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Post by glasspoet on Dec 7, 2014 23:31:06 GMT -5
I (The Thinker) had been pondering something for a long while (imagine that). In my attempt to create the "realest" baseball leagues, I felt something was missing between FMLB and real MLB. I decided it was the "MUST WIN" attitude of real MLB. So I created a Winner-Take-All league. Though copied since, I had never heard of one before. I knew it was going to be hard to sell a new GST (being quite different itself) AND a new League Concept on top of it. Back then you could still advertise for GMs on Yahoo's message board -- and DID I EVER! I think I probably set a RECORD for posts there. I begged, wheedled, cajoled, and CHALLENGED guys to take on this league. Some people, especially other established Commissioners, left some pretty nasty remarks. One time I encountered, heads up real time, one of the ones leaving the most caustic remarks -- and we GOT INTO IT, right before God and EVERYBODY! It took us a couple hours to settle into (friends?, I'd like to think so). In the end the league filled up. Who do you think accepted the challenge? Most of the GMs who were to become GST Backbone Elite and filled with Excellent Commissioners in their own right, that's who. It was Pure Magic!
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Post by glasspoet on Dec 8, 2014 0:41:09 GMT -5
2009 -- I could be wrong, but I feel like EVERYBODY was PRETTY EXCITED to get this league playing! I know I'll NEVER forget the memories of this league, I'll cherish them to the grave!
Regular Season Finish: 1. Rusty Staub 2. City of Champions 3. Not of This World 4. Velvet Elvis 5. Glassbreakers (Commish) 6. Joe 7. St. Louis Cavephish 8. Rain 9. Wreckin Havoc 10. Drew II 11. The Blue Taxi 12. Chi Town Bombers 13. Friends of Carlotta 14. Yellow Cap 15. Top Pro Contender 16. Brooklyn Streetz 17. PacNW Tigers 18. Bodacious Dogs
Championship Playoff Finals: 1. Glassbreakers 2. City of Champions 3. Not of This World 4. Rusty Staub 5. Rain 6. Joe 7. Velvet Elvis 8. St. Louis Cavephish
First I have to tell you a story of something behind the scenes that made this league entirely remarkable (life changing). One of the GMs who was making the most moves (his team was steadily sinking to the bottom) suddenly quit. As I always do, I contacted him before I applied Weekly Minimal Maintenance, often eventually replacing the GM. Unlike others, he answered my emails and asked me to NOT do minimal maintenance. He was going to let God take over his team. I posted this to the league and he subsequently changed his team name to Not of This World. As you might expect, his team became filled with DL players. As it went along though, his team began to improve despite the severe disadvantages! In the end his team made a Mad Dash for the Top Spot, coming 1/2 game from winning the Regular Season Championship. For the Playoffs, he retook his team over and cleaned it up. I'l ALWAYS wonder what would have happened if he hadn't!
City of Champions led most of the year, with me trailing, both of us in the American League. The National League finally caught up to me and caught him too right before the end. In the CRAZY Wild Dash for the End, 3 teams ended up within 1 game of each other, all of them in the National League! I'll always remember how HIGHLY UPSET Velvet Elvis was by phone call when he found out he had lost a 1st Round Upset to me! NO DOUBT guys were PLAYING FOR REAL!!
(Time for a little preaching of my own). WHY has the World Series resonated SO MUCH with the populace? Why has the NFL taken over the imagination of America with its Super Bowl? Because it so REAL!! WIN or LOSE! It's true there can be World Series won 4-0 and history has given us many Blowout Superbowls, and its true nobody seems to recall the loser of those. But when it goes to 7 games, or we have a Superbowl go down to the wire -- it is so REAL! There is hardly another feeling to compare it to!
It came down to City of Champions and myself. I was SO disappointed when I lost so badly after the 1st week, but I forgot that, back then, the Finals were 2 weeks long! I began to give EVERY decision my Utmost Attention, whether to do something or not do it -- each became an obsession! I battled back and it came down to the last game of the season! I was actually in 2 different Finals with both coming down to the Last Game. My wife and I have never been so EXCITED or so IN TUNE with each other! The other Finals I lost, but I won this Winner-Take-All with the Last RAPP of the season! My wife and I were hugging, kissing, and dancing! There is NO FEELING like it!!
Chopped Pots have become the "thing" since then and I can only say -- you are potentially MISSING SO MUCH! What you are gaining in surety is of no comparison to the REAL competition (and FEELINGS) you are missing out on, Win OR Lose! ESPECIALLY in THIS league!
P.S. I wish we could get Yahoo to give us back our 2 Week Finals!
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Post by glasspoet on Dec 9, 2014 19:04:24 GMT -5
2010 -- GST's Large Leagues can be demoralizing. In a way, especially earlier on, the leagues were designed that way. GST continues today in CONSTANT search for New Top-Level Talent. After the inaugural season we had some drops. There were 2 I definitely wanted to keep a part of the league. One was Velvet Elvis, who I knew was still pissed about the Tie-Break Playoff Loss, and the other was Yellow Cap, who entered a lower-level Keeper league, which he has since dropped, and in subsequent conversations explained he wasn't sure he was up to the needed competitiveness. I encouraged him to give it any try. I was able to keep them both, primarily because of GST's Standards of Excellence which allowed them, like all the other returning GMs to play with GST paying 1/2 of their Entry Fee (and still receive Full Winnings)! I still wonder how Different GST would be today without Yellow Cap having accepted that challenge!
Regular Season Finish: 1. Blade Executioner 2. Yellow Cap 3. City of Champions 4. St. Louis Cavephish 5. Moonballs 6. Glassbreakers (Commish) 7. Joe 8. Tyson's Punchout 9. Friends of Carlotta 10. Rusty Staub 11. Drew II 12. Cobra 13. Papaboombatts 14. Velvet Elvis 15. Icewater Drops 16. Wreckin Havoc
Championship Playoff Finish: 1. Tyson's Punchout 2. City of Champions 3. Joe 4. Moonballs 5. St. Louis Cavephish 6. Yellow Cap 7. Blade Executioner 8. Glassbreakers
Blade Executioner and Yellow Cap, in the end, won their respective Divisions by a fair margin, but I will never be able to explain the wild skirmishes that lasted all season. MANY teams had the Top Spot at one time, and change was constant and wild all year! Let me give you an example: Tyson's Punchout led the league early on, then, probably because of easily making the most Moves, he jumped up and down constantly -- eventually falling down to become a Near Cellar Team with just 2 weeks left. He then had two Huge Wins to BARELY propel him into the Playoffs and kept up the Winning Streak by beating the Regular Season Champion by 1 Point in the 1st Round and RIGHT THROUGH THE PLAYOFFS! While not unheard of an 8th Seeded Team winning the Playoffs in GST it is Rare. I Congratulated him Heartedly inside the league, but he claimed it was ALL LUCK. Now I know he came from another Large, Very Aggressive League where he was belittled mercilessly (I know because I played with him there). However I KNOW inside GST it was NOT Luck (alone) that took him to a Championship, and ESPECIALLY a Solid Win over City of Champions in the Finals! I tried to give him Big Adulations but I don't think he was comfortable with it.
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Post by glasspoet on Dec 9, 2014 19:20:20 GMT -5
2011 -- Tyson's Punchout did return to defend his title, but dropped out of GST after a couple more years. I know some GMs PREFER Very Aggressive Leagues, with CONSTANT Turmoil, and that is certainly NOT GST. GST has always been quiet, despite my invite to trash talk, and getting quieter. I suspect that is because of my inane, constant prattling. I've always known GST was never for EVERYBODY, it usually doesn't bother me -- but it did this time because I Respected Tyson's Punchout and LIKED him!
Regular Season Finish: 1. Velvet Elvis 2. Moons Balls 3. Drew II 4. Papaboombatts 5. St. Louis Cavephish 6. Icewater Blizzard 7. Rusty Staub 8. Fantasy Guru 9. Friends of Carlotta 10. Joe 11. Glassbreakers (Commish) 12. City of Champions 13. Blade Executioner 14. Tyson's Punchout 15. Wreckin Havoc 16. Brooklyn Streetz 17. Yellow Cap 18. PDX Tigers
Championship Playoff Finish: 1. Drew II 2. Fantasy Guru 3. Moons Balls 4. St. Louis Cavephish 5. Papaboombatts 6. Rusty Staub 7. Icewater Blizzard 8. Velvet Elvis
This was the 1st year this league got DOMINATED, but it wasn't surprising to me -- because Velvet Elvis was Dominating EVERY GST league he was entered in, including several of GST Biggest Leagues! However for the Rest of Us -- this was the CRAZIEST Year Ever! While Velvet Elvis had the leagues 1st .600 Win% (right at), there were 12 (TWELVE!) Teams with a .500 Win% or better! There were literally (at LEAST) 13 teams trying for the Final 7 Playoff Spots come the Finish Line. It wasn't settled until Yahoo posted its updates very early Monday Morning and settled it for us! I've only played in 1 other league where the Rush to the Playoffs was crazier -- and it wasn't a Baseball League (it WAS GST)!
The only thing you need to know about this league is that it has been purely magical since its inception! This collection of GMs is the epitome of competitive! Its quite known that there is no shame in getting beaten in this league! Its not unheard of someone leading this league most of the year, but it never lasts. This league once had the closest finish in GST history, 3 teams within 1 game! It was quite different this year as Velvet Elvis used this league as just one aspect of his Season of Seasons--Dominating EVERY league he entered!
This league is known for magical playoff runs as much as the regular season. This year was no different. In a pre-agreement, Drew (who finally showed he was more than a ProMasters whiz) gave away a big chunk of his purse to rookie whiz Fantasy Guru--and then went on to win handily. This leaves 2010 Champ Tyson's Punchout (and his Truly Magical Playoff Run) still the holder of the GST Single Payout ($1500)!
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Post by glasspoet on Dec 9, 2014 22:12:03 GMT -5
2012 -- This is the year GST created the Playoff Pot, so the chance to beat Tyson's Punchout's All-Time Record GST Payout had passed, unless the league increases to 20 teams. It didn't happen this year. The league was also changed to a 6 Team Playoff, giving the 2 Top Teams (Divisional Winners) a Bye, and guaranteed money for the 1st time ever.
Regular Season Finish: 1. Fantasy Guru 2. St. Louis Cavephish 3. Drew II 4. Joe 5. Montreal Expos 6. Rusty Staub 7. Tricky 8. Yellow Cap 9. RG3 Forever 10. Tyson's Punchout 11. Glassbreakers (Commish) 12. City of Champions 13. Moon Balls 14. Choke N Croak 15. Icewater Blizzard 16. Velvet Elvis 17. Meek Milly 18. Blue Falcons
Championship Playoff Finish: 1. Montreal Expos 2. St. Louis Cavephish 3. Fantasy Guru 4. Rusty Staub 5. Drew II 6. Joe
Consolation Playoff Finish: 7. City of Champions 8. Tricky 9. Yellow Cap 10. Tyson's Punchout 11. RG3 Forever 12. Glassbreakers
2012 was the year Fantasy Guru went from League Rookie Star to League Dominator. Didn't start out that way, it looked like Cavephish would be Top Team early on AGAIN.
In the end MVP, one of the league's biggest movers and steadier competitors took the Championship from Cavephish with some daring chances taken on some rookie pitchers. The move worked out and we'll see MVP in the TOC this year.
Once again, as per usual, it was CLOSE to the bitter end -- and could have EASILY ended up different. What a magical league!
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Post by glasspoet on Dec 11, 2014 21:48:52 GMT -5
2013 -- For the first time ever the league expanded to 20 teams! Score Lords greatly expanded his presence in GST on his way to one of the Greatest Season ever put together in GST! This league is one of the one's affected.
Regular Season Finish: 1. Score Lords 2. Yellow Cap 3. Montreal Expos 4. City of Champions 5. LA Islander 6. Wash It 7. Rusty Staub 8. Atl Tomahawks 9. Joe 10. Tricky 11. St. Louis Cavephish 12. Moon Balls 13. DC Cubs 14. Glassbreakers (Commish) 15. Chipper MVP 16. Icewater Blizzard 17. RG3 Forever 18. Mayo III 19. Buyems Rangers 20. Drew II
Championship Playoff Finish: 1. Yellow Cap 2. Score Lords 3. Montreal Expos 4. City of Champions 5. Wash It 6. LA Islander
Consolation Playoff Finish: 7. Joe 8. Tricky 9. Rusty Staub 10. Atl Tomahawks 11. St. Louis Cavephish 12. Moon Balls
True to form of other GST Leagues, Score Lords went on to Dominate this league before it was over. Not QUITE the level of Domination of Velvet Elvis but CLOSE. It was all for naught as Yellow Cap was well on his way to becoming a GST Living Playoff Legend! It was a Finals BATTLE though! I would claim it as a tie for the Largest Payout in GST History, but I'm pretty sure it was a Chopped Pot!
For the Rest of Us it was a Wild Scramble, as is usual for this league, to the End! However, this was the 1st year, in here, where the Playoffs followed the actual Regular Season Finish so closely! 3 of the 4 Top Teams ended up having some of the Greatest GST Seasons ever! Now THAT's some POWERFUL competition!!
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Post by glasspoet on Dec 11, 2014 22:32:48 GMT -5
2014 - We went back to 18 teams, but the league was as LOADED with Top Level Competition as EVER!
Regular Season Finish: 1. City of Champions 2. Yellow Cap 3. Glassbreakers (Commish) 4. Moon Balls 5. Kard Sharks 6. DC Cubs 7. Icewater Blizzard 8. Rusty Staub 9. Brownstriper INC 10. RG3 Forever 11. Score Lords 12. Drunk Cubs Fan 13. Joe 14. Expo de Montreal 15. Wash It 16. Wrath of Beards 17. LA Islander 18. Tricky
Championship Playoff Finish: 1. Yellow Cap 2. City of Champions 3. Moon Balls 4. DC Cubs 5. Kard Sharks 6. Glassbreakers
Consolation Playoff Finish: 7. Score Lords 8. Rusty Staub 9. Brownstripers INC 10. Icewater Blizzard 11. Drunk Cubs Fan 12. RG3 Forever
The league got back to its roots -- a Wild Crazy Finish that was CLOSE, CLOSE, CLOSE at the Finish Line. The High Win% was barely .550! How CLOSE was it? I was Top Team going into the Last Week on the back of a NICE 8 Game Win Streak, but City of Champions had gotten CLOSE with a Huge Win the week before -- In the End I lost to Drunk Cubs Fan, while City of Champions won, JUST beating me at the Finish Line! I'm SURE City of Champions was ecstatic about FINALLY being the Top Seed (barely)! However The Living Legend ran into the Defending Champion, the New Living Playoff Legend in Yellow Cap. WHAT a DREAM FINALS!! Both were having some of the Finest Seasons ever experienced in GST also! Forget the Chopped Pot -- as you might expect, these 2 BATTLED FOR REAL! In the end it ended up a TIE, where Yellow Cap HAD to be thankful he held the Regular Season Matchup to WIN, instead of the Win going to the Higher Seed! OH YEA, did I Fail to Mention -- Yellow Cap became the first 2 Time Champion of this league --- BACK-TO-BACK NO LESS!!!
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Post by glasspoet on Nov 1, 2015 12:58:27 GMT -5
2015 -- This league began as GST's Top League and if you consider Competitive Intensity alone, will ALWAYS remain GST's Top League. There really is not another like it in all of FMLB! This year we were STOCKED with Big Names up and down the Draft Order and a Full 20 Teams -- we were READY! It reminded me of the Daytona Field just before they drop the Green Flag!!
Regular Season Finish: 1. Brownstripers INC 2. Drunk Cubs Fan 3. Mr. Ice 4. Golden Sombrero 5. Yellow Cap 6. Rusty Staub 7. Bannister's Batmen 8. City of Champions 9. LA Islander 10. Joe 11. Kard Sharks 12. Ice Blizzard 13. Moon Balls 14. St. Louis Cavephish 15. Expo de Montreal 16. Glassbreakers (Commish) 17. DC Cubs 18. Score Lords 19. Spin Doctors 20. RG3 Forever
Championship Playoff Finish: 1. Yellow Cap 2. Rusty Staub 3. Drunk Cubs Fan 4. Brownstripers Inc 5. Mr. Ice 6. Golden Sombrero
Consolation Playoff Finish: 7. Kard Sharks 8. LA Islander 9. City of Champions 10. Bannister's Batmen 11. Ice Blizzard 12. Joe
If you look at the Bottom Finishing Order -- you can begin to understand just HOW TOUGH this league really is! We had 3 Rookies to the league this year, and 2 placed in the Playoffs, and the other in the Consolations! I feel it is quite possible this league is SET for Years to Come! Myself, I underwent possibly my Worst Year Ever across GST. Early on, I was languishing at the Bottom of the League, but I was DETERMINED to get into the Playoffs in HERE if any league! I KNEW if would be an unbelievably Tough Proposition though. At some point I realized I wouldn't be making it, but kept heart knowing I was AHEAD of Yellow Cap. But a (not so) funny thing happened -- I played YC late and he Trounced Me -- and he Kept Winning by Bigger and Bigger margins as the season finished. He ended up doing what I wanted so BADLY to do myself. Brownstripers Inc, a Past Champion, secured the Regular Season Champion just before the wire, but in My Heart, I KNEW that Yellow Cap was practically Unbeatable in Playoffs and Always Saved HIS BEST for the Finals. That is EXACTLY how it Played Out too! I always Wondered if this league would EVER be won by the Same GM, and here we were Congratulating Yellow Cap on his BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK Championships!!! BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK GST GRAND CHAMPION -- I Bow Down to You Sir!! He has been known to Split Pots, so he might not be as Rich as you might think -- but I Hereby CHALLENGE This League to Beat this Team!?!
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Post by glasspoet on Feb 22, 2017 2:21:08 GMT -5
2016 -- This league was the first filled! Locked and ready to go!!
Regular Season Finish: 1. Golden Sombrero 2. Mr. Ice 3. Brownstripers Inc. 4. This is Dog 5. Expo de Montreal 6. Score Lords 7. Drunk Cubs Fan 8. City of Champions 9. Royal Priesthood 10. Moonballs 11. Yellow Cap 12. Rusty Staub 13. LA Islander 14. Joe 15. Clown Question Bro 16. Hail Kirk 17. Manitoba Cavephish 18. Banister's Batsmen 19. Glassbreakers (Commish) 20. Kard Sharks
Championship Playoff Finish: 1. Golden Sombrero 2. Brownstripers Inc. 3. Mr. Ice 4. This is Dog 5. Score Lords 6. Expo de Montreal
Consolation Playoff Finish: 7. Drunk Cubs Fan 8. City of Champions 9. Royal Priesthood 10. Moonballs 11. Yellow Cap 12. Rusty Staub
This is the year Golden Sombrero PROVED he was going to be a Major Player in GST!! Still he had it Tough, barely beating out TID 9-8 before Rolling Over another Defending Past Champion in the Finals! We could EASILY be looking at a Future GST Grand Champion!??! There is nothing stopping him, as this league is as Tough As It Gets, with as Big Names as it gets -- and the Winner of this League is PROVEN to often End Up as the Grand Champion of GST!
High Win%: .614 Low Win%: .416
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