Renomitsu

Over the last several weeks, we've seen a handful of GMs elect to step down - from diamond_ace calling it quits after he finishes this season out with Prague to (apparently) Hylands stepping back from his role on Malmo, this season seems to be no different. Over the last few seasons, we've seen quite a few long-standing GMs move on to greener pastures, from Victor with Moscow to Beaviss/fonzi on Vancouver and Esso on New York, it'd seem as though just about half the league is going through some kind of leadership transition within the last half-dozen seasons.
 
As I'm deliberating on what to do for Aloe's swan song, I find myself more and more uncertain with whether she'll opt for another go at free agency or stick with one of her old teams. Warsaw is in a clear rebuilding mode, while D.C. is aging into its twilight. But with fewer overall familiar faces in leadership positions in the league and this season being one of my last for a little while, I think finding a locker room with some leadership and players I'm familiar with will be increasingly important.
 
I do hope that the more recently selected GMs stick around for a good while - sim leagues are oft-lacking in stability and VHL has been something of a rock for me for nigh-on a decade now.

Over the last several weeks, we've seen a handful of GMs elect to step down - from diamond_ace calling it quits after he finishes this season out with Prague to (apparently) Hylands stepping back from his role on Malmo, this season seems to be no different. Over the last few seasons, we've seen quite a few long-standing GMs move on to greener pastures, from Victor with Moscow to Beaviss/fonzi on Vancouver and Esso on New York, it'd seem as though just about half the league is going through some kind of leadership transition within the last half-dozen seasons.
 
As I'm deliberating on what to do for Aloe's swan song, I find myself more and more uncertain with whether she'll opt for another go at free agency or stick with one of her old teams. Warsaw is in a clear rebuilding mode, while D.C. is aging into its twilight. But with fewer overall familiar faces in leadership positions in the league and this season being one of my last for a little while, I think finding a locker room with some leadership and players I'm familiar with will be increasingly important.
 
I do hope that the more recently selected GMs stick around for a good while - sim leagues are oft-lacking in stability and VHL has been something of a rock for me for nigh-on a decade now.

So the theme's "Life After the VHL." But Aloe still has another season left in her career, and I didn't find Apollo Hackett's career to be all that interesting before he won the championship with Riga in his seventh (and final) season, anyways. Instead, I opted to consider what life might be like after the VHL for me, the user – I've explored this topic a couple of times in the past through VHL.com articles, and I'd like to expand on it a little more here.
 
The closer I get to the end of Dear's career, the more at-peace I am with a decision to hang it up in the VHL, at least for a little while. Whether that ends up being one single season or ten, I think I'll need some time off from max earning here – and probably in the EFL, too, though I do feel strongly about the success of both leagues. Ultimately, I'm a single user in a sea of dozens, if not hundreds, for either league, so I don't think any hiatus I take would be of significant (practical) impact to either league. And I've espoused not really wanting to feel the pressure of being a max earner in the VHL for a couple of seasons now. The question then becomes, what does real life look like for me currently, and what do I want to do after Dear's done?
 
I currently work in a hospital in the southeast US as a medical resident. So most of my days – usually 6 days a week, though sometimes there are weeks when I work 5 or 7 – are spent with about 12-14 hours in the hospital or a clinic. I do a little academic reading before and after work in preparation for boards (or a licensure exam in the first year of residency called Step 3, which is specific to this year in my training), maybe catch dinner with a friend or two a couple of times a week and make time every day for a little leisure. Whether that's putting in work for sim leagues, listening to the League of Legends crew play their games, reading novels for leisure, or playing music, I can always find something to do with free time. I'm also intensely introverted, which means by the time I'm done with work, I'm usually all social-ed out; it's even occasionally a chore for me to catch dinner with a friend since I'm so exhausted from speaking with so many people every day during work.
 
What disengaging from the earning-specific aspect of the VHL and EFL does for me is free up some time for me to enjoy other activities, whether that's by myself or with others. I've a backlog of books I'd like to read – particularly John Green's Looking for Alaska and Lisa Delpit's Teaching When the World Is On Fire. Neither are particularly difficult reads, but I've found what I've read of the latter of the two to be particularly rewarding to read provided the recent trends in my country's political environment. In my line of work, being able to engage those in stressful situations in a thoughtful and compassionate way is critical; there's a lot of room for even seasoned physicians to improve in that capacity, to say nothing of someone with the comparatively little experience I possess. I want to make a deliberate attempt to improve my communication skills with those that don't share my specific educational background or childhood socioeconomic privilege. While I do get a lot of enjoyment out of spending time in the VHL and EFL, I think it's time to take a step back and make sure I'm being intentional about the way I use a larger portion of my free time and ensuring – even moreso than the last four and a half years – that I'm becoming the best physician I can be.
 
Thanks for reading.

So the theme's "Life After the VHL." But Aloe still has another season left in her career, and I didn't find Apollo Hackett's career to be all that interesting before he won the championship with Riga in his seventh (and final) season, anyways. Instead, I opted to consider what life might be like after the VHL for me, the user – I've explored this topic a couple of times in the past through VHL.com articles, and I'd like to expand on it a little more here.
 
The closer I get to the end of Dear's career, the more at-peace I am with a decision to hang it up in the VHL, at least for a little while. Whether that ends up being one single season or ten, I think I'll need some time off from max earning here – and probably in the EFL, too, though I do feel strongly about the success of both leagues. Ultimately, I'm a single user in a sea of dozens, if not hundreds, for either league, so I don't think any hiatus I take would be of significant (practical) impact to either league. And I've espoused not really wanting to feel the pressure of being a max earner in the VHL for a couple of seasons now. The question then becomes, what does real life look like for me currently, and what do I want to do after Dear's done?
 
I currently work in a hospital in the southeast US as a medical resident. So most of my days – usually 6 days a week, though sometimes there are weeks when I work 5 or 7 – are spent with about 12-14 hours in the hospital or a clinic. I do a little academic reading before and after work in preparation for boards (or a licensure exam in the first year of residency called Step 3, which is specific to this year in my training), maybe catch dinner with a friend or two a couple of times a week and make time every day for a little leisure. Whether that's putting in work for sim leagues, listening to the League of Legends crew play their games, reading novels for leisure, or playing music, I can always find something to do with free time. I'm also intensely introverted, which means by the time I'm done with work, I'm usually all social-ed out; it's even occasionally a chore for me to catch dinner with a friend since I'm so exhausted from speaking with so many people every day during work.
 
What disengaging from the earning-specific aspect of the VHL and EFL does for me is free up some time for me to enjoy other activities, whether that's by myself or with others. I've a backlog of books I'd like to read – particularly John Green's Looking for Alaska and Lisa Delpit's Teaching When the World Is On Fire. Neither are particularly difficult reads, but I've found what I've read of the latter of the two to be particularly rewarding to read provided the recent trends in my country's political environment. In my line of work, being able to engage those in stressful situations in a thoughtful and compassionate way is critical; there's a lot of room for even seasoned physicians to improve in that capacity, to say nothing of someone with the comparatively little experience I possess. I want to make a deliberate attempt to improve my communication skills with those that don't share my specific educational background or childhood socioeconomic privilege. While I do get a lot of enjoyment out of spending time in the VHL and EFL, I think it's time to take a step back and make sure I'm being intentional about the way I use a larger portion of my free time and ensuring – even moreso than the last four and a half years – that I'm becoming the best physician I can be.
 
Thanks for reading.

So the theme's "Life After the VHL." But Aloe still has another season left in her career, and I didn't find Apollo Hackett's career to be all that interesting before he won the championship with Riga in his seventh (and final) season, anyways. Instead, I opted to consider what life might be like after the VHL for me, the user – I've explored this topic a couple of times in the past through VHL.com articles, and I'd like to expand on it a little more here.
 
The closer I get to the end of Dear's career, the more at-peace I am with a decision to hang it up in the VHL, at least for a little while. Whether that ends up being one single season or ten, I think I'll need some time off from max earning here – and probably in the EFL, too, though I do feel strongly about the success of both leagues. Ultimately, I'm a single user in a sea of dozens, if not hundreds, for either league, so I don't think any hiatus I take would be of significant (practical) impact to either league. And I've espoused not really wanting to feel the pressure of being a max earner in the VHL for a couple of seasons now. The question then becomes, what does real life look like for me currently, and what do I want to do after Dear's done?
 
I currently work in a hospital in the southeast US as a medical resident. So most of my days – usually 6 days a week, though sometimes there are weeks when I work 5 or 7 – are spent with about 12-14 hours in the hospital or a clinic. I do a little academic reading before and after work in preparation for boards (or a licensure exam in the first year of residency called Step 3, which is specific to this year in my training), maybe catch dinner with a friend or two a couple of times a week and make time every day for a little leisure. Whether that's putting in work for sim leagues, listening to the League of Legends crew play their games, reading novels for leisure, or playing music, I can always find something to do with free time. I'm also intensely introverted, which means by the time I'm done with work, I'm usually all social-ed out; it's even occasionally a chore for me to catch dinner with a friend since I'm so exhausted from speaking with so many people every day during work.
 
What disengaging from the earning-specific aspect of the VHL and EFL does for me is free up some time for me to enjoy other activities, whether that's by myself or with others. I've a backlog of books I'd like to read – particularly John Green's Looking for Alaska and Lisa Delpit's Teaching When the World Is On Fire. Neither are particularly difficult reads, but I've found what I've read of the latter of the two to be particularly rewarding to read provided the recent trends in my country's political environment. In my line of work, being able to engage those in stressful situations in a thoughtful and compassionate way is critical; there's a lot of room for even seasoned physicians to improve in that capacity, to say nothing of someone with the comparatively little experience I possess. I want to make a deliberate attempt to improve my communication skills with those that don't share my specific educational background or childhood socioeconomic privilege. While I do get a lot of enjoyment out of spending time in the VHL and EFL, I think it's time to take a step back and make sure I'm being intentional about the way I use a larger portion of my free time and ensuring – even moreso than the last four and a half years – that I'm becoming the best physician I can be.
 
Thanks for reading.

clicker time

tl;dr - I don't know.
 
I'm at a weird point in sim leagues. Both my EFL and VHL players' careers are winding down, though admittedly my DB in EFL has another season after this before regression starts while Aloe Dear's kinda-OK stint in the VHL has a hard end-date: the end of S81. With my RB/WR Charm McClain-Callahan fast regressing despite a hefty amount of banked TPE, I know he's realistically only got a couple of seasons of viability left. I think it'd be a really nice wrap-up to these last 2.5 years in sim leagues if I wanted to end my stint here and now.
 
I've been fortunate to be able to make time for sim leagues since starting my most recent job. And theoretically, with some clinic-based rotations in my future, I could probably make another player and max earn for a while longer - so the door's obviously still open for me to continue.
 
But I wonder how things would be if I could just sit and chat with some people in sim leagues without the (mostly self-inflicted) pressure to max earn.
 
Does anyone else feel this way? 

Review
0/10, can't believe you didn't put D.C. as the NA Conference champions and Continental Cup winners.
 
Jokes aside, you've done a lovely job highlighting key players and team composition for the best teams in each conference, and I really like that you didn't put your anticipated conference regular season winners as both of the conference champions (it gets a bit boring to read the same teams' names over and over again). There are some bold takes in each paragraph, which helps disturb the typical "yep favorite wins everything" or "my team is the singular best and nobody can say otherwise" trend I tend to see with predictions threads.
 
The only comment I have edit-wise is using a colon in place of a semicolon when you gave your hot take in the last paragraph (i.e. "...leads to my hot take: Every game of this series..."),

Review
0/10, can't believe you didn't put D.C. as the NA Conference champions and Continental Cup winners.
 
Jokes aside, you've done a lovely job highlighting key players and team composition for the best teams in each conference, and I really like that you didn't put your anticipated conference regular season winners as both of the conference champions (it gets a bit boring to read the same teams' names over and over again). There are some bold takes in each paragraph, which helps disturb the typical "yep favorite wins everything" or "my team is the singular best and nobody can say otherwise" trend I tend to see with predictions threads.
 
The only comment I have edit-wise is using a colon in place of a semicolon when you gave your hot take in the last paragraph (i.e. "...leads to my hot take: Every game of this series..."),

Not claiming this as an ms but didn’t know where to put it so it is going here.
 
I’ve been thinking a lot, I know surprising but I have come to realize something about how this league has affected me. For those who know me well this is known that I am a very bad socializer and I hate social situations as they stress me out. It has been something I’ve dealt with my whole life but always just kind of pushed it off. I would avoid people and wouldn’t talk to people I didn’t know at all costs. I literally just wouldn't talk to people at school and would just chill by myself in my own little world.  I promise this goes somewhere. Anyways when I first joined the league for probably the first 3 months I talked to maybe 4 people because everyone else terrified me. I slowly got better at talking to people and then left for a while but I came back. 
 
When I came back I was invited into the Moscow locker room on the draft night a draft I happened to be drafting for LA and my player was also in the draft. I don’t really remember how it happened but somehow I got convinced to join a voice chat with @Spartan and @MexicanCow123. I don’t honestly think I said a word in that call and I think I was there for maybe 2 hours. This became a constant thing where I would just sit in their voice chats and not talk but just watch them play games 99% of the time parkitect… please bring that back by the way. It became a running joke that I didn’t talk in voice chats. People use to join and say random things to make me talk but I legitimately refused to. Time continued and I would talk when it was only specific people and then would mute whenever someone else would join but it was always a work in progress. 
 
At some point in Moscow, we were talking about it in gen chat and I think was because I was talking about college. The conversation I had with @Mr_Hatter and Spartan that day has been one that has stuck with me as I have started college and been forced to talk to people but also around the league. As I have started college I think about that conversation a lot and the first few weeks especially it helped me relax and just enjoy the time. I give both of them a ton of credit for how far I’ve come in the last 5 months because honestly, I’ve had the conversation with a lot of people but something about that conversation stuck out to me more than the rest of them. It felt less like being told not to feel that way and more people genuinely trying to help. Spartan use to get me into VCs a lot and as much as I needed it I hated it. As I said one day “it was needed but it was torture” I mean I still stick by that. It was torture but it was a what doesn’t kill you makes you stringer type of situation. 
 
As a lot of people know I like to force myself into locker rooms to get sam roles. This may be one of the best things I ever decided to start doing. It forced me into talking to new people and being put in uncomfortable (for me) situations. That really started in proam and me begging Laine and eventually writing as essay for him to give me a sam role. so if you're ick of it blame @Lainebut that is really how me and Laine became friends was because of that so I'm very grateful for it.  I’ve met so many great people who I probably wouldn’t have met if I didn’t put myself out there. I stuck to my group of like 5-10 people that I would talk to but because of sam roles that has been increased tremendously. So shoutout to all the GMs that have let me into your locker rooms. I do appreciate it.  It probably sounds so stupid to anyone from an outside perspective but I have never been so comfortable around so many people. There are so many people that I’ve meet in the last 3 months who I now feel okay talking to when usually that would take probably 6 months to be able to do. A lot of that also came with the Halifax job. I mean I don’t have a choice I have to talk to my players and other gms etc to be able to run a team. It’s something that I didn’t think would help but it has.
 
It became a joke whenever I would talk anywhere that sam has left her hole or her home. I mean which they weren’t wrong. The first time I had an actual conversation in vhl gen discord I remember multiple people saying wow she talks. I know it’s surprising I do exist. I went from not being able to talk to people to be able to hop in a call with people after only knowing them for a little bit. Which is a huge improvement. Cow is one of my best friends on this app and it took over 9 months for him to convince me to get on a call with him.

 
So what's the point of this? One to thank you to the people who have helped me get over this slightly and have been extremely helpful to make me talk to people. I appreciate you torturing me for the better good of myself. I am so much more confident at least within the vhl walls to talk to people and not feel like an annoyance. Well except when I’m begging for sam roles I hope you get annoyed with me that means I’m doing my job. I definitely have my days where talking to people isn’t my thing and I fall back into old habits but in all honesty, vhl was one of the ways I’ve been able to force myself to break those habits. It’s a work in progress and will be for a while. I  want to say a final thanks to those who have helped me on this path even if you don’t think you did, you probably did in some way, shape, or form by just talking to me. When I walked into this league I never expected it to actually change me but its made an impact for sure. I'm really grateful for it. Okay bye now.

I just keep thinking of her being besties with all the girls with terrible pun names. That is how she and @Renomitsu Aloe Dear became besties 👯‍♀️ lol

Literally the Entire VHL, Somewhere - Vancouver has 8 wins through 10 games, an entirely unprecedented mark in the history of the VHL; surely some dark sorcery is to blame, and this writer will not take any other explanation as an answer. We took to cold-calling the personal phones of various executives and managers across the league, and here are a few of the responses we got.
 
"Our TPE numbers are larger than theirs, so we should win every game against them," an irate GM was noted to exclaim during an internal league meeting.
 
"I think their team may be the best one the league has ever seen," a definitely not Vancouver-associated administrator commented.
 
"It is entirely unacceptable that this team has any wins against my own, and must be due to an exploit of some sort," another general manager screamed at league officials.
 
Another North American Conference manager didn't mince any words. "They're ass. I accidentally played our backup against them."
 
"Look at how well Malmo started through their first ten games in their second or third season as a franchise and how that ended," responded another, "I think we should make drastic in-season changes based on the data acquired through the first 5 days of sims."

Literally the Entire VHL, Somewhere - Vancouver has 8 wins through 10 games, an entirely unprecedented mark in the history of the VHL; surely some dark sorcery is to blame, and this writer will not take any other explanation as an answer. We took to cold-calling the personal phones of various executives and managers across the league, and here are a few of the responses we got.
 
"Our TPE numbers are larger than theirs, so we should win every game against them," an irate GM was noted to exclaim during an internal league meeting.
 
"I think their team may be the best one the league has ever seen," a definitely not Vancouver-associated administrator commented.
 
"It is entirely unacceptable that this team has any wins against my own, and must be due to an exploit of some sort," another general manager screamed at league officials.
 
Another North American Conference manager didn't mince any words. "They're ass. I accidentally played our backup against them."
 
"Look at how well Malmo started through their first ten games in their second or third season as a franchise and how that ended," responded another, "I think we should make drastic in-season changes based on the data acquired through the first 5 days of sims."

Literally the Entire VHL, Somewhere - Vancouver has 8 wins through 10 games, an entirely unprecedented mark in the history of the VHL; surely some dark sorcery is to blame, and this writer will not take any other explanation as an answer. We took to cold-calling the personal phones of various executives and managers across the league, and here are a few of the responses we got.
 
"Our TPE numbers are larger than theirs, so we should win every game against them," an irate GM was noted to exclaim during an internal league meeting.
 
"I think their team may be the best one the league has ever seen," a definitely not Vancouver-associated administrator commented.
 
"It is entirely unacceptable that this team has any wins against my own, and must be due to an exploit of some sort," another general manager screamed at league officials.
 
Another North American Conference manager didn't mince any words. "They're ass. I accidentally played our backup against them."
 
"Look at how well Malmo started through their first ten games in their second or third season as a franchise and how that ended," responded another, "I think we should make drastic in-season changes based on the data acquired through the first 5 days of sims."

Literally the Entire VHL, Somewhere - Vancouver has 8 wins through 10 games, an entirely unprecedented mark in the history of the VHL; surely some dark sorcery is to blame, and this writer will not take any other explanation as an answer. We took to cold-calling the personal phones of various executives and managers across the league, and here are a few of the responses we got.
 
"Our TPE numbers are larger than theirs, so we should win every game against them," an irate GM was noted to exclaim during an internal league meeting.
 
"I think their team may be the best one the league has ever seen," a definitely not Vancouver-associated administrator commented.
 
"It is entirely unacceptable that this team has any wins against my own, and must be due to an exploit of some sort," another general manager screamed at league officials.
 
Another North American Conference manager didn't mince any words. "They're ass. I accidentally played our backup against them."
 
"Look at how well Malmo started through their first ten games in their second or third season as a franchise and how that ended," responded another, "I think we should make drastic in-season changes based on the data acquired through the first 5 days of sims."

Aloe Dear @BrutalBoost

Choosing my player before I could choose me, don't know if I should be angry or happy I went early ;(
 
F - Pistil Stamen
 
@Siddhus You're now OTC

Let's make one thing clear here, as a few people have messaged me to similar effect: While I do not agree with what she did in this case, I am absolutely still on good terms with @BladeMaiden and will not be speaking ill of her except strictly facts. She is someone I still consider a friend and still appreciate quite a bit as a member. Do not try to get me to say anything negative about her outside of what is in this post.

1. After a tough loss in game 7 to Malmo, how do you feel about our performance throughout these playoffs?
I don't feel that badly about it. We took Malmo to 7 and lost in a coin-flip, then they went on to crush the finals. That lets us know we were that close to a championship - and yes, that hurts a little, but we have a lot to be proud of.
 
2. What could we have done differently to advance to the Finals?
It's best not to perseverate on the 'what ifs,' as that stops everyone involved from moving forward.
 
3. Between Malmo and Seattle, who will take home the Continental Cup this season? (Malmo is up 3-1)
This one's been in the books a little while now. Congrats to Malmo!
 
4. What are your player's plans for this offseason?
I'm still trying to figure out this Free Agent thing, to be honest.
 
5. Overall what are your thoughts on Warsaw's and your player's S79?
Expectations were a bit lower than the previous season and we finished just about where I expected to - a sliver away from a championship.
 
6. The NFL's week 1 just started, have you been watching all the games this weekend?
I did! I'm not excited for the Ravens/Chiefs game later today since I think we're gonna get crushed, but it is what it is.

Washington, D.C. - After a lot of deliberation (and several other free agency pieces had already fallen), long-time Warsaw forward Aloe Dear finally elected to leave the very team that chose to draft her. She spent 6 full seasons in Warsaw - including multiple Continental Cup series, with one such attempt winning it all. Second to that was her MVP and First Team All-VHL, followed by a Second Team All-VHL this season after the awards announcements just a couple of hours ago.
 
"My time in Warsaw has so, so many stories to tell," Dear said, wistful at times during a recent presser, "and it's frankly strange to think that I won't be on the same team as Dakota. I've never been on a team without him as a crucial leader -- but I think we can both agree it was time for us to part ways as he enters the final stage of his career."
 
"I also wasn't expecting as much interest as I got this off-season, what with two prior attempts at free agency ending with returns to Warsaw," she commented, "I really got offers from all over the place, and it was scary to try and commit to one. So many great opportunities were offered, but I think D.C.'s offer stuck in my head from the last time I was in free agency."

that's a work in progress. I gotta win over more gms. Also on the grammar note I wrote this how I would talk it and wasn't particularly focused on grammar things haha.

Hey everyone, going to keep this short and sweet. For those of you who may have missed it, we presented the Season 79 VHL Awards live on the pre-draft stream of the S80 VHL Draft, available here on @Esso2264's twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/115374840
 
For convenience, here is the full list of the winners. Congratulations all!
 
 

Good luck in DCD, @Renomitsu. Thank you for the talks  

In, but there's definitely no way I have any time to be a manager.

A little stream-of-consciousness here as I struggle to put some thoughts together for this week!
 
Does anyone else feel a little disconnected from the VHL right now? I've been in the pediatric emergency department all week, and I've only now caught up to the fact that Warsaw is in the EU Conference finals, which is wonderfully exciting! Despite their loss in the divisional round, I was thoroughly impressed by Davos's performance this post-season; for some reason, I was under the impression that they'd had a rather difficult season again and weren't supposed to be contenders -- but here they were, bringing Malmo out to six games with an excellent showing and a promising future ahead. I also think I've lost track of some of the personnel and management changes across the major league, to say nothing of all of the congratulations that go out to our (kinda) new VHLE GMs. I'm a bit disappointed that I haven't had more time to familiarize myself with all of the cool new members in the league, but sometimes that's just the way the cookie crumbles.
 
On the other hand, is anyone surprised at all that Seattle's back in yet another NA Conference final series? I feel like Bana's had a remarkable, sustained period of success that's spanned multiple player careers' worth of seasons, and that certainly deserves some recognition.
 
Since I've gotten more than my fair share of 200 words out of the way: I hope you're all doing well. Please, please, please take some time to focus on your wellness, be it with some relaxing free-time activities or just a few minutes to meditate and reflect on the last week. There's a lot going on in the world, and I think it's very easy to get worked up and fail to see the forest for the trees. Thanks for reading.