Tampa Bay Fantasy League

In the first part of our semi-finals coverage, the Hurricanes hold a two point edge over Runs N Throses, Runs N Throses has no more opportunity to score points while Hurricanes still have Westbrook to pile on with – only something disastrous, like Brian being caught behind the line on his first 2 carries for -10 yards and then fumbling and never returning to the game can change this outcome and prevent Hurricanes from advancing to Fantasy Bowl XI….

In the UO/Cows matchup, the Cows hold only a nine point edge in South Park Stadium. The game will be won or lost for Eric’s team on the leg of David Akers. Here are the statistical scenarios to watch:

David is averaging 8.5 points a game….but he has only hit double digits 4 times…and the Browns have given up an average of 6.4 per game to the opposing kicker….they have only given up 9 or more to the kicker in 2 games this year – to the Ravens and Broncos – and both were at home…

The over/under on the game tonight is 39 with Philly favored by 14…this is a mathematical outcome of 27-12 in favor of Philly….that score would typically mean 3 extra points and 2 field goals for the kicker = 9 points….

Nine points would force us into a tie breaker situation….the first tie break is total TD’s scored by the starters – currently the Cows hold that edge 5-4 due to the BRILLIANT decision by the Bills coaching staff to try and throw with the lead in the game from inside their own 20 while Lynch was averaging 6.0 yards a carry on the day resulting in a sack and fumble recovery TD for the Cows defense…..

However since we never leave any stone unturned here…..If Akers were to THROW a TD, hit two extra points, and then a field goal – he could still hit nine points and force the tie break process….both teams would be tied with 5 TDs apiece for the starters, and the next tie breaker would be total score of the bench players on the roster – Grandmasters would then take the victory due to a huge game by Dallas Clark otherwise wasted on the UO bench….

Temperature is currently dropping in Philly with an estimated game time temperature in the low 50′s, 70% chance of showers, and wind gusts nearing 26mph….

Congrats to everyone on the conclusion of another successful regular season in the TBFL! Most of the Playoff teams had been determined, but we did again come down to the last week to know the winners of two divisions and the final seedings:

Hurricanes getting hot late and sweeping his division foes ties him for best record in the league and gives him the Buccaneer Division title in his rookie campaign. By way of a 7 pt victory over the Cows in Week 4 – they claim the #1 seed and a Bye for the Wildcard Weekend.
South Park Cows have literally limped through the last three weeks to claim their second Bandit Division crown, the #2 seed, and a badly needed Bye for the Wildcard Weekend.
After a record setting trouncing in Week 12, UO Grandmasters managed to pull it back together this week and secure their third Storm Division title and hang on to the #3 Seed.
As the only at large team to make 9 wins, perrenial playoff participant Runs N Throses claims the #4 Seed and will host a home game.
Fudgie Whales was able to beat out the rival Marauders this week to hang in the Playoff hunt. A 4 point victory over the Thrashers in Week 4 makes them the #5 Seed.
And the most remarkable story in the TBFL, after being upset by the spoiler Playground Legends team and riding outside the playoff bubble, Coach Kevin Beveridge was able to completley refocus his Bay Area Thrasher squad and post back to back record setting scoring weeks to stay alive in the hunt. Ultimately though they still needed help and it was this team’s smack talk rival – Hurricanes -beating XFactor – who held tie breakers over everyone – that allowed them to make the field.

So round one is set:
UO Grandmasters will host division foe Bay Area Thrashers at home. The 4 point home field advantage may not be a factor here though as UO beat them by 55 in Week 6, but suffered a 97 point defeat in Week 12.
Runs N Throses will host a home game against Fudgie Whales. The Week 8 meeting between these two was a 24 point victory for the Throsers.

As a matter of clarification, since the playoff chart does not show it very well, we do re-seed each round. The lowest seed to get through the Wildcard Weekend will go to Hurricanes Stadium, while the other team will come to South Park to face the Cows.

These things usually just fall into my stream of conciousness as I figure it out so here goes…

Bandit Division

South Park Cows hold a two game lead over Fudgie Whales in this division with two games to play…technically not a lock yet, but the Magic Number is 1 – one loss by the Whales or one win for the Cows will secure the Division Title. If Cows lose out and Whales win out, Whales can claim the Division by way of Division Record tiebreaker.

Storm Division

The situation is identical here – Playground Legends playing spoiler this week has given UO Grandmasters a two game lead over Bay Area Thrashers with two to play….Thrashers must win the head-to-head matchup this week to stay in it, but the Magic Number would still be 1 for UO in week 13….UO losing out and Thrashers wining out would give the title here to Thrashers on Division Record tiebreaker.

Buccaneer Division

Runs N Throses and Hurricanes are tied up in record, they split head-to-head, and Runs N Throses holds the lead by way of Division Record tiebreaker….The surging XFactor team trails by only two games with two to play as well and faces both of these teams to close out the season….technically if they sweep and Warriors can sweep their remining two games, XFactor can still win the division…but a single win by RNT or Hurricanes will take them out of title contention…If RNT and the Canes remain tied at 9 or 10 wins, RNT will take the title on Division Record tiebreaker, Hurricanes must end with a better record than RNT to take the crown.

OVERALL
Four teams have 8 wins, but three other teams can still get there so none of them have technically locked up a playoff spot yet…..a single loss going forward by either XFactor, Bay Area Thrashers, or Fudgie Whales guarantees that any team with 8 wins is in the playoffs…..

At the other end of the spectrum – if those three teams were to lose out and stay at 6 wins – they would open the door for Armed N Dangerous and Marauders….Armed N Dangerous can throw a monkey wrench into things due to not playing XFactor, causing a tiebreak at Division Record. This could allow a 6-7 Marauders team to get in on a 5-1 Division Record and then AND to get in on a 3-3 Division Record. If AND misses the 6 win mark, XFactor will have swept the remaining 6 win teams, taking Seed #5, and Marauders again could get in with Division Record tiebreaks over the rest of the field…..

So technically at this point only Warriors, Playground Legends, and Money Inc are officially eliminated.

If The Playoffs Started Today:
South Park Cows would now be the #1 Seed holding an ass whooping on UO Grandmasters and a four point victory over Runs N Throses.
Runs N Throses comes down to the #2 Seed holding a five point Week 4 victory over UO Grandmasters.
UO Grandmasters as the remaining Division Champ would hold the #3 Seed adn host a Wildcard Game.
Hurricanes with the best at large record would be the #4 Seed and host the other Wildcard Game.
XFactor by virtue of four point victories over Thrashers and Fudgie Whales is the #5 Seed.
Fudgie Whales by virtue of a four point victory over Thrashers in Week 4 would take the #6 Seed.

First, the trade deadline has passed, some teams may start dropping players drafted in the first three rounds of the draft to replace them with future keepers….remember as this happens that those players are considered locked till next year’s draft….If you waste your waiver moves on them, they will be removed from your roster and you won’t get your pick priority back.

Congrats to Fudgie Whales who claim their first ever TBFL Team-of-the-Week award passing up yours truly who got no production from old man Bruce on Monday Night….

The Playoff Picture

With three weeks to play all against your own division rivals….Marauders joins the list of those officially eliminated from winning their division….With currently at least six wins required to make the playoff field, Playground Legends and Money Inc are officially out….Marauders and Warriors are next on the cusp requiring themselves to win out while six win teams lose out to have a shot….AND would have to win out and have UO lose to Thrashers to stay in the Wildcard race….XFactor cannot afford a single loss if they want to try and win the Buccaneer Division, but they are still deep in the Wildcard hunt….

If the Playoffs started today:
Runs N Throses would still retain the #1 seed and a Week One Bye.
South Park Cows would still hold the #2 seed and Bye over UO by way of head-to-head record.
UO Grandmasters would host a Wildcard Round game against Bay Area Thrashers who are now the #6 seed due to a four point loss to Fudgie Whales in Week 4.
Hurricanes would host the other Wildcard Round game against the Fudgie Whales who refuse to go away and are now the #5 seed.

What are they smoking in the Buccaneer Division ?

The latest trade from the Hurricanes involving their own division rivals:

Hurricanes give up: QB-Trent Edwards, RB-Steve Slaton, and WR-Kellen Winslow Jr.
XFactor gives up: RB-Brian Westbrook, RB-Mewelde Moore, and WR-Calvin JohnsonOK…Hurricanes gains an always questionable stud and a questionably talented WR, XFactor gains the hot rookie who can kept next year and a QB starter who can be kept for the next 4 years….

I await the message board flaming…

For the second time in less than two weeks, Buccaneer Division rivals Hurricanes and Warriors have completed a large trade.

Warriors give up: RB-Ronnie Brown, WR-Patrick Crayton, and DT-San Diego Chargers
Huricanes gice up: QB-Marc Bulger, RB-Ryan Grant, and DT-Chicago Bears

The timing of the trade has sparked a bit of rumor mongering as the two will clash in a Week 6 Divisional Matchup. Warriors appear to upgrade their Defense and gain a much needed Quarterback with the ongoing injury issues of Brian Griese and Ben Roethlisberger. They give up the #4 running back in the league by points per game and a Free Agent throw in, and gain back a possible future starter they can keep in the 9th round of the 2009 Draft.

After these messages we will review how these recent trades have been reviewed in the league on our message board…”

BREAKING NEWS

The TBFL news desk has confirmed that in the wake of the destruction of Hurricane Ike, twelve TBFL players have received permission to fly into Galveston to provide assistance to storm survivors.

“Our players have strong ties to their hometown communities and some of them just felt it would not be right to be playing football when they could be helping families in their worst hour of need” said Commissioner and South Park Cows owner Shannon Harris. “Andre [Johnson] called me on the way to the airport concerned about his family there. I told him not to worry and that the AND owner’s jet would pick him up. It may be the first TNA Night of the year, but there was no way Mike [Miller - AND owner] was going to deny his guys.”

Armed N Dangerous players Willis McGahee, Ahman Green, and Steve Slaton and Runs N Throses WR Derrick Mason are all among the players making their way down to assist today. Not be outdone by AND, Bay Area Thrashers owner Kevin Beveridge mandated that his entire starting defensive squad go as well.

“We are only playing the Warriors, so we probably won’t even need those guys” he said. “The rest of our squad can play both ways and we will still kick their asses up and down the field.”

Other TBFL players who will miss games on Sunday include Todd Heap, Joe Flacco, Ray Rice, Kevin Walter, Matt Schaub, and Kris Brown.

Three things are certain in life, Death, Taxes and Runs N Throses using all of their allotted time to make a draft pick.

Yep, I am back, sort of.

Your illustrious Commish, during a lapse in sanity, has given me access to comment on the happenings of the TBFL since I have nothing better to do during the NFL Throwball season.

Let us begin my weekly (or not so weekly) report on all things TBFL by giving a clear, level-headed, unbiased review of the 2008 TBFL Selection Meeting.

Armed N Dangerous

AnD came into the draft stacked at quarterback with The Gunslinger, Tony Romo and Aaron Rodgers. The rest of the roster is irrelevant as the only thing that matters about this team is that we can track the progress of The Gunslinger as he nears 300 career Favres, though you may call them interceptions. I was a little disappointed to see that The Gunslinger did not hit the 300 mark last season, but we all know The Gunslinger is all about boosting his career stats and I just knew he was coming back to make sure he cemented his legacy as the all-time leader in career Favres.

Bay Area Thrashers

The Thrashers sent your favorite all-time TBFL team, Morning Wood, into retirement on a bitter note by defeating the Wood in the championship game last season. The BAT selected Reggie Bush at the end of round one at which point draft prognosticators told anyone who would listen that they should have selected Mario Williams. Williams 18.5 career sacks versus 15 career touchdowns for Reggie Bush, point proven.

Fudgie Whales

The Whales draft can be summed up by four words … Jay Cutler … Jason Campbell. Here are four more … Are you truly serious? Thanks for donating to the TBFL cause.

Hurricanes

The Hurricanes went out on a limb and selected LaDainian Tomlinson with the #1overall pick. Did someone tell the Hurricanes that the TE position is not required? If that rule ever changes though, the ‘Canes are all set.

Marauders

The Marauders keepers were something to behold. Whoever left those gems for this roster was a freaking genius. I guess the Marauders didn’t quite understand that LenDale White does not get points for pounds of food eaten.

Money Inc

Tatum Bell, quite a steal. Yes, that is low-lying fruit but come on you have to take it. It is quite ironic though that Bell best carry as a Lion was taking someone else’s gear.

Playground Legends

By far, the Legends selected the best set of back up running backs in the league. Guess we are going to see a lot of Run –n- Shoot out of the Legends this year. Can someone let Chad Johnson know that 85 in Spanish is actually Ochenta Cinco?

Runs N Throses

Another team that somehow beat the awesome Morning Wood for a league championship. I really want to mock the Throses draft but overall I think they did a great job, of course when you take all of your allotted time, you better do well. The Commish is eagerly awaiting your weekly phone call to make your roster moves. It is nice to know that some things will never change.

South Park Cows

The Cows produced a decent draft, but can you really count on Elisha Nelson Manning and David Garrard? With a weakened division it looks like the Cows might actually procure a playoff spot and might actually produce a winning record.

UO Grandmasters

Well, lookie here. We got yet another team that defeated the Morning Wood to win the TBFL Championship. Rumor has it that the Wood ownership is still bitter at the six-point loss. Let us squash those rumors right now; they are bitter that they never got their PS3 or Blu-Ray player from someone who worked for Sony. I mean they contributed to letting the Grandmasters ownership propel their life forward and the Wood still have not received a thank you. Let us hope that the Grandmasters can someday make up for their complete ungratefulness.

Warriors

One of the only things more certain than The Ohio State University Buckeyes destroying the Michigan Wolverines AGAIN, is that the Warriors will have yet another horrid season. It has been 1,751 days since Michigan last beat Ohio State in a football game, just about the same amount of time it has been since the Warriors had a winning record against the Morning Wood. The Warriors selected Mario Manningham with their last selection; at least Manningham is used to losing big games, so he will fit right in with this team.

X-Factor

Due to selecting the greatness that is Troy Smith, the X-Factor proved that while related to the Warriors, they can make much better decisions. Look for a sweep of the Warriors by X-Factor dooming the Warriors to a 4th place finish.

Until next weekish, enjoy the Throwball.

Just a reminder not to miss out on the 2008 TBFL Weekly NFL Pick Pool and the 2008
TBFL Survivor Pool – You can find both on the main MyFantasyLeague page under the header “CONTESTS” on the navigation column.

The 2008 TBFL Draft is in the books and it’s time to get down to some serious competition. Remember that the season starts on Thursday night, so enter your starting lineups for all Giants and Redskins before that game kicks off. The rest of the lineups are due at the normal time before the kickoff of first games on Sunday.

I still need fees turned in from a select few of you – you know who you are…
Get them sent to my PayPal at shannon.harris@gmail.com

Commish