Paintball Journal

I’ve come across some cool All-Star vids on youtube that might be worth watching.

After several days of intense paintball at PSP ChiTown, the final standings for the NXL are as follows.

Take special note of XSV in dead last (XSV Damage as they are officially known as now). I never really did like them, but it’s a real shame to see them in this position. On the other hand, however, I’m really pumped to see teams like X-Factor and Ironmen at the top. I’m a big fan of both teams, because they seem very professional about the sport and definitely mix it up a bit with the old powerhouses. Dynasty taking third is somewhat of a surprise, although I firmly believe the competition is a lot stiffer these days, but still not a bad finish at all.

If you’re interested in video footage from the final match between X-factor and Ironmen you can find it here on PBStar. They also have the videos for Legacy vs. Infamous and Aftershock vs. Russians. The last minute in the X-factor/Ironmen is the best footage of all as they get the teams in their huddles – Lang is so damn inspirational.

Know any local teams that might have entered? You can check the full roster of paid entries here.

In the Open, D2, and D3 Division finishes, the results are…

You can find the rest of the scores in detail, here.

It also appears that the Draxxus field had some bad experiences with the refs there. They were supposedly lazy and “more active between games” than during them, but I wouldn’t know anything about these kind of things because I can’t even get to these events! I really, really hope this wasn’t anybody we know, and I really, really hope that FFP brings home that field, even if it will be exclusive.

Paintball, PSP, PSP Chicago, PSP 07, NXL, XBALL, Tournament Paintball, PSP Results

In August of 07, Canadian Baller plans to debut their entire season of filming on TV. They’re a group of paintball maniacs that have been following Canadian teams and top players to all of the major events, filming them in High Def and 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround. You may not be able to get this kind of quality on TV, so be sure to look for the DVD that will be released shortly after! I can already tell just by looking at their website that they know what they’re doing.

They have also released two trailers, but I can’t seem to get them to work; it warns that the latest Quicktime is needed.

Trailer 1
Trailer 2

I’ll get these to work eventually!

Nothing quite captures paintball’s true spirit like a photograph. Every once in a while you find a picture that just blows your mind, and that urge to share it totally takes over. Mobzor is offering you just that chance with a pretty decent looking photohosting site purely dedicated to paintball. The starting size is a little small, only 20 GB, but that should be more than enough for just your paintball pics. Definitely check out PBShots.

Finally, wittingly or not, manufacturers are heeding my call and finally coming into the light of online shopping. More and more companies are adding nifty little online tools like Eclipse’s Ego 07 Virtual Tech Tour and Dye’s Goggle Builder. These interactive features will help bring people back again and again, and are definitely things that are worth showing to friends.

However, no one can get lazy. Just throwing a couple of things together like what is online today isn’t enough for the future. These are just gimmicks and will fade quickly. What’s needed is frequent updates to videos and ads featuring these products, as well as keeping us, the players, informed of news that will affect us. Product news is great, but other things like why some shipment shipped late or how a company is working to help the player is also welcome news.

So keep it up, paintball companies, but don’t get lazy, and don’t let things stagnate.

I’ve always been a big fan of Shockers, more for the looks of them than anything else. A friend of mine has an 06 and I just don’t like how they feel, but I know they can rip just like any other high-end gun. Anyways, I thought I’d post up some of my favorite ones, many of which can be found at Punisher Paintball.

Shocktech NXT Shocker – Urban Camo

Ton Ton NXT Shocker

What I like about this private label is the simplicity to it. Another popular trend is how much crap can you anno onto your gun, and sometimes they just overdo it. I like the new XSV SL74s for this reason. They have a bold, yet simple color scheme, and XSV is milled professionally into the side of it.

Hybrid NXT Shocker – Contract Killer (My Favorite!)

Despite what I’ve said about overdoing some things I just have to let this one slide. There’s a point where private labels and custom jobs go from “Oh, that’s neat” to something more along the lines of a work of art. This is a true work of art. Seriously, who would actually want to play with something like this?

What you need to know:

Eclipse has launched an online show. They will feature news about products and teams associated with Eclipse. And, best of all, the first episode is airing… wait for it… now!

Well, this is interesting…

Hello MobZor Guys and Gals, I wanted to let you know that we will be testing our new forum system and need your help. We are going to pay $0.02 per thread started, and $0.02 per reply for the forum. That’s right, you get PAID to post on MobZor’s forums. We may raise the rate in the future, but for now, it’s 2 cents. Two cents may not sound like much, but 500 posts makes you $10. What other forum pays you $10 for posting and replies? Here is the fine print: RULES: No Spamming. Spamming is A: Duplicate Posts, Posts off topic, or One Line Posts No Flooding. Flooding is opening more than 5 topics in a board category in one day. Flooding posts will be deleted, and you will not get credit for them. No Double Posts. You know exactly what these are. No vulgar usernames/posts. None at all. You will receive payment for your posts after you have reached 500 posts. You can see how many posts you have next to your username. 500 Posts = $10. We will only pay out in $10 amounts. Non-Paintball Related posts are allowed, but highly discouraged because MobZor.com is a paintball related website and the goal of the PPP program is to have useful, accurate information for paintballers around the world. Overall, we are not going to be lame and will not cause people trouble. We are not PBNation and are not going to be as strict as them, but we will have to be if everyone gets out of control, so please don’t make us do that. Payments will be made either via Paypal or Money order. Thanks everyone, Please let everyone know about this program and it will be a success!

So, like you didn’t have enough reason to join MobZor. It’s an interesting strategy, and I have a feeling if it’s heavily promoted (read: PBNation), they’re gonna be paying out a lot. I dunno about it though, I’ve got mixed feelings about what someone looking in from the outside will think. Bribes don’t always have the intended effects. Although paintballers are poor… who knows!

DerDer Headshot Mid Atlantic Open 2007

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I never miss the opportunity to push companies like DerDer. Definitely worth watching, great for a peek at the action of MAO for those of us who couldn’t get out to the East Coast.

JT Sports is completely redoing its website, which is always welcome news to an online paintball junkie like myself. Really, a lot of other companies could take the hint and follow suit. Online is where it’s at. Myspace is probably the prime promoting tool that dozens of companies use.

I’m very interested to see where JT Sports takes its website. They are apparently integrating a flickr account, viewable right here.

Everyone knows that PBNation claims the web as the world’s largest paintball forum, but what about the world’s largest paintball social networking site? Myspace is nice, but a place specifically for paintball can do nothing but benefit the entire paintball community. It’s a great idea, and MobZor is taking some good steps in achieving their goal of creating a community that serves all of online ‘ballers needs.

That said, MobZor just isn’t large enough to be that community yet. With more public support, I have no doubt that it will become something with a lot more power within the paintball community. They also need to streamline several things. I think some steps toward a more customizable profile page would go a long way.

And despite how much they may enjoy (or cringe at) the comparison between their site and Myspace, I think that, while it is a legitimate comparison, they have plenty to differentiate themselves from the Myspace monster. Definitely worth checking out and signing up for.

Wait, who?! Yeah, that’s what I was thinking, too.

Edmonton Impact forced their way into the professional spotlight at NPPL Huntington Beach when they battled for first place with Oakland Blast. Though they only placed second amidst teams such as Dynasty, Joy, Ironmen and many others from the Pro Division, they were determined to stick around.

Just over the weekend they proved that maybe it wasn’t just beginners luck. After two days of intense paintball at NPPL Tampa, they found themselves competing once again for first place on Sunday. The outlook was promising when they took the first win against Dynasty, but they lost the second two games of the set, leaving them with another second place finish.

A solid performance in my opinion, and I hope that they can keep up the hard work. It’s good for the industry - new teams coming in giving the usual Pros a run for their money. It definitely mixes things up a bit, and keeps all the teams on their top level of game, because that’s what it takes today. Without constant drilling and practicing, the old powerhouses will fall behind in way of the hungry ones like Impact and Oakland Blast.

And that’s exactly what I like about the sport; anything can happen. Yeah, you’ll have the upsets in the NBA, NFL and etc. but not like it is in paintball. It’s such a team oriented sport, and when played right the game turns into an extremely intricate machine. If one man fails to do his job then the machine fails, the team loses. Perhaps an essential part is replaced by another, but this new part just doesn’t quite meld like the old one did, and again the machine doesn’t run at maximum efficiency. This is one problem many teams face when they can’t seem to hang on to any of their players, because they are constantly leaving for more stable teams. Team Ultimate is just one of the many that come to mind.

Some sports have just become too commercialized I think. The “pros” whine when they don’t get paid $30,000,000 a year, lose meaning of the sport, and often times a player can “make” the team great. In basketball, give it to the guy who shoots the threes. Once he has the ball he can do the rest all on his own. In paintball, “Hey Ollie, run downfield and shoot five guys out for us. Just tell us when you need us.” It just doesn’t work like that; Ollie isn’t anything without his team, and yet he is that one essential piece that makes Ironmen (and Dynasty) successful.

So Edmonton Impact returns to Canada with a lot of hope after this weekend. The pressure is on. Can they prove themselves worthy of the Pros, or was it just a long…and very complex streak of…continuous luck? I’d think not, and I’m ready to see them kick some more ass. Mad props to IMPACT!

(more…)

So I love photography even though I’m not exactly serious about it. But I love it anyways. So as I was browsing through some galleries of the MAO tourney, I decided to start compiling a list of paintball photography sites. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far, but there will be plenty more to add.

http://www.pb2x.com/2007/photogaller…lanticopen_07/
www.choppapb.com
www.pbstar.com
www.shanerice.com
www.southsideimages.com
www.desiderataproductions.com
www.drewbietron.com
www.miguelcruz.com
www.meaganfosterphoto.com
http://www.breakoutphotos.com/paintball/
http://www.mattdphoto.com/gallery/paintball

My favorite is still Matt Dawson at the last link listed. It’s simply brilliant, and I can only hope that I can manage to do what he does someday. Anyways, I’ll keep looking for more to post in the future.

Ah, yes…the Ego 7; only the sexiest gun on the market. Everybody wants one, yet only a lucky few have it. If you’re a dreamer like me, maybe this Virtual Tour of the Ego will make you feel just a little better by bringing you closer to it than ever before (that is if you don’t already own one). It’s complete online tour that takes you step by step throughout the guns build, and what needs to be maintained to keep it in prime condition. It even comes in four languages.

But what do I care, I just love looking at it! Man, I just wish other guns had virtual tours, because this makes cleaning look like a joke. Props to Planet Eclipse and the designers for taking the time to do this!

Ragtop has become well known as the premier scenario paintball video producing specialists. Covering almost every single major scenario game in the US, they’ve progressed into an awesome team of film directors and editors, that sometimes eclipses what the big names like DerDer and MWAG do. If you don’t believe me, then check out these two previews for some of the latest Ragtop productions.

2006 Wrap Up

Battle for Ironforge