Lord Summervale: It
all comes down to this! Welcome one and all to Cabalvision IV's
coverage of the Princess Owayanna Bottled Healing SpringWater Tournament! Teams across
the Deep North League- Southern Regional Conference gathered to
battle for the illustrious Princess Owayanna Cup and a season long
supply of her bottled healing spring waters.
We started with 8
teams coming into this competition, but now we are down to the final
two competitors. Today, our match will be between the Skaven Rat
Packers and the Chaos Goat Herders.
Lord Summervale: By
Nuffle, this is going to be one heck of a match. The speed of the
three Gutter-runner offense versus the brutality of the 4 Chosen
chaos line. Johan, what do you think the keys to the game are?
Mad Johan: Both
teams are going to have to focus on what they excel at and try to
force the other team to try and play by their terms. You know the
Rat Packers are going to try to dodge through the Chaos lines and get
their play-makers into the back field, meanwhile the Goat Herders are
going to simply try to grind the opposing team into dust. You know
what I always say, it is hard to win a match when half you team is in
the dug-out.
Lord Summervale: Both
teams have injured players returning to the line-up. The Goat
Herders have their Team Captain Asquith Kneecapper return after a
mysterious injury during the game against the Rock-N-Rollers.
Mad Johan: Yeah,
I'm still not entirely sure what happened? One minute he was there
holding off two Dwarf blockers and the next minute he was being
dragged off to the Dug-out.
Lord Summervale: The
Rat Packers have their one and only blitzer, Bashy; returning.
Mad Johan: The
Rat Packers like to have Bashy to clear the key lane for the
Gutter-runners to get to the back field. They were successful
without him last game with the Nobles, but you can bet that Team
Captain Favre the Cheese-monger is glad to have Bashy back.
Lord Summervale: The
fans are all ready warmed up to a fever pitch here at the beautiful
Citadel Arena, which is normally home to the Nottingham Nobles.
However, Nottingham won the bid for the Tournament Cup event from
Freeboota Field and Khaz-a-Killid. That has only fueled the rivalry
between the three teams and their fans.
Mad Johan: I
think the committee made a good choice for the Cup-event to be held
here. This new venue is amazing and Nottigham has been a great place
to stay. I am a big fan of Bugman's Brewery.
Lord Summervale: You
and apparently 90% of the fans here today! This looks like it could
get rowdy early.
Both
Team Captains have gone to the center of the Pitch. Kneecapper looks
to have his normal, aggressive stride back. The two shake hands as
Nuffle demands prior to the coin toss. Da Rat Packers win the toss.
Mad Johan: In
the last two games, they elected to get the ball first. Will they
continue with that strategy?
Lord Summervale: Yes,
that is exactly what they do. Favre the Cheesemonger decides his
team will receive to start the game! Both side start to line-up for
the opening drive.
The beastman Hack
has been practicing his kicking, and he is going to boot it for the
Goat Herders. Boom! The kick is up!
It is a short kick
that drops just behind the secondary of the Skaven line. Squaeky
runs up and picks up the ball. The rest of the Skaven push on the
near side and make a gap in the line. The Goat Herders were playing
back from the line, and a pair of Beastmen quickly move to close the
gap.
Mad Johan:
Brisbane Skullthumper starts the game off with a bang and
punishes the skaven linerat Pincher with a powerful hit.
Lord
Summervale: Seeing the gap close, the Skaven use their speed and
shift the point of attack to the far side of the field. A good block
by Nipper springs the corner, and Pokey gets deep into the back field
alone.
Mad Johan: Now
is the time for the Goat Herders to hit him hard....
Lord
Summervale: The Chaos team seems to take your advice as three
beastmen converge on Pokey and knock him down.
Mad Johan: They
then start kicking him while he is down! That's how you play Blood
Bowl!
Lord
Summervale: The refs are too busy watching where the action is
and miss the fouls. However, Pokey looks stunned from Grafitti's
hooves.
Another block by
Nipper breaks Squeaky and Sneaky loose! They dart down the field.
Squeaky tries to dump it to Sneaky, who bobbling catches it and runs
to the corner, right at the end zone.
However, the Beastman Payne
manages to rush over and knock him out of bounds before he can score.
Mad Johan: The
crowd of frenzied Chaos fans sends Sneaky to the Dug-out. The Chaos
coach must be giving a prayer to the gods!
Lord
Summervale: The Beastman Dance party sends Pokey to the Dug-out
as well. Graffitti and Payne seem to have taken your advice Johan.
Mad Johan: The
ball is still loose in the end zone after the crowd tossed it in.
Todd Organgrinder and Murder drop back to cover Squeaky, but the
Skaven may still steal a touch down out of this yet if the Chaos Goat
Herders are not careful.
Lord
Summervale: Squeaky tries to sneak in behind Payne, and manages
to avoid him, but he fails to pick-up the ball.
Mad Johan: The
pressure got to the little guy as he normal has very sure hands.
Lord
Summervale: Payne easily knocks him into the crowd and takes the
last Gutter Runner off the field.
Mad Johan:
Finally! Someone knows how to play against this offense! It is
a bit away from the play but Brisbane Skullthumper has lived up to
his reputation and stunned two Skaven linerats. He is doing More
than his part to take the Skaven out of the game!
Lord Summervale: Seeing
their plan to score early fall apart, the Skaven try to dodge away
from their opponents and set up a defense in depth to stop the Goat
Herders from scoring this half.
Murder
picks up the ball in his own end zone and starts the long journey
back to score. A cage quickly forms around him while some of his
fellow beastmen that are free head for the end zone.
Mad Johan: The
Skaven linerats are doing their part and start to try to break the
cage open. A powerful hit by Fodder stuns his foe.
Lord Summervale: The
cage holds and the Beastman manage to block the line-rats away and
let Murder rush past the Skaven defenses.
Mad Johan: Over
on the near side, Violence tries to block Bashy, but misses his
footing and goes to the dug-out!
Lord Summervale: Squish-squish
breaks loose from his defender and manages to lay a hand on Murder.
However, the Beastman manages to stiff arm him away and stay on his
feet..... er hooves.
Mad Johan: This
Chaos team has done a good job keeping the dodgy Skaven pinned. More
times than not, the Skaven have not been able to dodge away as
another linerat goes down to a tackle zone.
Lord Summervale: Bashy
manages to come across field using that Skaven speed and pummel
Murder to the ground. The ball goes loose and Favre final evades
Asquith Kneecapper. He scoops up the ball and launches it back to
mid-field with a completion to Nipper.
Mad Johan: Bashy
and Favre just saved their team from going down by 1.
Lord Summervale: There
is some jostling and shoving, but the half winds to a close with
neither team scoring.
Mad Johan: The
Chaos Goat Herders should be pretty proud of themselves. They manged
to stop this Rat packer offense from getting points on the board, and
threatened scoring themselves. I said the team that is going to win
today will need to force their opponent to play their way. This
Chaos team did that to the Rat Packers and did something no team has
done yet this tournament, kept the Rat Packers from scoring.
Lord Summervale: You
are indeed a fine Blood Bowl mind Johan. With the half, we will send
you back to to the Cabalvision studios for highlights from around the
Olde World and a word from our sponsors. Bloodweiser would like to
remind you that with a Bloodweiser it is always an Oh-Positive
experience. Johan and I; Lord Summervale; will return with
continuing coverage of the Princess Owayanna Healing Spring Bottled
Water Tournament Finals between the Chaos Goat Herders and the Skaven
Rat packers. See you back here soon!
** ** ** ** **
Lord Summervale: Welcome
back to Cabalvision IV's coverage of the Princess Owayanna Healing
Spring Bottled Water Tournament finals between the Chaos Goat Herders
and the Skaven Rat Packers. The score is currently tied at 0 a piece
after a surprising first half.
Mad Johan: Yeah,
the surprise was that the Rat Packers got the ball first and did not
score!
Lord Summervale: Indeed.
The Goat Herders seemed to take your advice Johan and sent all the
Gutter Runners off the field by fouling or sideline pushes. In fact,
Sneaky; arguably the Rat packers star Gutter Runner is still in the
dug-out.
Mad Johan: Well,
the Chaos team is going to receive so it makes sense that the Gutter
Runners stay in the dug-out and the extra linerats come out.
Lord Summervale: Since
the Goat Herders are getting the ball first this half, what do you
think will be the keys to the game?
Mad Johan: Well,
if I am the Goat Herders I am going to play ball control. I am in no
rush to get down the field and score. Ideally, I should be walking
it into the end zone right when the buzzer for the second half rings.
The Rat Packers best weapon is their offense, so I do not want them
putting their offense back on the field. Instead, I want to use this
second half to grind their team down because the Skaven need to get
the ball from me.
Lord Summervale: What
if you are the Rat Packers?
Mad Johan: You
need to minimize where and who they can hit you with. Then, you need
to time your blitz right to knock the ball loose and use your speed
to recover and score. You can not let them grind your team into
pulp, or eat up all the clock. Of the two teams, the Rat Packers
have the harder job now. They really needed to score first and
early.
Lord Summervale: With
that, let's get back to the game. The Chaos Goat Herders are set to
receive the kick. And ….. BOOM! It is up.
It is
a very short kick and barely makes it past the line of scrimmage!
Gore slides over and retrieves the ball. His fellow team mates
quickly form up an extra thick cage around him.
Mad Johan: Ker-runch!
Todd Organgrinder finishes his block strong and sends Pincher to the
box. So far, the Chaos team is executing on the right plan.
Lord Summervale: Pokey
and Bashy team up on Brisbane Skullthumper and push him back. This
allows Kil-kil a chance to start breaking open the chaos cage.
However, the Chaos team made it extra thick.
Mad Johan: The
Chaos Chosen are doing their job and grinding the Skaven linerats up.
Asquith Kneecapper takes Bucktooth to the dug-out, while Brisbane
Skullthumper stuns Nipper. However, Winston Azhander runs into a
tougher nut as Bashy and him square off in the center of the Chaos
cage.
Lord Summervale: I
bet the Rat Packers are glad to have him back!
The
Skaven line puts on a clinic on how to break into a cage and push
their way into the ball carriers face, despite the extra protection
the Goat Herders tried to put on him.
Mad Johan: Bashy
is leading the way again. He is trying to make up for lost time and
be an MVP this game!
Lord Summervale: However,
the Chaos team excels at grinding the ball forward, and here we see
them keep pressing forward, very slowly.
Mad Johan: That's
how you handle Gutter-Runners. Hack managed to break loose from the
scrum and lay horns on Pokey. He sent him to the dug-out right
quick!
Lord Summervale: The
Goat Herders look like they may have broken through the Skaven line.
Gore tries to dump the ball to Malice, but the other Beastman drops
the pass. This could be the Skaven's chance to stop the Chaos push.
Mad Johan: The
Rat Packers will miss their Gutter-runners now.
Lord Summervale: Favre
dodges away from Todd Organgrinder and scrambles for the ball. He
manages to scoop it up. He pivots while Nipper dodges away from a
defender on the far side. Favre da Cheesemonger hits him with
lightning bolt strike and the little linerat scampers away at full
skaven speed into an open back field.
Mad Johan: Wow,
you don't get to see it much but even linerats can accelerate
quickly.
Lord Summervale: Inspired,
Pak takes out Payne and sends him to the dug-out.
Arson
drops back and tries to stop the nimble linerat, but he can't keep up
and gets tripped up and falls. He gets ups and chases the winded
linerat again, but the Beastman again tumbles to the ground.
Mad Johan: It
looks like Arson is going to be the goat for this game.
Lord Summervale: Really.....
With very little time left in the game, Nipper runs in for the touch
down. The skaven fans go crazy!
Mad Johan: That
was exactly what the Skaven needed to do this half. What makes it
worse for the Chaos Goat Herders is that the turn-over was an
unforced error. I don;t know who is more likely to be sacrificed to
the media and the Chaos gods tomorrow.... Malice or Arson?
Lord Summervale: Maybe
both!
The
two teams line up for the kick, but it would take a miracle for the
Chaos team to score. Murder retrieves the kick.
Mad Johan: Asquith
Kneecapper seems like he wants to make and example out of someone
and smashes Fodder to the ground, stunned.
Lord Summervale: Violence
gets into the back field and Murder hits him at long range, but the
beastman drops the ball.
Mad Johan: You
really need to catch those in this league.
Lord Summervale: Favre
scrambles forward and scoops up the ball. At this point the game is
essentially over even though there is time on the clock.
However, Favre
dumps it back to Bashy who catches it. He then steam rolls forward
and blasts Grafitti... sending him to the dug-out. With that the
game ends.
Mad Johan: What
a bunch of unnecessary showing off and violence at the end of the
half.... Nuffle would be pleased.
Lord Summervale: With
that, we have a new Princess Owayanna Healing Spring Bottled Water
Tournament Champion! Congratulations to the Skaven Rat Packers led
by team captain Favre Da' Cheesemonger! They win 1 to 0 over the
Chaos Goat Herders.
Mad Johan: This
is one of the few teams remaining from the old Deep North- Southern
Regional Conference and their veteran nature really helped them
overcome some adversity this tournament. They barely squeaked out a
win against the Ork Skulsmash Reeverz and then lost their only
Blitzer to injury. Despite that, their offense managed to overcome
these drawbacks.
Lord Suumervale: Indeed,
now Favre and his team can add this Chamionship trophy to their
locker room, a season long supply of Princess Owayanna Healing Spring
Bottled Water, and the tournament prize money.
Looking
back at the game, who do you think were the MVPs of this championship
game?
Mad Johan: Well,
let's look at the Chaos Goat Herders first. No one really stands out
as they had a really strong team effort. It is easier to point out
who will be reviled by fans, press, and the gods tomorrow. However,
I think Brisbane Skullthumper did his job very well, Grafitti took
out one of those Gutter Runners early by leading a stomping party,
and Payne's goal line stand all stick out in my mind. I think the
MVP for the Chaos Goat Herders is going to be.... Payne.
Lord
Summervale: Sounds like the key, positive plays for the Chaos
team came in the first half. How about MVPs for the Rat Packers.
Mad Johan: This
is easier to choose. The Gutter-runners went out early in this game,
and that left space for other players to step it up. You have to
include Nipper for his last minute touchdown drive miracle, Favre Da
Cheesemonger for his scrambling and passing, and Bashy came back with
a vengeance this game to stiffen the Skaven line and really lead the
team.
I have a feeling
Favre and Bashy will get their chance to be MVPs int eh future, but
how often does a lowly linerat get to be the MVP instead of a
casualty? I'm going with Nipper.
Lord
Summervale: With the inaugural Tournament complete, what do you
expect to see develop in the Deep North- Southern Regional Conference
now?
Mad Johan: This
conference has a great fan base and a diverse population. Therefore,
I expect it to keep growing with more teams and more great games of
Blood Bowl. I mean, after this Tournament you have to think the
Chaos Goat Herders and the Rat Packers are in a position to lead the
Conference to the Championship. However, The Dark Elf Black Guards
and the latest addition to the League the Elf Supremes will change
things up as we go forward.
Overall, I expect
more big hits, more incredible scoring drives, and great Blood Bowl
action.
Lord
Summervale: With that, let's rejoin our Cabalvision IV studios.
Thanks for joining us for the final championship game of the Princess
Owayanna Healing Spring Bottled Water Tournament. Thanks to our
other sponsors as well; Bloodweiser and Gullotine Razors. Until next
time, this is Mad Johan and Lord Summervale signing off!