World Baseball Classic 38- Everything Thread

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

TDDROH Sports chat

The Scootalove City Unicorns: Literal Dark Horses?

The image below has been trending on social media along with the hashtags #Nooneexpectedus #TSCU42017WBCC

(The Scootalove City Uincorns for 2017 World Baseball Classic Champions)

Team coach, Alpha Zinch says that "The odds are against us, but you shouldn't underestimate us either. No one expected we would get in the playoffs and well, here we are."


Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, Gordon Freeman, Silver Zephyr and, Colonel Star Butterfly are confirmed to show at Olympia Stadium, Olympia for the games, all dressed in Doofy Unicorn Kigurumis.

As for who wins, it would be easy to say Frenline Delpha wins. But, again, they have never faced a Unicorn relief pitcher before. Especially one who has two no hitters under her belt.

Amalthea 'Marigold Heavenly Nostrils/ The Last Unicorn' Beagle and Dave 'The King' Haggard who has a few grand slams under his belt could be vital for victory.

It won't be easy, but these two provide hope.

Still, Frenline Delpha has the experience and rank.

Only time will tell if Frenline Delpha wins or not.

They must be good if they got this far right?

However, like the meme goes, no one expected an unranked team like The Scootalove City Unicorns to get this far and they still did.

[Newmanistan]

WELCOME TO NEWMANISTAN

So, you want to watch and/or play a little baseball in Newmanistan over the next couple weeks or so? We’re glad to have you, and here’s some information that you will find worthwhile.

The Government:
Newmanistan is an Empire, and is therefore ruled by an Emperor. The current leader is Emperor Michael V, who is rather to the new to the throne. He resides in the Royal Palace in the national capital of Pocono City. So far, the people seem to be very happy with the direction that the Empire has gone in under his leadership. There are many smaller local governments as well that generally have the freedom to do as they wish as long as it is under the guidelines set forth by the Royal Palace. Representatives of local governments are specifically appointed by the Emperor. There are no elections in Newmanistan.

Life In Newmanistan:
The Emperor extends a significant amount of freedoms to the populace, and tries to provide an example to the rest of the world that just because it is an Empire ruled by a single leader, it doesn’t mean it is corrupt. In fact, the Emperor will often claim, and rightfully so, that Newmanistanians have more rights then nations with democratically elected leaders. People are allowed to live their lives, and as long as they don’t break the laws (which are generally normal and customary), the government will be out of their way. Taxes are low due to the successful capitalist nature of the Empire. If you do break the law, then you’re gonna be suffering some harsh sentences.

Unique Facts:
The automotive industry is the lead industry of Newmanistan. The nickname Rockets comes from the believe that we produce automobiles with rocket powered engines. There are no speed limits on Newmanistanian roads. So either you put that engine to use, or you get out of the way! Gambling is another strong industry in Newmanistan. Plus, as you imagine, Newmanistanians are fanatical over sports.

To be a parent in Newmanistan, you must have a parental license. If you do not, you’re child is turned over to the Empire. While this might sound harsh, it really isn’t as parental licenses are generally given out to anyone who is making any effort lead an independent life. The Emperor’s intention with the law is to prevent welfare and the like families from growing. That said, social welfare in Newmanistan is almost, but not completely, non-existent.

Hosting Cities:
So let’s move on now to the cities hosting the games.

1) Tundra Falls (Tundra Falls Proving Grounds)
What is the Proving Grounds? It is simply a marvel of the world. A football, soccer and baseball stadium, and indoor arena (to host hockey/basketball or other sports) are lined up in a row, each in itself being a state of the art facility in its offerings. These stadiums, however, make up the infield of a 3.5-mile auto racing super speedway. So it is many facilities, within one facility. Additionally, there is a horse racing track that surrounds the indoor arena, and a racing road course throughout the parking lot.

Each stadium has there own individual capacities, but in reality, if for example, the baseball stadium is sold out, fans can then sit in the grandstands of the auto racing facility and watch the game on giant “diamond visions”. As the grandstands of the auto racing facility completely surround the stadiums, it is possible for over half a million people to be in attendance.

All domestic Newmanistanian championship events, from high school level on up, are played at the Proving Grounds, and it is possible for all venues to be hosting events simultaneously. It is Newmanistanian legend (which is RP’d to be fact), that Spirits look over the Proving Grounds, and if Newmanistan gets a “lucky bounce” once in a while, that there was superhuman reasoning for it.

It has hosted many interregional championship games, including the Classic, and will again this year. Tundra Falls is in the south east of the empire, about 100 miles northwest of Pocono City.


Field Dimensions: LF: 383, LCF: 399, CF: 415, RCF: 402, RF: 377. Wall height: 9 feet.
Capacity: 61,000 (Baseball Stadium only, overflow seating possible).
Real Life USA City Equivalent: Think Green Bay and the passion for Lambeau Field.

2) Pocono City (Emperor Michael IV Stadium)

Welcome to the Capital of Newmanistan. It is located in the south east, and has something for everyone. You can get a sense for a lot of the history of the Empire here with museums galore that feature the Royal Family, but also other cultural features.

Any stadium named after Emperor Michael IV is going to be a visually stunning facility, and it delivers exactly that. While the Proving Grounds attracts people and fame due to its history and lore, this is truly the most modern stadium in the Empire. Every now and then, members of the Royal Family will be in attendance.

Field Dimensions: LF: 359, LCF: 390, CF: 408, RCF: 390, RF: 359, Wall height: 8.5 feet.
Capacity: 66,000
Real Life USA City Equivalent: New York City with the Washington, DC political vide thrown in.

3) Loudon (The Jungle)

The city of Loudon is the third largest city in the empire, and is located in the northeast. It is generally considered the anti-Pocono City because it is a place where people can go to be completely away from the government. Therefore, Loudon is a bit more liberal, overall. The stadium is home to the Loudon Leopards, and “The Jungle” used to just be a nickname before becoming its official name since everyone referred to it as such. It gets LOUD. Though that should not surprise.

Field Dimensions: LF: 362, LCF: 371, CF: 385, RCF: 375, RF: 349. Wall height: 8 feet, LF-CF, 10 feet, CF to RF.
Capacity: 54,000
Real Life USA City Equivalent: Chicago

4) Jessicaville (Empress Jessica I Stadium)

Back in the day, the nation of Secristan was Newmanistan’s neighbor to the east. When Secristan ceased, Newmanistan took over 2/3rds of the land (with Cassadaigua, who was on the other side of Secristan, getting the other 1/3rd). Jessicaville was formerly Amherst, Secristan, what had been Secristan’s capital. When it was taken over to become part of Newmanistan, the Emperor re-named it Jessicaville in honor of Empress Jessica I, one of the greatest rulers in our history. The stadium is formerly Amherst Stadium (Secristan had a name for it which I forget), which it means it did host the WBC 12 championship games. Since it has been a long time, this is now like any other city in Newmanistan and no longer has the Secristani influence.

Field Dimensions (modern day): LF- 390, LCF- 392, CF- 415, RCF- 393, RF- 372. Wall height: 8 feet.
Capacity: 68,000
Real Life USA City Equivalent: Los Angeles

5) Putnam Lake (Jeremy McAllister Stadium)

Named for Newmanistan’s greatest soccer player, this southwestern city is the smallest of the eight hosting events and may not offer a ton other then its great beaches.

Field Dimensions: LF- 340, LCF- 359, CF- 392, RCF- 370, RF- 338 Wall Height: 11 feet.
Capacity- 55,000
Real Life USA City Equivalent: Miami

6) Southport (Keisler Stadium)

Named after the great Stacey Keisler, the greatest pitcher of all time (in our opinion of course, though she’d have a very good case for the title), this South Central city lives and breathes baseball. There are monuments throughout the city for Keisler and other Rockets players. Tickets for the games will sell out within hours, even if the Rockets are not playing.

Field Dimensions: LF- 385, LCF- 401, CF- 423, RCF- 390, RF- 377 Wall height: 9 feet.
Capacity: 60,000
Real Life USA City Equivalent: Dallas

7) Olympia (Olympia Stadium)
A typical large city, and the biggest city in the northwest of the Empire. This is not typically a tourist destination for people, and is generally just awarded these events so our citizens in the Northwest can have a convenient location to travel to.

Field Dimensions: LF- 350, LCF- 360, CF- 380, RCF- 360, RF- 350. Wall Height- 7.5 feet.
Capacity: 51,000
Real Life USA City Equivalent: Seattle

8) Centralia (Centralia Stadium)
Located, wait for it, in the center of the Empire, Centralia is the industrial capital of the Empire. It’s not the biggest city, but these blue-color fans are very supportive.

Field Dimensions: LF- 342, LCF- 369, CF- 388, RCF- 355, RF- 344
Real Life USA City Equivalent: Pittsburgh

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

TDDROHSPAN

His excellency, Gordon Freeman Leader of TDDROH along with Co-Director of treasury department Rainbow Dash, Her excellency WA ambassador Silver Zephyr, and Colonel Star Butterfly leave Muffin City Airport for Olympia, Newmanistan.

_{His excellency, Gordon Freeman,Leader of TDDROH in A joint statement with Co-Director of treasury department Rainbow Dash, Her excellency WA ambassador Silver Zephyr, and Colonel Star Butterfly hereby state the following:}
We are glad to be guests in the Empire of Newmanistan. We look forward to seeing the beauty of Newmanistan and it's wonderful people.

We hope that all teams try there best and may the best team win.

However, The Scootalove City Unicorns are the best team and the will totally dominate any and all in there way!

Let's go Unicorns!

He said that last part with cheers from the crowd, answered a few questions and left for the airport.

This marks the first time a TDDROH leader visited Newmanistan, the first time anyone in government visited Newmanistan.

They appear for the 'World Baseball Classic' which the 38th iteration of which is being held in Newmanistan.

They are going there to support the baseball team 'The Scootalove City Unicorns', as they are wearing Baseball hats and jerseys in support of zed team.

His excellency, Gordon Freeman also made his new year's address before he left to Muffin City Airport.

[Southern Democratic States]

The Southerners made the playoffs!

Waddington, WA - (NEIP) The Southern Democratic States won 6 games in a row, which includes a dramatic win against Anglatia on matchday 29, to finish 1st in Butler Group! The Southerners are the 8th seed and will play against Newmanistan in Newmanistan, which are hosting this tournament. After winning 5-4 in a twelve inning game against Anglatia, the Bears were back at home to recieve South Yerfilag at Houser Stadium in Waddington, the largest city in the Wabash State. Starting pitchers were Justin Loup (who beat Anglatia 4-0 on MD24) for SDS and Summer Gordon for South Yerfilag. The Southern Democratic States won 10-2, here is the complete game log:

South Yerfilag                  0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0  2
Southern Democratic States      1 2 1 1 2 0 3 0 X 10

Top 1st inning
Pitcher: Justin Loup

Lily Prudzmol-Jadzt: Grounded out
Mary Steele: Single
Felicity Marshall: Striked out
Jessamine Lastings: Flied out in left field

Bottom 1st inning
Pitcher: Summer Gordon

Randall Worth: Single
(Randall Worth Steals the 2nd base)
Mary Jane Castro: Grounded out, Worth stays at 2nd base
Nate O'Flaherty: Striked out
Travis Layne: Double, Worth scores (RBI)
Tyson Lindsey: Flied out

Top 2nd inning
Pitcher: Justin Loup

Jody Murray: Flied out
Willem de Jager: Flied out
Jaida Sims: Double
Matthew Hicks: Striked out

Bottom 2nd inning
Pitcher: Summer Gordon

Nick Riefenhauser: Flied out
Wilton Jimenez: Walked
Noah Murphy: 2 runs homerun (RBI) (RBI)
Jared Hanson: Grounded out

Top 3rd inning
Pitcher: Justin Loup

Jelinda Goodwin: Flied out
Lily Prudzmol-Jadzt: Single
(Lily Prudzmol-Jadzt steals 2nd base)
Mary Steele: Single, Prudzmol-Jadzt advances to the 3rd base
Felicity Marshall: Safe at first base on fielder's choice, Prudzmol-Jadzt scored (RBI), Steele out at 2nd base
Jessamine Lastings: Flied out

Bottom 3rd inning
Pitcher: Summer Gordon

Randall Worth: Grounded out
Mary Jane Castro: Single
Nate O'Flaherty: Double, Castro scored (RBI)
Travis Layne: Walked
Tyson Lindsey: Flied out, O'Flaherty advances to the 3rd base
Nick Riefenhauser: Striked out

Top 4th inning
Pitcher: Justin Loup

Jody Murray: Flied out
Willem de Jager: Walked
Jaida Sims: Striked out
Matthew Hicks: Flied out

Bottom 4th inning
Pitcher: Summer Gordon

Wilton Jimenez: Walked
Noah Murphy: Grounded out
Jared Hanson: Safe at 1st base on fielder's choice, Jimenez out at 2nd base
Randall Worth: Double, Hanson advances to the 3rd base
Mary Jane Castro: Single, Hanson scores (RBI), Worth out trying to reach the plate

Top 5th inning
Pitcher: Justin Loup

Jelinda Goodwin: Striked out
Lily Prudzmol-Jadzt: Double
Mary Steele: Grounded out, Prudzmol-Jadzt advances to the 3rd base
Felicity Marshall: Striked out

Bottom 5th inning
Pitcher: Grace Gordon

Pitching change: Grace Gordon replaces Summer Gordon
Nate O'Flaherty: Single
Travis Layne: Double, O'Flaherty advances to the 3rd base
Tyson Lindsey: Single, O'Flaherty scores (RBI), Layne advances to the 3rd base
Nick Riefenhauser: Grounded out in a double play, Lindsey out at 2nd base, Layne stays at 3rd base
Wilton Jimenez: Single, Layne scores (RBI)
Pitching change: Sarah Ayomide replaces Grace Gordon
Noah Murphy: Walked, Jimenez advances to the 2nd base
Jared Hanson: Flied out

Top 6th inning
Pitcher: Justin Loup

Jessamine Lastings: Single
Jody Murray: Striked out
Willem de Jager: Safe at 1st base on fielder's choice, Lastings out at 2nd base
Jaida Sims: Flied out

Bottom 6th inning
Pitcher: Sarah Ayomide

Randall Worth: Grounded out
Mary Jane Castro: Single
Nate O'Flaherty: Single
Travis Layne: Striked out
Tyson Lindsey: Walked
(Bases Loaded)
Nick Riefenhauser: Flied out in center field

Top 7th inning
Pitcher: Justin Loup

Matthew Hicks: Grounded out
Jelinda Goodwin: Triple
Pitching change: Sam Bourgeois replaces Justin Loup
Lily Prudzmol-Jadzt: Striked out
Mary Steele: Flied out

Bottom 7th inning
Pitcher: Stephen Oluwasegun

Pitching change: Stephen Oluwasegun replaces Sarah Ayomide
Wilton Jimenez: Grounded out
Noah Murphy: Walked
Jared Hanson: Flied out (foul ball)
Randall Worth: Double, Murphy advances to the 3rd base
Mary Jane Castro: single, Murphy scores (RBI), Worth advances to the 3rd base
Nate O'Flaherty: Double, Worth scores (RBI), Castro scores (RBI)
Pitching change: Thaddeus Spears replaces Stephen Oluwasegun
Travis Layne: Flied out

Top 8th inning
Pitcher: Sam Bourgeois

Felicity Marshall: One run homerun (RBI)
Pitching change: Genevieve McGowan replaces Sam Bourgeois
Jessamine Lastings: Striked out
Jody Murray: Flied out
Willem de Jager: Striked out

Bottom 8th inning
Pitcher: Thaddeus Spears

Tyson Lindsey: Walked
Nick Riefenhauser : Flied out
Wilton Jimenez: Grounded out in a double play, Lindsey out at 2nd base

Top 9th inning
Pitcher: Kathryn Henderson

Pitching change: Kathryn Henderson replaces Genevieve McGowan
Jaida Sims: Grounded out
Matthew Hicks: Flied out
Jelinda Goodwin: Double
Pitching change: Jarrod Finnegan replaces Kathryn Henderson
Lily Prudzmol-Jadzt: Striked out

WP: Justin Loup: 6 1/3 innings, 1 run, 6 hits, 1 walk, 6 strike outs
LP: Summer Gordon: 4 innings, 5 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks, 2 strike outs

The Southern Democratic States scored a run in almost every innings, 3 runs in the 7th inning and won this game 10-2 to take the lead in Butler Group. The Southern Democratic States, Anglatia and South Yerfilag are all tied at 45 points and they're all 6-6 head to head, so the next tie breaker is the point difference. The Southern Bears are first with a +32 point difference. Anglatia 2nd with +31 and South Yerfilag 3rd at +11. In his post game comments, Buck Jennings said he wasn't aware of it and that's why Kathryn Henderson started the 9th inning, but once Jelinda Goodwin hitted a double with two outs, he replaced Henderson with his closer Jarrod Finnegan.

In the round of sixteen, the Bears will face Newmanistan in Newmanistan. The game will be played at their marvellous sports complex, the Tundra Falls Proving Grounds in Tundra Falls. The Tundra Falls Proving Grounds has stadiums, arenas and racing tacks for every sports you can name and seats 61,000 in the baseball stadium. Additionnal fans can be seated in the race track stands and watch the game on “diamond visions”. Southern fans who wants to travel to Newmanistan better book their flight, hotel and seats now or you're gonna watch the game on the “diamond visions” because Newmanistanian fans are rabid baseball fans and they usually draw large crowds.

[Kinzenland]

Website hints at Convict support,

Popular Kinzenite search engine, Kinzoogle, reported that searches for “Keisler Stadium” and “Southport, Newmanistan” have been among the top 20 search terms out of anything for the last 24 hours. Also just cracking the top 100 was a question of, “Who was Stacey Keisler”, though her name was spelled many different ways. Jordan Melancon, the VP of Media Relations for Kinzoogle tells us, “People from Kinzenland are very interested right now in learning about Newmanistan, and possibly going to Southport. You can clearly see that there is going to be a lot of fan support for the team while they are out there, which is quite remarkable given they are a bunch of criminals. There is a sense of national pride, we have never done anything like this before.” Kinzenites have also been interested in finding hotels in Southport and finding flights to the country. That has been difficult, as there has never really been an interest in flying non-stop from Kinzenland to Newmanistan before. Michelle Woodall of Lexicon Airways reports, “We are going to add direct flights. I don’t think it has ever been an itinerary that has been in demand except for the odd inquiry here and there. Now our phones are ringing non-stop over it. We are in business for our customers, and we will meet their demand for this tournament by having several flights available throughout Kinzenland to Southport, Newmanistan.” Overall, national polls show that 40% of the populace is supporting this team, which is as high as the number has ever been.

In other news, the 16-8 record for the Convicts means that 16 out of 25 of this team will be free. Interestingly, the current format of the tournament means that ten wins are required to win the championship. That could create additional motivation for the Convicts, as not only could win a championship, but it would ensure complete freedom for the entire roster. Manager Chris Bryant told us, “I let them know about ten win thing, and that we are down to nine people now who would not be free. They have become really excited and now the mood has changed to wanting to be one of the people who were freed to be becoming one of getting everyone free.”

The first round opponent for Kinzenland will be Drawkland, so it will be different then the same four teams we have played over and over. Drawkland won their group but the overall records of the two teams are very similar, and this should be a series that goes either way. Drawkland entered the tournament ranked 19th, which is one spot lower then Cosumar, who was 18th, and a team that Convicts beat out in the Brasfield group. The winner of the series will probably play Schiltzberg, and the Convicts familiarity would them would probably be really helpful. About Drawkland, Bryant told us, “We think we can take them, but we are pretty fearless right now, overall.”

[Super-Llamaland]

The Tigers' Path to the Playoffs

Super-Llamaland faltered slightly towards the end of the group stage, dropping two of their last three games to finish 20-4 after a scorching 15-1 start. Despite this, they're still the third seed, finishing narrowly ahead of Frenline Delpha, and many expect they'll go far in the tournament. But what would a deep tournament run look like? Let's take a look at the Tigers' likely opponents in the playoffs.

ROUND OF SIXTEEN: THE SERBIAN EMPIRE

It feels like the Serbian Empire has been around forever now - when the Tigers burst onto the scene thirty years ago at WBC23, they had already established themselves as a solidly decent team...and that's exactly what they are today. Previously known for consistency but also for repeated Round of Sixteen eliminations, a trend that the Tigers will hope to continue, The Serbian Empire's recent record has been a bit spottier. At WBC35, they failed to make the playoffs, and at WBC36, they didn't even show up. Despite this, they came back strong at WBC37, winning their group with a 18-12 record before finally advancing to the quarterfinals with a narrow series victory over a promising Kaboomlandia team before taking Gregoryisgodistan to the maximum five games. Certainly a team that looked dangerous last Classic.

However, at WBC38, they've been a bit underwhelming. Expected by fans to continue to improve and make another deep quarterfinals run, The Serbian Empire instead went 14-10 and found themselves the fourteenth seed. They're an established team that could trip up the Tigers if they aren't being careful, but if Super-Llamaland brings their A-game to this series, the Empire has little chance of survival. Players to look out for include ace pitcher Simun Lukic and infielder Slavko Jovanovic, who have both impressed so far.

QUARTERFINALS: ETHANE / NASSAU-HESSEN

Ethane and Nassau-Hessen are both the type of team you'd expect to find here. Ethane are relatively new to the Classic, debuting during WBC35 and going 8-7 before being knocked out by Jeckland. They improved drastically at WBC36, going 21-9 during the group stages, which was good for the fourth seed and a first-round matchup against former finalists and familiar foes Jeckland, whom they swept. Next up would be Maklohi Vai - but although they impressively took the Vaians to five games, Ethane faltered in game five and found themselves out of the tournament. WBC37 promised to be a spectacle for Ethanian fans. With just three matches to play, the team had performed adequately, going 17-10 and finding themselves two games ahead of third-place Drawkland. They were close to clinching another spot in the playoffs, and although one got the feeling they were a shade worse than the WBC36 team, they were still poised to make a decent playoffs run. Three losses and three Drawkish wins later, they were out of the Classic. They've done well this Classic to regain their form, and they're still number ten and rising in the rankings: they could be a genuine threat despite their underfunded status. Still, they're just a notch below the Tigers, although the potential series would be close.

Meanwhile, Nassau-Hessen are the world's eighth-ranked team, but they've underwhelmed this tournament. They've consistently made the earlier playoff rounds, but haven't gone deep into the playoffs yet. This Classic doesn't seem the right time to do so - they've gone a decent 15-9, but still finished two games behind first-place Drawkland in a relatively weak group. They'll need to be in their best form of the season to have any shot of going past Ethane and Super-Llamaland and into the semifinals, but doing so would definitely establish them as a legitimate threat.

SEMIFINALS - SCHILTZBERG

Drawkland, Kinzenland, and Gregoryisgodistan are decent sides, but all have their own problems: unranked Kinzenland shocked the world with a strong campaign in the group stage, but they're still a team of mostly-freed convicts that half the nation opposes. Drawkland has improved recently, but their past performances still reflect upon them in the rankings and in their reputation despite a run to the quarterfinals last season, and they still haven't established themselves as a team that can take on the likes of Schiltzberg or Nova Anglicana. Meanwhile, Gregoryisgodistan is an established power in the Classic, but have severely underperformed this Classic, going 13-11.

All three teams have their own threats, but Schiltzberg should be able to make another semifinals run. If not, it'll open things up for Super-Llamaland to make a deep run. Otherwise, Super-Llamaland will have to defeat Schiltzberg in a series: something nobody has accomplished since WBC34, when they were knocked out in the Round of Sixteen by, well, Super-Llamaland.

World Baseball Classic 34 saw defending champions Schiltzberg, who had just won the tournament in their first appearance, dominate the regular season and obtain the second seed, while a Llamanean side many thought were washed-up managed to grab the fifteenth seed. If the Tigers could ever be underdogs, this was when they would be. Yet, despite Schiltzberg's good form, Super-Llamaland morphed into the superteam they'd been six years ago and swept the defending champions, emphatically announcing their return and eventually making it to the semifinals.

By World Baseball Classic 37, the two sides had arguably become the two best in the world. Super-Llamaland managed to make a run all the way to the finals, where now twice-defending champions Schiltzberg awaited. The Tigers dropped the first game, but won the second and third to take a 2-1 series lead. Schiltzberg proceeded to win three consecutive games to take the finals, and a third consecutive trophy, by a four games to two margin. The two sides met afterwards in a three-game friendly series. Despite taking a marathon game one, the Llamaneans once again were defeated, two to one, leveling the all-time series at six games apiece.

The two sides are definite contrasts: the Grand Dukes are known for power hitting and lockdown pitching, while Super-Llamaland is known for contact hitting, speed, and defense. Schiltzberg retains a slight edge against the Tigers, but if the Llamaneans can find the form that won them fifteen straight games, it'll be quite a series to watch.

[Frenline Delpha]

Today, I would like to examine every potential match-up in the play-offs and how we can beat them. This is obviously assuming we win every serieswe play, but that's not out of the realm of possibilit, so... Let's get right to the analysis. Teams are listed in order of most likely to least likely for each round.

First Round

The DDR of Herp: Herp was a surprise to say the least. While Maklohi Vai was expected to easily take their group, no one saw Herp sneaking up on veteran Saintland. However, they managed it, and they have earned the right to face us in the round of 16. You gotta feel bad for them. They earn a ticket into the round of 16 in their inaugural tournament, and they have to go up against us. That's some bad luck if I ever saw it. While Herp did make it out of their group, they had a dismal 14-10 record. With mediocre offense, and apoor defense, it will be a struggle for these newcomers to overtake us. How we win is simple: we play our game. As long as we do everything that needs to be done, we'll not go down to this rookie team. It simply is a matter of playing our excellent offense to our advantage. Losing would be insane, and insanity is already high. Let's make a quick sweep of this team, as a welcome party to the WBC.

Quarter-Finals

Maklohi Vai: The Lumai are not a team to be taken lightly. They are a strong, competent team that has an offense that rivals our own. However, it's not as powerful as the Anaconda's Tail, a local nickname for the powerhouse Anaconda offense. It's no surprise this will probably come down to hitting, so expect scorelines to run high if this likely match-up takes place in the quarter-finals. How dowe win this series? Pitching. Both teams have capable offenses, so that's not likely to be the deciding factor in this showdown. It will be the pitching. The Anacondas need every person who steps on that mound to play like their careers depend on it, which is not entirely inaccurate for an aging team. If the Anacondas' pitchers can pull through the capable bats of the Lamp Sellers (yes, that's what a Lumai is), then this series will belong to us lock and key.

Anglatia: Talk about unlikely. Giving a 7:3 odds of winning a game over Maklohi Vai, this team will need a miracle to make it this far. If they do, however, we can't underestimate them. If they take down an excellent squad in the form of the Lumai, they are obviously here to play. If they do make it this far, it'd be by their defense, who only gave up 79 points, two less than us. They would need to be in prime focus in order to handle the Lumai's bats if they were to use their defense to win, so their margin for error is incredibly slim. Any mistake could cost them quite dearly against a squad with Maklohi Vai's experience. If they do make it here, we need to do the same thing we need to do to dispatch Herp. Play baseball. Playour baseball, with our power hitters and excellent pitching. It would be a shock to see them here, but odder things have happened.

Semi-Finals

Nova Anglicana: This would be the most likely team for the Anacondas to run across in the battle for the right to move onto the championship. They hold the best record in the tournament with only one loss, and their defense allowed only 2 runs per game, alongside their stellar pitching, This is clearly a team focused on defense over offense, and that has worked so far. Their road to the semi-finals shan't be the esiest, but with teams like Devonta, the only play-off team with a losing record, SDS, a teams with a worse record than two teams ranked below it, they shouldn't have much to worry about. Except for Newmanistan, but we'll get to that. With a powerhouse defense such as the Lions, we would need to make sure our hits count. COntact would be everything and strategic baserunning would be heavily imperative. The Lions very well might present the greatest challenge to the Anacondas on their tournament journey.

Newmanistan: The only other team besides out Schiltzbergian rivals to win four championships will proabably be the biggest challenge to the heavily favored Lions as they begin their hunt for a championship, much like us. Newmanistan wasn't really a surprise to make it into the round of sixteen, easily overtaking Jeckland for a chance to face off against SDS, a team they are favored to beat. Newmanistan would not surpriseanyone if they managed to take down the best team in the WBC. If they were to face us in the semi-finals, we'd need a balanced mix of offense and defense. The Newmanistan offense only scored 113 points in the group stage, so we'd need to make sure they don't rise above that in our match-up. Batting will also play an important role, as the Newmanistan defense preformed excellently against a tough Super-Llamaland team. Do not underestimate these gals, even if they are just now coming back to the WBC.

Southern Democratic States: These guys are only ranked eighth due to their higher RD than two other teams in their group. In reality, they should be easy to dispatch by any team they face. If they reach the finals, the Anacondasjust need to know which end of a bat to hold in order to take them down.

United States of Devonta: The only roundof sixteen team with a losing record. They faced Nova Anglicana in the group stage, and they get them again for the Round of Sixteen. If they even make it to the quarter-finals, the apocalypse would be upon us. We probably don't even need to show up in order to beat this team in the semi-finals.

Championship

(I will be examining the four most likely teams as the other four would be an insult to my readers' intelligences if I gave them a thought.)

Shiltzberg: You already know this team. You know what they have done to us. You know our close diplomatic relationship with them. You probably even saw their games being broadcasted in Frenline Delpha. You know their reliance on solid hitting, much like our own. Their pitching staff is also the stuff of nightmares for opposition. In fact, soem would say that these two teams are a match made in heaven for how similar they are. One would be hard pressed to find a more storied rivalry in the championship, after WBC 36 especially. The Schiltz Burgers are no push overs, and underestimating them to any degree will often see your team getting their asses handed back with some nutmeg and curry garnishes. If there is one team that represents the fighting spirit of baseball, it is Schiltzberg. This team isn't perfect, however. They are human, and that will be the key to beating them. We need to make them look more human than us. We need the best baseball of our life if we hoe to take down the three-time defending champs in any contest. If we can play mistake free and force them to make the mistakes, we can come out on top. It'll take work, but nothing worth anything is ever easy. This would be our toughest opponent of this torunament, and we would nee to be ready in every category if we went up against these baseball behemoths.

Super-Llamaland: Another team to look to with reverence. A dominate group stage start led this team to go undefeated for so many games. HOwever, they have fallen recently, losing four games after their solid start. Their momentum is fading. They started out as the strongest team of them all, but they fell to third when it was said and done. However, assuming that this baseball squad is incapable of winning the tournament is a fool's thought. In no way will Super-Llamalandgo down easy. They were runners up last year, and the dominant squad has three championships under their belt. A team with depth, a team worth fearing. TO take them down will not be an easy task. Heart, determination, and soul will all be a part of the Anacondas' winning recipe. That, and a whole lot of bats. If there is one mingun the team can hold onto in this tough road ahead, it's their bats. The lively, energetic squad relies on hitting to win games, and against Super-Llamaland, this is doubly so. They had the best offense the entire tournament, scoring 8 more runs than our offense-focused team. This will be the offensive duel to end them all if it gets to this point. Holy cow, would that be something to see.

Ethane: When it came down to Ethane vs Drawkland, I felt that Ethane had the upper hand slightly. Both teams are fairly balanced, and both teams are well acquainted with each other. However, Ethane has something Drawkland lacks. They have guts. Ethane is characterised by gutsy moves and headstrong baserunning. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't look at Ethane as a team that defies baseball norms. Sometimes, that ends up destroying them, but it's paid off this time. With a pushover like Nassau-Hessen, at least this tournament, in htier round of sixteen, the Red Kites are looking to take their radical baseball style to the championship. Beating this team will mean capitalising when they make their mistakes, which their style of basbelal prones them to do. If we can do that, the WBC trophy is as good as ours.

Drawkland: On the other hand, we have the more conservative Drawkland,with their more strategic baserunning and less flashier plays. They get Kinzerland in the round of sixteen, so winning will not be a problem. This team is less prone to accidents than Ethane, but they are less likely to get runs from ways that Ethane would, such as stealing home. Overall, the Anacondas would just need to outplay them with the bat in order to win.

No matter who the Anacondas see in the tournament, each team provides unique challenges and advantages to the strong Anaconda squad. Good luck Frenline Delpha. May you crush the competition.

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

TDDROH Sports chat

Game one projected to have one billion watchers in TDDROH alone.

Game one of round 16 between Frenline Delpha Anacondas and The Scootalove City Unicorns has sold out Scootalove City Unicorns stadium ,where on the megatron, the game will be played live.

Tv's in the stadium will also be playing Frenline Delpha's coverage as well as here on TDDROH Sports^TM.

All 50,143 seats have been sold out, 300 million DVR's set, All TV's in the TDDROH senate , WA office, and others have been set to TDDROH Sports^TM.

800 million more plan to live stream it from the government provided free high speed internet.

We interviewed a 9 year old Phoebe and her best friend who has the name of a new nickname of Amalthea Beagle, Marigold Heavenly Nostrils.

"We are so doing a slumber party and staying up to watch it!"-Phoebe

"Not as good as starring in a mirror, but why not?"- Marigold Heavenly Nostrils

[Ethane]

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine

The Turnbull Story, Part Ten

Edward and Alessia both followed the doctor into a small office with white walls. Dr. Anderson walked over to the desk and sat down on a blue chair behind it, before beckoning the two people who had just followed him to his office to sit down on the chairs that faced him. He tapped a few things into the keyboard, bringing up the page on Edward's father's case, before clearing his throat, ready to inform the both of them of the situation.

'Your dad is currently in a stable condition, but he is fragile. He took some substance, we are unsure of what it is, so we are having to tread carefully and run a few tests. However, if we don't discover what the substance he took was, then we will be unable to treat him, and he may die.' Edward was stunned to silence. He knew his Dad had never been the nicest man to him, but he would never want him to die. Especially not on Edward's birthday.

'Are you aware of any substance he took? Anything?' the doctor asked, trying to see if Edward had seen him take anything.

'There was... he took...' Edward tried to speak, but couldn't get the words out. He fainted, falling onto the floor like a rock dropped off a cliff. Edward was only out for a few seconds, but when he woke, he couldn't think straight. The voices above him were washing over him, like they were there, but he couldn't understand or focus on them. Then all he could see was someone next to him, consoling him.
'What's happening?' he murmured, unsure of his surroundings, unsure of really anything. Trying to grasp onto anything that seemed real, which wasn't much. Floating ponies and unicorns. Ice cream men. Everything seemed wrong, not real, out of place.

Four words echoing around in his head. 'Your father is dead. Your father is dead. Your father is dead.' Then it all stopped. Nothing but blackness. He felt someone shaking him, worried? He had gone limp, did they thing he was dead? Or had he fainted from shock. The voice of an angel in the night calling out his name. A girl appearing in his vision. Did he know here? He was sure he knew her - were they friends? He assumed they went to the same school from the uniform she was wearing. Yeah, he was sure he knew here. He couldn't see her clearly, but she was beauty at its finest form to him without needed to see her fully.

She picked him up and dragged him to the side. 'Edward... what are you doing out here?' So she did know him. But were they together? Edward thought. He wanted to be with her from her beauty. She leant down closer closer closer and kissed him. 'Wow!' Edward exclaimed. Another floating pony.

Not sure what was going on, head spinning round confused, overwhelmed. Excited? True love?

Then he opened his eyes, the hallucinations finished, yet him not knowing they had. A girl there, the same from the street, the same by his side in the hospital. Wait. The hospital. His dad. He panicked, while Alessia tried to calm him down.

Twenty minutes later and he was calm, cool, relaxed enough for Alessia to reason with him. The questions rushed out, and Alessia one by one answered them. All but one. The one Edward wanted to know most, the one he picked up on and asked insistently until Alessia answered.

'Is my Dad okay?' Edward asked, possibly for the millionth time by now.

'He's in hospital. They don't know what substance it is that he ingested. We don't know, but if they don't discover what the substance was very quickly, he is at risk of dying.'

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

IT’S SHOWTIME!

by Brianne Henry

Interregional baseball is once again returning to Newmanistan. It has been a real long time since World Baseball Classic 19 when we last saw the best nations in the world. So much so, that we don’t even see the names that we are used to seeing in the program when we pick up to see what other nations are headed to the Empire. No Cassadaigua, Zwangzug, Milchama, or Qazox. No Sarzonia. No Tocrowkia. No chanting, “You can’t beat us!” to Taeshan, because they aren’t here anymore. The landscape has changed, and now it’s nations like Schiltzberg and Super-Llamaland who have taken over the limelight. They are the new Newmanistan vs Cassadaigua, and the two of them have combined to win seven championships. We’ve seen enough of Super-Llamaland throughout qualifying. They were beating us pretty handily until Courtney Duvall, once again channeled her inner Stacey Keisler and contained the Tigers very well. Schiltzberg, well, we have not really seen them yet, and we are sure it will be exciting for them to play in Newmanistan. They have great motivation of course, and you have to admit it would be pretty awesome for them to win their fifth championship right here on Newmanistanian turf.

It is that team that had me asking many longtime baseball loyalists what they think about that team, who still doesn’t have a nickname. One person who immediately answered my inquiry about Schiltzberg was South Charlotte Condors pitcher Meghan Brasfield, who’s grandmother was one of the greatest players to ever play the game. “Schiltzberg does it the right way, they know the value of pitching to a team. When my grandmother was playing, those Rockets teams had good hitters, but they won championships because of pitching. I think you can even say the same thing for the Cassadaigua teams that won around the same time. You have to have dominant pitching to succeed at this level. The Schiltzberg team shut down their opposition every game. While my grandma will always say we were the best team in the world for all eternity, I think she would be proud of a team like Schiltzberg because they do it the way we did it.” Another person quickly answering our inquiry was Rick Harrington, owner of the Dover City Mountaineers baseball club. Harrington has followed the World Baseball Classic religiously even throughout all these years we were not involved, and he told us that, “There was one word to describe the great Newmanistan teams that even our opposition gave us credit for. That word was resilient, and that was especially true in World Baseball Classic 17. The nation that strikes me as the most resilient is Schiltzberg. They find ways to win, like good teams do.”

Not all Newmanistanians are jumping on the Schiltzberg bandwagon, however. Matt Kennedy, a self described stat geek tells us, “Nova Anglicana is due and they know it. They completely dominated their group, and if not for one hiccup along the way, they get through the entire group stage undefeated. I think the one loss was good for them, though, as it humbled them a little bit. It came late enough in the group stage where they have been able to stay on good form. Super-Llamaland also got off to a hot start, but once they lost they did not get right back up on their feet was quickly and fell to the number three seed. It was still a great qualifying effort for them and they are a great contender, but I wonder if they have peaked a little too early. Nova Anglicana has simply been a freight train that has not stopped. Schiltzberg has done what they had to do, but you have to think it is very difficult and probably unlikely to win another one in a row for them.” Kennedy’s friend, Josh Taylor, thinks the sleeper is Newmanistan’s first round opponent. “It’s really a shame that the Rockets have to play Southern Democratic States in the first round. You want to talk about resiliency, well, look at what they did in the Butler Group. That group was nuts, and they got some very big wins, against some good teams. They knocked out South Yerfilag, the number two team in the world. It’s shocking that they aren’t here, I don’t know how many Newmanistanians really realize that. But yeah, Southern Democratic States and Anglatia have been playing playoff-like games for a week, and both are ready for such a battle now.”


We will be playing ball very soon. Throughout Tundra Falls, Pocono City and all the great cities in the Empire that can say they have done so long ago will once again have the greatest in the world on their field. We know who the favorites are, and they are the favorites for good reason, but there are some other up-and-comers in this Classic. I look at nations like Ethane or Frenline Delpha to not go down lightly and make a major bid of their own. A veteran nation like Maklohi Vai has to think that they are due for a title themselves. Then, what about a couple of the newbies here? Kinzenland has been very impressive, especially when you consider the back story behind that team. They have plenty of motivation right now as their freedom depends on it. According to their media reports, they have nine people left to be freed, and it is true that it would take ten wins. As an aside, even though they say they will being their best security to escort their team of criminals, the Southport police will beef up security, just in case. The DDR of Herp also kept battling away, nipping closer to the playoffs as the group stage went on before ultimately finding themselves getting into the second position and making it to Newmanistan.

The predictions and the road maps point us to Nova Anglicana vs either Schiltzberg or Super-Llamaland. Maybe that will happen, and if it does, it will be well earned. But there is great baseball to be played.

The World Baseball Classic is back in Newmanistan.

Let’s play ball!

[Ethane]

Explosive News: Sports
World Baseball Classic 38

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World Baseball Classic Group Review and Playoff Preview
Sam Heath - Sports Commentator

Thirty matchdays later and here we are, standing on the brink of the first playoff games after an exciting group stage which saw teams pushed to the last game to defend their progression position in their group. Highly ranked teams have fallen, newcomers have taken the groups in their stride, but unbeknownst to them, the playoffs bring a whole different ballgame. Rather than a rotating schedule, where you face each team in the group a few times, but never together, all to decide who progresses to the playoffs, with those who lose having the chance to recover against other opponents in the group, the playoffs bring the series format. There are no other teams to save you; a straight three game series to decide who continues to delve deeper into the playoffs, while the first team to lose 2 games goes home with nothing but disappointment. To make it to the playoffs is no easy feat, so no game is easy, and all teams have to play their absolute best to win making these games a lot harder than those in the groups.

However, before we delve into who plays who for the playoffs, let's review our predictions for the groups and see how accurately we predicted them.

Sanders Group
We were relatively accurate for this group, predicting Frenline Delpha to win, who did, and The Serbian Empire to finish second, who also ended up finishing in that position. We also predicted Candelli to finish last correctly. The only error we made was getting Oconeee and Korizland the wrong way round, but the difference in points between these teams makes it hardly worth mentioning.

Keisler Group
We made a very bold prediction for this group, predicting that hosts Newmanistan would not progress out of their group but instead be stuck in third, albeit not far behind Jeckland in second. However, Jeckland didn't turn up for this tournament in the way they have before, leaving them third by a large margin, allowing Newmanistan to progress on a much higher points total than we expected. The other three teams, we did predict right, but the success of Newmanistan comes as a surprise to all of us here.

Brasfield Group
This group one of the greater surprises to us out of all the groups in the tournament, leading us to only predicting first and last place in the group correctly, although from the teams in the group these did seem clear cut. Cosumar however seemed to disappoint this tournament, allowing Kinzenland to take second in the group to progress.

Ratigan Group
The bottom three were predicted correctly, and it was as close as we expected between Abanhfleft and second place. However, we were never able to predict the stregnth of the Nova Anglican team this tournament, who lost only 1 game in the group to win, and become the top seeded team in the tournament.

Monroe Group
This group seemed to be one of the more clear cut games out of them all, although the battle for second place was a little tighter than we expected. So far, the only group we have completely predicted correctly has been our own. An omen?

Wright Group
Other than the Republic of Rawn performing slightly better than we expected, finishing in 3rd rather than the 5th and therefore pushing down the other two teams, this group is almost as expected with... Drawkland undeservedly winning the group.

Butler Group
Southern Democratic States provides another one of the big surprises in this tournament in what is possibly the most surprising group in this tournament for results. The only team we predicted correctly is Anglatia, who finished in a rather tight second place, but when the group has the top three teams finishing on 45 points, it makes out for quite a difficult group to predict. Southern Democratic States finished in first, when we predicted them to finish in 4th, while South Yerfilag, one of the highest ranked baseball teams, who we predicted to finish first in the group actually finished 3rd due to a worse record in the tiebreakers than first and second.

Weinman Group
First, fourth and fifth we predicted correctly, but the battle for second proved to be a closer fought affair than we expected. However, The DDR Of Herp was able to pip West Saintland to second, which was a rather unexpected result.

Now for the playoffs, which will prove to be an interesting affair.

Series A: (1) Nova Anglicana (23-1) vs (16) United States of Devonta (11-13) (@ Jeremy McAllister Stadium, Putnam Lake)

Nova Anglicana to win. (2-0)

Series B: (2) Schiltzberg (21-3) vs (15) Gregoryisgodistan (13-11) (@ Emperor Michael IV Stadium, Pocono City)

Schiltzberg to win. (2-0)

Series C: (3) Super-Llamaland (20-4) vs (14) The Serbian Empire (14-10, -10) (@ The Jungle, Loudon)

Super-Llamaland to win. (2-0)

Series D: (4) Frenline Delpha (19-5) vs (13) The DDR of Herp (14-10, +4) (@ Olympia Stadium, Olympia)

Frenline Delpha to win. (2-0)

Series E: (5) Maklohi Vai (18-6, +48) vs (12) Anglatia (15-9, +31) (@ Centralia Stadium, Centralia)

Maklohi Vai to win. (2-1)

Series F: (6) Ethane (18-6, +43) vs (11) Nassau-Hessen (15-9, +38) (@ Empress Jessica I Stadium, Jessicaville)

Ethane to win. (2-0)

Series G: (7) Drawkland (17-7) vs (10) Kinzenland (16-8) (@ Keisler Stadium, Southport)

Drawkland to win. (2-1)

Series H: (8) Southern Democratic States (15-9) vs (9) Newmanistan (17-7) (@ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls)

Newmanistan to win. (1-2)

Series I: (1) Nova Anglicana (23-1) vs (9) Newmanistan (17-7)

Nova Anglicana to win. (2-0)

Series J: (2) Schiltzberg (21-3) vs (7) Drawkland (17-7)

Schiltzberg to win. (2-1)

Series K: (3) Super-Llamaland (20-4) vs (6) Ethane (18-6, +43)

Ethane to win (close to call). (1-2)

Series L: (4) Frenline Delpha (19-5) vs (5) Maklohi Vai (18-6, +48)

Frenline Delpha to win. (2-1)

Series M: (1) Nova Anglicana (23-1) vs (4) Frenline Delpha (19-5)

Nova Anglicana to win. (2-0)

Series N: (2) Schiltzberg (21-3) vs (6) Ethane (18-6, +43)

(F***) Schitlzberg to win. (2-0)

Series O: (4) Frenline Delpha (19-5) vs (6) Ethane (18-6, +43)

Frenline Delpha to win (close to call). (2-1)

Series P: (1) Nova Anglicana (23-1) vs (2) Schiltzberg (21-3)

Nova Anglicana to win. (close to call) (4-3)

[Newmanistan]

Series A: (1) Nova Anglicana (23-1) vs (16) United States of Devonta (11-13) (@ Jeremy McAllister Stadium, Putnam Lake)

United States Of Devonta        0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1  2
Nova Anglicana                  0 1 0 0 1 0 0 4 X  6

Nova Anglicana leads series, 1G-0


Series B: (2) Schiltzberg (21-3) vs (15) Gregoryisgodistan (13-11) (@ Emperor Michael IV Stadium, Pocono City)

Gregoryisgodistan               0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2  3
Schiltzberg                     4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 X  7

Schiltzberg leads series, 1G-0

Series C: (3) Super-Llamaland (20-4) vs (14) The Serbian Empire (14-10, -10) (@ The Jungle, Loudon)

The Serbian Empire              0 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  4
Super-Llamaland                 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 1  5

Super-Llamaland leads series, 1G-0

Series D: (4) Frenline Delpha (19-5) vs (13) The DDR of Herp (14-10, +4) (@ Olympia Stadium, Olympia)

The DDR of Herp                 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
Frenline Delpha                 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 X  8

Frenline Delpha leads series, 1G-0

Series E: (5) Maklohi Vai (18-6, +48) vs (12) Anglatia (15-9, +31) (@ Centralia Stadium, Centralia)

Anglatia                        0 0 3 0 0 2 0 3 0  8
Maklohi Vai                     0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0  6

Anglatia leads series, 1G-0


Series F: (6) Ethane (18-6, +43) vs (11) Nassau-Hessen (15-9, +38) (@ Empress Jessica I Stadium, Jessicaville)

Ethane                          0 0 3 3 1 2 3 0 1  13
Nassau-Hessen                   0 0 1 3 0 0 1 1 0   6

Ethane leads series, 1G-0

Series G: (7) Drawkland (17-7) vs (10) Kinzenland (16-8) (@ Keisler Stadium, Southport)

Kinzenland                      0 2 4 0 0 0 1 2 0  9
Drawkland                       0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 2  7

Kinzenland leads series, 1G-0

Series H: (8) Southern Democratic States (15-9) vs (9) Newmanistan (17-7) (@ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls)

Newmanistan                     0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  1
Southern Democratic States      0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  2

Southern Democratic States leads series, 1G-0

NOTE: Ethane-Nassau-Hessen series, I see I entered this incorrectly and Ethane should have batted in the bottom half. I will make up for it in Game 2, and Ethane will hit in the bottom half in that game, as well as in Game 3, if necessary.

[Anglatia]

The Sisterhood

Part V: Vitality

Everyone in the Order of the Mountain said that Vitality was the greatest thing ever. That was the name that they called the bluish drink that was made from Marisian mountain minerals, from the elements that were natural to the Redvale and that weren’t found in any other place. At least not any other place that Redvalis had been to. The powder that went into the drinks to give them their color and effect was exclusively from the many mountains of the Redvale, created from ground up rocks, and it was the reason behind the name of the organization. Of course, it was called Vitality for a reason.

The main mineral had an effect on the mind, and brought greater focus at the expense of having several side effects. However, Shay Hara was the one to not give up, the one who discovered that if mixed with some of the other mountain elements of Redvale, it would be possible to negate the side effects and gain a competitive mental advantage over opponents on the football pitch and in life in general. According to Hara, being on Vitality was like always thinking with a clear mind that moved at full speed all the time. If there was anything a footballer needed to be successful, it was that.

Vitality, which had been created by Hara when she was still a player at Sporting Avgaria, before her ugly exit from the club had caused her to go to Janford and then Maris, where she would become a legend, was her gift to those who she believed deserved success. The downtrodden, the impoverished, the scarred. She herself was from Barrio Sul and knew just how hard life could be. She could have easily kept her knowledge of the minerals to herself, but she instead spread them to others who had hard lives, because she knew it would help them to have success. Most of the time, they went on to have more success than she could ever imagine.

Her little adopted family had grown from just her daughter, Annamarie Janzen-Hara, to contain players from a number of clubs and regions. There were the Calderon sisters, from the Fifth Ward neighborhood of Maris, a place that was mostly made up of trailer parks and poor rural farming towns. There was Jose Gallo de Montana, who was also from the Fifth Ward and who had been cut from two academies in Janford before striking gold by getting picked up by Janford City. Skal Phillips was a notable member, and despite growing up with money, his father was rarely around, something Shay herself could relate to despite her poor upbringing. And Sofia Cruze… Well, Sofia had barely had a hard day in her life at all, but she was such a special talent that Shay related with her too. It was lonely at the top, as they said. Both Shay and Sofia were familiar with the feeling of being on top of everything, and losing touch with those under them in turn.

But the new girl, Allie Vacek, she intrigued Shay. She fit in perfectly with this group because she had been through so much, but she barely showed it. She’d grown up poor, being bullied by most of the other children in the neighborhood, and her father had left her to a mother that never truly loved or valued her. Even Shay’s own childhood hadn’t been that bad. While some people would let a background like that keep them down, make them depressed all the time, Allie just kept pushing through life and advancing her careers. The way that she never let anything, up to and including her own mother’s death, affect her negatively was one of the reasons why Shay was drawn to her and inclined to bring her into the group despite her status as a foreigner, from Anglatia.

She had discovered that about Allie while scouting her for FC Maris Ladies, and even though Allie had signed for Sporting Ceneisis instead of her club, she never took her eyes off of her. Becoming close to her right now could help FCML in the future, when there was inevitably a bidding war for Allie when her Sporting contract was up. During her scouting, though, Shay had become genuinely interested. Allie was the kind of person she wanted in her family. The kind of person that she would feel good about helping. That was the reason why she sent AJ to fetch Allie to join them along with the latest batch of new members.

Right now, Shay watched Allie as she and everyone else went towards the drinks table that had just been set up, the one that had the glasses of blue liquid in them that everyone knew as Vitality. Other than for socialization and meeting the new members, this was why everyone was here. Most clubs wouldn’t be playing until at least the end of the week, meaning everyone was focused on preparation. That meant today was the day when Shay was giving her family their dose of Vitality, to get them ready for their matches that were coming up. Allie had never seen or taken the drink before, and she was sticking close to AJ as the line was forming.

One thing that was important in this group was hierarchy, and the older and more important members drank first. That was an important fact because if they ran out, the newer members would be the ones to miss out. They wouldn’t run out of drink this time, though. As the crowd around the table thinned out, AJ grabbed a pair of glasses and she and Allie went to the same corner that the Calderon sisters and Skal Phillips were hanging out in. While Kylie was older, Lindsey Calderon was about the same age as Allie, and was quite different looking than her sister. She had a low cut mohawk, with the sides of her hair shaved completely off.

“So you’re the new girl?” said Lindsey, raising an eyebrow as AJ and Allie approached. “I see you already know Anna… She’s the one that brought me into all of this, you know. Me and her, we used to raise hell in South Maris together before we were both star footballers. You’re in good hands if she’s the one that recruited you.”

“Don’t flatter me,” AJ chuckled, rolling her eyes. “And raising hell is an understatement, Linds. In hindsight, I’m kinda shocked that we’re both not locked up in Janford Max right now.”

Allie chuckled also, glancing between the two girls. “I’m assuming there’s a story behind that statement.”

“You don’t want to know,” Lindsey muttered, grinning and taking a long sip of her drink. “Let’s just say it involved some illegal imports from Nordskania, and some shady business that turned out to be a lot riskier than we planned.”

“She means that she was a drug dealer,” Skal said, chiming in. “They used to order Nordskanian grass by the truckload from some Red Nation guys in Turbayov, and they sold it at insane markup to the Fifth Ward neighborhoods. It’s safe to say the local criminals didn’t really like that, but that’s another story for another day.”

Allie took a sip of the blue drink, and changed the subject. “So, is everyone here from a bad neighborhood or something? I’m from East Underfell, Shay and AJ are from Barrio Sul, Lindsey and Kylie grew up poor… Is this like a club for poor people who made it big?”

Everyone in the group laughed at her last remark, and Skal shrugged. “We’re not all poor. My dad is a manager in the R-League, so I kind of grew up the opposite of poor. But we’ve all come from bad circumstances in the past. This is Shay’s way of giving back, since she went through a ton of shit as a kid and as a young player. She helps us and we help each other, but there’s a lot of players that don’t need our help… The Order, it’s for the ones that do.”

“Right. Well, I’m glad you guys invited me when you did. Because right now, I have close to zero friends in the country that I’m living in now, and the only people I liked hanging out with are oceans away,” sighed Allie. “And there’s also the whole thing about how I basically have no family except for an uncle and cousin that are back in Valeria…”

“Awww, don’t feel bad,” AJ said, throwing her arms around Allie’s shoulders and giving her a hug. “Someone being blood doesn’t make them family. I learned that the hard way. Don’t ever think that you don’t have a family, because that’s the real point of this group. Yes, we share the secret of Vitality with each other and we help each other train, and sometimes we even pull strings for each other to set up transfers and stuff, but the real point of the group is that we’re family. Shay’s like a mother to us, and we’re all like siblings and cousins. Speaking of which, you still haven’t been adopted, haven’t you?”

Skal raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to adopt her, AJ? You’re a bit young to have a little sis, but you are the one that recruited her. Last time I checked, the one who brings someone in gets the first right to adopt them.”

“If Kylie doesn’t want her,” shrugged AJ. “She’s the only twenty something who hasn’t adopted someone yet… Well, she did, but her little sis got kicked out. I still think it wasn’t right how Hiroyo got kicked out, but it is what it is. Actually, even if Kylie says no, I might pass her off to Linds. You know why.”

Skal laughed at the remark, and so did Kylie and Lindsey, but Allie didn’t know what AJ had meant. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Literally nothing,” AJ replied quickly, before looking to the others. “You haven’t been here long enough to get our inside jokes.”

“No offense, Allie, but I think I’ll pass. It’s going to be hard maintaining a friendship with someone that’s not even in Redvale,” Kylie stated, shrugging. “I’m sure Linds will be interested… Maybe she’ll even join you in Ceneisis and back up all her talk about leaving the country.”

“Maybe,” Lindsey said. “And Allie, I’ll take you under my wing if AJ doesn’t and if Shay lets me. You seem interesting. From what I hear, the place where you grew up is even worse than the Fifth Ward-”

“Let’s not go there,” Allie said, cutting her off. She wasn’t in the mood to talk about the neighborhood that had left her with literal scars. “I still don’t really get how this big sibling little sibling thing works, anyway…”

“It’s pretty simple. You get assigned one member and you stick with them for life. Or until one of you gets kicked out, in my sister’s case,” Lindsey explained. “Through everything, they’re your best friend. The person is also usually the same gender as you, but that doesn’t have to be the case. AJ’s big brother is Skal, for example. And Tori Escelara has a little brother, Deanthony Woods. You’ll find out who’s adopting you by the end of the night, for sure. It’ll probably be me, everyone else is going to back off because you don’t play in Redvale.”

“Do you guys dislike foreigners or something?”

AJ shook her head. “No, it’s just that Ceneisis isn’t exactly close and most of us don’t want to keep up with someone that’s all the way over there. That’s why you see a lot of pairings of members from the same city, like Tori and Deanthony or Kylie and Hiroyo.”

“Got it. Where are you playing than, Lindsey, if you’re willing to take me under your wing?”

“Midland,” said Lindsey. “The snowy middle of nowhere part of Redvale. But I’m thinking of going abroad and testing the market in other places. Maybe I’ll even join you, we could make the best midfield combo in the league. Or you could play up front and I’d give you tons of assists. I play midfield like my sis, if you couldn’t tell.”

“I’m not surprised. You two are a spitting image of each other,” Allie replied, and then her phone rang. It wasn’t another call from Katie Drysdale-Fox, like she expected, but it was the second call in a row from Darren Harbin. She hadn’t planned on talking on the phone, but she was interested in hearing what he had to say. “Wait a minute, guys. This is my one really good friend calling.”

She answered the phone, and Darren went off on her immediately. “Allie, where the bloody hell are you? You bailed on Katie’s birthday and now nobody can calm her down. Not me, not her dad, not her mom, nobody. It’s all because you didn’t just bail, but you let pictures get out from whatever party you’re at… Are you going to explain yourself or what?”

“Yeah. Tell Katie I’ll talk to her myself when I get back-”

“That’s not gonna cut it. Why don’t you talk to her right now-”

“I’m busy, Darren-”

“With what? You’re really leaving me hanging, A-”

“Sorry. I’ll explain later… I love you, Darren,” Allie said, and then she hung up and turned her phone off. “Ugh, looks like I have some excuses to make when I get back. For once, I wish my relationships could just be simple…”

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

TDDROH Sports chat

Series D: (4) Frenline Delpha (19-5) vs (13) The DDR of Herp (14-10, +4) (@ Olympia Stadium, Olympia)

The DDR of Herp                 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2
Frenline Delpha                 4 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 X  8

Frenline Delpha leads series, 1G-0

Fans disappointed at first game loss, hoping for bounce back tomorrow.



Sam Lam pulled out after the first three innings, leading to 3 innings with no hits for Amalthea 'Marigold Heavenly Nostrils/The Last Unicorn' Beagle.

Dave 'The King' Haggard had solo a home run in the second and Stuart Nova stole second and went home on a bunt from Zoey Derpus for the second run of the game for The Unicorns.

After the seventh inning, Dave Jones was put in and then Frenline Delpha got two more runs despite his best efforts.

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

DUVALL HAS BEEN MASTERFUL

by Brianne Henry

Some people might accuse me of being a broken record on the topic, of being Courtney Duvall’s best friend or long lost sister, to the point where I am doing everything I can to hype her up. Rest assured, that is not the case, although I do consider Courtney a friend. She is a wonderful human being who has overcome a lot in her life, all to become the best pitcher in Newmanistan. She has been compared to the legend of Stacey Keisler not because it’s been convenient or pre-determined, but because she really has. Let’s walk you through her starts. It’s about the only walking she’s doing.

Start 1: MD1 at West Phoenica (Game 1)
– Newmanistan won this game by the score of 12-2, impressively sending a message that they may just pick up right where they left off in this Classic, and that people should not overlook them because of the word “unranked”. Duvall pitched a complete game, allowing just one earned run and striking out 12, while allowing no one a free pass via the walk.
Total stats after game: 1 GP, 9 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1ER), 0 BB, 12 K’s, Record: 1-0, ERA: 1.00

Start 2: MD 7 at Jeckland (Game 6)
– Newmanistan won this game 4-0, in what at the time seemed like a very critical win for the Rockets. It was Courtney’s turn to start again, and she was simply unstoppable again, foiling the Jeckland hitters at every opportunity. In a complete game shutout, she allowed just two hits, walked no one, and struck out another 12.
Total Stats after game: 2 GP, 18 IP, 7 H, 2 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 24 K’s, Record: 2-0, ERA: 0.50.

Start 3: MD 13 at Outworld (Game 11)
– Again starting on the road, Duvall found herself with another strong start in Newmanistan’s 5-2 win. This would be the first time that Courtney would not go the full nine, as the Rockets did opt to let closer Shannon Spencer pitch the 9th for a save. Duvall would go 8 innings, and allow the 2 earned runs on six total hits. She would walk one, and still manage to fan 10.
Total Stats after game: 3 GP, 26 IP, 13 H, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 34 K’s. Record 3-0, ERA: 1.04

Start 4: MD 20 at Super-Llamaland (Game 16)
– If people were unimpressed with those prior three starts given the level of opposition, even though Jeckland deserves far more credit, Duvall was pitching against the mighty Tigers in this game, on the road again. Super-Llamaland was 15-0 at the time so no weak opponent here, plus the Tigers had soundly beaten the Rockets in the three prior meetings. Newmanistan would win the game 3-2, on late inning heroics to hand Super-Llamaland their first loss. She would get a no-decision, but a strong start of eight innings pitched, allowing 7 hits and two earned runs kept the Rockets in the game and allowed for them to win it in the ninth. She walked one, and had six strikeouts in the contest.
Total Stats After Game: 4 GP, 34 IP, 20H, 6 R (5 ER), 2 BB, 40 K’s, Record: 3-0, ERA: 1.32

Start 5: MD 26 vs West Phoenica (Game 21)
– Courtney’s final start of the group stage saw her finally be able to pitch at home, meeting up with the West Phoenica squad that she had dominated previously. Newmanistan won the contest 9-3 thanks to a big fourth inning. Duvall went eight innings, allowing 2 runs, 1 earned, allowing just 4 hits. No one was walked, and she struck out 11.
Total Stats After Game: 5 GP, 42 IP, 24H, 8 R (6 ER), 2 BB, 51 K’s, Record: 4-0, ERA: 1.29

Playoffs Game 1, vs Southern Democratic States
– In a 16-inning marathon and classic pitching duel, Newmanistan was defeated by Southern Democratic States, marking the first time that the Rockets have lost in a game that Duvall had started. However, Courtney most certainly cannot be blamed as she pitched brilliantly, going nine innings, and allowing just one run on three hits. One was walked, and she struck out nine. Unfortuantely, Tyler Floyd* (OOC: I’m assuming SDS would go to the top of his rotation for this even though technically it would be Rusty Castillo start, I will change this to Castillo if SDS wishes) was also dominant for the Bears, keeping the Rockets in check and letting the game be decided by the bullpens.
Total Stats After Game: 6 GP, 51 IP, 27H, 9 R (7 ER), 60 K’s. Record: 4-0, ERA: 1.24.

Those numbers are simply stunning, but we don’t know if we will get another chance to see Courtney pitch in the playoffs. The rest of the Rockets rotation has been great, but there has been something special about when Duvall has been on the mound, and the Rockets getting the good low-scoring results. Anyone who has read up about Stacey Keisler knows this is following in this footsteps pretty impressively. I sat down with Duvall to discuss these numbers:

BH: Hello, Courtney, thank you for your time.

CD: I appreciate it, thank you.

BH: I know that the end result of the game against the Bears is a disappointment. What goes through your mind when you are locked into a great pitching duel like that.

CD: You just pitch. You can’t control what your hitters are doing, and they usually do a great job for me. This is a different time now, and Floyd was red hot. He leads their staff, so that says something. But you can’t think about that. If you start thinking about where your runs are, then you are going to make mistakes while on the mound and beat yourself.

BH: Is it more or less frustrating to lose a pitching duel like that, that goes long into extra innings, or say, a 1-0 loss after nine?

CD: It depends on the situation. You look at how you pitched and if you think you could have prevented the loss, then that is the loss that is more frustrating.

BH: Your numbers are stunning. Tell me about how they match up to your expectations before the tournament?

CD: It’s what I was hoping for. The team has won five of the six games I have started, so in that sense, it is below expectations, as I want to win every time we are out there, even if I do not personally get the win. The ERA and the strike out numbers are pretty good, and I am happy with them but the team numbers are more important.

BH: It reminds many people of Stacey Keisler.

CD: That is a compliment I probably do not deserve right now.

BH: But your numbers are right on point.

CD: Maybe you can say that they are, but I have won zero playoff games, and she has won World Baseball Classic championships. I have a long way to go before I am at her level.

BH: But you have to start somewhere.

CD: That is true. Stacey is a role model for me. I would love to be her, but I have far too long to go right now.

BH: There is a possibility that you have pitched your last game for the Classic and many wonder if the Rockets will return for (WBC) 39. What if that is the case?

CD: For this Classic, I am not looking at it like I just pitched my last game. We plan on still playing long into this tournament. It could all end tonight, but we don’t think that way. I trust in my teammates that we can step up and that I will have more opportunities.

BH: What is there is no 39 for Newmanistan?

CD: Completely out of my control.

BH: Looks like our time is running out. Any final comments?

CD: I would like to thank the fans for all their support!

BH: Thank you for your time!

CD: Thank you for having me.

[Schiltzberg]

Controversial Friend

I've got a friend who every night
Makes me think of him when I turn out the light.
He's gone every time I need him.
He won't say "thank you" when I feed him.
He treats me like his little pawn.
Every time I'm there, he's gone.
Sunday morning, he wakes me up
To drink his blood from a golden cup.
He tells me I must attend his show,
Or damned to hell if I don't go.

He gets demanding, even mean,
This distant friend I haven't seen.
This so-called friend I never saw
Expects me to obey his every law,
Though his commandments are plenteous.
Then, he condemns my emptiness.

I swear, he ain't right in the head.
He disguised himself as a piece of bread.
He says he'll speak some words;
I've never heard him.
He says he'll burn my heart;
I've never felt him.
He says I need him to fill the hole
That's dragging down my filthy soul,
Or else I'll face a bitter end.
Sounds like a controversial friend.

Twelfth Time Around

She was such a gift,
This girl I was with.
Her name, it was Smith.

She saw me standing there,
So she pulled up a chair.
She said she liked my long hair.

I told her I liked the tip of her head to the tip of her feet.
She just blushed and gently smiled, as she moved to the edge of her seat.

She had a convinced look in her eye,
As I whispered a lie,
And I'm not quite sure why.

I knew I could trust
The urging of my lust
To see my hopes were not crushed.

She'd spoken so softly. I strained, but I could hardly hear
The sound of her voice, though she sat ever close to my ear.

She jumped with a scare,
But there was no one else there,
Except for my answered prayer.

My, how slowly the time passes,
As we both skipped our classes,
And I took off her glasses.

She got up from her chair quite quickly, and we made quite a pair.
As we kissed, my hand slowly slipped through the silk strands of her hair.

Her hand I did hold.
Her hand, it was cold
From a curse but of old.

I was calmed by her lips
And her firm, steady grips
On my smooth fingertips.

Then, she got up, and I begged her please not to go,
Because there's nothing this warm that's outside, except a blanket of snow.

She retook my hand,
And we danced; it was grand.
She was the fairest in the land.

"You," to the girl, I'd send,
"Can be my only friend
Until the world must end."

But then, the time came when the fates said that we had to part.
Still, she's forever with me in my soul and the strings of my heart.

Ode to My Future Wife

Just as far as I can see,
Springsteen's a Dylan wannabe.
He can't do nothing that's on his own.
I relate to Bruce too,
I wanna be something just like you.
Blinded by the Light's a knock off of Like a Rolling Stone.

I'm wondering now maybe.
Thinking 'bout you, baby,
And wondering when you'll enter my life.
I'm like Daniel in the lion's den,
Feeling like a has been,
And I'm waiting for you to be my wife.

I wonder when I'll meet you.
I hope that you'll be sweet too.
I know you'll always be there for me.
I'm tired and I don't know why
Of acting out Catcher in the Rye.
I'm waiting for what's destined to be.

Now, let me take you for a ride.
Don't make me commit suicide;
You know I love you, but I ain't no Romeo.
If we don't get there first, we're last.
Everything that's not future's past.
Don't confuse the next day with tomorrow.

I'm anxious, just to say the least.
The sun is rising in the east,
And I'm here setting down in the west.
You're in the north, I'm running south.
I want to kiss you on the mouth,
But when we do, babe, we'll do it the best.

[Nova Anglicana]

Lion's Roar

A SportsWorld Weblog

Hope and Apprehension
by Alpha Lion



Sounds about right.

So the Lions finished the group stage 23-1. That's a pretty amazing accomplishment. Every other team in the group stage finished with at least three losses. If you assume that the Lions had an 80% chance of winning every game, which is really on the high side, considering that in baseball any team can beat any other team on any given day, then the chances of the Lions winning as many as 21 games was about 1%, and 23 games a little less than 0.5%. So really small, and they are really lucky to be 23-1.

On the other hand, winning 23 of 24 games shows that the Lions have considerable talent, since it is extremely unlikely that they would have won 23 games in the first place. They do have the #1 seed in the playoffs, which is supposed to ensure them the most favorable route to the championship. It does allow them to avoid playing Schiltzberg or Super-Llamaland, their two most dangerous foes, until at least the championship series (should they make it there).

But the one place where winning 23 of 24 games and winning nine in a row doesn't count is the playoffs. All of the playoff series (except for the finals, which are best-of-5), are best-of-3 game series. That leaves the serious possibility of an upset open. Over 24 games, you'd probably expect a good team like Nova Anglicana to win well over 50% of its games, perhaps even 67% or even 75%. But in a three-game series, any team, regardless of how good they are, can lose two games. It happens all the time in baseball. And that's what's so scary.

While the Lions defeated the United States of Devonta in game 1, they still have to win one more game. If you assume the Lions have an 80% chance of winning any game against USD, the Devontans have a 10.4-percent chance of defeating the Lions in two straight games, according to the folks over at Elizabeth Avenue.

My job today is to put a 10.4-percent chance into perspective by looking for other things around baseball that would have a roughly 10.4-percent chance of happening.

These are the 10.4 percent:

Nick Barnett taking a walk

Nick Barnett walks more than the average NABL hitter by a couple of percentage points, which is good for a leadoff hitter and a set the table kind of guy. Is he a walking machine like Bryan Lamb? No, he’s just a good hitter with a solid eye, and he walks about 10.4 percent of the time.

So if you’re worried about the Lions losing two straight to USD, think of it like a Nick Barnett walk. There are a lot of ways it couldn’t happen. Even one strike, and Barnett usually likes to take a pitch, can eliminate that chance entirely. If the Lions jump on the Devontan starter early, then we can probably put thoughts of an upset to bed.

But if it happens, it wouldn’t be like Kareem Al-Aniz (remember him?) hitting a triple in his last at-bat to hit the cycle. It’s not like rooting for Seth Armstrong to steal home. It’s not even like rooting for Rene Martel to hit a home run. It would make sense as one of the normal possible outcomes.

"Hey, Nick Barnett just walked," you would say. "Yeah. He’ll do that about every 10 plate appearances."

Brendan Gunderson allowing a home run

Similar thing, but from a slightly different perspective. Gunderson isn’t a pitcher who serves up meatballs and watches them sail into the seats. He allows a few more fly balls than the average pitcher, yes, but nothing to be concerned about. But every now and again, he’ll allow a home run.

It happens. There’s always a chance of it happening, and it may happen a little more often than we'd like, and there's always that little doubt in the back of your mind when he's pitching, but there’s always a much greater chance of something else happening.

That’s roughly the apprehension we should have against the Devontans.

Anthony Brooks hitting a home run

The starting first baseman for the Lions hits a home run in 10.5 percent of his plate appearances. That's actually above-average for NABL players, but certainly below average for first base, which we traditionally consider a power spot.

Think about what happens when Brooks hits a home run at home. The place erupts, perhaps even a little more than when any given player hits a home run.

The place erupts because, even though it should cheer when somebody hits a homer, Brooks hitting one is just that much more special because we know that's not a really common occurrence.

That’s where the Lions are against the Devontans, roughly.

Losing two in a row can happen. It’s just not likely. There are thousands of reasonable, normal scenarios that would spell doom for the Lions’ season. The good news is there are tens of thousands more reasonable, normal scenarios where the Lions don't lose in the Round of 16. I’ll put my faith in those scenarios for the time being, given that the Lions have won 24 of 25 games so far. This is a team that has a history of underachieving. This is also a very talented team playing their best baseball with a lot of motivation. For now, save your worrying for our potential quarterfinals opponents. Either Southern Democratic States or Newmanistan would be a tough out.

More from Lion's Roar
Campionato Esportiva Playoffs to Begin
WCoH 32: Can the Lions Bounce Back?
A Closer Look at the Lions' Recent Pitching and Defense

(OOC: Logo at top shamelessly cribbed from Pride of Detroit, Detroit Lions blog. The opinions expressed above are the opinions of the writer and not necessarily indicative of the opinions of Nova Anglicans or the user behind Nova Anglicana.)

[The Derpy Democratic Republic Of Herp]

TDDROH Sports chat

Fans undeterred by first game loss.

Fans swarmed all over social media posting in the millions about how even if they lose, they still had fun.

Common posts say that they love and respect there opponent.

They still wish to see a unlikely 1-2 win for The Unicorns.

[Southern Democratic States]

The Southern Democratic States wins game 1

Tundra Falls, Newmanistan - (NEIP) The Southern Democratic States won a 16 innings pitching duel 2-1 to lead the series against Newmanistan 1-0. The game was played in Newmanistan, but the Southerners were the "home" team. Starting pitchers were Tyler Floyd (2-2) and Courtney Duvall (4-0). The score was still 0-0 until the 6th inning when Hannah Bates scored on a hit by Brittany Morgan. The Southerners tied the game in the 8th inning. Travis Layne was the first to bat and he walked. Nick Riefenhauser struck out. Wilton Jimenez followed with a double, Layne scored. The score was 1-1. The score remains tied until the 16th inning when Nick Riefenhauser hitted a solo homerun to end the game.

Losing pitcher was Jennifer Hughes and winning pitcher was Rusty Castillo (2-2), who skipped a start and was used in long relief. For game #2 starting pitchers will be Alejandro Gonzalez (1-0) and Breanne Burks.

[Newmanistan]

Series A: (1) Nova Anglicana (23-1) vs (16) United States of Devonta (11-13) (@ Jeremy McAllister Stadium, Putnam Lake)

Nova Anglicana                  0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0  3
United States Of Devonta        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Nova Anglicana wins series, 2G-0

Series B: (2) Schiltzberg (21-3) vs (15) Gregoryisgodistan (13-11) (@ Emperor Michael IV Stadium, Pocono City)

Schiltzberg                     1 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0  5
Gregoryisgodistan               1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4  6

Series tied, 1-1


Series C: (3) Super-Llamaland (20-4) vs (14) The Serbian Empire (14-10, -10) (@ The Jungle, Loudon)

Super-Llamaland                 5 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0  8
The Serbian Empire              0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0  2

Super-Llamaland wins series, 2G-0


Series D: (4) Frenline Delpha (19-5) vs (13) The DDR of Herp (14-10, +4) (@ Olympia Stadium, Olympia)

Frenline Delpha                 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  5
The DDR of Herp                 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  2

Frenline Delpha wins series, 2G-0

Series E: (5) Maklohi Vai (18-6, +48) vs (12) Anglatia (15-9, +31) (@ Centralia Stadium, Centralia)

Maklohi Vai                     0 0 2 0 0 1 5 0 0  8
Anglatia                        1 2 0 1 0 2 0 0 0  6

Series tied, 1-1


Series F: (6) Ethane (18-6, +43) vs (11) Nassau-Hessen (15-9, +38) (@ Empress Jessica I Stadium, Jessicaville)

Nassau-Hessen                   1 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0  4
Ethane                          0 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 X  7

Ethane wins series, 2G-0

Series G: (7) Drawkland (17-7) vs (10) Kinzenland (16-8) (@ Keisler Stadium, Southport)

Drawkland                       0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0  4
Kinzenland                      2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1  5

Kinzenland wins series, 2G-0

Series H: (8) Southern Democratic States (15-9) vs (9) Newmanistan (17-7) (@ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls)

Southern Democratic States      0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  1
Newmanistan                     1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 X  4

Series tied, 1-1*
*- Game 3 of the series will be scorinated by Qasden.

[Drawkland]

WBC 38 GROUP STAGE REVIEW
Written By: Matthew Overwood and Sammie Merryman

---

TABLE RESULTS
FROM WRIGHT GROUP:

Wright Group                Pld    W   L    RF   RA   RD   Pts 
1 Drawkland                  24   17   7   127   84  +43    51  Q 
2 Nassau-Hessen              24   15   9   117   79  +38    45  Q
3 Republic Of Rawn           24   11  13   114  134  -20    33
4 Equatorial Zeldean         24    9  15    78  100  −22    27
5 Hrvatska i Prekodunvlje    24    8  16    87  126  -39    24

Welcome, everyone, to WBC 38! We totally haven't neglected reporting this edition of the World Baseball Classic! What? What makes you think that? This is just a normal news article that's part of our normal coverage which we post every game that is so intense and detailed! Of course this isn't the only thing we've written due to caring more about other sports which are less boring? Okay, I'll stop there. Baseball isn't actually boring. People say it is but those people are liars who don't like sports in general.

Anyway, woo! World Baseball Classic! For those of you who forgot, didn't notice, or didn't watch WBC 37, here's a review of what happened.

After last-place group finishes in WBC 35 and WBC 36 (and an overall record of 13-39), many expected Drawkland's Base Corps to go out and embarrass themselves once again in WBC 37, especially after being placed in a group with World #1 Schiltzberg and highly-favored highly-ranked highly-pretentious Ethane, as well some other other teams that couldn't be underestimated, like Skeckoa. The group stage lasted way longer than usual it felt, and Drawkland miraculously got off to a good start, winning a few games (more than their WBC 35 record of 2 total), even being the first to defeat Schiltzberg in, like, a long time. Things were going surprisingly good for Drawkland, and people started watching. Even those who swore off the Base Corps when they got last while fellow unranked groupmates The Great Pond defied all expectations and got to the final, despite barely being any better than Drawkland when analysts analyzed before the Classic started. I feel like that was a run-on sentence, but you get the idea. Anyway, Ethane took hold of the second place and the group's qualification spot under Schiltzberg who obviously dominated. It eventually came down to the final 3 games of the group stage to decide if Drawkland were to qualify. They had to win all 3 of their games and Ethane had to win none. By all accounts, it didn't makes sense that Drawkland could come out on top. But they did. Straight wins for the Base Corps and straight losses for the Red Kites, including a huge loss to Schiltzberg to finish the stage. Drawkland barely managed the final win to come out and qualify. Now, they lost 3-2 games to Gregoryisgodistan, former World Champs, in the Round of 16, but that's negligible.

Anyway, after a performance such as that, and getting into a group with the only other real competition being the quiet and inconspicuous Nassau-Hessen, it was expected for Drawkland to at least land the playoffs, if not go even further into it than last time. Unranked Republic of Rawn and Equatorial Zeldean as well as low-ranked Hrvatska i Prekodunvlje also populated the "Wright Group," named after a famous ballplayer for the famous former world champs and now-returned Newmanistan, who are also hosting the playoffs for this Classic. The stage format was set to be a sextuple-round-robin, 3 home and 3 away against each opponent. So, for your convenience, we'll arrange the results in sets of 1 game per team per set, a total of 4 games per set. It'll make more sense when you read it.

FIRST SET
After getting to relax on the first matchday due to a bye, the Base Corps started off the season well with a 7-4 win over Nassau-Hessen, the team expected to give them the most trouble all Classic.

The next game was against newcomers Republic of Rawn, who were somewhat familiar fans due to having to face Republic of Rawn in the World Bowl very recently in the Conference stage. The game against Republic of Rawn was pretty intense, with Rawn leading until the 5th inning, where the Base Corps scored a run every inning (all by RBIs, no homeruns until the end) for 3 innings. Unfortunately, right before the 7th Inning Stretch, Rawn also scored another run to tie the game up at 3. The 8th inning was tense, with runners left on base at the end of the inning for both sides, but ultimately the 9th inning decided the game, where Drawkland closer Spider Jenkins gave up 2 runs on a 2-run homer to right field. However, with the bases loaded, Roger Madison went up to bat for the Corps. It was your classic "bottom of the 9th" intense scenario, and all he needed was a solid base hit, probably to right center, to at least extend the game and a fighting chance. However, Roger had bigger plans, and he spanked the 1-2 pitch all the way past center field into the bleachers for a picture-perfect grand slam. The game was over right there, and the home crowd rejoiced, for this win put Drawkland officially on top of the Wright Group.

Drawkland continued its strange streak of scoring 7 runs by defeating Equatorial Zeldean on the road. Not only were the bats clearly on fire (figuratively, you'd hope), but the defense was absolutely top-notch, as Mark Meadows pitched a clean shutout. However, a few mistakes on part of the infield and Mark himself prevented it from being a perfect game or even a no-hitter, but that's just how it happens sometimes. Can't complain of giving up no runs.

The last game of the set, against Hrvatska i Prekodunvlje, was perhaps the scariest of them all. Neither the Base Corps nor the "Vatreni" (native Hrvati for "Blazers") could manage any points on the board until the bottom of the 9th, where Allen Brams saved the teams and the home crowd the trouble of extra innings by smacking a walk-off homer over the right-field fence to make the score 0-1 to start.

At the end of the first set, Drawkland is 4-0, undefeated, with a +13 run differential and first in the group over the 3-1 Nassau-Hessen.

SECOND SET
Drawkland, again, didn't play the first game of the Second Set, as there was a bye. Nassau-Hessen managed to catch up with a win, making it 4-1 to 4-0 tie for the group. The real kicker came in the next game, where Nassau-Hessen came to Drawkland and beat us at home ... despite the Base Corps' best effort in the end of the game, the 6 runs scored over the first 2 innings by Nassau-Hessen were too much to overcome. Nassau-Hessen took ahold of the group then, both by record and run differential.

Drawkland traveled to Republic of Rawn next game, and absolutely beat out the newcomers. Despite leaky defense, giving up a single run 6/9 innings, the Base Corps managed 9 total runs: a grand slam home run by Sean Navis in the 5th, and a 2-run RBI by Mike Navis followed by a 3-run homer by Wes Navis in the 7th (the Navis brothers were undoubtedly on fire against Rawn, except errors made on defense).

Tied with Nassau-Hessen on record for the group, Drawkland took on Equatorial Zeldean at Hydrogen Cyanide Field and won, 3-4, but Nassau-Hessen put their usual fire on Republic of Rawn, keeping the group race close, despite not even being close to halfway done.

To finish the second set, Drawkland's Base Corps went on the road to Hrvatska i Prekodunvlje, who barely beat them 1-2. This game was mostly blamed on bad pitching, as Phillip Donahue, the mid relief pitcher, absolutely had an abysmal performance, barely saved by the on-point defense. Fortunately, Nassau-Hessen lost on the road to Equatorial Zeldean, keeping the group race on the wire.

THIRD SET
The bye on the first day of the third set was expected to cause a disadvantage to the Base Corps in the group race, but luckily Nassau-Hessen appeared to be on a cold streak, dropping yet another game, this time to Hrvatska i Prekodunvlje (and again while away). While this still had Drawkland placed second, it kept Nassau-Hessen within reaching distance, which is always an advantage.

However, Drawkland had to play against Nassau-Hessen in their home stadium for the next game, and the team utterly failed. Perhaps the pressure got to them, perhaps the more tropical atmosphere was unexpected, but the 0-6 scoreline was nothing to laugh at. Nassau-Hessen takes a 1-game lead on the group and a 1-game lead on head-to-head.

Continuing the Drawkian cold streak, the Base Corps dropped a game against Republic of Rawn at home in Drawkland. Despite winning 8-0 by the top of the 6th, a 7-run inning caused by 3 breakthrough plays from Republic of Rawn made the game close, and further pressure allowed 2 more runs in the next 2 innings. The 9-8 loss at home was both incredibly deflating and incredibly disadvantaging, as this was Nassau-Hessen's bye day and Drawkland's opportunity to close the gap, which failed.

Drawkland put mega pressure on Equatorial Zeldean in their own home field, but the 3-1 scoreline, while chalking up a win, was simply dismal compared to Nassau-Hessen's 9-0 away crushing of Republic of Rawn. The group simply showed no change in the tables.

The Base Corps needed a hard-hitting win on the last day before the halfway point of the group stage, and boy did they deliver. Even though Nassau-Hessen had a home win, 2-5 over Equatorial Zeldean, Drawkland had an even bigger home win, absolutely embarrassing Hrvatska i Prekodunvlje 2-13 in front of a roaring crowd. While the group situation remained unchanged, the positive momentum and point differential was instrumental in the future for the Corps' group games.

FOURTH SET
The Bye day may've been disastrous for our Corps, but Nassau-Hessen thankfully dropped their game to Hrvatska despite being at home, keeping their lead to 1 game.

After the huge win over Hrvatska, Drawkland was ready with positive momentum and a will to overcome in their next game with Nassau-Hessen. Being at home, the Corps had a home advantage of course, and the winning momentum, unlike Nassau-Hessen. Both teams seemed to be close on each other's game, both scoring 2 in the 4th off of good base hits, and both with solo home runs. However, Nassau-Hessen's homer occurred in the top of the 7th while Drawkland's home run (courtesy Antonio Knight) ... occurred in the bottom of the 9th, with 2 outs. The atmosphere was incredible as the game continued. For the next 4 innings, the game remained breathless and scoreless. Then, in the 15th, Nassau-Hessen scored what was thought to be the fatal blow ... 2 runs got in to make the score 5-3. But Roger Madison not only knocked in Wes Navis to get another run, but ran home after a wild pitch from the Nassau pitcher, to tie up the game. The next inning, a solo homer by the Nassau DH made the game tense once again ... but Remy Arlington showed his strength by powering a walkoff homer to knock in himself and Sean Navis to take the game.

Even though the group was still tied with Nassau in the lead by tiebreakers, Drawkland got an away win (thanks to 2 desperate runs in the 9th) at Republic of Rawn which gave Drawkland a game lead for the first time since Drawkland was still undefeated in the group. For once, the Corps took advantage of Nassau's off day.

Neck-and-neck, the Base Corps needed a win to stay alive in the group race, and that they did, with a comfortable win over Equatorial Zeldean to keep their lead alive over Nassau-Hessen's defeat of Republic of Rawn.

And finally, before the next bye, it was important for the Corps to keep their lead existent to make sure they weren't passed by Nassau the next day. Fortunately, they got a double bonus, for not only did they defeat Hrvatska in their home field, but they beat them 10-5, doing wonders for their differential. Not only that, but Nassau lost 2-3 in Equatorial Zeldean, making the next day's results irrelevant, for Drawkland will still be in the lead.

FIFTH SET
Unfortunately, Nassau-Hessen triumphed over Hrvatska in the 10th inning to keep their first-place running alive, and Drawkland still barely in reach for them. But it didn't seem to matter, as the next game, in Nassau-Hessen, was the host to Drawkland absolutely bullying the home team, beating Nassau-Hessen 8-1 in their home stadium and taking a chokehold on first place in the group, as well as taking control of the run differential (36 vs 26 then instead of 28 to 32 as it'd been a game before).

Drawkland stretched their lead over Nassau-Hessen on their off day by beating Republic of Rawn at home, by a huge 2-7 margin as well. We'll take this space to briefly discuss the lower teams in the group: there isn't much to discuss. At this point they were tied at 7 wins all. Nassau-Hessen, at 11 wins, isn't even close to being overtaken at this point. It'd take a miracle for any of those teams to advance at this point, which, while a shame, is the name of the game. Woah. That was some lit internal rhyming.

On the next game, despite dropping to Equatorial Zeldean in a 1-3 failure, Drawkland clenched qualification for the playoffs, as Nassau-Hessen also fell to Republic of Rawn in the latter's field. No promises on good placement or draw, considering the nigh-undefeated teams in some other groups, but qualification is qualification.

So much for qualification though. Drawkland took a big L, falling to Hrvatska, 5-0, at home. Unfortunately, Nassau-Hessen also won their game by a large margin, but going into the final set? Basically negligible. Playoffs!

FINAL SET
Nassau-Hessen made good on Drawkland's bye day by taking another win, but still featuring a hardly-inferior run differential, showed promise for space against the Base Corps.

Even though Drawkland went on to defeat Nassau-Hessen in their final group stage matchup, at home, and 2-3, Nassau-Hessen clenched qualification for themselves, but looking at the projected results, it seems they'll be taking the second spot at this point, with a 2-game deficit and 2 games remaining for them. The two ended up with a 4-2 record for this stage, Drawkland being clearly the better side.

Drawkland didn't do much to take a convincing lead over Nassau-Hessen however, dropping their final game against Republic of Rawn (it was at Rawn at least).

At least in their final home game against Equatorial Zeldean the Drawkians made a good showing, beating them with a convincing 2-4. However, 3 of Drawkland's runs came in the bottom of the 8th ... so it felt like a loss for a majority of the game. A win is a win though, especially at the end.

On the final game, on the road in Hrvatska, Drawkland got another seemingly trademark 8-1 win, nearly earning a shutout until Kole Renato unfortunately gave up a single solo home run in the 8th, thanks to Zlatan Belec, the Blazers' third baseman.

However, after a long and for most of it, intense toil, Drawkland managed a good-looking (and sevenful) record of 17-7, which earned them the 7th seed overall (isn't that beautiful how the world works? 7).

PLAYOFF MATCHUPS
With the 7th seed in hand (and Ethane in 6th! grrr), Drawkland has a decent chance at a good playoff run. A title? Meh, perhaps not. But who can say, after The Great damn Pond took it all the way to almost defeat Schiltzberg, we can't really tell you how things will go. One thing's for certain: Ethane must be defeated. Curse them!

Now for your favorite part, playoff predictions (ignore the fact that Game 1 already happened and we're behind on our coverage)!

Nova Anglicana vs United States of Devonta? The Lions will easily crush the unremarkable Devontans. No doubt about it. Unless we jinxed it for the Anglicanans, in which case, hahaha! Suckers.
Schiltzberg vs Gregorygodistan pits two champions against each other, and one of them is the reason that the other doesn't have an even larger championship streak than they already do. Personal opinions though, Schiltzberg has it in the bag. Gregoryisgodistan has been faltering in remarkability and relative skill lately (they didn't seem all that tough in WBC 36, even Drawkland beat them in the group stage, and that was back when they sucked).
Super-Llamaland vs The Serbian Empire is another easy one. The Tigers (???????) have won thrice and were last edition's runners up, so they'll cruise right past the punier Serbian Empire.
Frenline Delpha vs The Derpy Democratic Republic of Herp is a matchup between nations with close ties and relative animal themes, but we think Frenline Delpha will honestly take it home (literally)! But we expect the up-and-coming newbies to at least get a game on the Anacondas to keep it close.
Maklohi Vai vs Anglatia is a matchup between two good teams, but Maklohi Vai has the history and the weirder name (Italian lamp salesmen? I love it), so we think they'll pull it off.
Ethane vs Nassau-Hessen? Of course we must wish a playful (BUT NOT REALLY) chant of "DEATH TO ETHANE!" here, but ultimately it would be unfair to say that they couldn't take out the lightweight Nassau-Hessen. And hell, if Drawkland can barely beat Nassau-Hessen in a series, then Ethane can barely beat Nassau-Hessen for sure.
Drawkland vs Kinzenland is an interesting matchup, as our home boys the Base Corps must face the Convicts of Kinzenland. No, that's not a cutesy nickname. Kinzenland is forcing actual convicted criminals to play baseball. It was originally meant to humiliate them, but damn. They made the playoffs. The pros are obviously pissed and all, but this is actually the coolest thing ever. Too bad Drawkland is going to absolutely destroy them!!!!!!! hopefully
Finally, Southern Democratic States vs Newmanistan. Not only are the SDS not the toppest-notch team, but the returning Newmanistan is on fire and on a home field with a home crowd. For once, we pick the (slightly) lower seed to take this series.

Now, since this actually uses a sensible bracket instead of stupid reseeding, we can do round predictions, based on our other predictions. Don't quote us.
Nova Anglicana vs Newmanistan? We'd like the 4-time winners to take this one. We can't really expect it'll go that way, but hey. It'd be cool. Plus, Nova Anglicana seems to be afraid of bad juju, and there's all kind of spiritual juju stuff happening in Newmanistan, sooo ... it may in fact go in favor of the hosts.
Schiltzberg vs Drawkland. Wait, we'll have to face Schiltzberg in the Quarterfinals? Uh, shit. Guess we're taking the L guys. Sorry. Schiltz to advance.
Super-Llamaland vs Ethane will result in AN ABSOLUTE CRUSHING OF ETHANE!!!7!!! Just kidding, it won't be that bad. But we expect the Tigers to eat up the Red Kites.
Frenline Delpha vs Maklohi Vai is yet another tough one to call, but we think the Anacondas will finally go on to baseball greatness and reach the semis. It definitely won't be easy though.

Semifinals predictions!
Newmanistan vs Frenline Delpha will be a tough matchup, but the Newmanistani will have momentum by now. Of course we aren't trying to usher in a Newmanistan/Schiltzberg final! Why would we do that? It'd only be the coolest thing ever. *ahem*, Newmanistan advances and Frenline to the 3PPO.
Schiltzberg and Super-Llamaland is a rematch of last year, which is also a rematch of their rematch in the offseason. They've had a lot of playing time together, but Schiltzberg always comes out on top in the end. Schiltzberg to take it to the finals.

Third Place Series?
Super-Llamaland vs Frenline Delpha, yet another close one to call ... but Frenline Delpha is up and coming. We think they can finally get their hands on some (bronze) silverware.

Final Series!
Schiltzberg vs Newmanistan! AAAAAAA! If this happens we don't even care about the result. It'd be amazing. Also, we can't predict this either ... but we'd expect a Schiltzberg win to stay safe with out betting money.

Don't quote us on any of this. We've turned out to be historically bad at playoff predictions. On the other hand, wooo Base Corps! They may be able to defeat the Kinzenland Convicts, but ... yeah, they'll be destroyed easily afterward by the modern baseball juggernaut.

ON CORPS!

I'm cutting you off again!

Damn, of course. Oh well, at least my conscience is clean.

[Southern Democratic States]

The Southerners lose to Newmanistan, the series is tied at 1-1

Tundra Falls, Newmanistan - (NEIP) The Southern Democratic States lost 4-1 to Newmanistan and the series is tied at 1-1. Starting pitchers were Alejandro Gonzalez for the Bears and Breanne Burks for the Rockets. Newmanistan took the lead in the bottom 1st inning when Hannah Bates scored on a sacrifice fly by Mallory Harris. In the 4th inning, Mary Jane Castro is the first to bat for the Southerners and she hits a double. Nate O'Flaherty walked. With runners at 2nd and 1st base and no outs, Travis Layne is batting. The Bears tries a hit and run but Layne hits a live drive, the ball is caugh by Brittany Morgan, Layne is out, she throws to 2nd base before Castro comes back, and she's out, Michelle Covington throws to 1st base before O'Flaherty comes back and he's out, it's a triple play!

Hannah Bates is the 1st to bat for Newmanistan in the bottom 6th inning and she hits a single. She steals the 2nd base. Lexi Alcorn is grounded out, Bates advances to 3rd base. Brittany Morgan hits a single, Bates scores. Mallory Harris hits a two runs homerun, Morgan scores. Newmanistan leads 4-0. In the top 7th inning, the Southern Bears finally scored a run when Nate O'Flaherty touched the home plate on a single batted by Wilton Jimenez. In the 9th inning, Shannon Spencer striked out 2 batters and she got the save. Winning pitcher was Breanne Burks and Alejandro Gonzalez was the losing pitcher.

In his post game comments, coach Buck Jennings talked about the triple play in 4th inning: "Well we came short, you know, the ball would be gone in the outfield if she didn't caught it and we would have scored some runs in this inning. It was the play of the game for Newmanistan, they has a great defense. And they have real batting skills, they don't look like an unranked team, they're hard to beat." For the 3rd and final game, Amber Thomas will start for the Bears and Kaitlyn Carroll will start for Newmanistan. The Southerners will be the home team, so Tyson Lindsey will be back in the batting lineup.

Southern Cola sold to the State of Chattahoochee!?!

Oglethorpe, Chattahoochee - This is the most unexpected financial transaction ever: A group of 7 unidentified men, owning 51% of the total shares in The Southern Cola Company, has sold their shares to the State of Chattahoochee. The State of Chattahoochee is now the majority owner of The Southern Cola Company. How did it happen in this capitalist country? I'm speechless. Every financial columnist and analyst in this country is speechless. What the heck did happen? Is this capitalist nation becoming a communist state? Does Chattahoochee State wants to make money? These questions remains unanswered, the governor of Chattahoochee refused to comment the transaction.

The Southern Cola Company was founded in 1886 in Oglethorpe, the largest city and capital city of Chattahoochee. it still has its headquarters there. Oglethorpe is home to two football teams, the Oglethorpe Chargers and the Oglethorpe Buccaneers; to one baseball team, the Oglethorpe Red Sox; to one basketball team, the Oglethorpe Mavericks; to one soccer team, Oglethorpe FC and finally it is home to the Oglethorpe Golden Seals, the West Coast Hockey League affiliate of the Braddock Bruins.

[Newmanistan]

THE ROCKET REPORT

ROCKETS LOOK TO PAST FOR PRESENT

by Brianne Henry

The Rockets have faced elimination so many times in their history, and there are several examples in the past where they had a three game series, lost the opener, and then went on to win the last two. The World Baseball Classic 17 Championship featured that over and over, and Newmanistan solidified their reputation for being resilient. That was a long time ago, and the question now is whether or not the current Rockets can have the same reputation. In last night’s 4-1 win over Southern Democratic States, it was a play that had nothing to do with run scoring that may have showed a glimpse of that “R” world. Resiliency.

The Rockets took a 1-0 lead in the first thanks to the wheels of Hannah Bates. Hannah led the inning off with a single, and used her wheels to be in position to score on a sacrifice fly by Malloy Harris that might not have been hit deep enough for most to tag and score on, but was plenty far enough for Hannah. That however, was not the play that I am talking about. That was in the fourth and the Bears were threatening. With runners on first and second and no one out, Southern Democratic States applied the hit and run and Travis Layne made sharp contact, but his liner was caught alertly by third baseman Brittany Morgan. Morgan knew what was going on right away and quickly fired to second to get the second out of what would prove to be a critical triple play. Prior to the pitch, Morgan took four steps closer to the third base line, and those steps were crucial in having her in position to make the leaping grab. About the play, Brittany told us, “At first, its really just instincts. The ball’s coming and you try to grab it and the next thing you know, its in your glove. I knew the runner had left from second, so I knew to immediately get the ball to Covey (Michelle Covington). To make that play work, she’s really the one that has to be on her toes about being to second on time to get my throw, then getting the quick relay to first. It all came together. Those plays are very difficult to make, everything has to go perfectly for the defensive team.” Covington agreed, “It’s about instincts, certainly. You play this game so often, you don’t really think, you just react. You make the play, and then when its done, it can set in about the type of play you just made.”

Brianna Burks, pitching on her domestic-club home turf at the Proving Grounds, was truly fired up over the play made by her defense with an especially enthusiastic pump fist. It helped her get out of the inning and she would ultimately keep Southern Democratic States off the scoreboard until the 7th. In all, Burks went eight solid innings in the Rockets victory. After the game, she could not stop talking about the triple play. “I guess the Spirits were looking out for me there. That’s a tough play to execute. In the end, we really did the little things that you need to do to win games and I tell you I am having the time of my life pitching for this team right now.” So now, we’re all level, and Newmanistan needs to do what it was able to do more often then not in three game series after losing the first game: Come back and win the next two. The starting pitcher will be the Southport Tigers’ Kaitlyn Carroll. Southport ace, Kaitlyn Carroll. Just like the legendary Stacey Keisler was. Keisler got the job done, and now Kaitlyn will look to follow her lead. It’s a big game, and Nova Anglicana awaits the winner. Regardless of who wins this game, that’s a formidable foe lying in the wake. But the Rockets have been resilient before, and now, they hope for an opportunity to go from playing Bears, to playing Lions. They already had Tigers had in the group stage.

[Schiltzberg]

SCHILTZBERG NEEDS TO WIN

Schiltzberg lost last night in a shocking comeback by Gregoryisgodistan, which was Gregoryisgodistan's first win against Schiltzberg in World Baseball Classic history, but Schiltzberg suddenly found itself up against the wall, as the series was forced to a deciding game three. It would be extremely ironic if Schiltzberg lost to Gregoryisgodistan here, because Gregoryisgodistan had a very poor preliminary round (in comparison to previous seasons), while Schiltzberg had its best preliminary round record yet. Gregoryisgodistan seems to be the underdog in every aspect. Schiltzberg is the higher rank (in fact, the highest in the world), Schiltzberg is the higher seed (number two), Schiltzberg is the defending champion, but not only that, Schiltzberg is the defending back-to-back-to-back champion of the World Baseball Classic, and has not been eliminated since it was eliminated in the round of sixteen by Super-Llamaland in World Baseball Classic 34 (which Gregoryisgodistan won, ironically). Schiltzberg has become desperate, almost to the point of despair, because even though they knew that the odds of winning a fourth Classic in a row were slim, they hoped that they would at least make it past the first round of the playoffs, especially with such a high seed. Such a respectable team as Schiltzberg does not want to be eliminated by a mere fifteenth seed, a team that just barely broke above .500 this season, and likely will just be eventually eliminated anyway. Of course, this is not to take away from the achievements of Gregoryisgodistan. They are also former champions, and would be as worthy of defeating Schiltzberg as any other team would be in this World Baseball Classic. Of course, Schiltzbergers are extremely sore losers, which is a character trait that they have had the convenience of not being required to show in their brief, yet storied history in the World Baseball Classic. Maybe it is the curse of the presidency. Super-Llamaland once had a great dynasty from WBC 28 to WBC 31, making it to the championship series in every one of those seasons, and winning in WBCs 28, 30, and 31, going undefeated in WBC 31. Then, they got elected president of the WBC, and their empire collapsed. No president of the WBC has ever won the WBC during their presidency, excluding Qazox, whose team was self-declared to be the president for many, many years, including when that team won the WBC in WBCs 6, 8, and 9. Another possibility is that maybe the "Blessing of the Duck" is no longer present, as this is the superstition held by many Schiltzbergers that their team was blessed by The Great Pond, whose team was called "The Ducks," leading to Schiltzberg's success, and that nation now no longer exists. There is a fear among Schiltzbergers that if Schiltzberg falls from the rankings, they will never climb back up to the top of the ladder. It seems that throughout history, all of the teams that won multiple seasons won them all in close together seasons (with some exceptions, like Zwangzug and Milchama, whose championships were more spread out), and it seems that for many teams, once they become washed up, they can never again find their greatness again. Hopefully, this will not be the case for Schiltzberg, because the Schiltzbergers would certainly not be the death of the Schiltzberg Dynasty on the WBC.

Game One: GregisDOGistan!

Gregoryisgodistan               0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2  3
Schiltzberg                     4 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 X  7

Schiltzberg was dominant in game one, as they have been all season. It would be a shame to see Schiltzberg eliminated so early, because they truly have had a great year, and are honestly deserving of success, even though they probably have already achieved much more success than they deserve in the five seasons they have played in so far. Schiltzberg took over right away, and they had complete control of the game from the beginning up until right at the end, when they started to almost collapse, but they had enough of a lead that it was not a problem. The Newmanistani crowd was very welcoming of the newly ordained four-time champions, as Schiltzberg had home field advantage in Emperor Michael IV Stadium in Ponoco City, Newmanistan. Schiltzberg had a big first inning, much to the enjoyment of the crowd from Newmanistan, with many Schiltzbergian fans scattered throughout the stands. Mark Daly led off with a big solo home run to get the crowd buzzing. Ducky Fitzhugh kept them on their feet with a first pitch double, and then he was knocked in on a single by Chris Vrooman. Francis Thom then flied out, and there was no advancement by the runner. The following batter was Manual Villegaus, and he singled, but the outfielder let the ball get behind him, allowing Vrooman to score from first and Villegaus to advance to second. That center fielder was then called into the dugout by the Bat Slaves' manager, and was apparently given a stern talking to, and was removed from the game. That center fielder has mysteriously not been seen since the incident. One must only wonder with a team like the Bat Slaves from a country like Gregoryisgodistan if the center fielder was executed for his failure to represent his country in sport. Regardless of this poor man's fate, Schiltzberg's rally continued. Thomas Saiz then singled on an infield hit, and Villegaus advanced, but only to third. Villegaus was then scored on a sacrifice fly from Bob Rutledge. Schiltzberg did not score in the middle innings, but did not need to, because Gregoryisgodistan did not either. Schiltzberg's bats came back alive in the late innings though, as Ducky Fitzhugh hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning, giving Schiltzberg a 6-1 lead, followed by a solo shot from Thomas Saiz in the eighth to make it 7-1. Schiltzberg's excellent pitching once again was responsible for the win, but Schiltzberg's offense should not be taken lightly either, as it is not easy to score seven runs in a game either.

Schiltzberg's ace William McKey was on the mound for game one. He is usually dependable for a complete game, but the wear and tear of the season and all of the pressure caught up with him in this game, and he had to be removed in the ninth, when he had a sort of collapse. He did extremely well in the early innings, keeping Gregoryisgodistan to a single run, which was scored in the fourth inning. Gregoryisgodistan led off the inning with a single, and then that runner stole second. The runner then advanced to third on an infield hit, making it first and third with one out, and the runner on third scored on a single to left field. This was no worry for McKey, because he had plenty of run support from his offense. After a dominant 1-2-3 seventh inning and eighth inning, it seemed as if McKey would be able to finish the job and get the complete game win against Gregoryisgodistan, but the fatigue caught up with him. He gave up two hits, making it first and third, and then walked the next batter, loading the bases with no outs. The next batter hit a sacrifice fly, allowing a run to score, making the score 7-2. McKey then walked the next batter, loading the bases once again with one out. At that point, he was relieved, as manager Bob Evans saw no reason to risk such a high stakes game, and he put in Doug Miller, who is the closer. Miller walked the first batter he faced, allowing one run, which was charged to McKey, but then the next batter grounded into a double play, and the game was over. Schiltzberg held the advantage 1-0, and spirits were flying high in the defending champions' dugout.

Game Two: SHITzberg!

Schiltzberg                     1 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0  5
Gregoryisgodistan               1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4  6

Schiltzberg came in with the advantage, the odds in their favor, and the momentum. They left a broken and defeated team. This game was a nail-biter for the first half of the game, but then Schiltzberg pulled away, and there seemed to be no turning back. Well, they couldn't finish the job. Maybe one of Schiltzberg's biggest strengths and also biggest weaknesses is their extreme faith in their pitching staff. In this game, a very overworked David Toups did the best he could, but at up over 120 pitches, he collapsed and gave up a series of hits, which allowed Gregoryisgodistan to come back and win a walk-off victory, stunning Schiltzberg in what was supposed to be their big night, and completely shifting the momentum in their favor with a deciding game looming. The Schiltzbergian team feels that it is their obligation to eliminate the godless heathen Gregoryisgodistani team from the World Baseball Classic, just as they did last year, because "It is more than baseball," as said by Grand Duke Lucas IV in an interview before game two. In the baseball world, Schiltzberg and Gregoryisgodistan have been seemingly friendly rivals for years, ever since Schiltzberg won its first Classic in Gregoryisgodistan, and Gregoryisgodistan won Schiltzberg's "lost championship" of WBC 34, and most recently, when Schiltzberg won the classic semifinals series against the Bat Slaves, which was the first time that the two teams actually met, but politically, the two countries are bitter enemies. The fans from both sides secretly want to see the other team lose just as much as they want to see their own team win. This is what makes this upcoming game three such a big deal for both sides, and both have such high stakes, since they are both champions, and that brings a certain level of expectations from the domestic fans, as well as the fans of other teams watching. If an underdog loses, no one cares, but if a big team like Schiltzberg loses, it is big news to the baseball world.

Schiltzberg started just the way that it did the other game. The very first pitch went sailing over the wall. Mark Daly did it again with a lead off home run. The Schiltzbergers in the crowd went wild, and they assumed that they would dominate the game, because that is really the only thing that Schiltzbergian fans ever assume. They are terrible losers, as well as arrogant winners. The game quickly became a pitchers' duel though, as both pitchers went several innings without giving up any runs, after both teams had scored in the first inning, deadlocked at one run apiece. Schiltzberg broke the ice in the top of the seventh, rallying, which resulted in the removal of Gregoryisgodistan's starter. Manual Villegaus started out the rally with a lead off single. Then, Thomas Saiz walked. Then, Bob Rutledge, who has really been going through a slump, grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but Villegaus advanced to third. Wayne Knox then hit a two-run home run, and David Toups was hit by a pitch. Toups then got around to third on a double from Mark Daly, and then scored on a throwing error by Gregoryisgodistan's shortstop, which allowed Ducky Fitzhugh to reach base. Francis Thom then hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth to make the score 5-1 Schiltzberg, just six outs away from clinching. They were devastated when they collapsed.

Schiltzberg's pitching was overworked, which is what resulted in the loss. David Toups did all that he could, but there are only so many innings that you can get out of a pitcher per week. Schiltzberg's pitching, which was so dominant in the preliminary round, seems to have had all of those great innings of work catching up to them. They could only continue to pitch like they had been doing for so long, and that is what led to the early exit for both McKey and Toups in both games of this round of sixteen. Schiltzberg grabbed an early one-run lead, but Gregoryisgodistan quickly answered that run with a home run of their own, coming with two outs in the first inning and no one on base. Toups was dominant for most of the game, going deep and going into the bottom of the eighth with a 5-1 lead. Toups gave up two hits and a run in the bottom of the eighth inning, off of an RBI double that scored a runner from first. The runner thought that Fitzhugh was throwing home, but he thought wrong, as Fitzhugh nabbed him trying to take an extra base at third. Schiltzberg still had a three-run lead with only three outs to go, so they did not sweat the run that much. The real problems came in the ninth. Schiltzberg went quietly in the top half, and seemed to all be waiting for the bottom half to end so that they could party and celebrate, as they would have clinched and had no game the next day. They got sloppy though, and Toups was fatigued. The first batter walked. Then, a ground ball went past Mark Daly, which easily could have been a double play, but it was marked an E6, and there were runners on first and second with no outs. Suddenly, the tying run was at the plate. Another ground ball goes to Daly. This time, he makes the play, and the Bat Slaves go down 6-4-3. There are now two outs in the bottom of the ninth, there is a runner on third, and Schiltzberg is leading 5-2. The next batter walks on five pitches, prompting a visit to the mound by the pitching coach. The coach asks Toups if he wants relief, but he shakes his head no, as being relieved is seen as failure for a starting pitcher in Schiltzberg, especially at this level. It was a rhetorical question. Toups gets fired up, and throws too strikes. He's just one strike away! Then, the next pitch gets away from him, and it hits the Gregoryisgodistani batter on the arm. Toups seemed to be pained more by the hit by pitch than the hit batsmen was, as he grimaced in disgust as the batter gleefully trotted to first, loading the bases. Then, up comes the potential winning run. Strike one looking. Strike two swinging. He swings. He makes contact. It's gone! Gregoryisgodistan wins on a walk off grand slam! Unbelievable! Schiltzberg's players were stunned and devastated. They had let it slip through their fingers, but they won't let that happen again. Schiltzberg refuses to lose to Gregoryisgodistan in game three of the series. Kinzenland, here we come!

In the heat of the moment, team captain Ducky Fitzhugh realized just how close Schiltzberg's run is to being despicably obliterated, which would end the most successful streak in the history of the World Baseball Classic. He will not allow his team to lose, but he is so attached to the championship trophy, that he wrote a poem about it, which he recited in an interview this morning. For those who are from another country, it is a very important part of Schiltzbergian culture to write, read, and recite poetry.

Ode to the Championship Trophy

Honey, we've been together from the start,
But I hear someone's trying to tear us apart.
So much we've been through together, me and you.
Without you, I don't know what I'd do.
Whatever happens, I'll never be
Able to let them tear you away from me.

We've survived crooked crosses,
Big wins, and big losses.
We've proved that we have what it takes.
We showed up for all of the high stakes
Show down, and the opponents bent their knee.
I'll never let them tear you away from me.

Tonight, I'm going to play them like I've never played before.
I'm going to hit them with a blow that they can't predict or see in store.
I'm going to remember what it is I'm fighting for,
And I'll never let them tear you away from me.
Tonight, I'll drink champagne and wine,
And I'll know that you will still be mine.

On a somewhat unrelated note, this is a poem that was found written on a piece of paper in David Toups' hand after he got wasted and passed out in the dugout after the game. The meaning has not yet been deciphered.

One of Me, Two of You

I've been missing you. I beat my head in with a rock.
I've been 'round your door so long, I picked the lock.
I'm stayin' busy, keeping my soul to save.
I'm getting dizzy from spinning in my grave.

I can hardly see, and I don't know what to do.
There's just one of me, but there's two of you.

You're standing there everywhere I look.
You're on every page in every picture book.
When I see your face, it's like some forgotten truth.
I'm a dirty priest with dusty fingers and a missing tooth.

I've been seeing red so long, it makes me blue.
There's just one of me, but there's two of you.

I'm in the pink till the lions get their fill.
All that's left is a dark and empty chill.
My ring is gone, my heart has gone still.
Cupid's gone rogue; he's started shooting to kill.

I've been around so long that old is new.
There's just one of me, but there's two of you.

What fills my brain are the colors of depression.
The only sounds are the hints of your confession.
I've been crying so loud, even the bats can hear my call,
And that eerie chill gives me nothing back at all.

I've told a lie for long enough that now it's true.
There's one of me, but honey, there's two of you.

This Is Your New Schiltzbierg Times Sports News!

[Newmanistan]

Series B: (2) Schiltzberg (21-3) vs (15) Gregoryisgodistan (13-11) (@ Emperor Michael IV Stadium, Pocono City)

Gregoryisgodistan               0 2 1 0 0 3 0 0 0  6
Schiltzberg                     2 0 1 3 0 0 2 0 X  8

Schiltzberg wins series, 2G-1

Series E: (5) Maklohi Vai (18-6, +48) vs (12) Anglatia (15-9, +31) (@ Centralia Stadium, Centralia)

Anglatia                        0 0 1 1 1 4 0 1 0  8
Maklohi Vai                     1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2

Anglatia wins series, 2G-1

Series H: (8) Southern Democratic States (15-9) vs (9) Newmanistan (17-7) (@ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls)
Game 3 TBD, Scorinated by Qasden
Second round matchups posted when this result is decided.