Zack Long of Oakland BLAST set the record straight today with an official update;

So sorry to be the bearer of bad news but Oakland Blast will be taking the 2012 season off. Blast as a business is trying keep up with the overwhelming demand for their new guns and trying to roll out more new products in the near future. With that said the focus needed to be on the business, not the team.

Player movement thus far;

• Tyler Harmon, Neil Eberle, and Ryan Podesta to SF Explicit
• Zack Long- business and family
• Shane Howe- TBA
• Jason and Corey Bornstein-TBA
• Ryan Collette-MIA
• Francis Erguiza-TBA

Bob and his son Zack Long have been a long time professional paintball family and it is said to see them take a break. Where do you think the other players will end up?

• Portland Uprising picks up Cole Scott from Vendetta/Impact as well as former Naughty Dog Blake Bearham.

• Bear Degidio of Hollywood HK is rumored to be making his pro debut with Indianapolis Mutiny at the Chicago NPPL event.

• In a follow up to our Chicago Aftershock update, ProPaintball insiders suggest that Chris Lasoya and Aftershock have parted ways. According to insiders, Chris has signed on with LA Infamous to play the remainder of the 2011 season.

• Mykel Kovar and Grayson Goff from San Antonio X-Factor are playing the Millennium Bitburg event with Breakout Spa.

• Jason Bornstein of Oakland BLAST is still recovering from his shoulder surgery. According to sources, his recovery was pushed back another 6+ weeks.

• Hollywood HK will be sitting out Chicago NPPL. The HK crew is at CPX this week playing paintball and hosting a clinic.

• AJ Trillet is rumored to have left Avalanche and signed on with Chicago Legend to compete in the NPPL 7-man series.

PSP: Semi Pro

Rumors are circulating that the PSP may be doing away with the semi-pro division. If this were to take place, we anticipate that a few semi pro teams would be invited into the pro paintball division.

• Rumors indicate that FIERCE Semi-pro is taking Chicago and quite possibly the remainder of the season off due to members refocusing their attention on their families.

• Raiden has also been in the rumor mill recently and sources suggest the team is dealing with personality clashes and player departures.

• The Palm Beach Vipers are currently restructuring (reported here) and focusing on their divisional teams. The semi-pro team has been disbanded.

• SK Moscow played PSP Phoenix and according to Gary Baum of Paintball Photography are planning on returning at PSP World Cup.

• X-Factor‘s semi pro squad has been rumored to be repositioning themselves in division 1 though no official confirmation has been received.
• Scottsdale Elevation competed in PSP Phoenix and we

• RNT-Allstarz recently combined forces for the Chicago Open and potentially the remainder of the season with Indianapolis Mutiny.

• Entourage has several players with PRO experience including Mark Lack, James “Kekoa” Ferguson, Dalton Vanderbyl and Ronnie Filippone. Ryan Martin played with RNT in Phoenix because Entourage had too many pro players. We can expect to see Ryan Martin play with Entourage in PSP when the team goes PRO.

• San Diego Aftermath has been spotted in the APPA registration database as registered for PRO at the Chicago Open. At the Phoenix Open, SDA’s pro players were Steven Pitts & Alex Goldman and staffing was Patrick Hughes. Patrick has been playing with Oakland BLAST but is rumored to be returning to SDA when the team goes pro.

Potentially, we could see RNT-Allstarz/Mutiny, Aftermath and Entourage moving into the PSP Pro Paintball Division. The only problem with three teams moving up is that it would create an odd number of total teams and create a need for by-games.

NPPL: Division 1

Arsenal Predators and Hollywood HK are pulling out after the Huntington Beach event, leaving only 3 teams to fight for the series title.

• Arsenal Predators will be switching over to the PSP format. The team had a solid run in 2009, leading the division 2 series and winning both Huntington Beach and DC Challenge events. They are a solid group of guys and we are eager to watch the team transition into the race-ball format. Division 1 PSP is going to get real interesting!

• Hollywood HK was rumored to have been banned from the NPPL. While we are not exactly sure what transpired, we do know that the PBFashion/HK booth was shut down at HB due to alcohol.  on the other hand will be running their Crash at the Coast clinic and considering their options.

The lack of division 1 teams could be attributed to the prizes based on teams attending in the division (and with three the prizes are very slim). With that being said, the league now has only 3 division 1 teams and sources suggest they are incorporating them into the pro schedule, creating a Pro/Am series of games.

Mixed Martial Arts legend Chuck the “Iceman” Liddell and paintball legend Bob Long have teamed up to create the Iceman series paintball gun. For those of you unfamiliar, Chuck reigned over 2 years as the UFC light heavyweight champion, and has won a whopping 16 times, second to only Matt Hughes. Chuck is an icon in the MMA sport and holds the record for the most knock-out and TKO wins in the UFC. Much like what Bob Long did for paintball, Chuck Liddell and his friend Randy Couture are widely credited in bringing MMA into mainstream sports and entertainment.

Zach Long presenting Chuck with his ICEMAN Victory

The ICEMAN signature-series is based on the VICTORY platform and is extremely limited in that only 25 guns will be produced. Each of Chuck’s guns will be serial numbered and include a signed photo as well as a signed certificate of authenticity. The ICEMAN Victory paintball guns will be made available exclusively through his website and eBay via auction through his official store.

For more information on Chuck Liddell, check out IcemanMMA.com

Updated @ 12am: Final scores from D3.
There is a rumor floating around that this was the first time in the history of the NPPL holding the HB event, (2003-present), that the league posted a profit. While some features of the event seemed to be cutting corners (namely the free webcast, cleaning of bunkers, and reff staff), there were several improvements that players and fans appreciated. This time, players and fans could view the event and fields from multiple sides, which caught a ton of attention from beach goers. The layout of the event further encouraged attendance by having three entrances to the event the placement of vendors alongside the heavily trafficked boardwalk.

The Huntington Beach event is known throughout the industry as the pinnacle of 7-man paintball and it will be interesting to see how the rest of the series measures up. Without further a-du, we are proud to present the scores from the NPPL 2010 Surf City Open.

PRO Paintball
1st San Diego Dynasty, an EMPIRE team
2nd Edmonton Impact, sponsored by NXe
3rd Oakland Blast, powered by Tadao Technologies
4th LA Infamous, an EMPIRE team

D1 Paintball
1st Warped Army
2nd Arsenal Predators
3rd Hollywood HK
4th Naughty Dogs Silver

D2 Paintball
1st Vanguard USA
2nd Infamy, an EMPIRE team
3rd Impact Echo
4th Part Time Ninjas

D3 Paintball
1st Notorious, an NXe team
2nd Team TIP
3rd TLords, an EMPIRE team
4th Minion

This year, Vancouver Vendetta and Newport Entourage will be making their pro paintball debut. Throughout the off season, teams like Edmonton Impact, Tampa Bay Damage, San Diego Dynasty, St. Louis Avalanche and Los Angeles Infamous have been stacking their rosters with national champions from years prior. As we go into the first event, everyone here at Pro Paintball is very excited and we are all placing bets as to which teams will be leading the pack.

With all of this in mind, we are proud to open this story for your NPPL HB team predictions. If you are lucky enough to predict the top 4 teams in the pro division we will award you with a prize. Our prizes include T-Shirts from Sly Equipment, San Francisco Explicit and Pro Paintball.com, barrel wraps from Paintball Photography and DLX Technologies, and headbands from PBheadbands.com. 

For extra credit, feel free to share your predictions for divisional paintball teams.

Read on for the official pro paintball team list and be sure to place your top 4 picks in the comments below.

NPPL 2010 Pro Paintball Team list (in alphabetical order):

• San Diego Dynasty

• St. Louis Avalanche

• Oakland Blast

• Chicago Legend

• San Francisco Explicit

• Sacramento XSV

• Indianapolis Mutiny

• Edmonton Impact

• Vancouver Vedetta

• LA Infamous

• Tampa Bay Damage

• Naughty Dogs

• Newport Entourage

If your interested in the players roster-ed for the event, be sure to check out the teams registration information here.

Please note that our predictions will be closed Friday morning at 7am and prizes will be doled at the discretion of our moderators. In order for your entrees to be considered you must enter a valid email. Offer valid while supplies last.

Good luck!

SEBURO: Oakland Blast called you a couple of weeks ago to play for them in 2010. Tell us about how this came about.
PRINCE: Well I’ve been sitting on my ass on the off season and haven’t played paintball very much due to the main fact that I didn’t know who I was going to play with for the 2010 season and also I’ve just been busy at work (yes I do have a real job). I’ve got a few calls from other teams but no moves were ever made, plus I wanted a local gig. I’ve talked to Jason Bornstein, Dave Baines  (before he made the move to impact), and Tyler Harmon about playing for BLAST in 2010 and nothing was really set in stone until the legendary Terry Fong texted me a couple weeks ago and said if I want the spot, it’s mine. I had to take it!

SEBURO: Tell us  what you think about joining a team who are the 2009 USPL Series champions and coached by the legendary Bob Long.
PRINCE: I’ve known everyone on the team for a while now. BLAST has been our local sparring partners for th last few years. My strongest relationship I’d say I have with the current members on BLAST are the bros, Jason and Corey. We go way back since before I even played pro and when Corey didn’t even like chicks. I had the opportunity to play with them for a couple of seasons with the Bushwackers, which I definitely enjoyed. Everyone else I’ve known for a while too, but never really had the chance to play on the same team as them so I’m really looking to strengthen my ties with all the other guys on the team this season.

I really feel honored to be given the opportunity to play with BLAST this season. With the team being the USPL series champs last year, I really need to step my game up and bring the heat. I’m not worried at all because we definately got a nasty line up! Playing for Bob is big too! He’s an OG of the game and when I first started playing paintball, he’s one on the people that inspired me to be the best I could be in the sport, which I think got me where I’m at today. Bob definitely knows what he’s doing and I’m excited to work with him this season!

SEBURO: You will be playing with the Bornstein brothers Corey and Jason again who were your teammates on Bushwackers. Are you looking forward to that?
PRINCE: I’m definitely looking forward to playing with jason and Corey again this season. Like I said, we go way back and we’re definately going to have some more memorable moments this season both on and off the field.  I can’t wait!

SEBURO: You have been away for most of last season as the Bushwackers slowly disappeared from the scene. What have you been doing in the meantime?
PRINCE: Well, ever since the Bushwackers collapsed, I’ve just been focusing on graduating college, which I’m projected to do this spring, working, and training Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and MMA. To be honest, I didn’t even think I was going to play this season. I just got really burnt out with what had happened with the Bushwackers and after seeing all the drama that was going on in the industry, I was over it. It felt good doing other things, other than paintbalI, in the off season. I could get sloppy on Saturday night and not have to worry about making it to Jackson’s house (big ups to my man Jackson Cheung of San Francisco Explicit) at 7am to bum a ride to Capital Edge Paintball in Sacramento to practice! Also I think training helped me refocus and it got me to where I needed to be for this season, both physically and mentally. I’m looking to do big things in the MMA world too, but now that the new year has arrived it’s time to grind!

SEBURO: Can you tell is what happened to the Ron Kilbourne and the Bushwackers?
PRINCE: To be honest, I don’t know what happened to Ron. After PSP Chicago last year he disappeared off the face of the earth. He wouldn’t answer any phone calls and nobody could get a hold of him, not even the sponsors. Players began dropping like flies and in the end it was just me, Ryan, Chunk, and Mike. Money ran tight and we just couldn’t afford to go to the last events. Even if we wanted to continue to play the USPL, although the entry was already paid, we didn’t have money to travel and also didn’t even have a full roster to compete.

SEBURO: What has happened to the rest of the Bushwackers? We know where Jason, Corey, Greg and Shane went, what about Chunk, Ryan and Neil?
PRINCE: The last I heard from Chunk (Martin), he’s been working and bailing criminals out of jail (he’s a bail bondsman). I think he still plays and helps out and coaches the SCU paintball team. You can find Ryan (Podesta) at the local paintball fields beating up on noobs and working at his 10,000,000 jobs. I think he still has his overseas gig and is going to be playing  in the Millenium Series this year. Also he will be becoming a father soon (yeah…I know…Ryan having a kid..scary!). So congrats to him! Neil (Eberle) has been working multiple jobs too and by the way he’s been popping kids out like hot cakes, he’s probably going to need to get another one soon! Mike is playing for Fuzion this season and that’s pretty much it.

SEBURO: Back to you. Tell us about training and fighting MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) – how many fights have you been in since the first one where you pretty much beat that kid up. How much are you into MMA?
PRINCE: I’m doing pretty good fighting. I started off doing Jiu Jitsu and it just led in to MMA and Muay Thai. So far, I’ve fought 2 MMA smokers, 1 MMA Pankration fight, 1 Muay Thai smoker, and a dozen Jiu Jitsu tournaments. Technically theres no winner in smoker fights but check out my videos on youtube (search for “50jerm”) and you can see how I get down! The pankration fight I tapped the guy out in like 2 minutes, and they actually declare a winner so thats the only fight I really consider myself winning.  This year I’m looking to fight amatuer MMA and maybe PRO depending on what my trainer wants me to do. Also I’m looking to compete in as many Jiu Jitsu competitions as I can this year. I got first place in the blue belt featherweight division a couple weeks ago and I’m looking to get as many medals as I can! I really got in to fighting last year and I plan on taking this as far as I can, just like I did with paintball.

SEBURO: You are one of the fittest guys I know, you are doing some kind of training every day. What is your routine? How do you find the time to gym, train, study, school and work?
PRINCE: I always find time to work out. I’m a big advocate of working out and staying fit and it’s something I think everyone should do, whether or not you compete in any competitive sport or if your just an average Joe. I usually lift weights 3-4 times a week for at least one hour. I usually do chest and biceps on day one, back and triceps on day two, shoulders and traps on day three, and legs on day 4. I train at least 2 days out of the week with mixture of Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and MMA and this is for at least 2-3 hours a day. I’m a really busy guy. If I’m not at school or work, I’m in the gym lifting weights or trying to choke people out on the mat!

SEBURO: New team – New gun- what is colour scheme you have chosen for the new Bob Long?
PRINCE: We’re shooting Victorys. I went with a different color scheme from my usual red or purple. I’m going to let you guys wait and see when I get it in my hands!

SEBURO: Say something to your fans who haven’t seen you for a while. I’m sure they’d be looking forward to watching you tear up the snake again.
PRINCE: To all my fans out there, if I have any (lol), I want to thank you guys for your support throughout the years. Stay true and keep doing what you guys love to do and do let anyone tell you you can’t do it. Expect big things from BLAST this season and I’m definitely going to try and keep doing what I do best. Getting nasty in that snake! Shout out to all my niggs out there that are still in the game grindin it out every weekend and to my Capital Edge paintball family.  Big ups to pbrack.com and If you guys haven’t checked out Pbrack’s new clothing line, go check that out ASAP! If any of you guys are ever in the area and want to train, come check us out at crispimbjj.com for jiu jitsu in Pleasanton CA and True Fight Club for muay Thai in Hayward CA. Good luck to everyone this season and see you all in HB in April! I’m out this bitch!

-Prince

SEBURO: Thank you for your time Prince, I really apprecite it. You have given us a great insight into your life in and out of paintball and we wish you all the best on Blast for 2010 and beyond.

Just recently ProPaintball.com broke news of  the merger between SD Aftermath and LA Infamous teams to create one super team comprised of both players who’ve been in the sport for as long as most of us can remember as well as much of paintballs young and fresh talent. Of course the merging of two PRO teams means 16+ players fighting to earn their spots on the roster, leaving the rest looking elsewhere to continue playing.

With that being said, Pinky let us in on his plans for the 2010 season, checkout what he had to say:

I thought the season was going to start out good with the LA Infamous & Aftermath merger that all you read about. Long story short some things went down that were not addressed to half of the team and at least for me it just felt like my opinion didn’t matter to much. So some people left to find themselves back in a Red and Black SD jersey. My heart still bleeds Red and Black but for now I will be playing NPPL with Okland Blast and I am very happy about that. When my boy Tyler Harmon hit me up to play with blast I was nothing but excited for the chance to play on a team that was by far my favorite team when I was just a lil’ pup coming up in the world. As for PSP I will be coaching SD Aftermath and trying to make some other power moves in the PRO division. Pheonix is coming up soon and only time will tell what happens. Blast will start grinding the weekend of the 13th and 14th of March.  So that’s what’s good with Mr. Pink for 2010. Let’s Rock!!!

Stay tuned to ProPaintball.com for further updates as the season progresses!

Arthur: How did the move come about – did XSV approached you or you were looking for a move to another team?

Tyler: The move came about for me after Mike Hinman of team Aftermath made the decision to build himself a local empire this season with the talent that he has all around him in southern California. This way there wouldn’t have to be a separation of distance for his team to practice every single weekend and he could build something lasting that won’t have to change every season. Junior Brown approached me at the end of 2009 with the very same idea in mind as Mike; to build something local with the talent we have up here in northern California. I have known a lot of the guys on the team since the very beginning of my paintball experience and was more than happy (STOKED!) to be a part of the re-birth of a team I have watched grow and flourish ever since the first practices here in Modesto out at Riches field years back.

Arthur: What the reason for the move?
Tyler: The reason for my move to XSV is because I will be able to play paintball with some of my best friends in the world and build a team with Rich and Thomas and Junior that will be lasting and have room for tons of growth.

Arthur: Why did you choose XSV?

Tyler: I chose XSV because it’s time for me to give back to the community that raised me into the sport and helped me achieve the dream of becoming a professional paintball player. Without the community here in Modesto opening it’s field to me I don’t know where I would be today…..I definitely wouldn’t be as happy and as blessed as I am right now. I chose XSV because I am ready to build a team with the talent we have here in northern California and experience all of the joys that are sure to come with some of my best friends!

Arthur: Are you on XSV for PSP and NPPL?

Tyler: I am on Sacramento XSV for the PSP x-ball format, and I am still going to be playing for Oakland BLAST in the USPL 7-man format. This is going to be an amazing season!

Arthur: Whats in store for Tyler Harmon after school finishes?

Tyler: Watch out world!!! I dream of being able to travel to as many countries as I possibly can, and play paintball with everyone!! I would love to get on a team in Europe, and Canada, and Australia and share the love of paintball all around the world with as many people as I possibly can! Paintball is such a blessing to me and I would have no greater pleasure in life than experiencing this blessing with as many people around the world as I possibly can.

Thank you giving me the opportunity to tell you about my up and coming season with XSV.

God bless everyone!

Tyler Harmon

—-

When not writing for Pro Paintball dot Com, Arthur runs a paintball blog known as Seburo.

Central Florida Paintball Park played host to both Pro and divisional 5-man and X-ball teams over the weekend. Reports from the field indicated that over 50 teams were in attendance trying to fine tune their shots and game plans before the biggest pro paintball tournament in the world.

Thomas Mantoni and Frank Connell of the New England Hurricanes sustained injuries during yesterdays practice. Hopefully they will recover before their preliminary matches.

The Russian Legion pro paintball team has revamped their website, go take a look.

Word on the street is there is some shenanigans going down at PaintballUSA. According to information we read, Conquest Paintball Park recently had all their equipment stolen and subsequently the owners of Conquest were asked to leave the premises of PBUSA. The equipment had been stored at PBUSA. A group of Southern California players are calling for a boycott of PBUSA. For more information and background on the situation, check out the thread on PBnation.

David Cornell of Surge was seen trying out for LA Infamous over the weekend.

Rumor has it that Alex “Mouse” Goldman of SDA will be joining Oakland BLAST at NPPL Vegas next week.

Speaking of Aftermath, rumor has it James “Kekoa” Ferguson hurt his wrist during practice and Mike “Huey” Robles has joined Aftermath II.

Special thanks to Jeremy Doan for the excellent photo!