The holiday season is upon us, and that can bring thoughts of family and togetherness, but I have some things I want for Christmas going into the 2017 esports season. You can have your Christmas dinner and cozy circle around the fireplace, Ill instead ask for a North American team to make the League of Legends World Championships after a five-year hiatus. Buy your kid the newest game console; Ill do whats needed for the good of competitive gaming, and Santa Claus, wherever you might be, you best be listening.Or else...Wish 1: An NA LCS team to make the 2017 Worlds semifinalsAll right, enough is enough. Since a North American team made the semifinals of the League of Legends World Championships, weve seen the rise and fall of StarCraft II as the biggest esport in the world to becoming a footnote. South Korea and China didnt even have dedicated League of Legends servers or tournaments when the first worlds happened in what looked to be broadcasted from David Phreak Turleys basement.North America now has NBA money coursing through the LCS. We have the big South Korean names in NA starting fives, and teams are even bringing in experienced coaches from the country that has won the past four Summoners Cups. Its time to actually make good on all the investments, and after failing to get a team into the semifinals when the NA LCS appeared to be on an upswing in 2016, its now or never for North America.TSM, Immortals, CLG, whoever, it doesnt really matter. Whether the team has five Americans or none, all I want for Christmas (OK, thats a lie, I want a lot more things) is a North American team in the Final Four of the World Championships next fall. We can even get blown out by a South Korean team when we get there; at least wed get there.Wish 2: The return of Brood War in South Korea, and a Flash vs. Jaedong finalWith StarCraft IIs demise in South Korea and the closing of all its professional teams in the region, the games predecessor, StarCraft: Brood War, is on the rise. The Afreeca Starleague has been gaining in viewers in its second season, and its all because of the star power returning to the field of competitors. TaekBangLeeSsang, the nickname given to the famous quartet of Kim Bisu Taek-yong, Song Stork Byung-goo, Lee Jaedong Jae-dong and Lee Flash Young-ho, are all in the ASL second season, and all four are appearing like favorites to make deep runs into the bracket. Stork, the player with the most question marks around his return, has already qualified for the quarterfinals in first place for his Round-of-16 group, and the other three Brood War heroes should follow suit.A final with any combination of the four could mark a rebirth for the game. Thousands already watch Flash and Jaedong whenever they stream by themselves on Afreeca, and more and more fans are tuning in to watch ASL and see if Brood Wars main characters can make it further in the tournament against some other former favorites, and surprisingly, newcomers that grew up watching TaekBangLeeSsang as grade schoolers in the late 2000s. For Christmas, I want the renaissance to happen with a final between two of the quartet members. Flash vs. Bisu, Stork vs. Jaedong, Bisu vs. Stork -- and, truth be told, the final that would have the largest impact is Flash vs. Jaedong, and Id like the greatest finals rivalry in Brood War history renewed in the year 2017.Wish 3: The year of fighting gamesI want 2017 dubbed The Year of Fighting Games. The early 2010s were the years for StarCraft II and real-time strategy games, followed up by the multi-online battle arena genre explosion with League of Legends and Dota 2. And weve recently had the ascent of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to the forefront of the competitive gaming world on national television with Eleague. Now, in 2017, let the fighting game genre take over and let it have a year to succeed with a number of titles peaking at the right time.It was just announced that Smash 4 would have its own world championship with the The 2GG Championship Series, culminating in December of next year. Smash 4s brother, Melee, is going nowhere, and after a huge 2016, the game that will never die is looking to have an even better 2017 with more money hopefully being inserted into the scene. Street Fighter V is coming off the biggest fighting game tournament of all-time, the Capcom Pro Tour Final, where winner Du NuckleDu Dang took home the title of world champion and $230,000, the biggest prize purse in the genres history. Season 2 of Street Fighter V is expected to bring even more intrigue to the scene, and the introduction of Akuma and five other new characters will mean the game will be ever-changing over the course of 2017.Besides the current Big 3 of the fighting game world, we will also see the release of Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, another title that will revitalize a scene that was seemingly on its last legs. Tekken 7 and Injustice 2 will also be hitting consoles in 2017, bringing two more fighting game titles into the limelight. All we really need is a new Soul Calibur game and Nintendo to announce a Melee world championship circuit to make it the perfect year for fighting games.While MOBAs and first-person shooters will most likely corner the viewership market, let it be known: fighting games are catching up, and may 2017 be the year where one or two make strides to join the Leagues and Counter-Strikes of the world.Wish 4: Blizzard, let Overwatch succeedI want Overwatch to succeed, for a variety of reasons. Not only does having another big esport title diversify and grow the world of competitive gaming even more, but Blizzard, for better or for worse, is thinking outside the box with Overwatch in terms of esports. The Overwatch League is expected to take shape in 2017, and that means city-based teams, player combines, and an ambitious system that weve never seen work in esports. Will Blizzard succeed where others have failed? Or are is the publishing giant biting off more than it can chew?For one, even before Overwatch League, can we please go back to drafting maps before a series begins? I know Blizzard wants to showcase its maps since everything in esports always goes back to selling the game the professionals are playing, but the drafting phase is one of the integral parts of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and why its such an in-depth, diverse game even before the teams head off into battle. Not only does drafting of maps lead to strong narratives of teams becoming kingpins in certain locations, but it makes sure that a team cant just win through a set list of maps that they excel at going into the event. It leaves teams that might not be able to beat Team Envy on all maps, a chance to prepare specifically for one map they hope to grab in draft, or it allows for a smarter team to grab the right course for victory through proper drafting.Is it boring for the general audience to watch people drafting maps? The three biggest esports in the world are Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, and Dota 2, with the latter having a drafting phase that sometimes is twice as long as the game itself. That should be your answer if Overwatch can survive a minimal drafting phase before each best-of contest.Blizzard has tried with StarCraft II and succeeded before ultimately failing due to a lack of proper care; Hearthstone, its next attempt at crafting the next big esport, has done wonders for individual streamers but only decent when it comes to esports; and Heroes of the Storm, well, Blizzard tried. Overwatch is a worldwide success as a game, and with a better spectator client coupled with Blizzard not fumbling the ball when it comes to Overwatch League and the game as a competitive title as a whole, it might be the next worldwide success in esports.If not handled correctly, like what happened eventually with StarCraft II and Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard will be finding nothing but coal in their stocking next year come the holiday season. Cheap New York Yankees Jerseys . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. http://www.cheapworldseriesjerseys.com/cheap-pittsburgh-pirates-jerseys/ . 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These are the tough weeks for Alabama -- in a manner of speaking.Coming off a thrilling 48-43 comeback win over Ole Miss, Alabamas players must refocus and avoid any type of letdown on Saturday when the Crimson Tide host Kent State at noon ET at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.Its human nature to let off the gas against lesser opponents, but Alabama coach Nick Saban doesnt want to allow that to happen.Saban doesnt want top-ranked Alabama to fall victim to some of the pitfalls that trap other ranked teams in these types of games.The Mid-American Conference is sort of known for being able to come up against really good teams and come up with some wins, Saban said, citing arguably last weeks biggest upset and Central Michigans upset of Oklahoma State the week before as examples of what can happen to teams when they dont focus.Obviously, North Dakota State beating Iowa, which is a ranked team, this happens every week, and it happens because the teams that they are playing dont have the proper respect.They dont prepare correctly. They dont play very well and the other team has players, too, that are very capable. They need to be respected, and we need to focus on what we need to do to get better as a team and play to our standard, and that certainly is going to be the message for this week.Kent State comes into the game off a 27-7 victory over Monmouth, its first win after losses to Penn State 33-13 and North Carolina A&T 39-36 in four overtimes the first two weeks.The Flashes have struggled on offense, producing only 897 yards rushing and passing in their three outings for an average of less than 300 yards a game. But they also have held their opponents to an average of just 320 yards a game in total offense.Coach Paul Haynes says his players wont be intimidated as they prepare to meet the nations No. 1 team.We are just going to work on our execution, said Haynes. Weve been to places like Ohio State and LSU, so well be all right.What Saban wants to avoid is a duplication of the effort of both his players and coaaching staff in the second week of the season when the Tide beat Western Kentucky 38-10.dddddddddddd Saban went as far as to say that he was embarrassed at how the team played in that game.Alabamas leadership group is being more vocal this week in hopes of keeping everyone locked in and focused as to not disappoint Saban and the fans.There are no downshifts, Crimson Tide linebacker Ryan Anderson said. Were going to practice this week like were preparing for the national championship. Thats the only way were going to get better as a team.You cant downshift and then pick it back up. You just cant do it.Saban expressed some unhappiness with the way the Tide finished its win over Ole Miss. After outscoring the Rebels 45-6 over one stretch to take a 48-30 lead, the Tide gave up two quick scores to let the Rebels back within five points.All these things catch up with you if you dont fix them, correct them, focus on every play and get things executed properly, that leads to a lot of problems, he said. You dont ever want to beat yourself, and when you do things like that you give yourself an opportunity to beat yourself.Its one thing to get beat physically -- you cant cover them, you cant block them upfront -- thats different and that may happen someday. All this other stuff, you beat yourself, and that is what we have to get fixed.The game against Kent State does have one distinctive aspect to it. Kent State is Sabans alma mater, and the coach recalled a conversation with his wife about that angle.I was telling Terry this morning, I watch these games and these tapes and look out on the field and I played there, Saban said. And I cant remember too many games that I played in there.I guess Im getting old.Saban is 2-0 against his alma mater. In addition to the 48-7 win over Kent State his Alabama team recorded in 2011, Saban also owns a 28-14 win over Kent State in 1990 when he was at Toledo. Chiefs Jerseys China Cheap Nike Chargers Jerseys Cheap Nike Raiders Jerseys Wholesale Cowboys Jerseys China Cheap Nike Giants Jerseys Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys For Sale Wholesale Redskins Jerseys China Cheap Nike Lions Jerseys Packers Jerseys China Cheap Vikings Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Panthers Jerseys Hoodies Cheap Saints Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Nike Buccaneers Jerseys Cardinals Jerseys China Cheap Rams Jerseys Hoodies Cheap Nike 49ers Jerseys Seahawks Jerseys China Bears Jerseys China Cheap Nike Bills Jerseys Ravens Jerseys China Wholesale Falcons Jerseys China ' ' '