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First Full Week (Week 2)

Week 2 has come and gone but not with some confusion of the rules.

The controversy surrounding the number of goalie starts begins with the change from last year's requirement of two to 4 initially. The Commissioner admits that this change was made without announcement and with no mention in the rule changes discussed over the off-season. This has caused problems between the returning franchises and the expansion teams. The Commissioner has announced today that for the remainder (and vast majority) of the season, the requirement for goalie starts will be three (3).

Last week saw last year's champions suffer another humiliating loss, this time at the hands of AmIGone. While it is still too early to fix any team in their position, Nocturne's Killers are looking for a little inspiration to avoid being Nocturne's Lament. Meanwhile, Mighty Taco and DaZ fought a close battle with DaZ emerging the 1-point victor. This keeps both teams high in the Yahoo rankings (divisional rankings to follow soon), an outcome neither can be too sad about. Both teams looked evenly matched - their previous wins look less like an upset and more like the start of a trend. The Stingrays continued their early season dominance by trouncing Wicked Pissahs. The Pissahs went from one of the highest hitting teams in Week 1 to the lowest in Week 2 - will inconsistency be the byword for this team? The Underdogs again proved themselves to be a misnomer as they cowed Margaritas on their way to first place in the league, followed closely by Stingrays and DaZ.

This week, the Stingrays air all their grievances against the Commissioner's team in an all-out Casino Royale! James Bond will be on hand to throw out the first puck - don't miss it! In another top match, Ice Kinkajous and The Underdogs fight in a match worthy of Ali vs. Frasier, though considerably less well attended. Oh and ahh as these heavy-weights of the Zamboni throw down (or fall down) on the ice! In a grudge match of titanic proportions, Mighty Taco and Nocturne's Killers look for supremacy in the Bowman division! It may not be Cain vs. Abel, but it will be biblical... Meanwhile, Thunder Bay and Wicked Pissahs each look for a way out of the basement labyrinth. Don't expect David Bowie to show up, though - He's adverse to the ice. Margaritas look to keep the Chiefs from staying above .500 while the Chiefs, who finally figured out how to capitalize their name, look to capitalize on their recent aquisitions. Perhaps their success will rival that of the Flying V! Finally, the RedBombers look to leverage their position against DaZ to bring about a power shift by capitalizing on their core competencies to lessen the quality gap. Sounds Thrilling!

The Highs and Lows of Week 2:

Skaters:
G: 13 (DaZ); 5 (Wicked Pissahs)
A: 23 (Mighty Taco); 8 (Wicked Pissahs)
+/-: 12 (AmIGone); -11 (Wicked Pissahs)
PIM: 44 (Wicked Pissahs); 12 (Ice Kinkajous)
PPP: 15 (Mighty Taco); 7 (Nocturne's Killers, Wicked Pissahs, Margaritas)
SHP: 1 (Mighty Taco, Margaritas, Ice Kinkajous, RedBombers); 0 (everyone else)
SOG: 100 (Stingrays I); 68 (The Underdogs)
FW: 107 (Ice Kinkajous); 49 (Margaritas)

Goalies:
W: 5 (Margaritas); 1 (Thunder Bay, RedBombers)
GAA: 1.76 (AmIGone, DaZ); 4.18 (Thunder Bay)
SV: 182 (Margaritas); 66 (Thunder Bay)
SV%: 0.946 (DaZ); 0.848 (RedBombers)
SHO: 2 (AmIGone); 0 (all other but Nocturne's Killers)

Season Highs (week of record in parentheses):

Skaters:
G: 14 - Wicked Pissahs (1)
A: 23 Mighty Taco (2)
+/-: 17 - Stingrays I (1)
PIM: 57 Wicked Pissahs (1)
PPP: 17 - Wicked Pissahs (1)
SHP: 2 - DaZ (1)
SOG: 101 - Wicked Pissahs (1)
FW: 107 - Wicked Pissahs (1), Ice Kinkajous (2)

Goalies:
W: 5 - Margaritas (2)
GAA: 0.75 - Nocturne's Killers (1)
SV: 182 - Margaritas (2)
SV%: 0.973 - Nocturne's Killers (1)
SHO: 2 - Nocturne's Killers (1), AmIGone (2)

The Season Begins (Week 1)

The season has begun and parity looks to be the word to best describe the events of the first week. Of the top three teams from the 2006 season, the best showing was from the reigning champions, Nocturne's Killers, who lost to Wicked Pissahs 6-7. AmIGone lost their season opener with a devastating 3-7 loss to Mighty Taco, most likely due to a bad case of indigestion; their goalies certainly choked. It went worse for Thunder Bay, losing 3-8 to the inappropriately named The Underdogs. Offensive performance was lacking in Thunder Bay's return as was a good GAA.

In contrast to the returning champions, the expansion teams came out relatively strong, with Stingrays tying the Chiefs (now properly capitalized), Margaritas tying the RedBombers (color added to spice up their team), and the aforementioned trouncing of Thunder Bay by The Underdogs. In other action, DaZ (last year's bottom team) has moved their team into a position of power as they took out last year's #4 team Ice Kinkajous 10-3. DaZ's offense and goaltending were both in sync on their way to the biggest win of the day.

Next week promises to be even more exciting as former heavyweights AmIGone and Nocturne's Killers face off to see who will gain the early upper hand and who will be sent to the scrap heap. Mighty Taco & DaZ will face off after each of their upset wins in a matchup that is sure to feature plenty of offense! Stingrays will take on the Wicked Pissahs while Margaritas take on The Underdogs as the expansion teams continue to make noise in the league. Who will emerge as the power to beat? Old and New powers Thunder Bay and Chiefs will face off, with the biggest question being if Teemu Selanne will decide to play or retire - the Chief's entire strategy will change on his announcement. Finally, the RedBombers look to defeat the Ice Kinkajous by use of their spiffy new RedPower(TM). Look for the Kinkajous to avoid a loss by exploiting their colorblindness.

Best and Worst Performances of Week 1:
Offense:
G: 14 (Wicked Pissahs); 2(Thunder Bay)
A: 22 (DaZ); 7 (Ice Kinkajous)
+/-: 17 (Stingrays I); -12 (Nocturne's Killers)
PIM: 57 (Wicked Pissahs); 8 (AmIGone)
PPP: 17 (Wicked Pissahs); 5 (AmIGone)
SHP: 2 (DaZ); 0 (Wicked Pissahs, Stingrays I, Chiefs, Thunder Bay, Margaritas, Ice Kinkajous)
SOG: 101 (Wicked Pissahs); 59 (Margaritas)
FW: 107 (Wicked Pissahs); 36 (Margaritas)

Goaltending:
W: 4 (Nocturne's Killers, Stingrays I); 0 (AmIGone, Wicked Pissahs)
GAA: 0.75 (Nocturne's Killers); 4.54 (AmIGone)
SV: 140 (Margaritas); 50 (Wicked Pissahs)
SV%: .973 (Nocturne's Killers); .832 (AmIGone)
SHO: 2 (Nocturne's Killers); 0 (all other except DaZ)

Drafting Irregularities

So here's where we stand. DaZ did not correctly set his draft and caused a minor irritation during the begining of the live draft. Margaritas are mad because they were counting one extra left winger who was removed when the rosters were reset correctly. Also - many would like to see some action taken against DaZ when it was clearly stated that there would be consequences.

My official comments are as follows:
My initial rules (here)stated that the offending team would lose their franchise players to the free market and the affected teams would ultimately retain their franchise players while picking new players. The unforeseen consequence of this policy would be that the affected teams would effectively get an extra high draft pick, punishing teams that were not involved in the irregularities at all. In this case, Margaritas have been lobbying to retain Zetterburg in addition to their previous two franchise players (both properly restored). While I have no problems with this as a just (though perhaps harsh) punishment for DaZ and recompense for Margaritas, teams that were completely uninvolved will be at a disadvantage posed by this extra firepower. This is unfair as these other teams did not have an equal chance at Zetterburg (or Ovetchkin in the case of Thunder Bay).

So what can be done? The best is probably for DaZ to lose control of Zetterburg and Ovechkin without allowing any other team to access them. Since there is no way for me to do this in Yahoo that is foolproof, I will force those two players off of DaZ or any other team that tries to pick them up with no warning. They would be listed as banned and it would be best to leave them on the free agent market.

Does this sound like a just solution? How long of a ban should there be? Does DaZ lose these players all season or for a part? Please comment. We have until Oct. 3rd when these two play to decide. (Season starts Sept. 29th.)

Draft Rules

Our draft will be on Sun Sep 23 2:15pm EDT. Be sure to arrive a few minutes early to make sure your system works. Better yet, use the "test your system" link to make sure the kinks are out of the system RIGHT NOW so you can ask questions if it doesn't actually work (I'll be happy to help).

To actually make the draft work, there will be a few rules laid down. These will basically assure that you get your chosen franchise players. The rules are as follows:

1. Make sure the players listed here and here are in your "excluded players" section of the Pre-draft Player Rankings. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, ask.)
2. In those same Pre-draft Player Rankings, put your two franchise players in the top two positions. The rest of the rankings are up to you.
3. During the actual live draft, you MUST choose your franchise players for your first two selections (the first two rules assure this will happen for those managers who have to auto-draft).
4. Starting with round 3, each team may choose players according to whatever strategy they think best.
5. The penalty for not following the above rules will be severe:
   • Any player chosen in the first two rounds that was not a team's franchise player will lose that player to the waver-wire.
   • If the player chosen was another team's franchise player, that team will be given the franchise player with the option to drop any of their other players to keep the roster the correct size.
   • Failure to select your team's franchise player during the first two rounds of the draft will open that player to free-agency immediately.

You may notice that under the rules, if you fail to select your franchise players in the first two rounds, you will have effectively forfeited your first one or two draft picks and opened your franchise player(s) to any team's selection. In short - just follow the rules.

Draft Options

[The following is a copy of an email sent to the league]
There are two options for the draft:

The first (and obvious) option is to do the live draft as it is currently scheduled (unless a majority have a problem with the time). In this plan, you will need to pick your franchise players in the first two rounds. Failure to pick them then will result in loss of the draft spot (I will drop the player you choose instead) and will open your franchise player to selection in the general draft. Quickly put, you need to have all other franchise players on the exclude list and you MUST pick your players with your first and second pick. With this option, there is no chance to trade draft slots, players, etc while the draft is in motion.

The second option is to do the draft through the fantasy blog. The success of the expansion draft leads me to believe that this would be doable. I would put a post on the blog citing the draft rules and the selection would happen in the comments (I may split it into a couple of posts for clarity's sake). One major rule would be to make sure that you type both the first and last name of the player to avoid any confusion. Other than that, trading would be allowed in almost any form that teams would find acceptable. I would make sure to keep up with the selections in Yahoo so that you don't have to keep scrolling down through the comments to find who has been chosen. This would take a little longer (we have ~2 weeks) but would allow anyone to participate in the draft without having to sit down at the computer at a specific time. Also - if you want an "autopick" option during this draft, you can always email me your potential picks and any additional instructions like "draft a winger in the 5th round".

Which option do you prefer?

Expansion Draft

The Expansion Draft begins now. Leave your pick in the comment section here.

Again, the order is as follows:

Round 1:
1 (1). The Underdogs
2 (2). Stingrays I
3 (3). Creative Team Name

Round 2:
1 (4). Creative Team Name
2 (5). Stingrays I
3 (6). The Underdogs

Keep checking back to see if you are up for a pick. Be sure to make sure your picks do not overlap with those here.

Draft Order

The Draft order for the Main Draft has been posted. These draft picks (viewable here) can be traded just like franchise players.

The order for the expansion draft (2 rounds, 6 picks) is as follows:

Round 1:
1 (1). The Underdogs
2 (2). Stingrays I
3 (3). Creative Team Name

Round 2:
1 (4). Creative Team Name
2 (5). Stingrays I
3 (6). The Underdogs

Franchise Player Choices

One Note: For each returning team, please make your name recognizable from last year. Thank you.

Post your franchise selections here in the comments. Team rosters can be found here.

I have already received Franchise choices from three people:

Thunder Bay:
Sidney Crosby (Pit)
Chris Pronger (Anh)

Mighty Taco:
Marian Hossa (Atl)
Roberto Luongo (Van)

AmIGone:
Nick Lidstrom (Det)
Ryan Miller (Buf)

Fantasy Hockey Begins!

Hey Hockey Fans!

The time has come to begin the new Fantasy Hockey Season! Time to take up your team from last year and defend your honor (or if you didn't do so well - regain your honor). For all the newcomers, this is a chance to prove that you should have been here all along. If you think you know hockey... this is the way to prove it! Join our fantasy league!

Since we decided to make this a keeper league, every team that existed last year gets to keep two players from their roster w/o drafting (deadline to choose those players: 9/5/07). Of course, if you are new - don't despair! There will be an expansion draft allowing each new team to get two franchise players prior to the main draft.

For details, check out the fantasy hockey section of our blog: Hockey Section of our Blog
And specifically:
Drafting Rules

Proposed Timeline:
9/5 = Deadline to reserve franchise players.
9/6 - 9/10 = Expansion Draft
9/10 - 9/23 = Main Draft

Fantasy Hockey Offseason

Unfortunately, the Ducks have won the Stanley Cup after 3 big chokes dropped the Red Wings and Sabres in the conference finals and the Senators in the Stanley Cup finals. Fortunately, it is time to think about who you want to keep on your team. Remember, you only can choose two (but they can be traded). Please post your choices here in the comments.

Also - now is the time to collect people interested in joining the league. Please contact anyone you know and who might like to play and we can start building the new season.

Calling all (potential) Hockey Players

Whoever wants to get in on Fantasy Hockey for next year, make yourself known now. The sooner you get in, the better! Expansion Teams are now welcomed!

Fantasy Hockey Drafting Rules

As was proposed, the Fantasy Hockey league will become a keeper league. This means that you get to keep some of your players from this past year's team. The rules on who you can keep, what you can do with the players, and what will happen with the draft next year will be posted here. Despite my bombastic attitude during the season, I do not want to make these decisions unilaterally so please comment on the proposed rules below:

1) Each existing team will be allowed to keep two (2) players from their current team and no more. There are no restrictions on what positions those two players can be. The final deadline to decide who will be kept will occur sometime after the Stanley Cup Finals but before our own expansion draft (see rule 2 below). These chosen players will be referred to as "Franchise Players."

2) At a later to be determined date (preceding the full fantasy draft), any new player who wishes to join our Fantasy Hockey League The Main Event will be allowed to participate in the "Expansion Draft." The Expansion Draft order will be randomly determined before the event. The event will be held offline, with participants posting their choices to a specifically enabled blog entry (this will allow everyone to see the draft picks quickly). The players eligible in the Expansion Draft will be any current NHL player who was not chosen as a franchise player. Each team participating in the expansion draft will be allowed two choices; one in round one and one in round two. Players selected in this expansion draft will also become "Franchise Players."

3) Once the expansion draft has been conducted, the order for the full draft will be posted. The draft order will be expansion teams followed by the teams from last season. For the first draft round, the expansion teams' order will be opposite what it was in the expansion draft; the returning teams' order will be opposite their final rankings (as seen here). Second round will reverse that order, with each successive round alternating (this is how Yahoo set up their drafts). The draft itself will most likely held offline through this blog. The decision about that will be made later in a separate post.

4) Once everyone has their Franchise Players and their draft positions, any of those can be traded as the owner sees fit. This means draft positions are up for trade as are franchise players. Whatever you think you want to do. The final trade will still go through the commissioner. Trades of this kind can be set up at any point but will not be made official until the draft order is established.

5) Proposed Changes to the Scoring System: There have been no calls to remove any stats used this past year, but a few adds have been suggested. Blocked shots (if Yahoo keeps track of them) could be added to give more weight to the defenders. Games Started could be added for goalies as an incentive to play goalies above and beyond the minimum. Shots-on-goal would reward tenacious players, though it may cripple anyone from the Sabres. The final scoring changes will be decided before the main draft is held.

6) Personnel Changes: It has also been suggested that a few more starter slots be added to the game (thus expanding the number of players on each team). Any suggestions on if and how many players should be added will be welcome.

Hopefully that's enough for now. Please Comment :)

Final Results - Nocturne's Killers Slaughter Competition

Final Standings in 2006-2007 Fantasy Hockey League "The Main Event" are as follows:

1. Nocturne's Killers (Stephen, East Lansing)
2. Thunder Bay (Andrew, Mason)
3. AmIGone (Charles, Norristown)
4. Ice Kinkajous (Nick, Farmington Hills)
5. Mighty Taco (Doug, Chicago)
6. Bombers (Bob, Midland)
7. Wicked Pissahs (Mike, Boston)
8. Windy City Matrix (Jen, Chicago)
9. chiefs (Jeff, Buffalo)
10. DaZ (Derek, Jackson)

After three grueling weeks of fantasy hockey playoffs, the results are finally in: Half of the teams had already dusted off their golf clubs and forgot to show up for the final two weeks. The other half put in their finest games yet, creating a series of rather lopsided victories.

chiefs pulled off their most important win of the season to keep off the bottom of the heap, defeating DaZ 7-3. Offense was the key to this victory with the chiefs doubling DaZ in penalty minutes and trouncing them in assists (13 point margin) and face-offs won (119 point margin)! The only silver lining for DaZ with this outcome is the high draft picks available next year. The chiefs, of course, will have a similar draft position and hope to continue their comeback next year.

Wicked Pissahs, disappointed at being left out of the big dance, vented their frustrations on Windy City Matrix, pounding them for a 9-2 victory. The only categories conceded were assists and power play points. Superb play from all involved gave the Pissahs their much deserved victory. The Pissahs hope to turn this final victory into momentum for next season. As for the Matrices, their experience gained over the course of the season moved them above the bottom and bodes well for their continued growth.

The Bombers and Mighty Taco were both idle this last week, having finished their series in the previous week. Both hope to prove that this years success was not a fluke with a strong comeback next year. Also, neither is willing to settle for the losing position in the Bowman league two years in a row. Expect big changes from these two.

AmIGone managed to save their season by beating Ice Kinkajous for third place overall. The 8-3 victory was assisted by good showings early on by their goalies, but ultimately cemented by a superb performance by the skaters. AmIGone dominated in plus-minus numbers (registering +30 in the first week alone) by a margin of 22 and in face-offs by a margin of 120. This was the closest of any of the final week matchups by far. Both teams look poised for next year to make a run at the finals.

Finally, in the matchup everyone was watching, Thunder Bay succumbed to Nocturne's Killers 8-2. In final quotes from the Bay, the manager Andrew expressed these feelings to Stephen, the manager of the Killers: "Congrats mate. I'll be gunnin' for you next year." At the other podium, the Killers couldn't contain their emotion, "Woohoo! I won as the big underdog!!" In a phone interview, the Killer's manager was quick to point out that his team went from fighting DaZ for the final playoff spot to winning it all, against all odds. (He also pointed out that DaZ failed to win another game, obviously demoralized by a superior force.) The Killers have set the bar for the league and look to be on everyone's radar next season. Once again, Congratulations to Nocturne's Killers!

Good Night and Good Luck.

The End Is Here

This is it! The Final Week - the week the champion is crowned! It all comes down to this... after months of preparation, months of toiling, months of bringing excitement to the league, my team has failed miserably. And that's ok - I am not bitter or disappointed, I do not bear my brother ill will nor do I wish to see him crushed mercilessly. Equally, I do not wish my opponent Nick, manager of the Ice Kinkajous, ill in this upcoming battle for third place. Not at all. This is the excitement I had hoped for in our league. I am glad to see such an interesting ending. It will be so thrilling. Yay.

Oh - and don't mind that man behind the curtain. His bouts of swearing, hysteria, and weeping in no way relate to the outcome of the semi-finals.

Moving on.

Last week featured dazzling upsets in both the consolation (a.k.a. The NIT) and championship brackets! Lowly Windy City Matrix bested DaZ in a resounding 8-2 win to move into the final round. The Matrices will meeting Wicked Pissahs, who also posted a quality win over the chiefs 8-3. That will leave DaZ and the chiefs battling it out to remain off of the bottom of the heap.

In championship play, Mighty Taco's goalies put in a remarkable performance on their way to securing their 5th place ranking in the league. In related play, Nocturne's Killers pulled off a second upset in a row by narrowly defeating AmIGone 5-4. In review of the week's stats, the only way AmIGone would have been able to pull off a win was to drop Teemu Selane and add in Darcy Tucker. Such a move would have seemed extremely stupid and would probably have cost AmIGone the championship anyways. Such is the game. The result here puts Baby (a.k.a. The Unwanted Third) Bowman on top of the Bowman division, followed by the sagacious elder brother, the black sheep actor, and the Aged (see: Great Expectations). Nocturne's Killers face an uphill battle as they take on Thunder Bay, who have dominated the league for over three months. Thunder Bay came out victorious against the Ice Kinkajous, who couldn't muster enough goaltending to compete. The 7-4 win means that Thunder Bay, unlike AmIGone, did not suffer from a week off and will be tough to beat!

This sets the stage for the final matchups of the year! Details of the next season will be finalized only after a champion has been crowned. As DaZ and the chiefs battle to stay off bottom and Wicked Pissahs and Windy City Matrix have one more go at each other, eyes will probably move elsewhere. No, not to the lowly battle for third place, where Ice Kinkajous look to take their frustrations out on AmIGone. All eyes will be on the championship between Thunder Bay and Nocturne's Killers. The field is set, the "week's" (actually until Apr. 8th) games have been plotted, the players chosen (for now). The only question now is: Who will be the Zamboni and who will be the ice?

This message has been approved by the Ultimate Ruler (and editor) Emmaline.

Round 1 Done

Round One has ended with two astounding performances! Nocturne's Killers and Ice Kinkajous each trounced their opponents (Mighty Taco and Bombers respectively) with a masterful 7-3 victory! In games where the goaltending was not a large factor (2-1), skating proved to be the arena where the contenders bested the pretenders.

To start of this week's action, the consolation bracket gets underway with DaZ taking on Windy City Matrix and the chiefs taking on Wicked Pissahs. Will DaZ prove that his relegation down to the consolation bracket was a fluke? Will the chiefs finally live up to their Tinseltown roots? Will Windy City Matrix play spoiler or have to settle for blood in baseball? Will Wicked Pissahs learn that hockey is played on ice with pucks and does not, in fact, involve hitting any wicked pissahs out of the pahk (unless you want to draw a penalty)? Find out as the consolation bracket commences...

In the championship bracket, the losers from round one will have one final hurrah as they battle for 5th position. No matter the outcome, these two Bowmans will have to live with the knowledge they were inferior in their hockey knowledge to AmIGone and Nocturne's Killers. Fittingly, AmIGone and the Killers will duke it out this week for Bowman Family bragging rights and a chance at the title! On the other side, Ice Kinkajous is looking to play spoiler against an intimidatig Thunder Bay, who are just coming off of a one week rest. Can either of the lower seeds break into the final? Tune in and find out!

I am Charles Bowman, Hockey Commissioner, and I approve this message.

The Big Dance

Note: This is a copy of the email sent out to the league this week.

As the fantasy baseball season is ready to kick off (Wednesday 9:30pm EST draft), our Fantasy Hockey League, The Main Event, moves into the three week, no-holds-barred, statistical bloodbath that is, no, not basketball (please join our March Madness pool, though) - Fantasy Hockey Playoffs!

{end shameless promotion of other fantasy leagues}

As predicted, Thunder Bay took the number 1 seed followed by AmIGone at number 2. In a surprise turn of events, Mighty Taco flexed their muscles by trouncing the Bombers 7-3 and taking the number 3 seed by a margin of two points. This left Ice Kinkajous, who had a mediocre performance against AmIGone (4-6 loss) with an equal number of points as the Bombers. Due to a higher number of wins versus ties, Ice Kinkajous took the fourth seed, leaving Bombers at 5th.

The game with the biggest stakes turned out to be just as exciting as billed! Nocturne's Killers edged out DaZ in a battle to the finish 6-5! DaZ took all goalie categories with a performance that would have done him well in any contest, while the Killers dominated the skaters categories, trailing only in goals. Congratulations go out to Nocturne's Killers on securing the 6th and final seed in the championship playoffs.

This week sees the number 1 and 2 seeds idle with a bye week and the consolation playoffs start next week. The only teams in action this week are those vying for a chance at the top teams in the league. Mighty Taco will take on the resurgent Killers in a brother against brother match of biblical proportions! Mighty Taco won both confrontations during the regular season but now - only this week counts! Along side this grudge match, the Bombers will take on Ice Kinkajous - a battle for lost supremacy. After the Bombers lost their seed to the Kinkajous, they will certainly be looking for revenge! Since the season left each team with a win each, this playoff matchup will decide who is King (of the mid-ranked seeds)!

Ladies and Gentlemen - the gloves are off! Let the Battle Begin!

Straight Win-Loss Results

The Final Records (according to straight win-loss records) are as follows:

1. Thunder Bay 16-5-2 (34 pts)
2. AmIGone 14-6-3 (31 pts)
3. Mighty Taco 15-7-1 (31 pts)
4. Bombers 13-8-2 (28 pts)
5. Ice Kinkajous 13-9-1 (27 pts)
6.Nocturne's Killers 11-12-0 (22 pts)
7. DaZ 8-13-2 (18 pts)
8. Wicked Pissahs 6-15-2 (14 pts)
9. chiefs 7-14-2 (16 pts)
10. Windy City Matrix 3-17-3 (9 pts)

Tie-breaker used: Yahoo! Rankings

Notice that the only difference from Yahoo was Bombers and Ice Kinkajous.

Congratulations Thunder Bay!!!

The Regular Season Reaches its Close

Note: This is a copy of the email sent out to the league this week.

With one week to go, 4 teams have secured their position in the championship playoffs. The right to vie for Number 1 has been assured to Thunder Bay (clinched last week), AmIGone, Bombers, and Ice Kinkajous. Barring a series of major upsets, the 1st and 2nd seeds have been secured. The most vulnerable position this week is the 6th seed after Nocturne's Killers failed to gain traction against Thunder Bay. Separated by only 6 points, look for the big game when DaZ and Nocturne's Killers face off! Ties won't matter in this matchup - if DaZ can get a margin of victory of 4, he will be in; 3 would only make DaZ and the Killers tie in points, resulting in the Killers winning by tie-breaker.

Last week, AmIGone and Ice Kinkajous both put forth resounding victories to secure their playoff spot. Their 8-2 victories stymied the chiefs and made DaZ's work that much harder this week. Bombers edged out the Wicked Pissahs but still had enough to clinch while Thunder Bay showed no signs of mercy with a 9-1 pounding of Nocturne's Killers, despite already having clinched!

Besides the titanic battle between the Killers and DaZ, this week sees Bombers and Mighty Taco face off for seeding purposes. AmIGone and the Ice Kinkajous will do the same. The Wicked Pissahs look to avenge their losses to the chiefs (last time to achieve this victory) and Thunder Bay faces a meaningless game against Windy City Matrix.

There's two minutes left on the clock, the bases are loaded, shot clock is down to 5, the goalie has been pulled, and you only need a field goal to win. Can you bowl a strike?

The Penultimate Week

Note: This is a copy of the email sent out to the league this week.

The second to last week of The Main Event has arrived with the first championship playoff spot having been clinched. Thunder Bay has obtained 285 points and a spot in the playoffs by tying with Ice Kinkajous 5-5. Congratulations to Thunder Bay! In other action, AmIGone dropped their game to the Bombers, allowing Bombers to take the series. Mighty Taco crushed Wicked Pissahs, fatally injuring the Pissahs' chance of making a championship slot. In a rally that has come too late, chiefs devoured DaZ, dropping DaZ into 7th place, out of the championship picture. Taking his place, Mighty Taco moves into 5th, followed by Nocturne's Killers in 6th. Despite Windy City Matrix's rally last week over the struggling Pissahs, the Matrix failed to dazzle this week and still sits in last place. With the minimum for advancing to the championship at 233 points, DaZ is the only team with a chance to break into the top bracket. The most exciting and decisive battle will take place next week between DaZ and Nocturne's Killers (currently 7th and 6th place respectively).

This week sees AmIGone trying to secure a high ranking with a victory over the chiefs, Mighty Taco securing their position by taking on lowly Windy City Matrix, and the Bombers trying to assend the rankings with a victory over Wicked Pissahs. Don't expect any of the lower ranked teams to just roll over and die... vindictive wins now (and the spoiling of a championship run) may be the best medicine for a sour end of the season. The premier matchups this week are for those of Nocturne's Killers and DaZ, who take on Thunder Bay and Ice Kinkajous respectively. Before they square off next week, each will try to exact a win now and claw their way into the championship. Since only 3 points separate the Kinkajous and the Killers, this week is vital!\n\nFinally, consider joining Mike's (Wicked Pissahs) fantasy baseball league. Keep your fantasy chops wet this off-season. Make sure to floss after you brush!