1. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
To be honest I'd say this is a very different reality than many predicted for these playoffs. Short of going through each prediction I doubt many had the Pride going beyond a round or two, let alone reaching the finals. No knock to their team, but they've had a string of bad luck and poor performances since adopting the new team name and logo. It's good to see all that hard work pay off. Likewise to the Rage, many predict them to do well, yet they seem to disappoint every year. It's good to see the effort they've put in yield fruit. In the "most likely scenario" alternative reality I imagine we'd see the reigning champs return to the final as the eastern champion and a long overdue return to the finals by the New Orleans Specters as the western champion. These guys have made the playoffs for 7 straight seasons since entering the league and only made the finals once. In their inaugural season.

2. Written, 3 TPE (150 words min.)
A round of applause to the casino team for putting together the odds every season. I'm not sure what their algorithm is, but it seems quite fair, especially given the random nature of the STHS beast. If I were to assign odds for next season, especially given the switch to FHM, I'd have to go off sheer TPE volume as that's really the only indicator in a new simulation era. With that in mind New England would become the favorite and have the best odds of winning. On the flip side Toronto has the lowest TPE total and would have the worst odds of winning. Given recent success, or lack there of, it seems unfair to give the best odds to a team that didn't even make the playoffs, but it's difficult to gauge who will succeed and who will falter with the new simulation engine ready to drop in S53.

5. Written, 2 TPE (100 words min.)
From Manhattan I'll take the safe pick in Luke Thomason. They have a number of solid players including Barret McCarthy and Peter Larson, but Thomason has proven to be a strong two way force in this league and has been in the discussion for several awards already, most notably the Jeff Dar. On San Francisco I'll take the dynamic forward Piotr Czerkawski. He already has a goal scoring title under his belt and a nomination for MVP, so it's safe to say he's no stranger to dominant seasonal performances. Both of these guys are leaders are their respective teams and I could see them in the hunt for a Mexico in the near future. Potentially as early as next season.

14. Written, 5 TPE
1. No knock to Grapehead and DaftRaincloud, but the edge here definitely goes to Jaywhy and Luketd. Having been a member since 2015 I've seen my fair share of users and JayWhy is one I've encountered many times. He's put in time in literally every position available in this league and done so with tremendous effort so I can't imagine the GM position being any different. Toss in the sheer dedication of Luketd and you have an incredible pair. They'll take every step necessary to improve their odds in this one.
2. I'd favor the top heavy approach used by San Francisco. Depth is great, but you win or lose on the backs of your best players in this league and that especially rings true on the offensive side of the puck. That being said if their top two lines don't match up with the top two lines of Manhattan it could all be for not. Regardless they'll put the responsibility on their top guys as they should.
3. Agreed, both are dead sexy, although not as sexy as that beautiful fox up in Edmonton. Between these two though I'd take the bull out in Manhattan. The bold red color, the fierce black border and the empire state building at the neck of the bull is a beautiful touch. Definitely one of my favorites and a huge improvement over the "bear" they used to rock.
4. On San Francisco my favorite is definitely Cleo Green. Whenever I read it I can't help but imagine CeeLo Green struggling against professional hockey players. It doesn't help he has like 200? TPE. On the other side my favorite name on Manhattan would have to be Backdoor Barnacle. Honestly I wasn't even aware this was a player until I checked the index and I'm glad it is. Dude gets zero ice time, but can you imagine if a guy with a name like that light up the scoresheet regularly. I'd have a chuckle.
5. Hmm, that's a tough one. I'll take the Gritty meet-and-greet with Luke, although I'm curious about this chainsaw lesson. Does JayWhy instruct you, or is it like a group lesson you're taking together? Anyways the opportunity to meet Gritty AND Luke in the same day?! I'll take that any day of the week, sign me up!

17. Casual Member Special, 3 TPE - sent.