The Season comes to a close with a Division Championship decided in the final game. Six teams move on to the post season, while the remainder play for pride and some extra loot in the Scrub Bowl. The Contributors take the top seed as a result of winning the head to head contest with the Sirloins. The Sirloins survive a battle with the Maulers to win the C Division and take the second seed. The B Division winner Titans are the Third seed, and rounding out the Wild Card berths are The Maulers, StingRays, and Elephants. All three Wildcards are from the same Division! This makes it a Homerun for the C Division in 2004. All four teams will play in the postseason, incredible. The Titans and Rays already have their name on the Championship Trophy, while the others are extremely hungry for a Title. It should be a competitive post season; Here is a recap of week nine action.
Cossacks @ Lightning ; 86-46 Lightning
The Lightning close out their season with their fourth win in a row! They cannot capitalize on their tremendous momentum as a result of their early season free fall. In the end they come up two points short, but showed tremendous heart to miss the playoffs by a game. The Cossacks end their season with a loss to finish a very frustrating and disappointing season. They could not recover from losing their number one pick Cobbs to injury, and suffered through a lost season. They had the talent but could not get the breaks. The Lightning and Cossacks look to make some money in the scrub bowl; If the Lightning continue to strike, they could make some cash!
Contributors @ Pride ; 78- 69 Contributors
In a game that had playoff implications if the Pride could win while the Rays faltered, the Pride fell short to end their back-to-back title hopes. They had an up and down season, but remained competitive throughout. They have two Championships and no doubt will come back strong next year. The Contributors clinch the number one seed and finish the season strong. They get the all-important first round bye and get to play the lowest seed advancing from round one. The Contributors have been consistent all year with 8 out of nine top six finishes. They hope to continue their momentum in the playoffs.
Redhawks @ Dragonfarts ; 76 – 75 Hawks
Last week a team won by half a point, this week it’s by one point. What a tough loss for the Farts as they have been battling all year. The Farts had a good team, but were let down by inconsistency and injury. The Hawks close out a losing campaign with a hard fought win. Each team will be looking to win some money and stay competitive in the Scrub Bowl.
Titans @ Death ; 80 – 59 Death
The Death get the win and some team momentum only to run out of season to capitalize. The Michigan Freshman RB Hart had another great game and should be a first rounder next year. This was a great free-agent pick-up for the Death GM. In the end the Death Coach had to be disappointed with their first round pick. The Missouri QB Smith did not come close to last seasons’ numbers and hurt the Death chances for a post season run. The Death should make some noise in the Scrub Bowl. The Titans limp into the post season with their second loss in a row. After being drained by last week’s half point loss, they came into this contest flat. They will meet the Elephants in the first round of the playoffs. In their first meeting of the season, the Titans battled back from a huge deficit to win. Orton and Stubblefield teamed up to score an excess of 70 for the Pach, but are now struggling. Both teams are not playing very well of late so the match-up should be interesting.
Sirloins @ Maulers ; 89 – 78 Swingers
In an epic battle for the C Division Championship, the Sirloins get a great game from Edwards for the win. This was down to the wire and could have gone either way. The Swingers got solid games from the top of their line-up, but were let down by the lower slots. The Maulers got another incredible game from QB Smith, but in the end were sunk by the surprising collapse of their Miami Defense. They were a brickwall in the early part of the season, but have been a huge disappointment of late. These two teams may meet again in the post season so it may be a great grudge match. They both have momentum and should be tough in the playoffs.
Elephants @ Stingrays ; 68- 46 Rays
The Rays get the victory to advance to the post season yet again. The wildcard slot was not a lock, so it was an important win. The Rays have a Fantasy Title, and advanced to the Championship game last year so playing in November is not a new venture. They get the peaking Maulers in the first round so they have their work cut out for them. The Pach squad enter the postseason in a tailspin. As a result of their stunning play to begin the year, they still make the playoffs despite recent losses. Their Purdue Hook up has not been able to replicate the early magic and the Elephants are finding it very hard to score. This team still has great potential so they should not be counted out. They get a rematch with the Titans to begin the playoffs, and must regain their early season form or they may make a quick exit in the postseason.
The 2004 regular season is in the books, and it has been another competitive and fun year. It all started back in early August as each owner began to scout the fantasy talent. The expectations were high as the combatants met for the draft and pulled the trigger on their all-important first pick. Some first rounders were busts, and some lived up to the hype. Rookies and unknown fantasy studs emerged to carry their respective teams. Winning at fantasy football takes a fair amount of skill, strategy, and hard work. One also needs fortunate match-ups, and yes a high amount of good fortune. Fantasy football is thrilling and frustrating. The agony of seeing your RB pulled for the back-up at the one yard line, or the Pain of logging on to see your opponent score 5 td’s with one player. All is forgiven when your man does what was expected…score and score often! Pain and pleasure, the essence of Fantasy sports. Thanks to all for making this another successful year. Good luck to all the playoff teams, and good luck to those in the scrub bowl. Before you know it August will be here and we will do it yet again.
I Love this game! Jeff Myers
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