World Baseball Classic 44- Everything Thread (IC)

[Ko-oren]

Another two games between Ko-oren and Tierra de Castro have ended. The series is tied at 2-2, which means we get one final game to decide who gets the right to be destroyed by West Phoenicia in the next round, but at this point both teams are fighting tooth and nail for that prospect. Both teams are getting all they can out of their stay in Newmanistan, a place so full of baseball history, and having one of the highest concentrations of WBC trophies per 100,000 inhabitants. For both teams, worse things await upon return. For the Ko-orenites, it's back to the regular baseball season and barely having had a break between seasons, and many players will have to look for a new place to live with a very active transfer period and a dramatic relocation of the Aviansola Admirals to Intermare. For those from Tierra de Castro, this has been their biggest opportunity to see something of the Multiverse and what other nations have to offer. The nation doesn't hit the headlines in Ko-oren often, but they rarely speak of excellent conditions and international opportunities given to Castrollanos. Still, looking at the physique of the baseball team, it doesn't look like the nation is very bad to its people, either.

Game 3 went much like many games near the end of the group stage. Near-perfect pitching from the starter, not a huge need to go for a relief pitcher, but the closing then gave away the lead. Ko-oren led the game all the way from the second inning until halfway through the ninth (2-1), with no runs scored in between, only Tierra de Castro scored three runs on the last hit to win 4-2. The bottom line of this game, and many in the group stage, is that the Greenblues only have themselves to blame in case this goes further south. Hitting was inadequate, we could have scored more runs along the way, but pressure mounting near the end and then cracking the set-up and closing pitcher has been a storyline we've seen far too often throughout the WBC.

Some vengeance in Game 4, then. This one went according to a script we haven't seen too often: runs galore, hits everywhere and a Greenblue win. The game was pretty wild until the 5th inning, and by this point there have been three lead changes. Tierra de Castro scored 3 to open the game - and in many cases this would have already been insurmountable for the Greenblues. The Castrollanos weren't very accurate either, and gave up a run in the first, five in the second, and three in the third. Taboada, who's had a very solid Classic so far and should see his contract get some restructuring this season, scored 4 off of a grand slam. Both teams switched out their starters and the game normalised a little after this. Ko-oren scored another run on the fifth inning for a 9-6 lead, and the margin was just a little too close for comfort. We have been in better positions and ruined them. We were ready to turn off the tv and cry in a corner when the Castrollanos scored a single run in the ninth, as the game was going to go much like Game 3. But no further hits were conceded, desperate stealing of bases was punished as well and the bases were empty from then on until the end of the inning. The Greenblues had an inning in hand, but didn't need it, and go into Game 5 with a 9-7 win.

The emotional scenes throughout the series on the Castrollanos' bench weren't exactly met with much emotion from the Ko-orenites. Then again, we aren't such an emotional nation. Some parts of a speech given by Chicote, and later El Profesor himself, hinted that the Castrollanos went beyond themselves to make this Classic a success: a lot of players didn't have much waiting for them after their return back to their homeland. Surely this won't be the end of a team from Tierra de Castro at a WBC, but there'll be more than a few players that won't get the chance to go next time. On top of that, many weren't professionals, and baseball was more than a hobby to them. Compare that to the cushy situation on the Ko-orenite bench, where the staff immediately broke out the spreadsheets and heat maps to explain away the mistakes and giving instructions on how to avoid said mistakes next time.

During the press conference, the Ko-orenite Baseball Association has invited the national team of Tierra de Castro over to play an exhibition series in Ko-oren, no matter the outcome of the current WBC series. If it would be allowed by the teams and government of the nation, some Castrollanos could even stay in Ko-oren to build up their own professional career in the KBL, if they want to.

*OOC: this RP is based on the WBC RPs, and I hope I fairly accurately described Tierra de Castro. This wasn't an IC (or OOC) slight on the nation in any way, so if it wasn't accurate, I'm sorry.

[Cassadaigua]

Ten Random Observations,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

1) Garry Barnett of Lycrabon needs to come up with new material. Fat chicks playing baseball at this level? I don’t think so.
2) I may have just offended some of our readers who might have a few extra pounds, but you do have to be in great shape to play at this level.
3) Why didn’t Super-Llamaland just eliminate Lycrabon to give Barnett nothing to talk about?
4) How did Super-Llamaland not even make the playoffs? That’s the story of this Classic, regardless of their inactivity.
5) Hampton Island may not have låmps, but they have a bear. I’ll take the bear.
6) Hampton Island makes me think about Tinhampton, which makes me think about the Cup of Harmony. Awesome to only have to watch games of that!
7) The Sherpa Empire has not really done anything to piss us off yet. Actually, they are a good hard working group of players.
8) Vangaziland has good taste in women. Way to go!
9) Beware of Tierra de Castro, newcomer of the Classic, and hopefully of the future. Said that about Xelsis last Classic, though. Stick around, Castrollanos, we do this every so often!
10) Drawkland lost one of their playoff games by the score of 10-3. Fitting!

[Hampton Island]

Hampton Island Sports Brief

Midnight Should Silence The “Lamps”

The nation of Schiltzberg, them of the four World Baseball Classic titles that occurred at a time where we were not competing, is proudly boasting that they are special because they have these låmps. Manager John Morton, who graciously took time out of his busy schedule to be interviewed by the New Schiltzbierg Times seemed distraught that he was asked such a question in the first place. He bit his tongue, and gave a nice answer for the paper. However he told us that, “We have Midnight, and Midnight can turn the låmps off for good in this Classic.” Morton grinced and smiled, “Bears like light. It’s darkness they don’t like.” Midnight has improved as the Classic has gone on, and has cut down on his strikeouts while continuing to show the power that one would expect from a large baseball-playing black bear.

We are not sure of the relevance of these lights are as we prepare to play on neutral Newmanistanian turf. In the past, we might not have been a fan favorite of the die-hard Newmanistanian fan, given our previous manager’s derogatory comments about women in baseball, but that is the past. Who won’t love the team that sports a bear that knows how to play baseball. Midnight’s teammates say they have become more comfortable with the bear’s presence in the locker room. Patrick Seguin, who also plays professionally in Newmanistan, told us, “We co-exist good now with Midnight. He is learning why he is here. It’s working out, especially now that he is learning he doesn’t have to swing for the fence on every play.” Hampton Island is strangely confident for this series, despite the ranks at the tournament. There is hope the Golden Bears can make Schiltzberg look like just a bunch of innocent little cubs.

[Newmanistan]

Time to get a winner in this last first round game!

(15) Tierra de Castro vs (18) Ko-oren @ Emperor Michael I Stadium, Pocono City
Game 5:

Ko-oren                0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1  2
Tierra de Castro       0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Ko-oren wins series, 3 games to 2.


Second Round Pairings, and locations for the series
(1) Newmanistan vs (16) Vangaziland @ Empress Jessica I Stadium, Jessicaville
(8) Hampton Island vs (9) Schiltzberg @ Emperor Michael IV Stadium, Pocono City
(5) Nova Anglicana vs (12) Liventia @ The Jungle, Loudon
(4) Free Republics vs (13) Abanhfleft @ Centralia Stadium, Centralia
(6) Scootalove City vs (11) Lycrabon @ Jeremy McAllister Stadium, Putnam Lake
(3) Cassadaigua vs (14) The Sherpa Empire @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls
(7) Banija vs (10) Ethane @ Olympia Stadium, Olympia
(2) West Phoenicia vs (18) Ko-oren @ Keisler Stadium, Southport

IC Note/RP Fodder: Newmanistan is not playing at the Proving Grounds in this series, as one would normally expect, due to the fact that fans from Vangaziland may already be in Tundra Falls for NSSCRA, and we don't want to make it convenient for them to go to both, so we scheduled the series some distance away.

Note also that I have finally edited in stadium information into the third post of this thread.

[Lycrabon]

Barnett continues to antagonize, expands targets from LSPN.com

RP Garry Barnett III, who has antagonized the Cassadaiguan team since the brackets came out, has continued his run, this time directly to the Lycrabon media that has come to Newmanistan.

In an press conference yesterday:

In regards to the Dagans in general: "They couldn't hold the jock of 95% of the NBL....unless it was "-- given our respect of the pink and black, we will not print the remainder of his vulgar comment.

About Cassadaiguan columnist Chelsea Dufresne: "She sounds like she needs a big **** in her **** ****."

On Vangiziland (OOC: Sorry if I misspelled it): "Vaginaland won't be here long either, in my opinion."

On his return, assuming the Blue Jays advance: "I have a special celebration planned when I pitch."


In regards to the NBL, the Commissioner put out a statement of his own:

"We as a league are disgusted by Mr. Barnett's comments. His father was an instigator as well, but never to this level. We have informed his team, the Riverton Otters, that he will be suspended for the first 35 games of next season. We cannot allow his remarks to tarnish the good name of our league and its teams."

His father, Garry Barnett, Jr., posted on Twatter:


@GBarnett57

I am ashamed to have him have my last name. I respect the Dagans. I apologize for the family.

[Tierra de Castro]

OOC: Don't worry Ko-oren, all fairly accurate. Naturally everything El Presidente says here is similarly IC!



Tierra de Castro lose decider, exit World Baseball Classic
The plucky Castrollano team fell at the first hurdle in the play-offs but have returned to La Habana to a heroes’ welcome

The Castrollano teams’ debut Classic ended following a 2-1 defeat to Ko-oren in Game 5 of the first round series played in Newmanistan. It was a day for the pitchers as Ko-oren restricted Tierra de Castro to only two hits through nine innings and on the other side Chicote and Zoido only allowed three in the game between them. Zoido was efficient but two homers from the Ko-orenites, one in the 7th and the winning run in the top of the 9th did for the Castrollano team as they couldn’t draw level in the 9th inning. Capmany’s home run in the 3rd had put the team ahead in the game.

It was a slightly disappointing finish to a really promising debut tournament for the national team, following stunning victories over luminaries of the game like Nova Anglicana and the Alpine Union many felt like the team could continue and bump off another top team to qualify for the next round but it wasn’t to be. When speaking to the players, many were diplomatic about the team’s fortunes and were extremely gracious in defeat. Adan Carita said: “We can only congratulate Ko-oren on this victory and thank them for their conduct and sportsmanship throughout this series, we gave it our all.”

Hector Chicote pitched beautifully, only allowing one man on-base through 6 innings pitched. It was potentially his final ever game with the national team, although he wouldn’t be drawn on his future in post-game interviews. He is 35 years of age though and when the next Classic comes around he will be 39, so time is anything but on his side. But if anybody can make it to the next tournament it is the man known as El Zorro, one of the most cunning competitors in Castrollano baseball history.

The team is a perfect example of El Presidente’s doctrine of ‘socialism in action’ as players with unique skillsets banded together as one team for a unified goal and achieved it. From each according to his ability, to each according to his labour. The FCB set the goal of qualification from a tough group and this was achieved through hard work and dedication.

The team returned to the capital to a heroes’ welcome at the airport, with officials and fans alike greeting them. The fans sang songs of praise for the team and waved flags depicting scenes of their greatest successes. FCB officials welcomed them too, shaking their hands and warmly embracing each player as they stepped off the plane. It was quite a scene as an open-top bus took the team through La Habana’s streets and the players waved to fans before arriving in Plaza de la Revolución where El Presidente congratulated them on their efforts and Head Coach El Profesor Edgar Abasto was given the opportunity to give an emotional speech to the enormous crowds.

In the coming days the team will have another meeting with El Presidente, this time a private one at the Presidential Palace as he congratulates them and their families on their success in the World Baseball Classic.

* * *

Immediately following the loss versus Ko-oren.

“Listen boys, you have done me and yourselves proud in this tournament and nobody should be disappointed with that result. We have fought like lions throughout this Classic, despite never having been here before and not having the slightest idea what to expect. I want to thank every single one of you for your efforts and we will come again, we will be here again next time, so every single one of you need to go back to your clubs and keep working because next time we’re going to go a lot further and I need a team of lions once again in order to do that!” El Profesor spoke passionately.

The entire team were distraught, even when he was speaking a couple of players sniffled, emotion getting the better of them as they sat listening to their Head Coach speak. It was a hard loss to take, they didn’t feel that Ko-oren were that much better than them. They were just more experienced and they were able to get those important runs in the moments when they needed them most. It was like a championship boxer in the championship rounds, finding a knockout when they fight seemed to be going to a decision. Ko-oren had the nous and the knowhow to be able to do that and the run in the 9th had been enough to see them off.

“Yeah, we should be thankful we’ve had this opportunity and we should be pleased with how we have done.” Hector Chicote spoke. Before the game he had been passionate, it could be the last game he played for Tierra de Castro at a World Baseball Classic. Now he was kicking himself even more. If only he had been younger, he could have had multiple bites at the cherry. He wasn’t going to let the team know how disappointed he was, though. “I’m proud of you all and most of you are young lads so you will get many more chances at this – but we know we’re not that far away from the business end of this sort of tournament, next time we will be a team marked out as a danger and that is something every single one of you should be proud of.”

“And who knows boys, Hector might even come back for one last go, mightn’t you buddy?” El Profesor joked, drawing laughs from a few hitherto distraught players.

“How could I not come back?” Hector smiled. “We’ve got a lot of unfinished business in this here World Baseball Classic.”

“That a boy Hector.” El Profesor laughed. “Now come on, enough of the sad faces, you’ve gotta make yourselves look pretty for El Presidente. Someone told me he wants to see you fellas.”

* * *

A few days following Tierra de Castro’s elimination from the World Baseball Classic.

“They did what?!” El Presidente yelled indignantly at the Minister for Sport.

“Yeah, the Ko-orenite Baseball Association invited the national team over for a series and—” The Minister for Sport began before being cut-off by another round of yelling from El Presidente.

“No, you idiot!” He started. “The other bit! I’m not bothered about the baseball team going and playing games elsewhere – I wouldn’t have allowed them to play in the World Baseball Classic if that was still an issue!”

“Oh, right, yes.” The Minister for Sport said, shuffling his notes before speaking again. “Well. Er, yes, hmm, here it is – they said that some players could stay in Ko-oren and compete professionally in the league they have over there.”

“Professionally.” El Presidente harrumphed. “So they would get paid?”

“Yes.”

“Well, this is exactly what I feared. We knew that our players were skilled enough to compete elsewhere and it’s been proven by a reasonable performance but this is what I was worried about. We can’t have our players hearing of this sort of thing or they might want to go and play professionally in other countries.”

“Surely it can’t be that bad, sir?” The Minister for Sport began. “These players would still be heroes for the nation and an example of the success of socialism, with the hard work put in to produce their great talent and skill.”

“I know that, Minister. But we simply cannot allow these players to go and play for money, it’s the very essence of capitalism and everything that the Party oppose, everything that I oppose. We can’t allow it. Any player that is found to leave and compete professionally in another country has to be considered a defector.”

“Really?”

“Yes really, Minister. We cannot allow it, at all costs. It would undermine everything that this country stands for, everything that socialism stands for. The Party cannot allow this to happen. The leaders of the revolution – la paz sea en sus almas – would be spinning in their graves if they even heard a mention of such an idea!”

“What do you want me to do then, Presidente?”

“We can agree to the series with Ko-oren. I don’t mind that. But we must make sure these players do not even consider leaving to play in a foreign league. We have to incentivise them not to do so – give them all awards as Masters of Sport and up their allowances in line with that. We also have to ensure they understand the virtue of living in Tierra de Castro, the virtues of socialism and how they represent our great nation and the Party around the world.”

“Okay sir.” The Minister for Sport said. “I shall get started straight away.”

“Ensure you do. We entered this tournament for good PR and it has worked wonderfully, but already those capitalist pigdogs are trying to undermine our state by suggesting things like this. We cannot let it continue.” El Presidente paused for a minute, pulling out a cigar. “Castrollano baseball players must not go and play baseball professionally abroad.”

[Free Republics]

OOC: The following follows my RP for the World Cup 3PPO

Scarlett Nicholls Victory Speech

Thank you! We did it! We have sent a message, loud and clear, to the entire multiverse that the Free Republics does not stand for the sexism of Sebastian Trudeau or the Bronze Age theocratic insanity of Reino Kulseth or the cybertyranny of Caleb O'Reilly. We have sent a message that the Free Republics stands for freedom and that the Free Republics stands for equality for all! I thank each and every one of the 7 billion who voted for me. I also thank the over 5 billion who voted for my opponent for participating in this celebration of democracy. Whether you voted for me or you voted for my opponent, I want you to know that I intend to be a Consul for all Republicans! I recognize that I am NOT a Consul of the Liberty Party. I am a Consul of the Free Republics and I represent each and every Republican. I will not forget this!

Before I continue, I must thank my campaign manager Shannon Ramirez, the rest of my campaign staff and my parents. I especially want to thank my father Robert for teaching me to think for myself and to be my own woman. I readily admit that I didn't understand you as a teenager who hung out with the popular crowd and always followed the lead of a queen bee but once Kulseth came to power, I understood exactly what you meant. I also want to thank my late brother Veleik. Brother, I may not have understood why you cared so much about politics but you taught me so much and I've miss you every single day since Consul O'Reilly and the cBots erased you from existence. To this day, I refuse to purchase any Citrus Computing products and I'm amazed that evil company has somehow managed to stay in business.

I am not going to talk at length about policy tonight or even talk for a long time. It is late and there is plenty of time to discuss my agenda later on but I want to reassure anybody who is concerned that I do not intend to radically transform the Free Republics. I will seek incremental changes that will create a better Free Republics for all Republicans. Regardless of what you may have heard from my political opponents, I am not some kind of extremist. I'm just a hot young woman who has a daughter and likes having sex. Well, I guess I should probably consider settling down soon. I am now the most powerful woman in the history of the Free Republics and that means I'm going to have to deal with ambitious men trying to get into my skirt to influence policy. Yeah, I'll definitely need to find a steady man soon, I guess.

Well, my personal life is irrelevant but given that it has been the primary topic of debate across our Federation for the past six months, I might as well continue discussing it in the open. My priority right now is being the best Consul I can be. I hope that you will be pleased with the job that I do.

Before I finish, I must address one issue. The disgraced former President of South Covello, Mr. John Green, was arrested for illegally voting multiple times in our election. I want to make it clear that I do not approve of Mr. Green's conduct and I do not condone his warmongering as President of South Covello. On the other hand, I do not believe it would be a productive use of your tax dollars to keep this man in jail. Therefore, I will speak with President Hale about deporting his predecessor back to South Covello on a private Nicholls Air flight. Should President Hale accept, then Mr. Green will be headed back to South Covello. Should he refuse to take this man back, and I would fully understand if he chose to go that route, then I will seek to extradite John Green to a jurisdiction that intends to prosecute him and punish him humanely for his actions as President of South Covello. While Saintland has requested his extradition, I have to turn that down as my understanding is that the Sanctii government intends to subject him to public floggings which are a barbaric practice. However, I am willing to honor extradition requests from nations that do not practice cruel and unusual punishment if South Covello does not want him back.

I will discuss other outstanding issues facing the Free Republics in my inauguration speech. In the meantime, I thank each and every one of you for participating in our election and I say its time to get on with the work of governing the Free Republics!

---

Free Republics         0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0  3
Noburu Taiyou          0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 1  4

Free Republics         1 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0  4
Noburu Taiyou          0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Free Republics         0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  3
Noburu Taiyou          1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  2

Scorinated with xkoranate using the Adjusted NSFS Formula and current WBC rankings with max points set to Newmanistan's rank

NOTE: Noburu Taiyou is a puppet of mine which was a colony of the Free Republics at one time.

The friendly series with Noburu Taiyou proved more difficult than expected for the Free Republics. For these games, Kyle Thomas elected to strictly limit his starters to 30 pitches each. "Wild" Ralph Fiedler really tested this by taking a perfect game into the 4th inning in game 2 but he was pulled and the bullpen would manage to hold the Taiyouese to just 3 hits. The exceptions to the pitch count restrictions were Zac Gatehouse and Taryn Russell each of whom were permitted to pitch 4 innings without regard for pitch count. Taiyou elected against using the DH for this series which placed the Republican offense at a disadvantage.

Game 1 would end on a Mitsuo Furukawa walkoff home run in the bottom of the 9th off of Luana Cremonesi. Game 2 would see Honomi Kamei drive in the first run with a triple while a two run homer by Alexander Capon in the 3rd would put the Republicans up 3. A later solo shot by Hollie Rogers would add an exclamation point to the convincing victory. Game 3 would be a battle from the start but Philipp Schmitz would reach base on a walk in the 10th then proceed to steal second, third and home to score the go-ahead run. Mario Rothschild would strike out the side in the bottom of the 10th to pick up the save. Kiyosumi Takeuchi's strong 9th inning had given the Republicans a chance to win. Coming in for Taryn Russell with 2 runners on and nobody out, Takeuchi struck out Yoshisato Sahaku before forcing Shiemi Komatsu to ground into a double play to send the game to extras and make Schmitz's heroics possible.

Having beaten Taiyou 2 games to 1 in their friendly series, the Republicans headed on to Newmanistan feeling confident in their chances to get back to the WBC finals...

[The Sherpa Empire]

‭

----o-֎-o----

‭The Sherpa national baseball team had been unusually diligent about going over all the video footage provided by their scouts. It was not clear whether this was because it was they were facing an important series against a formidable opponent, or just because they thought the Cassadagan women were fun to look at. The way Usha Chawa draped a blanket across his lap and watched the scouting videos with his hands stuffed down under the blanket suggested the latter. Mingma Al-Ali was all business, making strategic use of headphones to block out his teammates comparing notes about which Cassadagan players they thought were hot on the flight to Tundra Falls. Luochong Zhuang somehow managed to go off on a tangent about Cassadagan ecology and his theory that their matriarchal culture was a product of environmental influences.

‭"Zhuang, in all seriousness," said Dachhiri Chao. "We've asked you this before, and I'll ask you again: Why are you playing baseball instead of doing environmental research?"

‭"Because I like them both," said Zhuang. "I want to pitch while I'm young and I'm still good at it."

‭"Okay, I can understand that," said Chao. "It's just really boring when you spend hours on end talking about the environment."

‭When they arrived in Tundra Falls, they had a day or so to get settled in before their first game. They spent some of that time practicing, but Debashish Morrison still found the time to talk to some of the locals. A few baseball buffs that had been following the WBC knew who he was and were interested to talk to him -- especially since he was one of the few people from the Sherpa Empire that they could talk to without the language barrier getting in the way. One of the locals mentioned that spirits were supposed to watch over the Proving Grounds and occasionally influence the outcome of games.

‭"Really? It's too bad Ihawa's not here to talk to them," said Morrison.

‭"You believe in spirits?" the local man asked.

‭"Yeah," said Morrison. "I know a lot of people who talk to spirits. Some of them are probably just talking to themselves, but Ihawa has real powers. I wonder if I can convince him to come and talk to the spirits for us. I don't suppose they speak Sherpa?"

‭The local man chuckled. "Not that I ever heard of..."

‭"I think I'll still ask him if he wants to try," Morrison said. He pulled out his phone and began composing a text message. "Hmm... I wonder if Ihawa's powers work over the phone..."

‭

----o-֎-o----

‭Jamling Ihawa had not intended to go to Newmanistan to watch the WBC playoffs, but his wife was tired of being cooped up at home, and Debashish Morrison seemed quite serious about wanting him to come and talk to the Spirits of the Proving Grounds. Eventually they talked him into it. Because of the difference in time zones, the game occurred when it was the middle of the night in Namche. Kami wheeled Jamling out into the darkened street, where he picked up a pebble and pooled mana into until it glowed brightly blue. He tossed the pebble, and it disappeared into the air as if it had fallen through the surface of a pool. The blue light rippled out in rings like waves spreading through water, and then sunlight poured out, illuminating the street and glittering off the thin dusting of snow that covered the pavement. The Ihawas blinked as their eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness. A neighbor who happened to see the light poked his head out his door and asked, "What is that?"

‭"It's a portal to Newmanistan."

‭"Is Newmanistan always sunny in the middle of the night?" the neighbor asked.

‭"I... uh... Well, it probably rains sometimes, but yeah, it's daylight in Newmanistan when it's dark here."

‭"That's so weird..." The neighbor came over to get a closer look at the portal. Even though he had lived up the street from the Ihawas for several years, he had never seen one before. Jamling had always kept his magic private until the inconvenience of trying to navigate Namche's steep and uneven streets in a wheelchair that had forced him to start using his powers openly.

‭"Do you want to come with us?" Jamling asked.

‭"Is it safe?"

‭"It's a portal to Newmanistan. Unless you think Newmanistan is dangerous, it's fine."

‭Ihawa had opened the other end of the portal in a quiet back alley, where it was not likely to cause too much of a disturbance, but with the crowds making their way toward the Proving Grounds, it was hard to completely avoid being seen. A couple of passersby noticed the strange burst of cold air and light snow that blew out into the street. "Don't worry; we're just here for the game," Changjun assured them.

‭The Spirits of the Proving Grounds were not accustomed to foreign visitors striking up a conversation with them, and they weren't particularly fluent in Sherpa, but they were interested in baseball. They found the Ihawas vaguely amusing and somewhat likable, but they weren't sold on the idea of helping a team who weren't Newmanistanian. "We're playing against Cassadaigua. Don't you have some kind of sports rivalry with them?"

‭The spirits acknowledged that they had no love for Cassadaigua, but they weren't sure they liked the Sherpas any better. Usha Chawa and Phurba Desai had made some really vulgar comments about Newmanistanian players, especially Ashley Sorenson; the overcaffeinated spirit that lived in Rajinder Singh's bat was grumpy, jittery, and annoying from lack of sleep; Luochong Zhuang was really boring when he talked about mantis shrimp for hours on end; and Lakpa Fang's batting music was the single ugliest piece of music the Spirits of the Proving Grounds had ever heard.

‭"Fang is our closer," said Ihawa. "How often are you going to hear his batting music?"

‭How often do baseball players talk about mantis shrimp for three hours straight?

‭"Okay, but I used to play professionally in the Sherpa Empire, and I don't think I've ever heard Lakpa Fang's batting music."

‭A spirit sang a bit of the music to remind Ihawa what it sounded like.

‭He cringed and plugged his ears. "Oh, Holy Mother, why would anybody choose that for batting music?"

‭"What song is it?" his wife asked.

‭He told her and she cringed too. "Holy Mother, why??? You mean someone actually likes that song???"

‭"Apparently."

‭"No wonder the spirits don't want to help us."

‭

----o-֎-o----

[Liventia]

Liventia in Loudon: Grosjean warns of hostile reception
Loudon, NEWMANISTAN— Liventia outfielder Noël Grosjean has warned his teammates to expect a rowdy crowd when they take on Nova Anglicana in their second round playoff series in Loudon.

The 25-year-old plays domestic ball with the Nashua Broncos, a divisional rival of the Loudon Leopards in Newmanistan's ENBL, and has experienced 'the Jungle' first-hand for himself previously.

"There's nothing remotely like it in the league, or back in Liventia," the right-fielder noted. "It's wild. The fans get in your face. It's loud. They're rebels, and they like it that way. And, given I play for the Broncos, I'm expecting to get quite a lot of it.

"It's not anything I'm not used to, but the boys on the team are in for a surprise if they expect a respectful welcome like they'd get elsewhere in Newmanistan."

With the playoffs beginning, Baseball Liventia has decided the team will use the designated hitter in games in which they are the 'home' team. This is in contrast to Nova Anglicana, the world's sixth-ranked team which qualified for the second round as the fifth seed, and which has decided to have pitchers bat when designated as the home team.

Manager Adam Darwin has announced none of his starters will pitch more than six innings in a game. The bullpen, with three long relievers, should be able to withstand the strain.

Projected rotation:
Game 1: Tyler Newitt
Game 2: Francis Delamere
Game 3: Fraser Mansell
Game 4, if necessary: Tony Metson
Game 5, if necessary: Tyler Newitt

[Vangaziland]

Worried Psychologist Reaches Out To Barnett

Doctor Mortimus Finkelson, a clinical psychologist at the North Haven Mental Institute spoke about the condition of a foreign pitcher after the reliever had a public mental breakdown spanning several days. "We see this a lot nowadays, with untreated mental health cases", said Dr. Finkelson. "It's easy to laugh at how pathetic someone like Barnett looks at a low point like we've seen him at. It's even easier to get angry with him and bicker. I'd like to take this chance to help baseball fans recognize signs of mental illness around them."

The Vannish Empire takes mental health seriously. Students are scouted for issues throughout their academic careers. The goal is to give kids strategies they can actually use to cope and deal with problems, as opposed to letting issues fester. "What we are seeing in Gary Barnett is somebody who can't hold himself together. He's at the point where he might need treatment."

"A lot of people have anger issues or are surly", Finkelson continued. "When a person can't get through work or public life without difficulty, it's a sign of a problem. Hobbies... For example, Barnett should be focused on baseball. Instead nothing to do with baseball is on his mind. Instead, he's lashing out in a way that he feels is witty, funny or clever. He doesn't even realize how he looks. That shows he crossed a line mentally and needs help."

People around the world have speculated on what may have lead to Barnett's mental deterioration. "Some speculate it could be drugs. As a baseball player, steroids could be an issue. They cause anger issues. It also comes off a little bit like a cocaine fueled rage at times, because of the incoherence. It could even be simple withdrawal, as if he hasn't had a beer or a smoke in awhile. The truth is that it's likely simply stress and pressure."

The doctor speculated that the stress of the tournament caused Barnett to snap and publicly humiliate himself. "Relievers have a lot of pressure. The truth is Lycrabon was lucky to get this far. He knows this and does something called 'projection'. Manipulative and abusive people often use this as a weak tactic to try to intimidate others."

The doctor broke down each of Barnett's responses and showed exactly how he was projecting thoughts about himself onto others. "When Barnett gives an insult, he's really talking about himself. Some of these examples will be clear enough to be obvious. Others will be murky. But if some are true, might they all be?"

"Let's start with Barnett focusing on the weight of the Cassadaigua players. Notice how it didn't anger them? That's because it's not true. Barnett though, seems focused on weight, as if its a major issue. Might we think Barnett may be thinking of his own weight and taking out his frustrations about it by yelling at a proverbial wall?" The doctor speculated that it was similar to popping bubble wrap for a manipulative person.

"Now let's look at his views on Vangaziland. He made sure to mention how the baseball team will exit soon. This is likely because Lycrabon is also set to exit soon. He knows it and wants to be able to say 'at least Vangaziland lost'. That would soothe him like a pacifier soothes an achy baby." The Vangazi know they are underdogs playing against the number one team. Vangaziland is also a nation famous for guarding hopes until the odds are in their favor. The Vannish are also still celebrating back to back lacrosse titles, a basketball ring, motorsports & fight stuff, etc.. The jab at Vangaziland fell flatter than a stale stroopwafel.

"Now let's get to the first part of that. He misspells Vangaziland. Does that have something to do with intelligence? Is that supposed to annoy the nerdy Vangazi? Maybe he feels less intelligent than the Vangazi, for some reason. Then the metaphors and the sex puns." We noticed he is obsessed with sexual terms. That's obvious. But let's break it down. Why is he obsessed? "That is because he is likely not getting any action. So all he can do is think of explicit scenes out of hopes and dreams."

"This likely explains his frustration with Cassadaigua. But here is where it gets embarrassing. Notice where he says the tv personality needs something big? Here's why. Since he could never have any successful relationship with such a strong, powerful, successful woman, he blames that on something other than his lack of wit, charm, intelligence and personality. Instead... He blames it on his small size. In his mind, he can't pull such a woman just because he's not big enough. Subconsciously, he thinks his size is why they aren't getting along and is just lashing out, from the latent tension the worry causes."

"He sees Vangaziland as his enemy, just like a vagina, so it's funny for him to see the two blended. In Vangaziland, the female organ is a symbol of life, beauty and creativity. It's a compliment."

The doctor was asked what he feels needs to be done. "I think now that its clear that its a mental health problem, I would encourage Barnett to speak to a counselor and start medication right away. He's tarnished his entire nation in front of their favorite sports crowd. Lycrabon will be hard to ever associate with anything other than Barnett's lows." The fact that their commissioner cowered behind him and pretended there was nothing he could do did little to sway public opinion. "This is not really a joke", the doctor said sternly. "He does need help."

"Here is something important though", Finkelson continued. "Mental illness does not make sexual harassment okay. When people see that going on in the world around them, they need to speak up. Many people are too intimidated by worrying about what the public will think about their reaction. The Bonnan pitcher can tease the Vangazi and the Sherpas all they want. Teasing women with sexually explicit phrases is not acceptable, even if they are strong enough to deal with it."

"I think it's a great way to show the world where we stand as Vangazi", said starting pitcher Del Bjornberg. "Cassadaigua is also known for having interesting civil rights policies towards men. Perhaps the support of the Vangazi will show that all men aren't as spineless as Bonnish pitchers."

[Nova Anglicana]

Prime Minister's Office, Londinium, Nova Anglicana

Prime Minister Hal Blackwood was pacing frantically around his office, surrounded by aides and more than one of his Cabinet members. "WHAT ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH IS GOING ON HERE? SURVEILLANCE? WHO AUTHORIZED THIS? WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME? GET ME BERRY AND THE HEAD OF THE DSA, WHATSISNAME?"

An aide said meekly, "O'Brien, sir. Edwin O'Brien."

"GET ME O'BRIEN AND BERRY AND DO IT NOW! I'M GOING TO STRING THEM UP AND..."

Blackwood's voice was cut off by the sound of his chief of staff, Nina Webb, interrupting him. "Mr. Prime Minister, you need to calm down. We're getting Berry and O'Brien here as soon as possible. We're having to sneak them in through the kitchens because of the crush of reporters. You are going to need a cool head to deal with this."

Blackwood stopped pacing and took a deep breath. "You're right, Nina. There'll be plenty of time for stringing people up later." He smiled. "Just a joke, but we need to deal with this. What do we know so far?"

His Deputy PM, Sandra Meyer, cleared her throat and spoke. "As Deputy PM, my office has been in communication with all the Cabinet ministries and we do have some information for you, sir." She handed him a sheaf of papers. "We pulled records from the Interior Ministry and the DSA to try to get as much information as we could. These are internal memos between Minister Berry and Agency Head O'Brien. There's a lot of code and dancing around the point, but it looks like the information the press has is accurate. There have been wiretaps on National Party communications for several months now, and we even think some of these memos allude to infiltration on the part of the DSA."

Blackwood shook his head. "This is insane. I never approved any of this. What's the legality of this?"

Tim McKenzie, the Justice Minister, was next to speak. "Sir, the law does allow the DSA to wiretap communications under probable cause of criminal activity, but it's not clear whether or not the Interior Ministry provided that evidence to a judge, who approved a warrant. We haven't been able to find memos about what exactly Minister Berry thought the National Party was doing that would justify such a course of action. So they are certainly on legally shaky ground, if not illegal ground entirely."

Blackwood sighed. "That's what I was afraid of. It's bad enough they did something without telling me, but with no legal justification for this, we can't even pretend they went through the proper channels."

At that moment, there was a knock at the door and an aide opened it, saying, "Mr. Prime Minister, Minister Berry and Agency Head O'Brien to see you." Warren Berry and Edwin O'Brien walked in, white-faced and heads down.

Blackwood took a deep breath. "I need the room. Sandra, Warren, Edwin, stay here. Everyone else, out now." The room emptied quickly as many anticipated a tongue-lashing by the Prime Minister.

When everyone else had left, Blackwood turned to the two men. "Warren, Edwin, what were you thinking?!?!? Wiretapping the headquarters and members of the National Party? Those wackjobs already think we're crazy and out to get them without you actually doing it! And why didn't you tell me anything about it?"

An uncomfortable silence followed. Berry, a rotund and usually boisterous man, was the first to speak. "Hal, we needed to do it-"

He was cut off by Blackwood. "Don't Hal me! You lost first-name privileges when you abused your power and committed a crime. I'm going to have to do damage cleanup for weeks, and you've probably ushered in a PP/National government! I'll be lucky if we survive a vote of no-confidence."

O'Brien, a balding and taciturn individual, was next to speak. "Mr. Prime Minister, we believed we were acting for the good of the country and that you would be grateful. If you recall, you mentioned in a security briefing your suspicion about the motives of the National Party, and well, we did some digging..."

Blackwood again: "Of course I'm suspicious of a bunch of right-wing nutjobs getting power on the basis of pure demagoguery! That doesn't mean surveil them in flagrant violation of national law! You probably want to resign. I'm afraid I can't accept your resignations. I'm going to have to sack you both. Now, I'm going to talk to the press and announce that I have sacked you for violating the law and abusing your power. You're going to coordinate a statement in which you both apologize for your behavior. Your deputies will take over as acting heads, and then you're going to lay low for a while until we can get this under control. You believed you were acting in service to your country. Well, now you're going to serve it by leaving your posts and keeping quiet about this thing. Do you understand?"

Berry and O'Brien nodded dumbly. Berry's hands were shaking and O'Brien's fists were clenched, but they nodded. "Dismissed, go wait in the other room until we figure something out." Blackwood turned to Meyer and began talking in a low voice as the two men exited.

[Newmanistan]

(1) Newmanistan vs (16) Vangaziland @ Empress Jessica I Stadium, Jessicaville (scorination provided by Cassadaigua)
Game 1:

Vangaziland            1 0 2 3 0 0 1 1 2 10
Newmanistan            2 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  5

Game 2:

Vangaziland            0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  3
Newmanistan            0 1 1 1 0 1 1 3 X  8

Series tied at one

(8) Hampton Island vs (9) Schiltzberg @ Emperor Michael IV Stadium, Pocono City
Game 1:

Schiltzberg            0 0 0 3 0 1 2 1 0  7
Hampton Island         0 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 0  5

Game 2:

Schiltzberg            0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  2
Hampton Island         1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 X  3

Series tied at one

(5) Nova Anglicana vs (12) Liventia @ The Jungle, Loudon
Game 1:

Livenia                0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0  3
Nova Anglicana         1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 X  4

Game 2:

Livenia                0 0 1 0 0 7 0 0 0  8
Nova Anglicana         0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0  3

Series tied at one

(4) Free Republics vs (13) Abanhfleft @ Centralia Stadium, Centralia
Game 1:

Abanhfleft             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Free Republics         0 0 0 4 0 0 1 0 X  5

Game 2:

Abanhfleft             0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0  1
Free Republics         0 0 0 1 0 6 0 0 X  7

Free Republics leads series two games to none

(6) Scootalove City vs (11) Lycrabon @ Jeremy McAllister Stadium, Putnam Lake
Game 1:

Lycrabon               0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0  5
Scootalove City        1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

Game 2:

Lycrabon               1 1 4 0 2 0 1 0 2 11
Scootalove City        1 0 4 0 1 0 1 0 0  7

Lycrabon leads series two games to none

(3) Cassadaigua vs (14) The Sherpa Empire @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls
Game 1:

The Sherpa Empire      0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1  5
Cassadaigua            0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  3

Game 2:

The Sherpa Empire      1 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 1  6
Cassadaigua            1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5  7

series tied at one

(7) Banija vs (10) Ethane @ Olympia Stadium, Olympia
Game 1:

Ethane                 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0  3
Banija                 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  4

Game 2:

Ethane                 7 0 3 0 3 1 1 0 2 17
Banija                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1  2

series tied at one

(2) West Phoenicia vs (18) Ko-oren @ Keisler Stadium, Southport
Game 1:

Ko-oren                0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
West Phoenicia         0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1  2

Game 2:

Ko-oren                0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0  1
West Phoenicia         0 0 2 2 0 1 0 1 X  6

West Phoenicia leads series two games to none

[Lycrabon]

Finally back to baseball, Jays take commanding 2-0 lead from LSPN.com

NEWMANISTAN - For the Blue Jays, it was back to business. Josh Blankenship pitched a 6-hit gem in game one to lead Lycrabon to a 5-2 win. All of the reliever-starters were given a general green light to pitch deep into the games, and Blankenship went the distance. He also hit an RBI single to help his own cause.

In game two, Hunter Anderson overcame his own struggles, with the help of the offense, to pick up a complete game 11-7 win. Every starter got at least two hits, with four home runs hit by Blue Jay batters on the day. Wes Jordan will get the ball tomorrow to try to capture the sweep.

In news if squads suspended RP Garry Barnett III has insulted are doing, both Vangiziland (OOC: sorry on spelling) and Cassadaigua are tied at one in their respective series. Vangiziland is facing the hosts, and the Dagans are facing The Sherpa Empire. On an interesting side note, Hall of Famer Garry Barnett, Jr. was at the Cassadaiguan batting practice prior to game two. His only comment was that he was showing not everyone in the Barnett family is as crass as his son has been in recent days. The elder Barnett was also going to try to get a meeting with Newmanistan's royal family, though it would not be devastating if he didn't. "After all, they are busy running this great nation."


BREAKING NEWS - Rumors have begun to swirl that the aforementioned younger Barnett has been warned of a longer suspension from next season in the NBL than his previously announced 35 games. According to anonymous sources, if his rants continue, he could be facing up to a 2-year suspension. If that were to happen, it would extend the record for longest non-substance suspension (that he currently holds with his present 35-gamer).

[Cassadaigua]

Dagans Rally Big To Draw Even,
by Chelsea Dufresne, Concord Heights Times

In the first game of the series, the Fillies struggled, and were unable to defeat The Sherpa Empire, falling 5-3. It wasn’t a bad game, and it is the type of loss in baseball during the regular season that one just tips their cap to the other team and “goes and gets them tomorrow”. Neither starting pitcher was all that effective, which is not what we want to see. Kelsey Bowen was highly successful during the group stage, but that did not carry through here. The Sherpas didn’t crush the ball off of her, they just hit it where the fielders weren’t. Team Cassadaigua fought back, and after three innings, it was 4-3. Unfortunately for us, that’s how it stayed until the final inning, when only an insurance run by the Sherpas would change the score.

Game two was a must win for Cassadaigua. The Sherpa Empire is a damn good team, and there may have been some groaning after we had such a good group stage to see us matched up with them in this round. Would it have been better for us to be the 4-seed, and be playing the 13th-seed for Abanhfleft? While the Free Republics vs Abanhfleft is a semifinal rematch of the last Classic here in the early stages, the Fleftics have not been as good. Though they are ranked better then the Sherpas, perhaps that is the softer team. Game 2 saw each team score a single run in the first and in the fourth. Mikayla Warren was effective, but in the seventh, she lost command of her fastball, walking the first two batters she faced, and it spiraled downhill from there. It led to a 3-run inning. Another run by the Sherpas in the top of the ninth, and the Cassadagans were toast. Down 6-2, and facing elimination.

It didn’t help that the nine spot would lead off the bottom of the ninth. Jordyn Prosser came up to pinch hit, and hit a soft ground ball to Phurba Desai, who fielded it cleanly for the routine out. One away. Next up, Jenna Bailey. Bailey, who plays professionally in Pocono City had her first of hit of the game, blooping a single to left center. She would then steal second. Taylor Bryant stepped up, and singled to left. 6-3. Still, the team needed more, and up next would be Cassie Daniels, the young second basemen. She would hit a routine single to right, putting two runners aboard. Cortnie Nicholson then stepped up to the plate and laced a double off the left-center field wall to bring in two, and now, we are 6-5. After a pitching change, Alyssa Harrington came to plate and hit a fly ball to right field, which was caught by Kusang Banerjee, and Nicholson advanced to third. Up next, Kiersten Riley. On a 1-1 she hit a fly ball to left, that didn’t seem like it was going to get out, but it carried, and carried some more as if it were guided, and somehow just cleared the fence. A dramatic walk off home run, giving the Dagans a 7-6 win, evening the series, and getting us momentum.

[Free Republics]

El Fierro, Malifornia Charter Society

With the election over, Elio Lucchese and Sarah Fuerst returned to Malifornia and headed back to school for their senior year after missing over a month. Although the World Baseball Classic was banned in Malifornia because of the Republican National Team's outspoken support for gender equality, Sarah had the open source operating system Perestroika installed on her desktop computer along with the latest and greatest censorship circumvention software. Thus the young couple decided to neglect their schoolwork to illegally watch baseball at her house.

Since the Fuersts had only converted to the Salvation Circle due to economic coercion, Sarah's mother Nicole Fuerst did not actually believe in the Salvation Circle's teachings or care about imposing them upon her daughter. Nicole preferred to just let her daughter do whatever she wanted and trust that Sarah could take care of herself. For her part, Sarah kept her mother in the dark about some of the more seriously illegal things she was doing, a list that included serial copyright infringement and many cases of computer hacking. Prior to the second game, she came across her biggest discovery yet:

Sarah Fuerst - Hey Elio, I just uncovered the financial records of the Circle!

Elio Lucchese - You did what?

Sarah Fuerst - I hacked into Bank of Acedonia's computer systems and uncovered all of their records!

Elio Lucchese - Bank of Acedonia? You hacked into Bank of Acedonia?

Bank of Acedonia was extremely popular across the multiverse with shady characters due to its strong financial privacy laws that made it impossible even for the Acedonian government to see financial records.

Sarah Fuerst - Yeah, I now have access to the financial records of the Salvation Circle, its parent the Church of Saintland, the O'Reilly Organization, the secret personal account belonging to Sebastian Trudeau and even the records for Lord Almighty Gregory's bank account!

Elio Lucchese - Lord Almighty Gregory used Bank of Acedonia?

Sarah Fuerst - Why wouldn't he? Its a really good place to store your money in case you need to make an escape!

Elio Lucchese - Why would he still have an account there when he's rotting in a South Covellan prison?

Sarah Fuerst - Because South Covello's government doesn't know about it but they will soon...

Elio Lucchese - Don't tell me you're going to leak all of this data!

Sarah Fuerst - Yes, I am.

Elio Lucchese - For the love of God, don't! If you leak this, governments all over the multiverse are definitely going to take notice and you'll draw an enormous amount of attention to yourself: attention that you don't want!

Sarah Fuerst - They'll never catch me. I'm too good!

Elio could not believe that his girlfriend was not only one of the best young baseball players in the Free Republics but also quite possibly the best computer hacker in the multiverse.

Elio Lucchese - Its too dangerous! You're so damned good at hacking that every government in the multiverse is going to want to conscript you into their cyber warfare unit if you're lucky or they're going to try and put you in a prison cell or a grave if you aren't.

Sarah Fuerst - That's assuming they find out that I leaked this information. I'm going to send it anonymously to Cassandra Pizarro and LeakyPedia.

LeakyPedia was an infamous web site run by Cassandra Pizarro. Pizarro had lived on the run for a decade, surviving at least a dozen assassination attempts by state actors in the process. She'd developed a reputation for her willingness to publish any secret information with no redactions and no censorship without regard for whether doing so would cause harm. To Cassandra, the Truth was so important that it was worth sacrificing as many lives as necessary so that people might be able to find out everything that was true. LeakyPedia actually had a secret bank account through Bank of Acedonia so they would be able to independently verify at least some of the data that had been leaked.

Elio Lucchese - Why would you send this to them? They're going to publish all of it, you know! That's going to strip billions of people of their financial privacy!

Sarah Fuerst - If they're not doing anything shady, they don't have anything to worry about.

Elio Lucchese - Sarah, you're being reckless here. The Salvation Circle isn't going to let you off with just a flogging if they catch you. Hell, they might even burn you at the stake as a witch!

Sarah Fuerst - Of course, they'd burn me as a witch if they found out! I've already hacked the Church of Saintland and found the Patriarch of St. Petrus's upcoming announcement that computer hacking is a form of witchcraft.

Elio Lucchese - Sarah, you're so reckless sometimes. Can't you hold off on leaking that shit until we're out of Malifornia?

Sarah Fuerst - Too late, I just emailed Cassandra!

Elio Lucchese - I love your devil may care attitude Sarah but I wish you wouldn't do dangerous things like this!

Sarah Fuerst - Don't worry about it. Nobody's ever going to know I did that...

Elio Lucchese - I believe the baseball game should be on. Hopefully, Fiedler can shut them out just like Busque did.

They watched as the Republicans took a big lead in the bottom of the 6th by adding 6 runs, 4 of them on a Nicholas Fisher grand slam off of Guillermo Rodriguez that knocked him out of the game. A solo home run by Teresa Mrazova and a double by Ferrau Bergeron that plated Philipp Schmitz would finish off the scoring for the Republicans. "Wild" Ralph Fiedler eventually served up a solo home run to Massimo Verde in the top of the 8th which brought Kacie Munro into the game for the last 4 outs, all of which were strikeouts. The Free Republics had won the baseball game 7 to 1 and now had a 2 game lead over Abanhfleft. However, Sarah Fuerst's hack of Bank of Acedonia soon made headlines throughout the multiverse...

OOC: Feel free to RP any shady characters from your nation being affected by the Bank of Acedonia data breach.

[The Sherpa Empire]

‭

----o-֎-o----

‭The series against Cassadaigua started off well. Mingma Al-Ali gave up 3 runs in 7 innings. The Sherpa offense was a smattering of walks and small hits, but it was good enough to bring in 5 runs, and it might have been more if Usha Chawa wasn't showing off his ability to hit into double plays. (Someone must have told him girls like a guy that hits into double plays.) Zhuang and Fang held the Cassadagans scoreless for the last two innings. As the players went out to shake hands after the game, Sarang Oli pre-emptively admonished them not to grope the Cassadagans. "That means you, Usha!" he added. Sometimes the language barrier was convenient because it meant he didn't have to worry about the Cassadagans hearing what he was yelling at the players about.

‭After the game, Debashish Morrison met the Ihawas outside the park. "I guess the spirits changed their minds about helping us?" he said.

‭"Nah, you guys just had a good game. It's not always about the spirits."


‭

----o-֎-o----

‭Game 2 looked like it was going to be another win with the Sherpas leading 6-2 going into the bottom of the 9th. Mohn debated whether to bring in Lakpa Fang or Tashi Siedler to pitch the bottom of the inning. Siedler had been rearing to go, eager to get a shot at the Cassadagans ever since they arrived in Tundra Falls, so Mohn decided to give him what he wanted. Siedler still hadn't really gotten it through his head that women could play baseball. He came to the mound expecting three easy outs. Instead he got one nasty surprise after another as Cassadaigua put 3 runs on the board, making the score 6-5. Mohn angrily marched out to the mound and ordered Siedler off the field. Fang came in to clean up the mess with Cortnie Nicholson still on 2nd base. Alyssa Harrington flew out, and nobody was overly concerned about Nicholson going to 3rd. They just needed one more out, and they'd have their 2nd win.

‭Kiersten Riley hit a long fly ball, and Fang watched it sail into left field. Seojun Sherpa was there, ready to catch it. He realized it was going to go over his head and took a few steps back, but the wall was in his way. He turned around, planning to play it off the wall, but then it skimmed the top of the wall and bounced into a Newmanistanian spectator's arms instead of coming down onto the field. Seojun cursed and hurled his glove at the wall as Nicholson came home and Riley made her way around the bases. As he made his way in from the field, Fang said something to him that he didn't understand. They didn't speak any of the same languages. Sometimes they could make do with Fang speaking Sherpa and Seojun speaking Tibetan, and sometimes body language was clear enough, but sometimes they just didn't understand each other. Fang looked pissed off, but he didn't sound angry. Seojun wasn't sure what that meant.

‭Fang and Siedler had been at odds with each other ever since they took opposite sides in the debate about Jabralla's refusal to pitch in West Phoenicia. When they got back to the locker, Fang started yelling at Siedler, accusing him of slacking off and blowing the game because he was too sexist to take the Cassadagans seriously. "You're the one that let Riley hit that home run!" Siedler yelled back.

‭"Come on, guys," said Mohn. "We're all on the same team here."

‭"Tell that to fuck face!" said Fang.

‭"Who do you think I'm talking to?" said Mohn. "Come on, Lakpa, you're better than this."

‭

----o-֎-o----

‭In Lukla, Phurwa Adhikari was drafting an open letter to the Vangazi psychologist ‬Doctor Mortimus Finkelson:

"I recently heard your analysis of the Garry Barnett situation, and I want to raise some concerns. I'm confused by your suggestion that 'teasing the Sherpas' and 'teasing women with sexually explicit phrases' are separate things, considering that Barnett accused Jamling Ihawa of having an incestuous relationship with one of his daughters. Since Jamling Ihawa does not read English, the first person to see the insult was his 16 year old daughter Changjun. This was very upsetting to her, especially since it is not the first time Jamling has been falsely accused of molesting her. The first time was during an ugly custody battle about 10 years ago. (In case it needs to be clarified, these accusations had no basis in reality, Changjun's mother was not acting out of concern for her welfare, and Changjun was quite clear that she wanted to live with her father.)

"It is not clear if Barnett's comments were referring to Changjun or one of her sisters -- she has two sisters, ages 17 and 6 -- but regardless, the comments were deeply inappropriate, and I have to wonder why you would consider them less serious than the slurs against the women of the Cassadagan baseball team. I find it difficult to believe that you were unaware of them, given that you specifically mentioned 'teasing the Sherpas.' It's all too common for women to be caught in the crossfire when someone wants to insult their male relatives, and I am deeply disappointed that you would turn a blind eye to it even while rightly condemning Barnett's verbal attacks on the Cassadagans.

‭"Jamling may have been the target of Barnett's anger, but he wasn't the only one who Barnett slandered in his response. Not only were Barnett's accusations disgusting. They were also defamatory, as incest is a crime in the Sherpa Empire.

‭"Of course, all of these issues could be avoided if people would simply maintain a basic level of civility, regardless of who they are talking to. There is no reason to tolerate verbal abuse, no matter who the target is."

‭

----o-֎-o----

[West Phoenicia]

5-4-3-2-1....And there off

The Confederate have hit Round 2 hard and fast like a Rocket launching into space. Or what West Phoenicians think is a Rocket blast off as West Phoenicia does not have a space program nor does it endorse one or want one. The deep belief is man should not venture into space. The space is for the deities, and not for man to venture into.

Round 2 saw the Confederates take a 2-0 lead against Ko-oren at the Keisler Stadium, Southport. Ko-oren is the very nation that the Lighting Bolts, the West Phoenicians Cricket team is currently located in as they strive to win the current Twenty20 International Cricket Championship.

West Phoenicia does not dislike Ko-oren, but they are in the Confederate way on their road to claiming their first international title in baseball. With a best of five, the Confederate just need to have another great day, a day of hard pitching and ignoring any trashy pitches that would avoid the men smacking the balls and transforming them into home runs.

Confederate fans are being called on to tune into the games if they are unable to attend the games in person. The more fans the bigger our war cries.

Meanwhile Madame Claire Rishell, a publicist for the team has listed 5 reasons why everyone should get behind the Confederate.

1. Good looking players who can also play a great game of baseball:

Off the field many of the stars of the Confederate team have graced the covers of magazines, appeared in movies and television shows. Men love the team strength and structure while female fans can't get enough of the muscular toned bodies and gentleman charms. It's a team that fights hard every game to be the best they can be.

2. The best cheerleaders in the WBC:

Fire batons, basket tosses, cartwheels and pyramids. These talented cheerleaders have it all as they whip the crowds into a frenzy to cheer the Confederate on. Half time performance have included stunts that left the fans ooohing and ahhing. When the chips are down and the team is losing they sing harder, flip harder and keep on going to motivate the crowd until the final pitch.

3. More than just a game:

At every sporting event West Phoenicia does not only come to play a good game but they put on a terrific show. Visiting celebrities and nobility, dances, vaudeville and drama. Never one to shy away from controversy, they love to bring the drama and scandal. Otherwise how boring would it be without West Phoenicia present to ruffle feathers.


4. Underdogs:

Don't you just get tired of the same old teams always winning? We do. Tired of people cheering on the top dogs just so they have yet another title under their belt. Tired of the boasting and want to see a deserving under dog? Well it's time the tides turned and one by one the established teams are knocked out. Just imagine a final or semi final with teams who haven't been around the block. What a series would that be to watch?

5. Because we are West Phoenicians:

No nation can do what West Phoenicia does. Classy, intelligent, dramatic and cultured. Envy of the world.

[Vangaziland]

Royals Win Opener Against Classic's Top Team

Game 1 of the series between Vangaziland and Newmanistan started off like a mixed martial arts contest. Both sides came out hitting hard. The first few innings were especially contested.

"I told the guys", said coach Don Haverly. "We need to really step up today. This game will set the tone for the entire series."

Vangaziland got on the scoreboard in the top of the first when Chuck Endo brought Davison home with an RBI double. Both Vannish runners showed a lot of speed to pull off the play. Davison had been on third, but still had to make a speedy run to beat the throw. The crowd was not happy to see Vangaziland on the scoreboard. The few thousand Vangazi who made the trip erupted in cheers, much to the chagrin of those around them.

Things had been worrying for Vangaziland by the 3rd inning. Del Bjornberg had given up 3 runs to Vangaziland's 1. The second inning was a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts against the Vangazi. This made the 3rd inning's, two runs even bigger. Jacob Sren brought Pete Kelderssen home with a line drive which cut up the right foul line. There were still runners on base. Hannah Lee found herself in trouble for Newmanistan's mound.

Pitcher Del Bjornberg got a lucky RBI off a rather weak looking line drive where the ball just had enough of an angle to cut away from the SS and 2B. An outfielder had to run up and toss it to cut off Vannish runners. The run made it home.

Hannah Lee is a pitcher of some ilk for Newmanistan. She has had several big playoff games to her name. Her hometown crowd had to have hoped to see another dominant performance from her. Meanwhile, the Vangazi wanted to see Del have another low scoring game. Del gave up another run in the 3rd.

Del gave up 3 more scoreless innings before being pulled before the 7th. "Their batters were tough", Del said after returning to the bench. "Those last three innings were some of the toughest of my career."

By the fourth inning, Vangaziland's bats were just getting started. Pete Kelderssen hit a long three run homerun that seemed to hang in the air forever. The hit would make Vannish highlight reels just for the sound the bat made when it connected with the pitch. Pete started his trot by slowly walking a few steps and shrugging his shoulders. He tossed the bat down with a curt flip.

Now Vangaziland had the edge. While Vannish pitching held the Rockets at bay, the Royals had a literal field day. Daniel Cortez came in for Del in the 7th. He gave up one early run before gaining enough control to close out the game. Manny Mathissen rested from closer duties, just to stay fresh for later games.

"I think it would have been good for me to throw some pitches against the Rockets", said Mathissen. "But I understand Coach Sanchez wanting to rest his bullpen."

Vangaziland would score 1 in the 7th, 1 in the 8th and Mack Akoye's 2 run homer in the 9th. Tom Davison and Pat Evenson picked up the two RBI singles. The game would finish Royals 10 - Rockets 5.

"This is the result of a lot of scouting of the Rocket's pitchers", said batting coach Ivarr Farnson. "This shows how far Vannish batting has come throughout this season. The question now is how will their mound react?"

"Winning a game against the best team in the multiverse, at one of their stadiums will be one of my favorite career memories", said Del Bjornberg. "I'm grateful for the opportunity."

Vangaziland went on to lose Game 2. The only Royals' score came from a 3 run, Carlos Hernandez home run. "We have to bounce back from here", said Pete Kelderssen.

Five Miscellaneous Notations
by Lars Person, Pundit - International Magazine

1) It looks like the Bonnish are working overtime to deal with the bad PR that just puffed in their face.
2) With Game 3 coming up, the Vannish storyline is Del vs. Orlando. Can the up and comer also grab a win against the Rockets?
3) Vannish men definitely have good taste in women.
4) If Newmanistan loses the series, they should make the Royals play at one of their secondary schools with choppy grass to stop Vannish fans from coming.
5) From the same publicist: "Tired of the boasting and want to see a deserving under dog?" Three lines later... "No nation can do what West Phoenicia does. Classy, intelligent, dramatic and cultured. Envy of the world. Bigly."

[Nova Anglicana]

Press Room of the Parliament Building, Londinium, Nova Anglicana

The scene was chaotic. Reporters were milling everywhere, a cacophony of voices echoed throughout the room, and it seemed like every outfit with a notepad and pencil had crammed themselves into the space for the upcoming press conference. Meanwhile backstage, Warren Berry, Edwin O'Brien, Hal Blackwood, and the Prime Minister's Spokesperson Natalie Fields were discussing the plan.

Fields spoke first. "Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. Berry, Mr. O'Brien, here are your statements. Review the language quickly, make sure it's all right, and I'll head out there in a few moments."

Blackwood was next. "Okay, gentlemen, you'll read the statement and then exit the stage. No questions, no nothing. There will be cars waiting to take you to your offices so you can clean out your desks. After this, just lay low. No vacations, no shopping trips, no nothing. Just watch (Canon) Law and Order or find a copy of the BCP. There's a great section in there on the Confession of Sin. Maybe peruse that for a bit. Just stay out of trouble." He turned to Natalie. "I know you said you'd take the questions after my statement, but I really think I should. Shows authenticity."

Fields replied, "Mr. Prime Minister, I understand, but that's really not a good idea. I've trained for this, I've given plenty of briefings, I know what I'm doing. You know you get a little frustrated with the press corps sometimes. We need you as the strong leader getting rid of the bad apples, not as a jack in the box lashing out at silly questions. I'll handle the crap they throw, you just get the message across."

Blackwood nodded. "All right, get up there and do your thing."

Fields entered the press room and, ignoring the barrage of questions being flung at her, began her statement. "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, in a moment we will have former Interior Minister Berry and former DSA head O'Brien in here to make a statement. That will be followed by a statement from Prime Minister Blackwood. After the Prime Minister's statement, I'll take your questions. Now for our first statement."

Berry and O'Brien entered, looking chastened and grim. Berry began, "Over the past months, acting on our own ideas, I and DSA Head O'Brien ordered DSA and Interior Ministry personnel to conduct a series of wiretaps on members of the National Party. This was not in accordance with DSA or Interior Ministry operating procedures and represents an inappropriate use of our authority."

O'Brien continued, "Prime Minister Blackwood has dismissed us, and as we serve at the pleasure of the Prime Minister, we will be leaving our jobs effective immediately. We regret the actions we took and the controversy it has caused. We apologize to the National Party and the Nova Anglican people for misusing our authority. Thank you."

They left the stage, ignoring the reporters' questions, though they didn't look happy about it.

Blackwood took the stage next. "As the former minister and former agency head said, I have sacked them effective immediately. They will no longer be employed in their present positions and former minister Berry will be resigning from his parliamentary seat as well. These actions were taken without my knowledge and without my approval, and represent a flagrant misuse of authority as well as a violation of the spirit of responsible government. The Nova Anglican people deserve a government that is transparent, honest, and respectful of their rights. My government has always pledged to uphold the laws of the nation, and defend it against danger, and we will continue to do that. I am ordering a special Parliamentary investigation led by the Justice Minister of these matters. We will ensure that any and all employees and officials involved in this matter are discovered and disciplined. We have zero tolerance for matters like this, and I personally will be sacking those others involved. Furthermore, I intend to seek out and destroy corruption within the halls of the Parliament Building, and the government will be introducing a package of reform legislation intend to increase transparency and prevent corruption. These measures will eradicate any inappropriate uses of authority or corrupt politicians and special interests on any side and I am confident that it will restore the Nova Anglican people's faith in their government. Thank you."

As Blackwood left the stage, Fields stepped up and prepared herself for the inevitable wave of questions.

[Ko-oren]

Frustration

After a long campaign against Tierra de Castro, the Greenblues made it to the promised land of the Round of 16. West Phoenicia is our opponent, the 2nd seeded team in the bracket. Quality-wise, we are not far behind the West Phoenicians, but form-wise, we're quite a ways off. We don't need to go into the results dropping mysteriously around the halfway mark of the group stage, but we've been 13-6 after 19 games, at which point we were the 9th seed (give or take), and at that point we were just two games behind the 15-4 West Phoenicians. I shouldn't need to remind you, but they went on to go 24-6, and we levelled off at 17 wins for a 17-13 record. Worst playoff team, baby.

Now, after two games against the West Phoenicians have been completed, the picture doesn't look any better. A 1-2 loss on day one (winning run scored in the ninth inning) and a 1-6 loss the next day, and the Greenblues are looking at a very quick elimination as soon as knockout baseball started. Our pitching wasn't bad, again, but our opponents were just a tad sharper, avoiding any and all slight errors that could turn a strike into a base hit and a base hit into a double, triple or worse. The first game could have turned to extra innings, but giving up - another - decisive run in the ninth denies us even a shred of hope for the next two games.

The Round of 16 has been our Waterloo for a few times (WBC 43, 42), in case you thought the knockout problems were new. We weren't in WBCs 41 and 40, and in 39 we were eliminated before the Round of 16. The last time we survived the Round of 16 was in WBC 37, against Cosumar. If that sounds familiar, you might remember the last World Cup where the Dragonflies were eliminated in the Round of 16, for the 6th time, without ever advancing to the quarterfinals.

We have a chance. We're 0-2, but we still have a chance to go 2-2. It'll rely on everything that baseball has to offer, from skill to athleticism, down to luck, but we could go there. Unfortunately the coaching has done very little to tackle the biggest problem that has faced this team since day 1, which is very poor closing pitching. The hitting has improved to the point where we're almost always in a game right until the end, and we can score runs when needed.

For a closing note (so you know it's going to be bad, nothing good has come at the end of anything this tournament), the one thing that bugs me most about the series is that the West Phoenicians celebrate. Everything. Cheerleaders, players posing for fans, over-the-top shows, things that are pretty much non-existant in Ko-oren. Sports, for most in the Multiverse, are for losing yourself for a few hours in a game of skill, luck, and going through some emotions during it, and that's no different for people from our archipelago. Apart from that, sports are also for winning, and doing so efficiently, and that's where some nations differ from us. If there's something we don't like, is showmanship where a simple 'sweet, we won, now we're on to the next game' suffices. Get drama, theatre and show out of my gentlemanly (or ladylike) entertainment. Baseball is a great tradition and a fantastic game, so let's only focus on that game.

[Ethane]

ENTV

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Predictions
by Andrew Davis

68% - Newmanistan (1) vs (16) Vangaziland - 32%
[iVangaziland had to come through a tiebreaker series against Drawkland to get here, while Newmanistan sailed through their group, challenged only by Ethane (although it was an easy group). Vangaziland have also won 1 of the playoff games so far.[/i]

47% - Hampton Island (8) vs (9) Schiltzberg - 53%
Well known in the WBC universe, Schiltzberg are usually seen at the top of the seeding or near enough. Yet they seem to be having a bit of an off-season and aren't performing at their best, all the while facing off against Hampton Island, a nation hungry for victory.

61% - Nova Anglicana (5) vs (12) Liventia - 39%
Nova Anglicana breezed to victory in their group by a comfortable margin, although not hitting the heights of some of the other top teams this WBC. On the other hand, Liventia arrives with a worse group record despite still progressing comfortably. Nova seem like the stronger team, but Liventia could upset the odds.

60% - Free Republics (4) vs (13) Abanhfleft - 40%
Free Republics arrive with the same record as Nova Anglicana as one of the better teams in the groups. They eased to victory over Liventia, and should be able to do the same against a team which despite putting in one of the better performances, still seems to be falling short.

45% - Scootalove City (6) vs (11) Lycrabon - 55%
Scootalove City have become one of those teams you see regularly in the playoff nowadays, but they can never seem to get any further than just making it. And that seems to be the same this WBC, with Lycrabon - despite being the lower seed - appearing the stronger team after beating out Super-Llamaland for second place in the group.

75% - Cassadaigua (3) vs (14) The Sherpa Empire - 25%
The Sherpas struggled to impose themselves on their group. Cassadaigua, meanwhile, dominated their group and come into the playoffs with one of the strongest records in the tournament so far. Shouldn't be too hard for Cassadaigua.

47% - Banija (7) vs (10) Ethane - 53%
An interesting matchup, but one that will probably go the way of The Red Kites. This is where the seeding doesn't help that much, as while Banija did win their group, unlike Ethane, they finished the group having won 3 fewer games than The Red Kites, and didn't have to face up against Newmanistan in the groups. However, The Red Kites' group was a lot easier, so this could end up being close.

80% - West Phoenicia (2) vs (18) Ko-oren - 20%
Ko-oren performed the worst of the teams which progressed to the playoffs, while West Phoenicia were the second best. It's a surprise to see WP doing so well, but they should carry on their great form against what is not exactly the strongest team in these playoffs.

[Newmanistan]

(1) Newmanistan vs (16) Vangaziland @ Empress Jessica I Stadium, Jessicaville (scorination provided by Cassadaigua)
Game 3:

Newmanistan            0 0 1 1 1 0 0 4 0  7
Vangaziland            0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0  2

Game 4:

Newmanistan            0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1  2
Vangaziland            0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0  1

Newmanistan wins series three games to one

(8) Hampton Island vs (9) Schiltzberg @ Emperor Michael IV Stadium, Pocono City
Game 3:

Hampton Island         0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0  3
Schiltzberg            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0

Game 4:

Hampton Island         0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2  4
Schiltzberg            0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1  3

Hampton Island wins series three games to one

(5) Nova Anglicana vs (12) Liventia @ The Jungle, Loudon
Game 3:

Nova Anglicana         3 1 3 0 0 0 3 0 0 10
Liventia               2 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0  5

Game 4:

Nova Anglicana         0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0  3
Liventia               0 1 2 0 1 0 1 1 X  6

series tied at two

(4) Free Republics vs (13) Abanhfleft @ Centralia Stadium, Centralia
Game 3:

Free Republics         0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 1  4
Abanhfleft             0 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 X  7

Game 4:

Free Republics         1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2  4
Abanhfleft             0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2  3

Free Republics wins series three games to one

(6) Scootalove City vs (11) Lycrabon @ Jeremy McAllister Stadium, Putnam Lake
Game 3:

Scootalove City        0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0
Lycrabon               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1  1

Lycrabon wins series three games to none

(3) Cassadaigua vs (14) The Sherpa Empire @ Tundra Falls Proving Grounds, Tundra Falls
Game 3:

Cassadaigua            1 0 0 3 0 2 0 2 0  8
The Sherpa Empire      0 1 2 0 1 1 0 0 0  5

Game 4:

Cassadaigua            0 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 1  7
The Sherpa Empire      0 0 0 0 0 2 0 3 0  5

Cassadaigua wins series three games to one

(7) Banija vs (10) Ethane @ Olympia Stadium, Olympia
Game 3:

Banija                 0 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 0  6
Ethane                 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 4  7

Game 4:

Banija                 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1  4
Ethane                 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0  3

series tied at two

(2) West Phoenicia vs (18) Ko-oren @ Keisler Stadium, Southport
Game 3:

West Phoenicia         0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1  3
Ko-oren                0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0  2

West Phoenicia wins series three games to none

[Lycrabon]

Jordan pitches gem, Jays to the quarterfinals from LSPN.com

NEWMANISTAN - Facing a series clincher against Scootalove City, Wes Jordan took the mound and promptly dominated. He pitched the first no-hitter in quite a while for Lycrabon in WBC play, but the Unicorns hurler was just a good, allowing only the series-clincher, a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth by the #7 hitter for the Jays.

"They took it to us good," remarked Jordan post-game. "Backs against the wall, they showed no fear. They will be a force in the future."

Next up is Cassadaigua, who will no doubt be seeking revenge on RP Garry Barnett III. Once both series ended, he simply tweeted : "Bitches. Dead." In a surprise move, he is slated to pitch game two against the Dagans. Demarcus Kennedy will pitch the opener, and Hunter Anderson will start game three.

[Nova Anglicana]

Berry, O'Brien out at Interior, Blackwood vows to clean up government

Maria McLaughlin, Londinium Courier

At a press conference earlier today, Prime Minister Hal Blackwood confirmed allegations that top Interior Ministry officials had approved illicit wiretapping of top National Party members. He, the former Interior Minister Warren Berry, and the former head of the Domestic Security Agency Edwin O'Brien, appeared at the press conference. Berry and O'Brien apologized for their actions and Blackwood announced that he had sacked them.

According to the Prime Minister, he had no knowledge this was happening: "These actions were taken without my knowledge and without my approval, and represent a flagrant misuse of authority as well as a violation of the spirit of responsible government. The Nova Anglican people deserve a government that is transparent, honest, and respectful of their rights. My government has always pledged to uphold the laws of the nation, and defend it against danger, and we will continue to do that."

Blackwood also announced that he intended to root out any other employees and officials involved in this and to see them removed from their posts as well. His government also intends to introduce a package of anti-corruption legislation that, according to them, will "eradicate any inappropriate uses of authority or corrupt politicians and special interests on any side." Minister of Justice Tim McKenzie, the former First Minister of Nova Scotia, will lead a special Parliamentary investigation into these matters as well. There is no word as to whether or not they will recommend criminal charges against any individuals involved or what the composition of the parliamentary committee will look like. Details on the anti-corruption package are limited, with suggestions of stricter laws around surveillance or perhaps lobbying bans for former deputies.

For the opposition, this news was welcome, but not welcome enough. National Party leader King Voss said, "This is a pathetic attempt to cover up a culture of corruption and abuse of authority within the government. I'm pleased that Berry and O'Brien are gone, but until this whole government resigns, in my opinion, it will not be enough. It just goes to show you that power corrupts, and the PJP have been in power for 15 years. I implore the people of Nova Anglicana to make a change in the upcoming election, and choose the party that truly represents you and will not violate your trust, the National Party."

Rear Admiral Hugh Townsend, the National Party's flagship candidate for the Senate with Voss' retirement, seconded that when questioned. "The PJP have been in power for far too long. It was inevitable that they would abuse their power, and I am eager to see the results of the Parliamentary investigation. I'm sure they will find more types of corruption than just this incident."

Spokespeople for the People's Party and Libertarian Party hammered on the corruption and change theme as well. PP spokeswoman Sue Drake said that it was "clearly time for a change", and LP spokesman William Reed added that his party would "pursue far-reaching changes in both the authority and the budget of the government to surveil its people."'

While Blackwood and his government are trying their best to blunt the effect of these charges on the government and the government coalition's electoral chances, his parliamentary opponents will do their utmost to stop him. The opposition smells blood, and with a month to go until the election, this may have been a gift-wrapped opportunity to break the PJP's hold on power. Only the results of the investigation, the details of the anti-corruption legislation, and the skill of all parties to take their message to voters will reveal the effects of this on the election and the country's next government.

[Hampton Island]

Hampton Island Sports Brief

Midnight Scares Off Schiltzberg

Prior to game 3 of the playoffs, Midnight aggressively charged towards the Schiltzberg dugout before stopping right in front of it. He then let out a series a loud of growls, making that team very concerned. After they all retreated towards the clubhouse door, he strolled back to the Hampton Island dugout. This is behavior that we have not seen out of the black bear before, but it appears though that it was done deliberately. One of Midnight’s main handlers told us, “It was his way of trying to intimidate Schiltzberg. He is beginning to know what is at stake now as a part of this team, so he was sending a clear message that you need more then lights to beat him.” Schiltzberg struggled, and if it were not for a seventh inning infield single, Cory Clover would have pitched a perfect game. Clover admitted that their hitters were not themselves, “I have to thank Midnight. He struck fear in that dugout before the game, and they were very timid when they were at the plate.”

In game 4, the Golden Bears rallied from an early deficit and won on a two-run homer in the ninth by who else, Midnight. It broke a 2-2 tie, and while Schiltzberg got one back, they could not get both runs they needed. As a result, Hampton Island wins the first playoff series in the nation’s history, and their reward for that will be Newmanistan themselves in the next round.