courtjestr19

(Note this is my Theme Week submission!)

1. Heck yeah I'm going to complete a theme week PT! My render is Zdeno Chara, who has some excellently bloody pictures out in the cosmos. Gonna cook this week, can't wait. 2. Let's Go Mets! Yeah, I'm a big Mets fan and already can't get enough of the Soto Shuffle (after hating it for years). Used to be a brutal team to root for but with the new ownership things finally look bright! We had a great season last year with a deep playoff run so here's to making some noise again! 3. If Bart keeps standing on his head and the defense blocks shots, we can beat anybody. We certainly have a bone to pick with Philly and should return the favor of their win a couple weeks ago. 4. Good question—to be honest, I'm not sure. I always go back to watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but if we're talking watching a movie with my kids, I have to mention Ratatouille. As a classic SciFi action movie, I'll also take The Matrix. 5. Heck yeah we do. We're just getting started. We're straight outta the the Prohibition Era: no shots allowed 6. Pylons is a gentle giant off the ice. If anything he'd want to have a deal with a charity, not a product. So I'd say he'd want to work with a youth mental health charity.

I haven't been around the VHLM very long, but I think we might be witnessing something crazy out of a defense in Houston right now. Since taking one on the chin in Philadelphia, Houston's defense seems to have taken the giving up of 33 shots personally, as subsequent games have just exhibited lockdown defense by the Bulls. In fact, the first game was just marked by the defense putting their bodies on the line for Bart Lorequavius with a total of 11 blocked shots and another 15 turned away by the netminder. The games since have gone like this: W 1-0 vs. SASK, 15 shots allowed, 11 (!) SB SOW 3-2 @ LVA, 16 shots allowed, 6 SB W 6-2 vs. MIA, 23 shots allowed, 5 SB W 1-0 vs. LVA, 11 shots allowed, 3 SB W 5-1 vs. MIA, 10 shots allowed, 3 SB W 1-0 vs. HAL, 13 shots allowed, 4 SB W 3-0 @ MIA, 21 shots allowed, 6 SB W 1-0 vs. LVA, 9 shots allowed (!), 4 SB W 2-0 @ LVA, 7 shots allowed (!!), 1 SB That's an average of only 12.5 shots per game reaching Bart, who has exceeded the task with clockwork-like regularity. With only 1 shot allowed in the last 71 attempts, Bart's 98.6 SV% and ridiculous run of 5 shutouts in 6 games is wild and awe-inspiring. If Houston is planning on a deep run in the playoffs---certainly the goal in the clubhouse---they were witness to Las Vegas's run to the Cup via a stout defensive effort and have put on a clinic this season in their own effort. And a clinic is has been! WC:270

1. We're definitely never going to lose again. 2. Absolutely not. Hot dogs don't have the requisite symmetry of the sandwich group. Hot dogs are cylindrical, and sandwiches need a sandwich axis to be valid. By this definition, hamburgers are sandwiches, but meatball subs are not. Also see https://cuberule.com/ 3. Pylons is a gentle giant. He wants to sit in a corner and vibe to some classical music before hitting the ice. Some Bach keyboard concertos are good. 4. Yeah, I play games. I've been playing some Hades II which is a fun roguelike, as well as Out of the Park Baseball 26. 5. Just wrote a VHL.com article about this. I strongly believe we'll overtake them as we have the TPE to back it up. 6. Ooh, I like PNC park in Pittsburgh. It's a beautiful baseball stadium.

The running of the Bulls is in full effect in the S98 VHLM season. Houston (27-5-2, 56 pts), after a slightly sluggish start and a couple of transactions (bringing in studs Gingy and Dog Jagr), has gone on an utter tear through the VHLM to comfortably sit on top of the Western Conference. With 96 goals for and an utterly unreal 47 GA, the Bulls have maintained excellence in the back half. Bart Lorequavius has made a habit of standing on his head in net, and is a strong favorite to have the Houston all-time career and season shutout record in almost no time. On the other side of the league, Philly has cut down the opposition to the tune of a 27-4-3 record and 57 points. Their 118 goals scored in 34 games is not only terrifying, but leads the entire VHLM by a margin of 20. The key to their success seems to be the relatively strong depth across the board, but it remains to be seen whether the hot start is sustainable (e.g. Alto Red's 2 PPG pace at 243 TPE). At any rate, the race for the cup seems to be an exciting one at this junction, and will be exciting as we continue on through the sims! WC:212

lol yes, confirmed

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There we go, now we're starting to settle in! After a bit of a middling start, the Houston Bulls have gone on a tear in the VHLM. Houston with one fewer game played than Mexico City sits only two points behind, with a point differential of +26 to bolster what looks like a fearsome goalie in between the pipes in Bartholomew Lorequavius. Bart has been utterly stingy, giving up only 1.42 GAA and steadily improving his SV% in the last week. Trade acquisitions Gingy and Dog Jagr have excelled for the Bulls so far, with Gingy cashing 9 goals and helping on another 13 and Jagr accumulating 16 points of his own while getting in the way of a team-leading 24 shots. After a slow roll out of the gate, Alex Bridges IV has already matched his goals total from last season and is nearly up to a point per game. Overall the defense has shown up strong for Bart, with each of the non-bot defenders blocking more than 20 shots apiece. Lots to be proud of, and the trends are good for this Houston team which is getting more and more excited at the prospect of a cup! WC: 199

1. Thanksgiving. Definitely my favorite food, and generally I've always done small get-togethers that are focused on appreciation. I also freaking love cooking all of the dishes. 10/10 holiday in my household. 2. Not yet---we haven't even really gotten going yet. I think we had a wildly bad spate of luck losing on 8 shots against to Miami's bot goalie, lol, and we'll get the penalties under control a bit better. 3. No yet, but I plan on it soon. I'm partial to Michigan, who just won the Big 10 championship as a Cinderella. They're getting hot at the right time! 4. I think it'll be Halifax over the season. They're strong across the board and look like a legit championship contender. 5. What? We're only on false spring #2. We have several more before Winter V: The Snowpocalypse and Actually Summer 3 swing by, then finally followed by proper Spring (for five days). 6. My pick for the Continental Cup is still NY. They're really strong across the board---offense, defense, and they of course only have Ws in goal. They haven't started off like the Dynamo but I think they're still too good to not go far.

Great podcast, guys! And appreciate the kind words here @SMYLS4