Fire_In_Babylon

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Once thought to be long out of a playoffs spot, the Marlins have won 16 of their last 20 games, including a 9 game winning streak. I never had any doubt! Rumors of me demanding a trade is completely false and just plain silly. Why would I (one the best centers in the league, ahem) want to leave a team on the rise like the Marlins?! So how did they, err… we get here? Well, it all starts with Roadkill Steve, Raleigh Ritichie, and me (natch’). The three of us are lead leaders in goals and points. Meanwhile King Kruul is knocking the shit out of anyone in his way, and Will Clarke standing among the league’s top D-men. Add in recent addition Nicolas Fomba who’s played a mere 20 games and has already posted 15 wins with 1 shutout and a beautiful 2.68 GAA, and you’ve got a recipe for wins baby! Also, those face off wins help. Ahem.... Look out VHLM, the Marlins are making a late season push! Be afraid! We want it all!

1. Winning 2. Not sure really. Maybe some consistency in the games or TPE events 3. Me. Duh 4. A bigger push for skill players in the off season 5. Ya, I prefer discord. Forums are kinda old school. I mean, I'm old, but prefer discord. That said, the Forum is better for TPE events, news, and updates 6. Probably whoever is top 5 in points, assists, and leads the lead in faceoff wins. Not sure what kind of magical player would be all those things.... 7. Nope. 8. Wake up, shower, poop, shower again because I pooped, eat, drive to area, poop, eat, dominate, celly, eat, poop, drink, sleep

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1. We need to score more than the other team!! Also it'd be super nice if other teams start letting games end in ties or something while we win. 2. Vermont. Great Beer! Not that I would know, being - uh - 19 or whatever. 3. Forbe! I miss that dude.He's moved onto VHL but now we're on TEAM USA! 4. They're fine. I mean, I can't complain about my line. 5. Nah, we're a good locker room. 6. Maybe? Especially if the season is lost. I think it would be best for our the team's future 7. Me

Cheese-Itz! 600 face-offs taken, 65%! Good lord. Good almighty god that’s impressive. For those of you who’ve been following my long and storied carrier, you know that my face-off skills are what got me into the league. I was just some poor kid in East Hartford who like to beat up bullies before my local hockey coach saw potential in me. And here I am, embarrassing the shit out of opposing Centers. Come at me bro! I can’t be stopped, I won’t be stopped! But enough about me, lets chat about my beloved Marlins. The team who believed in me… We’re coming for you VHLM. We’re growing and moving and shaking. My boy Fever has got a fever baby, and the only cure is TPE! He getting better and helping this team get to where it needs to be: The Playoffs It’s our destiny. It has to happen, because this is likely my final VHLM season, and I want to finish on top. Lets do this boys! mmmm…cheese-itz

1. I'm a god damn smoke show baby! Top 5 in points and always killing the FO 2. Top? Not likely. Playoffs? Sure as hell we can! And should! We have the talent. 3. Ya man, my boy Roadkill is actually killing it with assists and RItchie is a goal scoring MoFo 4. I guess Houston, Mississauga, and Vegas, cause they have cool logos. I'll tell you who I don't like. Philly, coz Philly is the worse, and Halfix, cause their logo looks like a birthday cupcake 5. The Index interface is a little glitchy sometimes. I find myself looking at the wrong season or a post season stat and have no idea how to find what I need. 6. I'm not tied to any 1 player render,though the Ranger-ier the better.

1. DUDE I AM FUCKING STOKED! I'm actually scoring early and often while STILL dominating the faceoff. FERDA! 2. Me. HAHAHAH no i'm kidding but not really but kinda me. Seriously though, Raleigh Ritchie is KILLING IT brah. Love it. 3. Its kind of a bummer bro. Losing sucks. But there's a sense of optimism with our new goalie. 4. Score more goals than the other team. 5. I dunno. Keep Ritchie to my right and it's all good bro. 6. Not lose as much. 7. I'm a Riga bro. 8. Well, besides banking it cuz I wanna stay down here, I'd dump it all into scoring bro. I'm hooked! It feels good! 9. We need to attract FAs man. Missed a few that could have helped out. Need to hype the young guys into where to slot their TPE too. Team effort bro!

Wow! As of this writing I’ve somehow become a top 10 player in points. Yes, I’m as surprised as you are! I’ve already nearly surpassed my point total of last season, and I’ve for sure hit the back of the net more. I never thought I’d see the day. I put so much effort into improving my overall game and it’s so satisfying to see these results. There’s a lesson in there somewhere. All this, and I’m still dominating the Face off. A year older and a year wiser. I never dreamed I could evolve as a player like I have, and I have the VHLM to thank. God damn dad would be so proud of me! Unfortunately my turnaround isn’t helping my team. After a hot start, the Marlins are sitting in last place and there’s not a lot of hope on the horizon. There’s no fingers to point anywhere, we need to work harder and grow together. It’s the only chase we have! There’s a lot of game left to play and I think we can do it!

FUCK YA I DID

1. Well they took me first overall, so pretty god dang good. Besides that I have no idea. So many new faces! ? But I look forward to playing with all of them! 2. Get dressed 3. Young, kinda inexperienced, but man, a ton of potential! Hope everyone is as focused as I was my rookie year! 4. Needs a carpet cleaning, to be honest. 5. Well, zero so far. What a dumb question. But I do hope to score a lot 6. SAN DIEGO!! 7. Depth 8. I'm not a smart man, but I know what Ferda is. 10. Long and hard, like a body building elf.

I’m a Marlin! Amazing to see that I was drafted by my Marlins last night! So happy for so many reasons. When I decided to stay down in the minors for another season I had no idea where I would land. Of course my hope would be to stay home, but it was completely out of my control. It’s comforting to know I can play on my home ice, not have to buy all new clothes, find a new apartment, or make sure my new home is near water so I can keep my boat maintenance business! I am sad to see some friends go. I became really close to Frobe, and he’s moved on to Prague. Hunter is gone too. But I see some new faces and I hope I can be a veteran leader to these guys. Most of all though, I’m excited to keep working on my game. I have a ton to learn and though I’m young, time passes by so quickly. It’s time to knuckle down, get back into the practice facility, and get to work.

So I’ve been drafted This guys looks a little old to be playing hockey Wow, this is absolutely terrifying. I thought that I’d be a Marlin for life. I started a business out here, made friends, won face offs. I didn’t realize what I signed up for when I became a VHL player! Drafted!? Going to war? Man, I didn’t know th Ok, sorry. My buddy told me that this was not what I thought it was. So Ignore that first paragraph. I really should have gone to high school like Frobe said. Wait, what the hell teams are these? So, draft by…Riga? Where the hell is Riga? “Riga, Latvia’s Capital, is set on the Baltic Sea at the mouth of th-…” Beaut of a city Wait, Latvia? Holy Shit!! Dr Doom Lives in Lativa!! Holy shit holy shit wow!! That is so awesome. Man, I’m really glad this ended up being a hockey draft and not an army one like I though, because Dr Doom would absolutely mop the floor with us. The clapping shall go on for another hour. Have the first one who stops clapping brought out and shot. Oh wait, I’m reading now Doom is from Latveria. “a fictional nation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.” What’s “fictional?” That means interesting right? Like, all the non-fiction books I’ve ever seen were super boring, while like, Science fiction is like interesting space aliens and whatever. Which, by the way, blew my mind, because science usually puts me to sleep. But then I see like, Space battles and stuff and I’m like, WHOA science is awesome! Amazing all that stuff happens in space right over our heads and we’re down here playing hockey. Captain Kirk and Han Solo fighting the evil Cylons for our freedom. God bless America! Or I guess Latvia, right? Since I’m Latvian now. I’ll miss being an American though. No more pizza or tacos or General Tso’s chicken and other American food. Oh yeah, I’m supposed to talk about my draft experience and here I go on talking about the brave men and women in StarCom. Sorry!! Scramble! So, here’s the thing, I had no idea there was a draft. I got a message on my phone from Forbe and he’s all like, “You’re headed to Riga with Hunter and Busser” Wow!! Dude Busser is the best winger I’ve ever played with! I’m so excited to be sticking with this guy. Hunter is a great dude too. I think Riga is gonna be stacked when we all play together. I can’t wait. All that said I think I have to stick in the minors a little longer. I need to build up my skills, get myself right, and bank some experience. I have a real problem with goal scoring. I know I know, I’m the face off king, but I need to broaden my skill set. It’s the only way I can really succeed in the bigs and not let my teammates down. I can’t wait to get started and earn my place on a top line, I really see myself earning minutes and being a leader on this team. In closing, I want to thank San Diego for all they’ve done for me. I want to thank Shane Falco for his partnership in our barnacle scraping business. I hope he follows me to Riga and we can continue our business! There’s so much I’ll need to learn about being Latvia. They’re 10 hours ahead of San Diego!! Wow. I can’t wait to live in the future! Being able to see the results of our games before we even play is amazing, how do they even lose?!

1. Balancing real life with the VHL. I want to be here all the time if I can and earn my experience, but sometimes life gets in the way, especially for the older kids. 2. Traveling a lot. I love to see the world and experience new things, new cultures, meet awesome people. Eat awesome food. See awesome things, also eat awesome food. 3. I'm nervous. I don't like the thought of being drafting and having to go to war 4. The team that wins the most games! 5. Hartford baby!! My home state!! BRING BACK THE WHALE 7. The teammates! We have such a good relationship and get a long so well. 8. My first goal of my VHL career! It will stay with me forever. Something you don't soon forget. .

Chad Gilbert Forward Points 22/10 = 2.2 FO Win 1101/150 = 7.34 7.34+2.2 +3= 12.54. (13?)

1. It's almost draft time, have any gm's contacted you, if not do you have an idea where you wanna go? None have reached out, which is shocking, especially with how horrid everyone's faceoff percentage wins are. I mean, you wanna get that biscuit, right? 2. We lost our first 2 games. Can we come back? I hope so, I don't wanna be stuck in Philly 3. After 450+ days Boubabi was unbanned, whats you're opinion on this? Who? 4. Do you think San Diego's logo needs to be re-branded? What kind of logo would you like over our current one? I don't think we should have a logo over our current one. It would be too confusing. If we're going to update the logo I think the best way to do it would be to remove the old one entirely. 5. What's your favourite sport to watch and why? Hockey. Besides Hockey? Women's hockey 6. How do you feel about the VHL expanding? A little hungry I guess 7. If you could change one thing about your game what would it be? Score more I guess. Just to get some attention. Then people would see me win faceoffs more.

1. If you had the opportunity to change positions from/to F, D or G, Would you? MMMmaybe...goalie. Because it's like winning a faceoff except the puck is being shot at you instead of in front of you. Ya, plus those helmets are wicked awesome. 4. Do you think the standings are set or will we see movement between the top 6 this season? I think we're too far back to make a real push for 6th. 5. What other sim leagues are you involved in? League whats? 6. Favourite NHL team and why? Well, I grew up a Whalers fan because I'm from CT, and since they left I kinda floated around rooting for players I liked. But recently, like since 2007 it's been all Rangers baby. Also ignore the fact that I was "born" in 2001...whoa man, it's like someone is typing these answers through me....? 7. Who will win the Stanley Cup? Lighting is an easy answer. Last year has got to be a fluke, right? You can't be that good and get swept by the Blue Jackets! Leafs maybe except their fans keep cursing them with their blowhard shittalk. Blues won't repeat, Sharks need an answer at net (hey maybe convince Hank to waive his NTC for one last Cup run?). Vegas could make another strong push too! 8. What do you need to do to improve your game going forward? I guess my shooting? I can't seem to land anything in the net. Gotta be more careful with my shot selection. 9. Having shorter seasons was brought up recently. What do you think about this? No way man! I love the seasons just the way they are, more games and more time to develop! 10. Will you be going to Area 51? If you aren't, which members on the VHL do you think would actually go? I haven't even been to 1 though 50, so no I'm not going. I don't want any spoilers.

Mr. Gilbert, a reoccurring theme of your opinion piece concerning the upcoming expansion was money and its effects on the players and local economy, care to elaborate at all on this topic? “Ya I mean, like I said it’s a pretty big deal. Player’s aren’t stupid, we see our paychecks and then we see all the revenue coming into the league and the big money these new teams have to pay just to enter the league and you gotta wonder, when do I see some of that?” You feel you’re underpaid? “No, I mean, I’m an 18 year old rookie. I’m probably just fine as is, but other guys are scoring like 50 points and are selling Jersey’s left and right and make the same as me. Kinda not right, you know?” Are you worried at all you may be left unprotected in the expansion draft and be taken by one of the new teams? “Ya, a little. I like my team and these guys and like I said last week I just opened a new business on the docks of San Diego, you know. What if the new team is in Hartford or like… North Dakota… right? Like, not many boats need their hulls repaired there. I don’t think. Hey does North Dakota have an ocean? No wait that’s a dumb question. Sorry I don’t know where my head’s at. I’m thinking of South Dakota." ….Right, OK moving on here for a moment. Lets lighten the mood up. Where do you think these new teams will be placed and is there a city you’d actually be excited to play for? Outside of San Diego, of course. “Oh man, good question. I guess Hartford would be kinda cool because there’s where I’m from and it’s be awesome to play in front of people I know so I can flip em all off. Maybe like, Miami because it’s, you know, Miami! Oh! Dublin would be awesome. Ireland is so cool. Hopefully we can get some diversity from that move you know? Get Leprechauns more interested in the game. And now that I think about it South Dakota isn’t so bad as long as I can find a nice beach." Yes, perfect.....Well thank you Chad, I’ll let you get back to practice. “Ferda!”

Expansion is Upon Us - By Chad Gilbert* First of all, if you’re not familiar with whom I am, my name is Chad Gilbert. I’m a rookie Center for the San Diego Marlins! My agent said it would be a good idea to kind of branch out and explore some options outside of playing to help make me more well-rounded and get some much needed league attention. He also said, quite a few times, to not mention my face-off ability. So I won’t mention that I lead the league in face off win percentage at all because it’s not important to mention that I lead the league in face off win percentage….so I won’t (but I do). Ok. (Me about to win a face off, which has nothing to do with this opinion piece) About how does this apply to me? What am I doing? Well, the league recently announced that it would be expanded by two team! Wow, that brings it up to two more than it has! From a league perspective, that means more revenue and more big market money. But what does it mean from a player perspective? Well, that’s what I’m here to tell you! Take a ride through my brain!!! Can you imagine? The first thing you have to imagine when you talk about expansion is the distribution of talent. Is the sport going to get diluted? Well, I certainly hope so. Anything to make my job easier, right? Say I face off against some 32 year old rookie who’s been trying to make the league since Jesus drew breath? Fine by me! I can ice old dude all day. Makes me look better and helps out my paycheck, which brings me to my next point: I don’t want to say it cause I might get sued Enough! You know what I’m thinking! Ethan Hunt baby! With that guy from Snow Dogs, or Eight Below? No wait that was the sad one. Why do movies kill dogs, by the way? Who wants to see that? I mean, I pay money to be entertained, not cry my eyes out! What the hell Disney? Here’s a cute movie about some puppies and the family that loves them, then POW, dead dog. What th…oh shit, sorry. What was I talking about? LOOK AT IT’S FACE!) Oh ya! So, money. With two new teams the League ups the cap, for the lovely entrance fee teams have to pay. More cap, more money. More money more…uh, contract…for us. Me, in particular. I need a new TV after I through my controller through it when some 9 year old whooped my butt in Fortnite and said some horrible things about my mom. MY MOM IS DEAD. He didn’t believe me. Fortnite troubles aside, the bonus cap space will be a real boon for the players and the GM, with more room to maneuver and take some chances on players they may overlook in the past, like me, who can’t seem to score worth a damn but is really good at face offs. But I’m not here to talk about that, right? Following up on an earlier point, yes the talent pool will be watered down, but that’s only in theory. How many amazing players were taken late in the draft or worse yet, went undrafted! This totally ties into my point about money! Killer fans! That’s right! We have fans all over the world and what better way to bring the glorious game of hockey to more and more people than to bring it to their home turf! More fans in the seats the more opportunity to expand the brand! VHL, VHLM, the teams, the players. It's great for everyone! In fact, you have new teams, you need new stadiums, new jobs, new merchandise, new ticket and food sales. Holy crap…that’s a lot of money. Really that's great for the community too. It will bring in more job and more income to these cities. I know it's hard to believe but players do care about more than just wins and stats. We want to see our communities do better. So many players go out of their way to kick off charity events and community events. I was a poor kid living in East Hartford and my local AHL team meant the world to me I hope one day to be a guy who can also give back, and I hope players on all these teams, new and old, feel the same. It's not just the jobs these teams will bring but so much more! It's very exciting. No - like I said, it's not all about money. But you know what? We should be making way more money I think….But but, I distress, disdress? Derobe? No…wait…spell check…digress! I digress, and I need to wrap this up. Holy shit 650 words? I only needed 500. Ok let me wrap this up. New teams and what it means for players. This is the thesis of my opinion thing. It means more opportunities for underappreciated players. It means our contracts have better value. It mean our skills get to be seen by more people, and it means more fun overall for everyone. I can’t wait. But that’s just my humble opinion Good night! Chad Gilbert. (note to reviewers, this is written "by" Chad Gilbert, All typo's, grammar, and spelling errors are intentional)

Gold - Canada Silver - Europe Bronze - USA MVP - Ambrose Stark

1. What have you enjoyed most about this league? Besides dominating faceoffs? Probably the comradery with my teammates. We were losing a lot but we never let that get to us. It feels good to have a locker room like that 4. What is 1 thing that you want the GM's to do? Let the Marlins win more. Thats a thing they can do, right? 5. A constant debate on VHL is team forum activity and discord activity, its believed new players like discord better and don't use the site as often, is this true? Yes. 6. In your opinion whos the best player in the league? Me. Have you seen my faceoff wins?! 7. What team would you like to get drafted to at the end of the season? (Remember you are all Wavier Signings meaning you will get drafted into the VHLM, not VHL) Um, I'm good in San Diego. I just invested into a barrnicle scraping business at the port with some guy named Shane Falco. 8. When you get drafted into the VHL what team do you want to go too? San Diego man! Where else?!? ::smiles into camera:: What do you mean there's no camera? 9. Currently, San Diago sits 7th. 19 points away from 6th place. Can we overtake them? Mathematically yes. But like, probably not. 10. What is your daily routine on a game day? Wake up, poop, shave, shower, eat a bowl of Captain Crunch, ride my stationary bike for a few miles, poop again, eat a bowl of Life Cereal, work on the biceps, shower, go to the game. Probably poop before the game too. I'm lactose intolerant.