Steve

What kind of roller coaster simulator is the VHL using? Malmo had a great five game winning streak, our longest this season, just to lose almost as many following it. I seriously need to take Dramamine to take all the ups and downs we are going through this season. I feel like the team is Chris Rock and the league is Will Smith. We get slapped down when we least expect it. The team isn't giving up though. The show must go on as they say. With a sore cheek, we will try our hardest to fight our way into a playoff spot. The team isn't getting any younger and we would like to make our mark this season in the playoffs. It might just be a small damp spot but a mark is a mark. And what's with some of the teams running bots for their pairings? Is it to sign more high end players and be under cap or is there an advantage to pairing a bot with a talented player. I think there is a conversation that needs to happen that covers this newer trend. There seems to be enough players to play but they have to be on a team and be used. Well enough of this word salad. Stay safe everyone and we will see you on the ice.

Review: I don't know how you do it but every time I look at one of your graphics it puts a smile on my face. The way you make graphics is unique and I think the most original on the forum. I admire your work for being out of the box and sometimes over the top style of graphics. Keep doing what you do, it's such a refreshing style to look at. I am a huge fan of this one. I guess I should be critical and point out something I don't like but I can't find anything that I don't like. Well done. 9/10

Review: Cool graphic. This is a good starting point when making graphics. Start out with something you can handle and then push your skills and do more each time you create a new one. Very nice logo swap and your text is nice and clear, easy to read and to the point. I might suggest that you remove any NHL branding on future projects and add the VHL/VHLM/VHLE branding. Overall it's a great start. I hope you do more in the future. 7/10

What does a team have to do to string some wins in this league? Malmo has been suffering from the dreaded “New player vs Simon” syndrome. It takes several games for our team to have good sims and we are finally getting some good games in but it's just not enough to move up in the standings. It looks like the league has a lot of good team with fewer teams below .500 than the last couple of season. I don't know the math that explains it but it just looks like the teams are really doing better than I expected. I figured Malmo would be a middle pack kind of team and make it into the playoffs but every time we get a good set of games in, the teams above us do the same. Not that we are giving up, it's just makes it more of a challenge than we thought. We brought in a couple of players to help the forwards and they are making a difference. It looks like they fit in well and have preformed as good as expected. I think the next twenty games or so should tell us if we will ever move up in the ranks. A very hard fought season so far. There are no freebie games anymore for us. We beat the best and lost to not so good teams. We just keep working hard and at some point I still believe our team will play and sim to it's potential. Stay safe everyone and we will see you on the ice.

Review: Interesting take on what looks to be a magazine cover. It's hard to tell because it could just be a graphic with this theme but not actually a cover. I like the text and placement. I think you took a stock picture and made it your own. Very nice logo placement with what looks like the proper perspective. I like it, it's not hard to look at and has a cool theme to it. Great job. 8/10

Review: Good looking graphic with all the elements needed to make it complete. The render is a full cut and for the most part it is clean. The logo swap looks the part and the background is simple yet compliments the render very well. The text could use a bit of a boost. It is a bit small and has nothing to make it stand out. I understand that this could very well be a design choice so I will leave it at that. Overall a clean graphic. 8/10

What a crazy start to Malmo's season. Everything that we expected didn't happen and we started out with a perfect record of zero wins for the first couple of sims. Not where we wanted to be. It's still concerning when you start so poorly but with a few moves we got things settled down a bit. We got our first win along with two overtime loses. We consider that a step in the right direction. We will build on that and move along as though nothing bad happened in the beginning. It's been a typical Simon carnival ride so far. I think things will settle down and become more predictable once we get some games under our collective belts. The team is optimistic that we will make a strong run in the playoffs despite what some critics have said. We are a proud bunch and are always trying to better ourselves. I think the next ten games will be crucial for the team. We need to make a good showing and gain some momentum that good teams do. Stay safe everyone and we will see you on the ice.

Review: This is an interesting graphic. It has a few different styles all mixed together. I have a hard time finding the focal point. The main render looks crisp, almost too sharp but looks good. I am just not sure about the rest of the design. I see a logo in the mix but not sure it's placement is on a render or just floating. Sometimes too much works though. It does overload my eyes a bit. It's definitely and interesting graphic design. 8/10

Review: I like the design. Everything is well placed and it has good balance from what I see. Cartoon effect looks smooth enough to still hold some detail without going full flat. Logo looks a bit too high but nothing wrong with being too high. The text is very plain and the font is okay, I would have liked to see more of a brush stroke detail. Some blending would do wonders with the text. Overall I like the feeling of this graphic. 9/10

Damn, I fall for clickbait all the time.

Things are moving along in the off-season. We got through the draft just fine and had a few players on the team nominated for awards. It was great to see our names on the list. Great motivation to try hard to become the player that wins the award. The World Cup didn't go too well for team USA, the team Max was on. Though Max did show that he is a capable player, the team never gained any chemistry and ultimately we failed to win many games. Just because you have a ton of talent, there isn't anything written in stone that you will play good. I have a good discussion with @Spartan about player regression and what I thought about it. As always, Spartan was the calm, calculated person that I know and tried his hardest to get me to believe in this new level of old player smack down. I understand it to a point but until I go through this newer level of Hell, I can't really condemn it. I will cross that bridge when I get to it, next off-season. Everyone stay safe and good luck going forward.

Review: Very interesting graphic. I really like the theme and your motion blur effects looks fitting. Great logo placement and I take it that your render is Batman. Colors work well for this style and it really makes the text pop. About the only thing I would comment on is the detail level of the render. I think a sharper "center" face would look kind of cool but that's just my opinion. Good job. 8/10

Review: Great looking graphic. I think it makes a better graphic than a sig but that's just my opinion. Very clean render with a well-placed team logo. I really like the text with the fire effect blending into it. The faded team logo in the background fills in the dead spots and looks very good without taking away from the render. My only issue would be that you didn't get rid of the NHL logo. Overall a pleasing result. Good job boss. 9/10

Here we are, in the off season picking up players with sensible trades. Filling in some holes and looking forward to the draft. Malmo is in a good place right now. We are headed in the right direction and I think we will be a strong team overall. It's good to see the team grow and the veterans on the team pushing hard to be better for the season opener. Hat's off to the management team that has been working hard to make the team better. As a member on his third player, I can say that this time here with Malmo has been my highlight. The GM is open and transparent along with the players being fun in the locker room. This all makes for a great time in the VHL. Not to take away from other teams and cups won, they were great as well, but there is something special about the Malmo bunch that puts a smile on my face. I wish everyone good luck in the upcoming season and please play your backup goalie against us.

Review: Great graphic. I really like your approach to this project. The Italian flag over a cityscape is brilliant. You did an excellent job cleaning off any NHL branding, which is a big thing in my book or big things. The quote is way cool, not sure I have seen a graphic that used one before. I would say your text doesn't need to be that blurry and the render could have some detail added to his face. Great job. 8/10

Review: King Crimson would be proud to know that their artwork has been used over the last several years/decades. You did a good job with this version with the color and team theme blended into it. I really like the text on the teeth, looks good. Outside of a few blending issues, I think you did it justice. Good job. 8/10

Transaction ID: 08F98190ML4854613 $1M Player Store Cash 5 TPE Uncapped Doubles Week

Boris has talent, just not the luxury of playing on an elite team. A great teammate that I respect. I know your article isn't sugar coating anything and found it a good read.

Well we finally made it to the off season. Though, Malmo has been in the off season since the end of the season due to the whole “missing the playoffs” thing. So it seems extra long to me. It's a nice break not to have to wait up half the night to see how we did in the daily games. Not a care in the world at this point. Well that will end soon as training and getting back on a routine is key to being a dependable player. Those TPE don't grow on trees you know. It's all about rhythm. You get in a weekly routine and you stick with it. You need to earn TPE to succeed or have a chance to succeed in this league. It's all about what you want out of the league. For me, I want to have a good player no matter what team I am on or who I play with. Get those wins and your personal gains will come. At least that's what the coach tells me. I must admit, it seems to work. So party while you can. Next season will be here before you know it. Will you be ready?

Review: A standout graphic that has some color to it. I like the near glow in the dark lime green you use. I bet you can use that jersey to be a road worker at night. Overall the graphic looks fun. You took a stock photo and turned it into something of your own. I like how it follows your design from previous projects. Only thing missing is the sound and smell. Good job. 8/10