Major League Paintball Held Hostage, Day 25

Three, make that four, brief items on the agenda for today and (at least) one of them is just plain silly. You decide which one is the silly one.

The Millennium Series announces the new official standard of 44 bunkers to produce a MS field layout. The 44 coinciding with the new PSP standard even though all the bunkers across both standards aren't identical--yet. One more step down the UPBF pathway, a cheaper base package price for Adrenaline Games and a new upgrade kit for '09. Every base covered.

For those of you who find posting comments too taxing VFTD has the Reax option which offers some minimal feedback on your opinions of what's shaking here at VFTD. Mostly y'all are such slackers you don't bother with those either and that's okay 'cus truth be told your opinion is completely optional and I'm not losing any sleep over it. I think more reader participation is a positive thing but whatever. This is about the dud reax to the latest Enlistment post. Some comedian added a second dud--and that was amusing. I still want to know what exactly the problem is. VFTD doesn't grade for spelling or grammar so come on, Capt. Dud, you can do it.
(I'm trying out a bit of reverse psychology. Let's see how it works.)

VFTD would like to congratulate the kids at Propaintball.com on the upscale move and wish them all success. I'd also like to encourage the lazy slugs that always used the link at pbreserve to visit VFTD to suffer through the mind-numbingly difficult process of adding VFTD to their favorites. I know y'all can do it.

VFTD's past objections to organizing something like the UPBF was not about rejecting a universal standard, it was about promoting the right standard. (Something reasonable people can disagree about certainly.) My concern with the UPBF and now the UCP (Universal Classification Program)is that the PSP will end up being locked into the current format--ostensibly a response to economic reality--as it's accepted by regional and international series and we will all end up playing in perpetuity this rather watered down version of its-not-called-xball-anymore. I was given some assurance that that wasn't going to happen and that the focus needed to be on getting thru the coming difficult times. I do not doubt the sincerity of those assurances nor the reality of the tough times. I am, however, afraid that once the current format and system become accepted on a widespread basis the option of making changes diminishes drastically simply because it then begins to affect so many more leagues, teams and players. Its own momentum will make it nearly impossible to change course once it gets going. On the plus side it will also be that much harder to shrink the game any further. I suppose that's some consolation.