SEASON 44 PREDICTIONS/PREVIEW

THE WEST

1.(unanimous) San Jose Fighting Amigos 8-2, First place in Season 43...lost in Finals to Philadelphia
Biggest losses: forward Blue "Rondo" Alaturk retired after missing most of previous season to injury.
Major additions: rookie forward Cam Caldwell will start at small forward
The skinny:Addressed need at starting forward and added depth with rookie guard Cha-Cha Bamba. Big three of YourMajesty Lumpkins, Dayshotta Leo and All-MBA center Hunk R. Down are back. Biggest question is whether forward Egg Yolk Carpaccio can continue his improved play from last season's playoffs. Should be able to fend off Sacramento and Los Angeles for first in the West.

2.(unanimous) Sacramento River Dogs 4-6, Fourth place in Season 43
Biggest losses:Point guard Con Gusto to free agency
Major additions: 6-5 point guard "Great" Gruncle Terry, top rookie point guard in draft; return of veteran forward Pap Smearz lost to injury last season.
The skinny:Could this finally be a playoff year for the R-Dogs? Nabbing Terry in the draft to lead the offense and the return of Smearz makes Sacramento starting lineup a solid one. Back-up guard Peeshie Pooshie, acquired in trade, should help off the bench. And if center Tree Fiddy can have his second straight injury-free year, coach Frankie Pantangeli's boys could finally be invited into the post-season after years of "waiting in the lobby." If they don't make the playoffs, it will mark a 10th straight year of futility and require a dice roll for possibly changing the franchise city.

3.(unanimous) Los Angeles Big One 4-6, Third place in Season 43
Biggest losses:None
Major additions: Guard Norman Conquest, defensive stalwart and top free-agent guard in draft.
The skinny:Conquest replaces league-leading rebounder Steve Carter in the starting lineup, just as the latter is starting to show his 16 seasons. Seven-foot forward Tomm Foolerie will replace seven-season starter Walter Sobchack at forward, which should at least add more rebounding. The Big One is a deep, deep team that has the potential to make the playoffs and even finish atop the West. There is almost no chance they will finish lower than third.

4.(unanimous) Seattle Stampede 2-8, Last place in Season 43
Biggest losses:None
Major additions:Rookie center Seven Castanza and rookie two guard Potatoes O'Gratin, both upgrades to starting lineup.
The skinny:Improved its roster somewhat since last season, replacing half the squad. Scoring will still be a problem for the Stampede, which finished last in the league with just 67.5 points per game. Also last in defense (82.1 ppg yielded), improved only slightly there.

5.(unanimous) Oklahoma City Lariats 5-5, Second place in Season 43...lost in Semi-finals to Philadelphia
Biggest losses:All-MBA forward and team MVP Bang-Bang Reiner(19.0 ppg) to free agency; league-leader in assists, guard Mel A. Noma retired.
Major additions:Back-up center, 7-foot rookie Dupa Yashu
The skinny:Another re-vamped roster with 5 new players, there will be no big surprising season like last year's for the Lariats, who will see league-best four straight playoff appearances come to an end.

THE EAST

1.(Dave-1, Tyler-2) Chicago Gale 7-3, Second place in Season 43...lost in Semi-finals to San Jose
Biggest losses:Three-year starter and defensive mainstay, guard Norman Conquest to free agency.
Major additions:All-MBA forward Bang-Bang Reiner (19.0 ppg) and excellent-looking rookie two guard, 6-6 Lannigan Lord Hobo.
The skinny:Gale has not had back-to-back playoff appearances in eight seasons, but along with Philadelphia, look like the cream of the crop in the East. Forward Bang-Bang Reiner was runner-up to league MVP Chip Battoe last season while leading surprising Lariats. He sends 19.5 points per game scorer Bill Cull to the Chicago bench, losing no scoring punch and adding defense. Rookie two guard Hobo is a big, strong rebounder and point guard Lapiz Lapiz Boligrafo has added accuracy to his already-potent 3-point shot of last season. Chicago surprised everyone by jumping into the playoffs last season, but this year they are aiming for the whole enchilada.

1.(Tyler-1, Dave-2) Philadelphia Phobia 9-1, First place in Season 43...Won it all!
Biggest losses:Longtime stalwart center Diss Reflexia (14.7 ppg), MVP of Playoffs.
Major additions:Top defender and league-leading assist man (tied) forward Wawa Wewa in trade with Charleston. Rookie forward Cheetah Vajajay further adds to depth.
The skinny:They return all but center Diss Reflexia, but added strong team player Wawa Wewa to a team that lost just two games all season and won the 16th championship for this proud franchise. 6-11 center Carga Larga is a more-than-capable replacement in the middle, and the team defense, a league-best 67.0 per game yield, should be just as good. With the retirement of Naf Naf, fifth-year point guard Colquitt Croix will battle Los Angeles second-year guard Dr. Marcus Brody for the distinction of the league's top man at that position. Croix could finally win his first scoring title.

3.(Dave-3, Tyler-4) Charleston Mountaineers 5-5, Fourth place in Season 43
Biggest losses:Three starters...Hall of Fame guards Naf Naf and Beezow Bop-Bop retired, forward Wawa Wewa traded to Philadelphia.
Major additions:Four of five starters replaced...included is top-rated rookie forward, 6-9 Frog Morton.
The skinny:The league's youngest roster looks nothing like the 10-0 powerhouse of two seasons ago, but they will enter the campaign in better shape than expected after a 50 percent revamp. Center J.J. Gargantuan is one award away from being the league's only active Hall of Famer, but he did not have a good go of it last season and has regressed some more in the off season. Almost no prayer of out-distancing Philly and Chicago for a playoff spot, but could be interesting team.

3.(Tyler-3, Dave-4) Dallas Demons 6-4, Third place in Season 43
Biggest losses:11-season veteran forward, "Mr. Dallas," Matthew Vanden Boogart (16.2 ppg) to retirement.
Major additions:rebounding behemoth and league's biggest player, 7-2 GoToo Grot, acquired in trade with Sacramento, will replace General Horseplay at center.
The skinny:Just missed playoffs last season with fine 6-4 record. Had a piss-poor draft and failed to fill in forward hole left by Boogart. But they still have sensational league MVP forward Chip "the Crip" Battoe, who will move from big to small forward this season. Could surprise, but doubtful.

5.(unanimous) Milwaukee Greyhounds 0-10, Last place in Season 43
Biggest losses:forward Flip Testerton, team's top rebounder, to free agency.
Major additions:6-7 rookie point guard Fatty McButterpants who will immediately become focus of team's rebuild; free agent point guard Con Gusto from Sacramento who adds depth.
The skinny:Revamped 0-10 roster of a season ago by 50 percent. Should win a game or two, but getting out of the cellar will be a chore.

Season 44 MBA Draft

* Note...although not marked, Frog Morton on Charleston is a rookie
--under the line are players added in addendum cut pile draft to fill out rosters

This marked the first ever premium pick draft in which each team gets one time in the draft to actually designate which player they are attempting to draft rather than all players being drafter randomly. (PP next to player's name means they were that team's premium pick).
Each team rolls prior to first-round pick. If they roll a "1" they get a premium pick. They name the player and if they roll a 1 or 6, they get that player. If they roll a number not a 1 or 6, they name a second player and continue to do so until the premium pick has been made. In this draft, if you did not get a first-round premium pick, you automatically get a premium pick in the second round.

BEST DRAFTS...BEST TO LAST
1. Chicago Gale...snared two quality players, getting the No. 1 overall ranked pick in the draft, All-MBA forward Bang-Bang Reiner, with a late random pick and one of the top rookie guards in Lannigan Lord Hobo with its premium pick. Both will be starters.

2. Charleston Mountaineers...picked up two starting forwards, including top rookie forward Frog Morton as well as Flip Testerton and the draft's best rookie center Sabado Gigante, who is starting quality but will initially back up J.J. Gargantuan.

3. Milwaukee Greyhounds...nailed down one of the top rookie guards, Fatty McButterpants, with the first pick in the draft, a random one. Then added quality guard Con Gusto with premium pick. Should win a game this season.

4. San Jose Fighting Amigos...upgraded a starter spot with highly regarded rookie forward Cam Caldwell and added rookie game sensation Cha-Cha Bamba with premium pick.

5. Sacramento River Dogs...Struck gold with first premium pick in MBA history by naming and getting the top rookie guard, Great Grunkle Terry, who upgrades the starting point guard position for the R-Dogs and makes them instant playoff contender.

6. Los Angeles Big One...Upgraded starting two guard position by grabbing top free agent guard in the draft, Norman Conquest, who makes the Big One a very dangerous team in the West.

7. Oklahoma City Lariats...Added no starters in the draft, but did pick up a superb back-up center in 7-foot defensive rookie pivot Dupa Yashu.

8. Philadelphia Phobia...defending champs did not need much, but still added a nice piece in rookie forward Cheetah Vajayjay, who will come off the bench.

9. Seattle Stampede...Last place team in West added two rookie starters, both upgrades but neither near top of newcomers class in guard Potatoes O'Gratin and center Seven Castanza. The center was a pick traded from Sacramento in the Pap Smearz exchange the previous season. That trade included Seattle getting forward Bougainvillea Hedge, who was the team MVP for Seattle last season. Seattle also gets one more draft pick from the Smearz trade next season.

10. Dallas Demons...on the verge of greatness last season, took step backward with this draft. They added a starter, but needed a premium pick to get him, longtime solid bench player and well-known hacker, guard Louie Subgum.

RATING THE PREMIUM PICKS
1. Guard Great Gruncle Terry of Sacramento, rookie starter
2. Guard Norman Conquest of Los Angeles, starter
3. Guard Lannigan Lord Hobo of Chicago, rookie starter
4. Forward Frog Morton of Charleston, rookie starter
5. Guard Con Gusto of Milwaukee, solid backup
6. Guard Cha-Cha Bamba of San Jose, solid rookie backup
7. Forward Cheetah Vajayjay of Philadelphia, solid rookie backup
8. Guard Potatoes O'Gratin of Seattle, rookie starter
9. Guard Louie Subgum of Dallas, starter
10. Forward Morton Clown of Oklahoma City, putrid rookie backup

MBA Season 44 Rookie Game, Cut Pile Improvements, Trades

Cha-Cha Bamba, rated the No. 4 guard and overall 8th best player of the Season 44 rookie crop may be moving up a few notches after lighting up the tremendously entertaining Rookie Game for 40 points tonight, clearly capturing Player of the Game.

Playing mainly the two guard, Bamba went 13 for 17 from the floor, popping in 3 treys in 6 attempts and going 11 for 12 from the foul stripe in his eye-opening performance. He scored 22 points in the first half with Fatty McButterpants guarding him and 18 in the second half with the top-rated rookie guard defender "Great" Grunkle Terry (the top rated rookie) taking him on.

The home team, Team B, led for most of the game until the balanced attack of Team A finally took over in the final quarter in this squeaker. The rookie showcase saw both teams shoot over 60 percent, with the winning team flashing the ball around with 17 assists.

In addition to Bamba, all of the other 20-plus GVP performances came from the winning team, with center Dupa Yashu, forward Cam Caldwell and forward Cheetah Vajayjay all turning in excellent games.

A few cut pile players were sparingly used when forced rests and foul trouble necessitated. They were: forwards Baldy McGrindy and Atticus Finch and guard Cat Timol.


CUT PILE IMPROVEMENTS
Fourth-year guard Cat Timol, already the top guy in the cut pile, looks ready to rejoin an MBA roster after one season with the dregs. Timol improved 3 times. He improved his dribbling to a 7 and his passing to a 6 while also improving his tendency to shoot the medium shot, his best shot, to the maximum 3-6.

The other cut pile guy with major improvement was 6-11 center Shits McGriddle, entering his 12th campaign. McGriddle, who already defends the shot well, improved twice in that area, adding a block on 3 and a deny on 7.


TRADES MADE FOLLOWING THE MAKING OF THE ROOKIES

-- Sacramento traded second-year gigantic center GoToo Grot, the league's biggest player at 7-2, to Dallas for third-year guard Peeshie Pooshie, Both were back-up players last season.

-- Charleston sent fourth-year forward Wawa Wewa, who last season became the first player in MBA history to lead the league in assists, to the defending champion Philadelphia Phobia.
In return, Philadelphia sent Charleston back-up guard Red Reparee, a slick passer entering his fifth season, third-year 6-11 forward Shwayze, who spent last season as a back-up, but scored 13.7 per game his rookie campaign.
Additionally, Charleston will get Philadelphia's first pick in the upcoming draft, while Philadelphia will get Charleston's last pick in next season's draft (Season 45).

SEASON 44 ROOKIE RANKINGS

Although there are no apparent superstars in this Season 44 rookie class, at least 12 of the 16 newcomers should be solid contributors in their careers with 6 or 7 of them looking like they could make immediate impacts in the league. A trio of excellent, good-sized guards make that position stand out, and all three centers have a good looking future with four forwards showing starter potential depending on where they land in the draft.

Here are the rookies according to the combined rankings of Tyler and Dave

1. 6-5 guard "Great" Gruncle Terry (D-1, T-1) Top-ranked guard has size, great defense, rebounding and ball-handling skills. Solid shooter.

2. 6-6 guard Lannigan Lord Hobo (D-2, T-2) 2nd-ranked guard rebounds like a center and is even a better shooter than Terry. Skilled passer to boot.

3. 6-9 center Sabado Gigante (D-4, T-4) Top-ranked center can score from everywhere especially short and down low, where he is a beast. Tendency to foul.

3. 6-7 guard Fatty McButterpants (D-5, T-3) 3rd-ranked guard is tallest of all and best ball-handler of a great bunch. Brilliant in paint and down low.

5. 6-9 forward Frog Morton (D-3, T-7) Top-ranked forward is also the biggest. Brilliant shooter from medium, short and low. Great passer. Good defender.

6. 7-0 center Dupa Yashu (D-6, T-5) 2nd-ranked center is biggest man in the draft. Outstanding defender, shot blocker. Not a great rebounder for his size.

7. 6-6 forward Cam Caldwell (D-10, T-6) 2nd ranked forward may even be best. Dangerous from short and low and a good defender and ball-handler.

8. 6-0 guard Cha-Cha Bamba (D-7, T-11) 4th-ranked guard in a deep guard group. Ball hawk has quality attributes in multiple areas. Weak 3-point shooter.

8. 6-7 forward Reed Lemur (D-9, T-9) 3rd-ranked forward is the best on defense at his position. Decent shooter except down low. Weak rebounder.

10. 6-6 forward Cheetah Vajayjay (D-11, T-8) 4th-ranked forward hard to place. Great around bucket but loves to shoot outside where he is sub-par.

11. 6-8 center Seven Castanza (D-8, T-14) 3rd-ranked center among trio of good pivots. Son of MBA original George is best rebounding center but a hacker.

12. 6-4 guard Potatoes O'Gratin (D-12, T-10) 5th-ranked guard is astounding 3-point shooter who can't get that shot off. Worst ball-handler of lot.

Unlike the above dozen rookies who are viable players, these last four rookies , especially the last three, will likely end up in the cut pile.

13. 6-8 forward Glen A. Taylia (D-13, T-12) 5th-ranked forward is not totally horrible, although he does nothing above average.

14. 6-6 forward Motown Clown (D-14, T-13) 6th-ranked forward is lone lefty who is quick and good ball-handler but has too many gaps in his shooting.

15. 5-10 guard Po' Simpkins (D-15, T-15) 6th-ranked guard is smallest newcomer who is an atrocious outside shot and just an average ball-handler. No D.

16. 6-2 guard Chai Walla (D-16, T-16) 7th-ranked guard lives to foul. Life in the cut pile awaits.


FURTHER DRAFT NOTES

There are at least 9 free agents worth taking, with former Rookie of the Year and last-season's All-MBA forward Bang-Bang Reiner the main prize of the lot.
Guards Norman Conquest and Con Gusto along with freaky-good rebounding 6-5 forward Flip Testerton.

Next five are decent players and last four, Broccli Boy, Indo Kazak, Piggles Huckster and Pombazo will struggle to make any team.

Season 44 Free Agents Announced...Draft order and trades aired

As you can see by the list, Tyler teams came out almost scott-free as far as free agency goes, losing just one starter and 5 total players.
Dave teams lost 8 players, including three key starters.

Four major players will be leaving their respective franchises. In order of importance,, they are:

1. Bang-Bang Reiner of Oklahoma City
2.Norman Conquest of Chicago
3. Con Gusto of Sacramento
4. Flip Testerton of Milwaukee



The following list is the Draft preview for Season 44, which includes the order of picks, plus the needs of each team listed next to their names.
Above a team's name is any traded picks they will either receive or give away, and below the number of the pick are the teams they may have received from another club.






As you can see by the above list of trades from last season, Sacramento will still be getting a pick from Sacramento in Season 45
Did not come out too good on scan since pages are stapled and not flat on scanner.
So here's the translation for those trades that involve draft picks

Chicago trades McCool and 3rd pick to Seattle for Boligrafo

Philadelphia trades Noma, McCoffee and 3rd pick to Oklahoma City for Zagobia and Larga (Philly will not get a third pick this coming season, so Oklahoma City is screwed)

Seattle trades Smearz to Sacramento for Hedge and either
A. Last 2 picks in Season 44 if Sacramento has 4 picks in Season 44 (which they do not)
B, Last pick in Season 44 and second-to-last pick in Season 45 if Sacramento has 3 picks in Season 44 (which is the option that will take place).

MBA Post-Season Team Stats...Playoff MVP...New Hall of Fame member...Regular Season MVP and Rookie of the Year

PLAYOFF MVP DISS REFLEXIA...PHILADELPHIA



47TH MBA HALL OF FAME MEMBER...GULEMON MON-MON



REGULAR SEASON MVP AND ROOKIE OF THE YEAR ... CHIP BATTOE, DALLAS