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+---- Thread: *Belt and Baton (/showthread.php?tid=9227)
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*Belt and Baton - 37thchamber - 06-24-2018
Ahead of tomorrow's conference championships, it's time to have a (long overdue) update of the status of the NSFL Championship Belt and the Tank's Baton. I might do one for DSFL too, when I have time. But not yet.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand.
We left off at the start of season six, where the Philadelphia Liberty held the Belt, and the newly rebranded New Orleans Second Line had inherited the Tank's Baton from their predecessor club, the Las Vegas Legion. Let's get to it.
Week one of season six saw the Liberty travel to the Northwest Territories and defend their title in a 33-31 thriller against the Wraiths, courtesy of a last minute field goal from Stephen Harris. Meanwhile, the Baton's new home of New Orleans was not to change for at least a week -- the reigning NSFL champion Otters seeing to that in a convincing 35-17 win.
The following week saw the Second Line -- still finding their feet in their new colours -- fall short again, this time falling 35-13 to the Sabercats in San Jose. The Liberty were similarly beaten in Baltimore, finding themselves on the wrong end of a 37-17 defeat at the hands of the Hawks in The Aviary.
As was the trend, the Belt changed hands yet again the following week, as the Hawks made the trip north, and failed where the Liberty had been successful, losing a one-sided result in Yellowknife to a 34-14 scoreline. The Second Line, on the other hand, were firing warning shots, before falling just short against the Outlaws, when Dean Jackson hit two field goals in the last five minutes of the game.
Those warning shots got closer the next week, when the Wraiths travelled to New Orleans for a Belt-for-Baton showdown. Joseph Lombardi's late field goal forced overtime, but a further fifteen minutes on the game clock couldn't separate the two teams, meaning they would each return home with their respective titles. For now, at least.
The Wraiths, having rode their luck to some extent against NOLA in week four, would do no such thing in week five, when the Otters came to town and wrested the Belt from their possession in a twenty-six-point win. The Otters would handily beat up on the Yeti in week six, torching them for sixty-nine points in Santa Ana Stadium, setting a new record for largest win in an NSFL Championship Belt game.
New Orleans, perhaps deflated from that frustrating tie against Yellowknife, struggled for the next couple of weeks, only managing to pass the baton in week seven, when they hosted the Colorado Yeti. At the same time, the Hawks swooped into Santa Ana Stadium and made off with the Belt after a goal-line stand protected the lead acquired by Stormblessed's fourth quarter touchdown.
The Yeti, now in possession of the Baton, would hold it for... a looong time. So we're gonna focus on the Belt here. In typical Hawks fashion, they dropped the Belt the very next week, failing to beat the Outlaws in Phoenix. The Outlaws would travel to Yellowknife and lose the Belt, before winning it back the very next week when the Wraiths travelled south for a rematch.
A dual title game against the Yeti followed -- no change, of course; the Yeti mid way through a winless season at this point -- before the Otters got the better of the Outlaws in a seventy point game in week twelve. En route to their third consecutive NSFL title, the Otters would defend the title in four successive games, beating the Sabercats (twice), Second Line, and Liberty.
Season seven would start with a rematch of Ultimus VI, and this time the Liberty didn't drop a game-winning pass in the endzone, sending the Otters home empty handed, and keeping the Belt in Philly. It was a sign of things to come, in many ways. Elsewhere, the Yeti continued to attempt a baton pass, falling short for the ninth game in a row. Their tenth attempt would be against the Belt holders, the Liberty, meaning a chance for a swap ... it was not to be. The Liberty ruthlessly dismantled the Yeti in a 46-13 win, condemning the NSFC cellar-dwellers to another week with the Baton.
Consecutive wins for the Liberty would follow, as they took down the Outlaws (in a super close, one-point win in Phoenix), the Hawks, and the Outlaws again before travelling to Maryland to take on the Hawks again in The Aviary. This time, the Hawks were ready for them, and sent the Liberty packing without their gold. Elsewhere, the Yeti had been burned for a collective one hundred and twenty three points before travelling to California in week six to take on the Sabercats. The eventual 23-20 defeat suggests the Yeti were closer to passing the Baton than they were, as it was a late Dwayne Aaron touchdown (with less than a minute left on the clock) that put them within one score of the Sabercats.
Baltimore, now in possession of the Belt again, hosted the Outlaws in week seven, and retained the title thanks in no part to three interceptions (a franchise record) from Gregory Fletcher. While this was going on, the Otters hung forty-three points on the Yeti. Something of a heads up for week eight, when they hosted the Hawks and reclaimed the Belt.
Wins over the Wraiths, Second Line, Sabercats, Liberty, and Sabercats again would follow, as the Otters saw out the season without defeat, dispatching the Outlaws in the ASFC Conference Championship game (in a high-scoring game, notching forty-eight on Arizona's beleagured defense) before a showdown with the Liberty in the Ultimus for the second straight season. This time, the Liberty came out on top, repeating their trick from the season opener, and defeating the Otters 28-19, this time away from home.
Season eight started out with another potential swap game, as the Belt holders and reigning NSFL Champions hosted the Baton's custodians (Colorado) in Philadelphia. Predictably, there was no swap. A week later, the Hawks would again deprive the Liberty of the Belt, before denying the Otters in week three. The Yeti, meanwhile, would finally put an end to the longest streak of failed Baton passes in week three, beating the Outlaws 13-10 to halt the count at twenty-four games.
Their newly unencumbered status would not last long, though. In week four, the Yeti would lose the return game, in Phoenix, once again taking up the Baton. Elsewhere, the Wraiths had claimed the Belt from the Hawks and were making their way to defend it in Philadelphia against the Liberty...
And they did! A 34-27 win in Taco Bell Stadium ensured the Wraiths would still hold the Belt when the Hawks travelled north in week six. Elsewhere, the Yeti again managed to pass the Baton, beating the San Jose Sabercats 12-10 in Denver. The Baton changed hands again, as the Sabercats beat the Outlaws 34-20 in San Jose. The Belt did not. The Wraiths sent the Hawks packing 29-24.
In week seven of season eight, the Otters again got their paws on the Belt, pillaging it in a 38-21 raid of the Burial Grounds, while the Hawks made sure the Outlaws kept the Baton. The Yeti had a title shot in week eight, coming close in a 16-19 defeat against the Otters -- the entire league taking notice. Elsewhere, the Outlaws passed the Baton to a Liberty who were increasingly deserving of it, as they had begun to commit to a rebuild, shifting any and all assets for draft capital. It will come as no surprise that the Otters retained the Belt in week nine against the Liberty in that case.
The surprise came in week ten, when the Second Line completed the turnaround from the old Legion, stunning the Otters in a 33-10 win to claim the Belt for the first time in franchise history, meaning every franchise in the league had now held the Belt. At the same time, another shock result was taking place, as the Liberty -- who at this point were barely recognisable as the Liberty, having traded away the majority of their stars -- took down the Hawks in a 31-21 win, to bestow them with the Baton.
Week eleven saw the Hawks travel to New Orleans in a dual title game that would normally be considered a likely swap... not this time. The Second Line would sit as favourites to win the clash, and win it they did, sending the Hawks back home with the Baton, and moving on to defend their Belt in San Jose.
The Hawks hosted the Outlaws in week twelve and got rid of the Baton in a 30-20 win, while the Second Line reign as champions came to an untimely end, after a narrow defeat in Santa Ana, as the Otters beat them 27-26 thanks to a late Westfield touchdown. With the crippled Liberty still managing a comprehensive win over the Outlaws, it was expected that the final week of the regular season would see the Belt in the playoffs, carried by the Otters... but not so fast. A 36-31 win for the Outlaws in Phoenix, stunning the Otters, meant the ASFC leaders -- who had home field advantage in the conference championship -- would go into the post-season in possession of the Tank's Baton. Meanwhile, the NSFL Championship Belt stayed in Phoenix, playing no part in the playoffs...
Quote:The current status of the Belt and Baton can be seen here (all my working is in the spreadsheet behind it)
Total: 1566 words plus spreadsheet
*Belt and Baton - 37thchamber - 06-25-2018
just noticed i posted this in the wrong sub-forum... can i get a move please?
*Belt and Baton - AdamS - 06-25-2018
fixed
*Belt and Baton - bovovovo - 06-25-2018
This is awesome. Love it
*Belt and Baton - timeconsumer - 06-25-2018
Dang we got the baton?
*Belt and Baton - run_CMC - 06-25-2018
so what I’m hearing is Arizona has hardware this offseason ????
nice
*Belt and Baton - kckolbe - 06-25-2018
So the tank baton will go to the loser of the ASFC Championship Game, or does this end at the end of the regular season?
*Belt and Baton - 37thchamber - 06-25-2018
(06-25-2018, 11:51 AM)AdamS Wrote:fixedgrassy ass hermano
(06-25-2018, 03:24 PM)run_CMC Wrote:so what I’m hearing is Arizona has hardware this offseason ��correct
(06-25-2018, 03:28 PM)kckolbe Wrote:So the tank baton will go to the loser of the ASFC Championship Gamealso correct
EDIT: additional factoids...
Despite holding the Belt three times, the Sabercats have only successfully defended it once (lowest count in the league). Second worst custodians are the Hawks and Wraiths, joint with four successful defences in nine reigns.
NOLA's capture of the Belt means only the Legion have never held it, depending on how you interpret the whole rebrand thing. However, if you sum the Legion and Second Line's records with Belt and Baton, NOLA tie the Yeti for most tenures as the custodians of the Baton, with five.
Only two teams average at least two successful defences of the Belt per reign (Outlaws and Otters), with the Liberty the only other team with more defences than reigns (eight defences in five reigns).
Two teams (Otters and Wraiths) have never failed to pass the Baton in the very next game after acquiring it. Three teams (Outlaws, Hawks and Liberty) have only failed to pass it twice; of those three, the Liberty have held the Baton the fewest times (though it's debatable whether that makes them better at getting rid of it or not).
*Belt and Baton - manicmav36 - 06-25-2018
I was hoping this would make a return. Great stuff!
*Belt and Baton - iamslm22 - 06-25-2018
This is fucking great as always. Unreal that the Baton is in the playoffs while the Title is out.