Some Good Old Fashioned NPPL Bashing

Not really. At least not the way I see it but somehow when I "bash" the PSP it's constructive criticism and when I "bash" the NPPL it's because I'm a hater or something. So sure, I'm bashing the NPPL--again.

But first--a positive comment. On the announced live webcast scheduled for 5 PM PST Sunday February 21th. This is both a good idea and a necessary one as it may drum up additional interest and help prove to the fence sitters, however many of them there might be, that the 2010 edition of NPPL 3.0 is for real. (Yep, I changed it to 3.0; the original unified NPPL was 0, pure promotions was 1.0, pacific was 2.0 and the current version is 3.0.) The presser's opening paragraph fills us in on the basics:
Reporting Live from Huntington Beach, California this Sunday NPPL Commissioner Chuck Hendsch, Rich Telford (XSV), Alex Fragie [sic] (Dynasty) and special guests will be speaking about the new NPPL 2010 season. Topics discussed will include 2010 Rule Book changes, HB field layout, event paintballs, sponsorships, ref clinic report, pro team updates, rankings, hotels, travel and HB special events, promotions and parties.

It will be interesting to see what impact this has and how the league follows up on the webcast. Will sponsorship talk include GI Milsim and the possibility of 50 cal? Will KEE be the exclusive paint supplier? Will an actual list of registrants and paid teams separated by division appear soon?

There's a thread over at PBN in the USPL/NPPL forum about the new system the NPPL is implementing and a promise or two from Frank C. regarding a soon-to-be-released team list. Now either a complete list will or won't appear. What I found more interesting, for a second or two, was the dialogue regarding the league's decision to no longer use APPA. Most of the official responses claim it will be just as good and that the league's interests are player driven. A couple of commenters tried to make a case that competition in player databases was good for everyone and offered players choice. With respect to the official replies I found this quote from Frank interesting; ".. but I can promise you that it is going to be a great system that did not empty our pockets to use." (Bold highlight added by me.) And when he says 'empty' he means 'didn't fill.' I think that says all that needs to be said about the league's position. As to the efficacy of dueling databases the NPPL has had years to get it right and offer something actually in the players' interest. Haven't managed it yet. And then there's the utterly false claim of choice. Yes, you can choose your league but even if there were a hundred player databases you got no choice. You use what the league uses. Period. End of story. Don't get me wrong. I understand times are tough and the NPPL needs additional revenue streams and apparently their piece of last year's registration wasn't satisfactory. I'm okay with that, it's the song and dance I find annoying.