Steve

Well it's that time of the year where training and thinking about the future comes into play. Training is a no brainer as any pro hockey player that's been around has a set routine. Things have changed a little bit as Merrick gets a bit older and his skills are not as sharp as his younger years. He is going to work on parts of his game that should help the team and maybe add a goal here and there. Regression hits everyone and sometimes it actually helps. Only time will tell if that's the case with Merrick. The LA Stars are chomping at the bit to get back into action. The locker room is buzzing and the hype has already started. I expect that we will be a strong team again and maybe even better than last season. It would be great to get into the playoffs again and make a push for the cup. I think that is on all my team mate's minds. Nobody wants to say it, but there is a good feeling about this next season. It could be our season. We will see.

1. How has your off-season been so far? Real busy trying to learn to skate and chew gum at the same time. 2. What are you doing to prepare for next season? Working out, eating good and staying away from the parties. 3. What is your biggest upgrade focus on? Just trying to maintain a good balance between defense and offense. 4. How do you want to spend the rest of your off season? I will take a nice break right before the season starts. 5. Who should La pick up in the draft? Anyone who is active. 6. Where do you plan to train this off season? Average Joe's gym is where I hang out.

Review: A very nice looking prospect graphic. I like the logo swaps and clean render. Great detail on the face draws you right to him. Tasteful text is well placed and I really like the autograph other than I think it would look more authentic if the colors matched. Overall, great job. 9/10

Review: Very nice graphic with a couple of tricky logo swaps, well done. The background is interesting and doesn't take away from the render, which is a good thing. I would have liked to see a full name and the team logo maybe enlarged and behind the render. I would say you did a fine job and will only get better. 8/10

There are a lot of political based forums if you search for them. It doesn't take a lot to trigger some people and I think just going to a site that deals with that topic is better than convoluting a hockey sim. Next would be a religion channel and so on.

Well the playoffs were exciting as the LA Stars showed some muscle as they dominated the first couple of rounds. It is very rewarding after being in the basement last season. The whole team stepped up their game and we had a really fun experience. We were matched to the playoff powerhouse team of Seattle and that was as far as we went. I don't feel bad about how we played, we just didn't have what it took to beat a team like Seattle who has always been a monster in the playoffs. I hope we learn from what went wrong as well as what went right. We are still moving forward as the players continue to develop. We should only get better from this point on. So time to get the sun tan lotion out and relax at the beach for a few weeks before hitting the ice for practice. Next season should be as fun as this one was and the team is looking forward to winning a cup sooner than latter.

Review: For the most part, it looks fine. It looks like you are fairly new to making any graphics but you did some things that make for a good start in your sig making career. Logo swap is a big plus and your text isn't bad either. I would try cutting out your renders and making some sort of background as you progress with your skills. I like the effort and think you are headed in the right direction. Good job. 7.5/10

Review: Good looking sig overall. Nice formatting and the background seems to work well with your render. Text looks good but your mixed font choices could have been better. I am not a fan of the paper tear but it seems to work with your project. The heavy render outline is another design choice that seems popular and yours follows suit. Not sure about the Bokeh/Splatter top layer but almost seems a bit strong. Overall an excellent example of this style. 8.5/10

1. LA has officially been kicked from the playoffs. how do you feels bout our performance? It was a fun ride and we had some great games. Great teamwork and team mates. 2. Overall how do you think the team did this season? We had our ups and downs but for the most part we were playing great. 3. Any big surprises this season? We had a couple of long winning streaks that were fun. 4. who was LAs MVP? On paper, half the team were MVPs. I could pick any of them. 5. Who is winning the cup this season? how many games will the series go to? Seattle is a playoff team and I would put my money on them. 6. What needs to happen thi off season for LA to be even more successful? I think we were our own worst enemy from all the penalties we took but that can be fixed with some training.

Well the LA Stars are doing very good in the playoffs. Feels good to have won two series after being last in the standings last season. The team has been playing really well all season long even though we hit a rough patch of games. We stuck with it and with the adjustments made, seems to be a better team. We are now up against a very strong team and we have to dig deep to get back into this series. We can do it. Going against a team like Seattle isn't easy. They have been cup champs several times and have to tools to succeed. We will have to find a counter to their style if we want to continue. A truly fun series if we can win a few games. I don't see us ending our season here. Just about everyone on the team has stepped up. It will take a team effort to overcome this opponent and we can't let our goalie handle things on his own. We will give it our all and may the better team win.

Review: Nice looking sig. I like the background and think your design choices have merit. Nice render and team logo swap, even though it looks a bit large. Text could be a bit smaller and out of your players face but that might be how you wanted it to look. I think the only real issue I have is with the lighting. Very washed on the right and muted on the left. Overall, great job. 8/10

Review: Not a bad design concept. Render looks good with the logo swap. The background is a bit convoluted but doesn't look bad. Not sure all those extra brush effects were needed over maybe a better textured base background. Your font choice makes it hard to read but I like the thought behind it. The light effect seems way too strong. Overall, nice job. Everything is subjective. 8/10

1. LA has officially beaten Vancouver in the wildcard round. Are you surprised? Not at all. We are a very good team. 2. How did your player do in your opinion in that round? He did his job and for the most part I am happy with his team play. 3. How do you think next round will go? I'm looking for a sweep. 4. How far do you see us going in these playoffs? We could go all the way. You just have to believe you can and work hard. 5. Who needs to step up big if we are going to go deep? The whole team needs to be on their A game. 6. Does any part of your routine change because of playoffs? I don't change anything. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Well LA Stars are in the playoffs. A great forty win season and a true team effort. Now to make a good showing in the big show. It won't be easy but we have the drive to succeed. Every team in the playoffs is playing a chess match with Simon T anyway so just about any team could emerge as the champions. It will be fun to finally be in the playoffs, it's always a bitch to be a team that didn't make the cut. I hope we can build on what got us here and win some games. LA plays an honest game, hard working game and have a play until you drop mindset. It will be a good measuring tool to see where we sit compared to the rest of the field. We are fast to adapt and counter if things need changing. We all have played with each other long enough to know what changes work and which ones don't. Fun and exciting times coming to the LA Stars.

Review: First off, your text looks great. The font also is a winner with how you worked it. The background is simple and it looks like you had fun with blend modes. Overall, good job and it shows you put some time into this project. I would say that the render is a bit small and could use some pop to it but it looks like you did a logo swap and that is always nice to see. The background is a bit heavy on the left side but really doesn't effect the overall look. Good effort. 8/10

Review: Great concept art. I think if you look at it as artwork instead of a forum sig, it really is fun to look at. I like the colors and everything is over the top. Even just throwing elements together and wondering what you will get takes effort and this shows effort. Great job. 8/10

1. LA is currently 8tg in the league. Does this surprise you? No, we are a talented team and should be pushing the for higher. 2. who would you say has been LAs MVP this season so far? Everyone is an MVP in my book. 3. playoffs are quickly approaching how excited are you? I am very happy to have made it to the playoffs. 4. Rate your players performance 1-10 (1 being horrible, 10 being incredible) I would say 8 is about right if I went by previous season to compare. 5. How would you describe your play style? My playstyle and the sim playing my player is to different things. I wanted to be a good center with scoring and defense. 6. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Depends. I am definitely not an introvert but I am indifferent most of the time.

The roller coaster theme continues here in LA. Winning streaks a few and far between now. With the season flying along, LA needs to get back into the form we had at the start of the season. At least beating the teams we should and giving the tough teams a fair fight. All in all, I expect us to be playing much better when the playoffs start. We have had outstanding play from several players, just not on a consistent pace. The swap to right wing for Merrick seems to have helped to some degree. There might be more adjustments coming as we look at the games and see what's going on. It should be a fun final stretch run for LA. The team has been working hard to put us into the playoffs and have a good run. It will be intense, but I believe we will make it in and put up a good fight. So, time to lace them up tight and go out there and win some games. We have the talent and it is just a matter of time.