The NXL & ESPN

[Baca Loco]

Outta the kindness of my heart kids a brief review of WC. Layout was similar to last year except 10-man fields were set-up where Xball had been and vice versa. If nothing else it sent the message Xball is the PSP's future. The biggest vendors showed up with so much stuff there was no room in the same space as last year to accomodate the smaller vendors who were moved to a row facing 4 of the Xball fields. Some of those vendors apparently weren't overly pleased and thought their traffic suffered for it.
Anecdotally I heard fewer complaints about reffing generally but the majority were about the arbitrary rulings concerning legal vs. illegal gun operation. The whole situation is simply getting worse and worse. (This applies to the NPPL too even though they have Robbie the Robot.)
The days were reasonably cool for Florida and sunny. Everything once the event was up and running seemed to go quite well though there were those who got bottled up in registration during 5-man. Of course with 250+ teams it's little surprise.

The NXL fields were lumpy, bumpty and uneven and once again, the wizards leading the NXL managed to keep their showcase's profile to a minimum though the stands were always crowded when Strange played because as a Florida based team there are lots of local fans. Sadly, no one filmed the best matches of the week--and some of the most exciting Pball ever--in the early NXL rounds.
You will have a chance to read all about it--the total week long inside scoop from yours truly--in a soon to be published instant classic issue (aren't they all?) of PGI.

I didn't really see much of the rest of the divisional Xball though I caught the RL matches a couple of times including the final against the DynaKids.

Rumormongering--Euro Xball refs were removed from PSP show field and replaced by Brit ref crew at behest of Dynasty who were concerned RL might receive unfair favorable treatment.

Shock and Oakland didn't play 3rd place match because they were promised if finals only went two matches--which it did--they would be filmed by ESPN crew who were prepared to film 3 matches. However, "someone" told ESPN to go ahead and start taking their equipment down after finals so Chicago and Oakland chose not to play their match.

 

[duffistuta]

Surely the story of the World Cup was how Strange's new coach helped to revitalise them after a poor season and pull out a tremedous result that few would have predicted.

What can you tell us about that?

 

[Baca Loco]

The way that's phrased makes it unclear that "Angry" Tony Mineo is still the head coach of Detroit Strange and a damn good coach at that. It also gives way too little credit to the talent and committment of the players who had--until Cup--admittedly struggled to find their way in the NXL. Poor coaching can lose it for you but it's always the players that win. The coaching, hopefully, puts the players in the right places and right frame of mind but they still have to get the job done man on man, gun on gun.
I can tell you the new coach's job in practice so far has been to help players eliminate both technical mistakes and mental errors as well as begin to integrate individual play into more effective teamwork and during matches scout the opposition and during play recommend tactical adjustments based on what the opponent is doing. That doesn't make him responsible--just another guy doing his job.
I can also say with some certainty that whatever small part the new coach had in the recent success he is very grateful for the opportunity and looks forward to the coming season.

 

[manike]

Originally posted by Baca Loco
The way that's phrased makes it unclear that "Angry" Tony Mineo is still the head coach of Detroit Strange and a damn good coach at that. It also gives way too little credit to the talent and committment of the players who had--until Cup--admittedly struggled to find their way in the NXL. Poor coaching can lose it for you but it's always the players that win. The coaching, hopefully, puts the players in the right places and right frame of mind but they still have to get the job done man on man, gun on gun.
I can tell you the new coach's job in practice so far has been to help players eliminate both technical mistakes and mental errors as well as begin to integrate individual play into more effective teamwork and during matches scout the opposition and during play recommend tactical adjustments based on what the opponent is doing. That doesn't make him responsible--just another guy doing his job.
I can also say with some certainty that whatever small part the new coach had in the recent success he is very grateful for the opportunity and looks forward to the coming season.

Is that, like, err... what do they call it... err 'humility'? wow!

Way to go with Strange though. The little NXL I watched (I thought it was a bit boring compared to the Pro X-ball) showed Strange playing very well.

To be honest I have less and less interest in the NXL. I tried to watch it but it just didn't feel the same. I'm also not a fan of the 3 shots FA thing. Watching Federov run the tape shooting a legal gun so quickly and accurately at the opposite tape guy was far more awe inspiring than the run downs with a FA gun that I saw in the NXL games.

Granted the NXL seemed to have more run downs than before but you got the impression that the players were almost bloodthirsty to drill each other and it didn't look as if it involved as much skill to get there and make the move.

After having teched some for the RL guys and gotten to know them a little better I have a whole other level of respect for them and how they play the game.

 

[Baca Loco]

You just didn't see the right matches then

Peas and carrots, Simon.
The gun thing is relatively meaningless to me as it seems little more than the latest stopgap measure for a sport currently incapable of regulating itself but for a guy who takes some pride in the ability to shoot very fast I can see where the diminishing of that skill might be frowned upon.
As to the legality of everyone's guns -- I ain't going there.

 

[Grendel-Khan]

So whats th ereal story behind Shock and Assassins not playing. I know Baca is loyal to SP, but from what I heard it was the inimitable Brothers Gardner, who stopped filming because no SP teams were involved with the 3/4 match. Also, how cool is Bea Youngs?

 

[Baca Loco]

Originally posted by Grendel-Khan
So whats th ereal story behind Shock and Assassins not playing. I know Baca is loyal to SP, but from what I heard it was the inimitable Brothers Gardner, who stopped filming because no SP teams were involved with the 3/4 match. Also, how cool is Bea Youngs?

G-K, the "real" story is the one I posted already. The expectation going in was that those teams could have an opportunity to be filmed--whether that meant to them they'd also be on the tube, I don't know. Honestly I don't see how as it was clear the focus of the TV presentation coming up in December would be a match from the finals. All I left out was who the someone was--and I did that simply because I didn't personally hear him say the words attributed to him, not in an effort to protect anyone. As to the motives involved--your guess is as good as mine.

I'm not sure how cool Bea is but she sure does have a loud, and after awhile, an annoying voice. Unless she's on your side.

 

[sjt19]

Paul, you said that the NXL was watched by few people, except when Strange were playing, were the Pro Xball games more popular as at Nemacolin? Or was it universal indifference?

Is the fact that pro xball was more popular (if it was) something that would give the NXL hierarchy food for thought?

 

[Baca Loco]

Originally posted by sjt19
Paul, you said that the NXL was watched by few people, except when Strange were playing, were the Pro Xball games more popular as at Nemacolin? Or was it universal indifference?

Is the fact that pro xball was more popular (if it was) something that would give the NXL hierarchy food for thought?

In fact, the stands for the NXL matches were reasonably full most of the time but they weren't as large as the grandstand the NPPL uses on the show field. The intensity of the crowd and the numbers were larger when Strange played but the Pro Xball was similar in that there was more interest and more active participation when RL or Dynasty were playing than when they weren't.
The distinction that should be made, I think, is less one of popularity as of an ongoing connection with the paintballin' public. The NXL hierarchs have done a terrible job of promoting their league and its teams. In fact they have almost actively tried to keep them isolated to the detriment of the teams and the league. In the process they have marginalized their fan base with their core constituency.
Not helping is the fact that in the last couple of years when the mags cover a NPPL event it's a united single effort. When they cover a PSP/NXL joint production it's the same amount of space committed to 5-man, 10-man, Xball and the NXL. And every time a new DVD comes out loaded with action it ain't NXL action.
Along with the restrictions placed on NXL teams the result has been to keep non-NXL favorites in the public eye more. Peeps are fickle. Look at all the bandwagon jumping that goes on.
If you're not today's news, you're not news.
If the ESPN thing works out and the league starts to get some wind in its sails that will turn around in a heartbeat. Even so, better management of the league would have positioned it in a much better place than it is right now.

 

[TJ Lambini]

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