[pntbll1313]

I would like to apologize for my posts on the previous thread, and retract my statements regarding 217's intention to decline and implication that they "only wanted to play with the first seed." I did not witness either conversation first-hand, and I regret that I contributed to the rumor-spreading without verifying the facts. It is quite possible that my pit crew made incorrect assumptions and the message got distorted through repetition. I was with my team captain discussing alliance picks when I got the call that 217 was broken and not to pick them. The pit crew could have wrongly interpreted that as they would decline, then got relayed to me. It is also quite possible that the latter statement of only wanting to play with the first seed was meant to be a joke which was not picked up on, or some other completely innocent explanation. That comment was also not made by Paul himself, who I am sure, would not joke about that kind of thing. This was our team's first experience at Championships, and we were so impressed by all of the incredible teams we had the honor of sharing the field with. Congratulations to all teams, and keep up the great work!