Maplewood Moutain Lions, er make that Nittany Dodgers State of the State

Nittany Dodgers · May 24th, 2006, 11:13 AM

Happy Valley, Minnesota - The Maplewood Mountain Lion front office called a press conference Wednesday morning to address several issues of the off season, and to give a "state of the state" update on the franchise.

Team owner, Brian Giel, started the conference with an announcement the team was changing their name to the Nittany Dodgers. "There are several reasons for the changed," stated Brian. "First, with our withdrawl from the PFFL, a leage we co-founded and participated in since 1990, we are left with only one remaining Nittany Dodger franchise. We have acquired a tremendous fan base over the years, and having only one outlet of Nittany Dodger games may not satisfy their appetite. Not to mention, we have a large backload of Nittany Dodger gear building up in our warehouse. Everyone please take a cap on your way out." Apparently, last years performance in SAC'D was not quite enough to build much demand for Maplewood Moutain Lion merchandise.

"Also, our team statistician seems to have trouble keeping the different franchises straight. Half of the reports he sends me on the SAC'D team reference the Nittany Dodgers in SAC'D which confuses me because I don't know which mistake he made. Keeping the same name will make things easier for him."

One reporter asked if the recent announcement by the Parkwood Predators influenced the decision at all. "I'll never claim to be the most out of the box thinker in this league. Our original plan last year was to go with Nittany Dodger for the SAC'D league as well, but when the other franchises were setting up all new nicknames, we followed the crowd. With a possible movement back to similarity between the leagues, we have no problem jumping on that bandwagon. Also, this reduces the inevitable weekly question of 'why are there two mountain lion mascots in one 12 team league? Isn't a cougar just a mountain lion?' By going with the Dodgers, we can avoid those silly questions."

The team then moved to the on field talent, and the changes since last year. "The team was built last year for the future. We acquired a small number solid studs on the offensive side of the ball we thought we could keep us competitive for a few years while we build our foundation. Clinton Portis and Randy Moss remain as the core. Jamal "Dead Weight" Lewis was jettisoned last year in a move that brought us another 1st round pick, to add to our own as well as one obtained in last years' draft. Curtis Martin, a long time Dodger favorite returns for his possible final season. With one of our first round picks, we add uber-talented LenDale White, who comes to a situation with a coach intimitely familiar with his talents. We look for him to produce right away and spell Curtis Martin when needed. While not deep, we feel good about our RB corp right now."

They then moved on to other positions. "We feel good at every position. At QB, we have Trent Green back to teach the younger guys. David Carr knows his role is to be the backup right now. He is comfortable with that role at this point in his career. He knows the future of this organization is with Vince Young and Charlie Frye. If an opportunity with another franchise comes along for David, we will try to accomodate him. We were sad to see Chris Simms go, but we wish him well."

On the wide receivers, "we did not make as much improvement in our receiving corp as we had hoped, but the salaries on the open market we more than we had anticipated. Still, we could be worse off than to have the arguably greatest player ever at the position with Randy Moss. Troy Williamson is now in a situation where he can produce. We also added the top receiver in the draft this year with Chad Jackson. Keenan McCardell and Amani Toomer will contribute as well. Anwaan Randel El will be ready to go when called upon. We also added Greg Jennings who is in a great situation. Courtney Roby could also contribute at some point down the road as well."

"At tight end, Todd Heap was our franchise player. In the PFFL, we wont two straight PFFL title due in no small part of drafting Deuce McAllister and Todd Heap as rookie, and riding their 2nd and 3rd year seasons' perfmance all the way to the title. We look forward to more titles with Heap's reliable production."

"We made tremendous improvements on the defensive side of the ball. One scouting source lists Osi Umenyiora as the #1 DL prospect for franchise leagues. We're happy to have him back for another year leading our pass rush. Pay Williams and Erasmus James look to support him, as well as a free agent or two we have our eye on."

Our linebackers were the worst in the league last year, and by no small margin. The #1 linebacking corp in the league last year had over twice as many points from their linebackers than we did. That is unaccetable. However, we have added two great linebackers to fill that hole. Ray Lewis has been the best linebacker in the league for the past decade. No one has more tackles over the past 5-6 years than Zach Thomas. Granted, neither are young pups, but their acquisition allows Carlos Dansby move to a reserve role and should be fresh in case either one goes down. EJ Henderson, who we still have high hopes for, provides depth. Abdul Hodge, a tackling machine in college, is the future."

"Our defensive backs were also last in the league last year. We did not have the services of Brian Dawkins for the full year, so having an off season with us should help his production. Darren Sharper, and his big play ability is also back. We have a tremendous amount of young talent at the position with Tye Hill, who is a physical corner, and Alan Zematis who is a big version of Rhonde Barber. We expect big things from both players. Carlos Rogers is also in the mix battling for a chance."

"Overall, our plan we started out with last year is right on schedule. We set out to build our team, gradually improving every year into a perennial contender. Trent Green, Clinton Portis, Curtis Martin, Randy Moss, Todd Heap, Osi Umenyiora, Ray Lewis, and Zach Thomas will ensure we are competitive each and every week. When our plethora of young talent matures in another year or two, watch out."

Philadelphia Freedom · May 24th, 2006, 12:48 PM

Quote:

uber-talented

This word will not quit and to make it better it seems to rhyme with goober.

Preds · May 24th, 2006, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philadelphia Freedom

This word will not quit and to make it better it seems to rhyme with goober.

I started a trend...

Nittany Dodgers · May 24th, 2006, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Preds

I started a trend...

My use was in homage...or was it an homage? Whatever. You know what I mean.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
New Rookie Salary Scale	Preds	Frenzy Rules & Bylaws	0	April 12th, 2002 10:17 AM

May 24th, 2006, 11:13 AM	#1
Nittany Dodgers Feeding Frenzy Moderator Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Maplewood, MN Posts: 5,204	Maplewood Moutain Lions, er make that Nittany Dodgers State of the State Happy Valley, Minnesota - The Maplewood Mountain Lion front office called a press conference Wednesday morning to address several issues of the off season, and to give a "state of the state" update on the franchise. Team owner, Brian Giel, started the conference with an announcement the team was changing their name to the Nittany Dodgers. "There are several reasons for the changed," stated Brian. "First, with our withdrawl from the PFFL, a leage we co-founded and participated in since 1990, we are left with only one remaining Nittany Dodger franchise. We have acquired a tremendous fan base over the years, and having only one outlet of Nittany Dodger games may not satisfy their appetite. Not to mention, we have a large backload of Nittany Dodger gear building up in our warehouse. Everyone please take a cap on your way out." Apparently, last years performance in SAC'D was not quite enough to build much demand for Maplewood Moutain Lion merchandise. "Also, our team statistician seems to have trouble keeping the different franchises straight. Half of the reports he sends me on the SAC'D team reference the Nittany Dodgers in SAC'D which confuses me because I don't know which mistake he made. Keeping the same name will make things easier for him." One reporter asked if the recent announcement by the Parkwood Predators influenced the decision at all. "I'll never claim to be the most out of the box thinker in this league. Our original plan last year was to go with Nittany Dodger for the SAC'D league as well, but when the other franchises were setting up all new nicknames, we followed the crowd. With a possible movement back to similarity between the leagues, we have no problem jumping on that bandwagon. Also, this reduces the inevitable weekly question of 'why are there two mountain lion mascots in one 12 team league? Isn't a cougar just a mountain lion?' By going with the Dodgers, we can avoid those silly questions." The team then moved to the on field talent, and the changes since last year. "The team was built last year for the future. We acquired a small number solid studs on the offensive side of the ball we thought we could keep us competitive for a few years while we build our foundation. Clinton Portis and Randy Moss remain as the core. Jamal "Dead Weight" Lewis was jettisoned last year in a move that brought us another 1st round pick, to add to our own as well as one obtained in last years' draft. Curtis Martin, a long time Dodger favorite returns for his possible final season. With one of our first round picks, we add uber-talented LenDale White, who comes to a situation with a coach intimitely familiar with his talents. We look for him to produce right away and spell Curtis Martin when needed. While not deep, we feel good about our RB corp right now." They then moved on to other positions. "We feel good at every position. At QB, we have Trent Green back to teach the younger guys. David Carr knows his role is to be the backup right now. He is comfortable with that role at this point in his career. He knows the future of this organization is with Vince Young and Charlie Frye. If an opportunity with another franchise comes along for David, we will try to accomodate him. We were sad to see Chris Simms go, but we wish him well." On the wide receivers, "we did not make as much improvement in our receiving corp as we had hoped, but the salaries on the open market we more than we had anticipated. Still, we could be worse off than to have the arguably greatest player ever at the position with Randy Moss. Troy Williamson is now in a situation where he can produce. We also added the top receiver in the draft this year with Chad Jackson. Keenan McCardell and Amani Toomer will contribute as well. Anwaan Randel El will be ready to go when called upon. We also added Greg Jennings who is in a great situation. Courtney Roby could also contribute at some point down the road as well." "At tight end, Todd Heap was our franchise player. In the PFFL, we wont two straight PFFL title due in no small part of drafting Deuce McAllister and Todd Heap as rookie, and riding their 2nd and 3rd year seasons' perfmance all the way to the title. We look forward to more titles with Heap's reliable production." "We made tremendous improvements on the defensive side of the ball. One scouting source lists Osi Umenyiora as the #1 DL prospect for franchise leagues. We're happy to have him back for another year leading our pass rush. Pay Williams and Erasmus James look to support him, as well as a free agent or two we have our eye on." Our linebackers were the worst in the league last year, and by no small margin. The #1 linebacking corp in the league last year had over twice as many points from their linebackers than we did. That is unaccetable. However, we have added two great linebackers to fill that hole. Ray Lewis has been the best linebacker in the league for the past decade. No one has more tackles over the past 5-6 years than Zach Thomas. Granted, neither are young pups, but their acquisition allows Carlos Dansby move to a reserve role and should be fresh in case either one goes down. EJ Henderson, who we still have high hopes for, provides depth. Abdul Hodge, a tackling machine in college, is the future." "Our defensive backs were also last in the league last year. We did not have the services of Brian Dawkins for the full year, so having an off season with us should help his production. Darren Sharper, and his big play ability is also back. We have a tremendous amount of young talent at the position with Tye Hill, who is a physical corner, and Alan Zematis who is a big version of Rhonde Barber. We expect big things from both players. Carlos Rogers is also in the mix battling for a chance." "Overall, our plan we started out with last year is right on schedule. We set out to build our team, gradually improving every year into a perennial contender. Trent Green, Clinton Portis, Curtis Martin, Randy Moss, Todd Heap, Osi Umenyiora, Ray Lewis, and Zach Thomas will ensure we are competitive each and every week. When our plethora of young talent matures in another year or two, watch out."

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)