Here we go, the biggest week of the season.
FAMILY DIVISION
Last week the Ocean City Flockers (Diane) held off the spoiler bid by the Seymour Hoosiers (Myiah).
The victory put the Flockers in the Championship game this week. Here is the result of the other big game last week.
The big win by the Poultry Platoon (Erika) gives them the regular season title and places them into the Championship game this week against the Flockers. Congrats to both of you on a great season. Now, one more game for all the marbles.
The winner earns their first family league championship. Good luck!
FIRST DIVISION
Congrats to the Fruitland Fruit Flies (Tanner) and the Baltimore Bulldogs (Katie) on their divisional championships.
The Flies and the Bulldogs enter the playoff semi-finals after solid seasons. However, the Flies may be the favorite to win it all as they come into this week as the number one seed and the highest-scoring team during the regular season.
The Louisiana Lightning (Denny) and Louisiana Lycanthropes (Kiley) join the semi-finals after they both pulled off big victories last week.
The first semi-final matchup this week is:
The Baltimore Bulldogs (Katie) have had an impressive season and are looking to claim their first championship. To do so, they must defeat the Louisiana Lightning (Denny).
The Lightning are looking for a unique bit of history. With a Championship already won in the Dynasty Division, the Lightning could become the first team to win a title on two different levels.
The other matchup is:
The Fruitland Fruit Flies (Tanner) and Louisiana Lycanthropes (Kiley) enter the semi-finals looking to make a run at the title. But both of them are also looking to make history.
The Flies already have one First Division Championship under their belt and will be looking to add a second. If the Flies win the championship, they will join the Lycanthropes as the only teams to win twice in the First Division. However, if the Lycanthropes can win another championship, they will join a short list of teams with at least three titles in any of the divisions.
DYNASTY DIVISION
TOILET BOWL
Two more teams survived last week and celebrated not being the worst. So, the defending champion Montana Mountaineers (Chuck) and promotion team, The Real Dakota Dragons (Dakota), are moving on to next year. But we still have a Toilet Bowl to play this week.
The loser of this Toilet Bowl will be the second relegation team. For the second year in a row, we have a team participating in the Toilet Bowl that played in the Super Bowl the previous season. Talk about a steep fall. The margins between the top and bottom of this league are minimal. The West Virginia Blacklungs (Rob S) have a loaded roster, and their appearance in this game is shocking.
Last week, the Blacklungs went into the Monday night game trailing by three, with Justin Herbert and Zach Moss still to play. Somehow, those two players laid an egg, and now the Blacklungs slide continues. Unfortunately, the teams that advance in the playdowns always seem to suffer tough breaks.
The Saskatchewan Speedsters (Zach) are yet another Toilet Bowl participant that is better than their current position. Austin Ekeler, Tom Brady, Travis Etienne, Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis, et al., this team is certainly not devoid of talent. But, as all who compete in the Dynasty League know, wins are hard to come by.
Last week, the Speedsters lost by two while their kicker, Tyler Bass, only scored three points in a game where the Bills put up 35. Look, kickers are random, and this happens. But it highlights the small margins that separate wins from losses and small things can matter. Now, the Speedsters need their stars to show up, and both teams will be hoping to catch some breaks.
SUPER BOWL
What a great matchup this one is.
The Phoenix Heat (Steven) had an impressive season. The number one seed, the highest scoring team by a large margin, and a big victory over the Minnesota Blizzard (Geri) last week. Over the last three seasons, these two teams met in the semi-finals twice, and both times the victor went on to win the Super Bowl. Therefore, the Heat must be considered the favorite coming into this game.
However, the Minnetonka Chippewas (Greg) are not the team to overlook. While the Heat are currently 12-3, the Chippewas come in at 11-5. And the Chippewas were the third-highest-scoring team during the regular season. Plus, they took out Minshew magic last week, so they may be the team of destiny.
A shocking bit of information is that the Chippewas were in the 2020 Super Bowl, then the 2021 Toilet Bowl, and now the 2022 Super Bowl. What a roller coaster ride for their supporters.
Before we go, there is one more interesting fact to point out. In the last eight years, eight different teams have titles, including the Myrtle Beach Wave (Rob D), Dakota Dragons (Butch), Virginia Pioneers (Dave), New Orleans Hurricanes (Jamie), Minnesota Blizzard (Geri), Montana Mountaineers (Chuck), the Heat and the Chippewas. However, that streak of eight different champions will be broken by either the Heat or the Chippewas this week.
Either the Chippewas will win their second championship in five years, or the Heat will win their second championship in four years. Either way, the winner will be considered the top team not just this year but in recent history.
Good luck everyone.