are "too old" to play football anymore just because all of them have reached their 40th birthday. Nothing could be further from the truth, as our opponents will find out!

We are Free Republics and we will be taking on 5 different opponents in the group stage. Firstly, we face the 40th ranked Equestrian States. The Equestrian States are not particularly good at football any more but they were once famous cheapshot artists who once tore the ACL of Saintland's King Petrus XX with an intentional cheap shot. I am unable to determine the names of their talking ponies at this time but needless to say I'm certain that they won't be scoring any points on our defense either in Week 1 at their stadium or on Week 6 at FreedomCola Stadium in Borotia. Two years ago, they were in our group and we beat them 29-10 and 42-24. I don't think they'll even score 10 points on us in both games this season!

The second opponent on tap for Jak Hamilton's final run as coach of the Free Republics is Alenburg, an unranked team that actually looks like they might be a bit of a threat. After they lose at Dixon Light Stadium in Petrograd, I'm sure they're going to want some Dixon Light so maybe I'll talk to Coach Hamilton and see if we can get him to buy their players some beers after we welcome them to the World Bowl in Week 2.

Third up is Alpine Union, a team that pulled off a surprising run in the World Bowl playoffs 3 years ago. They went 4-4 in the group stage, somehow qualified for the playoffs anyway and then managed to win 4 playoff games by convincing margins to be crowned World Bowl champions. I guess that's proof that sometimes you just need to make the playoffs and get hot at the right time rather than actually be the best team. In the past two years, they've been knocked out by Taeshan in the quarterfinals each time. They are also a defensive-minded team and will likely provide two tough tests for the National Team. You can see them in Week 8 at Gem of the Oceans Stadium in Republica and I urge you to buy a ticket to that game if you haven't already.

The fourth Republican opponent is The Wolf Zones, a mysterious unranked team that currently has no roster that I know of. You can see them at Podvez Field in Yellow Bay but honestly the great fans of Yellow Bay deserve better than a game that will probably be a complete blowout. If the Wolf Zones doesn't reveal their roster and put out some media coverage of their team, they probably aren't going to win many games. I'd be surprised, honestly, if they could even beat the ponies let alone the other teams in this group. While they may actually turn out to be a real threat, current indictations are that they aren't going to pose much of a challenge to us.

Finally, there is Barunia. Barunia come in ranked 18th and have hung around the World Bowl for years but have only made the playoffs twice. Their most recent playoff appearance was 3 years ago. They will play at the Olympic Stadium in Baseton. As of press time, we still do not know the identity of their players but they're probably going to put up somewhat of a fight.

If you are unable to purchase tickets to attend our games for whatever reason, you can always watch them live on the WOLF Network, which has paid Coach Hamilton half a billion thalers for the right to broadcast World Bowl XXXV in the Federation of Free Republics. For the next 14 weeks, you can expect to see extensive coverage of the World Bowl on WOLF and, if you want to see a game that isn't being broadcast on the main WOLF network, you can always watch it on WOLF Sports One, WOLF Sports Two or the WOLF Sports Unlimited app (assuming you are currently paying for a television subscription that includes WOLF Sports, of course). Sporting World will have more information about the ongoing bidding war for live sports programming in a future issue.

Henriette Lecuyer is Sporting World's new football correspondent. A graduate of the Ren Rep University School of Journalism, Henriette was a cheerleader for the Ren Rep football team for 4 years and was the captain of the team during her senior year. She is currently dating Wibe Rus.

[Taeshan]

The World Champion Taeshan Fitin' Falcons

Head Coach - Andrew Crew
Offensive Assistant - Kyle Park
Defensive Assistant - Jeremy Drew
Special Teams Assistant - Everett Clark

Formations
Defense - 4-2-5
Offense - Spread

Starters
#14 Sam Clentimack QB 28
#28 Parson Newberry HB 29
#88 Angel Herrera WR 28
#85 Kyle Trout WR 33
#84 Patrick Wantanabe WR 26
#44 Dallas Andrew TE 29
#51 Kevin Connors LT 29
#52 Jacob Walker LG 30
#53 Ken Crewe C 30
#54 Everett Ford RG 31
#55 Jordan Grosh RT 30
#69 Emmit Karlson LE 29
#68 Evander Kyle DT 3
#94 Jones Peverell DT 30
#91 Liam Chiswick RE 28
#57 Hector Flint LB 27
#59 Nick Porter LB 26
#24 Declan Stewart CB 30
#23 Oliver Hahn CB 24
#44 Fabian Chester N 24
#8 Gideon Chester FS 24
#41 Peter Fisher SS 31
#2 Martin Xavier K 30
#5 Adam Kline P 30

Backups
#4 Ryan Jones QB 33
#5 Tyler Comet QB 29
#32 Wilfred Parker HB 29
#33 Alan Fields HB 29
#87 Drew Lantern WR 20
#17 Elain Martack WR 25
#15 Benny Stewart TE 24
#60 Kyler Jenson G 29
#61 Fred Clopas G 28
#62 Gene Ira T 29
#63 Amos Clark T 30
#64 Ned Dragon C 29
#74 Shinji Vrabel DT 22
#75 Jim Cope DT 25
#77 Lester Qwarany E 25
#66 Emmit Kline LB 25
#67 Drew Fasnacht LB 25
#58 Kevin Prewitt LB 33
#41 Karl Muller CB 19
#37 Gehret Vandenbosch CB 20
#34 Mark Malphasar CB 26
#28 Maxwell Karcurn S 22

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

World Bowl: The Alpine Union in group 5 with the Free Republics!

Oglethorpe, Republic of Chattahoochee - (NAP) The group draw was held in Pocono City, Newmanistan 2 days ago. The Alpine Union (9) was in pot 2 and was drawn in group 5 with the Free Republics (7), Barunia (18), the Equestrian States (40), Alenburg (UR) and The Wolf Zones (UR). Let's talk about each of our opponents.

Matchday 1 - Alenburg (UR) vs Alpine Union (9)

Alenburg is a new and promising nation in american football or gridiron if you prefer. By the way what is an american? No such nation exists in our world, my take is that is a mispell of omerican, the adjective from the nation Omerica, but I believe they never participated in the World Bowl. Anyway, so Alenburg is an interesting nation and if they repeat their college football run , they will be a threat to the Alpine Union and even the FFR.

Matchday 2 - The Wolf Zones (UR) vs Alpine Union (9)

On week 2, the Alpines will travel to The Wolf Zones. There's actually more than one wolf zone because zone is plural, but there's only one wolf in each zones because wolf isn't plural. And the question is: Are there sapient wolves living in The Wolf Zones? Anyway, the Bisons will eat them easily.

Matchday 3 - Alpine Union (9) vs Free Republics (7)

@ Sonoma Memorial Stadium, Tahlequah, Republic of Sonoma

On the third week, the Bisons will finally play at home, against the evil capitalist nation called the Free Republics. Sonoma Memorial Stadium was chosen for this game because it seats more than 100,000 people and the city of Tahlequah is located in Sonoma close to the border with the Republic of Chattahoochee, which means people from both Sonoma and Chattahoochee can attend. The Free Republics, like us, is a defensive minded team. Offensively, they use an I formation most of the time and it's the reason of their success because most teams are stronger against the pass. The Alpine Union have a well balanced defense with Konrad Juszczyk being a great run stopper. Some people in the FFR have called for a boycott of their wrestling federation but hey in the Alpine Union we've been boycotting it for years because we have an embargo on them evil capitalists.

Matchday 4 - Barunia (18) vs Alpine Union (9)

The Reprezentacja Alpejski will travel to Barunia on week 4. Well, what can we say about Barunia? They have a good american football team, being ranked 18th but they still haven't revealed their roster. Unlike the FFR, they're a good communist nation and I might be wrong but I believe they have a college football team called the Karl Marx University.

Matchday 5 - Alpine Union (9) vs Equestrian States (40)

@ Zack Murphy Stadium, Oglethorpe, Republic of Chattahoochee

On week 5, the Bisons will recieve the sapient ponies from the Equestrian States at home. The game will be played at the Zack Murphy Stadium in Oglethorpe. The ponies are only ranked 40th but we can imagine they have a great quarterback and they can carry the ball like no other team and their recievers, cornerbacks and safeties can run faster than anyone. We are aware that ponies are vegetarian and don't like our Golden Goal Sports Bar & Grill restaurant so please don't miss our list of vegetarian restaurants located in Oglethorpe on week 4!

Matchday 6 - Alpine Union (9) vs Alenburg (UR)

@ Linzmeier Finanziellen Platz, Ueckermünde, Republic of Alsace-Mecklenburg

Matchday 7 - Alpine Union (9) vs The Wolf Zones (UR)

@ Linzmeier Finanziellen Platz, Ueckermünde, Republic of Alsace-Mecklenburg

After recieving the Equestrian States in Oglethorpe, the Bisons will recieve Alenburg and The Wolf Zones in Ueckermünde.

Matchday 8 - Free Republics (7) vs Alpine Union (9)

@ Gem of the Oceans Stadium, Republica, Free Republics

On week 8, the Alpines will take the road again to play in the Free Republics.

Matchday 9 - Alpine Union (9) vs Barunia (18)


@ Zack Murphy Stadium, Oglethorpe, Republic of Chattahoochee

The Alpine Union will recieve Barunia on week 9.

Matchday 10 - Equestrian States (40) vs Alpine Union (9)

@ Canterlot (probably)

On the final week, the Alpine Union will travel to the Equestrian States. At this time we don't know where the game will be held but I'm going with the capital city of Canterlot.

Information on Alpine stadiums

For the World Bowl XXXV, 3 stadiums will be used.

Sonoma Memorial Stadium
Capacity: 100 119
Location: Tahlequah, Republic of Sonoma
Tenant: University of Sonoma Longhorns
Hosting: Free Republics on MD3

Tahlequah was the capital city of the Cherokee Nation within the Southern Democratic States. It is now the site of the University of Sonoma's main campus. To reach Tahlequah from the Free Republics, the republicans have to take a flight to the Oglethorpe International Airport with a stop in Electrum because there's no direct flight between the FFR and the Alpine Union. Then, when the team land in Oglethorpe, they can either take a 2 hours and 30 minutes bus ride or a local flight to the Tahlequah Airport. Because we don't like the Free Republics, the whole team and coaches will stay at a 2 stars youth hostel in Tahlequah. They will sleep in dorms.

Zack Murphy Stadium
Capacity: 70 561
Location: Oglethorpe, Republic of Chattahoochee
Tenant: Oglethorpe Chargers
Hosting: Equestrian States on MD5; Barunia on MD9

Oglethorpe is the capital city of the Republic of Chattahoochee, the 3rd largest city and 2nd largest metropolitan area in the Alpine Union. It's a commercial, industrial and sporting hub. Oglethorpe is the home of the Chargers and the Celts (american football), the Red Sox (baseball), the SuperSonics (basketball), Oglethorpe City F.C. (soccer), all playing in the top professional leagues in their sports. It's also the home of the Oglethorpe Golden Seals (hockey, WCHL affiliate of the Braddock Bruins) and the Oglethorpe Harlequins ( playing in the rugby union's 2nd division). Finally, the Central Chattahoochee University Razorbacks are located in Oglethorpe. Oglethorpe is also the site of the largest airport in the Alpine Union, the Oglethorpe International Airport. The ponies and the barunians will sleep at The Rooney-Charlton Oglethorpe, a 5 stars hotel. Every The Rooney-Charlton hotels in the Alpine Union are pony friendly. Which means some rooms have large doors and showers and a lower bed. Stairs may not be suitable for ponies but they can use the elevators, though no more than 3 ponies can enter in the elevator at the same time.

Linzmeier Finanziellen Platz
Capacity: 42 500
Location: Ueckermünde, Republic of Alsace-mecklenburg
Tenant: Ueckermünde Eagles
Hosting: Alenburg on MD6; The Wolf Zones on MD7

Ueckermünde is the capital city and the largest city of the Republic of Alsace-Mecklenburg. The city was located in Prusy Krolewskie but when Prusy Krolewskie joined the Alpine Union, the former nation splitted in two: The Republic of Wschodnioprusy (Prussia East) (mostly polish speaking) on the east and the Republic of Alsace-Mecklenburg (mostly german speaking) on the west. Ueckermünde is located on the Alsace-Mecklenburg side, close to the border with Prussia East. Miedzyzdroje, in Prussia East, is located just 15 minutes away from Ueckermünde! To reach Ueckermünde, Alenburgians and Wolf Zonians have to land at the Prince Zygmunt VIII International Airport in Mszczonow, located midway between Ozorkow and the Puck-Malbork metropolitan area, and drive 45 minutes west-northwest to Ueckermünde. Both teams will stay at The Rooney-Charlton Ueckermünde, a 5 stars hotel.

[Razenthuria]

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Razenthuria
Razen World Bowl Squad Overview

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Razenthuria Bulls - The Crest

The nation of Razenthuria to many people is recognized as the former colony of Central Sunrise, as such, bow, a free peoples over seventy-five years after decolonization, Razenthuria is a proud nation, with the hearts of millions beating to one drum. Gridiron is quite the popular sport in Razenthuria, the nation stands to support the team, with the team ranked 76th in the world, alas, its been twenty years since Razenthuria competed in international gridiron, and now after years of languishing in the depths are back to compete fro the international event. Gridiron hones a special ability within Razenthuria, notably a sport found and played amongst the White-Razen minorities in the north, usually, northern teams or teams sporting majority-white rosters have dominated the G-League, being the top league for Razen gridiron. Plans are underway to restructure the league ahead of its second season, introducing divisions within the conferences and adding a playoffs as there have been complaints the league represents and NSCF season rather than rewarding good-placed teams.

The Razenthuria team, nicknamed the Bulls are noted for their notorious defense in the games, making their second appearance in the World Bowl after a storied long-time disappearance from all things World Bowl-y.

The Crown Republic of Razenthuria is a former colonial nation derived from Central Sunrise, it is a constitutional monarchy with a crown republic in place. The monarch is R'Verzaka who has reigned since R-410. The capital of the Razenthuria and its largest city is Tynedale, a global city and financial centre with an urban area population of 14.3 million, Other major urban areas in the Crown Republic include the conurbations centred on Calix City, Fullham, New Stonehenge, Port Perrington and Soroku.

Football in Razenthuria is governed by The GA - literally The Gridiron Association, the governing body for Razen gridiron within the nation - it titularly organizes the G-League and other football-related activities, it is also the national government sponsor of the CCIA Kings, a well-known team in NSCF competition, a regular semifinalist in football. The GA has been mired with corruption in recent years, accusing it of taking omeny from directorates for loading its pockets. Okinwe Okasama, the first minority commissioner in history of the G-League was elected as Chairman of The GA, while she does have a slightly-tainted past, she has risen above it and promises more diversity and changes to The GA, adding new changes and introducing stunning looks to the G-League. The national league under her direction is expected to be rebranded in time for a second season and a new playoffs system is supposed to be integrated, with gridiron as the second most-popular sport in Razenthuria, it is important for it to be portrayed correctly.

For those who aren't really up-to-date on the Razen gridiron scene, its been quite an interesting one in the inaugural season of the G-League, heralded by its 'winner-takes-all' lead, with only two teams qualifying for the 'postseason' which essentially is only a national championship game, making it similar to a NSCF college gridiron season, which has drawn a fair share of critics in recent years - A.C. 317 Roses Gridiron, the gridiron equivalent of the footballing teams stunned the nation, with a 41-38 win in front of 44,000 at the Kings' Den in Tynedale. The world was momentarily shooketh, as they watched a stunning come-from-behind rise from the Roses, down 24-2 at the half, they stormed back - running off a steam of hella' touchdowns to torch themselves back into eh came, captivating the nation with Kinobe Markus's thirty-two year field goal as time expired to steal the game and send off a massive celebration. In a game that the Mountaineirs should've one but they didn't, it left the Roses on top of the Razen gridiron world, with celebrations - the Roses had been barely one game better than two other teams, so seeing them here brought a great amount of joy to the team. Now, as the World Bowl looks upon us, who takes the reins for the World Bowl will be interesting, its sure to be a medley on the roster; a mixe of new and old - those from the last World Bowl, almost seven years ago. FOr most of us, we'll be tuned into the World Lacrosse Championships here in Razenthuria (and Banija, too!), but make sure to look around every once-in-awhile to see your team on the bowl!

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WB '35
Razen World Bowl Squad

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Head Coach: Okine Williams (55)

Offensive Coordinator: Williams Barkely (63)
Defensive Coordinator: Benjamin White (67)
Special Teams Coordinator: Mark Thomas (43)

QUARTERBACKS   Name                    	   Age	          Club	
QB             Brandon Berry               34              Tynedale Blackskins
QB             Louis Carter                25               Querjiban Snakes 

RUNNINGBACKS	
RB            Chance Blankenship           28              Mallox Nova
RB            Michael John                 23              A.C. 317 Roses Gridiron
RB            Jackson Petty                30              Xuala Howlers
RB            Lucas Preston                24              A.C. 317 Roses Gridiron

FULLBACKS 
FB            Harper Bennett               26              A.C. 317 Roses Gridiron
FB            Ashton Knight                19              Xuala Howlers
FB            Umezawa Ryushi               30              New Victoria Devils of Beverly
FB            Gale Saunders                28              A.C. 317 Roses Gridiron

WIDE-RECEIVERS 
WR            Henry Chapman                30              Silverton Aces
WR            Akabueze Ndidi               26              Silverton Aces
WR            Lawson Wilkinson             24              Navy Club G.C.
WR            Obasey Yobanna               36              Querjiban Snakes

TACKLES 
LT            Najori Eurin (L)             34              Ten Mountains Legion
LT            Bobby Foddles (L)            25              Fullham Gunners
RT            Archie King (R)              32              Marietta Cove Narwhals
RT            Aozora Roka (R)              31              Querjiban Snakes

GUARDS 
LG            Porter Byrd (L)              28              Silverton Aces
LG            Apollo Ventremis (L)         24              A.C. 317 Roses Gridiron
RG            Zach Kline (R)               19              Wizards of Azarel
RG            Gaylord Vega (R)             29              Battlebrook Revolution


CENTERS 
C            Hunter Allison                34              A.C. 317 Roses Gridiron
C            Vincent Blancharde            31              Mallox Nova

TACKLES        Name                    	   Age	          Club	
NT             Onishi Naoya                24              Mallox Nova
NT             Justus Zimmerman            27              Tynedale Blackskins
LDT            Ibezimako Chidubem          28              Tynedale Blackskins
LDT            Rhys Knight                 32              Fullham Gunners
RDT            Xavier Battle               26              Tynedale Blackskins
RDT            Malaki Wilcox               25              Querjiban Snakes

DEFENSIVE ENDS 
DE            Nagamine Seiji (L)           24              Tynedale Blackskins
DE            Takayama Tokaji (L)          21              A.C. 317 Roses Gridiron
DE            Charlie Gallagher (R)        27              Mallox Nova
DE            Phoenix Hubbard (R)          31              Tynedale Blackskins

CORNERBACKS 
CB            Simeon Conley                28              Mallox Nova
CB            Alexis Craft                 27              A.C. 317 Roses Gridiron
CB            Jamie Morrison               23              Xuala Howlers
CB            Michael Weiss                29              New Stonehenge Islanders

LINEBACKS 
CB            Leroy Forbes                 23              A.C. 317 Roses Gridiron
CB            Tucker Hamilton              30              Philistine Iron
CB            Fabian Schultz               27              Philistine Iron
CB            Carmen Wade                  19              Calix City Inst. of Arch. (NSCF)

SAFETIES 
S            Maurice Irwin (FS)            27              Malox Nova
S            Archie Robers (FS)            29              Silverton Aces
S            Micah Howard (SS)             24              Xuala Howlers
S            Damon Whitfield (SS)          29              Ampresia Ambrosia

KICKERS      Name                    	   Age	          Club	
K            Chijimatsu Eizo               31              Old Birmingham Lions
K            Kinobe Markus                 24              A.C. 317 Gridiron

PUNTERS      Name                    	   Age	          Club	
P            Handa Koki                    25              New Victoria Hawks
P            Chinou Okparo                 28              Trukorth Knights

RETURNERS      Name                    	   Age	          Club	
KR            Sebastian Chang              25              A.C. 317 Roses Gridrion
KR            Ronald Little                19              Tynedale Blackskins
PR            Omar Rooney                  23              Trukorth Knights
PR            Kamari Sargent               21              Navy Club G.C.

---

Kings' Den

---

Kings' Den is a football stadium in Tynedale, Razenthuria. The stadium holds 56,000, being remodeled four years ago and is an open-air stadium. It serves as the national stadium for the Razenthuria national gridiron team. Being the biggest gridiron stadium in Razenthuria, it is also the home of the Razen gridiron's largest fan-sustained group, the Matadors, known for their sea of red-and-black, and their name has risen in chilvary, their capes and their Western-looks that represent cowboys have gained popularity The Matadors are famed thru Razenthuria, and even have been in Banija, the world will be interested to see them now on full display. Kings' Den has a strange design, that's meant to trap noise within the stadium - seeing a large expansion, it went from a 39,000-seater, four years ago to an56,000-seater as of R-414, now the stadium usually hosts the National Championship Game for the G-League, Razenthuria's top national division for gridiron. Visiting fans can expect a loud atmosphere during matches.
7,000 seats will be available for non-Razen visitors during official qualification matches.

---

Tactics

---

Captain: Harper Bennett (FB)

Schemes:

Offensive - Triple option
Defensive - 5-2 defense

Style Modifer: -3, most of our points will come from running touchdowns and defensive points.

---

---

RP Permissions

---

Choose my scorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: No
RP injuries to my players: Yes
Godmod Injuries to my players: No
Suspend my players: Yes
Godmod suspension events: No
Godmod other events: TG me first

[Newmanistan]

The off-season is over.
All the hype, and preparation for the upcoming World Bowl campaign can come to an end. Stadiums are full.
It's time for kickoff! This is the first cutoff of World Bowl 35!

Group 1
Allamunnic States 32–16 Bostopia
Lisander 21–21 Abanhfleft (30–24 OT)
The Frozen Forest 7–38 Starblaydia

  Group 1                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Starblaydia                     1    1   0    38    7  +31     3
2 Allamunnic States               1    1   0    32   16  +16     3
3 Lisander                        1    1   0    30   24   +6     3
4 Abanhfleft                      1    0   1    24   30   −6     0
5 Bostopia                        1    0   1    16   32  −16     0
6 The Frozen Forest               1    0   1     7   38  −31     0

Group 2
Razenthuria 19–17 South Covello
Jebslund 3–13 Drawkland
Nevis and Kitts 14–27 Main Nation Ministry

  Group 2                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Main Nation Ministry            1    1   0    27   14  +13     3
2 Drawkland                       1    1   0    13    3  +10     3
3 Razenthuria                     1    1   0    19   17   +2     3
4 South Covello                   1    0   1    17   19   −2     0
5 Jebslund                        1    0   1     3   13  −10     0
6 Nevis and Kitts                 1    0   1    14   27  −13     0

Group 3
Azadeshia 7–13 Pridnestrovia
Taeshan 19–0 Roglonia
Ashkam 3–6 Banija

  Group 3                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Taeshan                         1    1   0    19    0  +19     3
2 Pridnestrovia                   1    1   0    13    7   +6     3
3 Banija                          1    1   0     6    3   +3     3
4 Ashkam                          1    0   1     3    6   −3     0
5 Azadeshia                       1    0   1     7   13   −6     0
6 Roglonia                        1    0   1     0   19  −19     0

Group 4
Newmanistan 21–0 Northwest Kalactin
Holy Nazirealm 14–20 Qasden
Kaboomlandia 16–0 Vakolicci Haven & Celeria

  Group 4                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Newmanistan                     1    1   0    21    0  +21     3
2 Kaboomlandia                    1    1   0    16    0  +16     3
3 Qasden                          1    1   0    20   14   +6     3
4 Holy Nazirealm                  1    0   1    14   20   −6     0
5 Vakolicci Haven & Celeria       1    0   1     0   16  −16     0
6 Northwest Kalactin              1    0   1     0   21  −21     0

Group 5
Barunia 26–3 The Wolf Zones
Equestrian States 9–22 Free Republics
Alenburg 7–30 Alpine Union

  Group 5                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Alpine Union                    1    1   0    30    7  +23     3
2 Barunia                         1    1   0    26    3  +23     3
3 Free Republics                  1    1   0    22    9  +13     3
4 Equestrian States               1    0   1     9   22  −13     0
5 Alenburg                        1    0   1     7   30  −23     0
6 The Wolf Zones                  1    0   1     3   26  −23     0

Group 6
Royal Kingdom of Quebec 15–3 Melbergia
Cassadaigua 14–10 Ko-oren
Cosumar 35–3 The Greater Nordics

  Group 6                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Cosumar                         1    1   0    35    3  +32     3
2 Royal Kingdom of Quebec         1    1   0    15    3  +12     3
3 Cassadaigua                     1    1   0    14   10   +4     3
4 Ko-oren                         1    0   1    10   14   −4     0
5 Melbergia                       1    0   1     3   15  −12     0
6 The Greater Nordics             1    0   1     3   35  −32     0

Group 7
Velstrania 14–0 United States of Devonta
Vangaziland 13–7 -Anthor-
North Prarie 13–6 Irwil

  Group 7                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Velstrania                      1    1   0    14    0  +14     3
2 North Prarie                    1    1   0    13    6   +7     3
3 Vangaziland                     1    1   0    13    7   +6     3
4 -Anthor-                        1    0   1     7   13   −6     0
5 Irwil                           1    0   1     6   13   −7     0
6 United States of Devonta        1    0   1     0   14  −14     0

[Abanhfleft]

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

Gabbing on Gridiron
with Dara Keane

WORLD BOWL XXXV RECAP: MATCHDAY ONE

Lisander        0  7  7  7  9  30
Abanhfleft      7  7  7  0  3  24

Well, bugger me with a fish fork! This was a most unexpected turn of events! Apparently the decline of Fleftic gridiron football continues as our beloved Armored Revolutionaries fell in overtime against the Greens and Golds of Lisander (I don't know if that's their official nickname but until I get word otherwise, that's the nickname I'm giving them). I'd love to say that I don't care about this team anymore, but the simple truth is that I still do care about our team and that's why I'm putting out this labour of love, so the team will now that at least one person in Abanhfleft still cares about them and appreciates what they're doing for our country.

But now let's turn our attention to the match itself between Lisander and Abanhfleft. As apparently the World Baseball Classic is now more important for our networks because our Abanhfleft Revolution has finally come to life in that tournament and are actually winning games, I had to find a stream for the Lisander versus Abanhfleft gridiron game in websites that few brave souls dare visit, and I daresay that I may have to give my computer a deep and thorough antivirus scan after all this is over.

So Lisander won the coin toss and elected to receive. They were able to get right to the halfway line in seven plays but were unable to advance any further and had to punt the ball. Despite Talib Wahhad opting for a fair catch at the 3-yard line, Harrison Aumann was able to not only get the Armored Revolutionaries out of their own half but also make the first score of the game, although it did take nearly the entirety of the first quarter to wrap up the first Fleftic drive with a 2-yard rush from Oren Makkabi.

Lisander's second drive, the majority of which also occurred in the second quarter, also resulted in another stalled advance at their thirty-yard line. It wasn't necessarily a three-and-out situation as a pair of defensive holding penalties on Abanhfleft ensured that they would still get to move the chains a little bit but let's be honest, without those penalties Lisander would have indeed gone three and out. But never mind that, as that set the stage for Abanhfleft's second drive and second score, a 16-yard touchdown pass from Harry Aumann to Jeremy Lacazette. Lisander did get to close out the second quarter with a score of their own, a ten-yard rush from Hugh Blondlot (at least I believe it was Blondlot; the Lisanderans hadn't yet released their official roster for World Bowl XXXV but the guy who scored the Greens and Golds' first touchdown wore Blondlot's number 52 and also had his name on the back of his shirt so I assume it has to be Blondlot) so they wouldn't go into the second half shut out of the scoreboard.

Abanhfleft started the third quarter with the ball but ended up wasting it on a three-and-out after Harrison Aumann was sacked on 3rd and 6 for a loss of 8 by Luís Henrique Galiani, who despite serving double time as both an offensive and defensive lineman still managed to get past the hulking Hoyt Baumgardner to bring down Aumann. Lisander then got back on level terms through the resulting possession with Martin Hoffman through a peach of a pass to Leandro Zaid for a 20-yard touchdown. But the Armored Revolutionaries were able to regain the lead once again through a drive that had them going nearly 90 yards up the field to arrive at the 1-yard line, and then Aumann faked a sneak before tossing a lateral pass to the unguarded Jeffery Rencher, who only had to walk one step with the ball held out in front of him to break the plane and score the touchdown.

Lisander regained possession in time for the fourth quarter and they were able to march 60 yards up the field in three minutes before it seemed that our defense had finally managed to stall their drive once again. But it turns out that that was just a plot by the Lisanderans to lull into a false sense of security so that by the time that Lisander went for it on 4th and inches on the Fleftic 29-yard line, Martin Hoffman found Lucas Bizier practically unmarked for a clean run up to the end zone. Both teams then suffered consecutive three-and-outs before Abanhfleft was given the chance to win the game in regulation by getting to 43 yards for a plausible field goal attempt, but then a holding penalty on Francisco Dalangin forced us back ten yards to give Cleveland Hyneman 53 yards to work with to attempt the game-winning field goal. Unsurprisingly enough, he couldn't score from that distance, and so off to overtime it is.

Lisander won the overtime coin toss and elected to receive once again, but they were able to manage a field goal to give us a chance of at least matching their score, which we did. But Lisander would eventually come out of this contest on top with a Martin Hoffman pitch to Bruno Arminsen for another 27-yard running touchdown, and that was the end of the game for everyone. Lisander gets the win while we pick up our first loss of the tournament. Not the most auspicious start, eh? At least we've got another chance to redeem ourselves when we go up against The Frozen Forest. But you know how our country always goes against unranked sides. I wouldn't get your hopes up too much if I were you! Kenneth Owobowale, Kenneth Owobowale, Kenneth Owobowale....

[Vangaziland]

Royals Face Close Home Opener

"We want to get to the big Bowl game, baby", said Dan Bundison. He was the outspoken QB for the Vannish national team, known for making bold predictions and speaking above his level. "We won't be intimidated by the big teams. We've got a game plan."

He was interviewed before the game on his goals for the season. The Royals entered Match Day 1 facing Anthor. Vangaziland is ranked 25th, their opponent was #20. The teams were starting the season with a game that may have playoff implications further down the line. Both teams will fight to advance in a group will they will face Velstrania (#3) and the United States of Devonta (#14).

"Tonight's game is a must win", said Coach Ken Tillford as kickoff approached. "It could be easy to fall behind in this group, where we're at. So we need to pull games against higher ranked teams. We want the momentum from doing that on day one."

Coach Tillford is known for his unwavering support of QB Dan Bundison. The Royals have another option in Don Adebaygo, but the backup is more of a scrambling QB. Don is a little younger and is likely the team's QB of the future. Many analysts think Bundison's time should be over. He may have more of an arm, but many don't trust his decision making.

"Vangaziland will never win a World Bowl with Dan Bundison at the helm", said Chip Maydress, one of the hosts of the show 'Last Minute'. "It's time to look outside of the National Program to Vangaziland's other pro quarterbacks." It was pointed out that Bundison has never won a pro title. He was a collegiate champion, where he took Blue Coast University to victory with four touchdowns in one game. After that, Dan has played a few mediocre seasons starting for two pro teams.

Bundison looked strong in Game 1 mostly because of the work of the offensive line. The team held it's pocket more often than not, allowing under 3 sacks. Pressure was bought on Bundison in a few occasions, but the line usually held long enough for him to throw it away. He broke out of the pocket twice because of pressure, taking the hit but throwing it away.

The first Vannish drive stalled in the red zone and became a field goal. The Royals made it down field by pounding short run after short run at the offense. Filip Skog is a speed back who is dangerous when he finds space. Unfortunately, it became harder for the Vannish run game to progress through the red zone. The Royals were held back just outside the red zone for the second FG late in the 3rd Quarter.

Vangaziland's only touchdown came from a 22 yard playaction set from Dan Bundison. They were in an I form set. Bergum had a stutter in his route on the right side, where he seemed to turn in and run inward just as the QB was timing his play fake. He took off on a sprint just as Bundison popped up to throw. The fake was good enough to throw enough players off. TE Fred Loxingsen drew attention to the center of the field, cutting up and over the center. The HB ran up and to the right corner, much shorter than the 2nd option WR who had now broken past his defender. It made the HB a solid backup option, worth of coverage. Bundison floated one in front of him which the Vangazi sprinted to catch. The defender dived, but Bergum stayed on his feet. Taking off, he ended the run diving into the end zone.

Vangaziland would give up one touchdown, getting caught out of position. Mike Waterhouse bought a blitz that was a little too strong. The Royals also weren't set up right, calling an audible at the last minute but not having ideal coverage.

The Vannish secondary played tight on the opposing recievers. Several passes were knocked down. A few timely tackles caused dropped footballs at critical moments. "It was such a close game", said Cornerback Amante Ellison. "We knew we couldn't afford to make a mistake. A lot was on the line here."

Vangaziland edged out Anthor, 13-7. Bundison gets on the board with his first touchdown, adding 175 yards. Skog ran for 89 yards and established the run. Analysts say Coach Tillford appeared to be guarded with his playbook. There is room to see a wider variety of plays as the season goes on. When questioned about that, Tillford said, "Certain tactics will obviously be saved for potential late games. We don't want to show our hand, but this was an important game. It wasn't taken lightly."

Vangaziland will face #3 ranked Velstrania in Game 2.

[Cassadaigua]

Dagans Open With Win,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

On a day where many of the best baseball teams in the world have traveled to Cassadaigua and began to practice for their series openers, the focus on the nation was on football for the moment, since Cassadaigua returned to World Bowl action for the first time in quite a while. The opponent would be Ko-oren, a nation that also has sent a baseball team here. That team will be playing in Winchester, but it didn’t stop a good number of their fans from taking advantage of the special opportunity to be here a day early and watch their football team in Concord Heights. It’s not like there is much to do in Winchester, anyway. Other then that road contingent of fans, it was a sea of pink as the extended pre-game ceremony, which included Queen Cassie II doing the on-field coin toss for the match. (that somehow Ko-oren won, shouldn’t that have gone out way?)

The Cassadagan offense struggled in the first half, but the Ko-oren side quickly got reminders of how difficult it is to pass against us. Two first half interceptions of Kirilun Merolidhothen, one by Samantha Cooley and the other by Lexi Swager thwarted Butterfly drives, and the game was scoreless at halftime. In the third quarter, the Dagan offense started slow, fumbling at their own 22, giving the Butterflies great starting field position, to which they capitalized on to score their only touchdown on the game. Later in the third quarter, the Fillies seemed to find their stride, and on consecutive drives, they found the end zone. First, Erika Flynn found Shelby Costigan in the endzone from 11 yards, then a longer scoring play, with Flynn airing it out for 40 yards to Anna Lepage, put us up 14-7. While Ko-oren responded with a field goal, they could not get any closer.

The next game will be much tougher, coming against #12-ranked Royal Kingdom of Quebec o the road.

[Trans-Dniesters]

Приднестровская Гридиронная Суперлига
PRIDNESTROVIAN GRIDIRON SUPER LEAGUE
SEASON II PREVIEW - THE TEAMS, PART ONE

Hello there, friends, comrades, and fellow fans of gridiron football. Today we will be previewing the eleven teams set to participate in the second season of the Pridnestrovian Gridiron Super League. Yes, comrades, you read that right: we now have eleven teams in the league. We added two teams in Antakya and Kesselburg, and we lost one team in Barunia since they are now establishing their own proper gridiron league and their players will no longer have to play against ours to keep themselves fit for the next World Bowl. Anyway, without further ado, here are your season 2 previews of the Pridnestrovian Gridiron Super League.

ADMIRAL NOVOROSSIYSK

Well, that was a close run thing, wasn't it? The Seamen of Novorossiysk were able to make it all the way to the semifinals before falling at the final hurdle against Rheinburg Spartans. Of course, having tasted the glory of the playoffs, it's no wonder that the players and fans of Admiral will want more. Stan Serban is at the peak of his career, having taken over the starting quarterback position in the Pridnestrovian men's gridiron football national team, and he will certainly want to win at least one Pridnestrovian Bowl with the Seamen. Abdulla Abdulganiyev is Serban's most dependable wide receiver, but it has been apparent that Abdulganiyev needs help in the wide receiver department, and Admiral drafted Bhima Nan of Azadeshia and Rochell Pangalanan of Philamer Isle to hopefully provide support as receivers. Meanwhile, Poligrato Arsenio Jr. and Shelly Murray are expected to toughen up the Admiral defense and Rivymiyitevko State University product Ustin Ustinov could add some much-needed pounds to the Novorossiysk blitz.

ANTAKYA HAWKS

We now come to one of the two expansion teams hoping to make a big impact in the second season of the Pridnestrovian Gridiron Super League. The Cumhuriye Sports and Games Union are definitely aiming for future success with the drafting of Azadeshia's Din Goyal with their first ever pick in the first ever PGSL Draft. Goyal is widely touted as one of the brightest prospects to come out of this particular draft class, and there are already some sports media outlets predicting, not always tongue in cheek, that Antakya could actually challenge for a playoff spot already in their first season. Valerian Hynes and Amos Kidd from Lycrabon will help Goyal in mounting an offensive challenge for the season, while Serzan Kediroglu and Khalim Machakov will form the defensive spine of the Hawks. Steve Johnson, a highly touted offensive tackle prospect, will defer to play one more season with Northwest Kalactin's Akers State before suiting up for Antakya.

BRATSK DOLPHINS

I'd love to say that Bratsk's season was either a disappointment or a success, but in reality, their season falls in between that indistinct gray area in between those two terms. It's hard to tell if their managing to qualify for the playoffs as the sixth seed counts as a success or if they could have and should have aimed for higher. What is definitely unquestioned though is the fact that Kelly Profit is the star of this Dolphins team, and that the team revolves around her (mostly). Unfortunately though, teams are not always built around one single player. Even Rodion Tarasenko had help in the form of Filipp Akimov and Boris Tarasov on their way to winning the first ever Pridnestrovian Bowl, but more on that later. For Bratsk, their additions in the draft include Camilla Fielding, who will provide additional offensive outlets for Profit alongside Yermolai Orlov and Pavel Zhivnovitsky, while Govinda Bagchi and James Farley will shore up that Dolphins defense and hopefully stop them from leaking more points.

CSKA TIRASPOL

Ah, yes, the team that I personally support. There's no use denying it; I am a CSKA fan through and through and I will stand by the Army team, my team, to my dying breath. That being said, I literally couldn't sleep after CSKA lost the semifinal against Dinamo Bender (our eternal rivals, remember!), but by God, Rodion Tarasenko was simply unstoppable that season. It didn't help that Filipp Akimov and Boris Tarasov had great seasons as well, but once again I digress. Back to CSKA with you, Denis Fyodorovich! Focus on CSKA's great players like the quarterback Andrey Nikitich Medvedev and his twin brother Demyan Nikitich Medvedev the fullback. I have a feeling that CSKA will do the same, which is to focus on the brothers and build the team around them. I have no problems with that. What I do have problems with is the fact that CSKA wasted a draft pick on a punter. A punter, ladies and gentlemen. Now, I have to say that I am not doubting the ability of Georgina Hartzendorf to punt a ball a long way away but surely they could have just signed her to a contract after the draft. Well, I guess that's why I am not a gridiron football team general manager.

DINAMO BENDER

And now we finally arrive at the defending champions of the first ever Pridnestrovian Bowl, and I finally have permission to sing praises about Rodion Tarasenko, Filipp Akimov and Boris Tarasov. Not that I will because they're Dinamo players and I'm a CSKA fan but you know what I mean. But in all honesty though, if these three players play half as good this season as they did last season, Dinamo will certainly be favorites to retain the Pridnestrovian Bowl. (Yech.) And with the draft, they've gone for an almost equal balance of offense and defense, with their most notable addition being Luca Vidakovic and Megh Achaval from Philamer Isle and Azadeshia respectively. A most curious addition though has to be Paul Ross of Northwest Kalactin, who is advertised as being both a safety and a punt returner. That could probably well be a very important acquisition as despite Dinamo's offensive strengths, punt and kick returns is not one of them. But imagine a team like Dinamo with a returner who can advance them to at least their own 20-yard line... The chills down my spine!

And that does it for part one of my PGSL Season 2 preview. I would have done all eleven teams right now but I am running out of time and I am urgently required elsewhere. Be sure to subscribe to my blog so that you keep yourselves up to date with the goings-on of the Pridnestrovian Gridiron Super League, and with that, I bid you all До свидания.

[Kaboomlandia]

Phoenix defeat Vakolicci Haven with new-look World Bowl team

It wasn't the prettiest of games, but the Kaboomlandia Phoenix snuck past the team from Vakolicci Haven and Celeria with a 16-0 shutout victory. The game proved to be a shaky coming-out party for the new-look spread offense, as quarterback James Jones was only able to throw for an underwhelming 228 yards and a touchdown with one interception. "A lot of the guys on the team practiced under the old power-run system that was used in past years, so it's been a bit of an adjustment period to the spread for them," said head coach Trent Vereen. "I thought they looked good out there by the end of the game, and I'm confident we'll be able to get it together pretty quickly." Notable was running back Jonathan Thomas's coming-out party, as the speed back had 104 rushing yards and added 58 more through the air, including a touchdown on a screen pass. "I felt good out there, being able to get open on quick routes and let Jones get me the ball in space," said Thomas after the game. The Phoenix also continue to rely on trusty kicker Caleb McCallum, who proved at 44 that age is just a number by dropping all three field goal attempts through the uprights.

The Phoenix next face an old foe in Qasden as they look to improve to 2-0 on the tournament.

Score summary

1st Quarter:
No Scoring

2nd Quarter:
7:14: Caleb McCallum 38-yard field goal (holder: Jimmy Warde) 6 plays, 32 yards.
14:46: Caleb McCallum 27-yard field goal (holder: Jimmy Warde) 4 plays, 26 yards.

3rd Quarter:
4:38: Jonathan Thomas 11-yard touchdown short right from James Jones (C. McCallum extra point is good). 11 plays, 71 yards.

4th Quarter:
9:43: Caleb McCallum 46-yard field goal (holder: Jimmy Warde) 8 plays, 41 yards.

[Starblaydia]

World Cup 78 Part One: Takeaway | Two: Duchess | Three: Fidget | Four: Torque | Five: Omen | Six: Leap | Seven: Screams | Eight: Iota | Nine: Death | Ten: Wrong | Eleven: Happy | Twelve: Together | Thirteen: Sweat | Fourteen: Taken | Fifteen Ice cream | Di Bradini Cup 41 Part Sixteen: Stunned | World Cup 79 Part Seventeen: Fame | Eighteen: Weird | Nineteen: Sheep | Twenty: Grave | Twenty-One: Gather | AOCAF Cup 55 Part Twenty-Two Device | Twenty-Three: Evil | World Cup 80 Part Twenty-Four: Sure | Twenty-Five: Basic | Twenty-Six: Telescope

Viannor looked up from her notes at the TV screen. She hadn't noticed, lost in thought as she'd been, that the program had changed, unusually, to coverage of the World Bowl. She found herself watching a few downs as Starblaydia had the ball, the familiar white uniforms of her land, so iconic in other sports, grinding their way down the field with increasing ease. The player wide on the left, number 82, was obviously quicker than the deep-positioned defenders lining up opposite him. It was only a matter of time, she reasoned, before the ball was passed to him for a large gain.

At Second and Two, the Quarterback received the ball, stepped back and looked downfield. Instinctively, Viannor pointed at the screen, seeing the Starblaydi number 82 run forward and cut inside in a diagonal run across the field towards the center. Taking a moment to set himself, the Quarterback unleashed his right arm with a rifled throw, straight into the midriff and awaiting hands of the receiver. He turned, revealing the name 'Stefano' on his back, and sprinted downfield without a care in the world, no defenders managing to track him. He crossed the line and the team celebrated, with the score flicking up to 23-7. Shortly after, the point after was achieved and the Starblaydia Knights were rolling to a debut victory in the World Bowl.

Viannor knew it was a stupid game. This was only happening, and was only live on screens across Starblaydia because of ediraf's money-making schemes, which she didn't mind. After all, diversification was the name of the game to expand a business. The enormous size, strength, power and speed of the players piqued her curiosity for the dedication it took to be so massive and so deft at the same time; this pride of Starblaydi manhood certainly had its own attractions. She wasn't sure why, though, she seemed to understand what was going on fairly intuitively. It was a live action chess game, with rules and regulations, but so many variables of one-on-one play all over the field. Not the permanently fluid ball-chasing of the real national sport, football, this version could be planned and laid out and set and reset an infinite amount of times with an infinite amount of variables on both sides, until you had to put one up against the other and see what the human beings executing that plan would do. That side certainly appealed to her, watching the coaches barking orders into their microphones on the sidelines, directly in the Quarterback's ears. She appreciated that, and appreciated the similarity of the plans in front of her.

She'd tried false flag operations before. Her problem with the last time out was that it had been too complicated, too over-thought. The 'Break the Chain' movement she had stirred up, in order to promote a crackdown by her own order, was too different from the prevailing Starblaydi culture. Too much of causing a fuss, too much shouting about something that didn't need shouting about, something that even if it did take off she'd have to crack down for real when she'd taken complete power. What she needed this time was to boost herself, to play to the natural urges of the Starblaydi people, of deference to strength and to authority. Yes, they loved freedom and, yes, she'd end up taking that away from them as she kept them in her iron grasp, but she'd do it in the same way that Tiberius had, as Curzon had, and Julius had too.

She'd be moderate, she'd be decent, and she'd show strength and be utterly ruthless against those who were causing trouble when the time was right. She'd rise, just like the little fascists who's strings she was pulling.

They'd decry the uselessness of the Sjarondai, because in all honest Starblaydia's Parliament had always been useless, essentially controlled by the Lord-Protector's office for decades in an expensive merry-go-round of fake politicians promising fake policies to a populace voting in fake elections. It was horrendously expensive and time-consuming to pull off, but it gave Starblaydia the air of a constitutional democracy, the air of something noble on the international stage. Which was fine. What Viannor had in mind, however, was a win-win situation. If she took the extreme right wing of Starblaydi society, the 'true' patriots and hard line xenophobes, the ones for whom RAWRCRUSH was the most laudable of goals, who would want to bleed purple if they could. If she took them along on a little dance of to make Starblaydia more extreme, more authoritarian, more under the sway of her, the Lady-Protector Korra Starblayde, like it was in the good old days when Starblaydia intimidated the whole region as the headline act of the Strategic Alliance of Autocratic States. If she could stir them up, make them march, make them rally, make them commit what were essentially internal acts of protest and terrorism, then there would come a tipping point. Either the nation at large would take up their cause in a myriad of moderate ways and, indeed, call for her to have more powers that the Sjarondai would swiftly grant her and enforce, or she'd have to crack down on these rabble-rousing idiots who otherwise couldn't lead teddy bears to a picnic. With the extraordinary powers to crack down on them, she'd be able to keep a state of Autocracy over the populace at large in order to keep them free.

Sacrifice your freedoms willingly to be great again, or sacrifice them reluctantly in order to protect the greatness that Starblaydia already has.

It was a simple choice, and a win-win for Viannor either way. Ordinary people, even the intelligent, hard-working Starblaydi people, would be so easy to manipulate.

Just like the manipulation from the offensive line that led to the hole opened up in The Frozen Forest's line of scrimmage, a lane tailor-made for Starblaydia's number 38 to power through for a simple first down, and then some.

Would it really be that easy? Could it?

[Ko-oren]

Canonical Catalog of Ko-oren's Captivating Kplaces to Kvisit Coined
Nailed it

And of course, there's 12.

Yesterday, Ko-oren's Secretariat of Tourism, part of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation, finally announced its Canon of Ko-orenite Landmarks, intended as a be-all and end-all of places to visit in Ko-oren. That is, if you're limited to 12 places.

It wouldn't come as a surprise to international readers that Ko-oren is heavily dependent on the number 12 - it's the number of subdivisions, ministries, but also languages, major sports, and number of teams in the major sports leagues, and slowly, the number 12 is so important. Population statistics are only publicised once the estimated number of people is divisible by 12 (and if it isn't, it'll be inflated a little to make it divisible by 12). Twelve simply leaves you with a lot of options... divisible into groups of two, three, four, and six, and it leaves you with many options but also not so many that it seems impossible to choose.

So, the Ministry has released 12 places in Ko-oren that you would visit as a domestic or international tourist, to get a little bit of everything. Again, it wouldn't surprise you that meanwhile, a whole subcanon is created of 12 attractions for specific cities and subdivisions, or activities. Once those come out, we'll show those as well. Anyway, here they are! In no specific order, obviously. Also, one place was chosen per subdivision - arguably some subdivisions have way more to offer than others, but I'm sure that will be addressed in the coming days.

The Palaces of Katashi, located in Katashi, Yoshima - Historical

The Fort of Santa Teresa, located in Santa Teresa, Finisterre - Historical

Hazelberg, located in Poolrugge - Natural

The Amandine, located in southeastern Gehrenna and Surbourneshire - Natural

yDremdun, located in western Mawryshire - Natural

Glaciers, located in Aerellen - Natural

The Frontier, located in Straudum and other towns, Sudaefjoll - Cultural

Merchant cities, located in several cities, western Gehrenna and Surbourneshire - Cultural

The Parliaments of Ko-oren, located in Mayara, Maethoru, and Gehrenna, Mayara province - Political

The city of Aminey, located in Cote Austral - Urban

The Great Northeastern Trail, located in West Strand Riding - Route

Harbour and Gardens, located in Schemerdrecht and Sterrenwolde, Intermare - Scientific

[Union of Socialist Alpine Republics]

The Alpine Union beats Alenburg!

Alenburg - (NAP) While the baseball playoffs are about to start, many in the Alpine Union have turned their eyes on the World Bowl. For the opening game, the Bisons travelled to Alenburg. The Alpines won the coin toss and decided to recieve the ball in the 1st quarter. On their first drive, the Reprezentacja Alpejski made a 37 yards field goal. Alenburg's offense was on the field for the first time today and after 3 plays, they had to punt the ball. On the following drive, Coconut Riddick scored a 17 yards rushing touchdown and the Bisons are leading 10-0! The Alpine Union added 3 more points at the end of the 2nd quarter to take a 13-0 lead at the halftime.

Alenburg started with the ball in the 3rd quarter. They were into the Alpine territory for the first time in the game but on a 3rd and 7 at the 36 yards line, Michael Robertson's pass intended to Shawn Smith was intercepted by DeShawn Lewis-Harris for a pick six! It's a 84 yards return by Lewis-Harris and the Bisons are leading 20-0! On their next drive, Alenburg came into Alpine territory again and this time they scored a touchdown when Jake Sheeren caught Michael Robertson's 21 yards pass into the endzone. The score was 20-7 Bisons. On the next drive, the Reprezentacja Alpejski started with the ball at their own 22 yards line and after some plays Jennifer Killebrew caught Clifford Jenkins' pass at the 27 yards line in Alenburg territory. 1st and 10. Coconut Riddick runs for 4 yards. He runs again for 3 yards. Clifford Jenkins passes to Barkevious Hawkins for 6 yards. 1st and 10 at the 14 yards line. Coconut Riddick runs for 2 yards. Clifford Jenkins' pass intended to Jarius Floyd is incomplete. Clifford Jenkins passes to John McRae for 9 yards. 1st and 10 at the 3 yards line. Coconut Riddick runs for 1 yard. Coconut Riddick runs for no gain. Clifford Jenkins passes to Jennifer Killebrew for a 2 yards touchdown and the Reprezentacja Alpejski is leading 27-7! It was a 7 minutes long drive. The Alpines adds another field goal before the game ends and the final score is 30-7 for the Bisons!

The Alpine Union welcomes Alenburg to the World Bowl with a 30-7 win over them. The Free Republics beat the Equestrian States 22-9 and Barunia beat The Wolf Zones 26-3 so there's a triple equality in group 5 with only one game played. Next week, the Alpines will travel to The Wolf Zones to play against them while the evil republicans will take on Alenburg.

Alenburg        0   0   7   0   -   7
Alpine Union   10   3  14   3   -  30

BOXSCORE

1ST QUARTER
11:28 - Field Goal by Crockett Burkhead (37 yards)
5:04 -Touchdown by Coconut Riddick (17 yards run). Extra point by Crockett Burkhead.

2ND QUARTER
0:26 - Field Goal by Crockett Burkhead (48 yards)

3RD QUARTER
12:52 - Touchdown by DeShawn Lewis-Harris (84 yards interception return). Extra point by Crockett Burkhead.
9:42 - Touchdown by Jake Sheeren (21 yards pass from Michael Robertson). Extra point by Jaques Van Der Vaart.
1:26 - Touchdown by Jennifer Killebrew (2 yards pass from Clifford Jenkins). Extra point by Crockett Burkhead.

4TH QUARTER
4:27 - Field Goal by Crockett Burkhead (25 yards)

[Bostopia]

Gridiron Bostopia is pleased to announce their depth chart for World Bowl XXXV. We have selected the best players in the country from the Bostopian Gridiron League to represent us at our first non-Olympic Gridiron tournament.

Bostopia will be largely playing a 4-3 defensively. Offensively, we prefer the ground game, but will throw on 2nd and 3rd downs where appropriate (generally after a huge loss of yardage on 1st down, or over 6 yards to go on 3rd down). 4th down gambles are not taken very lightly - 4th and 1, down by a score and not too far from the goal/it's only 5 yards to kicking range, for example). Bostopia will therefore be largely lining up in I and Pro Set formations.

Players at the top of the list for each position start, unless noted otherwise.

QB - #13 - Ava Burnett
QB - #17 - Emmaline Sharp
QB - #9 - Isabella Jones
HB - #34 - Madison King
HB - #23 - Olivia Young
HB - #45 - Elizabeth Jackson (KR/PR #2)
FB - #42 - Charlotte Wasserman
WR - #19 - Carol Martin
WR - #88 - Zoey Simms
WR - #15 - Natalie Hanson
WR – #82 - Claire Rodgers (KR/PR #1)
WR - #18 - Alison Thomas
TE – #44 - Sarah Jackson
TE - #87 - Naomi Hollings
TE - #48 - Hailey McGuire
LT - #73 - Ivy Haley
LT - #71 - Jade Fletcher
LG - #72 - Maria Watson
LG - #75 - Bailey Martin
C - #74 - Hannah Hudson
C – #77 - Sarah Brooks
RG – #78 - Brianna Smith
RG - #79 - Elise Peterson
RT - #70 - Amy Givens
RT - #76 - Nicole Gainer
LE - #91 - Grace Ward
LE - #62 - Josie Johnson
RE - #99 - Juliette Edwards
RE - #66 - Rebecca Jackson
DT - #92 - Adriana Gordon
DT - #92 - Noelle Henry
DT - #97 - Jessica Riley
DT – #94 - Kate Lawton
DT - #95 - Fiona Rogers
LOLB – #51 - Kath Short
LOLB - #57 - Jennie Nielsen
MLB - #54 - Sophia Smith
MLB - #55 -Ember Shelton
ROLB - #59 - Annie Williams
LOLB - #50 - Catherine Robinson
CB – #30 - Cassie Stephens
CB - #33 - Mary Mathis
CB - #38 - Freya Simmons
CB - #39 - Alessandra Irving
CB - #32 - Dorsey White
FS - #47 - Cassie Andrews
FS - #41 - Grace Mitchell
SS - #35 - Rose Manning
SS - #36 - Jackie Harris
K - #1 - Keira Butler
P - #2 - Amanda Nealy

RP Permissions
Choose my scorers: Y
Godmod scoring events: Y
RP injuries to my players: Y (so long as I choose how long they are out for/the seriousness of the injury – having a player have to get carted off though, that's fine)
Godmod Injuries to my players: N
Suspend my players: N
Godmod suspension events: N
Godmod other events: Y

[Bostopia]

"You're sending an all-girl squad?" "Yes. What of it?" Clarise looked up from her desk, having pressed send on an e-mail to the organising committee of this season's World Bowl. "We're hardly the first, Mike, and there are barely enough men playing the game to organise a division, let alone an entire conference or league over here. They're all obsessed with football and gridiron."

Mike grunted. Being put in his place wasn't where he wanted to be, but it's where he was. Clarise was of course right, men just weren't that bothered in putting pads on to play sport other than over their shins or groins, and even that was done where it was only really necessary. He looked out of the window, watching the Bostopian team run drills on the grass outside, which was rapidly turning to dust as pre-season rolled on.

"They're all short" Mike said, commenting on the obvious, leading to Clarise sighing. "Yes, Mike, they're short, so yes, we have a disadvantage in the passing game, but they make up for that with nimbleness on the ground. Now, I'm going to go and coach my side, while you go and do whatever it is you do."

---Gridiron Bostopia Press Release---

Gridiron Bostopia is pleased to announce that all games will be played at Kenmoor Common in Fort Boston, where there is a 25,000 capacity stadium. While all parts of the ground have covered seats, there is only seating for 1,000 people, all in the home end. Unfortunately, due to safety concerns over staffing levels, Fort Boston Police and Fort Boston City Council have advised that only half the ground will be open.

MD01: Allamunic States 32 - 16 Bostopia
MD02: Bostopia -v- Starblaydia | Kenmoor Common, Fort Boston (12,500)
MD03: Lisander -v- Bostopia
MD04: Bostopia -v Abanhfleft | Kenmoor Common, Fort Boston (12,500)
MD05: The Frozen Forest -v- Bostopia
MD06: Bostopia -v- Allamunic States | Kenmoor Common, Fort Boston (12,500)
MD07: Starblaydia -v- Bostopia
MD08: Bostopia -v- Lisander | Kenmoor Common, Fort Boston (12,500)
MD09: Abanhfleft -v- Bostopia
MD10: Bostopia -v- The Frozen Forest | Kenmoor Common, Fort Boston (12,500)

---Gridiron in Bostopia---

In Bostopian history, a Common was a parcel of land left free for public use by the local authority in the area, so that men with smallholdings could take their sheep or pigs there to graze. This left the land quite barren by the end of summer, and it was in the same state that the stadium that now occupies part of Kenmoor Common remained, with the grass already turning to dirt before a ball had been thrown or carried a yard. Gridiron in Bostopia was a minor sport, really watched only by a devoted few million hardcore fans, somewhere around 2% of the population (ooc: for RP purposes, Bostopia's population is set around the same as the USA). This explained the lack of funding for what was essentially the national stadium, which at best would be considered nothing more than a very good third division stadium in football. Gridiron in Bostopia was underfunded and those who did care about it generally didn't care enough to open their pockets.

This is how women made the sport their own. In a country dominated by a big male personality, they found a pocket of sport which was barely given any attention, a rule book borrowed from the international body for the game, but which could be amended to suit how it would be played here. There weren't many changes, the game stayed the same, but more care was taken on things like head impacts, with helmet-to-helmet collisions banned entirely, and proper procedures put in place when a player even looked like they had taken a knock to the head (these things happen in an angry pile). Gridiron in Bostopia wasn't much of a sport, but it was a sport in which women could take the lead.

A league was formed in Fort Boston initially, the Fort Boston Gridiron League, with parks pitches rented out and goalposts donated by friendly backers both in Bostopia and across the multiverse. 4 teams were initially involved, playing against each other 6 times (3 "home", 3 "away") a season.

As the decades passed and the word spread about Gridiron, enough teams started springing up around the country for the Fort Boston Gridiron League to rename itself Gridiron Bostopia and form two divisions, one on each of the Twin Isles, East and West Bostopia. The Fort Boston teams, bar one, merged to form Fort Boston Gridiron, the remaining team deciding to rename themselves Ranton River Gridiron, as it was where most of their players were based.

The domestic game slowly grew, despite few of the matches being shown on television at all (it was more likely to see a foreign game broadcast). It took decades, but, finally, Gridiron Bostopia felt ready to let their girls go and shine on the worlds stage. Sure, the stadium they were just about able to afford from sponsors was... basic at best, and only 5% of the population knew about the sport, with much less actually going and watching the games. Although, the journey of a thousand miles does begin with a single step after all.

[Free Republics]

WOLF Network Postgame Show

Vachel Gingras and Steffen Kortig are seated in a television studio. The Free Republics have just defeated the Equestrian States 22 to 9.

Vachel Gingras - Welcome to the World Bowl XXXV on WOLF Postgame Show! You just watched the Free Republics defeat the Equestrian States 22 to 9.

Steffen Kortig - The Free Republics started the scoring early with an opening 17 play drive that ate up 11 minutes and 32 seconds of clock time.

Vachel Gingras - Matthijn Admiraal and Jacob Naylor executed Jak Hamilton's 3 yards and a cloud of dust gameplan to perfection, running head-on into the Equestrian States defense over and over again. Scratching and clawing for every inch.

Steffen Kortig - Ultimately, the Republicans would go play action, with Wibe Rus tossing an 8 yard touchdown pass to Anes Kokoravec to put the team up 7-0 after the extra point.

Vachel Gingras - The Equestrian States answered with a 67 yard field goal in classic Equestrian States fashion. They would produce 3 field goals from over 60 yards out over the course of this game. (OOC: This is more or less consistent with how EQS's team was RPed back in the day.)

Steffen Kortig - The Ponies just aren't very good at anything other than kicking and it showed here.

Vachel Gingras - And the Free Republics put on a clinic showing exactly how to go about dissecting the Pony defense: Just hit them in the mouth over and over again and eventually you'll score on them.

Steffen Kortig - The score was 7 to 6 at the half but the Free Republics forced a quick 3 and out to start the second half. Then, they went to work again on the ground. Even with 8 ponies in the box, they couldn't stop an array of Republican backs from running right up the middle and picking up 3 or 4 yards at a time. Eventually, that added up and Jacob Naylor would score on a 1-yard touchdown run.

Vachel Gingras - On the ensuing extra point, holder Rene Duerr would mishandle the snap but he recovered and managed to toss a pass to Anders Brandt for a 2 point conversion to put the Republics up 15 to 6.

Steffen Kortig - The game continued with little action of note other than another long Pony field goal until early in the 4th quarter when Gregorio Trevisano managed to accidentally pick off a Pony pass while blitzing. He would be chased down from behind and tackled at the 5 yard line by one of their receivers. Wibe Rus quickly tossed a screen pass to Matthijn Admiraal and Dean Kevin added the extra point to make it 22 to 9 Free Republics.

Vachel Gingras - After stopping the Ponies on the ensuing drive, the Pony punter would pin the Republicans at the 3 yard line. Jak Hamilton would stick to the offense he had run all game long but now he ordered Rus to wait until there was just a second left on the play clock before snapping. The Republicans would run out the clock for a 22 to 9 victory.

Steffen Kortig - An impressive victory for the Free Republics to open the World Bowl. Now, here's Theresa Dillon with Coach Hamilton

Theresa Dillon - Coach Hamilton, today your Free Republics National Team defeated Equestrian States. How do you feel?

Jak Hamilton - We executed our offense and, by golly, we controlled the game against a tough opponent. The Equestrian States played us hard and they're going to be hard for anybody to beat in this tournament.

Theresa Dillon - Coach, Wibe Rus attempted just 8 passes today. The remainder of the 74 Republican plays were runs. Are you concerned at all that your playcalling may be a little bit one-dimensional?

Jak Hamilton - Gosh, that's an interesting question! We're going to evaluate every opponent individually and come up with a game plan designed for effectiveness against that opponent. On every play, you either have to run the pass or pass the ball. Today, we decided to run the ball alot but we might pass the ball more in future games if we think its going to be effective.

Theresa Dillon - What do you say to those who say that the Free Republics National Football Team is a "boring" team?

Jak Hamilton - I'd rather be the coach of a boring team that wins than the coach of an exciting team that loses. While offense sells tickets, defense wins football games and we want to put ourselves in the best position to win football games now.

Theresa Dillon - Matthijn Admiraal had 32 carries today. Jacob Naylor had 18. Are you concerned that you might be overworking your running backs?

Jak Hamilton - You have to go with whoever has the hot hand. We haven't worked those guys that hard in the past but they were making plays today. If somebody else is making plays next week, we'll put the ball in their hands instead. To score, you have to move the chains. To move the chains, you have to pick up positive yards.

Theresa Dillon - Switching gears for a bit, the issue of gender equality in sports has been a hot button issue of late ever since the National Baseball Team launched their Stand Up to Sexism campaign and there are calls for more to be done to include women and girls in football. How do you feel about this?

Jak Hamilton - I've always been a traditional kind of guy so I'm not a big fan of it. Back in my day, women were wives first, mothers second and homemakers third. They didn't compete in professional baseball or professional soccer and they certainly didn't even think about going on the football field with all of the big, strong men who can break them in half. Football is a dangerous enough game as it is, especially with these newfangled helmets that cause concussions and these pads that make players think they're invincible. The last thing we need are a bunch of girls getting themselves killed on the football field. Sorry ladies but you just don't belong on the football field. I've never permitted a girl to play for me at Ren Rep and I never will!

Theresa Dillon - You said that women should be "wives first, mothers second and homemakers third". Can you elaborate on this thought? For example, should women be allowed to work as journalists? Should we be allowed to work as secretaries?

Jak Hamilton - Well, golly, I wasn't saying that I'm against women having jobs. I'm not a member of that Church of Angelland or Priestland or Saintland or whatever that frozen country is called. I'm just an old fashioned guy who thinks the ladies should choose to stay at home if possible and I don't want any gosh darn girls on my football team!

Theresa Dillon - There you have it. Back to Steffen and Vachel in the studio...

[Newmanistan]

It's the MD2 cutoff!

Group 1
Bostopia 7–10 Starblaydia
Abanhfleft 40–9 The Frozen Forest
Allamunnic States 35–14 Lisander

  Group 1                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Allamunnic States               2    2   0    67   30  +37     6
2 Starblaydia                     2    2   0    48   14  +34     6
3 Abanhfleft                      2    1   1    64   39  +25     3
4 Lisander                        2    1   1    44   59  −15     3
5 Bostopia                        2    0   2    23   42  −19     0
6 The Frozen Forest               2    0   2    16   78  −62     0

Group 2
South Covello 33–3 Main Nation Ministry
Drawkland 16–0 Nevis and Kitts
Razenthuria 9–0 Jebslund

  Group 2                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Drawkland                       2    2   0    29    3  +26     6
2 Razenthuria                     2    2   0    28   17  +11     6
3 South Covello                   2    1   1    50   22  +28     3
4 Main Nation Ministry            2    1   1    30   47  −17     3
5 Jebslund                        2    0   2     3   22  −19     0
6 Nevis and Kitts                 2    0   2    14   43  −29     0

Group 3
Pridnestrovia 24–13 Banija
Roglonia 31–13 Ashkam
Azadeshia 3–24 Taeshan

  Group 3                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Taeshan                         2    2   0    43    3  +40     6
2 Pridnestrovia                   2    2   0    37   20  +17     6
3 Roglonia                        2    1   1    31   32   −1     3
4 Banija                          2    1   1    19   27   −8     3
5 Ashkam                          2    0   2    16   37  −21     0
6 Azadeshia                       2    0   2    10   37  −27     0

Group 4
Northwest Kalactin 37–14 Vakolicci Haven & Celeria
Qasden 27–10 Kaboomlandia
Newmanistan 31–17 Holy Nazirealm

  Group 4                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Newmanistan                     2    2   0    52   17  +35     6
2 Qasden                          2    2   0    47   24  +23     6
3 Northwest Kalactin              2    1   1    37   35   +2     3
4 Kaboomlandia                    2    1   1    26   27   −1     3
5 Holy Nazirealm                  2    0   2    31   51  −20     0
6 Vakolicci Haven & Celeria       2    0   2    14   53  −39     0

Group 5
The Wolf Zones 0–27 Alpine Union
Free Republics 16–0 Alenburg
Barunia 49–16 Equestrian States

  Group 5                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Barunia                         2    2   0    75   19  +56     6
2 Alpine Union                    2    2   0    57    7  +50     6
3 Free Republics                  2    2   0    38    9  +29     6
4 Alenburg                        2    0   2     7   46  −39     0
5 Equestrian States               2    0   2    25   71  −46     0
6 The Wolf Zones                  2    0   2     3   53  −50     0

Group 6
Melbergia 10–6 The Greater Nordics
Ko-oren 13–13 Cosumar (26–23 OT)
Royal Kingdom of Quebec 13–3 Cassadaigua

  Group 6                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Royal Kingdom of Quebec         2    2   0    28    6  +22     6
2 Cosumar                         2    1   1    58   29  +29     3
3 Ko-oren                         2    1   1    36   37   −1     3
4 Cassadaigua                     2    1   1    17   23   −6     3
5 Melbergia                       2    1   1    13   21   −8     3
6 The Greater Nordics             2    0   2     9   45  −36     0

Group 7
United States of Devonta 10–14 Irwil
-Anthor- 27–3 North Prarie
Velstrania 22–13 Vangaziland

  Group 7                       Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD   Pts 
1 Velstrania                      2    2   0    36   13  +23     6
2 -Anthor-                        2    1   1    34   16  +18     3
3 Vangaziland                     2    1   1    26   29   −3     3
4 Irwil                           2    1   1    20   23   −3     3
5 North Prarie                    2    1   1    16   33  −17     3
6 United States of Devonta        2    0   2    10   28  −18     0

[Razenthuria]

The Reckoning
| A journey thru the [WB] life of a 4'3" QB |

Starting quarterback for the national team - lel - what a life it is, isn't it? They said I wouldn't make it, they always discounted me, a Mixed player from the North? I was doomed to fail, yet I find myself leading Raenthuria's team charging into World Bowl competition and we're 2-0? not to mention the shell-shacked defeat against the Covello-peoples, what were they...eleventh in the world? Of course, I've got the all-star cast around me, Blankenship is some workhorse, he rounded up 158 running yards in the first game, and he somehow didn't get a touchdown, our running game is pure genius - and well, I only threw forty-three yards. But that's not to worry, Coach Williams doesn't seem to be too concerned, and plus, he coached the Roses to a title, so can I really doubt him? Finishing second left us wanting more, but I think we can all agree to work one summer all together, especially since we draw first blood next season - don't you think? Anyways, the opener was here - live from Kings' Den, and man was it packed, I've never seen so many fans for one game - the total count was 51,300 - around 4,000 short of a maxed-out arena, I think also given how all the fans from the world are descending on Razenthuria for the WLC that also impacted some things, I sae every type of flag in those stands. The Drawks even came, some boisterous idiots raising their 'DrawkCorp' tifos - like man, this isn't football - or well, this is football - but we've got to call it gridiron. It really should be called handegg, but who am I to talk? The first quarter went smoothly, we opened the came accounting for a safety, I can remember, the Covello quarterback starting off fomr the 7 yard-line, we had 'em pinned back deep boys, and this man-monster of a thing, what's-his-face; Schultz, the one who plays for the Iron? Man he's a monster, he came out of nowhere and hit him inside the goalline, and our stadium came to a roar. Man, that was a hella' good feeling, seeing our defense go out there and get the stop -within the first fifteen seconds of the game, too? Like damn, we onto something. And that ain't no diss to South Covello, they still are the 11th-ranked team, but man, hold this L quickly. Y'all ever played this game Forkknife? That is the shit, they got a dance-move on their called 'Hold The L', I love it fam.

"Carter you're up! Wheel route, A-193 left-flank, I want you to hit that offense!"

Huh? Oh, those are some audible, nothing to worry about, that's just Coach White yapping his gums, he hasn't really done much for this team, but back to the game - we got the ball back, and man the start wasn't great, I have Petty the ball on an audible playcall to start the match, and he went up the hole even though Vega had opened up a massive hole. And, Petty goes back hard, this man was repelled to the ground. Our first two drives go like this, nothing to add to the mix, we weren't clicking at all, and our defense was obviously bending but not breaking, it was a tough first quarter out there, and I really think that we could've done better, but who am I to detest? Looking back, I think a couple passing plays see us move forth a big better, don't you? L-M-A-O. Anywho or whatever sounds cliché - back to the game, so this being our forth drive, and I wish I called this one better - it was supposed to be a simple scramble, but Allison botched the snap, this is supposedly a great snapper, and at thirty=four, his age is getting to him I guess, no offense to him at all, he's great and all but he's well. DAMN OLD. But, yea, that was badly mistimed and I couldn't get down on the ball, we're over here at the 19 yard-line, with seven minutes left in the first half and I'm having to cover up for the mistakes of the elders. Man, I'm not Ultraman, there's only so much I can do, I tried to grab that ball, but I miss and a Covello tackle is on the ball, leaving us without the ball. Back off the field, its been like this for at least ten minutes, and the coaches are pissed - and finally, the defense cracked, slant route to the right, lining up in a shotgun, no. #10 fires to no. #83, he's standing wide open and dances his way into the endzone, just like that the scoreboard reads 6-2, o' shit, now its 7-2. So I'm going onto the field thinking I'm a gos, so I'm like bitch fuck the playbook, I set up and redo the call, calling hella' audibles, 'BANHAMMER, BANHAMMER, 666 LUCIFER', all of this was signaling for a Hail Mary, and it worked...nope, boo, its intercepted and we really suck at tackling as we can't hold them off. End of the first half and its 10-2, damn a bad start for my side.

"Carter, you want to try a pass this time? They won't be ready, we've been running and they're blitzing like crazy."

11-10, that's the score - we cot back in this bitch and we're leading by a point, give this man Bennett a cigar; that play was simply genius he somehow jumped over two players en route to a sixty-four yard touchdown, and yea I'm short and all, but gods-be-damned that was good! The crowd is alight in fever and praise for Bennett, I can see why he was so key in the National Championship Game, I think he set up the run that allowed the game winning field goal for the Roses who ended up winning the title. But now, its 11-10 and we've got to gain some separation, I don't know what's in store, but its time to step-up the heat or else...well, we're going to be royally fucked. I think the coaches see it too, they're screaming now and calling change of formations and tactics, the 5-2 seems to be stifling the full-effect of whatever is being ran by South Covello, they didn't score at all in the second half and we're trying to pile on more now--

Oh shit, my time's up, they calling for practice. Well fuck, I gotta spit straight facts now - well, summing it up, we throw and I get my second interception of the game, South Covello marches down the field again and now its 17-11. The rest of the third quarter passes by quietly - and now skip to the final five minutes of the 4th, its 17-11 and well, now its basically now or never and all that deep shit that summons people. So, taking over at our five - quick slant route to Chapman, he catches it and he's got ten...I sniff twenty, holy shit he's off! The man galloped like a true horse, and he goes down at the fifty yard, we're halfway there, I can already SMELL a victory. Handoff to Saunders, he rushes to the left, skipping over a defender to the sideline, stopping the clock. We're down to two minutes, crunch time, this is where champions are made and all that. Hand off to Bennett, he gains two but he's brought down, shit the clock won't stop! I'm calling it, fuck the play-call, we gotta get this dub man - we're at the 48, I drop back - looking for Ndidi or Chapman, but wtf - Saunders is streaking down field, Covello's playing zone, so they're not to concerned about him. I can barely see, can I get it over this huge defenseman? I'm screaming for a wider pocket so I can see, maybe I gota loft this bitch? Awh, fuck it, its the time to rise and stuff, so I throw it, and well - it goes surprisingly far, its down the field - into the arms of - NO! WAIT! It tips, it tips again.

I see black.

[ ... ]
[ ... ]
[ ... ]

Its dark

"Mr. Carter, welcome to King Perrington Memorial Hospital."

The score?
__________

[Taeshan]

The world number 1 has managed to make it through the first two games of the season relatively unscathed. While their opponents have lacked much, if any, skill the team has used a lot of the games to give some training to their backups and to a few new starters. You don't continue to be the best team in the world without using everyone you have to their best ability. The Fitin' Falcons opened the tournament with a 19-0 defeat of Roglonia, followed by a victory over Azadeshia which saw them let in their first points of the season, a 24-3 rout. The two games have been a solid getting up to speed chance for the side.

The two matches have seen the first real starting chance for some new starters. Patrick Wantanbe starting at WR has managed to score two touchdowns in the young season. While in the team's offense the receivers rotate quite frequently, Wantanabe has been getting more snaps than usual. The real change was on defense, where the twin defensive backs, Gideon and Fabian Chester, have taken over starting positions. They have been the real ones on watch, as the offense is not as big a deal as the defense in the Taeshan scheme. Defense won the championship in the last tournament, and with these new players on defense, it continues to win games in the World Bowl.

[Main Nation Ministry]

Invitation
World Bowl Party
Where: At the Residential district in Sector 21!
When: When the sun sets!
What: This is one of the quarterbacks from the Sector 21 High School here, Alyx Jozefa! I'm throwing an awesome pool party during the Match Day 2 of this year's summer World Bowl! I got our mascot as a balloon near the pool, so you folks can send some nice pictures to the fan site. I had my dad's friend in the catering business have a nice buffet for all you guys to mow down, while we watch the game. Hope to see you there!

After Match Day 2

"Well, that was a bloody disappointment."
"South Covello just demolished us, dear lord."
Most party attendees immediately left the party, the moment South Covello went past the score of 10-3. An angry fan managed to pop the Stanley the snakefish balloon with a sharp piece of a table. Alyx kicked the deflated balloon in front of him, as he got out his government monitored cell phone to make a series of texts to a member of his football team.

Alyx: You saw the results?
Francis: SC destroyed us. Why can't we get a better team or something?
Alyx: Man, our team sucks.
Francis: Come at my place, dude. I have some leftover snakefish pizza and the new copy of Azerty Issue 2.
Alyx: Sweet. CYL.

Somewhere in a Monitoring Station..

A monitoring officer was reading a copy of the Truth News, until he heard a beep from the monitor. The computer OVERSIGHT has picked up a message of criticism against the government with the help of it's filter. The officer, checking the message, saw the highlighted portion.

Alyx: Man, our team sucks.

"This is officer Scott Ronny at Monitoring Station XX. We have a violation made by a Mr. Alyx Jozefa. Please send a few officers to escort him for questioning."
"Copy."
"Another day, another moment of justice. I would say."

[Drawkland]

CORPSGUY725'S BLOG


Practice Huddle Thing Because I Need A Picture To Talk About Personnel Changes

It's World Bowl season, baby! corpsguy725 back again with lazily-written blog posts about the Grid Corps!

Let's face the facts, people. We've kinda sucked these last few editions. Like, a lot. We're not doing too hot, honestly. Last cycle we went 9-1 before losing in the first round, 25-31 to South Covello. That's just straight up embarrassing. The last few years haven't been much of an improvement. We're #4 in the world, sure, but we're being held up by great group stages and our last good cycle, which was when we lost in the semifinals to goddamn Velstrania. Don't even get me started on that complete humiliation of a game.

Anyhow, we're back on our group stage grind. This time around, we have the previously maligned Razenthuria, the newcomers Jebslund and Nevis & Kitts, the up-and-coming Main Nation Ministry, and you guessed it ... South Covello. Why has God forsaken us, again? Was it something I said? Honestly, considering our rank, the star power on our team, and the groupmates we have around us, I am solidly predicting a 9-1 record. Those are the facts. All of these teams are easily beatable, and I only give us a game of leeway for when we eventually screw the pooch against an easy opponent or if we lose to South Covello on the road, which is entirely believable. I mean, after the whole Enemy Crushers and that bunch were ousted with the rest of the Gregist regime, the newly formed South Covello haven't really been able to identify any talent. All of their players are no-names, and at this point they're simply riding on the skill their predecessors had. I could very well be wrong though. I'm expecting to eat shit very soon. After last cycle, it could easily happen.

That's all in the past, though. Now we gotta look at how we're playing now. The opening match wasn't really the dominating performance we were expecting, but we were playing away, the first match of the cycle, and with a few personnel changes at that. Not many, but a few. We only won 3-13, but hey, a win is a win. I really hope this isn't indicative of how our offense will be rolling all cycle though. That'd be very unfortunate indeed.

First off, let's look at how our team has changed. Most importantly, Trace Hayes, the aging mobile veteran, has finally retired from the World Bowl as his domestic career winds down. Thank you for your service. In his place comes the electrifying Dustin Beck, the rookie from Sadeg State who brought Drawkland to the NSCF postseason for the first time ever. The dual threat god himself will now be tearing up World Bowl fields ... half the time. Quentin Averfel has decided to have Dak Waterman start games for the first half, with Beck to take over for the second half. However, he made it pretty clear that if the Corps ends up in a deficit by the 4th quarter, Waterman will be put back in for a hopefully clutch comeback.

Receiver-wise, Roy Benn and Lou Reynolds have been added to the Receiving Corps, replacing Jerry Pathon and Ross Sterling (playing both ways). Really, this is most of what changes happened. Older players shown the door, players playing both ways shown back to the original positions exclusively, and newer rookies/standout players invited on. Hopefully this should fix the issues we've had. The last change on the offense was Hades Gibbs, an incredible rookie standout right tackle, given the backup position. Earlier Leo Cross was given the backup position just because he said he could, but this culture change for the team (a more serious, grounded one [kinda]) has stopped that in its tracks.

The defense hasn't received many changes either. Matthew Alessi, another great Sadeg State rookie player, has been sent to Right End to back up Leo Cross. So basically, he'll get playing time on the goalline, and that's it, because Leo Cross never misses snaps. To the same effect, linebacker Harvey Donovan has also been added, for special teams and of course in case of injury. In the secondary, there were also some changes. Jordan Max was moved from Free Safety to Cornerback in accordance with his shift for his domestic team, which makes sense. Lenox Daley, another Sadeg State rookie, was put in deep for the depth chart. Dan Teodor was moved from Corner to Safety (backup FS) in the same manner as Max. Besides that, the team is relatively unchanged.

Osman With Attitude

So what about this game against Jebslund? Well, it was a little weird to watch. The people of Jebslund are all Kerbals. Not that I have a problem with Kerbals or anything, it's just weird to see them in the sporting realm of things. Anyway, everybody in the nations' last name is Kerman, so instead of having their last names on the jersey, it was their first names. Which is a good touch for sure. They are, at the end of the day, an inexperienced team, however. We scored our first drive, where Jack Hoy took a direct snap in the wildcat formation. The blocks lined up and Our Boy Hoy hopped in for the score. We tried to fake the PAT for the 2-point conversion, but failed as backup tight end Bobby Bennett dropped the ball in the end zone. Frankly, it looks silly in retrospect, but considering who we were up against, I don't blame Coach Averfel for thinking he could pull it off.

Our defense was pretty much shutting them down left and right. Their quarterback, Flora Kerman, simply couldn't get a pass completed to save her life, and top RB Kirsten Kerman couldn't get her wheels rolling. After their initial three-and-out, it was clear that it was going to be a victory. Coach Averfel then decided to put in the backups. In essence, the depth charts were in reverse, and the team operated as such. It wasn't such a bad outcome, really. The game was overall much more competitive at that point, becoming more of a defensive standstill between the two teams. While the Corps' backups on offense aren't bad, they're clearly world class, they were a little less experienced at the high level and took a little bit of breaking in.

The score stayed at 0-6 for most of the game. While the Jebslund offense couldn't really get working downfield, the Corps was trying a lot of gadgety plays, and not a lot of them worked. That, in addition to going for it on 4th down constantly, resulted in no field goals and no touchdowns being scored for Drawkland. It was pretty depressing, not gonna lie, seeing the offense totally stymied, but those awkward feelings were instantly crushed once the defense came back out and stopped Jebslund without much issue.

This isn't to discount Jebslund, though. For a newcomer team playing their first-ever World Bowl match, it was very respectable. Especially against the #4 ranked and former champions in ourselves. Plus, as a fan present at the game, I can say that the Jebslund crowd was quite nice. Not very loud or effective as far as crowds go, but nice people for sure.

Anyway, Sammy Wilkins, the third-string running back, was getting most of the carries for the game. The dude is wicked fast and has some decent moves on him as well, but he lacks a little in the football IQ department. His timing and ballcarrier vision leaves a lot to be desired. However, he's an open field monster, thus why he is on the Grid Corps at all. However, his biggest mistake in this game came late in the 3rd quarter, where he tried to pull off a double spin on an outside run and instead coughed the ball way up. Jebslund recovered the ball right off the bat. CB Abraham Kerman got the hit on Wilkins and Minna Kerman managed to scoop up the ball and bring it to the 6 yard line before Dustin Beck managed to tackle her.

The goalline stand was epic. Jebslund's offensive coordinator tried his darndest to get a play that would finally get his team into the end zone and get the lead. I gotta admit, I was a little nervous. But on third down, Flora Kerman lasered a pass to tight end Michelle Kerman in the back of the end zone. She caught the ball beautifully, it was a great pass that got between two of our defenders, but her left foot was just barely out of bounds, and therefore incomplete. Not wanting to be shut out, the Jebslund coaching staff made the right decision and had kicker Adalwin Kerman kick the 15-yard field goal to make the score 3-6.

Ultimately, Jebslund's kerbals tried again and again to get into the end zone or at least field goal range, but they never could. With about 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter, Jebslund had finally managed to grind up the field, going for it on 4th down on two occasions, and finally breaking through to the red zone. Crushingly, though, on second and goal from the 10, Osman Oswald of the Corps hawked a pass off of Flora Kerman and brought the interception all the way up the field for a pick six! Smartly, we took a normal PAT, and made the score 3-13. By then, the game was really out of reach for those kerbals, and on their final drive, they threw another interception, again to Oswald. He was tackled around midfield, and Antonio Anders got a few touches to run the clock out and win the game.

Final score, 3-13, and Drawkland walks away with their first victory for World Bowl XXXV. Not too shabby considering we were resting starters, but I just hope our team can kick it into high gear come the real opponents.

Dustin Beck After His First World Bowl TD

Yet another cupcake game on the schedule for all intents and purposes. With our record now at 1-0, and having our first home game for the cycle, we had all the momentum. Not to mention the fact that we're facing the other unranked new team in the group ... yeah. It was set to be a blowout under normal circumstances. However, seeing how the second-stringers performed against Jebslund away with few issues, Coach Averfel decided to cut to the chase and just start the second-stringers to begin with.

Ultimately, this wasn't really that bad of a decision. Last game, after Dak Waterman led the initial scoring drive, Zac Gold was put in to finish the rest of the game. For this match against Nevis and Kitts, Zac Gold was going to start, and Dustin Beck get his first playing time after the half. As Beck has become a college football legend after his fantastic NSCF performances, his first playing time on the Grid Corps had to be in front of a home crowd. I give mad props to Averfel for making a decision like that for the sentimental value. And boy did it pan out well.

Zac Gold is a good QB, but he's really a field general more than anything. For the first half, it was mainly the running game doing the talking. A lot of the first-half offense was shared between the three running backs and some of the wide receivers running out of the wildcat. This past offseason, Averfel has apparently become a large proponent of the Wildcat formation, which I can respect. For running backs like Jack Hoy, you need to get their hands on the ball as quickly as possible for them to run at their fullest potential, and that's exactly what the Wildcat does. It was clear that Nevis and Kitts wasn't too prepared for this style of offense. Even on our second-string runners, they were having a very tough time keeping them contained. Eventually they started just running a prevent-style defense in hopes they keep us out of the end zone. I suppose it was effective, as we didn't get a touchdown in the first half. We were going for it on 4th down and running unfamiliar plays and all, so it makes sense.

The only place we scored in the first half was at the very end. Just before half, we were stuck just outside the red zone. Zac Gold was trying to get a pass into the end zone, but was sacked for a 12 yard loss with one second. Averfel just barely managed to get our last timeout in before time expired, and Matthew Watts easily netted his first field goal of the cycle and our first points of the game. 3-0 Corps at the half, some may consider this a meltdown. But honestly, at this point it's just us playing with our food, so to speak.

Let's be frank, Nevis and Kitts were in over their head. There wasn't much they could do on offense and it was everything they could do to prevent their defense from breaking. I don't like to bash teams unless it's against rivals who I love to bash, but I'm just being honest. This game, provided we were full-strength and playing seriously, could've been an enormous blowout.

After halftime, the Grid Corps got the ball, and none other than our man Dustin Beck trotted out onto the field to thunderous applause. We were excited to finally see him in action for the first time at the World Bowl level. I mean, the stadium was electric. They played some hype-up music, and we were all ready to see some exciting shit go down. I tell you. The first few plays were nothing special. Remember that besides Beck, pretty much all the players were the second-stringers, still. There wasn't the MAXIMUM STAR POWER on the field. Mostly that drive consisted of a few handoffs, a few quick passes, just for Beck to get into rhythm. It was clearly just like stuff to make sure he didn't embarrass himself on the first drive. I get that. But in a way, they were suppressing what makes him a great player, his innate improv ability, his ability to make shit up on the fly and still let it be amazing.

Then it happened. Nevis and Kitts were still rolling with their prevent defense to, well, prevent anything big from happening. But they didn't know what Dustin Beck was capable of. It was a passing play, and nothing was open. All the receivers were running some sort of deep routes or posts, and thus most of the defense was running deep to keep up with them. Beck was starting to get hassled in the pocket, so he escaped. He paused for a moment in open space, looking for a man. Then you could literally see him make the decision, him tucking the ball, him taking his first long strides past the line of scrimmage and into the big empty field in front of him. The crowd popped open like a bottle, everybody cheering louder. The receivers downfield saw what was happening and started blocking the secondary defenders to get Beck as much space as he could get. He was swerving in the open field then, dodging defenders, on his feet. He had to get past a few guys by maneuvering closer to the sideline, then got around one and turned back in towards the middle of the field, stopping all the defenders in their tracks and forcing them to turn around again. By then, it was too late. He trotted into the end zone, victorious. His first-ever touchdown in the World Bowl, and the crowd loved every bit of it. It was an awesome moment.

We tried the fake PAT thing again, which was stopped again. Considering that failed twice against mediocre opposition, I'm sure the Special Teams coordinators are going to throw that into mothballs. Oh well, we were still leading, and it was clear that Nevis and Kitts weren't going to make it past the 9-0 lead no matter what they did. Their offense continued to be abysmal. To the very end of the game, they were just inept. In the 4th quarter, Dustin Beck got his first passing touchdown, connecting on a quick slant on the goalline with Roy Benn. Instead of going for the two-point conversion, we just went with the PAT, and old reliable Matthew Watts banged it in. The game eventually ended with that 16-0 scoreline, and the Grid Corps at a 2-0 start. As is tradition, the crowd chanted "D-R-K!" and "On Corps!" as the clock was expiring.

This is a pretty decent start to the tournament. I'm definitely confident we'll win the group and have a good playoff seeding, the real question lies in what we do getting there and thus how we'll perform against real competition. South Covello is the closest thing we have to a quality opponent, and even then they're not handling Top 10 talent there anymore. We'll just have to find out how things go. Hopefully we won't suck! Next match will be an away game against the mysterious dictatorship-ish nation, Main Nation Ministry. They've been around the block a few times, and have a decent team (presumably), so we can't get caught lackin this next matchday. I expect that Averfel will be starting the starters, as it should be.

As always, until next time, On Corps. See y'all around.

[Roglonia]

(sorry I'm late with this)
RP Permissions Honestly I've never done anything like this before so I give full permission to everyone as long it's all within reason and follows the bio I made of my starting players. (I want the stars scoring more than the average Joes and what not)

Welcome to Roglonia Broadcasting News Network for your daily sports broadcast. Today we follow our boys in the national football team who with the guidance of head coach Michael Devonta, have qualified for the Group Stage of the latest World Bowl. After, 2 games our team is currently 1-1, however while Gridiron Football is becoming very popular in Roglonia we know that not everyone is familiar with our team so we decided to do a special segment on our starting roster before we get to the game highlights.

On Offense we have:
Offensive Coordinator - Richard Pitt, Legendary Maxtopian Quarterback who was hired by the Roglonian Giridiron Football Committee to add a level of fundamentals this speedy starting lineup has never had before.
QB - #8 Riley Okotawa, evaluated as just an average game manager by our scouting team. [EDIT] Has been demoted from the starting lineup starting on Matchday 5 due his poor perfomance as starting QB.
[EDIT]QB -#10 Hector Estevez, Young decent talent that has been promoted to the starting line up starting on Matchday 5 because of the Offense's poor performances
RB - #41 Alex Vaughn, a tough power runner with average speed.
RB - #22 Patrick Moore, has a small light frame yet fast and quick, considered the perfect counterpart to Vaughn in this 2 back scheme.
WR - #12 Elliot Vaughn, Alex's Vaughn's brother and star of the offensive. He's fast, he's tough, he's tall... however his route running can use some work according to our scouting team.
WR - #82 Peter Steinberg, Aging veteran and future hall-of-famer. He was once considered one of the best Wide Receivers in the world. Despite, being 2nd to Vaughn at this point in his career, Steinberg is still a threat to any lazy defense.
WR - # 19 Osa Osunya Jr, perhaps the most famous and controversial player in the team. He is the son of Osa Osunya Sr, who is known for being the infamous communist revolutionary leader who was executed when Osunya was just a child. Osunya Jr is considered the fastest player on this offense however he is known to be extremly injury proned. He is also the team's return specialist
TE - #45 Levi Smith, big and can make almost any impossible catch not very good with blocking though. Was once considered the star of this team until Elliot Vaughn came along.
RG - #52 Peter Harris
LG - #64 Eli Martin
C - #68 Jean Claude
LT - #75 Jamie Mcvay
RT - #56 Sammie Crawford

On Defense we have:
Defensive Coordinator - Elizabeth Rousey, a Roglonian Native who was hired by the committee because of her skill in developing young talent of this defensive.
NT - #99 Richie Spreel, Big and Powerful veteran, has had a pretty average career despite predictions that he would be a star.
RE - # 53 Alex Jeter, Athletic, Powerful, Fast, and Versatile are the words used to describe the star of the Defensive. Was a Tight End in College
LE - #91 Jack Macron, young talent who has very high upside, some believe he can even become better than Jeter
MLB - #42 Jason Shakur, Another great young talent with major upside, however he usually gets over-shadowed by Macron.
MLB - #57 Max Rourke, Young player however does not show as much upside as some of the other talented youth on the team.
OLB - # 51 Fez Wulf, Another interesting player, he is part of the cadet branch of Noble Wulf family from the days when Roglonia was a monarchy. Considered to be the weakest player on this defense and many believe his family might have pulled some strings to get him on the roster. However, when it comes to big games he usually performs well.
OLB # 44 Jackie Han, Versatile player who sometimes plays as both a safety and Defensive End.
CB # 21 Jamie Strawberry, Young player who was said to be the next big thing however he has not shown to be anywhere near that level.
CB # 46 Gionni Alonzo, Another young talent who was not expected to make it far in the pro leagues but has so far been performing better than his team mate Strawberry. He shares Return specialist duties with Osunya Jr
SS #49 Liam Parker, considered one of the hardest hitting safeties in the Roglonian league. He is at the peak of his prime and along with Jeter is the fan favorite of the Roglonian Nation.
FS #33 Jason Alonzo, Cousin of Gionni Alonzo. He was one of the best College Free Safeties in Roglonian Collegiate system. However, as a pro he is just above average.

K/P - #2 Lex Star

[Roglonia]

Coach Devonte is not necessarily thrilled for his conference call with the chairman of the Roglonian National Gridiron Football Committee, I mean who would be after the results of the first group match, however he knows he has to call him. He picks up the phone and begins to dial the number, he pauses and takes a sip of his water, obviously doing anything he can to stall. However, he finally mans up and makes the call after a few seconds a lady's voice picks up "This is Michelle of the Roglonian National Gridiron Football Committee, may I ask whose calling and how I can help direct your call?" with a small crack of his voice Coach Devonte replies "Hi, Michelle it's Coach Devonte speaking, can you patch me through to Mr. Spighetti." a slight awkward pause proceeds, Michelle knows that the chairman is not happy with the results of the last game nevertheless she finally responds "Sure, thing Mr. Devonte hold on tight while I patch you through"

"Are you freaking kidding me Devonte? We got shut out!" yelled Spighetti as soon as the call patches "You call this a professional football team? How many balls did Moore Drop? And to think he consideres himself a good Wide Receiver and don't get me started on that sorry excuse for a quarterback. Who for some reason prefers to throw the ball to the defensive backs when he's in the endzone." Devonte tries to explain himself but Spighetti is not having it and interjects with "Fix this crap now!" as he hangs up the call shortly after.