CowboyinAmerica

For a guy I made to be a bruiser and not put up as many pretty stats, I'll sure take #11

Definitely a missed opportunity. Posting a long pitch in a creation thread is fine, but sending a PM to have a conversation is so much more personalized and relatively easy to do. That's why I signed with Halifax when I made Flowers, just because @Acydburn reached out to talk via PM even though I didn't know him from Adam.

The Americans Want a Title Manhattan -- Last season can be considered a success for the New York Americans: After two seasons of missing the playoffs due to idiotic playoff rules finishing fifth in North America, the Americans broke through last year with the fourth-best record in the VHL, a first round upset of the Seattle Bears, and taking the Calgary Wranglers to seven games in the conference finals. It was an important step, especially for lifelong Americans like Lance Flowers, Owen Nolan and A Red Guy who hadn't advanced that far in their careers. But this year, the general thought around training camp is that a repeat won't be enough. Especially with Julius Freeman retiring after the season, and rumors of an upcoming rebuild floating around camp, the prevailing wisdom is that it's now or never for this Americans squad. "It's a tall order to expect a championship, with all the talent that's in this league. But if you don't put a little pressure on yourself, what's the point of being an athlete?" asked Flowers at the team's Media Day. "I really do think this is our season to go for it all, and I have no qualms about saying that." The Americans traded away winger Soren Jensen in the offseason in a trade that netted them a future first plus Jerry Wang, and with his loss - plus depreciation for older players - there may be some questions whether New York is even as strong as they were last year. But a more restrictive salary cap affected all teams in the VHL as well, and taking a look at current rosters, Flowers for one thinks the team is well placed to make a run. "I said when I got here that my goal above all else was a title in New York. That hasn't changed," Flowers said. "And if we do have one more run at this thing, I'm going to give it my all to accomplish what I came here to do."

1. This week marks the start of a new season, just how excited are you? I'm very excited. Honestly, I think this is the best chance at a title that we've had in this rebuilding cycle, and I'm excited to see if it bares fruit. 2. Who do you think will be our biggest competition this season? There's a certain team in Calgary that beat us last season, and they're still looking strong this year. Can't go anywhere unless we defeat them. 3. What did you improve at most this off-season? I improved at not getting older? I didn't add much to my skills, but I also staved off depreciation as well, and that's a win in my book. 4. What are your personal goals as a player for this year? A shot at another award would be nice, but I'm past personal goals a bit. I'd take zero points on the season if it also meant a title. 5. What's the best way to get prepared for the first game of a new season? I don't think I really need to, honestly - just going out there and hearing my name announced for the first time in a while gets me hyped once again. 6. Who is your favourite for the Continental Cup in Season 73? It has to be us! But seriously, I feel very high on our chances this season, and think we're as much a contender as anybody.

+12 for VHL Birthday Triples Week as well

I Finally Couldn't Get Away With It It is a sad day for the CowboyinAmerica agency. After nearly 40 seasons, multiple players and countless close calls, one of the dumbest streaks to ever grace the VHL has officially come to an end. In the quarterfinals of the S72 World Cup, a struggling Western Europe team fell to Team Nordic, which itself ended one goal from winning the whole tournament. Perhaps the most crestfallen of those Western Europe players was British defenseman Lance Flowers, whose loss represented the first time since Season 34 that a CowboyinAmerica player was in a World Cup, but didn’t make the medal stand. Karsten Olsen - Team Scandinavia S32 - Gold S34 - Fourth S37 - Bronze S40 - Silver Hans Wingate - Team Western Europe S43 - Gold S46 - Gold S48 - Silver S50 - Silver Gabriel McAllister - Team USA S54 - Silver S56 - Bronze S58 - Gold S60 - Gold S62 - Silver Lance Flowers - Team Western Europe S70 - Bronze S72 - Out in Quarters That’s right, it had been 12 straight World Cups that I had participated in with a medal. I had also gotten to the semifinals literally every time I've been a participant. But this season, perhaps as expected with so much parity and some strong contestants across the board, Western Europe wasn’t able to make a run from the quarterfinals the same way it had last season. “It’s a shame, but all good things have to come to an end eventually,” Flowers said. “I know my agency has had its fair share of good luck in World Cups. But now, I’m expecting that he’ll never win another World Cup ever again… just joking, my fellow Europeans! We’ll be back in two years, I guarantee it.” Switching into first person for the rest of this, the streak had gone back to my first active player in the VHL in his second season, Karsten Olsen of Scandinavia and the Seattle Bears. I had joined Scandinavia because I thought it’d be much, not giving it much of a second thought. But then, especially after winning gold in an S32 upset a few weeks after Olsen was created, I found that I really liked taking the underdog from the bottom to the top. Following two more Scandinavian medals with Olsen, I continued that trend with my next two players: Western Europe (Wingate) and USA (McAllister) weren’t particularly strong outlets when I got there. But somehow, I just kept winning. I’ve called this the dumbest streak in the VHL for a few real life years now, when I first noticed it sometime early in McAllister’s career. Even when I’d be named to Team USA instead of Mercenaries just after creating, or Western Europe medaled last time despite going 4-6 in group stage, a weird confluence of factors kept it going. But now, that comes to an end. Part of me actually hoped that the streak would end somewhat soon – I’m likely to be taking a long, possibly indefinite, VHL break when Flowers’ career is done and that’d be a weird thing to keep hanging there. On the other hand, being somewhat inexplicably Top 15 in all-time World Cup medals despite only participating in 15 total is also fun. Flowers has one more World Cup to go, in Season 74, and we’ll see whether he’s able to end this on a high note.

The name is solid, but this is choice

When I was 13 it was my one and only trip to Disney World. Stayed in the Wilderness Lodge, good times.

Sure let's do it

Second-biggest fantasy scorer and I had Adrienne on my team. Party time!

Oof, that would've been a good one to pick up.

Oh man. We got a squad going here.

I mean, this is probably the final run for New York, so just sign me and I can win both

Manhattan -- The VHL held its award ceremony yesterday for S72, which Raymond Bernard and Condor Adrienne among those taking home the night's top awards. But there was also one player who got up on stage who was just happy to be there: New York defenseman Lance Flowers. Flowers won the Wylde Trophy last night, given to the league's top defensive defenseman for the past season. It's Flowers second Wylde Trophy and third individual award in the VHL in total, though he hadn't won one since grabbing both the Wylde and Rookie of the Year in S68. Flowers told friends and family entering the night he had "a 50/50 shot" at winning the award, but voters apparently felt differently - he received 10 of the 11 total first place votes for the award. "It feels good to see my play recognized, I'm not going to lie," Flowers said on stage when accepting his award. "I'm not the flashiest player out there; I prefer to get in the trenches, get a little dirty. Every team needs that sort of guy in order to have a full team effort, and I have no problem doing it so guys like Freeman, Burn and Nolan can pick us up on the other end." Season 72 was the fifth one for Flowers; he'll now start showing his age a bit more in coming seasons. But still, he feels confident he'll be able to keep up his past level of play, and hopefully bring New York even further in the playoffs. "Awards are nice, but I want something more," Flowers told media after the event. "It's that title. I haven't had it, New York hasn't had it in a while, and I think we're due. You can expect big things from us this season."

1. How is the off season treating you so far? Feeling alright, definitely a lot better than right after the season. I'm getting pumped for what the next season will bring. 2. How do you prepare for the next season coming up? Now that my body's starting to age and break down a bit, it's all about fighting the effects of time: have to watch out for my diet and training a lot more than in the past. 3. Do you let loose during the off season and eat without restrictions? I give myself a week or two to rest or relax. But then it's right back on the grind out of necessity. 4. Are you the type to go on a vacation, or spend the time at home on your time off? Everybody needs a change of pace, so I'm all for going international and getting out of my comfort zone. Haven't seen much of Africa or Asia in my VHL travels, so those are top choices. 5. What are your thoughts on the expansion for this upcoming season? I'm very excited for it. Expansion brings a new element of randomness and surprise, and I'm expecting next season to be crazy in the best of ways. 6. How do you rate our chances at success for next season? I'm feeling good about them. We're bringing back a lot of our team for one final shot, and I think we have the talent to pull off a deep run once again.

And congrats to you for your multiple award domination!

SBA +6

Malmo also had a bunch more shots against them this season too, I think Adrienne still has me by percentage of total shots blocked but it's a lot closer. Plus my plus-minus is much better, though that can be an imperfect measurement. I think I've definitely got an argument, but whatever happens, happens.

1. A heartbreaking loss in the final minute to Calgary, how disappointing is it to lose like that? It's fine. No, really. This isn't the painkillers I downed in the locker room after the game talking at all. 2. Despite the loss, were you happy with how the playoffs went overall for us? It's nice to get to the playoffs, and I'm sure with some perspective after the fact I'll be fine. But right now? Man, I wanted that win. 3. How are you coping with being eliminated so close to the final? I know I'm not happy at all. It's better than a sweep, I guess. But outshooting them, especially in the third period, then giving up a goal with 30 seconds left stings. 4. Who do you think deserves to win Playoff MVP for the New York Americans? I don't want Owen Nolan's work to get lost in the shuffle. 16 points is currently second among everyone in the first two rounds, and his 7 plus-minus is tied for fourth. He played spectacularly out there. 5. Do you have any plans for the upcoming off-season besides crying a lot? I plan on drinking a lot too. Does that count? 6. The Season 72 World Cup is upon us any day now, which team will you be rooting for? Well, I hope to be named to the Western Europe squad once again, so I'm rooting for us. I hope to keep my dumb medal streak alive.

Flowers +5

Hell yeah. One game, it's all up in the air.

1. We finished 1st in our division, but 3rd in the conference, are you happy with how the team did this season? Yeah, I am. I came in with admittedly low expectations by design after missing the playoffs two straight years, but we exceeded those and then some. 2. We have taken a 3-1 series lead over Seattle, and have an opportunity to clinch the series in front of home fans. Just how much does that mean to you? We ended up winning in 5! And it's a great feeling, to not only make the playoffs, but advance for the first time in my career. We've worked hard for this, and the fans have waited for this too. 3. Does your pre-game routine change when playoffs arrive? It can't, I don't think. You have to treat it like any other game, and play accordingly. 4. Our 2nd line has been doing a lot of damage to the Bears this series, what makes them so effective? A lot has been made of big pickups like Freeman and Burn, with good reason. But players like Nolan and Foreskin are among the tops in the league too, and deserve to be recognized as such. 5. Do you get nervous about important playoff games, or do you treat them just like any regular season game? Similar to number three, we just have to play our game. It's gotten us this far, and we have to continue to trust what we've done. 6. What do you think will be the biggest factor in any playoff success we have this season? It has to be keeping out of the penalty box, especially for me. We've had success when we've limited power plays.

A tight series! I'll take as much randomness as possible.

Flowers +5