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My top 7 power rankings:

1. Beez (3 losses: 1. strong team that disbanded immediately after 2. by 4 points to #2 with less effort and tactics mismatch 3. by 5 points to #3 with less effort and early injury to very key player)
2. P(i)MP (wins against both top 3, super close to #1)
3. Valhalla! (see below)
4. WHV
5. Murfs (slightly better record than WHV but PD is telling)
6. Ulderico
7. Clams (impressive team considering salary, could be playoff threat if cash reserves are high)


My team isn't higher than 3 because we have been extremely lucky so far this season. We're 3-0 in games decided by two points or overtime, and in my recent game against the Beez a very key player for them goes down in the opening minutes and it still comes down to the wire.

Nice. I think that your rankings are pretty spot on. The top three are pretty dead even right now. Playing out the season in my head, I think that LA's three losses will cost them HCA in the playoffs, which makes Valhalla! or P(i)MP (hilarious AKA, BTW) more likely to take the finals. In fact, the season outcome probably comes down to the VAL @ PRA game on 7/14. It's essentially a toss-up, but the winner of that game will have HCA through the playoffs. And, barring some serious rentals, that will be enough to give them the upper hand come August. What could throw a wrench in things is if the Great 8 teams beat the snot out of each other to leave only a crippled squad in the finals.

And, for that matter we should all take a note from Upsyndrome's performance last season – who went 8-1 after the All-Star break to nab a second seed from the stronger conference, upset the completely dominant Beez in the semis, and rode that train all the way to D3. The story of the season is by no means over. A team that was 6-7 before the break won the league. Who knows... we might all get Shocked or Rocked before the season is up.

As far as the other four teams you mentioned:

I think the Jazz are really underrated. They were quite impressive in their loss to Valhalla last Tuesday, only allowing a PD of 14 while away and at an effort disadvantage. And they've been raking in the dough with an extra $50k/wk all season long from their cup wins. Once their interests are no longer divided between the league and the cup, they'll be a money-flush force to be reckoned with. The only catch is that they have a really tough stretch of games starting 7/10 when they host the Velvet, host Murfreesboro and then travel to LA.

And I think Murfreesboro is overrated as indicated by their low PD. They only beat the Jazz at the beginning of the season because they had an effort mismatch and the Jazz were running inferior tactics. Also they haven't put up the kinds of margins you'd like to see against teams like Inferno and Illiniwek (although ILL has shown some strength lately).

WHV has been a little confusing, hanging tough with conference teams, but getting absolutely curb-stomped by Murfreesboro and the Beez. So, I'm not sure what to think there.

I'll spare you the in-depth analysis of the Clams. But I will say that I've given up a number of unnecessary losses.

In any case, my crystal ball (as opposed to power rankings) has it like this:

Big 8
Finalist: Beez
Semifinalist: Jazz
PO's: Murfreesboro & Illiniwek

Great 8
Finalist: P(i)MP (Champion)
Semifinalist: Valhalla
PO's: Velvet & Clams

I figure these are the playoff teams, but the rest is as much conjecture as anything else. If your ranking pisses you off, I hope it spurs you on to try and prove me wrong. And if you like your ranking, your ass better prove me right! In any case, good luck to all!

Last edited by rhyminsimon at 7/2/2012 10:44:44 PM

And just to give a little perspective, as of the time of these posts, BB ranks our teams like this.

The number is the team's national rank.

1. LA - 310
2. PRA - 391
3. WHV - 431
4. VAL - 500
5. KNP - 551
6. MM - 598
7. ULD - 639
8. DCA - 792
9. ILL - 794
10. SUP - 819
11. STL - 829
12. NYC - 852
13. MAR - 984
14. NEV - 1008
15. COR - 1128
16. GRE - 1408

Good post, I agree with pretty much everything you said.

I actually almost put the Jazz at #4 but then decided it was harder to justify objectively. Kinda arbitrary that I put the Jazz at 6 but moved the Beez to #1 considering I feel have a somewhat similar relationship to the other teams in their group.

Interesting anecdote about Upsyndrome last season. I just looked at their transfer history and without selling any assets they bought 4m worth of players right before the playoffs started, to add to the 3 million they had already spent during the season. It would be a surprise if someone has those kinds of reserves this time around (to put it lightly), but it will certainly be interesting to see what happens close to the transfer deadline. A far lower total could sway the balance of power.

Last edited by w_alloy at 7/3/2012 3:26:43 AM

Yeah. Magus had a pretty gargantuan arena driving him: 21050 seats. And there isn't anybody who's got anything like that. The closest would be Cornballers or Murfreesboro. Maybe Murf's gonna rock the TL and take the league. I'm not sure Cornballers could dig themselves out of their 4-9 hole to make the playoffs, especially since they're training Conanan and Lucas.

Had the idea to check on what the changes were from the beginning of the season in comparative national ranking. Rankings from the first cup game of the season are in parenthesis followed by the change in league position:

1. LA - 310 (1st - 314) N/C
2. PRA - 391 (3rd - 426) +1
3. WHV - 431 (4th - 453) +1
4. VAL - 500 (10th - 857) +6
5. KNP - 551 (2nd - 340) -3
6. MM - 598 (5th -570) -1
7. ULD - 639 (12th - 982) +5
8. DCA - 792 (13th - 1045) +5
9. ILL - 794 (7th - 722) -2
10. SUP - 819 (6th - 673) -4
11. STL - 829 (8th - 791) -3
12. NYC - 852 (9th - 798) -3
13. MAR - 984 (11th - 925) -2
14. NEV - 1008 (15th - 1192) +1
15. COR - 1128 (14th - 1110) -1
16. GRE - 1408 (16th - 1461) N/C

Current League Avg Nat'l Rank = 752
Season Start League Avg Nat'l Rank = 791

Anybody wanna weigh in on how they think the All-Star Game will end up?

I think that the Big 8 might have the upper hand, seeing as they have HCA and their combined salaries dwarf those of the Great 8. But, hey... I thought the Big 8 would take interconference play, too. So, shows what I know. ;-)

nice read everybody. Thanks for taking the time.

Mules have been lucky this year. I think Murfreesboro is 3-0 in OT games and that is the difference between hosting PO games and watching from home this year.

Mules main talent is getting older and it might be time too buy more talent or sell everything and start new.


have not been lucky in the draft in years so young talent is lacking

Bump for the end of the regular season. No real surprises for the second half except perhaps Murfs upsetting LA KB using rebounding and me turning over almost my entire roster twice.

I gotta say I'm feeling pretty good about these playoffs. Bring it on!

Been a good season. We all kind of left off the conversation for a while, but it's been good competition.

My only surprise was going into overtime in 3 of 7 on the homestretch. Maybe not a surprise, though. I think I had a target on my back after I sold Álvarez to cut back on expenses. I am still sticking with my predictions.

And here's an update.
The current nat'l rankings and +/- from the beginning of the season:

1. LA - 304 (-10)
2. PRA - 339 (-52)
3. WHV - 431 (-22)
4. VAL - 443 (-424)
5. ULD - 495 (-487)
6. MM - 518 (-52)
7. DCA - 670 (-375)
8. ILL - 709 (-13)
9. KNP - 758 (+418)
10. SUP - 826 (+153)
11. STL - 857 (+66)
12. NYC - 901 (+103)
13. NEV - 925 (-267)
14. MAR - 957 (+32)
15. COR - 1043 (-67)
16. GRE - 1237 (-224)

Current League Avg Nat'l Rank = 713
Season Start League Avg Nat'l Rank = 791

And a little more pertinent at the moment:
Season Start Top 4 in each Conference Avg Nat'l Rank = 544
Current Playoff Teams Avg Nat'l Rank = 489

Jus' sayin...

IV.30 is getting more competitive. And we've already been mentioned in a list of most competitive D.IV leagues: (214659.27)

Last edited by rhyminsimon at 8/5/2012 11:17:29 PM

+ 1Ball. Glad to see my old league active, even if I was only here for one season. Good work, boys. Keep up the high level of competition!