I'm kind of pissed off at the Sharks. Not for the normal reasons or for the fact that they beat me week 13 to make the playoff, but by losing last week it forces me now into a position to pull for The Paper Panthers to win the title. Talk about distasteful. Well here it goes.... GO PANTHERS!!!!!!!! (ow)

Points of Interest

- The Magic are going for their 4th straight title. I'm pretty sure you didn't need me to tell you that. The odds of just getting in that position  are astronomical. Coach Quinn should be congratulated....Then burned at the stake.

- The league Champion has ONLY come from either The North or The East Davison. The North plays the East this week. 

- The highest scoring team in the league for the season will again not win the title. 

- The Sharks has 53 in season transactions. That's a record. Thank God they are automated now.

- No one is going to touch the Storms record of 1264 points.

- I was looking at the break down statistics and was wishing we went to the BCS system.

- Remember regardless of the outcome this week, get your line up in for next week. It's all teams in the pool and the highest scoring team gets $100.

- Coach McQueeney added a new football fan to the world - Julia McQueeney, 9Lbs 0.6 ounces. Mom and baby are doing well. - There is no truth to the rumor that they chose "Julia" as an honor to Col. Piro's "Stage Name", it's just a coincidence.

Champs Bowl 

Champs Game.

Panthers vs. Magic.

Sure I could discuss points, weather conditions, strength of schedule or the fact that The Magic has sat on Kevin Barlow for two years JUST for this moment, but throw all that out the window. The Panthers have proved that though they may not score the points, they know how to win. Not to mention a recent study shows that Coach Sauer may impervious to The Black Magic's spells. It seems you have to be able to spell the word "voodoo" to become a victim of it. Go figure. 

Panther 83 Magic 75

Consolation Game 

Maulers vs. Sharks.

Great seasons for the both of them. Tough division battles close games, gut wrenching coaching calls.... Just one step short. Well, I'm sure they will both get back to the Champs Bowl in their usual 4-5 years.  Until then they get to revel in the pomp and circumstance that is the Consolation Game. 

Both these teams have outstanding match ups for the most part. With the notable exceptions of Travis Henry @ Tenn. and Dominick Davis @ Tampa, but that's really a wash. This one will boil down to the passing and I think the combo of Hassleback/Jackson will be too much for The Sharks to handle this week.

Maulers 90 Sharks 85 

Bridesmaid Bowl. 

WoWW vs. Storm. 

The last two Bridesmaid bowl winners meet head-to-head to prove who's the best 2nd level team once and for all! 2 weeks ago I'd have said WoWW was a slam dunk to win this, but recently the 4-jackasses.... errr.... Horsemen, have been playing like they were supposed to early in the year. Now this may be the most even match up of the year. Get this stat. Over the last four week The Storm has scored 287 points. So has WoWW. Over that period they would have split 2-2 head-to-head.  You don't get any closer than that. These teams may have the two best running games when healthy in the league, I don't think either will be let down by them this week. The key match-yup will be Indy vs. Atlanta. If Atlanta either can't stop The Edge or rolls coverage to stop Harrison, I like WoWW. If they can't stop anybody I like The Storm. Considering Atlanta is both 28th against the pass and 28th against the run, looks like The Storm in a shoot out.

Storm 85 WoWW 84

Consolation Game 

Lightning vs. Onslaught. 

I think Coach of the year honors should really Go to Coach Nobrainard but after losing their division, The Lightning seems to have had a major letdown only scoring 26 points in last weeks match. The Slugs didn't fair much better with 43. Still they faired better. The Lightning could possibly start Mike Vick this week while The Slugs could lose McNair. Still, Coach McQueeney should be more focused, now that he's got that silly little think like the birth of his daughter out of the way, and the running game for the Onslaught could be a bit too much to for The Lightning to overcome.

 Slugs 65 Lightning 50

The Sauer Memorial

Knights vs. Cougars

This should be a good one between two team who at the beginning of the year I dont think any of us would have imagined would have been in this game. It's not like these two teams can't score points either, last week they both scored 73. The week before 65 and 60. Before that 74 and 66.  The one common denominator is The Cougars would have won all those games. I look for that trend to continue in a close one.

Cougars 65 Knights 60 

Crushers vs. Nukers

Battle for the 3 or 4 pick in 2004. This should be a defensive struggle.  Although I like the wide outs for The Crushers this week, you have to give the edge in a defensive battle to the running game. The Nukers combo of A-Train and Duckette should be rather formidable and The Crushers still haven't figured out that 1st round draft pick Duce Staley is still not starting for The Eagles. 

Nukers 45 Crushers 30

Joke of the week:

Col. Piro is so gay he could put a lisp in the word "cracker".

Good luck to all.