Friday, October 25, 2013

Mr. Curious Says

Let silly season begin! Why wait? Oh, yeah, if you're a potential sponsor you want to wait, drag it out and keep the those second and third tier teams on the hook. And if your a recipient (otherwise known as a broke ass team) the sooner next season's terms are settled the better. Get in and get out with the biggest piece of the pie you can before the finite resources have dwindled too much.
On the NPPL front rumor has it Valken reps are trying to sweet talk a few *real* pro teams into coming back on board. Not sure what they could possibly offer. Maybe real money instead of Valken bucks? Maybe cooperative scheduling instead of counter-scheduling?
A couple other nebulous NPPL rumors are floating around and Mr. C will have more as soon as he can pin down a detail or two.
On the Art Chaos front it seems the new Russians soon to be on the block are having trouble prying a few American pros away from their current teams. The money is rumored to be good. (At least for paintball.) In a couple of instances it seems a team or two preemptively locked their players in with contracts and/or it may be the terms Chaos is seeking aren't too attractive despite the money. The latest word is the team has picked up at least two Euro players with the initials, A.G. & C.M. Also in the rumor mill of late is word that Chaos is looking for a stateside coach, the list is short and they've already been turned down at least once.
Despite rumors for months that the Heat might be done with the expected defections of at least two of their Russians 'Sarge' Smith insisted the team would be around in 2014. Despite those assurances it's rumored the team will lose at least one other player (besides the Russians) in the off season.
There is also talk in some quarters about the future of the Russian Legion. Long used to being a top contender the struggles of the last couple seasons may be wearing thin with ownership. Mr. Curious doesn't have an opinion on this rumor but to be fair none of the chatter seems to be coming from within the Legion camp.
Finally, rumor out of Euroland is suggesting that Nexus is finished. Restructuring of the Dye presence in Euroland has cost a few jobs and word is the team has had their sponsorship pulled--or were informed it won't be renewed for next season. Mr. C also says that rumor has it a couple of Nexus players have been shopping their services but so far the asking price is too high.

3 comments:

Fullbore said...

Not scoops but these were all doing the rounds. Rumoured pay cheque from AC for CM was 30,000€ ($41,300), though I heard no contract length attached to this figure!

MS rumours include no new venues (i.e the same ones as 2013) and/or a new event on the Iberian Peninsular (think Dali), major work going into the Puget site and dates (but not necessarily venues) to be announced early November. Just sayin' ;)

Baca Loco said...

Thanks Pete. That's the same figure Mr. C heard. ;)
What're they gonna do at Puget--sod the dirt? That still leaves everyone in bungalows on wheels.

Fullbore said...

New access roadways going in and 4 permanent fields (2 for rental and 2 reserved specifically for the MS). Planning for more caravans on the site was apparently refused, I think the Mayor likes the idea of having an international competition in BFN-Sur-Argen.

As I understand, the paintball fields have changed hands since the first event there in 2012, which was possibly the cause of the sabotaged fields this year, the new owners being more cooperative in making improvements without lining their pockets first.

On the accommodation front, like you, I would never stay on the site again, especially as you pretty much need a rental car to get to the site, unless you are prepared to be held to ransom by the local taxi and shuttle drivers, or the one a day bus service. Last year we found a perfectly acceptable alternative complex offering much better accommodation at much more reasonable rates 20 minutes from the site, as long as you checked in before 6pm to avoid the retarded night porter!