Hello all, welcome to week thirteen of the fantasy football season. Let’s look at what happened last week and preview this week’s games.

FAMILY DIVISION

The first-place Ocean City Flockers (Diane) got upset last week by the Navarre Pier (Darren). So, with wins by the Poultry Platoon (Erika) and the Farmville Furies (Maddie), we now have a three-way tie for first place.

Four weeks are remaining for these three teams to determine which two will get to battle for a championship and determine number one.  I think that means go in triple G. This race should be fun to follow.

This week’s big game is a matchup between the Flockers and the Platoon.

The winner takes over first place. Good luck ladies

FIRST DIVISION

A pair of big games last week jumbled up the standings. First, the Baltimore Bulldogs (Katie) pulled off a big win against the Louisiana Lightning (Denny) to move into a tie for the last playoff spot.

And the Hawaii Volcanos (Paul) defeated the formerly number one seeded Louisiana Lycanthropes (Kiley) to stay on the playoff bubble. 

Now, the Lycanthropes loss means there is a new number one in the standings, as the Fruitland Fruit Flies (Tanner) take over at the top spot due to a tiebreak advantage. Here are the standings.

This race for four playoff spots has become incredibly tight. There are seven teams, all within a game of the playoff bubble. 

With four weeks remaining, there will be plenty of time for any of these teams to establish their playoff credentials. This week’s games feature two matchups of this group of seven.

Both teams sit at 6-6. So, the loser of this game will have a steep uphill climb to the playoffs. This game is not a must-win for these teams, but it is close to one.

The winner of this game will put themselves in a pretty good position. They will have one of the top four spots and a tiebreak advantage. It is only one game but worth more than just one win.

Good luck to everyone.

DYNASTY DIVISION

One quick reminder note: The standings following this week’s games will determine the matchups for week fourteen.

With two weeks remaining, the Phoenix Heat (Steven) and the Virginia Pioneers (Dave) continue to stack victories and sit atop their respective divisions. However, the race for the coveted number one seed and the bye in the first round of the playoffs may come down to a week fourteen matchup between these two.

The playoff bubble is as enjoyable as ever.

The last spot in the playoffs is currently a tie at 6-6.  Six teams remain in competition for three spots. These last two games will determine whether teams are in the playoffs and able to make a run to a championship. Or, in the playdowns and trying to stay out of the Toilet Bowl.

There is only one game between this group this week.

Both the Minnesota Blizzard (Geri) and the DC Braves (Shehbaz) sit tied for the last playoff spot at 6-6. The victor will be in a strong position going into the last week of the season, while the loser will be in a win-and-hope position. This game will be fun to monitor.

And now to the bottom of the standings and possible relegation.

Last week, defending Champion Montana Mountaineers (Chuck) had an extremely important victory against the Real Dakota Dragons (Dakota). 

The win allowed the Mountaineers to avoid probable relegation, at least for now. However, they are still in must-win territory.

The West Virginia Blacklungs (Rob S) also had a big win last week against the Minnesota Blizzard (Geri). 

The Blacklungs are now a game ahead of the basement and an extremely long shot to sneak into the playoffs with two more wins.

The Kobe Beef (Kobe) won as well by upsetting the formerly number one seeded Myrtle Beach Wave (Rob D).  

Monster win for the Beef taking down the number one team. It seems these teams are not going down without a fight.

The critical game this week features the two promotion teams from last year.

The Real Dakota Dragons (Dakota) and the Kobe Beef (Kobe) have done very respectable jobs building their rosters this year, but both need a big victory in this relegation matchup. And every point will be vital because these two may meet again in week fourteen, depending upon what happens with the Mountaineers and the Blacklungs.  If they split the two games, the points will factor into the tiebreak.

Now, one last story before we depart. Four weeks ago, the New Orleans Hurricanes were sitting at 4-4 with a ridiculous string of injuries continuing to mount. They had been admittedly lucky to get even those four wins, and a collapse was looming. But then the Canes made the one move that saved their season. They resigned Gardner Minshew. Due to that move, the fantasy football gods smiled on the Canes. The Canes won four straight games and reached the magic 8 for the season. All thanks to the locker room presence and karma of Minshew mania.

It is always better to be lucky than good in fantasy football.

Good luck to everyone, and see you next week.