Welcome to season 56.

Jack6 and I are back from Elite as promissed.

We got a new team in our league: Trubia Dolphins

Please don't forget to pledge the money for the Media Center.

I wish all a great season.

So, let's season 56 start.

Yep, back from Elite.

Media Center looks OK, a few teams still open.

I can't understand why someone does let this slide, it's basically less money on the budget.

But 2 of the 4 remaining teams are not really interested in the game, as it seems, so best we can hope for is, 2 more until the evening.

I got relegated in the division I did like most, not because of the competition, but because I never was in that division before.

Draft is coming, I pick from the Elite board and have sorted a 12 players, picking at 3.
Not sure what I will get, but likely that guy will be a LB or SF.

1st pick is a monster, who will be one of my LBs soon. He was my #1 sorted player.
I still have 3 players left of my original 12 sorted players, so my 2nd pick should be OK also.

He was, shocked you got him even at 3.

#1 is BOT, but I also thought it would have been gone at #2.

My 2nd round is an OK player, have to evaluate against my other DBs, whether he will make it or not.

The 3rd pick will likely be rubbish and hit the market, but you never know. The physical caps will be crucial.

Let's make a preview of the league, since I'm back on the level.

AC
The AC has a few BOTs less, still the divisions will most of the time quite clear regarding competition.

AC East
Blue Devils are primed to win the division again, they have a very new team as competion only. Their schedule is quite soft, the game against the Leopards will eventually define the top rankes inside the conference.
Paddies Drummers are quite new, 2 months roughly, and will have no chance to win against the Devils and likely also no playoff chance. They did shift the region and came from Fire.
2 teams are BOT right now.

AC North
Trnava Saints are primed to win this division. They were in Elite in 54 and were close to get back last year. They have a very tough schedule compared to other teams and games against Leopards, Panthers and Miners will setup the playoff ranks in the conference.
Sydney Sloths are my guess for the 2nd place here, they bought a lot of players in April, so maybe they will become much better fast.
Blatná Jaguars are very new and will have a tough season.
1 team is NOT right now.

AC South
Doves will likely win the weakerst division of the AC, but their building effort makes them quite strong playoff contenders. An easy schedule might bring them right into the conversation for the top spots inside the conference.
M.L. Deffenders came from Thunder region and will likely make it to 2nd place here. I doubt they will win against the Doves.
Hopping Rabbits did not become much stronger so far and thanks to the Deffenders will not get back to 2nd place.
Trubia Dolphins are very new and might fall BOT soon.

AC West
My team, the Leverkusen Leopards, are back from Elite after a very rough season and the generation switch is not done yet. Still my team is the favorite to win the division and thanks to a mid-level schedule likely also high in the conference ranks, if not on top.
Orono Ancient Snappers did survive the Dragons, only to get another big team inside the division. They will finish 2nd.
2 teams are BOT right now.

Right now I would guess for the playoffs in AC:
Leverkusen Leopards
Doves
Blue Devils
Trnava Saints
M.L. Deffenders
Orono Ancient Snappers

NC
The NC has a BOT team more, right now, and it seems a bit weaker scheduling overall, but that will only time will tell.

NC East
Fighting Frankonian are bound to win the division with the Fire Dragons went BOT, Trnje not building up their team much and the Meerkats running on autopilot since seasons. Their schedule is quite easy, they will likely finish inside the conference as top team or 2nd place.
Trnje seems to build the team based on a strategy I do not get. Maybe they need help or they like it that way. The team will be likely better than the autopilot-Meerkats, but not much.
Southern Meerkats do run on autopilot since 2 to 3 seasons with every season the roster gets fired and reloaded as initial roster on every rollover. They will finish at 3rd.
1 team is BOT right now.

NC North
Sfniner08 will again win the division, thanks to the almost for sure to-become-BOT Blue Crabs. The other teams are not in that strength level and the schedule will likely limit them to 2nd or 3rd place inside the conference, but they will be in the contention for all for sure.
birney's weekenders are 2nd to the top team inside the division, but they should not be underestimated. Likely a playoff team.
Black Knights are very new, but if the Crabs become BOT, they will finish 3rd inside the division.
The Baltimore Blue Crabs are just a few days away from becoming BOT and they did also get a complete roster exchange due to the rollover. They are now like a new team.

NC South
The Ruhrpott Miners are back from Elite and I think they can win the division here. But the Panthers are close behind and the direct compare in 2 games will likely set the title. A fluffy schedule will bring them also in cerversation for #1 to #4, depended on the games against the Panthers.
The Paxtang Black Panthers are a bit less strong than the Miners, so I did put them on 2nd place. But they are primed to get into the playoffs and could also win the division. Their schedule is almost as that of the Miners, so also here everything is possible.
2 teams are BOT right now.

NC West
Caplit e salama will win the division again this season. They have also an easy schedule, so they will be also i the mix for the conference standings at top level.
KAFakofers are a bit weaker than the top team in the division, so they will finish at 2nd. Their schedule will eventually lead to a spot at #7 in the conference.
2 teams are BOT right now.

Right now I would guess for the playoffs in NC:
Caplit e salama
Fighting Frankonian
Sfniner08
The Ruhrpott Miners
Paxtang Black Panthers
birney's weekenders

The 3rd pick will be trained to the physical caps and then be sold.

And it did turn out the 2nd pick will also hit the market, my YA player is better. Tough luck.

Nothing like not to get the draftee you want because of your own mistake . I forgot to change the "round 1/round 2" picks to "any round" and in the 2nd round I got a do-not-keep marked "round 2" instead of a leftover from my "round 1" list
Oh well. Time to explore whats on the market

My tip here is to ignore everything except the sorting and do a simple sorting from 1 to whatever you want to sort.
The mechanics are too misleading from my point of view and it is much less stessful to simply sort the guys for 1st round and if possible, resort (if needed) for 2nd and 3rd round.

Usually 10-15 sorted players are enough for 1st round and then it's anyway most of the time luck or rubbish.

Totally agree here . The reason I've used those "round x" this time I wanted to use a shortcut to avoid deciding "is this one better, or should i take a risk with that one". Normally when I move players one by one to the top, I keep changing mind several times and it takes forever to arrange the list . So this time I first scouted the whole list and only marked those interesting to me as "round 1", those potentially of some value on the market as "round 2", and 'round 3' the rest. It seemed to have worked well, except I overlooked to remove those flags at least before the 2nd day of the draft