(S2) - Weekend PT #4 - Drama!

[Perry87]

[HENDRIX]

Early in the S2 draft process there was a lot of commotion about certain players trying to dictate where they were going to get drafted. I can see arguments for both ways. On one hand this league is first and foremost supposed to be fun, it's not a real life team and there is no monetary gain, so who am I to take enjoyment from somebody? On the other hand the most fair way to build rosters would be without top prospects refusing to play for every team except the one of their choosing. A GM should pick the players, not the other way around. In the S2 draft, I think all the GMs turned out happy in the end though. There was a ton of great talent to choose from and everyone got who they wanted within the first two rounds for the most part. My only hope is that situations like this don't become more prevalent in the future. What if more players decide to tank their draft stock and the draft is not nearly as deep as S2? If that happens things could get ugly and there will likely have to be changes to the rule book. (200)

[HalfEatenOnionBagel]

One of the biggest controversies this offseason was of course the Matt James dilemma and as someone a little closer to the situation than a lot of the league I thought I would weigh in. To me the situation has been extremely overblown, mainly as a result of actions by James' agent, a certain Mr Z. As a fellow offensive lineman, I reached out to James following the draft to welcome him to the team and Philadelphia. I was excited to have some more quality talent on the line to work with.

It was at this time, however, that he informed me that he was in the middle of contract negotiations still. I thought nothing of it at the time as I expected a deal to get done quickly, out GMs are two fantastic guys and I trust them quite a bit. But, as everyone is now aware, negotiations completely fell apart and in the end the best resolution ended up being James being moved to Yellowknife to play for a team he was more happy with.

It is unfortunate what followed in terms of statements made by James' agent calling into question the character of our GMs. Matt seemed like a good guy who just wanted some extra compensation to help support his family but it's clear what his and his agent's expectations for what this amount of money should be were completely off base for a rookie contract. The team did what was necessary from a business standpoint and I think both parties came away better off because of it. I wish Matt had stepped in to stop some of the hatred that spread as a result of the incident but his agent likely advised him to stay on the sidelines in this one in order to get what he wanted. Unfortunately it seems as though Matt has instead embraced the drama that has erupted and even used it as a way to profit with anti Philadelphia merchandise. It's sad to see and to be affected by, but as Las Vegas QB Josh Bercovici would tell you, in this business any publicity is good publicity.

[cosbornballboy]

When Gabriella Estevas announced her alleged pregnancy with Yeti's claim, Antonio Sandoval, even though she was his brother's ex-fiancee. It all reached a boiling point when a reporter asked Antonio about it at a press conference, where Antonio responded, "I am deeply offended by this tabloid level journalism. I have never been in any trouble and I have always respected my brother. You can ask him and he will tell you there is something about off about her in the head. I don't feel the need to answer any more questions from you. I'm only taking football questions from you now. When he was asked for comment, Ricardo Sandoval responded, "That is crazy, my brother would never do that, and I trust that she is wired wrong versus my brother doing that to me." There is no evidence that Estevas is even pregnant, and this kind of scandal could shake the NSFL to it's core. Thus far, the only scandals have been trash talking and the like, but this is new and different. This is a sex scandal that could create blood feuds, separate families, and make the race for the Ultimus even more exciting. But, only time will tell.

(200)

[cosbornballboy]

One of the biggest controversies this offseason was of course the Matt James dilemma and as someone a little closer to the situation than a lot of the league I thought I would weigh in. To me the situation has been extremely overblown, mainly as a result of actions by James' agent, a certain Mr Z. As a fellow offensive lineman, I reached out to James following the draft to welcome him to the team and Philadelphia. I was excited to have some more quality talent on the line to work with.

It was at this time, however, that he informed me that he was in the middle of contract negotiations still. I thought nothing of it at the time as I expected a deal to get done quickly, out GMs are two fantastic guys and I trust them quite a bit. But, as everyone is now aware, negotiations completely fell apart and in the end the best resolution ended up being James being moved to Yellowknife to play for a team he was more happy with.

It is unfortunate what followed in terms of statements made by James' agent calling into question the character of our GMs. Matt seemed like a good guy who just wanted some extra compensation to help support his family but it's clear what his and his agent's expectations for what this amount of money should be were completely off base for a rookie contract. The team did what was necessary from a business standpoint and I think both parties came away better off because of it. I wish Matt had stepped in to stop some of the hatred that spread as a result of the incident but his agent likely advised him to stay on the sidelines in this one in order to get what he wanted. Unfortunately it seems as though Matt has instead embraced the drama that has erupted and even used it as a way to profit with anti Philadelphia merchandise. It's sad to see and to be affected by, but as Las Vegas QB Josh Bercovici would tell you, in this business any publicity is good publicity.

I'm not crying, you're crying. No seriously, you know it's great writing when I almost get choked up reading about a fictional league scandal. Good shit.

[Daybe]

One of the one dramas I've been around for was the Matt James hold out. Now, I'm writing this so some guys who recently joined can get a better idea for what really happened involving Mr. James. In the S2 draft, the Philadelphia Liberty were looking to establish a foothold for their team, and saw prospect Matt James as a chance to strengthen their offensive line. Now, from my understanding, Mr. James made it clear he did not want to play for the Philadelphia Liberty, but there was most likely some sort of miscommunication between the Liberty's GMs and Mr. James. Either way, the Liberty still called his name in the draft, with the 42nd pick in the NSFL draft. Matt James was not pleased to say the least. He decided to hold out and not sign a contract with the Philadelphia Liberty, as they couldn't come to any type of agreement. Therefore, he became a free agent and was available to sign with any team. He then decided to sign with one of the S2 favorites, the Yellowknife Wraiths. Under my understanding, that was the first time something similar to that happened in the NSFL and was handled very carefully, thanks to our great GMs, who made sure both sides got they wanted out of the whole situation. Frankly, it was a mess.

224 words

[Oles]

Written: Give a perspective on a famous league event/drama. Must be at least 200 words

So, as we all know, I was a very vocal part of the Matt James saga, and we all know how I feel about that whole situation. This is not something I’m going to talk about, instead I’m going to talk about the abrupt closure of the best sig shop in town, Muford’s Paint Shop. It was abruptly closed when the Graphics office made some changes, disqualifying “low” quality signatures from payment. They felt that any paint shop was “low” quality and Muford quickly became the center of the controversy. A paint shop that featured signatures that made everyone laugh, his sigs were loved by most of the community, and it felt like the graphics office was unfairly shutting him down. I was one person who was vocal in the saga, although I never made an article. To me, his sigs were high quality pieces of comedy that should have been allowed under the new rules. He put a lot of effort into these sigs and to me it seemed like the graphics office was trying to make an example out of him, as he was making money on what some people thought were sigs that took 5 minutes to make. They saw this shop that everyone loved and started controversy that made them out to be the bad guys.

(220 words)

[ElMachoNacho]

An often oveooked storyline chocked full of drama is the Christan Adams X Ethan Hunt rivalry in San Jose. Ethan Hunt has expressed that he doesn't want to to play in San Jose numerous times, vilifying himself to hisbiwn locker room, and as a Quarterback, is probably career suicide on that said team. However rookie QB Christian Adams is still not ready to surrplant Hunt, even with his solid work ethic. Some sources inside the SabreCat organization revealed that the locker room has sort of turned against Hunt, criticizing his habit of hanging onto the ball for long periods of time, and blame him for the Week 2 loss to the Wraiths, due to the safety he allowed. Some rumors are circulating that veteran defensive tackle has been vocal about his distaste for Hunt amd his play style, as well as some other unnamed players. Christian Adams @TheRealBK has been patiently waiting on the bench, improving steadily, and has drawn some support and acknowledgement from his teammates and coaches, but questions certainly loom over the strong armed rookie. Can he play? Will he ever surrplant Hunt? Can he lead this young, but promising SabreCat team? And is he a Ultimus Trophy winning caliber quarterback?

[200 Words]

[RainDelay]

The NSFL has certainly had some dramatic sagas during its early stages, but these stories give the league a realistic sense of character, making it more akin to actual life.

I'm not going to talk about the Orange County Otters quarterbacks, because I've already spoken about that a great deal during Season 1. So I'm going to share my perspective on the Matt James situation which was part of the Philadelphia and Yellowknife camp, and also sparked the trending hashtag #Failadelphia, which I'll also throw my two cents in on.

Matt James entered the season preparing to hold out of training camp for the Philadelphia Liberty. He apparently had NO interest in playing for them, and was still active, yet didn't apply any of his points. With offensive linemen at a premium, the Yellowknife Wraiths wasted no time to take a flyer on his talent, pushing aside off field issues.

My take: As an outsider to the whole thing, it was certainly an interesting enough narrative to follow. I mean, Matt James really did rake in the cash from all the media spots, despite how outrageous some of them were. As far as #Failadelphia is concerned though, I think it is quite unprofessional and unsportsmanlike. Not wanting to play for a team is fine, and a part of the game, but speaking out against a team for non football reasons is really walking on a fine line.

[kckolbe]

Even the rookies just joining the league for Season Three know who Josh Bercovici is, and it’s a good thing they do. Bercovici, by circumstance, should not have been a well-known name. At 96th overall, not only was Bercovici not among the highest-profile QBs in the league, he wasn’t even one of the highest-profile QBs on his own team. The Orange County Otters had already drafted Ethan Hunt and Mike Boss at 24th and 48th, respectively. The decision was beyond puzzling at the time. Hunt, clearly the Otters top target, was a talented scrambler who could be effective behind a weak line, yet the Otters line would prove to be a strength very quickly. Mike Boss was more of a traditional QB, with Bercovici the high-risk gunslinger.

Bercovici may have had challenges reading defenses, but reading the team situation was easier. He chose a one year deal, ensuring that he wouldn’t be stuck behind Hunt and Boss for long. Hunt was traded to San Jose, and Bercovici became the backup, signing a high-profile sponsorship from Trump Athletics. His risks didn’t end there, as he would issue multiple statements and was also rumored of leaking reports of dissatisfaction with starter Mike Boss’ performance. His ploys worked, and Bercovici got the starting job for 4 games, enough to show other GMs what he had. In the offseason, he signed with the expansion team in Vegas and became the highest-paid athlete in the NSFL.

((241))