Sunday, July 13, 2008
Season 12 - American League Team Profiles
Well, it's upon us. Season 12 is set to kick-off with tonight's BLT in Bad Times @ 7pm hosted by Sophie, in a season which will mark the end of her "reign" (take that word whichever way you wish) as MLP Head Lady. As everyone has already noticed, I'm sure, she's provided us with yet another fine page for her farewell tour. First things first, I'd like to welcome all of the new leagues to MLP - some brand new and some returning: Devine Cuez, Pool Loverz, Extreme Cues and Tourney Pool - best of luck to all of you this season. Eligiblity-wise, everything has stayed the same; 50 games in your Home League (25 of which must be tournament games), 5 tourney games in the past 7 days for 7 v 7 matches and 1 tourney game in past 7 days to participate in the weekly BLT. On the topic of the weekly BLT, Sophie has provided players with more of a reason to take part in these tournaments because for EVERY BLT tournament this season (14 weeks = 14 tourneys), the winner will receive a 1 YEAR GOLD MEMBERSHIP. Yes folks, it's true; Sophie is either crazy, rich, or a combination of the two. Now, I doubt this will launch tourney numbers into the 100's like the old days, but it should still be reason enough to see an increase in the number of jumpers per tournament this season.
SEASON 12 OUTLOOK/TEAM PROFILES
The following will be a basic outline of all of the teams which will be competing in Season 12. You'll be introduced to their Captain, their "Key Players", Last Season's Record (where applicable) my outlook on them for this season, and where I expect them to finish up in the standings. It should also be noted that for my "Key Players" section, "TBD" simply means I don't recognize any of the names which are currently signed up on the MLP ladder, and everyone will have to wait until the season plays out to see exactly who the "clutch performers" on these teams end up being.
American League
8 Ball Scatch (8bs)
Captain: Paul (xx_pool_addict_xx / omy_2ez)
Key Players: TBD
Last Seasons Record: 3-11 (Took over for NHP early in the season)
Outlook: Bleak. Poor 8BS. Diligently took over for NHP early last season and their reward for season twelve? Being put in the same divison as perennial interleague powerhouses CZ, PL, TPL and UP. It's gunna be a long season for Paul and his gang.
Prediction: 8th (2-12)
Cheapshotz (CZ)
Captain: Josh (midwestern_pool_champ) & Ben (fhm_champion)
Key Players: Alex (dryrape), Josh and Scott (scott2883)
Last Seasons Record: 11-3 (Lost to Cuekeepers in Conference finals)
Outlook: Strong. Now here's a team that could really do some damage. With the "stacked" team they have listed - and the possible addition of Ant and PC - Cheapshotz have to be the favourite to come out of the American League on top.
Prediction: 1st (12-2)
Devine Cuez (DC)
Captain: Zach (uber.geeky)
Key Players: Zach, Lewis (eng.lishman)
Last Seasons Record: N/A
Outlook: Wildcare material. Welcome to MLP Devine Cuez! Oh - and welcome to the conference of death! Pretty much the only way this conference could be any worse is if Poolfiction was in it. DC is a league I see giving a few of the top tier teams a good match and maybe even pulling out an upset along the way. They shouldn't have much trouble snagging the wildcard spot.
Prediction: 5th (7-7)
Pool Legends (PL)
Captain: Jase (sexxxy_luckydog17)
Key Players: Jase, Trav (xlx_psukhe_xlx) and darkinc87
Last Seasons Record: 10-4 (Lost in Conference Semi-Finals to TPL)
Outlook: Good. In this conference, I expect TPL and CZ to battle for top spot, and UP and PL to battle for 3rd. Now, PL is renowned for their snooker play; I haven't seen a PL'er run-break in an interleague game in about as long as I've heard of Cubby taking a shower. In the end, this could either hurt them or allow them to steal a couple against the top 2 (TPL and CZ), which might push them up into 2nd in the conference. Until I see some proof of the latter...
Prediction: 3rd (9-5)
Pool Loverz (PZ)
Captain: Lenny (lady.lenny / angelofmercy_tx)
Key Players: TBD
Last Seasons Record: N/A
Outlook: Eeek. Welcome BACK to MLP guys :) I don't expect to much from Lenny and her squad the first season back, but as MLP admin there's no doubt she'll get a team to each match and try her best to keep them competitive. Unfortunately, this is a tough conference and wins will be hard to pick up. The important matches for PZ will be against the lower half of this group.
Prediction: 7th (3-11)
Straightshots (SS)
Captain: Steven (steven.rules)
Key Players: tbl.runner & JEDI_38
Last Seasons Record: 6-8 (Lost in Conference Semi Finals to Cuekeepers)
Outlook: Bad. After sneaking into the playoffs with the wildcard spot last season, and upsetting Magic Pool in the first round, SS will be hard-pressed to duplicate those results this season. If they were able to pick up a solid player or two throughout the season and get a win against one of the top 3 in this conference they might have a chance at the wildcard again, but I just don't see that panning out.
Prediction: 6th (4-10)
True Pool Legends (TPL)
Captain: Steve (xlx_e_f_c_xlx)
Key Players: Steve, Pommy (aka_pomking) & Trav (lvlasse)
Last Seasons Record: 9-5 (Lost to Poolfiction in the Conference Finals)
Outlook: Very Good. TPL will be looking to improve upon their conference final loss last season to Poolfiction, and have picked up a couple of "tools" along the way (no offense Chris) to help them get the job done this season. I look for a very strong regular season and playoff run from these proven choke-artists.
Prediction: 2nd (11-3)
United Pool (UP)
Captain: Ketan (xlx_k_e_t_a_n_xlx)
Key Players: Ketan, Pas (united.pooler) & Ste (hornyscots)
Last Seasons Record: 8-6 (Lost to Poolfiction in the Conference Semi-Finals)
Outlook: Decent. As always, I'm expecting UP to make playoffs, but I don't believe that they will be as strong this season as in past seasons. They're definitely still a good enough team to have a chance in every match they play, though. If under-estimated, it's possible they could leap-frog PL for #3.
Prediction: 4th (8-6)
To recap, my final standings for the American League this season, look like the following:
1. Cheapshotz (12-2)
2. True Pool Legends (11-3)
3. Pool Legends (9-5)
4. United Pool (8-6)
*5. Devine Cuez (7-7)
--------------------------------
6. Straightshots (4-10)
7. Pool Loverz (3-11)
8. 8 Ball Scratch (2-12)
*Denotes Wildcard
That's all for now, I'll be back with the National League Profiles and this week's predictions later this afternoon!
SEASON 12 OUTLOOK/TEAM PROFILES
The following will be a basic outline of all of the teams which will be competing in Season 12. You'll be introduced to their Captain, their "Key Players", Last Season's Record (where applicable) my outlook on them for this season, and where I expect them to finish up in the standings. It should also be noted that for my "Key Players" section, "TBD" simply means I don't recognize any of the names which are currently signed up on the MLP ladder, and everyone will have to wait until the season plays out to see exactly who the "clutch performers" on these teams end up being.
American League
8 Ball Scatch (8bs)
Captain: Paul (xx_pool_addict_xx / omy_2ez)
Key Players: TBD
Last Seasons Record: 3-11 (Took over for NHP early in the season)
Outlook: Bleak. Poor 8BS. Diligently took over for NHP early last season and their reward for season twelve? Being put in the same divison as perennial interleague powerhouses CZ, PL, TPL and UP. It's gunna be a long season for Paul and his gang.
Prediction: 8th (2-12)
Cheapshotz (CZ)
Captain: Josh (midwestern_pool_champ) & Ben (fhm_champion)
Key Players: Alex (dryrape), Josh and Scott (scott2883)
Last Seasons Record: 11-3 (Lost to Cuekeepers in Conference finals)
Outlook: Strong. Now here's a team that could really do some damage. With the "stacked" team they have listed - and the possible addition of Ant and PC - Cheapshotz have to be the favourite to come out of the American League on top.
Prediction: 1st (12-2)
Devine Cuez (DC)
Captain: Zach (uber.geeky)
Key Players: Zach, Lewis (eng.lishman)
Last Seasons Record: N/A
Outlook: Wildcare material. Welcome to MLP Devine Cuez! Oh - and welcome to the conference of death! Pretty much the only way this conference could be any worse is if Poolfiction was in it. DC is a league I see giving a few of the top tier teams a good match and maybe even pulling out an upset along the way. They shouldn't have much trouble snagging the wildcard spot.
Prediction: 5th (7-7)
Pool Legends (PL)
Captain: Jase (sexxxy_luckydog17)
Key Players: Jase, Trav (xlx_psukhe_xlx) and darkinc87
Last Seasons Record: 10-4 (Lost in Conference Semi-Finals to TPL)
Outlook: Good. In this conference, I expect TPL and CZ to battle for top spot, and UP and PL to battle for 3rd. Now, PL is renowned for their snooker play; I haven't seen a PL'er run-break in an interleague game in about as long as I've heard of Cubby taking a shower. In the end, this could either hurt them or allow them to steal a couple against the top 2 (TPL and CZ), which might push them up into 2nd in the conference. Until I see some proof of the latter...
Prediction: 3rd (9-5)
Pool Loverz (PZ)
Captain: Lenny (lady.lenny / angelofmercy_tx)
Key Players: TBD
Last Seasons Record: N/A
Outlook: Eeek. Welcome BACK to MLP guys :) I don't expect to much from Lenny and her squad the first season back, but as MLP admin there's no doubt she'll get a team to each match and try her best to keep them competitive. Unfortunately, this is a tough conference and wins will be hard to pick up. The important matches for PZ will be against the lower half of this group.
Prediction: 7th (3-11)
Straightshots (SS)
Captain: Steven (steven.rules)
Key Players: tbl.runner & JEDI_38
Last Seasons Record: 6-8 (Lost in Conference Semi Finals to Cuekeepers)
Outlook: Bad. After sneaking into the playoffs with the wildcard spot last season, and upsetting Magic Pool in the first round, SS will be hard-pressed to duplicate those results this season. If they were able to pick up a solid player or two throughout the season and get a win against one of the top 3 in this conference they might have a chance at the wildcard again, but I just don't see that panning out.
Prediction: 6th (4-10)
True Pool Legends (TPL)
Captain: Steve (xlx_e_f_c_xlx)
Key Players: Steve, Pommy (aka_pomking) & Trav (lvlasse)
Last Seasons Record: 9-5 (Lost to Poolfiction in the Conference Finals)
Outlook: Very Good. TPL will be looking to improve upon their conference final loss last season to Poolfiction, and have picked up a couple of "tools" along the way (no offense Chris) to help them get the job done this season. I look for a very strong regular season and playoff run from these proven choke-artists.
Prediction: 2nd (11-3)
United Pool (UP)
Captain: Ketan (xlx_k_e_t_a_n_xlx)
Key Players: Ketan, Pas (united.pooler) & Ste (hornyscots)
Last Seasons Record: 8-6 (Lost to Poolfiction in the Conference Semi-Finals)
Outlook: Decent. As always, I'm expecting UP to make playoffs, but I don't believe that they will be as strong this season as in past seasons. They're definitely still a good enough team to have a chance in every match they play, though. If under-estimated, it's possible they could leap-frog PL for #3.
Prediction: 4th (8-6)
To recap, my final standings for the American League this season, look like the following:
1. Cheapshotz (12-2)
2. True Pool Legends (11-3)
3. Pool Legends (9-5)
4. United Pool (8-6)
*5. Devine Cuez (7-7)
--------------------------------
6. Straightshots (4-10)
7. Pool Loverz (3-11)
8. 8 Ball Scratch (2-12)
*Denotes Wildcard
That's all for now, I'll be back with the National League Profiles and this week's predictions later this afternoon!
