Monday, September 29, 2071
4 FAVORITES WON IN RU, ONLY 1 IN TU... 7 OF 8 TEAMS REPEAT IN IPA PLAYOFFS... ONLY RED BLUFF IS MISSING
The 2071 Islandian Pro Alliance regular season has concluded, but not in the way the preseason pollsters postulated... they got it totally right in the Ruthlandian Union where all of their predictions came out true-to-form... but not so in the Tycobbian Union... the only favorite touted that came through for them was the Rolling Hills Racers.
In the Ruthlandian Union, Valmara, Belair Beach, Wynnamac and Volusia all repeated as division champions... in the Tycobbian circles it was White River, Turon, Tuckanarra and Rolling Hills... the only club that didn't make it back to the IPA playoffs was the Red Bluff Red Sox... they were beaten out by the Tuckanarra Tiger Cats this season.
The preseason pick Valmara Vipers (101-53) took over the Ruthlandian North in July and kept a small lead until September when they went 19-4 and won going away by 11 games over the runner-up Taranto Tars (90-64)... the Sailors didn't get going good until July, but they had a sluggish August (14-13), just when the Vipers got scorching hot.... the Ranford Bulls (89-65) ran a good race, holding on to first place until June 20, then slipping back into third place... no other clubs challenged in the race.
The Belair Beach Sunbirds (100-54) enjoyed another season of success in the Ruthlandian South race, piling up a new club record for victories... 96 triumphs in 2005 was their previous best mark... the Valka Blackhawks (92-62) again tested the Sunbirds this season... they took over the top spot in June when Belair Beach slumped to 13-13... but the Blackhawks lost it by September and finished 8 games behind... the Sunbirds sizzled in the summertime with a 55-21 record the final three months...the best the Blackhawks could do was 44-32... the third place San Dimas Rancheros (79-75) hung close for the first three months, but began to fade in July.
It was just a two-team affair in the Ruthlandian East, but it only lasted until July... at that time defending champ Wynnamac seemed to put on the jets and runner-up Marston seemed to put on the brakes... the Macs kicked butt the rest of the year posting a 53-24 mark, while the Nine dropped under .500 the final three months of the season... the Sundowners beat Marston by 18 games in a wholesale runaway.
For the second straight season in the Ruthlandian West, the Volusia Vigilantes began the year in stagnant fashion... the V's were in 7th place at the end of April, while the Colfax Black Sox shot out into the lead at the start and kept it until well into August... until midseason Fort Benton and Middlefield were their biggest obstacles, but both clubs faded in the second half... Colfax went an ice cold 18-33 the last two months of the season and Volusia (34-16) and Sligo (30-21) caught and passed them... the Vigilantes (86-68) edged out the Rovers (85-69) by a single game... Volusia took over on September 21 and held off Sligo's valiant efforts... first place was finally decided on the final day of the season... Colfax (81-73) wound up in third place 5 games back in the race... Middlefield (77-77) was fourth in the standings and 9 games behind... Fort Benton (72-82) tied for sixth place and ended up 14 games off the pace.
2071 Ruthlandian Union Finals Standings
2071 Ruthlandian Union Final Leaderboards
