[Boromir88]

THE TWO TOWERS NETWORK
Boromir the 88th

Free Agency Fury is underway!

With the announcement all previous contracts were banished to the void, by Eru, owners and investors scrambled to sign players once free agency opened. TTN is covering many teams in our regional sphere including: The Mordor teams (Barad-dur and Mordor), the Gondor teams (Minas Tirith and Gondor), the teams of weirdos (Tol in Gaurhoth and The Downer), and two others Anfauglith (associated with Sauron's Tol-in-Gaurhoth Realty) and Shire-Bree United (which has ties to Gondor's Union of Honest Workers).

RUMOR CENTRAL - for the latest rumors and news buzzing around our team coverage, read below. We stress, these are rumors, for actual confirmed signings see our "Free Agent Signings" section.

Anfauglith: It's is Melkor's Evil House group which owns the majority of team Anfauglith. However, Sauron from his TIG base has also invested a small amount into the team. This leaves us wondering how will the former Master-Servant pair, now co-owners work out? Sauron is known to have deep pockets, but at least with Anfauglith, appears to be holding back from over-spending. If Evil House takes a financial hit, will Sauron swoop in to buy up more shares of team Anfauglith? That has many wondering.

Barad-dur: And Mordorians are wondering just what Sauron is doing with his home-base teams. Not much word has gotten out of the Black Land after the press conference and the Gate was shut. There was news The Mouth was quickly signed, but it appears so far, at least in the land of Mordor, Sauron is keeping isolated. Reaching out only to the talent within Mordor, and not making a big splash by bringing in outside talent. There is of course plenty of time left, and there are rumors, but no confirmation yet on which team (Barad-dur, Mordor, TIG, or Anfauglith) Sauron will be suiting up for this year.

Mordor: Barad-dur is exclusively owned by Sauron, but Sauron also still has majority ownership over the other Mordor team. However, to the management of team, most speculate has been left to the Nazgul, since Minas Morgul investors (The Black Sorcery Guild) also hold significant ownership of the team. Plus, buying in with smaller investments is the North Umbar Trading Company and Harad Inc. Sauron still figures to be the final "yes man" in team Mordor's decisions, especially since we expect the Black Sorcery Guild to virtually go along with Sauron on all decisions.

Gondor: Gondor is an interesting situation, since most Arda Cup teams are owned by large corporations or firms, however Gondor has sprung up as one of the few publicly owned teams. With the citizenry and subjects all over the realm pooling finances to buy into team Gondor. We do not know how this strategy will fair, when compared to the wealthier clubs, but under the old rules this sort of situation could never have happened. With the Gondorian subjects being disappointed in Gondor's tournament performances, we expect a resurgance of pride and duty for Gondor, as they try to bring back the best talent from this vast, and great, realm of Men.

Minas Tirith: Unlike Gondor, Minas Tirith is owned exclusively by the Guild of Stewards. It is not unusual to see Ecthelion II, Denethor II, and Faramir in the same area, but Minas Tirithians were further emboldened with a Boromir II sighting. Will the family of Stewards be brought together under the same banner again?

Shire-Bree United: This is perhaps the most diversely invested team in all of Arda. It appears everyone who has ever been enamoured by the way the hobbits play on the pitch has bought into SB-United. We expect this diverse field of investors from: Bree, The Shire, Hobbiton, Gondor, The Barrow-Downs, Norbury, Aragorn, and Bombadil to reflect the diversity of the players they sign too. In fact, SB-United perhaps had the biggest splash of all our teams so far when Aragorn announced almost immediately he has signed to play on the team. Respected Hobbit, Samwise Gamgee welcomed the signing saying: "We wanted to have an early impact and let our fans know we are serious about building a championship team. Last year, our War of the Ring alliance fell flat, to put it kindly. A player of Aragorn's ability, isn't only quality on the field, but off as well. He is one of the greatest ambassadors to the game, and we hope will attract other big-name free agents to Shire-Bree United."

Tol-in-Gaurhoth: This is an interesting team as well, since The Barrow-Downs group owns the majority of TIG. It is a strange group, that we at TTN don't know much about, other then it's an internet-based group, run by wights, werewolves, penguin-lovers, quality beef-enthusiasts and other odd beings. They apparently get together to discuss literary tastes, and other random topics. Whatever/whomever they are, historically the TIG team has always been a strong competitor. Bouncing back last year, after a few down years, to make it all the way to the finals only to lose to Doriath. Team mainstays like phantomwolf and Nogwolf pledge that 2nd is not nearly good enough. And in the most peculiar move, Sauron has also lent his financial support to the team. Many are now wondering if Sauron himself will return to his '08 team and be the key they need to finally make TIG an Arda Cup winning champion. How much interest does Sauron have in the fortunes of TIG? No one seems to know, and only time has the answer.

The Downer: Perhaps even stranger than TIG, is the team that appeared last year The Downer. The Downer's style of play confused many Arda teams last year. It's primarily owned by Newspaper mogul Hookbill (however, The Barrow-Downs Community is also invested). We are still not sure what to expect, other than The Downer will likely have a dirt cheap payroll, because officials feel Hookbill is perhaps fudging his financial records, or honestly just making up numbers for his fledgling newspaper. The Barrow-downs brings in some financial stability, however it's clear their primary interests are in Tol-in-Gaurhoth.

FREE AGENT SIGNINGS - These are the up-to-date confirmed signings since free agency opened up last week. Obviously some teams have either been more active, or just more successful signing on players than others. Next to the player is also the salary (dollar amount in millions)

Anfauglith:

Barad-dur: The Mouth (9)

Mordor: Gorbag (3), Shagrat (4)

Gondor:

Minas Tirith: Ecthelion II (8), Denethor II (8), Faramir (8)

Shire-Bree United: Strider (11)

Tol-in-Gaurhoth:

The Downer: Hookbill (5), Alien (1)

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for exclusive features on Melkor-Sauron and Anfauglith, Tol-in-Gaurhoth and The Downer teams, plus much more news from our regional teams.