Banackock

Based off the percentage of how often they make the playoffs, I’d beg to differ Cool graphic!

Hope you two bring lots to the recruitment team. Good luck.

Where’s his cups…? wink.

Remember, before all the ass smooching, I was your biggest fan @der meister

Ditto.

Claiming for 1 week

the end

Bana Blabs Down Under in SYDNEY #92 Another Blab brought to you by Talk-to-Text, an easier way to do this. Thanks, Siri. Despite your many, often simple errors. I appreciate you. You have made this easier and I wish I would have given you a try all those seasons ago! S90 VHL Index Severus Targaryen Player Page (Bana's Player) Seattle Bears Team Page Bears Discord - General. Come join the fun! That's what the VHL is all about :) Hey all! As the beautiful month of September looks to come to a close, so does our regular season for S90. Since my last article I wrote about visiting Melbourne, Australia, we managed to fly ourselves to Sydney for the second time! Unlike when we first came to Australia and spent a week in Sydney, this time we only stayed from the 24-26th. We figured we'd already seen it but it's just so beautiful that we wanted a few more days... and I'm so glad we did! Melbourne was cool, but Sydney is on a whole different level (probably a few up, to be honest and in my opinion). Our Air BNB had cute character for a loft and was perfectly positioned off the water this time close to the gardens, opera house and CBD (we were close last time too mostly - Birch Grove). We spent our time mostly walking around CBD, Darling Harbor and had a beach day where I went stingray hunting with gorgeous views of the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Northern CBD filling up the views behind the crystal blue waters. ALSO, first 5 minutes in our air BNB and I was outside feeding Banana's to two cockatoos (which was an incredible experience you can kind of read about in the article I linked above!) and eventually even fed a Lorikeet from my hand which was way too cool and beautiful. For the Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Cairns and home time article, I think that'll be all next week. Still living it up in Brisbane as we speak! Flip into the shadows of the VHL walls and playoffs are 2-3 games away from finishing.. Unless what I was reading about on Discord about the portal not being updated is still a thing. If so, shit. Will have to do lines eventually and to be fair, Brisbane, Sydney, Cairns, Sunshine Coast >>>>> VHL.... Sorry, Melbs Seattle has found a way to fall out of grace a little bit. We found a groove, started running well after trade deadline but have since fell right back down in time to play Vancouver. Due to this, I'm sure, they're licking their chops at the potential of some fresh, juicy, Bear meat. Could happen but has potential to be a good one! On paper, both are good. We'll see what STHS has in store. With that being said, let's blab... as this is enough for our VHL.com article lmao... Frederick Elmebeck Award - The idea behind it and reason for it is very kind and thoughtful. I just feel it's a bit of a popularity, ass kissing award where a bunch of friends mass nominate people and sometimes leaves me questioning a lot of the nominees.. really? Them?! Surprised ____ was left off! They've been in the league for what.. 4 seasons? Just became a GM? Over___?? All they are is active really. I guess the wording is "makes a difference in SOME capacity to other members". You certainly see somewhat of a theme of members too.. Would be cool to be recognized though as it is a league nominated award. I think I have been a couple times but haven't walked home with one yet... Could this be the season? I have made amazing relationships this season and over the course of the last 42. Even members I never thought I would... have grown so much like @rory etc that I'm very grateful for. There was a day we couldn't get along! Now we're gonna share a brew at the heritage game. Things change when you give people a chance... who would have thought?? I've been travelling around Australia since February... I've been to Indonesia in this time.. and since September 20th have been on 3 planes.. with 5 more to go... and that's not counting my flights to this wonderful country, to Indonesia, and carrying around a SECOND laptop this entire time so that I can do my GMing duties... We won't even talk about the time zone difference... Still one of the most active GM's.. always a ping away and quick to help.. Have had so many members come to me over the years that needed some help... I was also the member behind the original idea of the Christmas Charity which has collected thousands and thousands of dollars for amazing causes all throughout the world.. (I feel like that's a lot more than some of the members on the list, no? ) and this last off-season, while in Australia and spending all my hard earned money in this wonderful land down under, I introduced the first ever Seattle Bears Team awards under my tenure and have introduced the first ever team award (that I'm aware of) that donates money to charity of the player/member/winners choice. It's just about doing good and trying to instill that into the league, the Bears brand and even myself. I do it often in life, but I really enjoy helping others. It also helps me as weird as that probably is... I want to make a difference and be part of the difference. Despite the little debt I have now from this trip (it's a little more than a little but also none of your damn business hehe), I created the Spirit Bear Award which gave our first ever recipient, @rory, their choice of charity to donate the money towards to help out. Will I be nominated? Maybe. I've been a few times but nothing that has ever been close. I've never been an official nominee I don't think.. Unfortunately, I feel like a few small things can have a negative chokehold on some, cast a massive shadow over your positives for some and for them, despite preaching kindness, don't know how to preach and teach forgiveness At the end of the day, I just see most of them moving their fingers on the keyboard while the above is being done by others. GMOTY - Still a great team and we made MOVES this season to be where we are. The sim has just been weird sometimes and our competition in NA is strong.. but our goal differential has improved big time mostly.. As @Advantage graciously showed us last season, the BOG is separated on how to vote and most awards take a lot into account.. Maybe no clear rubric? Unsure.. Often confusion around it. Seems a huge jump in standings is a good enough cause to win the award sometimes... and overlook everything else... also seems to be quite a bit of influence in there from some members, wink, wink. For the second season in a row, we flopped all over the place as we managed the cap, roster space and the same old same off-season of 90% of GM's waiting too long, waiting for free agency and WAITING.. that's what some of these new GM's love to do is wait until the last minute and then pull the trigger on the first deal they get even though other GM's probably would have offered more... but makes sense. Why do the work earlier when someone else will do it for you later? lol.. and for I THINK the second straight season, we also made the most trades for teams. 11 this season and 9 last season. All while managing to still make the playoffs and be one of the most consistent, successful teams for almost 30 entire seasons now. I'm doing this all while hopping on planes and being 15,000 KM away from my actual home. Some struggle to respond to GM's in a timely manner. Will I be nominated? Don't come off as cheeky, Bana.... Am I not nominated most seasons? DAMNIT, Bana... Settle down, my VHL mob. I'm only playing to ruffle those pretty cockatoo feathers of yours. Will I win? Honestly, while I have an epic resume for this season, so do a couple others actually. @Moon has done an amazing job with Toronto this season. Great bud of mine, great job! So hard to pick one to root for in the NA but you're up there for me!! I really do think Mooner wins it this season based off how the award comittee etc operates. this time they might not be wrong though! @FrostBeard and @InstantRockstar found ways in the off-season and even @Frank continues to impress with consistency and strength.. Always does a great job. EU - I'd say @samx and @hedgehog337 lead the way for me. They improved the most when it comes to bringing in strong assets.. maybe their seasonal stats aren't as strong, but to be fair, I expected a lot more than 33-29-8 from HSK.. Davos hardly made any big moves... Good season and had some nice, meaningful moves but when you compare to the rest, isn't quite the same level... Same thing with Prague. Same roster, no moves. Good season, sure. Maybe some of these teams had bigger jumps in the standings but eh.. is it on the same level as some of the others like Seattle, Toronto, HSK, RIG, MOS etc? Not to me... One final team that can easily make the list is Moscow @Spartan. Dislike trading with them. Rarely pleasant experience hashing out deals and is comparable to Starbuck's coffee prices. Sometimes you get the odd easy one but that's the nature of this role too... but I look at their roster and draft picks. If you're not scared, you're silly. I strongly avoided Moscow until the last minute so I wouldn't gift them anymore like the rest of you lol... Every GM is unique. Every GM's competitive levels are different.. While there is a set standard for value, lots of things also affect it personally for teams like the member, history, blah, blah.. For example, I met @Berocka and since then his value has dramatically dropped for me. Guys like 7' tall. Would cost too much for Seattle to keep him well fed. But it's whatever. We get the job done and i'm not trying to really rip into them.. Their track record is proven and I respect that. Lots talk highly of them and I can appreciate that. We're two hungry managers.. I operate somewhat similar. This is my value. If you don't like it, go somewhere else. Almost always does someone pay... look at LA this off-season and any team that likes to "wait" (not LA in this case..). Often the longer you wait.. the best "fruits" are picked through too.. and you end up paying the same for a bruised peach.. Even though most GM's complain, the value is almost always the same everywhere else.. often times, comedically, they like to spend a little more... and often you name a price, they say "F*CK no", complain about it somewhere behind your back and then end up trading for a more expensive asset that is less value.. so whatever lol

Holy fuck. Do you want to be good or shit Seattle? Fucking pick one for once.

I didn’t read it all but I think I got the point of it within the first couple sentences. I agree 50%.

Bana Blabs Down Under #91 Rod Laver Arena, NHL Global Series 2023, Melbourne ,"Melby", Australia. (Good ole USA, hey, Melbs?) Another Blab brought to you by Talk-to-Text, an easier way to do this. Thanks, Siri. Despite your many, often simple errors. I appreciate you. You have made this easier and I wish I would have given you a try all those seasons ago! S90 VHL Index Severus Targaryen Player Page (Bana's Player) Seattle Bears Team Page Bears Discord - General. Come join the fun! That's what the VHL is all about :) Salutations, Everyone. I hope that life is going good for you and that if you're going through some shit, you make it through it. You got this! Life has been a tornado of crazy, busy and adventure the last little while. On September 20th, AKA my birthday / Mel-birthday, we flew across the continent from Perth to Melbourne at 0230AM! The flight mostly sucked and I was folded like a very cheap, stale pretzel in the mid section of a JetStar plane. Fortunately, my 5'4" partner survived without issue. We spent the days exploring the CBD and streets, markets (which are awesome here everywhere), local eats and drinks, parks, river cruises and just other extras around and about... Then on September 23rd we had the absolute privilege of attending the first ever NHL game in Australia, as also mentioned by @Berocka HERE, and it was a lot of fun. They put a good amount of work into it outside with shooting, puck handling and other cool events including a meet and greet with Lord Stanley. The game was pretty good. Lots of goals, a crazy goal by a Coyotes player that made the place bounce pretty good, a sweet brawl where they danced around and really put on a show and even treated the fans to a mediocre shoot out! Another PLUS? Rogers you get a piece of pizza for what, $12 @rory? Here it's a small pizza for like $16.5 You bet your ass Bana was feasting at the game on some cider, hot chips and pizza! Prior to the game though, we walked around, bought some stuff and were waiting in an hour long line, chatting with some fans from all over the place (New Zealand, Australia, Chicago and even Wainwright, Alberta... How cool???), waiting to get personal hockey cards done (which turned out crazy cool, by the way). That's when I got the text "If you see people wearing blues gear with a baby thats us haha". A few short minutes later, a family walked by with a little one strapped on the front. Little nervous. You speak to these people for years. These guys are my favourite people on the VHL and you know them so well, but... you've never actually met them! I can talk to strangers no issue, but I was shitting bricks a bit for Berocka! lol Went up, had a quick little chat and had to go back to the lines as we were finally so close after waiting an hour! It was really cool being able to meet his family and himself as he's been a very important member for myself, the Bears and the VHL. I do think we may have the chance to meet up one more time in his home city! Very grateful for this neat experience! For the VHL, lots has been happening and the league is cruising along. Old man @Beketov took a few days off to go on vacation. Haven't heard where he's going but I hope he enjoys the break with the family! TDL passed and the Bears have started an upward trend. We have a few things to figure out but we have a really good roster and while the LR is a little quieter, we have a group of great people in there that I really enjoy getting to know more and more. Rest of NA is also zooming, but we're closing in on LA and the Vancouver Chihuahuas and their snarling underbite. With that being said, let's do this blab so I can go to the Beach in BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL Sydney, Australia.. so far my favourite city in the world (but see you soon, Brisbane!) Lamington's are a cake like treat in Australia with Chocolate and Coconut! They're my favourite, so we nabbed these to enjoy a couple on our Air BNB's rooftop! Bears are flying and I think a big part of that is adding in Shrimp at TDL @Blazzer. They've always been a member I've liked. They're so kind, smart and have been a pleasant experience in the locker room and with the Bears. Also, DEGEN! We've started rolling a bit and closing the gap. I'm sure we'll be entering the wildcard playoffs but you never know. @InstantRockstar and choking go hand in hand like Bert and Ernie, lol.. My player sucks. It's been miserable. I don't know how many sims I've had where I've had zero points. I actually haven't checked since TDL it's been that bad. At one point, I expressed frustration to @Zetterberg... had a trade kind of lined up but I did feel bad. I love Z as a member. Always supporting me and the Bears mostly... Always a good relationship. That meant 100x more to me than my player scoring a few more goals on a shittier team. I'd rather with with Vasteras and suck. Those relationships matter! I think a lot of people liked theme week this season, but not me! I don't know why! Maybe I've been so busy and used to writing these kinds of articles that my brain just struggled. 40+ seasons as a GM, I have shit to write about. Probably closing in on 50 seasons with players, I'm sure I have shit to write about it. Yet, I struggled. Ah, usually not 4 points but am 10/10 excited for Christmas and our annual Christmas Drive! About the Photo: When we first arrived to our BNB, we were looking out the window and this beauty popped up on our balcony. Initially, he was spooking away the smaller birds it seemed. I got close to the window and he came closer, right to the window and started nudging at where the handle of the door was (I'm not joking!). I opened it a bit and he started turning his head to look through it (they say they're as smart as chimpanzee's). I said fuck it! I swapped my shorts and shirt for pants and a longer sleeved shirt, found the courage I used when I approached @Berocka (LOL) and went out there with them... eventually a second one flew up, scared the shit out of me as they're so big, so fast and it came out of nowhere. I chilled out there with them, fed them STRAIGHT FROM MY HAND... I expected them to just slam their beak in there to get it but they were so soft, calm and gentle... it was such an amazing experience.. I love wildlife and finding trust with animals.. and it can now be added to the animals I've hand fed here (looking at you Quokkas and the notorious Australian Magpies!!) Been a great little while. See you next week to probably talk about Brisbane and this week VHL.com for Sydney

Bana's S90 Quick Q's - #9 Press Conference Rules Seattle Bears Team Page S90 VHL Entry Draft S90 VHL Index This season's PC's: #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 *Follow PC Rules. Each time PC is posted, there enough questions for you to answer for multiple weeks if there isn't for the following week. Old weeks/posts will be above as "S87PC - #X". You have to answer or ask 6 questions, in any combination. ANYONE is more than welcome to ask and answer questions. ENJOY! 74. How was your week last week? What did you get up to? 75. What do you have planned for this week? 76. Canadian Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. What are you looking forward to if celebrating? 77. What is one snack or treat you absolutely cannot resist? 78. Thoughts on Seattle adding Shrimp @Blazzer at TDL? 79. You find a mysterious hockey glove in the dark corner of a locker room.. They say "scotty".. you put them on and a genie pops out.. One wish.. what is it??? 80. After a long game, how do your player unwind and relax? 81. Does your player have any hidden talents that the league doesn't know about???? 82. You've been requested to be in the new Game of Thrones "VHL" series and must chose a family name and background... what is it and why?

Prague happy with their PK.. thank goodness for it or it could have been much better for the Bears! Love our trend. Let’s go!

I SCREAM YOU SCREAM WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM Good work, Kirbs.

It’s okay. You’ve done it better. Fun VHL Berocka Fact: Much taller than anticipated.

Back up games done. Not too shabby. Improved since TDL! Go Bears!

Hey

And in the same city and timezone too… I know

Woah, missed this. Cool!

Seattle too. Really great player.