Super Bowl III

babysrus (152.00) vs razoRAMON (111.00)
We told you to be careful didn't we? babysrus was the hottest team over the second half of the season and despite razoRAMON's best efforts, nothing could stop the avalanche that was Gene from crushing the competition. Maybe they were angry over last year's championship game loss versus Jimmy?

Gene entered the playoffs as only the fifth seed but proceeded to eliminate the Dirty Birds (#4), Old English (#1), and finally, razoRAMON (#2). That's nine wins and one tie to close out the season after starting off 0-6. How you like me now?!? What kind of pep talk did Coach Kim give to these guys their 76-89 loss to the Fobsters in WK6? After that point, babysrus went over the century mark every week and even averaged a stunning 130+ points per game.

In the Super Bowl, they busted out for 152 points behind the QB duo of wily Kurt Warner (30) and dynamic Donovan McNabb (26). RBs Brandon Jacobs and Fred Taylor combined for 43.50 points as Reggie Wayne (23) and Terrell Owens (12.50) contributed through the air. Despite a broken leg by Willie Parker, that's all she wrote for the Razors.

Ryan's team walked into the playoffs with a first round bye -- as always -- but couldn't help petering out near the end. Their price number one draft pick, Drew Brees, contributed only 12.5 points in an uneven season and despite the best work of Randy Moss (19.5) and the other Adrian Peterson (17.5), they couldn't keep up with the babies. Joseph Addai and Edgerrin James combined for only 18.5 points and even Ben Roethlisberger's 26 points wasn't enough to stave off defeat.

So it's safe to say that Gene and his team had the greatest comeback season -- even greatest season -- in Black Hole history as they came out of nowhere to become the lord and king of everywhere. Congratulations!

Finals: Frenemies

Here we go, the matchup the whole world has been waiting for. Gene and Ryan typically fight over the number of waiver moves during the season but this week, they'll be fighting for a fantasy football championship. Ryan is rolling and hasn't had his usual playoff collapse. His first round pick, Drew Brees, is finally stepping up (23 pts) and paired with Ben Roethlisberger, the Razors have excellent leadership in the backfield. With the Fobsters hardly putting up a challenge and going down 92.50 - 124.50, the path is clear for the Razors to take a championship. The problem is, their third best player right now might be Jason Witten, a tight end. Can the running game pick it up again? Joseph Addai, Clinton Portis, and Edgerrin James are all big names but they haven't been playing that great recently. Then again, who cares? Randy Moss won't be shut out two weeks in a row will he?

Gene's babyrus pounded the Razors WK 12 (127.00 - 98.50) and haven't lost in eight games -- never scoring below 124.00 points in those games. Can his team go 0-6 to start the season and then clean up on the way to a championship? Crazy right? But Kurt Warner and Donovan McNabb have been just above average, the WRs are Reggie Wayne, Terrell Owens, and Brandon Marshall (a revelation recently). Plus, the run game should be capable every week, as Brandon Jacobs, Marshawn Lynch, and Rudi Johnson are all steady double digit contributors. Hell, Mason Crosby, the kicker scoredd 19 points this week. Gene's team doesn't look as fancy on paper but they've been playing much better and have proven to be a huge threat as they dispatched Old English by a wide margin, 130.50 - 106.50.

Prediction? Perhaps a win for babyrus? Or do we throw our karmic prediction toward the Razors? Nah, I'd rather see a loser to hero outcome with Gene walking away undefeated since October.

Semi-Finals: Show Me The Money!

Old English (9-4) vs babysrus (6-6-1)
If Gene runs the table this post-season and wins a championship, he will officially have the greatest season ever. Actually, he might already have that title. By toppling the Dirty Birds 129.50 to 111.50 -- mainly behind Brandon Marshall's 29 points -- babysrus comes from behind for yet another upset. This week, they'll face off against a well rested Old English team.

Aquino's team has been on a tear all season and they have undoubtably the best quarterbacks in the land. Put it this way, Derek Anderson, a surprise fantasy star, hasn't even made it into the lineup (except for bye weeks) for Old English. There's just no way Tony Romo and Peyton Manning can be displaced. Heck, on the season, Anderson has only socred six points less than Peyton.

Eric doesn't need much more from the lineup when he has two outstanding QBs but Jamal Lewis, Kellen Winslow, Tony Gonzalez, and Bobby Engram have contributed mightily too. With the injuries to Laveranues Coles and Travis Henry, depth is an issue but hey, who cares? It's Romo and Manning all the way! The only person who is way underperforming here is superstar WR Steve Smith, who has just been horrific all season long, scoring even less than say, Derrick Mason.

Gene's quarterbacks, Kurt Warner and David Garrard,lack the star power of Eric's team but they have three quality WRs to throw to. Terrell Owens and Reggie Wayne are standouts. Brandon Marshall is explosive and peaking at the right time. And how about the decision to sit Rudi Johnson and Willie Parker last week? Daring. It's doubtful that Chester Taylor, Marshawn Lynch, and Brandon Jacobs will get the starting call again so look for Johnson or Parker, or both, to slide into the lineup. It's a classic battle of star power versus depth and we'll have to see if Gene can keep up his Cinderella season.

RazoRamon (8-5) vs Fobsters (8-5)
In what was touted as a potential slugfest with the Jedi Knights coming on strong, Jimmy's Fobsters handled their business and won by nine points (124 - 114.5). They needed everything they could get from Marion Barber (33), Ryan Grant (22), and Brian Westbrook (20.5) because Jeff Garcia and Steelers defense couldn't score a point and Chad Johnson and Hines Ward were near useless. With Tom Brady tossing another four touchdowns (35 pts), Jimmy had his hands full. In the end, Lum couldn't get Adrian Peterson or Roy Williams on the board so lost by a handful.

That sets up a huge week as defending champion Jimmy will face off against Ryan, who is traditionally a post-season choker. This time around, they're loaded up with a deep and talented roster though, headed by the resurgent Drew Brees. Ramon had a great week last week despite being on bye and Brees, Joseph Addai, Randy Moss, and Jason Witten will enter the semi-finals all fired up. Let's not forget about Big Ben Roethlisberger, Edgerrin James, Clinton Portis, Chris Henry, Roddy White (and maybe Marvin Harrison). The Razors easily have the deepest team on paper -- they lost Ronnie Brown early on too -- the question is, can they win in the playoffs?

Jimmy's hoping the answer to that is a big fat "No." With a running game that must rank as the best in the league, Jimmy will have to play ball control. Chad Johnson needs a huge game one of these days but his QB hasn't been cooperating. To be honest, Jimmy's team is deep too, with Shaun Alexander and Calvin Johnson being mid-season casualties. The difference though, is quarterbacking. Jimmy has Rivers and Garcia (or Trent Edwards), Ryan has Brees and Ben. Might someone need a stronger second QB for this matchup?

This game will be too close to call but I'm going to go with Ryan winning, just to make him feel better.

Playoffs: Round 1

Well, the regular season is over and it looks like Hong and Galvez are on the outside looking in with identical 4-9 records. Our other six esteemed owners will now face off for a chance at the ring. Aquino, the rookie manager looks like a complete ringer as he compiled a 9-4 record on the way to the most wins in the league and a first round bye. Ryan, as always, had an excellent regular season but now his real challenge (struggles) begin. Both Aquino and Ryan have a bye so this week we'll play for who gets a chance to knock off a big boy.

Fobsters (8-5) vs Jedi Knights (5-8)
Jimmy is having quite the fantasy season. In our other keeper league, he's gone from winless a year ago to almost earning a bye in the playoffs. With our Black Hole league, Jimmy's doing almost the same. Despite finishing with a very good record, Jimmy's team just didn't score more points than Ryan's. In fact, during the last six weeks, Jimmy's highest output has been 124 points (WK9) -- discounting a 157-point aberattion in WK 12 -- and he's had plenty of sub one hundred games.

Then again, Chris' team had six losses in a row before winning last week to stumble into the playoffs. Those losses are deceiving though, as the Knights have scored more than 107 points in every game since WK8 (120+ five times in that span). That doesn't bode well for the Fobsters, who are much more erratic.

The key to the Knight's success? Tom Brady and Carson Palmer. I'm not sure how Chris only won five games with such an amazing QB duo but that's why they play the game! More importantly, Chris' team is fully healthy now. Steven Jackson and Adrian Peterson are going to rip it up these next few weeks. Roy Williams and Andre Johnson are back and ready to light it up next to Braylon Edwards. In fact, the Knights look like my favorite dark horse despite their weak record. Who can argue with such excellent depth? My pre-season picks had Chris being a very dangerous team and it may just prove to be so.

The Fobsters will have to counter with the best fantasy running back in the land, Brian Westbrook. With Marion Barber slugging it out all season and Packers rookie Ryan Grant contributing mightily, the Fobsters have a good running game. They have good receivers too, with Chad Johnson, Greg Jennings (way underrated), and Hines Ward. However, Jimmy's got quarterback problems. Can Philip Rivers have a good game? Can AJ Feeley have a good game? Who would you rather have in your backfield? Brady-Palmer or Rivers-Feeley?

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that Chris upsets Jimmy. Nothing personal but the lineups are just too uneven. Use the Force Chris! Use the Force!

Dirty Birds (7-5-1) vs babysrus (6-6-1)
Oh boy, Jon versus Gene. The matchup the fates deemed must happen. I think I've been knocked out by Gene in the playoffs at least twice so even if that's not true, I'm making it my revenge game this week. The Dirty Birds are riding high recently with a wave of huge games (except last week's 76 point dud). Almost every loss they've had has been because they've stumbled and scored 80 points or below. If the Birds get over the century mark, they usually win.

Gene, of course, is the hottest team in the league. babysrus started off the season 0-6 and then proceeded to not lose again. 6 wins and 1 tie later (to Jon no less) and Gene's team is poised to annihilate the competition. Has this ever happened, it's incredible right? During their winning streak, they've never scored less than 124 points and they've been crushing the competition. What did Gene put in the baby formula?

His team doesn't look amazing on paper but QBs Kurt Warner and David Garrard have been quietly effective. Heck, old man Warner has been straight playing out of his mind. With a good running attack featuring Willie Parker and Chester Taylor, Gene can churn up yardage on the ground. The real star for babysrus though, is Terrell Owens. He's been nothing short of a legend this year. Sure, Randy Moss is getting all the publicity but TO is outperforming him in fantasy. With Reggie Wayne flanking him and young Brandon Marshall on the outside, Terrell Owens has had lots of space to operate. Will Rudi Johnson, Brandon Jacobs, Marshawn Lynch supplant Reuben Droughns in the flex spot? That's up to Gene. What we do know is that management has lost faith in Donovan McNabb -- again.

The Birds feature an aerial attack second to none. Torry Holt, TJ Houshmandzadeh, Anquan Boldin, and Wes Welker are all top ten WRs. Then again, are they? Holt has been sub-par this year, Boldin has been hurt, and while Wes is an animal, he might be facing additional converage this week. It looks like Donald Driver will go if Boldin is still out. The biggest question here is if Brett Favre will play this weekend. With him available, Favre and and Jon Kitna form a serviceable duo. Without him, it's JP Losman. Ouch. Can the Birds get more good performances out of Reggie Bush and Frank Gore -- two backs who are big names but very erratic? I guess we'll see.

We're predictinig a tight game that could go either way. If Favre plays, then Jon wins. If he doesn't, then Gene wins. Simple as that.

Final Standings

Old English (9-4-0) 1674.50 W-2
razoRAMON (8-5-0) 1636.00 L-2
Fobsters (8-5-0) 1457.00 L-1
Dirty Birds (7-5-1) 1560.50 L-2
babysrus (6-6-1) 1605.00 W-4
jedi knights (5-8-0) 1672.50 W-1

Nacho Libre's (4-9-0) 1345.50 W-1
BrownStars (4-9-0) 1235.50 L-1

Week 10

Sure we missed a week of updates but we didn't miss much did we? Oh wait, the playoffs are right around the corner! Only three more regular season games to go. Remember, top two seeds get byee and only six teams total make the playoffs. The Brown Stars and Nacho Libre's are out of the playoff picture now but I'm thinking that two wins will get them in. So let's get crunk! (I've always wanted to say that…out loud)

Dirty Birds (112.00) vs RazoRamon (100.00)
The Birds get a huge win off an amazing tie in Week 9 with Gene (124 - 124). They needed this win to separate themselves from the pack for a playoff spot and it looks like, barring a huge collapse, they'll be in. They also took out the Razors with a well played game by Torry Holt (16), Reggie Bush (15.5), and the ageless Brett Favre (29). The Ramons had equally good games from their trio of Drew Brees (17), Clinton Portis (17), and Ben Roethlisberger (31) but they had weak performances everywhere else and had to settle for a demoralizing loss.

Fobsters (82.00) vs Nacho Libre's (66.00)
With the Razors' loss, the Fobsters and Old English are all tied up at 7-3. Two of these teams will get a bye so it's crucial for Jimmy, Eric, and Ryan to finish the season strong. The Fobsters are hot after winning three games in a row and despite only scoring 82 points and getting a combined -3 from both their QBs, they were able to thrash a defensless Nacho team -- mainly behind Brian Westbrook's 38.5 points. Actually, the Nacho's had a defense in there but with Chad Pennington on bye and no extra WR inserted, they lost due to mismanagement. This win would have given Hong a leg up on his competition for the last playoff spot but now he's in the for the fight of his life.

babysrus (157.00) vs Jedi Knights (107.00)
Gene is on a tear. After starting the season off with six straight losses, they've won three games and tied one. They've scored 130-132.50-124-157 in consecutive weeks. Our early season league doormat is certainly making a case for being the hottest team in the league right now. QBs Kurt Warner and Donovan McNabb combined for 49 points. Reggie Wayne and Terrell Owens added 52 combined. Throw in the tough running of Marshawn Lynch (17.5) and Willie Parker (11) and babysrus is hitting on all cylinders. As for the Knights, they suffer from the injury to Adrian Peterson and even with Steven Jackson (21.5), Roy Williams (19), and Bernard Berrian (16) stepping up, losing AP will hurt tremendously down the stretch.

Old English (90.00) vs Brown Stars (71.50)
After starting off hot as fire with a 5-1 record, the English are wearing down a little, posting only a 0.500 record the past four weeks. Still, they had more than enough to take out the Brown Stars. Galvez, are you playing man? Laurence Maroney and DeShawn Wynn aren't even playing! While the Brown Stars had Jason Campbell put up an encouraging 21 points, they are lacking star power across the board. Eric-A's team on the other hand, has plenty of stars in Peyton Manning (14), Tony Romo (26), and Steve Smith (6.5) but to be honest, Peyton and Smith have been disappointing recently. It's time for Peyton to step up and lead Old English to a first round bye.

Next week: #3 Fobsters face off against #4 Dirty Birds. Go China!

Week 8

A new leader has emerged, in the Black Hole and sits atop alone in the league.

razoRamon (144.50) vs BrownStars (52.50)
An uneventful game of the week as the razoRamon, the newly crowned leader, wins easily over the BrownStars. The GM of the BrownStars, Galvezy, vowed to pay closer attention but apparently his players were distracted. Kevin Jones was the lone bright spot for the team with 16 points. With Wynn placed on IR the BrownStars need to look for a replacement quickly. In all fairness the team had four starters on BYE so hopefully they will do better next week with a rested crew.

The razoRamon’s are excited that their first round pick Drew Brees (32) has finally resurfaced as the Fantasy QB of last year. With Addai contributing 29 points and the rest of the team scoring double digits the razoRamons are sitting pretty with a 6-2 record. Scouring the waiver wire (31 moves) has apparently paid of for the Ramons as they picked up Ronnie Brown (IR) after he was dropped by the English. This is a keeper league right?
But will the team suffer the same fate as last year, have a great season and a no show in the playoffs…maybe it’s the curse of the San Diego Super Chargers rubbing off.

Dirty Birds (133.50) vs Jedi Knights (120.00)
A close game indeed. Both teams where coming in 4-3 and jockeying for league position. The Knights had a great performance from the always dependable Brady (38) and from surprise fantasy breakout this season, Braylon Edwards (27). The Knights decided not to play a kicker and sat out Steven Jackson (11) replacing him with Jason Wright (1.5), moves which ultimately cost them the game. However, once Andre Johnson is back and Steven Jackson is up and running like he used to, the Knights will be a force down the stretch of the season…where it ultimately counts.

The Birds have quietly situated themselves nicely atop the leader board with two straight wins. With Favre (24) throwing like an MVP, breaking TD records and INT records, the Birds look like geniuses picking him up, but Griese (6) takes all that credibility away from the commish. With his WR crew looking solid the Birds are beaming with pride. However, Gore has played sub par of late and will soon be pulled to be replaced by Selvin Young (Hoping the “Pot Smoking Man Whore” Travis Henry is booted for the season).

babysrus (130.50) vs Nacho Libre’s (127.50)
Is it true...can it be...the babysrus wins another game? After starting the season 0-6, Gene was waving the white flag, but the team pulls of another impressive win claiming revenge on the Libre’s. The babys score another 130 points this week which seems to be their lucky number. Donovan (21) put in an impressive performance, now if he can only be consistent. Reggie Wayne (25.50) took full advantage of not having Harrison in the line up and scores big again this week. The babysrus have scored the points this season and are 5th in points ranking so a playoff berth is not out of the question, he will need to get past the Libre’s in the rankings to get there…is this a rivalry…for sure.

The Libre’s learned the hard way…in fantasy don’t count your wins until MNF. The Libre’s had a solid week with three receivers scoring 20 points or more, Gates (22.5), Colston (28) and Galloway (20). Finally, Colston showed his fantasy value this season, it was about time. Ladanian was surprisingly quite this week with 9.5 points. The Libre’s are in desperate need of an upgrade in QB having only Eli (8) and Pennington (5) to rely on. Psst Hong, Pennington has been benched.

Fobsters (107) vs Old English (98)
I claim this to be “McGriddle Bowl”. Ahh the infamous McGriddle that no one will ever get to eat was placed on the betting block this week. With the loss, the OE are faced with two straight loses and a debt to be re-paid with a delicious sausage with cheese placed between two pancakes filled with sweet syrup crystals. The OEs QBs are out standing carrying the team with Peyton (20) and Derek Anderson (24). The rest of the team was pathetic scoring an average of 4.14 points each except of course for their DEF. The SD Def put up a ridiculous 25 points this week, and if it weren’t for them this would have been a blow out. Can the OE’s rebound from their two straight loses, it will a tough battle indeed as they face the Jedi Knights next week.

The Fobsters are at 5-3 with all three loses coming from the top three teams. He already avenged the lost to the OE are the other two next? The Fobsters had a great week from Westbrook (22) and Jennings (23) and a solid week from Garcia (15) and Rivers (18). The rest of the team needs work. Chad hasn’t been playing to his potential with TJ outscoring him in fantasy for the season. Ahman is still hurt and Shaun Alexander has been really unproductive. The Fobsters need some help in order to contend for the title.

Next Week's Game to Watch
Old English vs Jedi Knights
Which team will break their 2 game losing streak...tune in next week.

Week 7

Despite picking up their first win this week, there’s no question that the previously winless babysrus is struggling. The question is, can anything be done to help them climb out of the cellar? This season or the next? Well, as we’ll see, not all is lost. Gene had quite a nice stretch in Wks 2 – 3 with 141.50 and 127.50 points. Tragically, they were outscored both weeks but that means this team isn’t horrible. Then again, during Wks 4 – 6, they were unable to get over the century mark. Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on.

The passing game should be in good hands with Donovan McNabb and Jay Cutler but it looks like neither are performing at quality levels. Both are averaging around 15 points per game but you really want your QBs to be near the 20+ range. Donovan McNabb has had two outstanding games this season but of late, he’s cooled off. Forced to choose between David Garrard and Kurt Warner as his second QB for most of the season, Gene has cut the cord on both in order nab Jay Cutler, who finally had a good game this week.

Disappointing RB Cedric Benson was also cut in the process and while we might argue that he was worth a spot on the bench, Gene’s got a stable of RBs. Willie Parker has been excellent all season, yards wise, and the return of Rudi Johnson should help tremendously. Even Marshawn Lynch and Brandon Jacobs are serviceable backs and fully capable of being number two ball carriers.

Hell, we like the WRs here a lot too. Terrell Owens is riding high with over 13 points a game and Reggie Wayne has been as steady as ever. New Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe has flashed his talent during his first season, as has young Broncos’ WR Brandon Marshall. The receiving corp has two established stars and young productive talent behind them.

So how is this team 1-6? The answer might be that they lack explosion. Without QBs capable of steadying the ship, babysrus has been experiencing rough going. Every player on the roster is pretty decent but averaging 8-12pts each won’t get this team that far. They need some boom bam explosion and aside from Donovan’s Week Three 33 point explosion, this team hasn’t had much of it. Anytime a player on the roster scores over 20+ points, he’s been on Gene’s bench.

Our suggestion is to sit tight, wait a few weeks to see if Donovan, Willie, Terrell, Reggie, and Rudi can pick it up, and then maybe think about moving a few of them for guys with more upside. All the stars are excellent but they simply aren’t producing enough big games.

This week’s win was legit though despite Galvez leaving out half his team. Gene had wonderful performances all around (excepting David Garrard) and when he’s clicking on all cylinders, he should be able to maintain

Nacho Libre’s (113.00) vs Jedi Knights (86.50)
The injured list for Lum reads: Deion Branch, Steven Jackson, Todd Heap, and Andre Johnson. With a team weakened by injuries and byes, the Knights couldn’t put up much resistance against the Nacho Libre’s despite Tom Brady’s extraordinary 41 point performance. Hong’s team didn’t show much either, but 20 points from RB LenDale White was enough to lead the team to victory. Again, a strong performance by the Seahwaks defense (21 points) provided the difference. Is it time to call Marques Colston super bust?!

Dirty Birds (137.50) vs Old English (121.00)
Wes Welker ignites for 29.5 points and cements himself as a break-out receiver option. With every other skill player recording double digits – outside of QB Jon Kitna – Jon delivers Eric’s Old English team only their second loss of the season. Old English had their own receiver ignition with Laveranues Coles’ 29 points but in the end, it wasn’t quite enough. Losing Ronnie Brown for the season might slow down Eric’s team some, but with the way the rest of his team is playing, it might not hurt all that bad.

RazoRamon (134.50) vs Fobsters (121.50)
Star power wins games. Randy Moss wins games. With Ben Roethlisberger and Randy Moss hooking up for 26 points each, Ryan took a high scoring, but easy win to the bank. Jimmy somehow managed to score 121.50 points but no player really stood out. Brian Westbrook has really cooled off recently and with only 14 points this week, he wasn’t pulling his weight – especially compared to the second RB, Marion Barber’s, 17 points. Jimmy’s WRs look good though, as Chad Johnson, Jerricho Cotchery, Hines Ward, and youngsters Greg Jennings and Calvin Johnson are all solid options.

Week 6

This is definitely turning into a season of the have’s and have-not’s. Two teams have scored over 800 points for the season. Another two have scored over 700, but the rest of the league is barely pushing the 600 mark. In more important news, Ryan is leading the way with 25 waiver moves, with Gene close behind at 21. There’s no ring for making moves guys, just for winning.

Jedi Knights (192.50) vs Brown Stars (136.50)
Good god! The Jedis explode for a record setting 192.50 points behind Tom Brady’s 37 points and Adrian Peterson’s 40.5. In a normal week, the contributions of WRs Braylon Edwards (26.5) and Kevin Curtis (20.5) would have been impressive but they were just icing on the cake for Chris this week. Galvez put up a good fight but only Matt Hasselbeck was able to break the twenty point barrier and that’s not going to cut it.

Fobsters (89.00) vs babysrus (76.00)
Listen, Gene, if you were gonna win one this season, this was the week. Jimmy only put up 89 points total, led by Jeff Garcia (17) and Brian Westbrook (18). If you can’t score over 89 points, then you’re in big trouble. I mean, c’mon! This is embarrassing. Sure, all of your best players were on bye, but still. You know, for my other keeper league, Jimmy went 0-13 last season. Are you headed in the same direction?

Nacho Libre’s (163.00) vs Dirty Birds (84.50)
With beat downs being the theme of the week, Hong took out all his repressed anger by almost doubling Jon’s score this week. First overall pick LDT finally notched a huge game (45.5) and with a matching breakout game by Maurice Jones-Drew (31 pts), the Nacho’s got their second win of the season. The Dirty Birds only had TJ Houshmandzadeh show up on Sunday (30 pts) but he wasn’t capable of dragging his team anywhere near a win.

Old English (136.00) vs RazoRamon (92.00)
Even as Tony Romo cools off, Eric’s other QB, Derek Anderson heats up (31 pts). Is there no stopping the English invasion? They tacked up 136 points with Peyton on the bench! Eric has scored more than anybody else in the league, he’s on a four game win streak, he’s like the Adrian Peterson of our league. Ryan tried to win a round of golf but his team fell apart due lack of a passing game. Daunte Culpepper, Randy Moss, Jason Witten, and Santana Moss combined for only 26 points.

Next week: Gaga turns into Nancy ____.

Week 5

A week of upsets, come back wins and the lowest scoring for all the teams...the Black Hole was filled with excitement in Week 5

Brown Stars (102) vs Dirty Birds (88.50)
The Stars lucky number has to be 102…for two weeks in a row the Brown Stars score 102 points pulling a huge upset win against the Birds. It was a disappointing week for the Birds as Boldin was kept in the roster even though he was a game time decision. Reggie Bush did have a solid week with 119 all purpose yards but with no touchdowns to show for it. Favre (16) was having a great game until two interceptions in the second half leading Green Bay to their first lose of the season. The NE Defense scored 17 pts helping their team improve to 5-0. Torry Holt had a respectable 18.50 points but the rest of the team isn’t even worth mentioning.

What made this loss even more embarrassing is the fact Brown Stars Top 2 RBs and Top 2 QBs scored a total of 8.5 Points. The Brown Stars left Maroney in the roster and he didn’t play but what’s with Larry Johnson 12 yards rushing? With Boldin out Fitzgerald carried the team with 23.50 points along side the dependable Plaxico (20.5). Trent Green maybe out for the season but Jason Campbell is sitting pretty on the bench with 22 points this week. The Stars play the Knights next week “The battle of the Michigan boys.”

Fobsters (87) vs Jedi Knights (73)
The Fobsters claiming that the Knights “force is no good against the FOB” pulled the other upset win in the league. The FOBs was lead by Phillip Rivers, who actually held onto the ball this week, scoring a team high 27 points. Jeff Garcia is looking good contributing 15 points with 2 TDs and 0 Int. Jennings had a respectable 16 points but top pick Shaun Alexander had a disappointing 3.5 points. The Fobs improve to 3-2 above the .500 mark and holding strong to a playoff spot.

The Knights had a peculiar week with 3 players on byes and 3 being hurt the Knights were hurting for able bodied starters, having to leave Adrian Peterson who is on a bye and Steven Jackson who is hurt in the lineup. Brady is Mr. Consistent with 25 pts and Braylon put up 14 pts. But when your Kicker (Neil – 12 pts) scores more than three of your WR combined it’s not a good week. The Knights look to bounce back next week and end their current two game losing streak.

Old English (102.5) vs Nacho Libre’s (83)
It’s sad when the only team in the league who votes for you to win is yourself. The Libre’s comment of “I hate football” is the same statement spoken by the GM last season around this time. The week Michael Turner is placed on the bench he scores 20 points and Maurice Jones-Drew after having a horrible season comes up with 18.5. Putting in Javon Walker for two weeks in a row when he has been ruled out to play is a baffling move even for the Libre’s. Gates put in a good week with 20.50 but with LT not scoring TDs this season the Libre’s fall to 1-4.

The English had a solid week with six players scoring double digits. Leading the way is this seasons surprise fantasy back Ronnie Brown with 22.5. Steve Smith and Laveranues played respectably with 2 points and Manning had a mediocre performance with 18 points. The OEs improve to 4-1 and are top of the league with combined score of 699. They are looking to prepare for next weeks game picking up two QBs on the waiver wire.

RazoRamon (102) vs babysrus (89)
Much Love was pronounced early in the week and phone numbers exchanged as these two best friends battle it out. The babysrus still looking for their first victory of the season was poised and ready to get the monkey of their back. The Ramons were visible upset with Addai not playing when all the notes said he would…Damn you Yahoo. The game was exciting; the lead was exchanged several times on Sunday. Going into Monday Night Football the babyrus had a comfortable lead of 76 to 65.5 with Owens, Lynch and the Dallas Def still up to go for the babysrus and only a TE (Witten) and K (Folk) left to play for the Ramons. Thinking he had the win the GM of the babysrus, drops the Dallas Def to pick up Kurt Warner after hearing of the season ending injury to Leinert.

The GM of the RazoRamon seeing this move quickly comments on the action and hopes that Karma bites the babysrus in the ass. And karma prevails the RazoRamon pulls of the amazing come from behind win with Witten scoring 20.5 points and Folk punching in a season high four field goals scoring 16 points. When asked how he feels the GM of the babysrus says “I think I should quit this game” Will the babysrus ever get a win?

Next Week's Game to Watch
RazoRamon vs Old English
The 4-1 teams battle it out to take sole possession of first place.

Since I’m a numbers geek something of interest: three of the winners this week scored 102-102.5, maybe 102 isn’t just the lucky number of the Brown Stars.

By Ryan

Week 4

Dirty Birds (109.00) vs Fobsters (44.50)
This is an embarrassment. Heading into Monday night, Jimmy only had 20+ points on the board. That’s um. Disgusting. Not one player on the Fobsters notched double digit points – well, three did, but they’re on the bench. Here’s a ticket to NFL Europe Jimmy, see you next year.

RazoRamon (129.00) vs Jedi Knights (95.00)
Nice, a real game to review. The Knights were the king of the hill coming into Week 4. Three straight wins, an outstanding roster, and plenty of power behind their running and passing game. Well, running into a razor’s edge surely stopped the Jedis cold didn’t it? Led by MVP-candidate Randy Moss (26.5), Ryan’s team punished the Knights on the ground (Joseph Addai, 21.5) and through the air (Jason Witten, 16).

Lum’s team is still looking pretty spectacular with Tom Brady and Carson Palmer leading the charge but now that Steven Jackson is nutted up, maybe the ground game will falter a bit. The Jedis weren’t really relying on the disappointing Jackson anyway though, since young WRs Braylon Edwards, Roy Williams, and Bernard Berrian (37.5 pts combined) are growing up fast. WR Andre Johnson remains sidelined for the Knights and until he and Jackson return, the Jedis could be in for a rough few weeks.

Old English (176.00) vs babysrus (98.50)
Man, those Old English bastards are good aren’t they? After coming out of the gate with two 150+ scores, they put up a doozy of a week with 176 this week to thoroughly trash the babysrus’. Early season MVP Tony Romo slapped up 34 points, Peyton Manning and WR Santonio Holmes connected for 27 points each, and RB Ronnie Brown went wild for a second week in a row (29). The only bad news facing this team is the loss of LaMont Jordan, possibly for a week or two.

Gene’s team on the other hand, is scoring and making a league-leading 18 waiver moves, but they sure aren’t winning. Donovan McNabb had a piss poor day (4 pts), Willie Parker and Terrell Owens flopped, and only rookie stud in the making WR Dwayne Bowe (26) came out to play on Sunday. When will Gene get a win? How about if people stop putting up ridiculous games against him? The last three weeks have seen opponents explode for 147, 162, and now 176 points. Gene must play no defense – only dragons.

Brown Stars (102.50) vs Nacho Libre’s (87.50)
The battle of two bottom feeders resulted in Galvez pulling out a sneaky win versus Hong. Both teams have lost three games already this young season so pride was on the line. Who needs pride when you’ve got big muscles like Galvez though? QB Matt Hasselbeck pumped out 20 points, Larry Johnson had a respectable 15.5 points, and four other players contributed double digits to push the Stars over the hump for a big win, their first. They probably could have won by a bit more if Laurence Maroney had been pulled but really, who knew he was going to be sitting out Monday night?

Hong’s big game plan these days is to play BOTH Chargers’ running backs. They combined for 21.5 points. LDT had 23.5, Michael Turner had -2. Whoops. In good news, the Seahawks defense is super sleeper and has been stellar this season (16 this week). It’s nice of Hong to match the real life Chargers’ 1-3 record but he should really aim higher – snatching DeShaun Foster off waivers was a nice move though.

Week 3

Dirty Birds (189.5) vs RazoRamon (108.50)
The Battle for OH2000 was declared by the Dirty Birds early in the week. Winner stays Loser goes. This game wasn’t even close as the commish amasses the highest point totals in a week for the season. The Birds QBs, Brett Favre (30) and Jon Kitna (24) put in a great week, but it’s the receiver core of the Birds that he is most proud of, TJ (24), Anquan (37) and Driver (21). The lone blemish for the week was the performance of Frank Gore (5) and Torry Holt (8.5). However Reggie Bush (18) showed some promise.

It’s to bad RazoRamon couldn’t say the same thing about their number 1 pick Drew Brees, who put in a horrible display able to get 1 lonely point. The Razors only bright spot for the week is the consistent performance of Addai (21.5) and Moss (25.5). Was this a lucky week for the commish or will this be the year he proves his knowledge of football will finally get him a championship. So tell him what he’s won! A stay at the fabulous OH2000 complete with 99 ranch smell and frozen ants!

Jedi Knights (162) vs Babysrus (127.5)
The Knights are good…scary good. Even their bench was able to get 85 Points and with a player (A.Johnson) not even playing the week (enough points to beat the Nacho’s by the way). The team was lead with Brady (29) and Roy Williams (30) but the rest of the team (not including the defense and TE) all contributed double digits this week. The Knights with a well balanced team find themselves 3-0 and proving itself to be the team to beat this year.

The Babysrus can’t say the same falling to 0-3 and their GM, Gene Sung Kim is scrambling to figure out the cause. The waiver wire has been hit up this year by the team with 15 moves! The team can take solace on the fact that Donovan McNabb (33) has come out of his funk putting up 381 yds with 4 TDs. DeShaun Foster had a good week against the Falcons, which he has always done well against, scoring 25.50 points, it’s to bad he was on the bench. The Babys week was not bad but it just wasn’t enough force to beat the Jedis this week.

Fobsters (139) vs Nacho Libre’s (79)
The Fobsters were able to pull a win this week despite their #1 QB, Marc Bulger, putting up dismal -1 points (yes that is a negative sign before the number). But with Brian Westbrook contributing 42.50 and Rivers 25 and Marion Barber 23.50 they easily handed a loss to the Libre’s. When asked how he feels the GM of the Fobsters, Jimmy “I should marry Carol” Wu replies “I are numbah won!” Right after the week was over the GM of the Libre’s dropped their #2 QB Rex Grossman faster than dropping girls he finds at clubs.

The high scorers for the Libre’s were Tomlinson (16.5) and Gates (16.5) but still a disappointing show for those two juggernauts. The rest of the team scored in the single digits including all the players on the bench, so the Libre’s need to either make trades or fish from the waiver wire to have any hope this year. The Libre’s trouble can be traced from the draft when they picked Gates (#2) and Maurice Jones (#3) when so many other options where available. Coincidently Maurice Jones scored 3 points this week, Yea!.

Old English (116.5) vs Brown Stars (92.5)
This was the first week that Old English scored below 150 points, but still handed the BrownStars their third straight loss. The OE, although new to the league is showing they know their football. Late Draft Pick Tony Romo (22) scored more than number one pick Peyton (17) this week and the best waiver wire pick of the season, Lamont Jordan also scored 22 points. However last weeks star Steve Smith was only able to get 1.5 pts this week but not to worry he should be back on his game next week.

With the GM of the BrownStars focusing on his book tour and less on playing his magical recorder the team finds themselves 0-3. The Stars failed to break the century mark and in this league it will almost certainly equate to a loss. The team was led by Delhomme (20) and Plaxico (16.5). However with Lienert scoring 2 points and Larry Johnson putting up only 4.5 points the team’s outlook this year is bleak. But next weeks game against the Nacho Libre’s can be the teams best chance at their first win since the game will feature the two lowest scoring teams of the league.

Next Weeks Game to Watch: RazoRamon vs Jedi Knights
Will the Razors be able to hand the Knights their first lost of the season, stay tune for next weeks recap!

Contributed by Ryan

Week 2

RazoRamon (142.50) vs Nacho Libre's (92.50)
As RazoRamon (no double "R") pointed out, Hong almost had more points from his bench than his starters. While this is a bit of hyperbole, there's no discounting the fact that Joey Galloway's 27 points were sitting on the sidelines while the Nachos only managed to get halfway decent games from the receiving trio of Antonio Gates (16.5), Marques Colston (17), and Javon Walker (14). The Razors had their stars on the field and were amply rewarded with the performance from a truly resurgent Randy Moss (26 pts), along with another nice week from Edgerrin James (21). What is this? 2004?

Dirty Birds (147.00) vs babysrus (141.50)
And we all fall down...easily. Or not so easily in Dave's Son's case as he almost pulled out a Monday night victory but Donovan McNabb wasn't quite up to the task of taking out the Dirty Birds. The Birds had a pretty even week with Brett Favre, Frank Gore, and TJ Houshmandzadeh all putting up 20+ numbers. Babysrus came up 5.5 points shy despite nice performances from Rudi Johnson (20 pts) and Terrell Owens (17.5). In all, it was a nail biter of a week but hardly the stuff of legend despite the close score.

Jedi Knights (173.50) vs Old English (154.00)
Now THIS was an exciting game. With Tom Brady (23) and Andre Johnson (27.5) on one side versus Steve Smith (37) and Tony Romo (20) on the other, this game was see-sawing back and forth all Sunday long. Well, until Carson Palmer started inching from good game to magical game to legendary game as the afternoon went along. With a whopping 400 yards, six touchdowns, and 41 points, Carson insured a pretty big win for the Jedis. Old English had an outstanding Week 1 but against the Palmer-Brady-Johnson trio, even he couldn't do anything.

Fobsters (158.00) vs Brown Stars (105.50)
After putting up a putrid 72 points last week, could the Brown Stars outshine their opening week performance? Well, sort of. While putting up over 100+ points this week is commendable, losing by 40+ isn't an achievement worth noting. I mean, what's wrong with this team? Oh, there's no running attack to speak of whatsoever as Larry Johnson and Laurence Maroney are underachieving. The other Larry, Larry Fitzgerald, isn't exactly doing awesome either.

Who is doing awesome is Chad Johnson -- who scored a whopping 37.5 points this week after 17.5 last week. It looks like Jimmy's got a strong running attack too as Shaun Alexander, Brian Westbrook, and Marion Barber III are all looking legit (54 pts combined).

Week 1

Jedi Knights (119.00) vs Dirty Birds (83.00)
What an inglorious way for the Birds to start off the season. With inspirational leader Michael Vick facing jail time, the Ewing Theory was nowhere in effect as QBs Vince Young and Brett Favre combined for a mere 15 points. While the receiving corps performed admirably -- Torry Holt (17), TJ Houshmandzadeh (15.5), Anquan Boldin (11) -- the rest of the team flopped. The Jedi Knights had a rough off-season but came out with an emotional win behind Tom Brady's easy breazy cover girl 26 points and new favorite target Andre Johnson (21.5). The Knights may also have made the find of the year with rookie RB Adrian Peterson, who tallied an impressive 22.5 points and is suddenly looking at a full time starting job.

Razor Ramons (142.50) vs Brown Stars (72.00)
Hey Ryan, somebody forgot the "R" at the end of Razor. Or did you just leave it out to be cool? After nearly doubling up the moribund Brown Stars, the Ramons probably don't have too much to worry about. Especially since they were up early Sunday morning already picking up FAs. What this means is that Ryan is dedicated to another powerful regular season. The new passing attack of Ben Roethlisberger to Randy Moss could result in many victories while old-time Razor favorite Edgerrin James finally showed some signs of life with 18 points. Combine the former Indy back with the current Indy back (J.Addai, 20.5 points) and the Razors are looking sharp already.

Galvez on the other hand, didn't have any player crack the twenty point mark. Except, well, Plaxico Burress, who had the game of his life (36 pts) from the bench. How'd his replacement Vincent Jackson do? Well, 3.5 points. Ouch. The good news is that Galvizi is clearly a San Diegan now as Charger hype has clearly dulled his football senses.

Nacho Libre's (116.00) vs babysrus (104.50)
Has fatherhood affected Gene's game? Well, it's hard to tell when you're playing the ultimate predictable but unpredictable bachelor, Mr Pan. The aptly named babysrus certainly gave birth to plenty of receiver fireworks -- Terrell Owens and Reggie Wayne (36 pts combined) -- but it looks like there's no father figure in the backfield. Donovan McNabb and Alex Smith took a dump and score 18 points total. That's eleven less than the Nacho's Eli Manning, who got injured, but caught enough fire to put up 29 points. Add in the intimidating San Diego passing connection of LaDainian Tomlinson to Antonio Gates (41 pts combined) and Hong looks like he might have a contender this year.

Old English (150.00) vs Fobsters (133.50)
Has an expansion team/owner ever come into a league with so much thunder? The Fobsters had an amazing week with eight players in double figures (led by Shaun Alexander's 18 pts) but they still lost quite handily. Proving that nothing slips by Old English, Eric-A's team had Peyton Manning's 26 points on Thursday night but then saw that score get dwarfed by his other quarterback's five touchdowns and 38 points. Hot damn, Tony Romo for MVP! Add in the contributions of speedy smurf Steve Smith (20.5) and a little bit of running by Travis Henry (18.5) to keep defenses honest and Eric-A looks like the league leader after Week 1. What a debut for Old English...

2007: Roll Out!

Another year, another crazy draft. This time out, the Black Hole decided to move to a keeper format (5 keepers after this year) so different strategy would certainly have to be employed. Right? Um, sorta.

If you mean drafting the 33 year old Terrell Owens at the top of the second round, ahead of youngsters like Joseph Addai, Reggie Bush, and any other wide receiver. And that was hardly the most shocking pick of the night. How about QB Drew Brees seeing himself picked at number six? Before many a top running back and a full round before Carson Palmer or Tom Brady?

First, let's welcome our newest owner, Eric A, who replaces our champion from 2006, Marcus, who had too much Ohana to take care of. Eric's a true native San Diegan and he'll bring his wealth of experience (sadly, no free Fins tacos anymore) with him to the league. So let's do a quick recap of the 2007 draft.

The luckiest man alive, the man, the legend, the El Nino himself, was asleep as Yahoo auto-selected the top pick for him. Hong quickly snatched up LaDainian Tomlinson, last year's record setting MVP. Without much thought, Lum and Jon followed up with two top NFC West running backs (S Jackson and F Gore). It's tough to argue with Peyton Manning and Larry Johnson next but then we came to the Razor Ramon's, who proved that they are truly el loco -- or just an insane genius -- as they handed in the draft card with Drew Brees' name on it. After that, the draft got wild.

TO at the top of the second round. Antonio Gates at the bottom, before T Holt, S Smith, L Fitzgerald, M Harrison, C Johnson, and R Wayne. This prognosticator quibbles with Marvin Harrison (age 34) before Reggie Wayne (28) but it's hard to argue with the fine wine of wide receivers. Gene straight stealing Hong's favorite QB of all time, Donovan McNabb, in the third round. Hong apparently attempts to rebuild the same team year after year -- where's Tiki? -- and re-acquired Marques Colston and Eli Manning in Rounds 4 & 5, not to mention Robbie Gould in Round 11. Where's Carney?

Galvez and Lum, the two savvy veterans, took advantage of a chaotic draft to assemble pretty strong rosters. Lum snatched up three top QBs (Carson Palmer, Tom Brady, Jay Cutler) before anyone could even blink. Seems like being on the losing end of the disastrous Steve Smith for Rex Grossman trade late last year showed Chris the importance of having a steady hand in the backfield. And of not bending over around Gene. Lum's assembled a very strong team and looks like our pre-season favorite. Galvez was also very focused and took two Matt's (Hassellbeck and Leinart) along with three Larry's (Johnson, Maroney, Fitzgerald) before ruining the whole theme by drafting a few Plaxicos, Willis', Vincents, JPs, Tatums, and Muhsins. His best pick might have been drafting Chargers' kicker Nate Kaeding, thus ruining the dreams of many an owner.

How did those crazy Fobsters do? They went old in the running back department with Shaun Alexander and Brian Westbrook. Outside of second QB Philip Rivers and rookie WR Calvin Johnson, this team is a bit long in the tooth. Marc Bulger, Chad Johnson, and Hines Ward are in their primes but how long can that last? And Isaac Bruce? Stupid smart or creaky as hell? Jimmy's the defending champion so we'll say it's stupid smart, for now...

Jon did the usual, laugh with giddy delight while assembling a team that seems great on paper, but will be destined to lose to Gene in the playoffs. The Duke of Hazzard is now a babysRus machine so we're not sure what he was thinking taking TO so high. However, a mix of old (TO, McNabb, Chambers) and new (Willie Parker, Cedric Benson, Alex Smith, Rudi Johnson, Reggie Wayne) could provide a formula for success. Jon went deep with five RBs (Gore, Bush, DeAngelo Williams, Carnell Williams, Brandon Jacobs) and a plethora of quality WRs (Holt, Houshmandzadeh, Boldin, L Evans, Driver) but seem to be short at QB again with only Vince Young, Brett Favre, and Jon Kitna.

How'd the new, but Old, English do? Eric-A seems to be poised for a very good first year with two Pro-Bowl QBs in Peyton Manning and Tony Romo. The running game should be pretty solid too, with Ronnie Brown and new Bronco Travis Henry. While Steve Smith is the only star receiver on this game, there are plenty of veterans ready to help him out (Tony Gonzalez, Santana Moss, Laveranues Coles, Alge Crumpler, Amani Toomer). And should Jamal Lewis or Ahman Green return to 2004 form, Eric-A will be looking good. But they better find some youth fast, otherwise it could be an ugly 2008 and on.

Returning to those shock and awe Razors (who will take Hong's usual title as craziest draft GM, temporarily), they actually don't look bad. Brees and Roethlisberger are solid QBs, Joseph Addai will star in Indy. Clinton Portis is in a time share but the Edge could be back after a horrid first season in Arizona. If Randy Moss can step up, the receiving corps will have Marvin Harrison and a soon to break-out Reggie Brown taking attention away. A few savvy veterans anchor the bench too and everyone knows that Ryan is an active participant on the waiver wire so this draft is just a warm up to his regular season dominance.

Who can't wait for the start of the regular season? We just have this little hurdle of Ryan's wedding to get over and it's free and clear until fantasy championships 2007!

Oh wait, Hong was crazy. He started a kicker run in the 11th round and then took Michael Vick with his last pick. Hong's the master of the chaos theory. There can be no doubt.