Some Random Thoughts

The APL cancelled the Chicago event claiming their was a problem with local authorities not granting permission to use a parking area to set up the tournament fields. Or field. Or whatever. Further the league is taking a hiatus from operation to evaluate whether or not it's worthwhile trying to continue with the league. And as we all know 'hiatus' is Latin for "has assumed room temperature" or "taking a dirt nap" which makes the likely outcome pretty apparent to anyone who hasn't assumed room temperature. At this point the only real question is do the teams committed to the APL call it quits or put on their big boy pants and attempt some serious competition. Time will tell.
The APL news could leave open a slot for "the other would be national paintball league" which might be good news for the XPL, the self-proclaimed "xball" league coming in 2015. The XPL has a Facebook page and a website but is still thin on real information. Of course it's only May of 2014 so they've got some time to figure the rest out but considering the track record of recent new leagues if I was running a team I'd want to know more before I gave it any serious consideration. Stuff like event structure (beyond halves and 15 bps) and likely venues. How many events in a season? Where are the refs coming from? Who is in charge? Maybe have an actual rulebook that outlines all this basic stuff so I can see some real thought and effort have gone into the process. Am I against another competitive league? Heck, no, but I am skeptical. Turns out running a national series is a wee bit tougher than the average monkey seems to think it is. (For some more XPL info check out the interview at Social.)
Millennium Bitburg begins tomorrow. Follow the action for free by going here. You may want to monitor sound levels--or that may just be me. (A little Bear goes a long way. That relentless good cheer and energy are damned annoying after a while ) For those curious about MAXX and how the Europeeps do it watching some of the tourney action will let you see how relatively seamlessly it works once everyone knows the program. (Excepting the business of keeping track of which teams are playing for on site spectators.) Personally, I always felt like switching teams took the steam out of the suspense and tension out of a tight match--but that may just be me--as always your mileage may vary.
The word seems to be that Chicago will be MAXX free but all that really means is if you intend to compete at the Midwest event you'd best get signed up and paid up as early as possible because there won't be extra fields or any unexpected surprises and given the turnout for Dallas and MAO odds are Chicago will fill up fast. Or you could, you know, take your time and assume the league will find a way to get you in at the last minute. Your call.