With the Cup field I think we can safely say the PSP's "rules" experiment to entice bigger, older, slower players back into competitive paintball is over. A Pin as the Home prop? And a Tall Cake and a Mini Race are the two closest props to Home. If the league is hoping for faster points on this layout the Masters division may oblige. Beyond that completely gratuitous criticism this is an interesting and tactically complex field that I expect to see most teams defend and attack poorly. And by poorly I mean I expect most divisional teams to simply be unaware of the potential of this layout and to play it mostly as a straightforward xball field. (I watched some play this weekend that was not exactly inspirational.) In a lot of respects this is unfortunate particularly for teams that don't discover some characteristic or other of the layout until another team utilises it during a match that counts. It's hard to fix problems on the fly you hadn't encountered before.
In the past I've broken down aspects of various layouts for the educational value and as examples of different ways of thinking about playing different layouts. What I'm going to do with the Cup layout is go thru our practice process from this past weekend's scrimmaging with Dynasty. I am going to do it in enough detail that it will probably cover at least 3 or 4 posts. This will be a substantial expansion over the relatively simple field breakdowns that I hope will offer some new ideas and insights into the process of using practice & scrimmaging more productively.
I'll begin the series next Monday. (Not tomorrow. The following Monday--after Cup.) In the meantime if any of y'all have any specific questions drop me a line and I'll answer them before Cup--if I can. And if I can't post them and I'll try to respond by email.
Showing posts with label World Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label World Cup. Show all posts
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Guess Who's Coming to World Cup
It seems a couple of teams requested entry to the Pro division at Cup and that permission has been granted. Rumor has one of those teams has already paid their entry but that remains unconfirmed as the team hasn't yet appeared on the list.
It also poses a couple of questions. Who are they? (I'm getting to that.) And how, if at all, will that change the event and potentially impact the season for the regular competitors? (There's other questions too but I posed the ones that interest me. Feel free to pose your own.)
Since the PSP Pro division has operated with 12 teams in the past that part shouldn't be a problem assuming the league simply returns to past practices. That would result in a tighter prelim schedule--more games per day by a couple, if I remember correctly--and a quarterfinal round on Sunday as 6 teams would go through with each division's top seed getting a bye to the semi's. Whatever the league does once the added teams actually pay up the league needs to clarify what will happen for the rest of the division.
The only downside, other than turning WC into a one off for anyone, more or less, who wants to show up instead of the culmination of a competitive series is the way in which Young Master Raehl--henceforth known as YMR--produces the prelim schedules. He has the goofy notion (I'm being kind) that his view of parity supersedes ranking in creating a prelim schedule. What I mean is YMR in essence rewards the new guys and less prepared and/or capable teams by giving them an easier schedule while at the same time giving the best teams a more difficult schedule. At least on paper. And as every sensible competitor knows this is completely bass-ackwards. So one might hope he will be directed to produce an appropriate schedule rather than one to his liking. (This only happens when the divisions have more teams than prelim games. 5 teams, everyone plays everyone in 4 prelim matches. 6 teams and not everyone plays everyone else.)
One of the teams hoping to compete in Cup is from the NPPL perhaps looking to get a leg up if the merger goes through or at least get their players some experience. The other team is from the CPL.
How long can I draw this out before I tell you who they are?
A little longer at least.
The NPPL team is--
Seattle Thunder.
And the CPL team is--
London Nexus.
It also poses a couple of questions. Who are they? (I'm getting to that.) And how, if at all, will that change the event and potentially impact the season for the regular competitors? (There's other questions too but I posed the ones that interest me. Feel free to pose your own.)
Since the PSP Pro division has operated with 12 teams in the past that part shouldn't be a problem assuming the league simply returns to past practices. That would result in a tighter prelim schedule--more games per day by a couple, if I remember correctly--and a quarterfinal round on Sunday as 6 teams would go through with each division's top seed getting a bye to the semi's. Whatever the league does once the added teams actually pay up the league needs to clarify what will happen for the rest of the division.
The only downside, other than turning WC into a one off for anyone, more or less, who wants to show up instead of the culmination of a competitive series is the way in which Young Master Raehl--henceforth known as YMR--produces the prelim schedules. He has the goofy notion (I'm being kind) that his view of parity supersedes ranking in creating a prelim schedule. What I mean is YMR in essence rewards the new guys and less prepared and/or capable teams by giving them an easier schedule while at the same time giving the best teams a more difficult schedule. At least on paper. And as every sensible competitor knows this is completely bass-ackwards. So one might hope he will be directed to produce an appropriate schedule rather than one to his liking. (This only happens when the divisions have more teams than prelim games. 5 teams, everyone plays everyone in 4 prelim matches. 6 teams and not everyone plays everyone else.)
One of the teams hoping to compete in Cup is from the NPPL perhaps looking to get a leg up if the merger goes through or at least get their players some experience. The other team is from the CPL.
How long can I draw this out before I tell you who they are?
A little longer at least.
The NPPL team is--
Seattle Thunder.
And the CPL team is--
London Nexus.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey
If you're confused by the title, no worries, it's a cultural reference to a kid's party game. I have no idea if it's even played anywhere anymore but it was when I was a kid. (Maybe when my kids were kids, too.) The idea is you put a large picture of a tailless donkey on the wall and give each child a turn at pinning a separate tail onto the donkey. The catch was you had to do it blindfolded and then you were spun around until you were dizzy and disoriented. Hilarity ensued. That's kinda how I feel about most of the efforts to "fix" competitive paintball. Even when the discussion is thoughtful and interesting--as it has been the last few days. We're outta the loop when actual decisions get made and the decision-makers are being tugged left, right and sideways desperately hoping they don't make a (nother) mistake.
The WC numbers I mentioned the other day don't prove anything. May even have multiple likely sounding explanations but what I want to do is try and broaden the picture of competitive paintball we're all looking at. In 1997 WC had 67 10-man teams. In 1998 there were 80 10-man teams. In 1999 there were 87 10-man teams. In 2000 there were 117 10-man teams. In 2001 there were over 180 10-man teams and in 2002 there were more than 210 10-man teams. This is the period of time Cup left the woods, moved to Hyperball, then Airball. Electropneumatic guns became commonplace. Xball was introduced and the NPPL split.
In 2003/2004 the PSP offered both Xball & 10-man. In 2004 the new NPPL was averaging around 170 teams an event. 2005 was the first year Xball was the stand alone headliner at Cup with only 77 xball teams & 247 5-man teams. In 2005 the NPPL averaged around 200 teams an event and by the end of 2006 Pure Promotions was looking to bail. (Rumor had it both leagues were losing money. These were also the days of the Race 2-TV.) 2006 saw 131 xball teams & 235 5-man teams participate. 2007 was the peak for xball teams at 160 with a 10% drop in 5-man teams to 212. 2008 had 138 xball teams & 195 5-man teams. (In Pacific Paintball's worst year they had more teams competing on average per event than the latest incarnation of the USPL/NPPL.) 2009 saw xball decline to its second lowest stand alone total of 125 along with still shrinking 5-man total of 183. 2010 had 134 xball teams while 5-man fell off the table dropping to 118. There's some facts & figures. Here's some more.
Bottom drops out on years of streaking growth as industry sales go flat. Fall of 2006 the PMI/NPS merger is engineered creating KEE. Jarden buys K2 in 2007 after K2 struggles with the paintball division it began putting together with the Brass Eagle purchase in what, 2003. By 2006 unification talks between the the two major leagues isn't a whispered rumor but an annual event on the end of season calendar as an intransigent industry demands action yet refuses to back one league or the other despite claiming dire economic consequences.
Since I'm running long I'll leave the analysis of the data to y'all--for now. And I'll pick it up again first of next week.
The WC numbers I mentioned the other day don't prove anything. May even have multiple likely sounding explanations but what I want to do is try and broaden the picture of competitive paintball we're all looking at. In 1997 WC had 67 10-man teams. In 1998 there were 80 10-man teams. In 1999 there were 87 10-man teams. In 2000 there were 117 10-man teams. In 2001 there were over 180 10-man teams and in 2002 there were more than 210 10-man teams. This is the period of time Cup left the woods, moved to Hyperball, then Airball. Electropneumatic guns became commonplace. Xball was introduced and the NPPL split.
In 2003/2004 the PSP offered both Xball & 10-man. In 2004 the new NPPL was averaging around 170 teams an event. 2005 was the first year Xball was the stand alone headliner at Cup with only 77 xball teams & 247 5-man teams. In 2005 the NPPL averaged around 200 teams an event and by the end of 2006 Pure Promotions was looking to bail. (Rumor had it both leagues were losing money. These were also the days of the Race 2-TV.) 2006 saw 131 xball teams & 235 5-man teams participate. 2007 was the peak for xball teams at 160 with a 10% drop in 5-man teams to 212. 2008 had 138 xball teams & 195 5-man teams. (In Pacific Paintball's worst year they had more teams competing on average per event than the latest incarnation of the USPL/NPPL.) 2009 saw xball decline to its second lowest stand alone total of 125 along with still shrinking 5-man total of 183. 2010 had 134 xball teams while 5-man fell off the table dropping to 118. There's some facts & figures. Here's some more.
Bottom drops out on years of streaking growth as industry sales go flat. Fall of 2006 the PMI/NPS merger is engineered creating KEE. Jarden buys K2 in 2007 after K2 struggles with the paintball division it began putting together with the Brass Eagle purchase in what, 2003. By 2006 unification talks between the the two major leagues isn't a whispered rumor but an annual event on the end of season calendar as an intransigent industry demands action yet refuses to back one league or the other despite claiming dire economic consequences.
Since I'm running long I'll leave the analysis of the data to y'all--for now. And I'll pick it up again first of next week.
Monday, October 25, 2010
World Cup Sunday
Given the clarity about how the tie-breaking system works I thought I'd go thru the Sunday seeding as well. ('Cus it's kinda unusual.) With six teams moving on to Sunday the top 2 seeds get a bye directly to the semi-finals. This time it was Legion (1) and 'Shock (2); one from each bracket. The rest of the seeds are determined across brackets with the 3 seed facing the 6 seed and 4 versus 5. So far so good. The league puts the 4/5 game under the one seed and the 3/6 game under the two seed. The real question becomes why are the quarterfinal elimination games attached to a one or two seed prior to the games being played? 'Cus they are--which sorta defeats the purpose of seeding the match-ups if the end result doesn't (necessarily) favor the top seed(s). The result is the quarterfinal elimination winner faces the higher seed in their Sunday bracket even if the match-up isn't the one that favors the top seed. This, btw, is nothing new. It's just another league curiosity that demonstrates when it comes to being a sport there remains room for improvement.
As it turned out the Sunday brackets reflected the prelim brackets as there was no cross bracket match-ups until the final. The first game up was Dynasty versus Damage, a rematch of a prelim game that saw Dynasty win 7-1 on Saturday. On Sunday in a series of drawn out long points Dynasty led 4-2 with less than 3 minutes remaining. Both teams conscious of the stakes played some atypical paintball perhaps too concerned about making a crucial error than in taking control of the match. (I hesitate to offer any explanation of how the two games were different given that some of VFTD's readers apparently don't understand the difference between facts and details and excuses but since I'm bold and fearless I'll give it a go anyway.) In the Saturday match there was only one point where both teams were 5-on-5 due to a trifecta of majors called on Damage beginning with the first point. Sunday's match included penalties as well including a late penalty against Dynasty that carried over into the overtime point. In the end Damage was able to close the gap and with the advantage of a 5-on-4 overtime breakout completed the comeback to take the quarterfinal elimination match and earn a second shot at the Russians.
In the second quarterfinal elimination game X-Factor took on Infamous and made a game of it. And despite the failure to make the semis it had to encourage Alex and the X-Factor guys who have been on the cusp of Sundays all season. Both semis ended in identical scores with Shock and the Russians duplicating their prelim results and moving on to the finals.
The pro field also saw a number of other matches played on it during the day including some xball divisional finals and the CXBL Old Skool xball format final. Over the course of the weekend there was a decent crowd both prelim days to watch the pro games and Sunday saw full stands catching all the finals action. On a side topic it seems some of our Eurotrash paintball kin are making a fairly big deal over their (somehow collective?) WC successes and while I don't begrudge anybody a reason to party I am unconvinced there's much there there. If you know what I mean. The issue is the competition. Big ups to DOW Warberg, a D2 Millennium team competing in, wait for it, D2. Now I haven't investigated the rosters involved to try and see who and how many players (or teams) of a Euro persuasion were playing down so let's just focus on TonTons. (And for those teams playing where they belonged--or ballpark--thumbs up to y'all as well.) Is there a U.S. pro team that would make a big deal over winning a D1 title? Seriously? Is it just me or isn't that an acknowledgment of inferiority prima fascia or at least a collective feeling of inferiority? And it's not like the mercs on Millennium rosters are pros from Fiji or South America.
The perhaps least well known title up for grabs on Sunday was the PSP Pro series championship that saw Impact, Damage & the Russians (in that order) vying for a first time distinction. Early NXL seasons played for WC seeding and the Cup was the be all and end all of pro success. When the NXL became PSP Pro that tradition was carried over and despite moves to event titles, etc. the season champ remained the Cup winner. This year the league began treating the pro division as the other divisions in that they kept a point total from event to event that thru the Cup results would also crown a series champion. When Impact got knocked out of Sunday play that left the series title up to the race between the Red Legion & Damage. Given the point spreads going into Cup and the number of teams competing Damage needed to finish third if the Russians won to take the series. Damage beat Infamous in the 3 versus 4 match-up. And it was perhaps the least exciting championship anyone has ever won. As time goes by I hope the players will take some pride in the accomplishment of winning both pro series championships in the same season but right now they don't care. The object of the competition is to win and despite what the trophy says the Russians are the best xball team in the world. (Well earned.) So we'll take the 7-man title and hope to defend it and we'll hopefully continue to grind with the goal of winning xball next year.
As it turned out the Sunday brackets reflected the prelim brackets as there was no cross bracket match-ups until the final. The first game up was Dynasty versus Damage, a rematch of a prelim game that saw Dynasty win 7-1 on Saturday. On Sunday in a series of drawn out long points Dynasty led 4-2 with less than 3 minutes remaining. Both teams conscious of the stakes played some atypical paintball perhaps too concerned about making a crucial error than in taking control of the match. (I hesitate to offer any explanation of how the two games were different given that some of VFTD's readers apparently don't understand the difference between facts and details and excuses but since I'm bold and fearless I'll give it a go anyway.) In the Saturday match there was only one point where both teams were 5-on-5 due to a trifecta of majors called on Damage beginning with the first point. Sunday's match included penalties as well including a late penalty against Dynasty that carried over into the overtime point. In the end Damage was able to close the gap and with the advantage of a 5-on-4 overtime breakout completed the comeback to take the quarterfinal elimination match and earn a second shot at the Russians.
In the second quarterfinal elimination game X-Factor took on Infamous and made a game of it. And despite the failure to make the semis it had to encourage Alex and the X-Factor guys who have been on the cusp of Sundays all season. Both semis ended in identical scores with Shock and the Russians duplicating their prelim results and moving on to the finals.
The pro field also saw a number of other matches played on it during the day including some xball divisional finals and the CXBL Old Skool xball format final. Over the course of the weekend there was a decent crowd both prelim days to watch the pro games and Sunday saw full stands catching all the finals action. On a side topic it seems some of our Eurotrash paintball kin are making a fairly big deal over their (somehow collective?) WC successes and while I don't begrudge anybody a reason to party I am unconvinced there's much there there. If you know what I mean. The issue is the competition. Big ups to DOW Warberg, a D2 Millennium team competing in, wait for it, D2. Now I haven't investigated the rosters involved to try and see who and how many players (or teams) of a Euro persuasion were playing down so let's just focus on TonTons. (And for those teams playing where they belonged--or ballpark--thumbs up to y'all as well.) Is there a U.S. pro team that would make a big deal over winning a D1 title? Seriously? Is it just me or isn't that an acknowledgment of inferiority prima fascia or at least a collective feeling of inferiority? And it's not like the mercs on Millennium rosters are pros from Fiji or South America.
The perhaps least well known title up for grabs on Sunday was the PSP Pro series championship that saw Impact, Damage & the Russians (in that order) vying for a first time distinction. Early NXL seasons played for WC seeding and the Cup was the be all and end all of pro success. When the NXL became PSP Pro that tradition was carried over and despite moves to event titles, etc. the season champ remained the Cup winner. This year the league began treating the pro division as the other divisions in that they kept a point total from event to event that thru the Cup results would also crown a series champion. When Impact got knocked out of Sunday play that left the series title up to the race between the Red Legion & Damage. Given the point spreads going into Cup and the number of teams competing Damage needed to finish third if the Russians won to take the series. Damage beat Infamous in the 3 versus 4 match-up. And it was perhaps the least exciting championship anyone has ever won. As time goes by I hope the players will take some pride in the accomplishment of winning both pro series championships in the same season but right now they don't care. The object of the competition is to win and despite what the trophy says the Russians are the best xball team in the world. (Well earned.) So we'll take the 7-man title and hope to defend it and we'll hopefully continue to grind with the goal of winning xball next year.
Pro Prelims: Day 2
"There's always a surprise or two it seems but nothing jumps out just yet." So suggested my favorite blogger. That was Friday. On Saturday things began jumping. In the morning X-Factor, which dropped both their matches on Friday. won both, including a hard fought one point win over Impact which eventually earned X-Factor an opportunity to play Sunday. And in the last match of the morning session Infamous edged Impact 6-5 which ended up knocking Impact out of a Sunday spot and the race for the series title. The first bracket saw Aftershock, Infamous & X-Factor move on.
In the afternoon session the Ironmen won both their matches, Dynasty and Vicious split (which included a fairly surprising Vicious win over Dynasty) and Damage dropped both their matches resulting in all four teams having 2-2 records. Given that the tie-breakers may seem a little convoluted I'ma try an explain how things worked in this situation to see Dynasty and Damage move on. First the teams were sorted by point differential to assign them positions. Then Dynasty and Ironmen were compared to see if head-to-head was relevant. It wasn't so Dynasty, with the highest point differential moved on. Then Ironmen and Damage were compared and Damage owned the head-to-head and head-to-head, if applicable always supersedes all other tie-breakers. As it turned out Damage held the head-to-head tie-breaker versus Vicious as well meaning the second bracket saw Red Legion, Dynasty & Damage thru to Sunday.
In vendor news it seemed like there were quite a few vendors on site readily accessible without forcing participants into long, winding hikes dragging gear. Dye was up with both Dye and Proto tents loaded with new stuff including tactical gear. And there probably should have been a warning sign to keep open flames away from Dye's VIP tent as the waves of alcohol were visible in the air each time the door opened and shut. Across from Dye was the GI Sportz (Milsim?) set-up which appeared to be half tent, half collapsing WWII Quonset hut. (Cool but odd.) I also spotted Empire and lots of food vendors in a center court sorta area. I'm also sure PE was there as I talked with Jacko briefly on Sunday. Truth is I cringe a little when it comes to vendor and industry chatter because I wouldn't have seen what I did except we had to do a bunch of photos after the awards ceremony. So I didn't leave anyone out on purpose, I just didn't see anything else that registered with me.Friday, October 22, 2010
Pro Prelims: Day 1
Picking up from yesterday's items of interest the pro field did get the blackout sheeting up between the pro field and the CXPL field and I have a (slightly) better idea what all the cameras are all about. Seems some guys paid the PSP event video fee and set-up their cameras with the idea of collecting all the footage of the whole pro event for editing as an experimental production. If they like what they get apparently the notion is to then see about working a deal with the league for the future. This time around however there is little or no sound; it will all be visual.
You want scores go to ProPaintball or direct to APPA. Mostly the expected teams are doing what was expected. There's always a surprise or two it seems but nothing jumps out just yet. As rumored Mike Hinman is working with Dynasty. In our bracket we and the Russians are currently 2-0. We meet in the final prelim match tomorrow at 4 pm. And by the math nobody is out of the running yet regardless of record.
Instead of talking about the pro numbers some more I want to talk about a D1 team, Mayhem. Prior to the event there was a fair amount of whining about the classifications of some of the rostered Mayhem players because of their past team affiliation(s)--along with nebulous complaints or charges (of something nefarious) aimed at the league or the APPA or both. As it turned out Mayhem finished 1-3. I'm not suggesting whatever was "wrong" with the player classifications didn't matter because they didn't win. I'm suggesting a couple other things instead. One, maybe the classifications really reflected appropriate classifications for the players rostered despite past history and Two, we--as a paintball community--wring our hands over all the players the sport is losing yet the second some whiner thinks he may have to compete in order to win he wants to disqualify anyone and everyone who might stand in the way.
A related truth is that pro players do not stay pro players in terms of their skills set unless they continue to play pro or near pro paintball. And while the years don't erode experience or knowledge they take a brutal toll on the actual capacity to compete at a very high level. Another truth is the very guys who comprised much of the Mayhem roster are exactly the guys the game needs to want to stay involved and help develop and transition the next generation of tourney players.
You want scores go to ProPaintball or direct to APPA. Mostly the expected teams are doing what was expected. There's always a surprise or two it seems but nothing jumps out just yet. As rumored Mike Hinman is working with Dynasty. In our bracket we and the Russians are currently 2-0. We meet in the final prelim match tomorrow at 4 pm. And by the math nobody is out of the running yet regardless of record.
Instead of talking about the pro numbers some more I want to talk about a D1 team, Mayhem. Prior to the event there was a fair amount of whining about the classifications of some of the rostered Mayhem players because of their past team affiliation(s)--along with nebulous complaints or charges (of something nefarious) aimed at the league or the APPA or both. As it turned out Mayhem finished 1-3. I'm not suggesting whatever was "wrong" with the player classifications didn't matter because they didn't win. I'm suggesting a couple other things instead. One, maybe the classifications really reflected appropriate classifications for the players rostered despite past history and Two, we--as a paintball community--wring our hands over all the players the sport is losing yet the second some whiner thinks he may have to compete in order to win he wants to disqualify anyone and everyone who might stand in the way.
A related truth is that pro players do not stay pro players in terms of their skills set unless they continue to play pro or near pro paintball. And while the years don't erode experience or knowledge they take a brutal toll on the actual capacity to compete at a very high level. Another truth is the very guys who comprised much of the Mayhem roster are exactly the guys the game needs to want to stay involved and help develop and transition the next generation of tourney players.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
The Pro Field
The event layout is much more convenient for the divisional players this year as it's a more open and accessible layout without all the winding ways between, around and thru the vendors like last year. With lots of new stuff and easy access the vendors should see lots of positive foot traffic, checking things out of their own volition this time around. The pro field remains in the back past the vendors so you still have to walk through the vendors area to reach the pro field. (We just park all the way in the back and the PSP gives us a wink and a nod.) The field was still being prepared around 4 pm this afternoon. All the bunkers were in place but the dead boxes, scoreboards, etc. were still in process of being set-up and activated.
There were also a couple of items of interest. Ever notice the first 7 or 8 feet of netting from the ground up is also blacked out? (It's not so's you can't see the action unless you're in the grandstands.) It's because seeing through the netting, particularly if there's another field, is assumed to be a serious distraction. And I guess we're going to find out as the league hasn't blacked out the common wall the pro field shares with the CXPL field. Also, there are remote cameras up on many of the support poles about 6 feet off the ground all around the inside of the pro field. Nobody I spoke with knew what that was all about--or claimed they didn't anyway. (I just tried to call Lane but for some reason his phone went to voice mail and a familiar voice said, "Get the hell off my phone. I have all the aggravation I need already" or something similar. When I find out what that's all about I'll let you know.
There were also a couple of items of interest. Ever notice the first 7 or 8 feet of netting from the ground up is also blacked out? (It's not so's you can't see the action unless you're in the grandstands.) It's because seeing through the netting, particularly if there's another field, is assumed to be a serious distraction. And I guess we're going to find out as the league hasn't blacked out the common wall the pro field shares with the CXPL field. Also, there are remote cameras up on many of the support poles about 6 feet off the ground all around the inside of the pro field. Nobody I spoke with knew what that was all about--or claimed they didn't anyway. (I just tried to call Lane but for some reason his phone went to voice mail and a familiar voice said, "Get the hell off my phone. I have all the aggravation I need already" or something similar. When I find out what that's all about I'll let you know.
It's On!
World Cup is underway. Teams are competing this very minute and will continue (virtually around the clock) until late afternoon on Sunday. The last hurrah for the major league tournament season World Cup is also the world's largest event. We begin play tomorrow afternoon but everyone will be headed over during the day today sometime. To get registered on site. Walk the pro field. Check gear & guns one last time before our competition begins. Meet for a team review to go over (one more time) our basic gameplan and focus in on the job at hand.
I will have my laptop and should have internet access but will have little opportunity to post before the evening at best so don't hold your breath or visit VFTD every ten minutes hoping for the day's post. Sometime after 9 pm EST at the earliest--and if you're lucky.
I will have my laptop and should have internet access but will have little opportunity to post before the evening at best so don't hold your breath or visit VFTD every ten minutes hoping for the day's post. Sometime after 9 pm EST at the earliest--and if you're lucky.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Pre-Cup Grind
Cup starts Thursday. Teams are getting practice sessions in up to the last minute. This past weekend was our last practice(s) prior to the event but we've been working on the layout since September. The Russians arrived last week and spent last Thursday and Friday grinding--as evidenced by the small mountain of crushed, empty paint boxes--beside our field when we arrived Saturday morning. Also in town early were--and still are--Infamous and Impact. Our home field, Central Florida Paintball, in north Lakeland is about twenty minutes from Fantasy of Flight, the World Cup venue. We just found out what the draw is going to be. Infamous and Impact are in the same prelim bracket while the Legion and us are in the other one. On its face how could you beat a weekend's grind of the top 4 teams in the PSP going into Cup? (Mass amnesia works for me but that's not an option.) It sounds great but there some downsides. What I'm looking for is the intensity and competition only available from other pro teams. We want to build confidence within the team and, more importantly, execute against some of the best teams in the world. What I'm looking to avoid is divulging any tendencies or patterns. With the Russians it's a little game we play on a regular basis. (The Legion's staff is so extensive and competent that they capable of turning every scrap of info you give them to their advantage.) For us at this stage it's about the mental game and I learn more about my guys watching their execution these last couple of days than I am concerned about results or tactical maneuvering anyway. All the tactical cleverness doesn't mean anything anyway without effective execution. There's a lot to be said for the we-don't-care-what-you-know-about-us attitude that is focused on executing the game plan so flawlessly and with supreme determination that in essence you are daring your opponent to stop you. At the same time there's no point needlessly helping that opponent in advance.
While we expect the Russians to come to Florida to practice for Cup we also knew going in that they often have some quirky--from our perspective--practice habits. Oftentimes they won't want to go more than 20-25 points a day. As a consequence Joey (our manager) also spoke to Infamous & Impact figuring if either of them wanted to (and were able) to come early we could accommodate the numbers and be sure we got the reps we wanted. When everybody showed up ... well, the downside was suddenly apparent. As was the fact that all of the teams were dinged up a little. Matt Blonski is likely down for the Legion. Marcello and Zack saw limited action for Infamous. For us CJ will end up missing the whole season and Ramzi will miss Cup. Alex is going to play but may need surgery in the off season. On the plus side Keith [Brown--of 'The new black kid on Damage' thread at PBN] showed no signs of being intimidated by some of pro paintball's heavy hitters. (Whether that's youth or foolishness it's what I was looking for.)
Saturday morning began with word we might not see the Russians as they'd used up their paint on Thursday and Friday and a fresh delivery was unlikely before mid-afternoon. Whatever the reason they didn't show up 'til later in the day. The coaches watched the scrimmage and the players did a light warm-up and ran around a bit. The rest of us pounded out points from mid-morning to mid-afternoon in cycles of six. We began facing Infamous for 6 points then switched ends of the field as Impact came on for 6 more points with us. After that cycle Impact stayed on the field, we left and Infamous came back on. Once begun it gave each team 12 points on and 6 points off. And round and round we went. As the day carried on the time between points started to drag a little as the Florida weather took its toll. (Despite the fact it was the nicest Fall-like weekend of the year with a high in the mid-80s.)
Sunday morning the Legion were on site bright & early looking to get started with us first thing. The morning temp in the upper 60s. Unfortunately the paint that had been perfect the day before was exceedingly fragile in the cooler morning air. We tried a couple of points of blowing up paint in our guns but called a halt after that in order to "cook" the paint for a few minutes in the sun. By the time the paint had warmed up Impact & Infamous were on site and getting ready to play. The Russians chose not to play Infamous or Impact instead waiting a turn in the scrimmage rotation to play us. With that completed they were done--some of the guys had talked about getting tickets to go see the Buccaneers play the Saints in Tampa--so we carried on as we had on Saturday though we called it quits earlier on Sunday.
My understanding is that all 3 teams (excluding us) were going to work some extra days during the week as well, today and tomorrow as I recall. I sometimes keep scores in practice but seldom if ever tell the kids the results. Mostly because no good can come of it. Nobody wins at practice. And if you think you did it's a set-up for future failure when the points and matches really matter. And if you think you "lost" but don't know the exact numbers all you're left with is a feeling that you need to work harder--which isn't a bad thing. I know the "scores" from the weekend but I didn't tell my guys and I'm not telling you either. It would be misleading. Starting Friday, for the Pros, is the 2010 World Cup. Whatever happened this last week of preparation everyone will be ready.
While we expect the Russians to come to Florida to practice for Cup we also knew going in that they often have some quirky--from our perspective--practice habits. Oftentimes they won't want to go more than 20-25 points a day. As a consequence Joey (our manager) also spoke to Infamous & Impact figuring if either of them wanted to (and were able) to come early we could accommodate the numbers and be sure we got the reps we wanted. When everybody showed up ... well, the downside was suddenly apparent. As was the fact that all of the teams were dinged up a little. Matt Blonski is likely down for the Legion. Marcello and Zack saw limited action for Infamous. For us CJ will end up missing the whole season and Ramzi will miss Cup. Alex is going to play but may need surgery in the off season. On the plus side Keith [Brown--of 'The new black kid on Damage' thread at PBN] showed no signs of being intimidated by some of pro paintball's heavy hitters. (Whether that's youth or foolishness it's what I was looking for.)
Saturday morning began with word we might not see the Russians as they'd used up their paint on Thursday and Friday and a fresh delivery was unlikely before mid-afternoon. Whatever the reason they didn't show up 'til later in the day. The coaches watched the scrimmage and the players did a light warm-up and ran around a bit. The rest of us pounded out points from mid-morning to mid-afternoon in cycles of six. We began facing Infamous for 6 points then switched ends of the field as Impact came on for 6 more points with us. After that cycle Impact stayed on the field, we left and Infamous came back on. Once begun it gave each team 12 points on and 6 points off. And round and round we went. As the day carried on the time between points started to drag a little as the Florida weather took its toll. (Despite the fact it was the nicest Fall-like weekend of the year with a high in the mid-80s.)
Sunday morning the Legion were on site bright & early looking to get started with us first thing. The morning temp in the upper 60s. Unfortunately the paint that had been perfect the day before was exceedingly fragile in the cooler morning air. We tried a couple of points of blowing up paint in our guns but called a halt after that in order to "cook" the paint for a few minutes in the sun. By the time the paint had warmed up Impact & Infamous were on site and getting ready to play. The Russians chose not to play Infamous or Impact instead waiting a turn in the scrimmage rotation to play us. With that completed they were done--some of the guys had talked about getting tickets to go see the Buccaneers play the Saints in Tampa--so we carried on as we had on Saturday though we called it quits earlier on Sunday.
My understanding is that all 3 teams (excluding us) were going to work some extra days during the week as well, today and tomorrow as I recall. I sometimes keep scores in practice but seldom if ever tell the kids the results. Mostly because no good can come of it. Nobody wins at practice. And if you think you did it's a set-up for future failure when the points and matches really matter. And if you think you "lost" but don't know the exact numbers all you're left with is a feeling that you need to work harder--which isn't a bad thing. I know the "scores" from the weekend but I didn't tell my guys and I'm not telling you either. It would be misleading. Starting Friday, for the Pros, is the 2010 World Cup. Whatever happened this last week of preparation everyone will be ready.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
World Cupdate
See what I did there? Looks like the final number will be 242 teams with 133 Race 2-X (xball) teams competing. That leaves 109 Race 2-2 (5-man) teams in the mix. On the plus side the xball numbers are up over last year and are the third highest total in the xball era. The real hit to numbers continues to be a national level commitment to 5-man which really isn't all that hard to explain.
In other PSP news the Big Bullet reported yesterday the league received a grant of an undisclosed sum (sorta) from the Florida Sports Foundation. If Polk County ponied up some incentive dollars--like they did last year--it will hopefully help offset the total team turnout difference. Every little (and big) bit helps.
In other PSP news the Big Bullet reported yesterday the league received a grant of an undisclosed sum (sorta) from the Florida Sports Foundation. If Polk County ponied up some incentive dollars--like they did last year--it will hopefully help offset the total team turnout difference. Every little (and big) bit helps.
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Monday Poll
Prior to World Cup we had the projected "winners" of World Cup poll and with the help of hindsight it's time to choose the World Cup losers. You may choose more than one answer and if you can muster the energy I'd be extra interested in comments explaining why you picked the answers you chose. Some are serious, some not so much. Some are probably fairly self-explanatory but others aren't. Have an opinion and share it. Dammit!
Monday Poll in Review
74% of responders watched, intended to watch and/or loved the webcast. More to the point of those familiar with the webcast only 9% either found it unappealing or preferred the NPPL webcasts. (And who are we kidding? Chuck and only 3 of the 16 USPL owners voted for their product. Okay, now I'm kidding. I have no idea who voted for what.)
The poll was mostly intended to generate awareness and interest in watching the World Cup webcast anyway. I hope you took advantage of the opportunity always keeping in mind that the road to real sports legitimacy isn't an easy one and that how the sport is promoted and how many people show an interest matters. And matters a great deal.
Monday Poll in Review
74% of responders watched, intended to watch and/or loved the webcast. More to the point of those familiar with the webcast only 9% either found it unappealing or preferred the NPPL webcasts. (And who are we kidding? Chuck and only 3 of the 16 USPL owners voted for their product. Okay, now I'm kidding. I have no idea who voted for what.)
The poll was mostly intended to generate awareness and interest in watching the World Cup webcast anyway. I hope you took advantage of the opportunity always keeping in mind that the road to real sports legitimacy isn't an easy one and that how the sport is promoted and how many people show an interest matters. And matters a great deal.
World Cup Miscellany (plus)
Before returning to our regularly scheduled posting--a new Monday Poll will be posted later today, for example--there are a few items I need to comment on that can't wait for the season wrap-up.
I'd like to congratulate Pat & Bonnie on the CK2 premier and give a shout out to Tyler, Duder and Lu. Can't wait to see it. I would have attended the premier but it was way past my bedtime and I need's my rest. If you haven't seen and/or don't own Pat's movies you're missing out. They are more than stories about individual players and teams, they are universal stories about competitive paintball.
Caught the last couple of hours of the webcast yesterday--left right after we were done playing--and it was terrific. Not only was the paintball action first rate but I thought the whole "experience" was very professional and seamlessly integrated. It keeps getting better and better.
Congrats to Raiden for the D1 win and a big way to go boys to Hamen and Kyle. Way to go, boys.
On a personal note I'd like to thank Matty for the very kind and generous comments. It's just as well I didn't hear them live as my head is already an enormous melon.
Regardless of individual merit this is a team sport and we all win or lose as a team. On that score I'd like to take a moment to thank my kids for a good year and remind them that we're just getting started.
And the plus is a shout out to Franktankerous for winning the recent VFTD Monday Poll contest. I posted the announcement in that original post but apparently Frank missed it. If'n you want your prize drop me a line Frank.
I'd like to congratulate Pat & Bonnie on the CK2 premier and give a shout out to Tyler, Duder and Lu. Can't wait to see it. I would have attended the premier but it was way past my bedtime and I need's my rest. If you haven't seen and/or don't own Pat's movies you're missing out. They are more than stories about individual players and teams, they are universal stories about competitive paintball.
Caught the last couple of hours of the webcast yesterday--left right after we were done playing--and it was terrific. Not only was the paintball action first rate but I thought the whole "experience" was very professional and seamlessly integrated. It keeps getting better and better.
Congrats to Raiden for the D1 win and a big way to go boys to Hamen and Kyle. Way to go, boys.
On a personal note I'd like to thank Matty for the very kind and generous comments. It's just as well I didn't hear them live as my head is already an enormous melon.
Regardless of individual merit this is a team sport and we all win or lose as a team. On that score I'd like to take a moment to thank my kids for a good year and remind them that we're just getting started.
And the plus is a shout out to Franktankerous for winning the recent VFTD Monday Poll contest. I posted the announcement in that original post but apparently Frank missed it. If'n you want your prize drop me a line Frank.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
World Cup Saturday
Another short report. Congrats to the semi final winners in the pro and semi-pro brackets; Red Legion (who I've nicknamed The Machine), Philly and Vicious & Aftermath. Congrats too to XSV and Nexus who will playing for semi-pro third tomorrow. As will Damage and the Ironmen in the pro division. It's not what any of them came to Cup for but third is better than fourth.
There's a few items coming from Cup worth discussing--like yellow paint and yellow jerseys--but now isn't the time. I'll come back to this kind of stuff with a season ending wrap-up, probably after Vegas.
Otherwise today was a big improvement weather-wise. While still hot and humid it wasn't debilitating like the previous days--though I saw a few players down for the count none looked serious.
There's a few items coming from Cup worth discussing--like yellow paint and yellow jerseys--but now isn't the time. I'll come back to this kind of stuff with a season ending wrap-up, probably after Vegas.
Otherwise today was a big improvement weather-wise. While still hot and humid it wasn't debilitating like the previous days--though I saw a few players down for the count none looked serious.
World Cup Rumor Mill
While I'm almost certainly missing a site or two I'm still amazed that there isn't more info leaking out of WC. (Not that plenty of peeps don't know--just that nobody is feeling the urge to spill. Or it could be that sensible peeps are terrified of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time in the face of another round of shrinking sponsorships.) There sure is lots of *stuff* going down in the background even as the world's biggest tourney is going on.
You want a taste? (Careful, that's how you get hooked.) Word on the street is you want a Luxe you'll need to talk to Richmond Italia. Street's also saying that the patents held by SP are part of the seized company's assets. Did I say seized?
And yeah, that was just a taste. It gets a whole lot tastier.
You want a taste? (Careful, that's how you get hooked.) Word on the street is you want a Luxe you'll need to talk to Richmond Italia. Street's also saying that the patents held by SP are part of the seized company's assets. Did I say seized?
And yeah, that was just a taste. It gets a whole lot tastier.
Friday, October 9, 2009
World Cup Friday
Short and sweet today, kids. On Wednesday Jeff Stein from the Canes was suggesting we might as well petition for an event in Death Valley. (He was joking. Sorta.) Well, no need. Death Valley can't possible be much hotter. And then there's the paintball action. So fast, so brutal, so uncompromising players and refs alike are dropping like flies. Matches are more than paintball under these conditions. They are tests of endurance stamina and desire and players are pushing themselves to the limits and sometimes beyond. On one level it's awesome and on another--saner level--it's just plain nuts.
On the pro field today it was the quarterfinal elimination round with pairs of teams playing a best two out of three for a chance at the semis. Each round went only two matches as Philly beat Shock, Legion downed X-Factor, Ironmen took Aftermath and Damage beat Dynasty. Damage was the only team from the prelim round to make the semis and that action begins tomorrow at 9:40 am. Tune in and see survival of the fittest championship paintball.
Later Slackers
On the pro field today it was the quarterfinal elimination round with pairs of teams playing a best two out of three for a chance at the semis. Each round went only two matches as Philly beat Shock, Legion downed X-Factor, Ironmen took Aftermath and Damage beat Dynasty. Damage was the only team from the prelim round to make the semis and that action begins tomorrow at 9:40 am. Tune in and see survival of the fittest championship paintball.
Later Slackers
Thursday, October 8, 2009
World Cup Thursday
Yeah, yeah, you want to know where World Cup Wednesday is, right? I know. It's not enough that there's a World Cup Thursday, no, you needed a WC Wednesday too. Well, you're obviously out of luck but if it makes you feel better about it there was a World Cup Wednesday but my ethernet access went out last night before I could post it--and I was little busy today--until now.
Let's get the other big issue out of the way up front. I know absolutely nothing about any divisional scores. There's gotta be scores posted somewhere so suck it up and look around. APPA will post them eventually and Pro Paintball should have some of the day's scores posted. It's not that I don't care--Okay, it is that I don't care but the whole truth is that my poor melon can only hold so much information at one time and all those numbers just end up all jumbled anyway.
The venue is pretty sweet but there's planes flying around all the time. It's weird, you'd think there was an airport around or something. Given the number of pro games scheduled the semi-pro kids have their own field next door. From what I hear the action was pretty furious with the Eurokids giving a good account of themselves with the final four undecided until the last match of the day.
VFTD Weather Update: It's hot. Hotter than Satan's armpit to hear the whining from some of the pasty white northern types. But you know what they say, it's not the heat it's the humidity. And they--whoever they are--happen to be correct. And the humidity is brutal. If it's any consolation it was balmy and beautiful last week here in sunny Florida. Right here, right now it's seriously hot and sticky. Fire Rescue has shown up three or four times each day and I'm guessing they aren't dropping by just to catch all the paintball action. So if you aren't here--and if you're reading this you probably aren't--there is some consolation in that the conditions are rough. And even better--for you--the webcast begins tomorrow morning. I'll wave. (No, actually I won't.)
The pro field is one of the nicest ever. Level and flat with excellent grass. The only downside is an east/west orientation that late in the day is blinding to one end of the field. (Probably the same in the morning but I don't know--yet. Depends on when the sun comes up I would imagine.) There were some very tight games today with a lot of back and forth as only four spots were available with 9 teams fighting for them. Joy Division got their first taste of PSP pro paintball and performed better than their scores might suggest. It's a steep learning curve and they showed improvement over the course of the event. (Btw, I know a few pro teams that are gonna have yellow jerseys next year if the league is gonna allow yellow when we's all shooting yellow-breaking paint. Just saying.) Chris "Pony" Lasoya played with Joy and looked like the old Pony until he tweaked his knee. (When I said old I meant he looked like the young Pony out there. Confused? He was looking good and It was good to see him on the field again.) Though their scores don't show it the 'Canes played better than they have all season and have a foundation to build on for next year. Last two matches of the day determined how the seeding would go for tomorrow and who would go through. Shock beat Aftermath in OT after 'Math fought back from a significant deficit to tie it up with a few seconds remaining and Damage knocked off Infamous in the last match of the day. As a result the seed order for Friday is Damage, Aftermath, X-Factor & Aftershock. And despite finishing 2-2 (like Shock) both Infamous and Impact didn't go through. (Shock got it on point differential.)
There's plenty of parking and a winding maze-like vendor's village everyone must walk through to get to the fields. Despite the annoyance it's good to see a lot more tents and vendors than we've seen all season. And if you are desperate for some relief from the elements you can always hike over to registration--and I do mean hike--which is in a Fantasy of Flight building a mile or two from the fields (a slight exaggeration) that happens to be air conditioned. A shuttle to registration would be nice. Otherwise, the venue is solid and I'm told the layout is basically the same as was used in Chitown last year. If you rented a plane at FoF you could probably see it from the air.
More tomorrow, slacker.
Let's get the other big issue out of the way up front. I know absolutely nothing about any divisional scores. There's gotta be scores posted somewhere so suck it up and look around. APPA will post them eventually and Pro Paintball should have some of the day's scores posted. It's not that I don't care--Okay, it is that I don't care but the whole truth is that my poor melon can only hold so much information at one time and all those numbers just end up all jumbled anyway.
The venue is pretty sweet but there's planes flying around all the time. It's weird, you'd think there was an airport around or something. Given the number of pro games scheduled the semi-pro kids have their own field next door. From what I hear the action was pretty furious with the Eurokids giving a good account of themselves with the final four undecided until the last match of the day.
VFTD Weather Update: It's hot. Hotter than Satan's armpit to hear the whining from some of the pasty white northern types. But you know what they say, it's not the heat it's the humidity. And they--whoever they are--happen to be correct. And the humidity is brutal. If it's any consolation it was balmy and beautiful last week here in sunny Florida. Right here, right now it's seriously hot and sticky. Fire Rescue has shown up three or four times each day and I'm guessing they aren't dropping by just to catch all the paintball action. So if you aren't here--and if you're reading this you probably aren't--there is some consolation in that the conditions are rough. And even better--for you--the webcast begins tomorrow morning. I'll wave. (No, actually I won't.)
The pro field is one of the nicest ever. Level and flat with excellent grass. The only downside is an east/west orientation that late in the day is blinding to one end of the field. (Probably the same in the morning but I don't know--yet. Depends on when the sun comes up I would imagine.) There were some very tight games today with a lot of back and forth as only four spots were available with 9 teams fighting for them. Joy Division got their first taste of PSP pro paintball and performed better than their scores might suggest. It's a steep learning curve and they showed improvement over the course of the event. (Btw, I know a few pro teams that are gonna have yellow jerseys next year if the league is gonna allow yellow when we's all shooting yellow-breaking paint. Just saying.) Chris "Pony" Lasoya played with Joy and looked like the old Pony until he tweaked his knee. (When I said old I meant he looked like the young Pony out there. Confused? He was looking good and It was good to see him on the field again.) Though their scores don't show it the 'Canes played better than they have all season and have a foundation to build on for next year. Last two matches of the day determined how the seeding would go for tomorrow and who would go through. Shock beat Aftermath in OT after 'Math fought back from a significant deficit to tie it up with a few seconds remaining and Damage knocked off Infamous in the last match of the day. As a result the seed order for Friday is Damage, Aftermath, X-Factor & Aftershock. And despite finishing 2-2 (like Shock) both Infamous and Impact didn't go through. (Shock got it on point differential.)
There's plenty of parking and a winding maze-like vendor's village everyone must walk through to get to the fields. Despite the annoyance it's good to see a lot more tents and vendors than we've seen all season. And if you are desperate for some relief from the elements you can always hike over to registration--and I do mean hike--which is in a Fantasy of Flight building a mile or two from the fields (a slight exaggeration) that happens to be air conditioned. A shuttle to registration would be nice. Otherwise, the venue is solid and I'm told the layout is basically the same as was used in Chitown last year. If you rented a plane at FoF you could probably see it from the air.
More tomorrow, slacker.
Monday, October 5, 2009
World Cup
I don't know about y'all but I can hardly wait. Weeks of preparation and the culmination of a whole year's effort into one long weekend of paintball. Looking forward to it. I'm hoping once the event gets started I'll stop receiving 400 freaking email blasts a day from the PSP. You know it's getting out of hand when you can't remember the last NPPL blast you got--okay, it was about HB 2010--but still.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
PB Extravaganza vs. World Cup
This isn't as silly as it may sound. At least not to dealers, manufacturers and retailers. And given the timing it's actually an unavoidable conclusion. (Though I did hear thru the proverbial grapevine that Dave D. was/is unconcerned about the impact Extravaganza might have on Cup. Which strikes me as an error in judgment but it's not my dime on the line. And will almost certainly benefit his company, if not the PSP.)
Here's the thing: World Cup has long enjoyed a big turnout of vendors along with buyers and has been known as the place to be in order to get a first look at next year's gear. Extravaganza is going to undercut that role and it's going to put established industry leaders ahead of the curve in terms of selling the new lines and getting them into retail hands earlier than before. So as it stands Extravaganza makes sense for the established brands and it pre-empts the possibility of some flashy new gear stealing everybody's thunder. The big players get a release date they can take advantage of and first shot at the available dollars of the retailers. It's cheaper too. So if you're a paintball name brand with an ability to pipeline product to an established network Extravaganza in advance of Cup is a no-brainer that may even help undermine or keep out of play any of those snot-nosed start-up types or struggling companies looking to make their mark.
On the other hand if you're relatively new to the scene or are still trying to grow a market for your products you really need to go to Cup, don't you? Your issue is building customer interest and using that to get retailers to stock your products. You need to be seen by the end users, the players. You need to hopefully generate some buzz to help get your gear off the ground and into more players hands. In a tight economy retailers keep less inventory and only want to carry what they know will sell. That makes it doubly difficult to become an industry player or a bigger player.
The result is this positioning of Extravaganza puts both the little guy and the PSP in a bind. Does the little guy attend both because they can't afford to be left out of either one or does the small business have to pick and hope it chose wisely? Cup was the one event of the season where the new rules restricting vendors wasn't expected to have too deleterious an impact and now Extravaganza is stepping in to steal away some percentage of the expected Cup vendor turnout. We've already seen the threadbare vendor rollouts at this season's other events; if the same or something similar happens to Cup it will diminish the event and continue the process that is seeing a long established revenue stream for the league continue to dry up. Given prior claims for the essential nature of sponsor/vendor dollars to the league's overall health this is probably a bigger deal than it may seem at first blush. And is also emblematic of the league's need to find new ways to market itself in a changing environment with much less room for error.
Here's the thing: World Cup has long enjoyed a big turnout of vendors along with buyers and has been known as the place to be in order to get a first look at next year's gear. Extravaganza is going to undercut that role and it's going to put established industry leaders ahead of the curve in terms of selling the new lines and getting them into retail hands earlier than before. So as it stands Extravaganza makes sense for the established brands and it pre-empts the possibility of some flashy new gear stealing everybody's thunder. The big players get a release date they can take advantage of and first shot at the available dollars of the retailers. It's cheaper too. So if you're a paintball name brand with an ability to pipeline product to an established network Extravaganza in advance of Cup is a no-brainer that may even help undermine or keep out of play any of those snot-nosed start-up types or struggling companies looking to make their mark.
On the other hand if you're relatively new to the scene or are still trying to grow a market for your products you really need to go to Cup, don't you? Your issue is building customer interest and using that to get retailers to stock your products. You need to be seen by the end users, the players. You need to hopefully generate some buzz to help get your gear off the ground and into more players hands. In a tight economy retailers keep less inventory and only want to carry what they know will sell. That makes it doubly difficult to become an industry player or a bigger player.
The result is this positioning of Extravaganza puts both the little guy and the PSP in a bind. Does the little guy attend both because they can't afford to be left out of either one or does the small business have to pick and hope it chose wisely? Cup was the one event of the season where the new rules restricting vendors wasn't expected to have too deleterious an impact and now Extravaganza is stepping in to steal away some percentage of the expected Cup vendor turnout. We've already seen the threadbare vendor rollouts at this season's other events; if the same or something similar happens to Cup it will diminish the event and continue the process that is seeing a long established revenue stream for the league continue to dry up. Given prior claims for the essential nature of sponsor/vendor dollars to the league's overall health this is probably a bigger deal than it may seem at first blush. And is also emblematic of the league's need to find new ways to market itself in a changing environment with much less room for error.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Pro field prelim layout
Commish Mineo sent it out today and I thought some of y'all might be interested in checking it out and comparing it to the finals (and divisional) layout. So, here you go.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The NXL in '09
Where do the days go? Seems I forgot to renew my Prozac prescription and nothing good will come of that. An inclination toward pessimism now heightened by burgeoning chemical dependency issues has me despairing so naturally I began thinking of the future of, what else, competitive paintball. If you thought I was gonna say the economy--the Amazin' Kreskin you ain't--I said I was despairing, not suicidal.
I also thought I'd get ahead of the curve and offer up some predictions early--before the Cup crowd of Paintball Illuminati gather to chart our collective futures (think of this moment in time as the few days leading up to the activation of Skynet)--and save yourselves all the anxiety of waiting for the inevitable rumors and half-truths to start circulating.
The following is a prediction. It is not based on advance information I've been made privy to or disinformation either. It is an educated guess.
8 teams. The league might manage 10 but I'm having a hard time seeing how right now. Some very important decisions are going to made between Cup and, say, Christmas. There's a new variable in the mix I hadn't previously considered (which was stupid on my part because the precursors were there some time ago.) Anyway, I won't name teams as I can't be positive and speculation along those lines would be grossly unfair. 5 or 6 teams are virtually a lock and the shake-out will come from the others and the couple (or so) teams that currently are thinking they want in.
In a previous post I suggested in passing that I hoped the PSP managed '09 with no more than a 30% decline. I'm afraid that may have been too optimistic. Unfortunately there is also no way to implement the Pro Circuit between now and the start of next year--assuming the highly unlikely event of the PBIlluminati actually considering such a change. And without the Pro Circuit alternative methods of supporting the NXL would almost certainly conflict with the operation of the PSP. If the option to restructure the NXL isn't on the table then I hope the simpler course of cutting costs will be seriously considered--and which might add up to 10 teams but there is still a huge complication in the offing. (If you're a newcomer check out the Pro Circuit posts in the Archives to see what it's all about.)
More likely might be a reduced season schedule. Given that one way of looking at dropping one event would be a cost reduction of 20% for teams (and something less for the PSP) intending to compete for a series. And for everybody else a one or two event option would remain. The calculation for the PSP then becomes how many teams do we need over 4 events and when and where are the events held? The other question is how does a 4 event season impact league income from sponsors, etc?
One more prediction: the webshow will not have enough paying customers to make the PSP happy this time around--and if World Cup can't draw the numbers they want then what? Regardless, this is a project that ought to be pursued. Easy for me to say but even so. (I'll have more on the webshow and the Big Picture once I find out what all the PSP has in mind. )
I also thought I'd get ahead of the curve and offer up some predictions early--before the Cup crowd of Paintball Illuminati gather to chart our collective futures (think of this moment in time as the few days leading up to the activation of Skynet)--and save yourselves all the anxiety of waiting for the inevitable rumors and half-truths to start circulating.
The following is a prediction. It is not based on advance information I've been made privy to or disinformation either. It is an educated guess.
8 teams. The league might manage 10 but I'm having a hard time seeing how right now. Some very important decisions are going to made between Cup and, say, Christmas. There's a new variable in the mix I hadn't previously considered (which was stupid on my part because the precursors were there some time ago.) Anyway, I won't name teams as I can't be positive and speculation along those lines would be grossly unfair. 5 or 6 teams are virtually a lock and the shake-out will come from the others and the couple (or so) teams that currently are thinking they want in.
In a previous post I suggested in passing that I hoped the PSP managed '09 with no more than a 30% decline. I'm afraid that may have been too optimistic. Unfortunately there is also no way to implement the Pro Circuit between now and the start of next year--assuming the highly unlikely event of the PBIlluminati actually considering such a change. And without the Pro Circuit alternative methods of supporting the NXL would almost certainly conflict with the operation of the PSP. If the option to restructure the NXL isn't on the table then I hope the simpler course of cutting costs will be seriously considered--and which might add up to 10 teams but there is still a huge complication in the offing. (If you're a newcomer check out the Pro Circuit posts in the Archives to see what it's all about.)
More likely might be a reduced season schedule. Given that one way of looking at dropping one event would be a cost reduction of 20% for teams (and something less for the PSP) intending to compete for a series. And for everybody else a one or two event option would remain. The calculation for the PSP then becomes how many teams do we need over 4 events and when and where are the events held? The other question is how does a 4 event season impact league income from sponsors, etc?
One more prediction: the webshow will not have enough paying customers to make the PSP happy this time around--and if World Cup can't draw the numbers they want then what? Regardless, this is a project that ought to be pursued. Easy for me to say but even so. (I'll have more on the webshow and the Big Picture once I find out what all the PSP has in mind. )
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