NationStates Jolt Archive

HARMONY CUP 3
Hosted by Brazillico and {Spaam/Commerce Heights/Neither}

This cup is for participants of World Cup 11 qualifying who were unable to make it into the big dance. To qualify to enter the Harmony Cup, you have to answer to the following criteria.

-Participated in World Cup 11
-Got eliminated in qualifying in World Cup 11
-Have posted a few RPs, be it in World Cup 11 or World Cup 10

Participating in the cup has several advantages for the participants, such as gaining RP experience and recognition as being a talented and dedicated RPer. One example is Warnocks Wizards who after hosting a successful Harmony Cup went on to host WC11 and several others who failed to qualify for previous WCs have graduated to that cup. In addition, a bonus will be in place in the Brazillico Ranking System, where winning a game will result in -1 point from your ranking number, a draw equaling -0.5 points and -2 points to the champion.

Here are the sights for matches to be held in Brazillico:

Name: Libertad International Stadium
Location: Libertad, Brazillico
Capacity: 72,000

http://www.sportsvenue-technology.com/projects/daegu/images/daegu_02.jpg

Constructed 29 years ago for World Cup IV, this stadium in Brazillico’s capital has seen its fair share of competitive football on the international and club circuits. Although it is no longer the state of the art stadium it was when it hosted the finals of the fourth World Cup, it remains an excellent venue for football. This inland city is notorious for its scalding hot summers and the heat is often a factor in most matches held in these parts.

Name: Undelay Industries Stadium
Location: Kalita, Brazillico
Capacity: 88,000

http://www.sportsvenue-technology.com/projects/arsenal/images/Arsenal_03.jpg

Located in Brazillico’s most populous city, this is the first stadium built since the revolution, being completed only two months ago. It opened its doors in a qualifying match against Kaze Progressa, where the Progressans beat the Chili Bats 1-0 in a match that meant absolutely nothing. Located in the heart of Brazillico’s commercial centre and across the river from the nation’s top industrial port of Tirona, Smog is often present and can be very hard on players. Oh, did we mention the cup is being held in the midst of Kalita’s rainy season?

Cordova Park
Location: Cordova, Brazillico
Capacity: 52,000

http://www.sportsvenue-technology.com/projects/heinz_field/images/Heinz04.jpg

The legendary Cordova Park just went under a major facelift to restore it to the original splendour which could be seen forty years ago. Cordova is one of Brazillico’s most popular tourist destinations with great weather, world-caliber golf courses and long sandy beaches. Cordova Park is located on the shore of the Pacific Ocean and that cool sea breeze which makes this climate ideal also tends to wreak havoc on the pitch.

I’ll wait to see if anyone else is joining in co-hosting this event before a ranking system and formula is posted for this tournament, as well as further details.

Personally, I’m leaning towards the D=900-(rank*2) which was used in WC3-4, which yielded the most realistic scores ever seen in the World Cup (I think it was something like 0.07 off from the average in WC4).

Anyway, fellow World Cup losers, registration is open so it’s time to sign up and play on!

Entered (8):
Brazillico
Bedistan
NEWI Cefn Druids
Praying2God
Iansisle
Commerce Heights
Mattigool
Cockbill Street

Maybes (2):
Spaam
Oddslavo

NEWI Cefn Druids would like to sign up, please.

Praying2God would like a chance to refine their RP skills in competition.

OOC: Keep an eye on the WC XI RP thread for updates on the terrorist attack that befell my team.

"Well, we've really not a choise, have we, Cunningham?"

"No, sir. If the SuperCup was any indication, this sort of event is the perfect idea to keep the public from noticing that we missed out on the World Cup...again."

"What if we lose?"

"Pardon?"

"I say, what if we lose the Cup of Harmony?"

"One can lose a harmonic cup?"

"Yes, Cunningham...it was only by the greatest luck that we didn't lose the last one!"

"Oh...then, I suppose, CR will probably take back our budget."

"Like they plan to anyway?"

"Yes sir."

"Then we've nothing to lose! Sign us up at once, Cunningham!"

Giant Zucchini reserves a spot just in case we get knocked out of the playoffs.

List Updated.

[blatant tag]

Yes, reserve a spot for me too.... seeing as elimination is very likely.
And I'll help you with the hosting as well, if I get knocked out, though you obviously get to host the final.

Did you want to try my formula?

Keep a maybe spot for Oddslavo as they might get knocked out... *goes off to prepare to finally RP as Oddslavo*

Cockbill Street had better hurry, in other words, to sign up?

<tag>

Commmerce Heights will sign up. And hopefully host, too.

Mattigool signs up.

Entered (7):
Brazillico
Bedistan
NEWI Cefn Druids
Praying2God
Iansisle
Cockbill Steet
Mattigool

Maybes (4):
Giant Zucchini
Commerce Heights
Spaam
Oddslavo

And seeing either Commerce Heights or Giant Zucchini must progress that makes provisionally 10 Sign Ups.

TBF will of course be supporting Mattigool.

Name: Undelay Industries Stadium
Location: Kalita, Brazillico
Capacity: 88,000

http://www.sportsvenue-technology.com/projects/arsenal/images/Arsenal_03.jpg

That stadium bears a striking resemblance to James Parker National Stadium in Midway, Bedistan. :P

OOC: *tag*

I'd say expand to 12 or 16 if you can. Depending on if you get any more by the time the Round One Groups are announced.

I'd say expand to 12 or 16 if you can. Depending on if you get any more by the time the Round One Groups are announced.

I really hope this double posts.

*triple posts for the first time*

Entered (8):
Brazillico
Bedistan
NEWI Cefn Druids
Praying2God
Iansisle
Cockbill Steet
Mattigool
Commerce Heights

Maybes (2):
Spaam
Oddslavo

Updated to reflect GZ's 2-1 aggregate defeat of CH causing the latter to be eliminated.

Alright... I'm prepared to go up to 12 teams for the Harmony Cup. I suppose that Commerce Heights is now co-hosting the event with me on virtue of being the second hosting hopeful being eliminated.

Here are some the qualifying scenarios I have for various numbers of participating teams.

8 Teams
-2 Groups of Four Teams (Brazillico Group and CH Group)
-Totally random group selection
-Top two teams from each group advance
-Semi-Finals: Braz 1 vs CH 2, Braz 2 vs CH 1

10 Teams
-2 Groups of Five Teams
-Random selection of top four seeds, assuring two of them lie in each group
-Random selection of the rest of the participants in the respective groups
-Top team from each group advance to semi-finals
-2 vs 3 playoff: Braz 2 vs CH 3, Braz 3 vs CH 2
-Semi-Finals: Braz 1 vs Winner Braz 3/CH2, CH 1 vs Winner Braz 2/CH3

12 Teams
-2 Groups of Six Teams
-Random selection of top four seeds, assuring two of them lie in each group
-Random selection of the rest of the participants in the respective groups
-Top team from each group advance to semi-finals
-2 vs 3 playoff: Braz 2 vs CH 3, Braz 3 vs CH 2
-Semi-Finals: Braz 1 vs Winner Braz 3/CH2, CH 1 vs Winner Braz 2/CH 3

As for ranking systems and formulas I don't really have much of a preference but I wouldn't mind testing out Spaam's formula and I definately want to see a post-game RP bonus.

To CH- TG me on where you stand regarding formulas and rankings

To Bedistan - Really? I thought it sorta resembled the proposed Ashburton Grove stadium for Arsenal :wink:.

<edit>Actually, upon second thought, I have a clear preference towards TnUI's system. Since it puts everyone at an advantage and bunches us all closer together, it emphasizes the foundation of the Harmony Cup, which is a celebration of quality RPing. Since this competition has always been more oriented towards fun rather than realism, I find myself leaning towards this system.

The Bedistan Sports Digest
Deluxe Edition

Lions Gearing Up for Harmony Cup
Bedistan national team to prove their worth

LIBERTAD, BRAZILLICO -- The Bedistan Lions are one of the eight national teams that have confirmed their participation in the Harmony Cup. The Harmony Cup is held every four years for nations that fail to qualify for the World Cup, as the Lions did this year. The Harmony Cup is expected to be held in Brazillico and Commerce Heights.

"It's really exciting," says Johnny Lewis, recently named manager of the Lions after the Bedistan Football Association sacked Gene Barber. "It's a nice change of scenery for us, a place where we can have some good old unadulterated fun. And hopefully win a championship, which so narrowly eluded us twelve years ago."

An estimated ten or twelve teams are expected to sign up for the Cup by the time all is said and done. The teams are to be divided up into two groups, one playing in Brazillico and the other in Commerce Heights. When asked about the prospect of playing in neighboring Commerce Heights, team captain Darren Morlock had this to say:

"That would be wicked, man. In twenty-five years of competition, we have never played against another team from Paripana, and it would give me great satisfaction to beat the tar out of the Bulldogs. After all, everyone knows we are the best football team in all Paripana."

The Harmony Cup is expected to start at about the same time World Cup 11 will commence in Total n Utter Insanity and Warnocks Wizards.

Three Players Announce Retirement
Sanchez, Morgan, and Sippel to leave after Harmony Cup

AMISSVILLE -- After the Lions' draw with Gesamtkuntswerk on the last day of World Cup 11 qualifying, defenders Diego Sanchez and Tabitha Morgan and beleaguered striker Fernando Sippel announced that they would not return to the team in their bid for World Cup 12.

Sanchez, 38, and Morgan, 37, both say they are getting too old to play professional football. In Sippel's case, it is rumored that his seven-match suspension after attacking teammate Morlock may have something to do with his decision. All three do intend to play for the team in the Harmony Cup, though.

Chávez Resigns as BFA President
Replacement not yet named

AMISSVILLE -- In a press conference today at the headquarters of the Bedistan Football Association, BFA president Jonathan Chávez announced his resignation. He cited personal reasons as the impetus for his departure, but many are skeptical. Some say a recent humiliation on Bedistan Sports Television's "The Jack Grant Show" may have made him realize the error of his ways, though Chávez denies this.

No replacement has yet been named, but the BFA is expected to decide on one very shortly.

Anti Nazis 1 Oddslavo 1 - Oddslavo win on away goals. Remove Oddslavo, please.

Well, officially out. So I'm officially in. Which also means I can cohost.

And one possibility is having 3 groups of 4, with the finals being a round-robin with the top 3, the top 2 going into the final.

Mattigool Sports

Gools are looking forward

(Goolsund) After disappointing performance at WCXI new headcoach Alex Dunner gets his first opportunity to proof his coaching-abilities. During a pressconference last night at Goolsund he presented the squad for Harmony Cup and Meistertrainerforum-Cup. Jostein Grande, Tom Eskil Mohlin and Rolf Silseth were not nominated anymore.
"I want to rebuild the team with youngsters, the old ones had had their chance during WCXI. Klokset was exceptionell but most of the other "expirienced" players failed."

The Gool's Squad:
1 Erland Klokset (32, GK, Goolsund BK)
2 Jan Ove Johannsen (19, DMC, Goolsund Drumfire)
3 Jonny Grøtta Grav (25, DL, MFC Twist)
4 Fredric Nerbø (24, DC, Viking IL)
5 Robin Bertheussen (18, DR, Goolsund BK)
6 Lars Iver Pedersen (23, AMR/L, MSC Bileveldt)
7 Gamsten (25, DMC/L, Goolsund BK)
8 Raul Lindestad (23, ML, Mattigool Technics IL)
9 Ronny "The Hulk" Laursen (25, AMC, Starveanger Fotball)
10 Robert Juliussen (20, FC, Goolsund BK)
11 Alexander Kristensen (19, FC, Goolsund BK)

12 Sturla Ingolfsson (24, GK, Viking IL)
13 John Erling Monsen (29, DMC/R, Idrettsund Fotball)
14 Carl Lagerfeld (19, DC, Goolsund BK)
15 Morten Strand (22, AMC, Odenthal FK)
16 Stian Wiik (22, DR, Whereinanger IL)
17 Tore Moen (28, FC, Fichte SK)
18 Torgeir Ynde (20, MC, Fichte SK)
19 Andres Næss (20, DL, Tomborso IL)
20 Jørgen Hammar (26, DC, Goolsund Drumfire)
21 Simen Sokol (17, MC, Fichte SK)
22 Jonny Sokol (17, FC, Fichte SK)

I sure hope we get one more team or else things could get pretty ugly. If we have to go with 9 teams, there would be two options, (1)Going with three groups of three or (2)Having one big group, which would eliminate a playoff. I don't really want to go with a group of 5 and a group of 4 because there would be an imbalance in the matches played, but if there is a clear majority by the participant to go that route, that's what we'll do.

Here he comes to save the day!!!!
Big Butts is on the way!!
Only problem will be a lack of RPing over the weekend, but i'll make up the numbers and join in next week (assuming things are still happening by then!!

IC:
*The postman has just called. Mrs. Butts looks at the letters. There are the usual bills and junk, but one letter has a familiar postmark. She opens it first*

Hi Mum,
Just a quick note to see how things are. I have been getting on well in school. There are still the odd problem with some of the kids, but i took your advise and stood up to the bullies. I smacked Aquilla one and he ran away!! It was so good, eventhough when the teachers found out i got put in detention and failed some tests - but hey the rest give me a bit more respect now!
I got along much better this year, teacher has even asked me to attend a summer school. Its not the big WC summer school that all the best kids go to, but it is one to help some of the rest of us get a bit better and to make friends with other kids - it sounds ace. I said that i would go if they picked me, that's ok isn't it mum? I'll get home for a while still it will just be a bit later in the holidays.
Seeya soon,
Miss you loads,
Big.

Here he comes to save the day!!!!
Big Butts is on the way!!
Only problem will be a lack of RPing over the weekend, but i'll make up the numbers and join in next week (assuming things are still happening by then!!

IC:
*The postman has just called. Mrs. Butts looks at the letters. There are the usual bills and junk, but one letter has a familiar postmark. She opens it first*

Hi Mum,
Just a quick note to see how things are. I have been getting on well in school. There are still the odd problem with some of the kids, but i took your advise and stood up to the bullies. I smacked Aquilla one and he ran away!! It was so good, eventhough when the teachers found out i got put in detention and failed some tests - but hey the rest give me a bit more respect now!
I got along much better this year, teacher has even asked me to attend a summer school. Its not the big WC summer school that all the best kids go to, but it is one to help some of the rest of us get a bit better and to make friends with other kids - it sounds ace. I said that i would go if they picked me, that's ok isn't it mum? I'll get home for a while still it will just be a bit later in the holidays.
Seeya soon,
Miss you loads,
Big.

O
P
P
P
S

Seem
to
have
multi
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posted!

I sure hope we get one more team or else things could get pretty ugly. If we have to go with 9 teams, there would be two options, (1)Going with three groups of three or (2)Having one big group, which would eliminate a playoff. I don't really want to go with a group of 5 and a group of 4 because there would be an imbalance in the matches played, but if there is a clear majority by the participant to go that route, that's what we'll do.

Chances are you could put Dennisov in. Meaning 10 teams.
I'll work out a sheety thingy.

Here is the sheet for 10 teams (2 groups of 5) but the draw still has to be done.

Here are some sample results:

[code:1:e2962bafdd]Brazillico 0 Commerce Heights 3
Iansisle 2 NEWI Cefn Druids 0

Spaam 1 Bedistan 0
Cockbill Street 5 Mattigool 1[/code:1:e2962bafdd]

http://www.ug.cs.usyd.edu.au/~jedrake/HarmonyCup.xls

Something we might change is the home bonus.... at the moment it is 0.01 (and -0.01 for away teams). Might be too much, I don't know.

OOC - Nice spreadsheet, Spaam.

Group Selection

Brazillico Bracket – Group 1
Brazillico
Commerce Heights
Iansisle
NEWI Cefn Druids
Big Butts

Spaam Bracket – Group 2
Spaam
Bedistan
Cockbill Street
Mattigool
Praying2God

I decided to put the two host teams in opposing brackets, since it avoids any home field advantage or possibility that the host is fixing the results. The formula to be used in the Harmony Cup will be Spaam’s formula. I hope we will be kind enough to explain it to you guys because I myself am not too sure how it works, but the spreadsheet is pretty. At this time, the rankings system to be used is still unknown. The ranking system that shall be used will also be Spaam’s. Since the KPBs weren’t released and pretty much the reason everyone here did worse that they thought they should have because of the TnUI ranking, we’ll go with the Spaam system, which I also hope he will be kind enough to explain, since I’m not sure exactly how he came up with them.

Matchday 1
1 v 2
3 v 4

Matchday 2
1 v 3
2 v 5

Matchday 3
1 v 4
3 v 5

Matchday 4
1 v 5
2 v 4

Matchday 5
2 v 3
4 v 5

Lastly, I wish you all good luck and a long and successful run in the Harmony Cup!

Also - Matches will begin shortly once me and Spaam agree on what time we should put up the results.

We’re at the Druids’ training camp just outside Cefn, where Head Coach Trevor Steven has called his squad back…

TS: “So, lads – You know why I’ve called you all back, don’t you?”

*Lots of umming and erring from squad*

Simon Greaves (striker): “Er… well… to be honest boss… no.”

TS: “You mean nobody’s told you?”

*Lots of confused disagreement from the squad*

Tim Welsh (Midfield, (captain)): “We were all just told we were to get here as soon as possible” *squad agree*

TS: “Oh. Well I’ll have to tell you then. The thing is, out of all the nations around, ours has been chosen to go to Brazillico.”

Björn-Trevor Frederiksson (striker): “You mean we’re going on holiday there?”

TS: “No Björn”

TW: “Are we going there to be taught how to play properly?”

TS: “Well, kind of…”

TW: “To learn to win?”

SG: “Don’t take it too far, Taff!”

TS: “What it is, is that we’re going to Brazillico to take part in the Cup of Harmony.”

Trevor Allinson (Goalie) “A singing competition? But we’re footballers?”

SG: “Supposedly”

TS: “Not a singing competition, you dullard, it’s a football tournament.”

TW: “So why are we going, then? I mean, it’s not like we’re much good.”

TS: “I know, I know. But going there will make us better.”

BTF: “So who will we be up against?”

TS: “Well our group games are against Iansisle, Brazillico, Commerce Heights and Big Butts.”

Andrew Pearson (defender): “Some big names, there.”

TS: “Too right there are, and I want us to show them what you can do.”

TA: “But we can’t do anything.”

TS: “Of course you can! Remember when we went to Bedistan?”

SG: “We only got a 0-0 because nobody would shoot.”

TS: “And who’s fault was that?”

SG: “I meant Bedistanis.”

TW: “Yeah, boss, but we’re a team who got thrashed by Athamasha. I mean, we couldn’t even find the place, and they still beat us 4-0.”

TS: “That was why we lost – it took us so long to find the damn place that we couldn’t prepare properly. So… anyway… are you all ready to go?”

*The squad nod, still looking confused*

TS: “Then what are we waiting for?”

SG: “The end of the national airline workers’ strike?”

TS: “Which will be…?”

TW: “I think he’s pulling your leg, boss.”

TS: “No, Taff, that’s just how my tracksuit’s cut. Now, shall we make our way onto the coach to the airport?”

…and with that, the team leave for Brazillico.

The NEWI Cefn Druids Minister of Wrong apologises for the quality of the ending of the previous post.

TOP COLLEGIANS WILL PLAY HARMONY CUP

Because of the substantial proportion of players from the Praying2God national team that are unable to play in the Harmony Cup because of their wounds suffered in the terrorist attack at the end of qualifying the top collegiate soccer players will be on the field for Praying2God during the Harmony Cup. They will be coached by some of the healthy players from the Praying2God national team. The decision was made to give some of the top players in the country a chance to prove themselves against international competition before try-outs for the next national team commence at the conclusion of the Harmony Cup.

Here are some sample results:

[code:1:f58aab5a3b]Spaam 1 Bedistan 0[/code:1:f58aab5a3b]

Propaganda, I tell you! Either that or we really have gone way downhill. :P

Seriously though, nice spreadsheet there. :D

As for KPB rankings, I may try to do them this weekend just for the hell of it. It's been a while since I've had any free time. :|

BTW, Braz, are we playing four matches (as you posted) or eight (reverse leg added)?

...and pretty much the reason everyone here did worse that they thought they should have because of the TnUI ranking.

Sore loser.

Oh, and the ranks are the ones that TnUI gave just before the World Cup, for lack of any other ones.... no Spaamanian ranking system, sorry.

Now, the formula:

A team gets max(10, 10+(myrank-yourrank/20)) attacks.
The offense for a team is 0.875 + (myrank-yourrank)/2000
The home team gets 0.01 added to their offense, away team gets 0.01 taken away.
Then a number between 0 and 1 is chosen for each of the attacks, and if that number is greater than the offense, then a goal is scored.

Sorta like TnUI's, 'cept little bit more complex. Plus 1 vs 150 occasionally generates 11-0 scores ;)

The Midway Journal

Bedistan Continue Non-Winning Ways
...but still start off with a respectable draw

SPAAM -- After being denied this year's World Cup, the Bedistan Lions jumped on the chance to participate in the Cup of Harmony instead with nine other national teams in a similar predicament. The Lions are top seeded in their group, which also contains Spaam, Mattigool, Cockbill Street, and Praying2God.

The Lions started their campaign with an away match in Spaam. The Bedistan team, under new head coach Johnny Lewis, started off the match much like they start off most matches -- on the offensive. It would be Fernando Sippel who would score the first goal with a 13th-minute header. Cheering from the Lion fans was sporadic at best, as many people are apparently still not pleased with Sippel's attack on fellow striker Darren Morlock on matchday 7 of WC11 qualifying, a move that earned him a seven-match international ban.

Twenty minutes later, a Spaamanian defender inadvertently tripped Morlock as he prepared to shoot. The Iansislean official gave the defender a yellow card and the Lions a penalty kick. Sippel took the penalty, which went cleanly into the top left corner of the net. The second goal was met with light applause.

After halftime, though, the whole scene changed dramatically. Erik Oldenburg pulled a move in the 63rd that has been seen too many times before. The goalkeeper moved well up the field in an attempt to intercept a high header coming in his direction, only to have the ball sail over his head and hit the ground some twenty yards from the goal. With absolutely no players between there and the goal, the ball just waltzed right in. Oldenburg's head was in his hands as the scoreboard changed to read 1-2.

Finally, just a few minutes before full time, Neil Palin elbowed a Spaamanian midfielder in the face, netting himself a yellow. The free kick was sent high into the air, but it was intercepted by Karina Kucharski. Unfortunately, a Spaamanian striker was right there, and he stole the ball from her and blasted it into the net for the equalizer. And that is how the match would end.

Sippel commented after the match, "We've been trying to deny it all this time, but the fact is, we really do suck now. I mean, come on, we couldn't even beat a bunch of Spaamers? That's sad." At about that time, three rather large Spaamanian fans came up behind him and proceeded to attack. At this time, Fernando Sippel is in stable condition at the local hospital. We will bring you more word on his state as it becomes available.

[code:1:a230360701]Final score:
Spaam 2 (63, 86)
Bedistan 2 (Sippel 13, pen 34)[/code:1:a230360701]

Ankh-Morpork C-mail
Cockbill Street Department

First Harmony Cup Win Ever
Gools Are Dispatched In Style

A very good game yesterday by the Cockbill Street football team saw them off to a flying start in the Cup of Harmony, hosted in Brazilico and Spaam. Cockbill Street, playing in the second group in Spaam along with the hosts, Bedistan, Mattigool and Praying2God, got off well, having many fine breaks down the middle. The central defense of Mattigool faltered on many occasions, especially one in the early minutes of the game, when Ian Olsen could run through right past Nerbø and score. 1-0 after six minutes.

Mattigool weren't completely out of the running, as shown when young striker Alexander Kristensen headed a well placed corner into the bar. However, it was the Streeters who controlled the game, and just before the half-time whistle, it was Harald Axewielder's turn to star. His dribble down the right wing was awesome, leaving both Grøtta Grav and Lindestad helpless, and his cross found the massive head of Tungsten-carbide for 2-0. However, Axewielder admitted afterwards, he "was aiming for Simon [Quier], but missed. Luckily, it turned out right, eh?".

3-0 came after a bit of a fumble by Mattigool goalkeeper Klokset - a soft shot from Thomas Lehrer was going into his hands, but he couldn't gather it cleanly and it bounced out again. There was Chris Brashear, who shut the coffin with his strike into the bottom left corner of the net. The Streeters now face much tougher opposition as they go to meet the hosts Spaam, in a match that could be crucial as to which team will qualify for a semi-final spot.

Cockbill Street 3 (Olsen 6, Tungsten-carbide 43, Brashear 74)
Mattigool 0

Where's everybody getting these scores? :?

Oh... I TGed all the Group B scores to the teams and since I haven't been on NS yet today, I didn't realize that Spaam only TGed the results to me. Anyway, here are the tables after Matchday 1.

Group A
Brazillico 2 – Commerce Heights 2
Iansisle 6 – NEWI Cefn Druids 1

Group B
Spaam 2 – Bedistan 2
Cockbill Street 3 – Mattigool 0

[code:1:244fd5576a]GROUP A
Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS
Iansisle 1 1 0 0 6 1 +5 3
Brazillico 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 1
Commerce Heights 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 1
Praying2God 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
NEWI Cefn Druids 1 0 0 0 1 6 -5 0

GROUP B
Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS
Cockbill Street 1 1 0 0 3 0 +3 3
Spaam 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 1
Bedistan 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 1
Big Butts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mattigool 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0[/code:1:244fd5576a]

Next matches will be tomorrow and I promise they’ll all be TGed you.

Sorry to interrupt, but...

Group Selection

Brazillico Bracket – Group 1
Big Butts

Spaam Bracket – Group 2
Praying2God

[code:1:bee9ef57e8]GROUP A
Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS
Praying2God 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

GROUP B
Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS
Big Butts 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0[/code:1:bee9ef57e8]

Which groups are P2G and BB in? ;)

Its ok, he got it the wrong way around :P

Updated ranks (using the KPB system after World Cup qualifying)

23 Commerce Heights
24 Bedistan
32 Spaam
33 Iansisle
51 Cockbill Street
58 Big Butts
61 Brazillico
88 Praying2God
104 NEWI Cefn Druids
122 Mattigool

Average Rank
Group A: 61.8
Group B: 57.8

Effective Ranks will be updated after the next Matchday (ie, for RPs).
As hosts, Brazillico and I will have our ranks updated as if we post an RP every second day, even if we don't (something to do with running everything else).
Remember, as each of you only have 8 matches (home and away), only a max of 4 RPs will be counted. Your effective rank will rise by 1/8 of your rank for each RP you post.
I'll update the spreadsheet, but after that, updates will occur behind the scenes.

Top Seeds Match Ends In Draw

Spaam started off its Harmony Cup campaign with a gritty 2-all draw against
top seed Bedistan. Bedistan and Spaam are the top seeds in the group, and
2nd and 3rd seeds in the cup overall. The home game, which was played at
Artanis Stadium, was hard fought, after Bedistan led 2 nil at the break.
However, Elrik and Milik did for the sorority as they scored in the 63rd and
86th minutes respectively. Spaam next play Cockbill Street at home at Shaw
City.

Spaam 2
(Elrik 63, Milik 86)
Bedistan 2
(Sippel 13, 34)

Commerce Heights @ Brazillico, part 1 (minutes -2 to 8]
Announcer:
PariMedia's exclusive presentation of the Harmony Cup Invitational Tournament presented by Noble Barns is brought to you by Noble Barns - Proud sponsor of the Harmony Cup Invitational Tournament, and by Air Paripana - Official airline of the Commerce Heights Bulldogs

Michael Orange: Welcome to PariMedia's coverage of Matchday 1 of the Harmony Cup. We've got a great match about to start with the Bulldogs of Commerce Heights facing off against the Brazillico Chili Bats in Libertad International Stadium. I'm Michael Orange, former host of Inside the CHFL --

Andrew Morales: And I'm Andrew Morales, the PariMedia Sports creative director being paid extra to temporarily fill the job opening on one of PariMedia Sports' 20 international commentating teams. By the way, if you'd like to apply for that job, you can pick up an application at one of over 100,000 national or local PariMedia broadcasting centers. Other than a good voice, and the ability to follow all kinds of sports, there really isn't much to the job, so get out there today!

Michael: OK, Andrew, let's get back to the subject of the game. If you've ordered the official Commerce Heights @ Brazillico program at PariMediaSports.ic, open up to page 26, where you may notice an error in the official Commerce Heights Bulldogs roster. Coach Noel Hicks, as close to being fired as he is, made a change early in the World Cup qualifiers that switched Jerry Cahalane and Michael McCormick. This change is not shown on the roster, so you can correct it if you wish.

Andrew: Now you're off-topic, Mike!

Michael: Am not! The folks at home needed to know that!

a faint shout is heard in the background: "Show the starting lineups, you idiots!"

Andrew: Well, our executive producer seems to be a bit irked at the moment, so let's humor him and show your Commerce Heights Bulldogs starting 11:
[code:1:1079f37c3f]01 Dirk Vojtilo GK
10 Antonio Gryglewska-Cebrat D
11 Darren Yee D
12 Paul McCormick D
13 Walt Jolly D
20 Ocean Zaidi M
21 Hamagami Hufschmidt M
22 Michael McCormick M
30 Jerry Cahalane F
31 Billy Quigley F
32 Creighton Deppiesse F[/code:1:1079f37c3f]
Michael: I'm surprised Hicks hasn't made any changes in the lineup for the Harmony Cup, but it is his decision...

Andrew: The game's starting in just a couple minutes, so let's get a quick look at the Brazillico Chili Bats:
[code:1:1079f37c3f]01 Salazar GK
02 Palacio D
03 Sorin D
05 Batista D
06 Valdez D
04 Aguiar M
08 Jr. Socrates M
09 Francisco M
15 Filipo M
10 Jiminez F
11 Pepe F[/code:1:1079f37c3f]

Michael: And the game is off...Commerce Heights getting the ball...McCormick passes to Quigley...Quigley passes back to Hufschmidt...Hufschmidt dodges a tackle and gets the ball off to Cahalane...Cahalane goes for the goal...it's...IN! In the first minute! Commerce Heights 1-0 Brazillico as Cahalane gets the ball past Salazar!

Andrew: If the Bulldogs play like that for the rest of the Harmony Cup...umm...err...the Harmony Cup presented by Noble Barns, they won't have any trouble at all bringing home their first top-3 finish!

Michael: I wouldn't expect too much play of that quality later in this game, though - the heat's gonna get to 'em pretty soon!

7th minute
Michael: As Andrew was trying to say, just log on to PariMediaSports.ic for your chance to win big in PariMedia Sports Interactive TV! Mustbe16yearsorolderandaParipanancitizentoenterandwin. Somerestrictionsapply,seewebsitefordetails.

Andrew: I see you've been practicing effective methods of reading fine print. Recommend any good books?

Michael: No, it just takes practice. Give it a try. Once you get the hang of it, it comes to you naturally.

another noise is heard from the executive producer: "Brazillico scored a goal! What the **** are you doing in there, talking about fine print!?"

Andrew: Well, as our executive producer just less-than-nicely pointed out, Brazillico has tied the game at 1-1 with a goal from Jiminez. Let's take a look at our instant replay...er...ahh...our Quantum Arts instant replay, to see how the goal was set up...

the Quantum Arts instant replay is shown

Michael: We'll leave you to these messages and a word from your local PariMedia station while we try to get Andrew to remember which companies are sponsoring which of our exclusive features™, and when to mention their names...

Advertisement:
If you want to see Billy Quigley and the Commerce Heights Bulldogs fight to regain their international reputation, then you won't want to miss this exclusive offer from CupPass®! For the soccer-watching family, get CupPass® Silver for just §249, and get tickets to all of the Bulldogs home games! For just §200 more, you can upgrade to CupPass® Gold and see every match in qualifying! For §150, you can upgrade your CupPass® Gold to the Platinum Edition and see the qualifiers and the Cup! Available at many stores, or buy it online at CupPass.ch!

The Air Paripana scoreline, brought to you by Air Paripana:
Brazillico 1 (Jiminez 7)
Commerce Heights 1 (Cahalane 1) - 8th minute

(OOC: Part 2 to come later.)

[Joining BSTV coverage of the BFA First Division match between the Graceville Salamanders and Rolestu FC already in progress...]

Gordon: Bannister makes his way up the left side...he's in the corner...he sends the ball right to Floyd...Floyd shoots...and it's IN! Dean Floyd with the last-minute goal for Graceville that could save the game!

Richard: Rolestu kick off...Sweeney to Takahara, Takahara to Yoshihiro...and there's the whistle! Final score in this match, Graceville 2 - 2 Rolestu.

Gordon: The Salamanders were definitely struggling the whole way through the game. What I'm sure they wouldn't give to be as good as they were fifteen years ago...

Richard: Indeed. Well, that's about it for us, folks. For Gordon Simpson, I'm Richard Ramírez saying so long from Westin Stadium.

[Match outro starts and eventually segues into a intro.]

Joey: LIVE from James Parker National Stadium in Midway, it's BSTV Harmony Cup action, brought to you by Fillmore Motor Company. Today, our beloved Bedistan Lions will face Praying2God in their attempt to get back on top of the football world. I'm Joey Stanton...

Amanda: ...and I'm Amanda Butt. We're almost ready for kickoff, but first let's have a look at the starting rosters, Joey.

Joey: I'd be glad to. First, your Bedistan Lions:

[code:1:de1c95b668]41 Erik Oldenburg GK
29 Diego Sanchez D L
31 Tabitha Morgan D C
38 Karina Kucharski D C
42 Clinton Saravia D R
37 Walter Marley DM L
39 Neil Palin AM C
54 Rosalinda Heidelberg DM R
40 Darren Morlock F L
44 Javier Lewey F C
49 Fernando Sippel F R[/code:1:de1c95b668]

Amanda: And the Praying2God national team:

[code:1:de1c95b668][/code:1:de1c95b668]

Amanda: Um...something's wrong...

Joey: Oh yes, I've got this press release from the P2GFA -- says here that most of their national team was either killed or wounded in a terrorist attack and they'll have college players playing in their stead.

Amanda: Sounds like New Montreal States...

Joey: That was high school. And hey, if it worked for NMS, it should work for P2G as well.

Amanda: True. Well, it's ten minutes to kickoff, so we'll pause for a fairly lengthy commercial break, and we'll be back with live coverage of Bedistan vs Praying2God right here on BSTV.

“...and that just about wraps up today’s episode of ‘The Wright Foot,’ with me, Joseph Wright. For any listeners who may have tuned in late, we’re talking about the biggest win in Ians history, a 6-1 victory over the Druids. My station manager informs me we have time for two more callers, so Pete from Fort Jackson, you’re on the air.”

“Hello, Joe?”

“Pete, I assume? Welcome to the show. We were just talking about the victory over the Druids.”

“Oh, right...”

“I’m assuming you have something to add to what I or a previous caller has said?”

“Yeah.”

“...and that would be..?”

“That the Ians totally rock.”

“Pete, you’ve just confirmed every prejudice I’ve ever held about people from Weshield. I’ll tell you what: I’m going to count to three, then cut you off and have a discussion with my station manager, all right? Get ready.. One...two...”

“Ians rock!”

“three. Goodbye, Pete....you idiot. Now, Paul, I don’t suppose there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of our next caller having two brain cells to knock together?”

“Sorry about that Joe. He sounded like he had something meaningful to say when I talked to him.”

“Don’t they all, don’t they all. Who’s up next?”

“Leonard from Lower Mansford.”

“Another Weshielder. Wonderful. Hello, Leonard - mind if I call you Lenny? - you’re on the Wright Foot.”

“Actually, Joe, I’m standing on both feet...”

“I see we have a Wright awful punster here, if you’ll forgive me one of my own.”

“Always, Joe. Anyway, I was just calling to...”

“Hold on there, Lenny, before you get any further: how much do the Ians rock?”

“Um...depends on how much pressure there is, Joe.”

“Good answer, Lenny. Now, what were you saying?”

“Er, I was just calling to ask why, since the Ians have never scored four goals in a game, why and how do you think they broke out for six?”

“Divine intervention.”

“Excuse me!?”

“No, seriously: thanks for the first good question of the day. If you want my real opinion, look no farther than young Alexander Truman. He scored three of the six today, the first hat trick by an Iansislean player in...well, in ever. That boy’s a real talent, and I just think he wasn’t quite ready for the World Cup yet. A little time to develop in a place, like you said, Lenny, where there’s less pressure, and he’s very quickly becoming an offensive powerhouse capable of carrying the entire team. Or, on a day like this where all cylinders are clicking on full, of helping us boot six in.”

“I see...”

“In fact, if you ask me, I think we’re seeing a real shift in where our talent is located. In the world cups and the SuperCup, the Ians concentrated mainly on defense and won by lucky and usually late goals. However, with guys like Benny Answorth and Conrad Brandt getting older and so much young talent in the strikers’ area, we may see Westmore taking a more offensive angle in coming weeks.”

“Do I have time to ask you one more question, Joe.”

“Shoot, Lenny. For you, we’ve all the time in the world.”

“Right...that was slightly disturbing. Anyway, Joe, I was wondering if you think this kind of offensive success will be repeated against Brazillico?”

“Frankly, Lenny, and I hate to sound like a pessimist, but no, I don’t think it will. Now, I know your next question: why not? Brazillico is a much tougher team - and by this I mean no offense to the Druids, who played a tough game - who has won twice as many games as the Ians have even played.”

“Do you really think historical intimidation will have that much of an effect on the game?”

“I think it will. Remember, by world football standards, we’re just an uppity young whippersnapper. I think there’s a little too much attention paid to that in our locker room, one of the main concerns I have with the way Westmore has been coaching. The result is we go into games with ourselves already defeated mentally. We’ll do well to draw against Brazillico. Now, Paul’s telling me you have time for one more quick question, Lenny: you have one in mind?”

“Yeah, I do, Joe. Cockbill Street...”

“Uh oh... I was afraid you’d ask this one. Sorry, please go ahead.”

“Um, Cockbill Street won their first game convincingly as well, beating Mattigool three to nil. What do you think are the chances of an Ians-Streeters match-up in the semis or finals, and who would have the edge in that situation?”

“There’s a chance, of course. We and Cockbill are both good up-and-coming teams, but I’m not optimistic. We’d have to knock out either Brazillico or Commerce Heights while not forgetting about the lower ranked teams. Cockbill Street will have to bump out either Spaam or Bedistan, while still keeping the lower ranks in mind. The chances of us both making the semis is not great.”

“But, supposing we both should?”

“Well, we do seem to have a budding rivalry. So far the Ians have come out ahead, 2-1-0 in SuperCup and World Cup play, but the Streeters are a difficult team. I’d say call it, Lenny. And now, I’m afraid we’re out of time here on the Wright Foot. Be sure to tune in after the Brazillico match; good night, Iansisle!”

((C.S.: I hope you don’t mind that I’m trying to build up a rivalry with you...Our teams are fairly evenly matched, and it seems we’ve seen a disproportionate amount of each other of late.))

OOC: I can't finish the RP today, so:
Brazillico 2 (Jiminez 7, 28 )
Commerce Heights 2 (Cahalane 1, Hufschmidt 89)
And yes, I know it's rather odd that the scoring started in the 1st minute and ended in the 89th. But it has to happen eventually, doesn't it? ;)

YOUNGSTERS IMPRESS FANS IN DEBUT

The collegiate athletes playing in the Harmony Cup for the Praying2God Warriors impressed their fans that followed the team to Bedistan for their match in James Parker National Stadium against former world power (OOC: no offense, Bedistan) Bedistan Lions. Nobody expected much of the kids, but they hung tough against one of the top teams in the world. The Lions scored a pair of early goals before forward William Harper headed a pass from midfielder Brian Johnson into the net to cut the margain to 1-2. Try as they might, the collegians couldn't net the equalizer to shock the world. They managed to come very close however, as midfielder Rachel Peterson hit the crossbar with a shot from just outside the box and Lion keeper Erik Oldenburg smothered the rebound attempt by Harper.

The next match is not one that Warrior fans are looking forward to, a trip to Cockbill Street, who routed them 1-4 in their last visit during World Cup XI qualifying. However, the kids probably won't care about that because it's a whole new team this time.

OOC: If I mention a player by name during the Harmony Cup it is very likely that they will be on my World Cup XII roster.

I beg your forgiveness for my silly double post. :oops:

One win in last thirteen
Brazillico and Iansisle battled out to a draw

“You’re as cold as ice… Willing to sacrifice”. Those words from Foreigner’s hit song describe perfectly the predicament Brazillico find themselves in. And after two highly competitive draws, some are calling for the resignation of Dr. Cosmo.

However, if we read into the numbers, we find that Brazillico isn’t doing that bad under Cosmo’s tenure, with a record of 1-4-2 (W-D-L) and with five of the seven games being played against opposition higher ranked than Brazillico.

Cosmo, with a bachelor’s in kinestheology and a Ph.D. in Sport Psychology, made arguably his most controversial move to date in the Iansisle match, when he made Brazillico’s star striker, Pepe, a healthy scratch. “He hasn’t shown much hussle the last few games and his demeanor in practice is sickening,” said Cosmo, “He’s one hissyfit away from being kicked off the national team.”

As absurd as this may sound, this may have a positive effect on the team. Jiminez is really starting to find his legs (and the back of the net) after a stale qualifying campaign and Trevors, the author of the lone Brazillico goal against Iansisle, has really started to come into his own in domestic play. Add to this Pepe’s reputation of being a negative locker room guy and his five-game goal scoring drought in international play, this may prove to be a quite a move by the manager.

Whether you agree with Cosmo’s move to bench Pepe or not, you have to give the guy credit for trying to shake up the dynamic of a team who hasn’t won in six. We’ll see if this move pays dividends as Brazillico face the struggling NEWI Cefn Druids tomorrow at Kalita.

Dearest Mumsy,

I hope all is well with you. I have made it to the Harmony class. It seems to be a good laugh. I spent yesterday finding out what was happening and the class I was in while the rest of the kids got on with things (they had arrived a day earlier and some had been here before - so the teacher decided to talk me through things.)
I'll be meeting Iansisle again, but I don't know any of the rest of my class. Brazillico is a famous kid - his big brother was at the school a few years ago, so he gets a lot of stick from some of the older kids, but most a us newbies have a lot of respect for him!
I met up with Connor Heights to-day. He is a very smart kid, I don't know how he ended up here, I would have expected him to be at the WC finishing school. I said that to him, and he just went very quiet and red faced. He didn't say much about it, and suggested we play conkers. I had first go, and hit his a couple of times but it didn't break, then I missed, and his first shot blasted my conker into pieces.
While we were looking for more conkers, the bell rang for the end of lunch. He said he had won, I agreed but we decided to play it again later in the term.
Well, gotta go, all the guys are going to have a kick around, I'll talk to you soon!
Love,
BB

The Daily Druid

GREAVES STORMS OUT AS DRUIDS CRASH AGAIN
Trevor Lee-Jones on Iansisle 6 NEWI Cefn Druids 1

NEWI Cefn Druids star striker Simon Greaves sensationally stormed out of the dressing rooms after the team’s thrashing at the hands of Iansisle.

Greaves was unavailable for comment after the incident, but reports have reached The Daily Druid that Greaves questioned how coach Trevor Stevens landed the job. If this is the case, it would mean that the Druids leading goal scorer would be unlikely to play for the national team again while Stevens remained in charge.

The FANCD have decided to look into the incident, while stating that Stevens landed the job through the recommendations of a leading figure in the sports and leisure industry. Though there are reports that Stevens could be losing his job because of this, coupled with the team’s form, Cefnbet are offering incredibly high prices on Stevens being fired. It is 8/1 that Stevens will be gone by the start of World Cup XII.

Meanwhile, out on the pitch, it was the usual display from the Druids. The defence looked unorganised, the midfield disjointed and the strikers isolated. How the Ians only managed six is quite a mystery, as it could so easily have been twelve or thirteen. However, credit must be given to Trevor Allinson in the Druids goal for producing a string of excellent saves to keep the score down to six. However, the Ians had too much for the Druids, with Alexander Truman’s hat trick being the highlight of the match. The Druids’ only goal came in the dying minutes. An Ians corner was headed against the cross bar by Truman, denying him a fourth, before being cleared to Greaves, who outran two Ians defenders before hitting a shot that just crept in at the far post.

But the match was overshadowed, from a Druids point of view, at least, by the Greaves incident after the final whistle was blown. We’ll bring you more on that when the news breaks to us.

The Bedistan Sports Digest

They Finally Did It!
Lions defeat ranked team for first time in nearly four years

MIDWAY -- Javier Lewey and Darren Morlock are the heroes of Bedistan today. Thanks to their two early goals in the match against the Praying2God Warriors at Parker National, the Bedistan Lions have finally defeated a ranked team for the first time since their 4-1 thrashing of Gesamtkuntswerk in the first round of World Cup 10. (Ironically, the Lions and Sturms have since drawn twice.)

The Lions will be facing Mattigool next as part of the three-match home stand.

[code:1:98c9895c78](24) Bedistan 2 (Lewey 8, Morlock 14)
(88) Praying2God 1 (Harper 56)[/code:1:98c9895c78]

Crap, I though Braz was going to do the tables :P

Matchday 2

Group A
Brazillico 1 - Iansisle 1
Commerce Heights 1 - Big Butts 0

Group B
Spaam 1 – Cockbill Street 0
Bedistan 2 – Praying2God 1

[code:1:4934b10c71]GROUP A
Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS
Iansisle 2 1 1 0 7 2 +5 4
Commerce Heights 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4
Brazillico 2 0 2 0 3 3 0 2
Big Butts 1 0 0 1 0 1 -1 0
NEWI Cefn Druids 1 0 0 1 1 6 -5 0

GROUP B
Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS
Bedistan 2 1 1 0 4 3 +1 4
Spaam 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4
Cockbill Street 2 1 0 1 3 1 +2 3
Praying2God 1 0 0 1 1 2 -1 0
Mattigool 1 0 0 1 0 3 -3 0[/code:1:4934b10c71]

*We watch as a young kid goes to the telephone. He picks up the receiver inserts some coins and quickly dials a number. He taps his foot impatiently while it rings - as someone answers, he grabs the receiver with both hands*

- Hi mum
- Hi son, hows things?
- I'm having a great time mum, I met up with Iansisle to-day at lunch.
- Iansisle?
- You know the kid that was in my class in first year - the one i didn't fight with!
- oh yeah!
- Well we were chatting away about what has happened this year and you know the sticker album that I have,
- ye...
- well Iansisle has one to and and he had some spares like what i have!
- that I have Big, that I have, talk properly!
- sorry mum!
- its okay, now what were you saying?
- hmm - oh yeah, the stickers, well I had an Urk sticker
- a who sticker?
- Urk mum, you must have heard of him, he's like the greatest player ever in the World Cup, he plays for Giant Zuchini
- Oh okay then
- Well I had a spare Urk sticker that Iansisle really wanted, cause its really rare and all and Iansisle said he would give me three of his spares if i gave him the Urk sticker!
- That good son?
- Yeah mum, I got Darren Morlock hes from Bedistan, Syku Hexen from Rejistania and Jonny Willow from Audioslavia. Syku was the last Rejistania one i needed and Jonny Willow is a good one cause he got shot the other day, so it'll be a collectable one worth a lot soon!
- Big!! thats no way to talk about the dead!
- Sorry! {beep beep beep} Goota go mum, the money's about to run out.
- Ok Big Love you
- Lov.........*phone goes dead*....e you too!

*We watch the kid as he hangs up the receiver and heads into the TV room where the other kids are watching the WC match between Audioslavia and Runaway Moose http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=110697&start=600 he sits down and starts chatting away with one of the other kids. We decide to leave*

OOC: Iansisle-Cockbill Street rivalry is a great idea, I think. We've met loads, we joined WC at the same time, we have roughly the same quality of the teams, Iansisle always win ;) Yup, good idea.

IC:
Ankh-Morpork C-mail
Cockbill Street Department

Win Against Poor Teams, Lose Against Good Teams
Cockbill Street With Minute Chance Of Going Through

After the third round of the Cup of Harmony, many things have been resolved, and the semi-final place waves far away in the horizon. The second game was against Spaam, a well-established world cup nation who has recently been overtaken by its smaller colony East Spaam, but still have some decent footballers. That was shown when Cockbill Street took them on, played a good game, yet still lost due to being outclassed. Pure and simple. The Spaamainians had better technique, passed better, communicated better, and it was in the end unfair that they only won by a goal.

It's funny how things change. In the third game, against Praying2God, Cockbill Street were the dominant team. They led 4-0 by the end of the first half, and played the second half in first gear allowing the Praying2God strikers to score early in the half. Cockbill Street nevertheless controlled the game completely, and the final scoreline, 4-1, reflected this.

The final game, against Bedistan, will be extremely important, as Cockbill Street has a theoretical chance of qualification. The reason being, Mattigool and Praying2God will probably lose their last games, so that means 10 points for Spaam and 7 points for Bedistan. If Cockbill Street beat Bedistan, they will end up on 9 points and qualify for a semi-final - possibly against Iansisle again, even though the C-mail hopes not.

“Disaster!” was the words on the lips of most every Iansislean football fan as the dust clear, despite officials desperate attempts to remind the press that the harmony cup was a friendly series.

“Friendly, my eye!” said Larry Newcastle, who was seen wearing a Leonard Flaherty replica jersey from the Pan-Tilsitia Cup at a pub in central Ianapalis. “We lost! Last I checked that’s not very friendly!”

An impartial observer attempted to point out that for every Ians win, someone else lost. “For example,” he said, “The Druids. Sure it was a lot of fun on our side, but how do you think they felt? Not very good, I’ll bet!” The man leaned back with a smug expression on his face, convinced that he had taught Newcastle something about empathy for those less fortunate than himself.

It only took a few seconds to dispel that notion. “Not very good, my eye! Being beaten by us is like farting rosebuds!” Before the obscure and probably irrelevant comparison could sink in for the impartial observer, Newcastle was swinging his ale about and ranting on about how pathetic the Ians had looked today, how much he hated David Westmore and everyone who looked like him, how he was going to cancel his subscription to the Ians’ newsletter - which wasn’t much of a threat, seeing as how the UMSGR put it out for free - unless the team shaped up.

The impartial observer could only stand in amazement. We’re a passionate people, he concluded silently, as Newcastle was proposing a boycott of goods from Big Butts and and any other nation that had the letter ‘B’ in the name. Settling up his bill, the man quietly walked out before Newcastle could demand that the pope declare a crusade against Big Butts.

Mattigool Sports

Young Gools played Spaam dizzy

(Goolsund) What a match! Although the Gools lost against Spaam 1:2, it was a very imressive performance. For the first time the Gools attack played with the Sokol Twins AND Kristensen. And they were sooooooo good. It was just the lack of experience that kept this promising tree from scoring more than once. Alex Dunner stated after the match: "I think tonight we have watched the future of Gools football. The Sokol twins Simen and Jonny together with Kristensen are a potentially thread to every defense at this stage, and they will become even better."
Now Dunner has to look for a equivalent defense, because Nerbø and Grøtta Grav are the weakest links of the team.

SPAAM 2
MATTIGOOL 1

SAME PLACE, DIFFERENT SQUAD, SAME RESULT

The Praying2God Warriors went to Cockbill Street for their second match of the Harmony Cup and looked like the young inexperienced team they are. The Warriors were making simple mistakes throughout the first half, and CS kept capitalizing on their opportunities. CS relaxed things in the second half, allowing midfielder Adam Allen to score in the 49th minute to cut the lead to 1-4, but the game would get no closer, as the youngsters couldn't keep the momentum going. Things are looking up for Praying2God however, as their next match is against a Mattigool team that only won one game during World Cup XI qualifications.

Matchday 3

Group A
Brazillico 1 - NEWI Cefn Druids 0
Iansisle 1 - Big Butts 3

Group B
Spaam 2 – Mattigool 1
Cockbill Street 4 – Praying2God 1

[code:1:f83348bcd9]GROUP A
Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS
Brazillico 3 1 2 0 4 3 +1 5
Iansisle 3 1 1 1 8 5 +3 4
Commerce Heights 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 4
Big Butts 2 1 0 1 3 2 +1 3
NEWI Cefn Druids 2 0 0 2 1 7 -6 0

GROUP B
Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS
Spaam 3 2 1 0 5 3 +2 7
Cockbill Street 3 2 0 1 7 2 +5 6
Bedistan 2 1 1 0 4 3 +1 4
Praying2God 2 0 0 2 2 6 -4 0
Mattigool 2 0 0 2 1 5 -4 0[/code:1:f83348bcd9]

THE KIDS SHOCK CO-HOSTS

The collegiate soccer players playing in the Harmony Cup for Praying2God pulled out a shocking 2-2 draw with the co-hosts from Spaam yesterday. Not even the coaching staff figured they'd take any points away from a game against the co-hosts. After the Spaamians struck early on, midfielder Brian Johnson took a cross from forward William Harper and tipped it past the Spaamian keeper to tie the score at 1-1 in the 42nd minute. The score remained knotted until the 83rd minute when Harper scored his second goal of the Harmony cup off a corner by midfielder Rachel Peterson. However, the Warriors couldn't hold the lead as the Spaamians managed to score the equalizer. The next match for the Warriors is against Mattigool, another newcomer to the international soccer community.

OOC: Goddamn forums, not taking my post yesterday. This was written after the Brazillico match but before the CH match.


The Daily Druid

DRUIDS BREAK RECORD
Ian Question-Mark on Brazillico 1 NEWI Cefn Druids 0

While the people of NEWI Cefn Druids were in celebratory mood for other reasons yesterday, their football team were out creating history. The Druids now hold the record for the number of international games without winning, with this, their sixteenth match without success. It is heading for one of the longest runs of defeats too, with this as their seventh in a row. If things do not change soon, they will become the undisputed worst team in the sport’s history.

Yet again, the team looked clueless, as they lumbered around without the absent Simon Greaves. Yet again, the opposition spurned chance after chance, with Brazillico only managing the single goal through aptly named substitute Trevors in the dying minutes. The performances by the two teams have not really helped the moods of either of the sets of fans – the Brazillicans are even more dismayed at how their team couldn’t finish off such poor quality opposition, with the Druid contingent will be asking questions about their Head Coach, and whether he has control of the team or not.

With Stevens’ position getting weaker by the match, the independent review of how the team is being run, commissioned by the FANCD, is rumoured to endanger the coach’s position further. This is, of course, the main talking point here in NEWI Cefn Druids, and we want to know if you think Stevens should stay or go?

If you think he should STAY call: 999-833-STAY
If you think he should GO call: 999-883-SACK
If you would answer DON’T KNOW, what’s the point in calling in, dumbass?

And remember, you could win a BIG prize just by calling in!

Calls will cost no less than 200groats/minute, and will last approximately two hours. Always ask your psychiatrist’s permission before you call. All voters will be eligible for a prize of a copy of ‘Big’, starring Tom Hanks, on Betamax video.

Michael: Hello, and welcome to another exciting edition of International Sports Wrap-Up! I'm Michael Orange, today's official representative of PariMedia Sports...
Aaron: And I'm Aaron White. Let's start out with a look at Harmony Cup 3, where Commerce Heights played NEWI Cefn Druids in Cliff Broquard National Stadium sponsored by Air Paripana. The game was rather uneventful, but let's cover the key plays of the game:
49th minute
"Zaidi running down the left sideline, gets the ball away just in the nick of time, recovered by Hufschmidt...Hufschmidt passes to Deppiesse...Deppiesse goes for the goal...it's way off-Quigley gives it a kick in the right direction...IT'S GOOD! Commerce Heights up 1-0!"
Michael: I think you meant key play of the game...not really plural there...
Aaron: So I did. Anyway, all other Harmony Cup matches are just starting. Let's move on to the NSL, where the Commerce Heights Falcons have resoundingly defeated Naquada Falls FC...

Commerce Heights 1 (Quigley 49)
NEWI Cefn Druids 0 - FT

The Daily Druid

MORE PLAYERS WALK OUT
Ian Question-Mark on Commerce Heights 1 NEWI Cefn Druids 0

The crisis of the NEWI Cefn Druids football team deepened yesterday, when five more players, including captain Tim Welsh, stormed out of the team camp after the 1-0 defeat to Commerce heights.

The increasing rift amongst the team was apparent after rumours circulated amongst the Druids fans in the Cliff Broquard National Stadium that Welsh had taken control of the half-time motivational team talk, which later turned out to be absolutely true. This loss of control by the head coach is thought to be why the five senior members of the squad, Welsh, centre-back and vice-captain Trevor Yates, goalkeeper Trevor Allinson, striker Trevor Unis and midfielder James Lee, have walked out.

It leaves the squad threadbare for the match against Big Butts, which will be make or break for Head Coach Trevor Stevens. If the Druids lose, then there seems to be nowhere left for Stevens to go other than Cefn Job Centre. Only some kind of positive result can save Stevens now.

Even if there is a reasonable result and performance, the FANCD independent review of Stevens might be enough for him to go anyway. Rumours are circulating that some kinds of bribery have taken place somewhere in the system, though it is unclear presently if there is any blame to be directed at the coach.

Meanwhile, on the pitch, there was very little to report. A scrappy match between the top and bottom ranked teams in the group was settled when a wayward Deppiesse was flicked goalwards by Quigley four minutes into the second half, wrong footing the Druids defence and goalkeeper, who could only watch as the ball ended up in the back of the net. It condemned the Druids to their eighth defeat in a row, and their seventeenth without a win. If the run doesn’t stop soon, who knows when the record will be broken?

This was not a double post, you're just imagining it

...either that, or it is in fact a triple post. Which it is.

The Columbia Times

Gools Hold Lions to Draw
Lewis' record now 1-2-0

[Editor's Note: We apologize for the delay in reporting this match. Apparently we accidentally sent our field reporters to watch Spaam vs Praying2God instead of the Gools-Lions match. Exactly how that happened while we played at home we do not know, but an investigation is underway.]

MIDWAY -- Darren Morlock, recently immortalized on World Cup trading cards, was the only one who managed to save his team from an embarrassing home defeat by Mattigool.

As usual, the Lions struck first, with Fernando Sippel being awarded a penalty kick in the 15th minute. Unfortunately for him and the team, his kick went a good deal higher than intended and ended up sailing into the stands. The Lion fan who caught the ball immediately threw it back onto the pitch, apparently not wanting a souvenir coming as a result of an increasingly-unpopular Sippel's screwup.

About ten minutes later, Jonny Sokol made a pass just out of reach of Bedistan defender Tabitha Morgan. Kristensen picked up on it and slammed the ball into the net right past a dumbfounded Erik Oldenburg, putting the Gools up 1-0 at halftime.

The home team seemed totally unable to get anything going in the second half, and the already only half-capacity crowd began to thin out in the final minutes. However, a failed Mattigool corner late in the game resulted in a goal kick. Oldenburg launched the ball nearly the length of the pitch, and Darren Morlock just happened to be in the right place at the right time, successfully heading the ball into the net and salvaging one point from the match.

[code:1:02f16892c6]Final score:
Bedistan 1 (Morlock 85, Sippel m/pen 15)
Mattigool 1 (Kristensen 26)[/code:1:02f16892c6]

After matchday four of ten, the Group B table stands as follows:

[code:1:02f16892c6]GROUP B
Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS
Spaam 4 2 2 0 7 5 +2 8
Cockbill Street 3 2 0 1 7 2 +5 6
Bedistan 3 1 2 0 5 4 +1 5
Praying2God 3 0 1 2 4 8 -4 1
Mattigool 3 0 1 2 2 6 -4 1[/code:1:02f16892c6]

[code:1:f635abbab9]GROUP A
Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS
Brazillico 4 2 2 0 6 3 +3 8
Commerce Heights 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 7
Iansisle 3 1 1 1 8 5 +3 4
Big Butts 3 1 0 2 3 4 -1 3
NEWI Cefn Druids 3 0 0 3 1 8 -7 0

GROUP B
Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS
Spaam 4 2 2 0 9 5 +4 8
Cockbill Street 3 2 0 1 5 2 +3 6
Bedistan 3 1 2 0 5 4 +1 5
Praying2God 3 0 1 2 4 6 -2 1
Mattigool 3 0 1 2 2 8 -6 1[/code:1:f635abbab9]

OOC - I'm going to have to apologize for my lack of participation in this Harmony Cup except I've got a lot more schoolwork than I've expected and I'm a working on a pretty long RP involving some players in the Founding Nations Cup which will be posted in the WC Thread. Don't worry, I'll be sure to post something for the quarter-finals which will take the form of:

Quarter-Finals
QF1: 2nd Group A vs 3rd Group B
QF2: 2nd Group B vs 3rd Group A

Semi-Finals
SF1: Winner Group A vs Winner QF2
SF2: Winner Group B vs Winner QF1

...and so on

After being beaten by Brazillico in the 'how many really strong mints you could put in your mouth contest', Big decided too chill-out on Friday afternoon. He sat a chatted with Cefn about the first week at the Harmony Summer school.
While Big had been having a mixed week, Cefn's seemed to have been a\ disaster;
"I miss my mum and my dog" Cefn cried. " I dont like this place, everyone is picking on me and it is horrible"
"Well its almost over, this time next week we can go home!" Big replied, "and dont worry about the rest of them, they always have a go at the new kids, it a kind of initiation(sp?) process. If your tough enough and stand up to them, they quickly start to respect you. It's not easy but when you get one over them it feels great!!"
Cefn looked at Big with a 'you're clearly not expecting me to belive this' look on his face.
"Trust me" Big said, "I had the same trouble last year, and while I still don't rule things or come top of the class, a lot of the other kids let me get on with things and all. They still have a go every now and then, but its not so bad!"
The two kids watched as the rest of the Harmony school group started to pick teams for a kickabout.
"I dont wanta play to-day" said Cefn.
"Im not bothered either" Big replied, " fancy heading inside and watching the tele?"
"Yeah cool the scooby-doo movie is on"
"k lets watch that then"
And the pair headed off, while the rest of the kids yelled a few insults *which we will pretend not to have heard* and then got on with the football match.

[code:1:a99b98fded]GROUP A
GP W D L GF GA GD PTS
Brazillico 4 2 2 0 6 3 +3 8
Commerce Heights 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 7
Iansisle 3 1 1 1 8 5 +3 4
Big Butts 4 1 1 2 3 4 -1 4
NEWI Cefn Druids 4 0 1 3 1 8 -7 1
[/code:1:a99b98fded]

...
QF2: 2nd Group B vs 3rd Group A
...

((Oh dear. Knowing the outcome of my last game, I have the feeling that this will throw sports reporters all over Iansisle into a fit of over-analysis! ;) (not until later tonight when I have more time and know C.S.' results, though)))

KIDS LET LEAD SLIP AWAY AGAIN

The Praying2God Warriors went into Mattigool for yesterday's match with very high hopes, only to leave disappointed. Coming in favored to win, despite being on the road, the kids couldn't hold onto a lead for the second game in a row. Midfielder Rachel Peterson made a nifty shot into the upper left corner of the net after taking a pass from forward William Harper in the 71st minute. However, the kids gave up the equalizer in the 86th minute on a penalty shot that took place after a foul in the box by defenseman John Smith. The Warriors managed to finish fourth out of five teams in their group, despite failing to win a game in the Harmony Cup. They now can look forward to the beginning of World Cup XII, and trying to get a team together that will be able to make some noise in that Cup. It is expected that the Warriors World Cup XII roster will feature a couple of World Cup XI veterans, as well as some kids from the Harmony Cup team.

[code:1:68d76b0258]
Mattigool 3 0 1 2 2 8 -6 1[/code:1:68d76b0258]



GA should be: 6
GD=-4

Ankh-Morpork C-mail
Cockbill Street Department

Consistent Failure Against Strong Teams
Bedistani Lions Roar Out On Top

The Cockbill Street footballers struggled in yesterday's game against the Lions. Not only did the team seem to forget basic skills like passing, dribbling and tackling, but also there was something about the attitude. The players seemed nervous, and they never seemed to take the risks that you have to take in a game like this.

The Lions were simply better, and that does not bode well for the quarter-final game that is to come later on. Luckily, the team was not completely out of the game - they had a couple of good chances early on, before the Bedistani scored their first goal and destroyed all hope. And what a lovely one it was, too. Fernando Sippel's cross was slammed into the top corner of the net on the volley by defender Erik Oldenburg, leaving no chance for the keeper. Must have been the shot of the century. Darren Morlock then made it 2-0 just before the half-time whistle, with an excellent dribble through the central defense and a tunnel through the legs of Dolomite, before slotting it to the right of the keeper.

The Streeters played better in the second half, owing to Bedistan's retreat into their own part of the pitch. As a result, the Streeters actually had some fairly good chances, the best being Harald Axewielder's shot that grazed the bar. However, the Bedistani was the better team today, and thoroughly deserved to win.

Bedistan 2
Cockbill Street 0.

Final Group B Tables, excluding the Praying2God v Mattigool game which was not finished at the time of writing:

[code:1:57d01a61e7]Team GP W D L GF GA GD PTS
Spaam 4 2 2 0 9 5 +4 8
Bedistan 4 2 2 0 7 4 +3 8
Cockbill Street 3 2 0 2 5 4 +1 6
Praying2God 3 0 1 2 4 6 -2 1
Mattigool 3 0 1 2 2 6 -4 1[/code:1:57d01a61e7]

Commerce Heights Bulldogs Face Another Playoff, Narrowly Avoid Bedistan
COMMERCE HEIGHTS, CH - The frustrated Commerce Heights Bulldogs went into National Stadium today knowing that they needed a win to secure a place in the Harmony Cup presented by Noble Barns semifinals. They also knew that a draw would place them in second, giving them a quarterfinal match against Cockbill Street, and that a loss would place them third, giving them a quarterfinal match against Bedistan. As tempted as they were to set the scene for the first ever Manhattanite-Bedistani match, especially during what may be the only time that they will be ranked higher than the Lions (though not by much, and depending on what rankings are used for the comparison). Even as they played for the win and the chance to pry the semifinal spot away from two-time World Cup champion Brazillico, they still ended up just one goal short of doing it. Many analysts that watched the game have suggested that the draw may have had something to do with Iansisle's possesion of a 'good' form of a mysterious resource known as 'RP' (rubidium-potassium? radioactive phosphorus? ;) ), but possibly-soon-to-be-former coach Noel Hicks has denied it.
Commerce Heights 1 (Deppiesse 19)
Iansisle 1 - FT
Being second in their group to Brazillico on goal differential, the Bulldogs now face Cockbill Street in the quarterfinals. Bedistan will face Iansisle in the other quarterfinal.
[code:1:d946758e1c]Commerce Heights -|
|- -|
Cockbill Street -| |
|- -|
| |
-Spaam -| |
|
|-
Bedistan -| |
|- -| |
Iansisle -| | |
|- -|
|
-Brazillico -|[/code:1:d946758e1c]
(OOC: Those matches are right, right?)

The Daily Druid

STEVENS SACKED
By Ian Question-Mark

NEWI Cefn Druids football coach Trevor Stevens has been sacked from his post after the inquiry into FANCD corruption led to his position becoming untenable. The investigation showed that he helped fix some of the games in which the Druids got beat in by deliberately making bad substitutions and tactical decisions.

The games against Athamasha, where the Druids lost 4-0, and Creedence Clearwater, where the score was 3-2, were both proved to have been under the influence of Stevens. In both, large bribes of over 20,000groats were offered to officials, though on both occasions they were turned down with nothing more said. However, when asked if the 6-1 defeat to Iansisle was similarly under the eye of Stevens, FANCD spokesman Trevor Simons said, “Nah, he’s just a crap coach.”

Furthermore, it was revealed that Stevens had no previous football experience. His former job was as a mechanic for the Mawr Motor Company. It turns out that the people who put his application for the post forward made a typing error. Instead of saying that “…he was a top quality coach builder in a team…,” it stated that “…he was a top quality team builder as a coach…”. As it was the best application of just two received by the FANCD (the other being from a Mrs Trevor Cherry, an expert French polisher from Llllllllllcwllllllll who was reportedly good at “polishing up sides”, but, in fact, that should have read “sideboards”.}, Stevens was appointed at the time with no-one better in the country.

The situation is different now, and so the FANCD have wasted no time in naming Stevens’ replacement as current tam captain Tim Welsh. Striker Trevor Unis and defender Trevor Yates will also help on the coaching side of things for the time being, while James Lee is made captain. As a result of Stevens’ departure, the entire squad is back together again.

What now for Stevens? Well, after a stint in Graymouth Prison, he’ll probably end up earning a few groats making ‘celebrity’ appearances around NCD. Meanwhile, Mrs Cherry has now been approached by the even less successful Druid field hockey team, who have asked her to ‘make them shine’. Well, anything is possible…

P.S. The winner of our ‘Big’ competition was Mr. Trevor Belmore of Trevor, who voted in our earlier poll. The full results were: STAY – 100% (1 vote), GO – 0% (0 votes). Thank you for casting any votes at all, we made an absolute fortune out of you. Thanks!

(OOC: Those matches are right, right?)

Right you are.

The quarter-final matches are as follows:
QF1: Commerce Heights vs Cockbill Street (House of Spaam)
QF2: Bedistan vs Iansisle (Cordova, Brazillico)

(OOC: Those matches are right, right?)

Right you are.

The quarter-final matches are as follows:
QF1: Commerce Heights vs Cockbill Street (House of Spaam)
QF2: Bedistan vs Iansisle (Cordova, Brazillico)
Commerce Heights 1 Iansisle 0
:?

:? Also confused :?

TG from Spaam saying NEWI Cefn Druids 1 Big Butts 0, even though our previous game was NCD 0 BB 0.

Two things:

1) Are we not both out? Why are we still playing?
2) A win? For us? Surely there must be an error somewhere? :wink:

Hmmm... now I'm confused.

I'm gonna send a telegram to Spaam and try to see what's going on. I thought we were down to the 2 v 3 quarters where Bedistan would play Iansisle (generated by me) and Commerce Heights would play Cockbill Street (generated by Spaam). All matches are postponed indefinately and hopefully this situation will be worked out shortly.

OOC: In case anyone's interested, I haven't gotten a telegram at all. ;)

(Oh, thank goodness...heh, I thought I was doing something wrong ;))

No no.... forgot I had already sent the results out....
I've been VERY tired lately :?
Basically, if you received two sets of results, only the first one counts.

Commerce Heights Sets Cockbill Street Aside, Prepares For Harmony Cup Semifinal
HOUSE OF SPAAM - The Commerce Heights Bulldogs made their first-ever appearance in a knockout round today in Spaam against Cockbill Street, the only team that stood between Commerce Heights and a top-4 finish. Ocean Zaidi, having joined the team for World Cup 11, became the first to score 2 goals in the Harmony Cup in the 19th minute (the previous goal was against Big Butts), starting the scoring. Cockbill Street nearly equalized in the 39th, when Vojtilo was unprepared for a shot, but the ball missed the goal, giving the Bulldogs a 1-goal lead until halftime. Both teams seemed to notice that the stadium smelled like canned meat during halftime, but they came back onto the field just as strongly as they had at the beginning of the game. Not much happened in the second half until the 77th minute, when McCormick got a second goal to help secure the victory and the semifinal spot.
Commerce Heights 2 (Zaidi 19, McCormick 77)
Cockbill Street 0 - FT
Commerce Heights' next challenge will be against Spaam, presumably in Spaam, for a spot in the Harmony Cup championship against Brazillico, Bedistan, or Iansisle. Even with a loss, they will still have a chance to play one of the above teams for 3rd place.
[code:1:ac9e497ee6]Commerce Heights 2-|
|-Commerce Heights -|
Cockbill Street 0-| |
|- -|
| |
-Spaam -| |
|
|-
Bedistan -| |
|- -| |
Iansisle -| | |
|- -|
|
-Brazillico -|[/code:1:ac9e497ee6]

“Welcome back to the Wright Foot, with me, Joesph Foot. Or was that Wright? Who cares? The Ians won!” The wireless’ reporters voice wasn’t quite as clear and precise as usual, and one could hear loud jazz music blaring in the background. “Hey, you guys, keep it down!” bellowed Wright. “I’m on the air!”

“Close the door!” came a distant-sounding shout. There was the sound of grumbling, the wood slamming against wood, and a couple more seconds of dead air.

“For those of us just tuning in, where have you been, man? The Ians won, one ...heh, one, won, fun... to zero over the Bedistan Lions. Isn’t that stupendous? Man, I haven’t been this stoked in, in...” There was another interval of dead air. “In ever!” was the final conclusion.

“Um, Joe?” cut in Paul’s voice. “You have a call. From David in Pensbridge.”

“Yo, Dave! What’s up?”

“Joe, he’s not on the air yet.”

“Well, put him on, then! Yo, Dave, you there man?”

“Hello, Joe? Hi, this is David.”

“I hear ya, man! What’s shaking out your way?”

“Well, I was just wondering if all this celebrating is really in order. I mean, the Ians just barely squeaked out a win on a very late, very lucky Truman goal..”

“But we won, man!”

“And now we get to play Brazillico.”

“Well...I suppose that does put a damper on things,” said Wright, suddenly shifting to a depressed tone. “We always choke when the pressure’s on, man. They’re gonna be like, back-to-back champs? And then we’re gonna be like, man, we can’t compete with that, even though we can. And then I’m gonna be like, damn it, we lost!”

“Um...I think this team is maturing quickly, Joe. If anyone can pull it out, I’d trust it to be Westmore and his side.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever you say Dave..”

“David.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m gonna get some booze.” And there was the sound of Joe getting up and leaving the room.

“Um, is he coming back?” asked David.

“I dunno,” replied Paul from the control room. “Er, I guess that wraps up this episode of the Wright Foot. I’m, ah, Paul Huttchenson, for Joseph Wright. G’night, Iansisle.”

[Scene: A private residence in Yuba, Highland, Bedistan. An exciting-looking football match is playing on the nearby 54" television.]

Joey Stanton: "Kucharski plays the ball up the side to Palin...Palin holding up play now, slowly turning on the ball -- but it's STOLEN! Now Truman with the ball for the Ians...he advances on goal, escapes Morgan and Saravia...only Oldenburg to beat now...he shoots, Oldenburg catches it -- and DROPS it! Truman right there with the kick between Oldenburg's legs and INTO THE GOAL! Iansisle pull ahead one-nil with just minutes to go!"

Amanda Butt: "Now that was an incredibly lucky goal for Truman. But lucky or not, that's probably gonna be the one that will put the Ians, not the Lions, into the semifinals."

Joey: "Aye...it's just so depressing...just ten or fifteen years ago, the blue and silver could dominate anyone and everyone who dared to face them. Now it's completely the other way around."

[A whistle blows in the background.]

Amanda: "And that is that. Final score: Bedistan 0 - 1 Iansisle. Iansisle will go on to face the Brazillico Chili Bats in the semifinals. Bedistan will return home to begin another year of World Cup preparations, hoping to regain some of their former glory in World Cup 12."

Joey: "From Cordova, I'm Joey Stanton alongside Amanda Butt, along with all of BSTV and the Fillmore Motor Company saying...g'nite, bi--"

Amanda: "JOEY! You've been hanging around your Audioslavian cousin way too much lately..."

Joey: "Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, goodnight everybody."

[The TV is powered off.]

Guy #1: "I swear, that Lewis is no better than Barber was. Just like him, he was a great player but a piss-poor coach. Reminds me of Ab Francisco..."

Guy #2: "Or Matt Semmes*. But I guess I know what we have to do now."

Guy #1: "Yep."

[The two guys begin changing out of their blue and silver Bedistan Lions kits -- replicas of those worn by Darren Morlock and Erik Oldenburg. They begin donning blue and red** instead.]

Guy #2: "Woohoo! Go CH!"

Guy #1: "If we can't win anything, maybe our neighbors can..."


* Matthew Semmes is the manager of the Griffin Zebras, who were relegated from the Bedistani First Division last season and narrowly avoided being relegated from the Second Division this year.

** Not knowing what colors the CH players wear, I'm making assumptions based on the national flag. :P

** Not knowing what colors the CH players wear, I'm making assumptions based on the national flag.
And you were right. ;)
IC:
Lions Stunned In Final Minutes of HC3 Quarterfinal, Paripana's Hopes To Fall On Bulldogs
CORDOVA, BRAZILLICO - In Spaam, the Commerce Heights Bulldogs defeated Cockbill Street knowing that if they didn't, Bedistan could still move on and get a chance at the championship game. Now, however, with a tough semifinal against Spaam looming over them, they have no such assurance, and all due to a single mistake by Bedistani goalkeeper Erik Oldenburg near 90 minutes in Cordova. The game had been deadlocked at 0-0 until a kick by Truman was dropped by Oldenburg, allowing a kick between the unfortunate goalkeeper's legs for the win. With the 1-0 win, Iansisle moves on to play Brazillico, making Commerce Heights wish that the draw with the Ians had been a win, which would have let Commerce Heights play Iansisle again instead of facing Spaam.
Bedistan 0
Iansisle 1 - FT
[code:1:ffe03a43f7]Commerce Heights 2-|
|-Commerce Heights -|
Cockbill Street 0-| |
|- -|
| |
-Spaam -| |
|
|-
Bedistan 0-| |
|-Iansisle -| |
Iansisle 1-| | |
|- -|
|
-Brazillico -|[/code:1:ffe03a43f7]

(OOC: It helps to actually look at the TG box before writing a non-match RP. ;) )
http://members.lycos.co.uk/mayorefficiency/chclogo.gif
Top Story of the Day
"WE'RE IN THE FINALS!?"
Commerce Heights fights for Harmony Cup championship after penalty-kick victory over Spaam
HOUSE OF SPAAM - Looking back on the 6 matches the Bulldogs have played in Harmony Cup 3, it almost seems like not qualifying for the World Cup wasn't such a bad thing after all. The Bulldogs powered through the group stage without a loss, drawing against other highly-ranked sides Brazillico and Iansisle and defeating the team-without-a-win-in-its-history and the team-that-beat-Aquilla-4-1. After being edged out of the automatic spot in the semifinals by Brazillico, they beat Cockbill Street 2-0 to get to the semis anyway. And today, amid the confusion in the House of Spaam, they took Spaam into extra time (though apparently everybody slept through it due to the fact that no goals had been scored for 60 minutes), then penalty kicks, and beat them on their own field to get one step closer to doing what Iansisle prevented Bedistan from doing. Quigley scored the first goal of the match in the 19th minute, to which Spaam responded in the 21st minute due to an error made by Vojtilo in defending the goal. As hard as they tried, the clock went to halftime, then full time, without another goal being scored by either team. As the first extended time period began, the entire crowd seemed to fall asleep, causing the Brazillican statistician to write down the score as 'Spaam 1 Commerce Heights 1 - FT' at the 120-minute mark. Though nobody really knows what happened during that period, the scoreboard remained at 1-1, so it is presumed that no goals were scored in CH's first-ever extended-time. The teams, feeling the effects of whatever caused the sleepiness themselves, performed poorly in the penalty stage, and the count was 2-2 when Spaam kicked its 5th penalty kick. Hamagami Hufschmidt went out for the Bulldogs to try to make the deciding penalty kick. Though it wasn't by much, the ball found its way into the goal, as Quigley exclaimed on the sideline, "We're in the finals!?"
Commerce Heights 1 (Quigley 19)
Spaam 1 - AET (1-1 FT, CH wins 3-2 on penalty kicks)
(OOC: :shock: :P )

The Daily Druid

EGG ON THEIR FACES
Ian Question-Mark on NEWI Cefn Druids 0 An egg 1

Unconfirmed reports are reaching us that the NEWI Cefn Druids football team have been beaten by an egg in a match behind closed doors. The match is thought to have taken place behind closed doors between the end of the Druids’ Cup of Harmony campaign and the sacking of ex-coach Trevor Stevens. Fortunately, as the egg was not representing a nation, the result does not go down in official records, but the shock will still make the Druids the laughing stock of the footballing world. The match was Stevens’ idea, after members of the crowd at the Druids match in Dual Supporters were heard saying that their team would win easily as the Druids “couldn’t beat an egg.”

The problems started for the Druids at the kick off, when Björn-Trevor Frederiksson accidentally trod on the egg, giving it a career ending injury, its shell being completely smashed. Rightfully, Frederiksson was sent off and the egg was substituted for another.

The egg’s reluctance to move in any way caused the Druids no end of problems, especially when it came to set pieces.

However, the only goal of the game came when Trevor Lanton hit the ball straight at the egg, winning a throw in for his team. Lanton took it towards his goalkeeper, but it hit the fragments of the broken egg laid on the pitch, wrong-footing Rodgers in the Druids’ goal and hitting the back of the net.

Reports of this defeat have led to the team being ridiculed wherever they go. However, new manager Tim Welsh has promised to do his best with the team. After just a week in the job, he stated that “if we played against an egg now, no such an embarrassment would occur.” Hopefully, these more positive sounds coming out of the Druids’ camp are signs of a brighter future for the team. We can only hope.

Final score:
NEWI Cefn Druids 0
An egg 1 ( Egg 55 )

The Daily Druid

EGG ON THEIR FACES
Ian Question-Mark on NEWI Cefn Druids 0 An egg 1

Unconfirmed reports are reaching us that the NEWI Cefn Druids football team have been beaten by an egg in a match behind closed doors. The match is thought to have taken place behind closed doors between the end of the Druids’ Cup of Harmony campaign and the sacking of ex-coach Trevor Stevens. Fortunately, as the egg was not representing a nation, the result does not go down in official records, but the shock will still make the Druids the laughing stock of the footballing world. The match was Stevens’ idea, after members of the crowd at the Druids match in Dual Supporters were heard saying that their team would win easily as the Druids “couldn’t beat an egg.”

The problems started for the Druids at the kick off, when Björn-Trevor Frederiksson accidentally trod on the egg, giving it a career ending injury, its shell being completely smashed. Rightfully, Frederiksson was sent off and the egg was substituted for another.

The egg’s reluctance to move in any way caused the Druids no end of problems, especially when it came to set pieces.

However, the only goal of the game came when Trevor Lanton hit the ball straight at the egg, winning a throw in for his team. Lanton took it towards his goalkeeper, but it hit the fragments of the broken egg laid on the pitch, wrong-footing Rodgers in the Druids’ goal and hitting the back of the net.

Reports of this defeat have led to the team being ridiculed wherever they go. However, new manager Tim Welsh has promised to do his best with the team. After just a week in the job, he stated that “if we played against an egg now, no such an embarrassment would occur.” Hopefully, these more positive sounds coming out of the Druids’ camp are signs of a brighter future for the team. We can only hope.

Final score:
NEWI Cefn Druids 0
An egg 1 ( Egg 55 )

lolomamaoalaolaomao :D

That's easily the best 'losers RP' I've ever seen. :D In fact, I might enter a puppet called 'An egg' for WC13... (I've already entered Avenging Altos again for WC12.)

Commerce Heights Football Federation, PariMedia Make Big Preparations For Harmony Cup Championship
COMMERCE HEIGHTS, CH - Even with the location of the championship still unknown, PariMedia and CHFF have put together a multi-million simoleon project to pack hundreds of thousands of people into several of Commerce Heights' largest stadiums to watch the Harmony Cup championship game on massive television screens. CHFF officials will begin selling tickets at the entrances of National Stadium, Maxisoft Stadium, Memorial Stadium, Quantum Arts Stadium, Verona International Stadium, PariMedia Stadium, Mayor Efficiency Field Noble Barns Field, Jativa National Stadium, and Unity Stadium at 4:00 PM today for the 8:07 PM match with the as-yet-unnanounced winner of the Iansisle-Brazillico semifinal. PariMedia has sent state-of-the-art video equipment to the 4 stadiums that the game may be played at, which will allow instant replays of key plays from any or all of 60 different camera angles. In addition to the cameras, PariMedia graphic artists are working on new on-screen special effects to enhance the game for the 809,437 fans watching from one of the 10 stadiums and the hundreds of millions watching from home.

Stadium ticket prices are expected to vary and may range from §10 to §75.

Pepe off the national team!
Brazillico still manage to upset defending champs

(LIBERTAD, BRAZILLICO)Pepe, the nation’s most prolific striker was dismissed from the national team a mere 24 hours before the highly anticipated semi-final match against Iansisle. Pepe had been complaining a lot over a recent lack of playing time, which resulted from him “not showing enough hussle”.

“He thought he was better than the rest of the team and wanted preferential treatment,” said Dr. Horatio Cosmo after the news. “This is a team sport and if you don’t want to be part of the team.. Go Home.”

Bizarre as it may seem to kick your best player off the team, Brazillico are undefeated since Pepe lost his starting spot and the team as a whole seems to be playing more fluidly. If history is any guide, this move may bring success to the squad, as we can all recall when the Republic of Ireland gave Roy Keane the boot and went on to the second round.

The match itself was a lack-lustre affair, with Brazillico sitting on their heels waiting for their opponent to pounce and Iansisle seemingly still hung over from their upset against Bedistan. After a scoreless first 45 and a terrible halftime show put pretty much the entire crowd asleep, Trevors emphatically woke them up with a stunning goal 8 seconds into the second half. Trevors passed it to Jiminez in the circle and made a mad dash into Iansisle territory. Jiminez proceeded to lob it into the box, where a streaking Trevors caught the defence off-guard and volleyed it into the back of the net.

Iansisle defenders and fans alike rose from their slumber and fixed their eyes on the jumbotron to see what exactly had just happened. The rest of the match was to be an even more boring affair than the first half, as Brazillico placed all 11 men behind the ball, snuffing out any decent chance the Iansislians hoped to create.

Brazillico will go on to face Commerce Heights in the final match to be held at Undelay Industries Stadium in Kalita, Brazillico. Both sides faced each other in the opening match of the tournament, which resulted in a 2-2 draw.

The preliminary odds for the final match are as follows:
Commerce Heights: 1-2
Brazillico: 2-3
Over/Under: 2.5

OOC: So when is this final score going to be generated? :roll:

In my own sweet time :P

Harmony Cup Championship Less Exciting Than Anticipated
Noel Hicks keeps job anyway
KALITA, BRAZILLICO - An estimated 750 million people in Commerce Heights and nearly 2 billion across Paripana tuned into PariMedia Sports Commerce Heights last night for Paripana's second chance at a soccer championship. PariMedia's massive displays in PariMedia Stadium (as well as 9 others) made it the first event for which a corporation has delayed a Commerce Heights Football League match. The fans present at the stadiums were shocked when the pre-game show announced the retirement of Bulldogs players Creighton Deppiesse and Jerry Cahalane, though the tens of thousands that had made the journey to Kalita, Brazillico were unaware of the annoucement. As the game started, both sides showed an excellent defense, leaving very little opportunity for scoring. However, the teams kept pushing forward, and Commerce Heights had managed 3 shots at the goal by halftime, though neither those nor the 2 by Brazillico lead to a point on the scoreboard. Immediately after halftime, though, the Bulldogs forwards played almost as if it was a home game, possibly noting the resemblance of Undelay Industries Stadium to James Parker National Stadium in Bedistan. Once Quigley kicked the ball perfectly on target, to be saved only by they goalkeeper's dive, in the 48th minute, the entire team seemed to play with purpose, possibly to prove Lions team captain Darren Morlock wrong in his statement that "everyone knows we're the best football [soccer] team in all Paripana." The defense became more confident in their abilities, and managed to steal the ball away to prevent what almost certainly would have been the first goal of the game for Brazillico. With their renewed confidence, the Bulldogs took the game into the 70th minute without a single goal. At that point, with an excellent play at midfield, Cahalane managed to get the ball to the back of the net for the first time in the game. The Bulldogs then moved into a defensive formation, stopping all but 1 potential shot at their goal, which was missed anyway. At 90 minutes, the teams stayed on the field for the Harmony Cup awards ceremony...
[b]Commerce Heights 1 (Cahalane 70)
Brazillico 0 - FT
Harmony Cup Winner - Commerce Heights
Harmony Cup Championship MVP - Jerry Cahalane - Commerce Heights
full awards listing on page 2

Harmony Cup Results "Promising"

Although Brazillico's Harmony Cup pursuit ended in heartbreak with a 1-0 loss to Commerce Heights, this event was a huge success and made great strides in putting Brazillico back into the right direction. After winning only one of their nine last matches in qualifying, Brazillico found their winning ways and were able to build up a four-game win streak. In addition, Brazillico lost only once, in the finals to an extremely potent side from Commerce Heights.

Perhaps even more shocking is that the defense which had so many question marks surrounding it before World Cup 11 qualifications yielded a mere four goals during seven games in the tournament. Also, Brazillico's U-19 squad has shown some tremendous potential in the Founding Nations Cup (although on a current 3-game losing streak), and it seems that the future of Brazillico football seems to be as bright as ever.

The largest problem still surrounding Brazillico is its inability to score goals. However, if we consider the wealth of young talent at the attacking position with Trevors (20 years old), Hilario (22 years old), and the Cannon twins (15 years old), Brazillico can only improve in that department.

Enough cannot be said about the stellar play of goalkeeper, Salazar, throughout this tournament. After being arguably one of the best players for Brazillico throughout qualifying, he continued his fantastic play, compiling four clean sheets in six matches. Salazar, who is only 26, appears to have cemented himself as the team's goaltender for many years to come.

Brazillico's strong performance in the Cup of Harmony could push them to crack the Top 50 in the world according to several experts. This team should only get stronger over the course of the next four years, as the players gain more experience and the influx of quality young talent, notably the Cannon Seven, should push this team to great heights.

can the cid play? we are one of the worst teems! need practice

can the cid play? we are one of the worst teems! need practice

If The Cid would have actually read a few posts on the thread, he would have realized that the Harmony Cup is over.

*Partly my bad for not having changed the sign-ups open thing on the thread*

i am a fool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :!: :cry:

Tag for orginizational purposes.