Well, the playoffs are cruel to such fourth-seeders as myself and Spade. The Knights and Vicars were the second highest scoring playoff teams in each league and lost by less than two points each. Both of them had picked up Billy Volek also. Hmm...
And thanks to the compliments given by owners last week about the league. I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm not going to run the baseball league but am willing to run this next year. Open to Geoff's idea about deeper starting line-ups, so we'll see what that could look like. A possible compromise might be making one or two of the flex slots fixed positions and having 14-16 team leagues. I may just throw in a TE slot to spite Spade.
Seriously, with Antonio Gates (MAC, yo) and Alge Crumpler having great years, it shows the tight end position is a lot deeper than I realized. We'll have a lot more freedom going into next year starting from scratch anyway... so keep your ideas around for next summer.
League 1
Knights Who Say Ni 117.08
Team Pinoy 118.96
A playoff match for the ages. The league's two best performances went head-to-head for a chances in the finals. Teamwork was the definite watchword for both of these teams, though each side had their star performers. Billy Volek kept the Knights in this game while coach cthulu's boys excelled under the leadership of Daunte Culpepper (25-35-404, 3 TD, 1 INT, 4-22 rushing), Curtis Martin, and the Buffalo defense. Randy Moss (4-102 receiving on 9 targets, 1 TD) returned to form for the Knights, and Warrick Dunn (28-134, 1 TD rushing, 0-0 receiving on 2 targets) contributed well in the losing cause. Coach Sketch was still trying to soak in the loss after the game "So, I played well and lost, which is fair. I doubled huskerpunk's score this week. He's in the finals; I'm not, which is not fair. Well, I at least get another Denver rematch. j's a good guy." With this performance, the top seed, and performances off the bench like Larry Fitzgerald (4-37, 2 TD receiving on 7 targets), coach cthulu has to like his chances going into the finals.
Fast-Paced Ruralites 57.82
elephantstoners 51.66
With all due respect to coach j, the Ruralities had every right to win this game. They were the higher seed, and they didn't start Kerry Collins (21-37-371 passing, 5 TD, 1 Int, 4-10 rushing) or Jerry Porter (8-148, 3 TD receiving on 12 targets). While it looks as if they cheesed their way into the finals, the Ruralities have enough weapons to give Team Pinoy a run for its money. With Terrell Owens due to have surgery, Porter just may get his chance to shine next week. As for coach j, it was a tough day. Donald Driver (4-74 on 10 targets, 1 TD) had the best receiving day from the bench while Peyton Manning and Jerome Bettis (36-140 rushing, 1 TD, 1-3 receiving on 2 targets) were the only starts for the stoners to get double digits. Definitely an off-week for coach j, and he'll get a chance to recoup in the third-place game against the Knights. He seems to be looking forward to it: "Yeah, now it's all about bragging rights and stuff, which is always fun. Sketch can't talk trash to save his life, the pussy."
the andalusian dawgs 58.44
Schadenfreude 95.16
Whatever mojo (the stuff, not the Madison resident) coach bitterbuffalo had has finally run out in the consolation bracket. Coach Shameful joy put a serious smackdown on the dawgs thanks to performances from Jimmy Smith (4-87 on 8 targets, 2 TD) and Trent Green (16-19-224 passing, 3 TD, 0 INT, 0-0 rushing). It's been a good run for the dawgs, who were the laughing stock of the league for a part of the season. Matt Hasselbeck (22-30-201 2 TD INT passing, 1 fumble lost) has been contributing well the past few weeks, and Derrick Mason (9-121 receiving on 16 targets, 1 TD) has shown signs of life... although this time it was from the bench. They will have their hands full against a potent-yet-underperforming Silver Hammers in the seventh-place game. Meanwhile, the Germans roll on against coach Billz next week.
Smokin' With Ricky 101.52
Silver Hammers 48.64
Note to Billz: play every game like it doesn't matter. Smokin' with Ricky is playing it's best football after it was no longer eligible for the playoffs. In doing so, it screwed up a lot of other people's plans. "I mean, yeah, I played really bad this week, but where the hell did all this team come from?" asked a frustrated coach Max. Some of Max's woes could be attributed to coaching: starting an injured Derrick Blaylock, going with Byron Leftwich over Chad Pennington (18-24-253 3 TD passing). While Nick Goings and Javon Walker (11-152 on 16 targets) had solid days for the Hammers, it just wasn't enough. GM Billz' teams was... well... smokin'. Nate Burleson (5-134 receiving on 5 targets, 2 TD) and Fred Taylor (22-165, 1 TD, 1 target) led the way and almost locked a fifth place game on their own. Billz was happy with the prospects "If we're going out, we're going out winning, dudes. Besides we get to go back to Germany, which means a stop in Amsterdam. DUDES!!!!!!"
League 2
The Round Table 95.92
The Unbaited Vicars 94.28
The Abbey has always seen success in the face of adversity, leading League 2 in come-from-behind victories on Monday night. This week, it was Coach Sketch's turn to make a comeback, and it happened thanks to New England's kicking game and defense. Granted, they didn't need to do much: Larry Johnson (30-151 rushing 2 TD, 0-0 receiving on 0 targets) and Muhsin Muhammad (10-135, 1 TD receiving on 14 targets) built a nice foundation for the team. In the end, however, you can probably write the Vicars' loss off to Terrell Owens' injury. Maybe Billy Volek (40-60-492, 4 TD, 1 Int, 1 fumble lost, 1-1, 1 TD rushing) offset that by play out of his head, but nothing else on the Vicars ranked better than "good" with the possible exception of Domanick Davis (25-95 rushing, 1 TD, 4-22 receiving on 5 targets). Needless to say, it was a tough loss for Coach Spade: "So I outscore both postmersh and OPA... fucking OPA... yet I'm in the third-place game? Because T.O. gets hurt? What did I do to get this curse?" Coach Sketch did his best to reassure that he knew exactly how Spade felt. "Sketch, what are you talking about. How can... oh, league 1. Right."
McNabb's Nads 80.66
POstMershian Invader 68.06
In a night of New England comebacks, Corey Dillon (26-121, 1 TD rushing, 2-1, 1 TD receiving on 2 targets) did his work and then come for coach OPA, ensuring a spot in the finals. Peyton Manning (20-33-249, 1 TD, 2--2 rushing) didn't have his best game but added a fair contribution for the Nads. Coach postmersh kept things interesting with Michael Vick (11-28-154, 2 TD, 2 INT, 8-68, 1 TD rushing, 1 fumble lost) and Kevin Jones (19-79 rushing, 1 TD, 4-35 receiving on 5 targets, 1 fumble lost) leading the way. Unfortunately, all it will get them is a third-place game against a very tough Vicar squad. Coach OPA was ecstatic "The two best teams make it to the finals. Are you ready, Sketch? I know I am. Westbrook is my comeback bitch! Just you wait and see. This will be so great. I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself... um... excuse me, I gotta hit the can."
The Keppersofts v2.0 90.30
The Yoko Ono's 88.24
After having a shot at the playoffs last week, coach lockstock finds himself in the seventh-place game after a tough loss to the Keppersofts. LaDainian Tomlinson (26-111, 2 TD rushing, 1 for -5 receiving on 1 target) met expectation this week, and pick-up Drew Bennett (13-160, 2 TD receiving on 17 targets) has been a nice surprise down the stretch. Despite those great performances, coach Bateman prevailed thanks to the consistent awesomeness of Curtis Martin (24-134 2 TD rushing, 0-0 receiving on 0 targets) and the Buffalo defense. Hines Ward (9-134 receiving on 15 targets) also helped out a bit, and it was enough for Bateman's third win a row and a chance to face robotboy in the fifth-place game.
TheCrazy88 72.42
Phat Ass Nutsack 75.24
When all you have left is bragging rights, games become that much tougher to win. Both consolation games in week 2 were a testment to that as coach robotboy squeaked a victory against the Crazy88. Coach Heartcooksbrain had a lot of tough calls to make, and hindsight showed that Santana Moss (1-12 rushing, 5-83 2 TD receiving on 5 targets) and Ben Roethlisberger (18-28-316, 1 TD, 2 INT, 1 for -1 rushing) shouldn't have been on the bench. In all due fairness, the same could be said for the Sack's Roy Williams (7-104 receiving on 11 targets, 2 TD) and Rudi Johnson (23-130, 1 TD 0 catches on 2 targets). "Yeah, we pretty much played at each other's level today, but the better team won, fuckers!" ruminated a more-humble-than-usual coach robotboy. We'll see if the attitude sticks with him during next week's game. "Of course, it will. I'm ready to kick some serious ass. What the hell is a Keppersoft anyway?"
Week 15 All-Stars
QB: Billy Volek
RB: Larry Johnson, Curtis Martin
WR: Joey Porter, Drew Bennett, Nate Burleson
K: Jeff Chandler, Ryan Lindell
DEF: Buffalo
Season All-Stars
QB: Peyton Manning
RB: Tiki Barber, Shaun Alexander
WR: Terrell Owens, Mushin Muhammad, Drew Bennett
K: Adam Vinatieri
DEF: Buffalo
