MUSIC CITY KINGS [GM FRANCHISE]

[GM Franchise]

Got it! I'll talk to the investigators and then get back to you when I'm done. It's likely a misunderstanding but I'll get to the bottom of it. I'll let you get back to practice.

—-

Princess, can you send in the lead investigator of the Windy Mills suspension case. Let them know I'm interested in the current progress of the investigation.

[Talon]

   

GM Franchise, Special Investigator Reese here.   I can't divulge much as this is an official criminal investigation, but I can tell you that Mr. Mills has cooperated fully so far.

[GM Franchise]

Copy that. Was just checking on the progress and I'm glad to hear he is cooperating fully with your investigation.

[Talon]

 

   

While I've got you here, what do you know about a player of yours and their charitable contributions? 
I have heard about a Sydney Slinger and her recruiting teammates to sponsor different outreach programs, but so far I haven't found much about the actual programs themselves.

[GM Franchise]

I just know about The Slinger Foundation being a charitable foundation but not about what specifically it does nor about the programs it funds. I haven't looked into yet which is why the team hasn't donated any money to it as of now.

[Talon]

 

   

Thank you, that's all I had for now.  Take care.

[GM Franchise]

Have a good one.

—-

Princess, can you send in Windy Mills back in please, thank you.

—-

Okay I talked to the investigator and this should all be over with once his investigation is concluded. You should be good once that happens. Just be patient, this should be over soon and with you fully cooperating I feel you should be good once it's concluded.

[Talon]

 

   

I hope you're right. I'm not built for prison, man.

[GM Franchise]

I hope I'm right, too. The last thing I want to see is any player on this team going to prison. You hang in there and we'll see how it goes once their investigation is completed.

[Talon]

   

Thanks boss. Fingers crossed.

[GM Franchise]

All we can do is hope for the best. I'll let you get to things.

—-

Princess, can you send in Coach Hill please, thank you.

—-

Coach, great job this week. We really took over the last half of the game even after the Barger injury. The run game and the defense both looked really solid overall too which bodes well for us the next two weeks before our bye week.

[Talon]

   

At least we have two easier opponents right now while we wait for James to recover.

[GM Franchise]

That is true but nothing is easy in this league and I'm not overlooking anybody especially with my past history of bad luck both here as well as in the FBL. We win these two games and we're looking very strong heading into the halfway point of the season. Best thing that happened to us was unleashing the run game at the right time. Ever since then it's added a new dimension to the offense and taken us to the next level.

[Talon]

 

   

Agreed

[GM Franchise]

Let's get aggressive. Don't take the foot off the gas pedal, show no mercy. Let's pad our division lead before we face Charlotte next week.

Player rotations: Mostly starters
Playcalling: Coaches Decision
Game Plan: Coaches Decision
Strategy: Coaches Decision

Lock in.

[GM Franchise]

Firstly that loss wasn't pretty. Scoring only nine points in a game we held our opponents to 12 points makes this loss even more maddening. We held their run game in check and Carrier had 18 tackles. That was the highlights for us. Having two interceptions and only three third down conversions did us in. We have to be better. Just because Barger is out injured doesn't mean the scoring should stop. I'm honestly baffled by what happened. We have to be better and we will be better this week.

It's good to have Windy Mills back. I'm glad that he was cleared of all charges and can happily move on from this issue. However having an ongoing investigation into other parties in the organization isn't good at all. Between this and having one more game with Barger out isn't a good combo to have right before a bye week. We also have Charlotte coming to town and I want a big divisional win for this team before we go on our bye. Right now that's my focus and that's our goal for the week. After that we can all party on Broadway at my usual hangouts but before that a victory is what we have to accomplish on the field.

[Talon]

   

Jefe, that was brutal.  One bright spot though was seeing McWhorter get nearly 80 yards in his return.  We need him to continue to develop to take pressure off of others, orale?

[GM Franchise]

Definitely for sure. That was the whole reason I drafted him. The guy is going to be a star, he just needs time to develop. Hopefully that's the only time we have a game be that brutal like this game was this season.

[Talon]

 

   

Charlotte needs to be a get-right game.  We need to right the ship and have momentum going into the Miami game before our bye week.  We get to the bye at 5-3 and we'll be in a good position.

[GM Franchise]

I agree about that. Barger being out is a bad thing for us. If he was playing this week I guarantee we'd beat KC and win this game but unfortunately that's not in the cards for us. The Miami game is going to be huge. This game is huge too for division tiebreakers later in the season. Strategy and tactics are going to be big in the game this week.

[Talon]

 

   

I am grateful that Miami is not in our division, that is for sure.

Anyways, for Charlotte.  Division game we have to win.  They are only 1 win team, but I see lots of talent scattered around the roster.  We should be confident we will win, but can not let anyone be comfortable.   With Barger down and so much confusion about the legal stuff right now, it might be a good time for a speech this week to try to boost morale.

[GM Franchise]

I am too. They're an elite level organization and I'm hoping this organization at some point reaches that level of respect around the league in the future. I agree about the speech. I think this is the perfect week for it and it's much needed with everything going on.

[Talon]

 

   

Cool.

[Talon]

 

   

We can save the speech for next week if you need to, but we're ready when you are.

[GM Franchise]

Yeah I'll save it for next week after the investigation is completed. I think it'll be much more important to do when that happens because that'll be the time when the team needs it the most.

Player rotations: Mostly starters
Playcalling: Coaches Decision
Game Plan: Coaches Decision
Strategy: Coaches Decision

Lock in.

[GM Franchise]

This week was not good at all. Three interceptions from Pond ruined any chances we had of winning that game and that's the bottom line about that. Two first half pick sixes were way too much to overcome. The fact it wasn't worse was a bright spot. Having two lost fumbles didn't help either. However there were positives. Peerless Adams was the offensive player of the game and Jamie Barger threw her first touchdown pass. We also only had one penalty to their ten and we had more first downs than them. This was a frustrating loss especially considering we could've won this game. The good news is James Barger is back this week and this game against Miami is huge. This is one of the biggest games in the history of this franchise. GM Gates said we have had our struggles and that is true but I don't have that give up attitude. Miami is an elite level franchise that has an Impact Bowl championship and is a perennial powerhouse in this league. I'm treating this game like it's a huge deal. We need a win this week and I think we can prove a lot of doubters wrong by doing exactly that, winning this game. This team can and will win, we just have to play complete games to make it happen. I'm confident we're on the path to greatness. We take it one week at a time because there's only one thing to do now. Win the whole thing.

[Talon]

 

   

Not a good showing, but 1 game back from first in the division.. we're still alive.

[GM Franchise]

We're definitely still alive but Pond is an absolute liability at quarterback when starting. I'm hoping we don't have to go that route again the rest of the season after the last two games.

[Talon]

 

   

Agreed.  Back up QB is probably the most under appreciated position in the league.

[GM Franchise]

The good news is Jamie Barger showed some fire after taking over which was a good thing. What was your assessment of her performance? The reason I'm asking is that I'm highly likely promoting her to QB2 but I wanted to talk to you about that first considering I agree about back up QB being highly under appreciated in the league.

[Talon]

 

   

I dont think we have a good choice for QB2 right now, but Jamie might be our best bet without going outside of the locker room we currently have.

[GM Franchise]

That is true. I'll make that a priority this off-season. I thought Pond would be great for it but that definitely didn't work out how I thought it would. I'll do the team speech this week too. The investigation hurting morale is something I want to put by the wayside this week.

[Talon]

 

   

That's a good idea. Hopefully we get some answers soon so its out of everyone's mind.

[GM Franchise]

Agreed. It's making me paranoid and OCD about the impact on the team. Straight up I should be the only one paranoid about it not you or the other coaches and the players. I'll address it this week and hopefully it motivates the team. I am the first owner and GM in the WBS. I can definitely handle this. I just hope the players buy into it because they're the ones who play not me or you. They're the key to the whole thing.

[Talon]

 

   

Orale Guey.  Players play.

[GM Franchise]

That's very true. I'm probably overthinking it but at the same time it's effecting morale so it'll have to be addressed at some point in all scenarios. Only players I'm worried about are the ones being investigated being distracted which could lead to issues in the game. So let's head to the practice field, I'll address the team, and then we'll lock in after that's all done.

[Talon]

 

   

Oh no, I was agreeing with you boss, You said you want them focused because they are what wins games not us; and I agreed.  Players play, so we need them at their best.

[GM Franchise]

Agreed, been a busy week. Let's go to the practice field so I can address the team and let's lock in after that.

—-

*GM Franchise and Coach Hill head out to the practice field. GM Franchise motions for the players to come over so he can give his speech which they do.*

"Okay so we've had a rough few weeks. We've had everything from injuries to an investigation going on. However there's a long season left and we still are in contention not only for the division title but the playoffs. The elephant in the room is the investigation that I mentioned earlier. I don't want this to distract us from the goal at hand which is winning games. This thing has been going on for weeks but it should be over soon just like our losing streak. James Barger is back from injury and we're playing Miami who is trading their players like they're bags of chips at a typical school cafeteria. Why? Because they're scared! What are they scared of, you ask?"

*GM Franchise points to the team.*

"You, they are scared of you all just like every other team in this league. You are the ones on the field making this franchise a contender week in and week out. The players and coaches here right now can beat any other team in this league. I believe in you, the fans believe in you, and you'll make believers out of everyone else soon. Let's light a fire that will burn the whole league to the ground on our path to ultimate victory in the Impact Bowl in a few months! The only thing left to do is win the whole fucking thing and price all of the experts wrong. This is our fucking season to show everyone that we're the present and the future of this league! No one will ever forget how menacing you are! You are lions! Do you know what's waiting for you at the end of this season? Immortality! Take it! It's yours! Let's go out there and show why we are the Kings because in the end we will be ruling the league!

Let's go Kings!"

Player rotations: Mostly starters
Playcalling: Coaches Decision
Game Plan: Coaches Decision
Strategy: Coaches Decision

Lock in.

[GM Franchise]

This was a tough loss. They shut down our passing game and having three fumbles losing one didn't help. McWhorter had a good game and we held them to under 100 yards rushing which was good but nothing clicked after we were up 13-3. Anderson and Carrier were great with ten tackles each but this is a game we should've won. The good news is that the investigation is over with none of our players getting sent to trial. The bad news is we lost and Burnett wants a trade. That's disappointing to hear. However we're on a bye when the trade market is heating up. Let's see what I can get done. After this we need wins, period. This is a team that should be fighting for a playoff spot not in last place in the division. The tidal wave is coming for this league. We're heading straight to the top and there isn't anyone who can stop us.

[Talon]

 

   

I am going to say this to you in private and it is not to alarm you or to make a big fuss, but there are a lot of players rumbling and whispering on whether or not we made a big mistake committing to Barger.   It has a lot of people feeling like if he's going to be the end of this team's success...

You're the GM and I'm just the coach I know, but you might have to make a real consideration of trying to amnesty him this off-season if the owner allows it.   ...I hate to throw a player under the bus like that, but we can't afford to have a guy like Peerless Adams request a trade because he doesn't trust the QB.

You know what I mean?

[GM Franchise]

Good to know and I legitimately was thinking about that with him being injured again. He's kind of fallen apart this season but last season he was fire. I don't know what happened but it isn't trending upward at all. I could possibly look into a trade if another team was willing to do it but not getting my hopes up.

[Talon]

 
 

   

I trust you to do what is right, just wanted to make sure we were on the same page with our concerns.

[GM Franchise]

We definitely are. I wasn't concerned about this issue until this last game. I know Miami is good but we outplayed them most of the game and could've won it but it wasn't in the cards. Only having 121 passing yards is not ideal in a game that big.

[Talon]

 

   

Not at all.  This offense deserves a QB who can take the game by the cajones, and squeeze.

[GM Franchise]

Exactly and if we don't have that then that's the priority. Both him and Pond dropped off. Replacing them next season is my current priority. Adding to the lines on both sides of the ball is the other thing on my agenda. I think we're in good shape everywhere else now that the run game has picked up over the last few weeks.

[Talon]

   

Orale Guey.

[GM Franchise]

Alright so we've got a long term game plan. Let's lock in and enjoy the bye week.

Lock in.

[GM Franchise]

At the mid point of the season, discuss your division and your placement in the standings.

"We're back after our bye week which was a recharge for us after the last three games. Right now we're last in the division with a 3-5 record and only our opponent this week Myrtle Beach has a winning record out of the teams in our division. That means we're still very much alive with some victories and with us playing the Mastodons this week if we win we're back in business. We're playing good but just not winning with points on the scoreboard. Having a -41 point differential and losing three in a row doesn't help. However with a win this week we'll be right back where we should be and need to be to make a playoff run. I believe in this players and the coaching staff."

Are you where you want to be and what is the biggest surprise for you so far this season?

"No, I'm definitely not where I need to be or should be. We've had a rough patch and injuries haven't helped matters much. The biggest surprise was the win over Myrtle Beach. We had everything clicking finally for us then came the Barger injury and the losing streak. We need to repeat our performance against them this week in order to get back into the hunt."

Who is your MVP at mid-season and why?

"I'd say the MVP is tie between Adams, Ryan, and Ishikawa for the main reason that they all three have kept us in games every week with clutch catches. They're a big reason why we've hung in games and kept things close even in the loses."

How would you grade your head coach after your first 8 (or 9) games of the year?

"The grade I would give is an A. We've done the best we can under the circumstances every week and it's been more of bad luck than anything this season but then again I'm a magnet for that in my tenures as GM in the HIFL. We can overcome this and turn this into a great season. I'm confident in that happening the res of the season. We just need some momentum and we'll be good to go."

[Talon]

 

   

No way around it, if we want to win this division, we have to beat Myrtle Beach.

[GM Franchise]

That is a fact especially after Atlanta got a tie. We beat them in the last game and we'll have to repeat that performance to win. Barger is going to be the wild card again.