Renomitsu

10. Halloween is around the corner. Do you have any plans? I'll be working. I'm going to be a flying monkey from The Wizard of Oz! 11. The VHL is throwing a Halloween party. What does your player dress up as? A... uh... a moth. Probably. 12. Looking back, what are some of the best things YOU dressed up as for Halloween? Honestly I remember dressing up as Robin for Halloween and having a lot of fun with it. 13. Do you have any memories of Halloween that stood out for you? I mean, the house that always gave out king-size candy bars and FunDip is a core memory for me. That and a few houses on my street that would absolutely go all-out for Halloween that scared the heck outta me. Those were always a ton of fun! 14. What are some of your favorite treats to get on Halloween? See the above. FunDip is literally just sugar and it was fun to get. 17. Seattle seems to have transitioned nicely into a retool. What are your thoughts on the future of the team? Very bright. No particular reason. 18. How is life for you right now? Absurdly busy, which is why I'm getting all of my point tasks done at 8:30 PM on a Sunday night. I've either been at a wedding or working (mostly working) all of the last 9 weekends with no weekdays off while interviewing, so that's a thing.

Seattle, WA – The Bears are introducing a Moth! After a tragic end to their season with a first-round series loss to Rome, the Moths found themselves in a position to likely be split up at the start of their VHL careers. Indeed, it was too good to be true – with talent that scaled well into the VHLE despite having just a fraction of a season in the VHLM, the Moths seemed to be on an excellent trajectory. The two met their match in Europe, with Spanish Moon virtually nonexistent on the team through the first 55 games of the season before finally picking up a handful of points in the back stretch while Sunset Moth was steady all season long. With the two both projecting as first round picks with good-to-great potential, there were limited options for drafting to the same team – Moscow had a few picks in the top five, positions where either moth might be considered a reach, Riga owned 8 and 12, and Chicago owned 6 and 11. When Seattle took Spanish Moon it was considered a personal victory – but their second selection wouldn’t become available until just after the Warsaw Predators snatched Sunset Moth with 13th overall. In short, Spanish Moon Moth is devastated to be separated from his moth compatriot. Why do things have to be this way? :<

1. What are your thoughts on the Bears playoff performance? It's a bit unfortunate! Going 1-3 when your goal differential is only -1 is disappointing and not at all typical, and it's never a great feeling to go out of the playoffs early-ish. 2. Thoughts on Shrimp and Bogatyrev testing FA? I think it's fair. Player agency exists in the VHL arguably even more than in the NHL and it's a reasonable thing to do if you're looking out for yourself from time to time. 3. Thoughts on all the stuff Bogatyrev has been saying in the media? I have no idea what Bogatyrev has been saying so I can't tell you! 4. Thoughts on the Seattle Bears draft and adding so many amazing members? I'm excited to join the Bears, finally!! 5. What are your expectations for this upcoming season? I am planning on being in the VHLE for this upcoming season, so I don't really know the landscape of the VHL. I'm going to do well on the Vikings and hopefully get them where they want to be. 8. What have you been up to in life lately? Interviewing for fellowship, which is a way of sub-specializing in medicine. I have just one interview left for pediatric nephrology (i.e. kidney medicine like dialysis, kidney injury, and hypertension in children) and going to a lot of friends' weddings!! 9. What is one thing that's positive that you're looking forward to in life? I match to fellowship in just over a month! That's exciting/terrifying.

SPARTAN I did it this time!

1. What is your immediate reaction to our playoff elimination? Are you happy with your individual performance? Rigged! There's no way we didn't win this one I think my player did OK, but clearly Spanish Moon Moth needed to do more to prevent the loss in the series. 2. Heading into the off-season, what are your plans to prepare for the upcoming season? Spanish Moon is probably going to mope and be sad for a few weeks in preparation for being drafted to the VHLE and VHL. Losing is hard. 3. If you take a vacation, are you staying at home to relax or going away to become a full on tourist? Recently and generally in my life I would stay home to relax. However, with some big decisions coming up soon I have to be a tourist. 4. Where is your player headed to next season? Are you excited for whatever is to come? I don't know! That's the spooky part. I'm headed to the VHLE draft, where I suspect my stock may drop because my player is only going to be there for a maximum of one season, and some VHL team is going to try to draft my player too I guess. 5. The FTX Amazon Apple Microsoft Temu Rogers Rorydome sponsored by Shein is undergoing renovations heading into next season, what do you suggest we add? Needs more sponsors. I heard X/Twitter is a great investment right now and totally politically inoffensive. 6. What is a pokemon that you were positive had an evolution as a kid, but it turns out it never did? Kangaskhan. I mean, come on, Cubone -> Marowak -> maybe Kangaskhan made sense, right? I know that's not the order you were thinking of since Cubone truly does have an evolution, but I'd think one Pokemon leads up to Kangaskhan.

After what seemed like a fantastic streak to start the playoffs, the Bratislava Watchmen's streak came to an end in a heartbreaking game 7 that saw the Slovakian team fall to Rome by a full three goals. Bratislava packed up their things and went home before even reaching the finals this season – a disheartening outcome for what seemed like a very promising team. But the post-season wasn’t without at least a few bright spots – many on the team performed reasonably well, and although his plus-minus wasn’t anything to write home about (seriously, in the end it was -1), Spanish Moon Moth could at least say it went better than his regular season. Moth, who with his friend Sunset Moth comprised important newcomers to the European team, led the playoffs with 9 points and 4 goals despite the overall negative box plus-minus, and attempted 25 total shots – a full half shot per game more than his regular season totals. It was the first time the Moth had come close to a point per game (and in fact exceeded it for the playoffs) – meaning the European team has a lot to look forward to last season given Spanish Moon’s glacial start to the season. “We are… very excited, yes,” the probably-humanoid moth thing said, “I understand now how some of our friends on other teams like to defend and I think I can make something of this career.”

1. What will be the biggest challenge when matching up against a strong Rome team? Consistency. I think one of our challenges this season has been consistency game-to-game and that could easily be our downfall against a Rome team I think we're better than (as it turns out, this was the case ) 2. Are you a fan of the new playoff format where only the top four teams make it? Or would you prefer a wild card round be played? For the VHLE? Yeah, I guess it makes sense. I don't particularly care for a wild card round and we recently contracted, so it makes sense that not everyone is included necessarily. 3. If you had to choose between winning some individual awards or winning the cup with your team, which would you choose and why? The cup obviously. I've never been much of an individual accolades person and I'm OK with personal success only after team success. 4. Do you have a lucky piece of equipment that you keep around? Why or why not? Absolutely not. Spanish Moon Moth is someone who believes in their personal fortitude, strength, and skill over superstition (though if the superstition helps I suspect SMM would be open to the idea). 5. You have been tasked with coming up with a mascot concept for the team, but the mascot absolutely can not be a lighthouse. What is your idea? It'll be a destroyed seafaring ship, with the implication being that our maritime infrastructure would fail without us (plus it'd be a weird homage to the angry boats). 6. The NHL will be starting up shortly. Are you optimistic for your favourite team heading into the season? Or are you more worried about their chances? I don't follow the NHL. I know it's crazy, but it's true nonetheless. I've only been playing make-pretend hockey for like a decade.

1. If you were Bratislava GM, which area of the team would you look to strengthen in a trade, and why? Ex-AGM (not you, hylands). dylan is quite mean to me. 2. There has been basically no trade activity around the league, why do you think that is? Probably a touch lower overall activity, plus I think the standings show there are pretty distinctly competitive vs non-competitive teams, so I guess there isn't much marginal benefit to be gained from teams with few resources and poor standings. 3. For those of you that have been VHL drafted, which team will you be graduating to, and are you excited? For the moths that haven't been drafted, do you have a preference or any hopes for the eventual VHL draft? Wherever Sunset goes. Preferably somewhere good, but McWolf and I have been on the same team only sparingly for our entire existences :[ 4. Are you at all interested in becoming a GM in one of the leagues? Or have you had past GM experience? NOPE. I GMed a successful team in the EFL for several seasons and I'm good with just having that experience. 5. Can you recommend me an awesome band that I've probably never heard of? I don't know what bands you know! I love Sammy Rae and the Friends, Lawrence, and Couch. Does that help? 6. If you were in charge of taking the team out to dinner, what kind of restaurant are you taking us to? Thai food. Everyone loves thai food.

Bratislava, Slovakia – Well, it only took 50 games into the season, but it looks like Spanish Moon Moth might finally start contributing. The thoroughly overshadowed centerman-turned-wing (temporarily) has finally caught up to the second-to-last leading point earner on the team in Loki Baker DMD, with 15 total points. The moth was added in the offseason in a supposed blockbuster Free Agent signing and sign-and-trade situation in which Bratislava also was able to obtain defender Sunset Moth. The latter of the two immediately began contributing and currently sits at 32 points, with 10 goals/22 assists as their split and a team-leading 9.62% shooting percentage. On the other hand, Spanish Moon Moth was in the single digits for scoring as of a dozen games ago and has finally hit 15 points, in their case with a 9 goal/6 assist split despite playing 24 minutes a game. Five of these points – a full third of SMM’s total for the season – were obtained in just two games. The first was a September 13th game against Rome where Spanish shot seven times and had a hat trick, the only goals scored by the Watchmen in that game, and the second was a two-goal game against the Cologne Express where Spanish shot another six times – which ultimately made the difference in a 3-2 Bratislava win. With how boom/bust Spanish Moon Moth has been, many fans are still wondering if his signing was worthwhile this offseason – but if he can put up games like this in the last third of the season, hopefully he can continue to quiet his critics.

1. The team has been one of many streaks this season, our most recent being four losses. What do we need to do to turn that around? I'm not advocating for any of us to become Tonya Harding, but perhaps we could use coercive tactics... That's right. Full send into Fighting and Checking. 2. Which team's position in the standings (could be any one of the three leagues) are you most surprised about this season, and why? Ours. WHY AREN'T WE FIRST ;-; The sim is a fickle mistress. 3. Having gone through half a season so far, do you think the contraction to six teams was a positive change? Yes, I'd say it feels overall competitive (save for the Olso Storm) without feeling explicitly coin-flippy against every team. It seems like we're clearly top four and only regularly lose to Vasteras. 4. Who would be your early pick for MVP of Bratislava so far, and why? @McWolf/Sunset Moth, of course How could I choose anyone else? Sunset balances out how terrible Spanish Moon has been, and we've already had a question about how awesome our goalie is so I need to pick a new answer. 5. Do you have anything special in your locker in the dressing room besides hockey equipment? Mothball remover. Don't ask. 6. Which city that hasn't seen a franchise among all of the VHL leagues would you like to see get a team? Atlanta would be an interesting North American Conference add. Or maybe Minneapolis-St. Paul? I thought we used to have a Minnesota team but I might be mistaken.

Transaction ID: 56X006183G891340J $1M Player Store Cash 5 TPE Uncapped Doubles Week

@Victor this could be our time to write about Hiro Renomitsu

1. We are about 1/3rd of the way into the season. Is your player performing how you expected them to? Actually I'm much less involved in the offense than I expected to be. I'm a little saddened by it to be honest 2. Our goaler Jonny Elgar leads the league in save percentage and goals against. How important is an elite goaltender to the team's success? I dunno, I feel like I hear "yes you must max earn" and "goalie TPE doesn't matter at all" sometimes one sentence after another. Is it a random number generator or directly proportional to your TPE? We've gotta get that story and fact straight. 3. If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why? A capybara. Imagine being at one with the world as they always seem to be. 4. If you were stuck at burning man, what lengths would you go to to survive? Why am I at Burning Man? Do I hate money and myself? 5. Are you a beach and ocean type person, or more of a woods and lake type person? Why not both in different weekends? I'm probably a bit more of a woods/lake type person, though if we could do that without the risk of ticks that would be great. 6. What is your favourite nostalgic media to consume? Probably Dragon Age: Origins. Is that too specific?

Bratislava, Slovakia – After an absolutely horrendous 0-4 start, the Bratislava Watchmen have ostensibly righted a ship – their own – and stabilized to a 14-10 record through the first couple dozen games, culminating in a critical 4-2 win over the league-leading Vasteras Iron Eagles just in the last day. “They seemed on the verge of just burning it all down and trading everyone away in an attempt to salvage the season,” one totally-not-dubious source reported to local media, “everyone was open for trade talks and it looked like the Moths were on their way out, yep, totally. Nobody has ever over-reacted to the first sim but this time it happened.” Though the above source refuses to be named and seems to be putting controversial news out for the sake of clicks, which has never happened on the internet before, one player that is clearly struggling is Spanish Moon Moth – one of the free agent commodities from this offseason. His companion Sunset Moth has made a huge impact with the third-highest points on the team (20) as a defensemoth as well as an impressive 52 shots blocked, making the team’s trade seem as though it has paid off in spades. Unfortunately, they’ve only gotten truly half of what they planned on benefiting from as Spanish Moon lags behind with just 4 points generated and a pitiful 3.92 shot %.

I like the part where WWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWW showed up

1. Yes. This is still an unmitigated disaster season, burn it all down. No more watching the Watchmen. 2. Nah, I think the top 2 or 3 will show their differences soon. 3. Probably the Vasteras Iron Eagles. Through the first couple dozen games they look incredibly strong and might even pull away. 4. Rory because they are a master of geography and travel. 5. I follow the NBA peripherally, the MLB this season only because the Orioles are actually good for the second time in my life, and only pirate the NFL because it's a generally disgusting organization who allowed Dan Snyder to do terrible things for decades. Go Ravens. 6. The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom is a wonderfully interesting read. Would also recommend Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

I have no idea what this means because I don't actually follow hockey but yes absolutely

Bratislava, Slovakia – Things got a little dicey in the Watchmen’s locker and war room after a dreadful 0-4 start to the season. The Watchmen, who were slated in official pre-season media to finish third-ish in the VHLE, took initial offense to the preseason rankings, and followed it up with a winless first week/sim day. It ignited some tensions in the locker room, including requests from the general manager to show some fruits from offseason and early season training in a more organized fashion. A later request for “get[ting] that tpe before I have to ping you” was met with some disdain from members of the locker room. Unexpectedly, the team’s former AGM @dylan dragged players also represented by the Renomitsu agency into the fray, suggesting that the hospital in which SBA guard-forward Animated MRI Machine previously had residence burned down (though the people were safely moved to another location with no damage to their physical or mental well-being) with all of the machines burning in an entirely unrelated event. Though the Renomitsu agency’s players all improved in meaningful ways this week, the suggestion that a hospital might be used as an open threat to require improvement of the team’s players was met with some concern. “Am I to believe that millions of dollars of medical equipment is at risk at the whim of some crazy former assistant manager? Don’t get me wrong, we all want to be the best hockey players we can be, but this is absurd,” one anonymous member of Bratislava was noted to comment at a recent presser.

1. I just want to contribute. Don't need first line minutes, don't need PP1 time, just want to help us get further. 2. Us! We were ranked 3rd and I think we can easily be 1st. 3. Whatever rory tells me to, to be honest. I don't know what any of these new-fangled skills do. 4. I went to Bermuda! That was fun. Otherwise I've been working like a dog. 5. I don't think Spanish Moon has very good person or social skills. I think they probably just wore the team uniform to the arena. 6. Thai. Thai is always the answer.

Bratislava, Slovakia – “What’s my client, chopped liver!?” an irate agent was heard saying at the release of some local news, “this makes it look like they’re not even on the team! What kind of Watching are we doing out here anyways?” A recent article released by the VHL’s centralized news agency thoughtfully and articulately ranked each of the VHLE’s teams in an attempt to preview likely outcomes for the season. That certainly did not stop Spanish Moon Moth’s agent from sounding off only minutes after it was published in a way that seemed almost too prepared for the news. In the league’s defense, there aren’t typically many instantly promoted players between the back half of the VHLM and the VHLE, and there were plenty of players more presently talented than Spanish Moon who found their way over to the VHLE via the expected Season 90 draft. Indeed, the first few rounds’ worth of players in the S90 draft all seem to be better prospects (with an extra year in the league) than the Moth duo. Will Spanish Moon’s agent’s blatherings be justified, or will he find himself in hot water with the league?

1. We added two great defencemen to the team in the draft, filling a big hole in the roster. Do you think we look like one of the best teams in the league now? I don't know what a typical VHLE roster looks like, but ours looks pretty dang good. 2. Vasteras had 10 picks in a row this draft! Who do you think was their best pick? Weirdly, I think defender Didier Verhault is their best pick. He's at a TPE value where he's likely to stay in the E for a couple of seasons, but is still higher in TPE than most, if not all of the current S91 class. From an E standpoint I think that's a wise pick. 3. We also managed to pick up rory's player WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Are you glad to have the GMs own player on the team? WWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWho are we talking about again? JKJK, I think rory is a cool person, glad to have their player aboard 4. If you had to play for any other VHLE team which would it be and why? None, because then I'd have to be away from Sunset Moth and that would be less fun. 5. If you're planning a getaway where is your ideal spot? Honestly, a staycation. I think adventuring is cool but I have a lot of travel ahead in the next 2-3 months and would love to just hang out at home instead of work or traveling. 6. Are you prepared for the eventual heat death of the universe? Yes. I've determined how to reverse the trend in enthalpy and entropy in a limited space. Don't ask me how.

It’s not news to say that the COVID-19 pandemic brought a significant uptick to online sim league participation back in 2020 – and I think even up to a year or 18 months ago, baseline activity was still above the baseline we’d come to expect after over a decade of sim leagues’ existence. Over the last year and a half, though, the delineation doesn’t seem quite so clear – tightly-managed sim leagues have seen periods of substantial expansion (across the SBA, VHL, and EFL each), and more recently some contraction for each of the very same. The question I’d want to pose is this: how much of current sim league participation is persistent, true user base, and how much is going to continue to wane? I doubt the VHL goes back to the S50 numbers any time in the next dozen-plus seasons, and perhaps the VHLE goes away as a result of natural drops in the user base (heck if I know). The VHL still has plenty of players – and a plethora of high earners, especially in the last few seasons, who have recreated and continued to be super active. The SBA has similarly made some adjustments to the number of available players and their filler system which, at least from my view, makes the league a bit more interactive too. So what do you think? Are we in for further contraction in the next few seasons, or are all of our teams (and many of our users) here to stay after the most recent changes and as we get further out from the pandemic?

Press Conference Questions To Answer (after a 4 month hiatus ) 1. What are your thoughts about your first season in the league? Have you found your GM/AGM helpful? 2. How long do you plan to stay in the VHLM? Do you plan on eventually being in the VHL or staying in Europe (I hear it's nice there)? 3. Who's the most suspicious player (by name, style, or karaoke skills) in the league? 4. If you participate in #general on the main Discord, who's your favorite regular and why? If you don't, why not? 5. If you had an opportunity to have the whole world/league listen to you during a press conference and could say anything, what would you want to tell them about? 6. Do you have more fun answering questions about your player's season/performance, their off-season/leisure plans, or things about you in real life?

Mississauga, Canada – Sometimes changing leagues can be a little bumpy – a rapid transition from the VHLM to the VHLE seems to be starting off that way for Sunset Moth and her Spanish Moon Moth compatriot. After an uneventful season with the Hounds where the two Moths participated in a few points but largely failed to move the needle for the Ontarian team, the group opted to mutually part ways. The Moths would go on to the VHLE – forcing a big move back to Europe after its contraction to six teams – but as that decision was made, it was determined that the two couldn’t be on the same team (and also wouldn’t be participating in the draft yet). Their agents, two long-time users in the league making a return after a prolonged hiatus, weren’t aware of the rule that would make the Moths free agents… and more importantly that they couldn’t come to the same team. “This was a devastating bit of information for the lot of us, really,” the agents commented in a joint conference, “our hope was that they might be together for their whole careers, not just a few weeks as their VHLM stint. But we also know Sunset & Spanish Moon are very motivated players who want to progress rapidly in the VHL structure. That they’re able to progress at this early a stage is reassuring, but we’re all worried the split may affect their trajectories.” Spanish Moon Moth, the forward half of the moths, has received communications from a few different teams regarding candidacy prior to joining the VHLE Draft next season and is still working on a decision, but reportedly has been mortified by the forced separation. It’s not surprising – especially given the mystery and extreme privacy the two have kept regarding even their identities/species (?), though they’re definitely, totally, absolutely human and not a giant collection of moths holding a hockey stick and helmet up. At the time of writing, neither Spanish Moon nor Sunset Moth were available for comment and there was minimal additional commenting the agents wanted to do outside of their specific conference. I’ve also been requested to write about “Yo momma” in this article by an important person in the VHL. It’s at this point that I would like to point out that your mother is a very pleasant person, so are you, and your mother should be proud of all the things you’ve done, VHL and otherwise. On the other hand, if your mother is a VHL alumnus and you’re just starting your career, you’ve got big shoes to fill. The VHLE will be forced to field higher quality players on a per-roster basis given their recent contraction, and as a result the stakes are going to be a little higher just to get to the big leagues by themselves. If you’re struggling on your way up and don’t know what to do, consider seeking out your mother for guidance. Alternatively, if you don’t want to talk to your mother with regards to sim leagues because she has no idea what they are, I’m happy to act as your stand-in VHL mother. You've got this, kid. A media spot also seems to be an appropriate venue to ask questions about rules specific to the E, although it may be a moot point at this stage. Were there any rules regarding the E (or any of its transitions in or out) that surprised you, dear reader?

UNKNOWN – In an undisclosed-yet-discovered location, the infamous VHL leadership makes decisions that send ripples throughout the entire league. A few select individuals have found their way to the VHL HQ, where the league’s “Commissioner” crew ultimately decides the fate of dozens of players that populate their league. Less than an hour ago, the public side of an announcement affecting a very large number of entry-level VHL players was introduced without much of a chance for response. Indeed, the 400-500 “TPE bracket” – another undescribed metric leaving players mystified as to exactly what they’re using to grade players’ talent – had their salaries summarily slashed by $250,000, from $1.75m to $1.5m while on the rookie scale. Sure, prime players who don’t find their way past the 400 “TPE” hump will find themselves still paid the same $2m base salary, but players in their first couple of seasons will be out another quarter million dollars. “I think it’s ridiculous,” one anonymously surveyed player said, “the MAN is trying to keep us down with these salary cuts. $250k is a huge amount of money for a new VHL player just trying to make it in the big leagues, especially if we’ve been struggling through the M and the E to get there in the first place. It’s not easy to move my family back from Europe after all’s said and done. Why would @Spartan do this?” On an unrelated note, VHLM Commissioner Spartan was seen purchasing a third private jet, a second yacht, and, like, three bubble tea shop franchise locations. Rude.