World Bowl XXXIX ~ Everything Thread

[Allamunnic States]

Allamunnika Daily
Sports - World Bowl XXXIX Coverage

Allamunnae open strong
Regulars wallop United Civil Republic, 41-0
by Aldyn Wyrnur

The Regulars opened up their 33rd World Bowl campaign by kicking off World Bowl XXXIX in front of a sell-out crowd in Torsfeld, and opening the competition with a blowout, shutout win over unranked United Civil Republic, 41-0. The decisive win puts the Regulars at the top of Group H after the first day of competition, and confirming their early favorite status to win the group.

The winning effort was led by a pair of big days by HB#22 Fredrik Eriksunn (13 rushes, 102 yards, TD) and FB#24 Derrik Staalburg (15 rushes, 78 yards, 2 TDs) on offense. On the other side of the ball, the shutout was keyed by a dominant defensive effort, led by Claetus U'Daanyl (5 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack, 1 Pass Def, 1 INT), Anke Baenty (3 tackles, 2 Pass Def, 1 INT), and Theo Waalturs (3 tackles, 1 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 forced fumble) to keep UCR's offense from even converting a field goal by forcing six turnovers. The hope is that this game, which is by itself of little consequence, will be a good tone-setter for the Regulars as they advance deeper into Group H; hopefully, following it with another victory against the Mathuvan Union on MD2 will give the team all sorts of good momentum rolling into the tougher back-half of the first round robin.

The game itself was perhaps a bit routine for the Allamunnic faithful. The team was never in any danger of trailing. The UCR team won the coin toss and elected to receive. After getting the ball at their own 20, the Regulars were able to force a quick three-and-out before getting the ball at their own 36 courtesy of RS#28 Elisa Junnsunn's 14-yard return. Mostly running the ball, the Regulars were able to move down to the UCR goal-line over the course of 11 plays, capping off the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run by Staalburg out of the Power I.

After defeating another UCR drive on its second play, this time courtesy of an interception by CB#07 Bryndyn Witt, who returned it to the UCR 30. From there, it was relatively simple for the offense to drive back to the endzone in four plays, with QB#12 Ed Kaarlsunn dropping a tidy over-the-shoulder 6-yard pass to TE#89 Torren Rikards on a slant route. After K#15 Sofya Torrus' PAT, the Regulars had a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

While the teams traded punts for the remainder of the first quarter, the Regulars kept pushing the field position further and further in their favor. This payed off relatively early in the second quarter when Eriksunn took a hand-off at the UCR 27-yard line and tore off a long touchdown run to widen the Regulars' lead to 21-0. While the teams traded drives (UCR's next two ending on an interception and a fumble respectively), the Regulars were able to draw closer, with their last drive before the end of the half culminating in Kaarlsunn keeping the ball on a triple-option run for a 4-yard touchdown. The teams went into the locker rooms with the score at 28-0.

The third quarter was relatively quiet; by halfway through the quarter, Derrik Staalburg had punched in another 8-yard touchdown run to widen the lead to 35-0. When the quarter ended after a Sofya Torrus field-goal and a 38-0 lead, head coach Rik Olafsunn pulled the team's starters and the back-ups were able to push through a final field goal in the last quarter of the game, creating the final 41-0 score line.

The Regulars will get another game at home to face the Mathuvan Union, who fell 3-7 to Abahnfleft on matchday 1. Elsewhere in Group H, Karditan fell on the road, 21-14, to South Covello. In Group F, Newmanistan handled Lovisa, 41-10, while in Group D, Cassadaigua found themselves stunned on the road by TJUN-ia while Ko-oren slammed the door on The Sarian, 30-7.

Stat Leaders:
Passing:
QB#12 Ed Kaarlsunn - 6/10, 98 yards, TD, INT
QB#14 Ole Ward - 2/3, 18 yards
Total: 8/13, 116 yards, TD, INT

Rushing:
HB#22 Fred Eriksunn - 13 rushes, 102 yards, TD
FB#24 Derrik Staalburg - 15 rushes, 78 yards, 2 TDs
HB#31 Piotr Sfynsunn - 9 rushes, 37 yards
QB#12 Ed Kaarlsunn - 5 rushes, 24 yards, TD
HB#23 Lucy Jaans - 2 rushes, 11 yards
Total: 44 rushes, 252 yards, 4 TDs

Receiving:
TE#89 Torren Rikards - 3 receptions, 31 yards, TD
SE#83 Haarlyn Wyrnur - 2 receptions, 40 yards
TE#81 Theoden Jaans - 2 receptions, 18 yards
FL#80 Ole Haensley - 1 reception, 27 yards, TD
Total: 8 catches, 116 yards

[Delaclava]

Now that the tournament has started and you've gotten accustomed to the competition, time to get serious and focus. Don't get distracted, and always keep your eye on the ball.

Gameday 2 cutoff!

---

Group A
Royal Kingdom of Quebec 27–0 Drunk People at the Local Tavern
Drawkland 14–3 Transmondian Commonwealth of New England
Delaclava 22–10 Equestria

  Group A                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Drawkland                                      2    2   0    40    3  +37
2 Delaclava                                      2    2   0    45   24  +21
3 Royal Kingdom of Quebec                        2    1   1    41   23  +18
4 Transmondian Commonwealth of New England       2    1   1    32   24   +8
5 Equestria                                      2    0   2    10   48  −38
6 Drunk People at the Local Tavern               2    0   2    10   56  −46

Group B
Saint Kanye 20–15 Lisander
Taeshan 14–0 Silver Beach
Jeckland 16–16 Xanneria (22–16 OT)

  Group B                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Saint Kanye                                    2    2   0    44   27  +17
2 Jeckland                                       2    1   1    34   40   −6
3 Xanneria                                       2    1   1    37   25  +12
4 Lisander                                       2    1   1    44   30  +14
5 Taeshan                                        2    1   1    17   21   −4
6 Silver Beach                                   2    0   2    10   43  −33

Group C
Velstrania 23–0 Martune
Geektopia 26–13 Squidroidia
Main Nation Ministry 27–17 Krytenia

  Group C                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Main Nation Ministry                           2    2   0    72   34  +38
2 Geektopia                                      2    2   0    46   20  +26
3 Velstrania                                     2    1   1    40   45   −5
4 Martune                                        2    1   1     9   26  −17
5 Squidroidia                                    2    0   2    16   35  −19
6 Krytenia                                       2    0   2    24   47  −23

Group D
Nagore 14–24 The Sarian
Cassadaigua 13–3 Ko-oren
The Jovannic 0–21 TJUN-ia

  Group D                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 TJUN-ia                                        2    2   0    41   14  +27
2 Cassadaigua                                    2    1   1    27   23   +4
3 Ko-oren                                        2    1   1    33   20  +13
4 The Jovannic                                   2    1   1    40   34   +6
5 The Sarian                                     2    1   1    31   44  −13
6 Nagore                                         2    0   2    27   64  −37

Group E
Banija 16–21 Vangaziland
Western Fardelshufflestein 33–3 Alba and Cymru
HUElavia 7–16 Terre Septentrionale

  Group E                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Terre Septentrionale                           2    2   0    46    7  +39
2 Vangaziland                                    2    2   0    60   26  +34
3 Western Fardelshufflestein                     2    1   1    33   33    0
4 HUElavia                                       2    1   1    34   36   −2
5 Banija                                         2    0   2    36   48  −12
6 Alba and Cymru                                 2    0   2    13   72  −59

Group F
Newmanistan 31–7 Bongo Johnson
Ranoria 33–7 Inner AginanaUsordia
Lovisa 37–24 Damukuni

  Group F                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Newmanistan                                    2    2   0    72   17  +55
2 Ranoria                                        2    2   0    69   17  +52
3 Inner AginanaUsordia                           2    1   1    41   40   +1
4 Lovisa                                         2    1   1    47   65  −18
5 Damukuni                                       2    0   2    34   73  −39
6 Bongo Johnson                                  2    0   2    14   65  −51

Group G
Sarzonia 0–30 Free Republics
The Greater Nordics 13–3 Kohnhead
Torisakia 51–14 Northwest Kalactin

  Group G                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Torisakia                                      2    2   0    81   34  +47
2 Free Republics                                 2    2   0    46   13  +33
3 The Greater Nordics                            2    2   0    35    3  +32
4 Kohnhead                                       2    0   2    16   29  −13
5 Sarzonia                                       2    0   2    20   60  −40
6 Northwest Kalactin                             2    0   2    14   73  −59

Group H
United Civil Republic 0–31 Karditan
Abanhfleft 16–0 South Covello
Allamunnic States 34–0 Mathuvan Union

  Group H                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Allamunnic States                              2    2   0    75    0  +75
2 Abanhfleft                                     2    2   0    23    3  +20
3 South Covello                                  2    1   1    21   30   −9
4 Karditan                                       2    1   1    45   21  +24
5 Mathuvan Union                                 2    0   2     3   41  −38
6 United Civil Republic                          2    0   2     0   72  −72

[Northwest Kalactin]

Dynasty Number Four
We are back today with the dynasty report today, and we will be looking at the fourth best dynasty in World Bowl history. We thank you for joining us for the Dynasty Report Today.

Number 4: Delaclava 11–16
Yup! Today our dynasty is no other than our very own host of this tournament, Delaclava! Delaclava first arose to the world stage when they finished in second place, only to Sarzonia, in World Bowl 11, which was hosted in Delaclava. They came back up during World Bowl 13, hosted in the Bluth Corporation, and ended up finishing with their first ever win of the tournament, a feat that they would only achieve twice. They won in a 21-13 game that tournament to clinch their spot as a winner, and went home with the trophy for that edition. To cap off a great tournament in World Bowl 16, they beat world powers North Chicanan and Sarzonia, the same team that had beat them in their first title game. Once again, they came home with a trophy for that edition. After that, they never returned to being one of the top teams in the world again. But now, Delaclava is looking like a team that could start to challenge for a title very soon, possibly as soon as Wprld Bowl 41 or 42. A win against the Royal Kingdom of Quebec just showed this teams power, and we think there is much more to come.

Northwest Kalactin 14–51 Torisakia
“Welcome to the Sporting News Kalactin studio, we are here back again, and we will be reviewing what the hell is going on with the Kalactanian Team. They have gotten their asses whipped 2 games in a row now, and that is something this team usually doesn’t do. Of course, they have never been a big power team, but they usually don’t take huge losses like this. They have a good offense, but Jack Russell hasn’t been there at all, and the defense has been getting their butts handed to them by 2 teams that were not even the best teams in their group. Torisakia and Greater Nordics both played great defense in the Kalactanians, and were able to put up very nice offense also. The loss against Torisakia was probably the worst one, a 51–14 loss is a horrible on for a relatively offensive team to take. In my opinion, the team needs a much better defense, they take too much effort out on the offense and aren’t able to stop any other teams from scoring on defense. The loss of Rob Mills hurt the depth of the defensive line. Blake Lucas has been forced to pretty much keep the defensive line running well on his own, and he is much more of a pass rusher, and the line has been getting torched on the Run Defense lately. Torisakia torched the team much over the top, and the defense, once again was very morale struck from the loss they suffered today. Jack did throw his first touchdown of the tournament on a 14 yard pass to the superstar Tight End Mark Bruner. It was an overal, horrible game for the team, and they really need to get their shit together soon, it may be tooate, they still have teams like Free Republics and Sarzonia to go, 2 teams that could destroy them if they play like they have been doing lately.”

Northwest Kalactin Scores
Jack Russell 14 yard pass to Mark Bruner For Touchdown (Kick Good)
Gane Dobson 3 Yard Touchdown Run (Kick Good)

Stats
Torisakia
Yards: 598
Sacks Given Up: 1
Turnovers: 0
Conversion Rate: 100%

Northwest Kalactin
Yards: 239
Sacks Given Up: 6
Turnovers: 4
Conversion Rate: 100%

[Geektopia]

G.K.T.A. / / Green Gentlemen

Management

Front Office
Owner // Lawwell
President [CEO] // Clendon
General Manager // Benamon
Executive vice president [director of football operations] // Papikyan
Senior advisor to football operations // Bellehumeur
Co-director of player personnel // Dobron
Co-director of player personnel // Cognevich
Director [football operations] // Wirsch
National scout // Jeri
Director of Performance Psychology [Team Behavioral Health Clinician] // Assan
Director of Player Engagement // Sovde

Head coaches
Head coach // Stiernagle

Offensive coaches
Offensive coordinator // Baan
Quarterbacks/passing game coordinator // Molenhouse
Running backs // Ashes
Wide receivers // Valus
Tight ends // Danehower
Offensive line // Vargas Torres
Assistant offensive line // Yardy
Senior analyst // Mackinaw
Offensive quality control // Spinneweber
Offensive quality control // Altmark

Defensive coaches
Defensive coordinator // Deneff
Defensive line // Abdel Shahid
Outside linebackers // Trumpp
Inside linebackers // Czartoryski
Defensive backs // Chernega
Assistant defensive backs // Jeras
Defensive quality control // Ghate
Defensive quality control // Schutza

Special teams coaches
Special teams coordinator // Corbisier
Assistant special teams // Kastigar
Special teams quality control // Soehnlein

Strength and conditioning
Strength and conditioning coordinator // McOrmick
Strength and conditioning assistant // Rowatt
Strength and conditioning assistant // Moellendick
Strength and conditioning assistant // Speiden

---

Roster // starting players = * // positions in [brackets] // personality trait after the two dashes seen here --> //

Quarterbacks
#7 Kingslien // sarcastic
#10 Breehl // compassionate
#12 Grorud* // melancholic
#11 Wittenhagen // loving

Running backs
#42 Roders // considerate
#46 Yizar // untidy
#27 Ibezim // timid
#30 Pegany // angry
#26 Lugowski // personable
#34 Shofstall // helpful
#43 Nuciforo* [FB] // attentive
#45 Strelka* [FB] // lovable
#28 Angaiak // passive

Wide receivers
#79 Caveda // sensitive
#69 Macheras // decisive
#70 Vongpanya // carefree
#52 Schirk // innocent
#23 Asinas // humble
#36 Serran // critical
#39 Morovich* // arrogant
#19 Scarritt // anxious
#85 Le Monde* // coarse
#59 Dobrcyzki // independent

Tight ends
#60 Suihkonen // faithful
#82 Cousland // demure
#63 De Vorce* // rebellious
#76 Baptisto // fussy
#53 Enama // responsible
#61 McHellon // brilliant

Offensive linemen
#67 Lansbury* [LG] // leader
#62 Dawahare [LG] // trailblazing
#74 De Victoria* [C] // strict
#73 Sibbet [C] // wary
#71 Joblin* [LT] // tolerant
#65 Kruglov [RG] // compliant
#72 Kinsworthy* [RG] // evil
#77 Gobrogge* [RT] // cheerful
#81 Lanzetti [RT] // conceited

Defensive linemen
#97 Ananthanarayana* [NT] // inconsiderate
#94 Tanev [DE] // selfish
#95 Temprano [NT] // unstable
#96 Gonzalez Munoz* [DE] // miserable

Linebackers
#40 Zeffren* [ILB] // nervous
#54 Nwagbara [ILB] // thoughtless
#58 Letteny [OLB] // solitary
#57 Kownack* [ILB] // friendly
#55 Amel* [OLB] // dictatorial
#51 Ljungquist* [OLB] // lazy
#44 Simotas [ILB] // judgmental
#50 Hap [OLB] // industrious

Defensive backs
#29 Woung* [CB] // jealous
#49 Scuro [SS] // kindly
#33 Quilatan [CB] // gentle
#24 Talker* [SS] // imaginative
#48 Giesinger [CB] // dependable
#47 Honerlaw* [CB] // serious
#35 Roumillat [FS] // materialistic
#32 Lamo* [FS] // overbearing

Special teams
#3 Mastry* [LS]
#4 Gearns* [K]
#6 Nedelka* [P]

Extra Info
Style modifier: +2.793
Home Kits look like this
------------------------------

Away Kits look like this
------------------------------

Code: Select all

If my opponent RPs first, I give them permission to:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Godmod scoring events: Yes
RP injuries to my players: Yes
Godmod injuries to my players: Yes
Hand out yellow cards to my players: Yes
Hand out red cards to my players: Yes
Godmod other events: Yes

Feel free to do anything really, but if it crosses the line into our players/fans morbidity, TG me first for the real permissions.

[Western Fardelshufflestein]

Now that the tournament has started and you've gotten accustomed to the competition, time to get serious and focus. Don't get distracted, and always keep your eye on the ball.

I am pain.

---

Team Western Fardelshufflestein
An Interview with the Players
Kayla Binder: Good afternoon, Western Fardelshufflestein! I am with the captains of our national American Football Team in the wake of a sweeping victory against Alba and Cymru! The results are in, and our players have scored as many points as they have been scored against. Let's talk to wide receiver Scott Sterling, who scored three touchdowns by catching the ball with his face! Tell me, Scott, how did you manage to catch those footballs?

SS: *Incomprehensible*

Samuel Richards: When the ball smacks him in the visor, he brings his arms around the ball and hugs it before crashing into the grass!

SR smacks SS on the shoulder, accidentally causing SS to hit himself in the face.

KaBi: That's...an interesting tactic! Tell me, how did you feel about your overall performance today versus yesterday?

SR: The offense was definitely on our game today, because we weren't gonna let ourselves be humiliated like that again...though it could happen tomorrow, who knows. Point is, we will not let ourselves be made fools of, we will try our hardest, as is our national motto!

Kenneth Branagh: Actually, our national motto is in the past tense, and it's rather a defeatist phrase, isn't it? Let us exceed the expectations of our motto and produce results like that of *Checks phone* the Quidditch World Cup? There's a whole fiction about that on the Twitter.

KaBi: You've had your phone on you all this time?

KB: I only just grabbed it five minutes ago. And, yes, we want to make everyone back home proud, as well as all our fans here. And the marching band, of course, they truly are splendid. They always boost our morale, even when we're losing so spectacularly we might as well be winning.

James Bond: I am afraid there is no such thing as losing so bad you almost win, Branagh.

KB: Are you sure about that?

JB: If we are to have this argument, I suggest it occur when we are not on live television--

KaBi: Thank you, captains, for your insight, and congratulations on your victory! Please stop hitting on me, Bond. I'm gay.
*Dabs*

[The Jovannic]

TJUN-ia Expose Jovannic defensive fragilities in shutout loss

We came to this match optimistic, but it was not to be as the experience of TJUN-ia showed and defeated us 21-0. It started badly as TJUN-ia had the majority of the possession looked like scoring from the start. But it was actually The Jovannic that had the first good chance when a well timed Nickel Push stole the ball and Misami Tyukuyumo looked good to score but was tackled by a devestating defensive tackle by 3 TJUN-ian Players. We lost the momentum soon afterwards when TJUN-ia bypassed our usually tight defence and scored a try. This followed 2 more touchdowns in quick succession, and The Jovannic seemed to be collapsing in front of the home crowd's eyes. The Jovannic got it together though with a series of amazing defensive plays and some commanding performances by Bob Rickson, Kohn Fither and Retar Sigurkison made sure TJUN-ia could not get through. The Jovannic could not come up with a goal to show for their efforts. "We managed to come back into the game, which is good. But we have to improve even more to have a chance of making it far." Nickel Holoway said.

Next match is against Ko-oren, the 6th place team in the world, who lost the last game. We will have to continue our good form to have a shot at victory.

[Squidroidia]

Previous Parts: 1 2 3

Road to the World Bowl

The Squidroidian Flyers

---

Episode 4 - Pregame Team Talk

After the event that was the overtime loss to the minnows that are Martune at home, Colonel Tanyu and his boys arrived in Geektopia for their away day against the Green Gentlemen. They weren't unranked fodder like the King's Men they just lost to, they are World Bowl veterans and ranked 15th in gridiron football. The only team higher than them in Squidroidia's group was the Main Nation Ministry, a top 5 power which they most likely will lose to at home and away. Nevertheless, as Ebisawa walked into the locker room with his clipboard, everyone was silent. Their boss was ready to strike.

"ATTENSHUN!"

"YES SIR!" cried the Flyers, all in sync like they were awaiting orders from their boss. This was an army team after all. Any disorder and those who instigated it would be kicked off the team, and he didn't want a weakened roster. That would cripple their already slim chances to advance to the Playoff tournament in Delaclava.

"Boys, do you realize you're not in Squidroidia anymore?" Indeed they weren't in their familiar home land. Everyone in Geektopia was called by mainly their last name. In Squidroidia's case, their kicker in this world was Dayu, the quarterback was Hideyoshi, their main tight end was Eitoku, and one of the reserve linebackers was named Yodo. A little bit confusing at first, but they would get the hang of it during their game.

"Dayu, congrats on earning Squidroidia's first points in the World Bowl. Let me tell you those Martunians were defensive as all hell on the field. Sloppy, sloppy football all over the place, we were lucky to even get points on the board, nevermind send it to OT!" Dayu would nod as he fist bumped the head coach, a wide smile on his face for being practically the second face of the Squidroidian team. The first face being of course Hideyoshi.

"I know that last game was a slugfest. The Saikakus weren't impressed with the "skill" you had on the field, but it was understandable. Hideyoshi, your arm needs more game time, slug it around the field like its a crane that's releasing the goods to its target! Sozeki, those 30 yard kickoff returns need to be maintained, otherwise we won't score against this team from 10 yards out, heck even 20! And Hanshiro... Don't just gain 1 yard with every carry, I want you to attempt first downs! I want this team to succeed and try against this Geektopian squad. Flyers, are you ready?"

"YES SIR!"

"Do you want to win?"

"YES SIR!"

"Do you want to put your best foot forward?"

"YES SIR!"

"Do you want to walk away with no points and a massive L?"

"NO SIR!"

"NOW GO OUT THERE AND TAKE GEEKTOPIA TO THE HOUSE!"

And with that the players would walk over to the tunnel, Inkling helmets on their heads, ready to meet the Geektopian crowd.

---

Geektopia 26–13 Squidroidia

Box Score

Regulation
7-0 Geektopia TD (Nuciforo), extra point good
7-6 Squidroidia TD (Eitoku), extra point no good
14-6 Geektopia TD (Le Monde), extra point good
17-6 Geektopia FG (Gearns)
17-13 Squidroidia TD (Soseki), extra point good
20-13 Geektopia FG (Gearns)
26-13 Geektopia TD (Grorud), extra point no good

The Schedule
All home games are at Inkopolis City Stadium

Matchday 1 - Vs. Martune L, 3-9 OT
-
Matchday 2 - @ Geektopia L, 13-26
-
Matchday 3 - Vs. Main Nation Ministry
-
Matchday 4 - @ Krytenia
-
Matchday 5 - Vs. Velstrania
-
Matchday 6 - @ Martune
-
Matchday 7 - Vs. Geektopia
-
Matchday 8 - @ Main Nation Ministry
-
Matchday 9 - Vs. Krytenia
-
Matchday 10 - @ Velstrania

[Sarzonia]

When your team is on the wrong end of a 30-0 drubbing by the top ranked gridball team in the world, there's not much anyone can say.

Sarzonia Coach Tim Gates saw only one positive about the crushing loss: A temporary reprieve from more questions about the political situation between Sarzonia and Free Republics. There would be no more questions about the reception a championship calibre team would receive in Woodstock because that question was already answered.

Every person announced as part of the Free Republics, be it coaches, players, even ball boys were loudly booed. No one associated with Free Republics even dared show themselves in a bar. The Woodstock Inn on Daurmont Ave., the hotel housing the team, cleared the hotel of all Sarzonian nationals except for three servers who were all in their late-50s and all three made known their impatience with President Haffner's uncharacteristically provocative response.

Those three Sarzonians and two Delaclavs were serving the team at its dinner the night before and the breakfast on the day of the match. About the only "repercussion" directed at the team and its personnel other than the booing in Joe Gibbs Stadium was the refusal by hotel owner Lynn Sotheby to serve alcohol.

There isn't much to say about the match. Ty'Relle Clinton would get only 14 yards on nine carries for the entire match. With a scant 15 yards on one desperate scramble on third and 11, Joe Locklear would end up with the longest running play from scrimmage. He ended up leading the team with 22 yards on five attempts. That was the highlight. He completed just eight of 21 passes for 96 yards before being benched in the fourth quarter after being sacked eight times.

Gates sat in his office long after the players from both teams and both coaching staffs had long exited. He thought for a moment about the quick handshake he'd given Free Republics coach Katakin Maier after the match. He'd quickly turned and jogged back to his team's dressing room thinking about what he was going to tell his team.

They'd been thoroughly outclassed by the previous edition's champions and the top ranked team. Instead of trying to corkscrew a team predicated on a strong running game and downfield passing into the West Coast offence he was more used to running, he tried to adapt his own style to the talent on hand.

Granted, his Stars were facing two of the three highest ranked teams in Group G to kick off their return to international gridball, but they only moved the ball against Torisakia when they were trailing and forced to come back by ditching the conservative style that Gates wasn't comfortable with.

He was about to make a difficult decision before the team's next away match against Northwest Kalactin. It was only two matches in, but he knew he couldn't deny the reality of his team's fortunes much longer.

[Ranoria]

Second Straight Win Leaves Ranoria Tied for Group Lead

Ranoria's defensive front racked up 7 sacks on the day, more than making up for the ineptitude of the back seven

A victory over 24th ranked Inner AginanaUsordia in the same fashion as the week one's win over Damukuni shows that this football team is capable of going toe to toe against a formidable opponent...and thoroughly dominating them.

The first quarter was the only time that this game looked to be competitive. Inner AginanaUsordia's Lions managed to strike first. Quarterback Davo Konelle absolutely picked on veteran corner Donnie Mandarin. At 31 years old, Mandarin has certainly lost a step and hasn't been on a Ranorian football league roster in over two seasons. Furthermore, at 5'9", he was almost defenseless against #3 wideout Jay Ludesevitch, standing at over 6'5". Ludesevitch reeled in 3 catches for 44 yards and a touchdown on the opening drive. Of course, Kenny Leiden, Ranoria's best defensive back and safety, nearly picked off one of those passes, on a deep post, but there's a reason he's playing defense. The ball bounced right off his hands.

Derek McNair's offense would erase that deficit soon after, however. McNair would go 4/6 on the drive, tossing 55 yards before handing the rock off to Vice Jackson III at the seven yard line, matching their opponent's score instantly. And while two total touchdowns in seven minutes would indicate a shootout to many, Ranoria put that to bed quickly. Defensive end William Teller, who is on a trajectory to become a top 5 pass rusher, broke out a hump move, ragdolling tackle Levi Bannock on his way to sacking passer Davo Konelle in the end zone.

With the ball in their hands, the Ranorian team would strike once again, McNair running this one in from nine yards out to get his squad a two score lead, and they would not relinquish that throughout the rest of the football game.

After garnering two more sacks in the first half, and plenty of quarterback hits, Inner AginanaUsordia began bringing in more blockers in order to give their quarterback more time in the pocket. However, it backfired when the Ranorian team simply began crowding the line of scrimmage and bringing a ton of blitzes. By the end of the day, the team would end up with a whopping 7 sacks and plenty more quarterback hits. The defensive line, by far the strongest unit of the defense, proved itself valuable today.

On the other side, Derek McNair has been unstoppable. With three total touchdowns on the day and another 300 yard passing performance, he's displayed not only versatility but lethal accuracy. Ranoria's real challenge though, Newmanistan, won't be rearing their heads until week 4. Ranked number 10 overall, Newmanistan is also 2-0, and the matchups between these two squads will be by far the most important matchups for this group.

[Xanneria]

Just run the damn ball!
By: Gene Bryant

Jeckland's only TD came from this 62 yard bomb to thirds reciever Shel Brooke

JECKLAND - Jeckland is a good team and they took the Maroons to the brink of the Gridiron and then some. Jeckland was the host nation for round two of the qualifying stage of the World Bowl. A Gridiron tournament to be held in the wonderful nation of Delaclava. The game though was played in Jeckland and in a stadium we presume was sponsored by Jeckish Chicken, granted though, we didn't bother to check if this was true or not. A defensive game overall it finished in a 16-16 tie before Overtime. The primarily run first Maroons did well to penetrate the Jecklandian defense but once the field got to about 50 yards of daylight the Jeckland Defense could usually smother the running game. This lead to three field goals for the Maroons by the kicker Stefan Stankowitz kept the Maroons in the game.

Now playing an unranked team is always like going to a casino, even though the Gridiron tradition of Xanneria is a proud one, the Jeckland team isn't terrible despite what the on paper stats say. Playing an Unranked team can be different, some can give you fits as the Jeckish players did here or some can be unranked out of sheer stupidity. Jeckland, an Esportivan neighbor is one who joined the world bowl out not because they just came out of their shell, but because they have an established sporting pedigree nerfed by political isolationism. It helped while Gridiron isn't the most popular sport in Jeckland like in lets say Ranoria, but they had the players to keep up with Xanneria.

In the end the key came down to a coaching desicsion. An OT period brought up the toughest in both Maroons and Jeck gridiron teams, while the Maroons held off the Jeckland team on their first attempt to score, when Jeck made questionable choice to go pass on fourth and five. The next play after was a Maroon two yard run, significant because the Maroons, who like to run the ball, made a passing play. The pass never took place, as corner Gavin Church came off the edge and popped the ball out of QB Kwame Marks hands, with Kelvin Shakespeare scooping up the ball and returning it all the way to the other other endzone! A 22-16 defeat! All because coach Helmutt Leatherman went with a pass instead of a run! Next up for the Maroons is Saint Kanye, a team with little sporting prowess and probably not a shot in hell to win.

SCORES
1st Quarter
JCK Royceston 29 yard FQ 3-0 (10:21)
2nd Quarter
XAN Stankowitz 42yrd FG 3-3 (14:33)
XAN Stankowitz 49 yrd FG 3-6 (7:31)
JCK Brooke 62 yard TD reception from Fishman (Royceton XP Good) 10-6 (6:21)
3rd Quarter
JCK Royceton 56 yrd FG 13-6 (8:44)
XAN Perez 15 yard TD run (Stankowitz XP good) 13-13 (3:37)
JCK Royceton 28yrd FG 16-13 (2:03)
4th Quarter
XAN Stankowitz 33yrd FG 16-16 (11:21)
Overtime
JCK Shakespere 81 yard TD Fumble Recovery 22-16

TOP PLAYERS
PASSING: Toby Fishman (JCK) 18-31 289 yrds 1TD 0INT / 4 rushes 15 yrds
RUSHING: Elliot Perez (XAN) 26 rushes 109yrds 1 TD / 1 rec 5 yrds
RECIEVING: Jarod Booth (JCK) 7 catches 92 yrds
DEFENSE: Kelvin Shakespere JCK 12tckls 1.0 sack 1 FR 1 TD

[TJUN-ia]

We all still have memories of that play. The "Block 6" against Cassadiagua will certainly go down as one of the wildest moments in TJUN-ia's sporting history, but we had to move on at some point. We still have 9 games left to play including in Buile against The Jovannic.

The first quarter saw the Jaguars look strong against their unranked foes, but they had a trick up their sleeves. Nickel Holoway's famous Press, which saw Jake Griffin under huge amounts of pressure from the moment he took the snap. The ball would be stolen by the opposition defence and they nearly converted to score on 4th and Goal from the 25-yard line, only to be halted by the TJUN-ian defence for a turnover on downs to end it.

Then came the 2nd Quarter. TJUN-ia had the ball from thier own 2-yard line but Jake Griffin didn't care. He threw 3 touchdowns in the space of 10 minutes to blow this game out before the half. All 3 of TJUN-ia's Wide Recieing core - Hubert Valois, Jack Davidson and his brother Chris - all made it to the endzone. Chi On-Ma kicked the extra points and it was 21-0 TJUN-ia in a flash.

Gus McKerrin decided, at that point, that this game was won so he brought on QB2 Allister Ghoulson to play out the rest of the game. He would certainly contribute to the game but The Jovannic defence held firm to keep him scoreless in the final half. But our defence held on too to complete the shutout on the road.

These Jags, out of nowhere, are now 2-0 and lead the group after Ko-oren's defeat to Cassadiagua. Heading back to New Washington for a 2 game stand, many will be focusing on the 2nd game - against 3rd ranked Ko-oren. But we have to play the Sharks of Nagore first, who may be 0-2 but cannot be underestimated this early in the tournament. GO JAGS!

---

SCHEDULE (Group D)
MD1: vs Cassadiagua (11) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington W 21-14 (3rd/1-0)
MD2: @The Jovannic (UR) - De Stadium Le Buile, Buile W 21-0 (1st/2-0)
MD3: vs Nagore (UR) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington
MD4: vs Ko-oren (3) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington
MD5: @The Sarian (49)
------------------------OFF DAY------------------------
MD6: @Cassadiagua (11)
MD7: vs The Jovannic (UR) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington
MD8: @Nagore (UR)
MD9: @Ko-oren (3)
MD10: vs The Sarian (49) - Field of Dreams in The Gardens, New Washington

[Kohnhead]

Defense again outplays the offense in 13-3 loss



This time, Kohnhead would travel to The Greater Nordics to take on their 18th ranked gridiron team, coming off of a 16-13 loss to the best team in the world Free Republics. The Greater Nordics are coming off of a 22-0 shutout win of Northwest Kalactin. While an upset was unlikely, I thought we could be competitive, and we were. Our defense played extremely well, allowing no tds (I'll get to that soon), and played lights out the entire game.

Unfortunately just before the game Kenneth Bradson was ruled out with the ankle injury he suffered against Free Republics. This was a big blow to the offense, as everyone was expecting him to play. Dillan Mccarthy his replacement was limited to 1 catch for 4 yards the entire game. Bradson's speed and ability to take the top off the team is a vital part of the offense, and it hurt Watford.

Watford responded to last game's horrible performance with a worse one if that's possible. His final statline of 15-32 129 yards, 0 tds 4 ints basically sums up his performance. While his starting spot is not in jeopardy he knows he needs to pick it up. Most of his throws went in the direction of Marco Polisson who ended the day with 76 receiving yards on 6 receptions.

Our defense was sent out first, as they won and elected to receive. The defense has looked great so far, and their first couple of drives proved this. The secondary looked sharp out there, Whitehead has been playing the best gridiron of his life shutting down Rain Alvar the entire game. While they did close to nothing on offense the entire first quarter, we were worse. We tried to establish the run early on but it didn't work and with 1:07 remaining in the first quarter, Watford and Mccarthy had some miscommunication and the ball ended up in the hand's of Ulla McPhee who took it to the house for The Greater Nordics making it 7-0 them once the PAT was successfully made.

The game was a defensive battle, the entire time and in the second quarter, The Greater Nordics added on a field goal from 29 yards, and Parkinson missed a long 62 yarder for us making it 10-0 at halftime. On our first drive of the second quarter, we got our only points as Parkinson made a field goal from 47 yards away.

When Anders Carlson made a 42 yarder with 7:47 remaining in the 4th the game was basically over at 13-3. In terms of injuries, we picked up no new ones to the injury report. Bradson is still questionable for our next game. Next up we host 23rd ranked Torisakia, a team we have faced in different sports. They will come to Chicken King Stadium for this game, and anticipation is high. Torisakia is in first place of the group after a 51-14 domination of Northwest Kalactin. Our point differential is very good for an 0-2 team and because of that we sit in fourth.

Group G                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Torisakia                                      2    2   0    81   34  +47
2 Free Republics                                 2    2   0    46   13  +33
3 The Greater Nordics                            2    2   0    35    3  +32
4 Kohnhead                                       2    0   2    16   29  −13
5 Sarzonia                                       2    0   2    20   60  −40
6 Northwest Kalactin                             2    0   2    14   73  −59

Injury Report
WR Kenneth Bradson Q-Ankle
CB Ariel Knox O-Knee

[Nagore]

Dominic Temple: Allow Us To Reintroduce Ourselves

The past few years have been a whirlwind for the people of Nagore to say the least. For much of Nagore's history, the nation has been a protectorate of Vettrera, often serving as a "PR project" for the mother country. In exchange for Vettrera helping the nation develop a strong infrastructure and central government, Nagore would give the Vettreran government extremely lucrative trade deals. Moreover, Nagore would often be used as a guinea pig for a variety of Vettreran endeavors, most notably, the Vettreran Asylum Project. As a way to help improve Vettrera's standing with the international community, Vettrera would allow refugees the option to reside in Nagore through a streamlined immigration process, rather that go through the more arduous process of trying to find asylum in Vettrera. While the program did do immense good for many immigrants, and is part of the reason why Nagore is considered a global champion for diversity, the project did put a level of added strain on the Nagorian economy. When Vettrera's economy entered into a downturn, the mother nation's first decision was to neglect their investments in Nagore, resulting in tension between Nagorian Natives and Nagorian Immigrants, as well as tensions between Nagorian Natives and the people of Vettrera. After lengthy debate, the Nagorian Assembly advocated that Nagore decouple itself from Vettrera, and begin on a path towards independence. Former President Simon Metcalfe led the nation through that transition, before being replaced by former Trodega mayor, and recently appointed President Rochelle Monet. Whereas Metcalfe was much more focused on doing the work to make Nagore self-sufficient after separating from Vettrera, Monet appears to be much more concerned with doing the work of healing the nation culturally. While Monet has been adamant that healing the nation will require a continued commitment to assisting refugees, it is still yet to be determined what a retooled refugee program will look like.

While Monet has implemented a series of reforms aimed at stabilizing the now "free" Nagorian economy, Monet has also noted that it will take more than political wheeling and dealing to get the job done. In a recent National Address, Monet stated "As we move towards the future, our future, it is important that we do the work necessary to make a name for ourselves. We must make our presence known to the greater world if we intend to have a place in it." While some were initially perplexed about what Monet meant by that, in the following weeks it appeared to become more clear. Monet not only doubled the budget for the Nagorian Ministry of Public Affairs, but also developed a new position within the ministry known as the Head of Public Image. For that role, Monet tapped basketball legend Dominic Temple for the role. Temple's role in that office will be to locate opportunities for Nagore to improve our international relevance. As of now, the most obvious opportunities that Temple will be pursing will be in the world of sports. In a recent interview with The Nagore National, Temple was quoted as saying the following: "For a long time, Vettrera had a decent presence on the international scene, especially in the world of sports. As Vettrera focuses on insulating themselves from the world, I think it's time that we take this opportunity to make our presence known on our own terms, and allow us to reintroduce ourselves. Sports are a good way for us to help raise our profile. Obviously we'll be looking at a variety of options and opportunities that we can use to make the Nagorian name known around the world, but I definitely think that participating in events like the World Bowl will be a good start, even if it takes us a while to get our bearings.

[Taeshan]

"A first home match at Wonder Park and a 14-0 win over Silver Beach to talk about Bob, what did you see in this game?"

"Well obviously John we had a strong effort from the defense. They didn't let a lot of touchdowns in the first matchup in Xanneria, but they definitely looked young and not ready for the limelight. Tonight they came out in their first home match and earned a very impressive shutout."

"How about the offense. A Touchdown reception from Co-Captain Patrick Wantanabe on a 30 yard pass from young Quarterback Alexandre Forrest. Forrest is not in his first campaign, but surely going from backup to starter is a big change for the Bayern pass slinger."

"Yes it was a good smart game from Forrest. The last game saw him make a few mistakes you wouldn't expect from a a player of his caliber with multiple seasons in the League to make but the lights of the international game can be an issue for even the best, most veteran players."

"A long tradition of storng running backs from the old flexbone attack days, some great names like Max Hope have played in World Bowls. What did you see from the new starter Karl Huyett in this game?"


"Well a lot of these young players like Huyett, and Forrest were on the teams that did so well the last few tournaments, but didn't play much if at all in Forrest' case. Huyett has a lot to do in the spread attack. He's a run option, a decoy for Forrest, and can often be used in the Slot. Not a walk in the park for a player who plays for a side known for their run heavy Power offense in the Mud Hens."

"How difficult is that switch in offensive systems between national team and say your club side?"

"Well unlike many other sports Football is only set play's on offense. Defenses do a lot to disguise coverage etc, but you can't just go out and hit a ball, or kick a ball. There is obviously more nuance, but in national team football the playbook is key. You spend a lot of time in the week leading up to these games learning these plays. Luckily for most players they only need to learn their position and what their job is on certain plays. The Linebackers and the Quarterback have to learn everything. Where will people be? Where can I pass the ball? A Running back has certain roles to fill, a defensive linemen has to go to the A, B, C gap etc."

"What does this game tell you about this squad?"

"I think we have a group of players that have learned their duties. I think there is a bit more to learn, a bit more to understand. They can start worrying less about learning a new system, with a new coach, and more about winning games. That was another big struggle, a whole new coaching staff, so even the guys that did not retire from international duty had new plays to learn, new positioning to understand. Hopefully we see in the coming weeks the fruit of all this work to learn this system that international players have to do, that normal players do not."

[Terre Septentrionale]

Big win against HUElavia

Curumba, HUElavia - The next week following a 30-0 win against Western Fardelshufflestein, Terre Septentrionale travelled to HUElavia, the team who beat Banija on week 1. HUElavia played with their bright yellow uniforms while Terre Septentrionale used bright red uniforms and this looked like this. Terre Septentrionale received the ball to start the 1st quarter but were unable to do anything and had to punt. The quarter ended scoreless. With less than two minutes remaining in the 2nd quarter, the Nordiques were at the 28 yards line on a 2nd and 8 in HUElavia territory when Haylie Woo passed to Kentre'vious McCullum who caught the ball at the 6 yards line and ran to the endzone. The conversion was good and Terre Septentrionale was leading 7-0.

with less than 6 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter, HUElavia's Jaguar Silva ran to the endzone for a 4 yards touchdown and the game was tied at 7-7. Early in the 4th quarter, HUElavia started with the ball at their own 2 yards line. Jaguar Silva ran for 1 yard and on a 2nd and 9, Rodrigo Gomez was sacked into the endzone by Jaxton McFolley for a safety. The score was 9-7 Terre Septentrionale. Then on the following kick, Francis Sanchez kicks the ball and it's caught by Kentre'vious McCullum at his own 25 yards line and he ran with the ball avoiding any hits and he ran all the way to the endzone for a kickoff return touchdown! It was 16-7 Terre Septentrionale and it was the final score!

HUElavia              0  0  7  0  -   7
Terre Septentrionale  0  7  0  9  -  16

BOXSCORE

1ST QUARTER
No score

2ND QUARTER
1:27 - Touchdown by Kentre'vious McCullum (28 yards pass from Haylie Woo). Extra point by Nick DeLuca.

3RD QUARTER
5:48 - Touchdown by Jaguar Silva (4 yards run). Extra point by Francis Sanchez.

4TH QUARTER
14:31 - Safety by Jaxton McFolley (Rodrigo Gomez sacked in his own endzone).
14:22 - Touchdown by Kentre'vious McCullum (75 yards kickoff return). Extra point by Nick DeLuca.


1st place tied with Vangaziland

With this win against HUElavia, Terre Septentrionale is in 1st place tied with Vangaziland. Pot 2 team Banija lost their first two games, which is somehow surprising but one of these games is against Vangaziland. Speaking of Banija, they're our next opponent at Stade du Flambeau in Baie-Verte. I believe they are eager to win and it won't be easy against them. Wesley Ostaszewski is questionnable against Banija with a hip injury. Hunter Mahoney will likely replace him in the starting line up.

Jacques Lacouture,
La tribune septentrionale

[Free Republics]

Travelling to Sarzonia was a downright bizarre experience for Katakin Maier's team. Housed in a mostly empty hotel and effectively isolated from the native population that had been riled up against them by their government's over-reaction to the comments of Samuel Izmailov, they felt like prisoners in Woodstock. In all likelihood, the election would be over by the time Sarzonia visited Republica. Katakin Maier and most of the Republican players had already cast their absentee ballots for Nova Hellstrom-Hancock. They hoped she would be their junior consul and Sarzonia's president would formally apologize for his actions.

All they could do was focus on beating the Stars and beating them convincingly just as the soccer team had at the World Cup. The game itself would not be in much doubt. The Republicans took command from the moment the opening kickoff went for a touchback. Starting off the game with a 16 play touchdown drive consisting entirely of running plays and culminating with a 1 yard touchdown run right up the middle of the Star defense by fullback Makharbi Barsukov set the tone. In fact, Sandberg would attempt just 5 passes, completing 4 of them for 37 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown pass to Marianna Szep on a play action play. When you can run the ball at will and maintain a commanding lead, there is simply no need to throw the ball. Not even the Republican wide receivers had a problem with their team's game plan because they also cared more about running out the clock and getting the hell out of Sarzonia as soon as possible than they did about their own statistics.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Stars were unable to move the ball at all. Their quarterback Joe Locklear led the team in rushing with 22 yards while achieving the dubious feat of being sacked as many times as he managed to complete a pass. Even excluding the yards lost from sacks, he did not even reach 100 yards passing before he was benched after being sacked for a safety by David Kvamme in the 4th quarter to put the Republicans up 23 to nothing. Following the 4th Republican touchdown drive of the game, which was finished by a 17 yard Rita Alaja outside run, the score was 30 to 0 and Sarzonia didn't even bother bringing Locklear back out for garbage time.

Following the game, Maier shook hands with her Sarzonian counterpart Tim Gates and the Republican National Team got on their private Nicholls Air flight back to New City where they would face The Greater Nordics in their home opener at CoCoCo Stadium. After landing in New City, she was interviewed live by Tyler Wright of Sports Central, a popular highlights show on Freedom Sports.

Tyler Wright - Coach Maier, earlier today you defeated Sarzonia in a very intense World Bowl game. Any thoughts?

Katakin Maier - I'm just glad that ordeal is behind us. The government of Sarzonia has the people of that nation completely brainwashed. Its sad but there's nothing I can do about it.

Tyler Wright - Anything you want to say to the Sarzonian National Team?

Katakin Maier - I don't have anything against any of them. We tried to play as clean of a game as we could and get out of there as soon as possible with a win. I imagine many of them understand that their government's actions are ridiculous and we will definitely be more welcoming of them when they visit us for a rematch. I encourage them to keep trying and keep doing their best. It takes guts to keep getting up like that quarterback of theirs did when you're getting crushed out there by the #1 ranked team in the world and reigning champions. I hope they keep at it and give us more of a challenge next time around.

Tyler Wright - So there are no hard feelings even after all of the things they did?

Katakin Maier - I'm just happy that we all made it out of there safely. Now, we're going to turn our eyes to the future and focus on beating the other 3 ranked teams in this group.

Tyler Wright - There you have it. Coach Katakin Maier is focusing on one game at a time as the National Football Team defends their title. We'll be back with analysis of what the National Soccer Team needs to do to beat Turori in the Quarterfinals after some words from our sponsors...

[Jeckland]

OOC: Anything written in quotation marks and bolded is from Xanneria's RP, with the following non bolded text in quotation marks from an online generator.

Technology has come a long way in recent years. Artificial Intelligence has taken over many tasks which humans used to do. But can it write like a human? Can it tell a story? Let's test that out...

I'm Ibbie Pembertson, and I'm back at it again forcing computers to do my bidding. Since the last article gained a lot of traction, we're going to be doing the exact same thing to a report on Jeckland's overtime win over Xanneria in the World Bowl. A dramatic game which ended in a fumble recovery winner by Kelvin Shakespeare, let's see if the computer can capture the essence of the match from a report by Gene Bryant of Xanneria.

We'll start again with the first line of the report, excluding the 'Jeckland -' at the beginning this time, because last time that gave us the electronic version of a seizure and the ominous threat/request to 'Watch.' Hopefully this one doesn't have me checking under my bed at night.

"Jeckland is a good team and they took the Maroons to the brink of the Gridiron and then some. We won't see them again until the Super Series in 2018."

So apparently the return fixture in Xanneria is the Super Series 2018, despite only being one match. Either that or the Xannerians are planning to hold some kind of series we're invited to. Maybe they're referring to the Jeckish in general, and the Super Series is the World Lacrosse Championships? Who knows.

"The last place team was Melbourne. Melbourne was able to take over Maroons with just one loss which was by four points and then beat them by a single point in the Super Series. They are going to need to do something for some reason to get them back."

Wait, Melbourne are back?

For those who don't remember, Melbourne are a team that play the Mystery Sport referred to in the Saint Kanye article. So is this Super Series a part of this sport? Is the sport Xannerian, and Melbourne is a club in the country? We're learning more and more about it. We'll figure it out one day.

"I've never been a Maroons fan but I've always loved the team. They're going to be back and I'm hoping there will be a great game in the end. I'll just be watching the game on TV.
Posted by Jekko Rautio at 4:52 PM"

Wait, what? This was some kind of blog, or forum post, the whole time. This Xannerian team lover (but not a fan) has revealed that The Sport can be watched on TV. Perhaps it is popular in Xanneria? I can't help but feel they're behind all this somehow.

Anyway, let's try another part of the article. where the Xannerian writer (or maybe blogger) talks about the strength of the Jeckish team.

"Now playing an unranked team is always like going to a casino, even though the Gridiron tradition of Xanneria is a proud one, the Jeckland team isn't terrible despite what the on paper stats say. They play in the league as an unranked team that could have been played as a playoff team if they had lost on the last two weeks or something but instead the season just seems like a bunch of games with a bunch of teams that aren't terrible and you never know what to expect."

According to this, we could make the playoffs if we lose our last two games. Now making the playoffs seems unlikely in any case, but this just makes it harder, and probably means we'll have to win most of our remaining games before throwing the last two against Taeshan and Lisander.

"I mean, I'll bet they beat up on some of the team's better players who are actually worse than them, but they haven't even shown the ability to win on those games, they haven't shown the ability to play decent defense, and they haven't shown the ability to defend well in the second half and I don't know if they even showed the ability to get the first win."

I think the writer may have had a bonk on the head. I watched the game, and the Spuds showed the ability to do all these things in my view. The most perplexing line of all is that we didn't show the ability to get the first win - it was clearly enough ability. Maybe they're not counting an overtime win as a win, I just don't know.

"I would say that the game itself, even if they had won it and played like a top five team is probably closer to playing in the first round than a playoff match up if the game went the whole way. I just don't like that they seem to think that winning a league game is enough to make them a "top five" team, like a playoff match up."

The computer appears to have morphed into a sore loser, now claiming that Jeckland played like a top five team and completely contradicting itself, just like a drunk man down the pub watching his favourite JPL side lose. Apparently we're now not enough to be a playoff team, despite thinking we're a top five team. Top five in the group maybe, but not the mutliverse.

We could let this fictional Xannerian rant all day, but instead lets see what happens when we feed in the information about the winning score.

"The pass never took place, as corner Gavin Church came off the edge and popped the ball out of QB Kwame Marks hands, with Kelvin Shakespeare scooping up the ball and returning it all the way to the other other endzone! A bit of drama here. In the corner, there is no corner, so WR Dwayne Bowe had a free position to throw the ball in."

In the corner, there is no corner. This sounds like some kind of deep, meaningful proverb that I'm not free thinking enough to understand. I'm sure someone will tell me later, whilst sounding very smug about it. Otherwise, this appears to be starting to resemble an actual gridiron report, albeit one involving a WR that doesn't exist. Let's see if it continues.

"After a quick read on the play, the ball found its way to WR Dwayne Bowe in a wide open receiver slot. However, TE David Fales took too long, as he was a little too close to the ball. Instead of letting the WR get to his route, TE David Fales tried to throw from the slot and took way too much off the line of scrimmage, so Bowe ended up with a wide open shot to the opposite side. He also didn't have the speed to get to the goal line to throw to Fales, so it just fell out of the endzone for Bowe."

This is... almost right? This appears to be describing a failed bass from Fales to Bowe, although using four sentences where one could do the trick in a much less confusing way. What's more alarmingly correct, however, is the fact that the base text is lamenting Xanneria's decision to pass rather than run. That part was not included in the input however, slightly raising the possibility of sentience in the computer.

And on that thought, goodnight. Don't forget...

Watch.

[Torisakia]

And welcome to another edition of the Sports With Bort blog, I'm your always humble host Bort Stevens. We're continuing our special report on Torisakia's World Bowl 39 campaign that we earlier in the week. We're going to look at Torisakia's matchday two game against Northwest Kalactin last night.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. In a good way, I mean. Torisakia kept up their momentum last night en route to a blowout victory over Northwest Kalactin. The Vinewood Bowl was rocking and I mean that literally. The stadium was rocking back and forth. That's what they get for hiring Hugh Janus Construction to build it. Anyway, Torisakia had another offensive showcase with 598 total yards. Aaron Spady was on point as always, going 17/23 for 259 yards and 2 touchdowns. Michael Prickett had a good game as well, getting 22 carries for 186 yards and 2 touchdowns. The defense performed amazingly, holding Northwest Kalactin to 239 yards of total offense, recording 6 sacks, and forcing 4 turnovers including a scoop and score in the second quarter. Matthew DeBerry was money again, going 6/6 of extra points and 3/3 on field goals with a long of 50 yards.

Box Score	1Q	2Q	3Q	4Q	Final
Torisakia (2-0)	21	14	13	3	51
Northwest Kalactin (0-2)	0	7	0	7	14

Torisakia received the opening kickoff and scored quick, fast, and in a hurry. Aaron Spady found Cliff Bolden downfield in one-on-one coverage for a 72 yard touchdown pass just minutes into the game. That pretty much set the tone for the rest of the night as Torisakia would score on 4 of its first 5 possessions. After forcing Northwest Kalactin to go three-and-out on their first drive, Darrell Hyden got us in great field position with a 26 yard punt return after he fielded it at our own 31. Later on after converting a 3rd & medium at the Northwest Kalactin 33, Spady once again found Cliff Bolden downfield in one-on-one coverage. Bolden won the battle again and snagged a 33 yard pass to put the Ice Birds up 14-0 not even midway through the opening quarter. The Torisakia defense would again force Northwest Kalactin to go three-and-out, but managed to kick the punt away from Hyden to prevent the big return. Starting at our own 34, it looked like the Ice Birds' momentum had come to a halt when they found themselves facing a 3rd & 17. But Spady would come through yet again and found Jay Abaroa in the middle of the field for a 22 yard completion and a first down. The very next play, Michael Prickett took a toss to the right and, after a few good blocks downfield, scampered his way down the sideline for a 51 yard touchdown run to extend Torisakia's lead. The first quarter would end with Northwest Kalactin facing a 3rd & 15 and looking to be in a mass of trouble.

Starting the 2nd quarter, Northwest Kalactin initially failed to convert the 3rd down on an incomplete pass, but a late roughing the passer penalty was called on Stephen Branson and Northwest Kalactin was awarded a fresh set of downs at their own 45 yard line. On the very next play, Northwest Kalactin QB Jack Nelson dropped back to pass and was belted on his blindside by Cyrus Beckitt, causing the ball to fly out of his hand and bounced a few yards behind the line of scrimmage, where Cedric Troy, initially coming on a CB Blitz, picked the ball up and took it 41 yards for the scoop and score. Things were look pretty bleak for Northwest Kalactin, and it showed on the field. They gave little effort for the rest of the half. It was three-and-out after three-and-out while Torisakia slowed down some on their own. Northwest Kalactin finally got something to go right as they recovered a muffed punt by Hyden inside the Torisakia 20 with around 3 minutes left in the half, with which RB Gane Dobson later ran in from 3 yards out to get Northwest Kalactin on the board. The final score of the half would come with less than 30 seconds remaining when Michael Prickett, just looking to burn some clock, took a delayed handoff 26 yards to the endzone to put Torisakia up 35-7.

The second half saw a much slower pace by Torisakia as they were pretty much playing to not embarrass Northwest Kalactin and to prevent injuries. The Ice Birds tacked on two field goals early to midway in the 3rd quarter, a 34 yarder and 45 yarder by Matthew DeBerry. Northwest Kalactin did much of nothing as their drives showed some promise but the ultimately either ended up having to punt or turned the ball over. Torisakia managed one more touchdown late in the 3rd when backup QB David Ramos connected with WR Elias Kuzman in the back of the endzone to increase the Ice Birds' lead. Nothing much would happen the rest of the way, except for a 50 yard field goal by DeBerry midway through the 4th and a late touchdown by Northwest Kalactin. Torisakia ended up winning 51-14, one of their largest wins in their World Bowl history.

GAME SUMMARY OF TORISAKIA VS. NORTHWEST KALACTIN

1st QUARTER
13:45 TOR - 72 yard pass from A. Spady to C. Bolden (DeBerry PAT)
10:17 TOR - 33 yard pass from A. Spady to C. Bolden (DeBerry PAT)
5:52 TOR - 51 yard run by M. Prickett (DeBerry PAT)
END OF 1ST Torisakia: 21 Northwest Kalactin: 0

2nd QUARTER
14:29 TOR - 41 yard fumble return by C. Troy (DeBerry PAT)
2:12 NWK - 3 yard run by G. Dobson (Mackenzie PAT)
0:23 TOR - 26 yard run by M. Prickett (DeBerry PAT)
END OF 2ND Torisakia: 35 Northwest Kalactin: 7

3rd QUARTER
10:38 TOR - 34 yard field goal by M. DeBerry
6:27 TOR - 45 yard field goal by M. DeBerry
0:15 TOR - 19 yard pass from D. Ramos to E. Kuzman (DeBerry PAT)
END OF 3RD Torisakia: 48 Northwest Kalactin: 7

4th QUARTER
7:15 TOR - 50 yard field goal by M. DeBerry
1:33 NWK - 14 yard pass from J. Russell to M. Bruner (Mackenzie PAT)
END OF 4TH Torisakia: 51 Northwest Kalactin: 14

Torisakia's next match is against Kohnhead, who is 0-2 so far after losing by a field goal to Free Republics on matchday one and by 10 to The Greater Nordics on matchday two. Despite their name and how much our president makes fun of it, it will be interesting to see how much fight Kohnhead has in them. Starting off 0-2 and going up against a 2-0 team that has dominated both of their opponents is a daunting task. It's our first road game as well. We'll be playing in Kohnhead City at Chicken King Stadium. They're just giving Doug McDowell more ammunition, and I don't think they even care. But surely we can win in a stadium that's named Chicken King Stadium. Imagine losing in a stadium named Chicken King Stadium. Couldn't be us.

Welp, that's all I have for today. I'll be back with another edition of Sports with Bort soon to discuss the Torisakia-Kohnhead matchup as well as take a look at other happenings around the tournament in other groups and preview the next matchday. Take care and I was so enthralled by the idea of a spinning gorilla that I went out and tried to buy my own real gorilla yesterday. Unfortunately it's illegal to own a gorilla in Torisakia so I had to settle for a chimpanzee instead, which is close enough. His name is Jules, and I'm trying to teach him to spin so I can have my own spinning chimpanzee. He's a pretty cool dude. He's already learned how to take out the trash, brush his teeth, and how to do laundry. Him and Chuggles don't seem to get along though. They're always having staring contests that result in them hooting and hollering at each other and Jules pounding his chest cause Chuggles to cower in fear.

[Inner AginanaUsordia]

Locker Room Exclusive on ABSU.tv
*Camera pans to a room full of sweaty men in various states of undress and anger*
*In a bad attempt at a voice-over* Thomas Garcia: “Hello, I’m Thomas Garcia, and welcome to the exclusive camera in the Innais Lions locker room, after the blowout loss to Ranoria. The normally strong offensive line looked akin to Lebatuckese Cheese-”*A large form blocks the camera*
Nathan Zaleski: “Try me, newspaper boy.” *Walks away, shaking his head*
Garcia: “Er, right, they gave their best effort of course...”
Ryan Kasor: “Alright, we’re all here. Gentleman, Ladies, tough day. We all were here for last year’s games, sometimes they end like that. The offensive line was established as our weakness early, and they jumped on it. Then they established themselves on our secondary, and it fell apart after that. I don’t have much to say, do you?”
*Grumbles*
Kasor: “Then we bounce back and win the game tomorrow. If we play one game at a time, it will pay off.”
*Players walk away, Camera pans to and moves toward quarterback Davo Konelle*
Garcia: “Mr. Konelle, can I- Mr. Konelle-”
Davo Konelle: “Yes, what?”
Garcia: “Thank you. How do you feel about the game?”
Konelle: “Er, hurt? Tired? It wasn’t the time of my life running away from those Ranorian human bulldozers... Actually, it was fun until they got to me. Then it wasn’t fun anymore.”
Garcia: “Thank you, now what do you think the next games will hold?”
Konelle: “I don’t know, football? *Thinks for a second* We play a couple of unranked teams next, right? Lovisa beat Damukuni, but we should be able to beat both barring mass hysteria.”
Garcia: “Mass- oh, I get it. Good luck, Mr. Konelle”
*Camera walks unsteadily towards the large OL/DL coach, Dan Vosich*
Dan Vosich: “Press interview is in an hour, buddy. Go pack sand.”
Garcia: “I’ll translate for you all, Mr. Coach Vosich says ‘No Comment’.”
Vosich: *points animatedly* “Get out, Garcia! Now!”
Garcia: “He knew my name... Well, that is going to wrap up today’s Locker Room Exclusive with the Innais Lions. See you next time.” *Camera goes dark*

[Saint Kanye]

LATE HAIL MARY LIFTS SURGE PAST LISANDER, 20-15

by Chuck Duncan

KARDASHIA - Spirits were high at the conclusion of the recent World Bowl XXXIX match at the Pencurve Electronics Field here, as the home team St. Kanye Surge chalked up their second win, beating the Lisanderian national gridiron team 20-15.

With just 1:28 remaining in the game, the visitors were up 15-13. The Surge, however, had the ball on their own 24-yard line. On first down, quarterback Landon Klein attempted a pass to wide receiver Bruce Dobler, but the opposing cornerback batted it away for an incompletion. Second and ten. The connection was made to other receiver Patrick Moore, but it was only for a short gain of five yards. Third and five. Klein faked a handoff, dropped back, evaded defenders who were looking to sack him, then fired a long bomb. Dobler made a leaping one-handed catch, outran several Lisanderian players, then crossed the endzone for the game winner.

"That was an amazing heck of a finish", said Surge head coach Jeff Delphine. "However, it shouldn't have come to that point. They [Lisander] got ahead of us in the second half because our defense fell apart." The Kanyeans led 13-3 early in the third period, only to allow the Lisanderians to score twelve unanswered points and take the lead. "We gotta strengthen up that defense, especially if we want to survive against the tougher teams in our group."

With the win, St. Kanye is now at the top of Group B with a 2-0 record. They will travel to Xanneria next to face the Maroons (1-1), who recently lost to the Jeckland Spuds in overtime, 22-16. The next opponent for Lisander (1-1) are the Taeshan Fitin' Falcons (1-1), who had a 14-0 win against Silver Beach (0-2). "The Maroons are ranked fourteenth, much higher than our thirty-third, so it's gonna be tough. I've heard they could get cocky, but let's show them that we can give them quite the challenge", said QB Klein.

---

Scoring Information:

STK - Sherman 44 run STK 7-0
LIS - field goal K 28 STK 7-3

STK - field goal Rasputin 34 STK 10-3

STK - field goal Rasputin 36 STK 13-3
LIS - TE1 17 pass from QB1 (Kick failed) STK 13-9
LIS - field goal K 37 STK 13-12

LIS - field goal K 31 LIS 15-13
STK - Dobler 71 pass from Klein (Rasputin kick) STK 20-15

Schedule:

Matchday 1: W 24-12 @ Jeckland (UR*)
Matchday 2: W 20-15 vs. Lisander (30)
Matchday 3: White/Purple @ Xanneria (14)
Matchday 4: Purple/Black vs. Taeshan (7)
Matchday 5: White/White @ Silver Beach (UR)
BREAK
Matchday 6: Purple/Purple vs. Jeckland (UR)
Matchday 7: White/White @ Lisander (30)
Matchday 8: Purple/Black vs. Xanneria (14)
Matchday 9: White/Purple @ Taeshan (7)
Matchday 10: Purple/Purple vs. Silver Beach (UR)

*Unranked.

[Karditan]

Sinsinatti Sun

Uncivil Visit
your republic could use more moon

By Jonathan Umadden

The Ironworkers were able to bounce back for the second game of the World Bowl, following the narrow loss to South Covello. It was a much more productive trip to the United Civil Republic, where Asha Krenkov and co found an infinitely more forgiving defense to pierce. Asha herself racked up 205 passing yards and accounting for two touchdowns, finding Wide Net on a long lines in the first quarter and getting a second-quarter goal-line chuck to Zing Zap who barely managed to barge in on the flanks.

The defense posted an impressive day as well, though that's much more expected. The United Civil Republician QB was sacked five times, mostly through the efforts of Quentin Jackson and Jereth Yardsborough. Add in a crunching tackle from Master Blaster on a United Civil Republician receiver--expertly timed to avoid an interference call--forcing a fumble that was returned all the way by Stutter Step in the third quarter to well and truly seal the game away. And then they let Jeremiah Bull kick one in from twenty yards just to keep him fresh. Grey Skies knows her kicker may be the difference in tighter matchups, might as well give him extra in-game practice in garbage time.

Next up is arguably the most important matchup of the group stage, results-wise. Hosting second seeds Abanhfleft is the Ironworker's best chance to punch above their weight and get a statement win under their belts, and hopefully generate some momentum in the leadup to the big game against Allamunnic States.

[Delaclava]

DSGN.com Gridiron

Busy day for Conley leads Phoenixes past Equestria

Kieran Conley converted all five of his field goal attempts and the Delaclava gridiron dominated possession despite its red zone woes to defeat Equestria 22-10 and move to 2-0 in the competition.

Dexter George also added 149 yards on 31 carries, including the lone Delaclav touchdown with a 30 yard run in the first quarter, and numerous effective short gains to close out the game. Delaclava led 13-0 in the middle of the second quarter and never allowed the Equestrian team the opportunity to draw much closer than that.

"We did a lot of things very well today," coach Gorka Bielsa said after the game. "We moved the ball well in most of the field, were aggressive and sharp on defense, and never let the opponents back in. We need to figure out how to punch it in when we get close. But Kieran's a pro - he did what he needed to do for us.

"At the end of the day, it's nice to stay undefeated."

Conley himself downplayed his role and credited the team for their success in moving the ball early in the drive: "The offense was great at putting the defense on the back foot, starting the drives well and putting us ahead on the field. It's nicer to get six than three, but it's better to score some than not at all.

"As for me, that's my job. It's out of my control when I take the field - I just have to do it when I'm called. I was glad to come through."

Similarly to the Quebec game, the Phoenixes started off strong by scoring on the first possession of the game. This time, it was kickstarted by a big return from Javon Reid, who took the kick at the 5 yard line and brought it all the way to the Equestrian 48 on the left sideline before being tripped up. From there, the Phoenixes largely inched forward, but one big first down thanks to a 17-yard connection from Brian Mathis to Matthew Plank was enough to get into Conley's comfortable kicking range.

While the Equestrian offense was able to generate three first downs on the subsequent offensive drive, their efforts were thwarted by an ill-advised pass across the middle from the quarterback, which linebacker Ben Dorman read perfectly for the interception. Dorman was brought down at the Delaclav 35, and George got 54 of the 65 yards needed to get into the endzone, including a spectacular hesitation run up the right side which resulted in the 30-yard score.

After another long Equestrian drive resulted in no points, the punter pinned the Phoenixes at the 4 yard line. But Mathis coolly led an 11-play, 84-yard march down the field which included a 39-yard pass to Mateus Eldridge. Despite all the efforts, the offense again was shut down as they drew closer to the goal line, and Conley came out for his second and shortest field goal of the day.

"I don't know if it's a tactical issue or just mental," Mathis wondered. "We're going to look at film on this game and see what we can find out. Coach (Jeff) Sweeney is great with this sort of innovation, so we'll sit down and figure out how to break through at the very end."

While Delaclava is currently riding high with wins in the first two games, the red zone stalling is a pressing issue for a team that will soon be taking on higher-quality squads like Transmondian Commonwealth and Drawkland. With George's touchdown coming outside the Equestria 20, Delaclava has scored a touchdown in just one of its nine red zone trips, dating back to the Quebec game. To their credit, the other eight trips have resulted in field goals, with no turnovers in such a situation.

Nevertheless, the Phoenixes led 13-0, and there was no sign that the 45th-ranked team was going to give a response. But just as Delaclava was on the verge of scoring yet again, Mathis found Roddy Carter in the middle, who brought the ball under control for the catch before being hit. The ball popped loose, was ruled a fumble and subsequently recovered by the defense at the 28 yard line, despite Bielsa's protestations.

From there, Equestria drove for 72 yards and the score with just 38 seconds left in the half. Bielsa used up the timeouts to try to save his own offense a little time, but the plans were thwarted when Mathis was sacked on the first play of the next drive, and all of a sudden, Equestria was down just six points and had the momentum.

But the defense came out firing on all cylinders in the second half, forcing three-and-out on two consecutive drives before Conley opened second half scoring with his longest field goal of the day, from 54 yards. Allan Tolliver, who had two sacks on the two drives, was asked about the halftime speech that changed their approach: he replied, "Nothing crazy, really. We knew that last possession got away from us. Coach basically said, you know what you're supposed to do, you've been doing it all game, don't blow it now."

Equestria would eventually be able to scrounge up a field goal late in the third quarter, but that would be all of their scoring for the second half, and Conley tacked on two more field goals to cap methodical, run-heavy drives. After a last-ditch Equestria drive quickly resulted in an interception by Jaxx Underwood, Mathis kneeled the game out and the Phoenixes walked off with their second win in as many games.

The Phoenixes next hit the road to play 16th-ranked Transmondian Commonwealth of New England, who are looking to reset their campaign after a tight 14-3 loss to Drawkland. Mathis and company are looking forward to the challenge.

"This is the next step up for us," Mathis said. "We go away and play one of the better teams in the competition, and it's going to tell us what we're going to be able to do in the rest of the tournament.

"You don't find your limits until you lose. Once that happens, you know where you stand, you know where your limits are and then you push past them."

Delaclava 22–10 Equestria

1st Quarter
DEL, Conley 43 yard FG, 10:34.
DEL, George 30 yard run (Conley kick), 3:15.
2nd Quarter
DEL, Conley 29 yard FG, 9:04.
EQS, 7 yard run (kick good), 0:38.
3rd Quarter
DEL, Conley 54 yard FG, 7:12.
EQS, 34 yard FG, 3:49.
4th Quarter
DEL, Conley 47 yard FG, 14:32.
DEL, Conley 32 yard FG, 3:08.

[The Greater Nordics]

GNTV World Bowl Report

The Nordic football team is off to a great start in this World Bowl. The first two games have been victories for Leif Beck's squad. The defense has been the standout part of the team so far only allowing 3 points so far. Defensive coordinator Bjorn Pallesen has to be feeling good about his unit but they cant get too comfortable, they have the number 1 ranked team coming up next. The Free Republics run an tough offense to prepare for. We will see if the Nordic offense can keep up their steady work against the tough Republican defense. The offense didnt look that good in the last game where defense and special teams scored all the points. It will be a good game to watch and we can hope that the Nordics can pull off an upset.

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Childhood, Traces
PART 1

‘So, where do we start this, Michael? This is my first time trying this, and I’d rather narrate it out than to help you write it.’

‘Well, it’s straightforward, Pierre. Don’t be nervous. This is not your first time narrating the stories of your life and won’t be the last time either.’

‘Alright then. How many parts do you think we’ll have to work on?’

‘It’s up to you. Don’t feel so stressed out. Think of this as a good way for you, a man just one year removed from college, to reflect upon yourself. Someday, you can use this opportunity to possibly tell your kids the story of your earlier life and whatnot.’

'Alright, here we go again....'

Part 1, Chapter 1

If I have to be honest, I prefer to orient my childhood memories to that of snapshots and episodes. It’s simply out of choice and reality that we all grasp with information, some of which we fondly remember of, and others we don’t. That’s just how life works sometimes. Right now, for instance, I am lying over a grassy field, somewhere in middle of the Cape Breton Island while my father, a genuine woman with wide range of coincidental interests, strolls with my mother. Somewhere down the beaches, my brother, wearing an orange and black tee-shirt, is wetting his water by the Ocean. As I look into the ocean, I keep thinking the Korean word ‘Nangman, which has entirely different nuance to its English equivalent ‘romance’, as thicker pronunciation of the Korean word evolves into something found more in an elderly baritone from an opera I had to watch months earlier. The waters are clear, the sky is all pale blue, and needless to say, it’s warm in the winter.

The place is, of course, Cape Breton, on the Atlantic. The pair of sunglasses I covered my eyes with, which looked too circular to be understood as a pair of sunglasses for an eight year old, is a gift which my auntie Maraika, a longtime friend of my other, gave me when we came home for August. I remember keeping it as if it was my lifelong treasure until I had outgrown myself, by which it held a place in my cabinet once I returned to Quebec.

Anyways, there wasn’t much I remember from rest of the trip, though there was one occasion. On the way back, at a restaurant, my family just happened to meet another Quebecois family on the other side of the resto, who arrived shortly after us. So we did drop by, greet each other, talk to them for a bit, and after going back to our table, snuck our food away on containers that mum got out of our car.

The year was 2028. I was eight. The nation was going through some periods of change and it was in some ways the best to avoid meeting your compatriots too often on the other side of the realm. The homeland was still reminded by my homeroom teacher, a fair bit- certain Mssr. Brassard, would write me specific instructions in Medieval Korean that showed how the tonal signs- from Ah to Oh- would be deciphered. The certain joly-good-fella Mssr. Brassard would try his best, for an hour after Monday's classes had ended, to amuse me by playing word games with me and a couple of my childhood friends, Kiera and Man-Soon, whom we naturally knew each other from nursery school due to our parents’ employment. ‘Someday, it’ll all make sense’ after we get them right but without understanding it.

Those lessons had lasted two years before I had to return to Quebec. Of course, those lessons would eventually come back to me later when I, while waiting in line at a Metro platform in Quebec City, was asked for a light by an old man. The old man, with the paler renditions of very same moustache me and my friends remembered, was the same ole self. The next moment we recognised each other, and we had lunch two days after.

He was doing well, nowadays working as a private school teacher somewhere in the suburbs, but that I believe is not what I’m trying to get to you, my dear reader, at. What I was more pleased about was rather on how a daring teacher and an unassuming student would first meet, all on purpose and awareness, but would both be back in Quebec and meet outta nowhere. Outta the blue, as people would say.

So I’d say that perhaps, it’s more about how everything, though unexplained, would eventually come back to you as if magical pollens had come to inseminate the flowers of what we had anticipated, but may have forgotten about. And I hope that should help start this series of recollections out and whatnot, as I narrative a couple of stories of my life to you...

[Delaclava]

This is a busy time in NS Sports. World Cup, Cup of Harmony, World Bowl, WBC and Olympics coming up soon... it's a lot to handle. Just remember to pace yourselves, take time to breathe, and just RP as much as you reasonably can. Don't overcommit.

Gameday 3 cutoff!

---

Group A
Equestria 3–14 Royal Kingdom of Quebec
Transmondian Commonwealth of New England 27–20 Delaclava
Drunk People at the Local Tavern 16–18 Drawkland

  Group A                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Drawkland                                      3    3   0    58   19  +39
2 Transmondian Commonwealth of New England       3    2   1    59   44  +15
3 Delaclava                                      3    2   1    65   51  +14
4 Royal Kingdom of Quebec                        3    2   1    55   26  +29
5 Drunk People at the Local Tavern               3    0   3    26   74  −48
6 Equestria                                      3    0   3    13   62  −49

Group B
Xanneria 34–7 Saint Kanye
Silver Beach 0–56 Jeckland
Lisander 3–14 Taeshan

  Group B                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Xanneria                                       3    2   1    71   32  +39
2 Saint Kanye                                    3    2   1    51   61  −10
3 Jeckland                                       3    2   1    90   40  +50
4 Taeshan                                        3    2   1    31   24   +7
5 Lisander                                       3    1   2    47   44   +3
6 Silver Beach                                   3    0   3    10   99  −89

Group C
Krytenia 6–23 Velstrania
Squidroidia 0–19 Main Nation Ministry
Martune 0–27 Geektopia

  Group C                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Main Nation Ministry                           3    3   0    91   34  +57
2 Geektopia                                      3    3   0    73   20  +53
3 Velstrania                                     3    2   1    63   51  +12
4 Martune                                        3    1   2     9   53  −44
5 Squidroidia                                    3    0   3    16   54  −38
6 Krytenia                                       3    0   3    30   70  −40

Group D
TJUN-ia 44–3 Nagore
Ko-oren 33–0 The Jovannic
The Sarian 13–20 Cassadaigua

  Group D                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 TJUN-ia                                        3    3   0    85   17  +68
2 Cassadaigua                                    3    2   1    47   36  +11
3 Ko-oren                                        3    2   1    66   20  +46
4 The Sarian                                     3    1   2    44   64  −20
5 The Jovannic                                   3    1   2    40   67  −27
6 Nagore                                         3    0   3    30  108  −78

Group E
Terre Septentrionale 20–35 Banija
Alba and Cymru 7–33 HUElavia
Vangaziland 38–0 Western Fardelshufflestein

  Group E                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Vangaziland                                    3    3   0    98   26  +72
2 Terre Septentrionale                           3    2   1    66   42  +24
3 HUElavia                                       3    2   1    67   43  +24
4 Banija                                         3    1   2    71   68   +3
5 Western Fardelshufflestein                     3    1   2    33   71  −38
6 Alba and Cymru                                 3    0   3    20  105  −85

Group F
Damukuni 10–16 Newmanistan
Inner AginanaUsordia 39–12 Lovisa
Bongo Johnson 3–27 Ranoria

  Group F                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Ranoria                                        3    3   0    96   20  +76
2 Newmanistan                                    3    3   0    88   27  +61
3 Inner AginanaUsordia                           3    2   1    80   52  +28
4 Lovisa                                         3    1   2    59  104  −45
5 Damukuni                                       3    0   3    44   89  −45
6 Bongo Johnson                                  3    0   3    17   92  −75

Group G
Northwest Kalactin 34–3 Sarzonia
Kohnhead 13–24 Torisakia
Free Republics 33–0 The Greater Nordics

  Group G                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Free Republics                                 3    3   0    79   13  +66
2 Torisakia                                      3    3   0   105   47  +58
3 The Greater Nordics                            3    2   1    35   36   −1
4 Northwest Kalactin                             3    1   2    48   76  −28
5 Kohnhead                                       3    0   3    29   53  −24
6 Sarzonia                                       3    0   3    23   94  −71

Group H
Mathuvan Union 23–7 United Civil Republic
South Covello 6–3 Allamunnic States
Karditan 0–6 Abanhfleft

  Group H                                      Pld    W   L    PF   PA   PD 
1 Abanhfleft                                     3    3   0    29    3  +26
2 South Covello                                  3    2   1    27   33   −6
3 Allamunnic States                              3    2   1    78    6  +72
4 Karditan                                       3    1   2    45   27  +18
5 Mathuvan Union                                 3    1   2    26   48  −22
6 United Civil Republic                          3    0   3     7   95  −88