(S32) Ultimus Week

[Dp-420]

Im pretty sure every user in the International Simulation Football League things that their draft class is special in some way, shape or form. Im no different. I think Season 30’s class, AKA my draft class, is one for the ages. I might be naive or arrogant or whatever adjective you would like to throw in here, but its hard to deny the cold card facts. My draft class currently has 31 users with TPE over 400 from that draft. With another 7 users over 300, which is a little under valued at this point, but it still is impressive. That’s over 2 whole rounds of high earning active users.
The top user from season 30’s class is the only and only Miles Weperom, a ball hawking safety who was drafted by the Honolulu Hahalua with the second overall pick. Miles wanted to be number one and is showing everyone why he deserved that distinction. In the season that recently concluded Miles finished up his third season in the ISFL. He was a straight to the pros pick for Baltimore. This past season he was able to get 55 tackles with two sacks one interception and 7 passes deflected. A solidly good season for the young safety. Miles also helped usher the Hahalua to an Ultimus victory just last season!
The first overall pick seemed like a given when I reflect on that draft night. Seemed like everyone knew that Baltimore Hawks were going to take LB Sheriff Woody. Woody currently is the sixth highest earner from this draft class with 774 TPE. Woody like Miles was finished his third ISFL season as he too went straight to the pros after the draft.
The second highest earner from the class is wide out Jason Waterfalls who was selected tenth overall by the Colorado Yeti. This is kind of a weird situation that Waterfalls has found himself in because he has yet to step onto an ISFL field, as he is still playing for Tijuana. This is his last season of eligibility, and he has a ton of banked TPE to unload. This guy could be next seasons ISFL Rookie Of The Year.
The third, fourth, fifth and seventh highest TPE earners from the season 30 class are separated by just 13 TPE. The third highest earner is QB Dustin Parmelee with 787 TPE. He was drafted shockingly, in the first round, eight overall by Yellowknife. Dustin just finished his rookie campaign with the Wraiths. His numbers were good, but still middle of the pack for ISFL standards. He threw for 4445 yards, 22 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. However, over the course of the final two games he threw 5 touchdowns and no picks, and the Wraiths were able to beat a playoff team The Sarasota Sailfish pretty handedly in a 34-17 beat down. Signs that the Wraiths are going in the right direction.
That brings us to the fourth highest TPE earner. Calvin Hobbes has 785 TPE and was drafted 12th overall by Sarasota. Calvin used to play wide out but has recently switched positions to corner back where he finished with some pretty good numbers in his second full season with the club. He had 56 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 4 sacks and 10 passes defended. Love Calvin and his makeup. He will be a force in the defense of the Sailfish for a while to come.
The fifth highest earner with 780 TPE would be the guy that was selected fourth overall by the Chicago Butchers. Vincent Sharpai Jr, in just his second season in the ISFL for the Butchers Vincent had a good statistical output. His numbers include 80 receptions for 908 yards with 6 touchdown catches and only two drops. Fantastic job by the young pass catcher.
Finally, we are up to the seventh highest TPE earner. This guy clocks in at 774 TPE and was a monster in the DSFL. He was drafted fifth overall by Arizona and has two full seasons of ISFL football under his belt. This past season see the defensive lineman grab 43 tackles 1 forced fumble and recovery and 2 sacks.
I could write about this class all day and may do a media on it because I passionately think this is the greatest class ever with upwards of 30 potential users or more, that could make the ISFL hall-of-fame when it is all said and done. That’s a monstrous draft class, and to disagree, well that would just be naïve.

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[ValorX77]

ValorCast in 20 Minutes

[Pvtpenne]

2. First of all, the S32 draft class is special if for no other reason than Deshawn Penne is in it. I kid about me making the class special, but that doesn't take away from the fact that S32 is a pretty damn cool class. Being a new create in this class, I don't have much history or lore on the league but S32 had 2 Tight Ends be drafted in the top 4 (Lenard Graf at 1 and Deshawn Penne at 4) which has got to be some kind of record or something. In addition to 2 very highly drafted tight ends, this class saw 6 immediate call ups to the ISFL after the draft. 3 players were callups to the Yellowknife Wraiths whose roster was quite depleted and are looking to start a rebuild: Tater Greywolf at pick 7, Bernd D. Brot at pick 14, and GM Kalam Mekhar at pick 21. The Baltimore Hawks had 2 rookie callups in Lenard Graf at pick 1, and Pasta the Turtle at pick 2. And the San Jose Sabercats had 1 callup in Deshawn Penne at pick 4. I have no idea what the record is for rookie callups, but 6 seems like a lot to me, especially with a few of those later draft picks getting to play in the ISFL in their first eligible season. S32 seems pretty active as well with 10 players over 400 TPE (including all 6 ISFL callups), and 8 more players in the 300 to 400 TPE range making a total of 18 players in the class with 300 TPE. In terms of steals of the draft, I think there are 2 that immediately come to mind and both of those players are playing for Yellowknife right now so I would say Yellowknife had a pretty darn good S32 draft. Tater Greywolf, the 7th overall pick in the draft is currently leading the class in TPE with 439 at a premium position (pass rushing linebacker), he gets my #2 designation for this class. Bernd D. Brot, the 14th overall pick in the draft is only 3 TPE behind Tater and is 2nd in the class in TPE earnings. I believe Brot slid so low in the draft because he created as a QB and QBs seem to slide a little bit in the draft due to supply and demand. Upon getting drafted he position swapped to Wide Receiver and immediately made an impact for the Wraiths in the ISFL. I think if he had created as a Wide Recieiver instead of QB he would've been drafted more appropriately compared to his TPE. Yellowknife probably has the 3rd best steal of the draft as well, mainly because the player is a YKW GM and had to be drafted by them in the 2nd round, this player of course is Kalam Mekhar, 10th highest TPE in the class and one of the six immediate ISFL callups. Great draft for YKW for sure. I definitely think there are a few Hall of Famers in this class, but it will ultimately come down to how soon players get called up to the ISFL and their scheme and team fits. I know for myself that San Jose threw the ball a ton in my first season which bodes well for my long term stats and Hall of Fame viability as long as we keep on this pace and I keep improving and earning TPE. Having minimal knowledge of past draft classes means I am saying this with my heart and not my head, but I think the S32 draft class is pretty darn special and a lot of us are in line to do big things in the ISFL, so watch out other draft classes, we aren't just coming for you, we are already here.

[moonlight]

UW pass

[KC15]

PBE Affiliate PT - Tier 3, 2.5 TPE Task

17. Your team has announced that they will be laying ground on a new stadium next season. What additions would you like to see included in it. No graphics option available here. Tier 3, 2.5 TPE Task

We are the Minnesota Grey Ducks and we are very proud of our favorite fowl mascot.  We have bots named with duck-themed names.  We have numerous duck gifs and memes that float around the LR on a constant basis.  We have a bot command that allows us to “honk”.  Ok, we should probably more accurately quack, but the bot was written to honk and that is just fine by us.  So, we need to feature the duck more prominently in our stadium and not just as a graphic at the 50-yard line.

In our new stadium we need a real life, honest to goodness, duck pond.  And really, why stop at just one such water feature?  It is too good to limit it to just one. Let’s have a large duck pond at each of the cardinal entrances to the stadium: north, south, east, and west.  Though we are the Grey Ducks, we could pepper in as many different varieties as possible, but always with the grey duck as the prominent breed.

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8. With awards season upon us, make up an award for your player win for something not on the football field.  Tier 2, 5 TPE Task

As just mentioned in the previous task, we are pretty crazy about our duck mascot here in Minnesota.  The duck is such a noble bird and birds are among the best species on earth.  Ok, there are dogs out there so it is going to be hard to be number one, but being second is nothing to cry over (unless it is a loss in the Ulimini).

So, given this love of our great grey duck mascot, the Minnesota Grey Ducks have begun an annual award to be given to a current player who most resembles an actual, real-life duck.

Ok, Tobias Worthington III, QB for the Ducks, is a shoe-in for this award.  What is the single most defining quality to be a duck – or to be a bird of any kind for that matter?  Feathers!  You aren’t a bird, if you don’t have feathers.  You are likely going to have some kind of wings as well, but you don’t actually have to be able to fly. Witness the penguin.

So, Tobias is the clear favorite for the award as he is the only player who actually has feathery wings.  Check out the signature below, if you do not believe me.

How did TW3 get his wings?  Well, it doesn’t really matter in terms of earning the award.  Simply being feathery makes him most resemble a real life duck, but it is an interesting story regardless.  Actually, Tobias came by his wings naturally.  He was born with them.  Many people think that the X-Men, that intrepid band of superheroes in the Marvel Universe are only fictitious characters meant to amuse fan boys and girls around the world.  Yes, they are made up, but the idea of mutation is not.  Mutations exist in nature all the time.  Some are disadvantageous and unfortunately the one who experiences them does not survive.  Others are helpful, however, and stick around in the gene pool – even becoming commonplace.  TW3’s wings have helped him on numerous occasions as he has attempted to evade an onrushing blitzer.  But so far, there are no other known humans with wings.

Still, announcing the first recipient of the Grey Duck look-alike contest – Tobias Worthington III!

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[Vaxlare]

TASK 19



TASK 23



TASK 30 - PBE Affiliate


TASK 31

[shrub02]

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2. Tell us about your draft class. Is there anything that makes it special in comparison to other classes? Where did your fellow draftees land, how are they doing? Did anyone turn out to be an unexpected steal of that draft based on what you know today? Do you think anyone in your draft class will become a hall of famer? If you’re new to the league, how do you think your class will do? Where do you think people will get drafted to?

I've been wanting to do something like this for a while but am too lazy to write media for money. So why not do it for TPE!
Where are they at now? Season 28 draft class:

1. Luke Quick  - Being taken 1OA come with the pressure to succeed. Quick has lived up to these expectation as he is ranked 6th in class in TPE and still on the Hawks.

2. Busch Goose   - Baltimore struck gold on this pick as well. Goose is currently 4th in TPE and hasn't left in FA. Two solid picks for BAL in the first round.

3. Anton Bruckner  - This is a reach if I ever saw one. He's only gone on to become OCO's GM. No big deal.

4.  Xavier Walls  - The Liberty nailed it with this pick. Walls is still a great earner and exceedingly well blessed by the sim gods. He had 18 sacks this year.

5.  Glenn Smart   - At 5OA the Outlaws got Smart, who is still S28's leading LB in TPE. None of the players in the first five picks have left the team that drafted them

6. Mongo  - The first draft bust and also the first player to switch teams. The user has gone IA, leaving Mongo ranked 33rd in TPE. New Yor has since traded him to NOLA.

7. Juno Hu  - Once the top earning CB in the class, Hu has fallen to 4th. I wouldn't call him a bust, as he has been very productive, it must be disappointing for San Jose to see their first rounder leave to Austin in FA.

8. Andrew Warthol  - He came into the league fast and hard, and then burned out quickly. After being selected in the first round and taking a DSFL GM job, skorch went IA, topping out at 357 TPE.

9. Troy Abed  - Berlin was successful with this pick as Abed is ranked 13th in his class. Since the draft, he has switch from QB to WR and has not left the team. Consider this pick a success.

10. Dexter Hall - While I wouldn't call Hall a bust, I wouldn't fault you for hoping for more out of your first rounder. He's ranked 24th in TPE. He has stuck with Butchers so far so that's a big plus.

11. Manhattan Project  - Since the draft, Project has switch from RB to OL and has become one of the top 5 OL in the league. He's stuck with the Yeti. I would consider this pick a home run.

12. Professor Godfrey Gravity   - Another player that showed great promise and then fizzled out shortly after the draft. Gravity topped out at 329 TPE and is no longer on Honolulu, playing for New Orleans instead.

13. Cade Williams - NOLA definitely did their research here as dude_man has gone on to become a super user across many leages. In terms of the ISLF, Williams is top 10 TPE earner of his class and top 5 OL in the league. Still on the Secondline, great pick.

14. Chunt The Badger  - Looking back, I'm not sure if Baltimore would have traded up for this pick again. Chunt is ranked 28th in the class and has since been traded to New York.

15. Romulus Roman - Romulus has been a solid earner (ranked 21st) and stuck with the Liberty. I think a big bonus to this pick is that it paved the way for Philly to sign Remus in FA. They call that a two-fer

16. Bayley Cowabunga  - At pick 16, Ausitin got a player who is ranked 19th in the class. Plus, Cowabunga has stayed with the team, making this pick spot on.

- 11/16 picks still play for their original team
- 3 bonafide draft busts

[Raven]

UW Pass

[MoreliaSpilota]

13. Expansion Expansion Expansion! Tell us why you think the league should expand / not expand or include any ideas (in words) for team branding ideas you have or team locations.

As a new user, I have no clue whether or not the ISFL should expand. I would say no because I know that my draft class isn't particularly large but that's my completely uninformed opinion on the matter. As for the more interesting part of this question, I am prepared to answer that in depth. I know there's a ton of focus on this being the INTERNATIONAL simulation football league but I'm a stickler for realism and I much prefer teams located in North America because of that. It also helps that I am American as I would assume the majority of the league is. If we want to go international, Mexico City seems like an obvious choice. It is the largest city in North America and we already have a DSFL team in Mexico. The only problem  I  could see with Mexico City is its distance from the border. It is in the middle of Mexico and over a thousand miles from the border. On distance alone, there might be some more attractive Mexican cities than Mexico City. Monterrey has a population of over a million and is about a hundred and twenty-four miles from the border.

Outside of Mexico, Toronto seems like another obvious choice.  It's the fourth largest country in North America and Canada has a pretty rich history with Gridiron football, The CFL was founded in nineteen fifty-eight and has produced some legendary football players over the years. None of these places are places that I would put an expansion team but the wacky world of the ISFL is a bit more peculiar than I would like I guess. I understand that a lot of people dislike Ohio but in fairness to Ohio, the pro football hall of fame is in Ohio and Columbus is the largest city in the United States in a state that does not have an ISFL team. Charlotte, North Carolina is the city that I'm the largest fan of. Charlotte is the sixteenth most populated city in North America, Neither Carolina has an ISFL team and it has a ton of branding opportunities. How about the Charlotte Intimidators with a black and red color scheme like hometown hero Dale Earnhardt? You could call them the Charlotte Kings and then use the petty blue and white color scheme.

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27. What team do you think has the best branding in the league? What team do you think could use a refresh? Why?

I think a lot of the branding in the ISFL is good.  The Yellowknife Wraiths are awesome because I have a love of spooky goth things so they're right up my alley. Yellowknife is a weird place for a football team. That's the only negative that I would assign to their branding. The Arizona Outlaws are also incredible. When you think Arizona, you think of the Shootout At The O.K  Corral so the whole outlaw brand fits a team in the American southwest really well. The New York Silverbacks is also a great brand as well. I love the nod to King Kong which is one of the most influential films of all time. Kong is still an iconic character almost a hundred years after his debut.

MY favorite branding in the league though is the Tijuana Luchadores. I don't know if it's the black- and red color scheme or what but  I love the Luchadores brand. In terms of brands, I don't like, I don't love the Honolulu Hahalua.  I think it's the color scheme. I'm used to the green and black for Hawaii. That's the classic Hawaii color scheme. The yellow is too bright. The blue is fine but the yellow makes it looks like the logo for a kids tv show. The whole logo looks too cute for a professional sports team in my humble opinion.

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24. If you could create a team using any active players in the league, what would that team look like? Would you build a group of all-stars to contend in the next Ultimus, or a team full of jokesters for the fun of it? Describe the roster and why you chose the players you did.

Quarterback -  Malcolm Savage -

Led the DSFL in passing touchdowns this year as well as passing yards. Through a  few more interceptions than you'd like to see but still had an incredible season at the quarterback position. I think he's the best quarterback in the DSFL and so he ends up on this team.


Running back - Rocky Rhoads  -

Led the  DSFL in rushing touchdowns this year and was second in yardage.


Wide Receiver - Malcador The Hero -

Another Norfolk player. I promise there's no bias here though. Malcador led the DSFL in receiving yards this year and was third in receiving touchdowns. Has a proven connection with Malcolm Savage and I hope their chemistry together can lead this team to victory

Wide Receiver -  Escanor Sama

Second in the DSFL in reception yards and tied for first with Malcador with nine reception touchdowns.


Tight End -  Mark Goodhead -

Led all the tight ends in the DSFL this season with eight touchdowns as well as receiving yards with eight hundred and thirty-seven.

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[Amadan]

Tier 1.3 - Coyote Rushmore 2.0

I'm too new to know who deserves a place on the Mount Rushmore of the Kansas City Coyotes, but having joined during a down-period this year, with a huge need for sparking life back into the team, I've watched one or two people earn their places on the new monument that will be made to celebrate this new generation of Coyotes.
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I should preface this by repeating my ignorance of the history of KCC, and mean no disrespect to those who have come before and surely deserve to be one of the faces of the history of KCC.
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Having felt lost when I first joined the ISFL as a prospect, and then overwhelmed and under-educated after I was waived, there were a couple of weeks when I was wondering what the hell I was doing putting time into this game.

Things only got worse when I heard the draft class was pretty small, yet still was drafted as the 3rd DE and 4th DL off the board. I had tried my best, spent way too much time reading rules, and done everything in the beginners manual, yet still missed out on TPE and fell behind several others in a position I was told isn't even popular.

I accepted my new team cautiously, knowing I hadn't done enough to show how excited I actually was for this game.

"Hey, we were excited you fell to us" were the first words I got from @firstfray, my new GM. He was just being nice, of course, right? He got the 3rd best DE and 4th best DL on the board, not exactly something to be excited about, was it?  Well, within 24 hours he invited me into the War Room, asking if I wanted to participate in how the team is run. Wait, what? He actually has use for me?

So I joined the War Room. I'm on a team less than a day, and chatting about what we can do to make the team better. No forceful push to max TPE, no pressure to "stand out" and get noticed in a crowded chat, just a simple one on one conversation about how the team works, what I can do to help, and general advice on getting on well in the ISFL in general. The kind of thing that makes a new player feel welcome, needed, and part of the team. There was an openness and desire to include me in the team that made everything that followed come easy.

But I tell a small lie, it wasn't one on one for long. Or at all, really. Immediately, once the initial how-do-you-do with FirstFray was done, another name popped up, immediately offering support, advice, and general active conversation. @TheCC was this name who was just there, for reasons I didn't get at first. Not a member of the team in any capacity I was aware of, he was just there for some reason. Not a player, not a GM, not even an alumni from what I could tell. Just another person in the war room.

What he was doing became clear immediately. He was helping. While such a small and simple word, "help" can mean a lot, and I promise you, what he was (and is) doing means a lot to KCC as a team, and me as a new player.

Jump to two weeks later, and the most ridiculous thing in the world happens. I'm offered the role of co-GM. By the tutelage of both FF and CC, I had figured out how to max my player, my bank account, my contributions to the team. And now here they were ready to help me once again learn more, and once again feel like a valued member of the team. You just can't ask for more than that in this little sports fantasy world we've made together.

So while I certainly will not be erasing the old faces of Coyote Rushmore, I will be climbing to the biggest cliff-side I can find, taking out my hammer and chisel, and starting a brand new Coyote Rushmore 2.0, with the welcoming faces of both FirstFray and TheCC the first to be etched out.

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