OK, let's get this sorted...
"Reffing, what can we say? In another determining situation in the quarter-final round, Dynasty went up against Team Rage. After numerous questionable calls and Oliver Lang being left in his bunker by the refs multiple times with hits all over him, he ran down the field to pull and hang the flag for team Dynasty. An enraged Rage argued to no end, looking for a change in the outcome. Phil Dominguez, the Ultimate, reversed the call and gave Rage the hang, just to have it reversed again with the win going back to Dynasty."
With regard to this report and it making Robbo a hypocrite, it simply doesn't.
First off, it does not state that Dynasty cheated - it says there were questionable calls and that Ollie was covered in hits. Now in addition to having 3 members of staff watch that game, we have talked to nigh on a dozen people who saw it, and also to the head ref on that field. Unsurprisingly, their stories all differ slightly...Paintball is a notoriously hard game to watch and, given the different angles people were viewing from, their understanding of the game and their own concious or unconcious bias, it's no wonder we have 12 slightly different tales. Memory is amazingly short and amazingly fallible.
Fact is, the refs told Ollie to play on: whether they made a good call or not is open to debate, sure, but Lang did what any other player would do - played on cos the refs said so. Another fact is that every single ref on the field stood by their decision and were unanimous that Dynasty get the hang. There are various stories and theories as to why Phil Dominguez did what he did and, for the sake of this debate, we will try to get him to come on this thread and say something...watch this space.
This whole 'perception is reality, all I ever read about is Dynasty cheating' business just muddies the waters. I have read on another forum (a registered one, not an anonymous one) that the reason the refs gave Dynasty the win is that they were from Joy Division, and that Olly played with Joy Division in Sweden, so it was a favour. Obviously, the twin facts that Dynasty (with Lang, natch) won the Sweden tournament and that Joy weren't even playing, doesn't come into it. So now some kids firmly believe that THAT is why the refs 'gave' the game to Dynasty. If perception is reality, the Twilight Zone was a documentary...
As for everyone popping at Dynasty, of course they are - that's what happens when you're at the top. A few months ago all the net could talk about was Miami Effect's 'totally illegal' Timmys and what a bunch of cheats they were; before that Aftershock were the biggest and worst cheaters who played dirty all the time and got away with it cos of Renick, or whatever - it happens.
Now, is it the case that the Chuck-Dynasty link makes this far worse? Absolutely. But what does Chuck have to do? He's already had the team incorporated so that they own it themselves; what are his links now? I don't know, but he certainly doesn't own Dynasty.
However, even if we removed Chuck altogether, all we would hear is that Dynasty wins because they're WDP's team, and WDP runs the NPPL. So what then? Paintball is small, all promoters seem to have teams that play in their own leagues - certainly Millennium, PanAm, PSP and NPPL do. Is this a problem? Yes. Is it a rectifiable one? Not in the short term.
Bryan, if your initial point was what you later claimed it was, then I think you'll find few who disagree. However, your first post - and this may be because it was lifted from elsewhere - read purely and simply as a shot at Dynasty and Chuck.
If you were intending to make the wider point you later claimed to have been trying to make, then more examples (of which there are many) would have both strengthened your case and also removed it from the realms of anti-Dynasty/Chuck/NPPL scuttlebut that's doing the rounds.
>>>I could care less if it's ANY god damn team in ANY league. Ground Zero, the Ton Ton's, the Philly Americans, NXL, PSP, NEPL, YOU NAME IT. I'll ask that question to EVERY promoter out there. I've seen teams IN ALL LEAGUES get preferential treatment. I've seen ref's IN ALL LEAGUES say that a player wasn't hit when he obviously was. I've even seen refs IN ALL LEAGUES WIPE obvious hits and then saying the player is clean. I've SEEN promoters fix tournaments IN ALL LEAGUES. I would ask Chuck Hendsch that question, I would ask Jerry Braun that question, I would ask ANY PROMOTER OR LEAGUE OWNER in ANY SPORT that question.<<<
And that's fair enough; however, we were going on the initial post, when - despite opportunities to use any of these examples - you used only one. Dynasty. Is it any wonder we got the wrong idea, really?
>>>You, sir, ESPECIALLY BEING IN PAINTBALL MEDIA, should be asking the same question.<<<
We have, we do, but we ask it across the board.
And as I said earlier, it's not going to change any time soon, because if not Laurent hamet in Europe, then who? If not PSP and NPPL and PanAm in the US, then who? All we ever hear is that these events lose money and are solid aggravation - is anyone else ready, willing and able to pick up the baton of running top class events and run with it? Cos I don't think they are; so, for now, we have to put up with people wearing many hats.
Christ, even in officialdom...OK, here's an example. It's farily common knowledge that Robbo may be going on to the NPPL rules commitee. On one hand, this can be seen as a good thing: whether people like or dislike Pete, few can argue that he does not have a breadth of experience and understanding of Paintball that is matched by very few people. Similarly, whether players and teams like or dislike him, they generally respect that knowledge.
However, on the flip side, his own team plays in the NPPL. Plus he's the US Editor and ad manager for a major Paintball magazine - which brings its own complications.
So what do we do? Use his knowledge to improve the league and rely on his honesty and integrity to not abuse the position? Or else try and find someone who can do the job as well, but who is from outside Paintball.
Look at PSP's head judge, LD. He's well liked and well respected, but he used to be employed by one of the promoters and play on their team - which also plays in the league he's officiating. Therefore he is open to accusations of bias.
If Chuck were to leave the NPPL and I got the chance to vote for a new, 6-strong steering commitee, I could pick 6 people that I trust implicitly to do the right thing and to be able to carry out that job 100% efficiently and fairly. However, all of them would be open to the same slurs, because they all work/play/have a history in Paintball...but can someone from outside the sport do these jobs to the same level?
Catch-22.
I'd be interested to hear your proposed solutions to these problems.
Ramble over...you can wake up now.
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