Black List Details

This list will be updated as we come across cheaters.

1nFaMoUs - Abbrev: 1nF Jerseys: Washington Capitals - Div 1 Rank 4 - 584-59-26*

Flying Hindus - Abbrev: WWF Jerseys: Filthydelphia Phantoms - Div 1 Rank 35 - 526-59-15* (glitches non stop, accuses us of juicing? Says my 86 speed and Shoe's 80 speed was 95. Right.)

Grocery Store Beer - Abbrev: GSB Jerseys: Rochester Amerks - 3 goals on 5 shots - fast as hell ridiculous shots. dicks. the usual.

Montreal Wolves - Div 3 Rank 24 - 304-96-15*

Pure Garbage - Div 1 Rank 39 - 427-33-17* Abbrev: 1pg Jerseys: St. Louis Blues (juicers)

Purple Cobraz - Gay - Div 1 Rank 13 - 529-47-17* Jerseys: Manchester Monarchs

seansheans mom - Div 2 Rank 48 - 268-78-12* Jerseys: San Jose Sharks (hardcore glitchers)

THE MOB - Div 1 Rank 49 - 994-349-69* Abbrev: MOB Jerseys: Lappeenranta Saipa(quit out against teams better than themselves)

The Vultures - Div 3 Rank 92 - 250-126-30* Abbrev: VUL Jerseys: Toronto Maple Leafs (juicers, coktar had 2 goals in the game I played against them, I had a hat trick and I scored from my own end on their awful goalie)

UHL Elite - Div 1 Rank 20 - 1199-177-51*

Well Worth it - Div 4 Rank 72 - 430-159-43* Jerseys: Nashville Predators (glitchers)

XxDREAM TEAMxX - Div 1 Rank 9 - 1134-160-48* Abbrev: xXx Jerseys: North Stars (Juicers and glitchers! Fun!)

*Record obtained though cheating/bitching out.

Black List

I've added a new section on the left that we'll update with teams that "cheese" or glitch or what have you. These are the ones off the top of my head. Post a comment with any that you come across.

Latest Update News From EA

"Hey everyone… just wanted to drop a quick note before the holidays.

As you all know NHL 08 won seven Sports Game of the Year awards and now NHL 09 is on its way to eclipsing that mark. As of last week, NHL 09 has won 6 awards for Sports Game of the Year including the prestigious Spike TV award where we edged out Madden and Fifa.

NHL 10 is now fully in production and I’m sure that you’re going to love what we have planned. I can’t go into details quite yet but I can say that we’ve been reading your feedback and incorporating as much as we can into our plans.

The EA Sports Hockey League continues to run strong although we’ve been made aware of a cheat that allows users to boost their attributes and gain an unfair advantage. This cheat is undermining the integrity of the EASHL. We’re currently exploring all of our options. We will have an announcement early in the new year that will disclose our next steps. For now, we will leave it to the GM’s to police their teams.

Hope everyone has a great holidays.

Sean (Ramjamsingh)"


NOTE: The 99 attribute glitch is a cheat. Even though I know none of our players use this cheat, I have to warn any TPB AAA players found using this exploit will be removed from the team.

Congratulations

Congratulations to jrkrush2112 and zero2113 for achieving their A- status long enough to earn their legend card and extra attribute points.

I also earned the A- after 419 games...

The best way that I have found to get the A- is to play very very good defense with few turnovers or to play center and win over 65% of the faceoffs for ten games in a row while averaging a point a game.

Single Defenseman Tips

Working with a computer Defenseman can be tricky. They tend to get burnt so you can't rely on them. You kinda have to pretend it does not exist most of the time.

2 on 2 situations with a computer D is actually a 2 on 1 situation. That means you have to take the open man and leave the goalie take the puck carrier. I try to make a quick "faux" move towards the puck carrier very early to either force a pass or hopefully push him out towards the boards. Then I go back to the open man to take away the pass.

I found the best place for the computer D is in front of the net to help stop the cross crease passes. Again the D is easy to get around so I often set my defensive strategy to protect the net.

The computer D is a great back door play when you don't have a passing lane up ice.

"Streaking" plays are more successful at times with a computer D because the player who's streaking can call for the pass. A human player will have a problem passing to the streaking player because the AI influences the pass to the closest man.

Tips and tricks, etc.

In light of hearing that we've slid down the slippery slopes of mediocrity (division 12!), I have compiled a list of things to do to not suck :-)

Most of this post is complements of crveza81, perhaps with a few comments of my own afterwards.


"Rebounds are the best way to score. It's a lot like the real NHL, to be honest.

Cross crease passes work well, but I agree, doing it all game is retarded. In real life, the goalie would cut off 98% of those passes, even if the other team is too retarded to adapt and play defense.

Shots still work, if you place them right. Top corner doesn't work to often, too easy for the goalie to glove it. Going 6-hole, over the pad, under the glove or blocker works quite well.

Also, if you have time, which isn't very often, you can do a little fake with the skill stick, just move the puck a bit, and get the goalie to go down, and rip it upstairs. That's not the glitch where you walk in from the corner or anything.

Also, the standard glitch stuff, like getting the goalie off the post, etc, but I hate doing that.

Oh, also, using defensemen as screens works quite well... not talking about blasting it from the point when there's 6 bodies in front, those almost never get through (rightfully so), but if you're on a 1-on-1, or find the puck in the slot, shooting it through the legs works quite well. It gets blocked sometimes, and sometimes the goalie makes the save anyways, but time it right, and you might sneak one by him.

When playing with computer players, we don't all need to just auto-call for the pass the second they get the puck. I'm guilty of this as well, and it certainly leads to a ton of turnovers. It just seems like an instinct for each person to call for it, even if it makes no sense for them to receive a pass, and it's not always the best play.

The other thing, is breakouts. I think, the way some teams forecheck and pick off passes, and most specifically, the way teams line up at the blue line, backcheck, etc, I think we need to move it fast.

The D needs to make a fast pass to a forward, but that means the forwards need to be in position. General breakouts in the NHL start with the wings on the boards at the hash marks, and usually the center curls low in the zone. The d-man plays the puck to an open winger, the curls in that direction, towards the puck, and the winger can then skate it, or dish it off to the center, who generally will be skating fast.

If we can do that, we can avoid running into 2-on-2s where we have trouble gaining the blue line."

Solid post.

Some of my own thoughts:

When the forwards carry the puck into the offensive zone, one of a few things usually happens:

1) The forward with the puck somehow manages to feed it through 3 defenders to the other guy streaking to the net, scoring chance.

Analysis: awesome when it works. However, it rarely ever works if the situation is not right.

2) The forward with the puck tries to pass it through three defenders, and is easily picked off. The opposing team's forwards streak down the ice, while our defenders are streaking into the offensive zone. Easy 2 on 1 or 2 on 0 for the opposing team.

Analysis: happens too many times in a game.

3) The forward with the puck (usually on the wing) drops the puck back to the point on the strong side. From there, the defender either makes a good play, or immediately winds up for a soon-to-be-blocked-breakaway-opportunity-for-the-opposing-forward slapshot.

Analysis: defenders, I understand that you'd like to have a little contribution to the team's offense. It's fun to score goals and get points. However, remember that your #1 priority is to stop opposing goals from happening. It's not a glamorous job, nobody ever said it was. Your greatest contribution to the team comes from being solid in the defensive zone, which includes making good breakout passes. If you play good defense, the offense will come.

In a lot of games I play, there's times where I know that passing back to the point is the best option, but I won't make the pass if I don't trust the defender back there. Too many times have I passed back, only for the defender to turn the puck over for an easy breakaway goal for the other team. If you want the puck, be certain to make a good decision with it.

In addition, there's no need to constantly call for the puck at the point. Point, point, point, point, point... yes I see you at the point on the other side of the ice. Just because there is nobody in a 10 feet vicinity of you, does NOT mean you are open. There are most likely forwards cutting off the passing lanes like they should. If you are open and I trust that you will make a good decision with the puck, I will pass.

Another thing I shouldn't even have to say: defenders should not be leading the rush or streaking down the ice on a defensive zone faceoff. But I digress.

4) I don't remember the 4th. But believe me, it was going to be good.


Another note to defenders: the defender on the weak side should be the last one coming in the offensive zone. There's no need to get there ASAP, as it is most likely that you will not be open when entering the zone. Staying back and trailing the play ensures that at least 1 defender will be back in the case that we turn the puck over in the offensive zone. Again, it's not glamorous, but it's good, smart hockey.

I admit, I've been trashing defensemen too much. They don't deserve all the hate. In the few games I've played D, I wasn't very good. It's not easy, and you get little credit for the good you do. Forwards deserve some attention:

crveza made great points about the breakout. No need to repeat them. Some points about moving the puck in the zone:

• Everyone loves to score goals. Where do you go to score goals? the front of the net. Where do the 2 forwards without the puck go when the puck enters the zone? the front of the net. How many do we need there? just 1. It's not necessary to have 2. The first one there is okay in front, but the trailing forward needs to get open elsewhere. The points are usually off limits to forwards, so where else to go? Behind the net is a great option. Cycling the puck around is a great way to get defenders moving around, which leads to more open space.

• The cross crease is a great way to score goals in this game. It's a high risk, high reward play that often isn't worth the risk. If you can, take some time to assess the situation. You might find that you have more time than you thought. There should be a few choices once you're in the zone:

There should be a defenseman open behind you.
There should be a forward open somewhere. If the pass across isn't open, the other forward should have found a way to get open.
Putting the puck to the net is never a bad idea either.


Yada, yada, yada. Can't think of anything else at the moment.

Division 14... Discuss... ting

Please refrain from playing like the Islanders.

Apple Juice is Delicious

I juice. You juice. We all juice. In one form or another everybody juices.

My juice of preference is apple juice although orange juice is a close second.

However, last night my fellow amigos and I were accused of juicing after dominating the first 4.5 minutes of an EASHL game. I admit it... I had a bottle of apple juice with me while playing the game... See the first piece of evidence Ex. A. If that's juicing then I'm guilty.

Anyway some background information first. Syniper, WookieNaas002 (see Ex. B & C), zarley zalapski, and I found ourselves playing another team of 4. Cool.
The puck drops and zarley of course wins the faceoff. We proceed to dictate play for the next 4 minutes with the other team not even getting a shot on goal. Zarley made a great pass to a wide open me and I perform a carefully planned and flawlessly executed spin move in the slot (read: I accidently spun instead of shooting into the open net.) which resulted in a low shot to the far post. The goalie kicks the puck out right onto Wookie's tape who buries it top shelf.

I was stunned. Zarley was laughing histarically. Syniper was probably tripping somebody in celebration. They were also clearly stunned and they left like bitches. So I proceed to message the 4 of them "Dicks."

Syniper then gets the messages back as usual in which they accused us of glitching, juicing, and sucking. So the war is on and messages are flying back and forth. They continue to call us juicers which prompts me to dust off the laptop to look up this juicing concept. It's good for kidney/colon detoxification.

We looked up the team (THE MOB... how original) and they were a Division 1 team ranked 67th. Their record is 805-331-64*. That record gets an asterisk because they decide to only play the games they can glitch uncontestedly in. Therefore they quit against teams that aren't half retarded.

So after many humorous and illogical messages from the other side, one of their players apologized and explained juicing. It is apparently a great way to make homemade fruit drinks and a way to glitch your players into having 99 stats in everything. Gay. Now clearly this team glitches due to the fact that their top player has 1120 goals in 901 games. Wonderful human being KC THE PRODIGEY has 898 goals in 617 games but they bitch at us about scoring a legitimate goal? Give me a break. We would have beat them any day of the week.

When a 5'6'' grinder scores his 16th career goal and 29th career point in 50 games... you aren't as good as you think you are.


And one backstrom moment to send you off. Syniper leads the team in backstroms and he turns in a solid performance here as well. But he's as dependable as it gets on the backend and you'd be hard pressed to find someone better:

easports world was not cooperating so i had to use this format

Defensive Hockey ( After Update )

Defensive Hockey Equals Successful Hockey!

The New Goal Line Exploits
Players are attempting to work the puck deep in order to attack the sides of the nets.

• Players attempt to skate along the goal line and shoot top shelf as soons as they reach the net. The goalie often falls to stack the pads leaving top shelf vulnerable.
  
• Players attempt to skate along the goal line and then curl up right before the net. The shot is short side because a comp goal tends to come off the post for a brief moment.
  
• Players attempt to do wrap-around shots or the even more effective.. "slap-arounds." A slap-around is when a player curls around to the front corner of the net and does a quick top shelf/ short side shot.
  
• Cross crease is fair play but often is exploited by legends. Playmakers with high passing rating is very successfully at passing to a sniper who camps low corner slot.
  
  

Defending These Exploits

Entering the Defensive Zone

Defencemen:
Most cases the D should be forcing the play to the boards. It is important that the D stay in between the carrier and the net, If player is coming down left wing, try to stay between 4-5 o'clock.

Wingers:
If you find yourself chasing, attempt to work towards the middle. Do not attack from behind. Work towards the slot side of the face-off circle. This allows for a quick power turn towards the boards for and outlet pass or to intercept a poke check.

Centers:
Attack the puck carrier. Try not to chase, attempt to take away angles and outlet pass.


Defending Deep in the Zone

Defencemen:
It is important that the puck side D stay in between the puck carrier and the net. The other Defenceman will need to be ready to properly time a body check on the open man in front of the net. Be careful!!! A early body check does not give you enough time to recover if the person you are attacking has good balance and offensive awareness. If you want to use block shot to stop a pass, make sure you are not in position to deflect the puck in. I advise against using the steal pass option because it often fails. Warning... Both defenceman should never be behind the net.

Wingers:
Puck side wingers should try stay in the circle area to take away passing lanes and also be open for outlet pass. If puck carrier manages to approach the net, you may need to attack. The opposing winger should to be ready to properly time a body check in front of the net. Be careful!!! A early body check does not give you enough time to recover if the person you are attacking has good balance and offensive awareness. The opposing wing should be aware of the puck carrier who attempts the wrap around by cutting him off behind the net.

Centers:
Centers should be attacking the puck. Go where the puck is going to be... Don't chase. Attempt to trap instead of attacking at the same angle.

Overall:
Stay in your positions. Take away passing lanes. Take out the campers before they get the pass in the slot. Don't be behind the play... think ahead. Stop the man cutting to the net along the goal line. Pass quick to get the puck out of the zone asap.

Happy Birthdayblog

In order to start off my posting here at tPB AAA in the classiest way possible (as it's sure to degrade quickly), I would like to make a special announcement:



Today happens to be the birthday of tPB AAA's own Mr Pockets 12.

If you run into him in the next while, please do (not) hesitate to wish him HBD. wooooooooo


Pockets, the team and I scraped some funds together and got you a present. Enjoy!If

Cheat Code!

A cheat code was leaked today that allows your online skater to get that elusive A- so you can earn that legend card that is so difficult to achieve. Syniper will leave a testimonial in the comments as to how this code worked for him and now he is fast enough to catch those silly cherry pickers.
The code is:

xe6377uyrwm48frf

> This is the third jersey code nothing more. Sorry to disappoint. <

So just enter that code on the NHL Code entry screen and you will earn all of your attribute points and look great doing it.
But remember there is no E button on the Xbox360 Controller. And while watching porn, coktar does not find the black guys attractive.

The Duel

EA SPORTS World: the duel

Random Videos

No theme today just videos
Didn't know this was possible.

EA SPORTS World: netsayshewlnah

What a dump.

EA SPORTS World: NEW VIDEO

Eric P's first career, overtime, and game winning goal. What a clutch performer.

EA SPORTS World: NEW VIDEO

zarley zalapski with the overtime winner.

EA SPORTS World: OT WINNER

Some random videos from random users

EA SPORTS World: Unreal Overtime Goal - 1sec Left to the Game - This was Top10 Oct 24/08

EA SPORTS World: Broke the net ? lol

Demolition

AMC taking a page out of Barton's Book...

EA SPORTS World: NEW VIDEO

The Hunt

The lion stalks his prey... then strikes!

EA SPORTS World: NEW VIDEO

And the winner is...

Team Free Candy!

And now the trophy presentation:

Team Free Candy defeated Team Billy Tibbets last night by a score of 2-0.
Congratulations to zarley zalapski, syniper, sh0e8, rjpucla, and Mr Pockets 12. A shout out to Free Candyman who was on injured reserve for the tournament... you were in our hearts.

The series was a hard fought, conservative, defensive series
with only 4 goals scored in the entire Cup final.

In the first game, through two period the score was 0-0 then in the middle of the 3rd , zarley zalapski found himself in the slot with an open shot and he buries it blocker side to take the lead. The lead would stick despite a late rush and shot off the post by Team Billy Tibbets.

The second game was once again 0-0 after the first period. Early in the second, Mr Pockets 12 took the puck behind the net, swung around to the far post and attempted to pass it across crease to zarley zalapski who was open for a shot. The pass went off of YanM82's stick and through the goalies legs for the first goal. Kinda like this:


Shortly after that crveza81 decided to show up and, through a partial screen, sneaks one in short side to tie the game. Then in the 3rd period, after some constant pressure by Team Free Candy, syniper made a great pass to Jason Sandhu. Since Jason Sandhu is a computer and therefore terrible at shooting, Mr Pockets takes the puck off Sandhu's stick and shoots it glove side for the eventual game winner.

Now onto the MVP award:This award goes to crveza81.
He dominated the tournament, scoring at least 5 goals in the first matchup of these two teams. He, at my last count, had 10G 4A in the tournament. Post your stats crveza and I'll update it.
He's still a jerk.

In all seriousness the tournament was a lot of fun when games were actually being played. We had too many people commit to playing and then not show up. The new tournament coming to a theater near you will be much smoother. Details are coming.

We'll try again...

Ok so we are aiming for tonight to be the end of the tourney. Team Billy Tibbets vs Team Free Candy - 9 p.m.

scott22372, crveza81 (jerk), YanM82, EnsErmac, and Rednib be on at 9 p.m.
zarley zalapski, sh0e8, syniper, rjpucla... 9 p.m.

The new tournament details will be posted tonight. It will hopefully run much smoother.

To the Pensblog Pros - We'll assemble an all star team of sorts because we we are aiming for being extremely embarrassed as opposed to being utterly destroyed.

Ridiculous.

Completely off topic but I don't care.





UPDATE: We'll try for tomorrow after the Penguin game or Wednesday evening to finish the tourney.

The Pensblog Cup Finals

We will have the Finals Tonight of the Pensblog Cup which will feature Team Billy Tibbets vs. Team Free Candy.

The next tournament will proceed much smoother due to slight changes in the format. More details will be available on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Is tonight at 9 be acceptable for both teams?

Day Five kinda

Team Man Jam must have all of their games made up by tomorrow. They will otherwise forfeit their games so we can get this tournament finished.

There will be changes for when we due this next time due to commitment issues with some of the players and teams.

Get on and play everyone.

Day Four + Backstrom Moments

I decided to include standings to see how the teams are doing so far:
There were some close, competitive scrimmages played after the Cup games. They were a lot of fun even if FFBarton is a bastard.

Backstrom Moments:

Syniper gets the headline today for this performance:

EA SPORTS World: VIDEO14

This is a good Backstrom moment. Pittsburghler scoring his first ever shootout goal, game winner. This was during a scrimmage game as well.

EA SPORTS World: VIDEO13

Possibly my proudest moment:

EA SPORTS World: VIDEO12

I meant to do this:

EA SPORTS World: VIDEO11

I wanna see someone else accomplish this. I am very proud of this as well:

EA SPORTS World: VIDEO10

Leave feedback etc. I more than likely will not be online tonight and my team will be unavailable for Cup competition due to sh0e and I having prior commitments (read: Penguins tickets bitches!).

Team Man Jam: Get online tonight after the Pens game and play!!!!!!!!!!

Day Three

Day Three of the Pensblog Cup had only 1 game played. It was a close fought, defensive battle between Team Rehab and Team Free Candy. I wish the matchup would have been a 5 or 7 game series due to the intensity and fair and even play both teams exhibited in the series.

Team Man Jam and The Bread Line are severely behind in their games. Let's see if we can correct that tonight.

Captains try to contact your team to figure out what time would be best to start a game tonight. Leave a comment about what time you guys would like to start tonight as well.

How bout that game last night... One of the best regular season games I have ever seen.

Day Two

The Bread Line =


Once again they failed to play their first round game with Team Man Jam which is unfair to the Man Jelly. Wait not man jelly. Whatever.

We enjoy the positive feedback about the tournament even though it hasn't exactly been smoothly. And I'm glad you're having fun raping the competition crveza...

Bunch of games tonight, we'll get as many in as we can after the Pittsburgh vs. Detroit Game.

After the First Day

The first day did not go quite how it was supposed to.

Only 3 full teams showed up to play their scheduled 3 game series.

Only Team Rehab and Team Billy Tibbets played their first round series which resulted in a pair of hard fought, 2-1 victories for Team Billy Tibbets.

Team Alternate did what I expected and failed to show up. Only rjpucla showed up from the team. So Team Alternate will be replaced with a BYE.

The Bread Line =
They will play their first round game tonight against Team Man Jam at 8 p.m. The teams can play sooner if everyone gets online. I was going to give The Bread Line a Loss for last night but it would not have been fair to Pittsburghler and DarkJustice.

The Bread Line is on probation however. The updated schedule is here. We will attempt to get two rounds in tonight.

Alexander Seminblog - fun little fact I found on his wikipedia page:
Gold.

Tourney Begins Tonight

How to reach the created rooms:

• Go to the Xbox Live section, then go to the community. Next press A on the Lobbies. On the next screen scroll all the way down to the bottom and there will be rooms with the name "tpb" and enter the appropriate room.

Glitching:

• There will be NO GLITCHING. If someone glitches and scores, there are two options. The other team can pull their goalie and allow 1 goal to be scored to even it up. Or you can disregard the goal and pretend it never took place.
• Glitching includes: the wrist shot glitch (floater etc. No slap shot versions either).
• Everything else is fair game.

Overtime/Shootouts:

• In case of overtime, the 4-on-4 will play out as normal. In the case of a shootout, the shootout will continue until all human players have had a chance. After that point, if it is tied, the shootout will be over rather than let random computer players end it.
• All the players will return to the room and they will start a new game. The first team to score wins it. It will be like overtime.
• I repeat - if it is tied at the end of the human player shootout, a new game will be started that will act as overtime.

Everyone should be online by 9 p.m. Good luck.

Tournament Back On For Tomorrow!

I lied earlier and the tournament will proceed as scheduled for tomorrow at 9:15.

The EA problem is still there but we found a way to work around it.

Everyone must be in the room created by your team captain to get it to play properly.

Try to be online by 9 p.m. Try to let everyone know the tourney is still going to take place.

Tournament Final Details

UPDATE: THE TOURNAMENT WILL BE ON HIATUS FOR THE TIME BEING DUE TO TECHNICAL PROBLEMS WITH EA. THE CREATED ROOMS ARE NOT WORKING PROPERLY THUS TOURNAMENT CANNOT GO ON AS SCHEDULED. This will be the schedule to start out with. First round games are at 9:15 p.m. Be online by 9 p.m. to get everyone organized and coordinated. This is the trial run for this so have patience as we try to figure everything out.

Organizing games:

• Captains will be in charge of gathering the troops for battle.
• Instructions will be sent to each captain on how to set up a game. If there are any problems, Mr Pockets 12, zarley zalapski, AMCcity424 all know how to set it up and will be happy to help. Zarley gets cranky so beware.
• The two captains of the teams set to face each other will meet in the club dressing room before the game. That is where you shall decide who makes the room etc.
• An idea (which you will vote on below) is to change the name that will appear on the back of the jersey to your gamertag name. This would be to easily identify opposing players by their known persona on Team Pensblog. Ex. My name is Zach Boslett. But nobody knows me by that. They know me by Mr Pockets. So when I would go down and score on you and it says Zach Boslett you would not know who it was. If it says Mr Pockets you would know who amazed you on the goal. Or how to get him back. It's an idea to throw around. Vote on it below:

Quick game story: zarley zalapski, scottrandomnumbers, syniper and I had the pleasure of playing a game against a bunch of annoying ass little kids yesterday. The results are below:

Photography is from a cell phone taken hastily so don't give me crap about that.
Some key points:

• 4 shots total from the opposition. All were slapshots entering the zone.
• 159 hits from the opposition. They would send all 5 players after one player, leaving the other 4 with a 4-on-0 breakaway. They interfered every second of the game constantly laying people out behind the play, ahead of the play, in front of the net etc.
  
• zarley zalapski figured in on all 11 goals, breaking the team record (7) for goals in a single game.
• scott also had 6 points in the game (1G 5A).
• For how much shit they talked you'd think they would have performed a little better or at least left.
  

Final Roster etc.

Team Alternate is comprised of 6 players because Firebird is questionable with an xbox injury and the rest of them might or might not play.

When would all of you like the tournament to start?






















If you have any problems or issues with the times or dates leave a comment and we'll see what we can do. Leave a comment even if you don't.

The Big News: The Pensblog Cup

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this took longer than expected to announce but nonetheless here it is.

I am pleased to announce that a intrasquad tournament will be held in the coming weeks that will be called The Pensblog Cup (creative title eh? I made it up myself believe it or not). The tournament will consist of anywhere from 4-6 teams made up of members of Team Pensblog. The number of teams depends on the feedback we receive from the members. We look to try to hold this monthly or semi-monthly with the current title holders names on display on the blog for millions dozens of people to see every day.

Format and Rules:

• A round robin format meaning all teams will play each other.
• Each matchup will be a 3 game series to ensure that getting jobbed will not cost you too much.
  
• The top two teams will play a 5 game series to determine the winner.
• In the event of a tie during the tournament, the 2 teams that are tied will play a 1 game playoff to determine who will play for the cup.
• The tournament will take place over a 3 or 4 day time frame.
• The date and times will be decided by what is best or close to best for everyone or mostly everyone.

Registration:

• Registration will begin immediately. Email me at zboslett12@yahoo.com if you are interested in captaining a team. The new members of Team Pensblog will be included in the next competition but I stuck with the regular, dedicated players to make up the first roster.
• The team name "Free Candy" is already taken.
• The gamertags listed in white are "free agents."
• Captains, talk to your fellow team members and try to organize into teams. Email me with a team name, who is captain, and team members gamertags.

I hope this was worth the wait. We are excited about this and hope we have full participation. More details will follow as we figure them out along with updated rosters.


UPDATE: Team Billy Tibbets added and team E added

NHL 09 Patch

Thank god:

Hi there, David Littman here.

We are in the process of putting the patches up for both the X360 and
the PS3.
PS3 Europe has already gone up, and PS3 North America and both X360
patches should be up within the next week or two.

First and foremost we have fixed the "dirty disc" message issue that
some people are seeing on the X360.
For the PS3, we have fixed the issue where there are sometimes white
flashes or flickers during gameplay.
So, if you have seen one of the above, you will be happy to know they
are fixed with the patch.

For most people though...the important fixes are in gameplay.
We have listened to all of you, and we have played the game ourselves
every day. While we couldn't make every fix that you asked for because
of time constraints, we did fix most of the big issues, and also
improved gameplay to be more authentic.

• The jersey on the EASHL side select screen is more visible than
  the team logo. This will make it easier for people to see when jersey
  colors clash
• Deking controls normal when shooting downscreen with "Always Up"
  controls
• Checking has been tuned so you will see less big hits from guys
  that aren't traditionally known for hitting
• Less CPU AI one-timers
• Increased the height of dump ins, for a better dump and chase
  game.
• No more goals from flip dumps
• Better CPU AI logic near offensive blueline so they don't go
  off-sides as much
• CPU goalie will not drag the puck back toward himself in a
  shootout
• We have fixed the goals from outside shots that people are
  scoring. We have reduced shot accuracy when on the rush and when turning
  quickly, and from far out. You will now have to be more conservative
  when shooting on the rush. If you aim all the way to the left or right,
  your shot will go wide a lot more. Try aiming more towards the middle to
  hit the net from outside. This fixes the cross goal where you shoot back
  the other way, and the goal that goes in with the "curve" animation, and
  a few others. There's a reason NHL players don't shoot from outside on
  the rush very often. Dumping or trying to set up is a better play unless
  you have an odd-man situation.
• We reduced the time it took to get control of the goalie by 1/3.

• When line changes are set to auto, and a user changes
  lines/defense manually between whistles, the line/defensive pair you
  asked for will come out (or stay out).
• If you have line changes off in Be a Pro, line change player
  chatter will be turned off.
• When using a defenseman in BAP, BAP player won't get stuck on
  the bench and will be able to call for change
• The EASHL will now go to continuous 5v5 overtime until one team
  scores. This way nobody has to sit out, and you get to decide who wins
  (this is now just like the NHL Play-offs)
• The proper own-goal cut scene will be shown where the player who
  scored on himself is upset.
• All cut scenes should now show players sitting in their
  respective team's bench.
• Increase AI team aggressiveness and the likelihood of them
  getting called for a penalty on an infraction.
• If Vision Control is pressed, you do not throw a hit when in
  front of the attacking net. This helps with rebound shots.
• Increase the likelihood of a penalty if the stick hits the body
  during a stick lift.
• Reduce the accuracy of shots for penalty shots and shootouts.
  Aiming for just inside the post is a lot tougher now

Along with these changes we are still working on the server side of
things to make sure that the EASHL and online play is always improving.
Keep checking our website for more information on the EASHL play-offs.

Thanks
-David Littman

-From http://www.easports.com/nhl09/blog.jsp first seen on the PS3 team site. All I can say is finally.

-Big News coming late tomorrow-Friday for Team Pensblog Regulars. More info to come.

Roster Updates

So there have been some roster modifications today... namely removal of players that have played less than ten games in the one and a half or so months the game has been out. If you are a new player to the team we took that into account as was the case with P DUPUIS etc. If you have been playing regularly with the "regulars" you shouldn't have been "modified." If you have been removed and feel as if you have been wronged or insulted by this grievous offense, grow up and drop the gamertag in the comments and you shall be reinstated.


This is not a open team for anyone to join. This is a team for followers of the website thepensblog.com. If you are looking for a team to join there are plenty of teams around. If you are a pensblog follower for more than the past week drop your gamertag in the comments as well. Leave the gamertag and we'll message you.

Random Stuff

Team Pensblog has had a pretty rough past week or so. On Saturday or Sunday, due to about a 9 or 10 game losing streak, the team was in Division 9. Let me repeat that for you, Division 9.

Now the team has rebounded somewhat due to hard work by syniper, ZeroRandomNumbers, Zulu, ScottRandomNumbers, zarley zalapski(formerly assklown 666, 063), Free Candyman, LostDefender, DarkJustice, the prodigal son Meats A Hoo, and Yan.

Keep up the winning because for those of you who allowed that losing streak to take place, shame on you. Play some practice mode because you can't bring that weak ass stuff into this humby bumpy!

Aw Hell Naw!

Some research done by syniper (duff) on the seemingly random ranking system:
Ranking Rumors:

--------------------------------

you need about 4 wins for each loss to move up

on average wins = 20 points, on average losses = -70 points

---------------------------------

The more people playing in a game has an effect on the points earned/loss

---------------------------------

The grades of each player playing in a game has an effect on the points earned/loss

---------------------------------

A shut out has an effect on the points earned/loss

---------------------------------

"I have a theory. The computer player skill attributes are an average of of the human players. Perhaps the goalie attributes are averaged from our goalie skill points as well???

Do we all have our goalie skill points applied?"
--Duff

So just in case this is right (which it very well could be since our computer players always suck) apply all your points including goalie points just in case.

---------------------------------

Team Pensblog AAA official marketing slogan has been announced. They have decided upon an eloquent phrase that really captures the nuances of the sport of hockey. The new slogan is: "Aw Hell Naw!"
It figures to be popular with fans and players alike.

--------------------------------

Everyone on Team Pensblog AAA click me now.

This game (along with the epic fail of last night by the Pens) is crushing my soul so I'm taking a couple days off to recuperate.
Go win some games.
Aw Hell Naw!

Backstrom Moment Part 3

Not much writing for this one because it is 1:49am and I have a 9:00 class...

Video 1: Proof this game hates me.

EA SPORTS World: no goal

Video 2: Legame doing what Legame does.

EA SPORTS World: legame

I actually meant to do that.

Video 3: Proof that I suck at this game.

EA SPORTS World: VIDEO7

Video 4: Poke check. Bitches.

EA SPORTS World: VIDEO8

Video 5: Zero's goaltending prowess. Back to back shutouts. Amazing stuff. Good thing he didn't face more than 6 shots in each game.

EA SPORTS World: VIDEO9

Leave any videos you feel are Backstromy enough to post. Those of you still needing to be added to the team leave a comment and you will get added only if you are active and will actually play the game. We have many people who have played less than 5 games online. Those people who have been inactive will be removed soon. If you are removed and you feel you should not be then leave a comment. EnsErmac i know you have xbox problems don't worry.

Bull

It has been a frustrating week or so for Team Pensblog. Nothing is going our way and we are dropping like a rock despite the fact that we are staying about 30 games over .500.

Some of you out there have asked for a poll or two so here you go...






Vote or don't vote. I don't care. Let's get online and play some games. And preferably win...