NationStates Jolt Archive

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t156/daehanjeiguk/BOF28.png
火洗高颇
화선고파
Bautismo del Fuego

His Imperial Majesty sends invitation to the following list of nations, to compete in the WCC-sanctioned event, the Baptism of Fire. This tournament, with a venerable history that has long been the focus of prospective attentions for the future talent in the world, stands as the first official test of skill in football. Whereas many may find their first win away at some other competitive cup, this tournament marks the first step of many to the road of the World Cup, with the hope that one day, they too might stand at the head of the world and look upon the rest of the world as champions. The road will be long for many, and longer still for many others; many more will never see this dream realized, but in the spirit of friendly competition, we welcome any talent for this sport with the hope of cultivating brotherhood/sisterhood among the nations. Wars have been fought; peoples have been slaughtered; but while the nations come to play football, we hope to leave behind the petty strife of "interests" and "strategic vision" for the simple purpose of satisfying our desire for 90 minutes (120 if you're not careful) of healthy excitement.

The summit of the Potala Palace serves as the peaceful backdrop against the players and nations will converge to compete for the prize. Through grueling trials, the players and their nations will be molded into credible football teams, capable of handling the pressures of international competition. To those who fail to come on top, there is need for dismay, as the failures of one season can be reversed another day; to those who succeed, there is caution against exuberant hope, for even the mightiest nation can fall to the smallest speck. In all, the Baptism of Fire shall clean away the impurities of political strife, refine the skills of team management, and through the flames of competition instill in all a sense of national pride.


Dariusville (Nethertopia)
Bearbears
SFRS replaces Alversia, per this post (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13717666&postcount=4625)
Ma Raque
Frontenax
Ofedestan
SouthSuburbia
Unified Beretania
Nehrland
United Hetzel
Tokyoni
Talon Deil
Gwaine
Kenavt
Naggetski replaces The Indonesian States, per this post (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13713608&postcount=4559)
Zarbli
Arroza
Steel Butterfly
Vonks
Pablicosta



A Message From the User

Welcome all to the Baptism of Fire! The majority of you are here because it's your first international competition sanctioned by the World Cup Committee (WCC); some of you are here because you love football; others are here because it's a nice break from II or NS General; all of you are here because you elected to join the BoF, and I say wisely so.

If you've managed to escape the pretext of this thread, I'll be setting upon and providing you with a few guidelines/opinions/rules of the competition. First of all, you are not actually playing football. Instead, you are mimicking the play of football by writing (aka roleplaying, aka RPing, aka RP) out the stories that make the headlines. There really is no guideline on what makes a good RP; well, there are guidelines for good RPs, but none that pertain specifically to football RPs. Many people opt to write sports announcements; some others choose to write dramas involving the players on their teams; and yet others still choose to write on completely random things, sometimes having nothing to do with the competition itself; a great majority do some combination of the three. If you're a veteran of II, you'll recall that good RPs usually involve three things: (1) decent grammar, (2) respectable conduct, and (3) a damn-good plot. If you're writing a sports announcement, the plot is pretty taken care of, but for the thespians among us, plot becomes a beautiful thing. A good plot can make or break your RP - the same thing goes for respectable conduct and grammar (although not so much the last one, since there are people who are challenged).

Anyway, what's the big deal about writing? I mean, if you want to write, you'd write a book report/research paper/master's thesis/great novel/chicken scratch, not some dumb sports RP. Right? Well, if you so wish, you're welcome not to write, but there is a benefit to RPing; nearly every sports-related tournament (all of the ones of which I am most familiar have it) has an RP-bonus. RP-bonus is basically a reward for writing an RP. What does an RP-bonus do? Well, it does many things; the most important (or most apparent) thing is influence your scores. Since we don't actually play football, our scores are generated by a random number generator. This random number generator can be influenced to give certain results by certain bias. An RP-bonus acts as one of these biases. In essence, by RP more frequently, consistently, and aesthetically, you can influence your generated score to your benefit. If you have good scores, you have a good chance to win matches. Winning matches will inevitably put you into contention for winning the tournament.

Of course, I take this moment to make a great disclaimer: if you are here to win, you'll end up a miserly old man/woman/thing. If you are here to have fun and enjoy time reading other people's RPs, and take a consolation prize for your time spent here, you will find many years (i.e. months if you're like many people) of enjoyment in the NS World Cup. Why do I say this? Well, of course, it's because of that random number generator. No matter what you do to that random number generator, no matter the amount of bias set upon that generator, the results are always random. For this reason, it is possible to RP to the maximum potential and still lose to a nation that doesn't RP at all - such a result is considered more random than a result where the bias achieves a victory for the side that RPs more frequently/consistently/aesthetically, but it is still a random result. Therefore, regardless of you do, every result that you achieve is random (if you don't believe that, then go join the occultists who hail Mother Margaret).

What now? Well, one of the first things that you should do now that we're getting settled into the Baptism of Fire tournament is to post a roster. A roster is basically the list of players that are going to participate in the tournament. How many participants should you list? Well, I haven't seen any uniform method of distinguishing how many players you should have on a roster, but the most common rosters include 11 players, 11 substitutions, and 1 coach (the coach does not usually participate in a match). Some people include national leaders in their national football team; some people make national leaders from their national football team. Regardless, having a roster makes RPing much easier, since it gives you a template upon which to work when it comes to reporting your results, deciding which one of the strikers gets the lucky girl, or who is going to die in the next terrorist attack. Also, when you post your roster, you should also post an RP permissions box. It's a box of information that tells your opponents what is permissible RPing using their players. Generally, if a match summary is given, the current conventions reward the first RPer to decide how the match arrived at its result. To avoid many debates over which goalkeeper got the red card (or whether that defender really had an own-goal), RP permissions boxes help the first-poster to outline what happened that works within the second posting person's parameters. It's actually pretty simple, and if you are the first poster, please respect your opponents wishes by reading their RP permissions box.

In the event my opponent posts first, he/she may:

Choose my scorers? Yes/No
Yellow card my players? Yes/No
Red card my players? Yes/No
Injure my players? Yes/No
Godmode (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/godmode.html#Godmode_in_sports_roleplaying) injuries? Yes/No
Godmode scoring events? Yes/No
Godmode other events? Yes/No

Right now, you have all of the tools that you need to RP and have a great time. If you do have questions, I'm available for help (TGs are preferred, but ooc posts are alright); you can also ask any veteran RPer for help in the New World Cup Discussion Thread. Also in this post are a few links that are helpful to new persons wanting to RP as well, at the end of this thread (annotated too!). But if you're ready to begin your trek into the wilderness, I wish you luck!

Football (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/football.html) - NSWiki article on Football
World Cup (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/World_Cup.html) - NSWiki article on the World Cup
Baptism of Fire (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/Baptism_of_Fire.html) - NSWiki article on the Baptism of Fire
World Cup FAQs (http://ns.goobergunch.net/wiki/World_Cup_FAQs.html) - World Cup Frequently Asked Questions
Baptism of Fire 28 Bid Thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=555125) - The Original Bid Thread, which serves a reference of the rules of engagement
New World Cup Discussion Thread (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=536285) - The only official OOC Thread devoted to the World Cup
Roleplaying Tips and Suggestions (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=406680) - Considering an RP classic, it advises you on how to make a great RP

Schedule

Group A
Unified Beretania
Bearbears
Arroza (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13710304&postcount=16)
Zarbli
Talon Deil

MD1
Unified Beretania --- Bearbears
Arroza --- Zarbli
BYE: Talon Deil

MD2
Arroza --- Unified Beretania
Talon Deil --- Bearbears
BYE: Zarbli

MD3
Unified Beretania --- Talon Deil
Bearbears --- Zarbli
BYE: Arroza

MD4
Zarbli --- Unified Beretania
Talon Deil --- Arroza
BYE: Bearbears

MD5
Arroza --- Bearbears
Zarbli --- Talon Deil
BYE: Unified Beretania


Group B
SouthSuburbia (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13703462&postcount=5)
Ma Raque (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13706847&postcount=15)
Orion Star Empire (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13702786&postcount=2)
Gwaine
Nehrland (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13704431&postcount=8)

MD1
SouthSuburbia --- Ma Raque
Orion Star Empire --- Gwaine
BYE: Nehrland

MD2
Orion Star Empire --- SouthSuburbia
Nehrland --- Ma Raque
BYE: Gwaine

MD3
SouthSuburbia --- Nehrland
Ma Raque --- Gwaine
BYE: Orion Star Empire

MD4
Gwaine --- SouthSuburbia
Nehrland --- Orion Star Empire
BYE: Ma Raque

MD5
Orion Star Empire --- Ma Raque
Gwaine --- Nehrland
BYE: SouthSuburbia


Group C
Ofedestan
Dariusville (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13705828&postcount=13)
Pablicosta
Naggetski (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13703243&postcount=3)
United Hetzel

MD1
Ofedestan --- Dariusville
Pablicosta --- Naggetski
BYE: United Hetzel

MD2
Pablicosta --- Ofedestan
United Hetzel --- Dariusville
BYE: Naggetski

MD3
Ofedestan --- United Hetzel
Dariusville --- Naggetski
BYE: Pablicosta

MD4
Naggetski --- Ofedestan
United Hetzel --- Pablicosta
BYE: Dariusville

MD5
Pablicosta --- Dariusville
Naggetski --- United Hetzel
BYE: Ofedestan


Group D
Frontenax
SFRS (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13703554&postcount=6)
Vonks (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13703324&postcount=4)
Kenavt (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13704068&postcount=7)
Tokyoni

MD1
Frontenax --- SFRS
Vonks --- Kenavt
BYE: Tokyoni

MD2
Vonks --- Frontenax
Tokyoni --- SFRS
BYE: Kenavt

MD3
Frontenax --- Tokyoni
SFRS --- Kenavt
BYE: Vonks

MD4
Kenavt --- Frontenax
Tokyoni --- Vonks
BYE: SFRS

MD5
Vonks --- SFRS
Kenavt --- Tokyoni
BYE: Frontenax

Bye Matches
MD1
Talon Deil --- Nehrland
United Hetzel --- Tokyoni
MD2
Zarbli --- Gwaine
Naggetski --- Kenavt
MD3
Arroza --- Orion Star Empire
Pablicosta --- Vonks
MD4
Bearbears --- Ma Raque
Dariusville --- SFRS
MD5
Unified Beretania --- SouthSuburbia
Ofedestan --- Frontenax


Round 2
Quarterfinal
Q1: Group A Winner --- Group B 2nd place
Q2: Group C Winner --- Group D 2nd place
Q3: Group B Winner --- Group A 2nd place
Q4: Group D Winner --- Group C 2nd place


Semifinal
S1: Q1 Winner --- Q2 Winner
S2: Q3 Winner --- Q4 Winner


3/4 Playoff
S2 Loser --- S1 Loser

Final Match
S1 Winner --- S2 Winner

http://www.nationstates.net/images/flags/uploads/steel_butterfly.jpg (http://www.nationstates.net/steel_butterfly)

http://209.85.48.8/237/117/upload/p701851.jpg
The Orion Fenrirs
(My nation's real name is the Orion Star Empire)

Starters

GK #17 Bogdan Shust
DEF #15 Cosmin Contra Assistant Captain
DEF #34 Cristian Chivu
DEF #5 Vyacheslav Svidersky
DEF #44 Sergei Kiryakov
MID #69 Vasily Mishkin
MID #7 Ruslan Rotan
MID #66 Jacek Krzynowek
FOR #91 Ciprian Marica Captain
FOR #3 Brooks Hollister Assistant Captain
FOR #8 Michal Zurawski

Reserves

GK #00 Artur Boruc
DEF #11 Mike Snape
DEF #65 Nick Watkins
MID #33 Brock Slyde
MID #71 Harold Jokdi
FOR #6 Mitchel Halmi
FOR #39 Jemerson Crouse

If you RP before me, you may:
Choose my scorers? Yes
Yellow card my players? Yes
Red card my players? No
Injure my players? Yes (But just to the extent of saying so and so was injured. I’ll determine the severity.)
Godmode injuries? No
Godmode scoring events? No
Godmode other events? No

Style Modifier = +.5 (Somewhat more offensive)

Kits Made By ediraf (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showpost.php?p=13660272&postcount=46)
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/OSEHome4.jpghttp://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/OSEAway4.jpghttp://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/OSEThird4.jpg

In the event my opponent posts first, he/she may:

Choose my scorers? Yes
Yellow card my players? Yes
Red card my players? Yes
Injure my players? Yes
Godmode injuries? Yes
Godmode scoring events? Yes
Godmode other events? Yes

(please be reasonable, though)

Style Modifier: -1.5



National Team Rosters


No. name D.O.B Current Club
Goalkeepers
# 1 Gusti Hamengku*_ 5-13-74_ BSB Brunei
# 18 Candra Jati_ 12-21-78_ Sriwijaya FC

Defenders
# 9 Agus Cahyadi_ 3-24-83_ Makassar United.
# 17 Bejo_ 7-3-86_ FC Yogyarkata
# 14 Bintang Soleh_ 3-2-81_ Banjarmasin Borneo
# 2 Abd-al-Matin_ 1-2-79_ FC Capital
# 5 Bambang Hartono_ 11-11-77_ Sriwijaya FC
# 3 Indra Pramana_ 6-29-84_ TSB Bandung

Midfielders
# 12 Iman Sanjaya_ 2-29-81_ PSJ Jakarta
# 19 Dwi Harto_ 12-3-87_ SMU
# 11 Widodo_ 4-1-85_ Embassy City FC
# 16 Jean-Marc Dumont_ 5-6-78_ Port Moresby Pertama
# 4 Mohammad Abdul-Jabar_ 7-19-83_ Makassar United
# 7 Ren Li_ 3-12-89_ PSJ Jakarta

Forwards
# 10 Krisna Dirgantara_ 11-16-84_ Kepedasan
# 6 Cory Van Hoeten_ 1-31-88_ Betawi PS
# 15 Satriyo Muladi_ 6-10-82_ PSJ Jakarta
# 8 Jiang Bing Liu_ 12-9-77_ TSB Bandung

*=Captain

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh188/Indonesian_States/IndonesianStatesFootballJersey.png

The Most Serene Republic of Vonks presents its first-ever national football team, consisting mainly of enthusiastic amateurs who recently took up the game, alongside a couple of dedicated veteran professionals, all under the expert guidance of manager Vasko Vaskoveyvanitsch. Vonks, although small, is a surprisingly ethnically varied kind of place and the team's playing style is an ugly mismatch of different approaches to the beautiful game.

Starting eleven

1 GK Roman Ciano
2 DEF Pål Ingebritsen
3 DEF Richard Roland
4 DEF Rajesh "Fatty" Khudanpur
5 DEF Ian Rice
6 MID Werner Borr (captain)
7 MID Abiodun "Spiders" Fajuyi
8 MID Xerxes Astanopoulos
9 FOR Tiriaq Okpik
10 FOR Henry "The Octopus" Anderson
11 FOR Xiaoshan Gao


12 GK Trevelyan Tesinsky
13 DEF Peter "Big Eddie" Herrman
14 DEF Josef Waltinger
15 DEF Sigur Nilsen
16 DEF Adam Bradshaw
17 MID Hardip Singh
18 MID Jean-Pierre "Girlypants" Baptiste
19 MID Adrian Ballantyne
20 MID Gerhard Lippert
21 FOR Olav Bersvendsen
22 FOR Nigel Nigel
23 GK "Dennis"

Players to watch:

Twenty-stone "Fatty" Khudanpur is surprisingly nimble in defence and near-impossible to get around.

The hard-nosed 40-year-old captain Borr has been playing professional football for most of his life in minor leagues around the world and can always be seen constantly screaming orders, military-style, at his team throughout every game.

Henry Anderson, born with three arms, would make an excellent goalkeeper but refuses to play in that position on the grounds that "strikers get all the girls". Up front he can be something of a liability, as he concedes 50% more handballs than other players.

Reserve midfielder Baptiste loathes the "horrid, rough game" of football and when called on to play spends the game looking for pretty wildflowers growing on the pitch and avoiding the ball. He applied to join the Vonkian national team out of a sense of duty to one's country and found himself accepted due to a severe shortage of eligible players.

Tiriaq Okpik, an Eskimo, likes to play in a thick fur hood.

Third-choice goalkeeper "Dennis" is suspected by some to in fact be a woman, wearing as 'he' does an obviously fake beard and having unusually large breasts.

Manager Vaskoveyvanitsch is a hard-drinking, chain-smoking man who doesn't mince his words and frequently takes a horsewhip to underperforming members of his team in the dressing-room at half-time.

In the event my opponent posts first, he/she may:

Choose my scorers? Yes
Yellow card my players? Yes
Red card my players? Yes
Injure my players? Yes
Godmode injuries? Yes
Godmode scoring events? Yes
Godmode other events? Yes

Edit: Style modifier 0.5 - the tendency for the entire team to chase after the ball in a tight pack leads to a naturally attacking game.

No. Name Pos Age Caps Goals Club
1 Brucie Gobbler GK 36 58 1 Racing Blues
2 Simon Pettygrew LB 28 33 1 Suburban City
3 Tony ‘Hacker’ Harris CB/RB 35 51 4 Athletic Reds
4 Ian Newton CB 22 8 0 Athletic Reds
5 Nick Carter RB 27 14 0 Racing Blues
6 Peter Keano CM 34 49 8 Red Star South Suburbia
7 Paul Doles CM 23 10 2 AFC Wombles
8 John Kelner RW/CF 25 16 5 Racing Blues
9 Mark Simmonds LM/CM 31 24 6 Suburban City
10 Matthew Fletcher CF 29 26 15 Athletic Reds
11 Barry Wainwright CF 20 6 4 Red Star South Suburbia
12 Karl Hansard GK 28 15 0 Suburban City
13 Neil Filmot LB/CB 23 3 0 AFC Wombles
14 Geoff Tufnel RB 29 11 1 Red Star South Suburbia
15 Kevin Miggler CB 31 21 0 Green Fox Utd.
16 Duncan Petch CM 24 0 0 Civil Service XI
17 James Carter RM/CM 30 12 2 Green Fox Utd.
18 Paul Ethringson LW/LM 19 2 1 Civil Service XI
19 Jim Cahill CF 17 1 1 Green Fox Utd.
20 Brian Key CB 24 1 0 AFC Wombles
21 Harry Levershulme CF 25 17 7 Suburban City
22 Robert Dawes GK 18 2 0 Red Star South Suburbia


Coach: Francis Barthez
Team phychologist: Dr Z. Zidain
Pysio: Dr A. Purnell

Media Spokesperson: Brian 'game of two halves' Gluff

Playing an attacking 4-4-2 squad members 1-11 are the prefered starting line up unless stated different.

If you RP before me, you may:
Choose my scorers? Yes
Yellow card my players? Yes
Red card my players? Yes
Injure my players? Yes (But just to the extent of saying so and so was injured. I’ll determine the severity.)
Godmode injuries? No
Godmode scoring events? No
Godmode other events? No

Choose my scorers? Yes
Yellow card my players? Yes
Red card my players? No
Injure my players? Yes
Godmode injuries? No
Godmode scoring events? Yes
Godmode other events? No

James Ashgrove announces Baptism of Fire Squad!

Kit:
http://s239.photobucket.com/albums/ff167/mreynolds058/?action=view&current=AlversianInternationalKit.jpg


The Alversian National Team has been running for several years now and many of it's players have gained valuable caps through friendly matches with other countries in the region as well as through simple club vs country challenge matches. All of this will be invaluable as Alversian takes one of her biggest steps on the International stage and enters her first World Cup, World Cup 41. In the run up to the Cup Qualifiers, Alversia will enter the Baptism of Fire tournament, her first and only entry in the competitions 28 year history and chance to prove herself against other International teams.

Yesterday, Alversian International Coach James Ashgrove, 41, announced the 24 man squad he plans to take to the tournament and compete against international teams for the first time. James Ashgrove, an ex-Alversia Man himself, has chosen the team after months of trailing the players in the Alversian National Leagues as well as a variety of other tournaments. At a press conference yesterday at the AFA headquarters in Illesia City, he spoke of the difficult task of choosing a squad to take to this first cup,
"Obviously there is a lot of talent in Alversian to choose from and picking this team was not easy" He said to Journalists as his team was revealed for the first time, "In the end, I feel I have chosen the best 24 players to represent Alversia in this, the Baptism of Fire tournament. I have confidence in the players and feel that if the squad can gel then there will be a real chance of victory in this Baptism of Fire trophy and qualification to the World Cup itself"

The Squad

Although many people have been trying to predict the team for months, with many players hoping to recieve the call of a lifetime, there are a few surprises amongst both the starting team chosen as well as many of the big name players omitted from the squad altogether.

The most surprising stat of the squad is in terms of it's average age, just 25 for the entire squad. This is due to the large amount of young players that have been brought into the Senior Squad. Many of these players participated in the 2nd Di Bradini Cup with the under-21 Squad, in fact 8 of the 24 players were in the squad, where they reached the quarter final.

Some of these players include defensive powerhouse Michael Reynolds, who also plays for Premier Team, The Bisons and is predicted to start in his favoured Centre Back position as well as Ciaran Reid, the Hawks Left Back whose performances at under-21 level were the main reason for his inclusion. Not only, this but a big surprise came in the forward pair, with Kevin Corrigan partnering James Hamilton upfront instead of the expected Thomas Johnson. 6 of the 13 subs were also on that team although players such as Sean Parks and Connor Burns were relegated to bench in favour of more experienced players.

Although one of the main surprises was in terms of the younger players brought in, another was in the players that were left out. Alversia's record player for the most caps, Paul Banks, finds himself on the bench while top goalscorer for the team, Thomas Johnson, is also dropped in favour for the younger Kevin Corrigan. Amongst the older players who did not even make the team were aging midfielder Josh Hillary and free kick king Bernard Campbell. Ashgrove's assistant manager, Felix Loman, defended these decisions with the words,
"At the end of the day, we picked the players we felt would be best suited for the big stage as well as those we know can be competitive at the top of the International Stage. Sadly, players such as Josh and Bernard have not impressed this season and pedigree is no reason to keep a more deserving player out of the squad."

While James Ashgrove may have set tongues wagging with some of his selections, Critics were relatively silenced by the inclusion of some more favourable and predictable players. Amongst which are Bison's Goalkeeper Michael Smith, whose inspired performances in goal helped the Bison's to their record fourth straight title as well as an award for the lowest amount of goals conceded in a single season. Captain John Matthews also reprises his position as the anchor in the centre of midfield with Tiger's dribbling legend Lee Reid playing off his left hand side. Up front is also the impressive Striker James Hamilton who has scored in each of his last five international appearances and Attacking Midfielder Phillip Hunter, who picked up the AFA's player of the year award this season as well as the golden boot for the most goals scored in a season.

When we talked to Phillip on his thoughts of the world cup he responded,
"Obviously, it is the greatest achievement in a player's life when he walks out in his country's kit and plays with the finest footballers within the country. Obviously, we would like to do well in our first world cup but we have to take it one step at a time and see where it goes from there."

The team that we have listed below is, unless some terrible event occurs, the team that Alversia will take to the World Cup with her. Thus, this paper and the rest of the country will be watching eagerly to see how the team holds up under the pressure of an International Debut

Full Squad
GK:-1. Michael Smith
RB:-3. Benjaman Desrail
CB:-4. Michael Reynolds
CB:-6. Tony Carpenter
LB:-12. Ciaran Reid
LM:-7. Lee Reid
CM:-9. John Matthews (C)
RM:-8. Sean O'Hare
AM:-5. Phillip Hunter
ST:-10. James Hamilton
ST:-11. Kevin Corrigan

GK:-22. Cillian Reid
GK:-26. Eoin Patterson
DEF:-24. Seth Stevens
DEF:-16. Harry Marshall
DEF:-18. Colin McClelland
DEF:-14. Cathal O'Neill
MID:-13. Sean Parks
MID:-20. Connor Burns
MID:-32. Robert Long
AM:-15. Paul Banks
AM:-17. Aaron Lewis
ST:-24. Thomas Johnson
ST:-23. Ryan Halliday

Style Modifier: +0.5

Breakdown (Starting Squad

Name: Michael Smith
Age: 24
Number: 1.
Team: Bison
Position: Goalkeeper
Caps: 14
Goals Conceded: 4
Reason for inclusion:
Of all the goalkeepers in the league, this season, Mickey Smith was the only logical choice to star as the no.1 keeper. His brilliant acrobatics and reflex saves not only gave the Bisons the league, but also saw him recieving the player's player of the year award for the season.

Name: Benjaman Desrail
Age: 26
Number: 3.
Team: Falcons
Position: Right Back
Caps: 15
Goals Scored: 1
Reason for inclusion:
Benjaman has impressed for the Falcons this season with his relentless work up and down the right hand side of the pitch. He is also versatile can play right midfield or centre back as easily as his normal position on the wing. His ace crosses bagged him the top assists ranking in the league.

Name: Michael Reynolds
Age: 22
Number: 4.
Team: Bison
Position: Centre-Back
Caps: 5
Goals Scored: 0
Reason for inclusion:
Mickey Reynolds has been simply awesome for the Bisons this year in the league. His lightning pace and crunching tackles have seen him lock down the penalty area during matches and his partnership with Goalkeeper Michael Smith ensured the Bisons conceded the lowest amount of goals on record. Players will find it difficult to pass the ball in the box when Mickey's on top of his game.

Name: Tony Carpenter
Age: 30
Number: 6.
Team: Hawks
Position: Centre-Back
Caps: 50
Goals Scored: 2
Reason for inclusion:
The 'Old man' of the back four, Tony's been breaking up attacks and clearing crosses since his central partner was in the Sunday Leagues! Tony brings to the back four some much needed calmness and experience to his younger collegues. There has never been a man who could clear away a cross so cooly as this man here! His performances in the League ensured the Hawks were chasing for top spot when many had them in the relegation battle.

Name: Ciaran Reid
Age: 22
Number: 12.
Team: Adders
Position: Right Back
Caps: 4
Goals Scored: 0
Reason for inclusion:
Ciaran 'Daredevil' Reid has been the perfect example of a winger if there ever was one. Endlessly breaking up attacks in his own box before tearing up the field to give support to his forward teammates, the only time Ciaran stops playing is when the final whistle's gone! He isn't afraid to throw his body on the line if it comes to a dangerous tackle and it has earned him the nickname.

Name: Lee Reid
Age: 25
Number: 7.
Team: Pereguins
Position: Right Midfielder
Caps: 22
Goals Scored: 7
Reason for inclusion:
The 'Wizard of Wembleton', Lee has had the crowds on their feet more times than one cares to count with his brilliant footwork and wicked curling crosses. Lee himself also has a manificant first touch and his pacey runs are the stuff of nightmares.

Name: John Matthews
Age: 29
Number: 9.
Team: Tigers
Position: Centre Midfielder
Caps: 45
Goals Scored: 6
Reason for inclusion:
For three years, Captain Matthews has been commanding the Alversian team and marshalling it towards victory. The 29 year old Alversia and Tigers Captain makes his name with pinpoint passes and supporting play that often sees him the beginning of Alversian attacks and the ending of opposition ones. His performances this year for the Tigers have been nothing short of legendary and, always the perfect sportsman, he never losses his cool in a tough situation.

Name: Sean O'Hare
Age: 21
Number: 8.
Team: Eagles
Position: Left Midfielder
Caps: 2
Goals Scored: 0
Reason for inclusion:
'Sean the Red' is the devastating winger for club and country and the punch that drives Alversian attacks forwards. His crosses are accurate from any angle and he has more than enough strength to hold off any challenger. His nickname of the 'Red' is due to his quickl temper which can flare up if he is under a stressful situation. His excellent appearances for the Eagles were only marred by the four reds he picked up during the season. The most for a single player.

Name: Phillip Hunter
Age: 23
Number: 5.
Team: Bison
Position: Attacking Midfielder
Caps: 8
Goals Scored: 4
Reason for inclusion:
When it comes to the perfect season, they rarely get better than that of Phillip Hunter's season with the Bison. Not only did he score the most in the league, but he was also amongst the top assists with his perfect layoffs and cheeky throughballs. Phil's place on the national squad was assured.

Name: James Hamilton
Age: 28
Number: Lions
Team: 10.
Position: Striker
Caps: 42
Goals Scored: 21
Reason for inclusion:
James' performances for both club and country have been nothing short of brilliant, with inspiring performances all round. His goals tally is only one off the top total of all time and he is also aiming for the top caps which, if he wins, will be a perfect way to round off a perfect career.

Name: Kevin Corrigan
Age: 23
Number: 11.
Team: Bison
Position: Striker
Caps: 16
Goals Scored: 5
Reason for inclusion:
What makes the perfect striker? Speed? Control? Stength? Finishing? Power? Is these are what you're looking for, then the search stops at Kevin Corrigan. One of the best upcoming talents for Alversia and the Bison, he has proven himself again and again, able to live up to the hype and improve on his previous performance. An excellent choice for a striker.

Formation

[M.Smith]

[B. Desrail] [M. Reynolds] [T. Carpenter] [C. Reid]

[S. O'Hare] [J. Matthews (c)] [L. Reid]

[P. Hunter]

[J. Hamilton] [K. Corrigan]

OOC: Sorry of this is overkill but I have a lot of time on my hands and I was in the mood to write :D

Kits:
Home:
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/KenHome4.jpg
Away:
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/KenAway4.jpg

Choose my scorers? Yes
Yellow card my players? Yes
Red card my players? No
Injure my players? Yes (not severely)
Godmode injuries? No
Godmode scoring events? Yes
Godmode other events? No
Style Modifier: 1 (Hey-goals are exciting, are they not?)

Management:

Head Coach: Quentin Wetygrew
Striker Coach: Ethan Halloway
Midfield Coach: Bo Weeks
Fullback Coach: Sam Suareth
Goalie Coach: George Madopery
Strategy Coach: Cole Metpol
Assistant Coaches: Logan Askyton
Jack Lawrence

3-4-4 Formation

Strikers (starters in bold)
Ian Lawrence
Andrew da Vincho
Bartholomew Crist
Tayshaun Billups
Chauncey Prince
Midfielders (starters in bold)
Aaron Zackrison
Sean Christenson
Justin Taranto
Vance Carter
Nemo Satgher
Fullbacks (starter in bold)
Fredrick Bersad
Jacque Cartier
Niklas Backmon
Thomas Vartiuo
Lewis Sullivan
Rotor Gillis
Robert Kidder
Goalies (starters in bold)
Roy Ike
Luigi Meta

In the event my opponent posts first, he/she may:

Choose my scorers? Yes
Yellow card my players? Yes
Red card my players? Yes
Injure my players? Yes
Godmode injuries? Yes
Godmode scoring events? Yes
Godmode other events? Yes

Forwards(Last name only):
#11 Niton
#22 Iseruwon
#33 Mimoya
#44 Kohoshin
#55 Unaruyu
#66 Akeru

Midfielders:
#1 Asamo
#2 Nowasa
#3 Rinoro
#4 Okohowa
#5 Tsumosu
#6 Manoro

Defenders:
#7 Kira
#8 Atsusanon
#9 Eyumu
#10 Usasu
#12 Wore
#13 Otarumima
#14 Otayun

Goalkeepers:
#100 Anewashi
#111 Tenu
#112 Tayun

Coach:
Peter Kemmeres

[OOC: Just wondering, when are we going to be hearing more information on this? What are the groups or tournament seeds? When is it starting? etc.]

OSN Nightly Report
Orion Names Captain, Assistants
By WILLIAM DRAKE
Sports - Page 18

The Orion Soccer team today named their captain and assistants following the Fenrirs’ debut in international soccer in the 6th Oxen Cup. The Fenrirs posted a record of 1-3-1, but lost close in their playoff round and won their last consolation game in an impressive display.

Veteran forward Ciprian Marica will don the captain’s armband for the 28th Baptism of Fire after his two goals, two assists, and massive locker room presence in the Oxen Cup. His assistants will be sweeper Cosmin Contra, and rookie sensation forward Brooks Hollister, who managed to score 3 goals and 2 assists in only 2 games played!

The Fenrirs look to rebound from their sorry opening performance in the Oxen Cup, and are looking forward to a new start, as well as much-needed preparation and practice before the 41st World Cup. Soccer, which is not very popular at all in the Orion Star Empire, was poised for a renaissance before the Oxen Cup, but most interest in the sport fizzled out along with the Fenrirs’ chances of winning.

“Fair-weather fans?” Ciprian Marica was famously quoted saying. “We don’t have any fans, period.”

The players, however, are well aware of the weight they carry on their shoulders. Unlike in the Oxen Cup, the Fenrirs are faced again fellow newcomers to the scene in the Baptism of Fire. Because of this, Orion players seem upbeat.

“It’s a new beginning for us,” Brooks Hollister told the press. “In the Oxen Cup, we got our act together towards the end, and we were playing against highly experienced teams. Now these teams are all on the same level we are. I think it’s Orion’s turn to shine.”

http://209.85.48.8/237/117/upload/p701927.png

Here's a special broadcast by Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) International, and it's a special Baptism of Fire edition. It's now time for a Question and Answer session with our IFA Coordinator Count Jeong Mongjun - the same Jeong Mongjun who has assumed responsibility for the progress of the Baptism of Fire Tournament.

Jeong Mongjun (Jeong): Well, thanks for tuning in. We've gotten a lot of calls from our viewers and interested persons, and I think it's about time we decided to do this televised. I'm glad to be here with MBC.

MBC: We're glad you're here too.

Jeong: So I suppose you'll read the questions and fan mail?

MBC: Errr... why not? First letter... reads... I can't read this. It must be a foreign letter. Someone who can read this!

Someone-who-reads-the-letter: It says "To whom it may concern, just for clarification, and because i don't want to read through 301 pages, when will the matchups for the BoF be announced, and when will the first game take place?"

MBC: Okay. So when do the matches start?

Jeong: Well, that's a good question. *crickets chirp* You know, in the Han Empire, crickets are a sign of good luck. So be sure you aren't like the Bostonians who boiled them in a soup for the poor and homeless.

MBC: You're not answering the question.

Jeong: Alright, so we haven't actually got the dates. But I'm assuring every person watching this that they will start soon. We're still waiting for all of the teams to come into the Empire, so we can't really start the tournament until they've arrived. Once they've arrived, we'll have a Group Draw and the matches will begin a few days later.

ooc: The matches will begin when enough people have posted their rosters. At the current rate, I expect it to be very soon. With the OFC over, there is no IC reason not to delay the matches, so as soon as we get a good number of rosters posted, we'll begin.

On account of the good turn-over, I will be posting the Group Draw on Wednesday at around 0400GMT (0000EDT/1200 Beijing). I expect that the majority of the majority of the rosters that will ever be posted will have been posted by that time, so I'll likely post the schedule of matches at that time. If not enough rosters have been posted, I'll have to make a decision at that time whether or not to delay further. I'd hate to wait even longer, but I don't want to put a large people at a great disadvantage because they were unable to begin posting at a certain time (although it almost always happens anyway...).

MBC: Well, way to make a good impression. Our next question. I can't read it still.

Someone-who-reads-the-letter: It says, "Just wondering, when are we going to be hearing more information on this? What are the groups or tournament seeds?"

MBC: So, what are the seeds?

Jeong: Well, the seeds are going to be as they appear in the opening statement for the Baptism of Fire. We will have 4 groups of 5, with the following format.

On each matchday, there will be two matches between two of the teams in that group. But for that last team that is left with a bye, instead of leaving them without an opponent and an opportune team for extra training, we figured that we'd give them an extra match! Yeah, it's a feature from our OFC schedules from the 3rd and 4th editions. To make it easy for scheduling, we've set it up so that the "bye" teams from Groups A and C face off their respective counterparts in Groups B and D. All Group matches will occur simultaneously on the various National Football Academy fields, while the two bye matches will occur in succession on the main stadium. All of the matches will be finished in succession, with no break or training days between the matches. Between the Group and Round 2 matches, we will break for 1 day before resuming the competition. The itemized fixtures will appear on our main website later.

ooc: Here's the fixtures!

If You have Group Z, with Teams 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, you have the following fixtures:

MD1
Group Matches
1 --- 2
3 --- 4
BYE: 5
Bye matches
Group A --- Group B
Group C --- Group D

MD2
Group Matches
3 --- 1
5 --- 2
BYE: 4
Bye matches
Group A --- Group B
Group C --- Group D

MD3
Group Matches
1 --- 5
2 --- 4
BYE: 3
Bye matches
Group A --- Group B
Group C --- Group D

MD4
Group Matches
4 --- 1
5 --- 3
BYE: 2
Bye matches
Group A --- Group B
Group C --- Group D

MD2
Group Matches
3 --- 2
4 --- 5
BYE: 1
Bye matches
Group A --- Group B
Group C --- Group D

***BREAK***

Round 2
Quarterfinal
Q1: Group A Winner --- Group B 2nd place
Q2: Group C Winner --- Group D 2nd place
Q3: Group B Winner --- Group A 2nd place
Q4: Group D Winner --- Group C 2nd place

*BREAK*

Semifinal
S1: Q1 Winner --- Q2 Winner
S2: Q3 Winner --- Q4 Winner

*BREAK*

3/4 Playoff
S2 Loser --- S1 Loser

Final Match
S1 Winner --- S2 Winner

This fixture schedule is subject to change. At the end of the competition, the minimum number of matches to be played will be 5; the maximum will be 7. Why is that important? Well, come time to understand anything about KPB ranks, you'll see why that's sort of important.

MBC: Enlightening. Now for our last question. Oh, and I can actually read this one. "Hey! What's this about a Style Modifier that I've heard about?"

Jeong: *blank stare* I don't know what you're talking about.

MBC: Neither do I. Well, that's all of the time we have for today! Have a wonderful evening, and we'll be seeing you again, come the Baptism of Fire Group Draws!


ooc: Because, I really did forget about the style modifiers...

So what are style modifiers? Well, they're numbers really. As I mentioned about the RP affecting your final score, style modifiers do the same, but in a more specific manner. You see, some people like to play hard defensive football. Others like to play hard offensive football. Some others still like to be neutral (ARCHREGIMANCY!). Style modifiers allow RPers to influence their scores in yet another ingenious manner that borders on the only form of strategic vision in NS football. Positive numbers generally correlate to more offensive playing styles; negatives generally correlate to more defensive playing styles; 0 is neutral, neither offensive nor defensive. Due to recent revelations concerning the nature of playing styles, I will be allowing playing styles between -1 and 1 inclusive (as it is in the WC41 bid). Decimals are allowed, but please within reason (because we all know that .5000000000000001 is virtually the same to .5, especially when all scores are rounded to the nearest whole number, considering you can't have half of a goal.

And again, if you have any questions pertaining to the Baptism of Fire directly (especially concerning the manner of its conduct), please post an OOC comment here. I will try to reply ASAP. If you have more general questions, feel free to ask anyone. And feel free also to begin RPing; there's no pre-set start point (besides the beginning of this thread), and all RPs are cumulative.

[OOC: Thanks :) ...and I added my style mod to my roster, just fyi]

Professor George Douglas, temporary coach of the Dariusvillian national footballteam, got off the plane. He turned back to see that his trainers, a monk named brother Jeffrey, a zookeeper called Bob Harrington and a ninja who referred to himself as Kamutsa walked off the stairs like he had done.

This is madness, he thought. How the hell are we supposed to win a football tournament with this team! “Come on guys, we need to take the packages to the ‘hotel’,” he yelled. Some workers lifted 18 cages out of the plane and put them on a trailer which was behind a van.
“Let me check if they are ok,” said Bob the zookeeper. After inspection he made a signal that everything looked good and that they could take off.

The van arrived at the place. It was a small hall on the edge of the city. The workers and staff walked in with the cages and after closing the door they opened them all. 18 monkeys in football suits stood in a line. “So tell me,” said Douglas, “what’s up with these monkeys again?”

“These monkeys are trained in all spiritual aspects we know,” said brother Jeffrey.
“And we’ve made sure that they know the best ninja techniques. They’re the fastest monkeys you’ll ever see,” said Kamutsa. “And besides that, they’re trained by some professional Nethertopian trainers to play football.”
“I still don’t think this is a working combination,” the professor said. “Who the heck came up with this idea!”
“Err... That’ll be you, prof,” Bob said.
“Oh right... But i just meant it to be a joke...” replied Douglas.
“Let’s make the best of this,” the monk interrupted. “We all know what happens to us if we don’t reach the second round at least...”

Professor Douglas looked at the form he recieved before arriving here. It was the player list:
Tenue: http://img218.imageshack.us/img218/8756/t4standardkitpy0.png

Playing style: 4-4-2 diamond
Style modifier: 0 (Very balanced)

Starting XI:
Pauli – Goalkeeper, #25
A Bonobo, has long arms and jumps far. Is able to throw the ball over 70 meters.
Swerz – Left defender, #34
Bonobo, pacey. Likes to kick opponents when nobody’s whatching.
Johnny – Right defender, #45
Bonobo. Cheeky one, likes to pull faces to opponents. Good tackle.
George – Central defender, #98
Big Gorilla, goes well for the header. Diciplined.
Jack – Central defender, #57
Also a gorilla. Perfect tackler, although he has the nasty habit to bite tackled opponents. Captain of the team.
Darren – Defensive midfielder, #72
Darren is a baboon, and a bit hyperactive. Is able to make solos ever the whole of the field.
Sonny – Left midfielder, #2
Patas Monkey, a monkey who likes to cross the ball. The only monkey that wasn’t able to pass the money counting test.
Yigit – Right midfielder, #19
Patas Monkey, gives perfect passes and uses his pace and tricks to run by opponents.
Hank – Attacking midfielder, #23
Orangutan. He’s an intelligent player with all the abailities of a real number 10.
Tarik – Left striker, #81
Tarik is a small chimpanzee with a great clinical shot and a good free kick.
Joe – Right striker, #1
Chimpanzee, gets very high in the air with his jump. Likes to eat his shirt after scoring.

Benchwarmers:
Ruth – Goalkeeper, #28
Bonobo. He’s a great goalkeeper, but the reason he’s a reserve is becauce he mostly demolishes a ball when he catches it.
Carlos – Wing defender
Bonobo. Got into the training program halfway to replace another bonobo who was killed by an angry farmer. The farmer was ritually burned after a ‘fair’ process.
Wilkson – Central defender, #93
Gorilla. He’s less agressive than the two other gorillas, but is stronger.
Pete – Defensive midfielder, #48
Baboon, loves to moon to the crowd. Is good crosser.
Uli – Wing midfielder, #13
Patas Monkey, a real banana lover. Mostly stands on the field eating them.
Xenor – Attacing midfielder, #6
Orangutan, specialized in taking penaties. Will get on the field every time the clock will pass the 10 minute limit in second half extra time.
Ishmaël – Striker, #66
Chimpanzee, notable for almost choking while trying to eat his own left foot. Kind of stupid, but knows how to score a goal from great distance.


“So tell me, what’s up with the weird back numbers?” Asked Douglas.
“The monkeys chose them themselves, sir,” answered Kamutsa. “They just pointed the number they wanted to have on a board with 99 numbers on it.”
“Right... Well, i guess it’s time for our first training here,” said the professor. “Let’s go.”

(OOC: You can do everything with my team. Just make sure 11 monkeys and the professor stay alive)

OOC: Added Style modifier! :D

In the event my opponent posts first, he/she may:

Choose my scorers? Yes
Yellow card my players? Yes
Red card my players? Yes
Injure my players? Yes
Godmode injuries? Yes
Godmode scoring events? Yes
Godmode other events? Yes
Style Mod: 0

(please be reasonable, though)

Ma Raque Marauders Announces Baptism of Fire Squad

Ma Raque- Nation Leader and Ma Raque Marauders' coach Travis Ritchie announced their Baptism of Fire team today. "I hope that we can compete in the Baptism of Fire and in the World Cup." coach Ritchie said.

The goaltender for the Marauders is none other than world class goalie Anjum Abbasi who spoke on being chosen as one of the lucky 11 slated to play "I am honored to be playing in such a high prestige event."

The Center Forward (We use a 4-5-1 formation) will be Ghalib Sayyid who is known for his speed and ball-control all throughout the Holy Union. "I can't believe that I was chosen to be the Center Forward for our World Cup team"

Behind him at Side Midfielder is Rakkim al-Baqir who can control the passing lanes and shut down the opposing team's offense. "I can't believe that I am at the Side Midfielder slot, I believe I could have been higher, but playing with Sayyid at center is an honor."

Next to him at the Center Midfielder position is Fateh Epps is able to run the length of the field in blazing time and is able to score and then run down and stop opposing teams from scoring. "I am honored to play such a piviotal role in trying to win the championship.

At the Defensive Midfielder position we have Hafeez Miran. Miran's surname in Muslim translates to "protector" and that is going to be a big job of his, to keep teams from scoring on the goal. "I am a little upset that I couldn't be put at a defensive role, but I can help my team by playing a Defensive-Mid."

Back up at the second Center Midfielder we have Khalid Naqvi. He will be responsible for pressing up the right side if needed, but also to keep the ball on the opposing half of the field. He was unavilable for comment.

At the Left Side Midfielder we have Yusuf Quraishi who is tall to get a lot of crosses into the middle and re-direct them into the net for easy goals. "I can not believe that I have been chosen to the team, let alone being named a starter."

On defense at Full Back is Hafeeza Ansari. She is one of only a handful of girls who play in the MPSL (Ma Raque Professional Soccer League), however she is able to compete with most of the other defenders in the league. "I am amazed that I am the first girl to be playing for Ma Raque in the BOF.

At Center Back we have Jahanara Ansari who is the twin sister of Hafeeza. Alongside her sister they make a wonderful pair of goal stopping defenders. "I love being able to play the sport I love and be on the same team as my sister."

At the Left Side Center Back we have Akram Sabzvari. He is a powerful and tough defender that will draw some penalties, but will do anything to keep the other team from scoring. He had no comment on this announcement.

Finally, at the left side Full Back we have Fareed al-Qurashi. He will be the one who pushes the opposition away from the goal and with a powerful kick have the momentum swinging towards us. "I am honored".

The reserves are:
GK: Farookh Alavi
DEF: Firdaus Rizvi
DEF: Hamid Kiani
DEF: Haroon Gardezi
MID: Javed Qizilbash
MID: Khadim Reza
MID: Masheer Kahanum
MID: Rasool Agha
FOR: Razak Jafari
FOR: Salarjung Mir
FOR: Zafar Kashani

The Starting Lineup will look like this

GK: Anjum Abbasi
FB: Hafeeza Ansari CB: Jahanara Ansari CB: Akram Sabzvari FB: Fareed al-Qurashi
SM: Rakkim al-Baqir CM: Fateh Epps DM: Hafeez Miran CM: Khalid Naqvi SM: Yusuf Quraishi
CF: Ghalib Sayyid

Arrozan Tar Hornets

Formation: 4-1-2-1-2 (Diamond)
Style: Aggressive, attacking (+3)

________________________________________________________________
In a dark office in the bowels of the Arrozan Ministry of Sport.

“So, did you do what I told you? We’re getting asked to make more distractions after the success of our football team.”

“Yes, I did exactly what you said. I found the best soccer team in the country, I’ve seen them against fair opposition, and I think thay can do well, passable against international competition.”

“So who did you get? The Browns from Llanura? Or maybe that squad from over in Petrol. Or was it that new team that we’ve sponsored, Federal? I’ve heard great things about them”

“Umm…….not exactly. They weren’t the best team.”

“So who did you…oh Christ no…please tell me you didn’t go get them.”

“You said the bast team in the country sir.”

“I meant the best team of FREE MEN in the country! Not a bunch of lifers, from Angola State! Get out of here, you’re fired immediately!”

“But they are the best team, sir. And just think of all the distractions that they’ll cause as a team.”

“Indeed. But you’re still fired!”

________________________________________________________________
Roster:

Coach: Ross “Blackheart” Arroza (a.k.a. Robert Gaynor) – Fraud, Bigamy, Kidnapping, Accessory to Child Endangerment

Gaynor’s a great motivator. On the outside he leveraged that into a giant polygamist cult that had assets of over 100 million baht before his arrest. Now he tries to motivate lifers, and soon-to be parolees through soccer. They tried football proper, but it was deemed to be too aggressive.

GK: Felipe Quintero (25) – Import or Export Prohibited Weapons/Explosives
GK: Scott Buete (20) – Deal or Traffic in Illicit Drugs - Commercial Quantity
GK: Justin Moore (17) – Theft from Retail Premises
D/L: Nathan Knox (22) – Resisting Arrest, Aggravated Reckless Driving
D/L: Eduardo Sebrango (21) – Possession with Intent to Sell
D/R: Mike Ambersley (23) – Unlawful Entry with Intent/Burglary, Break and Enter
D/R: Carlos Corazzi (27) - Non-Assaultive Sexual Offences
D/C: Rodrigo Rios (20) – Property Damage by Fire or Explosion
D/C: Tony McManus (23) – Embezzlement, Racketeering
D/C: Ansu Toure (21) – Deprivation of Liberty/False Imprisonment
D/C: Andre Sherard (18) - Acts Intended to Cause Injury
D/M: Vicente Arze (18) – Deal or Traffic in Illicit Drugs - Commercial Quantity.
D/M: Greg Chevalier (21) – Receiving or Handling Proceeds of Crime
W/L: Kevin Barrow (21) – Theft of Motor Vehicle Parts or Contents
W/L: Ryan Mcintosh (19) - Property Damage, Other
W/R: Tate Parrish (24) – Counterfeiting Currency and Related Offences
W/R: Chris Mahaffey (19) - Misrepresentation of Professional Status
A/M: Blake Camp (26) – Cheque or Credit Card Fraud,
A/M: Jerson Monteiro (18) – Manslaughter by Vehicle
F: Macoumba Kandji (20) – Fraud, Mail Fraud
F: David Hayes (22) - Driving Causing Death
S: Martin Lancaster (19) – Assault & Battery
S: Alfredo Valente (23) – Perjury

The team also travels with a compliment of trained faceless prison guards (they’re similar to ninjas in that respect).


------------Lancaster-------Kandji-------------------
--------------------Camp---------------------------
Barrow--------------------------------------Parrish
--------------------Arze----------------------------
Knox----------Rios--------McManos--------Ambersley
------------------Quintero--------------------------

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/43015000/jpg/_43015647_monks_afp416.jpg

It's that time again!

Well, not really again, but it's the Baptism of fire, and with 10 teams having entered (so far), we're having a show tonight for the Baptism of Fire Group Draw! Presented exclusively by MBC, and broadcast through various international channels licensed by MBC, IFA, and the WCC.

To lead tonight's Group Draw will be Count Jeong Mongjun, Chairman of the Imperial Football Association. With him is the Chairman of the Baptism of Fire Organizing Committee, Ban Yongshik. Today commentating is Son Chigon and myself, Yang Waemal. It's an exciting atmosphere in Lasa, the capital of Seojang Province.

Son: It certainly is. The Baptism of Fire has largely been the contribution of the Buddhist monks here, with the cooperation of His Holy Eminence, the Daroe Rama (that's the Dalai Lama). The newly constructed Imperial Football Academy has been the center of attention for these past months, which was the brain child of Ioshido Toki, the present manage of the National Team.

Yang: Well, it's time for us to get settled. The ceremony is about to get started.

...

Jeong: Ladies and Gentlemen, Players of the various international teams that have come to participate in the premier tournament before the World Cup, fellow fans, and distinguished person, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce to you the hard work of the Imperial Football Association, the Buddhist Community of Seojang Province, the Baptism of Fire Organizing Committee, and many other distinguished individuals in the Han Empire. They have done marvelous, haven't they? *applause* It's been hard trying to figure out a way to make this work. We've received criticisms for our work. At the present, our matches are to occur at the supposedly highest elevation humanly possible in a large population center. The population center itself is hundreds of kilometers from the nearest sizeable population center that registers plainly on the map. But I feel confident that our work has been thorough. I'm further pleased to have the President and Vice President of the WCC here, still showing us their support and confidence in this tournament (ooc: If they aren't there, they will be :) - come to think of it, now that Casari is Bostopia's puppet, is Bostopia now the Vice-Prez?). Their confidence shall not be wasted. *applause* We have come to celebrate a long tradition, in a land that itself has seen the rise and fall of traditions. We're pleased to see one international sporting tradition continue under our watchful care. We furthermore wish the players the best of luck as they begin their long journey through competitive international sports. *applause*

But now it's time for the real reason why we're here. With me now is Ban Yongshik, the Chairman of the Baptism of Fire Organizing Committee. He will introduce us to the Group Draws. *applause*

Ban: Good evening *echo*. I'm pleased to be here *echo* and introduce *echo* the teams that will be parti *echo* cipating in the Group Draw for the Baptism of Fire *echo*. Since none of the teams have ranks *echo* from which an unbiased form of draw could be arranged *echo*, we have decided to use rankings *echo* as determined by the list that was *echo* submitted tot us *echo* by the WCC for use in distributing *echo* invitations to the countries that showed interest in parti *echo* cipating in the Baptism of Fire *echo - some shrieks too*. We have ordered the teams by the order in which they arrive on the list *echo*. Here is the order *echo - turns to the man controlling the mikes*. Apologies, as we try to fix this reverb *echo*.

*thumbs up*

Since we have 20 teams and 4 groups, we have decided to divide the teams into 5 pots of 4 teams, to insure a random assortment of teams in each group. In Pot 1, we have Dariusville, Bearbears, Alversia, and Ma Raque. *applause* In Pot 2, we have Frontenax, Ofedestan, SouthSuburbia, and Unified Beretania. *applause* In Pot 3, we have Nehrland, United Hetzel, Tokyoni, and Talon Deil. *applause* In Pot 4, we have Gwaine, Kenavt, The Indonesian States, and Zarbli. *applause* And in Pot 5, we have Arroza, Steel Butterfly, Vonks, and Pablicosta. *applause*

And now to the Group Draw. *applause*

To ensure the most random result possible, the IFA, the Daroe Rama, and the BoFOC have worked together in acquiring these Manatees. We've dropped 20 balls featuring the names of all of the teams, and the Manatees will pull out the names from each of the pots one at a time, to select the Group Draw for us. That way, if anyone claims any group draw bias, they can blame the animals. And here are the Manatees! *applause*

http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t156/daehanjeiguk/groupdraw.png

Yang: That's unusual, isn't it?

Son: Considering that unusual is our specialty, not really.

Ban: Without further ado, the Manatees will begin selecting the Teams to play in Group A! *applause*

Son: This is where commentating comes in handy. The Manatees have made their move to the first tank, which holds Pot 2. Odd, isn't it?

Yang: Well, as you've said, odd is our specialty.

Son: No, I said "unusual" was our specialty.

Yang: Now that's odd.

Son: And the name that gets selected...

Ban: Unified Beretania!

Son: Hmm. There's not much to commentate on that.

Yang: It seems that the Manatees are selecting the next one from Pot 1...

Ban: Bearbears!

Son: Okay. And now from Pot 3...

Ban: Talon Deil!

Yang: And from Pot 4...

Ban: Zarbli!

Son: Hmm, it seems to be very predictable right now. Pot 5...

Ban: Arroza!

Yang: And there you have Group A for the 28th Edition of the Baptism of Fire: Unified Beretania, Bearbears, Arroza, Zarbli, and Talon Deil.

Son: Ummm, you didn't say that in the right order.

Yang: Of course I didn't.

Son: Right. And to the next one. Pot 2 is chosen first again. Hmmm, must be something about the number 2.

Ban: SouthSuburbia!

Son: And Pot 1...

Ban: Ma Raque!

Yang: Pot 3...

Ban: Nehrland!

Son & Yang: Pot 4...

Ban: Gwaine!

Son: And Pot 5...

Ban: Orion Star Empire!

Yang: And that completes Group B: SouthSuburbia, Ma Raque, Orion Star Empire, Gwaine, and Nehrland.

Son: You didn't say it in the right order again!

Yang: Well, my script is showing a different story! Cant it, will you?

Son: Well, we go on again to Pot 2...

Ban: Ofedestan!

Son: Pot 1...

Ban: Dariusville!

Son & Yang: Pot 3...

Ban: United Hetzel!

Son & Yang: Pot 4...

Ban: The Indonesian States!

Son & Yang: And Pot 5...

Ban: Pablicosta!

Son: Well, it now seems obvious who's left for Group 4.

Yang: The Manatees have stopped working though! We can't complete the Group Draw if they don't pull out the names!

Son: Oh come on. All of the groups have been drawn, why wouldn't we work around it like that?

Ban: There seems to be a malfunction. The Manatees have stopped working now because it seems that there are no more random draws for Group 4. We apologize sincerely for this error, but rest asssured Group 4 shall be drawn. To ensure completion of the Group Draw, Count Jeong has volunteered to complete the Draw using the same DDR set used for the 31st Cup of Harmony.

Jeong: Let's roll! *starts hopping*

Ban: And there's Frontenax...Alversia...Vonks...Kenavt... and Tokyoni! There's Group 4!

Jeong: There's one more!

Ban: What? How is that possible? We've got 20 teams in the pots; there's no way we had 21.

Jeong: Here it comes!...

Ban: ... Estresse Intenso? Is that even a country any more?

Jeong: Not exactly, but we're at the end of the Group Draw! Thank you for coming tonight! *applause amidst murmurs*

Son: I'm confused.

Yang: I'm sure you are.

Son: So... There you have it, I suppose. No Estresse Intenso though.

Yang: We'll be seeing you again!


ooc: Here's your beloved Group Draws with accompanying Schedules:


Group A
Unified Beretania
Bearbears
Arroza
Zarbli
Talon Deil

MD1
Unified Beretania --- Bearbears
Arroza --- Zarbli
BYE: Talon Deil

MD2
Arroza --- Unified Beretania
Talon Deil --- Bearbears
BYE: Zarbli

MD3
Unified Beretania --- Talon Deil
Bearbears --- Zarbli
BYE: Arroza

MD4
Zarbli --- Unified Beretania
Talon Deil --- Arroza
BYE: Bearbears

MD5
Arroza --- Bearbears
Zarbli --- Talon Deil
BYE: Unified Beretania


Group B
SouthSuburbia
Ma Raque
Orion Star Empire
Gwaine
Nehrland

MD1
SouthSuburbia --- Ma Raque
Orion Star Empire --- Gwaine
BYE: Nehrland

MD2
Orion Star Empire --- SouthSuburbia
Nehrland --- Ma Raque
BYE: Gwaine

MD3
SouthSuburbia --- Nehrland
Ma Raque --- Gwaine
BYE: Orion Star Empire

MD4
Gwaine --- SouthSuburbia
Nehrland --- Orion Star Empire
BYE: Ma Raque

MD5
Orion Star Empire --- Ma Raque
Gwaine --- Nehrland
BYE: SouthSuburbia


Group C
Ofedestan
Dariusville
Pablicosta
The Indonesian States
United Hetzel

MD1
Ofedestan --- Dariusville
Pablicosta --- The Indonesian States
BYE: United Hetzel

MD2
Pablicosta --- Ofedestan
United Hetzel --- Dariusville
BYE: The Indonesian States

MD3
Ofedestan --- United Hetzel
Dariusville --- The Indonesian States
BYE: Pablicosta

MD4
The Indonesian States --- Ofedestan
United Hetzel --- Pablicosta
BYE: Dariusville

MD5
Pablicosta --- Dariusville
The Indonesian States --- United Hetzel
BYE: Ofedestan


Group D
Frontenax
Alversia
Vonks
Kenavt
Tokyoni

MD1
Frontenax --- Alversia
Vonks --- Kenavt
BYE: Tokyoni

MD2
Vonks --- Frontenax
Tokyoni --- Alversia
BYE: Kenavt

MD3
Frontenax --- Tokyoni
Alversia --- Kenavt
BYE: Vonks

MD4
Kenavt --- Frontenax
Tokyoni --- Vonks
BYE: Alversia

MD5
Vonks --- Alversia
Kenavt --- Tokyoni
BYE: Frontenax

Bye Matches
MD1
Talon Deil --- Nehrland
United Hetzel --- Tokyoni
MD2
Zarbli --- Gwaine
The Indonesian States --- Kenavt
MD3
Arroza --- Orion Star Empire
Pablicosta --- Vonks
MD4
Bearbears --- Ma Raque
Dariusville --- Alversia
MD5
Unified Beretania --- SouthSuburbia
Ofedestan --- Frontenax


Despite having 50% of the rosters posted, I'd like to wait for another day to ensure the best turnout. So matches will begin on May 24 0400 GMT (May 24 0000GMT - basically the day after tomorrow night/the day after the day after tomorrow morning/whenever). Keep your RPs rolling!

This information will be edited back into the Main Thread with links to the rosters.

Despite having 50% of the rosters posted, I'd like to wait for another day to ensure the best turnout. So matches will begin on May 24 0400 GMT (May 24 0000GMT - basically tomorrow night/morning/afternoon/whenever). Keep your RPs rolling!

Looks at Daehan quote. May 24

Looks at today's date. May 21

Looks at Daehan quote. "basically tomorrow night/morning/afternoon/whenever"

What in the world? O.o

administrative notes:

Daehan quote = May 24 0400GMT That's not tomorrow night, the day after tomorrow night though. Not three days off, because it's morning. I'll fix the remark.

Style Modifiers = a range between -1 and +1, inclusive. Since I've got two styles that exceed these amounts, I will use the most extreme values available for these two teams. Also, teams that do not post any style modifier/any roster will automatically receive a style modifier of 0.

Oh happy days ahead - let's get to RPing! :D

OSN Nightly Report
BoF Names Groups/Matchups
By WILLIAM DRAKE
Sports - Page 16

The hosting nation of Daehanjeiguk today released the group draws for the 28th Baptism of Fire for the 41st World Cup. The Orion Fenrirs were placed in group B along side SouthSuburbia, Ma Raque, Gwaine, and Nehrland. While Orion is relatively new to international soccer competition, it is interesting to note that the nations of SouthSuburbia, Ma Raque, and Nehrland are all new to existence.

“This is what soccer’s all about,” Captain Brooks Hollister was quoted as saying. “The Empire has existed for over two thousand years, and here we are, no better or worse than nations formed within my lifetime!”

The Baptism of Fire is notoriously unpredictable, with all the teams theoretically evenly matched, and it will be interesting to see how Orion fares in a more evenly matched competition. They showed signs of talent, and most certainly signs of improvement, in the Oxen Cup, however they were often out-staged and out-played by the more experienced squads.

“This is the best way to get experience,” Assistant Captain Cosmin Contra explained. “We’re willing to put in the work, and we need all that we can get to have a good showing at the Cup.”

+1 is fine too.

Drake:
“Hello I’m William Drake and welcome to OSN LateNight©, Orion’s own Sports Network’s special program devoted to sports that otherwise receive little recognition. Joining me tonight is my co-host John Stone, as well as OBC on the spot sports reporter Sydney Fry.”

Stone:
“Welcome to the first OSN special that is dedicated entirely to soccer. Does this mean that the sport’s finally gained acceptance in Orion?”

Fry:
“Not at all, John. But here in Daehanjeiguk, you couldn’t tell. Fans and players alike are nearly rabid here, anxious for the action to start.”

Drake:
“It would be fair to say that Orion has had little success in the form of international soccer. As I noted in my articles, the soccer version of the Fenrirs went 1-3-1 in the international Oxen Cup just last month.”

Stone:
“However, that was against far more successful and far more experienced teams. Here in the Baptism of Fire, perhaps the most oddly named sports tournament in history, the playing field is even. Now, with their Oxen Cup experience, perhaps Orion has the advantage.”

Fry:
“Listening to rookie assistant captain Brooks Hollister, you’d certainly think that they’d have one. The young man seems to be one of the only real marketable stars Orion has to offer. Expect to be seeing a lot of him in commercials and print ads.”

Drake:
“In the meantime, let’s take a look at Orion’s schedule:

MD1: Gwaine
MD2: SouthSuburbia
MD3: Arroza
MD4: Nehrland
MD5: Ma Raque”

Stone:
“The problem we have here at OSN is that it’s hard to predict or analyze any results whatsoever. Any one of these teams could be the next champion. Any one could not even win a game.”

Fry:
“As the tournament progresses, that task will become much easier to manage.”

Drake:
“Until then, keep watching for updates. I’m William Drake,”

Stone:
“I’m John Stone,”

Together:
“And this is OSN LateNight©!”

Fry:
“Goodnight, Orion.”

Alversian Group Drawn

After an interesting draw in Daehanjeiguk, Alversia's opponents for the group stages of the Baptism of Fire tournament. The opponents she has drawn are the following, Frontenax, Vonks, Kenavt and Tokyoni. The Alversian National team was unavailable for comment as they are said to preparing for their first game against Frontenax. The team is expected to be the same as announced in our preplanned addition with midfielder John Matthews being announced as Captain. We will bring you details as they emerge of the results.

Little is known of the other teams and now all of Alversia eagerly awaits the first game.

Reprinted from the popular Vonkian daily newspaper, The Vonkian Daily Newspaper:

VONKS PREPARES TO PLAY FOOTBALL

The Vonkian national team arrived in Daehanjeiguk just in time to miss the draw for the group stages of the 28th Baptism of Fire, due to a problem with the team's transport. Eccentric fifty-year-old midfielder Xerxes Astanopoulos, who lives in a converted triple-decker bus, had generously offered to drive the entire team and support staff to Daehanjeiguk, but an argument broke out about who got to sit at the front on the top deck, which delayed the journey by some three weeks. Nonetheless, the draw was made, the team arrived and they offered their reactions to Vonkian Daily Newspaper reporter Gordon Bourdon.

GB: So, boys, what do you think to the draw?

Richard Roland: I wanted to play the monkeys.
Hardip Singh: Yeah, why don't we get to play the monkeys?
Jean-Pierre "Girlypants" Baptiste: I'm glad we don't have to play those horrid beasts. They're probably riddled with fleas and diseases. The very thought of it makes me shudder.
Nigel Nigel: I've never played against a monkey before. I was really looking forward to it.

GB: Your first opponents will be the nation of Kenavt. How do you think it'll go?

Pål Ingebritsen: Hurr, hurr, their manager's called Quentin. Is he a girl? Quentin's a girl's name, right?
Adam Bradshaw: No. My grandfather was called Quentin.
Pål Ingebritsen: Well, he was probably a girl too. Hurr, hurr, Bradshaw's granddad's a girl!
"Dennis": I wish you wouldn't use 'girl' as a pejorative expression, Pål. It's people like you who make women feel that they can't play professional football without pretending to be men.
Ian Rice: We don't know much about Kenavt. We're all kind of hoping they're no good, because, let's face it, half our team don't really know how to play.
Adam Bradshaw: My grandfather was not a girl!
"Dennis": My grandfather was.

GB: You'll finish the group stages with a game against Alversia, regarded by some as the group favourites. Looking forward to it?

Werner Borr: Well, it's a little worrying. The talk we're hearing suggests that they're practicing playing football right now instead of talking to newspapers. Everything we've heard suggests that they're, you know, real footballers. They use words like 'cross' and 'layoff' and 'throughball', and despite my extensive experience of playing football around the world, I'm not really sure what half of those words mean.
Adam Bradshaw: I think we can still beat them. We just need to call on our great Vonkian spirit! If my grandfather could build the Trans-Vonks Railway single-handedly in half an hour (and he assured me he did, even though the history books say it was built several decades before his birth), surely we can overcome a tiny little thing like being bad at playing football!
Henry "The Octopus" Anderson: Here! Was that 'single-handed' comment a crack about my extra arm?
Adam Bradshaw: No.
Pål Ingebritsen: Hurr, hurr, Bradshaw's in trouble again.
Adam Bradshaw: If you don't shut up, I'm going to give you a fat lip.
Rajesh "Fatty" Khudanpur: Was that a reference to my weight problem?

GB: Any final thoughts? Are you going to follow Alversia's example and do some practice before the big game?
Gerhard Lippert: Nah, I'm going to watch telly in my hotel.
Xerxes Astanopoulos: I'll be spending the time between now and the first game performing an ancient arcane ritual involving dancing naked under the moonlight. I hope the weather stays nice.
Nigel Nigel: Is this ritual going to help us win?
Xerxes Astanopoulos: No, it's just a general ritual. It doesn't do anything.

It was 11.30 PM.
Professor Douglas sat in his room. The room was actually one of the ten small sleeping chambers that was built inside the hall were the team was keeped. The room was barely big enough to hold a bed, a closet and the desk with chair, on which he was sitting now. It only had one window and the professor had to use artificial light all of the time to see what he was doing. Not that this mattered much, because he had no clue what to do.

He was kind of tired after all the trainings and the Group Draw. Has the whole world gone insane, he asked to himself. First these stupid monkeys and now freaking manatees? It looks like a zoo here! He stood up. At least the draw was nice. The team got dragged into a group that didn't look like it was going to be hard to win. Only one team in their pool had showed up out of anonymusity and the other three teams that showed up at the draw didn't look like much.

He remebered how he got into this mess. At an elite party the Party-Leader of their country asked a solution to their football team problem and the professor, who had too much champaign already, made a remark about monkeys that were psychologically and physically trained... And the president appearentally took the 'advise' for granted. He guessed that the monkeys were trained in silence, far away from civilization.

There was only one problem. Nobody had the thought to take a decent football trainer with them. Douglas had been playing some footies ever since he got of the plane, but he didn't figure out quite how the tactics should work. Although he did do the impossible, making FC DePardenti the winner of the Nethertopian NA-L.

He heard a knock on his door. He stood up and walked toward it. He opened the door, only to see that there was nobody around, but that a package lay on the floor. It was adressed to him. He looked around. There was nobody to see in the hall, except the cages. The monkeys were all asleep.

George took the package, walked back into his room, closed the door behind him and he put himself on the chair again. He opened the delivery and found out it was a MP3 player. There was also a note inside. He took the note and read it:

Dear professor Douglas,

I happen to know that you've got issues. I can fix it. Listen to this MP3 player every time before you go to sleep. It has the most advanced football tactics on it and you'll learn it by listening to it in your sleep. You'll hear more from me after the match against Ofedestan.

Greets, J.

The professor wondered who J was. He came to the conclusion that he would hear that after their first match. Douglas sighed. He was desperate for inspiration and coudn't do anything but to trust this mysterious person. He took the MP3 player and clicked to lesson one, "Basic Tactics & Offside Play". There was nothing left to do but sleep now.

(OOC: Daehan, i really love the South Park Manatees! Lovely idea ;D)

The Indonesian States has been replaced by Naggetski, until further notice. And also until further notice, the BoF is back on for tomorrow/day after tomorrow/sometime.

OOC: Not really in the mood to RP so here's our roster


5-0-5 Formation

We are a perfect 0 on the modifier


Starters

Forwards

#1 Paul "Halfie" Taylor
#2 Pim "HC" Tuens
#3 Luke "PT" Peritsy
#4 Warren Ovlov
#5 Rob "Seppi" Ryder

Defenders

#10 Carl Strad
#20 Ian "Cynon" Cooper
#30 Bart "Barre" Segers
#40 Jakob "Cheeveer" Fredrikkson
#50 Erwin Greven

Goailie

#123 Rene Lotus

OSN Nightly Report
Fenrirs Anxiously Awaiting First Match
By WILLIAM DRAKE
Sports - Page 56

Orion’s morning practice went as planned today, followed up by an hour in the weight room and three hours of film. Such has been the norm for the Fenrirs ever since their conclusion in the Oxen Cup. It has been part of a tangible effort to make the Fenrirs stronger, faster, and more intelligent in the Baptism of Fire.

“We’re really trying to win it,” Forward Michal Zurawski told reporters from the locker room. “Right now we’re looking for any way possible.”

“If there’s something out there that will give us an advantage we’re trying to find it,” Assistant Captain Brooks Hollister said. “Maybe that’s weight training. Maybe that’s film study. Maybe that’s just practicing putting the ball in the net. We’re going to try it all.”

The Fenrirs are looking for a better finish then their last showing, which ended them with a 1-3-1 ranking.

“I want three wins,” Defenseman Cristian Chivu told the press. “We had one win last time and three losses. I want that to flip-flop.”

Hollister, however, has much higher goals. When asked how many games he wanted to win, he simply smiled and replied, “All of them.”

Soon, we will see if Hollister’s goal can be accomplished.

The Jet Gazette

Jets Roster Released
After days of negotiations, the selectors of the ONFl(in this thread: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=553949) have made a decision as to the team to run for BOF glory this year. It was very tough, and all players were considered. But only the finest talent has made it in to the team. They play 3-1-2-4.


Starters:

#1- Erland Marsier- Goalie
An import from New Cimeran, Marsier was bought by the Eastern Energy as a star goalie with money donated by an anonymous millionare. He has recently been on a training course, which included being kicked at for 10 hours straight, and is in good shape.

#2- Fernando Cortez - Left Back
The first of the 3 Cortez brothers, who were the main reason for the Defalian Dervishes' clean-sheet record, Fernando is a brilliant defender with a huge boot.

#3- Antonio Cortez - Center Back
The next of the Cortez's, Antonio is also extremely talented. The Cortez's said that if one was to start for the jets, all would start. 'All or nothing'.

#4- Georgio Cortez - Right Back
Last but not least of the great Cortez's, Georgio has held off almost everything coming his way. He has as much talent as his brothers, and rearing to go.


#5- Hokuo Yita - Halfback
One of the best defensive midfielders/halfbacks in the league, Yita played for the top Central team, the Champions. He is known for his great tackling and passing.

#6- Fred Young - Left Mid
Johnson of the Titans from the uppermost tip of the country is one of the greatest dribblers, and can get the ball around most oppositions, then tap it to his partner.

#7- Enrico Herpare - Right Mid
The at times interesting number 7 shirt is worn by Herpare, of the Champions. His strength is definetly passing, and he is also capable of good shots at times. This makes him a good partner for Young.

#8- Hono Yuen - Left Wing
A speedy winger in the Energy, Yuen scored a hat-trick in his first match, and has scored well. His crosses are also known to be pretty good.

#9- Ferasos Aguantos - Left Forward
This person was known to be one of the best strikers in the league, with an astounding accuracy rating. Many goalies quiver when set against the Superheroes because of him.

#10- Thomas Kelleher - Right Forward
Another good striker, this time from the Chamions. A star penalty taker, he has forced many a team to avoid having penalties because they, almost always, result in a goal.

#11- Rafael Denido - Right Wing
Crossing is the speciality of Denido from the Harbour Harpoons. They almost always hit home, and he is almost always the corner taker of choice on the team.


Subs:

Left Back: John Mason - Superheroes.
Center Back: George Wenham - Champions.
Right Back: Ian Cadre - Harpoons.

Halfback: Sam Johnson - Superheroes.

Left Mid: John Ball - Dervishes.
Right Mid: Trevor Ahearn - Ungban Androids.

Left Wing: Jake Tosh - Superheroes.
Left Forward: Frederico Marscapone - South Central Sapphires.
Right Forward:Greg hind - Titans.
Right Wing: D. Heatley - Harpoons.



If my opponent RPs first, he may do the following:
Choose my goalscorers: Yes
Yellow card my players: Yes
Red card my players: 1 per game maximum.
Injure my players: Within reason
Godmode injuries to my players: Within reason
Godmode scoring events: Yes
Godmode other events: Within reason



Style Modifier: -1


OFS

BoF Best Blogs

With the first matches starting in just a few hours, we're opening the blogs to the first ten people who can post something here! Here's your marks!

#1
wannie0807 - 0046GMT; woohoo! FIRST!

#2
bogo_gim111 - 0046GMT; woohoo! FIRST! dammit, not first...
edited 0046GMT

#3
yunnie2222 - 0046GMT; woohoo! FIRST! dammit, not even second...
edited 0046GMT

#4
juicer444 - 0046GMT; ㅋㅋㅋ

#5
yongchim_il - 0046GMT; wtf, can't you guys talk about the games this afternoon? grow up.

#6
gojugaru - 0046GMT; grow up!</mimic>

#7
kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk - 0046GMT; i think newmanistan is going to win the bof.

#8
hallasan001 - 0046GMT; guys! newmanistan isnt even in the bof! and im sick of the people posting on this blog; cant you do anything good?

#9
ssangsaek - 0046GMT; ㅋㅋㅋ

#10
jujubbab - 0046GMT; FIRST! dammit, not even...
edited 0046GMT

~~~ End of query ~~~

To see full results, click here (http://www.chillin-room.de/images/gallery/zerg_art_768x768.gif)

Matches begin in 3 hours... roughly...

FRONTENAX GRIZZLIES
Home (http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/FtnxHome4.jpg) - Away (http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm1/Starblayde/ediraf/FtnxAway4.jpg)

Frontenaxi National Roster

STARTERS
GK #01 John Rochester
DEF #09 Eli Baker
DEF #46 Viktor Kowalski
DEF #52 Anthony Hirshel
MID #19 Alexander Lawrence
MID #16 Ramez Kapoor
MID #12 River Fischer
MID #15 Rahman Shareef
FOR #32 Jordan Pellegrino
FOR #21 Gaël Haverford
FOR #08 Manuel Salem

RESERVES
GK #54 Nick Stronson
DEF #35 Alfonso Nedelcho
DEF #47 Emilio Galdemez
MID #23 Toby Flenderson
MID #40 Antonio De Salchio
MID #02 Dirk Saxon
FOR #04 Eli Elkan
FOR #29 Saul De Hannover

*BOLD DENOTES TEAM CAPTAIN


In the event my opponent posts first, he/she may:

Choose my scorers? Yes
Yellow card my players? Yes
Red card my players? No
Injure my players? Within Reason
Godmode injuries? Within Reason
Godmode scoring events? Yes
Godmode other events? Within Reason

Ross Arroza: Now we train, y'all. I've gotten word from the Department of Sport that a good performance in the Baptism of Fire will be very favorable to our parole hearings later. So I don't want to hear a single word of dissent from y'all...unless you feel like Angola State Penitentiary's a place you feel like enjoying for another few years or so.

Tony McManus: But Coach, all the equipment is gone. Can't we just practice set pieces and formations like the normal teams?

R. Arroza: What do you mean the equipment is gone!

R. Rios: Equipment go boom. (Rios smiles gleefully)

C. Mahaffey: I used to be a distributor, I had a couple of connections here in Dae...Dai...Doe-hann-juke? Daehanjuk, yea! Bet, I could get some.

All: Shut up Chris, you can't get squat.

R. Arroza: Don't worry either, I got them to fly a secondary set of equipment if something (air-quotes) "mysteriously happened" to the first set.

*1 Hour later*

R. Arroza: Okay, that's enough regular practice. Strikers and Wingers! Time for Chain Gang!
*The guards attach a waist shackle to the Forwards and Wingers. The shackle is attached to an iron chain. Which is attached to a sled. Which is being stood on by a rifle-toting guard.*

Kandji! Mush!

*Kandji, Hayes, Lancaster, Valente, start pulling the sleds aroung the practice field, guards in tow.

Camp, Monteiro, Arze, Chevalier! Get over here, time for Shock Step!

V. Arze: Please not that again. I'll pull the sled, just not that!

The next piece of equipment was something that looked like a cross between a DDR pad and a Simon machine. Lights flashed in a ominous pattern. The rules were simple. You keep the ball off the flashing pads, you don't get hit with raw voltage.

The defenders were off doing their own hellish exercises, known only as Riot Act, and Cannon.

OOC: Would finish, but I'm about to pass out typing.

It's the BoF show, with Yang and Son at the helm of the reports!

Son: Well, it was certainly exciting today, as the first matches finally separated the teams in what is their first WCC-sanctioned event. A long journey for many, and a very disappointing ride for 19 contenders.

Yang: It's always that way. You can only have one winner.

Son: Well, today at least, we'll have 10. Let's take a look at those winners today!

Yang: For Group A, it was a thrilling 2-2 draw between Unified Beretania and Bearbears, while Arroza won out convincingly against Zarbli. Group B featured Ma Raque winning out against SouthSuburbia in a 2-1 derby, while Orion Star Empire held a clean sheet with a 1-0 win over Gwaine. Dariusville had their clean sheet in Group C with their 2-0 win over Ofedestan, while last-minute (literally) contenders Naggetski held out against Pablicosta. And rounding out with Group D, we had Frontenax battle out against Alversia with a 2-1 win, and United Hetzel taking a 1-0 win over Tokyoni. A reminder to our viewers that all of the matches occurred simultaneously on one of the 8 fields around the main complex, where our two bye matches occurred, one after the other. Son, would you care to take the honors?

Son: Absolutely, Yang! One of the unique characteristics of this edition of the Baptism of Fire is the bye match, which features one side from each of the Groups against each other. For the Baptism of Fire tournament, there will likely be a heated derby with contenders from Group A trying to best those from Group B, and Group C trying to outdo Group D. I'm not sure how it will work out, but IFA officials are hoping that this derby will help to encourage competitiveness among the different groups, in what was at one time traditionally a two-nation affair.

Yang: Traditionally? What do you mean?

Son: Well, when the Han played in the BoF Tournament, we played in The Lowland Clans, who have since disappeared largely from international affairs.

Yang: Yeah, yeah. Get onto the scores already!

Son: Right! Well, from Groups A and B, we had Talon Deil face off against Nehrland. It was a tense match, but Nehrland won the derby 2-1. In the Group C/D match, it was a nice contest between United Hetzel and Tokyoni that ended with a slender 1-0 win for United Hetzel. And with that, we have our first winners for the Cup. We'll be taking a look at our prospectives now. Who were the biggest winners today?

Yang: Aside from the obvious? The eight winners have a big boost of confidence today as they get prepared for the remaining matches. The two draws aren't too much to draw on, but it's better than an outright loss. It's curious to note that both draws ended in a fantastic 2-2 display. Shows the commitment of the offensive striking power of those teams.

Son: But any good team isn't great without credible defense. Dariusville had a convincing 2-0 win, more so because they kept a clean sheet. Every goalkeeper loves them, and I think you'll find that those teams with the clean sheets will have an easier time handling the offensive power of even the greatest World Cup teams.

Yang: But what really wins games? Goals. Arroza got 3 of them, and they'll be looking to make due with their gains. The teams that score goals will be the true winners.

Son: But not if the other side can stop them.

Yang: But if they're being stopped, who's scoring the goals?

*cues off-stage*

Son: Right. We'll leave that debate for another time. For your viewing convenience, scores and results have posted on the MBC main website. Until the next match, we'll be waiting!



Group A
Unified Beretania 2-2 Bearbears
Arroza 3-1 Zarbli

Group B
SouthSuburbia 1-2 Ma Raque
Orion Star Empire 1-0 Gwaine

Group C
Ofedestan 0-2 Dariusville
Pablicosta 2-2 Naggetski

Group D
Frontenax 2-1 Alversia <<< This result has been voided, due to removal of Alversia from BoF tournament
Vonks 2-0 Kenavt

Bye Matches
Talon Deil 1-2 Nehrland
United Hetzel 1-0 Tokyoni

Winners are in bold; draws are in italics; all bye matches contribute to the final group standings.


Group A
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Arroza 3 1 0 0 3 1 2
Unified Beretania 1 0 1 0 2 2 0
Bearbears 1 0 1 0 2 2 0
Talon Deil 0 0 0 1 1 2 -1
Zarbli 0 0 0 1 1 3 -2

Group B
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Ma Raque 3 1 0 0 2 1 1
Nehrland 3 1 0 0 2 1 1
Orion Star Empire 3 1 0 0 1 0 1
SouthSuburbia 0 0 0 1 1 2 -1
Gwaine 0 0 0 1 0 1 -1

Group C
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Dariusville 3 1 0 0 2 0 2
United Hetzel 3 1 0 0 1 0 1
Pablicosta 1 0 1 0 2 2 0
Naggetski 1 0 1 0 2 2 0
Ofedestan 0 0 0 1 0 2 -2

Group D
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Vonks 3 1 0 0 2 0 2
Frontenax 3 1 0 0 2 1 1
Alversia 0 0 0 1 1 2 -1
Tokyoni 0 0 0 1 0 1 -1
Kenavt 0 0 0 1 0 2 -2


Next match will be scorinated tomorrow at around the same time - same time being the time of the cut-off.

Drake:
“Hello I’m William Drake and welcome to OSN LateNight©, Orion’s own Sports Network’s special program devoted to sports that otherwise receive little recognition. Joining me tonight is my co-host John Stone, as well as OBC on the spot sports reporter Sydney Fry.”

Stone:
“Yes Will and do we have a good show for you tonight!”

Fry:
“The Fenrirs came out in their away black and silver and got their first win in the Baptism of Fire off of the foot of Brooks Hollister. Is he a sensation or what?”

Drake:
“The young man certainly has talent, which when compared to many storied teams of old, is a rarity among the Fenrirs.”

Stone:
“He booted one past the Gwaine keeper early, in the 15th minute, and the Orion defense held strong throughout the rest of the game.”

Fry:
“Tonight’s game was notable for being very clean. No red cards were issued, and only Orion defender Sergei Kiryakov got a yellow for a trip.”

Stone:
“And that call was debatable at best.”

Drake:
“But all in all, a pretty standard match of soccer for the Fenrirs’ opening game. Moving on, Orion plays SouthSuburbia, who lost 1-2 versus Ma Raque.”

Fry:
“Still, being how early it is in the tournament, opening day wins and losses don’t always signify anything. The Fenrirs should play this one as hard as ever. Remember, the point difference between our win and SouthSuburbia’s loss are the same. One goal either way could sway the deal.”

Stone:
“Brooks Hollister will be the only one swaying any deal. Orion should win 2-0 with another goal from the young forward.”

Fry:
“1-0 victory for my prediction. It’s a bit more realistic.”

Drake:
“I’m going to go out on a limb and predict a 1-1 tie. Who knows how these teams will finish. I’m William Drake,”

Stone:
“I’m John Stone,”

Together:
“And this is OSN LateNight©!”

Fry:
“Goodnight, Orion.”

As per the discussion thread:

The rankings have now been updated to take World Cup 40 and its associated CoH into account:
ods (http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gth681k/ns/Post-WC40 Rankings.ods) | xls (http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gth681k/ns/Post-WC40 Rankings.xls) | pdf (http://www.prism.gatech.edu/~gth681k/ns/Post-WC40 Rankings.pdf)

While checking out the rankings, I just happened to notice that the nation of Alversia has KPB points, but yet is also participating in this Baptism of Fire. Shouldn't they not be eligible?

That is absolutely correct. Alversia was in World Cup 38 qualifying, so therefore should indeed be ineligible for the current BoF.

News Article: Rockport Illuminator - Sports Lead

Capstone Cannon Fires True!


In the first game in the long road to the World Cup for the Tar Hornets Soccer Team, the Black and Whites have certainly proven one thing. If they fail it won’t be because of a lack of offensive talent. Arroza cruised to victory 3-1 against Zarbli, with goals coming in early and often.

The game was played at Practice Field #2 of the Daehanjeiguk Royal Facility with the two intra-division games being played in the main arena. The lack of fans didn’t hurt the team at all though, as Martin Lancaster turned the game into his own personal introduction to the world. The scoring started early in the twelfth minute when Lancaster intercepted an errant pass thirty-five yards from goal. He ran straight at the defense of Zarbli, nutmegs him with a brilliant step-over, and puts a rocket into the top-corner of the net. GOAL!

In the fortieth minute the Prisoners strike again. This time it was a controlled attack. Knox, and Barrow overlapping up the left side of the field. Barrow runs into the corner, and kicks a cross to Kandji in the area. Kandji can’t get it into goal, but instead heads it down into the path of Blake Camp. Camp hits it on the half-volley, and it goes into the lower-left corner…GOAL! 2-nil Tar Hornets at the half.

The two sides traded goals in the second half, the first of them coming when Parrish on the right wing, laid an excellent through-ball, behind the defense to the forward Kandji. Kandji takes the extra pass to shake the defenders, and Lancaster again, does not miss. GOAL! 3-0 Arroza. The other goal happened when Zarbli swarmed forward, getting a corner in the 78th minute. The corner was headed away by Rios, but only as far as the Zarblian Midfielder, who shoots from the edge of the box…Goal, Zarbli. 3-1 Arroza.

And as the final whistle blows, Martin Lancaster, a.k.a. The Capstone Cannon, was given Man of the Match honors for his two-goal performance. There might be a bright future for him in one of the international leagues after both the World Cup, and his parole hearing in eight months.

Overall Stats:
Goals:
Lancaster: 2, Camp: 1
Assists:
Kandji:2

GRIZZLIES ON TOP IN FIRST INTERNATIONAL
FRONTENAX 2 - 1 ALVERSIA

LASA, DAEHANJEIGUK The National Football Team of Frontenax has won its first international match after a decisive 2-1 victory over the Bisons of Alversia at the Baptism of Fire. The match comes months after the Ministry of Sports and Culture had put together its first international sporting team, comprising of the nations top College and High School Football players. With a median age of 20, the young squad traveled to the BoF with much enthusiasm and skill in hopes of representing their equally young nation, and after a full ninety minutes their dreams had come true.

"I can't believe we **** one, i'm so **** proud of our team and their's no more **** pressure anymore, cause we won one, and that's all that **** matters" says loudmouth Midfielder River Fischer. Team Captain, Forward Manuel Salem adds that the victory "is a great accomplishment for the team and our country. It's great to come out her to play other new teams and to play at the international level."

The Grizzlies exploded in the first half, taking possession of the ball more than half of the period and keeping it on Alversia's side. The Bison Defense kept strong, however, and the Grizzlies could not penetrate the goal area in the first quarter. thanks to superb defense by the Alversian centre-back Michael Reynolds and goalkeeper Michael Smith, whom worked hand in hand in keeping the ball from the back of the net despite a few close calls and several corner kicks. It came in the 32nd minute of the match, when forward Gaël Haverford scored his first international goal after getting around centre-back Tony Carpenter to nail one into the center of the net. Ten minutes later, at the 42nd, the Grizzlies were still out for more and managed to sink one after an assist from Fischer enabled forward Jordan Pellegrino to score from outside the box. At the end of the half, the Grizzlies entered the locker room with much enthusiasm and a clear advantage over the Bisons, however, they were still only halfway towards earning a victory.

The Bisons came on strong after the half, running the ball up and down and keeping the Grizzly Midfielders busy. A few close calls by Bison striker Kevin Corrigan kept the crowd on their feet and goalkeeper John Rochester sweating bullets. However, by the 68th minute they had begun to loose momentum and although far from over, the game had begun winding down. Most of the starting team for the Grizzlies was on the bench allowing the high schooler from Fort Alexander, forward Eli Elkan, to get in some good practice. At the 80th minute the Bisons came back, attacking from all sides and easily taking the possession of the ball away from the Grizzlies. At the 84th, this strategy payed off and allowed for forward James Hamilton to head one into the net after a corner kick from centre midfielder John Matthews. The rebound came to late in the game for the Bisons as the game came to a close after a few minutes of stoppage.

The win puts Frontenax in second-place of Group D, behind Vonks who took on Kenavt in a 2-0 victory. Also in Group D, Tokyoni lost to Group C member United Hetzel in a Bye Match by the score of 1-0. Frontenax will take on first-place Vonks later today, whom is expected to bring a challenge to the Grizzlies.

"They're going to be hard to score on. Especially with that monstrosity (Rajesh) Khudanpur as the anchor to their defense. Oh and let's not even mention the three-armed Anderson. He's straight outta one of those Hindu folk stories with the multiple-limbed gods and demons and what not. It's absurd that he's on the team" said forward Pellegrino after interviewing with Frontier Sports Channel correspondent Nisha Kaling, whom later reprimanded the sports star for his comments.

The Grizzlies prepare to put it all on the pitch against the team from Vonks. The match will definately be an important one for the Grizzlies and a must-win for them to be the clear frontrunner in advancing to the next stage of the competition.

The match will begin live at 15:00 FST on Frontier Sports Channel 12, with a later rebroadcast shortly after midnight.
THE NORTH STAR TIMES, ONLINE EDITION, 2008.

Wang: WTF? First The Indonesian States, now Alversia? What's wrong with this world? Aren't we supposed to be taking care of this stuff before it happens?

Hwang: Eh, just relax. *eats popcorn*

Wang: I thought you ate all of the popcorn already.

Hwang: Shin bought me some more. Want some?

Wang: We're supposed to be getting serious. The Supervisor wasn't too pleased with what happened during the DBC.

Hwang: Eh, just relax. *shoves popcorn into Wang's mouth*

Wang: *muffles* WTF?

Hwang: Just relax! Look! Everything is still fine! People are still alive! The BoF is still rolling! I guess the only thing that's out of order is that Oickodia is still being swallowed by a giant fire-breathing snail. They take forever to eat.

Wang: You take forever to eat!

Hwang: No, I don't. Look, I'm almost done with my popcorn!

Wang: You had three kernels. Now you have one.

Hwang: So?

Wang: The one kernel, you fed to me! The other, you just ate.

Hwang: What can I say? I like to take my time with things.

Wang: Well, that explains why you hog the toilet...

Hwang: Oh, that's for another reason too.

Wang: ... I really don't want to know what that is.

The Jet Gazette

Bad Start to BoF Campaign
The first match of the campaign for the Baptism Of Fire was, in short, not the best our team could be, losing 2-0 to strong contenders Dariusvlle. Several errors were noticed, including a disastrous and rare defence mistake, especially for someone as good as the Cortez's. However, there were a few good points noticed, especially some good dribbling in the midfield. Such a shame it couldn't convert into goals. They might be monkeys, but they sure are pretty good. Joe had to get 2 new shirts for scoring both goals.



Match Commentary

The Jets lost the toss, and had to defend the kick-off. The monkeys attacked strongly at first, but the defdenders held them at bay. Then Fernando kicked the ball all the way to halfway, for Young to dribble it around almost all of the defenders(to prevent offside), and tap to Herpare, who passes to Aguantos to let fly with a brilliant kick, only to have it miraculously saved by Pauli. Then he did one of his trademark throws, past halfway to Yigit, who dribbled amazingly aroung the fullbacks, and passed perfectly to Tarik, who gave a great kick into the corner on the ground, but Marsier's training paid off, with an amazing dive, before he kicked it up the field to Herpare, who dribbles forward a bit, before being tackled by Jack, the captain. Suddenly the whistle blows, and up pops a yellow card. 'Biting' calls the ref. "Sub" calls Douglas from the stands. off goes Jack, and on comes Wilkson. The Professor insists on subbing off any troublemakers. herpare takes the kick, and boots it up to Yuen. He crosses in the direction of Aguantos, but is intercepted by George with a header to Darren, who passes to Yigit, who runs once again around the defence, narrowly avoiding a slide tackle, before crossing to Joe. He kicks perfectly in the corner, up high. Marsier dives frantically at it, at manages to make contact, and send the ball... backwards. 1-0 to dariusville. The monkey shrieks drown out most of the crowd. 2 minutes were left in the half. Such a shame that we were kicking off, before half-time. Amazingly, the monkeys had gone so crazy that they went wild, smoking up the field as soon as they could lay their feet upon the ball. just a minute later, the score had increased again. th roar and monkey shrieks were even louder this time, and Swerz gets so excited that he kicks Denido in the ribs, not knowing that the ref was watching. the shrill whistle sounded again, and this time a red card came out. This time the monkey shrieks didnt sound at all, and the stadium was filled with cries of outrage on one side, and shouts of joy on the other. But before the jets could take the free kick, the triple whistle blew to signal half time.

Half Time Score: 2-0 Dariusville(Joe(43,44))

Without Swerz, the game was balanced equally, with nether side making a major breakthrough. It remained goalless, and was much less exciting. The teams were tired out from a tough first half, and were not in the mood for anything strenous. And who can blame them? Both defenders held on well, to end a Dariusville-centered match.

Final Score: Ofedestan 0-2 Dariusville(Joe(43,44))

Conclusion on Dariusville:
A talented team from dariusville, but they are easily able to foul people, but that's just in their nature. The Pfrofessor will be hard at work trying to get them more disciplined.

Coming Up:

The Jets' next match is against Pablicosta. They remain an unknown quantity, and all we do know is that they are about equal with Naggetski. We will be hoping to turn our early bad form around and pull off a win to lift us from bottom of the table.


OFS

Vonks Wins First Ever Football Game

In a result that came as a surprise to everybody, but none more so than the team themselves, the Vonkian national football squad won its first ever international football match 2-0 in the opening round of Baptism of Fire group matches.

The 2-0 win against Kenavt puts "the Squirrels" - so called because their shirts, shorts and shoes (but not socks) are made from real red squirrels, which frolic freely in Vonks's many lush forests - top of Group D after one game, and full of optimism for the game against second-placed Frontenax.

Vonks manager Vasko Vaskoveyvanitsch attributed the win to "Me, all me, and my brilliant strategies, I take all the credit, every last bit, I am a hero to the world and beloved by all." However, there are those who have questioned his tactics - the unusual decision to use all three permitted substitutes in the first two and a half minutes could have backfired horribly, but surprisingly turned out to be for the best.

Vonks captain Werner Borr kicked off and the Squirrels were immediately on the attack, all chasing upfield in a tightly-knit mob after the ball as is their usual strategy. When Kenavt defender Niklas Backmon, a little taken by surprise, kicked the ball into touch, Vaskoveyvanitsch chose to make his first tactical substitution, taking off "Spiders" Fajuyi and replacing him with Adrian Ballantyne. The reason for the substitution was not made clear, but may have resulted from a pre-match incident in which "Spiders" was heard to observe that his manager resembles "a big fat sea-slug of some kind".

Two more quick tactical substitutions followed, Vasko having heard the crowd's applause for Ballantyne and thought it was showing appreciation for his strategic genius, and defenders Ian Rice and Richard Roland, neither of whom had touched the ball, were replaced by strikers Olav Bersvendsen and Nigel Nigel.

After this initial excitement, the game settled down, and the Kenavt forward line of Lawrence, da Vinco and Crist were soon on the attack, testing the Vonkian defence with a repeated barrage of shots, all of which somehow missed the target or struck oblivious Vonkian defenders to be deflected away from the goal. Vonkian goalkeeper Roman Ciano was not troubled until ten minutes into the game, when, with the ball at the other end of the pitch, he suddenly dived headlong into a goalpost and was knocked unconscious.

It subsequently transpired that Ciano is in fact completely blind, and had passed his very basic trial for the position of number one goalkeeper for the national team "more by lucky guesswork than anything else". After he was stretchered off, and with no more substitutions allowed, defender "Fatty" Khudanpur took the goalkeeper's jersey (which he stretched horribly out of shape) for the remainder of the game.

Khudanpur proved to be an excellent goalkeeper, being five feet across at the waist and therefore not needing to move so much in order to block shots at goal, and he kept a clean sheet throughout the game. Not only that, but he also contributed to Vonks's first goal, hoofing the ball downfield where it fell nicely at the feet of 19-year-old sensation Xiaoshan Gao. Gao, demonstrating an unexpected ability to play football unseen before now in Vonks, flicked the ball casually over the lunging tackle of Vartiuo before launching a piledriver of a shot that gave Kenavt goalkeeper Roy Ike no chance.

The new hero of the Vonkian nation was unable to give a post-match interview due to his inability to speak or otherwise communicate in any way with other human beings, but was said by team-mates to look like he was very happy with his performance.

The Vonks team went back to the changing room at half-time leading 1-0, although they might have felt a little worried about their ability to maintain the lead, the 45th-minute dismissal of defender Pål Ingebritsen (for punching the referee in the stomach "just for a laugh, really") having reduced them to nine men. Vaskoveyvanitsch declined to give a team talk, preferring to spend the break attempting to seduce various attractive women and men in the crowd, meaning that the team had fifteen minutes of unaccustomed peace and relaxation.

They seemed much refreshed after the interval, coming out with all guns blazing and earning a free kick soon after the restart when Tiriaq Okpik was fouled by Aaron Zackrison on the edge of the penalty area. Henry "The Octopus" Anderson wasted the opportunity by kicking the ball the wrong way, having forgotten that the teams change ends at half time, and Vonks then spent most of the second half defending.

Xiaoshan Gao was again a major player in the second Vonks goal - on 85 minutes, he launched into a magnificent run, catching out the Kenavt defence and sending in a superb cross which Nigel Nigel, looking the other way at his manager propositioning his wife, Nigella Nigel, in the stands, deflected into the goal with the back of his head.

When the final whistle blew, the entire Vonks squad ran three laps of honour around the pitch, basking in the applause of their loyal fans and the neutral spectators who admired their unusual style of play. Their celebrations are still ongoing at the time of writing, and it seems unlikely that they will have any sleep before the second game against Frontenax.

Vonks 2 - 0 Kenavt

Scorers:

Gao 32
Nigel 85

Yellow cards:

Kenavt: Zackrison

Red cards:

Vonks: Ingebritsen

IFA Apologizes for Errors

A number of errors helped kick start the BoF, and it's been somewhat embarrassing for the IFA to confess.

The first error was the use of Count Jeong's DDR pad that was used for the Cup of Harmony. For some reason, some of the corrupted programming was not fixed on the hardware, allowing a redraw of Estresse Intenso in the BoF draw. Happily, the IFA was sensible enough not to redraw; furthermore, Estresse Intenso was not added to the Team draw.

The second error came amidst cries of bribery. The FA of Alversia was reputedly disqualified for the tournament, having participated in a tournament within the past 3 years (although incidentally not participating in the BoF itself). For this reason, the Group Draws have been reposted with the proper SFRS team that played Frontenax during the last group stage. As to what the score was for that match, Imperial officials are still looking for the match report; it seems a mass case of amnesia is being blamed for the event.

The final error occurred during the Ofedestan - Dariusville match. After a monkey kicked one of the Ofedestan players, the referee stopped play and issued a red card for the foul. It so happened that the referee then called for half time after pointing to a free kick, despite a full minutes of stoppage time still left on the clock for stoppages and injuries. The referee was reprimanded by the IFA for failure to allow the free kick and expire injury time; again, it seems amnesia was the culprit for this mistake.

It's been a pretty tough start, but with the high altitude and such, most of the problems seem to be associated with amnesia. Doctors are diagnosing the problems as symptoms of high altitude oxygen deficiency (or just plain "altitude sickness"), but no tests have been conducted yet. For the moment, it all seems pretty harmless.

OOC announcement: matches will be scored on time tonight/this morning/three years ago/sometime - RP!

It's the BoF show, with Yang and Son at the helm of the reports!

Son & Yang: *snores*

Producer: You're on?

Son & Yang: *snores*

Producer: %$#^. I knew this media outage was going to put them to sleep. Oh well, we'll be on time hopefully for tonight's show. Just show the scores!

Group A
Arroza 3-1 Unified Beretania
Talon Deil 2-2 Bearbears

Group B
Orion Star Empire 4-1 SouthSuburbia
Nehrland 0-2 Ma Raque

Group C
Pablicosta 2-1 Ofedestan
United Hetzel 0-0 Dariusville

Group D
Vonks 0-1 Frontenax
Tokyoni 2-1 SFRS

Bye Matches
Zarbli 1-0 Gwaine
Naggetski 2-1 Kenavt

The Lost Frontenax - SFRS match
Frontenax 3-2 SFRS


Group A
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Arroza 6 2 0 0 6 2 4
Zarbli 3 1 0 1 2 3 -1
Bearbears 2 0 2 0 4 4 0
Talon Deil 1 0 1 1 3 4 -1
Unified Beretania 1 0 1 1 3 5 -2

Group B
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Orion Star Empire 6 2 0 0 5 1 4
Ma Raque 6 2 0 0 4 1 3
Nehrland 3 1 0 1 2 3 -1
Gwaine 0 0 0 2 0 2 -2
SouthSuburbia 0 0 0 2 2 6 -4

Group C
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Dariusville 4 1 1 0 2 0 2
Pablicosta 4 1 1 0 4 3 1
Naggetski 4 1 1 0 4 3 1
United Hetzel 4 1 1 0 1 0 1
Ofedestan 0 0 0 2 1 4 -3

Group D
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Frontenax 6 2 0 0 4 2 2
Vonks 3 1 0 1 2 1 1
Tokyoni 3 1 0 1 2 2 0
SFRS 0 0 0 2 3 5 -2
Kenavt 0 0 0 2 1 4 -3

Next match scores will be completed in 7 hours

Vonks Prepares For Frontenax Battle


The Vonkian starting lineup for their all-important second group game has been announced:

_______________________ 13 Tesinsky _______________________________

_ 16 Bradshaw _____ 3 Roland _____ 4 Khudanpur _____ 5 Rice _

_______ 6 Borr _______ 8 Astanopoulos _______ 17 Singh _______

_______ 9 Okpik _______ 10 Anderson _______ 11 Gao ________


Vonkian Daily Newspaper reporter Gordon Bourdon spoke to the team again before the game.

GB: We were hoping to speak with the manager, but it seems that he's currently unconscious after 24 hours of drink and debauchery. Still, it seems that after throwing on an unusual number of forwards in the first game, he's reverted to a 4-3-3 system?
Werner Borr: Yeah, looks like it. He doesn't really tell us what to do, though, he just posts the team sheet up on the wall and expects us to work it out. Then he hits us if we don't do what he wanted.

Sigur Nilsen: He scares me.

GB: There were a couple of enforced changes here, with the suspension of Pål Ingebritsen and the unfortunate injury and recently-revealed disability of Roman Ciano. How's he recovering, by the way?

Trevelyan Tesinsky: He's fine, just suffering from concussion and under the delusion that he's a famous clothing designer called Horace Underpants. He'll get over it. Funny thing about him turning out to be blind all along, though.

Hardip Singh: That does explain why he was always holding hands with Richard and following him around everywhere whenever we went somewhere unfamiliar.

Richard Roland: And I thought he just liked me. I feel so betrayed.

GB: The only other change is that "Spiders" has been dropped from the team - are reports of a rift between you and Vaskoveyvanitsch accurate?

Abiodun "Spiders" Fajuyi: I stand by my comments. He DOES look EXACTLY like some kind of giant sea-slug, and if he wants to drop me from the team for telling the truth, let him. It's his loss, the fat old drunken berk.

Nigel Nigel: He also told me he's not going to let me play again unless I allow him to fondle certain parts of my wife.

GB: Um, so, aside from a few minor disagreements, are you all still in good spirits after your unexpected win?

Tiriaq Okpik: My head feels like it's been mauled by a polar bear and fried in whale blubber. We've all had too much to drink and not enough sleep.

Ian Rice: Yeah, and we're not going to talk about the embarrassing group hug in the bathtub after the game that all got a bit out of hand.

"Dennis": Um, actually, I think we do need to talk about that. Certain things happened and now, um, I think I might be pregnant...

Adrian Ballantyne: Oh God.

GB: So, if we could talk a little bit about football, Xiaoshan, you displayed some handy skills in the first game and virtually won it all by yourself. Can we look forward to a similar performance this time?

Xiaoshan Gao: (sits motionless, showing no signs of having heard the question)

GB: Can he hear me?

Werner Borr: We think so. If you tell him to do something, he generally does it. He just doesn't acknowledge what you've said at all. And let's face it, he can play football, so who cares if he talks to us or not?

Henry "The Octopus" Anderson: Hey! When you said 'handy' there, was that about me having an extra arm?

GB: What? No, of course it wasn't.

Henry "The Octopus" Anderson: Well, it had better not have been. More than two people every year are born with functioning extra limbs, we're a genuine minority group and we deserve tolerance and sympathy, not bigoted snide remarks like that.

GB: Well, while we're on the subject, what do you think of Frontenaxi striker Jordan Pellegrino's assertion that you are 'straight outta one of those Hindu folk stories with the multiple-limbed gods and demons and what not'?

Henry "The Octopus" Anderson: Yeah, I thought that was quite nice of him. I'm flattered that he's comparing me to one of those heroes who fight the hideous gods and demons and things. He must have seen my impressive footballing skills and been reminded of some old legend. And he even said that it's 'absurd' for me to be on this team when I should be out saving the world from destruction with my amazing athleticism. Nice guy.

GB: Any final thoughts on the game, people?

Xerxes Astanopoulos: Well, it’s an interesting situation. Due to what can only be described as some sort of breakdown of the space-time continuum, nobody knows for sure who Frontenax played in the first game or what the score was – not even the people who played in the game itself. So we don’t know very much about them.

Pål Ingebritsen: Hurr, hurr, Frontenax are all like little kids, they're all from school and stuff, and they're just babies. We're gonna kill them.

Adam Bradshaw: Well, you're not going to do anything, are you? You're suspended because you punched the referee.

Pål Ingebritsen: Hurr, hurr, he was asking for it. He had a stupid moustache.

Kenavt Disapoints

The Reds Can't Do Nuthin'!

Daehanjeiguk-Kenavt started their future in the World Cup badly with a loss to Vonks in the 28th Baptism of Fire entry tourney. The match was highlighted by 3 Vonks substitutions in the first 2 1/2 minutes, and the claim in the post-game conference by Vonks manager Vasko Vaskoveyvanitsch that the win was to "Me, all me, and my brilliant strategies, I take all the credit, every last bit, I am a hero to the world and beloved by all." Right afterwards, KMN-13 showed footage of the Vonks players rejoicing quite abnormally after the end of the game. When heard on television broadcast, a riot started in the captial Poiuytrewq. It was put down fast and excessively, due to a couple of the police force joining in on the riot. It has been estimated 10
lives were lost, 100 injured, and 10 million Navts in damage costs. The Football Federation of Kenavt, the governing body of football in Kenavt, has asked for an apology from Vaskoveyvanitsch and the rest of the teamdue to the unsportsmanlike gestures of the night.

Ian Lawrence, Andy da Vincho, and Bart Crist pounded away with very few responses at keeper Ike's end, however getting unlucky. However, Vonks goalie Ciano jumped into a goalpost while the ball was in Ike's possession. Later, in a statement released by Vonks that he was actually legally blind.

Later in the game, replacement goalie "Fatty" Khudanpur (from the defense, due to the running out of substitutions before) passed the ball to touted Xiaoshan Gao at the 32nd minute, who surpassed a tackle by fullback Vartiuo and bulleted the ball off Ike's head and then the crossbar and in. Instant replay showed the ball going at an unprecendeted speed of 50mph, giving Roy Ike no chance of even getting out of the way.

At the 45th minute, on a slightly disputed call against Vonks that resulted in da Vincho missing the crossbar in a penalty kick, Ingetbrison of Vonks punched referee Cristobal Huet in the stomach. A red card was immediately assessed, meaning Vonks was down by 2 men at the beginning of the second half.

In the 60th minute, Aaron Zackrison of Kenavt fouled Okpik just outside the penalty area on an aggressive foul that, after analysis, almost broke Okpik's ankle. In a call by Huet, Zackrison received a yellow card. Immediately Vonks fans protested, citing that there was intent to injure and a red card should have been made. After Huet called in the security for his security, the fans quickly dispursed after noting the huge muscles of Daehanjeigukian men.

In the 85th minute, Gao again pretty much scored, sealing the deal for Vonks.
He crossed the ball into the penalty box when Nigel Nigel, apparently distracted, had the ball bounce off the side of his head and into the net.

Here is the rest of the 28th Baptism of Fire schedule for the Kenavt Federation team:

Match Day 1:
Vonks 2, Kenavt 0
Match Day 2:
Naggetski (Group C) 2 -Kenavt 1
Match Day 3:
Alversia 0 Kenavt 3 (due to Alversia scandal of bribery)
Match Day 4:
Kenavt-Frontenax
Match Day 5:
Kenavt-Tokyoni

OOC: Didn't notice results of Nagetski game until now. I'm too busy-write later!

I EXPECT AN APOLOGY!!! Not really-but it would make for some fun RPings.

Drake:
“Hello I’m William Drake and welcome to OSN LateNight©, Orion’s own Sports Network’s special program devoted to sports that otherwise receive little recognition. Joining me tonight is my co-host John Stone, as well as OBC on the spot sports reporter Sydney Fry.”

Stone:
“Tonight we have a sure-fire way to get your blood flowing and your nationalistic pride pumping.”

Fry:
“Orion slayed the aggressive SouthSuburbia team 4-1 in their second game!”

Drake:
“Again, Brooks Hollister led the charge, scoring quick off of a Ciprian Marica pass in the 18th minute.”

Stone:
“But SouthSuburbia responded off of a corner as Ian Newton headed it past Bogdan Shust in the 21st.”

Fry:
“Orion, however, never gave up hope. Even with a 1-1 tie at the half, they clearly had the advantage, and in the second half, they exploded.”

Drake:
“Michal Zurawski came flying out of the gate, off of another Ciprian Marica pass, rocketing a shot high and right past Brucie Gobbler to give the Fenrirs the lead in the 46th minute.”

Stone:
“But it wasn’t until the 56th minute, when Jacek Krzynowek scored off of a Brooks Hollister assist that things began to get ugly.”

Fry:
“John Kelner and Mathew Fletcher of SouthSuburbia were both sent off the pitch for unsportsmanlike play, as well as Vasily Mishkin of Orion.”

Drake:
“However, the assault on the SouthSuburbian defense was far from over. Brooks Hollister continued his dominance in Baptism of Fire play, scoring yet again, this time off a pass from Ruslan Rotan, putting the Fenrirs up 4-1 and giving them the group lead.”

Stone:
“Orion’s dominance in this game did highlight the Orion offense. However, SouthSuburbia has yet to win a game at the same time, so the question of “Is Orion that good, or is SouthSuburbia just that bad?” is raised.”

Fry:
“However, what is certain is that with a 2-0-0 record, and 6 group points, Orion in firmly in first place.”

Drake:
“Tomorrow will be the bye match, where we can see the Fenrirs skills against another group on display. I’m William Drake,”

Stone:
“I’m John Stone,”

Together:
“And this is OSN LateNight©!”

Fry:
“Goodnight, Orion.”

IFA Considers A Fine

In lieu of the actions of one of the players of the Vonkian National Team, the IFA is considering a fine upon the FA for conduct unbecoming of a football player. The referee, despite standing for the remainder of the match, was admitted to the hospital late for internal hemorrhaging due to the abdominal thrust and apparent injury to the genitalia of the referee. Doctors were amazed that the referee managed to adjudicate the remainder of the match, even if the referee was wearing a noticeably large cup after the half.

"I mean, [REFEREE - name omitted for security purposes] was surprisingly well despite the obvious damage. And I'm no one caught the under-the-belt blow, because while he's certainly well enough to have more kids, it's just probably not going to happen in the next few years. Luckily, the referee wasn't too badly injured, and he will be available to adjudicate future matchs, as long as no one else goes out and punches him out like that. But just to be safe, we've asked him to shave his mustache."

The IFA was more condemning of the act. "Football players must realize that referees are present on the field to conduct the manner of football by the rules. They are the judges appointed, and to assault a judge in the Han Empire carries a hefty penalty. However, since the player is not a citizen, we can only encourage the Vonkian FA to press charges on our behalf. Until they press charges, the IFA will be fining the VFA a sum of 1,200,000圓 (~$2,600,000) for the conduct of their players. If the VFA presses charges, we will reduce this fine by 50%. If the VFA allows for the player to be extradited to the Han Empire and suffer the sentence under Han law, we will completely waive the fine. In any case, the player is unilaterally banned from playing in the Han Empire indefinitely, and if the VFA permits the player to continue playing, we will be forced to take drastic measures to ensure the safety of other players and our referees, as well as the fans."

Upon hearing news that the incident caused riots in kenavt, the Academy of Foreign Affairs issued a statement of regret. "We regret that such barbarism has been allowed on Imperial territory, and we wish to state that the Han Empire willing to assist the people of kenavt to overcome such barbarism at home. We are all civilized nations, and civilized nations do not allow plain shows of anarchist tendencies to exist on their land." As to what assistance was offered, the AFA refused to mention anything specific.

The period of violence seems to come as an international media blackout comes to a close. The AFA later acknowledged - "Without adequate communication, we all become barbarians without any accountability of our actions." Hwarang intelligence later attributed the blackout to the mischief of the Mujeongbu, although a clear connection cannot be disseminated at this time.

"How High Can You Get?"

Due to rampant altitude sickness among many people participating/watching/hosting the Baptism of Fire Tournament, the blogs of the Han Empire have called "Baptism of Dope" (약선고파), due to the uncanny similarity of symptoms associated with the "high" effect of several drugs and altitude sickness. Not surprisingly, Imperial Health Services have noticed an increased usage of a wide variety of drugs by many people, in response to these blogs. Surprisingly, larger numbers of drug addicts are seeking medical attention in the mountains, to achieve this similar "high" effect, preferring monastic life in the high altitudes to white boarded rooms in a hospital. Imperial authorities are still baffled by this phenomenon. Doctors also have yet to evaluate the effects of altitude sickness and its correlation to the "high" effect.

Vonkians Respond To Criticism

Controversial Vonks manager Vasko Vaskoveyvanitsch today held a press conference after the disappointing 1-0 defeat at the hands of Frontenax. Slurring his words and occasionally gasping for breath, he responded to the Kenavt government's calls for a public apology by saying "I didn't say that thing they said I said, it's a lie, they're all liars and they're out to get me, I don't care if there's film of me saying it, it's all a fake, I didn't say it, shut up and leave me alone," before collapsing in front of the reporters and having to be carried away unconscious.

The chairman of the Vonkian FA, Peter Ballantyne (grandfather of player Adrian), stepped in at this point and explained that Vasko's habit of smoking sixty unfiltered cigarettes a day, combined with the thinner atmosphere of Daehanjeiguk, had left him suffering from oxygen deprivation and "prone to somewhat unusual behaviour."

Ballantyne added that "While we sincerely regret any unfortunate circumstances that this might have caused, we feel that the atmosphere of Daehanjeiguk is largely responsible for the situation. We have every faith in Vasko's ability to overcome such problems once he has fully acclimatised, and expect him to show more professional behaviour in future."

Asked about the decidedly unprofessional, some would say illegal, behaviour of defender Pål Ingebritsen, Ballantyne commented "I appreciate that some might feel it was unacceptable for Pål to severely injure the referee in that way. I think we all agree that it was perhaps a misjudgement on his part. Although we felt it would be best for him not to attend this press conference, just in case, I'm sure if he was here he would say he's sorry for hospitalising the referee for no reason other than his own amusement, and wishes him a full and speedy recovery.

You must understand that Pål is from the northern part of Vonks, where the people can be somewhat rough and ready, and a certain amount of grievous bodily harm is an accepted part of many football games. It might be said that the IFA is failing to appreciate certain cultural differences between our two countries' approach to the game we all love in its insistence on levying a hefty fine on the VFA for this incident.

I would like to remind everybody at this point that there are many players representing Vonks here in the Empire who have not launched unprovoked violent attacks on foreigners, and really, if you look at the bigger picture, we almost have a 100% good conduct record. Nonetheless, we will respect the ban on Pål Ingebritsen playing in the remainder of the BoF, unless we're really, really short of players, and will consider the possibility of pressing charges against him if we can't weasel out of paying the full fine in any other way."

Avoiding any further questions on the subject by running away at a surprising speed for an 80-year-old, Ballantyne brought the press conference to a close.

KFF Responds Positively to IFA and Vonks

President however still looking for apology from Vonks manager Vaskoveyvanitsch and repudiates IFA's claim of "barbarism" politely

Poiuytrewq, Kenavt-A press conference was held a couple of hours ago to respond to the press conferences held by the International Football Association (OOC: that's what it stands for right?) and the Vonks Football Team at the 28th Baptism of Fire.

After being humiliated by Naggetski 2-0 after losing to Vonks 2-0, Kenavt Football Federation president Daneil Xyrotope responded to the statements issued by the IFA and the Vonks football team.

"We are glad that the International Football Association realizes the seriousness of the actions by the Vonks football squad at the Kenavt-Vonks game, in particular by Mr. Vasko Vaskoveyvanitsch. However, we do have tapes of him saying that aweful statement from the state-owned Kenavt Media News network a couple of nights ago.

"In Kenavt, football is the major sport, just ahead of ice hockey. Kenavt is very concerned about their squads, especially at international tourneys. It is very rare for a riot to occur over Kenavt about a game, but it has happened as it did a couple of nights ago. The government, as does the Federation and the majority of the public according to a poll taken a couple of years ago, believes these riots show the spirit of the Kenavtan people towards sporting events. Some countries are not very 'sporty', like Prux towards the 6th World Cup of Hockey, even though they won the 5th Cup.

"However, we support the fine possibly impossed by the IFA, and still would like to hear an apology about the actions two nights ago. We are glad that very few of the Vonkians who have a love for this beautiful game share Mr. Vaskoveyvanitsch's thoughts, but we would still like to hear an apology. The geographics of Daehanjeiguk and Vaskoveyvanitsch's smoking habits may have had to do with it, but here in Kenavt we believe a person should be responsible for no matter what they do.

Thank you."

In other related Baptism of Fire news, the clubs of the Premier Division of the Football Kenavt League are reportedly interested in signing Vonks' young talent, Xiaoshan Gao, after his rise from obscurity. Poiuytrewq F.C. and United Grian are the most interested.

(OOC)Wow, I didn't even knew this was on and I already lost the first game...

Very well, here's the team:

(IC)


Position Player Club
GK Kasapa Billiard
GK Serjio Canibals
RW Valete Billiard
RW Bonfus Goian Warriors
DF B. T. Kato Orient
DF Holden Billiard
DF Vintium Billiard
DF Fera Canibals
LW Bola Canibals
LW Carecus Centurions
MF Zezeh Goian Warriors
MF Magron Canibals
MF Raxid Orient
MF A. Dinus Centurions
MF Vinshu Orient
MF Giortu Polar Zenith
MF Tako Billiard
MF Colte Battle
FW Norman Canibals
FW B. Oito Billiard
FW S. Canion Battle
FW Sohizo Canibals

Coach: L. Nudag


Starting team (match 1)

1.Kasapa

2.Valete 3.Kato 4.Holden 6.Bola

5.Zezeh 8.Magron

10.Raxid 11.Dinus

7.Norman 9.Oito



After the defeat against Arroza, much of the Zarblese press is pointing that coach Nudag should change the team's scheme from the traditional 4-4-2 to a more offensive 4-3-3, since he has excellent options for strikers. The more accepted solution would be putting Sohizo as a center forward, with Oito and Norman acting as advanced wingers. Coach Nudag is known as a conservative (some may say stuborn) coach, so it's very likely he'll start the game against Bearbears with the exact same team, specially because Zarbli won't be playing next round.

News Article: Rockport Illuminator - Sports Lead

Peace Up! Unified Beretania Down!


The Black and Whites, kept on keeping on in Matchday 2 of the Baptism of Fire, as the situation around them gets weirder and weirder. Arroza rolled to another victory 3-1 against Unified Beretania. But the real story has been the BOF-caused riots in Kenavt, the fistfight in one of the first matchday games, and the complete lack of oxygenation caused by the games being played at such a high altitude.

The game was again played at Practice Field #2 of the Daehanjeiguk Royal Facility. The Tar Hornets seemed very familiar with the surface, controlling the ball from the start, and linking up for several attacks early. In the sixth minute, Arroza’s attack was too much, as Kandji found Lancaster on a free run, and hit him instride. Lancaster took 2 steps and froze the goalie with a magnificent curling shot from 25 yards out. Definitely a masterful stroke from Lancaster.

Arroza continued to hold the ball most of the half, slowing down the already slow pace of the game to conserve energy in the oxygen poor air. Right before the half, after a slow, plodding build up, the connection of Kandji and Lancaster strike again. This time Kandji passes to Lancaster on a give and go. The defense doubles Lancaster, leaving Kandji unmarked from eighteen yards, and he’s not going to miss from there. 2-nil Arroza at the half.

Beretania came out on fire in the second though, sending attackers at the Arrozan net. A corner led to a header getting past Quintero. After that though the lack of air caused Beretania to cool off and things to return to normal. In the 68th minute the sealer was added to the game after McIntosh who was brought on to replace a flagging Kevin Barrow, sent a cross field pass to Tate Parrish, who responded by marching up field and putting it past the Beretanian goalie. 3-1 Arroza, and that’s a final.

Scorers:
Lancaster: 6
Kandji: 44
Beretania F: 51
Parrish: 68

Overall Stats:
Goals:
Lancaster: 3, Camp: 1, Kandji: 1, Parrish: 1
Assists:
Kandji:3, Lancaster: 1, McIntosh, 1

Fine is Fine, No Apologies Expected

The Imperial Football Association released yet another statement, justifying its claim that the fine is justified. After Vonkian FA Chairman Ballantyne excused the actions of its lead player, sent off after an unusual violent display, Count Jeong Mongjun (IFA Chairman) replied with more comments about the incident.

"The IFA is a well-embracing community of football-lovers and fans. While we are ready to accept diverse cultures in our competitive enterprise, we remain wary of cultures that permit violence on the field. For the most grievous offenses, it is not unusual for players and their teams to receive fines, because it's more or less inviting trouble if we allow the players to fight on the pitch. Imagine a team of trained martial artists; now imagine them together and fighting. That's pretty much what Imperial matches would look like if we allowed fighting on the pitch. And we'd like to keep our players fit and healthy. For this reason, the fine on the Vonkian Football Association remains in place. Violence of any kind is strictly forbidden in all Imperial matches, and as a forewarning to the VFA, such actions are not likely accepted abroad as well, with some countries taking extreme measures to ensure the safety of all players and fans involved."

The Count then recalled the Jeruselem incident (http://www.nation-states.com/showpost.php?p=13480254&postcount=721), when Queen Katherine Alexandra Dallas of Jeruselem beheaded a fellow fan for some scathing remarks. The security forces of Valanora (otherwise known as Elves Security Forces) quickly apprehended the Queen (who voluntarily surrendered following the crime) and sentenced her to spend the remainder of her mortal life as a servant to the goddess Elune in a temple. While the referee was not murdered, the injury was considering severe enough for the IFA to levy the fine. "We must maintain order on the field."

When asked about the remarks by the Vonkian manager, the Count was more forgiving. "We cannot penalize a team for inane remarks, especially if his mental state was clearly not at its peak condition. The Vonkian FA has blamed his habits and the altitude of the city of Lasa (which by the way, is not representative of the rest of the Empire); the doctors have yet to confirm the link, but given what has already happened, it is a high probability. Nonetheless, the IFA has no authority to govern the speech of persons, unless they present an undeniable threat to Imperial security. Unless some cryptic reader determines that Vaskoveyvanitsch was planning a dastardly attack upon our country, we have no reason to press charges for the statements."

Daroe Rama Condemns Violence

The Daroe Rama spoke out against the violence in the recent matches. "We are a people of peace, and to invite the world to come to our footstep and have them fight their rivalries on our beloved land is a great travesty. If any of the teams have any respect of the sanctity of the land on which they tread, they will abandon their worldly quarrels and seek peace and enlightenment through harmony. We are all brothers and sisters; let us not be harmful to each other, but connect to one another in peace." The spokesperson of the Potala Palace echoed the statements on behalf of the Daroe Rama and Buddhists worldwide. "Violence has never solved anything, especially as the man chose violence for such a trivial thing. If a man shows violence for a man's facial hair, what then will he show for a deformed man's body? Such are the ways of men at war, not men of peace. We must transcend the world's prejudices and see that we are all within a community that aims for peace." About the fine, the spokesperson gave no tacit approval, but also spoke no ill to the IFA's reaction.

OOC: Wait, so match day 3 comes today too?

OOC: Wait, so match day 3 comes today too?

Ummm... peas grow on trees!






Yes, the BoF continues today. Were it not for the fact that Jolt was down at 0400GMT (and well into the afternoon) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=557510), the scores would have been posted at their original time. I was considering making another delay for the scores, but considering as I had given two days for MD2, I figured letting this one slide would be alright. Unless I get a lot of complaints from the participants to reconsider scoring the matches in 1.5 hours, in which case, I'll delay them for another 25.5 hours (to keep it on schedule).

And if you're wondering, no - this does not normally happen in the World Cup. What's happened in the past few days is probably for me the worst case scenario (besides a giant volcano erupting and pouring lava all over my computer and probably me too, in which case, I wouldn't be here right now... so thankfully, it's not that bad). But hopefully, whoever gets to host the World Cup won't have to deal with this sort of complication in such short succession.

*waits for Jolt to shut down again*

Ummm... peas grow on trees!






Yes, the BoF continues today. Were it not for the fact that Jolt was down at 0400GMT (and well into the afternoon) (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=557510), the scores would have been posted at their original time. I was considering making another delay for the scores, but considering as I had given two days for MD2, I figured letting this one slide would be alright. Unless I get a lot of complaints from the participants to reconsider scoring the matches in 1.5 hours, in which case, I'll delay them for another 25.5 hours (to keep it on schedule).

And if you're wondering, no - this does not normally happen in the World Cup. What's happened in the past few days is probably for me the worst case scenario (besides a giant volcano erupting and pouring lava all over my computer and probably me too, in which case, I wouldn't be here right now... so thankfully, it's not that bad). But hopefully, whoever gets to host the World Cup won't have to deal with this sort of complication in such short succession.

*waits for Jolt to shut down again*

Better than my day, I wrecked my car in spectacular fashion. I was asking because in 1.5 hours I'm going to be way to gone to put up a RP. Unless you want a drunk post.

(OOC)

Dudes, this is too fast for me, but, hey, let's do it

(IC)

Coach Nudag of the Zarblese team confirms today that his team will begin the next game with the same players and more offensive tactics that won the game against Gwaine.

"Never change a winning team", said the coach. "Sohizo did an amazing match and scored a beautiful goal, so you may expect to see him in the next game."

Worse for his teamate Magron, who will begin the game in the bench again.

Zarblese team will, thus, be as follows:


1.Kasapa

3.Kato 4.Holden
2.Valete 6.Bola
5.Zezeh
10.Raxid 11.Dinus

7.Norman 9.Oito
22.Sohizo

Drunk posts are welcome and encouraged (although the drinking part isn't really encouraged as much as not condemned - just don't drive while doing it).

RP the car crash (if it's appropriate for you)!

Drunk posts are welcome and encouraged (although the drinking part isn't really encouraged as much as not condemned - just don't drive while doing it).

RP the car crash (if it's appropriate for you)!

Aye, at least he won't be drinking and driving now...

...ok terrible joke...

Good luck with the car situation, buddy. Lucky to be alive. Glad for that too. Celebrate life a little. Have fun.

Aye, at least he won't be drinking and driving now...

...ok terrible joke...

Good luck with the car situation, buddy. Lucky to be alive. Glad for that too. Celebrate life a little. Have fun.

Very funny. I wasn't drinking and driving before. But still, karma's a bitch, Yao Ming? Anyways, I'm enjoying the endorphin high. Not reallsure that can even be RP'ed...except if..........hmm.....

:)

It's the BoF show, with Yang and Son at the helm of the reports!

Yang: Well, it was a strange night, so to speak.

Son: I hardly got any sleep.

Yang: Well, if that's a lie, then I'm wearing a tutu.

Son: We're both wearing tutus.

Yang: And what's the significance of that?

Son: I don't know... Anyway, let's get out to the Baptism of Fire matches!

Yang: Group A featured an exciting race between Zarbli and Bearbears, with the match settling 3-2 favoring Zarbli. Unified Beretonia managed a clean 2-0 win over Talon Deil, who now sits at the bottom end of the group standings. They must win both of the next matches, and hope that luck is on their side to progress to the Quarterfinals. Gwaine and Ma Raque battled to a 2-2 draw in Group B, while Nehrland squeezed one goal over SouthSuburbia, who are virtually eliminated with no points on the board. Ofedestan also managed their 1-0 victory over United Hetzel in Group C, while Dariusville's monkeys battled Naggetski to a 2-2 draw as well. Hmm, didn't I just say that?

Son: Group B and Group C look uncanningly similar.

Yang: Well, on to Group D, where Frontenax clobbered Tokyoni 3-1, and SFRS recorded their first win of the tournament against kenavt. A lot of weird stuff happening for kenavt, ever since their match against Vonks; it's a pity that they haven't found the strength to break out.

Son: Well, speaking of Vonks, in their bye match against Group C's Pablicosta, they recorded a 2-0 win.

Yang: And one of the biggest matches yet, Arroza and Orion Star Empire dueled, where Arroza managed a 3-1 win over their Group B opponents. A high flying match, both teams demonstrated a lot of character playing the match.

Son: And since we're done with match reports, it's time for us to say good-bye!

Group A
Unified Beretania 2-0 Talon Deil
Bearbears 2-3 Zarbli

Group B
SouthSuburbia 0-1 Nehrland
Ma Raque 2-2 Gwaine

Group C
Ofedestan 1-0 United Hetzel
Dariusville 2-2 Naggetski

Group D
Frontenax 3-1 Tokyoni
SFRS 1-0 Kenavt

Bye Matches
Arroza 3-1 Orion Star Empire
Pablicosta 0-2 Vonks

24 hours to the 4th MD

lol oh that's just wrong

lol oh that's just wrong

Awwww....yeah, what, whut. I was worried though, whrn I frew you in the intra-goup game, you can consider that a giant compliment.

Awwww....yeah, what, whut. I was worried though, whrn I frew you in the intra-goup game, you can consider that a giant compliment.

hah...actually I was replying to a picture of half a person that Daehan had up as he said "RP CUT OFF." Good win though. I'm going to have to RP more. Can't take this lying down. :)

hah...actually I was replying to a picture of half a person that Daehan had up as he said "RP CUT OFF." Good win though. I'm going to have to RP more. Can't take this lying down. :)

Aye. Just remember that the Dame Margaret has hewr hand on eery score, everywhere.

BTW, you wan to do the RPing for that game? You migjt have a team concept that's more realized thna my "group of prisoners" that you might want to keep rolling with.

Aye. Just remember that the Dame Margaret has hewr hand on eery score, everywhere.

BTW, you wan to do the RPing for that game? You migjt have a team concept that's more realized thna my "group of prisoners" that you might want to keep rolling with.

'Tis 1:30 AM where I'm from, so I'm heading off to sleep and I'll leave it up to you. If I don't see an RP from you up in 9 hours, I'll post it myself. If you do decide to do it, just please follow the RP preferences and point out who scored/assisted.

Anyhow, Daehan, stats?

'Tis 1:30 AM where I'm from, so I'm heading off to sleep and I'll leave it up to you. If I don't see an RP from you up in 9 hours, I'll post it myself. If you do decide to do it, just please follow the RP preferences and point out who scored/assisted.

Anyhow, Daehan, stats?

So, you;ll be doing it in 9 hours? I've drank half a case by myself, I';m in no shape to RP.

Vonks lose game, attempt to defuse controversy, win game

After the excitement of the first game against Kenavt, the 1-0 defeat to the impressive, youthful Frontenaxi team was something of a let-down for the Squirrels. Perhaps fortunately, the many Vonks fans who were listening to the game on national radio (the people of south-western Vonks disapprove of television but are big fans of football) were spared any details of what had happened and treated instead to two hours of foul-mouthed criticism of the Frontenax players by Pål Ingebritsen, who having been banned from further participation in the BoF championship had been invited to take on a role as 'color commentator' for Vonkian National Radio.

Not at any time allowing his more professional co-commentators to utter a single word, Ingebritsen's commentary focused mainly on deriding the unusual youth of the Frontenax players, with observations along the lines of "Hurr, hurr, look at that one, he looks about twelve!"; "Hurr, hurr, he missed the ball, I bet he's crying for his mummy."; "Hurr, hurr, I bet the goalie needs his nappy changed!"; "Hurr, hurr, look at Bradshaw's hair, he looks like a girl."; "Hurr, hurr, I bet that striker... um, what else do babies do? Did I mention nappies yet? No, shut up, you don't get to talk... rattles! I bet he's shaking his rattle like a little baby," and so forth.

Those who watched the match on television or in the stadium reported that the goal came as a result of defenders Roland, Rice and Khudanpur colliding in the penalty area as they chased after the ball and debutant keeper Trevelyan Tesinsky (who in his post-match interview admitted to having 'a somewhat delicate constitution') fainting at the sight and leaving his goal undefended. Under-fire manager Vasko Vaskoveyvanitsch chose to make no substitutions at all this time, spending most of the game in a semi-comatose state drinking what appeared to be industrial paint-stripper, smoking continuously and struggling to breathe.

At the press conference after the game, as has already been widely reported, Vaskoveyvanitsch briefly attempted to deny any involvement in the Kenavtian riots and chairman Peter Ballantyne did his best to put Vonks back on speaking terms with the rest of the international footballing community.

The third group game, Vonks's bye match against little-known Pablicosta was altogether more exciting. Vaskoveyvanitsch, appearing slightly more conscious but refusing to speak to anyone despite the continued insistence of Kenavt on an apology, made some seemingly clear-headed changes in the starting lineup, replacing unsatisfactory goalkeeper Tesinsky with a somewhat reluctant "Dennis", dropping striker Tiriaq Okpik, who has been limping since being fouled in the first game against Kenavt, in favour of midfielder Adrian Ballantyne and changing to a 4-4-2 formation. However, he then devoted the first half to sleeping under a newspaper in his tactical area, occasionally waking to yell at the crowd to be quiet and let him get some rest.

The Squirrels have by now developed a clever strategy of getting the ball to Xiaoshan Gao as quickly as possible and letting him get on with it, and while Frontenax had clearly identified him as the only dangerous Vonkian player and marked him closely, Group C Pablicosta clearly hadn't been watching the Group D games and were caught off-guard by Gao's blistering pace twice in swift succession early in the game.

After only six minutes, the new hero of the Vonkian nation latched on to a useful ball from captain Werner Borr and darted around the defence to unleash one of his devastating strikes on goal. It had passed the keeper and was inches from crossing the line when Henry Anderson, eager to get his name on the scorers list and impress the local girls, ran in with the intention of heading it home. Unfortunately, in the process he tripped and struck the ball with two of his hands, resulting in a free-kick and a yellow card for arguing with the referee afterwards.

The second Xiaoshan Gao attack was a solo effort, starting from deep inside his own half and running the length of the pitch, dodging tackles left, right and centre to score the opening goal with only ten minutes played. After this, the Pablicostans changed strategy and concentrated on preventing Gao from getting the ball, leading to a more evenly-matched, defensive game in which the most exciting point was a shot from twenty yards by a Pablicosta midfielder which narrowly flew over the crossbar.

Shortly before the interval, defender Rajesh "Fatty" Khudanpur tripped over the ball and fell with sufficient force to make a dent in the pitch. Most of the players, momentarily distracted by the minor earthquake assumed the ball was trapped underneath him, but the referee observed that it had trundled towards "Dennis"'s goal and allowed play to carry on when Xerxes Astanopoulos dribbled it towards the half-way line and passed to a temporarily unmarked Xiaoshan Gao, who scored another cracking goal.

At half-time the manager was sufficiently rested to berate his team for only being ahead by two goals, beat non-playing substitute Sigur Nilsen with an umbrella for not having scored at least one goal and then, to the outrage of players and fans alike, announce that Xiaoshan Gao would be substituted to punish him for not answering a question as to whether he would like a drink of water.

With Gao replaced by Bersvendsen and the crowd screaming for Vasko's resignation and/or execution, the Squirrels were unable to put any further pressure on the Pablicostan goal and spent the second half frantically defending against a series of well-mounted attacks. Ian Rice was very fortunate that his blatant handball in the box went unnoticed by the referee (temporarily unsighted by the massive bulk of Khudanpur moving between himself and the ball) and linesman (distracted by Astanopoulos performing a strange kind of dance which he later explained was intended to bring rain, snow or hail to the game and make scoring more difficult).

Nonetheless, the team held out for a 2-0 win distinguished by no acts of physical assault on the officials and a comparatively restrained post-match celebration marred only by Henry Anderson's making of multiple obscene hand gestures to Vonkian fans chanting the snappy slogan "Anderson may have 50% more arms than Gao, but Gao plays football as if he had 50% more legs" repeatedly.

The win puts Vonks in second place in Group D, behind runaway leaders Frontenax but three points clear of remaining opponents SFRS and Tokyoni. Could the team of loveable misfits qualify for the knockout stages? It's beginning to look like a possibility.

OSN Nightly Report
Fenrirs Fall Hard After Two Impressive Victories
By WILLIAM DRAKE
Sports - Page 16

If anything, last night’s match versus Arroza proved that although Orion has come quite far in their soccer skills since the Oxen Cup, they still have a long way to go. Midfielder Jacek Krzynowek scored early on for the Fenrirs off of a Cosmin Contra assist, giving Orion a 1-0 lead at the half, but any sense of security that the last two games gave to the Fenrirs came crashing down with the second half.

The convicts from Arroza certainly showed a lot of guts on the pitch, storming back from the early deficit. Martin Lancaster scored twice, and Blake Camp added another to give Arroza the win.

“We fell apart,” Captain Ciprian Marica put frankly. “After five halves of perfect soccer we played one half of shit.”

“It just proves that no matter how good we get, we’re never yet good enough,” phenom Brooks Hollister added. “There’s still a lot of work to be put in. There’s still a lot of practice needed.”

The Fenrir’s next game versus Nehrland and the following game versus Ma Raque are quickly proving to be the biggest games of the group. Nehrland is 2-0-1 like Orion and Ma Raque is currently in the lead with two wins and a tie. Orion can both win the group or fail to qualify.

So, pals, here's Zarblese jerseys

http://www.magiasebarbaridades.com/fabio/FB/zarbli.jpg

It's the BoF show, with Yang and Son at the helm of the reports!

Yang: It's going to be our first night without any pomp or circumstance, emphasis on the circumstance part. What do you think is going on?

Son: I think it's the acclimation working. Fewer people are being admitted to the hospital with headaches and bad aches. And the players are really starting to find their true form.

Yang: And, to make things all the better, the Han have won out the bid to host the World Cup!

Son: Yay... more work.

Yang: What's wrong?

Son: Well, you know what's going to happen next. All of those barbarians are going to come over here and punch out our referees' balls.

Yang: Well, we could hire female referees.

Son: Even worse! Then we'd have more babies and less goals.

Yang: We could try hiring Jeruselemites. They're pretty efficient.

Son: Yeah. More babies and goals.

Yang: Well, we'll worry about that later. Right now, we're at the next to the last day of matches, and it's getting more heated in the race to finish on top. How about those Group Matches?

Son: Well, we apologize in advance for not having those group tables, but for some reason, the tables were never uploaded into the database. Today, we'll be sure to put them up.

Yang: Just get on the match reports.

Son: Zarbli and Arroza settled the score as they took the top positions in Group A, winning 3-1 and 3-0 respectively. In Group B, Gwaine and Orion Star Empire both recorded 1-0 wins over their opponents SouthSuburbia and Nehrland. Despite winning their first match of the tournament, Gwaine are effectively knocked out, while their opponents SouthSuburbia also feel the sting of a double disappointment in their Baptism of Fire tour. Ofedestan managed a 2-0 win over Naggetski, while United Hetzel kept their Second Round hopes alive by knocking out Pablicosta in a thrilling 2-1 win. United Hetzel looks comfortable in Group C, second by one point to Dariusville. The big match of the day came between Tokyoni and Vonks, where the "home" side managed a 3-2 win. Both sides were beyond the reach of elimination, although they are both straddling the thin line for that second position, with Frontenax having confirmed their place in the Second Round with a fantastic 3-0 win over kenavt, who go home after this next match.

Yang: Well, we go on to our "feature" matches in the center stage. Bearbears faced off against Ma Raque, where the two sides battled to a 1-1 draw. For Ma Raque, it meant losing out first position to Orion Star Empire, whom they play in their final match. The winner takes the coveted pole position in Group B. For Bearbears, it was only a confirmation of their inevitable fall out from the tournament. Despite the negative air of this message, they've managed to go undefeated in 3 of 4 matches (winning none of them unfortuantely), but we're sure it mean well to the fans if they managed a win against Arroza... somehow. And our other match featured the monkeys of Dariusville recording a 2-1 win over SFRS. Reports of peeled bananas somehow managed to top the list of admitted injuries at the hospital today. Connection?

Son: Not right now. We're done for the evening, and with that, your scores!

Group A
Zarbli 3-1 Unified Beretania
Talon Deil 0-3 Arroza

Group B
Gwaine 1-0 SouthSuburbia
Nehrland 0-1 Orion Star Empire

Group C
Naggetski 0-2 Ofedestan
United Hetzel 2-1 Pablicosta

Group D
Kenavt 0-3 Frontenax
Tokyoni 3-2 Vonks

Bye Matches
Bearbears 1-1 Ma Raque
Dariusville 2-1 SFRS

Group A
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Arroza 12 4 0 0 12 3 9
Zarbli 9 3 0 1 8 6 2
Unified Beretania 4 1 1 2 6 8 -2
Bearbears 3 0 3 1 7 8 -1
Talon Deil 1 0 1 3 3 9 -6

Group B
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Orion Star Empire 9 3 0 1 7 4 3
Ma Raque 8 2 2 0 7 4 3
Nehrland 6 2 0 2 3 4 -1
Gwaine 4 1 1 2 3 4 -1
SouthSuburbia 0 0 0 4 2 8 -6

Group C
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Dariusville 8 2 2 0 6 3 3
United Hetzel 7 2 1 1 3 2 1
Ofedestan 6 2 0 2 4 4 0
Naggetski 5 1 2 1 6 7 -1
Pablicosta 4 1 1 2 5 7 -2

Group D
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Frontenax 12 4 0 0 10 3 7
Vonks 6 2 0 2 6 4 2
Tokyoni 6 2 0 2 6 7 -1
SFRS 3 1 0 3 5 7 -2
Kenavt 0 0 0 4 1 8 -7

Qualifies to Second Round
Eliminated from Second Round

[OOC: Didn't I just qualify for the second round? Worst case scenario would be me losing while Ma Raque and Nehrland win. That would leave me tied for second in points to Nehrland, who I just beat head to head.

Anyhow...RP en route.]

Tiebreaking criteria for the BoF:

(1) Points
(2) Number of wins
(3) Goal Difference
(4) Goals Fielded
(5) H2H results

That said, with the way that scores have been, it wouldn't be likely for Nehrland to overcome the odds. In my history, when there was an unlikely odd to be made, it either breaks it or gets broken.

[OOC: So he'd have to score 5 more goals then me then to overcome our 4 goal difference? I get ya.]

OSN Nightly Report
Fenrirs Reclaim Group Lead With Victory
By WILLIAM DRAKE
Sports - Page 14

Jacek Kryznowek scored in perhaps the most exciting finish in Orion soccer history tonight as the Fenrirs conquered Nehrland to move into first place in group B. The game was scoreless and with minimal penalties until the 81st minute.

It was then that Orion phenom Brooks Hollister stole the ball from Nehrland’s Rinoro and charged down the pitch. After splitting defenders in the midfield, Hollister skated past the sweeper before lining himself up for a risky shot. He could have taken it, but instead he passed the ball back to midfielder Kryznowek who then rocketed it past Anewashi for the goal.

Nehrland looked stunned and was unable to respond in the last nine minutes, giving the Fenrirs their third win of the Baptism of Fire.

“We learned a lot from the last game and just took it to ‘em tonight,” Kryznowek, who tonight tied Hollister for the Orion goal lead in the cup, replied. “Brookie and I were on fire, and when you have a night like that, good things happen.”

Orion is collectively hoping that good things will happen for the Fenrirs in the matches to come. Even a tie versus Ma Raque clinches the group for Orion.

Ballantyne Denies Disharmony In Vonks Camp

Well-substantiated reports that Vonks manager Vasko Vaskoveyvanitsch has been arrested by one of his own players for 'physical assault beyond the normal level of severity expected of a football manager' were today denied by VFA chairman Peter Ballantyne at a press conference after the 3-2 defeat at the hands of unfancied Tokyoni.

After the game, in which Vonks took the lead twice with a rare goal from captain Werner Borr and another moment of genius from silent 19-year-old Xiaoshan Gao only to concede the winner in the 87th minute, loud commotion was heard from the Vonkian dressing room and Vaskoveyvanitsch was seen to be dragged out, restrained in handcuffs, by reserve defender "Big Eddie" Herrman, who when he's not playing football is a chief inspector in the Vonks police force. A Vonks player who wished to remain anonymous (although it was "Spiders" Fajuyi) told the Vonkian Daily Newspaper that Vasko had detatched a shower fitting in a surprising show of strength and thrown it at the players, breaking two of Richard Roland's ribs. He had then pulled Josef Waltinger's beard hard enough to make him cry before "Big Eddie" stepped in and pulled the furious manager away.

TV cameras caught Vaskoveyvanitsch yelling "You're all against me, you're jealous of my brains, only I can make Vonks great, you just don't want me to be famous, Tokyoni are all cheats, they're dishonest, I hate them, they should be disqualified and flogged and if you think I'm apologising to those idiots from Kenavt, ha! I'm GLAD they had riots and killed people, they deserve it, they're cheats too, and so are Frontenax and whoever else we're playing, I am better than everyone else, let me go!"

Asked about this at the press conference, Peter Ballantyne said "I think it's possible that there was a technical fault with the many cameras and microphones that recorded the incident. My recollection is that Vasko departed the changing room in a peaceful and dignified manner, and apologised to the nation of Kenavt and anybody else he might have inadvertantly offended due to misunderstandings. Rumours that relations between the team and manager have irretrievably broken down are entirely untrue."

Nonetheless, after the press conference (which followed a game played in excellent sporting spirits, with no suggestion of violence or cheating from either team), Ballantyne was overheard whispering to Xerxes Astanopoulos, driver of the team's transport, to have the bus ready for a quick getaway should Vonks lose their final game and fail to qualify for the quarter-finals. "We'll sneak out of the country quickly, leave Vasko behind to face the music and tell the Daehanjeiguk authorities that he can pay that fine or go to prison or whatever," he allegedly said.

A win against Tokyoni would have guaranteed Vonks qualification for the knockout stages in second place behind runaway winners Frontenax, but now the final day's game against SFRS is a must-win situation. And not only is the manager reportedly currently locked up in "Big Eddie" Herrman's hotel bathroom pending formal charges, many players are currently unavailable for the final game.

Goalkeeper Roman Ciano is fully recovered from his concussion and eager to play, but still blind and so unlikely to make the team. Reserve goalkeeper "Dennis" has pulled out of the game in order to attend a doctor's appointment, to which "he" will be accompanied by Adrian Ballantyne. Pål Ingebritsen remains suspended after the referee-punching incident and has not helped his case by reportedly going out and threatening elderly ladies on the streets at night "because I had nothing better to do since they won't let me play football".

Richard Roland is in hospital with broken ribs and "Big Eddie" Herrman is understood to be likely to spend the game guarding his manager in case he tries to escape. Tiriaq Okpik is keen to rest an injured ankle, while Gerhard Lippert, claiming to be "bored with the whole football thing now" is planning to spend the game watching cartoons on his hotel room television. "Spiders" Fajuyi and Josef Waltinger have both refused to play for the team unless and until they are allowed to punch Vaskoveyvanitsch in the nose, a request understood to have been turned down by Herrman.

So the team lineup for the crucial final game will be as follows:

___________________ 12 Tesinsky _________________________

__ 15 Nilsen _____ 16 Bradshaw _____ 4 Khudanpur _____ 5 Rice __

_____ 6 Borr __________ 17 Singh __________ 8 Astanopoulos _____

_____ 22 Nigel _________ 10 Anderson __________ 11 Gao _____

with Jean-Pierre "Girlypants" Baptiste and Olav Bersvendsen being the only available substitutes and Borr acting as manager as well as team captain. Everyone in Vonks is wishing the remaining players the best of luck!

"Goals difference".

That's what coach Nudag said when asked about what's worrying more about the Zarblese team.

"It's true we've been winning the last matches, but we sure can't afford letting our adversaries fielding that much goals on us. One of these days we might not be able to score more than they do, than things will be ugly."

After this interview and the injury of right-wing Valete, Coach Nudag's team might begin next game as follows:


1.Kasapa

3.Kato 4.Holden
13.Bonfus 6.Bola

5.Zezeh 8.Magron
10.Raxid

7.Norman 9.Oito
22.Sohizo

News Article: Rockport Illuminator - Sports Lead

Orion Star Fenrirs Run out of Steam.


Short Clip: Kryznowek looked like a god among men, slicing through the Arrozan defense in the first half, and scoring a goal from Cosmin Contra. But at halftime Coach Blackheart, brought out the hairdryers, and implements of torture, and it was evident in the beginning of the second half. In the 46th minute Martin Lancaster, who looks like a man who was playing for his life, scored on a half-volley, after a pass from the winger Parrish. In the 62nd, Lancaster knocks in a cross, set up by the probing run of Blake Camp. And in the 73rd, Blake Camp puts it in the back of the net himself, taking a ball that was laid off from Kandji’s run and converting.

Scorers:
22: Kryznowek, (Cosmin)
46: Lancaster, (Parrish)
62: Lancaster, (Camp)
73: Camp, (Kandji)

Game 4:
Talon Deil. Another Match Day, Another Victim.

Short Clip: The Black and Whites did everything but clinch Group A with a 3-0 win against Talon Deil. Since the first tiebreaker is point differential, the only way Arroza can lost the group is to lose by 4 goals, and for Zarbli to win by 4 goals. Seeing as how Arroza (the highest scoring team in the BOF), hasn’t scored 4 goals in a tournament, it looks very unlikely. This game though was over in the first 30 minutes, and was put away by a flurry of scores, then a long rest period that you’re seeing in a lot of these games due to the high altitude. When Martin Lancaster was asked why the Tar Hornets were doing so well, he responded gaspingly, “Well, Angola State is in the mountains of Evangeline at about 6,500 feet above sea level, so we’re a lot more accustomed to high-altitude games than a lot of lower altitude teams.”

Scorers
12: Lancaster, (Kandji)
18: Kandji (Camp)
27: Kandji (Arze, Monteiro)

Overall Stats:
Goals:
Lancaster: 6, Camp: 2, Kandji: 3, Parrish: 1
Assists:
Kandji:4, Lancaster: 1, McIntosh: 1, Parrish: 1, Camp: 1, Arze: 1, Monteiro: 1

OSN Nightly Report
Fenrirs Prepare For Final Group Game
By WILLIAM DRAKE
Sports - Page 27

The Orion Fenrirs today held what will be their last practice of the group phase of the Baptism of Fire. Spirits were up, but there was no joking or fooling around like before the Arroza game a few days back.

“We know what’s at stake here,” midfielder Jacek Krzynowek, who has enjoyed a recent bout of success, told the press after practice.

“We want to win the group,” captain Ciprian Marica added. “We win and we don’t have to face Arroza in the first round. That would be a huge help.”

Other players, however, had a different tone.

“I don’t give a shit what anyone else does,” assistant captain Brooks Hollister sniped. “And that includes Arroza. I want to win for me, for us, for Orion.”

“People are starting to care,” assistant captain Cosmin Contra said. “People in Orion are starting to watch us. It’s an amazing feeling, having fans, being watched. It makes everyone play better.”

The final game of the group stage will be broadcast on last-night sports television, and like the other matches of the group stage, it will not be shown live. However, there is a deal being worked on that would make a Baptism of Fire playoff game prime-time television. A first-place group finish would go a long way to cementing the broadcast that Orion soccer has always needed, and has yet failed to get.

“Yo, chill out!” Ruslan Rotan shouted amist the racket of the locker room.

“Easy for you to say, b,” Jemerson Crouse replied. “You get to play!”

“Listen, buddy, I know you’re mad…” Cosmin Contra tried to step in.

“I’m downright heated, b,” Crouse continued. Contra just shook his head.

“No one needs this right now,” the assistant captain defensemen said. “We’re up big. We have a game to play. Just relax.”

“I haven’t been on the pitch one time!” Crouse shouted. “Not once!”

“Then leave,” Jacek Krzynowek said, calmly but sternly. He was standing in the doorway and had just entered both the room and the conversation seconds before. “I mean it, get the fuck out.”

“Where do you get off telling me what to do?” Crouse asked. “What because you’re some scoring hotshot right now you think you can throw me off the team?”

“No one is throwing you off anything,” Jacek replied. “However, if you don’t get out of this locker room right now, I’m going to throw you out into the hall.”

Jemerson Crouse lunged towards the doorway, going for a tackle. Jacek, however, used his signature speed to sidestep the blow and clock the backup forward straight in the jaw. Jemerson hit the ground hard and spit up blood.

“What the hell is going on here?” Brooks Hollister screamed. He and Ciprian Marica had just come from a meeting. “The coach is going to be here any minute!”

“Jemerson’s causing a scene about playing time,” Jacek replied, pointing down at him. “I tried to get him out of here to cool his head and he tried to attack me.”

“So you hit him?” Ciprian Marica asked looking down at Crouse.

“You’re damn right I did,” Jacek muttered.

“Honestly you kids act like you’re…” Captain Marica started but Jacek cut him off.

“Don’t give me that shit, Cip,” Jacek interrupted. “You weren’t here, you didn’t see it or hear it, so don’t just arrive and start passing judgment.”

“Guys, guys,” Brooks Hollister said, stepping in between everything. “We have a game in an hour. This is not the time or the place for this at all. Knock it off and get your damn heads in the game!”

Jacek and Ciprian both retreated and sat in front of their respective lockers. Jemerson picked himself up off the floor, still spitting blood, and hunched down in front of his locker with a terrible scowl and a noticeable fat lip. Brooks shook his head, putting his headphones into his ears, and escaped it all.

Jacek however was still very much in the moment of it all. He glared at Jemerson from across the room. He’d talk to the coach tomorrow. Jemerson had to go.

It's the BoF show, with Yang and Son at the helm of the reports!

Yang: For 12 teams, it's the end of the road.

Son: And two-thirds of the teams coming into this match already knew that.

Yang: Math question! How teams are left?

Son: Well, after today, none. Let's go straight to the matches.

Yang: But we're supposed to do something educational. That's part of our mandate.

Son: Sure, but try explaining football to the 2-year-old infant. Last week, I tried coaching a team of them, and half of them picked up the ball with the hands and ran away. The other half sat in the grass and started pulling weeds.

Yang: Okay. But one more public service announcement. If you happen to have 142 grams of cannabis stuck in your luggage, some country called Japan wants you to return it... oh wait, they found it. Nevermind.

Son: *weird glance* On to the scores! Group A was a tense match between Arroza and Bearbears, which ended in the ever popular 2-2 draw. Arroza goes away with the pole position in hand, as Zarbli fell 1-2 to Talon Deil, who oddly record their first win of the competition. Nonetheless, it was a mere consolation for them, as Zarbli was already guaranteed a spot in the next round. As they say, you can't spell boring without a "b", and Group B fits the bill. Not to say that it wasn't exciting, but there's not much that a sports reporter can say about a 0-0 draw between the Group's hot shots, Orion Star Empire and Ma Raque. And Gwaine and Nehrland finished out with a draw too, 1-1. Despite the boredom, we can say that Orion Star Empire clinches the group, while Ma Raque follows in suit. Group C was a little more exciting, but both 1-1 draws. Dariusville takes the group on the virtue of getting the most points out a group that is so close, you can count the difference; United Hetzel will follow them out. And for Group D, we've had a last minute challenge from Tokyoni, who stole out the 2nd position from Vonks by virtue of drawing their match against kenavt, while Vonks managed a 1-2 loss to SFRS, who also almost got out, had they not been already eliminated. Certainly a disappointment for Vonks while a great triumph for Tokyoni. But Frontenax gets the eye, still going strong with 5 wins.

Yang: Indeed, the only team so far that has won every single match, and in credible style too. They've come out strong with a 2-1 win over Ofedestan. In our other bye match, an inspired Unified Beretania whipped SouthSuburbia 2-0. And there's the end of the Group Stages. What can you say about the next Round?

Son: I don't know. Why are you asking me?

Yang: Because you're supposed to help me tell the story.

Son: Well, how's about a new fish frying pan? *pulls out a frying pan* It's a wonderful design, with non-sticking coating. You can fry one, two, three, four, five, six, up to seven fishes at the same time! And not only that, it's oil-free! But because we know...

Yang: What the %$#^ are you doing?

Son: A commercial?

Yang: This is the BoF show...

Producer: I knew we should have run scripted shows...

Group A
Arroza 2-2 Bearbears
Zarbli 1-2 Talon Deil

Group B
Orion Star Empire 0-0 Ma Raque
Gwaine 1-1 Nehrland

Group C
Pablicosta 1-1 Dariusville
Naggetski 1-1 United Hetzel

Group D
Vonks 1-2 SFRS
Kenavt 3-3 Tokyoni

Bye
Unified Beretania 2-0 SouthSuburbia
Ofedestan 1-2 Frontenax

Group A
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Arroza 13 4 1 0 14 5 9
Zarbli 9 3 0 2 9 8 1
Unified Beretania 7 2 1 2 8 8 0
Talon Deil 4 1 1 3 5 10 -5
Bearbears 4 0 4 1 9 10 -1

Group B
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Orion Star Empire 10 3 1 1 7 4 3
Ma Raque 9 2 3 0 7 4 3
Nehrland 7 2 1 2 4 5 -1
Gwaine 5 1 2 2 4 5 -1
SouthSuburbia 0 0 0 5 2 10 -8

Group C
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Dariusville 9 2 3 0 7 4 3
United Hetzel 8 2 2 1 4 3 1
Ofedestan 6 2 0 3 5 6 -1
Naggetski 6 1 3 1 7 8 -1
Pablicosta 5 1 2 2 6 8 -2

Group D
Team P W D L GF GA GD
Frontenax 15 5 0 0 12 4 8
Tokyoni 7 2 1 2 9 10 -1
Vonks 6 2 0 3 7 6 1
SFRS 6 2 0 3 7 8 -1
Kenavt 1 0 1 4 4 11 -7

Qualifies for Second Round

ooc: I've just completed an exhaustive player search, and no CtEs recorded yet. Also, if you want proof that RPs make a difference, look at Group A - the two RPers managed to beat everyone else and got on top of the group easily. If you want proof that RPs don't always work, look at Group D - erm... okay maybe this is too educational. But the point is that sometimes RPs make the difference, and sometimes they don't. We all just hope that they do, but as the aged sage from the Dreamed Realm has repeatedly told many new-coming RPers:

... I can't find it now, but he's said it before, and I'm sure he'd be willing to tell you again if he knew that I was saying that he said it ...

And now your lovely Quarterfinal matches:

Arroza --- Ma Raque
Dariusville --- Tokyoni
Orion Star Empire --- Zarbli
Frontenax --- United Hetzel

MATCHES WILL BE SCORED ON MAY 31TH 0400GMT.

Vonks Miss Out On Quarter-Finals

Blame statistics, incompetence, player shortage

The Vonkian national team lost its final group game 2-1 to SFRS, narrowly losing out on second place in group D to Tokyoni, who drew 3-3 with Kenavt. Their disappointment was doubled by the knowledge that qualification would have won the team a game against the monkeys of Dariusville, the burning ambition of most of the squad before the tournament started. Instead, the team fled the Han Empire in their triple-decker bus, leaving behind manager Vasko Vaskoveyvantisch tied up outside the headquarters of the IFA with a note pinned to his shirt reading "Mr Vaskoveyvantisch has sole responsibility for paying that million-圓 fine, feel free to put him in prison or turn him over to Kenavt, or whatever you feel like doing with him, the fat sea-slug."

Speaking to reporter Gordon Bourdon on the way home, captain Werner Borr explained that the defeat had been a result of 'confusion and us not being very good at football'. It seems that after this newspaper described the SFRS game as a 'must-win', nerdy defender Ian Rice pointed out that Vonks could in fact lose their final game by a one-goal margin and still qualify, provided that Kenavt won their game with Tokyoni. His explanation of this, complete with diagrams and Powerpoint presentations, seems to have given some of the squad the impression that it was essential to lose by one goal in order to qualify.

Accordingly, at the earliest opportunity in the game, Henry "The Octopus" Anderson, whose failure to score a goal in all the previous games had annoyed him no end, got the ball and kicked it straight past his own goalkeeper Trevelyan Tesinsky, giving SFRS a one-goal lead. Anderson seemed surprised when the crowd booed his efforts rather than applauding.

At half-time, with the score still 1-0, Xerxes Astanopoulos was substituted for Jean-Pierre "Girlypants" Baptiste (who took up a position on the goal-line and ran to hide behind the goal whenever the 'horrid, muddy ball' looked like heading his way) in order that Astanopoulos could get his bus started and all the team's equipment packed away in preparation for a quick getaway if needed. Thus reduced to essentially ten men, Vonks conceded a second goal early in the second half, scored from a well-worked set-piece corner kick.

Even the members of the team whom Ian Rice had failed to convince of the desirability of actually winning the game were now fired up and keen to restore the one-goal deficit, and the goal came, surprisingly, from a speculative Hardip Singh shot from around the half-way line that got a fortunate bounce and beat the SFRS keeper. However, the post-game celebrations were muted by reports that Kenavt had only been able to draw with Tokyoni, thus eliminating the Squirrels from the BoF.

A disappointing tally of two wins, three losses and an early departure was nonetheless hailed by Borr as "a great experience for the lads, and we're all looking forward to attempting to qualify for the world cup!"

Final analysis of each player's performance and their final words on the tournament will follow soon.

OSN Nightly Report
Fenrirs Win Group, Clinch Playoffs!
By WILLIAM DRAKE
Sports - Page 9

In a truly defensive display, the Orion Fenrirs, led by defenders Cosmin Contra and Christian Chivu and keeper Bogdan Shust, managed a group-clinching tie against main rival for first place Ma Raque. Both teams furiously tried to score a game-winning goal throughout, but both defenses, some of the best in the Baptism of Fire, held strong.

“We didn’t quite get it done,” assistant captain Brooks Hollister replied, referring to the offense. “But our defense won this game for us. It’s a great feeling knowing that you have them behind you.”

“Defense wins championships,” assistant captain Cosmin Contra said, a huge smile on his face. “Everyone always says it, but that’s because it’s true.”

“Everyone’s seen the difference,” Bogdan Shust told the press, making a rare public appearance. “In one game we gave up three goals and we got plastered. In the other 4, we gave up one, and played like giant-killers. The difference, of course, was defense.”

Orion is hoping that their current trend of defensive soccer leads them to Baptism of Fire promise land. Zarbli, the Fenrirs’ first opponent in the playoffs, has scored two more goals than Orion but has given up twice as many.

What Do We Do With Him?

The recent decision of Vonkian FA has startled many at the IFA Headquarters, as they discovered a stripped man with a note pinned to his shirt. It appeared as though the VFA left their manager in the Han Empire, feeding him to the metaphorical sharks, suggesting further that he was solely responsible for their errors.

"We do not completely support the VFA's decision to blame the coach. We have seen many years with poor coaching, but we believe in the commitment and investment of many years to achieve results, not finding the one random bit of shining luck. That said, we've spoken with Mr. Vaskoveyvantisch, who has bluntly refused to pay any fine on behalf of the VFA - hence, the fine still stands upon the VFA. We're also charing the VFA for the plane ticket that we're spending the coach back home, and because we had to make many connecting flights through countries that mutually recognized one another, it will be an expensive tab. If the VFA had any foresight in their decision, let us hope that they will share it with us. As to surrendering sovereignty of his fate to kenavt, we will not entertain such thoughts."

The IFA refused to make any other comments.

IFA Announces Second Round Venues

After a wonderful 5 days in Seojang, the teams will be breathing the fresh air of the cities of the Han Empire. The IFA released a statement earlier today, first offering many thousands of amounts of gratitude to the Buddhist monks and the Daroe Rama for hosting the Group Stages. After mentioning the many critical contributions that the Monks provided the BoF tournament, the IFA stated that the Second Round would send the teams around the country as they headed to Hangyeong, the capital, for the final match in the newly constructed Cha Beomgeun Memorial Football Stadium. The BoF match is slated to be the first official match of the stadium, after several delays in construction prevented the OFC to host the final match in the stadium. The 3/4 match will be played simulatneously in Emperor Gojong Football Stadium. And now for Second Round venues:

Quarterfinal
A: Arroza --- Ma Raque (@ Gwangdong Imperial Sports Complex and Stadium, Gwangju - 80,000 Capacity)

B: Dariusville --- Tokyoni (@ Sanghae National Football Stadium, Sanghae - 80,000 Capacity)

C: Orion Star Empire --- Zarbli (@ Goguryeo Football Stadium, Pyeongyang - 52,000 Capacity)

D: Frontenax --- United Hetzel (@ Sanhaemun Football Stadium, Jinhwangdo - 60,000 Capacity)

Semifinal

X: Winner A --- Winner B (@ King Kim Iljei Memorial Football Stadium, Malnira - 55,000 Capacity)

Y: Winner C --- Winner D (@ Munhwa Football Stadium, Hanseong - 65,000 Capacity)

Finals
3/4 Match: Loser Y --- Loser X (@ Emperor Gojong Football Stadium, Hangyeong - 150,000 Capacity)

Final Match: Winner X --- Winner Y (@ Cha Beomgeun Memorial Football Stadium, Hangyeong - 250,000 Capacity)

Blue Tigers receive Imperial visit before the Clash of Empires

Called by the Zarblese press as "The Clash of Empires", the Blue Tigers received an imperial visit at their hotel the night before the big game against Orion Star: HIH Afoib and HIH Ilaiv, the Prince and Princess of Akinlabi.

The couple joined coach Nudag's team for dinner, "so they know that all of the Empire will be with them tomorrow", said the Prince. Known football enthusiastic, the Prince and the coach talked tactics and discussed their adversary. "They won a group that, apparently, was tougher than ours, so we have to be careful", said Nudag, to which the Prince replied "without forgetting to attack them, of course".

Meanwhile the Princess spent most part of the dinner chatting with the players, specially Kasapa, Flag Bearer¹ and Squad Leader² of the last Zarblese League. The princess is a declared fan of the Billiard's goalkeeper: "Billiard was the best team around for years, but since Gabriel [Kasapa] is above the poles it's just invencible".

When asked about the devotion the Princess showed towards Zarblese captain, her fiancee just said "the man is the best Goalkeeper in the world and I'm just a prince, how can I compete with that?"

After dinner, the team left for rest, not before giving to the prince and the princess each a shirt signed by all the players. "This's just great, ya know?" said Right-Forward Norman, "His and Her Highnesses are great people an' it sure's nice to have their imperial luck on our side".


It's still not certain how the team will start next game. During last practices, coach Nudag has experimented a number of different tactics (namely 4-4-2 with Raxid and Dinus in the middle and Norman and Sohizo in the front; 4-3-3 with both two deffensive and two offensive midfielders; and even a somewhat odd superoffensive 3-4-3) and the press expects to have a final position only minutes before tomorrow's game.

OSN Daily Update
Big Win For Orion Soccer – Fenrirs Gain TV Rights!
By WILLIAM DRAKE
Sports - Page 7

As previously speculated and reported, Orion’s first playoff game versus Zarbli will be televised live during a prime-time slot on OSN, Orion’s premier sports network. A huge day for Orion soccer, the playoff match versus Zarbli will be both the first live televised soccer match and the first primetime soccer match.

This is due in no small part to the success of the Orion soccer team, but also because after going 4-1-1 in the World Cup of Hockey, the Orion hockey team managed to lose their last three games, getting shut out and blown out in each of them and losing both the group lead and their first playoff game. The empty spot previously reserved for the hockey matches will go to the soccer team instead.

In what players and analysts are calling “the biggest victory the Orion Fenrirs ever had,” OSN has agreed to broadcast the remainder of the Baptism of Fire playoffs. Even better is the clause in the contract that states with good performance and good ratings, the World Cup matches will be broadcast as well.

If the Fenrirs’ goal was to increase soccer awareness and appreciation throughout the Orion Sector, it is safe to say that they have met it. Demand for soccer in Orion has increased ten fold, with late-night recorded showings gaining better ratings that some primetime shows. Continued success for soccer in the Empire, however, undoubtedly will rely on the continued success of the Fenrirs.

Transcipt of the post-BoF committee meeting of the Vonkian Football Association:

Peter Ballantyne, chairman: Well, I think that all went quite well, a couple of minor problems notwithstanding. We just have two issues to sort out before the world cup qualifying rounds start. Firstly, we need to choose a new manager for the national team.

Reya Ringer, treasurer: What about that nice Mr Vaskoveyvanitsch?

PB: That nice mister...? Have you not been watching the Baptism of Fire?

RR: No. I don't really like football.

Lou Gibbons, secretary: Then why are you on the committee of the national football association?

RR: It keeps me off the streets.

PB: Well, suffice to say that our friend Vasko is, heh, currently unavailable and...

Gertrud Schneider, tea lady: Is he? I saw him this morning and he seemed quite cheerful. He asked me to give you this...

PB: What's that? A bill for another fifty thousand Vonkian guineas from Daehanjeiguk? They sent him home by first class plane and say we've still got to pay the fine too!

LG: What are we going to do? Have we even got that much money, treasurer?

RR: I don't know. I'm not very good with money.

PB: Look, there's no need to panic. We'll just do the same with this as we did with our electric bill - ignore it and hope things sort themselves out in the end.

LG: Speaking of which, could we light another candle? I can't quite read this letter in this light.

PB: No, no, there's no time for that now. Who should be our new manager?

RR: I vote for Vasko. I've always liked him.

GS: Me too. He's such a character.

LG: Yes, I think we can't go wrong with a manager like that.

PB: Sigh... all right then. But promise me that we can get rid of him if we don't qualify for the world cup.

"Attack is the best deffense"

With this words, coach Nudag announced for the Zarblese press the team that will start the match against the Orion Star Empire, a new 3-4-3 formation.


1.Kasapa

14.Vintium
3.Kato 4.Holden

13.Bonfus 5. Zezeh 6.Bola
10.Raxid

7.Norman 9.Oito
22.Sohizo


"It was a mistake to just put Bonfus in the place of Valete in the last game, once Bonfus has more offensive characterists than Valete. This way I hope to make good use of his skills without loosing deffensive power', said the coach, and then added "if things don't work out I'll just change the players and the tactics, that's why we have 22 players and not only 11".

Supporters still hope to see if the coach will put S. Canion in the game after the amazing performance the Left-Forward did in the last match.

GRIZZLIES QUALIFY FOR QUARTERFINALS
FRONTENAX 5-0 IN FIRST ROUND

LASA, DAEHANJEIGUK The Grizzlies have finished on top in Group D after four straight victories against the teams of Group D (Tokyoni, Vonks, SFRS, and Kenavt), along with a 2-1 thriller against Group C's Ofedestan on the teams bye day. The only undefeated team in the tournament, the Grizzlies look forward to the next round of the Baptism of Fire and onto the final match.

Arguably the youngest team to compete, the Grizzlies came into the tournament without much respect from the other nineteen teams in the tournament. With twelve of those teams eliminated, the young team from Frontenax has made headlines across the globe and is looking to secure an international reputation in football. Coming into the tournament with only a few months of practice, the boys handily defeated the team Alversia 2-1 in their first international. However, after much scandal and uproar the team from Alversia was removed from the tournament on a technicality - they had already played on the international scene. With much confusion, the Grizzlies went into their second match looking for their first legitimate win against group member Vonks. The talk that had been exchanged between players of each team through the media caused a storm of excitement as many tuned in to watch the Grizzlies take on the team whom many had nicknamed "The Monsters." Shortly after defeating Vonks 1-0, the team was whisked away to make up their first match, this time against newly announced group member SFRS. Tired and exhausted, the Ministry of Sports and Culture denounced the decision, but quickly commended host Daehanjeiguk on their handling of the situation after the Grizzlies rallied to defeat SFRS 3-2.

After a short time of relaxing, the Grizzlies were back on the pitch, this time against Tokyoni. The match was a quick ninety-minutes, Frontenax taking it 3-1. With a new sense of confidence, the team headed into their fourth match, also making quick work of Kenavt with three goals to none. Securing a qualification spot by defeating all four members of their group, the Grizzlies had only one match left - the bye match against Group C member Ofedestan. With two wins and two loses, Ofedestan was still in search of a qualification spot. Hoping to clinch that spot, the Ofedestani team played their hearts out, keeping the match dead even and tied through the half at one goal each. Only until the eighty-sixth minute did Frontenaxi team captain Manuel Salem managed to head one into the back of the net did Frontenax emerge as the winner of the match.

The Grizzlies have played an incredible six matches of football (one more than any other team!) and look forward to taking on United Hetzel, the second place team from Group C who emerged with two wins, two draws, and one loss. Notable to the Grizzlies management, United Hetzel lost to the Ofedestan in group play, giving them confidence heading into the match. Although the odds are in their favor, the Grizzlies will surely bring there all against United Hetzel. The match will be played at Sanhaemun Football Stadium in Jinhwangdo in front of a sold-out crowd of 60,000, many of whom made the trip from Frontenax, including Saint John native Will Salford.

"I'm so excited to see our boys play, i've watched the last few games back at home at my local bar and to actually see them in person will be amazing. Salem and Haverford have been amazing and our defense is superb. I know they'll win for sure, this tournament is ours! GO GRIZZLIES!"

The match will begin live at 12:30 FST on Frontier Sports Channel 12, with a later rebroadcast shortly after tonights primetime schedule.
THE NORTH STAR TIMES, ONLINE EDITION, 2008.

News Article: Rockport Illuminator - Sports Lead

Welcome to Low Altitude.


The Arrozan Tar hornets, assured of clinching a place in the last 8 of the 28th Baptism of fire put out a sub-par team, and it showed in a 2-2 draw against BearBears. Coach Ross Arroza, said about his changed lineup, “Well, Lancaster, Kandji and the boys were probably a little tired after going through most of group A like wet toiler paper. And we also would have had a problem where the guards would have needed to step in, if we didn’t play some of the second-team boys. They are still professionals after all, and they want to play at the highest level, just like everyone else”.

So, with Scott Buete suspended for an unspecified infraction, the minor Justin Moore led the Black and Whites onto the last group game. Today’s lineup.

Moore
Sebrango Toure Sherard Corazzi
Chevalier
McIntosh Mahaffey
Monteiro
Hayes Valente


The scoring started early, when Sherard accidentally passed a ball to the BearBear forward, who put the ball past Moore in the third minute. Arroza, down for the first time in the BOF, counterattacked and scored in the ninth minute, when McIntosh crossed the ball in to Valente, who finished strong into the top corner. In the seventeenth minute, the Hornets sting again as Monteiro makes a brilliant run into the heart of the defense. As he gets to the center of the box, the defense collapses on him, leaving Valente open to receive the pass, and the striver puts the biscuit in the basket. The last goal of the first 30 minutes and the game was scored when the BearBearian midfielder took a misplaced pass, and outran Sebrango to the box, and launched a rocket that Moore had no chance of stopping. Final 2-2 tie.

“Yes, come in…”

Jacek scratched the back of his head. He had been seated outside the coach’s office, waiting. Slowly he stood, stopping short of walking through the door, instead choosing to stand in the doorway.

“Jacek seriously,” the coach muttered, a smile on his face. “I don’t care how the Monarchs do it; you’re allowed to take a seat here without being told.”

“I want him out,” Jacek blurted out.

“Excuse me?” the coach raised an eyebrow. “Whom?” Jacek walked over and took a seat.

“Jemerson,” the midfielder replied. “And I’m not the only one who feels this way.”

“Then where are they?” the coach asked. “And why isn’t a captain here?”

“The captains don’t really want to make waves,” Jacek muttered. “And everyone else is eating.”

“Deciding to fast?” the coach joked. Jacek didn’t laugh.

“I already ate,” he replied without a smile.

“It takes a big thing to kick a player off of an international team,” the coach said, shaking his head. “Especially this far into the tournament. What will his teammates back home think? What will Orion think?”

“They can think what they want,” Jacek muttered. “The bastard tried to fight me. Attacked me where I stood. Just because he was pissed about playing time, pissed about the roster when we’re 3-1-1, and actually winning for once!”

“Sounds like a vendetta to me,” the coach replied. “I’m sorry Jacek, I can’t just kick a man off the team because he got into a locker room scuffle and wants to play more.”

“He attacked me!” Jacek shouted, slamming his fist down on the desk. “You want to win this thing? You need a team. That man is a cancer in your locker room!”

“Were others there?” the coach asked.

“Yes,” Jacek said. “All the captains were. Ruslan too.”

“Well I’ll talk to them,” the coach said, an air of finality in his voice. “In the meantime, you have a game to prepare for. There aren’t going to be any ties tonight.”

OSN Daily Update
Crouse Suspended, Trouble in Fenrir Locker Room?
By WILLIAM DRAKE
Sports - Page 17

The Orion coach announced late this afternoon that backup forward Jemerson Crouse would be suspended for tonight’s match, the first playoff game against Zarbli. The coach’s official reasoning for the suspension was “conduct unbecoming,” however rumors point to an overheard fight in the Fenrir locker room involving Crouse.

It is not known at this time if the said rumor is at all true, and if it is, who Crouse’s opponent was. However, if the incident did happen as reported, all sorts of questions immediately come to mind. Is the coach in full control of his locker room? Are the Fenrirs en route towards a common goal, or are individual personalities tearing them apart?

Perhaps the greatest question, however, is that of Orion’s mental toughness. Will the Fenrirs be able to still play at such a high level now that the competition is that much greater? As the Oxen Cup proved, the better their opponents get, the more conservative the Fenrirs play, and their play suffers significantly.

It's the BoF show, with Yang and Son at the helm of the reports!

Son: Well, another 4 teams leave the Empire tonight, with the Quarterfinals at a close. And it was an exciting day!

Yang: *snoring*

Son: Well, for me it was exciting. We had Arroza and Ma Raque duel to an amazing 2-1 finish, favoring Arroza. But the atmosphere in Sanghae must have been lively as the monkeys of Dariusville managed to break free in extra time, after finishing the match 2-2, to add 2 goals and win it 4-2 against Tokyoni. I can only say that it was thrilling to the very end. And when we next meet, it will be Arroza and Dariusville playing in Malnira.

Yang: *snoring*

Son: Well, Yang is supposed to talk about the other two matches, but since he's asleep, I'll do it for him. Orion Star Empire played Zarbli in Pyeongyang today, amidst construction of the new stadium for the NFL Season 7. It was a convincing 2-1 win for the... something that I can't pronounce or even imagine to say. Paengil? What the heck is that? Anyway, that's supposed to be what they call themselves. And Frontenax continues its strong play, going as the only team to win every match in the BoF so far. They added a close win against United Hetzel in Jinhwangdo, after 90 minutes couldn't separate the two. 1-1 at the end of regulation, Frontenax added one goal to avoid the nerve-racking penalties and goes on to meet Orion Star Empire in Hanseong tomorrow.

Yang: *snores*

Son: I guess that's all for today!

Results
Arroza 2-1 Ma Raque
Dariusville 2-2 Tokyoni (4-2 AET)
Orion Star Empire 2-1 Zarbli
Frontenax 1-1 United Hetzel (2-1 AET)

Semifinals
Arroza --- Dariusville (@ King Kim Iljei Memorial Football Stadium, Malnira - 55,000 Capacity)
Orion Star Empire --- Frontenax (@ Munhwa Football Stadium, Hanseong - 65,000 Capacity)

Drake:
“Hello I’m William Drake and welcome to OSN Primetime©, Orion’s own Sports Network and THE NEW HOME OF THE ORION FENRIRS! Joining me today, as usual, are my partners in crime John Stone and Sydney Fry.”

Stone:
“Yes, Will, and Orion really took that new broadcast contract to heart didn’t they?”

Fry:
“Not to mention that the reports of the status of the locker room effecting team play were greatly over-rated.”

Drake:
“Well we know Orion didn’t suffer from losing Crouse for the game.”

Stone and Fry laugh.

Stone:
“The first half had a number of close calls, but only Zarbli could net a goal in the 37th minute. To the thrill of the Zarbli faithful, it was backup forward S. Canion who scored for the Blue Tigers off of an unexpected Zezeh assist.”

Fry:
“As the first half came to close, it was Zarbli who was leading in the matchup billed as the ‘Clash of the Empires.’”

Drake:
“I’m sure Emperor Bivens is smiling, however, because the Fenrirs roared back in the second half.”

“Coach gave us quite a talk,” midfielder Ruslan Rotan told the press, chuckling. “He told us what would be waiting for us if we were outscored in another half.”

Stone:
“Captain Ciprian Marica scored in the 60th off of a brilliant Brooks Hollister cross, tying the game for Orion.”

Fry:
“After that it was the gritty Fenrir defense, which held offensive Zarbli to only 5 shots on goal all game, who entrenched themselves in the pitch and would not let the Zarbli offense pass.”

”We drew a line in the grass,” defensemen Christian Chivu said. “We said, you’re not getting any balls past here. For the most part, we stuck to it perfectly.”

Drake:
“It was fitting then that most of the second half was played on Zarbli’s half of the pitch.”

Stone:
“Brooks Hollister again proved that he could have a huge impact on a game without even scoring.”

Fry:
“It was a Hollister pass to Jacek Krzynowek, who is absolutely on fire, which led to a goal as Krzynowek scortched the touted Zarbli goalie in the 77th, giving the Fenrirs a lead that they never lost.”

Drake:
“This now pits Orion against undefeated Frontenax for the semi-finals. Can Orion win?”

Stone:
“Of course they can. Frontenax has hardly had much in the form of competition. They also barely won their first playoff match.”

Fry:
“Any given day any given team can win. Orion must play hard, and their defense must keep their standard of play up to the offense’s as they did in this game.”

Drake:
“I’m sure that the next few days will be quite interesting for these Orion men, no matter what the outcome. I’m William Drake,”

Stone:
“I’m John Stone,”

Together:
“And this is OSN Primetime©!”

Fry:
“Goodnight, Orion.”

OSN Nightly Report
Boruc, Halmi Announce Retirement
By WILLIAM DRAKE
Sports - Page 27

In an interesting move today, two players of the Orion Fenrirs soccer team announced that they would be retiring following the Baptism of Fire. This move comes as a shock given Orion’s success in the Baptism of Fire, not to mention the upcoming World Cup.

The players, both former All-Orion team starters, are backup forward Mitchel Halmi and backup keeper Artur Boruc. Halmi, the 11th all-time highest scorer for Orion, was expectedly announced as a backup for the Fenrirs before the Oxen Cup. Halmi, who looks notoriously far younger than his age at 43, took the move in stride, and while receiving only minimal playing time, he has been quite the leader on the practice field.

Boruc’s story, however, is a bit more complicated. Toted as the best goalie in Orion upon the announcement of the Fenrirs, Boruc went 0-2-1 in Oxen Cup play, giving up a terrible an average of three goals against each game. He was subsequently benched right before the Oxen Cup playoffs and replaced by now-starter Bogdan Shust.

Due to Shust’s remarkable success, it was becoming increasingly clear that Boruc would not be seeing playing time again. However, not content to remain a backup, and only at the age of 32, Boruc announced that he would only be retiring from international play. The move has prompted some pundits to chastise Boruc for both his poor play and his “pouting.”

What is true, either way, is that Orion will be having roster changes come World Cup Qualifying, if not major ones.

GRIZZLIES WIN IN OVERTIME, QUALIFY TO SEMIFINALS
FRONTENAX 1-1 UNITED HETZEL (2-1 AET)

JINHWANGDO, DAEHANJEIGUK After a full ninety minutes and an additional ten minutes of play, the Grizzlies succesfully qualified for the semifinals of the Baptism of Fire whilst eliminating United Hetzel from the competition by a score of two goals to one.

Although the team was confident in securing a spot in the Semifinals, lots of uncertainty was in the air in and around the locker room. Coach Stephen Tow was noted as walking up and down the halls of the team residence attempting to figure out a strategy at defeating the largely unknown team. "No names, no strategies, nothing... all I knew was that they've made it as far as we have and thus should be just as good, if not better." The morning practice was marked by constant rotations and new formations and strategies in order to prepare the team for anything.

The game, played in front of a crowd of over 50,000 at the nearly sold-out Sanhaemun Football Stadium in Jinhwangdo, began with lots of exciting back and forth action that saw both teams sharing posession of the ball. After a scoreless half, the team went back into the locker room and came out with exactly the formula needed to win the game. Going into the second half, the Grizzlies played strong and managed to be rewarded with a corner kick near the sixty-eigth minute of play. A strong kick from midfielder River Fischer wound up being headed by forward Jordan Pellegrino and into an open Ramez Kapoor, who blasted the ball through the Hetzelian defense and into the back of the net. With great determination, the game went on and the Grizzlies continued to gain both possession and control over the ball. Near the eighty-first minute, two substitions had put in high school players defender Alfonso Nedelcho and midfielder Dirk Saxon, who came in with much enthusiasm in their first international match.

This was largely a disaster for the team, however, as a pass through Saxon ended in a rush of Hetzelian players near the goal, one of whom outsmarted Nedelcho with the ball and had an easy shot into the goal. Tied with one each, the Grizzlies replaced the two players but couldn't manage to pull away and after two minutes of stoppage time found themselves in an easily avoidable predicament. At the start of the first period of extra time, the Hetzelians used the same rush tactic to try and score on the Grizzlies. This plan was flawed, and a pass downfield ended up in possession of team captain Manuel Salem, whom manuevered past a depleted defense and confronted the Hetzelian goalie face-to-face, only to surpass him and shoot the ball into the corner of the net. With that, the match came shortly to an end and the Grizzlies had won in overtime, 2-1.

The sporting community and Grizzly fan base was absolutely livid following the result of the match, largely blaming coach Tow for his decision-making following what many believed was an "absolutely unnecessary scare." Fans in the streets of Saint John were stunned at the amount of substitutes on the field and many called for the firing of Tow.

"What **** **** puts these school boys out on the pitch near the end of a very close match? Abso - ***** - lutely ridiculous! He better not pull this **** against Orion. If we lose the next one it's off with his **** head."

The Grizzlies move on into the semifinals to take on the Orion Star Fenrirs, whom will easily be the Grizzlies toughest opponent to date. The match will be played at Munhwa Football Stadium in Hanseoung in front of an even larger crowd of over 60,000 fans. Although the teams strategy has been kept on a tight rap, they will most certainly be playing their best ever game in order to make it to the final match. Coach Tow left the media with a few words of his own before heading to the match, speaking not of the United Hetzel fiasco but of the semifinal match and the future of Grizzly Football.

"It's all or nothing now, we have to win and we will do whatever it takes to win. I'm confident in our ability and I know we'll prove that we are the best team here and that we will make a scene at the upcoming World Cup and rise quickly through the ranks to be one of the worlds greatest teams. It's going to take time and a lot of hardwork, but we can do that, and i'm certain we'll prove that against Orion."

The match will begin live at 2:15 FST on Frontier Sports Channel 12, with a later rebroadcast shortly after midnight.
THE NORTH STAR TIMES, ONLINE EDITION, 2008.

OSN Nightly Report
Crouse Suspension Continues, Backup Forward Returns Home
By WILLIAM DRAKE
Sports - Page 9

As his suspension has yet to be reversed, and with the coach giving no indication that it will be, backup forward Jemerson Crouse returned home to his villa on Steel Isle today. It is unclear if Crouse has been officially kicked off the team or not, but he will not be playing again in the Baptism of Fire.

“Jemerson will not be playing for his country in the World Cup Qualifiers either,” the coach cryptically told the media today in a short statement.

Sources close to the team said that the Fenrirs response is to avoid any further embarrassment for the Steel Isle Islanders starter. He has played very little since a group of poor performances in the Oxen Cup, and has been visibly upset on the sidelines, even in Orion victories.

This now leaves three vacancies in reserve spots for the Fenrirs to fill before qualifying begins. The coach has stated that no player will be joining the team before the Baptism of Fire is completed. That gameplan leaves the Fenrirs at quite a disadvantage in manpower, and raises the question of the Orion team tiring out during the intense playoff matches. Only time will tell.

The BoF Show has been canceled for tonight, owing to other commitments. Scores are posted on our website as normal.

Semifinals
Arroza 1-1 Dariusville (1-1 AET, 3-1 PK)
Orion Star Empire 2-3 Frontenax

Final Matches

Orion Star Empire --- Dariusville (@ Emperor Gojong Football Stadium, Hangyeong - 150,000 Capacity)

FINAL
Arroza --- Frontenax (@ Cha Beomgeun Memorial Football Stadium, Hangyeong - 250,000 Capacity)

Darn, I thought the semi's were today.

Meh, you won anyway... ;)

News Article: Rockport Illuminator - Sports Lead

The Grand Finale.


Well, the Tar Hornets have done it again. They’ve qualified for the final game in their first tournament in a new sport. And this time they didn’t have to have any rednecks in Mountaineer gear spoiling the party for the rest of the country, or embarrassing us overseas. The Black & Whites and their fans have actually been model citizens while in Daehanjeiguk, using some of their off time to do community service by cleaning the streets of Hangyeong. Coach Gaynor downplayed the event saying “We did go out and do some chain-gang training. But as much as it did help the locals, we always have the ulterior goal of bringing silverware back to Arroza. I think that being chained together helps up connect to each other on a mental level, and it can help us work together better as a team”.
It seems to have worked as the national team’s beat their 2 toughest opponents to date, beating Ma Raque 2-1 in the quarterfinals, and the trained primates of Dariusville in a game that went the full 120 and into penalties.

Quick Recap and Stat Check.

Arroza 2, Ma Raque 1
Scorers:
12: Lancaster (Camp)
39: Sayyid (Quraishi)
77: Kandji (Parrish)

Arroza 1, Dariusville 1 (3-1 in penalties)
5: Tarik (Unassisted)
78: Lancaster (Kandji)

Penalties:
Lancaster – Goal Tarik - Goal
Kandji – Goal Joe - Miss
Valente – Saved Yigit – Saved
Parrish – Miss Hank – Miss
Camp – Goal Jack – Did not shoot.

Overall Stats:
Goals:
Lancaster: 8, Camp: 2, Kandji: 4, Parrish: 1, Valente: 2
Assists:
Kandji: 5, Lancaster: 1, McIntosh: 2, Parrish: 2, Camp: 2, Arze: 1, Monteiro: 2

I'm not going to be able to post scores for the final matches until after tomorrow - I've got a lot of stuff to do before tomorrow, so scores will be delayed until tomorrow 0400GMT (even though it's only 45 minutes away from now, I'm actually pressing my luck by even logging on right now).

It's the BoF show, with Yang and Son at the helm of the reports!

Yang: Well, we're sorry that we couldn't be with you last time, but we're glad to be here now when it really matters most.

Son: With most of the attention diverted to the World Cup and the qualification stages, along with some weird skirmishes in international relations somehow related to the World Cup, the BoF has somewhat faded in international attention. But we still managed to find nearly half a million people to crowd the stadiums around the Cha Beomgeun Memorial Stadium and Emperor Gojong Stadium.

Yang: And the matches have been getting closer and closer too. In the semifinals, both matches were tight affairs, with the Arroza-Dariusville affair decided on a penalty shoot-out. Frontenax went into the final match with a boost of confidence from their winning streak, but Arroza has been on hot form too. Meanwhile, Orion Star Empire and Dariusville will have to concede for the third and fourth spots - a hard acceptance really. The Orion Star team has been riddled with rumors of internal quarreling that has potentially left the team out of fitness on the pitch. And Dariusville's luck of trained primates seems to have slipped on the proverbial banana peel, as their luck went out in the penalty contest.

Son: But we're going out now to see the matches and read the scores to you!

*** 90 minutes later ***

Orion Star Empire 1-1 Dariusville
Arroza 1-1 Frontenax

Yang: And it couldn't be any closer! Both matches simultaneously started and they're up and out of regulation time. Tied 1-1, both the winners and the consolation winners will have to endure 30 more minutes before the most emotionally painful penalties take the front. We'll tune back in then!

*** 30 minutes later ***

Orion Star Empire 1-1 Dariusville (1-1 AET)
Arroza 1-1 Frontenax (2-1 AET)

Son: Well, there you have it! Arroza is the 28th BoF Champion! And it couldn't come sooner, with an extra time shot to seal the day.

Yang: Frontenax will be disappointed with that solitary loss, but if it gives them any comfort, they'll know that they went against a tough team, undefeated likewise with only one draw from the Group Stage. But still, they had the chance to take all the points from this tournament.

Son: Well, it also seems that the 3rd place match is still underway, as Orion Star Empire and Dariusville get ready for grueling penalties!

Yang: Well, Dariusville still has the stigma of losing their last penalty contest, but Orion Star Empire has yet to be tested. Perhaps experience will win out?

Son: Nah, the monkeys can't reach that far.

Yang: Well, here's your lovely PK Contest to end the BoF!

*** After Penalties ***

Orion Star Empire 1-1 Dariusville (1-1 AET, 4-2 PK)
Arroza 1-1 Frontenax (2-1 AET)

Son: And there's the win for Orion Star Empire! It's not first place; it's not the championship, but for a team that looks to make a fresh start in the World Cup, 3rd place is not bad.

Yang: Still, Arroza will join the ranks of those teams like the Han Empire, who have won the BoF and will fail to qualify in their first run.

Son: Inevitably, every first-time team lacks enough experience to even reach the World Cup. Except for Oickodia. Whoever they are. They're gone anyway, and it's unlikely for anyone of our BoF contenders to rise up to the challenge.

Yang: But these tournaments do tell us who's up for the challenge. Arroza, Frontenax, Orion Star Empire, and Dariusville have their names at the forefront.

Son: Well, until we figure out what to do for the World Cup, this Son and Yang for the BoF Show, 28th edition, signing off for the last time.

The Arrozan players swarm the center of the field, celebrating riotously.

The coach is doused in Gatorade and then paraded in the center circle.

Strains of "We are the champions" are heard around the arena.

Weeee...are the champions.
Weeee...are the champiiiii [BANG!]

And the singing suddenly stops as guard #1 brings his rifle back down to point at the team.

"Champions or not, you're still prisoners. And it's back to Arroza State for all of you chumps. Except for you Parrish. You've got some guys waiting to take you to...Candel...Canna....Candelaria? Yeah, Candelaria. If I see you back here again, I will shoot you for being stupid. Understand Parrish?"

"Yessir."

"Good. See you at qualifying. Now all the rest of you maggots, MOVE!"