ISLANDIAN PRO ALLIANCE (RUTHLANDIA and TYCOBBIA BASEBALL UNIONS)

[Eugene Church]

Saturday, December 16, 2079

FTB'S HOGAN AND TURON'S HAZLE COP MVP AND GOLDEN BAT HONORS IN IPA
Hauling in the most hardware this season in the Islandian Pro Alliance were Fort Benton's shortstop Dwight Hogan and Turon's right fielder Robert Hazle... they both sparked their teams to pennants and copped a pair of prestigious awards this season... Hogan and Hazle were acclaimed as their league's top players and top hitters... the IPA also bestowed awards for the best pitchers, best rookies, best managers and best defenders.

In the Ruthlandia Union Dwight Hogan of the Fort Benton Cannons (.325 BA, 11 HR, 93 RBI) picked up the Golden Bat Award, Javis Packham of the Elnora Clippers (17-8/2.37 ERA)the Golden Arm Award, Tony Nobles of the Rocky Rapids Snappers (.333 BA, 18 HR/53 RBI) the Rookie of the Year Award and Enos Conrad of Elnora the Manager of the Year... his Clippers jumped from 7th place (75-79) to first place in the RU East (87-67) this season.

The 2079 IPA Award recipients in the Tycobbian Union were Golden Bat Robert Hazle of Turon (.299 BA, 25 HR/98 RBI/105 R), Golden Arm Davis Hickerson of Kenwood (19-8/2.50 ERA), Rookie of the Year James Lundin of White River (.289 BA/31 HR/100 RBI/107 R) and Manager of the Year Pip Cordice of Mahaska... the Haymakers climbed up from 6th place (75-79) in the TU North to first place (87-70).





2079 Ruthlandian Union Most Valuable Player Award

[Eugene Church]

2079 Tycobbian Union Most Valuable Player Award

[Eugene Church]

Thank goodness, IPA season 2079 is finally finished!
What an ordeal!

But as they say, "All's well that ends well".

It looks like Ktulu saved my IPA for me.
Much appreciate his great help.

Onward we go!... Season 2080 is right around the corner... at a ballpark near you... hope the folks that stopped reading this thread over the last 7 months will return... a bunch of them left.

[Eugene Church]

Sunday, December 17, 2079

IPA MANAGERS OF THE YEAR GOES TO FORT BENTON'S GREGORY AND MAHASKA' CORDICE
Fort Benton skipper Max Gregory and Mahaska manager Pip Cordice were rewarded for successful seasons by being named the 2079 Managers Of The Year in the Islandian Pro Alliance... Gregory was honored as the Ruthlandian Union Manager of the Year and Cordice copped the Tycobbian Union Manager of the Year.

Gregory beat out his peers Paul Dillon of the Crystal Lake Skippers and Primo Sirak of the Valmara Vipers... Gregory sparked his Fort Benton club to the Ruthlandian West Division flag... it was the first time Gregory won the top manager trophy... the Cannons improved from 86-69 and second place last year to 89-65 and the pennant this season... with Dillon at the helm Crystal Lake improved from third place and 83-72 to 92-62 and the top spot in the RU South... Dillon claimed the top skipper award in 2074... third in the poll was Valmara's Primo Sirak... his Vipers went from third place in the RU North to first place, improving from 85-69 in '78 to 91-63 this season.

Also a first-time recipient Pip Cordice paced his Haymakers to the Tycobbian North Division title with a sparkling 87-70 mark after winding up in the sixth spot the year before with a 76-79 record... finishing third in the best manager race was Rolling Hills Hugo Sutton... his Racers upped their season mark to 89-65... the year previoulsy they wound up in fourth place at 80-74.

2079 Islandian Pro Alliance Award Winners and Golden Glove Teams

Ruthlandian Union

Ollie Daggs is a 6-time Gold Glove recipient, Jamie Glisson has won it 3 times, Evan Murdock has been honored 2 times.

Tycobbian Union

Oliver Mackey is the only multiple winner... 4 times he has won the Golden Glove.

[Eugene Church]

Wednesday, April 3, 2080

IPA BACK IN BUSINESS FOR THE 80TH SEASON... 64 TEAMS SET TO ROLL... SEASON OPENS THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON
Winter is long gone, Spring has sprung and it's opening day this Friday in the Islandian Pro Alliance... the brand-spanking new 2080 pennant ace gets underway with 64 teams poised and primed for a new year of spills, chills, hits, runs, errors and homers... the Crystal Lake Skippers of the Ruthlandian Union and the Turon Typhoons of the Tycobbian Union are forecast to battle for the cherished IPA Pro Cup Trophy come October... however, they are 62 other teams that might have a say-so in how it all play out over the 154-game season... the Rolling Hills Racers are the IPA champion... they defeated the Fort Benton Cannons in six games last year... nope, the Racers aren't going to relinguish their crown without a fight... Rolling Hills would like nothing better than to repeat and chalk up its IPA-record 10th Pro Cup Trophy... many prognosticators think the Racers could pull it off.

Ruthlandian Union Preseason Predictions
Here is a quick summary of what the soothsayers are saying about the 2080 IPA season... in the Ruthlandian North the LaGrange Gators are a slight favorite over the Ranford Bulls... it looks like 6 teams could contend... last year's champion Valmara is picked to wind up in fifth place this year... it looks like a long season for Kilkenny and Glasco... they are forecast for the bottom of the RU North this year.

According to the baseball scribes, pundits and broadcasters, the Crystal Lake Skippers are destined to easily win the Ruthlandian South race by a double-digit margin over distant challengers, Valka and Waleska... the rest of the division will be even further back.

The Ruthlandian East is shaping up as a 3-team affair between favorite Eastshore and close contenders Cold Creek and Wynnamac... last year's pennant winner Elnora is picked a distant 4th in the race, 10 GB... Sugar Valley might make a run... nobody else looks to have a chance.

The prime teams in the Ruthlandian West are still last year's division flag winner Fort Benton, who went all the way to the IPA Pro Cup Finals last year, before losing out in 6 games to Pro Cup champ Rolling Hills... the Cannons will be gunning again, along with its arch-rival Sligo... actually the oddsmakers are making the Rovers a very slight choice... third place Forest City might make a 3-team race of it... there is a lot of parity in the RU West... any of the teams could make the race... however, Fort Benton and Sligo are the top teams in the division... both of them have won the pennant twice in the last 5 years... and both of them have lost to Rolling Hills in the Pro Cup Series... Sligo lost to the Racers in 2075... both clubs are ready for revenge against the Tycobbian terrors.

Tycobbian Union Preseason Predictions
The outlook for the Tycobbian North Division is a 4-team fracas between this year's favorite White River, which lost a sudden-death playoff game to Mahaska last year, and 3 other clubs, Blue Lake, Oxford and Hartsdale... the baseball people in the know have picked last year's winner Mahaska to wind up way down the list in 6th place, 15 GB... however, the TU North is a pretty competitive division top to bottom... it would not be surprising to see the other teams move up and get involved in the pennant chase.

The Turon Typhoons have terrorized the Tycobbian South for the last decade, winning it 8 times and also taking the IPA Pro Cup Trophy twice (2072, 2078)... it has pretty much been Turon's playground... nothing has changed, but it could be a closer race this year... Southport and Arroyo Grande could be close contenders... Summerland and Colchester also might challenge... San Alejo, Cape Coral and Ginza are not likely to be in the hunt... the Typhoons are showing signs of age on the mound and in the field... they are still good, but maybe not quite the players they were in their prime years... Turon's challengers are hoping that the case because they have truly dominated the TU South for the last 10 seasons.

A 3-team tussle is predicted for the Tycobbian East Division this season... the Ozarka Naturals are the pick of the pundits... the Nats are rated slightly better than the Midway Wolves and the Tuckanarra Blue Jays... the South Fork Stallions and Red Bluff Red Sox could be in the chase, along with Hillsboro... the Red Sox won the pennant last year and surprisingly knocked Pro Cup favorite Turon off in the first round of last year's playoffs... unbelievably Red Bluff swept a Turon team that won 101 games... the Red Sox are forecast to wind up a distant 5th this year, 13 GB... High Mesa and East Point are the dregs of the division and are not expected to do more than fight each other to stay out of the division cellar.

Of course, the best in the Tycobbian West should be the reigning Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills Racers... however, some baseball analysts are leaning a little bit towards the Denton City Redbirds, followed very closely by Rolling Hills and the Bayview Vikings... Kenwood is another contender, along with Chicopee and La Claire... it really could be a 6-team free-for-all... poor Arlon and pathetic Bay St. Clair are picked for the bottom rung this season in the TU West... not a lot of talent on those clubs and hasn't been for 20 years... looks like they will have to wait for the proverbial next year... or even longer.

2080 Ruthlandian Division Favorites

[Eugene Church]

2080 Tycobbian Division Favorites

[jg2977]

Those Fort Benton Cannons uniforms really do look nice in the game. I still have them as the Defenders, but after seeing those I may rebrand them.

[Eugene Church]

Sorry, folks... I have been neglecting the Islandian Pro Alliance because of my doing research to set up an Alltime All-Star League... it is quite complicated especially for a computer dunce like me... lots of downloading zipped files and unzipping them to the proper folders in the games... it is far too complex for EC... but I have managed to set up the basic league with silvam14 and No Pepper's great historical logos, jerseys and caps.

The main problem is how to import the players... I can manually import the 488 players needed for the first season myself... I know how to do that... however, someone suggested I could save a lot time by installing Goat's Historical Quickstart from OOTP23... that is hard to do, especially for me... once it is in OOTP23, then it must be converted to OOTP24 and then OOTP25... those conversions may not be possible... the quickstart may only work with OOTP23.

Anyway, I am going to get busy with the IPA and recap the 2079 playoffs like I should have done a week or so ago.

I will post the 2080 season recap later today.

[Eugene Church]

Thursday, April 4, 2080

IPA OPENS 2080 SEASON TOMORROW
The Island baseball prognosticators are forecasting the eight division winners will be LaGrange, Crystal Lake, Eastshore and Sligo in the Ruthlandian Union, while it will be
White River, Turon, Ozarka and Denton City prevailing in the Tycobbian Union.

[Eugene Church]

Monday, July 1, 2080

GOOD RACES GOING IN THE IPA AT MIDYEAR
Surveying IPA at midseason shows that there are tight races in seven of the eight divisions... only Crystal Lake in the Ruthlandian South has a substantial lead at the halfway point in the season... the rest of the league is chocked full of good races.

Ranford is the surprise in the RU North, holding a 5 and a half-game edge over the Taranto Tars and Valmara Vipers... Crystal Lake has leaped out to an 8 and a half-game margin in the RU South... runner-up Valka is the only team close... the remaining teams are already out of contention... it's a close race in the RU East between first place Eastshore and second place Wynnamac... the Macs trail by just a half game... the Sligo Rovers and the Middlefield Roosters are presently deadlocked for the top spot in the RU West standings with a whole host of challengers clinging close by... Volusia is one game out, Fort Benton 2 games back, Stoner is 4 games behind and 6th place Colfax is just 5 and a half games off the pace of the leaders.

Perusing the Tycobbian Union, all 4 divisions are still in contention... White River tops the TU North by 4 and a half games over runner-up Luxora and Mahaska by 6... it's about the same in the TU South race.. Cape Coral is 4 and a half games better than Arroyo Grande and 7 and a half up on Turon... two surprising clubs head up the TU East and TU West... perennial also-rans East Point has surged to the top of the standings in the TU East, just slightly ahead of the Ozarka Naturals by one and a half games... hapless Arlon is the other outlier, tied in the TU West with Kenwood... defending Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills is 5 and a half games behind in the chase.

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

Tueday, July 16, 2080

RU STARS SNAP TWO-GAME SKID... COLFAX BOZEMAN HOMERS, NAMED MVP IN IPA ALL-STAR GAME AT ROLLING HILLS
The Ruthlandian Union rarely wins in the Islandian Pro Alliance All-Star Classic, but this year they triumphed in the annual star-studded game 3-1, played in Rolling Hills, the reigning Pro Cup champion... Tim Bozeman of the Colfax Black Sox socked a roundtripper in the opening frame and led the RU All-Stars to victory... the Ruthlandian Union had dropped the last two All-Star clashes... it has only won 29 times in 80 games... Bozeman was voted the game's Most Valuable Player,

The Tycobbia Stars evened the score at 1-1 in the last of the third on Garrett Pulver's (Blue Lake) RBI two-bagger... the RU Stars promptly grabbed the lead back in the top of the fourth when Norris Wheeler (Taranto) doubled in the go-ahead run... Ruthlandia's final score came in the fifth when Buzz Mauldin (Cold Creek) scored from third base on Conrad Clark's (Sligo) sacrifice fly ball.

Good pitching ruled the day... the Ruthlandian hurlers were just a lttle better today... 36-year-old Nobuo Ojima (Far Mountain) notched the win, but gave up a run in his inning... taking the loss was Kent Burleigh (East Point)... he gave up the go-ahead run in the fourth frame.

[Eugene Church]

Monday, September 30, 2080

LOTS OF JOY IN THE ISLANDS, 8 TEAMS QUALIFY FOR THE PRO CUP PLAYOFFS
Yes, indeed, there is lots and lots of joy, jubilation and celebration all across Islandia... the Islandian Pro Alliance just finished its 80th season... 8 towns are estatic, but there is sorrow in some of the other 56 communities... especially in Eastshore, Turon and Ozarka where they came up a wee bit short of making the Pro Cup playoffs... the Cotton Kings lost to Wynnamac in the Ruthlandian East by only 2 games and the Typhoons fell to Arroyo Grande in TU South by 3 games... the saddest end of all was Ozarka, who wound up just one game behind TU East titlist East Point... another hard-luck story was the long-suffering Arlon Champions... they fought Kenwood all season long in the TU West, but finally succumbed by 7 games... it's been several decades since Arlon made the postseason playoffs and 15 years since they had a winning record.

And away we go!
Let recap the 2080 IPA season

IPA 8 DIVISION CHAMPIONS
The Ruthlandian Union Division champions this year were the Ranford Bulls, Crystal Lake Skippers, Wynnamac Sundowners and Sligo Rovers... the Tycobbian Union Division victors were the White River Rascals, Arroyo Grande Suns, East Point Panthers and Kenwood Wildcats.

The IPA Pro Cup Playoffs start tomorrow with Wynnamac traveling to Ranford to begin the best-of-seven series and Sligo hosting Crystal Lake in the Ruthlandian First Round... in the Tycobbian First Round it will be Kenwood going to Arroyo Grande and East Point entertaining White River.

The baseball prophets see it all end like this: Crystal Lake will win the Ruthlandian Union and be victorious over Kenwood, champion of the Tycobbian Union for the treasured Pro Cup Trophy... the Skippers have won it 4 times in history, while the Wildcats have captured it only once.

2080 IPA Pro Cup Poll By The Islandian Times
1. Crystal Lake (96-58) - The Skippers won in it in 2074... have done well in recent years... good hitting, good power, good pitching and good defense... this could be the Year of the Sailors in the IPA... in 15 appearances they have 4 Pro Cup Trophies so far...

2. Kenwood (93-61) - The best thing the Wildcats have going for them - they wrestled the TU West title from the 2079 Pro Cup champion, the Rolling Hills Racers... Kenwood is a well-balanced club and a serious threat to win the whole shebang this year... the Wildcats captured their only Pro Cup years ago in 2014... this year will be the 14th time Kenwood has been in the IPA Pro Cup playoffs.

3. White River (92-62) - The Rascals can score, hit with power and have quality pitching... should go deep into the playoffs... this will be White River's 17th quest for the legendary IPA Pro Cup Trophy... the Rascals have never won it, however, the have come close four times... they lost in the Pro Cup Finals in 2021, 2049, 2050 and 2055... it's about time for White River to win it.

4. Ranford (102-52) - The Bulls racked up 102 victories this season, best in the IPA, and easily ran away with the RU North by an ungodly 18 games... power and pitching go a long way in the playoffs... yeah, buddy, Ranford has it... the baseball experts are bullish on the Bulls... Radford won their only Pro Cup in 2040.... the Bulls are appearing for the 11th time in the postseason.

5. Sligo (96-58) - The Rovers always do well on the mound, but they come up short at the plate... twice in recent years, Sligo did well in the playoffs, reaching the Pro Cup Finals in '75 and going to the Ruthlandian Title Round in '78...overall, Sligo has made the IPA playoffs on 18 occasions... if the Rovers can put some runs on the scoreboard, they will do well this year... Sligo snared its only Pro Cup Trophy in 2021.

6. Wynnamac (91-63) - The Sundowners were the 2076 Pro Cup champions... they made the playoffs in 2078... they are playoff proven with many of the same bats in the lineup that they had in '76... success will depend on the pitchers they have this year... they had them in '76 and nabbed the overall IPA crown... however, it's a new mound crew this year... the Macs have previously garnered 4 Pro Cups... this marks the 24th year Wynnamac is in the playoffs.

7. East Point (92-62) - The Panthers are one of the great IPA stories this season... they have been pathetic for decades... and I mean bad with a capital B... the last pennant was in 2052... East Point went from the outhouse to the penthouse this year... they were dead last with a 69-85 mark last season... the terrific turnaround was fostered by fine pitching... the Panthers don't have the hitting and scoring to contend for the Pro Cup Trophy this year, but it sure is great to see them in the playoffs... glory hallelujah for the dregs of IPA society... the Panthers previously appeared in the postseason 8 time... East Point has never won a Pro Cup... but they did make the Pro Cup Finals in 2033... they lost to the Elnora All-Stars in 7 games... this is their 9th time to make the Pro Cup playoffs.

8. Arroyo Grande (87-67) - The Suns are another hopeless and hapless franchise... this is the first time in eons that Arroyo Grande graced the postseason... not since long ago and faraway in 2024 have the Suns won a TU South pennant... Arroyo Grande is a great story, too, but they won't go far in the playoff this year... but thank goodness, the Suns made it this season... it's good for baseball... the Suns are still seeking their first-ever IPA crown... this will be their 6th postseason attempt... would love to see the Suns shine brightly in the Pro Cup playoffs and win it all... yeah, buddy, that would be something special.

2080 Ruthlandian Union Season Recap
It was only close for a little while in the Ruthlandian North Division... the Ranford Bulls won it in a rout... last year's pennant winner Valmara and Taranto offered some opposition until midseason and then they faded... the Vipers lost out by 18 games, the Tars by 20... preseason favorite LaGrange never really challenged and slumbered in at the fourth spot, 21 games behind the Bulls.

The Crystal Lake Skippers took command right from the start in April in the RU South pennant chase... they scatted to the top of the heap right away with a 20-3 record and were never really challenged... the Sailors were up by 9 games in June and never looked back... this was their third flag in 7 seasons... Valka was a distant second 9 games out with San Dimas and Grand City even further back in third place, trailing by a whopping 19 games... Crystal Lake has won the division for the last two years and were picked to repeat in the preseason poll.

Ruthlandian East winner Wynnamac began the season sluggishly below .500, standing 6th in the standings on May 1st... Eastshore and Cold Creek ranked near the top until midseason... the Raccoons swooned and dropped out of the race... it became a two-team tango the rest of the way with the Macs and Cotton Kings slugging out right to the end of the season... Wynnamac held off Eastshore in September and snagged the division crown by a 2-game margin... the Cotton Kings were the preseason pick... last year's flag winner Elnora wound up in third place, 10 GB... Cold Creek and Beechwood tied for the fourth spot, 16 games off the pace.

6 teams, Colfax, Middlefield, Sligo, Fort Benton, Stoner and Forest City, contended until August... then the Sligo Rovers went on a 22-3 rampage and surged ahead by 9 games... the race was over... the Rovers were the preseason choice and they won it going away by 12 games over runner-up and last year's champion Fort Benton... Stoner was third, 14 games back... Volusia and Middlefield tied for fourth, 20 GB.

2080 Tycobbian Union Season Recap

There was good competition in the Tycobbian North race most of the season... White River took charge in April and was never headed... however, Luxora, last year's winner Mahaska and Oxford stayed within striking distance until September, but never really pressed them... the Rascals were the preseason favorite and they came through... at season's end, the Zorros were 6 games behind White River, Mahaska came in 10 games off the pace and Oxford was 12 games back.

Three clubs, Turon, Arroyo Grande and Cape Coral, tussled for the league lead until August, when the Typhoons got hot, the Suns cooled off and the Hurricanes lost power and blew themselves out of the race... preseason-favored and last year's champ Turon had a 6-game bulge going into the final month of the season, September... that's when Arroyo Grande surged to 17-8, the Typhoons swooned to 9-16 and the Suns won the TU South flag by 3 games... mighty Turon had fallen... the Typhoons won the pennant 8 times in the last 10 years... Cape Coral went 16-36 the final two months of the season, yet still came in tied for third place with the Southport Sun Sox and Ginza Ninjas, all 7 games behind Arroyo Grande.

5 teams engaged in the Tycobbian East pennant chase until the halfway mark... East Point, Ozarka, Tuckanarra, Midway and High Mesa... the Tucks, Wolves and Buckaroos tumbled to the wayside beginning in July, leaving the pennant race to the Panthers and the Naturals... it was nip-and-tuck the rest of the way with East Point going 29-23 and Ozarka 28-25... the Panthers pulled it out by a single, solitary game and won their first TU East pennant in 28 years... the poor Nats have not made the playoffs since 2040... but it was great to see two perpetual losers have a shot at a tad of glory this season... it's a shame they both couldn't have won it... Tuckanarra wound up in the third spot, 13 games behind... Midway ended up fourth in the standings, 17 games out... and High Mesa fifth, trailing by 18 games.

There was another warm-and-fuzzy, feel-good story in the Islandian Pro Alliance this season -- it was the Arlon Champions -- for the first time in 15 years they had a winning record and a darn good one to boot, 86-68... and for the first time in two decades they were in the hunt for TU West title and a spot in the Pro Cup playoffs... Arlon was picked to finish seventh in the preseason prognostications... Denton City was the top choice in the preseason poll to be the best in the TU West this season... the Bayview Vikings and the reigning Pro Cup champion Rolling Hills Racers were the second and third picks... Arlon began the season near the bottom... then things began to jell... the Champions were in contention by June with 7 other clubs, all within 5 games of one another... by midseason Arlon and Kenwood were deadlocked for the top spot... the rest of the teams would soon do a June swoon and fall out of contention.. the Champs played pretty well the rest of the year posting a 41-37 mark, but the Wildcats were the better ball club and put up a sparkling 48-33 record to cop the TU West Division title by 7 games over the fiesty and very game Arlon Champions... sure would have been a magical season in the IPA to have Arlon, East Point and Ozarka in the postseason playoffs... yeah, buddy, that would have put a nice touch on a wonderful season... maybe, East Point can still win the Pro Cup... yep, that would be mighty nice... Rolling Hills came in third, 10 GB and Bayview ended up fourth, 19 GB.

2080 Ruthlandian Union Final Standings and Team Statistics

[Eugene Church]

2080 Tycobbian Union Final Standings and Team Statistics

[Eugene Church]

2080 Islandian Pro Alliance Final Leaderboards

[Eugene Church]

[Eugene Church]

Thursday, October 10, 2080

UNDERDOG SUNS AND MACS STUN FAVORED WILDCATS AND BULLS IN IPA FIRST ROUND; HISTORIC COMEBACKS FOR ARROYO GRANDE AND WHITE RIVER
#2 Kenwood and #4 Ranford both bit the dust and were eliminated unexpectedly in the first round of the Islandian Pro Alliance postseason playoffs... two clubs also made historic recoveries... the White River Rascals came back and won four in a row to win their series with East Point and Arroyo Grande stayed alive in the postseason by winning the final three games over the Kenwood Wildcats.

In the Ruthlandian Union First Round #6-rated Wynnamac upended #2-ranked Ranford four games to three... the Bulls won the opener 7-1, but lost the next three, 7-5, 3-2 and 6-2... Ranford stayed alive with an 11-0 rout in game five and a 2-1 squeaker in game six, but then the Bulls perished from the playoffs when the Macs won a thrilling 8-7 victory in 11 innings in game seven.

The Pro Cup favorite Crystal Lake Skippers toppled #5 Sligo in six games... the Skippers were victorious in the first two contests, 10-9 and 4-2... the Rovers won game three by the score of 7-5... Crystal Lake went up three games to one with a 7-3 triumph in game four... they fell 9-5 in game five... then finished off Sligo 7-2 in game six to take the series... right fielder Jake Osborne, the 2080 Ruthlandian Union top hitter with a league-leading .371 BA, had a fine series, driving in 9 runs for Crystal Lake.

The Ruthlandian Union Title Series will start tomorrow in Crystal Lake... the Skippers will host the Wynnamac Sundowners... it should be a super series... Crystal Lake is the choice to take the series in another stirring 7-game affair.

Over in the Tycobbian Union First Round there were two historic series... both of them went the full seven games... underdog and #8 Arroyo Grande, the worst-rated team in the playoffs, stunned #2 Kenwood and put the Wildcats out of the playoffs by winning the series four games to three... the Suns smacked the Cats 8-3 in the opening game, then lost three in a row, 5-0, 4-2 and 4-1... only five times previously in IPA playoff history has a team come back from a 3-1 deficit... yep, the Suns did it... with some super pitching they eliminated Kenwood with three straight victories, 6-3, 5-1 and 2-1.

Even more impressive were the #3-ranked White River Rascals... 7th-rated East Point with superb pitching nabbed the first three games, 3-2, 4-0 and 5-0... yeah, buddy, the series is over... NOPE... for just the fourth time in IPA playoff history, the Rascals won four straight games, 5-0, 5-2, 4-3 and 5-4, and won the series.

The Tycobbian Union Title Series will also begin tomorrow... White River will be at home, entertaining the upstart and lightly-regarded Arroyo Grande Suns... the Rascals should win in a six-game set.

[Eugene Church]

I just delved into how long it will take me to reach 1 millions views for the IPA.
Still need about 216,000 views.

Considering I will soon be 84 years old, I don't think it will happen... it will take me almost 12 years at the current rate of views per day to reach a million views.... the IPA views per day are way, way down in recent months... just 50 a day... it used to be over 300 per day.

Not sure what the problem is... could be the IPA has become mundane and boring... could be that the number of viewers on the OOTP Forums are down... my playoff problem could be the main culprit... going seven months was way too long to get it fixed... people lost interest in the dynasty.

I think viewers are down for all of the above reasons.

As things stand right now, I hope to keep posting... at least every other day... I have posted daily for the past 15 years of so... That's a hard schedule too keep... I think that is important... but I will do it as often as I can... every two days is the most feasible.

Thanks to you 50 folks that are still checking out the Islandian Pro Alliance.... much appreciate all of you.

[Eugene Church]

Yeah, buddy, EC is still enjoying the IPA.

I'm getting into the 2080 playoffs pretty good.

Looking forward to who wins it... my favorite teams remaining are Crystal Lake and the Arroyo Grande Suns... hope they both make the Pro Cup Series... I'll be pulling for the Suns... they have never won a Pro Cup... the Skippers have won it 4 times.

Wynnamac has won it ... 4 times... White River has never won a Pro Cup... 5 times in the team's history they have lost in the Pro Cup Finals.

So after thinking about it, it would be nice if the Suns or the Rascals win this year.

[HRBaker]

Originally Posted by Eugene Church

I just delved into how long it will take me to reach 1 millions views for the IPA.
Still need about 216,000 views.

Considering I will soon be 84 years old, I don't think it will happen... it will take me almost 12 years at the current rate of views per day to reach a million views.... the IPA views per day are way, way down in recent months... just 50 a day... it used to be over 300 per day.

Not sure what the problem is... could be the IPA has become mundane and boring... could be that the number of viewers on the OOTP Forums are down... my playoff problem could be the main culprit... going seven months was way too long to get it fixed... people lost interest in the dynasty.

I think viewers are down for all of the above reasons.

As things stand right now, I hope to keep posting... at least every other day... I have posted daily for the past 15 years of so... That's a hard schedule too keep... I think that is important... but I will do it as often as I can... every two days is the most feasible.

Thanks to you 50 folks that are still checking out the Islandian Pro Alliance.... much appreciate all of you.

Bless you Eugene; 84 is a milestone I'm only at 77, so looking forward to catch up to you

I agree with you that the traffic here on the forums is significantly down. If anything, I think actually Covid propped it up for a while when so many were home, but I think the "Emigration" to Reddit is the primary cause of our ghost town. The younger generation is all about instant-communication and anything that requires one to wait for an answer is considered too slow. Dynasties are like magazines - no one reads them any more.

That said, however, your IPA is a nobel prize winner, Eugene. I remember your struggles when you started, but you persevered through those growing pains and gave us 15 years of a story we won't forget.

Keep up the league Eugene. I wish I had your perseverance

HRB