JCarson

No the league doesn't suck, yes there are reasons to come back. We have some really cool people here.

Which is why he is coming over tonight to have dinner and do his laundry.

Article Review: I love a good role play and what better way to start a new position than taking on the part and doing an interview with the press. Well done, I give this article a 10/10, keep up the good work. Hopefully we will see a number of these types of articles, encouraging the team, announcing roster changes, getting upset at how the team is doing, the refs and many other things that GM usually talk about. As a Marlins Alumni I wish the team al the success they can have.

Article review, or maybe more aptly called comment on an article from various standpoints. I will start by giving this article a 9/10, it is honest, fairly well written and fairly logical. Now the comments, yes unless something drastic happens in the next draft i expect junior here and myself will be putting up a set of defense to take on the VHL through another series of seasons. Giving us a chance to test some build structures. Comment 2 London is going to rock this season, I actually have been able to clear the depreciation hurdle and get to build more on Molly the Cat prior to retirement. Expecting a good year and a good finish to a career. Comment 3, this may go back to last seasons conversation about recruitment but there always seems to be a large connection between SIM players and role players, potential advertising to role playing forum may be worthwhile. Comment 4, like Kid, I taught you about role playing games, if you want to run a larger campaign let me know I would be willing. Kids these days. Well there are my thoughts, evaluations of this article and my subsequent comments.

Not sure how that is an issue. Season 1 they build and gather to the max 200TPE applied banking any remainder (VHLM season) next season they keep accumulating and gather up to 400TPE applied, banking anything else gained (VHLE season) they move up to the VHL and can apply all that is banked potentially being close to 500 TPE as their first VHL season starts. They still play 2 seasons in the minors but you are correct they will claim over 400TPE before their third season and first in the VHL.

okay so I am going to throw a strange curve ball out. Please don't everyone shoot me down before fully reading. My idea is that we allow people to have 2 players but only if they meet this specific criteria. 1) The original player must be in the VHL and must be in their final 2 seasons. 2) The players may never be in the same league (meaning player can't skip VHLM or VHLE) Under these conditions a VHL player could be in season 7 and have a VHLM player Then as the VHL player hits 8th and final season, the second player hits the VHLE. The VHL player retires and the second player can move to the VHL This does a couple things, 1 it adds a few more players to teams in the lower leagues second it helps to deal with the frustration of not seeing your player improve as you are only banking TPE to combat depreciation. For some of us this is a real struggle. Let me put it this way, knowing you have hit your max build in about year 5 and knowing that you need to bank TPE to combat depreciation but watch your player get their ass handed to them by Daniel Janser for seasons without being able to do anything about it, kind of sucks. I don't have all the answers on how you would monitor this in relation to illegal multi's, manage it from a system perspective (one log in, multiple players) It is just a thought.

Would love to hear more input from others. Basically my point was that on more than one occasion I have heard comment about finding it hard to do the media spot from people in the London discord server. Since we were putting out conceptual ideas I thought it might be an option to allow more smaller tasks. i understand all the points above, Do think that potentially having an weekly topic may help some people in writing and I definitely think even without TPE involved doing an season or every couple season player assessment of GM may be worthwhile. Commissioners can't be everywhere at once so getting feedback could be valuable.

At the recommendation of @Spartan I am writing this Article to look at potential options for TPE earning as I have had a number of discussions with people who find it difficult to write larger articles/ do impressive artwork and so don't earn as much as some others. I want to start this article by first confirming my understanding. Each individual can earn up to 12 capped TPE (I won't address job pay in this as I have no clue how that works) but to get that 12 an individual can do a 6 point media spot (or graphic), a 2 point VHL article, a 2 point Press conference (either answer or write) and some combination of 2 points from trivia, game recap or media spot review. I am not addressing welfare or practice facility in this even though I believe they are capped TPE. Are there options we could add that would allow individuals the ability to still put together 12 points weekly but not do the media spot. Things I have considered but I don't think this is an extensive list and would love to have other people brain storm options also: 1) Allow for up to 2 articles in a week - as long as they meet the criteria, why not 2) Player recap - similar to a game recap but you can pick a player not on your team and you write a recap of their impact over the last 2-3 games (approximately 1 sim) - worth 1 TPE and you can 2 in a week (75 word minimum) 3) Player Career review - think of it like a hall of fame article for someone who didn't make the hall of fame. Can't do any of your own players, player must be retired and have not played in the last 5 seasons - write a 250 word article detailing the career of a player, try to connect it to your current player (Why did they idolize this player growing up, were they a mentor or coach, were they from your home region) 4) Statistical Review - write an article of 250+ words looking at some specific measurable concept of the game - The article must be backed by some measurable stat, for a example do a review of goalies from season 91 and which one(s) let in the most Bot goals ,or look at season statistics on players in the VHL with less than 450TPE when the season started. Obviously some statistics are more difficult to get so i would expect to see the more simple ones completed more regularly. 5) Maybe once a season we can have a GM review task - similar to a press conference the players answer a short 6 question survey discussing their interactions with their GM Potential questions could be: Did you have any conversations with you GM over the last season, who initiated them? If you asked questions did your GM answer them for you, where their answers helpful? How frequently is your GM on your discord server? Has your GM helped you in setting direction for your player build? Has your GM discussed your TPE progression and things you can do to meet your TPE goals? These are just samples, there is a significant potential of questions. If everyone in the league answered the same questions it would provide an understanding of how particular GM manage their team (or don't manage their team) I don't think this is an extensive list, I expect others have some good ideas and I acknowledge some of these may need to be further thought out. My concept is how do we allow more people the option of building TPE through potentially doing more smaller activities.

A slightly different topic: I would like to see us build out some additional ways to get TPE, I am not suggesting that we increase the TPE each week but if we could add some additional methods. Some people find doing multiple smaller tasks easier than having to do a larger media spot. Along with this I want to suggest that the trivia option is sometimes really horrible, for a person who joined the league later and is mainly discord based trying to find anything on the forum, in the 100 different possible options and random spreadsheets is a waste of time. I just don't do them. Just my thoughts.

That is right, we are now in 2024. Some of us got there before others but that is what happens when your community lives around the world. So we get the first Press Conference of 2024. 1) Does your player have a New Year's resolution, if so what is it, if not, why not? 2) What will your player change going into season 92? 3) What won't your player change going into season 92? 4) Pick one teammate, compliment them? 5) What are you looking forward to most in 2024? 6) What about 2023 do you hope will be left behind and not happen in 2024?

The holiday season is quickly ending, and we will be starting season 92. Before that begins, I want to take an opportunity to thank all the people who help make the VHL what it is. Now I will admit I won’t be able to name everyone specifically and I admit there are probably a lot of people who do things that I have no clue even go on. That said I think there are several people/groups who do deserve special mention. I am going to start with the Board of governors, this group tirelessly faces tough decisions, looking at options for changes or sticking to their guns even when the entire community wants something changed. I expect it is often a thankless job, so I am going to change that and say thank you. The next group I am going to focus on are the Commissioners, this group takes the brunt of the league’s complaints and honestly, I don’t know why they do it. It is a necessary position because well I hate to say it but unfortunately at times, we need to have individuals who will stop and remind us that we need to be respectful, mature and follow the rules. In those instances when we can’t do that ourselves, we need someone to impose penalties to keep the league fair. For everything you do, thank you. Next, I am going to single-handedly call out Josh. I am not fully knowledgeable, but last time I was told Josh is the last remaining person capable of dealing with any programming changes needed for the league to run. If there is someone else here doing this, I want to say thank you, it must be a significant amount of work for what is really a voluntary position. Thank you for keeping the systems working so the rest of us can enjoy this. To the Updaters, thanks for approving my weekly tasks, I have to say that over the last couple seasons I have had very timely updates and have found the entire process seamless. Thanks for taking the time to review and approve my submissions. To the GM’s, you are tasked with the responsibility of managing a group of sometimes not so helpful individuals, who are prone to questioning your decisions, your choices and let us face it your ability to manage our players in a manner that maximizes their potential. It can’t be simple to deal with everything we put you through, so thank you. Lastly to my fellow players, thank you for enjoying this league with me. For creating stories to enjoy, playful drama to laugh at, and a community that when all is said and done cares for this world, we live in. Seeing another successful charity drive warms my heart and makes me grateful that I can experience this and share this with you. Thanks everyone. Well, that covers most of what I want to say. Thank you everyone who has been involved in the VHL, who participates to make it a great community. Now off to the next season and beyond.

1) What are your expectations for season 92? 2) Where in the conference do you expect London to finish? Why? 3) What will be London's biggest strength in season 92? 4) What will be London's biggest weakness in season 92? 5) Which team do you expect London to have the best record against in season 92? Why? 6) Which team do you expect London to have the worst record against in season 92? Why?

Article Review: I always enjoy reading an analysis of a team and the look at how they improve, whether it be by draft, trade of free agency. The author gives a good logically laid out review of the situation, discusses the various aspect of the decision and then looks at the options. We will see what ends up happening and if the authors viewpoint is taken into consideration but either way it look like Moscow is building for the future. I give this article a 9/10 as it is well written and logically expressed. Keep up up the great work

Article review: I like the topic this article addresses but I think it may miss one discussion point. That being with the change in the stat structure for skaters is it causing a more defensive style of game to be played. Is the overall increase in goaltender performance solely the result of a newly created disparity between goalies and skaters or is it a combination of factors that incudes a change in how the overall game is played. To suggest a small group of goalies have had a series of good seasons must conclude that we need to change the goaltender build metrics doesn't create a statistical proof of a needed change in my opinion. Should it be something that is monitored, yes. Should we make changes at this time, no. Great article, unique conversation. I give this a 9/10

In a recent interview Molly the Cat was asked what they thought they would do once they retired. Here is what Molly the Cat had to say: Now don’t get me wrong, my focus is on Season 92 first and foremost. London has a great chance of putting together another strong season and I plan on playing my part in that. However, I do have to admit that I have spent a lot of time thinking and discussing what I would like to do after this point. I know that I am free to say that I have had several conversations with the London organization, they are quite willing to find a position for me within the organization if that is what I am looking for. We will probably spend some time looking at options but at this point I am not sure I want to commit to anything, Outside of hockey I would like to continue doing endorsement work and spending a significant amount of time giving back to the community around me. There are so many great organizations that do such great work. I am hoping that I can continue to support a number of those as time goes on. I am also at liberty to disclose that there has been some negotiation between my agent and one of the major sports broadcasting stations as to whether I would have a position on their weekly VHL broadcast. Nothing is firm or final at this point, but it is a unique opportunity that I am seriously considering. We will see what happens but there are numerous options at this point.

We currently sit in the preseason before Season 92, Molly the Cat will finish their last year with the London United. (as things sit currently) Molly the Cat is thankful to have played their entire VHL career with London. After 7 seasons with the team Molly the Cat can only be thankful for the experience they have had so far. So as Molly the Cat enters their eighth season, they look forward to finishing strong and so has set the target of becoming the team’s all leading point producer. Currently the teams overall stat line looks as follows: Player GP G A P +/- PIM HIT SHT SB GWG The Terrible Trivium 576 290 329 619 -77 60 164 3080 312 37 That Dude 576 225 331 556 25 997 2109 2619 303 29 Molly the Cat 504 271 260 531 37 561 1270 2903 215 51 Molly the Cat sits third with one season left, they will need to accumulate 88 points on the season to accomplish their goal. Not a guaranteed feet but also very doable after last season's 107-point season. Secondly, and probably less of a stretch, Molly the Cat would like to be London Unite’s top scorer. To do that they will need to surpass The Terrible Trivium with 290 career goals. Currently sitting with 271, that would mean a 19-goal season, which based on history should be possible. All this is a preamble to this season’s media spot theme. Over the coming season we will follow Molly the Cat as they strive to meet these two goals. We will assess how they are progressing throughout the season and will hopefully get to celebrate with Molly the Cat as they achieve this memorable goal. Future articles will look at each game played by London United, providing a small summary of Molly the Cat’s input, memorable events and a countdown to success or failure. We will potentially get the opportunity to also interview the teammates of Molly the Cat as the season progresses and get some input from their perspective on how the career of Molly the Cat has progressed. We were lucky to catch up with Ivan Retoslav as they were cleaning out their locker at the end of season 91 to get a brief comment on what it was like to play with Molly the Cat over the years. Here is what Ivan had to say: “I remember when Molly the Cat joined the team, they had a lot of talent but needed to learn to use that at a professional level. I stepped up and took on the role of mentorship for the young Molly the Cat, providing a veteran presence that allowed Molly the Cat to develop. Much of what Molly the Cat has achieved I had a hand in developing.” We will see how the season develops, how the team pulls together and whether Molly the Cat will be able to put together the offensive output they will need to accomplish the goal of being the highest goal scorer and point getter of the London United.

Are we done yet

Molly the Cat - OV

11

Yeah, day 10

I enjoyed this article. As a player who has only seen the league since the change, it is interesting to get a returning players perspective. I can't even imagine a league that has such a defined meta that the players would be almost identical. It would leave no difference in playing style, no difference in team structure and would be a league fully built on who could amass the best earners. The variation and differentiation created by the new system allows for a fun mix that i am happy i have gotten to experience. Great article I am going to give it a 10/10. Keep up the great work

Great article, you spent time talking about the team as a whole, calling out each individual for the contributions they made to the team. This group pulled together an achieved a number of milestones that the individual players couldn't have done on their own. Article may have been slightly better if you had included the team logo at the beginning and you missed a nod to the GM who kept everyone focused on their individual tasks and focused on the team accomplishment. I give this article an 8 out of ten, maybe on next seasons recap you can start with the fact that London won the continental cup

So my player is in the middle of offseason after being eliminated in the conference finals by Helsinki. Which means I am somewhat disconnected. Which makes it a great time to do Random Thoughts. First Thought I am going to bring up is that Jesse Teno deserves to be recognized for their fantastic season. That said everyone should vote in the current poll and name Teno the winner. Okay so I am biassed as they are on my team, the London United, but they also had an amazing season and deserve it. So i encourage you to vote for Teno. Let me say that again, vote for Teno. Second thought, There is a conversation going on in Global chat about multi's. The only things that comes to mind is that I have no understanding why someone would want to do this multiple time simultaneously. It is already enoug to produce point tasks for one player, trying to do it for multiple players at the same time makes no sense. Are you that lonely. Never mind don't answer that question. As much as I enjoy the VHL experience I don't have the time to sit and do everything multiple times to build up various players. Come on people, get a life. Third though. I am currently sitting watching the Leaf's Sabers game, drinking a unknown concoction I pulled from my alcohol advent calendar. Yes I got a Union 10 advent Calendar (some tasty stuff) and this current drink is a whiskey with a chocolate undertone. It is very tasty and I thing more people should try it. Obviously responsibly and only if you are of age. Sorry hard not to put in the parental message. But let me just say that chocolate and whiskey make a great pairing. If you have the means go out and buy the advent calendar and try the Nice Shot (that is what they called it) you won't regret it. Fourth thought, .......................................... sorry i was distracted, the little bell thing in the top right corner of my screen had a 1 show up. I don't often get things in the right corner, either on the bell or the envelope. Wait sorry I am still distracted. MY fourth though is how did Molly the Cat get 107 points this last season. It is kind of surprising after a bunch of very low scoring seasons. reality is with a decent season in my last I could become the highest point getting in London history. I know some of you would suggest that doesn't say much but I do find it impressive. I will be doing a count down over the next season and will ge to report on my success or failure. It is nice to have a built in topic to do media spots on. I find it makes the process much easier. Thought five, I hate typing directly into the forum as I never know how many words I have written, However for some reason I was unable to open word and so can't put this directly into a word processor with a word count function. I guess that means i will need to just keep typing until I know i get 500 words and then I can end this. That shouldn't be too difficult as i can generally type run on sentences that mean nothing. We all know that these are all about the sweet TPE, and in the case of Media Spot 6 TPE. Okay I am back again, I know you didn't even know I was gone. But the period ended and I refilled my drink and played a game of darts against my wife. And that brings me to my sixth thought. I wonder how many people who do VHL also play bar games. Pool, darts, drinking games. Let me know your favorite bar game. Well i figure that should be enough words to bring me to my required count so I will end this. Six thoughts and 6 points I think that is fair enough for the VHL. Good night everyone, hopefully someone has provided some interesting things to review as i need to finish all my point tasks as I won't have time before the end of the week.

I have to admit that there are some strong nominations this year. Two strong forward candidates and two strong goalies. The interesting thing is that on the surface there is minimal difference between the candidates in each group. On the forward side of things we have Leandro Goncalves and Scotty Sundin. Both ended the season with 112 points. The minor differences between goals and assists may result in someone choosing one way or the other but I am just going to accept that a 112 point season is impressive. But is it impressive enough to choose one of these two for this trophy. On the other side you have a battle between Jesse Teno and Joel Castle. Teno posting an impressive 0.937 GAA and 2.02 Sv% with 6 SO, Castle with an equally impressive 0.938 GAA and 2.06Sv% with 3 SO. Both of there are impressive seasons but are they strong enough to oust the offensive players for the award. So how am I going to make my decision. Now some of you will probably point out that Teno is a teammate of mine and yes that will have some impact but I am a fairly analytical individual so want to ensure i can justify my decision. So the first thing I did was go back and look at the season 90 winner. For those of you who don't know the Season 90 winner is Lachlan Summers who posted a 0.938GAA, 2.06Sv% and 7 SO. Lachlan beat out Todd Cooke who had a tremendous 118 points on the season. So my first conclusion is that a goalie having a stat line of that nature deserve the award above a 118 point achiever than the 2 goalies that have almost identical stat lines to last years winner deserve the award over 2 players with 112 point. Sorry Leandro and Scotty but you have been eliminated from my consideration, however congratulations on tremendous seasons. Now down to our 2 remaining players, Teno takes Sv% and SO, while Castle takes GAA, the only clear difference is in SO where Teno has 6 to Castles' 3. In the end I think that difference is enough to separate Teno as the winner but to anyone who chooses Castle I can also understand that decision as it is a very close race. All players should be proud of their season as they had significant accomplishments but in the end I am voting Teno.

Well deserved nomination