ÿþ <!-- \/ starthtml --> <html> <head> <!-- The block of META tags is required by Homepage Studio --> <!-- to identify this file as created by Freeform Editor. --> <!-- Please do not remove them, but feel free to append --> <!-- them with your personal data below. Meta tags help --> <!-- search engines identify the content of your page. --> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="enter keywords here"> <META NAME="description" CONTENT="enter a description here"> <META NAME="author" CONTENT="enter your name here"> <META NAME="generator" CONTENT="FreeFormEditor 1.0"> <TITLE></TITLE> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000" link="#0000EE" vlink="#551A8B"> <h1><font size="3"><span style="font-weight: 400">See also:&nbsp; </span></font></h1> <h1><font size="3"><a href="#Round2"> Round 2</a> <a href="#Round1"> Round 1</a> <a href="#Week14"> Week 14</a> <a href="#Week13"> Week 13</a> <a href="#Week12"> Week 12</a> <a href="#Week11"> Week 11</a> <a href="#Week10"> Week 10</a> <a href="#Week9"> Week 9</a> <a href="#Week8"> Week 8</a> <a href="#Week7"> Week 7</a> <a href="#Week6"> Week 6</a> <a href="#Week5"> Week 5</a> <a href="#Week4"> Week 4</a>&nbsp;<a href="#Week3">Week 3</a>&nbsp;<a href="#Week2">Week 2</a> <a href="#Preview">Preview/Week 1</a></font></h1> <p> <font size="3"></font><b><span style="font-size: 18pt">2008 Frozen Tundra Recap</span></b></p> <p> You know the phrase "Like Father, like Son?"</p> <p> In this case, it was "Like Son, like Father."</p> <p> Dakota Cheddar keep the hardware in the family in winning the 2008 Tundra Bowl.&nbsp; This after three straight years of being relegated to the Consolation Bracket.&nbsp; The Cheddar become the second team in league history to win both a league and consolation title (runner-up Rapid Delivery accomplished that feat just last year).</p> <p> Speaking of Rapid Delivery....anyone else notice that this year's Championship game featured the same two teams that were in the Toilet Bowl only a year before.&nbsp; A double-dose of "Worst to First," something that has also never happened before.</p> <p> <strong>Final Pick tally:&nbsp; <?xml namespace="" prefix="O" ?><o:p></o:p></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b>Final week:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>2-1; Season:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>25-19 <o:p></o:p> </b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size: 24pt"></span></i></b> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size: 24pt">Championship Game<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><span style="font-size: 24pt">2008 Tundra Bowl &nbsp; <IMG id="Img16" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" style="width: 48px; height: 48px"> <img src="cheddar.GIF" style="width: 48px; height: 48px" /></span></b><b></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b>(1)Dakota Cheddar 98, (3)Rapid Delivery 60</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b> <o:p></o:p> </b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The Chunky Soup magic simply ran out for RD...which spread to their WR corps.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the Cheddar needed no last-second miracles from Rivers has he explodes for 4 TD passes.&nbsp; Having Minnesota's D fall flat against Atlanta didn't help RD either.</span></p> <p> In any case, this wrapped up an incredible turnaround for both clubs.&nbsp; Both were in the Toilet Bowl last year and respond by going worst-to-first in tandem.&nbsp; Showing that last year was but a fluke.</p> <p> <img src="celebrate.GIF" width="295" height="246" />&nbsp;</p> <p> <i>Dramatization of the Dakota Cheddar locker room (post-game)</i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"></span> </p> <p> <em><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"></span></em><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> <o:p></o:p> </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><span style="font-size: 18pt">Third-Place Game&nbsp; </span> <o:p></o:p> </b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <strong></strong>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <strong>(4) The T.A. Starfires 119 (2) The Purple Prophet 77 <o:p></o:p> </strong> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"></span></strong> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Wow!&nbsp; Where were those muliple TD passes last from Manning last week?!?</span></strong></p> <p> <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Had The Starfires gotten just one more double-points hookup last week (or had KC held off SD last week in the final minute), they would have played RD in the title game.&nbsp; And, with all else being equal, would be the ones hoisting the hardware.&nbsp; So near and yet so far.</span></strong></p> <p> On to the bright side:&nbsp; The Starfires earn a couple of firsts.&nbsp; One, they finish the year with a win for the first time ever.&nbsp; They also become the first team in league history to earn a top-three three-peat.&nbsp; The Prophet meanwhile got let down by a Pittsburgh defense that played on a short field almost all day (hope Roethlisberger has that fumble-itis out of his system now).&nbsp; A disappointing finish for the far-and-away league leader in points scored this season.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <em><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"></span></em>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><u><span style="font-size: 13.5pt"></span></u></b>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><u><span style="font-size: 13.5pt">And finally - last (and least)....</span></u><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <strong>The 2008 Toilet Bowl (a.k.a. the <?xml namespace="" prefix="ST1" ?><st1:street w:st="on"></st1:street><st1:address w:st="on"></st1:address>5th Place game):</strong><b> </b> </p> <p> <strong>(6) Da Raidaz 89, (5) JohnnyBroncos07 72 </strong><b> <o:p></o:p> </b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"> As the Starfires can atest to, getting single-point production from your entire WR corps is not going to get it done.&nbsp; Like the real Broncos, the JBs just couldn't catch a break.&nbsp; Meanwhile for Da Raidaz, riding little more than their QB and Defense, actually finish the year strongly with a three-game winning streak; making the most of what was dealt them....not to mention winning their first consolation title.</span></em></p> &nbsp;<p align="center" class="MsoNormal"> <em><font size="6"><strong> <img src="frozen_tundra_final.GIF" width="376" height="107" /></strong></font></em>&nbsp;</p> <p align="center" class="MsoNormal"> <strong><span style="font-size: 24pt">Frozen Tundra Champions</span></strong></p> <p align="center" class="MsoNormal"> <strong><span style="font-size: 24pt"><em>Dakota Cheddar</em></span></strong></p> <p align="center" class="MsoNormal"> <strong><span style="font-size: 24pt"><em></em> <img src="ring_2008.bmp" /></span></strong>&nbsp;</p> <p align="center" class="MsoNormal"> <font size="6"><strong></strong></font> </p> <p align="center" class="MsoNormal"> </p> &nbsp;<b>Final Thoughts</b><p> <b><span> </span></b> </p> <p> <b><span style="font-size: 18pt"> <?xml namespace="" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" prefix="o" ?><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> As we gaze upon the championship ring that is Dakota Cheddar's, there is another ring to note: &nbsp;A ring of irony.&nbsp; As defense wins championships in real football, points usually wins championships in fantasy football.&nbsp; This was not the case this year as the Cheddar somehow turned the lowest ppg in the league into the best record in the league and a championship.&nbsp; Rapid Delivery, while falling short in disappointing fashion, remind us that they still deserve to carry the tag of perennial favorites.</p> <p> I just can't get a good read on the Starfires.&nbsp; Sure, they get their third straight top-three finish, but their combined record over the last two seasons is a shocking <i>10-17</i>....not what a true contender should be doing!&nbsp; It has been more smoke and mirrors than anything for the T.A. Starfires....relying on luck and hope week in and week out.&nbsp; Hope is not a method when trying to contend year in and year out in Frozen Tundra, and one wonders if their playoff ship has finally sailed.</p> <p> Teams to watch in 2009:&nbsp; The Purple Prophet and Da Raidaz.&nbsp; Although Da Raidaz went from first to (near) worst, I would forsee their bouncing back in '09.&nbsp; Speaking of foreseeing:&nbsp; The Purple Prophet were cranking out points even when they had a losing record.&nbsp; If they repeat that next year, they'll be tough to beat.</p> <p> JohnnyBroncos07 started hot, and then faded badly.&nbsp; Clearly the biggest disappointment of '08.&nbsp; But, if the likes of Dakota Cheddar can go worst-to-first, so could the JBs.</p> <p> With that, we close another season of Frozen Tundra football.&nbsp; Congrats to the Cheddar, happy holidays and see you in 2009!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p> <a name="Round2"></a name><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt">Round 2 preview<?xml namespace="" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" prefix="o" ?><?xml namespace="" prefix="O" ?><o:p></o:p></span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> After a year of utter strangeness, you could say we ve returned to normalcy.</p> <p> Rapid Delivery are back in the title game after doing what they ve been known most for:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>win games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>And doing so against the team with the highest ppg average is impressive.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> The T.A. Starfires discovered their worst enemy:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Themselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Going all-in with players from the same team is risky& but who could pass up Peyton Manning and crew against the Motor City Kitties& especially after their game against Cincy??<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>So that s what the Starfires did& .all Indy WRs, TE and RB.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Sadly, what was billed as a mistake by the Purple Prophet s owner even before the game began turned out to be just that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Manning only accounted for one TD pass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> The Starfires needed two& .</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> $#&amp;*#!!!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b>Round 1 recap:&nbsp; </b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b></b><b><u>(1) Dakota Cheddar 96, (4)The T.A. Starfires 85</u>&nbsp; </b> </p> <p> It was actually looking as if the Starfires would still get enough points to win, as <?xml namespace="" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" prefix="st1" ?><st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">San Diego</st1:place></st1:city> had no TD passes with 1:18 left on the clock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Nevertheless, as the son hit double-points with a QB-WR combo last year against the Starfires, so did the father& but it took a remarkable collapse by the Chiefs in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Kansas City</st1:City></st1:place> and some heroics by quarterback Philip Rivers to pull it off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> &nbsp;</span><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> After the first Rivers TD pass, the Chargers got an onside kick and with only 36 seconds left, Dakota Cheddar hit double-points with Rivers-Jackson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The stunned Starfires could only watch as their last remaining player (Westbrook) was a non-factor last night (a recurring Starfire theme) as the Cheddar make their first-ever trip to the title game.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> I ll skip my typical  better to be lucky than good rant& .oops!</p> <p> <b><u>(3) Rapid Delivery 103, (2) The Purple Prophet 87&nbsp; </u> <o:p></o:p> </b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">After a solid point-churning performance in the regular season, The Prophet was unable to foresee that much trouble for the Cards offense& to say nothing of the Bengals looking like world-beaters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Meanwhile, RD hits their stride at the best possible time, easily  Brees-ing (sorry, Prophet) into their second Championship game after a long absence.</span></p> <p> <b>Final Picks:&nbsp; <o:p></o:p> </b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b>Last week:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>2-0; Season:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>23-18 <o:p></o:p> </b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size: 24pt"></span></i></b> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="font-size: 24pt">Championship Game<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><span style="font-size: 24pt">2008 Tundra Bowl &nbsp; <IMG id="Img15" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" style="width: 48px; height: 48px"> <img src="cheddar.GIF" style="width: 48px; height: 48px" /></span></b><b></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b>(3)Rapid Delivery vs. (1)Dakota Cheddar (-8)</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b> <o:p></o:p> </b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Both teams players are facing tough match-ups& but I would wager that RD has a slight edge with Minny s defense and Randy Moss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The Cheddar needed a miracle double-points hookup with Rivers and Jackson to get to this game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Can any one expect that kind of luck twice?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">History is on the line once again in the Tundra Bowl:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If Dakota Cheddar wins, it would mark the first time a title was won by both father and son.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>It would also guarantee the title remaining in the family for the third straight year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If RD wins, they would join Creepy Crawlers as the only repeat league champions& .</span></p> <p> <em><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Pick: Rapid Delivery straight up.</span></em><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">&nbsp; <o:p></o:p> </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><span style="font-size: 18pt">Third-Place Game&nbsp; </span> <o:p></o:p> </b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <strong></strong>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <strong>(4) The T.A. Starfires vs. (2) The Purple Prophet (-4) <o:p></o:p> </strong> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"></span></strong> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">A disappointing position for both teams here:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The Prophet had high hopes to turn points into post-season wins while the Starfires still hoped on cashing in before their title-run window closed& possibly for good.</span></strong></p> <p> <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The good news for the Starfires is that Peyton and crew face an underachieving Jaguars squad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The bad news is that it s a short week& but that that matter considering that several of the Prophet s lineup face the like of <st1:city w:st="on">Baltimore</st1:city> , <st1:state w:st="on">Tennessee</st1:state> , <st1:city w:st="on">Pittsburgh</st1:city> and <st1:place w:st="on">New England</st1:place> ?<o:p></o:p></span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">As disappointing as this may be for the Starfires they do have something to play for (aside from stopping a 4-game losing streak):<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If they win this game they would become the first team in league history to finish in the top three for three years running (finished 2<sup>nd</sup> in 2006 and 2007).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>For the Prophet, winning could mean a solid finish and possibly momentum for 2009& .</span></strong><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <em><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"></span></em>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <em><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Pick: The T.A. Starfires to cover</span></em><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><u><span style="font-size: 13.5pt"></span></u></b>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><u><span style="font-size: 13.5pt">And finally - what you've all been waiting for....</span></u><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <strong>The 2008 Toilet Bowl (a.k.a. the <st1:street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">5th Place</st1:address></st1:street> game):</strong><b> </b> </p> <p> <strong>(6) Da Raidaz vs. (5) JohnnyBroncos07 (-4) </strong><b> <o:p></o:p> </b> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"> What seemed like a good line-up for DaRaidaz proved to be anything but.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The Starfires should take note that despite their bad fortune, it could be worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The JBs meanwhile, have a QB reeling (Eli Manning) and players on team not going anywhere this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>But, if nothing else, I have to play the hot hand considering Da Raidaz s two-game winning streak coming in (did I just say that!??)<o:p></o:p></span></em></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <em><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"></span></em>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <em><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Pick: Da Raidaz straight up.</span></em><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <p> <a name="Round1"></a name><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt">Round 1 Preview</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <span></span>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Man, that was weird.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <?xml namespace="" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" prefix="o" ?><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> You wanna see weird?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Go back and look at the preseason power rankings.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> What s wrong there& .</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Ah ha!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> [Turns it upside down]</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> That s better!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Once again, The T.A. Starfires get into the playoffs& but need help in order to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>We do have a first this year, tho:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Dakota Cheddar not only breaks into the Championship bracket after being relegated to the consolation bracket the past three years, but he leapfrogs over the Prophet to claim the #1 seed& clearly giving them a shot at keeping the Frozen Tundra Championship in the family& </p> <p> <strong>Final Power Rankings</strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p> <P> <TABLE id="Table13" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Rank</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Team Name</p> </td> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3> <FONT size="3"></font>&nbsp;</h3> <h3> <font size="3">Record</font></h3> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> Last Week</p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> <FONT face="Arial">Skinny</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Dakota Cheddar</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 9-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD> Cheese, glorious cheese!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;2</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 8-5</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD> Broke 1200 point barrier on the season (and that was for 13 games).&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%" style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD width="14%" style="height: 129px"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Rapid Delivery</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<IMG id="Img14" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 7-6</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px; height: 129px;"> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> Finishes with two straight losses....against their potential playoff foes!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Da Raidaz</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5-8</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD> Only the Cheddar finished with a better win streak.</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The T.A. Starfires</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> <IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5-8</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD> Back..back..back(ing) in(to) the playoffs again!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center"> JohnnyBroncos07</p> <P align="center"> &nbsp; <img src="JBs.bmp" /></p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 5-8</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD> &nbsp;Too bad the winning didn't start a week ago....</td> </tr> </table> </p> <p> <font size="3"></font><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt"></span></strong>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <a name="Round1"><b>Championship Playoffs - Round 1:<o:p></o:p></b></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="mso-bookmark: Round1"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">(1) Dakota Cheddar vs. (4) The T.A. Starfires; (2) Purple Prophet vs. (3) Rapid Delivery<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="mso-bookmark: Round1"><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"></span> </u></span>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="mso-bookmark: Round1"><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Consolation Game (in Week 16)</span></u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="mso-bookmark: Round1"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">(5) JohhnyBroncos07 vs. (6) Da Raidaz<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p> <span style="mso-bookmark: Round1"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Week 14 Picks:&nbsp; 0-3; Season total:&nbsp; 21-18<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p> <span style="mso-bookmark: Round1"><i><u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Round 1 picks:</span></u></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p> <span style="mso-bookmark: Round1"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><b>(1) Dakota Cheddar vs. (4) The T.A. Starfires (+11)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p> <span style="mso-bookmark: Round1"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">A couple of things jump out at me here: The first is that in the three regular season match-ups against these two teams, every one resulted in a blowout win for the Cheddar...including a 45-point dismantling of the Starfires in Week 2. Historically, the Starfires have ALWAYS had problems with Dakota Cheddar... so imagine their dismay when they saw them win the #1 seed. The second things that jumps out at me, however, is the fact that while the Cheddar comes in with the best record, they also come in with the lowest total points scored.<br /><br /> The Starfires have been hurt by lack of WR production. In the past three weeks they have been lucky to get as many POINTS from their WRs as their opponents get TDs from theirs. Unless the Starfires can fix this, and in a hurry, they'll be playing for third place next week...despite having the edge in ppg....<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p> <span style="mso-bookmark: Round1"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Pick: The T.A. Starfires to cover</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p> <span style="mso-bookmark: Round1"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><b>(2) The Purple Prophet vs. (3) Rapid Delivery (+7)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p> <span style="mso-bookmark: Round1"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> In case anyone has forgotten, RD was the first league champion...and finished on a positive note last year by winning the Consolation Title. With New England ready to feast on Oakland, we could see a bunch of double-points for RD with the Cassel-Moss connection. Meanwhile, the upstart Prophet squad looks to be a legitimate dark horse, especially having scored far and away more points than anyone, Two questions loom: One, who will Romo trust this week? Two, can Pittsburgh get an early lead in their tilt against the Ravens so Flacco and Co. will be forced to play into the hands of the Steeler D? </span></span> </p> <p> <span style="mso-bookmark: Round1"><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Pick: Rapid Delivery to cover</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p> &nbsp;</p> <p> <a name="Week14"></a name><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt">Week 14 Preview</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <span></span>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> What in the name of Baby Jesus is going on???</p> <p> I suppose I should be checking last year's stats.&nbsp; Almost a year ago today Peyton Manning scored a dismal three fantasy points.&nbsp; At least that was more than the BIG FAT ZERO he got this time for my Starfires!!!</p> <p> Which opened the door for the JBs...except for the fact they are mired in the longest losing streak since The Champ RD2's 12-game streak.</p> <p> And did anyone see Pittsburgh throttling New England like that???&nbsp; Cassel actually DIDN'T pass 400 yards?!?&nbsp; Oh, and we're seeing that "one-off" thing again (T.A. Starfires would have beaten RD had they played them THIS week versus LAST week)....</p> <p> Will the REAL NFL stars please stand up....</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <strong>Power Rankings</strong></p> <P> <TABLE id="Table12" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Rank</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Team Name</p> </td> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3> <FONT size="3"></font>&nbsp;</h3> <h3> <font size="3">Record</font></h3> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> Last Week</p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> <FONT face="Arial">Skinny</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;1</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 8-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD> "Brees"-ing into the playoffs....&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Dakota Cheddar</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 8-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD> This may be a dangerous team come the postseason....</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%" style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD width="14%" style="height: 129px"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Rapid Delivery</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<IMG id="Img13" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 7-5</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px; height: 129px;"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> Two straight weeks of zero production from their QBs.</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The T.A. Starfires</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> <IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5-7</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD> Their season-points total (and the JBs losing streak) is the only thing saving them right now....</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Da Raidaz</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4-8</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD> STILL have a mathematical chance of making the playoffs....</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center"> JohnnyBroncos07</p> <P align="center"> &nbsp; <img src="JBs.bmp" /></p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 4-8</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD> &nbsp;Looking Toilet Bowl-bound after 7 straight losses...</td> </tr> </table> </p> <p> </p> <font size="3"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><span style="color: black">Week 14 Championship Playoff picture:</span></b></p> <p> <i><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">If the season ended today:</span></i><span style="color: black"><?xml namespace="" prefix="O" ?><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <u><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Championship Round 1</span></u><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">(1) The Purple Prophet vs. (4) The T.A. Starfires; (2) Dakota Cheddar vs. (3) Rapid Delivery</span><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <u><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Consolation Game</span></u><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">(5) JohnnyBroncos07 vs. (6) Da Raidaz</span><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The Purple Prophet (8-4) have clinched a playoff spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They clinch the #1 seed with a win AND a Dakota Cheddar loss.</span></li> <li>Dakota Cheddar (8-4) have clinched a playoff spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They clinch the #1 seed with a win AND a Purple Prophet loss.</li> <li>Rapid Delivery <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">(7-5) have clinched a playoff spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They clinch the #1 seed with a win AND a Purple Prophet loss AND they finish with a higher season point total than the Purple Prophet AND Dakota Cheddar.</span><o:p></o:p> <o:p></o:p> </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The T.A. Starfires (5-7)&nbsp; Clinch a playoff spot with a win.</span> <o:p></o:p> </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">JohnnyBroncos07 (4-8)&nbsp; clinch a Championship playoff spot with a win, a T.A. Starfire loss AND they finish with a higher season point total than The T.A. Starfires AND Da Raidaz.</span><o:p></o:p></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Da Raidaz (4-8) clinch a Championship playoff spot with a win, a JohnnyBroncos07 loss AND they finish with a higher season point total than The T.A. Starfires AND JohnnyBroncos07.</span>&nbsp; <o:p></o:p> </li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-outline-level: 1"> <span style="color: black; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt">Week 13 Picks: &nbsp;0-3; Season:&nbsp; 21-15</span></p> <p> <b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; color: black; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt">Week 14 Picks:</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 24pt; color: black; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <b><span style="color: black">The T.A. Starfires vs. Da Raidaz (-8)</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <b><span style="color: black"></span></b><span style="color: black">What a difference a must-win performance makes!&nbsp; Da Raidaz have a chance to repeat the miracle finish that the Starfires had last year...at the Starfire's expense no less!&nbsp; Two problems:&nbsp; One, Da Raidaz need help from the JBs (needing them to lose).&nbsp; Two, they would have to beat the Starfires by more than 62 points to have a chance of winning the tiebreaker....</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <span style="color: black"> <o:p></o:p> </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <i><span style="color: black"></span></i>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <i><span style="color: black">Pick: The T.A. Starfires to cover</span></i><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <b><span style="color: black"></span></b>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <b><span style="color: black">Dakota Cheddar vs. Rapid Delivery (-2)</span></b><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <span style="color: black"></span>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <span style="color: black">I have to imagine that Rivers and Cassel will do a little better this week.&nbsp; But I don't think we'll see DeAngelo Willaims bust out for 4 TDs against the Bucs defense, either.&nbsp; Add the easy match-up the Vikings D have against Detroit, and it equals a nice RD rebound just in time for the playoffs....</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <i><span style="color: black"></span></i>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <i><span style="color: black">Pick: Rapid Delivery straight up.</span></i><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <b><span style="color: black"></span></b>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <b><span style="color: black">JohnnyBroncos07 vs The Purple Prophet (+2)</span></b><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <span style="color: black"></span>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <span style="color: black">A year ago, The T.A. Starfire were faced with a must-win + help scenario to secure a playoff spot....against the #1 ranked team in the league.&nbsp; The JBs are faced with the same situation here.&nbsp; Sadly for the JBs, not only does the Prophet have too many favorable match-ups with key players up against Cincy, Detroit and St. Louis, but the JBs would have to hope for a Starfires loss while outscoring them by more than 56 points to have a chance to win the tiebreaker....<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <i><span style="color: black"></span></i>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <i><span style="color: black">Pick: The Purple Prophet plus the points.</span></i></p> <p> <i><span style="color: black"></span></i><span style="color: black"> <a name="Week13"></a name><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt">Week 13 Preview</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <span></span>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Here s an analogy that I have yet to use:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> A Texas Hold-em analogy.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <?xml namespace="" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" prefix="o" ?><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> When Rapid Delivery scored HUGE with Moss and Turner, I had to go  all in with Peyton, Wayne and Clark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Big Manning did OK, but I went bust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>So it looked like all was lost& </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Then the flop& RD s QB and D combined for ZERO points!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>That s right& ZERO!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>So all I needed for for Ryan Grant to get 80 yards and a touch to win.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> On the first Packers scoring drive, they set up on about the 2-yard line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Handoff& run up the gut& TOUCHDOWN& .</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> & . John Kuhn..?!?!?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> JOHN& .KUHN!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>WTF??!?!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> AAAAAARGGAH!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>@#$#@ #@$#@$<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>$#@%!!!!!!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>DOUBLE @#$#@$#@!!!!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> The river did me in!&nbsp; And that was as close as Grant would get to a TD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He got his yards& but that wasn t enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>For the love of Baby Jesus, someone tell me why you swap out Grant without giving him at least one shot at the endzone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>I should put out an APB:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Be on the lookout for a John Kuhn& last seen stealing a TD from teammate Ryan Grant& </p> <p> Oh well, back to scoreboard watching...and another lucky break as the JohhnyBroncos07 losing streak hit a half-dozen.&nbsp; That said I'd really like to actually get in without help this time.<o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Anyway, the JBs loss started the domino effect for playoff ticket-punching, as three teams are in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>That leaves the other teams fighting for one playoff spot.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Here we go again& </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <strong>Power Rankings</strong></p> <P> <TABLE id="Table11" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Rank</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Team Name</p> </td> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3> <FONT size="3"></font>&nbsp;</h3> <h3> <font size="3">Record</font></h3> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> Last Week</p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> <FONT face="Arial">Skinny</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%" style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD width="14%" style="height: 129px"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Rapid Delivery</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<IMG id="Img12" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 7-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px; height: 129px;"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> Winning despite your QB and D combining for zero points = Contender.</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;2</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 7-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD> Already over 1000 points for the season with two games left.&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Dakota Cheddar</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 7-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD> No consolation bracket for you!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The T.A. Starfires</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> <IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5-6</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD> Losing despite your opponent's QB and D combining for zero points = Pretender.</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center"> JohnnyBroncos07</p> <P align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" src="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 4-7</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD> &nbsp;Remember when the JBs were 4-1?&nbsp; Me, neither....</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Da Raidaz</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3-8</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD> Maybe they'll pull out a "Starfire" Christmas miracle??</td> </tr> </table> </p> <font size="3"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b><span style="color: black">Week 13 Championship Playoff picture:</span></b></p> <p> <i><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">If the season ended today (this has been pretty steady so far, huh?):</span></i><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <u><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Championship Round 1</span></u><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">(1) The Purple Prophet vs. (4) The T.A. Starfires; (2) Rapid Delivery vs. (3) Dakota Cheddar</span><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <u><span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Consolation Game</span></u><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">(5) JohnnyBroncos07 vs. (6) Da Raidaz</span><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The Purple Prophet (7-4) have clinched a playoff spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They clinch the #1 seed with a win over Rapid Delivery, a Dakota Cheddar loss, AND they finish with a higher season point total than both.</span><o:p></o:p></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">Rapid Delivery <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">(7-4) have clinched a playoff spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They clinch the #1 seed with a win over the Purple Prophet, a Dakota Cheddar loss, AND they finish with a higher season point total than both.</span><o:p></o:p></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Dakota Cheddar (7-4) have clinched a playoff spot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>They clinch the #1 seed if they win out AND finish with a higher point total than The Purple Prophet AND Rapid Delivery.&nbsp;</span> <o:p></o:p> </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The T.A. Starfires (5-6)&nbsp; Clinch a Championship playoff spot with a win AND a JohnnyBroncos07 loss.</span> <o:p></o:p> </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">JohnnyBroncos07 (4-7) cannot clinch this week.&nbsp; They could clinch a Championship playoff spot with two wins AND two T.A. Starfire losses.</span><o:p></o:p></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: black; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Da Raidaz (3-8) are eliminated with a loss OR a T.A. Starfires win.</span>&nbsp; <o:p></o:p> </li> </ul> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in; mso-outline-level: 1"> <span style="color: black; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt">Week 12 Picks: &nbsp;1-2; Season:&nbsp; 21-12</span></p> <p> <b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; color: black; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt">Week 13 Picks:</span></b><b><span style="font-size: 24pt; color: black; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <b><span style="color: black">The T.A. Starfires vs. Dakota Cheddar (-10)</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <b><span style="color: black"></span></b><span style="color: black">If you believe the talk about Peyton hitting his stride (and remember the mistake the Starfires made last year by assuming key Indy players would sit after securing a playoff spot), I would say there s enough here to cover the spread.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The question is:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Who is Peyton s new primary target? <o:p></o:p> </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <i><span style="color: black"></span></i>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <i><span style="color: black">Pick: The T.A. Starfire to cover</span></i><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <b><span style="color: black"></span></b>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <b><span style="color: black">Da Raidaz vs. JohnnyBroncos07 (+4)</span></b><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <span style="color: black"></span>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <span style="color: black">I really believed that the JBs would break their losing streak last week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Now, with their season on the line against the bottom-ranking Da Raidaz, it HAS to be this week, right?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <i><span style="color: black"></span></i>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <i><span style="color: black">Pick: JohnnyBroncos07 straight up.</span></i><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <b><span style="color: black"></span></b>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <b><span style="color: black">Rapid Delivery vs The Purple Prophet (-11)</span></b><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <span style="color: black"></span>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <span style="color: black">The winner of this tilt may go on to secure the #1 seed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> <?xml namespace="" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" prefix="st1" ?><st1:place w:st="on">Cassel</st1:place>has made some forget Tom Brady, but that may change against the Steeler defense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>If the Steelers manage to throttle <st1:place w:st="on">New England</st1:place> , it may be advantage Prophet& .<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <i><span style="color: black"></span></i>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in"> <i><span style="color: black">Pick: Rapid Delivery to cover.</span></i><span style="color: black"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <?xml namespace="" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" prefix="o" ?><?xml namespace="" prefix="O" ?>&nbsp;</p> </font><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt"></span></strong> <p> <a name="Week12"></a name><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt">Week 12 Preview</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <span></span>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> You know that phrase I all-too-often like throwing around...."Sometimes its better to be lucky than good?"&nbsp; Of course, I usually reserve it to explain away another Starfires loss.</p> <p> Well, now you could call the Starfires the lucky ones.</p> <p> Had their last game been within a touchdown, The Purple Prophet could have been rightfully calling "foul" after Troy Polamalu was denied a defensive touchdown at the end of a weird 11-10 Pittsburgh win.&nbsp; Fortunately, again for the Starfires, the game wasn't that close.</p> <p> But, with that loss, the Frozen Tundra is looking a lot like the NFC North right now.&nbsp; Where everyone still has a chance....</p> <p> Except Detroit...I mean Da Raidaz.....</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <strong>Power Rankings</strong></p> <P> <TABLE id="Table10" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Rank</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Team Name</p> </td> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3> <FONT size="3"></font>&nbsp;</h3> <h3> <font size="3">Record</font></h3> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> Last Week</p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> <FONT face="Arial">Skinny</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%" style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD width="14%" style="height: 129px"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Rapid Delivery</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<IMG id="Img11" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px; height: 129px;"> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> I'm getting a crink in my neck watching these guys bounce up and down across the rankings!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;2</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD> The commish should add another 8 points to the Prophet's season total (shades of Troy's INT being taken away in the 2005 divisional playoff).&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The T.A. Starfires</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> <IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5-5</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD> Who'd have thunk that the Starfires would be in control of their own playoff destiny at this point??</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Dakota Cheddar</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD> Look out, the Cheddar is back!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center"> JohnnyBroncos07</p> <P align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" src="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 4-6</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD> I believe this is the longest losing streak (5) in league history!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Da Raidaz</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3-7</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD> PPG in 2007:&nbsp; 107.9.&nbsp; PPG thus far this year:&nbsp; 82.3.&nbsp; Nuff said.</td> </tr> </table> </p> <font size="3"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b>Week 12 Championship Playoff picture:<?xml namespace="" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" prefix="o" ?><?xml namespace="" prefix="O" ?><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">If the season ended today:</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Championship Round 1</span></u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">(1) The Purple Propeht vs. (4) The T.A. Starfires; (2) Rapid Delivery vs. (3) Dakota Cheddar<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Consolation Game</span></u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">(5) JohnnyBroncos07 vs. (6) Da Raidaz</span></p> <ul type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> The Purple Prophet (6-4) clinch a Championship playoff spot with a win AND a JohnnyBroncos07 loss.</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> </span>Rapid Delivery (6-4) clinch a Championship playoff spot with a win AND a JohnnyBroncos07 loss.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> Dakota Cheddar (6-4) clinch a Championship playoff spot with a win.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span> </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> The T.A. Starfires (5-5)&nbsp; cannot clinch this week.&nbsp; They could clinch a Championship playoff spot with two wins AND a JohnnyBroncos07 loss.</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> JohnnyBroncos07 (4-6) cannot clinch this week.&nbsp; They could clinch a Championship playoff spot with two wins, two T.A. Starfire losses AND they finish with a higher season total than the T.A. Starfires. </span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Da Raidaz (3-7) Are now guaranteed to finish under .500.&nbsp; They need to win out and get help to clinch a playoff spot.&nbsp; They are eliminated with a loss and a T.A. Starfires win.</span>&nbsp;</li> </ul> <h1 style="margin: auto 0in"> <span></span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12pt">Week 11 Picks: &nbsp;1-2; Season:&nbsp; 20-10</span></h1> <h1 style="margin: auto 0in"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt">Week 12 Picks:</span></h1> </font> <p> <font size="3"></font><strong>The T.A. Starfires vs. Rapid Delivery (+5)</strong></p> <p> Do we dare believe that the Starfires could knock off TWO #1 teams in a row?!?&nbsp; Comon, MAN!</p> <p> <em>Pick: Rapid Delivery plus the points</em></p> <p> <b>Dakota Cheddar vs. JohnnyBroncos07 (+5)</b></p> <p> I would have to believe that Dakota Cheddar will be darned if they are going to be denied a Championship playoff berth this year.&nbsp; That said, if their game against Pittsburgh was any indication, Rivers and Co. may not fare that much better against Indy.&nbsp; Meanwhile, the JBs have some more favorable match-ups including the Titan D and two Broncos against Oakland. &nbsp;If nothing else, just as I hoped that the Prophet's five-game winning streak couldn't last, I would also think the JBs five-game losing streak can't last....&nbsp; </p> <p> <em>Pick: JohnnyBroncos07 to cover.</em></p> <p> <b>Da Raidaz vs The Purple Prophet (-10)</b></p> <p> Are Romo and T.O. back?&nbsp; If so, both teams get points.&nbsp; That said I have to imagine Cutler will have an easier time than Romo.&nbsp; Both teams have some intriguing matchups.&nbsp; I can't believe I'm saying this is a toss-up, considering the disparity of these two teams, but I doubt Troy will be denied twice in as many weeks....</p> <p> <em>Pick: Da Raidaz to cover.</em></p> <p> <a name="Week11"></a name><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt">Week 11 Preview</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <span></span>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Is it just me, or are more and more teams making some pretty stupid decisions lately?</p> <p> Not running Gore on 4th and goal with the game on the line?&nbsp; Comon, San Fran!</p> <p> Going for 2 after a remarkable comeback against the Chargers??&nbsp; Comon, Chiefs!</p> <p> Throwing with a 10-point lead and less than 2 minutes in the half??&nbsp; Comon, Steelers!!</p> <p> Thinking they were going anywhere but the Motor City Bowl??&nbsp; Comon, Gophers!!!!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <strong>Power Rankings</strong></p> <P> <TABLE id="Table9" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Rank</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Team Name</p> </td> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3> <FONT size="3"></font>&nbsp;</h3> <h3> <font size="3">Record</font></h3> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> Last Week</p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> <FONT face="Arial">Skinny</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;1</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6-3</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD> Threatening to pull away....&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%" style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD width="14%" style="height: 129px"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Rapid Delivery (a.k.a. ND Cardinals)</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<IMG id="Img10" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px; height: 129px;"> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> Threatening to return to playoff form....</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The T.A. Starfires</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> <IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4-5</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD> Threatening to climb out of the cellar...</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Dakota Cheddar</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD> Threatening to fade away....</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center"> JohnnyBroncos07</p> <P align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" src="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 4-5</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD> Threatening to continue their death-spiral...</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Da Raidaz</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3-6</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD> Threatening to steal the Starfire's reservations for the Toilet Bowl.....</td> </tr> </table> </p> <font size="3"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <b>Week 11 Championship Playoff picture:<?xml namespace="" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" prefix="o" ?><o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">If the season ended today:</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Championship Round 1</span></u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">(1) The Purple Propeht vs. (4) The T.A. Starfires; (2) Rapid Delivery vs. (3) Dakota Cheddar<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Consolation Game</span></u><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto"> <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">(5) JohnnyBroncos07 vs. (6) Da Raidaz</span></p> <ul type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> The Purple Prophet (6-3) clinch a Championship playoff spot with a win this week AND a JohnnyBroncos07 loss AND they finish with a higher season point total than the JohnnyBroncos07 and The T.A. Starfires.</span></li> <li>Rapid Delivery (5-4) cannot clinch this week.&nbsp; They could clinch a playoff spot by winning their next two games AND they finish with a higher season point total than The T.A. Starfires AND JohhnyBroncos07.&nbsp;</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> Dakota Cheddar (5-4) cannot clinch this week.&nbsp; They could clinch a playoff spot by beating The T.A. Starfires AND JohhnyBroncos07 in weeks 12 and 13, AND they finish with a higher season point total.&nbsp;<o:p></o:p></span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> The T.A. Starfires (4-5)&nbsp; cannot clinch this week.&nbsp; They could clinch a playoff spot by winning three of their final four games combined with at least one JohnnyBroncos07 loss.</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> JohnnyBroncos07 (4-5) cannot clinch this week.&nbsp; They could clinch a playoff spot by winning three of their final four games combined with at least one T.A. Starfires loss.</span></li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> Da Raidaz (3-6) could clinch a playoff spot by winning their last four games combined with two T.A. Starfire losses AND two JohnnyBroncos07 losses.</span></li> </ul> <h1 style="margin: auto 0in"> <span></span><span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 12pt">Week 10 Picks: &nbsp;3-0; Season:&nbsp; 19-8</span><o:p></o:p></h1> <h1 style="margin: auto 0in"> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt">Week 11 Picks:</span></h1> <p> <strong>The T.A. Starfires vs. The Purple Prophet (-2)</strong></p> <p> So...are we seeing another "one-off" scenario for the Starfires?&nbsp; On a roll for the first time this season (2-game winning streak, winners of three of their last four), the Starfires would have beaten the Prophet had they played last week.&nbsp; But this is now...and now both teams are still working to secure a Championship playoff spot.</p> <p> Could the "ill-wind" blowing for Brees and Shockey serve as a distraction against the suddenly competitive Chiefs?&nbsp; And will the Thursday Night tilt be a shootout or a pitchers duel?&nbsp; Consider:&nbsp; The average ppg for the Purple in their last two wins is 82.5...compared to 109.5 for the Starfires.&nbsp; Could the Prophet's 5-game winning streak come to an end....at the most opportune time for the Starfires???&nbsp; Nawwwww!</p> <p> <em>Pick: The Purple Prophet straight up</em></p> <p> <b>Dakota Cheddar vs. Da Raidaz (-2)</b></p> <p> Well, at least we know the Cheddar won't have any more empty slots this week!</p> <p> Da Raidaz have to be scratching their head...at the very least....and the Cheddar have to be hopeful at the "udder" lack of production from L.T., Harrison, etc.&nbsp; But that should change this week with some more favorable match-ups.&nbsp; While it may be too little too late for Da Raidaz, they should produce enough this week to keep their very slim playoff hopes alive...</p> <p> <em>Pick: Da Raidaz straight up.</em></p> <p> <b>JohnnyBroncos07 vs. Rapid Delivery (-19)</b></p> <p> Now THAT's a point-spread!</p> <p> They say that playing Detroit will cure what ails you.&nbsp; RD also have match-ups against equally inept Cincy and Seattle.&nbsp; While the JBs have some favorable match-ups of their own, its just not looking as good.&nbsp; While this is about the same point last season when RD took a dive out of the Championship playoff picture, I just don't see it happening again....</p> <p> <em>Pick: JohnnyBroncos07 to cover.</em></p> <span style="font-size: 13.5pt"></span> <o:p></o:p> </font><p> <a name="Week10"></a name><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt">Week 10 Preview</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <strong><span style="font-size: 18pt"></span></strong>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Watching Monday Night Countdown I saw the Ben Roethlisberger promo where he is being fitted with steel armor.&nbsp; Too bad he couldn't wear it during the game.</p> <p> That said Pittsburgh showed the importance of a reliable backup.&nbsp; Teams like Minnesota should take notice.</p> <p> Take Dallas for instance....er, never mind!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <strong>Power Rankings</strong></p> <P> <TABLE id="Table8" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Rank</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Team Name</p> </td> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3> <FONT size="3"></font>&nbsp;</h3> <h3> <font size="3">Record</font></h3> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> Last Week</p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> <FONT face="Arial">Skinny</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;1</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5-3</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD> And this team started 1-3!!!&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%" style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD width="14%" style="height: 129px"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Rapid Delivery (a.k.a. ND Cardinals)</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<IMG id="Img9" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px; height: 129px;"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> Have the Cheddar stopped trying??&nbsp; Well, we'll take it!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Dakota Cheddar</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5-3</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD> "Bye-bye-bye" to any "why-weren't-we-#1" arguments.</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center"> JohnnyBroncos07</p> <P align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" src="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 4-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD> And this team started 4-1!!!!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The T.A. Starfires</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> <IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3-5</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD> Keeps their playoff hopes on life support!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Da Raidaz</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3-5</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD> Their top-scoring single player last week, with a whopping 7 points, was a tight-end named Earnest.&nbsp; Nuff said.</td> </tr> </table> </p> <p> Week 9 Picks:&nbsp; 3-0; Season:&nbsp; 16-8</p> <p> <b>Week 10 Picks</b></p> <p> <b>The T.A. Starfires vs. JohnnyBroncos07 (-1)</b></p> <p> Ah! A line....but ONE POINT?? Might as well not have one! Warner has been a passing yards machine for Arizona and should have a big night next Monday. Aside from Jones-Drew and Tennesee's Defense, the JBs may be in danger of sliding under .500 - after starting the season a promising 4-1!!!</p> <p> <em>Pick: The T.A. Starfires to cover</em></p> <p> <b>Dakota Cheddar vs. The Purple Prophet (no line)</b></p> <p> The Purple had to shuffle a bit with byes last week...and got nothing from Jason Campbell. Nevertheless they didn't need any points from him as they beat a reeling JBs squad. Now, with Brees likely back in fresh off a bye, expect more points from those positions. Also, expect that the Purple will need them this time...as the Cheddar counter with Farve and Co. against a weak Rams squad. It may come down to who they plug in on D....</p> <p> <em>Pick: The Purple Prophet straight up.</em></p> <p> <b>Da Raidaz vs. Rapid Delivery (no line)</b></p> <p> Not really sure which way to go on this one. Rapid Delivery seems to be poised for a surge while Da Raidaz are in trouble with a QB injury. That said expect tough match-ups on both sides with Philly-Giants, Buffalo-NE and Indy-Pittsburgh to name a few. If anything, I should pick Da Raidaz because it would help the Starfire's playoff chances. But in this once-marquee match-up, where BOTH teams have seen better days, RD has historically come out on top....</p> <p> <em>Pick: Rapid Delivery straight up.</em></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> &nbsp;</p> <p> <a name="Week9"><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt">Week 9 Preview</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> I'm going to need therapy after this season...I swear to God!</p> <p> How do you NOT have a back-up long-snapper?!?&nbsp; James Harrison??&nbsp; Are you serious?!?!</p> <p> The Titans are 7-0?!?&nbsp; The Titans??&nbsp; Are you serious?!?!?</p> <p> The Starfires are DEAD LAST?!?&nbsp; The Starfires?!?&nbsp; Are you....</p> <p> Actually, that last one's pretty believable...</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> &nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <strong>Power Rankings</strong></p> <P> <TABLE id="Table7" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Rank</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Team Name</p> </td> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3> <FONT size="3"></font>&nbsp;</h3> <h3> <font size="3">Record</font></h3> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> Last Week</p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> <FONT face="Arial">Skinny</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;1</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4-3</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD> Seems to be this year's dark horse.&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Dakota Cheddar</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5-2</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD> The JBs getting caught in a "trap" game and an easy win against the hapless Starfires have the Cheese on top of the standings!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center"> JohnnyBroncos07</p> <P align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" src="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 4-3</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD> Tough loss to Da Raidaz in a shootout...but that's two straight losses now!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Da Raidaz</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD> At least you're the BEST of the WORST...</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%" style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%" style="height: 129px"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Rapid Delivery (a.k.a. ND Cardinals)</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<IMG id="Img8" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px; height: 129px;"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> Have RD stopped trying???</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The T.A. Starfires</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> <IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2-5</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD> A season of high expectations has gone south.&nbsp; This shouldn't be of any real surprise, however:&nbsp; They actually had the exact same record a year ago!</td> </tr> </table> </p> <p> Week 8 Picks:&nbsp; 1-2; Season:&nbsp; 13-8</p> <p> <b>Week 9 Picks</b></p> <p> <b>The T.A. Starfires vs. Da Raidaz (no line)</b></p> <p> <b></b>This no-line business is going to kill me! Despite their underachiving, Da Raidaz actually have a chance to control their championship playoff destiny. Meanwhile, the T.A. Starfires MUST WIN this game to have ANY real chance of pulling off another Christmas miracle like they did last year. While I may regret this, I'll go with my heart one more time and pray that the Starfires have "just a little magic" left....</p> <p> <em>Pick: The T.A. Starfires straight up</em></p> <b>Dakota Cheddar vs. Rapid Delivery (no line)</b> <p> It's been getting harder and harder to justify not having the Cheddar on top of the power rankings... even more so that they are now in sole possession of first place. But consider: The Purple Prophet, only one game off the pace, is far and away the points leader...which will come in handy in case tie-breaks are needed. Meanwhile, of the top four teams, only Da Raidaz have scored fewer points than Dakota Cheddar.</p> <p>Looking at the match-ups, Farve and Dallas will likely have a tougher time this week than Philly, New England and Minnesota. In fact, outside of the "White and White" combo, I don't see too many Cheddar points here....</p> <p> <em>Pick: Rapid Delivery straight up</em></p> <b>JohnnyBroncos07 vs. The Purple Prophet (no line)</b> <p> Will I EVER get a point spread again!?!? The Purple One will be without the services of Brees and Smith this week...but backup Campbell should fare no worse against the Steelers than Rodgers will against the undefeated Titans (still can't believe I'm saying that), tho I can't say the same for Plax.</p> <p>Going down the list, the JBs match-ups are kind of a coin-flip. They could do well or not-so-much...so this one's a tough call. Irony Alert: As good as both these teams have been this year, the loser of this tilt will drop to .500! Now I REALLY can't believe I'm saying THAT! With The Prophet riding a three-game winning streak to the JBs' two-game losing streak, one could suggest the law of averages spell a JBs win. That said the Prophet has always seemed to manage to find points when needed most....</p> <p> <em>Pick: The Purple Prophet straight up</em></p> <p> <a name="Week8"><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt">Week 8 Preview</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Straight out of the "and you thought they were dead and buried" department:&nbsp; The Patriots handed the Broncos a solid thrashing last night.&nbsp; However, that made for another nail-biting finish in Frozen Tundra.&nbsp; After the first Broncos TD, the extra point pulled Rapid Delivery within a point of the T.A. Starfires.&nbsp; But by then, Randy Moss, who single-handedly engineered RD's last-minute rally, was done for the night and the Broncos never got close to scoring again...preserving a 92-91 win for the Starfires:&nbsp; Only their second win EVER against RD.</p> <p> Speaking of "and you thought they were dead and buried," the win keeps the Starfire's Championship Playoff hopes alive...if only for one more week.</p> <p> Well, at least the Vikings won& .oh, wait a minute...sorry!</p> <p> <strong>Power Rankings</strong></p> <P> <TABLE id="Table6" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Rank</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Team Name</p> </td> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3> <FONT size="3"></font>&nbsp;</h3> <h3> <font size="3">Record</font></h3> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> Last Week</p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> <FONT face="Arial">Skinny</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;1</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3-3</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD> Far and away the <i>highest</i>-scoring team in the league right now.&nbsp; </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center"> JohnnyBroncos07</p> <P align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" src="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 4-2</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD> Could not capitalize on Favre acting his age!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Dakota Cheddar</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4-2</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD> HOW can you be tied for second-worst in points scored and STILL &nbsp;have a winning record!??!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%" style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD width="14%" style="height: 129px"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Rapid Delivery (a.k.a. ND Cardinals)</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<IMG id="Img7" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3-3</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px; height: 129px;"> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> Two straight last-minute (Monday Night) losses have RD reeling!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The T.A. Starfires</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> <IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD> Last night marked the first time the Starfires have ever held onto a lead of less than twenty with a Monday Night player differential of -2 or less.</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Da Raidaz</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD> Far and away the <i>lowest</i>-scoring team in the league right now.</td> </tr> </table> </p> <p> Week 7 Picks:&nbsp; 2-1; Season:&nbsp; 12-6</p> <p> <b>Week 8 Picks</b></p> <p> <b>The T.A. Starfires vs. Dakota Cheddar (no line)</b></p> <p> That comment above about the Cheddar being tied for second-worst in point production? Guess who they're tied with? That's right, the Starfires. My guess is even the aged Brett Farve will do a little better than Big Ben this week as we finally get a glimpse at whether the Steelers are for real. Rapid Delivery had to plug in some bye holes last week against the Starfires and it wasn't enough. Will the same happen to Dakota Cheddar...or are they another incarnation of the old Da Boys franchise...whereas they were more lucky than good?</p> <p> <em>Pick: The T.A. Starfires straight up</em></p> <b>Da Raidaz vs. JohnnyBroncos07 (no line)</b> <p> Byes are still really having an effect on the lines and lineups. My guess is Manning Lite and company will give Pittsburgh all they can handle...but the Giants only loss was against the under-achieving Browns. Could the Steelers have similar success (the Starfires and Prophet hope so)? That said, with the undefeated Titans D up against a suddenly vulnerable Indy offense, This pick should be easy based on that alone....</p> <p> <em>Pick: JohnnyBroncos07 straight up</em></p> <b>Rapid Delivery vs. The Purple Prophet (no line)</b> <p> FOR THE LOVE OF MIKE!!!! I know I'm doing OK with my picks, but will someone give me a point spread already....have mercy!!! The "Brees" should pick up for the Prophet this week...especially after getting Colston back. Add some favorable match-ups against some weak teams and the Purple One should keep pace with the JBs for the top of the standings....</p> <p> <em>Pick: The Purple Prophet straight up</em></p> <p> <a name="Week7"><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt">Week 7 Preview</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> OK, since I am planning to be away for most of this week I have to compile this early.&nbsp; If anyone is reading this before Tuesday Morning, I am assuming that Rapid Delivery held on to beat JohnnyBroncos07....so apologies if that is proven wrong.</p> <p> OK, I'm SORRY!!!&nbsp; Really, I am!!!!</p> <p> One thing that has already been proven wrong:&nbsp; The T.A. Starfires being a legitimate contender.&nbsp; Back-to-back title losses may be as good as it gets for them for awhile as they are mired in DEAD #$%$#$-ing LAST!!&nbsp; And to think, they would have beaten EITHER Dakota Cheddar OR Da Raidaz despite a dismal 79 points.&nbsp; Make your Toilet Bowl plans now, Starfires!</p> <p> Well, at least the Vikings won& . </p> <p> <strong>Power Rankings</strong></p> <P> <TABLE id="Table5" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Rank</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Team Name</p> </td> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3> <FONT size="3"></font>&nbsp;</h3> <h3> <font size="3">Record</font></h3> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> Last Week</p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> <FONT face="Arial">Skinny</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center"> JohnnyBroncos07</p> <P align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" src="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 4-1</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD> Still in First (despite Baltimore's D scoring eight measly points!)</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;2</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet (formerly TL's Outlaws)</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2-3</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD> Best of the Cursed (don't let the sub-500 record fool you).</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%" style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD width="14%" style="height: 129px"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Rapid Delivery (a.k.a. ND Cardinals)</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<IMG id="Img6" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3-2</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px; height: 129px;"> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> Worst to First...NOT (sucks to lose on Monday Night, doesn't it?)!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Dakota Cheddar</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3-2</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD> Beat by the Worst (and by one point, no less)</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Da Raidaz</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2-3</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD> Used to be worst (tho they would've lost to the Starfires had they played them).</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The T.A. Starfires</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> <IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1-4</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD> Liverwurst!!</td> </tr> </table> </p> <p> Week 6 Picks:&nbsp; 3-0; Season:&nbsp; 10-5</p> <p> <b>Week 7 Picks</b></p> <p> <b>The T.A. Starfires vs. Rapid Delivery (no line)</b></p> <p> <b></b>Well, lets stick with that rhyming scheme from the rankings and call this Worst vs. (sorta) First.&nbsp; The only thing that could save the Starfires is that RD is being hit hard by the bye bug.&nbsp; But, comon, its Rapid Delivery!&nbsp; Comon, its the Starfires....who have only beaten RD ONCE in their history?!?&nbsp; Sorry, Starfires, but I don't see history changing...even with RD manning a skeleton crew....</p> <p> <em>Pick: Rapid Delivery straight up</em></p> <p> <b>Dakota Cheddar vs. JohnnyBroncos07 (+3)</b></p> <p> Both teams were on the upswing last week and both teams came up flat - the JBs needed some last-minute Monday Night heroics to snatch victory from RD. Now, the Cheddar need a win to keep pace with RD. Dakota has the edge both with Farve against a weak Oakland team plus the fact that Romo is on the shelf with a broken pinky. That said, will the Ravens D be able to rebound enough to make a difference for the JBs?</p> <p> <em>Pick: Dakota Cheddar straight up</em></p> <p> <b>Da Raidaz vs. The Purple Prophet (no line)</b></p> <p> With Denver suddenly looking suspect ready to face an angry Pats defense, and everything else looking like a tough row to hoe, needing to plug some bye holes shouldn't matter for the Prophet, who should "Brees" to victory this week (that pun NEVER gets old, does it?). With the first-place Steelers facing the Bungles on Monday Night, the production from the Defense alone might be enough....</p> <p> <em>Pick: The Purple Prophet straight up</em></p> <p> <b></b>&nbsp;</p> <p> <b></b>&nbsp;</p> <p> <a name="Week6"></a name><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt">Week 6 Preview</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Anyone else notice two of the three games had the same final score?&nbsp; I think that's a first.&nbsp; That said how miffed must The Purple Prophet be right now?</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <?xml namespace="" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" prefix="o" ?><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> With BOTH Peterson and Bush being shut down on the ground last night, it appeared the Prophet would  Brees to a much-needed victory against the Cheddar. Alas, Reggie broke through with not one, but TWO kick returns for touchdowns, sealing the deal for Dakota Cheddar.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Well, at least the Vikings won& .</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p> <strong>Power Rankings</strong></p> <P> <TABLE id="Table4" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Rank</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Team Name</p> </td> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3> <FONT size="3"></font>&nbsp;</h3> <h3> <font size="3">Record</font></h3> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> Last Week</p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> <FONT face="Arial">Skinny</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center"> JohnnyBroncos07</p> <P align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" src="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 3-1</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD> RBs had just enough to run past the Starfires....</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%" style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD width="14%" style="height: 129px"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Rapid Delivery (a.k.a. ND Cardinals)</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<IMG id="Img5" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3-1</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px; height: 129px;"> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> Hiccup confirmed, but better get McNabb some more soup, fast!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Dakota Cheddar</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3-1</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD> On a roll riding a three-game winning streak!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 4</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet (formerly TL's Outlaws)</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1-3</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD> Having about as much luck as the Vikings (not counting last Monday Night, of course)....</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The T.A. Starfires</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> <IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1-3</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD> Maybe EVERY week should be a bye week!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Da Raidaz</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1-3</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD> L.T. must stand for:&nbsp; Lacking Touchdowns!</td> </tr> </table> </p> <p> Week 5 Picks:&nbsp; 3-0 (yea!!!); Season:&nbsp; 7-5</p> <p> <b>Week 6 Picks</b></p> <p> <b>The T.A. Starfires vs. The Purple Prophet (pick em)</b></p> <p> Well, as unlucky as the Starfires have been over most of the course of their history, The Purple Prophet have come close to matching that this year alone.&nbsp; A TD here, a stop there and the Prophet could easily be 4-0.&nbsp; Between seeing more difficult matchups for T.O., Reggie Wayne and Stephen Jackson, plus the story about Kurt Warner thinking about retirement, I think that, if there's any bad luck this week, it will reside in the Starfire camp....</p> <p> <em>Pick: The Purple Prophet straight up</em></p> <p> <b>Dakota Cheddar vs. Da Raidaz (+15)</b></p> <p> As tough as it was for the Cheddar's RB corps, it should be a cakewalk this week against the Lions and Raiders. Speaking of Da Raidaz, they have a few favorable matchups, but having to face an angry Jaguars defense, not to mention Baltimore and Philly? May not even cover the spread. That said the Cheddar have averaged 96.3 ppg in the last three. Da Raidaz in that same span? 87.6. Oh, alright....</p> <p> <em>Pick: Da Raidaz to cover</em></p> <b>JohnnyBroncos07 vs. Rapid Delivery (no line)</b> <p> If we assume that Miami might actually be a competitive team, and seeing that RD has been hit by the bye bug, we should see another case of "just enough" for the JBs in this big early match-up against two of the top teams in the league. The winner of this tilt might establish themselves as an early favorite for a top playoff seed.... <p> <em>Pick: JohnnyBroncos07 straight up</em></p> <p> <a name="Week5"></a name><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt">Week 5 Preview</span></strong></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> OK, I need to go on record, here& </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <?xml namespace="" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" prefix="o" ?><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> I did NOT make a  power lock in an attempt to use  reverse psychology on the T.A. Starfires.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>I actually take almost as much pride in my weekly picks as I do my team s performance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>So I am just as shocked as the rest of you. So, for the record, I've sworn OFF "Power locks (again)!"</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> As shocking as it is, it actually happened before& recently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>The Starfire beat Da Raidaz in the playoffs last year 97-54& another game that they should not have won.&nbsp; Also consider:&nbsp; With Rapid Delivery losing, there are no more undefeated squads and no more winless squads...which makes this week's power rankings almost impossible to determine.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> <o:p>&nbsp;</o:p> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"> Considering how the REAL NFL supposed powerhouses are doing thus far, we once again are seeing fantasy mimic reality& </p> <p> <strong>Power Rankings</strong></p> <P> <TABLE id="Table2" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Rank</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Team Name</p> </td> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3> <FONT size="3"></font>&nbsp;</h3> <h3> <font size="3">Record</font></h3> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> Last Week</p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> <FONT face="Arial">Skinny</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center"> JohnnyBroncos07</p> <P align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" src="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 2-1</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD> The next CCs?&nbsp; Errr...maybe??</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 2</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet (formerly TL's Outlaws)</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1-2</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD> With their two losses having been by four points or less, this could easily be a 3-0 team.</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%" style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD width="14%" style="height: 129px"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Rapid Delivery (a.k.a. ND Cardinals)</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<IMG id="Img3" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2-1</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px; height: 129px;"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD style="height: 129px"> We'll see if this was but a hiccup...</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Dakota Cheddar</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2-1</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD> Impressive win yet again...are the Cheddar for real?</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The T.A. Starfires</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> <IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1-2</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD> Scored a league-high 146 in a "bye" week (plus Da Raidaz left a bye-week WR on their roster).&nbsp; Too bad the Starfire's regular starters can't do that (still dead last in total season points).</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Da Raidaz</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1-2</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD> Reminds us that they are STILL Da Raidaz...the playoff-variety Da Raidaz!&nbsp; This plummet is cruel, but as muddled as the rankings are this week, all I had left was:&nbsp; The team losing to the last winless squad must go to the bottom!</td> </tr> </table> </p> <p> Week 4 Picks:&nbsp; 1-2; Season:&nbsp; 4-5</p> <p> <b>Week 5 Picks</b></p> <p> <b>The T.A. Starfires vs. JohnnyBroncos07 (-12)</b></p> <p> I have to wonder if the Starfire's improbable win last week was simply delaying the inevitable. Romo goes for the JBs but the Starfires counter with his favorite(?) target in T.O. (who should produce provided that he stop "stirring the drink!"). Aside from tough assignments for the RB corps, the Starfires might at least keep this one close....</p> <p> <em>Pick: The T.A. Starfires to cover</em></p> <b>The Purple Prophet vs. Dakota Cheddar (pick em)</b> <p> Will the REAL Philip Rivers please stand up? Rivers needed a save from his teammates last week, but should produce against Miami. Then again, that's what the Patriots thought! Still, the match-ups favor the Cheddar to the point where it may not be nearly as close for the Prophet as the past two weeks have been....</p> <p> <em>Pick: Dakota Cheddar straight up</em></p> <b>Rapid Delivery vs. Da Raidaz (no line)</b> <p> Real hard to pick with all the holes in the line-ups. With who Da Raidaz currently have on their bench, they may considering leaving those holes empty. Meanwhile, RD will continue playing the hot hand of McNabb and the Bills....although the scary injury to Boldin is a looming question-mark....</p> <p> <em>Pick: Rapid Delivery straight up</em></p> <p> </p> <p> <a name="Week4"><strong><span style="font-size: 18pt">Week 4 Preview</span></strong></p> <p> How could I be SO wrong...on SO many different levels?!?</p> <p> There are no words...no words at all.</p> <p> So I'll let YouTube star, The Angry Video Game Nerd, say it for me.&nbsp; The link below is a video dramatization of me after watching the epic fail of the T.A. Starfires (I think I got all the bad words bleeped out, but apologies if one slips through), with thanks and apologies to James Rolfe.</p> <p> <a href="EPIC_FAIL_FF.wmv"><span style="color: #0000ff">Watch Here</span></a>...it pretty much sums it up.</p> <p>Anyone else notice that the standings are ordered the same as they were a year ago (four 1-1 teams sandwiched between one undefeated team and one winless team)? Last year it was RD on the bottom, but it looks like the universe has re-aligned itself back to normal....@@#$%#!</p> <p> <strong>Power Rankings</strong></p> <P> <TABLE id="Table3" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Rank</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Team Name</p> </td> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3> <FONT size="3"></font>&nbsp;</h3> <h3> <font size="3">Record</font></h3> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> Last Week</p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> <FONT face="Arial">Skinny</font></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Rapid Delivery (a.k.a. ND Cardinals)</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<IMG id="Img4" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2-0</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD> Well of COURSE the last remaining undefeated team is going to be on top!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Da Raidaz</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1-1</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD> Reminds us that they are STILL Da Raidaz</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 3</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet (formerly TL's Outlaws)</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1-1</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD> Maybe the Steeler D-Line should play both sides of the ball!</td> </tr> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center"> JohnnyBroncos07</p> <P align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" src="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 1-1</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD> The next CCs?&nbsp; Errr...maybe not!</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Dakota Cheddar</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1-1</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD> Doubling up on an opponent is impressive...except when that opponent are the Starfires!</td> </tr> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The T.A. Starfires</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> <IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 0-2</p> </td> <TD style="width: 59px"> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD> Well of COURSE the last remaining winless team is going to be at the bottom!&nbsp; #@$%&amp;!!!!</td> </tr> </table> </p> <p> </p> <p> Week 3 Picks:&nbsp; 1-2; Season:&nbsp; 3-3</p> <p> <b>Week 4 Picks</b></p> <p> <b>Da Raidaz vs. The T.A. Starfires (no line)</b></p> <p> Well, of COURSE!!!&nbsp; Reeling with a dismal, not-even-bleeping-close 0-2 start and the Starfires get hit by the bye bug!&nbsp; There are too many holes to fill yet to justify having a point spread (with the empty slots its 56, MAN that's tempting)!&nbsp; My guess is with another strong defense to run from, we won't see Roethlisberger in the lineup.&nbsp; But regardless of the adjustments made, it would be insane to pick the Starfires.&nbsp; I had promised to stay away from any "power lock" picks, but this is WAY too easy.&nbsp; Expect the T.A. Starfires to be in full re-building mode this time next week!</p> <p> <em>Pick: &nbsp;Da Raidaz straight up &lt;--POWER LOCK PICK!</em></p> <p> <strong>Rapid Delivery vs. Dakota Cheddar (-8)</strong></p> <p> Well, "one day" came early for the Cheddar, as they won their first game last week.&nbsp; Whether they win their second this week may hinge on how McNabb is feeling after getting bruised (literally) by the Steeler defense.&nbsp; While the matchups for the Cheddar look favorable, I'm guessing at least some of them are but a mirage...</p> <p> <em>Pick: &nbsp;Rapid Delivery to cover</em></p> <p> <strong>The Purple Prophet vs. JohnnyBroncos07 (+20)</strong></p> <p> The same "mirage" effect regarding the Cheddar may also apply to the JBs.&nbsp; That said I have to imagine that they can stay within 20 points of The Prophet.&nbsp; That said I "sense" that the Purple shall rebound anchored by what might be a "pitchers duel" in Pittsburgh come Monday night....</p> <p> <em>Pick: &nbsp;JohnnyBroncos07 plus the points.</em></p> <p> <a name="Week3"><b><font size="5">Week 3 Preview</font></b></p> <p> Well, I have another piece of advice for those fantasy owners out there.&nbsp; We all know to review the injury report, watch the talking heads regarding trends, history of matchups, etc.&nbsp; But there's one more thing to watch before making your final decisions:</p> <p> The Weather Channel.</p> <p> It looked like Hurricane Ike was going to play to my benefit with RD's TE shelved due to the postponed game.&nbsp; But then that storm elected to swing by Ohio to mess with Big Ben and Company.&nbsp; Tempting as it may be, I REFUSE to lament about bad luck this and that...it would NOT have made any difference last week, anyway.</p> <p> I'm just saying....</p> <p> <strong>Power Rankings (through Week 2)</strong></p> <P> <TABLE id="Table1" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Rank</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> Team Name</p> </td> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3> <FONT size="3"></font>&nbsp;</h3> <h3> <font size="3">Record</font></h3> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> Last Week</p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> <FONT face="Arial">Skinny</font></p> </td> </tr> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center"> JohnnyBroncos07</p> <P align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" src="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 1-0</p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 2</p> </td> <TD> Could the JBs be this year's CCs??</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 2</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet (formerly TL's Outlaws)</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1-0</p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD> Steeler D is looking mighty fine....</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Da Raidaz</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 0-1</p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 1</p> </td> <TD> As the Starfires can attest....a combined SINGLE POINT out of the WR corps is NOT going to get it done.</td> </tr> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 4</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Rapid Delivery (a.k.a. ND Cardinals)</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<IMG id="Img1" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 1-0</p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD> It appears the rumors of RD's demise were greatly exaggerated!</td> </tr> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The T.A. Starfires</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> <IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 0-1</p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 3</p> </td> <TD> It appears the rumors of the Starfire's rise were greatly exaggerated!</td> </tr> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6</p> </td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> Dakota Cheddar</p> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 0-1</p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> 5</p> </td> <TD> Another victim of Hurricane Ike!</td> </tr> </table> </p> <p> Week 2 Picks:&nbsp; 2-1; Season:&nbsp; 2-1</p> <p> <b>Week 3 Picks</b><br /> <b>Dakota Cheddar vs. The T.A. Starfires (+5)</b></p> <p> <b></b>The Rodgers Era in Green Bay is off to a flying start.&nbsp; While that may change against Dallas this Sunday Night, there is always the chance of seeing another shoot-out like we saw last night against Philly.&nbsp; While that means more points for the Cheddar offense, it hurts their defense.&nbsp; Assuming Big Ben is OK (he skirted questions about his shoulder in Brady-esque fashion last Sunday), and assuming there's no hurricane next week, expect bigger numbers from him and Ward....</p> <p> <em>Pick:&nbsp; The T.A. Starfires straight up</em><br /><br /> <strong>JohnnyBroncos07 vs. Da Raidaz (+7)</strong></p> <p> <b></b>The JBs HAVE to be excited about the Giants facing a lifeless Bengals squad and the Pats D against the Dolphins.&nbsp; Da Raidaz have some favorable match-ups as well, but I'm not 100% sold yet as to whether Cutler and the Broncos are for real....</p> <p> <em>Pick: &nbsp;JohnnyBroncos07 straight up</em></p> <p> <strong>The Purple Prophet vs. Rapid Delivery (+12)</strong></p> <p> <b></b>With the WR match-ups (i.e., Boldin and Calvin Johnson) in the mix alone, this shapes up to be a high-scoring affair.&nbsp; It may come down to which QB and Defense can add to the big numbers.&nbsp; From the looks of it, I have to say Advantage Prophet, but I don't see the Vikings D allowing their squad to go 0-3 without a fight...</p> <p> <em>Pick: &nbsp;Rapid Delivery to cover</em><br /> <br /> </p> <p> <a name="Preview"><b><font size="5">2008 Frozen Tundra Preview</font></b> </p> <p>Should any of us be concerned that the league had to struggle just to get six teams AGAIN? Should any of us be concerned that we don't start until Week 2?&nbsp; Should any of us be concerned that only one of the Super Manning Bros. is considered a top pick AGAIN? </p> <p> And should any of us be concerned that, of all the 2007 teams to NOT return in 2008, it's none other than the TWO TIME DEFENDING Champion Creepy Crawlers?!?!</p> <p>Naw, it MIGHT give someone ELSE a shot at winning!</p> <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">2008 Preseason Power Rankings (compiled before the Week 1 games)</b></p> <P> <TABLE id="Table15" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; WIDTH: 84.42%; mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellPadding="0" width="84%" border="1"> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center">Rank</P> </TD> <TD width="14%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center">Team Name</P> </TD> <TD align="center" width="10%"> <H3><FONT size="3">2007 Record</FONT></H3> </TD> <TD> <P align="center">2007 PPG</P> </TD> <TD> <P align="center">2007 Final Rank</P> </TD> <TD>Key Stats:</TD> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"><FONT face="Arial">Skinny/Prediction</FONT></P> </TD> </TR> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center">1</P> </TD> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center">Da Raidaz</P> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></P> </TD> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center">10-4</P> </TD> <TD> <P align="center">107.9</P> </TD> <TD> <P align="center">1</P> </TD> <TD>The Brady Bunch allowed Da Raidaz to post the highest PPG average in league history - but fell flat in the first round for the second straight year</TD> <TD> Brady and L.T. alone make Da Raidaz the early Tundra Bowl favorite...but Chicago's Defense?</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P align="center">2</P> </TD> <TD width="14%"> <P align="center">JohnnyBroncos07</P> <P align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" src="http://f5.yahoofs.com/coreid/48a39fc9i2578zul1re3/l.oHxrEwd7Iuu9DAgBZ_UAjRHLw1kecA/2/tn96.jpg?ciAg_6IB96nwWNOT" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></P> </TD> <TD> <P align="center">7-7</P> </TD> <TD> <P align="center">90.5</P> </TD> <TD> <P align="center">2</P> </TD> <TD>Started out as lucky in 2007, then became good.&nbsp; Almost knocked off the Creppy Crawlers in Round 1</TD> <TD> If Edwards and Ocho Cinco (yes, that's his REAL name now) can produce as they should, the JBs will be good again.</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 3</P> </TD> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center">The T.A. Starfires</P> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"><IMG height="48" src="frozen19.gif" width="48" border="0"></P> </TD> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center">5-9</P> </TD> <TD> <P align="center">97.9</P> </TD> <TD> <P align="center">4</P> </TD> <TD>Back in the title game in '07.&nbsp; Back to lack of WR production costing them the title in '07 .</TD> <TD> Again, it will come down to whether they get consistent production from the WR corps, and whether they can translate more points into more wins.&nbsp; If that happens, third time could be the charm for the TA's</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD width="8%"> &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 4</td> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> The Purple Prophet (formerly TL's Outlaws)</p> <p align="center" style="text-align: center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_04_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></p> </td> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> --</p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> --</p> </td> <TD> <P align="center"> --</p> </td> <TD> "The Prophet," a.k.a. "The Freak," "The Coach," "The Wall," etc., is back after a one-year hiatus.</td> <TD> If "The Prophet" is right about his defense and playmakers, we could foresee the Prophet "Brees" into the playoffs.</TD> </TR> <TR> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 5</P> </TD> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center">Dakota Cheddar</P> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center"> &nbsp;<img alt="" border="0" class="logo" realimg="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/sp/fn/default/full/nfl/icon_10_100.gif" style="width: 52px; height: 52px" /></P> </TD> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center">5-9</P> </TD> <TD> <P align="center">89.1</P> </TD> <TD> <P align="center">6</P> </TD> <TD>Scored an average of 63 points last year in weeks 12 and 13 on their way to a three-game losing streak that kept them out of the Championship bracket.</TD> <TD> Does Cheddar know Favre isn't running the Packer offense anymore?&nbsp; As Rodgers goes, so will Dakota Cheddar.</TD> </TR> <tr> <TD width="8%"> <P class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center"> 6</P> </TD> <TD width="14%"> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center">Rapid Delivery (a.k.a. ND Cardinals)</P> <P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center">&nbsp;<IMG id="Img2" alt="" src="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000" border="0" realimg="http://lookup.avatars.yahoo.com/images?yid=swaghorn99&amp;size=medium&amp;type=jpg&amp;pty=3000"></P> </TD> <TD> <P class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto" align="center">5-9</P> </TD> <TD> <P align="center">91.5</P> </TD> <TD> <P align="center">5</P> </TD> <TD>Have fallen from grace somewhat, with only the Cheddar scoring fewer ppg.</TD> <TD> Picked up Moss (the good), relying once again on playmakers on iffy teams like Detroit and Arizona (the bad), and those whose better days may be behind them like Portis (the ugly).&nbsp; <br /> <br /> While it's surreal to hear myself saying this, it may be a return to the Toilet Bowl for RD.</td> </tr> </TABLE> </P> </SPAN><b>"Preseason" Results (Week 1):</b><br /> <br /> <u>The Purple Prophet 102, The T.A. Starfires 77</u><br /> <br /> Man, the Golden Gopher RBs can play, can't they?&nbsp; Good thing for the Starfires that this didn't count!<br /> <br /> <u>Da Raidaz 69, Dakota Cheddar 82</u><br /> <br /> Sometimes the preseason can do more harm than good as evident in Brady going down for the season!&nbsp; Suddenly, Da Raidaz look vulnerable again!<br /> <br /> <u>Rapid Delivery 83, JohnnyBroncos07 70</u><br /> <br /> Keep that Chunky Soup coming, RD!<br /> <br /> <b>Week 2 Picks</b><br /> <b>Rapid Delivery vs. The T.A. Starfires (-8)</b><br /> <br /> This could be interesting as we feature a head-to-head battle of defenses.&nbsp; We'll see whether Roethlisberger gets better protection than he did in '07, and whether there's enough Chunky Soup for McNabb to perform against Dallas.&nbsp; While Week 2 is hardly a "must-win" game, this could very well set the tone for either team...for better or for worse.<br /> <br /> <i>Pick:&nbsp; The T.A. Starfires straight up</i><br /> <br /> <b>JohnnyBroncos07 vs. Dakota Cheddar (-8)</b><br /> <br /> If Minnesota's defense is as good as advertised (I cringed as I watched them sack Big Ben twice in a row in the preseason), even Peyton might have a hard time scoring points...especially considering his so-so performance last Sunday night!&nbsp; And I still am not sure about a Favre-less Green Bay....<br /> <br /> <i>Pick:&nbsp; JohnnyBroncos07 to cover</i><br /> <br /> <b>The Purple Prophet vs. Da Raidaz (-5)</b><br /> <br /> I had said that, until we see a Tom Brady swoon, I would have a hard time picking against Da Raidaz, expecting a sure win if not a blowout any given week.<br /> I would say an unfortunate season-ending injury counts as a "swoon."&nbsp;<br /> The Prophet has some favorable match-ups plus that Steeler D, not to mention that dominate preseason performance against the Starfires.&nbsp; Da Raidaz have Carson Palmer at last check to come in for the injuried Brady, so this could indeed a blowout afterall....for The Purple!<br /> <br /> <i>Pick:&nbsp; The Purple Prophet straight up</i> </body> </html> <!-- /\ end html -->