World Baseball Classic 37 Everything Thread

[Ilyseum]

Results for MDs 13-15 in Frenline Delpha

MD13

Group A
Ko-oren                            0 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 0  5
Amazonesta                         0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  3

-Anthor-                           0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 3  6
Frenline Delpha                    0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 2  5

Southern Democratic States         0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4  5
New Jarwel                         2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2


  Group A                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                            13   11   2    85   51  +34    33
2 Southern Democratic States         13    8   5    49   54   −5    24
3 Frenline Delpha                    13    7   6    67   65   +2    21
4 -Anthor-                           13    6   7    48   49   −1    18
5 Amazonesta                         13    4   9    44   55  −11    12
6 New Jarwel                         13    3  10    48   67  −19     9

Group B
West Phoenicia                     2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  4
Yuuzhan vong empire                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

Britonisea                         0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  3
New Cape Land                      1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 X  4

Cosumar                            0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Zyarus                             0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  3


  Group B                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zyarus                             13   12   1    71   30  +41    36
2 Cosumar                            13    8   5    66   48  +18    24
3 West Phoenicia                     13    7   6    55   46   +9    21
4 New Cape Land                      13    5   8    40   64  −24    15
5 Yuuzhan vong empire                13    4   9    32   57  −25    12
6 Britonisea                         13    3  10    48   67  −19     9

Group C
Confederate Islands of Paputu      0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  2
The Greater Korean Republic        3 2 0 2 0 1 0 1 X  9

Super-Llamaland                    0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0  2
Korizland                          0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1  3

San Llera                          1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 1  5
The Fair Republic                  1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0  4


  Group C                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 San Llera                          13    8   5    56   55   +1    24
2 The Fair Republic                  13    8   5    68   52  +16    24
3 Korizland                          13    7   6    49   40   +9    21
4 Super-Llamaland                    13    7   6    50   50    0    21
5 The Greater Korean Republic        13    5   8    57   65   −8    15
6 Confederate Islands of Paputu      13    4   9    47   65  −18    12

Group D
Flardania                          2 1 0 1 0 0 1 2 0  7
Greater Vakolicci Haven            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

Platerdam                          1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1  5
United States of Devonta           0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0  3

Nova Anglicana                     1 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 0  6
Jestoria                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0


  Group D                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana                     13   10   3    69   45  +24    30
2 United States of Devonta           13    9   4    63   47  +16    27
3 Jestoria                           13    7   6    58   54   +4    21
4 Flardania                          13    6   7    63   58   +5    18
5 Platerdam                          13    4   9    47   64  −17    12
6 Greater Vakolicci Haven            13    3  10    46   78  −32     9

MD14

Group A
Amazonesta                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
New Jarwel                         0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 X  4

Frenline Delpha                    0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Southern Democratic States         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Ko-oren                            1 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0  5
-Anthor-                           7 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 X 11


  Group A                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                            14   11   3    90   62  +28    33
2 Southern Democratic States         14    8   6    49   57   −8    24
3 Frenline Delpha                    14    8   6    70   65   +5    24
4 -Anthor-                           14    7   7    59   54   +5    21
5 New Jarwel                         14    4  10    52   68  −16    12
6 Amazonesta                         14    4  10    45   59  −14    12

Group B
Yuuzhan vong empire                0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0  3
Zyarus                             0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 4  7

New Cape Land                      0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  2
Cosumar                            0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 X  4

West Phoenicia                     0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Britonisea                         0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 X  2


  Group B                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zyarus                             14   13   1    78   33  +45    39
2 Cosumar                            14    9   5    70   50  +20    27
3 West Phoenicia                     14    7   7    55   48   +7    21
4 New Cape Land                      14    5   9    42   68  −26    15
5 Yuuzhan vong empire                14    4  10    35   64  −29    12
6 Britonisea                         14    4  10    50   67  −17    12

Group C
The Greater Korean Republic        3 1 1 0 0 2 0 0 2  9
The Fair Republic                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2

Korizland                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
San Llera                          0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 X  2

Confederate Islands of Paputu      0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2
Super-Llamaland                    0 0 2 1 0 3 1 0 X  7


  Group C                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 San Llera                          14    9   5    58   55   +3    27
2 The Fair Republic                  14    8   6    70   61   +9    24
3 Super-Llamaland                    14    8   6    57   52   +5    24
4 Korizland                          14    7   7    49   42   +7    21
5 The Greater Korean Republic        14    6   8    66   67   −1    18
6 Confederate Islands of Paputu      14    4  10    49   72  −23    12

Group D
Greater Vakolicci Haven            1 4 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  7
Jestoria                           0 0 0 0 0 3 2 0 2 0 1  8

United States of Devonta           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2
Nova Anglicana                     0 0 2 0 0 1 0 2 X  5

Flardania                          0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  3
Platerdam                          3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 X  7


  Group D                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana                     14   11   3    74   47  +27    33
2 United States of Devonta           14    9   5    65   52  +13    27
3 Jestoria                           14    8   6    66   61   +5    24
4 Flardania                          14    6   8    66   65   +1    18
5 Platerdam                          14    5   9    54   67  −13    15
6 Greater Vakolicci Haven            14    3  11    53   86  −33     9

MD15

Group A
-Anthor-                           0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2
Amazonesta                         0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3  5

Southern Democratic States         3 0 4 2 0 0 0 0 0  9
Ko-oren                            0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  3

New Jarwel                         0 0 3 0 0 2 2 0 0  7
Frenline Delpha                    1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1


  Group A                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                            15   11   4    93   71  +22    33
2 Southern Democratic States         15    9   6    58   60   −2    27
3 Frenline Delpha                    15    8   7    71   72   −1    24
4 -Anthor-                           15    7   8    61   59   +2    21
5 New Jarwel                         15    5  10    59   69  −10    15
6 Amazonesta                         15    5  10    50   61  −11    15

Group B
Britonisea                         2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Yuuzhan vong empire                0 3 0 0 1 0 2 1 X  7

Cosumar                            0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0  4
West Phoenicia                     2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  3

Zyarus                             0 0 0 0 5 0 2 0 0  7
New Cape Land                      0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 0  4


  Group B                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zyarus                             15   14   1    85   37  +48    42
2 Cosumar                            15   10   5    74   53  +21    30
3 West Phoenicia                     15    7   8    58   52   +6    21
4 Yuuzhan vong empire                15    5  10    42   66  −24    15
5 New Cape Land                      15    5  10    46   75  −29    15
6 Britonisea                         15    4  11    52   74  −22    12

Group C
Super-Llamaland                    0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1  4
The Greater Korean Republic        0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 X  5

San Llera                          0 0 0 3 1 3 0 2 1 10
Confederate Islands of Paputu      0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2

The Fair Republic                  2 0 0 1 2 2 1 7 0 15
Korizland                          1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0  3


  Group C                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 San Llera                          15   10   5    68   57  +11    30
2 The Fair Republic                  15    9   6    85   64  +21    27
3 Super-Llamaland                    15    8   7    61   57   +4    24
4 Korizland                          15    7   8    52   57   −5    21
5 The Greater Korean Republic        15    7   8    71   71    0    21
6 Confederate Islands of Paputu      15    4  11    51   82  −31    12

Group D
Platerdam                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Greater Vakolicci Haven            0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 X  4

Nova Anglicana                     1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 1  6
Flardania                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Jestoria                           0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 3  5
United States of Devonta           0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3  4


  Group D                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana                     15   12   3    80   47  +33    36
2 United States of Devonta           15    9   6    69   57  +12    27
3 Jestoria                           15    9   6    71   65   +6    27
4 Flardania                          15    6   9    66   71   −5    18
5 Platerdam                          15    5  10    54   71  −17    15
6 Greater Vakolicci Haven            15    4  11    57   86  −29    12

---

In light of the announcement of server downtime planned for tomorrow during the cutoff window of both hosts, we will be reinstating the mid-group stage off day and will resume scorination on Wednesday.

[Skeckoa]

...

Son: You should have seen it papá. All of my friends were lighting firecrackers around the streets.

Dad: It must have been so exciting. I wish I was there so bad.

Son: Me too papá. They actually beat Schlitzberg. The #1 team in the world! Did you at least watch it on TV.

Dad: No, I had told you, all of the money I'm getting I'm sending over to you. By the way, did you get the shoes that I sent you?

Son: Yea, they came in the mail yesterday. Mama says that they don't fit though, they're too small.

Dad: Really, but I could have sworn that that was your size.

Son: Yeah, maybe a few years ago. I really liked them but they hurt my toes a lot to have them on. Wait, maybe you can get me one of the right size! I'd really like them, they looked so cool with the velcro straps. My laces don't get dirty because they don't have any.

Dad: *gulps* Yes son. I'll see if I can try to find them at the store, I'm not sure if they'll have them though.

Son: Oh, that's fine. Dad, can I have you a question?

Dad: Yes, of course, you could always ask me anything.

Son: How much did the shoes cost?

Dad: Don't worry about that son. You just worry about school and taking care of your mother.

Son: You said I could ask anything though.

Dad: *sigh* Just not that, okay. It's of no concern to you. Why don't you tell me about the game? Where did you watch it?

Son: Don't get mad, okay?

Dad: What happened? You didn't go to that bar, did you?

Son: They were showing the game for free. Trust me dad, the usual drunks weren't behaving! My and all my friends were watching Shiltzberg play Skeckoa. It was really amazing. The Indian pitcher was just so good. No matter what he through, no one could touch it.

Dad: Really? That guy, I remember watching him play in Skeckoa. He was so bad at first, I can't believe he's pitching for the Verdimorados now.

Son: But hey, our guys were struggling so much to. The first run was just an error when the shortstop tried to rush a through to first. That ball went right into the stands. It was really lucky.

Dad: Who was batting?

Son: I think Díaz. He's really fast. And then in the eight we were winning 2 to 1, but then they started really hitting the ball. Amaxi Ginebreda pinch hit and put in two with a double. I still couldn't believe it. Papa, do you go to baseball games over there, you know you always wanted to go see baseball in America.

Dad: I wish, like I told you, all the money I'm getting to you. But just wait, in a year or so, I'm going to bring you, your mom, and your baby brother over to America. You'll love it. Have you been practicing your English like I asked you to? [Note: Conversation is happening in Spanish]

Son: Uhh...

Dad: What about the book I got you in English? Have you read it?

Son: The Drasus one?

Dad: Repeat after me. Doc-ter Suess.

Son: Duct-tour sus.

Dad: Yeah, just like that. Anyone son, I really have to get going. I have to leave to work soon.

Son: Isn't it dark in New York right now?

Dad: I got a night shift job too, that way I can bring you over to see me quicker.

Son: Okay dad.

Dad: I love you.

Son: I love you to Dad, I'm going to go with my friends, they're watching the Vangaziland Skeckoa game right now.

Dad: A big hug.

Son: Bye.

[Ethane]

The Turnbull Story, Part Two

Part One

---

Edward opened up his Dad's large, grey laptop on the wooden table, inside the dining room in his home. He pressed the power button, and listened to the whirring as the screen turned on, first a blue colour, before showing the operating system's logo, and then the login page. He sat down on a chair in front of the laptop, and tapped in his password. He used the touchpad on the laptop to scroll over to a button, and clicked on it, opening up his internet browser. He typed in to the search bar: ''baseball in Lewis''.

Thousands upon thousands of search results loaded up rapidly. Edward began to scroll through them, looking for any relevant, that were an exact match to what he wrote in the search bar, but he could not find any. Having fallen in love with the sport of baseball rather quickly, he wanted to learn how to play it himself. After he had watched the match on the television, he had looked through and watched all the previous matches, and looked at the history of baseball in Ethane, as well as made sure he was free to watch any further matches, which he has freed up time for specially, especially the matches against Skeckoa and Schiltzberg. But he found that watching it on the tv, and looking up the history of it wasn't enough for him. He wanted to actually get involved with some baseball club, try to learn it and get in, and start playing if he was any good, and if not, become a club member and support the club, attending every match.

This proved to be quite difficult though, because of the relatively limited following of baseball in Ethane, as it was not that popular a sport that long ago, and it doesn't exactly get that much popularity whenever it happens still now, although this is partly down to the lack of baseball clubs, and baseball events around the country. All he had hoped was that there would be one club nearby that he could go to, but on his internet search, he could find none. He closed the browser on the computer, and put down the lid, slumping in resignation at the fact that he may not be able to find a baseball team anywhere near him. ''I won't stop following it though'' he said to himself, walking into the living room and slumping down on the settee, turning the TV on to the sports channel, where yet another match was about to be shown, played at the World Baseball Classic 37.

--------

The Ethanese had scored a home run. Edward leapt out of his chair, cheering his national team on, patriotic pride flowing through him like a tidal wave of the holy spirit filling someone. Overjoyed by the players, by his team, by baseball. He had transformed from a teenager that followed sports in general, with a focus on football, to a teenager that loved baseball so much that it consumed all of his life.

Standing at the door, watching his son with a beaming smile on his face, was his father. A proud father. A happy father. A joyed father. No reason why, except seeing his son come to love the sport that he once loved, but could never get into because of the lack of opportunities in Ethane. Seeing his son get excited over a home run, a decent pitch from the pitchers. Him screaming out at foul balls, and at strikes. This was the son he wanted to see. A son that he could talk to about baseball, something that he had always loved himself, just never really showed it, because of who he was. He knew he wasn't the best of Dad's, he was far from it, and the things he did were awful, never there for his son. But now he could be, through baseball. He continued walking past the door, into the kitchen, and grabbed a snack.

''Hey, Ed, where did you put my laptop?!'' he shouted through the house, to his son. Edward didn't hear, so he walked through, and said it again, this time closer so he could hear.

''Its on the kitchen table Dad. I'm watching this.'' Edward jutted back, turning his attention straight back to the baseball game on tv.

''Thanks Ed. I'll be in the kitchen on the laptop if you need me for anything.'' He walked back into the kitchen, and sat down at the table, opening up the screen, and turning it on. He opened up the internet browser, and went into the history, to find what he had searched up the other day. He scrolled down a little bit, and found what he needed. Just as he was clicking it, he saw out the corner of his eye what his son had searched: ''baseball in Lewis''. ''Now I know what I have to do,'' he muttered to himself. He knew that he could not let his son suffer the same fate as him, there being no opportunities for baseball for him. He had to find some baseball club for him. And if there wasn't one, make one. He couldn't let his son be disappointed with there being nothing for baseball like he was. It was time for him to step up, and do something for his son. It was time to be his Dad.

---

Explosive News: Sports
World Baseball Classic 37

[Home] [Cricket] [Rugby] [Hockey] [Tennis] [Baseball] [Basketball] [Gaelic Football] [Other Sports]

---

We apologise
Sam Heath - Sports Commentator

I would just like to write to all of you to offer my apologies for the actions of my previous colleague in an online article yesterday.

Last night, James Halworn released an extremely insulting article on our online sports page for the World Baseball Classic. It included many derogatory comments about those from other nationalities, and those on other teams playing against us, as well as accusing the Drawkish players of match fixing, and cheating to make their so-called 'inspiring underdog story'.

I have to apologise for this. It was completely wrong for this to be published online, or in any format, due to the insulting manner of the article in question, named 'World, we kindly ask you to stop screwing with our baseball results'.

We also wish to apologise for the false accusations made by James. It was completely unacceptable for James to accuse people and nations of match fixing at such a prestigious tournament without proof. Of course, proof of this would not have been found, as I genuinely believe everything here to be legitimate. Its just that we're not as good as last WBC, obviously.

We have swiftly dealt with the issue of this insulting article. We have removed the article in question from our website, so that it can no longer be read, and we have sent formal apologies to all the nations involved through private correspondence.

The writer has also been dealt with. James lost his job this morning with a scarred CV, and will not be accepted in a job for our business ever again.

This is a disgrace to the name of our broadcasting and coverage of events, and for this we are truly sorry. Incidents like this will not be tolerated, and we always come down on these as hard as possible.

We are deeply, truly sorry for what happened, and we will work our best to try to make sure nothing like this happens again.

I will be the replacement sports commentator, and I cannot wait to start writing on the World Baseball Classic tomorrow.

[Super-Llamaland]

CAMERON OUT

Halfway through a World Baseball Classic that is rapidly becoming a huge disappointment, the Llamanean Baseball Association recently announced that manager Alex Cameron's contract had been immediately terminated. Although Cameron led the team to three straight playoff appearances, the Tigers had not made it out of the quarterfinals in either of the past two Classics - in fact, Cameron's tenure has been the team's worst three-Classic stretch since WBC 25-27. For a bit of perspective, WBC25 happened when Cameron was a teenager. And despite a flawless six-game winning streak to kick off WBC37, the team has gone a pitiful 2-7 since then - the most recent loss to Greater Korea was the last straw.

"When Cameron was hired and subsequently re-extended, we did this because he was the right man for the job. But after the most recent results at this World Baseball Classic, we can no longer believe this," an LBA representative noted when pressed for a comment. Cameron declined to comment, although anonymous team members reported mixed emotions of the ex-South Falls manager.

As soon as Cameron's removal was announced, bench coach Jeff Mueller and pitching coach JR Sheffield, who had both worked for Cameron in the past, both announced their resignations from the team in a joint press conference. The moves have left the LBA reeling as they scramble to find a manager who is willing to leave their team in the middle of the LBL season to be a joint manager. However, for the time being, the coaches have created an emergency plan until reinforcements can be found - third-base coach Colin Nittledeen, the manager of Rogers City, will be at the helm. At his side will be hitting coach Bryce Flowers, ex-hitting coach Castor Inriquez (controversially sacked by Cameron before WBC37) as the bench coach, and newcomer Michael Wang as pitching coach.

Who will replace the charismatic ex-superstar? Reports indicate that, for the meantime, it'll be whoever first volunteers - with the Northern Leagues in their All Star Break, it's suspected that an Arondic manager could be brought in - Magnus Herleksson, manager of Dalen Athletik, is reportedly the LBA's top pick, but has stated he has no interest in such a role. As for Llamanea, Nittledeen and Jason Coolidge, manager of the New Llama Cyclones, are both rumored to be in the running.

The departure of Cameron, Mueller, and Sheffield has sent the team into chaos. All three left early this morning, and the players are still stunned that such a thing would happen. Most side with Cameron (an anonymous player saying that "I don't see how you can possibly fire anyone for a nine-game rough stretch; happens all the time in the LBL") but against Mueller and Sheffield, who resigned entirely of their own will.

It's just another ignominious chapter in Super-Llamaland's attempted return to international prominence after the horror of WBC32 and non-participation in WBC33. Can they recover?

[Frenline Delpha]

World Baseball Classic 37: Frenline Delpha and Ilyseum

I now invite you to all gorge yourselves on our fifth letter in the Al-phabet, Eat It.

Game 13

Group E
Ethane                                   1 0 1 3 0 2 0 0 1  8
Drawkland                                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Skeckoa                                  0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2
Ilyseum                                  1 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 X  7

Schiltzberg                              1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1  4
Vangaziland                              0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1  3

Group F
Sandberg                                 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
Anglatia                                 1 2 2 1 0 1 0 1 X  8

West Saintland                           0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1  4
Islanda Lunigo                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0  4
Gregoryisgodistan                        0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 1  5

Group G
Qasden                                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2
Kaboomlandia                             0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 X  3

Abanhfleft                               1 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  4
Cheongji                                 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2  6

Maklohi Vai                              0 1 3 0 0 0 0 3 2  9
Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2

Group H
Nuevo Caracas                            1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0  5
Jeckland                                 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0  3

Elykyellek                               0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Nassau-Hessen                            0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 X  5

Hannasea                                 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  2
The Serbian Empire                       0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 X  3

Game 14

Group E
Drawkland                                2 0 2 0 2 2 0 0 0  8
Vangaziland                              0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4  5

Ilyseum                                  0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0  4
Schiltzberg                              0 0 7 0 0 0 0 1 X  8

Ethane                                   0 0 7 0 0 0 0 3 1 11
Skeckoa                                  1 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0  5

Group F
Anglatia                                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Gregoryisgodistan                        0 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 X  5

Islanda Lunigo                           0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 0  5
Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2

Sandberg                                 0 0 1 1 1 2 0 0 0  5
West Saintland                           0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0  3

Group G
Kaboomlandia                             0 0 4 0 1 0 0 1 1  7
Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0  4

Cheongji                                 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0  4
Maklohi Vai                              0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 7  8

Qasden                                   2 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 0  7
Abanhfleft                               0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Group H
Jeckland                                 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1  4
The Serbian Empire                       0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Nassau-Hessen                            3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0  6
Hannasea                                 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0  3

Nuevo Caracas                            1 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0  5
Elykyellek                               0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 2  7

Game 15

[pre]Group E
Skeckoa                                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Drawkland                                0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 X  4

Schiltzberg                              1 0 4 4 0 2 0 0 0 11
Ethane                                   0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Vangaziland                              0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Ilyseum                                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2

Group F
West Saintland                           0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  2
Anglatia                                 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 X  4

Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1
Sandberg                                 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 X  6

Gregoryisgodistan                        0 2 0 1 1 1 0 0 0  5
Islanda Lunigo                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Group G
Abanhfleft                               0 0 2 0 1 0 4 0 1  8
Kaboomlandia                             0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 1  6

Maklohi Vai                              2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1  5
Qasden                                   2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  3

Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 0 5 3 1 3 0 0 0 0 12
Cheongji                                 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 4 0  6

Group H
Elykyellek                               0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0  4
Jeckland                                 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Hannasea                                 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  2
Nuevo Caracas                            0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 X  4

The Serbian Empire                       0 2 2 0 0 0 3 0 0  7
Nassau-Hessen                            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

[/pre]

Group E                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Schiltzberg                              15   12   3    89   65  +24    36
2 Drawkland                                15   10   5    70   64   +6    30
3 Ethane                                   15    8   7    84   71  +13    24
4 Ilyseum                                  15    6   9    64   85  −21    18
5 Skeckoa                                  15    5  10    54   75  −21    15
6 Vangaziland                              15    4  11    76   77   −1    12

Group F                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Gregoryisgodistan                        15   11   4    81   54  +27    33
2 Anglatia                                 15    8   7    74   56  +18    24
3 West Saintland                           15    7   8    68   74   −6    21
4 Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      15    7   8    68   76   −8    21
5 Islanda Lunigo                           15    7   8    49   63  −14    21
6 Sandberg                                 15    5  10    55   72  −17    15

Group G                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Maklohi Vai                              15   11   4    82   47  +35    33
2 Abanhfleft                               15    9   6    73   61  +12    27
3 Kaboomlandia                             15    8   7    58   67   −9    24
4 Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 15    7   8    70   81  −11    21
5 Qasden                                   15    6   9    51   50   +1    18
6 Cheongji                                 15    4  11    54   82  −28    12

Group H                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 The Serbian Empire                       15   11   4    58   41  +17    33
2 Nassau-Hessen                            15    8   7    71   66   +5    24
3 Hannasea                                 15    8   7    65   62   +3    24
4 Nuevo Caracas                            15    6   9    52   65  −13    18
5 Elykyellek                               15    6   9    73   77   −4    18
6 Jeckland                                 15    6   9    46   54   −8    18

[Drawkland]

BASE CORPS FINALLY NOT SUCKING
Written By: Maddie Basshart and Matt Basshart

---

RECENT RESULTS
FROM GROUP E:

Ilyseum                                  1 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 0  6
Drawkland                                2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 3  9

Drawkland                                0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
Schiltzberg                              1 2 0 0 0 4 0 0 X  7

Ethane                                   0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0  5
Drawkland                                0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  2

Drawkland                                0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
Vangaziland                              1 0 0 0 2 0 3 4 X 10

Skeckoa                                  0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2
Drawkland                                0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 X  4

Drawkland                                0 0 1 2 0 1 0 7 0 11
Ilyseum                                  0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0  3

Schiltzberg                              0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Drawkland                                0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 X  5

Drawkland                                2 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  6
Ethane                                   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0  5

Vangaziland                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  2
Drawkland                                0 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 X  5

Drawkland                                0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2  4
Skeckoa                                  0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Ilyseum                                  0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  5
Drawkland                                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  3

Drawkland                                2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1  6
Schiltzberg                              1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0  4

Ethane                                   1 0 1 3 0 2 0 0 1  8
Drawkland                                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Drawkland                                2 0 2 0 2 2 0 0 0  8
Vangaziland                              0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 4  5

Skeckoa                                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Drawkland                                0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 X  4

---

Group E                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Schiltzberg                              15   12   3    89   65  +24    36
2 Drawkland                                15   10   5    70   64   +6    30
3 Ethane                                   15    8   7    84   71  +13    24
4 Ilyseum                                  15    6   9    64   85  −21    18
5 Skeckoa                                  15    5  10    54   75  −21    15
6 Vangaziland                              15    4  11    76   77   −1    12

BASE CORPS HISTORY
You've probably heard now that the Base Corps, Drawkland's national Baseball team, is absolute garbage as it stands now. Overall record is 13-39, and has bottomed out their group in their previous two editions. They've been the butt of every national team joke lately in Drawkland, and in plenty of other places. Considering the massive success of other teams, even the Hand Corps in their debut, many pundits agree that perhaps Drawkians aren't meant for baseball on the international stage. Not to mention that the same sucking squad from earlier is still in effect, for some reason that DISC will simply not divulge¹.

When it was announced that the Base Corps would be back for WBC 37², there was a wave of surprise among baseball and other sport-followers. But the nail on the head of "why did we do this?" came when the groups were announced. The likes of 3-time champions and current #1 Schiltzberg, #11-ranked Ethane, the decent newcomers #66 Skeckoa, and the unranked but powerful nations of Ilyseum and Vangaziland all graced Group E, and the Base Corps was stuck in the middle. It was an expected death sentence, and many expected that the Base Corps was headed for another depressing last-in-group finish.

But then came the inspiring underdog story, as it's been scathingly referred to by some sportswriters³ of other nations⁴. With the extensive group stage just halfway over, it's anybody's guess what the Base Corps can truly accomplish. The oddest fact is that the team, nor the management, has changed at all. The team has had chemistry, too, as shown by Sonnelian and domestic competition. In fact, they've succeeded on the home front as much as any other Corps has. But out in the big, big, multiverse? Garbage. But apparently, the third time really IS a charm⁵ for the Base Corps. Huge 9th-inning wins abounding and incredible scores are falling out of the sky. Who knows what will happen next for the Base Corps?

FIRST SET
The first game was a massive morale boost for the Base Corps and the fans⁶, as a day-1 win has never been accomplished by the Base Corps, winning itself was also unexpected. The unranked Ilyseum were up 6-4 in the 8th, but 2 runs in the bottom of the ninth had the Base Corps manage a tie into the 10th, and a 3-run homer by Roger Madison sealed the deal.

Next up were the world number-ones, Schiltzberg, who everyone expected to be a landslide victory, which it was. It was, in fact, a close game, the Base Corps only down by one until the pitching lapsed at the end of the 6th, making it 2-7 Shiltzberg. The score remained the same until the game ended in the top of the 9th for "visiting" Drawkland. But a 1-1 record was still appreciated for the first set.

Next came Ethane's Red Kites, who proved to be incredibly consistent. 5/9 innings they scored a single run, which compared to two consecutive double RBI's from the Base Corps, stacked up to a rather eventless win for the land of explosive gas. Ending the first set of games 1-2 was both a blessing and a curse for the Base Corps. While they didn't get swept, they seemed to be off to a rather dim start, being at the bottom of the group.

SECOND SET
To further the negative sentiment felt by the Corps were the Vangazi team, who were yet unranked. The game was expected to be a tight match, but Vangaziland leading for 8 innings and tied in 1 left Drawkland constantly gasping for air, a lead, a chink in the armor of any kind. The 3- and 4-run innings for Vangaziland in the 7th and 8th sealed the deal, finishing the game 1-10. The morale dropped like a rock for most fans, but the team didn't seem to be as deflated as they had before.

Next came a game with Skeckoa, the first time Drawkland would face the lower-ranked team. It ended well, with a 3-run homer in the 7th bringing Drawkland ahead for the first time all game, pulling momentum into an RBI an inning later, and holding the Skeckoans to a single run in the 9th to keep the score at 2-4. The win was a huge bounceback after the crushing Vangaziland loss earlier.

However, the final nail out of the coffin⁷ was the final game of the set against Ilyseum. While the loss against Vangaziland was not exactly good in terms of winning, obviously, the 9-point drop in the run differential was absolutely killer. But lo and behold, a miracle⁸ against the Ilysee team fixed most of the problem. Consistent scoring in the middle of the game (their starter got super tired and their relief pitcher didn't seem warmed up enough) got the Base Corps to a solid lead. In the 8th inning, the Ilysee relief pitcher ran out of gas more and faster than the starter had innings earlier, and gave up a whole 7 runs in one inning, RBIs and homers galore for an exciting inning. The final scoreline, 11-3, was a blessing.

THIRD SET
The next game up was against Shiltzberg, which was expected to be a similar loss to the one on the first set. But to literally everybody's surprise, the Base Corps managed to beat in Schiltzberg's first loss all tournament, a rather humiliating 1-5. It was pretty apparent that the Schiltz squad had not expected such resistance, and realized it too late to fix it, the damage was done. Not only was this an incredible win, but this brought the Corps up to a winning record (for the first time in its history), 4-3.

The third set of games proved to be even more legendary in the next game against Ethane⁹, which ended in a 12-inning thriller for the audience that went late into the night. The Base Corps had scored 5 runs in the first half of the game to the Red Kites' 1, but 2 runs scored in the 8th and 9th each for them brought it into a sizzling tie. The 9th inning was especially heated since not only did the Ethanese tie it up, but the 3rd out was an out at home, thrown in from center field. 2 innings were run-dry, but finally in the 12th the Drawkians eeked in a run, and brought the game to a close for the Drawkians.

Then came the dreaded game against Vangaziland. But nothing could stop the Drawkians' momentum from the previous two wins, and so the Base Corps stomped Vangaziland, 2-5. In fact, it might've been 0-5, but Arthurson became rather tired pitching, and 2 runs were allowed in total.

FOURTH SET
Momentum continued in the fourth set against Skeckoa, in which the hapless couldn't stop the Base Corps' ticking machine from steamrolling in final-inning scores for a win. The 7-3 record at that point was massively impressive, and by now the Corps was second in group behind Schiltzberg, who likely nobody will topple before the stage is over.

Ilyseum proved to be preparing well for the Drawkians this time, scoring 2 in the second and holding the Drawkians until the 9th, where they slipped enough to allow 2 to score to tie the game in the 9th. The scoreless 10th was certainly tense, but 3 scored in the 11th by the Ilysee easily topped the Base Corps' hasty 1, for Ilyseum's first win against Drawkland.

While the mediocre fourth set seemed to not be as impressive as the third, Drawkland came in ready to prove a point to Schiltzberg yet again. Drawkland stayed ahead, scoring 2 over Schiltz's 1 in the first, and answering with 2 more the inning after the opponents tied it up. A single run in the 8th managed to prove useful, as Schiltzberg scored 2 in the bottom of the inning, but Drawkland was still ahead. The solo homer by Sean Navis sealed the deal for a 6-4 win. This was so incredible, as Drawkland had then accounted for 2 of Schiltzberg's 3 losses, and brought their record against the #1 team to a 2-1.

FIFTH SET
While the angry Ethane squad pulled an 8-0 win over Drawkland to start off the fifth set of games, Drawkland simply held their own the following games.

An exhilarating run against Vangaziland was the second game, as 2-run innings graced the Base Corps very much over the course of the match. The 4-run inning by the Vangazi was exciting for the crowd, but both teams knew the scoreline would prove in Drawkland's favor, and the efforts of the unranked team came up dry, 8-5 Drawkland.

And in a crowning moment to complete the halfway point of the long group stage, Drawkland skunked Skeck, 0-4. The easy game was a great way for the team relaxed before doing this all over again.

PREDICTIONS
Drawkland is currently 2nd in the group, 2 wins behind Shiltzberg and 2 wins ahead of Ethane. Anything can happen in 15 games, as we've seen already, so the second 15 will be certainly exciting. But as it seems now, Drawkland has a chance to go very far this edition if they stay alive, kicking, and killing¹⁰ out here in Ilyseum, in an unlikely road to Frenline Delpha for the final¹¹.

Good luck Base Corps. God bless y'all.


¹ What, are there no other players in existence right now?
² There was considerable debate on simply withdrawing the corps from international competition indefinitely.
³ James Halworn, we're talking to you. Jealous?
⁴ *coughs in Ethanese*
⁵ Okay, that cliche makes US nauseous too, salty Ethanians.
⁶ Much less present than the previous edition. This is either due to how terrible the Base Corps has been, or the fact that the group stage is 30 games long.
⁷ Like the last nail in the coffin, but in the reverse ... like ... uh ... if you're breaking out of the coffin, I guess. yeah, it was a stretch.
⁸ Get it? Because they're gods?! Hahahahah
⁹ We expect this game is the real reason that Ethanese journalist got really salty at us.
¹⁰ not literally
¹¹ No of course we're not going to the final. Are you crazy?

[West Phoencia]

The West Phoenician Confederates took time out of their busy baseball schedule today to visit a children's hospital signing autographs and taking photos with sick children.

One child Timmy was especially keen to take a picture with his hero Pitcher Cliff Samuels.
Timmy had been in the hospital for a week after an incident where he was practicing his pitching, the baseball bounced off a wall and ricocheted back konking him on the head leaving him with concussion.

Cliff Samuels was more than happy to take a few snaps and presented Timmy with a Confederates bat, balls and a signed jersey.

"When i grow up i want to be just like Cliff Samuels! " Timmy beamed as he slipped on the jersey

[Schiltzberg]

HALF-WAY THROUGH PRELIMINARY ROUNDS UPDATE

Schiltzberg comes into the half-way point of the opening part of the season with a respectable 12-3 record, which leads their group, which is Group E. They have been consistently putting up big numbers offensively, scoring five or more runs in ten out of their fifteen games thus far and averaging 5.93 runs per game, which is more than anyone in Schiltzberg's conference. Playing in the Olympia Coliseum has been a truly unique experience for Schiltzberg over the course of this season so far, and it has seemed to help them in certain games, and hurt them in others. For example, in their most recent game against Ethane, Schiltzberg was able to crank off several hits into the vastness of the outfield that night, which led to an 11-1 victory, but on other nights, like the first loss to Drawkland, Schiltzberg's players kept swinging for the fences, but the ball just would not leave the ballpark. As far as pitching is concerned, obviously Schiltzberg's guys have done pretty well to get a 12-3 record, granted they were given a lot of run support, which would obviously help. Schiltzberg's three losses came on nights when their offense did poorly, moreso than bad pitching, since two of those games came with only one run for Schiltzberg. William McKey has done decently, but not nearly as well as expected, having an averaged 3-2 record, losing twice to Drawkland. The positive thing is that all of Schiltzberg's starters that are generally considered to be mediocre have been doing well, and so, since McKey is bound to bounce back, if you are going to have anyone off his game in the pitching staff, you would rather it be him than someone who has lower expectations to begin with.

Schiltzberg now has a modest two game lead over second-place Drawkland, who has beaten Schiltzberg twice, but a larger four game lead over third-place Ethane, who Schiltzberg will have to stay in the lead of in order to advance. At this point, and it is still too early to truly tell, it looks as if Schiltzberg will advance to the playoffs for the fifth straight World Baseball Classic, but there is still a lot of baseball left to be played. As always, Schiltzberg continues to have extremely high expectations going into the second half. Schiltzberg's fans can only hope that Schiltzberg will be able to continue on the roll that they have been on for the past five years, because anything below advancing to the playoffs would be a major, major disappointment to the fans back home, who are extremely competitive about their baseball. Now all we have to do is wait until play resumes and the second half begins, which can be an impatient time for the most avid baseball fans. To pass the time, check out some charts that summarize Schiltzberg's season so far:

MD1  V Skeckoa       W (5-3)  Toups
MD2  V Drawkland     W (7-2)  McKey
MD3  @ Vangaziland   W (9-8)  Price
MD4  V Ilyseum       W (6-5)  Matos
MD5  @ Ethane        W (11-9) Paul
MD6  @ Skeckoa       W (9-4)  Toups
MD7  @ Drawkland     L (1-5)  McKey
MD8  V Vangaziland   W (5-4)  Price
MD9  @ Ilyseum       W (5-4)  Matos
MD10 V Ethane        W (3-2)  Paul
MD11 V Skeckoa       L (1-5)  Toups
MD12 V Drawkland     L (4-6)  McKey
MD13 @ Vangaziland   W (4-3)  Price
MD14 V Ilyseum       W (8-4)  Matos
MD15 @ Ethane        W (11-1) Paul

Group E                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Schiltzberg                              15   12   3    89   65  +24    36
2 Drawkland                                15   10   5    70   64   +6    30
3 Ethane                                   15    8   7    84   71  +13    24
4 Ilyseum                                  15    6   9    64   85  −21    18
5 Skeckoa                                  15    5  10    54   75  −21    15
6 Vangaziland                              15    4  11    76   77   −1    12

As always, keep playing, watching, and analyzing baseball!

This Is Your New Schiltzbierg Times Sports News

[Anglatia]

The Tragedy of Isa - Part Three

“I want to know who was here! What are you hiding from me!? Or should I say, who?”

“Nobody! You're being paranoid! I went to practice this morning, just like you did! I wasn't even here to do anything with anyone!”

“Stop… Stop lying to me. How can you be so heartless to do something like this, after what we've been through? I thought you were with me for good now… But it looks like you just wanted money after all.”

“That's nowhere close to being true. And you're really hurting my feelings by saying something like that.”

“Why would I give a shit about your feelings when you've ignored mine ever since we met? All you ever do is take advantage of me because you know I can't stop coming back to you! Now that I think about it, this sounds more and more like an abusive relationship. I've never treated you like anything less than a princess, and you treat me like dirt in return. Every damn time.”

“Really? What about the time when you cost me most of my friends and sent me into depression?”

“You're pinning that on me, now? You've gotta be kidding me. You did that to yourself. And stop deflecting. I want to know who was here earlier.”

“Nobody!”

“Her perfume is all over you! And I know what I heard when I came back here. I would've caught you red handed if I didn't forget my keys. Just tell me who it was, and maybe I'll forgive you. I've forgiven you for worse things.”

"There was nobody here, honestly."

“For the last time, stop fucking lying to me! Is it really so hard to tell me the truth?!”

“I didn't- Ow! What the hell? Look what you did! LOOK WHAT YOU DID! You're lucky that I'm not going to call the cops and- OW! Stop it! I'll tell you everything if you stop kicking me-”

“Then do it!”

“I won't tell you her name, because it will ruin her reputation and her relationship, but… I've been having a fling with someone else from back home, because her boyfriend plays abroad and never sees her in person any more. It wasn't supposed to be a big deal, and we were doing it before me and you got back together… I wanted to break it off, but I was waiting for the right time.”

“That's just like you, to lead on multiple people. You did it back home, too. I… I need some time to think about this. I wish I'd known before I gave up everything for you… I’ll probably forgive you. I don't really have a choice. But I need to think things over.”

“I'm sorry… I never thought you would find out, and we really were only trying to have some harmless fun.”

“You sure have a sick idea of fun. This is why I hate my life… Because of people like you who don't care about my feelings and only look out for themselves. I'm like a fucking drug addict. You keep hurting me and I keep crawling back for more.”

“You keep coming back because after everything, I'm still your Princess. You-”

“Shut your mouth before I hurt you. Badly. You need to remember that once you push someone far enough, they eventually stop caring about anything. And once they stop caring? There's nothing keeping them from turning on you and giving you a taste of all the pain that you've brought on them.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No, I'm just explaining what's going to happen if you keep treating me like dirt. Look, I have to go clear my head. Let's just not talk about this, and pretend it never happened. If I think about it too much, it's going to hurt more.”

=====

The flashback/dream was blurry in Isa’s mind as she took her gloves off after her first training session of the preseason with Ross United. Even though she had practiced with everyone else, her mind was on her lost memories and on what happened yesterday, when she had talked with a member of VLRA about Joanna Danicic. She gave the man info that had been learned by her through Cara, about seeing Joanna walking to Ajay’s room with the pistol that had been used in the murder, and explained that the hackers would have to get the security tapes if they wanted solid evidence. Her info also helped them realize that if they wanted to take down Sami Haawk, which was their mission, they would have to build a strong case against his partner in love and crime, Joanna.

The more Isa thought back, though, about the memories that Cara was supposedly hiding from her, the more she realized that there were gaps in what she knew to be true. For example, ever since the Cup of Harmony, she’d had three teardrop tattoos under her right eye. But she had no idea when she had gotten them or what they were supposed to symbolize. She also couldn’t remember the reason behind the friction between her and Katarina during the Cup of Harmony.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her teammate, Lily Cress, calling out to her. “Yo Isa, where’ve you been? You realize you missed like, the first week of camp, right? The only reason Thane hasn’t dragged you into his office to fine you yet is ‘cuz you signed for ten million marks and you’re too valuable to piss off.”

“I had some personal shit to straighten out,” Isa admitted, giving Lily a look that said that she wanted her to drop the subject. Lily however was never one to take hints, and she kept pushing.

“Oooooh, sounds interesting. Wanna tell me all the details? Was it juicy relationship drama? Or was it about how you’re bipolar?”

“What the hell are you on about, Lily? I’m not bipolar. And no, I don’t want to share all the details,” Isa replied.

“Um… OCD, that’s what I meant. Was it about that? Or was it about Katarina? She probably cheated on you with Draga, those two are way too close.”

“Draga is straight as an arrow, and what happens between me and Kat isn’t your business.”

“Ooh, I struck a nerve!” Lily said playfully, walking up behind Isa and putting a hand on her shoulder. “I’m right, amn’t I? Wanna talk about it over drinks?”

Lily never expected Isa to turn around and strike her hard in the face. Nor did she expect her to climb on top of her and hit her until her face was bloodied. The young striker was an unbearable teammate in Isa’s opinion, and this was when she finally snapped and went off on her. Andros Diasakos ran to pull her off, but she wrestled against the large forward and landed a few more punches before her teammates could get her away. “Katarina and Draga would never do that to me,” she said calmly as Lily struggled to get up.

The cameras of the journalists were flashing on the sidelines, and there was murmuring among the fans who had been watching. Isa knew she’d messed up, but she kept a calm face and forced herself to walk off of the pitch calmly, while the staff ran to check on Lily. Her sudden outburst of anger wasn’t because she truly thought that Lily was wrong, but because of her dread that she may be right. After all, she couldn’t trust her own memories right now.

“What the bloody hell did you think you were doing?” asked Thane Hull, running towards her from the benches. “First you show up for camp a week late, and now you decide to beat down our starting striker? Have you lost your mind!?”

Isa simply shoved her coach out of the way. “You knew I had personality problems, and yet you still signed me,” she said, as if that was a good excuse. When she reached the gate at the end of the pitch, she was instantly swarmed by journalists who wanted answers about her angry outburst.

“Isa, why did you attack your teammate for what appeared to be a joke? What did Lily Cress say to make you do that?”

“It’s not really one thing, it’s a reaction to my life becoming a living hell ever since I left Rosenpfelblatz. Rosen fans harassed me the whole time I was there, Ross fans still don’t trust me to replace Eli, there’s a lot of tension in our locker room, and I hardly have friends here. I really miss Alex. And Karen. I guess things just hit a breaking point,” Isa sighed, taking the microphone from the reporter who’d handed it to her. “It only takes one bad day for someone to snap. So far, I’ve had more than one of those days.”

"Can you elaborate on what you mean by having bad days?"

"What can I say? My life has gone to shit. None of you would criticize me for my actions if you knew what it was like to walk in my shoes. If you want me to be completely honest, I kind of just want to finish my contract and retire, so I don't have to deal with teammates and fans any longer."

Before the reporter could ask more questions, she threw the microphone as far away as she could and stormed off. Everyone else, the players and staff included, just watched her as she left, without chasing her. “I knew she’d have a hard time adapting, but I didn’t quite think it would be like this,” Thane Hull stated, as Lily moved next to him.

“I didn’t think she would try to smash my face in over lighthearted banter,” she muttered, spitting out a bit of blood.

“And to think that we signed you partly to keep her happy by having a real striker on the team… No offense, Lily, but it’s looking like we flushed twelve million marks down the drain this window. Twelve million marks that we could have spent strengthening our defense, we wasted on a striker that promptly gets into a fight with our star keeper,” Thane groaned, almost as if Lily wasn’t standing right next to him.

“Uh, I didn’t get into a fight. I half jokingly asked her if she wanted to talk about her love life, and she went off on me. Was I being annoying? Sure. Did I deserve to get my face bloodied? I don’t think so.”

“I’m not saying that you did,” Thane replied, before starting to wander off. “I’m just frustrated… I’m going to be in the break room if you need me. I need a drink…”

But Thane stopped when he saw that Isa hadn’t made it to the locker room before she’d been surrounded by three cops. At first, he assumed it was because of her assault on Lily, but these policemen had just arrived, and nobody had called them. When he listened in on their conversation, he was surprised by what the first officer said.

“We’re here as part of the investigation into the death of Ajay Oyekan… You called and said that you had information regarding the incident?”

Isa nodded. “Yes. Yes I do. Let’s go somewhere more quiet…”

[Ilyseum]

Results for MDs 16-18 in Frenline Delpha

MD 16

Group A
Amazonesta                         0 0 0 2 0 0 3 1 0  6
Frenline Delpha                    0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0  3

New Jarwel                         0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0  3
Ko-oren                            0 0 2 2 1 0 4 0 X  9

Southern Democratic States         0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0  4
-Anthor-                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0


  Group A                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                            16   12   4   102   74  +28    36
2 Southern Democratic States         16   10   6    62   60   +2    30
3 Frenline Delpha                    16    8   8    74   78   −4    24
4 -Anthor-                           16    7   9    61   63   −2    21
5 Amazonesta                         16    6  10    56   64   −8    18
6 New Jarwel                         16    5  11    62   78  −16    15

Group B
Yuuzhan vong empire                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
New Cape Land                      2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  3

Zyarus                             0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2
West Phoenicia                     0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Cosumar                            0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 1  4
Britonisea                         0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  3


  Group B                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zyarus                             16   15   1    87   38  +49    45
2 Cosumar                            16   11   5    78   56  +22    33
3 West Phoenicia                     16    7   9    59   54   +5    21
4 New Cape Land                      16    6  10    49   76  −27    18
5 Yuuzhan vong empire                16    5  11    43   69  −26    15
6 Britonisea                         16    4  12    55   78  −23    12

Group C
The Greater Korean Republic        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Korizland                          1 1 0 2 2 0 0 1 X  7

The Fair Republic                  4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  5
Confederate Islands of Paputu      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

San Llera                          0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Super-Llamaland                    1 0 0 2 2 0 2 0 X  7


  Group C                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 San Llera                          16   10   6    70   64   +6    30
2 The Fair Republic                  16   10   6    90   64  +26    30
3 Super-Llamaland                    16    9   7    68   59   +9    27
4 Korizland                          16    8   8    59   58   +1    24
5 The Greater Korean Republic        16    7   9    72   78   −6    21
6 Confederate Islands of Paputu      16    4  12    51   87  −36    12

Group D
Greater Vakolicci Haven            0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0  4
United States of Devonta           0 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 X  5

Jestoria                           0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  2
Flardania                          0 0 1 0 0 1 0 3 X  5

Nova Anglicana                     0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0  2
Platerdam                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1


  Group D                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana                     16   13   3    82   48  +34    39
2 United States of Devonta           16   10   6    74   61  +13    30
3 Jestoria                           16    9   7    73   70   +3    27
4 Flardania                          16    7   9    71   73   −2    21
5 Platerdam                          16    5  11    55   73  −18    15
6 Greater Vakolicci Haven            16    4  12    61   91  −30    12

MD 17

Group A
Southern Democratic States         0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Amazonesta                         0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 X  4

-Anthor-                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2
New Jarwel                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Ko-oren                            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Frenline Delpha                    0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 X  3


  Group A                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                            17   12   5   102   77  +25    36
2 Southern Democratic States         17   10   7    63   64   −1    30
3 Frenline Delpha                    17    9   8    77   78   −1    27
4 -Anthor-                           17    8   9    63   63    0    24
5 Amazonesta                         17    7  10    60   65   −5    21
6 New Jarwel                         17    5  12    62   80  −18    15

Group B
Cosumar                            0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0  4
Yuuzhan vong empire                0 3 0 0 0 1 0 1 X  5

Britonisea                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2
Zyarus                             2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 X  3

West Phoenicia                     2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  4
New Cape Land                      0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1


  Group B                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zyarus                             17   16   1    90   40  +50    48
2 Cosumar                            17   11   6    82   61  +21    33
3 West Phoenicia                     17    8   9    63   55   +8    24
4 Yuuzhan vong empire                17    6  11    48   73  −25    18
5 New Cape Land                      17    6  11    50   80  −30    18
6 Britonisea                         17    4  13    57   81  −24    12

Group C
San Llera                          0 2 3 1 1 1 1 0 1 10
The Greater Korean Republic        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Super-Llamaland                    2 1 2 4 3 0 0 0 0 12
The Fair Republic                  1 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  4

Confederate Islands of Paputu      0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Korizland                          0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 X  2


  Group C                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 San Llera                          17   11   6    80   64  +16    33
2 Super-Llamaland                    17   10   7    80   63  +17    30
3 The Fair Republic                  17   10   7    94   76  +18    30
4 Korizland                          17    9   8    61   59   +2    27
5 The Greater Korean Republic        17    7  10    72   88  −16    21
6 Confederate Islands of Paputu      17    4  13    52   89  −37    12

Group D
Nova Anglicana                     0 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 0  7
Greater Vakolicci Haven            0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  2

Platerdam                          0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2  4
Jestoria                           0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Flardania                          0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1  3
United States of Devonta           0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1


  Group D                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana                     17   14   3    89   50  +39    42
2 United States of Devonta           17   10   7    75   64  +11    30
3 Jestoria                           17    9   8    74   74    0    27
4 Flardania                          17    8   9    74   74    0    24
5 Platerdam                          17    6  11    59   74  −15    18
6 Greater Vakolicci Haven            17    4  13    63   98  −35    12

MD 18

Group A
Amazonesta                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Ko-oren                            0 1 3 0 0 1 0 1 X  6

Frenline Delpha                    0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
-Anthor-                           0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 X  6

New Jarwel                         3 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 0  8
Southern Democratic States         4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  7


  Group A                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                            18   13   5   108   77  +31    39
2 Southern Democratic States         18   10   8    70   72   −2    30
3 -Anthor-                           18    9   9    69   64   +5    27
4 Frenline Delpha                    18    9   9    78   84   −6    27
5 Amazonesta                         18    7  11    60   71  −11    21
6 New Jarwel                         18    6  12    70   87  −17    18

Group B
Yuuzhan vong empire                0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
West Phoenicia                     0 0 1 0 4 0 0 2 X  7

New Cape Land                      2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  5
Britonisea                         0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1  3

Zyarus                             0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3  5
Cosumar                            1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1


  Group B                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zyarus                             18   17   1    95   41  +54    51
2 Cosumar                            18   11   7    83   66  +17    33
3 West Phoenicia                     18    9   9    70   56  +14    27
4 New Cape Land                      18    7  11    55   83  −28    21
5 Yuuzhan vong empire                18    6  12    49   80  −31    18
6 Britonisea                         18    4  14    60   86  −26    12

Group C
The Greater Korean Republic        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Confederate Islands of Paputu      0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 X  3

Korizland                          1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  4
Super-Llamaland                    0 0 3 1 0 0 0 1 X  5

The Fair Republic                  0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 4  8
San Llera                          0 2 1 2 2 1 0 1 X  9


  Group C                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 San Llera                          18   12   6    89   72  +17    36
2 Super-Llamaland                    18   11   7    85   67  +18    33
3 The Fair Republic                  18   10   8   102   85  +17    30
4 Korizland                          18    9   9    65   64   +1    27
5 The Greater Korean Republic        18    7  11    73   91  −18    21
6 Confederate Islands of Paputu      18    5  13    55   90  −35    15

Group D
Greater Vakolicci Haven            7 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  8
Flardania                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

United States of Devonta           0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 1  6
Platerdam                          1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1  4

Jestoria                           2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4  8
Nova Anglicana                     0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0 0  6


  Group D                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana                     18   14   4    95   58  +37    42
2 United States of Devonta           18   11   7    81   68  +13    33
3 Jestoria                           18   10   8    82   80   +2    30
4 Flardania                          18    8  10    75   82   −7    24
5 Platerdam                          18    6  12    63   80  −17    18
6 Greater Vakolicci Haven            18    5  13    71   99  −28    15

[Ethane]

The Turnbull Story, Part Three

Part One | Part Two

James - Edward's Dad - left for work early the next morning. The sun was just rising as he got into his car, and with it being so low in the sky, he had to use the shades, a utility in the car he normally doesn't like using. He had to leave early, not because he had to be there early, or because there was extra traffic, but because he wanted to do something for his son, to make up for the many years of ignorance. He knew it wouldn't fix it, but he had to do something.

He drove into the leisure centre car park about five minutes after leaving the house - the benefit of living close to the leisure centre is that it doesn't take long to get there. The leisure centre in Lewis dealt with practically all the sporting opportunities in Lewis, and had a large amount of funding to do so, with free funding for anyone wishing to start up a new sports activity. He strolled into the building, through the double automatic doors, which opened as soon as he reached them, and joined the queue of about five people waiting for the information point, where, stupidly for this time of day, they only had one person working. He fumbled around with his fingers while he waited.

As soon as the queue in front of him had all been served, he stepped forward.

''How may I help you?'' the woman standing at the information desk asked.

''I wish to inquire about the availability of a sport at this, or any close leisure centres, for my son to begin playing.'' James said. He leant on the desk.

''Which sport may this be?'' the woman replied, opening up a database of all the sports run by the leisure centre on the information computer.

James looked up at her, tapped his forefinger on the desk, and spoke: ''My son is interested in joining a baseball team, or at least watching.''

She clicked on a search button, and typed in the sport one key tap at a time, slamming down on the enter key as she finished typing out the word. ''I'm sorry, but we don't offer any baseball here.'' she said, apologetically. ''There are a few choices you have however. There is a baseball pitch down the road, where an amateur team used to play, but is now unused. We own it, so you could start a baseball team there.''

James nodded in appreciation.

''Another thing you could try is going further afield, to one of the larger leisure centres, where they may offer baseball. No guarantees though.'' the woman working in information stated, in her typical monotone voice, as most people working in information services have, as if they are robots programmed to answer the questions and queries about the topic in question.

''Thank you. I appreciate your help. I'll get back to you once I've made my mind up.''

---

Explosive News: Sports
World Baseball Classic 37

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---

Half Way
Sam Heath - Sports Commentator

The Ethane Red Kites have not had the greatest first halves in the group stages of the World Baseball Classic, currently placed in third.

The Ethane Red Kites have had a fairly average, disappointing first half of the group stages in this World Baseball Classic, after losing some vital matches to teams that should have easily been beaten, to go in third place, behind the lower ranked Drawkland and their sickening 'inspiring underdog story'. The team reached the quarter-finals of the tournament in the last edition, so are looking to replicate this success, but so far, they have not found the cohesion they need to do this.

Game One:

Ethane                                   0 1 2 4 0 2 2 1 0  12
Vangaziland                              0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0  4

The first game of the tournament provided hope to the Ethanians, as they completely destroyed Vangaziland, tripling the score of their opponents. Ethane started early, but Vangaziland retaliated, scoring 1 in the third and 3 in the fourth. However, 4 runs in the fourth allowed Ethane to take a large marginal lead over their opponents, from where they continued to increase their line score. In the end, consistency won the match, and the team knew consistency was what was needed this tournament.

Game Two:

Ilyseum                                  0 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 2  6
Ethane                                   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0  4

Game two provided some disappointment for the national players, losing to the hosts, who naturally had the hosting advantage. Both teams scored a home run in the second, and Ethane scored 3 home runs in the eighth for Ilyseum's 1 in the sixth and 2 in the seventh, to stay in the game. However, while the team was good, Ilyseum played better, and took 2 runs in the eleventh to win 6 runs to 4. What the team lacked was consistency, and that is what lost this game.

Game Three:

Ethane                                   0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0  5
Drawkland                                0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  2

Third game was against Drawkland, the team being such a pain to everyone now. Once again, the consistency won the match for the Red Kites, scoring 1 run in five of the nine innings in play. Drawkland did manage 2 runs in the fourth, but this was never enough to beat the Red Kites, and gave them a fairly decent start, winning two out of three games, but disappointingly only third, stuck behind the hosts, Ilyseum.

Game Four:

Ethane                                   0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Skeckoa                                  2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 X  4

The fourth game was an absolute shocker for Ethane. A team, which it had been stated would be easy to win against in the Ethanian press, beat the much higher ranked, stronger, more consistent team. 2 runs in the first got them going straight off the bat, and Ethane were unable to recover from there, only scoring a solitary run in the second innings. 2 further runs for Skeckoa in the eighth innings rubbed salt in the wound further.

Game Five:

Schiltzberg                              7 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 11
Ethane                                   4 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0  9

The fifth game was a much anticipated game by the Ethanese peoples, on the team and at home, because of the stardom of the team they were playing against - 3 WBC wins, 2 back to back, and the top ranked baseball nation in the world. Didn't they show it straight out, scoring a straight 7 home runs in the first innings, an onslaught Ethane were not prepared for. A further two came in the second innings for Schiltzberg. Ethane had a fight of their own though, scoring 4 runs in the first, and 2 in the second. 2 runs in the sixth, and 1 in the seventh kept them in the game, but as well as known, Ethane struggles to wrap up games right at the end, and leaked 2 runs to Schiltzberg in the eleventh innings, to give them the win.

Game Six:

Vangaziland                              0 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 0  5
Ethane                                   0 6 0 0 1 0 0 0 X  7

Ethane pulled another victory over Vangaziland, this time a much closer game. Six runs in the second innings brought the game for Ethane, and though Vangaziland did their best to fight back with 1 in the third, 3 in the sixth and 1 in the eighth, they were unable to get back to Ethane's score. This knocked the Red Kites up to second in the group, but closely followed, and put them in a good position to continue with the tournament.

Game Seven:

Ethane                                   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Ilyseum                                  1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  2

Ethane were hoping to get over the hosts on the second match against them, but were unable to find the performance needed to do so. Ethane and Ilyseum both managed to score a home run in the first innings, but it was the home run in the second innings that won the game for Ilyseum in what was quite a dry game.

Game Eight:

Drawkland                                2 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  6
Ethane                                   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0  5

This game proved a disappointment, losing to a team they had beaten not long ago. 2 runs in the first and third gave Drawkland the lead, with the 1 run in the fourth heightening this. Ethane's 1 run in the first got them on the scoreboard, but they needed something else to get back into the game. 2 runs on both the eighth and ninth over brought the Red Kites back into the game, but, prone to defeat right at the end and the teams inability to finish off games, the Drawkish team scored a home run in the twelfth inning to win the game.

Game Nine:

Skeckoa                                  0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Ethane                                   0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 X  3

Ethane managed to just pip the weaker ranked team to the win here. Skeckoa scored 1 run in both the second and third to take an early lead, but the Red Kites quickly fought back, scoring 2 in the third and 1 in the fourth to move ahead. No more runs were scored throughout the game, and Ethane took a much needed victory. This put the team a little way behind second place in the standings, and in a precarious position - somewhere the team didn't want to be.

Game Ten:

Ethane                                   0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0  2
Schiltzberg                              0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 X  3

Yet another close game with the top baseball team in the world left the Ethanese players disappointed, as they have had the chances to steal wins, but so far their efforts have been fruitless. 1 run in the fourth gave the Red Kites the early lead, but Schiltzberg fought back quickly, retaliating with 2 runs in the fifth inning. 1 run each in the seventh inning left Schiltzberg left them one point ahead, and while Ethane did try to bridge the gap, they didn't manage.

Game Eleven:

Ethane                                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7  7
Vangaziland                              4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  5

A typical score by now, Ethane somehow managed to pull off a typical victory after such a poor start. 4 runs in the first innings and 1 run in the third inning made it seem like the Red Kites had no answer to the Vangaziland team, with no resistance for most of the game. It wasn't until the ninth inning that Ethane brought out its best, and scored a whooping 7 runs in one inning to take the team to victory out of nowhere.

Game Twelve:

Ilyseum                                  2 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0  5
Ethane                                   0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 4  8

The team seems to have changed from consistent to last minute towards the latter end of this first half, winning the last game and this game on the last inning. 2 runs in the first innings gave the hosts the lead, but the Red Kites managed to take the lead with 1 run in the second and 3 runs in the third. 2 runs in the fourth from Ilyseum leveled up the scores, and 1 run in the eighth inning made it seem like Ilyseum would just take it. However, a mad dash from the Red Kites in the last innings gave Ethane the win, scoring 4 runs in the ninth. Ethane had failed to close the gap to third place though, because of some remarkable plays in the 'inspiring underdog story' of Drawkland.

Game Thirteen:

Ethane                                   1 0 1 3 0 2 0 0 1  8
Drawkland                                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

The Red Kites showed Drawkland they mean business for that second place position in the group, completely thumping the team 8 to 0. The consistent performance from Ethane, which saw the Red Kites score in five of the nine innings gave Ethane a morale boost over their opponents, and shows it is possible for Ethane to reclaim the lost distance to second place in the group.

Game Fourteen:

Ethane                                   0 0 7 0 0 0 0 3 1 11
Skeckoa                                  1 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0  5

Another destruction by Ethane gave the team a morale boost yet again, and increased the hopes of them catching up to Drawkland. Skeckoa were the more consistent team, but the 7 runs in the third innings gave the poor souls a score they would struggle to come back at, and failed to come back at.

Game Fifteen:

Schiltzberg                              1 0 4 4 0 2 0 0 0 11
Ethane                                   0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

To round out the first half of the WBC 37 qualifiers, Ethane got roasted, and then put in chocolate digestives and eaten by Schiltzberg for snack. Ethane struggled to get any plays in against the strong pitching of their opposition, unable to find runs needed. It became clear Ethane were not going to win when Schiltzberg scored 4 runs in both the third and fourth innings, to which all Ethane could reply with was a single run in the sixth innings. This kept the Red Kites in third place for the group, having not closed the gap to Drawkland one single bit due to their winning record against Schiltzberg, but with an increased margin over fourth.

Predictions:
With the whole thing done so far to go again, it is quite difficult to predict what is going to happen. However, I believe that Schiltzberg is going to stretch a lead out now over Drawkland, with their honeymoon period likely to be over. Ethane will likely slip up into second place, with Drawkland falling into third, but that will likely be a close fought battle for second and third. The top three will likely pull away a bit. The bottom three, all is up in the air for, as it is so close, but I reckon Vangaziland will stay last, and Skeckoa and Ilyseum will be in a very closely fought battle for fourth in the group. We can hope, anyway.

[Gregoryisgodistan]

Lord Almighty Gregory's Speech to the People

"Good evening, ladies, gentlemen, slaves, and children of all ages. It is I, Lord Almighty Gregory, with a very special announcement. I am here in Ilyseum for the Olympia Games, where I will be running, and winning, the marathon. But it is worth noting that Ilyseum proclaims itself to be the Realm of the Gods. Alas, everyone knows that I, Lord Almighty Gregory, am the One True Lord. There is no other God but me. Therefore, Ilyseum is really the Realm of the False Gods.

"For blaspheming against me, the Holy Lord, Ilyseum must be punished. Effective immediately, they are added to the Enemy List. You know what that means. Open season on them. But now I need to get ready for the opening ceremony, where I will carry the flag into the stadium, and also watch the World Baseball Classic on TV. Go Bat Slaves!

"Anyway, Ilyseum is full of blasphemers. Death to Ilyseum! Yadda yadda! This really isn't a good time, but I have to make this speech. Bye bye for now."

[Frenline Delpha]

World Baseball Classic 37: Frenline Delpha and Ilyseum

The sixth letter of the Al-phabet has so many option, so you can have my favorite three: Foil, Fat, and First World Problems.

Game 16

Group E
Drawkland                                0 0 0 0 1 1 2 3 2  9
Ilyseum                                  1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0  4

Vangaziland                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1
Ethane                                   0 1 0 1 1 0 0 3 X  6

Schiltzberg                              0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0  3
Skeckoa                                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Group F
Anglatia                                 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0  3
Islanda Lunigo                           0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Gregoryisgodistan                        0 0 0 1 0 6 0 0 2  9
Sandberg                                 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2

Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
West Saintland                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Group G
Kaboomlandia                             0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0  3
Cheongji                                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1  5
Qasden                                   1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2

Maklohi Vai                              0 0 3 2 0 2 1 0 0  8
Abanhfleft                               0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0  4

Group H
Jeckland                                 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0  4
Nassau-Hessen                            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

The Serbian Empire                       1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Nuevo Caracas                            0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Hannasea                                 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0  3
Elykyellek                               0 3 0 1 0 0 3 2 X  9

Game 17

Group E
Schiltzberg                              0 3 1 0 0 0 2 0 2  8
Drawkland                                2 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0  5

Skeckoa                                  1 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  6
Vangaziland                              2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1  7

Ethane                                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Ilyseum                                  0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 X  3

Group F
Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      0 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 1  5
Anglatia                                 0 3 3 0 0 4 2 2 X 14

West Saintland                           2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  3
Gregoryisgodistan                        3 3 0 1 1 0 2 3 X 13

Sandberg                                 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 4  8
Islanda Lunigo                           4 3 0 3 0 1 0 0 X 11

Group G
Maklohi Vai                              0 2 0 3 0 0 3 0 0  8
Kaboomlandia                             0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Abanhfleft                               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2
Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1

Qasden                                   3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  4
Cheongji                                 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Group H
Hannasea                                 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 2 0  6
Jeckland                                 0 1 0 6 0 0 2 0 X  9

Elykyellek                               0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0  3
The Serbian Empire                       0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0  2

Nuevo Caracas                            0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0  4
Nassau-Hessen                            0 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 X  5

Game 18

Group E
Drawkland                                0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0  3
Ethane                                   0 0 3 0 0 1 1 1 X  6

Ilyseum                                  2 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0  5
Skeckoa                                  0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

Vangaziland                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  2
Schiltzberg                              0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Group F
Anglatia                                 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 1  5
Sandberg                                 0 1 0 0 3 1 0 1 X  6

Islanda Lunigo                           0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 0  6
West Saintland                           0 0 0 1 1 0 3 0 0  5

Gregoryisgodistan                        3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4  8
Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      4 2 5 1 0 0 1 0 X 13

Group G
Kaboomlandia                             0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  2
Qasden                                   0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 X  5

Cheongji                                 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0  5
Abanhfleft                               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0  3
Maklohi Vai                              2 2 0 0 0 3 3 0 X 10

Group H
Jeckland                                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Nuevo Caracas                            0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  1

Nassau-Hessen                            0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Elykyellek                               1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  3

The Serbian Empire                       1 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  6
Hannasea                                 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Standings

Group E                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Schiltzberg                              18   14   4   101   73  +28    42
2 Drawkland                                18   11   7    87   82   +5    33
3 Ethane                                   18   10   8    97   78  +19    30
4 Ilyseum                                  18    8  10    76   96  −20    24
5 Vangaziland                              18    6  12    86   90   −4    18
6 Skeckoa                                  18    5  13    62   90  −28    15

Group F                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Gregoryisgodistan                        18   13   5   111   72  +39    39
2 Anglatia                                 18   10   8    96   69  +27    30
3 Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      18    9   9    89   98   −9    27
4 Islanda Lunigo                           18    9   9    68   79  −11    27
5 West Saintland                           18    7  11    76   96  −20    21
6 Sandberg                                 18    6  12    71   97  −26    18

Group G                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Maklohi Vai                              18   14   4   108   55  +53    42
2 Abanhfleft                               18   10   8    79   75   +4    30
3 Kaboomlandia                             18    9   9    64   80  −16    27
4 Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 18    8  10    79   95  −16    24
5 Qasden                                   18    8  10    62   60   +2    24
6 Cheongji                                 18    5  13    62   89  −27    15

Group H                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 The Serbian Empire                       18   13   5    69   46  +23    39
2 Elykyellek                               18    9   9    88   84   +4    27
3 Nassau-Hessen                            18    9   9    78   77   +1    27
4 Hannasea                                 18    8  10    75   86  −11    24
5 Jeckland                                 18    8  10    59   61   −2    24
6 Nuevo Caracas                            18    7  11    58   73  −15    21

[Schiltzberg]

Playing Chicken With a Train

You don't know if it will work,
Because you're running kind of late,
And the skank with the shirt
Wants to take you on a date.

You drop a hundred dollar bill
When you're waltzing down the street,
And all of Nashville
Will be clawing at your feet.

Well, you'd better go scratch,
And you'd better scratch fast,
Because before you strike a match,
You're gonna find yourself in last.

You've been crossing all your T's
And you've been dotting all your I's.
But no matter who sees,
You're not all that wise.

They've seen you cussing like a sailor
When you've had coffee breath;
They've heard you pleading with the jailer
When you've been on the brink of death.

They've heard you shouting, "You go!"
When you're losing your voice;
They've seen you bashing death row
When you're voting pro-choice.

Well, you'd better start thinking,
And you'd better start now,
Because your ship's been sinking,
And you don't know how.

"Keep dry," you're saying
When I'm standing in the rain.
Like a child, I'm playing,
Playing chicken with a train.

And the train, it's hopping;
It's rolling down the track,
And there ain't no stopping.
No time to turn back.

You'd say a quick prayer,
Except the time is all passed,
But the train doesn't care,
And mows you over like grass.

What was on God's mind
When he made the bad things,
When he crafted mankind
And all that it brings?

Was he really that numb?
Was he that naive?
Was he really that dumb?
Did he really believe?

You think you're more smart
Than the people your age,
But where's it in your heart?
You're not some sage.

You're getting problematic
When you're drinking from you're kegs,
And you're hiding in the attic,
Dreaming of Lincoln's legs.

Well, you'd better start cutting;
Start cutting through the fog,
Cuz by the time you get rutting,
You're be coughing like a dog.

They're coming out to do ya,
So start running for your life,
Because they'll cut right through ya
With a rusty pocketknife.

Don't be a lad
That writes down notes,
Because your dog's gone mad,
And he's ripping out throats.

I got a fruit roll from a fat kid
For my middle fingers and a toe,
And I regretted what I did
And woke up in a Tahoe.

It's time for you to pay,
The skank's looking for her pants,
When suddenly you say,
"Hey, look at those ants!"

Well, you'd better just leave,
So get up and leave town,
And now before you dry heave,
You had better sit down.

[The Serbian Empire]

The Novi Sad Times
December 25, 2015
God is Dead
By: Vanya Petrovic

Elton John claimed that God was dead in the New York Times on a Christmas day. In reality, Mr. John's song, Levon was erroneous. In reality, Lord Almighty Gregory is a sham who blows up countries all day while sitting on the palace balcony watching missiles fly. Gregory wants to invade Ilyseum, leaving everyone else far behind. Riding on a missile gone sailing, across the Serbian sky. While Levon slowly dies. But who is Levon? Levon is the son of Alvin Tostig, an entirely fictional entity. If one puts two and two together, Lord Almighty Gregory is fraudulent claimant to every throne in every monarchy. He's not even worthy of Archduke.

[Elykyellek]

"Hello hep cats, it's Taffy Cocoran from ELJZ radio, I'm back to give you some killer diller news from WBC 37. After a flat tire of a first half that left the Yellekan baseball team in a three way tie for last place, they have become the cat's meow as they are now on a roll as they have won the last three games to become tied for second! Apparently those socks second baseman Janessa Howland dyed pink are coming up aces as the whole team is refusing to take them off as they have become a good luck charm. Now let's get back to the music with a snazzy new platter from gobble-pipster Kory Babcock."

[Ilyseum]

Results for MDs 19-21 in Frenline Delpha

MD19

Group A
New Jarwel                         0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Amazonesta                         0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 X  3

Southern Democratic States         0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Frenline Delpha                    0 0 0 1 3 0 5 1 X 10

-Anthor-                           0 0 2 1 1 0 0 3 1  8
Ko-oren                            0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0  2


  Group A                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                            19   13   6   110   85  +25    39
2 Southern Democratic States         19   10   9    72   82  −10    30
3 Frenline Delpha                    19   10   9    88   86   +2    30
4 -Anthor-                           19   10   9    77   66  +11    30
5 Amazonesta                         19    8  11    63   72   −9    24
6 New Jarwel                         19    6  13    71   90  −19    18

Group B
Zyarus                             0 0 1 0 2 1 0 1 0  5
Yuuzhan vong empire                3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Cosumar                            0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0  3
New Cape Land                      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Britonisea                         0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
West Phoenicia                     0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 X  3


  Group B                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zyarus                             19   18   1   100   44  +56    54
2 Cosumar                            19   12   7    86   66  +20    36
3 West Phoenicia                     19   10   9    73   57  +16    30
4 New Cape Land                      19    7  12    55   86  −31    21
5 Yuuzhan vong empire                19    6  13    52   85  −33    18
6 Britonisea                         19    4  15    61   89  −28    12

Group C
The Fair Republic                  0 0 1 1 2 2 1 0 1  8
The Greater Korean Republic        0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 1  7

San Llera                          0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0  3
Korizland                          1 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 X  4

Super-Llamaland                    0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 5  9
Confederate Islands of Paputu      0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  3


  Group C                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Super-Llamaland                    19   12   7    94   70  +24    36
2 San Llera                          19   12   7    92   76  +16    36
3 The Fair Republic                  19   11   8   110   92  +18    33
4 Korizland                          19   10   9    69   67   +2    30
5 The Greater Korean Republic        19    7  12    80   99  −19    21
6 Confederate Islands of Paputu      19    5  14    58   99  −41    15

Group D
Jestoria                           1 0 0 0 1 1 3 4 5 15
Greater Vakolicci Haven            0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0  3

Nova Anglicana                     0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2  4
United States of Devonta           2 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 X  5

Platerdam                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Flardania                          2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 X  4


  Group D                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana                     19   14   5    99   63  +36    42
2 United States of Devonta           19   12   7    86   72  +14    36
3 Jestoria                           19   11   8    97   83  +14    33
4 Flardania                          19    9  10    79   82   −3    27
5 Platerdam                          19    6  13    63   84  −21    18
6 Greater Vakolicci Haven            19    5  14    74  114  −40    15

MD20

Group A
Amazonesta                         0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0  4
-Anthor-                           1 2 1 0 3 2 1 0 X 10

Ko-oren                            0 0 2 0 0 1 0 1 0  4
Southern Democratic States         1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2

Frenline Delpha                    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
New Jarwel                         0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 X  4


  Group A                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                            20   14   6   114   87  +27    42
2 -Anthor-                           20   11   9    87   70  +17    33
3 Frenline Delpha                    20   10  10    89   90   −1    30
4 Southern Democratic States         20   10  10    74   86  −12    30
5 Amazonesta                         20    8  12    67   82  −15    24
6 New Jarwel                         20    7  13    75   91  −16    21

Group B
Yuuzhan vong empire                6 4 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 16
Britonisea                         0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1  3

West Phoenicia                     0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  2
Cosumar                            0 0 2 0 1 0 0 1 X  4

New Cape Land                      3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  5
Zyarus                             0 9 0 0 1 1 0 0 X 11


  Group B                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zyarus                             20   19   1   111   49  +62    57
2 Cosumar                            20   13   7    90   68  +22    39
3 West Phoenicia                     20   10  10    75   61  +14    30
4 Yuuzhan vong empire                20    7  13    68   88  −20    21
5 New Cape Land                      20    7  13    60   97  −37    21
6 Britonisea                         20    4  16    64  105  −41    12

Group C
The Greater Korean Republic        0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Super-Llamaland                    0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 X  3

Confederate Islands of Paputu      0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
San Llera                          0 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 X  5

Korizland                          0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2
The Fair Republic                  1 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 X  5


  Group C                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Super-Llamaland                    20   13   7    97   72  +25    39
2 San Llera                          20   13   7    97   78  +19    39
3 The Fair Republic                  20   12   8   115   94  +21    36
4 Korizland                          20   10  10    71   72   −1    30
5 The Greater Korean Republic        20    7  13    82  102  −20    21
6 Confederate Islands of Paputu      20    5  15    60  104  −44    15

Group D
Greater Vakolicci Haven            0 0 0 0 2 5 1 0 1  9
Platerdam                          1 0 0 4 0 0 2 0 0  7

Flardania                          0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Nova Anglicana                     0 2 0 2 1 0 0 0 X  5

United States of Devonta           2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  5
Jestoria                           0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0  4


  Group D                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana                     20   15   5   104   64  +40    45
2 United States of Devonta           20   13   7    91   76  +15    39
3 Jestoria                           20   11   9   101   88  +13    33
4 Flardania                          20    9  11    80   87   −7    27
5 Greater Vakolicci Haven            20    6  14    83  121  −38    18
6 Platerdam                          20    6  14    70   93  −23    18

MD21

Group A
Frenline Delpha                    1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  6
Amazonesta                         0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Ko-oren                            1 1 0 3 0 0 1 0 2  8
New Jarwel                         0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1

-Anthor-                           0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 2  6
Southern Democratic States         0 2 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  5


  Group A                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                            21   15   6   122   88  +34    45
2 -Anthor-                           21   12   9    93   75  +18    36
3 Frenline Delpha                    21   11  10    95   91   +4    33
4 Southern Democratic States         21   10  11    79   92  −13    30
5 Amazonesta                         21    8  13    68   88  −20    24
6 New Jarwel                         21    7  14    76   99  −23    21

Group B
New Cape Land                      0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5  7
Yuuzhan vong empire                0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0  2

West Phoenicia                     0 3 5 0 1 1 0 0 1 11
Zyarus                             1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 2  6

Britonisea                         0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0  4
Cosumar                            0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0  3


  Group B                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zyarus                             21   19   2   117   60  +57    57
2 Cosumar                            21   13   8    93   72  +21    39
3 West Phoenicia                     21   11  10    86   67  +19    33
4 New Cape Land                      21    8  13    67   99  −32    24
5 Yuuzhan vong empire                21    7  14    70   95  −25    21
6 Britonisea                         21    5  16    68  108  −40    15

Group C
Korizland                          0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0  5
The Greater Korean Republic        0 0 0 0 0 5 1 0 X  6

Confederate Islands of Paputu      0 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 0  5
The Fair Republic                  0 4 2 0 1 0 1 0 X  8

Super-Llamaland                    0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2  4
San Llera                          0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1


  Group C                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Super-Llamaland                    21   14   7   101   73  +28    42
2 San Llera                          21   13   8    98   82  +16    39
3 The Fair Republic                  21   13   8   123   99  +24    39
4 Korizland                          21   10  11    76   78   −2    30
5 The Greater Korean Republic        21    8  13    88  107  −19    24
6 Confederate Islands of Paputu      21    5  16    65  112  −47    15

Group D
United States of Devonta           2 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 2  9
Greater Vakolicci Haven            0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  2

Flardania                          0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0  4
Jestoria                           0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Platerdam                          1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Nova Anglicana                     0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 X  3


  Group D                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana                     21   16   5   107   66  +41    48
2 United States of Devonta           21   14   7   100   78  +22    42
3 Jestoria                           21   11  10   103   92  +11    33
4 Flardania                          21   10  11    84   89   −5    30
5 Greater Vakolicci Haven            21    6  15    85  130  −45    18
6 Platerdam                          21    6  15    72   96  −24    18

[Ethane]

The Turnbull Story, Part Four

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

It was nearing Edward's birthday - the day he was hoping to reveal to his son that he had got him a place on a baseball team, and that he had membership to a baseball club, where he could go watch the team play whenever he wanted to. The only issue was that it was so hard to find somewhere that baseball was played regularly, it wasn't exactly up there in popular sports in Ethane at the moment.

James had been looking around desperately for clubs, but the nearest ones were large cities, the problems with not having baseball as a major sport was that only the large cities had teams, making the number of baseball teams in Ethane very small. These baseball teams weren't professional either, they were small, amateur teams, with no real professional incentive to them, as there was no real competition, only a few teams together arranging a sort of tournament style thing every year. He had been hoping to get his son into one of those, but the problem was that the journey was too long to make that option viable, even with the decent public transport systems, and the decent roads in the country.

He had visited the leisure centre recently, but they didn't offer it either. The sport wasn't popular enough according to them. Not that it mattered much. There was no one running it, the leisure centre was understaffed after all, so there is no point complaining about it. He'd run out of potions though. There was nothing left he could do, and with the birthday of his son fast approaching, he needed a team for him to join, and fast. But there was absolutely nothing he could do for him. There was no baseball around at all.

Unless... No. I'm not good enough really... Well, there is nothing else. It's better than nothing, he thought. He decided to go for it. No matter how bad he was at baseball, of which he didn't really know, having not played baseball much, he would take up the offer given by the leisure centre. He was going to start a baseball team, on the unused baseball pitch, which used to hold a small baseball team.

---

Explosive News: Sports
World Baseball Classic 37

[Home] [Cricket] [Rugby] [Hockey] [Tennis] [Baseball] [Basketball] [Gaelic Football] [Other Sports]

---

Playing Catch-Up
Sam Heath - Sports Commentator

Ethane has been playing catch-up with Drawkland, the two teams fighting it out for second place at the moment, moving to within one win of the opponents.

At the half-way mark of the group stages, the Red Kites were left with a job on their hands after Drawkland had gone two wins in front, because of their winning record against Schiltzberg - a win that the Ethanese players have been unable to manage to get, and the only team that they have failed to win against.

The team knew that they were expecting to come in at second in this group coming into this tournament, but it has been questioned whether they came in a little complacent and confident, after some major blows, including three losses to hosts Ilyseum, have left them trailing from where they should be at this point.

With Drawkland having their inspiring underdog story moment, keeping true to the statement, third time lucky, they had managed to pull a two win lead against the Red Kites at the half way point, and only a two win gap to group leaders from the start, and world number one team Schiltzberg, who seem unstoppable at the moment.

Ethane's win against Drawkland in game 18 certainly went some way to peg that gap, helped somewhat by their loss against Schiltzberg, a rare win for the world number ones against Drawkland, surprisingly, but the loss against Ilyseum prevented the gap from being completely shut, and in balance, still leaving the team about 6 points behind, because of the upcoming game against Schiltzberg for the Red Kites, which they are by far the underdogs in.

It has been questioned whether the larger pitch sizes have something to do with the surprise losses that Ethane have been facing, and in all fairness, this is probably true, especially with Ilyseum. With these stadiums being the national Ilysee stadiums for baseball, it would be expected for them to perform better, especially with the size of the pitches here, which are drastically larger than those at home in Ethane, and around the world in many places.

However, the team have been waking up coming into this second half, the task on hand dawning upon them, realising what they need to do to go through to the playoffs. With Schiltzberg so far ahead, being 4 wins ahead of the Red Kites, it remains only a far-fetched dream that we will catch them, and we can expect them to go parading off into the sunset, winning the group. However, there is still the chance for second place, which remains a close fought battle, the Red Kites trailing slightly on 30 points to the Drawkish 33 points. With them only one win ahead, and with twelve games to go, the Red Kites do have time to overtake them and take back their rightful second place in the group. Drawkland isn't expected to let it go easy, but with a few games going our way on either side, we could develop a small lead to keep us ahead for the end of the group, as long as there are no silly mistakes. We must watch out from behind though, as it is a distinct possibility that the strong Ilysee team, that is keeping the same distance between us and them with their great wins against the Ethanese players, could catch the Red Kites up and overtake them for third, if things go bad for Ethane, making this a shockingly bad World Baseball Classic, that would likely see a new manager, and some new players, if we could find them considering we have no proper league at the moment, or way of identifying decent baseball players.

[Frenline Delpha]

World Baseball Classic 37: Frenline Delpha and Ilyseum

The seventh Al-phabet letter is an old meme, retold as a song. I introduce: Gump.

Game 19

Group E
Vangaziland                              1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Drawkland                                1 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 X  5

Schiltzberg                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Ilyseum                                  0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 X  4

Skeckoa                                  5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  6
Ethane                                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

Group F
Gregoryisgodistan                        0 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 0  5
Anglatia                                 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  3

Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      0 0 0 1 0 1 5 0 0  7
Islanda Lunigo                           0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 0  4

West Saintland                           1 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0  5
Sandberg                                 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 5 10

Group G
Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 1 1  7
Kaboomlandia                             0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0  3

Maklohi Vai                              0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2 0  5
Cheongji                                 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  2

Abanhfleft                               0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
Qasden                                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Group H
The Serbian Empire                       0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Jeckland                                 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 X  3

Hannasea                                 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1  3
Nassau-Hessen                            0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 3  6

Elykyellek                               2 1 0 1 1 0 3 0 1  9
Nuevo Caracas                            1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 10

Game 20

Group E
Drawkland                                1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  4
Skeckoa                                  4 3 4 0 0 0 0 1 X 12

Ethane                                   3 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 1  8
Schiltzberg                              0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 0  7

Ilyseum                                  0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  3
Vangaziland                              0 0 0 5 1 2 0 0 X  8

Group F
Anglatia                                 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  4
West Saintland                           1 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 2  6

Sandberg                                 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0  3
Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Islanda Lunigo                           0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2  4
Gregoryisgodistan                        0 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 1  5

Group G
Kaboomlandia                             3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  6
Abanhfleft                               1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Qasden                                   1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0  4
Maklohi Vai                              1 0 1 0 3 0 2 1 X  8

Cheongji                                 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 0 0 2 9 0 0 1 2 X 14

Group H
Jeckland                                 0 0 0 3 0 0 1 0 0  4
Elykyellek                               0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 2  5

Nuevo Caracas                            0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0  2
Hannasea                                 0 0 0 4 0 0 1 0 X  5

Nassau-Hessen                            3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 1  7
The Serbian Empire                       0 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 X  9

Game 21

Group E
Ilyseum                                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  2
Drawkland                                0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1  3

Ethane                                   1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  3
Vangaziland                              1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2

Skeckoa                                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Schiltzberg                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4  4

Group F
Islanda Lunigo                           2 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 2  8
Anglatia                                 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  3

Sandberg                                 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  4
Gregoryisgodistan                        0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0  3

West Saintland                           0 0 4 0 2 0 0 3 0  9
Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Group G
Cheongji                                 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2  4
Kaboomlandia                             3 0 1 0 0 2 3 0 X  9

Qasden                                   0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0  4
Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Abanhfleft                               1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1  5
Maklohi Vai                              0 0 0 4 0 0 0 1 1  6

Group H
Nassau-Hessen                            2 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0  6
Jeckland                                 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0  2

Nuevo Caracas                            1 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 1  6
The Serbian Empire                       0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  2

Elykyellek                               2 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0  6
Hannasea                                 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  2

Standings

Group E                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Schiltzberg                              21   15   6   112   85  +27    45
2 Drawkland                                21   13   8    99   97   +2    39
3 Ethane                                   21   12   9   109   93  +16    36
4 Ilyseum                                  21    9  12    85  107  −22    27
5 Skeckoa                                  21    7  14    80   99  −19    21
6 Vangaziland                              21    7  14    97  101   −4    21

Group F                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Gregoryisgodistan                        21   15   6   124   83  +41    45
2 Anglatia                                 21   10  11   106   88  +18    30
3 Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      21   10  11    98  114  −16    30
4 Islanda Lunigo                           21   10  11    84   94  −10    30
5 Sandberg                                 21    9  12    88  106  −18    27
6 West Saintland                           21    9  12    96  111  −15    27

Group G                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Maklohi Vai                              21   17   4   127   66  +61    51
2 Abanhfleft                               21   11  10    87   87    0    33
3 Kaboomlandia                             21   11  10    82   92  −10    33
4 Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 21   10  11   100  103   −3    30
5 Qasden                                   21    9  12    70   70    0    27
6 Cheongji                                 21    5  16    69  117  −48    15

Group H                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 The Serbian Empire                       21   14   7    81   62  +19    42
2 Elykyellek                               21   11  10   108  100   +8    33
3 Nassau-Hessen                            21   11  10    97   91   +6    33
4 Nuevo Caracas                            21    9  12    76   89  −13    27
5 Hannasea                                 21    9  12    85  100  −15    27
6 Jeckland                                 21    9  12    68   73   −5    27

[Drawkland]

ETHANE CATCHING UP TO BASE CORPS
Written By: Maddie Basshart and Preston Corbins

---

RECENT RESULTS
FROM GROUP E:

Drawkland                                0 0 0 0 1 1 2 3 2  9
Ilyseum                                  1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0  4

Schiltzberg                              0 3 1 0 0 0 2 0 2  8
Drawkland                                2 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0  5

Drawkland                                0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0  3
Ethane                                   0 0 3 0 0 1 1 1 X  6

Vangaziland                              1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Drawkland                                1 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 X  5

Drawkland                                1 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  4
Skeckoa                                  4 3 4 0 0 0 0 1 X 12

Ilyseum                                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0  2
Drawkland                                0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1  3

---

Group E                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Schiltzberg                              21   15   6   112   85  +27    45
2 Drawkland                                21   13   8    99   97   +2    39
3 Ethane                                   21   12   9   109   93  +16    36
4 Ilyseum                                  21    9  12    85  107  −22    27
5 Skeckoa                                  21    7  14    80   99  −19    21
6 Vangaziland                              21    7  14    97  101   −4    21

RECAP
After a fiery and successful first half of play in this marathon of a WBC, the Base Corps seems to be dropping back. That's right, as you may assume from the title¹, Ethane is beginning to catch up to Drawkland in the Group E table, with now only a game difference between the two new rivals. Schiltzberg, unsurprisingly, has kept their 2-game gap over Drawkland, so really it's going to be a battle for second with Ethane unless some bad luck comes across for Schiltz and Ethane. Who knows how it will go down in the future games? Probably the people fixing all these games², amirite?

SIXTH SET
The first half started with a win over Ilyseum, and that's exactly how the second half started. The hapless team of godly people was leading by a decent margin and kept the Base Corps scoreless until the 5th inning, in which the pitching staff began to wane and the bats of the Corps to really take off. After that, the tables turned magnificently in our favor, bringing Ilyseum scoreless for the remaining 4 innings, and the Corps scoring every inning until the game was over, resulting in an exciting and rather nailbiting 9-4 win.

Next was the highly anticipated game against Schiltzberg, which featured flying bats and balls in the opening innings, only to cool down in the middle of the game. Drawkland led 4-5 going into the 5th inning, and stayed in the lead until the 7th in which Schiltz scored 2 to take the lead. Unfortunately, the team was tired out by then, and they just couldn't connect any more runs. The 2 runs tacked on in the 9th by the world #1 really just added insult to the injury of the final score, 8-5. This also brings the Schiltz-Drawk record to 2-2, which makes the upcoming games even more exciting.

Another highly anticipated game came next, against the flaming Ethane Red Kites. We lost 3-6³.

SEVENTH SET
In the seventh set of games⁴, there weren't many super highly-expected games available. The first game against Vangaziland went very well, a good bounceback from the tragedy that occurred in half the last set. The 1-5 game was tied 1-1 with tons of LOBs until the 6th, in which Drawkland finally managed to seal the deal, and put in a decent amount of runs in the 8th.

The next game against Skeckoa was expected to be a quiet match with very little resistance on either ends. However, it was anything but. Skeckoa was up for the Drawkian challenge and pulled a 4-12 win, with massive home runs and RBIs in the first few innings and shutting down any offensive challenges by the Drawkians. Not only did this kill good morale for fans and players alike, it also killed our Run Differential⁵, which is extremely necessary for the tight run in the group for the 2nd playoff slot.

Luckily, Drawkland managed to pull off a win against Ilyseum, which was the only saving grace of this set. No runs were scored until the 5th, and Ilyseum tied it up in the top of the 8th, 2-2. The next 3 half-innings were quite tense, but a walkoff homer in the 9th by Roger Madison brought the game to a happy close.

FUTURE of WBC 37
The Base Corps is on thin ice going into the last 3 sets. With only 1 game ahead of Ethane, the Drawkian team must stay on the top of their game, since at this juncture they would lose a tiebreaker in both Run Differential AND Head-to-Head⁶, which results in basically, the Base Corps is screwed if they lose any more games than the Ethanians win.

This next, eighth set of games is absolutely the most critcal. Not only will Drawkland play Schiltzberg for the Tiebreaker of their informal series, but they will be playing Ethane, which will really determine both their fates within the group rankings. Vangaziland is the final matchup, but it should just be icing to keep the Corps ahead over Ethane⁷.

Drawkland will need to win 2 games, one of them over Ethane, to ensure that they will stay ahead this next set. If they beat Schiltz and Vangaziland but lose to Ethane, it's possible Ethane could sweep their games and get that final game gap closed to a tie. Really, winning as much as possible and by as large a gap as possible is the best option here, with the least amount of possibility for things to go wrong. If Drawkland does sweep the unlikely series, they will be guaranteed to get their 2-game gap over Ethane.

Good luck Base Corps, because you're gonna need it, boys.

¹ We really oughta stop spoiling the current situation with our article titles.
² We're just trying to torture James Halworn at this point.
³ They don't DESERVE a full game recap. *spits on ground*
⁴ Ticket sales soared during this set. Wonder why?
⁵ We're fine with losing ... but did it have to be by 8 runs? Assholes.
⁶ Of COURSE the only team we consistently lose to is the one we're contending with for the playoffs. Of course.
⁷ PleASe don't pull a game 4 on us??

[Schiltzberg]

SCHILTZBERG HAS ROUGH START TO SECOND HALF

After a very strong first half of the season, going 12-3 in the first fifteen games, Schiltzberg has been struggling lately, losing three of the first six games of the second half, including games that they probably should have easily won. The Schiltz squad does still have the lead in the group, but only by a slim two game margin, and with nine games left, Schiltzberg very well may lose its lead in the division, and may even be eliminated if the second half continues to go as it has for the first six games. Schiltzberg lost its first three game set of the tournament recently, dropping two of the three games in a somewhat pathetic performance. Still, Schiltzberg is a very good team and hopefully they will be able to bounce back, and maybe even sweep the next series to expand that two game lead to a much more comfortable lead, as the season comes to a close. If Schiltzberg can at least win each of the last three of the three game sets, they can probably clinch the postseason, which ultimately is the main goal, although they would hope to win the group so that they get a better seed into the postseason and get to play lesser threats in the earlier rounds.

SET SIX

Game One

Schiltzberg                              0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0  3
Skeckoa                                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

This game was a good game for Schiltzberg, obviously, as it resulted in a win, but it was still a very narrow victory. Of course, Schiltzberg will take wins however they can get them, but they would rather have much more comfortable wins. Granted, David Toups had a very good game, pitching eight innings of shutout ball before giving up a home run to lead off the ninth and then getting removed from the game. Without the great pitching performance, Schiltzberg likely would have either lost or just barely won this game, but luckily they got the victory, and that is all that really matters. Their record was now 13-3.

Game Two

Schiltzberg                              0 3 1 0 0 0 2 0 2  8
Drawkland                                2 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0  5

Once again, Drawkland gave Schiltzberg a run for their money, having beaten Schiltzberg twice already in the tournament. Luckily for Schiltzberg, the offense was alive tonight, and they were able to fend off the team that had been giving them a lot of trouble, even though Drawkland did do a fairly good job, scoring five runs off of Schiltzberg's ace McKey, whose ERA is usually much lower than that. Schiltzberg was down after the fourth inning 5-4, but they rallied in the seventh and ninth innings, and were luckily able to scrape by with a win. Their record at that point was 14-3.

Game Three

Vangaziland                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  2
Schiltzberg                              0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

This game was a very frustrating one for Schiltzberg, as they lost a long, long battle against the last place team in their group, Vangaziland, who held the usually high slugging champions to only one run after twelve innings. What made the game even more frustrating was that Schiltzberg had a 1-0 lead going into the ninth, after a brilliant pitching performance from Henry Price, but then the closer blew the save and forced extra innings in what shouldn't have been an extra inning game, let alone a loss, especially against the last place team. The offense fell asleep after the third inning home run from Ducky Fitzhugh, and the Schiltzbergers only had five hits in the entire game, including the home run, and it is sad for the team to only score one run in twelve innings, but this is baseball, and that happens to all teams sometimes. This frustrating loss brought Schiltzberg's record down to 14-4.

SET SEVEN

Game One

Schiltzberg                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Ilyseum                                  0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 X  4

This game against the hosts was probably the most frustrating and worst game that Schiltzberg had had yet. Much like the last game, Schiltzberg was not that bad defensively, but the offense was just dead. Schiltzberg was shutout for the first time in WBC 37 against Ilyseum, much to the delight of the home fans, but much to the disgrace of the defending champions. Schiltzberg and its fans would like to forget about this game and move on from it. The standings will remember it though, as their record dropped to 14-5.

Game Two

Ethane                                   3 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 1  8
Schiltzberg                              0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 0  7

Yet another frustrating game for Schiltzberg, who lost its third straight game for the first time in WBC 37. Ethane is a quality team, and even though Schiltzberg erupted with a five run ninth inning to tie the game, Ethane left them heartbroken with an unanswered run in the eleventh, which left Schiltzberg stunned. This game was not a terrible game for Schiltzberg, as their offense rebounded from the slump it had been in, but it hurt the overall morale of the team, and their record dropped to a disappointing 14-6 after their third straight loss.

Game Three

Skeckoa                                  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Schiltzberg                              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4  4

The most recent game of Schiltzberg shows a lot of promise, as David Toups threw a ten inning complete game shutout after Schiltzberg's three game slump. Schiltzberg's morale was through the roof after Francis Thom hit a walk-off grand slam to end the game after a pitchers duel in the tenth inning, thereby ending Schiltzberg's slump. Hopefully this will mark the end of any troubles that Schiltzberg will have in WBC 37, but we will see. Schiltzberg's record is now 15-6.

This Is Your New Schiltzbierg Times Sports News!

[Ilyseum]

Results for MDs 22-24 in Frenline Delpha

MD22

Group A
Amazonesta                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Southern Democratic States         1 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 X  6

New Jarwel                         0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0  3
-Anthor-                           1 0 3 0 0 0 0 1 X  5

Frenline Delpha                    0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  2
Ko-oren                            1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 X  3


  Group A                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                            22   16   6   125   90  +35    48
2 -Anthor-                           22   13   9    98   78  +20    39
3 Frenline Delpha                    22   11  11    97   94   +3    33
4 Southern Democratic States         22   11  11    85   93   −8    33
5 Amazonesta                         22    8  14    69   94  −25    24
6 New Jarwel                         22    7  15    79  104  −25    21

Group B
Yuuzhan vong empire                0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Cosumar                            0 0 1 1 0 2 0 2 X  6

Zyarus                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Britonisea                         0 0 0 2 2 1 0 2 X  7

New Cape Land                      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
West Phoenicia                     3 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 X  7


  Group B                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zyarus                             22   19   3   117   67  +50    57
2 Cosumar                            22   14   8    99   73  +26    42
3 West Phoenicia                     22   12  10    93   67  +26    36
4 New Cape Land                      22    8  14    67  106  −39    24
5 Yuuzhan vong empire                22    7  15    71  101  −30    21
6 Britonisea                         22    6  16    75  108  −33    18

Group C
The Greater Korean Republic        1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  3
San Llera                          0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3  4

The Fair Republic                  1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0  3
Super-Llamaland                    0 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 X  5

Korizland                          0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0  3
Confederate Islands of Paputu      1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 X  4


  Group C                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Super-Llamaland                    22   15   7   106   76  +30    45
2 San Llera                          22   14   8   102   85  +17    42
3 The Fair Republic                  22   13   9   126  104  +22    39
4 Korizland                          22   10  12    79   82   −3    30
5 The Greater Korean Republic        22    8  14    91  111  −20    24
6 Confederate Islands of Paputu      22    6  16    69  115  −46    18

Group D
Greater Vakolicci Haven            1 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0  5
Nova Anglicana                     0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  2

Jestoria                           3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  4
Platerdam                          0 0 0 3 1 0 1 0 X  5

United States of Devonta           1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5  8
Flardania                          0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1


  Group D                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana                     22   16   6   109   71  +38    48
2 United States of Devonta           22   15   7   108   79  +29    45
3 Jestoria                           22   11  11   107   97  +10    33
4 Flardania                          22   10  12    85   97  −12    30
5 Greater Vakolicci Haven            22    7  15    90  132  −42    21
6 Platerdam                          22    7  15    77  100  −23    21

MD23

Group A
Ko-oren                            0 1 1 4 1 2 0 1 0 10
Amazonesta                         2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0  5

-Anthor-                           1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0  4
Frenline Delpha                    2 0 3 0 0 4 0 0 X  9

Southern Democratic States         0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  1
New Jarwel                         0 1 0 0 3 0 2 0 X  6


  Group A                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                            23   17   6   135   95  +40    51
2 -Anthor-                           23   13  10   102   87  +15    39
3 Frenline Delpha                    23   12  11   106   98   +8    36
4 Southern Democratic States         23   11  12    86   99  −13    33
5 New Jarwel                         23    8  15    85  105  −20    24
6 Amazonesta                         23    8  15    74  104  −30    24

Group B
West Phoenicia                     0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2
Yuuzhan vong empire                0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 X  3

Britonisea                         1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2
New Cape Land                      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

Cosumar                            0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Zyarus                             1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3  4


  Group B                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zyarus                             23   20   3   121   68  +53    60
2 Cosumar                            23   14   9   100   77  +23    42
3 West Phoenicia                     23   12  11    95   70  +25    36
4 New Cape Land                      23    8  15    68  108  −40    24
5 Yuuzhan vong empire                23    8  15    74  103  −29    24
6 Britonisea                         23    7  16    77  109  −32    21

Group C
Confederate Islands of Paputu      1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
The Greater Korean Republic        0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Super-Llamaland                    0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
Korizland                          0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

San Llera                          0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 0  4
The Fair Republic                  4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 X  7


  Group C                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Super-Llamaland                    23   16   7   108   77  +31    48
2 San Llera                          23   14   9   106   92  +14    42
3 The Fair Republic                  23   14   9   133  108  +25    42
4 Korizland                          23   10  13    80   84   −4    30
5 The Greater Korean Republic        23    8  15    92  114  −22    24
6 Confederate Islands of Paputu      23    7  16    72  116  −44    21

Group D
Flardania                          0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  3
Greater Vakolicci Haven            0 1 0 7 0 0 0 2 X 10

Platerdam                          0 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0  4
United States of Devonta           0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 2  6

Nova Anglicana                     0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  2
Jestoria                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1


  Group D                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana                     23   17   6   111   72  +39    51
2 United States of Devonta           23   16   7   114   83  +31    48
3 Jestoria                           23   11  12   108   99   +9    33
4 Flardania                          23   10  13    88  107  −19    30
5 Greater Vakolicci Haven            23    8  15   100  135  −35    24
6 Platerdam                          23    7  16    81  106  −25    21

MD24

Group A
Amazonesta                         0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0  3
New Jarwel                         0 2 0 0 1 1 0 1 X  5

Frenline Delpha                    2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  4
Southern Democratic States         0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0  3

Ko-oren                            0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  3
-Anthor-                           1 0 4 0 0 1 1 0 X  7


  Group A                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Ko-oren                            24   17   7   138  102  +36    51
2 -Anthor-                           24   14  10   109   90  +19    42
3 Frenline Delpha                    24   13  11   110  101   +9    39
4 Southern Democratic States         24   11  13    89  103  −14    33
5 New Jarwel                         24    9  15    90  108  −18    27
6 Amazonesta                         24    8  16    77  109  −32    24

Group B
Yuuzhan vong empire                1 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0  5
Zyarus                             0 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 X  6

New Cape Land                      0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  2
Cosumar                            1 1 0 4 4 0 0 1 X 11

West Phoenicia                     0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
Britonisea                         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0


  Group B                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Zyarus                             24   21   3   127   73  +54    63
2 Cosumar                            24   15   9   111   79  +32    45
3 West Phoenicia                     24   13  11    96   70  +26    39
4 New Cape Land                      24    8  16    70  119  −49    24
5 Yuuzhan vong empire                24    8  16    79  109  −30    24
6 Britonisea                         24    7  17    77  110  −33    21

Group C
The Greater Korean Republic        1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  2
The Fair Republic                  0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Korizland                          0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
San Llera                          0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 X  3

Confederate Islands of Paputu      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Super-Llamaland                    5 0 1 1 0 1 0 2 X 10


  Group C                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Super-Llamaland                    24   17   7   118   77  +41    51
2 San Llera                          24   15   9   109   93  +16    45
3 The Fair Republic                  24   14  10   134  110  +24    42
4 Korizland                          24   10  14    81   87   −6    30
5 The Greater Korean Republic        24    9  15    94  115  −21    27
6 Confederate Islands of Paputu      24    7  17    72  126  −54    21

Group D
Greater Vakolicci Haven            1 7 0 0 1 0 4 1 0 14
Jestoria                           0 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0  4

United States of Devonta           0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1  5
Nova Anglicana                     0 0 0 1 0 0 0 7 X  8

Flardania                          1 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0  6
Platerdam                          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0


  Group D                           Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Nova Anglicana                     24   18   6   119   77  +42    54
2 United States of Devonta           24   16   8   119   91  +28    48
3 Flardania                          24   11  13    94  107  −13    33
4 Jestoria                           24   11  13   112  113   −1    33
5 Greater Vakolicci Haven            24    9  15   114  139  −25    27
6 Platerdam                          24    7  17    81  112  −31    21

[Ethane]

Explosive News: Sports
World Baseball Classic 37

[Home] [Cricket] [Rugby] [Hockey] [Tennis] [Baseball] [Basketball] [Gaelic Football] [Other Sports]

---

Schiltzberg Slips Up, But Drawkland not Letting Go
Sam Heath - Sports Commentator

Schiltzberg had a bad start to their second half, including losing a game to Ethane, keeping the Red Kites in the mix. Rallying efforts from Drawkland have kept them in front however, with their team determined not to relinquish the game in hand they have over the Ethanese players.

The Red Kites have kept the pressure up on the Drawkish players, who are currently only three points, or one game win, in front of the Red Kites. At the half way point of the group stages, the Ethanese players knew that they were in a difficult position, having to play catch-up to have any chance of progressing into the playoffs.

They certainly did play catch up, moving in from two games behind to one game behind on Drawkland. However, their surge has faltered, mainly down to the Drawkish team having an alright set of games. The Red Kites still only remain one game behind though, and if to level, would likely beat Drawkland due to the superior Ethanian record in Head to head, and in run differential.

The chance to catch up is slipping away, but the position is still easily within grasp, if all goes to plan for the Ethanese players. The team did have the chance to level at this point, if they had managed a sweep of three games, but this was not to happen, with the Skeckoa team, taking a devastating win over the Ethanians. However, the chances are still there.

Based on who the favourites are for each match, based on their rank and their expected performance, the Red Kites should just be able to pip Drawkland at the line. If every team was to win their expected games, then the Red Kites would be able to take a lead in the table over Drawkland by one win. While it is unlikely that every game will stick to the expected score, the premise is still there.

The Red Kites do have a little leeway to work with in regards to catching Drawkland in the table, but it will be a close-fought thing, something that has been echoed by many reporters, not only here in Ethane, but in Drawkland, our main rivals in this group, in Ilyseum, and around the world.

If the Red Kites do happen to lose a game they weren't expecting to lose, and every other game was the expected score, the Ethanians would still qualify, based on their superior tiebreaker points. Drawkland will be looking to make up this gap, but it will be difficult for them.

Either way, while this isn't too hard a job for the Ethanians, they are going to be under a lot of pressure these last coming matches, and are going to have a challenge to prevent this 'inspiring underdog story' coming into fruition.

Game Review:

Skeckoa                                  5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  6
Ethane                                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1

A difficult game for Ethane saw them fall to the Skeckoans, a game that the Red Kites were really hoping to win, to level with Drawkland. Ethane was immediately on the defensive right off the bat, with an onslaught of five runs, over two thirds of the runs scored in the whole game. The Ethanese players were unable to find any response to this, and only scored a solitary run in the eighth, the same point which Skeckoa scored their sixth. A disappointing game for the Red Kites, one they needed to win, and they will be kicking themselves at the lost opportunity here to catch up with Drawkland.

Ethane                                   3 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 1  8
Schiltzberg                              0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 5 0 0  7

A surprise win for the Ethanians here, against the world number one team, whom have won three World Baseball Classics in four editions, the last two being the two previous to this one, meaning they are fighting for their triple back to back WBC victories. The Red Kites were straight in off the bat, exploiting the larger field sizes to normal to frustrate the Schiltzberg fielding, and rake in the home runs. Three home runs flew in off the first innings. Schiltzberg responded with two runs in the fourth, slowly working their way round and building up the play, but they were stopped by the strong pitching from Ethane. Ethane came back once again with the four runs in the sixth, pulling ahead by a considerable margin. Schiltzberg were having none of it though, and, determined to not let the Ethanians take the win, levelled off the scores with a remarkable five runs in the ninth, to just cling on to the game with their toenails, at the eleventh hour. They were unable to finish it off though, and a solitary run from the Red Kites came in the eleventh, which Schiltzberg had nothing for.

Ethane                                   1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  3
Vangaziland                              1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2

This was a game the team expected to win, but the actual result was a little close for the liking of the Ethanese players. With both scoring a run in the first inning, both teams knew this game was going for a slog, and was going to be relatively low scoring. It was the Red Kites that struck first in the fifth inning, scoring another home run to pull ahead by one. Both teams went on to score a solitary run each in the ninth, which would have continued into further innings, if it hadn't been for the run by the Red Kites in the fifth.

[Anglatia]

(OOC: Here's another half finished part because of time constraints)

The Firm

Part One

The boy was practically quaking in his boots, as he entered the bar of the most feared and hardcore national team supporters in the entire Empire of Anglatia. As soon as he approached that bar, which wasn’t far from the Ilysea Amphitheater, he could see that the street had been lined with flags from the various regions of Anglatia. Hanging directly over the entrance of the bar was the red and black striped flag of Lower Valeria, and the royal blue one of Kaine-upon-Ross and the surrounding region.

Just outside of the bar, there was a group of five or six men Slavic men dressed in black and white, presumably meaning they were from the Turbayov area of Revolutionary Nordskania. They were joined by at least a dozen shirtless Valerians, one of whom was a girl who wore a sports bra and looked suspiciously like one of Anglatia’s youth footballers, Blaze Chrzanowska.

“Who’s that bleeding in an alley? Who’s that bleeding on the ground? It’s the Sanctii on their backs, ‘cause the Underfell attacked and they won’t be singing anymore!” the group chanted, and the boy had to duck to avoid being hit by a firecracker that had been thrown from the upper level of the bar. The boy knew he’d come to the right place. He’d found his uncle’s crew, Imperial Hardcore, and they were acting just as badly as their reputation suggested they would.

Now the boy tried to take a picture of the girl who looked like Blaze, but one of the Valerians slapped his phone out of his hand and gave him a shove. “Get outta here!” the man commanded, and the boy quickly backpedaled as the rest of the group turned to him.

“Hey, I just wanted a picture!” he argued, and two of the Slavs pulled bike chains from their pockets and started moving towards him.

“Woah, hold up, everyone,” Blaze said, and the others stopped and looked at her. “I think I know this kid. Let him hang with us, if he wants. His dad played for Ross United. What’s your name, kid?”

“Jaakim… Jaakim Hanokssen. You’re right. My uncle, on my mother’s side, is one of the leaders here, also,” the boy said nervously.

Blaze chuckled at his nervousness, putting an arm around him and pulling him next to her as if she was protecting him from the others. “Ah, that’s how I know you. Nilo showed me a picture of you, with your mom and him. He said you and your sister aren’t allowed to travel with him, though?”

“I’m technically here to watch the Olympia Games, but what my mom doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” said Jaakim, gaining some confidence. “So you’re fine if I hang out with you guys?”
“Sure. But let me tell you a few things first, kid. I know we’re here for baseball, but Imperial Hardcore is a pretty intense group no matter what the sport is, and we’re going to have a few run ins with West Sanctii fans before and after the game. Things are going to get really rowdy, and I wouldn’t want you to come with us and run off when a fight starts,” Blaze warned, glancing around at the Slavs who were still holding bike chains around their fists. “I also don’t want you to get hurt when we’re messing around with each other.”

Jaakim laughed softly. “I know there's going to be fights. I brought knuckledusters, actually. But why are you guys showing up against West Saintland specifically?”

“Because all of us from Underfell hate feminists. They were key in fucking up our taxes during regional voting. They're the same idiots that would turn Valeria into a welfare state if the Emperor wasn't there to check them,” Blaze explained, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, you still want that photo?”

When Jaakim nodded, Blaze took his phone, opened the selfie camera, and took a picture of herself kissing him on the cheek. She then texted it to herself before giving Jaakim his phone back. “Um…”

“Don't ask,” she said, taking out her own phone and forwarding the picture to Marco Saint Paul. “Feel free to share that picture, by the way. I want to piss off Marco.”

“Hahaha, okay,” Jaakim chuckled awkwardly, looking at the picture again before pocketing his phone. Before he could say anything else, more members of Hardcore exited the bar, flooding onto the side street. Among them was his uncle, Nilo Raita, who was holding a megaphone and wearing a black and green track jacket.

“Okay, okay, last song before we leave!” he shouted using the megaphone. “Everyone shut your mouth and pay attention. I want you to get into two groups. If you're from Lower Valeria or Turbayov, go join those guys over there. If you're from the Blue Alliance, stand with me. Everyone else, get back and wait until the end.”

Nilo’s group shouted something out in a language that sounded like Spanish, and the song sounded like it was full of profanity. Blaze shouted back in what sounded like Russian, and the rest of the group finished her words for her. This went on three or four times, until Nilo popped a smoke bomb and threw it in front of him.

The two groups broke apart and ran towards each other, and the street turned into a mosh pit. Jaakim was sure that he would have gotten trampled by the bigger men if Blaze and her friends weren’t looking out for him and keeping some of the bigger members of the group from shoving him to the ground. As the chaos unfolded, some of the hooligans lit flares and threw them through shop windows.

Yes, Blaze had been right when she warned Jaakim about this being a rowdy group… He began reconsidering if it was a good idea to join them here, against a team they considered a rival.

[Frenline Delpha]

World Baseball Classic 37: Frenline Delpha and Ilyseum

In the eighth letter of the Al-phabet. Weird Al learns us some good Headline News.

Game 22

Group E
Drawkland                                1 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0  5
Schiltzberg                              0 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 3  8

Vangaziland                              0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 0  3
Skeckoa                                  0 0 0 1 3 2 0 3 X  9

Ilyseum                                  0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1  4
Ethane                                   1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  5

Group F
Anglatia                                 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0  3
Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      0 2 0 0 0 1 0 4 X  7

Gregoryisgodistan                        0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  2
West Saintland                           0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  1

Islanda Lunigo                           0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1  3
Sandberg                                 0 1 0 1 1 0 4 2 X  9

Group G
Kaboomlandia                             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2
Maklohi Vai                              0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 X  4

Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Abanhfleft                               2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 X  4

Cheongji                                 0 0 2 1 2 0 0 0 0  5
Qasden                                   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0  2

Group H
Jeckland                                 0 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0  5
Hannasea                                 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 1  6

The Serbian Empire                       0 0 1 2 1 0 1 0 0  5
Elykyellek                               0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1

Nassau-Hessen                            0 1 0 0 2 0 1 0 0  4
Nuevo Caracas                            4 1 3 2 0 0 0 0 X 10

Game 23

Group E
Ethane                                   1 0 2 0 0 0 3 0 1  7
Drawkland                                0 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 0  4

Skeckoa                                  0 0 2 0 1 0 4 3 0 10
Ilyseum                                  0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0  4

Schiltzberg                              1 0 0 3 1 0 2 0 0  7
Vangaziland                              1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0  3

Group F
Sandberg                                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Anglatia                                 0 0 2 1 0 2 1 0 X  6

West Saintland                           2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  5
Islanda Lunigo                           0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 1  4
Gregoryisgodistan                        0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 4  7

Group G
Qasden                                   0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
Kaboomlandia                             3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  4

Abanhfleft                               0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 2  5
Cheongji                                 1 0 1 1 1 4 0 2 X 10

Maklohi Vai                              0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1  3
Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Group H
Nuevo Caracas                            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Jeckland                                 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 X  4

Elykyellek                               0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0  2
Nassau-Hessen                            2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 X  5

Hannasea                                 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  5
The Serbian Empire                       2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  4

[u]Game 24[/u]

Group E
Drawkland                                0 2 3 0 0 1 0 1 0  7
Vangaziland                              0 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 0  6

Ilyseum                                  0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0  3
Schiltzberg                              1 0 0 2 2 0 0 1 X  6

Ethane                                   2 0 0 1 1 0 5 0 1 10
Skeckoa                                  0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0  3

Group F
Anglatia                                 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0  3
Gregoryisgodistan                        0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Islanda Lunigo                           0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0  4
Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 6  8

Sandberg                                 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
West Saintland                           0 1 3 0 0 0 1 1 X  6

Group G
Kaboomlandia                             0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0  4
Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2

Cheongji                                 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 1  5
Maklohi Vai                              0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 1  4

Qasden                                   0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 0  4
Abanhfleft                               0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2  3

Group H
Jeckland                                 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  5
The Serbian Empire                       0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  4

Nassau-Hessen                            2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3  6
Hannasea                                 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 1 0  5

Nuevo Caracas                            2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  2
Elykyellek                               0 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 X  3

Standings

Group E                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Schiltzberg                              24   18   6   133   96  +37    54
2 Ethane                                   24   15   9   131  104  +27    45
3 Drawkland                                24   14  10   115  118   −3    42
4 Ilyseum                                  24    9  15    96  128  −32    27
5 Skeckoa                                  24    9  15   102  116  −14    27
6 Vangaziland                              24    7  17   109  124  −15    21

Group F                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Gregoryisgodistan                        24   17   7   134   91  +43    51
2 Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic      24   12  12   117  128  −11    36
3 Anglatia                                 24   12  12   118   97  +21    36
4 West Saintland                           24   11  13   108  114   −6    33
5 Islanda Lunigo                           24   10  14    91  116  −25    30
6 Sandberg                                 24   10  14    99  121  −22    30

Group G                                 Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Maklohi Vai                              24   19   5   138   74  +64    57
2 Kaboomlandia                             24   13  11    92  101   −9    39
3 Abanhfleft                               24   12  12    99  104   −5    36
4 Hrvatska i Prekodunavlje                 24   10  14   106  114   −8    30
5 Qasden                                   24   10  14    79   82   −3    30
6 Cheongji                                 24    8  16    89  128  −39    24

Group H                                   Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 The Serbian Empire                       24   15   9    94   73  +21    45
2 Nassau-Hessen                            24   13  11   112  108   +4    39
3 Elykyellek                               24   12  12   114  112   +2    36
4 Hannasea                                 24   11  13   101  115  −14    33
5 Jeckland                                 24   11  13    82   83   −1    33
6 Nuevo Caracas                            24   10  14    88  100  −12    30