Uncle Seth

There's definitely some truth to this. But it's far easier to retain clients than try to recapture them or wait it out for yrs. And to do that, you need to keep them interested. And by "them" I mean your core of dedicated coaches. See Sebe's recent remark in the other topped thread as evidence.

Sebe gets it. This type of league that has prestige (and history) is so much more fun than classic. It brings people out from the shadows, like chum for sharks. And I know some are thinking "but we have draft style leagues going and blah blah". True, but not a gold-standard, serious league like GDL was; the biggest prize in all of 94 land and anyone who was around when it was, knows this is true. The level of play can even be argued to be a tad higher because people make an entire team of players with skills that they are their best with. For example, Raph when he drafts Scott Stevens and Iafrate together as a D pair, and someone like Gartner up front, it's frightening. Give Habs a team with Tikkanen, Makarov, Housley, you'll see him at his best too. The one issue that kind of plagued GDL was that with 24 coaches, it became extremely top heavy in terms of talent (as there was no A, B, C etc). A lot of people don't want to admit it, but most top guys don't want to crush lower guys, it's a predictable outcome and waste of time for both parties. Not fun to get destroyed by someone way above your own level or be the one committing the massacre on the lower guy. In addition to the non-fun factor of leagues with so much variance in ability, it doesn't help the lower guy get any better if they are too far in over their head. So the easy fix is to just have 1 draft, but 2 levels (and B). But A's play each other and B's play each other, none of this inter-level play. Each compete for their own championship. Of course there is the decisions about the details of the rom. I (and many who aren't active these days to verify this) believe Plabax made some tweaks that perfected a rom like GDL (it was called Plablegs but can be renamed to something more normal sounding lol). Like I said a couple paragraphs above.... Imagine playing Raph with his D core of Stevens and Iafrate. Now imagine penalties are off. No downside to having those aggressive, checking monsters. Quicker access to GC was also added, making it a little harder to score. It's big-boy hockey (one of my favorite phrases by the way). Don't get me started on how great it is not to have hot/cold. Or if it is included, how nice it is to be able to SEE accurately who's hot and who's cold (or avg). There's also a sense of pride when you create/draft your entire team. The downside (for some) is there are not many available excuses when you lose. Can't blame the ref, hot/cold, home advantage, bad team AI etc. YOU MADE THIS TEAM, OWN IT. I remember when I drafted Garter with my first pick. I was so excited. But I never drafted any other fast players to keep up with him. I ended up hating having him out there because he was always too ahead of the play for my liking. But it was my fault and lesson learned. There were also times I drafted a team of clone fwds with average skills but nothing extraordinary in terms of passing, stickhandling, speed or agility. I thought I was doing good w/them until I ran into Plabax. He not only showed me, but told me something like, "you're not going to beat me if you can't get a step on my D, you need to have at least 1 fast fwd". Another time (might have even been the same team) I discovered how important awareness ratings are. I had a bunch of good shooters and passers but all had average awareness ratings. As a consequence, they weren't in the spots I needed them to be in, when I needed them there. I'd be talking to my monitor, "anyone want to go to the slot, want to grab that loose puck sitting in front of you". Awareness matters. So in summation after this sloppy, long-winded post, this type of league makes you a better player because you learn firsthand what works for you and what doesn't, who other coaches do really with, ratings details that make differences on the ice etc.

I would be permanently retired if it wasn't for Chaos spending 5 total hours trying to get my mysterious tech issues fixed. All you guys are valuable but Chaos brought me back to life.

A) I like to delete and B), I felt it was a redundant statement of mine that no one wants to hear. PS, it ended with "But I'm a realist, it ain't happening". Habs is a 2v2 only weirdo. But he used to be a very good player and played in leagues. Very much like Ice's game (remember him?) with the wild pass shots. Probably not so much anymore as that's what happens to most when they are away from the game for years. Sebe tried coming back too but he didn't stay long. So yeah, it's a shame. They're not coming back permanently, just for this tourney.

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-Ditch penalties completely, they're in every other league we have not having them is (or at least was) a major hit, no pun intended) -Ditch hot/cold completely, they're in every other league we have. Static ratings = consistent performance. -Yes, 1 min penalties are better than 2 min penalties. But even with 1 min pims, you still (if you care about having your best players on the ice for the PK) often have to make a line change at the beginning and also when the penalty expires. -Basically this rom is already made, Plablegs, as it has everything you mentioned (minus pims) and plus adds static consistency. -Yes, love the idea of A & B but it has to be based on ability, not preference (ahem dickon). -Keep it simple by not having salary cap stuff or player retention. -As for trades, assign a knowledgeable veteran (even better if he isn't in the league) to make the call on questionable trade offers with ability to reject, regardless of who the coach is. In other words, guys like Lupz can't build an all-star team simply because everyone knows he's not a threat (so they allow rape-job-trades). - Lastly, weight bug fix is for SNES geeks who want to make it more like SNES. Sega is and always will be defined by the weight bug. PS, don't start the league when classic is running. And starting it right now would also not be optimal with holiday season right around the corner. Guys leave town, get too busy etc. Leads to delays in games and seriesseseses being played.

I know, it's amazing. Hokkee too. But it feels like more of the exception than the rule. So many others still MIA. And some who can be contacted but just don't bite on the offer. So difficult to re-hook the fish after it's gotten away.

No not dead but MIA. Some people get too busy or whatever the case and lose interest. But there's more to it IMO & from experience. When people take time off, the addictive aspect (very strong when one's an active player)...it wears off. That physiological urge isn't there anymore. It can be reignited but it's just not easy to coax former players back onto the ice because the brain has changed a little. The stimulus of even thinking about 94 doesn't excite like it does when you're active. How many of us have played exis when asked even though we're dead tired or think we aren't in the mood? It takes very little to bait that other guy into exiing (assuming he's an active player). It's that switch that goes off, you have to play. Your brain's reward center made the decision for you. Jack Vandal (former player) used to exi w/me nightly for 2 years. He was a bartender at the time and we'd play after he was out of work. There were many instances he admitted, where he'd turn down invitations to chill with hot, tipsy broads, usually guaranteed lays. He'd make up a reason not to hang w/them just so he could exi me instead. Other times, he'd bring the girl home w/him then wouldn't be able to resist turning on the PC to see if I was around to play. 94 was competing with sex. He'd want his cake and eat it too, so he'd be like "I'll be back on in 45min, gotta go right now" LOL. Now it wasn't that Jack was a jacked up stud, rich, or packed a monster schlong. He had something these women wanted they couldn't resist. A little bit of coke. Their version of 94. So anyway, we have to keep the dedicated members engaged or at least not go too long without activity. Just my 2 (ok about 5) cents.

Valiant effort but almost all those guys are long gone. Best to try to keep the ones in jeopardy of sailing away, in the harbor with us. Ahem Ass-storm.

sweeeeeeeeet!!!!!

Quebec Nordekes PS, AJ pick a real team, don't be a cheeseball. Take a mulligan and grab LA or PHI. PSS, Raph said he would have joined if he knew I was playing. If we let that scrub into this classic it will be an even 14 tms. Or maybe old man Ice would play if it doesn't interfere with his bingo league. I'll even settle for rage-quitter FPB!!!

Nevermind, all the draft orders are already set up, I didn't see that. That tells me that it was indeed a midnight E.T. cutoff. Disregard/cancel my registration please. Sorry about that.

I just registered but didn't say if the cutoff was midnight E.T, Central or Pacific. However, if it screws things up in A then no biggie. Or you can put me in B west so they have an even # and I'll be a legit crapola team. If it's too late to register, also no big deal, I won't throw a hissy fit. PS, Dickon, get your ass in A where you belong! This fuggin guy lol.

Very sorry to hear that Hokkee. Hope to see you stick around here. You're a part of the old guard and I miss you man.

the Blue Angels are f*cking badass. They do the craziest things I've ever seen planes do (at spitting distances from one another). Those pilots have the biggest balls (and most skill) of anyone on earth IMO. They're the cream of the crop. Used to come around my area every other year and for the air show. One year, due to some reason related to $, they didn't come and some other group of fighter pilots that (that do tricks) came instead. It was a big disappoinment as they didn't or couldn't any of the insane maneuvers/routines the blue angels do. Looks like the thrill of a lifetime (and it's rare that the average person gets a chance to experience it). Lucky bastard!!!! ........................ PS, the person who put that music to that video should be shot.

Well it wasn't a wild one all. Plabax takes the crown with suffocating D, along with better: passing, possession, playmaking, intercepting, AI from his fwds and D (i'll never figure out why), and shooting accuracy. I had a lot of chances in some of the games but missed a whole bunch of shots wide. I had and still have no answers. You could even argue my team is more potent. If I had to play the series over again, I don't know what I could have done to change the outcome, and I usually can critique my game well. Except maybe using J. Murphy instead of Gartner, seriously, I still hate him. He was a liability in this series despite being an asset in the previous round one. But anyway, congratulations to Primetime Plabax, he earned it 100%.

Thanks guys, I appreciate the comments. Had to stay focused, composed and put it all on the line vs a heavyweight like Raph. I have loads of respect for him, he's helped me recognize the crappy habits in my game so that I can fix them. Don't know what else to say. A man of few words I guess....when I'm not in complaint mode. Should be a wild series up next.

sometime later in the week

Dude..... great video. That looks like so much fun. Love how the dogs are included and just follow the entire way down. Those are some happy pups. You can tell all you need to know about a person by the way they treat animals.

OK, I'll accept that you intentionally plugged that Trump lingo in there. I'm not mad, in fact I hardly ever get mad with anything related to 94 (exception being lag). Frustrated, disillusioned, yes, but angry, rarely. That's your turf. Also, I don't bring what happens in league games into these discussions. I respect all opponents and keep the worlds separate. These are strong differences we have with how the site and leagues should be, mixed with some barbs related to behavior. I know people have grown tired and annoyed by me and Plab. I get it, believe me. But we speak up because we care about this game and love it. You think it's just us wanting to troll or whine, but it all stems from frustration of not seeing what we deem to be progress. Maybe you haven't noticed, but both of us can be added to the list of those who are losing interest and have been for a while. For the exact reasons we've been b*tching about. We're trying our best to keep ourselves here but it's a losing battle it seems.

I take issue with this "elitist" term you and Depch have placed on our vision of what a league should be. Neither of us have ever been against lower level players in the league. If elite to you means we want strict enforcement of clearly laid out rules, then yeah, you could call us that. Not wanting slackers and those with crappy connections, that's elitist? I've complained about AJ's and KG's in the past, top level talent. I've also bashed others who are nowhere near that level. You're imagining things man and for some reason, trying to paint us as guys who only want to play A coaches. Ask around, many a B guy can vouch for the advice I've provided over the years. I'm fine with smaller leagues and favor quality over quantity. By quality I mean, dependable, decent connection, and easy to get games in with (non-slacker). Or you can just keep thinking I mean "A".

You're such an ineffective troll Brute. C'mon, up your game. Everything is c*nt this, c*nt that, blah blah blah. It's hard to take you seriously because you're so emotional. Get some new material. Mix it up a little bit, I'm long past being desensitized. My points and stances are exactly the same as Plabs', which of course you can't seem to see. I don't bother explaining to you because you disregard anything you hear from people who are in your sin-bin. That's why, if you've long wondered, in the past, you've asked for more in depth explanations from me in various threads and I've just refused to give them to you. It's the same thing with Plabax; so many people here bash his ideas or just ignore the value of them because they don't approve of how he acts. But if the same ideas were brought up by the poster-children of this place, the crowd would be applauding and welcome them. Don't let your personal beefs affect your ability to be open-minded about different ideas. Picture them being delivered by a different messenger, someone who doesn't get under your skin. PS, you're starting to sound like Trump now (lol), the way you worded that. Not going to lie, that is funny.

How is what I do, any different than the other guys who are always on green, but they're not actually available to play or even respond? I get my games in, even with the invisible ink. Pretty impressive IMO. If someone IM's someone who's on green, but that person doesn't respond, is it not the exact same principle as IM'ing someone who's invisible and doesn't respond. The response is what matters. Being invisible, you don't know if I'm here or not to respond. Being on green for many guys here is an equivalent status. If I were to be on green 24/7, but only responded when I was actually at my PC, that would make you less irritated right, but essentially, nothing has changed. Not responding is the issue, not lack of color. Or how about some guys who can't even receive messages offline. Never heard you complain about that, despite it causing problems for other coaches.

Oh Brutus, what ever shall we do with you. You can't seem to see the connections, so I won't bother trying to dumb it down to your level. And talk about emotional, you've had a hard-on for me for a couple years now. I let it slide pretty much every time. You get personal with your jabs. It's a little worrisome. Mental health is nothing to take lightly. I can recommend some very effective drugs, as it's clear you need some help with your anger, lashing out, name calling and emotional frailty. SSRI's, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. They work wonders man, believe me. Things that most people would shrug off, you seem to get extremely irritated by and feel the need to attack! Those are some (of many) indicators of an underlying issue, be it learned or genetic. Talk to your doctor dude, this rage of yours is unhealthy. Unfortunately, you'd have to cut back on the booze because it can negate the effects of these pills or intensify them. Zoloft is solid, Paxil too. They will start you off small, for a couple weeks then gradually increase the dosage. You may get some side effects, but they are common and generally harmless. Tremors at night, with or without sweating. Maybe some indigestion if you take them without food. Occassionally impotence can kick in, but that can be countered with other pills. Everyone's had limp-dick before, especially with alcohol. Anyhow, after about a month, you'll start to be able to deal with things much easier. You'll feel calmer, happier, and definitely less prone to outbursts. You'll be able to think more clearly and not get weighed down so much by feelings of anger. It's a marvelous (I know, gay term to use) place to be. Come join the club. But wait, there's more....... - feelings of frustration = lessened - urges to insult people = decreased - general invagination with daily stressors = much less I can send you some samples if you'd like. Lemme know.