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August 14, 2006

From Rondall Reynoso:

I just received this horrible e-mail this morning:

Hi- I’m hoping you’re the commissioner of the league that has the Seoul Dragons.

I received a phone call today that Andre Dec passed away. He had a seizure early this morning. His fiancée asked a couple of us to contact the online games and groups he was in and let them know.

This is a sad day and a real shock to have two members of the WBA pass away in the last six weeks. I personally am very stunned by this.

Also, this underscored for me that I need a bit of a break... I know I have been on one already. But, I need some time where I don't feel that people are waiting for me to do WBA stuff. So, the WBA/GCBA is on break until September. If I get around to doing something before then great but don't expect it. Sorry to do this now but I'm just a bit tired and need some time.

Citizenship Award to Be Renamed to Honor Deceased Owners

By Turtle Chase

When he found out that he came in 2nd for the citizenship award then-Seoul Owner Andre Dec gushed “I’m just glad that people are able to appreciate me enough to vote for me.” Former Arkansas owner Tim Richards was so enamored with the league that he was always online trying to improve his team, and always eager to speak with other owners. Both teams had promising futures, with both making some critical moves to improve their teams. But tragedy struck the WBA world not just once, but twice, and in the process left owners to come to the realization that Dec and Richards would not be back for another season.

The wounds were still deep that Arkansas owner Tim Richards had died of a heart attack just six weeks prior; when another cryptic email came around the league that Seoul owner Andre Dec had died of a seizure. Both had deep ties to the league, and both were well liked within the league. It led to Commissioner Rondall Reynoso announcing on Monday August 21st, that he has decided to rename the citizenship award to honor the two coaches for all of their work in the league. The award, won by Oregon owner Kevin Harper, will now be known as the Richards-Dec Citizenship award.

“It was just something I had to do,” said Reynoso, who also runs the Brooklyn Rage. “Both men brought a lot to the league. Andre was a great person to talk to, and although I didn’t speak to Tim as much, he was also a great person, and both will be missed.”

“I considered both of them friends. Despite being rivals, I chatted with the two of them a lot, and I will miss them both,” said Las Vegas Owner Steven Goodstadt. “For Rondall to rename this award was the perfect thing to commemorate two men who really cared about the league and made the league more fun. It will be hard to replace them.”

Richards, who replaced Sam Plummer as owner of the Washington Monuments after season 9, moved the team to Arkansas before the start of season 11. During his three years as coach he had 99 wins and 143 losses, while making it to the 2nd round of the playoffs once. He started off strong, but had some problems getting his team to work together, not being able to find a rhythm among his players. He was on the verge of making his team younger for the new season before he passed on. He was always having fun in this league, despite the misfortune of the last two seasons. He will be replaced by his son, who is looking forward to keep going on the legacy of his father.

Dec joined the league at the same time as Goodstadt before the 12th season began. He worked long and hard and after a rough 27-53 season, he had retooled his team completely, putting himself in shape to contend. He had brought a journalistic edge to the WBA, writing articles nearly every day, trying to bring something that had been lacking over the past few seasons. As his team has not been given to a new owner just yet, Goodstadt

remembers the friendly competition that they had.

“We had pushed each other, to make each of our teams competitive. We knew about each others proposals, talked about players, and gave each other advice on how to succeed,” said Goodstadt. “It just won’t be the same, because Andre was going to make the playoffs this season.”

In just six weeks, the WBA had been hit hard with bad news. Two owners, two owners who were well liked, passed on, leaving the rest to move on. But, with the Richards-Dec Citizenship Award, Reynoso has showed how much these two owners meant to this league, and with that, they will never be forgotten in this league.

“As long as this award remains in circulation, it will never be lost how much these two guys contributed not only to the league but on a personal level. These were genuinely good guys,” said Reynoso.

“It will be weird next year with the new coaches. It will be very hard to come close to the involvements of Richards and Dec. Renaming this award really shows just how much these two involved themselves, and it will be hard to match. They will be missed,” said Goodstadt