Daniel Dolinski's Blog, page 2
October 9, 2020
Weekly Faction Forecast: October 12 to October 16, 2020
We closeout this week with the final two matches in the Quarter Finals. Brendan Meyer put up a fight against Adam Collins with a tied score of twenty-five points in the final round. They each correctly answered three questions in overtime but on the fourth question, Brendan stumbled and Adam took the win for Korruption. Both Ethan and Tom managed to pitch a perfect Round One, but Tom fell behind as he went to multiple choice for most of his questions in Round Two in the category of 70’s Movies. Ethan was perfect in the category of Cate Blanchett and stole a point. Ethan ended up winning in the final round with a score twenty-three to twenty-one.
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Liz Shannon Miller vs Adam Collins will be available for patrons at the $5+ tiers on Monday, Tuesday for the $2-tier, and made available for everyone on Thursday. With Adam missing only one question in every match in Round One, has an accuracy rate on 93%, and has TKO/KO three out of his four matches, he should have plenty of confidence that he’ll be in the finals. However, Liz will have to make him earn his win since she took out William Bibbiani, Chance Ellison, and Rachel Silvestrini.
On Friday, we’ll get Erwin vs Sneider II and this could destroy each competitors’ faction. Assuming the winner goes to the Finals and Spectacular, the competitor who loses would eliminate, at most, fourteen points (six points in the tournament, five points at Spectacular, and three points from potential TKOs/KOs) from RoxStars or The Usual Suspects’ Faction Threshold Range. (See graph down below). If Jeff wins, The Usual Suspect will have a high-threshold of forty-three points and will be knocked out of the race, based on current information. If Ethan wins, RoxStars will have a fifty-five point threshold and will still be in the race but they’ll be hanging by a threat.
Three announcements were made this week:
Grae Drake will make her long awaited return to the Schmoedown facing Sassy Stacey Howard in the undercard for the Teams Title Match and, assumingly, it will be worth two points.All Title Matches at Spectacular will be worth five points.Kevin Smith’s next match will be at Spectacular against Brett Sheridan.
This gives several factions a chance to catchup or gain a greater lead. Unfortunately, there are several factions that can’t do either since they’re at the bottom of the rankings, but they can avoid coming in last place.
To give every faction the best chance possible, I calculated a Faction Threshold Range, which is the range of points for a faction in every match they will or possibly be in. Here is how to read the bars:
Current scores are the lowest set of values.The middle values are the forecasted values for each faction if they win all their matches without TKOs/KOs.The highest values assumes every match will contain TKOs/KOs.
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The idea is if a faction’s highest value is below another’s current score that faction is out of the points-race. Keep in mind, these figures are based on matches that have been announced and everything stated could change if more information becomes available.
The Den, The Dungeon, and The Burning Droogs are fighting for last place and are currently out of the points-race. As mentioned above, The Usual Suspects and the RoxStars might be joining them after Friday’s match. The Quirky Mercs still have a chance to catch the leaders as long as they win the Teams Tournament, the Teams Title Match with Korruption, and all of their Spectacular matches. The Finstock Exchange are really in trouble if they don’t start winning their matches.
Be sure to subscribe to the website to stay up-to-date with the Weekly Faction Forecast every Saturday during the season.
October 3, 2020
Weekly Faction Forecast: October 5, 2020 – October 9, 2020
The match between William Bibbiani and Liz Shannon Miller was intense. Bibbiani scored a perfect round one (all eight questions plus the bonus), but Liz managed to tie up the match while having Sport’s Movies after spinning Opponent’s Choice. Both were neck and neck until Liz answered her five-point question where as Bibbiani did not. She will face the winner of Adam Collins and Brendan Meyer on Thursday October 8, 2020 or October 5/6 if you’re a Patreon member.
The big story this week is Jeff Sneider taking The Finstock Exchange out of the Singles Tournament. In an earlier post, I stated that the leaders would have to be under forty-nine points in order for the RoxStars to win. While that limit has been changed to fifty-three due to the Horror Free4All and Sneider’s bonus point, The Finstock Exchange was the closest faction to surpassing that threshold.
Currently, Korruption and SWAG are the next biggest threats for the RoxStars. But there is some good news: at least one of Roxy’s threats will be eliminated by the Finals. Assuming Jeff Sneider is able to 1) defeat either Ethan Erwin or Tom and 2) win the Singles Tournament, here are the “Paths to victory” for the RoxStars during the remainder of the tournament:
Best Case Scenario:
FactionPointsKorruption46SWAG48The Quirky Mercs38RoxStars31Brendan Meyer beats Adam Collins and Liz Shannon Miller to face Sneider in the Finals
SWAG Scenario 1:
FactionPointsKorruption49SWAG51The Quirky Mercs32RoxStars31Adam Collins beats Brendan Meyer but Liz Shannon Miller advances to the Finals
SWAG Scenario 2
FactionPointsKorruption46SWAG51The Quirky Mercs35RoxStars31Brendan Meyer beats Adam Collins but Liz Shannon Miller advances to the Finals
Worst Case Scenario:
FactionPointsKorruption54SWAG48The Quirky Mercs32RoxStars31Adam Collins beats Brendan Meyer and Liz Shannon Miller, both with a TKO or KO
Three out of the four scenarios have Korruption and SWAG under the fifty-three point threshold. It is only the worst case scenario where Korruption will surpass that threshold, but The RoxStars could score two more TKOs or KOs to get them back in the race. However, in any scenario, one of them will be eliminated once Korruption or SWAG reach the Finals and give the RoxStars a chance to catch the leaders.
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Ethan Erwin vs Tom will happen on Friday October 9, 2020. This could go either way because despite Ethan being a former champion, Tom has higher Stats according to theschmoedownlive.com. It will come down to whether Ethan gets an animated or Disney-like category or a strength in Round Two.
[image error]Forecasts do not factor in any TKOs or KOs for accuracy purposes
The schedule to all of October’s matches have been posted on theschmoedownlive.com. As of this post being written, an undercard has yet been declared and could change this weekend. In my last post, I speculated that there might be more matches coming based on the start date of the Teams Tournament and there still receiving four matches a week. This has been change since we gotten two matches this week and it appears that will be the norm going forward.
Based on the dates left in the season, how they’ve structured the schedule in the past, and a bit of guess work, I think I have the schedule for the remainder of the year.
MondayTuesdayThursdayFriday11/2/2020
The Witching Power vs The Misfits
(Patreon $5)11/3/2020
The Witching Power vs The Misfits
(Patreon $2)11/5/2020
No Match
11/6/2020
The Witching Power vs The Misfits11/9/2020
Round One Teams Match 1 (Patreon $5)11/10/2020
Round One Teams Match 1 (Patreon $2)11/12/2020
Round One Teams Match 111/13/2020
Round One Teams Match 211/16/2020
Round One Teams Match 3 (Patreon $5)11/17/2020
Round One Teams Match 3 (Patreon $2)11/19/2020
Round One Teams Match 311/20/2020
Founding Fathers vs Winner of PIM11/23/2020
Teams Semi Finals Match 1 (Patreon $5)11/22/2020
Teams Semi Finals Match 1 (Patreon $2)11/26/2020
Teams Semi Finals Match 111/27/2020
Teams Semi Finals Match 211/30/2020
Teams Finals Match
(Patreon $5)12/1/2020
Teams Finals Match
(Patreon $2)12/3/2020
No Match
12/4/2020
Teams Finals Match12/7/2020
No Match
(Patreon $5)12/8/2020
No Match
(Patreon $2)12/10/2020
No Match
12/11/2020
Spectacular V
(PPV)12/14/2020
Spectacular V
(Patreon $5)12/15/2020
Spectacular V
(Patreon $2)12/17/2020
No Match
12/18/2020
Spectacular V
(YouTube)
This schedule is me speculating on whether we are getting more matches outside of the Teams Tournament. If we are, then there could be as many as three undisclosed matches left in the season. Personally, I doubt that would be the case and we just have the Teams Tournament and Spectacular V going into November. Until more matches are announced, all future forecasts will assume the remaining Singles Tournament, the Horror Free4All, the Teams Tournament, and Spectacular are all the matches we are getting this season.
September 25, 2020
Weekly Faction Forecast: September 28 – October 2, 2020
Round Two of the Singles Tournament is over. The Quirky Mercs continue to make a comeback in the second half of the season as William Bibbiani defeated The Barbarian. Jeff Sneider took the win from Paul Oyama after Paul played a perfect game until he missed his five-point question. Korruption surpassed their forecasted points after Adam Collins knocked out Lon Harris. Ethan Erwin and Eric Zipper scrapped for a victory as they were tied going into the final round, but Ethan was able to advance into the Quarter-Finals.
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With the leaders now having a competitor each in the Quarter-Finals, this gives the RoxStars the opportunity they need to climb in the rankings. If The Quirky Mercs can maintain their momentum, they can eliminate SWAG and Korruption from gaining more points. Jeff Sneider still needs to win the tournament, but I believe he is a better competitor than Mark Reilly and can go to the Semi-Finals.
However, this opportunity for the RoxStars comes with a cost. The Quirky Mercs would score at least nine points (six for the Quarter-Finals and three in the Semi-Finals) and will be scratching at the leaders’ doorstep. But Adam Collins and Liz Shannon Miller have shown they are not to be underestimated. Both have defeated dominant players like Chance Ellison, John Rocha, and Lon Harris.
On a positive note, if either Bibbiani or Brendan loss their match, it won’t be a devastating blow to The Quirky Mercs. This is because one of them would have been out in the Semi-Finals anyway and, if they win the tournament, would be at forty-one points. What they cannot afford is for both of them to be eliminated from the tournament.
The Dungeon is out of the tournament after Eric Zipper lost his match, but he was able to keep up with Ethan, which not many can claim. Eric has displayed a great improvement since joining The Dungeon and we’ll see him again in the Teams Tournament starting on November 2nd. So, while they joined The Burning Droogs on the sidelines, The Dungeon might not be around them for much longer.
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Speaking of the Teams Tournament, the bracket has been released with the names of all the new teams:
Team NameCompetitorsThe Witching PowerPerri Nemiroff & Haleigh FoutchThe MisfitsAdam Witt & Eric ZipperDeceptionMarisol McKee & Adam CollinsCategory 9Jader Paramo & Brandon HannaThe Lethal WeaponsAndrew Ghai & Ethan Erwin
Each team name sounds great and matches their factions, except for Category 9. At first, I was confused at the reference, but then I remembered Jader Paramo’s nickname is The Hurricane. The Saffir-Simpson scale, the scale that measures hurricanes, goes up to five, but I can hear Ken saying, “They are goes to cause so much havoc in the Schmoedown.”
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Another thing announced this week was the Horror Free4All on October 30th with eighteen competitors. The winner will get three points for their faction. During the TriviaSD days, I pitched an article of having mini Free4Alls with ten competitors and the prize is something small, like entry into the tournaments. The purpose was to have a cost effective way to deliver a Free4All event to Chicago, Detroit, New York, and other cities across the country. Despite the article not getting picked up, I can’t help to wonder if this is The Chairman’s way of testing out this format to take it on the road (once they are able to, of course).
Even though this series is meant to forecast the upcoming matches for the week, I want to speculate on something I noticed about when the Teams Tournament. November 2nd is on a Monday, which caused me to think we’re still getting four matches a week. But if that’s true and Spectacular is happening in December, then there are going to be weeks in October and November where there are no matches. There are seventeen matches when accounting for the remaining matches in the Singles Tournament, Teams Tournament, Shazam vs Korruption Title Match (with no undercard, eighteen with one), and the Free4All.
Once again, this is me speculating and I could be wrong about this, but it appears we might be getting more matches after the tournaments are over. It could be just as likely that Spectacular will happen in November and the season ends early or we go to two matches per week. Until we know what is happening within the next two months, I am hesitant to say any faction is out of the points-race and avoiding another controversy within the community.
That will concluded on this week’s installment of the Weekly Faction Forecast. If you enjoyed it, please consider following the site to stay up-to-date with the forecasts every Saturday.
September 19, 2020
Weekly Faction Forecast for September 25, 2020
We are half-way finished with Round Two Matches in the Singles Tournament and there have been several key developments:
RoxStars are trying to stay out of last placeThe Burning Droogs are out of the tournamentJeannine the Machine scored The Usual Suspects three pointsDespite out playing Dan Murrell, Ben Bateman lost the title match in the final roundChance Ellison is once again defeated by a tough five-point question
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With Marc Andreyko out of the tournament, the RoxStars have no chance to catch up to the leaders. Their only hope now is to stay out of last place. Fortunately for Roxy Striar, The Burning Droogs have been knock out the tournament when Tom won his match against Jader Paramo. This buys the RoxStars some breathing room since she is ahead of the other factions, Jeff Sneider is facing Paul Oyama on Tuesday, and Alex Damon is defending the Star Wars belt for the fourth time against Andres Cabrera at Spectacular V. She might not win the points race, but she is still has a few cards up her sleeves.
Currently, The Burning Droogs are in last place with twelve points but that doesn’t mean they’ll stay there at the end of the season. The Dungeon, RoxStars, and The Usual Suspects are all in a race to stay out of last place. The Den is teetering on fifth place and eighth place, so long they can win one more match. All of these factions can continue to distance themselves from The Burning Droogs if they manage to stay in either the Singles or Teams Tournament. Ken’s only hope is the Teams Tournament, so why would he pair Brandon Hanna with Jader Paramo? Both competitors have had great showings on their own, but Hanna has shown he doesn’t want to work with anyone. If they managed to pull The Burning Droogs out of last place, then great. If not, then they’ll definitely live up to their faction name.
Jeannine the Machine catapulted The Usual Suspects out of last place with three points after TKOing Warfather. Ethan Erwin could continue this winning momentum next Thursday against Eric Zipper and into the Quarter-Finals against Tom. Samm Levine was smart to trade Jader Paramo and Ken Napzok for Ethan because he is a high level competitor that could go to the finals. The real question is will Andrew Ghai play like we have seen him play before in the Teams Tournament or will he be like he has been lately?
At stated last week, The Finstock Exchange was guaranteed at least three points in the Singles Title Match, but we didn’t know who would win the match. Would it be the GOAT or The Boss? It was an even match until The Betting Round where Ben Bateman was up five points. Ben continued gain a lead in The Speed Round as he got an additional point. Being down six point, Dan successfully answered all his Final Round questions. Unfortunately, Ben was able to correctly answer his three-point question but not his five-point question, costing him the match. Everyone was in disbelief at the outcome, even Mara Knopic who could be heard in the background. Even more shocking was Ben’s frustration with Tom Dagnino as a manager and is presumed to leave the faction next season
Much like what happened to Ben Bateman, Chance Ellison had the lead with his match against Liz Shannon Miller, who was only one or two point behind. In the Final Round, Chance and Liz answered their first two questions and were awarded the points. But when it came to the five-pointer, Liz scored the points while Chance did not. He was devastated from the loss since it happened several times before. With Chance no longer in the tournament, Adam Collins is the only competitor in Korruption to earn them points going forward. This will cause Korruption to fall behind from SWAG and The Finstock Exchange who have competitors in the Quarter-Finals.
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In the next week, Lon Harris and Paul Oyama will face Adams Collins and Jeff Sneider. If SWAG wins both matches, they’ll be up to six points, once again take first place, and have be the only faction that has three competitors in Quarter-Finals. Winston will finally be done dancing with Shannon until the Teams Tournament and will give Roxy another “L” for her trouble.
Despite Perri Nemiroff losing to Mark Reilly, The Quirky Mercs are far from done this season. Brendan Meyer is in the Quarter-Finals, William Bibbiani has his match against The Barbarian on Monday, Shazam’s Title Match against Korruption is on October 16th, and Perri will be back with Haleigh Foutch in the Teams Tournament as Witching Power. Coy Jandreau has managed his faction well in the back half of the season; maybe even earned a nomination for manager of the year if The Quirky Mercs overtake Korruption in the rankings.
So, who will be on top going into Spectacular V? The winning team will earn at least nine points for their faction, except for Witching Power and The Dungeon’s new team with Adam Wit and Eric Zipper. Both teams have a play-in match that will win two points. So if one of these teams wins the finals, their faction will earn eleven points. All we can foresee right now is that there are four horses in this points-race: The Finstock Exchange, SWAG, Korruption, and The Quirky Mercs. Everyone else is fighting for fifth place or lower.
Consider subscribing to the website to stay up-to-date with the Weekly Faction Forecast every Saturday during the season.
September 10, 2020
Weekly Faction Forecast for September 18, 2020
While this forecast is coming out before the Singles Title Match between Dan Murrell and Ben Bateman on PPV, nothing will be spoiled until the match is aired on YouTube, except for The Finstock Exchange gaining three points. The points for Jeannine the Machine vs Warfather will continue to be labeled as forecasted whereas The Finstock Exchange is battling against themselves.
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Korruption was two points short of their forecasted points after Paul Oyama won against Marisol McKee and Adam Collins TKO John Rocha. They also managed to tie SWAG with first place, until The Finstock Exchange gains the three points from the Singles Title Match later today. William Bibbiani defeated James White, which was expected but not certain especially in this sport. Ethan Erwin got The Usual Suspects out of last place after Vinnie Mancuso was TKO in Round Three of the match.
When accounting for the Throwdown match on Friday, the standings could be:
FactionOutcome PointsThe Finstock Enchange44Korruption42SWAG42The Quirky Mercs25The Den20RoxStars18Dungeon17The Usual Suspects13 or 15The Burning Droogs12 or 14
If Jeannine the Machine wins, The Usual Suspects will start to pull away from The Burning Droogs and try to overtake the other lower standing factions. If Warfather wins, The Usual Suspects will return to being in last place and The Burning Droogs could gain the momentum they need to have a better standing.
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Looking ahead into Round Two, SWAG could take out Korruption since Lon Harris will be taking on Adam Collins and Liz Shannon Miller is facing Chance Ellison. If Paul Oyama also defeats Jeff Sneider, then SWAG will have first place.
The other faction that also has three competitors in Round Two is The Quirky Mercs. Perri Nemiroff, William Bibbiani, and Brendan Meyer have advanced and could add nine points to their score. Despite being behind the leaders, they have an opportunity to catchup to them, especially if they win the tournament. But their main obstacle is The Finstock Exchange. Perri is facing Mark Reilly while Barbarian is taking on William Bibbiani. It is possible Mark will defeat Perri and The Beast destroys The Barbarian or vice versa. It is also possible one faction crushes the other and advances into the Quarter Finals.
The RoxStars have two strong competitors that can pull them up in the rankings and get them toward the leaders. However, they must get their act together now. Not only do Jeff Sneider and Mark Andreyko have to face each other in the finals to pull it off, but they also have to win in the Teams Tournament as well. If Roxy Striar wants to prove she is the better manager then Dagnino, Shannon, or Winston, now is the time to prove it because otherwise she’ll be compared with Samm Levine and Kaiser.
The four remaining factions have one competitor each:
FactionCompetitorThe Burning DroogsJader ParamoThe DungeonEric ZipperThe DenTomThe Usual SuspectsEthan Erwin
Only one of these competitors will make it into the Semi-finals and I think Ethan Erwin will be that competitor. He’s a better player of the game and has more movie knowledge compared to the others. But that doesn’t mean he has it easy. We’ve seen him stumble on Animated questions, Zipper has shown great improvement since joining The Dungeon, and Tom is a strong opponent. Even though this is Jader’s rookie season, he plays the game like a natural. Ultimately, I still think Ethan will defeat all of them, but there is some doubt he won’t make it that far.
Next week, stay tuned for my forecast for the Teams Tournament. Since it is a four-round tournament (one play-in-match round and three tournament rounds) and there is a single team for each faction, I’ll be forecasting and updating it with the remaining Singles Matches we have in for the season.
Weekly Faction Forecast for 9/18/2020
While this forecast is coming out before the Singles Title Match between Dan Murrell and Ben Bateman on PPV, nothing will be spoiled until the match is aired on YouTube, except for The Finstock Exchange gaining three points. The points for Jeannine the Machine vs Warfather will continue to be labeled as forecasted whereas The Finstock Exchange is battling against themselves.
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Korruption was two points short of their forecasted points after Paul Oyama won against Marisol McKee and Adam Collins TKO John Rocha. They also managed to tie SWAG with first place, until The Finstock Exchange gains the three points from the Singles Title Match later today. William Bibbiani defeated James White, which was expected but not certain especially in this sport. Ethan Erwin got The Usual Suspects out of last place after Vinnie Mancuso was TKO in Round Three of the match.
When accounting for the Throwdown match on Friday, the standings could be:
FactionOutcome PointsThe Finstock Enchange44Korruption42SWAG42The Quirky Mercs25The Den20RoxStars18Dungeon17The Usual Suspects13 or 16The Burning Droogs12 or 15
If Jeannine the Machine wins, The Usual Suspects will start to pull away from The Burning Droogs and try to overtake the other lower standing factions. If Warfather wins, The Usual Suspects will return to being in last place and The Burning Droogs could gain the momentum they need to have a better standing.
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Looking ahead into Round Two, SWAG could take out Korruption since Lon Harris will be taking on Adam Collins and Liz Shannon Miller is facing Chance Ellison. If Paul Oyama also defeats Jeff Sneider, then SWAG will have first place.
The other faction that also has three competitors in Round Two is The Quirky Mercs. Perri Nemiroff, William Bibbiani, and Brendan Meyer have advanced and could add nine points to their score. Despite being behind the leaders, they have an opportunity to catchup to them, especially if they win the tournament. But their main obstacle is The Finstock Exchange. Perri is facing Mark Reilly while Barbarian is taking on William Bibbiani. It is possible Mark will defeat Perri and The Beast destroys The Barbarian or vice versa. It is also possible one faction crushes the other and advances into the Quarter Finals.
The RoxStars have two strong competitors that can pull them up in the rankings and get them toward the leaders. However, they must get their act together now. Not only do Jeff Sneider and Mark Andreyko have to face each other in the finals to pull it off, but they also have to win in the Teams Tournament as well. If Roxy Striar wants to prove she is the better manager then Dagnino, Shannon, or Winston, now is the time to prove it because otherwise she’ll be compared with Samm Levine and Kaiser.
The four remaining factions have one competitor each:
FactionCompetitorThe Burning DroogsJader ParamoThe DungeonEric ZipperThe DenTomThe Usual SuspectsEthan Erwin
Only one of these competitors will make it into the Semi-finals and I think Ethan Erwin will be that competitor. He’s a better player of the game and has more movie knowledge compared to the others. But that doesn’t mean he has it easy. We’ve seen him stumble on Animated questions, Zipper has shown great improvement since joining The Dungeon, and Tom is a strong opponent. Even though this is Jader’s rookie season, he plays the game like a natural. Ultimately, I still think Ethan will defeat all of them, but there is some doubt he won’t make it that far.
Next week, stay tuned for my forecast for the Teams Tournament. Since it is a four-round tournament (one play-in-match round and three tournament rounds) and there is a single team for each faction, I’ll be forecasting and updating it with the remaining Singles Matches we have in for the season.
September 4, 2020
Weekly Faction Forecast for September 11, 2020
[image error]Liz Shannon Miller managed to TKO Rachel Silvestrini in Monday’s match, giving SWAG an extra point than previously forecasted last week. The Finstock Exchange successfully scored their forecasted points after three consecutive defeats and got have managed to get back into first place. RoxStars took home the win after Robert Montano avoided the TKO with his five-pointer and Jeff Sneider answered his two-pointer. Korruption and The Quirky Mercs didn’t have matches this week and had no points to forecast.
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With Witney Seibold and Robert Montano being eliminated in the tournament, it has become a race to see who gets out of last place. The Burning Droogs may have a three-point lead, but The Usual Suspects could get to the finals with Ethan Erwin. For those tuning into the double-head next Friday, Jeannine the Machine and The Warfather have an opportunity to continue their faction’s momentum out of last place.
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Korruption has a chance to slow down The Finstock Exchange’s guaranteed advance (Murrell vs Bateman) if Adam Collins defeats John Rocha. If not, The Finstock Exchange will have a towering lead of forty-seven points and Korruption will be at a disadvantage going into Round Two.
William Bibbiani is expected to defeat James White on Monday’s match, especially if James plays like he did in his Play-in-match against Frank Moran. Hopefully, Kate Mulligan has prepared him for a competitor of Bibbiani’s caliber, otherwise The Den will have only Tom from this point forward.
Thursday will concluded all the Round One matches and the week after will be the start of Round Two. We could potentially see as many as three factions with three of their competitors in Round Two: Finstock Exchange, Quirky Mercs, and Korruption or SWAG (Oyama vs McKee). Whereas The Finstock Exchange took an early lead in the season, SWAG dominating the Star Wars Tournament, and Korruption running the Innergeekdom Tournament, The Quirky Mercs have the best chance to catch up to the leaders since Brendan Meyer and Perri Nemiroff are in Round Two.
July 23, 2018
Remembering Jon Schnepp
Growing up as an only-child from divorce parents, I felt like an outsider in my family. Never felt cool with myself or wanted to “join in” with everyone because it never felt right with me. I struggled with what I enjoyed and was never comfortable with expressing my inner geek out of fear being humiliated, teased, and isolated with the things I loved.
Up until the age of sixteen, I was a complete shut in. Hell, I can recall my mom punishing me for not going out and wished I would get into some trouble. When I got a job at a local grocery store, I finally started to come out of my shell but often retreated back into it when the day was done. I only went to one dance in high school, barely went on any dates, and yet I still didn’t feel right in my own skin. It wouldn’t be until five years ago that I would discover who I was as a person, what I wanted out of life, and how to achieve it.
In 2013, I discovered a YouTube show called AMC Movie Talk hosted by John Campea and loved the show immediately. Soon after when Guardians of the Galaxy was announced, Jon Schnepp appeared to discuss the topic with Campea. Schnepp’s energy, excitement, and knowledge ultimately lead to the channel’s success, and I became a subscriber immediately. He never disappointed the audience with his analysis, especially when it came to comic book movies.
As more comic book movies flooded the movie sphere, AMC launched another show called Heroes where they talked about comic book movies, comics, and lesser known characters that they felt needed to be made into a movie. Needless to say, I watched everything Campea and Schnepp were apart of because I became more comfortable talking about things that I loved, which are the movies, in general; but I do favor the superhero genre.
Jon Schnepp showed me everyday that I can express my love for the movies and shout it out to the world while keeping an open mind to other opinions. But with his passing, he gave me a bitter lesson. Several years ago, I learned he was coming to C2E2 to sell copies of his documentary “The Death of ‘Superman Lives’ What Happened?” I thought about taking the day off of work to meet him but decided not to, thinking “Oh, I’ll get another chance to see him.”
His passing isn’t just unfortunate or a missed opportunity to me. Jon Schnepp created an atmosphere in which I grew into someone that is excited to talk about movies, share my opinions with at work, and not caring about people making fun at me about it. I love to write stories, make up different characters, creating conflicts for those characters, and having them overcome the conflicts. With my music playing, I feel like a pianist on his piano, a mad scientist creating life, a true “sweaty.” And while he isn’t the only person to help me grow as an individual, Jon was the one who taught me to never apologized for your opinions, loves, or dreams. I will forever live without giving up on my goals whether it is completing my book series, promoting it across the country, or just continuing to interact with other fans who are excited as I am for new movies.
However, Jon’s family is suffering more than anyone else. Holly Payne, Jon’s fiancé, tweeted out that there has been an increase in sales on his documentary, but the best thing everyone can do is to donate to his gofundme page at https://www.gofundme.com/getwelljonschneppfundraiser, which is managed by Holly. Even a small amount would help her, and Jon would rest in peace knowing we helped his greatest love through this difficult time.
Who is behind Mike Kalinowski?
After watching the Collision this weekend, I found myself asking several questions. Why is Kalinowski doing this? What is his endgame? What does he have on Thadd that gives him the power to control the Schmoedown? Is Kalinowski doing this by myself or does he have someone supporting him? To answer these questions, let us review the timeline of Mike Kalinowski’s plan to end “the Korruption” of the Schmoedown.
On May 22, 2018, Team DC Movie News went up against Team Action, losing 29 to 26. This loss caused Mike Kalinowski to explode with rage at his fellow faction members: The League. He claimed no one was there to support him in his last few matches with Clark Wolfe and a three-way match with JTE and Rachel Cushing. Kalinowski decided he was better on his own, preparing us for a storyline with its twists and turns.
June 1, 2018, Kalinowski showed Thadd a letter and convinced him to turn the five-way InnerGeekdom Match into a sixteen competitor tournament, which Thadd formally announced on June 12th:
1. Adam Hlavac vs Hector Navarro
Aired: May 29, 2108
Victor: Adam Hlavac
2. Emma Fyffe vs Jay Washington
Aired: June 1, 2018
Victor: Emma Fyffe
3. Rachel Cushing vs Markeia McCarty
Aired: June 12, 2018
Victor: Rachel Cushing
4. Mike Carlson vs Eric Zipper
Aired: June 19, 2018
Victor: Eric Zipper
5. Mike Kalinowski vs Jared Haibon
Aired: June 22, 2018
Victor: Mike Kalinowski
6. Coy Jandreau vs Mara Knopic
Aired: June 26, 2018
Victor: Mara Knopic
7. Mark Donica vs Sean Gerber
Aired: June 29, 2018
Victor: Mark Donica
Robert Meyer Burnett was supposed to fight Donica, but Kristian Harloff posted on Facebook that RMB was too busy on June 24th.
8. Keetin Marchi vs Rosie Knight
Aired: July 3, 2018
Victor: Keetin Marchi
One week after announcing the InnerGeekdom Schedule, Thadd informed Jay Washington and the Viper Squad that both Stacy Howard and Jeannine the Machine will face Mark Andreyko at the Collision. Mike was seen smiling in a corner, indicating it was him who decided this and not Thadd. Also, Ken Napzok received a letter which we presume was from Kalinowsk because the “Korruption” logo was on the letter’s face.
After his match with Jared Haibon, Thadd informed Mike that his next opponent would be Rachel Cushing at the Collison. Kalinowski said no, changing the terms during the interview with Jennifer Sterger. He would call the match and Rachel would face the victor of the Burnett vs Donica match. Minutes later, Mike changed the terms, yet again, to him facing the victor of the Burnett/Donica match and Rachel facing Eric Zipper at the Collision.
Mike remained mostly silent until the Collision on July 13th where he spectated the Cushing/Zipper match but not before humiliating Johnny Loquasto by having as a spectator and removing him within minutes. Then, three more Korruption letters are sent to Jay Washington, Mark Donica, and Tom Dagnino. All leading up to a confrontation at the end of the ironman match between Above the Line and Patriots. Ken Napzok revealed Tom Dagnino was trying to recruit another Star Wars competitor, an InnerGeekdom player, and breaking up the Patriots so Jeff Sneider can be traded to the Viper Squad. Jeff seemed to confirm Ken’s claims with his own sources within the Schmoedown.
Ultimately, Ken and Jeff walked away from the Lion’s Den while Tom and JTE remained together. But if you thought it was over, you’re wrong because Thadd Williams made an announcement in regards to the Teams Tournament. The names from the sixteen teams in the tournament would be thrown into a hat and be paired up at random after their names are called out. Naturally, competitors started to attack Thadd while Mike Kalinowski flips the bird to everyone in amusement.
So, let me ask again: Is Mike on his own or is there someone else pulling his strings? Mike seemed to have allot of insider knowledge about the Commissioner and two different factions: The Lion’s Den and The Viper Squad. Only one other faction in the Schmoedown has had issues with both of these factions: The Fyffe Club. Emma Fyffe hated to interview the Lion’s Club, and Jay Washington continued to call out every member within the Fyffe Club. However, one of Mike Kalinowski’s schemes was to strip Sam Witwer Title as Star Wars Champion due to scheduling conflicts. No manger, even Dagnino, would sabotage their own faction to lose a Title Belt. Not to mention, Clark Wolfe, Rachel Cushing, Sam Witwer, and Mark Andreyko would not go along with this if Emma is behind Mike. So, I’m ruling her out as a suspect.
What about The Horsemen? They have been revived with all former/current champions of the Schmoedown and their rivals are The Lion’s Den. Could they be the cause of all this chaos? During the Fyffe/Washington match, John Rocha approached Mike, commenting on making moves. And at the Collision when Reilly’s dog, Kal, went missing, Rocha went straight to Thadd and intimidated him to find Kal. Despite all this evidence, it is not enough to convict him unless he does not compete in the Teams Tournament. Also, Rocha’s character isn’t one for playing like this, even before he lost the Single’s Belt to Reilly. His approach is more direct rather than scheming in the shadows.
Prehaps, I’m not asking the right questions? Thadd is the one making all these announcements, and the result is every competitor attacking him at the Collision. He was overwhelmed any time Kalinowski made a demand and afraid of every competitor who knocked on his door. Who would want this much chaos that competitors start revolting against their Commissioner?
Kristian Harloff.
Let’s get the obvious clue out of the way. Thadd was supposed to be Commissioner until Harloff lost the belt but several conditions built into the contract allowed Thadd to say on and not return the position to Harloff. One of these conditions was a “six-month period.” Since Kristian won the Single’s Belt in September 15, 2017 against Dan Murrell and The Spectacular happened December 22, 2017, Thadd still had three months left on his contract.
The other condition Thadd mentioned was during the live match between the Wildberries and Reel Rejects on March 27, 2018. This was right after “Jane Fonda” issue. Kristian debated with him on how the Schmoedown should be run and said his six months are almost up. Thadd told Kristian with all the complaints he was receiving, the contract gave him power to continue as Commissioner, stating it was similar to “power of attorney.”
So, why is Mike Kalinowski creating all the chaos in the Schmoedown? What is his endgame? To make Kristian Harloff the Commissioner once more, and the way it will happen is that second condition about “complaints.” When “The Jane Fonda Incident” happened, everyone was in an uproar. With Thadd announcing Anarchy Teams Tournament, every competitor was attacking Thadd.
But what does Mike Kalinowski have on Thadd? Well, what is the one thing Thadd doesn’t want to happen? Losing his position. There are only two things that could make this happen: the contract with Kristian and the contract with Brianne Chandler. Kalinowski could have a missing piece to Kristian’s contract that might restore to him as Commissioner. However, this is unlikely because Kristian most likely has the contract because Thadd said he will send a PDF to Kristian in the live match between Wildberries and Reel Rejects.
The contract with Brianne Chandler is something completely different. When she won the Free4All on April 13, Thadd signed a contract stipulating her Free4All Victor options. Brianne can challenge anyone, in any division, at any time, and may give it to anyone. What Thadd didn’t realize was he signed the back page. The front page was if the Schmoedown Patreon reached 2,100 patrons, currently over 1,900, Tom Dagnino would become Commissioner for a week. Thadd does not want that to happen.
Mike strolls into Thadd’s office on June 1st and handed him a piece of paper. The Commissioner looked relieved, granting Mike’s request for an InnerGeekdom Tournament. Once Mike left the office, Thadd searched for a shredder despite Mike having copies. If Mike got ahold of Brianne Chandler’s contract, it would give him the leverage over Thadd to change the Schmoedown as he pleases. What Mike is doing is making every competitor angry at Thadd very similar to how everyone complained about “The Jane Fonda Incident.”
Now, let us assume Kristian is not supporting Kalinowski, and he is completely in the dark. It still does not change the fact that everyone is angry with Thadd and a large amount of complaints is a condition in the Commissioner Contract. One of two things will happen. Either the complaints get so out of control that Kristian asks Thadd if he would give it up or Thadd goes into a tailspin of angry competitors he gives up his position to Kristian.
And I know you’re asking about Tom Dagnino. Sure, he could become Commissioner and there are allot of people who want to see it happen. But it is not about what you or I want, it’s about what Thadd wants in this decision. Does he want to retain his position and be controlled by Mike Kalinowski or does he want to get away from every angry competitor? Personally, dealing with angry people eventually breaks any man. Thadd will ultimately return the Commissioner position to Kristian Harloff because he does not want Dagnino to be Commissioner for any period of time and deal with the growing number of angry competitors.
December 4, 2017
The Hegewisch Times Review
[image error]Hegewisch is a small community in which I have lived in for most of my life. I never would have thought to use the community newspaper to help spread the word about my book, but luckily, in my research, that was one of the tips to market self-published works.
The Hegewisch Times will review my latest work on their March 2018 issue on their Facebook page. Check it out for yourself.
