1997 FFL Week 9 Newsletter
This week's high scoring team: April’s Supercuts exploded for 62 points this week in taking high points for the first time this year. It was a timely output as it helped Coach Johnson take sole possession of the Moe division lead.
This week's stooge: NFC Norris, after consecutive high point weeks, takes low points with 16, sharing the honor with the Beer Spillers. Hog’s Breath scored 17 for the week.
What's inside:
1. Letter from the Commish
2. Transactions
3. Week 9 Recaps & Boxscores
4. The Swami Sez
5. Schedule
6. Rosters
Letter from the Commish:
You’ll recall that the Commish advised everyone to double check stats this past week. He just didn’t feel right about something. Those damn Thursday night games mean no Sunday night games. It threw his entire equalibrium off kilter. Well, it turns out that the Commish himself spotted a mistake Tuesday night and eagle eye Lisa Meyer spotted another that same night. For those of you who don’t already know, Hog’s Breath and Bone Club did NOT tie at 26 during Week 8. Hog’s Breath also did not win, which is what the Commish thought next. Actually, Bone Club won 30-28 thanks to having used kicker Hall and not Hollis as the Commish thought he heard on the voice mail. Let that be a lesson to all of you. Proper diction is viewed upon favorably. Anyway, that put the Club within a game of the Supercuts and Blande To The Party entering Week 8. The other mistake was crediting PMS with using Jason Elam (5 pts) and not Norm Johnson (8 pts) making the true score PMS 31, Blande To The Party 18. The Commish should have known better. Once PMS was able to acquire another Steeler, of course he’d find himself in the starting lineup immediately. The Commish can only wonder why Mark Bruener was not picked up when PMS had the chance. Or Wil Blackwell or ......
Coach Schmitz weighed in with some thoughts in reference to the issue of weekly pickups and how we might want to handle them in 1998. If you’ll recall, Coach Pedersen suggested making weekly transactions unlimited but charging a fee per transaction. Coach Schmitz says:
"I would STRONGLY oppose charging a fee for every pickup. My other
league does that and it greatly affects the way middle and lower ranking teams choose players. Once you feel your odds of winning are not good, it’d be stupid to keep throwing money at the eventual winners. Here is my actual proposal:
Wednesday night: pickups in order as we currently do, limiting to 2 transactions. We need to keep giving the lower ranked teams a means of staying in the hunt.
After Wednesday: Additional transactions are allowed, as are now, but any transaction in excess of a total of 2 for the week would be charged a nominal fee of $1 or $2 each. This money would be due after that last week of pickups. There would be no limit on the total number of transactions. Encouraging more transactions would help earn the winners more money. Most of the transactions would only give the lower teams a false sense of hope anyway."
While neither advocating nor opposing the proposal, the Commish feels compelled to make one point. If we were to do something along those lines, the Commish feels it would work better if we asked teams to remit an additional $5 or $10 at the time they pay their league dues rather than throughout the season as transactions are being made. To collect money on an on-going basis would be a logistical nightmare. Similar to the Commish’s baseball league, all unused money by a team at the end of the year could be either refunded at that time for the difference or else applied to the next season’s entry fee. Something to think about. In the meantime, the Commish has added Coach Schmitz’s suggestion to his list of 1998 league proposals. If any of you should have other proposals, please make me aware of them and they, too, will be added to the list to be voted on next draft.
The Commish came up with an idea of his own today. Beginning in ‘98, we should consider paying out a small amount of money to the team with the best record for the regular season. After all, it’s not a lock that the same team will win the title in the playoffs and it serves as a little reward. Thoughts?
Nothing scares the Commish more than the thought of someone, anyone, coming out of the Moe division with a record of 7-8 or 8-7 (or some ugly record) and then suddenly getting hot at playoff time. Unfortunately, someone has to win this division. This is not a knock on any teams in that division. But, honestly, comedy is not pretty. And whoever DOES win out in the Moe has just as good a chance of going all the way as any of the other three playoff teams. It would suck to see PMS or the Mystics finish 12-3 or 13-2 (or whatever) then get bounced in the first round. And the worst part of all is that the Moe division has the boys from Deffenbaugh--trash talkers all. We’d NEVER hear the end of something like that. Coach Widtfeldt has already stated that it’s goal to outdo Coach Young who started 1-5 before getting to the title game in ‘96. The Strange Highways started 1-6 this year. Coach Wassem is just sorry that he couldn’t be the one to drive the final nail home. Of course, in the Moe, they’re all like geckos. You can’t kill them. You chop off their heads and they just grow new ones.
Coach Widtfeldt called to inform the Commish that he has committed to maintaining the team name Strange Highways for 1998. So, we’ll believe him for now. Keep in mind, though, that this is the same person who calls his first lineup in around Wednesday or Thursday and his sixth right around game time. This is the man who drafts sixteen players on draft day and typically has four or five of them still left by season’s end. In his own words, he’s Trader Jack (Jack McKeon for you non-baseball heads). To be fair, E-Z still has three of the original 1997 Strange Highways left over (Byron Hanspard-why?, Wesley Walls and Curtis Conway). Compare this to PMS who still has (by my unofficial count) 13 original draftees and both the Crawling King Snakes and Palace of Swords, with 12 each. The Greenies have 11; the Mystics, NFC Norris, Supercuts and Boners have 10 each. The only team remotely close to the Highways in its turnover rate is the Beer Spillers, surprisingly enough, with 6 remaining draftees.
Yeah, last week’s newsletter was lacking. Do not, however, read anything into the fact that Coach Wassem’s team got beat that week. The newsletter is a week-long on-going procees which begins almost immediately after the previous one has gone to press. The Commish should have known the Mystics would be turning in a bad performance, though, because even he felt the newsletter wasn’t quite up to par. By Thursday before game day, he was looking for something to discuss but kept drawing blanks. Consequently, the Mystics looked very flat against the Highways, leaving points on the bench for the first time all year and coming up just short. The Commish is happy to see, however, that you all care so much. This warms his heart and gives him reason to keep going that extra yard.
Week 10 marks the return of divisional play. The Mystics and April’s Supercuts are the only two teams to get through the first go-round unscathed, making them each targets the second time through. The Strange Highways were the only team to not win a divisional game the first time through. Week 10 is the rematch of the Week 1 games when the winners were the Mystics, Norris, Beer Spillers, King Snakes, Supercuts and Grande To The Party. Week 12 is the trading deadline, Week 13 the waiver deadline, and Weeks 14 & 15 are the last two weeks of divisional games before the playoffs.
The Commish will be out of town on business from Wednesday afternoon until late Friday afternoon on his annual business trip to Wisconsin. Continue to leave all transactions on his voicemail as usual. The Commish will return all calls sometime after arriving back in town Friday.
Enough of Week 9. On to Week 10. Go deep, I'll throw it! -The Commish
Mark---Stop here for reminders:
Drop/Adds begin Wednesdays at 6:00pm this year.
Wednesdays from 6:00pm-10:00pm are reserved for pickups based on low season point total.
First come/first serve drop/adds begin Wednesdays at 10:00pm.
All transactions are to be called in to 402-392-9749 and left on my voice mail for date/time stamping. This will serve as the official arbitrator of any disputes that may occur.
All lineups will be called in to 402-392-9749 for the same reasons.
To find out what lineup your opponent is using, either: call your opponent directly (remember to notify me of your starting lineups in any event-see above) or call me at 402-341-2674 after kickoff of the first weekly game.
I realize some trades are made at the last minute but, whenever possible, please notify me of any trades ASAP after they are made by leaving a voice mail at 402-392-9749.
Transactions:
10/22 Strange Highways waive QB Humphries and RB Zellars; add QB Plummer and RB Leon Johnson
10/22 Bone Club waives D Jets and TE Bjornson; adds D Buccaneers and RB Broussard
10/22 Green With Envy Iguanas waive D Redskins; add K Morton Anderson
10/22 Natural Mystics waive K Blanton; add RB G Jones
10/23 Palace of Swords drop WR Darnay Scott; add WR Lake Dawson
10/23 Hog’s Breath drop TE Kyle Brady; add TE Andrew Glover
10/23 PMS drops TE Jason Over-Dunn; add TE Ted Popson
10/26 Crawling King Snakes waive WR Quinn Early; add QB Danny Kanell
Week 9 Recap
Mystics Rebound Behind Biakabutuka’s 14 Points
The Natural Mystics, behind surprise starter Tim Biakabutuka’s 14 points, held off the Greenback Iguanas 37-30 in FFL action. The Iguanas pulled within seven Monday with a TD apiece from Jabbar and Raymont plus Raymont’s 100 yards. Ryan Longwell booted 4 PAT to keep the Mystics out in front. The Mystics got production from the "Bus" (6 pts), George (9), and T. Brown (4--a two pointer and 100 yards). The Greenies’ D once again scored a touchdown but Vinny was held to 4 points production. Upon leaving the field, Terrell Owens had something to say to the Coaches Bernadt in response to their week-long pregame trash talking but it could not be made out above the din of the crowd’s chant of "Play-offs, play-offs, play-offs." Asked for a postgame comment, Coach Wassem replied, "Mystics don’t dance, we boogie. Baldheads run out and get your cookies. Mystics don’t dance, we boogie. A-Dub ain’t no mudda fuckin’ rookie." When asked what that meant, Wassem responded, "Me a go kill dem wid de riddim." The Mystics improve to 8-1 with a three game Larry lead. Their magic number is four. The Iguanas slip 5-4 on the heels of a two game losing streak. They are second in the Curly, three behind PMS and tied for the wildcard spot with NFC Norris.
Natural Mystics 37 30 Greenback Iguanas
George 09 QB 04 Testaverde
Bettis 06 RB 06 Jabbar
Biakabutuka 14 RB 08 R Harris
R Smith 00 WR 00 T Martin
T Brown 04 WR 00 L Thomas
Wycheck 00 TE 00 Asher
Owens 00 U 00 T Thomas
Longwell 04 K 06 M Anderson
Cowboys 00 D 06 Broncos
PMS Not Impressive But Win 8th Straight 31-16
PMS rolled to its 8th straight win, two shy of the league record set by the 1996-1997 Crawling King Snakes, in defeating the on-again, off-again NFC Norris by a score of 31-16. PMS was never threatened as Norris didn’t see its first points until late in the 3:00 games. Although not as explosive as in earlier games, PMS went about its business at hand. Kaufman broke free early for another long TD run, a 55 yarder. Tyrone Wheatley scored 2 TD runs on 39 yards rushing and Jason Elam contributed 11 points in the Sunday games. The Norris got late points from Coates (6) and Vinatieri (4) but never got close enough to even make a game of it. PMS can approach the league record 10 game winning streak by beating the King Snakes themselves this next week and the Natural Mystics in Week 11. PMS is 8-1 in the Curly division. Their magic number is four. The Norris falls to 5-4, three games behind the Mystics in the Larry division but tied with the Iguanas in the wildcard race.
PMS 31 16 NFC Norris
B Johnson 00 QB 00 Elway
Kaufman 08 RB 00 E George
Wheatley 12 RB 00 J Stewart
Freeman 00 WR 00 M Jackson
J Reed 00 WR 00 F Sanders
Dudley 00 TE 06 Coates
McCardell 00 U 00 Floyd
Elam 11 K 04 Vinatieri
Steelers 00 D 06 Raiders
Kordell Runs, Throws Boners To Victory 39-16
The Bone Club continued its move up the standings in the Moe division with its 39-16 crushing of the Beer Spillers in Week 9 FFL action. Kordell again led the way, more fully recovered from his head beating of two weeks ago against the Natural Mystics and Quentin Coryatt, with 16 points Sunday. The Club won with its starting backfield on the bench with byes. However, Garrison Hearst stepped up with 6 points. Leslie Shepherd and Mark Chmura each caught TD passes and Hall-is added five points for good measure for the Club, now 4-5 and tied for second in the Moe division with Blande To The Party, a game behind April’s Supercuts. The Beer Spillers ‘only points were a Drew Bledsoe TD pass, 8 points from the kicker Mat Stover and a shutout by their 49er D. The Spillers’ season is close to being over as we reach the 2/3 point. At 3-6, the Spillers are five out in the Curly division and would need to catch fire to have a shot at the wild card.
Bone Club 39 16 Beer Spillers
Stewart 16 QB 04 Bledsoe
Broussard 00 RB 00 Watters
Hearst 06 RB 00 Anders
Shepherd 06 WR 00 Rison
Calloway 00 WR 00 C Carter
Chmura 06 TE 00 Bruener
Carruth 00 U 00 Garner
Hollis 05 K 08 Stover
Buccaneers 00 D 04 49ers
Last Gasp Drayton TD Ends Streak, Party 38-35
Every time Grande To The Party got close, the Crawling King Snakes had the answer, eventually holding off the Party 38-35 behind Troy Drayton’s late TD catch Monday night. The Party got 12 from Jett late Sunday but the Snakes got a defensive TD just before 6:00 Sunday. Brett Favre’s 12 and McDuffie’s 2 brought the Party to the point of victory only to see Drayton haul in a ball and make his way up the sidelines for paydirt and victory, ending a Snake’s four game skid. Bam Morris contributed a career high 176 yards and a TD for the Snakes. Just before kickoff, the Party tried to insert Robert Brooks into the lineup but neglected to indicate which WR they were benching. Brooks stayed on the bench as a result. The Snakes improve to 4-5 and still alive for a possible playoff berth. A large game against PMS beckons this week. The Party falls to 4-5, losers of two straight and four of five. They lose their grip on first place in the Moe divison, finding themselves a game out and tied for second with the Bone Club.
Crawling King Snakes 38 35 Grande To The Party
Kanell 00 QB 12 Favre
Faulk 00 RB 02 E Smith
B Morris 08 RB 00 Dunn
Irvin 00 WR 02 McDuffie
Pickens 00 WR 12 Jett
Drayton 06 TE 00 Sharpe
Stokes 06 U 06 Bruce
G Anderson 12 K 01 Blanchard
Chargers 06 D 00 Cardinals
Late Conway 100 Salvages Highways Swords Tie
Curtis Conway caught a 100 yards worth of receptions and the Strange Highways pulled from a 30-28 deficit into a 30-30 tie with the Palace of Swords. The Swords had their chances but left QB Jeff Blake (10 pts) and WR Chris Sanders (12 pts) on the bench, again having difficulty with the wideouts in general. This has been a season long problem for the Swords. The Swords running game was MIA this week although Jamal Anderson managed a touchdown on a reception. Del Greco kicked 12 points and Andre Reed had a TD catch, dropping another. The Highways’ QB Frerotte fired 2 touchdowns and K Richie Cunningham booted 12 points. Like the Swords, the Highway’s backfield
was also a non-factor for the game. The Swords are 3-5-1 and need to run out the string to finish with 9 wins, usually the minimum required to make the playoffs. The Highways are 2-6-1, 2 1/2 games out of the Moe division lead.
Palace of Swords 30 30 Strange Highways
Grbac 06 QB 08 Frerotte
C Martin 00 RB 00 K Carter
R Smith 00 RB 00 Alstott
A Reed 06 WR 02 Thigpen
Emanuel 00 WR 06 Alexander
McGee 00 TE 00 Walls
J Anderson 06 U 02 Conway
Del Greco 12 K 12 Cunningham
Chiefs 00 D 00 Patriots
Galloway Scores 20; Supercuts Remain In First
April’s Supercuts, buoyed by Joey Galloway’s 3 TD catches against the Larry Brown infested Raider secondary, pounded Hog’s Breath into submission by a count of 62-17 Sunday to grab high points in the league for the week. The amazing thing is that Coach Johnson went with Brunell at QB after benching him last week (he threw 3 TD passes last week). This week, the benched QB was Warren Moon. He would have been worth 23 points, one shy of the all-time league single game scoring record by a QB. As it was, his points were not necessary in beating an undermanned Hog’s Breath squad, which had 8 points from Steve Young, a Marcus Allen TD plunge and points from K Olindo Mare. Terrell Davis ran for 207 yards, Charles Way scored twice, Lawrence Phillips scored once and Boniol had 7 points in the romp. The Supercuts remain in first place at 5-4 and will attempt to sweep housemate Young of the Bone Club next week in a Moe division matchup. Hog’s Breath falls to 2-7. They face NFC Norris next week.
April's Supercuts 62 17 Hog’s Breath
Brunell 08 QB 08 Young
Terrell Davis 09 RB 00 S Davis
Phillips 06 RB 06 M Allen
Harrison 00 WR 00 J Smith
Galloway 20 WR 00 McCaffrey
Riesmersma 00 TE 00 Glover
Way 12 U 00 J Lewis
Boniol 07 K 03 Mare
Giants 00 D 00 Eagles
Swami Sez:
Natural Mystics (8-1) vs. Palace of Swords (3-5-1)
Power Rankings: Natural Mystics 2; Palace of Swords 10
The Mystics won the first battle by a 56-24 score and winning high points for the week. Jeff George and Tim Brown exploded but this time will be pitted vs. the Panther D. Bettis goes against the Chiefs D while Dorsey has Detroit. Fryar and Owens also have tough matchups. For the Swords, Blake could have a strong game against the Chargers while Robert Smith and Curtis Martin square off against one another. A close Vikings-Pats game would benefit Coach Pedersen. With the matchups, an upset is possible in this one, keeping alive the Swords’ slim playoff hopes. The series history is 3-1 in favor of the Mystics.
PMS (8-1) vs. Crawling King Snakes (4-5)
Power Rankings: PMS 1; Crawling King Snakes 8
The King Snakes exploded from the starting blocks in Week 1 to simply outscore the high flying PMS team 53-42. Of late, however, the Snakes have been laying low, unable to score points consistently. To salvage their season, they could use a win and a sweep this week. Snakes QB Mitchell faces the Pack in the Sunday night game while Bam has the Jets and Marshall has the Bucs. The wideouts, always the key for Coach Erickson, stack up with Pickens vs. San Diego and Irvin against the Niners. On paper, it doesn’t sound like a high scoring week for Sir Jeffery’s bunch. PMS (aka NFC Central) has Brad Johnson and Jake Reed against the Pats, Kaufman against Carolina’s suddenly soft front four along with Rickey Dudley, Terry Allen at Chi-town, and Antonio Freeman home against Detroit. The series is 2-1 in the Snakes favor. Look for PMS to tie the series up and seriously damage the Snakes’ hopes for returning to the playoffs for the 3rd straight year.
Grande To The Party (4-5) vs. Strange Highways (2-6-1)
Power Rankings: Grande To The Party 7; Strange Highways 6
In the bizarro world that is the Moe division, Grande To The Party will attempt to sweep the Strange Highways after beating them in Week 1 by a 33-22 score. Up is down and down is up with this division. The Highways have lost little ground since that first game loss. In Week 10, the matchups appear to favor neither team. For the Party Poopers, Favre and Brooks see the Lions secondary, Em-mutt tries running through the brick wall that is the 49ers front four, Warrick has Indy (a good matchup here), Sharpe faces Seattle, Bruce gets the Falcons, McDuffie the Bills, Jett the Panthers and Chrebet the Ravens. The Highways counter with Ki-Jana vs. San Diego, Alstott also with Indy, and the receiving corps of H Moore vs. GB, Yancy vs. KC on Monday night, Derrick Alexander against the Jets, and Conway vs. the Skins. Wouldn’t it be fun if it came down to Warrick vs. Alstott?? The series is 2-1 in favor of Grande.
Hog's Breath (2-7) vs. NFC Norris (5-4)
Power Rankings: Hog's Breath 12; NFC Norris 5
The Norris is trying to stay close to the Mystics and must beat the teams in the lower echelon to prove its worth. In Week 1, the Norris was able to beat Hog’s Breath by a 45-17 count. Lately, Hog’s Breath has begun to play better ball. In Week 10, the Norris will have Elway at home against the Seahawks, Eddie George vs. the Jags while James Stewart faces off against George’s Oilers team, Michael Jackson vs. the Jets, Coates at Minnesota along with Vinatieri and Frank Sanders in the desert vs. the Eagles’ thinning secondary. Hog’s Breath finds Steve Young facing the Cowboy secondary, Marcus Allen vs. the Steelers Monday night, Natrone and Jimmy Smith vs. the Oilers (the Jags-Oilers game could be pivotal for in this week’s game), McCaffrey vs. Seattle (hopefully for the Breath, neutralizing Elway) and Jermaine Lewis facing the Jets and, hopefully for the Breath as well, depriving Michael Jackson of any catches. The series is led by the Norris 1-0.
April’s Supercuts (5-4) vs. Bone Club (4-5)
Power Rankings: Supercuts 9; Bone Club 4
In the Joust on Jameson, April’s Supercuts will try to sweep her in-significant other under the carpet in the same fashion that Mr. Mom does while Coach Johnson is out bringing home the bacon, after spanking him (with what, we don’t know) 39-16 in Week 1. The Cuts will try doing it with Brunell at Tennessee, Phillips vs. Atlanta, Davis (the good one) at home against a decent Seahawk front four while WR Galloway sees the Denver secondary in the same game, and Marvin Harrison against Tampa. The Club counters with the return from bye weeks of Barry Sanders (the most exciting back in the league) against the Packers’ disappointing line, Murrell against the Ravens, and Garrison Hearst against Dallas. Swami won’t even venture a guess as to which WRs Coach Young will throw out there this week. Coach Young’s Bone Club leads the series 2-1.
Beer Spillers (3-6) vs. Greenback Iguanas (5-4)
Power Rankings: Beer Spillers 11; Greenback Iguanas 3
The Spillers won the first go-round by a score of 46-30 but have been an inconsistent squad since. The Iguanas are usually good for 30 points or better. This week, they’ll try to continue their consistent play with Vinny at the Jets with Keyshawn, Raymont hosting the Skins, Thermal hosting Miami and the Iguanas’ third back Karim Abdul-Jabbar and Tony Martin at Cincy. The Spillers throw out Bledsoe at the Vikes and Cris Carter back at the Pats, Watters in the heat of Arizona, and Rison vs. a weakened Steeler secondary. This series is led 1-0 by the Spillers.
Swami went 3-3 for the week, dropping his scored on the season to 24-30.
NOTE: Bye weeks are the Saints and Giants
Natural Mystics (8-1) -8 Palace of Swords (3-5-1)
NFC Norris (5-4) -7 Hog’s Breath (2-7)
PMS (8-1) -7 Crawling King Snakes (4-5)
Greenback Iguanas (5-4) -8 Beer Spillers (3-6)
Strange Highways (2-6-1) -1 Grande To The Party (4-5)
Bone Club (4-5) -4 April’s Supercuts (5-4)
Wednesday's order of pickup w/ total points scored for season to date:
1. Hog's Breath 188 7. Grande To The Party 286
2. Beer Spillers 246 8. NFC Norris 290
3. Crawling King Snakes 252 9. Greenback Iguanas 331
4. Strange Highways 258 10. Bone Club 334
4. Palace of Swords 267 11. Natural Mystics 367
6. April’s Supercuts 279 12. PMS 379