3rd Annual Member Awards
by Matt McGrath
Clubhouse Leader - “This award is given to the member who is universally respected throughout the boards, and in an ownership position”:
All four candidates are well respected on the board, so this essentially boiled down to two people based on the ownership job as well; Frank and Tim. Tim won the popular vote, but I believe that Frank has the edge here, given his recent championship run, and two year streak of dominance within his division. Everyone seems to like Frank, and there are a few out there who consider Tim to be a pompous asshole, so based both on results in Out of the Park, as well as respect garnered on the board, I give this award to Eric Franckowiak.
McGrath winner: Eric Franckowiak
League Vote: Tim Schneider
The Holdout- “This award is given to the member who has been deemed the most irritating in the league”:
Fogg was tossed onto this list in a desperation to find a 4th person for this. I didn’t expect Ma to get many votes here either, as he has hardly been active while the majority of the members have been here. Essentially this came down to Mark versus Lapointe, and in the league vote, it actually ended up as a tie, before an unnamed source who hadn’t voted for either broke the tie in favor of Lapointe. I don’t find Mark to be that annoying, and both make some of the most biased comments I’ve ever seen. However, the fact that Mark does his on an actually respectable team (see Lapointe’s recent run on the Tigers) makes me tip the balance of my own in favor of Lapointe
McGrath winner: Ben Lapointe
League Vote: Ben Lapointe
Fallen Soldier Award- “Given to the most valuble (ex) member who was lost in the past season”:
None of the 4 candidates meant very much to the league, Sasinowki and Harrison were both owners who never got any respect, and Szatkowski and Gardell were both MCPs who had little effect on the league. Basically, I feel that Harrison deserves this award based on the fact that he actually did something as the owner of his team, and put his team in a spot to contend in the future, whereas Sasinowski traded away his top slugger for nothing, and left the aging Bulldogs with a weak farm system. As a result, the award goes to Spencer Harrison.
McGrath winner: Spencer Harrison
League Vote: Spencer Harrison
The Bench Coach- “Given to the member who, as a coach in the previous season, is most likely to succeed in an ownership role”:
This is pointless to write about, Garofalo and Hopson appear in no way active enough to get consideration for a team, and Jay has publicly said that Mark will never get a team, so I’ll just turn this into a brief campaign for Mark’s future ownership potential. Mark has been around for basically an entire season, and is one of the top 15 posters ever, despite being here for not even half of the time as most of the members. While his first brief tenure as Detroit owner was questionable, Mark has evolved somewhat since then, and has gained a better understanding of the league and how it is run. I’m confident that as Boston coach, he can gain enough insight and reasoning as to how to run a team to become successful in the future.
McGrath winner: Mark Carlozzi
League Vote: Mark Carlozzi
League MVP- “Given to the member who is deemed the best all-around on the board and in an ownership role”:
After the second year doing this, I’ve discovered that Clubhouse Leader is essentially the same thing as this award, and will lead to one being knocked out after this season. This was one of the most one-sided categories in the entire ballot, and justifiably so. Tim Schneider led an expansion team to within a few games of the playoffs, has been the second most active poster in league history, and while he hasn’t contributed a high amount of articles, those that he has done have been very solidly done. While Tomatsu, Colt and Alicea all had teams in the playoffs, none of the three consistently writes articles, or garners the same type of respect that Schneider commands. As a result, this award goes to Tim Schneider for this season.
McGrath winner: Tim Schneider
League vote: Tim Schneider
The Leadoff hitter- “This award is given to the member that started some of the most successful threads on the message board”:
This award was really a toss-up as well, there is no individual member who starts a high number of topics outside of Jay, and I didn’t put him or myself on any of the ballots. In fact, I find a hard time giving this award to anyone specific on the ballot, but that would provoke racial slurs from the nazis in the league, so here goes. This is based not on the General Board posting, but for stuff on the Veteran Boards, as well as the Stupid Shit Said Section, Tim Schneider will win this award. He is the moderator of the SSSS, and justifiably so, as he provides a good amount of the material there. Because there are no consistent topic starters on the ballot, Schneider will thus win this award.
McGrath winner: Tim Schneider
League vote: Tim Schneider
The Rally Starter- “This award is given to the member that started the most arguments on the message board while maintaining a high level of respect”:
I could easily justify giving this award to anyone on the ballot, but instead will give it to someone who didn’t receive a single member vote, Colt Ciccone. Ciccone constantly starts random arguments, often with newly deemed rival Nick Alicea. Ciccone is at times obnoxious, but as demonstrated by his recent competition in the ABL PPC&ACTCA against commissioner Jay Soester himself, it’s quite obvious he commands a lot of respect in the league, and accordingly so, despite being the only current original owner who was new to the ABL. As a result, this award goes to Colt Ciccone.
McGrath winner: Colt Ciccone
League vote: Tim Schneider
The Home Run threat- “This award is given to the member that had a constant swing from stupid posts to indisputable ones”:
I thought that this one held the clearest winner on the ballot, but I was proved wrong by the diversity of the member vote amongst the 4 candidates. I had originally thought Bryan Svec would run away with this award, based on his evolved status into the top owners of the league, yet at many times reverting to drunken slurring on the boards. I could justify giving this award to any of the 4 candidates, but I had Svec picked as the winner before voting began, and his win in the leaguewide vote only solidified his hold on this award.
McGrath winner: Bryan Svec
League vote: Bryan Svec
The Clean-Up hitter- “This award is given to the member that is frequently able to end arguments with terrific points to back themselves up”:
Tim, Dan and Alan all could justifiably win this award; all three are well-respected members who show good signs of intelligence and are amongst the best at defending something they are arguing about. However (and this will provoke swastikas being sprayed onto my building), the extreme racism of Tim and Dan lose them the award in this case. I feel that Alan provides an end to his arguments with far more substantiated claims than “beener”, “nigger”, or “chink” and as a result, Alan wins this award. He’s been amongst the top vote getters in the past for this award, and has often been the favorite for it. This year he finally managed to pull it out, for a variety of arguments, often defending his sports teams (however bad they may be) with valid claims and solid responses.
McGrath winner: Alan Oldigues
League vote: Tim Schneider
The #5 hitter- “This award is given to the member that has been the most constructive member by doing assignments and writing articles”:
After Daniel’s recent string of team articles, I find it difficult to give anyone else consideration for this award. However, Ty Heath deserves mention here for doing numerous assignments, and chipping in an article here and there. However, Schmito’s better half has contributed countless articles about the various teams in the league, and all have been of the best quality, leading to a high number of reads from each owner. This string may parlay out into a win again next year, but for this season, Romito easily walks away with this award.
McGrath winner: Dan Romito
League vote: Dan Romito
The Bottom of the Order- “This award is given to the member that is not necessarily the most active, but is an essential part of the league”:
I can’t give this award to Frank after making him “Clubhouse Leader”, so as a result, I will back up my choice of Darryl Fink quite well. While he sometimes stoops to the level of Ben Lapointe in various arguments, Fink has been around since the old ASFL days, and has maintained a relatively successful team ever since that time. His Stallions made the playoffs for the first time this season, and his young core of players appears to be set to be dominant for a long time in the future. As a result, Darryl Fink is the winner of this award, for he is not as active, but is essentially given the St. Louis job until he decides to give it up, a privilege not granted to many league owners. Plus, if he weren’t here, Darius Ortiz would be the main beneficiary of our hick jokes
McGrath winner: Darryl Fink
League vote: Eric Franckowiak
Rookie of the Year- “This award is given to a member of the league that joined the previous season and has made the biggest impact.”:
Honestly, this may have been the strongest class of rookie members I can remember through the ABL or ASFL. Heath, Morse and Borland, as well as Ben Whitley and Andrew Sasinowski were welcomed to the league’s ownership pool this past season, and Mark Carlozzi, as well as various other coaches, contributed to a very active board this season. However, Heath’s willingness to do assignments, high level of respect commanded, strong post total, and the fact that he ran away with the member vote last season, despite being ineligible gives him the easy award in my mind, and in the opinion of the league.
McGrath winner: Ty Heath
League vote: Ty Heath
Ballot Results:
Clubhouse Leader - “This award is given to the member who is universally respected throughout the boards, and in an ownership position”:
Dan Romito (2)
Tim Schneider (7)
Ty Heath (2)
Eric Franckowiak (4)
The Holdout- “This award is given to the member who has been deemed the most irritating in the league”:
Mark Carlozzi (6)
Ben Lapointe (6)
Alex Ma (3)
Kevin Fogg (0)
Fallen Soldier Award- “Given to the most valuble (ex) member who was lost in the past season”:
Andrew Sasinowski (6)
Spencer Harrison (8)
Reese Gardell (2)
Mike Szatkowski (0)
The Bench Coach- “Given to the member who, as a coach in the previous season, is most likely to succeed in an ownership role”:
Mark Carlozzi (9)
David Hopson (3)
Sam Garofolo (3)
League MVP- “Given to the member who is deemed the best all-around on the board and in an ownership role”:
Colt Ciccone (3)
Tim Schneider (11)
Alan Oldigues (Tomatsu) (2)
Nick Alicea (0)
The Leadoff hitter- “This award is given to the member that started some of the most successful threads on the message board”:
Tim Schneider (6)
Dan Romito (4)
Kevin Fogg (0)
Ty Heath (5)
The Rally Starter- “This award is given to the member that started the most arguments on the message board while maintaining a high level of respect”:
Dan Romito (3)
Alan Oldigues (Tomatsu) (2)
Tim Schneider (12)
Colt Ciccone (0)
The Home Run threat- “This award is given to the member that had a constant swing from stupid posts to indisputable ones”:
Kevin Fogg (1)
Colt Ciccone (5)
Bryan Svec (7)
Kyle Borland (3)
The Clean-Up hitter- “This award is given to the member that is frequently able to end arguments with terrific points to back themselves up”:
Bryan Svec (2)
Tim Schneider (8)
Alan Oldigues (Tomtasu) (3)
Dan Romito (3)
The #5 hitter- “This award is given to the member that has been the most constructive member by doing assignments and writing articles”:
Ben Lapointe (0)
Ty Heath (6)
Dan Romito (9)
Bryan Svec (0)
The Bottom of the Order- “This award is given to the member that is not necessarily the most active, but is an essential part of the league”:
Darryl Fink (2)
Eric Franckowiak (13)
Shane Day (0)
Mike Kroner (1)
The Disabled List- “This award is given to the member (or former) that was the biggest disappointment as an owner or member”:
Andrew Sasinowki (6)
Spencer Harrison (7)
Reese Gardell (2)
Jon D'Angelo (1)
Rookie of the Year- “This award is given to a member of the league that joined the previous season and has made the biggest impact.”:
Ty Heath (13)
Kyle Borland (1)
Mark Carlozzi (1)
Nate Morse (1)
2nd Annual Member Awards
by Matt McGrath
At the urging of Jay, these awards have been determined again by the guru himself, Matt McGrath, as well as the first ever member input into the award, which will be mentioned later in the article. Having taken myself out of the running for each award, this will generate more interest rather than seeing me win all the awards, as well as minimize the cries of overzealous affirmative action from Mr. Schneider. I’ve also tried to avoid picking Jay if possible, but without further rambling, here goes.
Clubhouse Leader- “This award is given to the member who is universally respected throughout the boards, and in an ownership position”:
This is essentially down to Chicago’s owner, Eric Franckowiak, and Connecticut owner Alan Tomo. “Tomatsu” as he likes to be called, is more active and well known throughout the league. However, Franckowiak is universally respected for doing so well with his Chicago team, and as a result, has been deemed by McGrath as this year’s award winner. (previous award was renamed)
McGrath winner: Eric Franckowiak
League vote: Matt McGrath
The Holdout- “This award is given to the member who has been deemed the most irritating in the league”:
This one is generally considered a toss-up between Ben Lapointe and Alex Ma, and is likely to be a tight race for the next few years, with a few new members maybe added into the race. Ma frequently annoys the shit out of any person he comes in contact with, especially with his aimless posts on the board. Lapointe on the other hand, is made fun of constantly for defending his team’s moves throughout his career. Lapointe is generally accepted as the village idiot on the board, despite not recently having done much to deserve it. However, as this may be his best year contending for the award, I’ll give it to Lapointe, basically because he won’t win much else.
McGrath winner: Ben Lapointe
League vote: Ben Lapointe
Fallen Soldier Award- “Given to the most valuble (ex) member who was lost in the past season”:
This award was designed solely this year for Mike Kroner, who was one of the most active members in the league, and was universally respected and feared by new members. However, Bill St. John, an original ASFL owner, must also be acknowledged here. St. John provided the league with general drunkenness and humor, and was known as “Mighty Whitey” to the more tenured members of the league. However, having done minimal amounts on the message board, he really leaves this award all to Mike Kroner, who was more integral as an owner and consultant in the league.
McGrath winner: Mike Kroner
League vote: Mike Kroner
The Bench Coach- “Given to the member who, as a coach in the previous season, is most likely to succeed in an ownership role”:
Another award that is won almost by default is the Bench Coach award. The winner is similar to that of a top prospect in the league, having had a successful minor league career, and likely to continue it in ownership. Ty Heath would run away with this award, except for the fact that he never coached, leaving this open to really only one person, Tim Schneider. Tim was one of the original members of the league, but was unable to own due to computer problems and an incredibly sticky keyboard. However, he is the most active member on the board outside of Jay, and having finally gotten an ownership spot, it seems only right that he get this award.
McGrath winner: Tim Schneider
League vote: Tim Schneider
League MVP- “Given to the member who is deemed the best all-around on the board and in an ownership role”:
If Fink were more active on the boards, he’d win this award easily, having turned St. Louis into a likely perennial contender. However, he’s barely in the top 20 for posts, and as a result, I can’t justify picking him here. I feel that Tomatsu is still running off of JJ’s terrific draft to maintain Connecticut, and as a result, I gotta wait another year or so before picking him. This now boils down to the big guy, Jay Soester himself. Jay has had back to back titles after an outstanding initial draft, and is the most active member on the board far and away, and having built his team from the ground up, it seems right to give him the inaugural presentation of this award.
McGrath winner: Jay Soester
League Vote: Matt McGrath
The Leadoff hitter- “This award is given to the member that started some of the most successful threads on the message board”:
In all honesty, I tried to find any possible way to overlook a 1,176 post thread started by Tim last year. It’s not possible. This kid started the most used thread in the history of the ABL and possibly in the ASFL too (which I cannot verify due to Jay banning me from the board). He starts many other topics, and with the “What are you listening to now” thread finally locked, this award will be more open next year, but for now, Tim’s massive thread gives him the award
McGrath winner: Tim Schneider
League vote: Tim Schneider
The Rally Starter- “This award is given to the member that started the most arguments on the message board while maintaining a high level of respect”:
This one again is likely to be in Schneider hands for a while. Tim is undoubtedly starts the most arguments on the board, and is respected most by everyone other than myself and Jay, who share a good laugh behind his back at his existence. However, he has taught most every member who comes into the league that you gotta bring your A game to argue with this kid.
McGrath vote: Tim Schneider
League vote: Tim Schneider
The Home Run threat- “This award is given to the member that had a constant swing from stupid posts to indisputable ones”:
The rest of the awards are up for debate finally, with almost no blatant winners. This one boils down to three members in my opinion, Kevin Fogg, Dan Romito and last year’s winner, Colt Ciccone. Colt doesn’t post enough anymore to justify winning this again and many of his stupid posts can be contributed to some kind of foreign influence. Romito has been active on the boards, and seems to use Tim as his role model for posting, hurling countless racial epitaphs and many insensitive barbs at new members. However, after being prone to countless stupid things initially in the league, he has generally smartened up. I feel that Fogg is the definition of this award. He was constantly made fun of with his initiation to the league, but has since gained a high amount of respect for making smart cracks at people, having wised up not to go up against the big guns, and straying from the league norm on this vote, I’ll give this one to Fogg
McGrath winner: Kevin Fogg
League vote: Dan Romito
The Clean-Up hitter- “This award is given to the member that is frequently able to end arguments with terrific points to back themselves up”:
Although Jay really should easily win this award, as there are other good options, I’ll pass on him for now. This comes down to a heated racial battle between Alan Tomo and Tim Schneider. Tim, known universally for being an aspiring KKK practitioner, constantly shuts people up with posts filled with pure hate, likely stemming from his lack of pussy. Tomo on the other hand, chips in plenty of points in general sports talk, backing it up with stats from whatever he happens to have on hand, while still being able to rip a new member all over the place. As a result, Tomo takes this award for the second consecutive year.
McGrath winner: Alan Tomo
League vote: Tim Schneider/Alan Tomo (tie)
The #5 hitter- “This award is given to the member that has been the most constructive member by doing assignments and writing articles”:
Ty Heath deserves this award for the brief time he has been in the league, however, with a likely stranglehold on this for the foreseeable future, I will try to give it to someone else while it is still justifiable. Dan Romito and Spencer Harrison, both new owners, have contributed many reward points in their first seasons. Both eagerly jump in on assignments on a frequent basis, though Romito stands out for doing the Open Cup stats. However, I also don’t believe I’ve ever seen him write an article, which Harrison does on a regular basis. As a result, the last non-Heath winner of this award will be Spencer Harrison.
McGrath winner: Spencer Harrison
League vote: Ty Heath
The Bottom of the Order- “This award is given to the member that is not necessarily the most active, but is an essential part of the league”:
With Bill St. John and Peyton Arana both now gone from the league, this award is actually up in the air for the first time between a pair of new contestants. Darryl Fink and Eric Franckowiak both hold power clubs in the Northern Conference, but both are rarely seen on the boards, and I doubt 95% of the league has ever had a non-trade related conversation with them. However, as two of the dwindling number of ex-ASFLer’s, they are both important to the league. Both are equally qualified for this award, but in an attempt to stray from the league vote, I’ll go with Fink, who didn’t receive a single vote.
McGrath winner: Daryll Fink
League vote: Eric Franckowiak
The Disabled List- “This award is given to the member (or former) that was the biggest disappointment as an owner or member”:
A reason I love the member votes; this award is supposed to be aimed at those who are no longer an owner, yet Lapointe still gets a quarter of the votes. I’m putting this one down to a draw between Peyton Arana and Evan Ganley. Most of you know Arana, the deposed Whexican owner of the Los Angeles Lions. Few however, knew Ganley. Ganley was the original owner of the Philadelphia Demons, and after losing a 3 game lead in the final week of the 2004 season, Ganley disappeared, prompting Jay to fire him. Ganley was considered an elite owner in the ASFL, and up through the end of 2004 here. Having made minimal impact in 2005 after his firing, I’m gonna have to give the award to him and leave Arana eligible for next year.
McGrath winner: Evan Ganley
League vote: Peyton Arana
Rookie of the Year- “This award is given to a member of the league that joined the previous season and has made the biggest impact.”
This one really boils down to Dan Romito and Spencer Harrison, both of whom took over in midseason for average teams. Both finished with respectable records, though Harrison took the upper hand there. However, Romito seems to have comfortably adjusted into the ownership role, and is well-respected in the league, taking nothing away from Harrison. What this boils down to is reward points, and Harrison got 100 of em, good for second in the league behind Jay. Romito came in fifth, behind top minority Matt McGrath, and fellow rookie Nick Alicea. However, I gave Harrison one award based on his reward point tally, and I don’t feel that it’s fair to gyp Romito again, so I’ll let this one go to Dan Romito.
McGrath winner: Dan Romito
League vote: Dan Romito
League vote tally
Clubhouse Leader
Matt McGrath (4), Alan Tomo (3), Eric Franckowiak (3), Jay Soester (2), Darryl Fink (1)
Holdout
Ben Lapointe (6), Alex Ma (2), Kevin Fogg (1), Darius Ortiz (1)
Fallen Soldier Award
Mike Kroner (7), Peyton Arana (1), Bill St. John (1), Stephen Won (1)
Bench Coach
Ty Heath (4, DQ), Tim Schneider (4), Ben Lapointe (1), Kevin Fogg (1), Scott Karamol (1), Mark Carlozzi (1)
League MVP
Matt McGrath (6), Jay Soester (2), Eric Franckowiak (2), Alan Tomo (2), Bryan Svec (1)
Leadoff Hitter
Tim Schneider (7), Jay Soester (3), Spencer Harrison (1), Ty Heath (1)
Rally Starter
Tim Schneider (7), Alan Tomo (1), Matt McGrath (1), Dan Romito (1)
Home Run Threat
Dan Romito (3), Alex Ma (2), Kevin Fogg (1), Spencer Harrison (1), Colt Ciccone (1), Alan Tomo (1)
Clean-Up Hitter
Alan Tomo (4), Tim Schneider (4), Jay Soester (2)
#5 Hitter
Ty Heath (5), Spencer Harrison (2), Dan Romito (1), Ben Lapointe (1), Kevin Fogg (1), Alan Tomo (1)
Bottom of the Order
Eric Franckowiak (6), Peyton Arana (2), Nick Alicea (1), Tim Schneider (1)
Disabled List
Peyton Arana (3), Ben Lapointe (2), Aaron Focker (1), Stephen Won (1), Doug Meyer (1), Evan Ganley (1)
Rookie of the Year
Ty Heath (6,DQ), Dan Romito (3), Spencer Harrison (2), Mark Carlozzi (1)
The “What the fuck” section:
Here’s where I go on my rant for the general stupidity that these ballots encompassed. I had to have about 4 guys redo their ballots for reasons ranging from illegibility to more than 3 people in one category. That is just the beginning. I have decided that I’m going to put 4 candidates per award next time, to avoid shit like Tim getting a vote for Bottom of the Order ever happening again. The Bench Coach is specifically made for a person that will be an owner in the upcoming year that wasn’t in 2005. Though it may seem like Lapointe shouldn’t have been an owner, he indeed was. I might even let this one slip, except it was Lapointe himself who cast this vote, and for that I feel the need to bring this up. Y’all must also learn to follow rules. I specifically said don’t vote for me, yet I still got 2 awards, with various other votes. Right below my original post, Jay wrote that Heath is ineligible for ROY, as he is a rookie for this upcoming season, well guess who won the ROY award. Also, use some damn sense here, Heath was never a coach for an existent organization, yet he still won the Bench Coach award, which is indeed slightly ridiculous. I’ll cut myself very much short here and say that this ballot idea has been seriously brought into question by some of the stuff I read on them.
1st Annual Member Awards
by Matt McGrath
I came up with this kinda brilliant idea; I plan to continue this to some extent in the future after each season, though I don’t know if I will alter this any. I have excluded Jay and myself from these awards to avoid any bias, and get a little more interest from it.
The Leadoff hitter- “This award is given to the member that started some of the most successful threads on the message board”
Verdict: With Jay not receiving any awards, this one is really a no-brainer. Tim Schneider (WompFump) was the only other member to consistently start threads that got more than 10 replies. The highlight of Mr. Schneider’s season was the 250 reply “What are you listening to thread.” Although he also leads the league in total posts, with the exception of Jay, Schneider was also crucial to creating interest on the boards with his original thread topics that created arguments over some of the key events in the sports world, and the American Baseball League. Congratulations Tim.
The Rally Starter- “This award is given to the member that started the most arguments on the message board while maintaining a high level of respect”
Verdict: Brandon Kerkau (KermitisStoned25) could easily run away with this award in the sense that he started countless arguments over his beloved Detroit Pistons, but during his stay here, he garnered no respect from fellow coaches and owners. With him out of the way, the next candidate is really the clear winner. Mike Kroner has been around since the days of the ASFL, in which he owned the successful Pennsylvania Hitmen. Since coming into the ABL however, he has maintained a much higher level of activity and as such, his opinion is well respected when a heated discussion over sports is started. Congratulations Mike.
The Home Run threat- “This award is given to the member that had a constant swing from stupid posts to unarguable ones”
Verdict: One of the owners that wasn’t a stayover from the ASFL, Colt Ciccone (cjcnfg3) has had his moments in the spotlight, both good and bad. With sometimes errant trivia answers and laughable posts under recent sports topics, Ciccone also displays a lot of savvy on the board at the same time, as he is able to answer several trivia questions and also have well-informed posts under other topics, and his music preferences are well-respected on the boards when he argues for them. Congratulations Colt.
The Clean-Up hitter- “This award is given to the member that is frequently able to end arguments with terrific points to back themselves up”
Verdict: Though he is often right in the middle of the arguments for the duration, Tomas Oldiguez (Tomatsu) is frequently able to end them just as often. Whether it is arguing for the sake of his beloved sports teams, his favorite players, or general sports knowledge, Tomas is usually able to back up his points with stats, facts and well-supported information to make his posts irrefutable. Congratulations Tomas.
The #5 hitter- “This award is given to the member that has been the most constructive member by doing assignments and writing articles”
Verdict: There are many candidates for this award. Aaron Focker consistently does assignments, and is near the lead for reward points this season. Ben LaPointe (blgoblue2) writes many articles and volunteers for a few assignments. Stephen Won, one of the newest members of the league, has written 3 or 4 of the better articles that the ABL has seen so far. However, I feel that there is one member that has been above everyone else. Alex Gianetta (llbballa04) has been one of the most consistent article writers and volunteers for any assignment he can. The fact that he writes articles doesn’t give him this award, it is the fact that his articles are always of terrific quality (with the exception of the short article he wrote the day he joined), with his recent playoff prediction article being amazing proof that he has a strong future in the league, likely as an owner if he keeps up such activity. Congratulations Alex.
The Bottom of the Order- “This award is given to the member that is not necessarily the most active, but is an essential part of the league”
Verdict: Peyton Arana (AtrueTexasFan) is one of the front runners for this award, and has been basically the stereotype for the description since the ASFL days, where he owned the Los Angeles franchise. Arana is not necessarily the most frequent poster on the board, but he remains in favor with all the league members and is one of Jay’s most trustworthy owners. However, even with all this going for him, this award really has to go to Bill St. John (bsaint), or Mighty Whitey as he is known by some of the older members of the league. Bill got his Detroit franchise into the playoffs this season, and during many of the ABL chat sessions, he bring much humor. Like Arana, he remains in favor with almost all of the owners and coaches, and Jay knows that he can usually trust Bill as an owner. Congratulations Bill.
The Disabled List- “This award is given to the member (or former) that was the biggest disappointment as an owner or member”
Verdict: This one should come as a 3 way race. Scott Landers (Jayhawk51471) was one of the most heralded new owners after leading lowly regarded Italy to a division title in the World Cup. However, after taking over as Atlanta’s owner, he has shown little to no activity, and as a result, his Sun Devils have suffered. Evan Ganley was one of the longest-tenured ASFL owners and one of the few owners respected by all at the beginning of the season. However, a lack of activity led to his replacement at the end of the first season, and while there is a chance he could be back, he has fallen out of favor with Jay. Through all of this, the award has to go to the biggest disappointment, JJ Biro. As my mentor getting into the ASFL, I feel bad that he wasn’t able to make it into his 2nd season in this league, but after being a terrific owner in the ASFL, he didn’t seem to care about the ABL, and this was a crushing factor to his dynasty in Soester-run leagues. This award is presented to JJ Biro.
Rookie of the Year- “This award is given to a member of the league that joined the previous season and has made the biggest impact.”
Verdict: There have been many new coaches and owners that have been huge in keeping the league up in activity, such as Ben LaPointe, Stephen Won and Alex Gianetta. However one name really stands out, and that is our next owner, Bryan Svec (option101). Svec has been one of the most consistent posters, and has yet to really piss off anyone, which is very good for a future in the league. Jay also seems to agree that he is a step above, as he is getting a team following his first season as a coach, and rightfully so. Congratulations Bryan.
Clubhouse Leader- “This award is given to the member that has been the backbone of the Stupid Shit Said Section over the past season”
Verdict: To be completely honest, nobody stands out as really making the SSSS funny. Jay puts up a decent amount of stuff, but I have made him ineligible for awards, and thus really only 1 name remains. Tim Schnieder posts some humorous stuff, but some of his recent work has fallen off, such has his conversations with random little girls. However, as one of the few people that can consistently put stuff up in the section, he wins the award almost by default. Congratulations Tim.
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