jRuutu

1. Did you watch the Super Bowl?
Nooh, not a fan of the sport here either. I saw some headlines around the internets, but thats about it.

2. Who won the Super Bowl?
The headlines I looked were about Taylor Swift. I am a hardcore Taylor Swift fan. She made the game.

3. What's your favorite color, or colour?
Black perhaps, there is so many things you can paint black, and it will look nice.

4. Do you like to watch anime?
Nooh, never really watched any of the shows.

5. We had a really good winning streak going, what did you think about that?
Nice to see! Shows there is solid balance in the team and we don't take too many silly penalties.

6. Do you like Gladiator movies?
Yes, can not go wrong with a Gladiator film if you want to be entertained

In the sea of rough-looking apartment buildings stands a building that is not like the rest. The building is modern, covered completely with a reflecting surface. The contrast is shocking. Other buildings in the area look like they are still in the 1990's, not much has changed from the outside and more than likely same is true on the inside, the buildings look run down and beaten up. The modern building is home to the wealthy, whereas the regular, working-class, people live in the other buildings.

One of the residents in the modern building is Moscow Menace center Jarmo Ruutu, who has lived in the building for around a year now.  Always laying low and not making too much noise about himself has served Jarmo Ruutu well, the majority of residents were not aware that he lives in the building. That has since changed. The Finnish center has been the main talking point in the resident meetings lately after CCTV footage captured a figure that looked just like Jarmo Ruutu dumping batteries into the compost can. The residents of the building take great pride in recycling and sorting their waste, a decision that has received praise from local media and city officials as reducing waste and the carbon footprint is something every major city in Russia wants to do.
 
Jarmo Ruutu spoke in front of the residents of the building on Sunday. Instead of denying the footage or trying to come up with excuses, Jarmo added fuel to the fire by stating dropping batteries into compost cans is something that brings him  "a lot of joy". Ruutu continued by explaining the whole process. According to his own words, after each practice, he drives around the local hardware shops and buys different types of batteries. Then he pays the local kids to take the batteries out of the plastic packages and to drop them in a bag that Ruutu then uses to dump the batteries into the compost cans.
 
At the beginning of the resident meeting those present wondered if Ruutu was serious or not. The whole room was convinced after Ruutu pulled out a mobile app that had over 8000€ worth of purchases in the last two months - all on batteries.   Many were naturally curious about one question specifically: "Why?". Ruutu described his love of throwing batteries into the compost cans as a "rich man's fun", playing tennis without pants, drinking beer while teaching dogs to learn math, it's a taboo of some sort, something you should not do.
 
Before leaving the resident meeting Ruutu offered anyone interested a chance to come with him to throw some batteries into the compost can on the next day, but at least based on the CCTV footage nobody took him on the offer.
 
The residents of the building have since tried to come up with plans on how to stop Ruutu from throwing batteries into the compost can. Not wanting to create too much trouble for a player playing in a team that is reportedly popular among the leaders of the country, instead, the residents have ordered another compost can, but the new compost can is named it differently, only known by the rest of the residents.  The old compost can is left as is for Ruutu, and for anyone else, to throw batteries into.

Jokinen STRONG! @jRuutu

Hello and welcome to one of my most unhinged projects yet. I have scoured through the VHL archives to identify every single instance of a repeated last name in history, the sole criterion being that the players made it to the VHL (i.e. VHLM and/or VHLE lifers are excluded). This also means that whilst the list includes all active VHL players as of S92, it doesn't include anyone who is about to come up to the big leagues or has announced their draft eligibility.
 
268 repeat last names were identified throughout VHL history and then sorted to identify the most common last name in the VHL's storied past. But since the work was done to identify each name, I will make it a countdown from names used twice all the way to the all-time leader at 12. Behold.
 
 
Names used 2x in VHL history
188 names have appeared twice in the past and whilst the list is copied in below, I won't dwell on it for too long. This section contains Hall of Famers and completely forgotten journeymen, it has brothers, fathers and sons, and even families separated by multiple generations. Most frequently, it contains completely random and coincidental repeats, separated by as many as 90 seasons. There are two facts of most interest in this category:
 
Two names have a 100% Hall of Fame success rate – Sterling (father) and Alexander (son) Labatte, as well as the Clegane brothers
There has twice been a pair of Mario and Luigi in the VHL – the Linguinis and the De Rossis
 

 
Names used 3x in VHL history
55 more names added to the list in this category which doesn't really have any fun tidbits to pull out – seems to be a higher proportion of recognisable names than in the first section. What this exercise has been actually helpful in is identifying some duplicates I had in the all-time stats spreadsheet from the 60s. Not sure how those happened but they're gone now.
 
Perhaps one other thing worth mentioning is that in addition to the two Ryans in the above 2x list, there was also a man simply named Ryan in the VHL at one point. Unfortunately that Ryan counts as someone with a last name so the Ryans do not manage to make the cut for the 3x list.
 

 
The Top 24
 
We are now in the top end of the ranking, as at 4 appearances each, the pool dwindles considerably. There are 13 names which show up exactly 4 times:
The Bakers (Abel, Joseph, Patrick, and Shane)
The Carters (Alex, Donny, Jared and Jared the 2st (sic))
The Clarkes (Daniel, Dean, Jon, and Will) – two of whom, Dean and Will, are unrelated but were both of the cup-winning S70 Moscow squad
The Downeys (Bahr, Jeff (both the S1 and much more successful S68 incarnation) and the original Jeff's brother Ryan)
The Eagles (two Gregs, Henry, and Tom) – brought to us exclusively by @Greg_Di. Greg Eagleowski sadly doesn't make the cut.
The Funks (brothers and Builders Dust'n and Raymond and decades later playoff hero Rayz and the less notable Frank Jr)
The Kings (Kevin, Markus, Roctrion, and Thomas)
The Komarovs (Evgeni, Pavel, Sergei, and Vladamir) – also the sole work of one man, @Gooningitup
The Matthews (Anthony, Luke, Mitchell, and Wesley)
The Millers (Alec, Jackson, MF Percy, and Nicholas)
The Syndergaards (two Aksels, Thomas, and Tomas)
The Williams (AJ, Justin, Robinson, and Tyrone)
and the Youngs (Alex, Christopher, Naomi, and Zachary)
 
5 names then, fittingly, show up 5 times over the years:
Davis (David, Finn, Jake, Jasper, and Roque) – almost entirely hauled up the list by @Josh's obsession with the name
Hamilton (brothers Phil, Jeff, and David (Phil and Jeff making the Hall) and also the lesser-known Drew and Josh)
Knight (Blake, David, Jordan, Ricky, Steven) – remarkably only once used by either @Phil or David @Knight – the actual Knight brothers choosing to be Hamilton brothers in the VHL instead
Reinhart (Asher, Jerome, Reylynn, Tobias, and Tyler all being prominent in the 80s)
Tremblay (Dan, Danny, Pierre-Marc, Steve and the man himself (not really), Simon Tremblay)

 
Then in joint fifth place...
6 Hunters (Alyksander, Blade, Braxton, JaKobe, Jeff, and Kurtis)
6 Jokinens (Alvaro, David, Diego, Erlantz, Fabio, and Fernando) – courtesy of the Finnish fiends @Ahma and @jRuutu
6 Smiths (Cody, Jacob, Josh, Lucas, Steve, and Trevor) – all extremely forgettable just like the name

 
In joint third place we have the Wilsons (Aaron, Al, Connor, Dusty, Jesse, Josh, and Wade), 7 completely unrelated and largely irrelevant players, and the Gow brothers (@Fire Tortorella and @eaglesfan036) who have brought 7 Gows (Austin, Bernie, Jeff, Jim, Robert III, Robin, and Shayne) to the VHL before branching off into more creative names.

 
Jones is the second most popular last name in VHL history with 9 players (Bob, Casey, Dallas, Dan, Davey, Jay, Kered, Mason, and Ty) over the years. Davey Jones as part of the 30s Dynamo and Casey Jones who had a Labatte-winning rookie season in S57 and then was part of the USA's most prolific World Cup years are easily the most successful of the Joneses.

 
Clear at the top it's the Johnsons though – 12 of them specifically. We've had Bossman, Brent, Gabrial, Gabriel, Kobe, Leroy, Michael, Miles, Phil “The Rock”, Regie, Reid, and Ricky. Yes I was also hoping for a more impressive list but Michael and Phil have definitely elevated the Johnsons' profile in more recent season and Kobe is active in the VHL as we speak. Will anyone catch them? Only time will tell.

YEAHHHH BEAT HIS ASS UP
 
Get wrecked @Garsh

A lion carrying a shoe, a tornado moving a boat in the air, a leaf sent flying by a leafblower, a cheerleader being yanked up in the air by a construction crane, a pencil being cut in half by a chainsaw, toilet seat being thrown from the window down to a skip, a peanut being lifted from a table by an elephant, a dog chasing a squirrel, garbage truck emptying a garbage container into the truck, mother picking up a small child laying face down on the ground as they refuse to move if they do not get candy, a bear eating honey under a tree while watching a butterfly land on their paw, a lost ice cream truck driving around a new neighborhood taking a wrong turn - ending up into a monster truck arena, a whale slapping a tortoise from the depths of the sea high up into the air with their tail,  all these little visions and short "stories" capture the essence of what the fans of VHL witnessed last night as Helsinki Titans and Moscow Menace faced each other, and more accurately what the VHL fans witnessed when Jarmo Ruutu and Kronchy Kardashian dropped the gloves in the second period.
 
Despite Kardashian and Ruutu both being active fighters this year, the fight last night was one of the most uneven fights seen in the history of physical and verbal altercations. Kronchy Kardashian,  165 cm, 72 kg, was not able to match the intensity of Jarmo Ruutu, 190 cm, 96 kg. The pure-size advantage forced Kardashian right away to yell at the referees to come in and stop the fight. Although it is not 100% confirmed whether Kardashian actually did yell at the referees to come in and intervene, because Ruutu's fists has made it tough for lipreaders to analyze the video material available, but those who were lucky enough to witness the fight from stands near the action reported Kardashian yelling: "Refs, refs, come on, for f*** sakes, he is killing me here" as soon as Ruutu managed to get his hands on Kardashian.
 
Some fans on social media have started a petition to nominate the fight between Ruutu and Kardashian for the next AVN-awards for "Best Solo"-scene. Another petition was also started by fans calling for written contracts or consent forms before fights take place as Kardashian appeared to be keen at first, but their body language appeared to take a drastic turn towards something else when the fight started to heat up, but once again it needs to be admitted that analyzing Kardashian's body language has turned out to be a real challenge as Ruutu's fists keep blocking view.
 
The fight ended with a clear win for Ruutu, and against all odds, Kardashian survived without any serious injuries.  Unfortunately, for all the fans who root for the underdogs, Helsinki and Moscow do not play against each other during the remaining regular season games, but it is always possible Ruutu and Kardashian get to have a rematch in the playoffs.
 

A lion carrying a shoe, a tornado moving a boat in the air, a leaf sent flying by a leafblower, a cheerleader being yanked up in the air by a construction crane, a pencil being cut in half by a chainsaw, toilet seat being thrown from the window down to a skip, a peanut being lifted from a table by an elephant, a dog chasing a squirrel, garbage truck emptying a garbage container into the truck, mother picking up a small child laying face down on the ground as they refuse to move if they do not get candy, a bear eating honey under a tree while watching a butterfly land on their paw, a lost ice cream truck driving around a new neighborhood taking a wrong turn - ending up into a monster truck arena, a whale slapping a tortoise from the depths of the sea high up into the air with their tail,  all these little visions and short "stories" capture the essence of what the fans of VHL witnessed last night as Helsinki Titans and Moscow Menace faced each other, and more accurately what the VHL fans witnessed when Jarmo Ruutu and Kronchy Kardashian dropped the gloves in the second period.
 
Despite Kardashian and Ruutu both being active fighters this year, the fight last night was one of the most uneven fights seen in the history of physical and verbal altercations. Kronchy Kardashian,  165 cm, 72 kg, was not able to match the intensity of Jarmo Ruutu, 190 cm, 96 kg. The pure-size advantage forced Kardashian right away to yell at the referees to come in and stop the fight. Although it is not 100% confirmed whether Kardashian actually did yell at the referees to come in and intervene, because Ruutu's fists has made it tough for lipreaders to analyze the video material available, but those who were lucky enough to witness the fight from stands near the action reported Kardashian yelling: "Refs, refs, come on, for f*** sakes, he is killing me here" as soon as Ruutu managed to get his hands on Kardashian.
 
Some fans on social media have started a petition to nominate the fight between Ruutu and Kardashian for the next AVN-awards for "Best Solo"-scene. Another petition was also started by fans calling for written contracts or consent forms before fights take place as Kardashian appeared to be keen at first, but their body language appeared to take a drastic turn towards something else when the fight started to heat up, but once again it needs to be admitted that analyzing Kardashian's body language has turned out to be a real challenge as Ruutu's fists keep blocking view.
 
The fight ended with a clear win for Ruutu, and against all odds, Kardashian survived without any serious injuries.  Unfortunately, for all the fans who root for the underdogs, Helsinki and Moscow do not play against each other during the remaining regular season games, but it is always possible Ruutu and Kardashian get to have a rematch in the playoffs.
 

1. Our new player sure has made the team better. What's your thoughts on this approach?
Always good to bring older players in, they got the experience and then they can be sacrificed after the season to please Simon T.

2. 16 game win streak. We all had a part to play in that streak. Does this get you even more excited?
Shows we got a good balance in the lineup, all units can play in both ends of the ice, promises good things for the playoffs!

3. A rental, in our case, was a good thing. Do you think we will need to go down that path next season?
Perhaps, if there is a hole that needs to be filled and some nice option available, why not

4. I am really hyped about making the playoffs. What are you expectations about our chances for a cup?
We shall be victorious, other teams do not know what hit them!

5. Do you ever get bored and need some sort of boost to get some excitement in your day. What do you do?
I take my pants off and stand in front of the living room window.

6. Do you get a day to be lazy? I haven't had many lately but do you have a set day to chill?
I try to keep sundays as light as possible

In the deepest corners of the VHL Discord world is a space where members of the Moscow Menace organization and those who are considered friendly to the organization get together to share their thoughts. Last night, Tate McRae, a Canadian singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress caught the attention of those with access to the space. Discussion among the panel members started with her music. Those present speculated that one of the main reasons behind her success is the connections she has to the music industry. Her being a Canadian singer, not everybody had heard her music before or knew that much about her and her career, which led to the discussion quickly moving to other topics; her dating life and her looks to get all the members of the panel more familiar with Tate McRae.
 
One panel member saw similarities between Tate and a muppet, which lead to further debate on where Tate McRae would be ranked on the "hot scale" among all the celebrities. The space was divided, some panelists described her as "hot", but some were not willing to jump to conclusions as further evidence in the form of a bikini picture was demanded in order to make an accurate judgment.
 
The discussion faded away without any clear conclusion as panel members left one after the other to continue their evenings elsewhere.
 
One thing we learned from last night's panel is that if you are looking to put together a sizeable winning streak in VHL, the "bro-culture" might not be as terrible as we have seen in the media during recent years!
 
 

1. We hit a bit of a skill check this last week, what are your thoughts about it?
I blame the coaches, they work us too hard in practice; 9 am workouts? I make millions, I can not wake up that early.

2. Should we shake our lines up to see if any other line combo works?
Yes, but only if we do it honest and fair way via some kind of lottery.

3. What position do you see us ending the season at?
1st in the the league, and first in the hearts of all VHL fans.

4. What have you been working on to improve your player?
I put some points to checking and fighting, because I dropped the gloves with a bot in the last sim - I felt something, and I liked what I felt.

5. I think being a goalie is the hardest position to play, do you agree?
The real question is: how can we make being goalie even harder?

6. It would be great to get more players active in the lr, any ideas how we get them involved?
Use AI to create controversial material on each player and then threaten to leak the material to the whole VHL if the players are not active in the LR.

The hardest part is often showing up. The players I am highlighting today have done remarkable things so far during the ongoing season and I think anyone who is watching should take note; only sky is the limit when you start to show up consistently. Anybody can show up once in a while, but to do it on a regular basis is something that requires discipline and hard work. I would go as far as saying these users and players are what we should all aim to be. They keep their heads down, they focus on being the best players they can be - within reason. They are humble and honest. These are the S92 Welfare All-Stars - so far.
 
LW - Jon Webber Jr
39 games: 14 goals, 28 assists, 42 points.
Jon Webber Jr is a career welfare-earner who is playing perhaps the best hockey of their career right now. They have relied on the welfare from the start and now they are here, sailing on over a point per game pace in a L.A team that is leading the league.
 
C  - Dank Turtle
39 games: 9 goals, 21 assists, 30 points.
Last year Turtle had 42 points in 72 games, this year is almost surely going to bring in more points and a career-high in points, which means Turtle is playing at an extremely high level at the moment. That is exactly what Chicago needs from Turtle as they are fighting for playoff hockey in the North-American division. Steady progress and a potential career-high season further show steady pace is key to reaching your peak in VHL.
 
RW - Kean Jeannot
39 games, 13 goals, 8 assists, 21 points
What I like about Jeannot is the fact they are not trying to be some kind of luxury welfare player, they do the honest 4+2 and peace out, week after week. Last year Jeannot had 70 points in 72 games for New York. The ongoing season is not going as well for Kean personally, but Jeannot has the goalscoring potential to reach a magical 25 goals this year and when the team is playing rather well - look out for Jeannot to have a strong end to the ongoing regular season.
 
D - Kronchy Kardashian
40 games, 8 goals, 33 assists, 41 points
Kardashian is a luxury-welfare player, they also do the smaller point tasks on top of collecting welfare, so it perhaps not fair to pick them here, but what they are doing works. Over point per game from the D position is elite-level production. Last year Kardashian had disgusting 31 goals for Helsinki. A similar total is not looking likely this year, but Kardashian is elite level D in VHL and a great example to anyone watching, just because you earn welfare does not mean you can not do more.
 
D - Jimmy MacElroy
40 games, 5 goals, 24 assists, 29 points
MacElroy is a different type of D, they like to move the puck, 277 assists in 472 games show you can be an effective player from the blueline as well. And just because you earn welfare does not mean you can not for example play on the powerplay and do damage, MacElroy is a key player for Toronto and for the powerplay of Legion, out of the 29 points - 10 has come on the powerplay.
 
G -  Evan Bihler
5 games, 1 win, 0.949 save %
One position above else appears to still deal with the negative stigma of welfare earning the most, it is the goalies. It hard to find an honest welfare-earning G, so many rely on extra points. As there are so few of the true welfarers out there, I want to show some love to one here. Bihler has the potential to stop pucks like it's nothing, for example, back in S90 they played 9 games and won 7 of those, but they have not managed to secure a starting position in VHL yet. Is it about time more faith is put in welfare goalies?

The players picked above have shown true strength. They show up to the practice every week and they do their best. Some of them might have not reached their full potential as players - yet at least, but they have still carved a nice career in VHL. They play important roles for their teams and more importantly, they play important roles for all the people watching. They show to the people that you don't have to dream big to make it. You can dream moderately and reach shiny stars. They might not be as shiny as the shiniest stars out there, but they are still shiny stars. If these players were not in VHL, I don't know where this league would be.

There's always a random song here and there that I hear once and just scratches my brain and forces me to put it on repeat. For now, that appears to be this random k-pop song that's just 2 minutes long. I amaze myself sometimes.
 
What also amazes me is that Moscow is somehow sitting 2nd in the EU and 4th overall in the league, slightly past the midway point of the season. I've spoken about our pre-season expectations before - how we hoped to show some signs of progress this season after another rebuilding season in S91. Despite losing Thor Reingaard via trade to Warsaw, the pieces have seemingly started to fall together and the team is now on a 6 game win streak. While the rest of the EU is still very competitive with everyone but Davos seemingly in the race for a playoff spot, it's a great sign that this Moscow squad is putting together an underdog run.
 
Axle Gunner @Steve and Left Alone @okochastar have both stepped up to lead the team in points with 48 apiece, with Alone leading the team in goals and Gunner in assists. Even third year forward Jeff Lewis @nerji has taken a big step forward with 45 points this season, with all 3 hoping to finish the season well over a PPG. Behind the obvious stars though, sophomore Jarmo Ruutu @jRuutu is about to pass his rookie season total of 39 with just 6 more points with 32 games left in the season. Rookie Leif Reingaard @Zetterberg is having a fantastic rookie run with 37 points in 40 games as a defenseman. Depth like David Rashford @Knight and rookie defenseman Celise Pereira @asteria are also exceeding expectations and putting up valuable points, with Rashford surprisingly 4th on the team in goal scoring.
 
While many contract situations are up in the air and roster spots remain tight with highly regarded prospects Adi Dassler @BOOM and George Richmond @badcolethetitan eager to make their impact in the VHL, Moscow management feels comfortable in their ability to navigate these personnel scenarios and come out with a strong roster for S93 and beyond.

FWIW as well the raffle is ultimately something separate from the charity drive. Aside from people who donated getting a bonus entry the two aren’t connected. Holiday themed giveaways and stuff existed lo no before the charity drive did. It’s just easier to lump all the holiday stuff together to we in one announcement.

While I understand where you are coming from, I would strongly recommend you shift your perspective on this. The ethos of our donations drives isn't to make members feel good about themselves, otherwise that would undermine the actual real world good that the donations provide. No one should perceive an individual as better/worse because they did or didn't donate. Everyone's circumstances are different and we must recognize that not everyone in this league is in the fortunate position to be able to make a donation, nor should we incentivize members stretching their budget when they really can't afford to.
 
If you'd like to feel good about yourself, or even good about being a part of a community (because you by extension are a contributing member of this community) that's helped raise so much for charity, go to some of the charity websites we're supporting and watch their donation impact videos. It's truly amazing some of the work being done to help those in need.
 
I won't tell anyone that they shouldn't donate just to feel good about themselves, that's entirely the individual's prerogative. From the leadership team however, aka the @Commissioner group, it's important they think about the community first and the individual second. They've created something very good with the donation drive and the raffle is one way to reward the community, including those who aren't able to donate. Measuring contribution to this community purely in terms of TPE and/or point tasks created ignores the many other ways in which members add value to the league. 

beketov don't eat the onion challenge (impossible)

I’m sorry but where is it written that only content that generates TPE counts as valid content? I don’t often agree with your hot takes but this may be one of the worst ones. Like I get that you don’t agree with how much welfare earns vs. PT’s; that’s a fine enough argument, but the fight to get people interested in producing genuine content without payment is hard enough without people throwing out the mindset that VHL content is worthless if you aren’t doing PT’s.
 
Like do you understand how great it is to see new guys like @Chillybro in the sim streams for me every night? I literally have never looked at whether he’s done a PT or not, ai don’t care. He’s active, he’s engaged, and he’s enjoying himself. That’s what matters!
 
Again HARD disagree. The raffles are done as a way to give back to the members and that means ALL the members, not just those that are well off enough to give some extra money. Now those who donated DO get rewarded with extra entries but I have absolutely no interest in making it exclusive to them. Any active members deserve a chance to win something; you shouldn’t have to pay for that chance even if it’s for charity.

In the thread: "2023 Donation Drive Raffle Draw", the league leadership used the term "new people" when referring to the new users who should be made aware of the opportunity to participate in the raffle. After I read the comment, I could not help but think is "people" too strong of a word for someone who claims welfare? I also started to think about whether the welfare-claiming new users should be banned from participating in the raffle. Despite a number of the newer users in VHL being active and creating content, you can still see a large portion of users claiming welfare.
 
If one of the newer welfare-claiming users ends up winning a nice prize, I think it sends a bad message. In my mind welfare claiming new user winning is similar to someone breaking into an old grandma's car, stealing their purse left on the front seat, and then cashing in on a lottery ticket that happened to be a winning ticket. Sure, technically speaking the thief won in the lottery, but do they deserve it?
 
I would go as far as saying the raffle should be only for those who donated hard cash. I can only speak for myself here, but if I donate to a charity, knowing I am making a difference would make me feel good, but an equally nice feeling comes from others knowing I donated to charity. I think in the case of VHL, winning a prize from the raffle is one way to let everybody in VHL know: "I donated money to charity".
 
I think welfare-claiming newer users should not be allowed to participate, same is true with those users who did not donate - me included.
 

In the thread: "2023 Donation Drive Raffle Draw", the league leadership used the term "new people" when referring to the new users who should be made aware of the opportunity to participate in the raffle. After I read the comment, I could not help but think is "people" too strong of a word for someone who claims welfare? I also started to think about whether the welfare-claiming new users should be banned from participating in the raffle. Despite a number of the newer users in VHL being active and creating content, you can still see a large portion of users claiming welfare.
 
If one of the newer welfare-claiming users ends up winning a nice prize, I think it sends a bad message. In my mind welfare claiming new user winning is similar to someone breaking into an old grandma's car, stealing their purse left on the front seat, and then cashing in on a lottery ticket that happened to be a winning ticket. Sure, technically speaking the thief won in the lottery, but do they deserve it?
 
I would go as far as saying the raffle should be only for those who donated hard cash. I can only speak for myself here, but if I donate to a charity, knowing I am making a difference would make me feel good, but an equally nice feeling comes from others knowing I donated to charity. I think in the case of VHL, winning a prize from the raffle is one way to let everybody in VHL know: "I donated money to charity".
 
I think welfare-claiming newer users should not be allowed to participate, same is true with those users who did not donate - me included.
 

In the thread: "2023 Donation Drive Raffle Draw", the league leadership used the term "new people" when referring to the new users who should be made aware of the opportunity to participate in the raffle. After I read the comment, I could not help but think is "people" too strong of a word for someone who claims welfare? I also started to think about whether the welfare-claiming new users should be banned from participating in the raffle. Despite a number of the newer users in VHL being active and creating content, you can still see a large portion of users claiming welfare.
 
If one of the newer welfare-claiming users ends up winning a nice prize, I think it sends a bad message. In my mind welfare claiming new user winning is similar to someone breaking into an old grandma's car, stealing their purse left on the front seat, and then cashing in on a lottery ticket that happened to be a winning ticket. Sure, technically speaking the thief won in the lottery, but do they deserve it?
 
I would go as far as saying the raffle should be only for those who donated hard cash. I can only speak for myself here, but if I donate to a charity, knowing I am making a difference would make me feel good, but an equally nice feeling comes from others knowing I donated to charity. I think in the case of VHL, winning a prize from the raffle is one way to let everybody in VHL know: "I donated money to charity".
 
I think welfare-claiming newer users should not be allowed to participate, same is true with those users who did not donate - me included.
 

1. We are still leading the EU. Do you think we can hang on to that lead?
We are the best Russian team in the league, and that is what matters the most, especially if you want to be the best Russian team in the league.

2. Do you have any suggestions about how the team can improve?
Open tryouts for the fans, maybe we find someone who is able to play and help the team?

3. Do I need to add humor in these pressers to make them more stupid?
Not necessarily, but I think you should ask question or two in Chinese to please the fans in China.

4. How many pancakes does it take to fix a flat tire on a submarine?
As many as it takes.

5. I think winning is fun. How do you compare this season to last season?
What do we have to look forward to next? Yea we win some cups, but what then? I think its time for a rebuild, so we got more to look forward to.

6. The lines were changed and for the most part it has had a positive impact. Do you have any thoughts about future changes?
Take the goalie out on the powerplay, but have the extra skater protect the net. When the PK throws the puck into our zone, the extra skater is probably a lot better getting the puck up the ice than our goalie = more chances to score on the powerplay.

Article Review:
 
Like the author I sometimes wonder why someone uses AI, it seems that more and more people are being caught.  AI currently, or at least those versions easily available on the internet are good but still have a number of flaws that result in them being easily identified.  I just don't expect that AI generation of articles will be indistinguishable from human created content for a while.  Now from a graphic perspective the use of AI to create a base image doesn't bother me as long as sufficient work is being done to personalize afterwards.  I don't think we will ever get rid of AI use, there will always be someone wanting to take the easy way out but honestly, with the fact that any random writing is accepted just write your own articles.
 
I give this article a 10/10, get dive into the AI conversation

Well, buckle up, because it sounds like we've got ourselves a VHL mystery thriller in the making! 🔍🕵️‍♂️ "The Flying Guardian" saga – coming soon to a digital theater near you! 🎬🎭
 
Honestly, the lengths some folks go to cut corners – it's like a Shakespearean tragedy with a sprinkle of AI magic! 🧙‍♂️✨ Kudos to you for your Sherlock Holmes-level investigation into the nuances of this AI caper! 🕵️‍♀️🔍 It's like decoding a digital Da Vinci Code, am I right? 📜💻
 
And what's with that AI-crafted title? "The Flying Guardian" sounds like a superhero, but in this case, it's more like the AI villain! 🦸‍♂️🤖 But hey, every VHL season needs its plot twists, and this AI-induced drama is serving us suspense on a silver platter! 🍿📺
 
As for the draft stock tumble – who knew AI could be the ultimate draft saboteur? 📉🚀 That 12 TPE from Affiliate 12 was the golden ticket, but our mystery player decided to play the risky game. 🎫🎭 It's like watching a high-stakes poker game, and we're all sitting on the edge of our virtual seats! 🪑🃏
 
Here's to more unexpected twists, turns, and AI-induced rollercoaster rides in the wild world of the VHL! 🎢🎉 #TheFlyingGuardianChronicles 📖🚁

He’s now affectionately known as BensonGPT

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