I'm gonna say it right upfront. I'm a little disappointed. In the voter turnout picking a D1 winner for PSP Phoenix, that is. Yeah, it was a short week but if you want more divisional content you gotta do your part--like vote. Otherwise what am to think? Your apathy and general laziness might just convince me I'm wasting valuable blog space showing any love to the div kids. Just saying.
Of course a poll like this might, not unreasonably, be considered as much a referendum on teams and players that read this blog, too. Four teams received no votes. A handful received less than 5% of the vote. The top vote getter was Topgun U at 32%. Still a lot of faith in their ability to bounce back. Pirates came in second at 17%--and why not? they won a soggy Galveston and they're playing the same layout again in Phoenix. Static was a strong third at 11% after finishing top 4 in Galveston. And despite an unexpectedly poor showing in Texas the VCK kids were fourth at 7%. Rounding out the top half all tied at 5% were L.I.F.T., RNT, NJJ & Tx Storm.
After the first day of play L.I.F.T. & RNT split to finish 1-1 while the hard luck continued for VCK who dropped both their Friday matches by a single point each time. The rest of the top vote getters (plus Fuzion) all went 2-0 today so it looks like Saturday will separate the men from the boys--and maybe even the women from the girls.
Showing posts with label poll review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poll review. Show all posts
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
The Monday Poll
Another long (travel) weekend. I know, cry me a river--but it really does get to be a bit of a drag after a while. Or every once in a while so cut me some slack. Or don't. It's all good. Much like last week's dual Monday Poll and to prove I'm in good spirits today I'm not even gonna point out the percentage of slackers who managed to vote for one poll but not the other. Nor am I gonna mention the fact the great majority of VFTD's lazy readers don't ever vote at all. (The usual excuse, if I were to mention it, is a lack of sufficient knowledge to have a valid opinion. Nice try, slackers but that's balderdash--if I were to mention it.)
This week's Monday Poll will run until 6 am on Friday as VFTD offers up a PSP Phoenix D1 pick the winner poll. As part of the continuing effort to acknowledge divisional kids and because with the instant replay button the PSP chose to use on the field layout things could be pretty interesting. Are the Pirates confident of a repeat or will the pressure to perform affect them? Is T1 looking to take back the unofficial best in the div mantle they were crowned with before the season began? Will the hungry up-and-comers with another month of (dry) practice play like they've got nothing to lose? There's just no telling and that's what makes it fun.
So throw off your lethargy slackers if only for a moment as that is all it will take to cast your vote. (Google lethargy on your phone later. Vote first.)
(Dual) Monday Poll in Review
The first poll last week simply wanted to know who you thought was gonna win PSP Phoenix pro. And the results were mostly predictable. With perhaps the exception of how fast all the diehard "fans" leaped off the Russian Legion bandwagon. Gotta be a few twisted ankles and a concussion or two from that. And where were the Vicious fans? Not a lot of love in the house for the Midwest. Which is, I gotta say, kinda surprising. That and X-Factor not receiving any votes. Which is frankly a travesty. They are a long time established pro team that made positive off season moves to improve and are a team that has won pro events before--and not one vote! That's just wrong. And a variation of the same goes for Ironmen and Infamous. Where'd all the 'Shock fans go? Did y'all fly south with the Heat? Did you forget that Infamous pulled some of your favorites to go with a solid core? How do you leave out the Ironmen? They consistently punched above their weight last year thanks to the veteran core and SK's leadership. They aren't a surprise anymore, they are an upper tier team until they aren't and since they made the cut for Galveston they look like they're picking up where they left off. The young guns and the new kids pulled some fan votes but the bulk of the votes went to Dynasty (20%), Heat (26%) & Damage (38%). No pressure. I get the top vote getters but I still think some of the other teams merited more votes than they got. All I'm saying.
Now the second poll last week was much more interesting--if I do say so myself--and I kinda just did. It offered 5 statements about PSP Phoenix and wanted to know which statement you thought would most likely prove correct. 23% thought one pro team would win both Galveston & Phoenix. Not unrealistic, right? Win Galveston on Thursday, playing the same layout for Phoenix. Odds gotta favor the Galveston winner, don't they? 10% figured a divisional winner from Galveston would repeat in Phoenix. Again, not unreasonable. Which is what made choosing between the statements fun. (It was so fun and if you'd voted you know just how much, dammit!) Nobody (Zip, Nada, Bupkiss) thought Phoenix would be delayed by bad weather. I just had to throw that one in though, didn't I? 20% decided it was more likely that every division would have a different winner in Phoenix. So no repeats from Galveston. I haven't looked but it would be interesting to see how often that has actually happened. Can I get a stat guy, stat? (I know, too many medical shows.) 13% think there will be a first time Pro winner. Did y'all think about how many of the pro teams have won an event before? Then again I suppose 13% is that many. And finally leading the pack by a healthy margin at 37% the top choice was that a divisional winner from Galveston won't make Sunday.
I'ma keep track of all the statements and follow up after the event. (I knew you'd be excited.)
This week's Monday Poll will run until 6 am on Friday as VFTD offers up a PSP Phoenix D1 pick the winner poll. As part of the continuing effort to acknowledge divisional kids and because with the instant replay button the PSP chose to use on the field layout things could be pretty interesting. Are the Pirates confident of a repeat or will the pressure to perform affect them? Is T1 looking to take back the unofficial best in the div mantle they were crowned with before the season began? Will the hungry up-and-comers with another month of (dry) practice play like they've got nothing to lose? There's just no telling and that's what makes it fun.
So throw off your lethargy slackers if only for a moment as that is all it will take to cast your vote. (Google lethargy on your phone later. Vote first.)
(Dual) Monday Poll in Review
The first poll last week simply wanted to know who you thought was gonna win PSP Phoenix pro. And the results were mostly predictable. With perhaps the exception of how fast all the diehard "fans" leaped off the Russian Legion bandwagon. Gotta be a few twisted ankles and a concussion or two from that. And where were the Vicious fans? Not a lot of love in the house for the Midwest. Which is, I gotta say, kinda surprising. That and X-Factor not receiving any votes. Which is frankly a travesty. They are a long time established pro team that made positive off season moves to improve and are a team that has won pro events before--and not one vote! That's just wrong. And a variation of the same goes for Ironmen and Infamous. Where'd all the 'Shock fans go? Did y'all fly south with the Heat? Did you forget that Infamous pulled some of your favorites to go with a solid core? How do you leave out the Ironmen? They consistently punched above their weight last year thanks to the veteran core and SK's leadership. They aren't a surprise anymore, they are an upper tier team until they aren't and since they made the cut for Galveston they look like they're picking up where they left off. The young guns and the new kids pulled some fan votes but the bulk of the votes went to Dynasty (20%), Heat (26%) & Damage (38%). No pressure. I get the top vote getters but I still think some of the other teams merited more votes than they got. All I'm saying.
Now the second poll last week was much more interesting--if I do say so myself--and I kinda just did. It offered 5 statements about PSP Phoenix and wanted to know which statement you thought would most likely prove correct. 23% thought one pro team would win both Galveston & Phoenix. Not unrealistic, right? Win Galveston on Thursday, playing the same layout for Phoenix. Odds gotta favor the Galveston winner, don't they? 10% figured a divisional winner from Galveston would repeat in Phoenix. Again, not unreasonable. Which is what made choosing between the statements fun. (It was so fun and if you'd voted you know just how much, dammit!) Nobody (Zip, Nada, Bupkiss) thought Phoenix would be delayed by bad weather. I just had to throw that one in though, didn't I? 20% decided it was more likely that every division would have a different winner in Phoenix. So no repeats from Galveston. I haven't looked but it would be interesting to see how often that has actually happened. Can I get a stat guy, stat? (I know, too many medical shows.) 13% think there will be a first time Pro winner. Did y'all think about how many of the pro teams have won an event before? Then again I suppose 13% is that many. And finally leading the pack by a healthy margin at 37% the top choice was that a divisional winner from Galveston won't make Sunday.
I'ma keep track of all the statements and follow up after the event. (I knew you'd be excited.)
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday Poll in Review: Y'all Suck
By any metric last week's Monday (Mega) Poll was a flop and I blame you. Unless you're in the minority and actually voted. And even then not everyone who voted could be bothered to vote for all the mega poll pairs. Do you know how I know you suck? 'Cus the Mega Poll was--and still is--an awesome idea. Five, count 'em, five poll questions in one mega poll! Awesome!
The first pair of questions asked if a predominantly American team would win St. Tropez in the MS event opener for 2012. (Lots more on this to come.) 77% of those that responded voted yes. 23% voted no.
The second pair of questions wanted to know if there would be more or less than 12 pro teams competing at HB. This one was much closer. 57% thought there would be fewer than 12 teams while 43% expected at least 12 teams. (Given that 11 teams were registered it was probably a fair bet to guess that at least one more team would show up on the list.)
The third pair asked if there would be more or less than 100 teams participating at HB. 63% thought there would be less than 100 teams competing while 37% expected more than 100. This compares to last year's 133. (Word from a probably reliable source suggests HB will have 104 teams though I haven't made a count yet.)
The fourth pair of statements were about how the new Race 2 format would play out in the NPPL Pro division. Would matches go to time or would some match-ups see a team score 5 points. In the tightest race of the mega poll 53% thought all matches would go to time and 47% figured at least a match or two would see 5 points scored.
The final pair ask if PSP Phoenix will reach 125 participating teams after the mudfest that was Galveston. 70% think the answer will be yes with 30% not so sure. There are currently 113 teams registered (but not paid) with only a couple of weeks still available to register and pay.
Y'all got number 1 wrong--though not your fault really. Number 2 is probably the one y'all should've got correct--although I don't see an HK team on the list do you? Number 3 is over 100 but has yet to be confirmed. (The best way to get that is from the post event rankings.) And with number 4 we still have to wait and see how the matches turn out. I'm going with the time crowd as I have a hard time seeing 5 points scored--but hey, we'll see. And number 5 is looking iffy for the 70% who didn't hesitate to go with 125 teams or more for Phoenix. The venue is great but the time between events didn't leave a lot of room to pull the scratch together. PSP regulars will want to be there so 125 is still in reach but it's gonna be close.
The first pair of questions asked if a predominantly American team would win St. Tropez in the MS event opener for 2012. (Lots more on this to come.) 77% of those that responded voted yes. 23% voted no.
The second pair of questions wanted to know if there would be more or less than 12 pro teams competing at HB. This one was much closer. 57% thought there would be fewer than 12 teams while 43% expected at least 12 teams. (Given that 11 teams were registered it was probably a fair bet to guess that at least one more team would show up on the list.)
The third pair asked if there would be more or less than 100 teams participating at HB. 63% thought there would be less than 100 teams competing while 37% expected more than 100. This compares to last year's 133. (Word from a probably reliable source suggests HB will have 104 teams though I haven't made a count yet.)
The fourth pair of statements were about how the new Race 2 format would play out in the NPPL Pro division. Would matches go to time or would some match-ups see a team score 5 points. In the tightest race of the mega poll 53% thought all matches would go to time and 47% figured at least a match or two would see 5 points scored.
The final pair ask if PSP Phoenix will reach 125 participating teams after the mudfest that was Galveston. 70% think the answer will be yes with 30% not so sure. There are currently 113 teams registered (but not paid) with only a couple of weeks still available to register and pay.
Y'all got number 1 wrong--though not your fault really. Number 2 is probably the one y'all should've got correct--although I don't see an HK team on the list do you? Number 3 is over 100 but has yet to be confirmed. (The best way to get that is from the post event rankings.) And with number 4 we still have to wait and see how the matches turn out. I'm going with the time crowd as I have a hard time seeing 5 points scored--but hey, we'll see. And number 5 is looking iffy for the 70% who didn't hesitate to go with 125 teams or more for Phoenix. The venue is great but the time between events didn't leave a lot of room to pull the scratch together. PSP regulars will want to be there so 125 is still in reach but it's gonna be close.
Monday, March 19, 2012
The Monday (Mega) Poll
This week another The Monday Poll first. The mega poll. Instead of answers this week's mega poll will offer pairs of statements and for each pair you pick (vote) the one you most closely agree with. that means you get to vote multiple times but please, while I know mouse clicking can become addictive, stick to one pick (click) per pair of statements.
For example, A team primarily rostered with American players will win the CPL division of the MS event in St. Tropez. A team primarily rostered with European players will win the CPL division of the MS event in St. Tropez. Your vote is cast for the statement you think most accurately reflects what will happen. Got it? Good. Pretty simple, right? So what are you waiting for? Get to clicking, picking and voting. (Not necessarily in that order.)
Monday Poll in Review
Okay, last week's question was (more or less) 'What state should host the first PSP event in 2013?' Historically Cali hasn't always been all that welcoming and Galveston has gone back-to-back in trying to kill an event. (The first year high winds flattened the fields 2 days before the event.) Arizona has proved a positive pleasant environment but in its traditional location a bit pricey.
The list of choices included all the southern boundary or coastal states except New Mexico. I left it out as Albuquerque is high desert and not really a suitable early season venue. Years of Mardi Gras experience ought to be a clue as to what the league could expect from Louisiana and I only tossed in Mississippi and Alabama to extend the choices and because Biloxi is a popular entertainment & gaming destination and Mobile is an historic city near the tip of Florida's panhandle. Georgia probably couldn't host a first event but might manage a second. SoCar is the home of the long time standard MAO venue--but again, not so much a first event of the season kinda place in a five event schedule. I tossed in Hawaii, Mexico and Cuba out of curiosity more than anything. Nobody is going to either Hawaii or Mexico for a MLP event any time soon and despite the romantic and exotic appeal nobody is going to Cuba either. And the votes, by and large, confirmed all those things. Mexico and Mississippi each got 1% of the vote. Alabama and Louisiana garnered 2% each. Hawaii & Georgia pulled 3% each and Cuba got a whopping 5%--probably because it just sounds cool. SoCar got 11%. Arizona & Texas tied at 14% and Florida grabbed 17%. (Two events? Works for me but I'm biased.) Cali came in on top with 23% of the vote. But with Cali we're realistically talking SoCal and coastal SoCal at that and some of the highest prices in the country.
If I were a betting man I'd guess another Texas venue in either the first or second slot--but not Galveston--and cross my fingers.
For example, A team primarily rostered with American players will win the CPL division of the MS event in St. Tropez. A team primarily rostered with European players will win the CPL division of the MS event in St. Tropez. Your vote is cast for the statement you think most accurately reflects what will happen. Got it? Good. Pretty simple, right? So what are you waiting for? Get to clicking, picking and voting. (Not necessarily in that order.)
Monday Poll in Review
Okay, last week's question was (more or less) 'What state should host the first PSP event in 2013?' Historically Cali hasn't always been all that welcoming and Galveston has gone back-to-back in trying to kill an event. (The first year high winds flattened the fields 2 days before the event.) Arizona has proved a positive pleasant environment but in its traditional location a bit pricey.
The list of choices included all the southern boundary or coastal states except New Mexico. I left it out as Albuquerque is high desert and not really a suitable early season venue. Years of Mardi Gras experience ought to be a clue as to what the league could expect from Louisiana and I only tossed in Mississippi and Alabama to extend the choices and because Biloxi is a popular entertainment & gaming destination and Mobile is an historic city near the tip of Florida's panhandle. Georgia probably couldn't host a first event but might manage a second. SoCar is the home of the long time standard MAO venue--but again, not so much a first event of the season kinda place in a five event schedule. I tossed in Hawaii, Mexico and Cuba out of curiosity more than anything. Nobody is going to either Hawaii or Mexico for a MLP event any time soon and despite the romantic and exotic appeal nobody is going to Cuba either. And the votes, by and large, confirmed all those things. Mexico and Mississippi each got 1% of the vote. Alabama and Louisiana garnered 2% each. Hawaii & Georgia pulled 3% each and Cuba got a whopping 5%--probably because it just sounds cool. SoCar got 11%. Arizona & Texas tied at 14% and Florida grabbed 17%. (Two events? Works for me but I'm biased.) Cali came in on top with 23% of the vote. But with Cali we're realistically talking SoCal and coastal SoCal at that and some of the highest prices in the country.
If I were a betting man I'd guess another Texas venue in either the first or second slot--but not Galveston--and cross my fingers.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Monday Poll in Review
No new Monday Poll for you! (No, it's not a punishment for failing to vote last week. Although, for a community that seems to have one harebrained opinion after another that folks happily share online daily nobody seemed too interested in the NPPL HB poll. I'll leave you to decide why.) With Galveston this coming weekend everyone's attention is gonna be--rightly--focused elsewhere and besides, I got nothing--and can't be bothered to look up an old poll question to recycle. Next week.
Last week's poll question was: Will attendance at the 2012 HB event equal or exceed last year's total of 133 teams? (Or something very much like that.) I posed the question in light of the failed merger and myriad changes the league undertook in the off season and on the basis that attendance will give some indication of how the league is currently perceived. If not in the poll--which I routinely point out is never scientific or objective or even statistically relevant--at least in the raw number of competing teams. Like it or not actual participation is a form of referendum. The day the poll was posted HB registration was at 92 teams. This afternoon it is at 98. 73% of those responding to the poll question voted no--meaning participation wouldn't equal or exceed last year's team totals--while 27% voted that HB would have at least 133 teams and perhaps more. Registration remains open so we won't know for sure for two or three weeks but at this point it looks like it will be a struggle to meet or exceed last year's total. Pro registration remains at 11 with rumors of this team or that still to enter. Pump has shriveled with the new higher price and an alternative offering from the PSP. And in the divisional groups it looks like Race 2 options will only exist in divisions 3 & 4.
If you have any ideas for The Monday Poll's future poll questions post 'em up in comments or on VFTD Facebook and I'll steal the good ones and make fun of the bad ones. What could be fairer than that?
Last week's poll question was: Will attendance at the 2012 HB event equal or exceed last year's total of 133 teams? (Or something very much like that.) I posed the question in light of the failed merger and myriad changes the league undertook in the off season and on the basis that attendance will give some indication of how the league is currently perceived. If not in the poll--which I routinely point out is never scientific or objective or even statistically relevant--at least in the raw number of competing teams. Like it or not actual participation is a form of referendum. The day the poll was posted HB registration was at 92 teams. This afternoon it is at 98. 73% of those responding to the poll question voted no--meaning participation wouldn't equal or exceed last year's team totals--while 27% voted that HB would have at least 133 teams and perhaps more. Registration remains open so we won't know for sure for two or three weeks but at this point it looks like it will be a struggle to meet or exceed last year's total. Pro registration remains at 11 with rumors of this team or that still to enter. Pump has shriveled with the new higher price and an alternative offering from the PSP. And in the divisional groups it looks like Race 2 options will only exist in divisions 3 & 4.
If you have any ideas for The Monday Poll's future poll questions post 'em up in comments or on VFTD Facebook and I'll steal the good ones and make fun of the bad ones. What could be fairer than that?
Monday, February 27, 2012
The Monday Poll (Bitch at Baca Edition)
If you were hoping VFTD was gonna do a 'Whose Gonna Win the PSP D3 Series' poll because the other divisional polls have proved popular--well, you're outta luck. It would'a been easy. It might even have been popular but I went a different way. Thing is, start of the season, everybody is shiny, new and full of hope. Truth is most teams from D2 down don't play all or even most of the events and as a consequence series winners come from the smaller pool of persevering teams that also perform well. So while a D3 series vote might be popular it would just raise false hopes and VFTD thinks it's better to come to grips with reality sooner rather than later. (Of course with the opportunity to compete for a title now by playing 3 events plus Cup [for double points] it opens the field to a lot more potential competition.) More in the Review below.
This week I'm using The Monday Poll as an excuse to talk around the edges of all the NPPL rumors--and they are flying, under the radar, faster and more furiously than ever. The poll question is: Will attendance for HB 2012 equal or exceed last year's 133 teams. At my last count it was around 90-ish with no indication of which teams are paid and which are only registered--particularly as almost none of the rosters are given. (And team 'Man Hands' as registered by George Costanza is still listed in D4. Did anybody confirm that? It is, after all, a Seinfield joke.) I'm curious given the disappointments of the failed merger, the host of off season changes and the PSP opening their season up around 15% over last year. But enough of that stuff.
VFTD is sitting on a powder keg of rumors, some confirmed some unconfirmed, mostly because I don't want to be accused of single-handedly wrecking the NPPL season. (They tend to be dramatic like that. And because I'm a selfish bastard and want to see my team have an opportunity to compete and succeed in every league possible.) So all I'ma say is there are rumors of a power struggle (or struggles) in the upper echelons, perhaps one big name on the outs, the reality TV gimmick is still in the works but less about the NPPL than a particular team. A rumored big announcement has been on the verge for a couple three weeks now. That's just the tip of the rumored iceberg, too.
Monday Poll in Review
Apparently VFTD has some regulars among the friends, family and players on Prime. This was not a caucus--but way to get out the vote, kids. 1 in every 3 voters included Prime for a runaway victory--in the poll--but if you aren't familiar with them they were a strong contender in D2 last year finishing 5th overall while appearing in two finals.
There was another large turnout for last week's poll and while the results are unscientific and certainly biased (towards VFTD readers with favorites) it has convinced me there is a place for more divisional talk here at VFTD. But there is a small problem. I never see any of it. Divisional play that is. In any league. Except for Sundays and I willingly confess right here, right now I am not usually paying very close attention. So here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna give y'all an opportunity to help me remedy that weakness and rep the divisional teams better. What I will need is some volunteer reporters to send in their take on the play in their division at the most recent PSP, NPPL or even MS event. From those reports VFTD can produce a post-event review for divisions 1 thru 3. (More on this coming but if you want to volunteer drop me a line.)
Nor would it surprise me if CEP D2 did a little community organizing in finishing second with 22%. They were followed by Boom, Revo & Palm Beach Vipers--all in double digits. Boom is the highest ranked team remaining in D2 from last season (although they lost players to Aftershock.) Revo was at the top of the D3 rankings last year and Vipers teams have competed successfully for years. Greg Pauley's new crew, ac402.com pulled 7% followed by Team Zone at 6% and both Scottsdale Elevation & Carolina Breakout at 5%. Everyone else finished with 3% or less--which of course is meaningless but it was still fun to see how the voting would round out.
The division should be very competitive this year with a lot of strong D3 teams added to a mix of new teams and mostly mid-pack D2 teams from last year. It would be great to see the majority of teams play enough events to make the series title a real dogfight at Cup.
This week I'm using The Monday Poll as an excuse to talk around the edges of all the NPPL rumors--and they are flying, under the radar, faster and more furiously than ever. The poll question is: Will attendance for HB 2012 equal or exceed last year's 133 teams. At my last count it was around 90-ish with no indication of which teams are paid and which are only registered--particularly as almost none of the rosters are given. (And team 'Man Hands' as registered by George Costanza is still listed in D4. Did anybody confirm that? It is, after all, a Seinfield joke.) I'm curious given the disappointments of the failed merger, the host of off season changes and the PSP opening their season up around 15% over last year. But enough of that stuff.
VFTD is sitting on a powder keg of rumors, some confirmed some unconfirmed, mostly because I don't want to be accused of single-handedly wrecking the NPPL season. (They tend to be dramatic like that. And because I'm a selfish bastard and want to see my team have an opportunity to compete and succeed in every league possible.) So all I'ma say is there are rumors of a power struggle (or struggles) in the upper echelons, perhaps one big name on the outs, the reality TV gimmick is still in the works but less about the NPPL than a particular team. A rumored big announcement has been on the verge for a couple three weeks now. That's just the tip of the rumored iceberg, too.
Monday Poll in Review
Apparently VFTD has some regulars among the friends, family and players on Prime. This was not a caucus--but way to get out the vote, kids. 1 in every 3 voters included Prime for a runaway victory--in the poll--but if you aren't familiar with them they were a strong contender in D2 last year finishing 5th overall while appearing in two finals.
There was another large turnout for last week's poll and while the results are unscientific and certainly biased (towards VFTD readers with favorites) it has convinced me there is a place for more divisional talk here at VFTD. But there is a small problem. I never see any of it. Divisional play that is. In any league. Except for Sundays and I willingly confess right here, right now I am not usually paying very close attention. So here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna give y'all an opportunity to help me remedy that weakness and rep the divisional teams better. What I will need is some volunteer reporters to send in their take on the play in their division at the most recent PSP, NPPL or even MS event. From those reports VFTD can produce a post-event review for divisions 1 thru 3. (More on this coming but if you want to volunteer drop me a line.)
Nor would it surprise me if CEP D2 did a little community organizing in finishing second with 22%. They were followed by Boom, Revo & Palm Beach Vipers--all in double digits. Boom is the highest ranked team remaining in D2 from last season (although they lost players to Aftershock.) Revo was at the top of the D3 rankings last year and Vipers teams have competed successfully for years. Greg Pauley's new crew, ac402.com pulled 7% followed by Team Zone at 6% and both Scottsdale Elevation & Carolina Breakout at 5%. Everyone else finished with 3% or less--which of course is meaningless but it was still fun to see how the voting would round out.
The division should be very competitive this year with a lot of strong D3 teams added to a mix of new teams and mostly mid-pack D2 teams from last year. It would be great to see the majority of teams play enough events to make the series title a real dogfight at Cup.
Monday, February 20, 2012
The Monday Poll
I wasn't going to do it but I can't help myself. The PSP D1 poll was so popular I want to see what will happen if I do a D2 poll. Hey it could be a complete flop or it could prove another big surprise. For those who slavishly follow all the latest news, rumors & general paintball chatter it's easy to get the impression that a lot of regular tourney players seem to have more of a vested interest in the top am divisions than they do in the pros--not that they aren't interested or follow the pros--just that they feel more connected to the top am players. I don't know if that is inspirational or aspirational or both. I'm not even sure it's true but the interest in last week's poll merits another look. Maybe it's just that nobody else ever bothers to give these divisions a second look.
Pick the podium, one more time--this time for PSP D2. You may choose as many as 3 teams to vote but please limit your vote to 3 choices. (More than 3 votes and you're not helping your favorites reach the top.) Will a chance to vote for D2 teams surprise? Call your friends and neighbors. Here's your chance to make some noise and if it proves anywhere close to as popular as the D1 poll VFTD will give you a regular opportunity to support your favorite divisional teams. Don't just sit there--start voting!
Monday Poll in Review
Gotta say I didn't see that one coming. But it's great to see that much interest and support for the D1 kids. Across the board there was clearly some friendly voting but there was also some name recognition voting that helped separate a few well known names up a few spots. Perhaps more interesting is the lack of votes for some well established teams. The predicted podium finish for the D1 series came out VCK on top (33%) followed by Topgun Union (28%) and Grad Moscow (20%). Not a big surprise but a mild upset with VCK topping Topgun who battled Upton 187 all last season for the top spot. VCK made a big splash at Cup--and probably benefited from a get out the vote campaign. Grad was the top team in D2 last season. Two other top D2 teams also made the move; Distortion (11%) with Static (6%) returning to D1. Interestingly the top four D2 teams all finished within 25 points of each other so it wasn't a runaway for Grad yet they dominated in the poll. The only other team (that will be playing) to break double digits was Sacramento Damage and as a brand spanking new squad probably benefited from the name and their home turf in Cali. None of the rest of the returning D1 pool received strong numbers [except Montreal Mankster but they apparently chose during the poll not to come to Galveston.] Texas Storm led among the rest of the D1 returnees with 9% which was matched by L.I.F.T with RNT (6%), NJJ (5%) & Mayhem (4%). Rounding out the voting were the SD Pirates and Fuzion (teams out of the WCPPL) and new teams Tampa Bay Notorious and Florida Bomb Squad. Notorious has a core of former Fierce players augmented with a couple of ex-pros.
If the majority of teams in Galveston compete throughout the upcoming season it could be one of the most exciting and unpredictable D1 divisions ever. Keep an eye on the match-ups and scores in the prelims. It could be epic. It could be chaos. It might even be epic chaos.
Pick the podium, one more time--this time for PSP D2. You may choose as many as 3 teams to vote but please limit your vote to 3 choices. (More than 3 votes and you're not helping your favorites reach the top.) Will a chance to vote for D2 teams surprise? Call your friends and neighbors. Here's your chance to make some noise and if it proves anywhere close to as popular as the D1 poll VFTD will give you a regular opportunity to support your favorite divisional teams. Don't just sit there--start voting!
Monday Poll in Review
Gotta say I didn't see that one coming. But it's great to see that much interest and support for the D1 kids. Across the board there was clearly some friendly voting but there was also some name recognition voting that helped separate a few well known names up a few spots. Perhaps more interesting is the lack of votes for some well established teams. The predicted podium finish for the D1 series came out VCK on top (33%) followed by Topgun Union (28%) and Grad Moscow (20%). Not a big surprise but a mild upset with VCK topping Topgun who battled Upton 187 all last season for the top spot. VCK made a big splash at Cup--and probably benefited from a get out the vote campaign. Grad was the top team in D2 last season. Two other top D2 teams also made the move; Distortion (11%) with Static (6%) returning to D1. Interestingly the top four D2 teams all finished within 25 points of each other so it wasn't a runaway for Grad yet they dominated in the poll. The only other team (that will be playing) to break double digits was Sacramento Damage and as a brand spanking new squad probably benefited from the name and their home turf in Cali. None of the rest of the returning D1 pool received strong numbers [except Montreal Mankster but they apparently chose during the poll not to come to Galveston.] Texas Storm led among the rest of the D1 returnees with 9% which was matched by L.I.F.T with RNT (6%), NJJ (5%) & Mayhem (4%). Rounding out the voting were the SD Pirates and Fuzion (teams out of the WCPPL) and new teams Tampa Bay Notorious and Florida Bomb Squad. Notorious has a core of former Fierce players augmented with a couple of ex-pros.
If the majority of teams in Galveston compete throughout the upcoming season it could be one of the most exciting and unpredictable D1 divisions ever. Keep an eye on the match-ups and scores in the prelims. It could be epic. It could be chaos. It might even be epic chaos.
Monday, February 13, 2012
The Monday Poll
Looking at team registrations for Galveston this is the fattest D1 bracket I've seen in a long time. A lot of teams bumping up and more than a few new teams jumping in. So this week The Monday Poll wants to know how you think D1 is gonna sort itself out by the time World Cup rolls around. Who will be at or near the top fighting for a series title? Pick your podium! Who will be the top three when the dust finally settles? Choose three and only three teams. (When you start picking more all you're doing is diminishing the chances of your favorite teams.)
It's a once in a while opportunity to vote more than once. Don't blow it. Pick your 3 D1 favorites and see how they end up.
Well, what are you waiting for? Get to it.
Monday Poll in Review
Excellent turnout for last weeks dueling (dual) polls although around 25% couldn't manage to vote in both polls. Bastards. Stephen Hawking gets a pass but he's the only one--and once he gets his ipad synced with his wheelchair he's out of excuses too. The rest of you lazy slackers suck. Despite your intransigence the results are pretty interesting. (And I did make a mistake. For purposes of the polls I should have duplicated the options. As it stands most options were duplicated but not all.)
After sorting out the brown-nosers (J-Rab to TBD! 21%) and the Northeastern fanboys (Yeah 187 Crew! 12%) the results in the Best poll trend toward options that may directly impact the voter. Of the top five remaining options (mandatory Virtue chip 14%, PSP return to Phoenix 8%, Houston Heat to play PSP pro 8%, PSP hires Tom Cole 6% and NPPL hires Tony Mineo 6%) 2 options directly affect players of those leagues and 2 others could easily have an impact on how those leagues operate this coming season. And in the Worst poll the results skew heavily toward options that may impact the voter which tells us, among other things, y'all are a lot more motivated to vote for stuff you don't like. Leading the Worst poll by a landslide margin was New snake bunkers added to PSP field set (42%). That compares to 4% that considered it the Best off season move. Another 10% chose making the new snake bunkers period so in essence over 50% of the Worst results identify the new Sup'Air snake bunkers. The only other option in the Worst poll in double digits is the mandatory Virtue chip being introduced in the NPPL at 13%. So there's 14% that think that was the Best move and 13% who think it was the Worst move. None of the other NPPL changes had much impact on the voting; Best--NPPL offers expanded format choices (3%) and NPPL schedules Canadian event (3%) & Worst--NPPL increases entry fees (4%) expanded format choices (3%) and Vancouver event (2%). Not much more than a blip on either poll and a wash where they overlap.
The other obvious trend is the dominance of PSP-related options over NPPL-related options. While certainly unscientific it's hard to avoid the conclusion that at least VFTD readers (& voters) are more interested in what happens in the PSP than they are the NPPL. Does that correlate to relative popularity--I suspect it probably does. For example both sides of the poll saw more interest and votes for issues that tied to teams playing the PSP over the NPPL as well. RL players to Heat; Best (7%) & Worst (7%). Heat to play PSP Pro; Best (8%). Impact leaves PSP; Worst (5%). Cumulatively Xplicit picking up an All-Star roster, Critical moving up to pro and BLAST disbanding received 1% of the vote in both polls combined.
The only other significant vote getter in the Best poll was the PSP's return to Phoenix with 8%. And in the Worst poll it was the expansion to 5 events at 5% but since the option wasn't league specific that 5% is the sum and actually suggests the opposite--that mostly nobody has any concerns or problems with the move to 5 seasonal events.
Finally, with the top 5 vote getters in the Best poll heavily focused on team moves and the other two split by league (mandatory chip) (return to Phoenix) and more than a dozen other options receiving votes indicate little strong connection with the choices made. The Worst poll suggests the opposite with such a preponderance of the vote split only ways with the vast majority targeting one situation. While the NPPL didn't receive a ringing endorsement of most of their off season actions only the mandatory chip introduction drew a significant response either way at that was, according to the poll results, a wash. Given the way each poll trended it will be interesting to see if one result or the other has stronger real support that affects the league for good or ill. (I'm inclined to think those who thought it was the Worst move are really objecting to the cost and are misplacing their ire.) On the PSP side it's crystal clear that the new snake bunkers have created a lot of uncertainty and that negative views vastly outweigh positive ones. (And while VFTD probably has to take some credit or blame for this poll result it should be equally obvious that VFTD had marginal impact on the wider dissatisfaction being expressed around the paintball internet. As much as everyone fatally attracted to competitive paintball ought to be reading VFTD--they aren't. Yet.)
It's a once in a while opportunity to vote more than once. Don't blow it. Pick your 3 D1 favorites and see how they end up.
Well, what are you waiting for? Get to it.
Monday Poll in Review
Excellent turnout for last weeks dueling (dual) polls although around 25% couldn't manage to vote in both polls. Bastards. Stephen Hawking gets a pass but he's the only one--and once he gets his ipad synced with his wheelchair he's out of excuses too. The rest of you lazy slackers suck. Despite your intransigence the results are pretty interesting. (And I did make a mistake. For purposes of the polls I should have duplicated the options. As it stands most options were duplicated but not all.)
After sorting out the brown-nosers (J-Rab to TBD! 21%) and the Northeastern fanboys (Yeah 187 Crew! 12%) the results in the Best poll trend toward options that may directly impact the voter. Of the top five remaining options (mandatory Virtue chip 14%, PSP return to Phoenix 8%, Houston Heat to play PSP pro 8%, PSP hires Tom Cole 6% and NPPL hires Tony Mineo 6%) 2 options directly affect players of those leagues and 2 others could easily have an impact on how those leagues operate this coming season. And in the Worst poll the results skew heavily toward options that may impact the voter which tells us, among other things, y'all are a lot more motivated to vote for stuff you don't like. Leading the Worst poll by a landslide margin was New snake bunkers added to PSP field set (42%). That compares to 4% that considered it the Best off season move. Another 10% chose making the new snake bunkers period so in essence over 50% of the Worst results identify the new Sup'Air snake bunkers. The only other option in the Worst poll in double digits is the mandatory Virtue chip being introduced in the NPPL at 13%. So there's 14% that think that was the Best move and 13% who think it was the Worst move. None of the other NPPL changes had much impact on the voting; Best--NPPL offers expanded format choices (3%) and NPPL schedules Canadian event (3%) & Worst--NPPL increases entry fees (4%) expanded format choices (3%) and Vancouver event (2%). Not much more than a blip on either poll and a wash where they overlap.
The other obvious trend is the dominance of PSP-related options over NPPL-related options. While certainly unscientific it's hard to avoid the conclusion that at least VFTD readers (& voters) are more interested in what happens in the PSP than they are the NPPL. Does that correlate to relative popularity--I suspect it probably does. For example both sides of the poll saw more interest and votes for issues that tied to teams playing the PSP over the NPPL as well. RL players to Heat; Best (7%) & Worst (7%). Heat to play PSP Pro; Best (8%). Impact leaves PSP; Worst (5%). Cumulatively Xplicit picking up an All-Star roster, Critical moving up to pro and BLAST disbanding received 1% of the vote in both polls combined.
The only other significant vote getter in the Best poll was the PSP's return to Phoenix with 8%. And in the Worst poll it was the expansion to 5 events at 5% but since the option wasn't league specific that 5% is the sum and actually suggests the opposite--that mostly nobody has any concerns or problems with the move to 5 seasonal events.
Finally, with the top 5 vote getters in the Best poll heavily focused on team moves and the other two split by league (mandatory chip) (return to Phoenix) and more than a dozen other options receiving votes indicate little strong connection with the choices made. The Worst poll suggests the opposite with such a preponderance of the vote split only ways with the vast majority targeting one situation. While the NPPL didn't receive a ringing endorsement of most of their off season actions only the mandatory chip introduction drew a significant response either way at that was, according to the poll results, a wash. Given the way each poll trended it will be interesting to see if one result or the other has stronger real support that affects the league for good or ill. (I'm inclined to think those who thought it was the Worst move are really objecting to the cost and are misplacing their ire.) On the PSP side it's crystal clear that the new snake bunkers have created a lot of uncertainty and that negative views vastly outweigh positive ones. (And while VFTD probably has to take some credit or blame for this poll result it should be equally obvious that VFTD had marginal impact on the wider dissatisfaction being expressed around the paintball internet. As much as everyone fatally attracted to competitive paintball ought to be reading VFTD--they aren't. Yet.)
Monday, January 30, 2012
Monday Poll in Review
No Monday Poll for you! No, you didn't do anything. You are, after all, a lazy slacker. I just didn't have a good poll topic--so no poll this week. If you've got any ideas you know what to do with them. (Take that however you like.)
UPDATE: I lied. There is a Monday Poll. The off topic who will win the SuperBowl Poll.
Last week's The Monday Poll asked about the best way(s) to improve tournament paintball. Since much the dialogue lately has revolved around the virtues of restricted paint and/or reduced ROF it's small wonder they were popular categories. Perhaps most interesting was that the only category that didn't receive any votes was Lower maximum velocity. Not a one. Less energy, less pain on impact, right? Less energy maybe more guns can consistently shoot more fragile paint. Less energy fewer breaks at longer ranges more live players after the breakout. And not one vote. The next 3 categories with the fewest votes look to have split the M. Carter Brown voters with 3% favoring a return to woods tournaments, 3% longing for the larger fields of yesteryear and a whopping 6% ready to dust off their cockers and automags and go mechanical. When semi-auto was really semi-auto and a man was a man and an enormous drop forward let you tuck that 118/3000 in nice and tight. (Right.) I'm not sure I believe it though 'cus the PSP has tried offering Tactical Race 2 [mech guns] and it ain't like they are turning teams away. The fact is even the UWL hasn't garnered much interest in all mech gun teams so those who say they want it either don't really or are so broke they can't play anyway. Four categories tied at 9% each. The pipedream universal industry standard semi-auto board or chip or whatever. Even if all the obstacles involved were overcome nobody would really want it if they had it or, more to the point, were compelled to use it because it would be too slow. I can pull faster than this, it's ruined my gun, this is no fun, etc. Also at 9% were restricted paint and lowered ROF for the lower divisions of competitive play. Of course when the PSP tried to tier ROF by experience the crowd that would have benefited most raised the biggest ruckus. And while limited paint leagues existed in the past I don't know of any currently in the U.S. Whatever plusses either option has it ain't gonna happen if nobody is willing to play that way. (At the same time it's possible to educate--or in raehl's case, browbeat--the tourney crowd into eventually seeing that a recommended alternative might not be such a bad idea after all but it's necessarily a time consuming process.) Last of the 9 percenters was more props. Fill that field up. More choices. Closer together. More angles and lanes blocked. Heck, if you stay low it almost becomes a game of hide & seek--which everybody knows is way better than capture the flag.
Next at 10% was bring back the 10-man game. I hear this a lot. What I haven't heard is anyone trying to bring it back and having any grand success. I keep suggesting to the PSP that Masters play ought to be Race 2-2 and that they'd get more geezers playing--but maybe they wouldn't. Tactical has been about as popular as a pick-up artist in a lesbian bar and for all the 10-man nostalgia I haven't seen any evidence that anybody would show up if they built it. At 11% we have the lowered ROF across all divisions of play which is, if nothing else, a testament to Brockdorff's tenacity, enthusiasm and good cheer. Which brings us to the top 2 vote getters; a completely new format (14%) & restricted paint across all divisions (17%). One thing this poll result suggests is that there is no widely held opinion of what the answer is or ought to be. Even so I'm mildly surprised that nearly 15% opted for the unknown which I think tells us more about some level of present dissatisfaction than it does an expectation of what the unknown format might deliver. I find it curious but as with all these results I think most of the votes are soft votes in the sense that you people (the voters) aren't do or die committed to your choices. Any of them. Although apparently raehl's restricted paint crowd wants to make sure everybody suffers if they have to or else maybe they imagine a time in the near future when restricted paint will allow them to play at the upper levels of competition.
So apparently if we restrict paint, lower the ROF, add props, enlarge the field, use mech guns with 10 players per side using a brand new format tournament paintball as we know (and love) it will be saved. Hurrah!
UPDATE: I lied. There is a Monday Poll. The off topic who will win the SuperBowl Poll.
Last week's The Monday Poll asked about the best way(s) to improve tournament paintball. Since much the dialogue lately has revolved around the virtues of restricted paint and/or reduced ROF it's small wonder they were popular categories. Perhaps most interesting was that the only category that didn't receive any votes was Lower maximum velocity. Not a one. Less energy, less pain on impact, right? Less energy maybe more guns can consistently shoot more fragile paint. Less energy fewer breaks at longer ranges more live players after the breakout. And not one vote. The next 3 categories with the fewest votes look to have split the M. Carter Brown voters with 3% favoring a return to woods tournaments, 3% longing for the larger fields of yesteryear and a whopping 6% ready to dust off their cockers and automags and go mechanical. When semi-auto was really semi-auto and a man was a man and an enormous drop forward let you tuck that 118/3000 in nice and tight. (Right.) I'm not sure I believe it though 'cus the PSP has tried offering Tactical Race 2 [mech guns] and it ain't like they are turning teams away. The fact is even the UWL hasn't garnered much interest in all mech gun teams so those who say they want it either don't really or are so broke they can't play anyway. Four categories tied at 9% each. The pipedream universal industry standard semi-auto board or chip or whatever. Even if all the obstacles involved were overcome nobody would really want it if they had it or, more to the point, were compelled to use it because it would be too slow. I can pull faster than this, it's ruined my gun, this is no fun, etc. Also at 9% were restricted paint and lowered ROF for the lower divisions of competitive play. Of course when the PSP tried to tier ROF by experience the crowd that would have benefited most raised the biggest ruckus. And while limited paint leagues existed in the past I don't know of any currently in the U.S. Whatever plusses either option has it ain't gonna happen if nobody is willing to play that way. (At the same time it's possible to educate--or in raehl's case, browbeat--the tourney crowd into eventually seeing that a recommended alternative might not be such a bad idea after all but it's necessarily a time consuming process.) Last of the 9 percenters was more props. Fill that field up. More choices. Closer together. More angles and lanes blocked. Heck, if you stay low it almost becomes a game of hide & seek--which everybody knows is way better than capture the flag.
Next at 10% was bring back the 10-man game. I hear this a lot. What I haven't heard is anyone trying to bring it back and having any grand success. I keep suggesting to the PSP that Masters play ought to be Race 2-2 and that they'd get more geezers playing--but maybe they wouldn't. Tactical has been about as popular as a pick-up artist in a lesbian bar and for all the 10-man nostalgia I haven't seen any evidence that anybody would show up if they built it. At 11% we have the lowered ROF across all divisions of play which is, if nothing else, a testament to Brockdorff's tenacity, enthusiasm and good cheer. Which brings us to the top 2 vote getters; a completely new format (14%) & restricted paint across all divisions (17%). One thing this poll result suggests is that there is no widely held opinion of what the answer is or ought to be. Even so I'm mildly surprised that nearly 15% opted for the unknown which I think tells us more about some level of present dissatisfaction than it does an expectation of what the unknown format might deliver. I find it curious but as with all these results I think most of the votes are soft votes in the sense that you people (the voters) aren't do or die committed to your choices. Any of them. Although apparently raehl's restricted paint crowd wants to make sure everybody suffers if they have to or else maybe they imagine a time in the near future when restricted paint will allow them to play at the upper levels of competition.
So apparently if we restrict paint, lower the ROF, add props, enlarge the field, use mech guns with 10 players per side using a brand new format tournament paintball as we know (and love) it will be saved. Hurrah!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Monday Poll
I'ma cross my fingers this week and hope some of y'all actually read this section before you vote in this week's Monday Poll 'cus it's gonna be a bit tricky. In recent years the subject of how to improve tourney paintball or, alternatively, make it more appealing and/or get more peeps playing has been a nearly endless topic for nearly endless conversations. I was reminded of this over the weekend by the thread hijack perpetrated by raehl and Brockdorff--Have you been injured in a slip & fall? Call raehl & Brockdorff, they'll sue somebody--over in the PBN News thread on the new NPL. And I thought it might make a good poll topic. The question is: Which of the following choices is the best option for improving tournament paintball? Note that the goal isn't more players, it's improving the game. If you think more players is the best possible improvement that's fine but I wanted to open up the possibilities. The poll will certainly not contain every possible option so feel free to add your favorite in comments but should have a good selection of choices based on various (often recurring) proposals that have been discussed in the past.
As is the norm you will get one vote and one vote only. Cast it wisely. (Not like usual.)
Monday Poll in Review
Out of concern for the delicate sensibilities of some readers I won't be going over the results in detail this week. Last week's question concerned format preference between the PSP, NPPL & MS and, not surprisingly, the PSP was the winner. The margin was what was unexpected given it was essentially 3:1 over both the other leagues combined with the PSP garnering approx. 75% of the votes. (NPPL got 15% & MS got 10%.) The MS began with the disadvantage that VFTD has fewer regulars from Euroland than North America so unless a voter preferred fewer matches played while sharing the field with two other teams it wasn't an unexpected outcome. And with the lack of experience most voters have with the Millennium style format it's also no surprise it didn't receive a significant number of votes regardless of the league presenting it. And finally it was no great surprise that majorities in each category favored the option that provided the longest game, the most points--and perhaps reflects the continuing dream of many to play at the highest level.
As is the norm you will get one vote and one vote only. Cast it wisely. (Not like usual.)
Monday Poll in Review
Out of concern for the delicate sensibilities of some readers I won't be going over the results in detail this week. Last week's question concerned format preference between the PSP, NPPL & MS and, not surprisingly, the PSP was the winner. The margin was what was unexpected given it was essentially 3:1 over both the other leagues combined with the PSP garnering approx. 75% of the votes. (NPPL got 15% & MS got 10%.) The MS began with the disadvantage that VFTD has fewer regulars from Euroland than North America so unless a voter preferred fewer matches played while sharing the field with two other teams it wasn't an unexpected outcome. And with the lack of experience most voters have with the Millennium style format it's also no surprise it didn't receive a significant number of votes regardless of the league presenting it. And finally it was no great surprise that majorities in each category favored the option that provided the longest game, the most points--and perhaps reflects the continuing dream of many to play at the highest level.
Monday, January 16, 2012
The Monday Poll
This week's Monday Poll is the all-inclusive something for everyone (in competitive paintball) format poll. The poll will list all and sundry format options available this year in major league paintball and VFTD is going to allow you to choose the format you'd most like to play. Or the one you will be playing. Or would rather play over what the rest of your team decided to do this season. Whatever. But keep in mind, once again, there can be only one. One choice that is. Certain lazy slackers--who will go unnamed--ruined the dual poll concept for the rest of you by not voting in both polls last week. (And you know who you are. Nearly 20% couldn't click the old mouse twice. Oh, it's so hard. I'm tired. I didn't see it. I didn't read the post and thought I had to pick one poll or the other. There is no excuse you can come up with I haven't heard or used myself so don't bother trying.)
[Besides different field dimensions and props Millenium Race 2 also features two teams playing simultaneously taking turns on the field where PSP Race 2 does not. In addition Millenium pre-lim brackets offer 3 games while the PSP has 4. While some of the details for the NPPL's versions of Race 2 are unknown they will generally follow the Millenium option.]
Anyway. It doesn't get any simpler. One poll. One answer (per voter.) One format winner. Which one will it be? It's all up to you--and however many of your friends you can get to vote with you, you cheating bastards. So get to it already. You don't have all day. Well, actually you have a week or thereabouts but no time like the present to vote in the Monday Poll.
Monday Poll in Review
Here's how the first dual Monday Poll is gonna work. VFTD has tallied all the votes in both polls and subtracted last place votes from first place votes. The resulting sum was then compared to all other results in order to rank the teams from first to last.
But before I give the final results a couple of comments on the polls themselves--and some of the voting. The last place poll received around 18-20% fewer votes than the first place poll. No big deal with a non-scientific VFTD poll but it would'a been nice to have the numbers balance out and could have changed the finishing places for a number of the teams particularly those mid-pack. Of note was the limited number of votes Impact received although given the apparent likelihood they will not be competing in the PSP this season it's not unreasonable. Even so, since they were in the poll I think they probably merited a few more votes than they got. The same is true of the Russians, Dynasty and the Ironmen. Dynasty (18%) opened the 2011 season with 4 straight wins for goodness sake. The back half wasn't as strong but they were solid and consistent all year. And the Russians (11%) were in the finals of 3 of 4 PSP events and a mostly (if not exclusively) Legion roster won the MS as Art Chaos. What happened to fans of the 'Men? Can anybody say "fair weather?" That actually holds true for a lot of the teams where I expected their hard core fans to throw them a few votes--but as it turned out, not so much, except for the big effort on behalf of 187 who received as many "winning" votes as Dynasty and Legion combined. Clearly the new kids have a lot of home grown support. All in all what we have here is less fan support across the board than I expected and a lot more flavor of the month voting than I expected. This is not PBN people. (Hi, John!)
Finishing in last place was CEP. Tenth position went to Aftershock. Vicious finished ninth. X-Factor came in eighth. Tied in the six/seven position were Ironmen & Impact. 187 Crew came in fifth. Fourth was Infamous. The Russian Legion finished third. And Dynasty was second. (Remember, these places are the results of the voting and are not endorsed by VFTD.) Despite the last place votes from the NPPL Board of Directors (keep reading, guys!)--rumor has it they don't like VFTD very much--was it something I said?--Damage finished first in VFTD's first dual poll as most likely to win the PSP series in 2012. No pressure.
VFTD will revisit this result (if I remember) at the end of the year and compare the actual results top to bottom with the poll's results. It'll be fun. Or not.
[Besides different field dimensions and props Millenium Race 2 also features two teams playing simultaneously taking turns on the field where PSP Race 2 does not. In addition Millenium pre-lim brackets offer 3 games while the PSP has 4. While some of the details for the NPPL's versions of Race 2 are unknown they will generally follow the Millenium option.]
Anyway. It doesn't get any simpler. One poll. One answer (per voter.) One format winner. Which one will it be? It's all up to you--and however many of your friends you can get to vote with you, you cheating bastards. So get to it already. You don't have all day. Well, actually you have a week or thereabouts but no time like the present to vote in the Monday Poll.
Monday Poll in Review
Here's how the first dual Monday Poll is gonna work. VFTD has tallied all the votes in both polls and subtracted last place votes from first place votes. The resulting sum was then compared to all other results in order to rank the teams from first to last.
But before I give the final results a couple of comments on the polls themselves--and some of the voting. The last place poll received around 18-20% fewer votes than the first place poll. No big deal with a non-scientific VFTD poll but it would'a been nice to have the numbers balance out and could have changed the finishing places for a number of the teams particularly those mid-pack. Of note was the limited number of votes Impact received although given the apparent likelihood they will not be competing in the PSP this season it's not unreasonable. Even so, since they were in the poll I think they probably merited a few more votes than they got. The same is true of the Russians, Dynasty and the Ironmen. Dynasty (18%) opened the 2011 season with 4 straight wins for goodness sake. The back half wasn't as strong but they were solid and consistent all year. And the Russians (11%) were in the finals of 3 of 4 PSP events and a mostly (if not exclusively) Legion roster won the MS as Art Chaos. What happened to fans of the 'Men? Can anybody say "fair weather?" That actually holds true for a lot of the teams where I expected their hard core fans to throw them a few votes--but as it turned out, not so much, except for the big effort on behalf of 187 who received as many "winning" votes as Dynasty and Legion combined. Clearly the new kids have a lot of home grown support. All in all what we have here is less fan support across the board than I expected and a lot more flavor of the month voting than I expected. This is not PBN people. (Hi, John!)
Finishing in last place was CEP. Tenth position went to Aftershock. Vicious finished ninth. X-Factor came in eighth. Tied in the six/seven position were Ironmen & Impact. 187 Crew came in fifth. Fourth was Infamous. The Russian Legion finished third. And Dynasty was second. (Remember, these places are the results of the voting and are not endorsed by VFTD.) Despite the last place votes from the NPPL Board of Directors (keep reading, guys!)--rumor has it they don't like VFTD very much--was it something I said?--Damage finished first in VFTD's first dual poll as most likely to win the PSP series in 2012. No pressure.
VFTD will revisit this result (if I remember) at the end of the year and compare the actual results top to bottom with the poll's results. It'll be fun. Or not.
Monday, October 31, 2011
The Monday Poll in Review
No new The Monday Poll for you! Not a punishment, I just couldn't come up with anything that interested me--and none of you slackers had any bright ideas either. (Or if you did you failed to share them with everybody. And when I say "everybody" I mean me.) Maybe next week.
Last week's The Monday Poll asked you when (or if) the rumored big league merger was going to be publicly announced. Everybody was correct (in not voting) for the option 'sometime this coming week' as that week has come and gone. Beyond that there was little unanimity. One lonely voter chose before NPPL Vegas which was either a bold move on a long shot or a sign that the voter is well out of the loop and not in the least bit concerned. Otherwise 35% picked either never gonna happen or will simply result in endless talks which means better than 1 in 3 have decided all this merger talk is kinda like the boy who cried wolf. They just don't believe anymore. Slightly fewer voters (32%) think the announcement will come post Vegas. (Current rumors continue to have the talks on track with the prospect of the actual doing of the deal at Vegas--but who knows? It's been close before.) With respect to the other options 'After Vegas' really applied to all the remaining choices; Before Thanksgiving (4%), Before Christmas (11%) & After Jan 1 (14%), so what I take away from the responses is a series of windows of time. After Vegas means closer to the event than not--within the time frame of the event itself. Before Thanksgiving is the window after the event and before, well, yeah, Thanksgiving. And the others are sorta self-explanatory in that context. While I am certainly cynical enough to go for the After Jan 1st option I think that timing would be closing in on problematic--particularly if the merger occurs and the season becomes say, 5 events. Likely participants are going to want to know what the format will be and the approximate dates of the events as soon as possible and the league should want to limit the uncertainty and upheaval no matter what happens as much as possible. All of which implies, if it doesn't actually necessitate--an earlier announcement date.
Anyway, it hasn't happened yet. (Over at Baddog's Facebook page the kids are running a Merger Pool giveaway for anyone who wants to guess the correct announcement date. Be the first to guess the correct date and win--something.)
Last week's The Monday Poll asked you when (or if) the rumored big league merger was going to be publicly announced. Everybody was correct (in not voting) for the option 'sometime this coming week' as that week has come and gone. Beyond that there was little unanimity. One lonely voter chose before NPPL Vegas which was either a bold move on a long shot or a sign that the voter is well out of the loop and not in the least bit concerned. Otherwise 35% picked either never gonna happen or will simply result in endless talks which means better than 1 in 3 have decided all this merger talk is kinda like the boy who cried wolf. They just don't believe anymore. Slightly fewer voters (32%) think the announcement will come post Vegas. (Current rumors continue to have the talks on track with the prospect of the actual doing of the deal at Vegas--but who knows? It's been close before.) With respect to the other options 'After Vegas' really applied to all the remaining choices; Before Thanksgiving (4%), Before Christmas (11%) & After Jan 1 (14%), so what I take away from the responses is a series of windows of time. After Vegas means closer to the event than not--within the time frame of the event itself. Before Thanksgiving is the window after the event and before, well, yeah, Thanksgiving. And the others are sorta self-explanatory in that context. While I am certainly cynical enough to go for the After Jan 1st option I think that timing would be closing in on problematic--particularly if the merger occurs and the season becomes say, 5 events. Likely participants are going to want to know what the format will be and the approximate dates of the events as soon as possible and the league should want to limit the uncertainty and upheaval no matter what happens as much as possible. All of which implies, if it doesn't actually necessitate--an earlier announcement date.
Anyway, it hasn't happened yet. (Over at Baddog's Facebook page the kids are running a Merger Pool giveaway for anyone who wants to guess the correct announcement date. Be the first to guess the correct date and win--something.)
Monday, October 24, 2011
The Monday Poll: The Merger Pool
Okay, this week (Yes, I'ma talk about Cup, just not right this minute) The Monday Poll wants your predictions for when, or if, a merger announcement between the PSP & the NPPL will be made. I'll give you a range of general options--and as per usual (most of) you will be lazy slackers and not bother to vote. What, more merger stuff? Yes, more merger stuff mostly because the powers that be spent most of WC weekend sequestered deep in important (and time consuming) merger talks. [I'm trying, even as I type, to get my hands on their bar tab. Just kidding.] So I'm thinking if they spent all that time working on possibility of moving forward we could be close to some sort of announcement. And what better way to commemorate the historic move than to conduct another lame, inconsequential The Monday Poll! So look over the options carefully and then vote, vote, vote. Okay, just vote. It would be cheating to vote, vote, vote. There are federal election laws against that sort of thing--at least there used to be.
Oh, and if you'd like to indulge in a little cross promotional consumerism over at Baddog's Facebook page they are doing a Merger Pool Giveaway. First person to correctly pick the date the merger is announced (or pronounced dead) wins a free Tampa Bay Damage NexGen goggle strap.
Monday Poll in Review
If you are expecting me to chide y'all for picking poorly I'm not going to do that. Being the third most popular vote is fine with me. That, and I consider the source. (Think about that for a second. Yeah, that's right.) And of course these sorts of things really do tend to be popularity contests and I have no illusions about which pro teams are the most popular and rightly so as both Dynasty & the Russians have been top teams for many years.
If you're confused last week's poll was to pick the winner of the PSP World Cup in the pro division.
I figure the vote count was a bit low 'cus lots of regulars were either at Cup or didn't feel qualified to make a choice--though that obviously didn't stop the Brits from a spot of patriotic wishful thinking. (Nexus did a fine job and for first timers to the PSP pro division acquitted themselves quite well regardless of the match results.) Of the the 12 teams competing 9 teams got votes. Of those left out the Ironmen receiving no votes was the most egregious considering that they've consistently been competing for a top spot all season. 72% of the vote went to the top three teams receiving votes; Dynasty, Russia & Damage and those were the top three finishers as well--in that order, 3, 2 and 1. The next two highest vote recipients were Impact and Nexus, followed by Shock and Infamous.
Oh, and if you'd like to indulge in a little cross promotional consumerism over at Baddog's Facebook page they are doing a Merger Pool Giveaway. First person to correctly pick the date the merger is announced (or pronounced dead) wins a free Tampa Bay Damage NexGen goggle strap.
Monday Poll in Review
If you are expecting me to chide y'all for picking poorly I'm not going to do that. Being the third most popular vote is fine with me. That, and I consider the source. (Think about that for a second. Yeah, that's right.) And of course these sorts of things really do tend to be popularity contests and I have no illusions about which pro teams are the most popular and rightly so as both Dynasty & the Russians have been top teams for many years.
If you're confused last week's poll was to pick the winner of the PSP World Cup in the pro division.
I figure the vote count was a bit low 'cus lots of regulars were either at Cup or didn't feel qualified to make a choice--though that obviously didn't stop the Brits from a spot of patriotic wishful thinking. (Nexus did a fine job and for first timers to the PSP pro division acquitted themselves quite well regardless of the match results.) Of the the 12 teams competing 9 teams got votes. Of those left out the Ironmen receiving no votes was the most egregious considering that they've consistently been competing for a top spot all season. 72% of the vote went to the top three teams receiving votes; Dynasty, Russia & Damage and those were the top three finishers as well--in that order, 3, 2 and 1. The next two highest vote recipients were Impact and Nexus, followed by Shock and Infamous.
Monday, October 17, 2011
The Monday Poll
It's World Cup week so what else can VFTD possibly do for The Monday Poll other than offer y'all an opportunity to pick the Pro winner. I'm even gonna let you vote thru Saturday night so some of you slackers can cheat and make sure your choice at least reaches Sunday. And don't forget Cade's Pick'em action at PBN in the PSP forum. I heard he was giving prizes out this year. (No links. You know where to look and I'm busy.) (Oh, and about the prizes--I was lying but it would be fun if everyone asked him if he was giving out prizes, wouldn't it?) Okay, that's it. You know what to do. Vote.
Monday Poll in Review
Well, that was special wasn't it? As it turns out last week's poll is largely moot given that the PPV broadcast of NPPL Vegas is more of an On Demand kinda thing (apparently) that will be available around January/February (apparently.) Although I did learn something new. If you want the latest news on the NPPL don't go the NPPL website. Don't go the NPPL Facebook page. Go to Pev's Facebook page. Who knew?
About the numbers. If the event had been PPV this is what y'all said you'd be willing to pay. 9% weren't interested at all. We don't know if that's a NPPL thing or just a paintball thing. 33% were willing to watch but have been spoiled by past freebies (and are probably broke ass students) and will only watch if its free. Of course since the premise was PPV they's out of luck. 8% claimed to be willing to pop for $5 bucks a day. 21% would go $10 for the weekend. 12% were willing to kick in $25 for the weekend. Every other option was 5% or less and I'm not sure what the margin of scientific error is on this sort of poll (but it's probably off the chart.) Even so I'm inclined to think those who said they'd pay $50 for the weekend are probably board members of the NPPL. Anyway, nothing really new. Around 40% wouldn't pay. Of the remaining 60% nearly half were in the around $5 a day range. What that means for an edited post production On Demand NPPL Vegas offering I don't know.
What would you pay for a one or two time viewing? Would you pay more for a downloadable version?
Monday Poll in Review
Well, that was special wasn't it? As it turns out last week's poll is largely moot given that the PPV broadcast of NPPL Vegas is more of an On Demand kinda thing (apparently) that will be available around January/February (apparently.) Although I did learn something new. If you want the latest news on the NPPL don't go the NPPL website. Don't go the NPPL Facebook page. Go to Pev's Facebook page. Who knew?
About the numbers. If the event had been PPV this is what y'all said you'd be willing to pay. 9% weren't interested at all. We don't know if that's a NPPL thing or just a paintball thing. 33% were willing to watch but have been spoiled by past freebies (and are probably broke ass students) and will only watch if its free. Of course since the premise was PPV they's out of luck. 8% claimed to be willing to pop for $5 bucks a day. 21% would go $10 for the weekend. 12% were willing to kick in $25 for the weekend. Every other option was 5% or less and I'm not sure what the margin of scientific error is on this sort of poll (but it's probably off the chart.) Even so I'm inclined to think those who said they'd pay $50 for the weekend are probably board members of the NPPL. Anyway, nothing really new. Around 40% wouldn't pay. Of the remaining 60% nearly half were in the around $5 a day range. What that means for an edited post production On Demand NPPL Vegas offering I don't know.
What would you pay for a one or two time viewing? Would you pay more for a downloadable version?
Monday, August 22, 2011
Monday Poll in Review
I heard from a reliable source this past week that powers in the PSP weren't exactly thrilled to see last week's The Monday Poll. (And given the results I suspect the NPPL kids liked it even less.) So let this be a teaching moment on why Baca is always right. The point of the poll was a) to give voice to you, the competitive player, and b) to make painfully clear that whatever reasons may be offered in favor of the 7-man format widespread popularity isn't one of them. (More on this coming later.)
(Reason a is also why I am on occasion frustrated at the lack of participation. Outlets for expressing your moods, views, opinions and general thoughts are relatively few and far between and trust me, participating here, at VFTD will get you a lot further than bitching & whining will over on PBN. On the flip side your apathy is a green light for the paintball powers-that-be to do what they want, when they want.)
Allow me to demonstrate. (We're talking about the poll again.) Given all the different options let's add up the percentages that favor any form of 7-man. That total is 16% of the vote. The total favoring some form of xball or Race 2 is 73%. In the debate over what format a unified major league ought to offer the answer seems pretty clear, doesn't it? Also of interest 18% voted for the current form of Race 2 while only 2% voted for the current form of 7-man. That, my friends, is 9:1 in favor of xball. (7-man collected most of its votes [14%] in the S7 category of Best of 3 competition that I am certain most of those voting for haven't actually played. Largely because it turned out to be a confusing pain in the --) And of course there is no way original Xball , despite receiving 24% of the vote, makes a surprise return because a) nobody could afford to play it (unless the PSP turned into the CXBL and nobody is gonna commit major league resources to playing two matches or whatever per event) and b) divisional teams would scream bloody murder if they were forced to return to a double elimination format or something similar. (I'll believe there's a real market for 10-man [5%] when somebody offers a 10-man tourney and anybody shows up.) For better or worse Xball Lite is where we're at. That is what has the majority of the grassroots support. That's what most of the regional leagues are playing. That's what Euroland is playing. That's what the developing paintball world aspires to compete in. The debate is over. For better or worse xball is the dominant competitive format.
NPPL Owners Extra: Sorry, kids, you got nothing. Stick with the claim of marketing superiority. Minus the revolving pro teams merry-go-round your events have averaged less than 70 paid teams per event in your first two years. Take the 5-man & pump teams out of the equation and the number of teams actually competing in 7-man drops noticeably. There's no real debate here, only your delusions. While I'm at it here's a prediction for y'all: Any format decision that isn't basically Race 2 will, within about ten minutes, spawn a new competing league or some cooperative competing national championship among the regional Race 2 series.
Edited for accuracy: I changed the number of paid teams on average in the above paragraph after double checking my recollection. More data can be found in the post Buy The Numbers. And if you remove 5-man & pump the number of divisional teams competing in the 7-man format averaged 40 teams during the first two years of NPPL 3.0.
(Reason a is also why I am on occasion frustrated at the lack of participation. Outlets for expressing your moods, views, opinions and general thoughts are relatively few and far between and trust me, participating here, at VFTD will get you a lot further than bitching & whining will over on PBN. On the flip side your apathy is a green light for the paintball powers-that-be to do what they want, when they want.)
Allow me to demonstrate. (We're talking about the poll again.) Given all the different options let's add up the percentages that favor any form of 7-man. That total is 16% of the vote. The total favoring some form of xball or Race 2 is 73%. In the debate over what format a unified major league ought to offer the answer seems pretty clear, doesn't it? Also of interest 18% voted for the current form of Race 2 while only 2% voted for the current form of 7-man. That, my friends, is 9:1 in favor of xball. (7-man collected most of its votes [14%] in the S7 category of Best of 3 competition that I am certain most of those voting for haven't actually played. Largely because it turned out to be a confusing pain in the --) And of course there is no way original Xball , despite receiving 24% of the vote, makes a surprise return because a) nobody could afford to play it (unless the PSP turned into the CXBL and nobody is gonna commit major league resources to playing two matches or whatever per event) and b) divisional teams would scream bloody murder if they were forced to return to a double elimination format or something similar. (I'll believe there's a real market for 10-man [5%] when somebody offers a 10-man tourney and anybody shows up.) For better or worse Xball Lite is where we're at. That is what has the majority of the grassroots support. That's what most of the regional leagues are playing. That's what Euroland is playing. That's what the developing paintball world aspires to compete in. The debate is over. For better or worse xball is the dominant competitive format.
NPPL Owners Extra: Sorry, kids, you got nothing. Stick with the claim of marketing superiority. Minus the revolving pro teams merry-go-round your events have averaged less than 70 paid teams per event in your first two years. Take the 5-man & pump teams out of the equation and the number of teams actually competing in 7-man drops noticeably. There's no real debate here, only your delusions. While I'm at it here's a prediction for y'all: Any format decision that isn't basically Race 2 will, within about ten minutes, spawn a new competing league or some cooperative competing national championship among the regional Race 2 series.
Edited for accuracy: I changed the number of paid teams on average in the above paragraph after double checking my recollection. More data can be found in the post Buy The Numbers. And if you remove 5-man & pump the number of divisional teams competing in the 7-man format averaged 40 teams during the first two years of NPPL 3.0.
Monday, August 15, 2011
The Monday Poll
This week I got you. Against your better judgement you (yes, you) will vote in this week's The Monday Poll. You won't be able to resist. I am in fact so confident you will vote this week I'ma challenge you not to. Don't do it. Continue being a taker. Continue to enjoy VFTD without giving anything back or sharing your point of view with the rest of us. It's cool. But you will vote--this time.
As you may know--unless you're like totally out of the loop or tragically unhip--there has been real (legit) major league merger talks going on with all reports (leaks) suggesting things are progressing positively. One of the issues unsettled to date is the final format a merged league would offer to the hardcore tournament playing public. (Yeah, I said it. So what? They can deny it. They can ignore it. Whatever. It's true. I didn't violate omerta first, they did yo.) So what better question could the world's only dedicated to competitive paintball blog ask: What format would you like to see a single merged league offer?
VFTD will be listing a variety of options that have been bandied about in both conversations and on the web. You pick your favorite and let the league powers know what you want. (If one or more have features you want pick the one closest to your ideal choice. Trying to put all the options in the list would be ridiculous.) If none of the choices meets your approval post up your ideas in the comments. I don't even need to encourage you to vote this week.
Monday Poll in Review
I have reconciled myself to your (yes, you) intransigence--at least when it comes to The Monday Poll. A miserable 75 votes? You should be ashamed of yourselves for the embarrassment of riches you eschew but it's still okay. I'm good with it but I must say I worry about y'all. It's a sign of weak moral fiber--not that I'm judging 'cus I'm not--just saying. And if I won't tell you the truth, who will?
For those who did vote the results fell within the range I expected and which mostly corresponds with past event turnouts. (For those familiar with recent NPPL event attendance. Not those hoping to hype the numbers.) (Over the two plus years of the current NPPL's existence the league has averaged under 70 teams per event.) The voting majority (34%) chose the 51-75 team category which would be consistent with the norm, particularly as this is not an HB or Vegas event. 22% went with under 50 and given the DC event has been the least well attended in the past that's no necessarily a bad call but with 15 Pro teams guaranteed to end up under 50 is expecting a pretty miserable turnout. 26% went with 76-90 teams. Again, not unreasonable but perhaps a wee bit optimistic given past performance. Could happen but it seems unlikely. Above 90 but under 120 received 14% of the vote and represents actual NPPL attendees apparently--or perhaps it's the BizzaroWorld crowd chiming in. Above 120 received 1 vote and it's a toss up whether that's Chuck or Pev. You decide.
On the whole it seems the rumor talk has bolstered the general opinion of the NPPL. Odds are however it won't translate into an unexpectedly large number of actual teams showing up at Pev's place. If it did they'd probably be hard put to figure out where the extra field would go.
As you may know--unless you're like totally out of the loop or tragically unhip--there has been real (legit) major league merger talks going on with all reports (leaks) suggesting things are progressing positively. One of the issues unsettled to date is the final format a merged league would offer to the hardcore tournament playing public. (Yeah, I said it. So what? They can deny it. They can ignore it. Whatever. It's true. I didn't violate omerta first, they did yo.) So what better question could the world's only dedicated to competitive paintball blog ask: What format would you like to see a single merged league offer?
VFTD will be listing a variety of options that have been bandied about in both conversations and on the web. You pick your favorite and let the league powers know what you want. (If one or more have features you want pick the one closest to your ideal choice. Trying to put all the options in the list would be ridiculous.) If none of the choices meets your approval post up your ideas in the comments. I don't even need to encourage you to vote this week.
Monday Poll in Review
I have reconciled myself to your (yes, you) intransigence--at least when it comes to The Monday Poll. A miserable 75 votes? You should be ashamed of yourselves for the embarrassment of riches you eschew but it's still okay. I'm good with it but I must say I worry about y'all. It's a sign of weak moral fiber--not that I'm judging 'cus I'm not--just saying. And if I won't tell you the truth, who will?
For those who did vote the results fell within the range I expected and which mostly corresponds with past event turnouts. (For those familiar with recent NPPL event attendance. Not those hoping to hype the numbers.) (Over the two plus years of the current NPPL's existence the league has averaged under 70 teams per event.) The voting majority (34%) chose the 51-75 team category which would be consistent with the norm, particularly as this is not an HB or Vegas event. 22% went with under 50 and given the DC event has been the least well attended in the past that's no necessarily a bad call but with 15 Pro teams guaranteed to end up under 50 is expecting a pretty miserable turnout. 26% went with 76-90 teams. Again, not unreasonable but perhaps a wee bit optimistic given past performance. Could happen but it seems unlikely. Above 90 but under 120 received 14% of the vote and represents actual NPPL attendees apparently--or perhaps it's the BizzaroWorld crowd chiming in. Above 120 received 1 vote and it's a toss up whether that's Chuck or Pev. You decide.
On the whole it seems the rumor talk has bolstered the general opinion of the NPPL. Odds are however it won't translate into an unexpectedly large number of actual teams showing up at Pev's place. If it did they'd probably be hard put to figure out where the extra field would go.
Monday, August 8, 2011
The Monday Poll
A little better. Poll participation last week, that is. Not the aftermath of the historic, or should that be histrionic, congressional brinkmanship that did nothing but dig the debt hole deeper. Since I'm in a foul mood a) I told y'all no default was imminent, b) the downgrade would occur anyway and c) the projections S&P are putting out after the downgrade are all laughably optimistic, including their worse case scenario by 2021. (Probably because they are likely based on the Pollyanna-ish fiction being disseminated by the CBO.) But then I'm just a paintball coach. On the good news front Scar Jo and Ryan Reynolds may be getting back together. Fingers crossed!
Fortunately for you lot I'm the new, kinder, gentler and chill-er Baca Loco and your abject failure to make a go of the latest poll is cool. No, really, it's okay. I know you're busy (yes, you) and the demands of the day can be a real burden so if you don't always get a chance to participate--I understand. Maybe next time. In the meantime enjoy VFTD pressure-free. That's my new policy.
This week's poll could have been one of those run-of-the-mill who is going to win in New Jersey but just the thought of that almost induced a bout of narcolepsy--which isn't good for timely posting here at VFTD. So instead this week I'm asking the (slightly snarky) question: How many teams will the NPPL's DC Open draw? I'll include ranges of numbers and we'll see how well you do at prognosticating the final tally. I was also tempted to ask what the over/under on the D1 finals match would be but that seemed even nastier somehow. Maybe because I was thinking 3. Maybe 4 points. Another good one would have been--Will teams shoot more or less paint than normal at Jersey? (The answer for most will be more, btw.) Given all the possibilities I went with my gut. There you have it. Vote. Don't vote. It's cool. Whatever works for you.
Monday Poll in Review
Last week's poll asked the evergreen question, Will the two major leagues finally make a merger happen? Or something quite like that. Voting was up around 20% so I thank those of you who participated. Those that didn't? You're missing out but it's cool. Live and let live, I say. By the narrowest of margins--one actual vote--the yeses captured the day. The difference was less than one percent. Among other things that means 50% of y'all aren't having any. You've been down this road before and all it brought was failure and heartbreak. Okay, that's probably overstating it a bit. But who can blame the naysayers? They have history on their side, after all. We've seemingly been here before only to have everything fall apart again and again. Why should this time be any different?
Although, truth be told I'm almost tempted to think a 50/50 split is actually a pretty positive result considering the number of past failures. Either a good sized chunk of the yes votes are unaware of the past or hope really does spring eternal. (Rumor has it everything remains on track to get this done before next season so I imagine we'll find out soon enough and in the meantime there's still paintball to be played.)
Fortunately for you lot I'm the new, kinder, gentler and chill-er Baca Loco and your abject failure to make a go of the latest poll is cool. No, really, it's okay. I know you're busy (yes, you) and the demands of the day can be a real burden so if you don't always get a chance to participate--I understand. Maybe next time. In the meantime enjoy VFTD pressure-free. That's my new policy.
This week's poll could have been one of those run-of-the-mill who is going to win in New Jersey but just the thought of that almost induced a bout of narcolepsy--which isn't good for timely posting here at VFTD. So instead this week I'm asking the (slightly snarky) question: How many teams will the NPPL's DC Open draw? I'll include ranges of numbers and we'll see how well you do at prognosticating the final tally. I was also tempted to ask what the over/under on the D1 finals match would be but that seemed even nastier somehow. Maybe because I was thinking 3. Maybe 4 points. Another good one would have been--Will teams shoot more or less paint than normal at Jersey? (The answer for most will be more, btw.) Given all the possibilities I went with my gut. There you have it. Vote. Don't vote. It's cool. Whatever works for you.
Monday Poll in Review
Last week's poll asked the evergreen question, Will the two major leagues finally make a merger happen? Or something quite like that. Voting was up around 20% so I thank those of you who participated. Those that didn't? You're missing out but it's cool. Live and let live, I say. By the narrowest of margins--one actual vote--the yeses captured the day. The difference was less than one percent. Among other things that means 50% of y'all aren't having any. You've been down this road before and all it brought was failure and heartbreak. Okay, that's probably overstating it a bit. But who can blame the naysayers? They have history on their side, after all. We've seemingly been here before only to have everything fall apart again and again. Why should this time be any different?
Although, truth be told I'm almost tempted to think a 50/50 split is actually a pretty positive result considering the number of past failures. Either a good sized chunk of the yes votes are unaware of the past or hope really does spring eternal. (Rumor has it everything remains on track to get this done before next season so I imagine we'll find out soon enough and in the meantime there's still paintball to be played.)
Monday, July 25, 2011
The Monday Poll
Since last week's poll was such a big hit (/sarcasm) I've decided to do it again. Well, not exactly the same but something similar this week. But before I get started an amusing item came over the transom this morning from Mr. Simon Stevens, bigshot friend of VFTD and VP of making cool stuff at KEE--via Google+. (Plus what? New and improved illicit data mining from the corporate watchdog of our future Fascist overlords? Where do I sign up? Hive mind here I come!) He sent a link to a YouTube promo from the makers of Mortal Kombat: Legacy starring the E Vents. Not a great leap forward in connecting with the popular consciousness but fun nevertheless.
I've been trying to come up with some new feature ideas for VFTD and my favorite so far is to do reviews of other paintball websites. The very prospect makes me smile but I've decided to see what y'all think of the idea. It doesn't get any simpler than this poll. A simple yes or no will suffice. And if you vote yes and have any particular sites in mind post them up in comments. Obviously I'm aware of a goodly number of paintball sites but there's tons of them out there and if you have an obscure favorite or two pass them along. Think of it like a Michelin rating--a potential mark of distinction. "VFTD gave us three splats." "High praise indeed." Or, you know, it could go the other way.
For this sort of poll a failure to vote is a vote. It's a no vote because you couldn't be bothered to make two clicks of your mouse. And if nobody is interested I (probably) won't bother doing any reviews. Click or don't click. Slacker.
Monday Poll in Review
Last week's totally self-serving poll was something of a disappointment. Not so much in terms of the results themselves but in the raw number of voters. Different polls attract different amounts of attention and this one was decidedly toward the low end. If twice as many of you had voted and returned the same results I wouldn't hesitate to go forward. As it stands I'ma have to think about it. The biggest issue will be unit cost at a run number I think might be reasonable given the level of interest. I'm not looking to make a bunch of cheese outta this but I'm also certainly not looking to lose my shirt either. (He said, brutally mixing his metaphors--and I think we all know just how painful that can be.) I'll let y'all know what I decide soon. Maybe test some sample ideas on VFTD's Facebook page. We'll see. To all those that voted, thanks, even if you were a hell no vote. And just for the record 70% of voters expressed an interest in one or more of the suggested options with T-shirts a 2:1 favorite. That same 70% preferring VFTD branded items over DPA by the same 2:1 ratio. The hard numbers of the seriously interested was also pretty high (40-50%) considering the threshold set.
I've been trying to come up with some new feature ideas for VFTD and my favorite so far is to do reviews of other paintball websites. The very prospect makes me smile but I've decided to see what y'all think of the idea. It doesn't get any simpler than this poll. A simple yes or no will suffice. And if you vote yes and have any particular sites in mind post them up in comments. Obviously I'm aware of a goodly number of paintball sites but there's tons of them out there and if you have an obscure favorite or two pass them along. Think of it like a Michelin rating--a potential mark of distinction. "VFTD gave us three splats." "High praise indeed." Or, you know, it could go the other way.
For this sort of poll a failure to vote is a vote. It's a no vote because you couldn't be bothered to make two clicks of your mouse. And if nobody is interested I (probably) won't bother doing any reviews. Click or don't click. Slacker.
Monday Poll in Review
Last week's totally self-serving poll was something of a disappointment. Not so much in terms of the results themselves but in the raw number of voters. Different polls attract different amounts of attention and this one was decidedly toward the low end. If twice as many of you had voted and returned the same results I wouldn't hesitate to go forward. As it stands I'ma have to think about it. The biggest issue will be unit cost at a run number I think might be reasonable given the level of interest. I'm not looking to make a bunch of cheese outta this but I'm also certainly not looking to lose my shirt either. (He said, brutally mixing his metaphors--and I think we all know just how painful that can be.) I'll let y'all know what I decide soon. Maybe test some sample ideas on VFTD's Facebook page. We'll see. To all those that voted, thanks, even if you were a hell no vote. And just for the record 70% of voters expressed an interest in one or more of the suggested options with T-shirts a 2:1 favorite. That same 70% preferring VFTD branded items over DPA by the same 2:1 ratio. The hard numbers of the seriously interested was also pretty high (40-50%) considering the threshold set.
Monday, July 4, 2011
The Monday Poll is on hiatus
Heck, I'm not even gonna bother with a review of last week's poll. There were so few votes most of you probably don't even know what last week's poll topic was. And rather than continue to fight an uphill battle I'm putting The Monday Poll on hiatus. Think of it as an open-ended vacation--like when your boss laid you off--except The Monday Poll won't be collecting unemployment. VFTD welcomes any and all alternative suggestions for a regular Monday feature or future The Monday Poll topics. Until next time, hasta la vista.
Monday, June 27, 2011
The Monday Poll
Okay, in the aftermath of CA SB 798 specifically removing paintball markers from the pending legislation everybody in Paintball breathed a sigh of relief. But that's hardly the end of the bill, or the potential for other states to pick up the issue in the future--or for Airsoft to try and throw Paintball under the bus. (Title is the link to a story and comments over at the Big Bullet.) So it seems the Airsoft kids are a wee bit unhappy that Paintball separated itself from the other targets of the bill in question. As a result the Airsoft Safety Foundation has gone on the offensive with much of their ammo aimed at Paintball.
What should Paintball do next?
You know the routine; blah blah blah vote.
Monday Poll in Review
Obviously last week's poll didn't set the (paintballin') internet on fire--nor did I expect it to--but if, when, the occasional poll is less than insightful and thought-provoking you could you know, fake it. What do I mean, fake it? Ask your girlfriend.
Anyway, the whole point--until it was undercut in comments almost immediately (Thanks, Reiner)--was going to be that reasons aren't all that different from excuses and in reality your self-professed love of paintball is pretty poor evidence of love. I mean if you loved your pets as much as it turns out you love paintball Fido is a shaggy skeleton on the side of some anonymous stretch of road.
The numbers don't matter. I don't care. You don't care. The big draws were school, jobs & girlfriends. Whatever. See, I can treat The Monday Poll as badly as you lot frequently do. Not much fun is it? The fact is I do all the heavy lifting and all you have to do is vote once a week on a lame poll. Bite me.
What should Paintball do next?
You know the routine; blah blah blah vote.
Monday Poll in Review
Obviously last week's poll didn't set the (paintballin') internet on fire--nor did I expect it to--but if, when, the occasional poll is less than insightful and thought-provoking you could you know, fake it. What do I mean, fake it? Ask your girlfriend.
Anyway, the whole point--until it was undercut in comments almost immediately (Thanks, Reiner)--was going to be that reasons aren't all that different from excuses and in reality your self-professed love of paintball is pretty poor evidence of love. I mean if you loved your pets as much as it turns out you love paintball Fido is a shaggy skeleton on the side of some anonymous stretch of road.
The numbers don't matter. I don't care. You don't care. The big draws were school, jobs & girlfriends. Whatever. See, I can treat The Monday Poll as badly as you lot frequently do. Not much fun is it? The fact is I do all the heavy lifting and all you have to do is vote once a week on a lame poll. Bite me.
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