.sniffuM

I can get jiggy with that. I think we should do a top 5 instead of a top 3 though. Let's face it, top 3 will be dominated by the same few people week to week most likely.

So now that it looks like we won't get any more signups, we're at 19. There are a few ways we could do it, using Beketov/SL's method, that I see fit: 1: Round 1: cut 3, down to 16 Round 2: cut 3, down to 13 Round 3: cut 3, down to 10 Round 4: cut 3, down to 7 Round 5: cut 2, down to 5 Round 6: cut 2, down to 3 Round 7: Final Round 2: Round 1: cut 5, down to 14 Round 2: cut 4, down to 10 Round 3: cut 2, down to 8 Round 4: cut 2, down to 6 Round 5: cut 2, down to 4 Round 6: cut 2, down to 2 Round 7: Final Round Or something to that effect. With so many people, it's tough to find a balance of something that won't take too long to complete but that also doesn't eliminate too many people at a time.

Something to this effect could be viable. Maybe make carryover for retiring in your 9th season like 3 or 4%.

I believe fighting just ups frequency and strength is what you want to be a better fighter. I'm not 100% sure though.

Every player should just have to retire after one season imo

Baldwin over Koradek on the first line tbh

Good thing players in New York have the respect not to use Reikkinen's #8. Speaking of that, why the hell hasn't Reik's number been retired in Vasturdas? Honestly, Reik's #8 should just be retired league-wide (FU Beketovvvvvvvvvv)

Internet issues are fixed, so Jurdy and Friends will continue at it's regularly scheduled times! (Which means one today anyway... hmm...)

Trying to steal my thunder are we?

Constantly coming in second to Reikkinen was basically Snijider's entire career. I figured I had to play up the whole rivalry thing though, it was pretty significant.

LW - Ansgar Snijider Birthplace: Amsterdam, Netherlands Height: 6’2” Weight: 205 lb. Jersey Number: 13 Drafted: S25 RIG (1/1) Username: Kyle Ansgar Snijider is an interesting case among VHL lore. Playing in an era dominated by forwards that provided both crushing hits and demoralizing goals, Snijider was one of the best in the league in both regards during his run as a player. In most other eras, he would be a shoe-in to make the Hall of Fame on the strength of his numbers, yet it took Snijider six seasons before finally receiving the long-deserved honor. Many focused on the fact that Snijider, although one of the best forwards the VHL has ever seen, was edged out just slightly by his constituents while playing in the league, which isn’t fair. No, today we pay respect to a man whose induction into the VHL Valhalla has been long overdue. Career Awards: S26 Dustin Funk Trophy (Most Improved Player) S28 Terence Fong Trophy (Davos) S29 Terence Fong Trophy (Davos) S29 Grimm Jonsson Trophy (Top Leader) S30 Terence Fong Trophy (Davos) S30 Victory Cup (Davos) S30 Grimm Jonsson Trophy (Top Leader) S32 Victory Cup (Riga) S32 Terence Fong Trophy (Riga) Season 24 Statistics: Regular Season (VHLM): S24 (KOL) – 72GP / 36G / 46A / 82P / -6 / 68PIM / 149H / 329SH / 4GWG Playoffs (VHLM): S24 (KOL) – 6GP / 5G / 5A / 10P / +3 / 10PIM / 12H / 30SH / 0GWG After being drafted seventh overall in the Season 24 Dispersal Draft by Kolari, Snijider instantly made a name for himself as a VHL prospect. He was over a point per game, while adding solid production with his physicality. He played to a minus, but was able to help Kolari make it to the playoffs nonetheless. It was in the postseason where Snijider showed his progress, netting ten points in six games while shooting 20%. He was able to parlay this success into being the first of Season 25’s “big four” of prospects to be selected come draft day, creating an instant rivalry with Kasey Braun, Jason White and Tukka Reikkinen. Snijider’s agent, Kyle Dowd, was named General Manager of the Riga Reign team that drafted him shortly thereafter. Season 25 Statistics: Regular Season: S25 (RIG) – 72GP / 17G / 18A / 35P / +0 / 108PIM / 236H / 194SH / 1GWG As most players that go straight to the VHL after being drafted learn, adjusting to the speed of the pro game is tough. Snijider’s Reign played their way to 70 points, third lowest in the league, but their young forward showed some legitimate promise in his first season. Ansgar tied with Kevin Hesje for the best plus/minus on the team, and although he was only able to score at a rate of about half a point per game, logging 236 hits in his first season was a huge success for the Dutch winger. Snijider wasn’t great, but he showed that he was on his way to being a contributing player in the VHL. Season 26 Statistics: Regular Season: S26 (RIG) – 72GP / 53G / 54A / 107P / +11 / 81PIM / 243H / 495SH / 4GWG Ansgar Snijider burst onto the scene in Season 26. His 53 goals and 107 points helped him to earn the Dustin Funk trophy as the league’s most improved player, While Riga improved to a solid 85 points in the standings. This wasn’t enough for the team to make the playoffs in the highly competitive European Conference, but it still showed that Snijider was capable of carrying a team and also that his agent Kyle Dowd knew what he was doing as a General Manager. Most importantly, however, this improvement gave Snijider the edge over his rivals as he was the first of the “big four” to win an individual award. Season 27 Statistics: Regular Season: S27 (RIG) – 72GP / 54G / 58A / 112P / +39 / 118PIM / 331H / 461SH / 11GWG Playoffs: S27 (RIG) – 6GP / 4G / 2A / 6P / -5 / 14PIM / 28H / 28SH / 0GWG No matter how you look at it, Ansgar Snijider had a sensational Season 27. He added onto his successful offensive performance of a year ago by scoring all over the league again, while also netting one more goal in 34 more shots. He was one of the best power forwards in the league as well with his 331 hits, and his superb 11 game winning goals helped lead Riga to their first postseason berth in the Snijider era. Unfortunately, Riga lost in the first round to the eventual champions in Helsinki. It was at this point where Snijider began to get lost in the mix; although he was coming off a second successful season, rival Tukka Reikkinen, who had already won a cup with Vasteras the year before, had a monster year, notching 152 points and winning every major award a forward can win. Snijider knew he had a lot to compete with, and decided that the best move would be to step down as GM while trading himself to the HC Davos Dynamo. Season 28 Statistics: Regular Season: S28 (DAV) – 72GP / 43G / 46A / 89P / +41 / 130PIM / 272H / 450SH / 11GWG Playoffs: S28 (DAV) – 6GP / 1G / 3A / 4P / -1 / 4PIM / 10H / 36SH / 0GWG Playing on a team that was ready to push for a Cup, Snijider saw his stats regress slightly. He saw his shot percentage dip to the wrong side of 10%, while also posting less hits. Still, it’s no question that Snijider had another strong season, finishing tied for second in the league with 11 game winning goals. Davos won the Terence Fong Trophy that season as the best team in the European Conference, but Snijider was once again done in in the first round after the advent of playoff crossover saw his team matching up against the New York Americans. Snijider played poorly in the postseason, and it seemed as if he was becoming lost in the mix against names like Nikolai Lebedev, Leeroy Jenkins and Tukka Reikkinen. Season 29 Statistics: Regular Season: S29 (DAV) – 72GP / 41G / 59A / 100P / -4 / 94PIM / 256H / 557SH / 7GWG Playoffs: S29 (DAV) – 13GP / 7G / 4A / 11P / +2 / 30PIM / 55H / 74SH / 0GWG In what was a down year for Davos, Ansgar Snijider established himself as the undisputed leader of this team. After three players posted 100+ point seasons on the Dynamo in Season 28, Snijider was the only player on the roster to reach the benchmark in the following season, as the team scored 75 goals less in Season 29 than they did the year before. Snijider’s shooting percentage may not have been great, but he tied for the team lead in goals and led the team in assists. Despite Snijider’s best efforts, which saw him win the Grimm Jonsson Trophy as the league’s best leader, Davos entered the postseason as the fourth seed. It was at this point that Snijider and Ying Qin came alive, as Davos won their opening series against the defending champions in Seattle on the legs of the two dynamite wingers. The magic ended when Davos lost to Toronto in six games, but that doesn’t change the fact that Snijider established himself as one of the best veteran leaders in the game. Season 30 Statistics: Regular Season: S30 (DAV) – 72GP / 45G / 55A / 100P / +58 / 89PIM / 179H / 448SH / 10GWG Playoffs: S30 (DAV) – 4GP / 3G / 2A / 5P / +2 / 10PIM / 10H / 17SH / 0GWG For the third straight year, Davos won the Terence Fong Trophy as the European Conference’s best team. For the second straight year, Ansgar Snijider finished with exactly 100 points. Thanks to improved contributions from his teammates, however, Davos was able to move up to the best record in the VHL, winning the Victory Cup for their troubles. Snijider was a much more efficient player on offense in Season 30, and although his physicality seemed to be leaving him, Davos players raved about his locker room demeanor, leading to a second consecutive Grimm Jonsson Trophy win. Unfortunately, Davos took a step back once the postseason rolled around, as the team was swept in the first round by Calgary. Snijider was getting older and, still without a Cup win, was growing desperate to taste VHL glory. Season 31 Statistics: Regular Season: S31 (RIG) – 72GP / 51G / 49A / 100P / +45 / 103PIM / 327H / 523SH / 11GWG Playoffs: S31 (RIG) – 11GP / 6G / 4A / 10P / -2 / 21PIM / 50H / 84SH / 0GWG After a few failed cup runs in Davos, Snijider decided to head back to where it all started when he signed with Riga in free agency. A model of consistency, Snijider managed to reach 100 points exactly for the third consecutive season. Playing on one of the most aggressive forechecks in the VHL, Snijider found his penchant for hitting again, finishing sixth in the league in hits. He led Riga to 111 points in the standings, tying Davos for the best record in Europe and setting up a scathing battle against his former team after an easy five game win over Helsinki in the first round. In one of the most painful defeats of Snijider’s career, Riga lost in six games to Davos; to make things worse, the Dynamo won the Cup in seven games over the New York Americans. Ansgar Snijider was forced to go into the last year of his career still without a Cup win. Season 32 Statistics: Regular Season: S32 (RIG) – 72GP / 45G / 67A / 112P / +63 / 54PIM / 135H / 561SH / 9GWG Playoffs: S32 (RIG) – 11GP / 8G / 5A / 13P / -4 / 17PIM / 21H / 66SH / 2GWG Going into his final season, Snijider decided to adjust his game. Rather than using his great skating ability to launch at other players, he began taking care of his body and making more plays on the open ice, resulting in him finally passing 100 points again. Riga finished the year as the best team in the VHL, logging 119 points despite playing in a conference that saw three different teams top 100 in the standings. With the best record, the Reign earned a first round bye, and easily took care of the Helsinki Titans in four games to set up what could finally be Ansgar Snijider’s Cup moment. Instead, New York was able to pull out the series in seven games, giving Tukka Reikkinen his second Cup while ending a long drought that would leave Riga with the longest cup-less spell in the league. Once again, Ansgar Snijider was that close, but just couldn’t grasp the glory. Career Totals: Regular Season: 576GP / 349G / 406A / 755P / +253 / 777PIM / 1959H / 3689SH / 64GWG Playoffs: 51GP / 29G / 20A / 49P / -8 / 96PIM / 174H / 305SH / 2GWG Despite being unheralded as a player during his career, there was never a time between Season 26 and Season 32 where Snijider’s name wouldn’t come up on the shortlist of best forwards in the VHL. He combined fantastic athleticism with a screamer of a shot and was able to succeed in the physical part of the game as well despite playing against some of the best checkers in the league’s history. Snijider may have been overlooked for awards during his career, but as the VHL’s newest Hall of Famer, there’s an honor that will help his name live in infamy.

So I have bad news, good news, bad news and good news. The bad news is, my internet problems should continue into this week. But the good news is that after I finish writing Kyle's HOF article, I'll get Episodes 9 and 10 up. But the bad news is that you lovelies would then have to wait a week for more episodes. But the good news is I organized all the episodes (each with titles now!) in the OP, so if you missed an episode, just stumbled upon Jurdy and Friends now or just wanted to look back at the past adventures of our heroes, go to the OP and have fun!

Episode 8:

Can it be the same forum every week or does it always have to be something different? Name on other forum: damientheomen3 Name of other forum: OOTP Developments Direct link to other forum: http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/board/ EDIT: So do I claim 2 TPE for one forum or am I allowed to claim double the amount of forums per week?

Just to be clear, if I wear this on two different forums, I can claim that for 2 TPE every week?

I vote Muffins. Also I didn't see this was up already. :\

If you're still taking applicants for whatever reason, I'd like to do this. I joined the VHL mag when it was still in single digits and wrote for it for nearly 100 editions. I believe you know the quality of my writing STZ. If you're considering me and would like samples anyway, shoot me a PM.

Thank you to Cologne for a great season and change. Time to go back to where it all started!

Joined league 2. Pryor to the Snap.

1. The super fan thing was more directed at Sandro. 2. I never said you don't know anyone who hasn't been converted. For how long you've known me, do you honestly think I'd say something so stupid? I was referring to myself not knowing anyone who has gone all in on this universe that wasn't already a pre-existing fan. 3. The stuff I said about peoples' views on other movies? I got those from Facebook/hearing people talking about them too. You think I just pulled that out of my ass? The thing is, America is the most important singular market to any movie. Sure, international grosses can outweigh those in the US, but China is the only market that can come close to competing with the money made in the US. Americans are stupid, especially moviegoers. I went to see Hercules the other day because friends wanted to go, and the only opinion anyone expressed walking out was that the Rock looked huge. Again, these are the type of people that thought freaking Fast 6 was an amazing movie. Once the attention span of Americans turns them to something else, these movies will rely much more heavily on international grosses, which can't always make up for that difference. 4. 2 months was hyperbole. 5. Movies doubling their production costs, just from box office grosses, again, are NOT successful financial movies unless their production cost was under $50 million, which would also suggest a light marketing push. Print and advertising are significant expenses, as are salaries of the actors in the movies. Yes, executives will and have doubled down on these movies, like they always do when a new trend comes around. And, eventually, this oversaturation causes people to not want to see these movies anymore, like they always do when a new trend comes around. You may think my view is too limited or I'm to young or whatever to form a viable opinion on this. That's fine. You think these movies will hit a certain point before they begin to decline, I think they'll begin to decline earlier than that point. That's fine. Just ask CoachReilly about Albert Pujols, you'll get a better sense of my prediction abilities.

When I'm getting into a heated but civil debate and that flies in, well, you can understand my being annoyed by it.

v3

Agree to disagree, you can call it a change in culture or whatever you want it but I'm calling it a trend. That it has lasted longer than most trends is because of: 1) the fact that merchandising gives these movies a failsafe, similar to animated family films; 2) it's a trend that didn't come from thin air. It had a built in fan base and has converted some people as well. Sure, nerd culture is becoming much more acceptable, but I think everyone's overestimating the power of this. At the end of the day, I see myself as a casual viewer. Although that's not fully true (I won't ever go see a shitty 70 minute action movie and I've never seen a movie with Stallone or Schwarzenagger in my life), when it comes to these superhero movies, I think it applies well. I know plenty of people who wear their nerdom proudly and go to see every single one of these movies. I've also never met a single person who has been converted from not being a fan when the craze started (it didn't fully start with Iron Man, but I'd say that's where their trajectory got some consistency) to being all in diehards that would go to see a Bouncing Boy movie if they made one. I do know a lot of people who, 10 years ago, definitely wouldn't have watched a superhero movie but have since bought into it. These are the same people who can't wait for Transformers 5 and thought Fast 6 was the best movie of 2013. They are, by definition, casual moviegoers. I know I'm pigeonholing these movies by just calling them superhero movies, but casual fans aren't gonna watch every preview and read every comic on a movie. The commercials have to do the job of selling the film's premise as something unique and worth seeing. And although it may not make sense given my argument, I think that Guardians had the level of success it did (94 million outdoes even modest expectations) because of counterprogramming. This summer has sucked for movies. July fell below $1 billion for thw first time since 2002; Transformers is trecking in at $100 million less in the US than the last one did. With so many shitty movies having good openings and then dying because they're not well reveived (Lucy, Transformers, Godzilla, etc.) it helped that the movie was back to the usual of superhero movies. Still, if you expand from true "superhero" movies and look at comic book movies, the prospects dim. Dredd did shit all in the box office. Watchmen absolutely was not a success (it made $55 million more in the box office than its production budget, but that's not counting marketing and print costs and of course the fact that theaters take in half of the movie grosses), and X-Men, at best, has been a stagnant franchise. Even with a huge cast on the newest movie, the film died off the box office pretty hard. International grosses certainly help these films, but if they don't make enough money in the US, eventually they're going to pander to the international crowds which means less narrative and more actions because that plays very well in Europe and Asia. To close off, I offer to people who think I'm getting "rekt" because I don't support their point of view to look at Spiderman. The first two were huge successes, sure, and the third one made good money as well. Since then the franchise has tapered off significantly because of misguided attempts to freshen up the franchise and just from franchise fatigue. Anyone who thinks this won't happen to the other films is being naive. Once people grow sick of seeing these characters every two months, and trust me they will, the money will stop rolling in and Hollywood will move on. But please, keep saying I'm getting rekt by looking at things logically rather than with the longing eye of a fan. It makes you sound very intelligent and really adds a lot to the argument.

That's the main issue though. A big part of making movies that continue to be good is to bring fresh things to them to keep the casual moviegoers coming. There haven't been trends that have been able to survive like that over the long term for a long time.