Eastern Europe Pro Daily League Preview
Season 2, Day 1
4/27/08
The Eastern Europe Pro League kicked off its season today, finally ending the nervous calm that was the league's offseason. Although missing a preseason edition, meaning that the first Preview is today's combination of a recap and preview of the league's action, the Preview is back and better than ever and ready to guide you all through another great season of Eastern Europe Pro football. Today the Preview begins with a special offseason special, filling you in on what you all may have missed, followed by the initial Power Rankings that you have all been waiting for. I hope you enjoy and help celebrate the return of the season in Eastern Europe Pro!
Offseason
Definitely the biggest story in the league's offseason was the internal collapse of the Warsaw Legioniers. Considered the league's premeir team for almost the entire inaugural season, the mysterious dismantling of the Warsaw Legioniers this offseason raised more than a few eyebrows. Now under new management and featuring almost entirely different personnel, the Warsaw Legioniers have plummeted in predicted value, losing the season's first game to the Georgia Tec-9s and even dropping to fifteenth place in the Hazy Rankings. They leave the league, flipped upside down by the postseason, in continual search for a new face.
Looking to fill the vacancy that Warsaw has left at the top of the Alpha Conference is the Washington Chairmen, the champions of Eastern Europe AAA who were relegated up in offseason, along with the Silesia Miners of the Zeta Conference. Both of these teams were able to dominate the AAA league in route to their conference championships, and look to do more of the same in the Pro League. There is no doubt that both of these teams deserve to be in the Pros. But can they make it to the top?
Eastern Europe Pro Power Five
1. Prague Punishers - After an unprecedented 14 game win streak and a league championship, the Prague Punishers finally complete their quest for the throne and top the Power Five. Their incredible rip through the second half of the season and playoffs to win the first ever Eastern Europe Pro League Championship is a feat that will be remembered for a long time to come. But somehow, the Punishers continue to stay hungry, and their journey towards another league championship began today in a 27-7 win over the Rockford Warriors, extending their win streak. Looking ahead, the early season looks as if it will be very telling of this team, while the schedule seems to ease off down the stretch. It will be interesting to see if the Punishers can stay motivated and continue to win, if they will be able to bounce back from loss and disappointment, and if they'll be able to construct another late season drive to the championship.
Next Game: at Budapest Brawlers
2. Washington Chairmen - Pulling off the seemingly impossible, outdoing the Prague Punishers, the Washington Chairmen ripped through the Eastern Europe AAA League last season on their way to handily winning the championship and earning the relegation up to the Pros, and with today's win have piled their win streak up to 15. The Chairmen have incredible talent and leaders at key position on their roster, and their impressive 55-14 win over the Baltic Sea Monkeys in their first ever Pro League game has solidified themselves as contenders in the Pros. Things will get interesting for them midway through the season, but right now the Chairmen are just trying to adapt to Pro League football and are ready to prove themselves against the best eastern Europe.
Next Game: at Grodno Pirates
3. Chernobyl Mutants - The 44-21 win over the Krakow Wave in the season opener was a statement game for the Chernobyl Mutants, who are trying to prove to the league that they are back and ready to compete and contend for the league's top spot once again this season. It will be difficult for them, as it is for everyone, to compete and thrive in the Pro League's Zeta Conference, but with most of their incredibly talented players returning, expect the Mutants to be right back in the hunt for the Zeta Conference crown again this season. Despite a trip up in the rough Zeta Conference playoffs last season, the Mutants are still an elite team and one of the major powerhouses of Eastern Europe Pro.
Next Game: at Novosibirsk
4. Silesia Miners - While coming up short in the Eastern Europe AAA Championship game against the Washington Chairmen in their last outing, the Silesia Miners were still able to win the AAA Zeta Conference championship, earning the relegation to the Pro Zeta Conference. They easily won their first Pro League game earlier today, in a 34-14 victory on the road against a solid Dubai Lightning team. The victory impressed a lot of people and has sent a message to all the elites in the Zeta Conference that they will be a force to be reckoned with as the season moves on. They have the talent to become premeir contenders, with a generally solid balance throughout their depth chart. We will be watching to see if they can win enough games here in the early season to be able to claw through their tough late season stretch and get into the playoffs with a high seed.
Next Game: vs Transylvania Drachen
5. American Invaders - The Cinderella of the inaugural Eastern Europe Pro playoffs were able to ride their upset-driven momentum all the way to the League Championship last season, before they fell at the hands of the Prague Punishers. As the league's second season begins, the American Invaders continue to prove that they're full of suprises, but not necessarily in the best way for themselves. Their late game collapse in their season opener led to a 14-17 overtime loss to the Sheboygan Chaos Theory. This upset was probobly the biggest news the league's opening day had to offer, as the league's defending Alpha Conference Champions fell in their very first game of the season. As defending conference champions they make today's Power Five, but they won't stay here for too much longer if they continue to play the way that they have. But the Preview is confident that the Invaders will be able to turn it around as the team, while rigid on the edges, is centered by a strong core group of players.
Next Game: at Minsk Koats
Just missing the Power Five:
Georgia Tec-9s, Cincinatti Tigers, Serajevo Reapers
Alpha Conference Game of the Day
Team Pheonix at Sarajevo Reapers
- One of the more interesting developements from last season was the ongoing story of Team Pheonix, and their rollercoaster ride of momentum and emotions. The season full of ups and downs was capped by a disappointing loss in the Alpha Conference playoffs, but Team Pheonix played a major role during the league's first season and expect to have just as big of a role this year. Last year the Reapers were somewhat the opposite, playing consistent and steady, but unable to grasp the league's full attention or ever be in the spotlight. They promise that this season will be different, with similar success but more victories in the big games. Team Pheonix promises that they'll have similar success as their first season, but will try to have less major disappointments.
-- Prediction: Team Pheonix 20, Sarajevo Reapers 24
Zeta Conference Game of the Day
#3 Chernobyl Mutants at Novosibirsk Grey Wolves
- The Novosibirsk Grey Wolves were mostly considered a non-factor last season in the stacked Zeta Conference. But the Preview can tell you right now that that won't be the case this season. After a very active and radical offseason, the Grey Wolves come into the league's second season with a suprisingly incredibly respectable team and fans are excited. In their season opener, they handily defeated the Kosovo Liberty in a 45-3 thrashing on the road. Now the focus shifts to their home opener, with the third ranked Chernobyl Mutants coming to town. As strange as it would have sounded last season, this game promises to be a close and highly contested matchup, and the Preview beleives that the Grey Wolves have all the ability to trade shots with the mighty Mutants. It should be one of the more exciting games of this early season in front of what promises to be a sell out crowd.
Prediction: Chernobyl Mutants 32, Novosibirsk Grey Wolves 28
That's it for the first Preview of Season 2 in Eastern Europe Pro. Today's was somewhat of a combination of the first games' How They Fared and the preview for the second games. So the Preview will take a break tomorrow but will be back with How They Fared for Tuesday's games and will be right back on a regular track from then on. Hope you enjoyed it, and good luck this season!
Season 2, Day 1
4/27/08
The Eastern Europe Pro League kicked off its season today, finally ending the nervous calm that was the league's offseason. Although missing a preseason edition, meaning that the first Preview is today's combination of a recap and preview of the league's action, the Preview is back and better than ever and ready to guide you all through another great season of Eastern Europe Pro football. Today the Preview begins with a special offseason special, filling you in on what you all may have missed, followed by the initial Power Rankings that you have all been waiting for. I hope you enjoy and help celebrate the return of the season in Eastern Europe Pro!
Offseason
Definitely the biggest story in the league's offseason was the internal collapse of the Warsaw Legioniers. Considered the league's premeir team for almost the entire inaugural season, the mysterious dismantling of the Warsaw Legioniers this offseason raised more than a few eyebrows. Now under new management and featuring almost entirely different personnel, the Warsaw Legioniers have plummeted in predicted value, losing the season's first game to the Georgia Tec-9s and even dropping to fifteenth place in the Hazy Rankings. They leave the league, flipped upside down by the postseason, in continual search for a new face.
Looking to fill the vacancy that Warsaw has left at the top of the Alpha Conference is the Washington Chairmen, the champions of Eastern Europe AAA who were relegated up in offseason, along with the Silesia Miners of the Zeta Conference. Both of these teams were able to dominate the AAA league in route to their conference championships, and look to do more of the same in the Pro League. There is no doubt that both of these teams deserve to be in the Pros. But can they make it to the top?
Eastern Europe Pro Power Five
1. Prague Punishers - After an unprecedented 14 game win streak and a league championship, the Prague Punishers finally complete their quest for the throne and top the Power Five. Their incredible rip through the second half of the season and playoffs to win the first ever Eastern Europe Pro League Championship is a feat that will be remembered for a long time to come. But somehow, the Punishers continue to stay hungry, and their journey towards another league championship began today in a 27-7 win over the Rockford Warriors, extending their win streak. Looking ahead, the early season looks as if it will be very telling of this team, while the schedule seems to ease off down the stretch. It will be interesting to see if the Punishers can stay motivated and continue to win, if they will be able to bounce back from loss and disappointment, and if they'll be able to construct another late season drive to the championship.
Next Game: at Budapest Brawlers
2. Washington Chairmen - Pulling off the seemingly impossible, outdoing the Prague Punishers, the Washington Chairmen ripped through the Eastern Europe AAA League last season on their way to handily winning the championship and earning the relegation up to the Pros, and with today's win have piled their win streak up to 15. The Chairmen have incredible talent and leaders at key position on their roster, and their impressive 55-14 win over the Baltic Sea Monkeys in their first ever Pro League game has solidified themselves as contenders in the Pros. Things will get interesting for them midway through the season, but right now the Chairmen are just trying to adapt to Pro League football and are ready to prove themselves against the best eastern Europe.
Next Game: at Grodno Pirates
3. Chernobyl Mutants - The 44-21 win over the Krakow Wave in the season opener was a statement game for the Chernobyl Mutants, who are trying to prove to the league that they are back and ready to compete and contend for the league's top spot once again this season. It will be difficult for them, as it is for everyone, to compete and thrive in the Pro League's Zeta Conference, but with most of their incredibly talented players returning, expect the Mutants to be right back in the hunt for the Zeta Conference crown again this season. Despite a trip up in the rough Zeta Conference playoffs last season, the Mutants are still an elite team and one of the major powerhouses of Eastern Europe Pro.
Next Game: at Novosibirsk
4. Silesia Miners - While coming up short in the Eastern Europe AAA Championship game against the Washington Chairmen in their last outing, the Silesia Miners were still able to win the AAA Zeta Conference championship, earning the relegation to the Pro Zeta Conference. They easily won their first Pro League game earlier today, in a 34-14 victory on the road against a solid Dubai Lightning team. The victory impressed a lot of people and has sent a message to all the elites in the Zeta Conference that they will be a force to be reckoned with as the season moves on. They have the talent to become premeir contenders, with a generally solid balance throughout their depth chart. We will be watching to see if they can win enough games here in the early season to be able to claw through their tough late season stretch and get into the playoffs with a high seed.
Next Game: vs Transylvania Drachen
5. American Invaders - The Cinderella of the inaugural Eastern Europe Pro playoffs were able to ride their upset-driven momentum all the way to the League Championship last season, before they fell at the hands of the Prague Punishers. As the league's second season begins, the American Invaders continue to prove that they're full of suprises, but not necessarily in the best way for themselves. Their late game collapse in their season opener led to a 14-17 overtime loss to the Sheboygan Chaos Theory. This upset was probobly the biggest news the league's opening day had to offer, as the league's defending Alpha Conference Champions fell in their very first game of the season. As defending conference champions they make today's Power Five, but they won't stay here for too much longer if they continue to play the way that they have. But the Preview is confident that the Invaders will be able to turn it around as the team, while rigid on the edges, is centered by a strong core group of players.
Next Game: at Minsk Koats
Just missing the Power Five:
Georgia Tec-9s, Cincinatti Tigers, Serajevo Reapers
Alpha Conference Game of the Day
Team Pheonix at Sarajevo Reapers
- One of the more interesting developements from last season was the ongoing story of Team Pheonix, and their rollercoaster ride of momentum and emotions. The season full of ups and downs was capped by a disappointing loss in the Alpha Conference playoffs, but Team Pheonix played a major role during the league's first season and expect to have just as big of a role this year. Last year the Reapers were somewhat the opposite, playing consistent and steady, but unable to grasp the league's full attention or ever be in the spotlight. They promise that this season will be different, with similar success but more victories in the big games. Team Pheonix promises that they'll have similar success as their first season, but will try to have less major disappointments.
-- Prediction: Team Pheonix 20, Sarajevo Reapers 24
Zeta Conference Game of the Day
#3 Chernobyl Mutants at Novosibirsk Grey Wolves
- The Novosibirsk Grey Wolves were mostly considered a non-factor last season in the stacked Zeta Conference. But the Preview can tell you right now that that won't be the case this season. After a very active and radical offseason, the Grey Wolves come into the league's second season with a suprisingly incredibly respectable team and fans are excited. In their season opener, they handily defeated the Kosovo Liberty in a 45-3 thrashing on the road. Now the focus shifts to their home opener, with the third ranked Chernobyl Mutants coming to town. As strange as it would have sounded last season, this game promises to be a close and highly contested matchup, and the Preview beleives that the Grey Wolves have all the ability to trade shots with the mighty Mutants. It should be one of the more exciting games of this early season in front of what promises to be a sell out crowd.
Prediction: Chernobyl Mutants 32, Novosibirsk Grey Wolves 28
That's it for the first Preview of Season 2 in Eastern Europe Pro. Today's was somewhat of a combination of the first games' How They Fared and the preview for the second games. So the Preview will take a break tomorrow but will be back with How They Fared for Tuesday's games and will be right back on a regular track from then on. Hope you enjoyed it, and good luck this season!
Last edited Apr 27, 2008 13:56:31
