Update:
Late yesterday afternoon, the NCBL’s Director of Social Media Joseph Davola Beelen XXXII posted a Tweet that updated the general timeline of the NCBL as we move closer to the start of the 2021 season. There was a lot of information packed in the 50-word, 269-character (nice) Tweet, which I, Shaun Keay, am about to break down for you in even further detail…
– feb 28 deadline: 5 teams opted OUT of 2021 season
The update starts with an announcement that 5 teams officially opted-out of the 2021 NCBL season. At the NCBL Winter Meeting, teams were given until February 28th to decide whether or not they were in or out, and 5 teams ultimately opted-in of opting-out. It was not referenced who those 5 teams were, but I was able to reverse engineer (because I’m an engineering graduate) the probable tier breakdown and figure out who those teams were:
- The Kanata Athletics
- The Kingston Ponies
- The Delorey Pirates
- The LOWERCASE capitals
- The Suspended Knights
– March 2: Ottawa public health published new guidelines to follow
On or around March 2nd, in response to the NCBL’s original plan (well, technically it was Craig’s plan) to blow a bubble, play the bubble, pop the bubble, quarantine away from the bubble, and then make a new bubble, Ottawa Public Health penned an ‘Open Letter to the Community’ renouncing their support for any plan that resets leagues or bubbles, even after an extended quarantine period between games.
The NCBL promptly threw the Craig Plan away, as well as the plan to temporarily rename the Tiers the Urbina, Ichiro, Ivany, and Uecker divisions, and began working tirelessly to come up with a schedule that satisfies all parties concerned.
BIG SHOUTOUT to everyone at OPH (-DO, SB, and of course Bruce) for making sure the NCBL is as safe as it can be!
– March 15: opted IN teams presented with new format/scheduling plan for 2021
This past Monday, the NCBL released a revised plan (aka the Joe Plan) that once again splits the Tiers into bubbles, but this time with the understanding that these bubbles may remain intact all summer long. The plan does have a few opportunities to expand if, and only if, the government regulations eventually allow it (and obviously with OPH’s blessing).
The Joe Plan > The Craig Plan
– March 19 deadline: for teams to opt IN/OUT of NEW 2021 plan.
With a new scheduling plan came a new deadline for teams to opt-out of the 2021 season, and that deadline is 2 days from now. If things stay the way they are, and they are expected to, the SweatSox will be placed in a 4-team bubble with the Misfits, Winchester Heat, and Los Cubanos.
It should be a fun bubble, although my idea for a 2-team bubble where we only play the Rockets 24+ times would’ve been fun too. A few SweatBubble notes:
- Roster sizes in our bubble will be capped at 12.5 players per team (good thing Eric helped us out here and cut himself down to a .5 this offseason)
- Peter
“Pickles”“The Darkness” Gauthier has agreed to opt-out of all Misfits games vs the SweatSox. - After an undefeated season in 2020, Team Cuba is the odds-on favourite to win the bubble.
- The SweatSox won’t have to worry about travelling out of the city a bunch of times this year because per Winchester Public Health, all Winchester Heat home games must be played in Ottawa, preferably Kanata.
BIG SHOUTOUT to everyone at WPH (-NP, MW, and of course Edgar) for making sure the NCBL is as safe as it can be!
#ncbl
Finally, a Tweet doesn’t become official until you close it by hashtagging your own handle. Upon review, this NCBL Tweet has been deemed official.
#sweatsox
Final “NCBL Tweet from Yesterday” Notes/Thoughts:
- The NCBL Tweet was posted from an iPhone.
- The NCBL Tweet was posted at 5:32pm
- It’s no coincidence that Joe’s favourite wrestler is Stone Cold Steve Austin and he posted this Tweet on March 16th (3/16).
- This was the 7th true NCBL Tweet of 2021.
Yours,
Shaun Keay
