RTL Blind Trial Season Results
There were three tournaments in the second-to-last week before the Blind Test Season play-offs and all of the teams are battling to define their place there. You have some teams scrambling to hold on, you've got other teams realizing they're not invulnerable and you've got other teams trying to incorporate newly signed free agents into their team chemistry.
Could the Javelins continue their winning streak? Could the Valiants bounce back from their first loss of the year?
If you want to know the answers, you'll have to check out the RTL highlights for Tournament Ten.
MATCH ONE: BEARCATS at RAMBLERS
Earlier in the season, when the Ramblers visited the Bearcats...the Bearcats were a high scoring but snake-bit team. Despite their strong offense, they simply couldn't keep their opponents from scoring. Meanwhile, the Ramblers were on a roll--taking claim to an early La Salle Division lead by going undefeated through the first five matches of the season.
Now, the Ramblers are trying to hold onto a slim lead in the La Salle Division but they play host to the visiting Bearcats who still have trouble keeping their opponents from scoring but their own offense is now struggling as well.
The first half of games is not where the Bearcats struggle offensively...and, true to form in this game, the combination of SSLS6 and Bane put 34 points on the board for the visitors. Unfortunately, the Ramblers put up 40 points in that same first half. Down by six, the Bearcats would need a solid effort from Team Anthony & Micah and Goolz to come back. Didn't happen. The Ramblers held the Bearcats scoreless the rest of the game, while the Ramblers' iowastockcars added another 16 points to turn the match into a laugher by the end.
RESULT: FIREBIRDS 23 -VALIANTS 52
BOXSCORE:
Firebirds
Army Will: 0
Atlcelica: 135
Goolzie Girl: 0
4UBRAT: 100
Valiants
DWGufff: 185
WorpeX: 155
Multispeed: 0
Markkaz: 180
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Mcjiggles9 (Larks)
HIGHEST SCORING TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT: LARKS
...and, here are the
TOP FREE AGENTS FOR TOURNAMENT TEN:
Hawk NG: 160
dimitambe: 155
clifford shaw: 150
Lil'Grabber: 105
Sean_aruba: 100
Jeremy: 85
Idea Guy: 65
bret: 50
STANDINGS AFTER TOURNAMENT TEN
LA SALLE DIVISION WINS-LOSSES-TIES (POINTS FOR/POINTS AGAINST)
NASH RAMBLERS: 6-3-1 (314/216)
PONTIAC FIREBIRDS: 5-4-1 (192/248)
MERCURY COUGARS: 3-7-0 (232/326)
HUDSON HORNETS: 2-8-0 (171/255)
TUCKER DIVISION WINS-LOSSES-TIES (POINTS FOR/POINTS AGAINST)
PLYMOUTH VALIANTS: 9-1-0 (402/234)
AMC JAVELINS: 6-3-1 (324-275)
STUDEBAKER LARKS: 5-5-0 (275-271)
STUTZ BEARCATS: 2-7-1 (284-328)
While the matches of Tournament Ten of the Blind Test Season were all rather high scoring affairs, the matches of Tournament Eleven were gritty, hard fought defensive battles--for the most part. You needed to be consistent and get whatever scoring you could from as many members of your team as you could if you were going to earn a victory this week.
Don't take my word for it. Take a look at the RTL highlights for Tournament Eleven to see for yourself!
MATCH ONE: RAMBLERS at JAVELINS
In the fourth match of the season, the winless Javelins took on the undefeated Ramblers at Ramblers Field in Nash and came away with a hard fought tie. Since then, the Javelins have won every match and the Ramblers now hover around .500, though they continue to cling to a slim La Salle Division lead.
Now, in Tournament Eleven, the Ramblers head into AMC Stadium hoping to turn their fortunes back around. The Javelins, meanwhile, just want to keep the pedal to the metal and power forward as they chase the Tucker Division leading Valiants.
The Ramblers were only down by one after the first quarter...and still within spitting distance of six points at half time. The Javelins, though, kept increasing their lead and by the fourth quarter, the Ramblers were resigned to their fate...letting the newest Javelin, Baranca, score 13 points...which made a close match seem like a blow-out.
Oh, how things have changed since the beginning of the year!
RESULT: LARKS 28 - FIREBIRDS 9
BOXSCORE:
Larks
Longklaw: 55
Mcjiggles9: 105
Grabber GT: 80
martinstang: 40
Firebirds
Army Will: 0
Atlcelica: 40
Goolzie Girl: 0
4UBRAT: 45
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Variation Jason (Hornets)
HIGHEST SCORING TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT: JAVELINS
...and, here are the
TOP FREE AGENTS FOR TOURNAMENT ELEVEN:
Lil Grabber: 150
bret: 90
Jeremy: 75
dimitambe: 55
Hawk NG: 50
clifford shaw: 40
Sean_aruba: 30
Idea Guy: 30
STANDINGS AFTER TOURNAMENT ELEVEN
LA SALLE DIVISION WINS-LOSSES-TIES (POINTS FOR/POINTS AGAINST)
NASH RAMBLERS: 6-4-1 (327/252)
PONTIAC FIREBIRDS: 5-5-1 (201/276)
HUDSON HORNETS: 3-8-0 (197/265)
MERCURY COUGARS: 3-8-0 (244/343)
TUCKER DIVISION WINS-LOSSES-TIES (POINTS FOR/POINTS AGAINST)
PLYMOUTH VALIANTS: 10-1-0 (419/246)
AMC JAVELINS: 7-3-1 (360-288)
STUDEBAKER LARKS: 6-5-0 (303-280)
STUTZ BEARCATS: 2-8-1 (294-354)
The third tournament of this week of the RTL
Time for the RTL highlights for Tournament Twelve!
MATCH ONE: HORNETS at RAMBLERS
Back in Tournament Five, the Nash Ramblers went to Hudson and took down the Hornets. Now, the Ramblers could take on the struggling Hornets in front of their home fans--and, after a loss to the Javelins in the last tournament, the team from Nash could use a win. Their lead in the La Salle Division was shrinking fast.
The Hornets, meanwhile, were coming off a big win against the lowly Bearcats. Not only that, but their two recent free agent signings were definitely paying dividends and taking some of the offensive pressure off team captain Variation Jason.
This would be an exciting game where the lead changed hands several times! At first, the hometown fans were surprised to see their Ramblers go down in the first quarter--but Variation Jason pushed the Hornets up by four points. Then Bandeeze/Ohana reversed fortunes by holding Thunder 424 scoreless and scoring eight--putting the Ramblers up by four at half-time.
The Ramblers fans were then shocked to see the Hornets' Radekal not only score five points but hold iowastockcars scoreless in the third quarter--that put the Hornets up by one with one quarter left. All of Nash's hopes resided in zoom, who was in a horrible slump this week. Instead of helping the Ramblers regain the lead, Zoom went scoreless and the Nash fans watched Nightstalker put the match out of reach.
With only one week left before the playoffs, the Nash Ramblers, who have held the La Salle Division lead all year, are in a world of confusion. The Hudson Hornets, meanwhile, look to play spoiler when the playoffs come around.
RESULT: BEARCATS 16 - JAVELINS 27
BOXSCORE:
Bearcats
SSLS6: 120
Bane: 40
Team Anthony & Micah: 0
Goolz: 0
Javelins
Jobe: 65
seattlegreyy: 45
JDC 442 Racing: 160
Baranca: 0
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: JDC 442 Racing (Javelins)
HIGHEST SCORING TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT: LARKS
...and, here are the
TOP FREE AGENTS FOR TOURNAMENT TWELVE
Idea Guy: 145
bret: 75
dimitambe: 55
clifford shaw: 55
Hawk NG: 50
Sean_aruba: 50
Jeremy: 30
Lil'Grabber: 20
STANDINGS AFTER TOURNAMENT TWELVE
LA SALLE DIVISION WINS-LOSSES-TIES (POINTS FOR/POINTS AGAINST)
NASH RAMBLERS: 6-5-1 (343/274)
PONTIAC FIREBIRDS: 5-6-1 (219/304)
HUDSON HORNETS: 4-8-0 (219/281)
MERCURY COUGARS: 4-8-0 (272/361)
TUCKER DIVISION WINS-LOSSES-TIES (POINTS FOR/POINTS AGAINST)
PLYMOUTH VALIANTS: 10-2-0 (446/282)
AMC JAVELINS: 8-3-1 (387-304)
STUDEBAKER LARKS: 7-5-0 (339-307)
STUTZ BEARCATS: 2-9-1 (310-401)
Roster Moves and Free Agent Signings after Tournament Twelve of the Blind Trial Season
Three teams have players eligible to be replaced after the fifth week of the RTL Blind Trial Season.
The Stutz Bearcats have received no points from Goolz in the tournaments of weeks 3, 4 and 5. The Hudson Hornets have received no points from Thunder 424 in the tournaments of weeks 3, 4 and 5. The Pontiac Firebirds have received no points from Goolzie Girl in the tournaments of weeks 3, 4 and 5. These three players will be replaced. The top three free agents, based on most consistent participation and cumulative score, are Lil'Grabber, dimitambe and Sean_aruba.
And no other teams currently have roster members who meet the replacement criteria...
So, to recap:
Stutz Bearcats
releasing: Goolz
signing: Lil'Grabber
Hudson Hornets
releasing: Thunder 424
signing: dimitambe
Pontiac Firebirds
releasing: Goolzie Girl
signing: Sean_aruba
...and these roster changes will be in place starting with Tournament Thirteen.
NOTE: No player changes can be made during the playoffs...so the free agents moves after next week's tournaments, if any, will be the last roster moves of this Blind Trial Season.
Good luck, everybody!
As we head into the final week of the action!
Can't wait for the RTL highlights for Tournament Thirteen? Well, let's get to 'em then!
MATCH ONE: RAMBLERS at VALIANTS
It doesn't matter that the Nash Ramblers have fallen to near .500 on the season and it doesn't matter that the Plymouth Valiants were no longer perfectly comfortable, what with the AMC Javelins hot on their heels--this was still the La Salle Division leader facing the Tucker Division leader...making this a possible preview of the RTL Championship Game (only two weeks and two playoff rounds away!)
Nobody was thinking about defense in Plymouth today. The Ramblers started off strong--Team Captain Redline Derby powered past his Valiant counterpart's efforts...pushing the Ramblers up by six. When Bandeeze/Ohana came through with an additional fifteen points, it looked good...only to watch, stunned, as WorpeX ran rugged over the Ramblers defense...turning a deficit into a Valiants lead.
It was a lead they clung to and increased, slightly, as iowastockcars and Multispeed battled through the third quarter. In the final quarter, Markkaz helped the Valiants pull away even more.
It was a game that left everyone breathless...and if it is a preview of the GreyyCup...whoooo, doggie!
RESULT: JAVELINS 63 - FIREBIRDS 35
BOXSCORE:
Firebirds
Army Will: 170
Atlcelica: 90
4UBRAT: 30
Sean_aruba: 60
Javelins
Jobe: 230
seattlegreyy: 145
JDC 442 Racing: 130
Baranca: 125
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: WorpeX (Valiants)
HIGHEST SCORING TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT: JAVELINS
...and, here are the
TOP FREE AGENTS FOR TOURNAMENT THIRTEEN
Idea Guy: 190
clifford shaw: 180
Jeremy: 120
austinator: 85
Menticse676: 70
Bret: 65
boston-car-guy: 30
STANDINGS AFTER TOURNAMENT THIRTEEN
LA SALLE DIVISION WINS-LOSSES-TIES (POINTS FOR/POINTS AGAINST)
(x) NASH RAMBLERS: 6-6-1 (390/329)
PONTIAC FIREBIRDS: 5-7-1 (254/367)
HUDSON HORNETS: 5-8-0 (270/320)
MERCURY COUGARS: 4-9-0 (293/393)
TUCKER DIVISION WINS-LOSSES-TIES (POINTS FOR/POINTS AGAINST)
(y) PLYMOUTH VALIANTS: 11-2-0 (501/329)
AMC JAVELINS: 9-3-1 (450-339)
STUDEBAKER LARKS: 7-6-0 (378-358)
STUTZ BEARCATS: 3-9-1 (342-422)
(x)--Nash Ramblers have clinched the La Salle Division Pennant, because even if they lose and the Pontiac Firebirds win, creating a tie in the win/loss/tie records, there is no way that the FIrebirds could close the gap in the Points For/Points Against differential...which is the first tie-breaker.
(y)--Plymouth Valiants have clinched the Tucker Division Pennant.
So, this is it. This is the final tournament of the Blind Test Season's regular season. After these matches, every team will have faced off against every other team twice--once at home and once on the road. Every team will have figured out which of their players were truly league ready and who had to be replaced by free agents. Every team would know exactly what to expect NEXT WEEK when the playoffs began, the type of team they'd be facing and what it would take for them to win and move on...towards the League Championship match.
In the La Salle Division, the Nash Ramblers had backed into a Division Pennant. The battle was now to determine the order of the other three teams. Meanwhile, the Tucker Division had managed to sort themselves much more clearly--with the Plymouth Valiants clearly in the lead, the AMC Javelins cursing their miserable first week for codemning them to a second place finish, the Larks locked into third place and the Bearcats bringing up the rear.
No need to delay the RTL highlights for Tournament Fourteen at this point...so, let's push on and get this regular season over with!
MATCH ONE: LARKS at RAMBLERS
In Tournament Thirteen, both the Larks (who faced the surprisingly strong Hornets) and the Ramblers (who sparred with the mighty Valiants) had scored enough to win most matches but fell short against their high-scoring opponents. That frustration pushed both teams into a hard fought battle--where everyone scored against everyone else, but until the third quarter, no definitive move to claim victory was made.
That's when the Ramblers' iowastockcars put 12 points on the board while only surrendering 6 to the Larks' GrabberGT. That was the key match-up and it sent the Ramblers on to victory in front of their hometown fans. It also meant that the La Salle Division Pennant would be won by a team with a winning record on the season...but just barely.
RESULT: FIREBIRDS 29 - BEARCATS 18
BOXSCORE:
Firebirds
Army Will: 60
Atlcelica: 40
4UBRAT: 95
Sean_aruba: 100
Javelins
Jobe: 230
seattlegreyy: 145
JDC 442 Racing: 130
Baranca: 125
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: Nightstalker (Hornets)
HIGHEST SCORING TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT: VALIANTS
...and, here are the
TOP FREE AGENTS FOR TOURNAMENT FOURTEEN
clifford shaw: 110
Jeremy: 60
Bret: 55
austinator: 50
Menticse676: 40
Idea Guy: 40
boston-car-guy: 30
STANDINGS AFTER TOURNAMENT FOURTEEN--END OF THE REGULAR SEASON
LA SALLE DIVISION WINS-LOSSES-TIES (POINTS FOR/POINTS AGAINST)
NASH RAMBLERS: 7-6-1 (422/353)
PONTIAC FIREBIRDS: 6-7-1 (283/385)
HUDSON HORNETS: 5-9-0 (303/355)
MERCURY COUGARS: 4-10-0 (293/393)
TUCKER DIVISION WINS-LOSSES-TIES (POINTS FOR/POINTS AGAINST)
PLYMOUTH VALIANTS: 12-2-0 (536/362)
AMC JAVELINS: 10-3-1 (476-361)
STUDEBAKER LARKS: 7-7-0 (402-390)
STUTZ BEARCATS: 3-10-1 (360-451)
Team Valiant - Multispeed =