1998 Week 12 Newsletter

What's inside:

1. Standings
2. Letter From The Commish
3. Transactions
4. Game Capsules/Box Scores
5. Swami Sez

Letter from the Commish:

The week leading up to the trading deadline was an active one. Several trades were made. Several other offers were on the table but ultimately not finalized. The Strange Highways made a pair, one involving the Natural Mystics and one with Montezuma’s Revenge. The Mystics traded Michael "The Playmaker" Irvin and TE Irv Smith in exchange for TE Rickey Dudley and WR Orlando Gadsden. The Highways followed that trade up by moving Fred Lane and Keenan McCardell to the Revenge for Warrick Dunn and Ryan Leaf. That makes three trades for three running backs in three weeks for the Highways. The Mystics offered Dorsey Levens around

Dear Commish,

The Iguana would like to take this time and thank you for doing such an outstanding job as commish and making the first three years in the league extremely enjoyable. I’m in another league and the commisioner sucks. It makes a big difference. On to the business at hand.

The Iguana has decided to stay with its team how it is. We looked at a few options, attempted a trade with you, but all in all we are satisfied.

Let the record show that over the last three years the Iguana has been a competitive team from start to finish. Our first year was a bit tough, but neither Kyle nor I had ever been around fantasy football (or any sport for that matter). Yes, the Iguana can be mistaken for an average-sized, scaly lizard at times, but we take pride in the fact that:

• In our first year, our second round pick, Moon, goes down and is injured most of the year. (he comes back the next two years to have really good seasons). As a result, the Iguana’s went zero and three to start the year. Hard to overcome when you are in the toughest division in the league, as we were. Also, the Iguana’s drafted a promising running back high in the draft by the name of E. Rhett. Hmmm, need I say more.
• In our second year, our first round pick, Rice, who had missed three games his entire career, goes down for all but about three or four quarters the entire year. Tough. Plus the Iguana’s once again end up in the toughest division in the league (three of the top five or six scoring teams). Then we miss a playoff birth in the last game of the season when we lose to an inferior team who had almost one hundred fewer points than us.

So in closure, The Greenback Iguana’s have taken some lumps. But this year, so far, we can taste a playoff birth and perhaps a championship game.

We have paid our dues.

We must wait and see.

Just food for thought, man.

The Mighty Iguana

I did not know that:

• Running back Robert Smith is one of the most dangerous long-distance scoring threats in NFL history. He has scored 23 career rushing touchdowns and has averaged 25.8 yards per TD, the highest average in league history among players with at least 20 rushing touchdowns. Twelve of Smith's 23 career TDs on the ground have been for 20 yards or more, including five of 50 yards or more. He is tied for the league lead this season with Jacksonville rookie Fred Taylor with 3 rushing touchdowns of 50 yards or more. Smith owns the second- and third-longest rushing TDs in the Vikings' 39-season history (78 and 74 yards).

• Denver Broncos running back Terrell Davis leads the NFL with 1,330 rushing yards. With 170 more, he will reach the 1,500-yard mark for the third consecutive season — a feat accomplished in league history by only Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders (1994-97). Also, in recording his third 1,500-yard campaign in his fourth season, Davis would join Eric Dickerson as the players posting three 1,500s the fastest.

• In the Indianapolis Colts' come-from-behind win over the New York Jets last Sunday, running back Marshall Faulk made a key 18-yard reception on a fourth-and-15 play to keep the Colts game-winning drive alive. The catch was one of Faulk's 30 receptions for first downs this season and the 53rd of his season-total of 54 receptions. Faulk, who needs 3 catches to set a personal season-high (56 in 1995 and '96), leads the AFC in receptions and seeks to become the first running back to lead his conference in catches since 1985 when Roger Craig and Lionel James led the NFC and AFC, respectively.

The following story came over the teletype prior to this weekend’s Highways-Iguanas game. Read on:

BOSTON- Late last night 2 Lincoln men were arrested in the attempted break-in of the offices of Football mogul Eric Widtfeldt. The two men, later identified as fellow owners Kevin and Kyle Bernadt of the Greenback Iguanas surrendered without incident after being cornered by Highway security personal.

The reason for the break-n said Widtfeldt was "Some teams in depraved acts of desperation result to any means neccessary to try to attain victory." The Iguanas are still smarting from the beating that the Highways put on them last year, and rumor has it they will do anything to attain victory. In this case hoping to attain the potential Highways starting line-up.

Added Coach Widtfeldt " These half man half lizard mutants must be dealt with and dealt with harshly, we as an organization never single out and enjoy beating one team more than any other. But we do enjoy laying the smack down on the Iguanas reptilian asses"

With Grande To The Party still reeling from its Week 11 loss to the extent that it lost again in Week 12 and the Palace of Swords’ 1^st win in three weeks, the Swords have moved into the wildcard spot for the moment. The Iguanas’ win combined with the King of Dogs’ loss, gives the Iguanas a two game cushion. The Highways loss combined with a win by Montezuma’s Revenge, narrows the Highways’ margin to a single game. Here are the updated playoff matchups for now: #1 Retreads vs. #4 Palace of Swords; #2 Iguanas vs. #3 Strange Highways.

Anybody notice that the 2-9-1 Bone Club is scoring only 1.5 ppg. less than the 6-5-1 Highways?

A quick look at the top 4 draft picks by each team back in August is always interesting after the fact. Without a doubt, the team with the worst early draft choices would be PMS. One starter has been hurt while two others have underperformed. Even their 1^st pick, Jerome Bettis, has scored only twice to date. The Mystics aren’t far behind as two of their four have underperformed and Dorsey Levens (1^st round) got hurt. Emmitt Smith has had a quietly nice season, however. Montezuma’s Revenge has battled injuries to Terry Allen and John Elway. The Palace of Swords have probably done the best job overcoming injuries to top picks Brad Johnson and James Stewart. For the Bone Club, Rickey Watters and Carl Pickens have not met expectations nor has Michael Irvin or Tim Brown for the NFC Norris or, to a lesser extent, Cory Dillon. The Stanley Steamers have gotten nothing from Herman Moore and neither has the King of Dogs from Rob Moore. That leaves four teams, all in playoff contention, as the ones with the most early round success in ’98. The Highways, with the first selection in round one, took Brett Favre followed by Rice, Galloway, and Lane (since traded to acquire Warrick Dunn). The Retreads took Terrell Davis, Bledsoe, Jabbar (traded for Galloway), and McCardell (traded for Staley). The Iguanas drafted Barry Sanders, Antowain Smith, Faulk and Jimmy Smith while the Party selected Curtis Martin, E George, S Young and Keyshawn Johnson. Coincidentally, the Highways, Retreads and Iguanas had the first three selections overall while the Party was #10. Last year’s playoff teams had the #1, #5, #10 and #12 picks in the first round. Below is each team’s first four picks from this year’s draft (if traded, the acquired player is listed in parentheses):

• Strange Highways-Favre, Rice, Galloway (Jabbar), Lane (Dunn)
• Retreads-Terrell Davis, Bledsoe, Jabbar (Galloway), McCardell (Staley)
• Greenback Iguanas-Sanders, A Smith, Faulk, J Smith
• King of Dogs-K Stewart, R Moore, Sharpe, Plummer (Murrell)
• Stanley Steamers-Brunell, H Moore, Hearst, Alstott
• Natural Mystics-Levens, Kaufman (J Anderson), R Smith (Irvin who became Dudley), E Smith
• Montezuma’s Revenge-Rb Smith, T Allen, Dunn (Lane), Elway
• Palace of Swords-Freeman, B Johnson, Coates, J Stewart
• PMS-Bettis, J George, Jett, Conway
• Grande To The Party-C Martin, E George, S Young, K Johnson
• NFC Norris-Dillon, T Brown, J Anderson (Kaufman), Irvin (Rd Smith)
• Bone Club-Watters, C Carter, Moon, Pickens

Go deep, I’ll throw it!

-The Commish

Stop here for reminders:

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• Drop/Adds begin Wednesdays at 6:00pm this year.
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• Wednesdays from 6:00pm-10:00pm are reserved for pickups based on low season point total. There’s a limit of one pickup per team during this time.
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• First come/first serve drop/adds begin Wednesdays at 10:00pm.
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• 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.
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• All lineups should be called in to 402-392-9749 for the same reasons. However, you may also call 341-2674 with your lineup if I’m home or you may also e-mail me with your lineup if necessary.
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• 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.
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• 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:

David’s Slingshot Empty; Retreads Grab Narrow 53-37 Win Over Mystics To Increase Howe Lead

The Natural Mystics gave it their best shot, playing the Retreads evenly well into the 3 o’clock games but they eventually feel short 53-37. The difference was the kicking game and the defense. The Retreads signed Steve Christie to kick this week. He scored 10 points. Also, the Retread D scored another TD this week. This gave the Retreads a plus 13 point differential, more than offsetting the Mystics’ balanced scoring elsewhere in their lineup. The Mystics were led with 8 points by Charlie Batch and Marvin Harrison. They got 6 each from Emmitt Smith, newcomer Rickey Dudley and Skip Hicks. Smith was injured in the 3^rd quarter, costing the Mystics possibly as many as 8 points (the 100 yard game and a Chris Warren TD late in the game). In addition to Christie’s 10 points, the Retreads received 8 points from Terrell Davis and 6 from the Fred Taylor, Joey Galloway, and Terrance Mathis. The Mystics fall to 3-9 and meet the Bone Club next week while the Retreads improve to 10-2 and will face the 5-7 Stanley Steamers.

The Retreads 53 37 Natural Mystics

Bledsoe 11 QB 08 Batch

F Taylor 06 RB 06 E Smith

T Davis 08 RB 00 J Anderson

Galloway 06 WR 08 Harrison

Mathis 06 WR 00 Ismail

Cleeland 00 TE 06 Dudley

D Holmes 00 U 06 Hicks

Christie 10 K 03 Vanderjagt

Seahawks 06 D 00 Ravens

MNF Nips Dogs In Heels As Coates Scores Winner

Ben Coates’ TD catch on Monday night proved the difference in a close 48-47 Palace of Swords win over the King of Dogs. With the win, the Swords assume 2^nd place in the Howe division over Grande To The Party and control their own playoff destiny for the moment. Meanwhile, the Dogs, dropped two behind the Greenback Iguanas and could be eliminated in Week 13 with a loss and an Iguana win. The Dogs took a huge early lead before the Swords stormed back in the 3 o’clock games behind 18 points from Bam Morris (starting for Donyell Bennett), 9 points from Priest Holmes and a FG from Al Del Greco. The Dogs countered with 2 Terrell Owens TDs Sunday night before Coates’ game winner. The Dogs’ 47 points were a season high. At 6-6, the Dogs play Grande To The Party next week while the 8-3-1 Swords square off against Montezuma’s Revenge.

Palace of Swords 48 47 King of Dogs

Cunningham 10 QB 04 Stewart

B Morris 18 RB 00 Garner

Holmes 09 RB 06 Murrell

Freeman 00 WR 12 Owens

T Martin 02 WR 00 F Sanders

Coates 06 TE 06 Sharpe

J Lewis 00 U 00 R Moore

Del Greco 03 K 07 Richey

Packers 00 D 12 Steelers

Iguanas Safely Cross Highways By 36-26 Count

The Greenback Iguanas came out after a full week of trash talking back and forth between Coach Widtfeldt and the Coaches Bernadt and defeated the Strange Highways 36-26 proving that winter has not yet come to the land of the Iguana, forcing it off its rock. The Iguanas switched tight ends this week and it was a huge move. Wesley Walls caught 2 TDs while last week’s starter, Kyle Brady, scored zero. Moreover, the Highways kept Derrick Alexander on the bench despite listing him as a possible starter throughout the week. Alexander would have accounted for an additional 8 points for the Highways. Coach Widtfeldt outchoached himself some more by starting Dedric Ward in anticipation of the Iguanas starting Vinny Testaverde at QB. Vinny did not start. Ward caught one harmless ball. Moreover, Coach Widtfeldt got to watch as several recently traded players played well this week (Lane-6 pts, Gadsden-12 pts, Galloway-6 pts, McCardell-2 pts, Dudley-6 pts, etc). The Iguanas had a big game from Antowain Smith (14 points) while Jimmy Smith (questionable at gametime) scored 6 points. The Highways received 10 points from Brett Favre and 6 from Jerry Rice while dropping to 6-5-1 for the year going into next week’s game against PMS. The Iguanas (8-4) will play the NFC Norris next week before a big Week 14 contest against the King of Dogs.

Strange Highways 26 36 Greenback Iguanas

Favre 10 QB 00 McNair

Jabbar 06 RB 00 Sanders

Dunn 00 RB 02 Faulk

Irvin 00 WR 06 J Smith

Rice 06 WR 00 Dyson

I Smith 00 TE 12 Walls

D Ward 00 U 14 A Smith

Hansen 04 K 02 Longwell

Raiders 00 D 00 Falcons

Plummer Displays Tools; Overcomes PMS 34-15

The NFC Norris were a one man team on Sunday as Jake Plummer scored 26 points (3 TD runs, 2 TD passes) in the NFC Norris’ 34-15 victory over PMS. Gary Anderson added 8 points for the Norris. It was the 2^nd week in a row that the Norris’ only points came from the tandem of Anderson and Plummer. PMS was led by QB Doug Flutie’s 8 points and a TD catch from Mark Bruener. The Norris improved their record to 5-7. They will play the Greenback Iguanas next week while PMS dropped to 4-8 entering their Week 13 game versus the Strange Highways. Though each team is eliminated from playoff contention, both can impact other division races with upset wins next week.

NFC Norris 34 15 PMS

Plummer 26 QB 08 Flutie

Dillon 00 RB 00 Bettis

Kaufman 00 RB 00 Bates T Brown 00 WR 00 Morton

J Reed 00 WR 00 Chrebet

Gonzalez 00 TE 06 Bruener

R Edwards 00 U 00 Moulds G Anderson 08 K 01 Hollis

Broncos 00 D 00 Patriots

Bone Club Crumbles Late In Hard 33-32 Defeat

In a game where neither team called in a lineup, the Stanley Steamers got just enough late scoring to edge out the Bone Club 33-32. With Bone Club starter Ed McCaffrey not suited up and with Michael Jackson a no-name this season, the chances were good that Coach Young would have started Andre Reed had he called in his lineup. Reed was worth 8 opints for the week and would have made the difference. The Bone Club seemingly had ended a seven game losing streak yesterday, taking a 32-25 lead into Sunday night. However, Marc Brunell’s pass for a 2 point conversion followed by Garrison Hearst’s 81 yard TD reception and 100 yards receiving proved the difference in the narrow Steamers win. Hearst and Matt Stover scored 8 points each for the Steamers while Mike Alstott and Freddie Jones had 6 points each. Jason Elam led the Bone Club with 10 points. Warren Moon added 8 and Tommy Vardell and Cris Carter had 6 each. The Bone Club falls to 2-9-1 prior to its game next week against the Natural Mystics while the Stanley Steamers improve to 5-7 and still have an outside shot at catching the Strange Highways in the Cheatem division going into its game next week against the Retreads.

Bone Club 32 33 Stanley Steamers

Moon 08 QB 05 Brunell

Watters 02 RB 08 Hearst

Vardell 06 RB 06 Alstott

Carter 06 WR 00 H Moore

Pickens 00 WR 00 R Brooks

Glover 00 TE 06 F Jones

McCaffrey 00 U 00 Bruce Elam 10 K 08 Stover

Chiefs 00 D 00 Panthers

Party Continues To Reel In 46-41 Revenge Win

Grande To The Party continued to reel from its Week 11 upset defeat to the Natural Mystics by losing a close high scoring game against Montezuma’s Revenge 46-41. The Revenge built up a 46-25 lead entering the Sunday night game and watched as Steve Young fired 4 TD passes. To the Revenge’s fortune, none of TD passes were to J.J. Stokes allowing the Revenge to escape with their 5 point win. The Revenge was led by John Elway’s and Richie Cunningham’s 12 points. Randy Moss tallied 8 while Fred Lane and Billy Davis had 6 each. Young led the Party with 16, Morten Anderson had 9 and Curtis Martin and Keyshawn Johnson had 8 points apiece. At 8-4, the Party dropped its 2^nd straight to fall 2 games behind the Retreads in the Howe division going into next week’s game against the King of Dogs. The Revenge pulled within one game of the Highways at 5-6-1 prior to next week’s contest against the Palace of Swords.

Montezuma’s Revenge 46 41 Grande To The Party

Elway 12 QB 16 Young

R Smith 00 RB 08 Martin

Lane 06 RB 00 George

B Davis 06 WR 08 K Johnson

Moss 08 WR 00 C Johnson

McGee 00 TE 00 Santiago

McCardell 02 U 00 Stokes

Cunningham 12 K 09 M Anderson

49ers 00 D 00 Cowboys

This week’s additions to the FFL Record Book:

• Bone Club’s losing streak has been extended to 8 games. The all time record is held by Featherston’s Falcons at 9 games. The Bone Club will try snapping the skid against the Natural Mystics this week.
• The Retreads broke 50 points for the 2^nd consecutive week, 6^th time overall for the season. The season record of 7 is shared by Two Turntables & A Microphone in 1996 and the Natural Mystics in 1997.
• The Natural Mystics gave up 50+ points in a game for the eight time in their history. This ties them with the Palace of Swords for most in league history.
• Jake Plummer’s 26 points is 2^nd all time for a single game on the QB list behind Steve Young’s 27 in 1993.
• Speaking of Steve Young, he’s now the 3rd highest scorer regardless of position in a single season with 149 points trailing Brett Favre’s record of 151 for the 1996 April’s Supercuts and Emmitt Smith’s 150 for the 1995 April’s Supercuts. With one TD pass next Monday night, he’ll hold the record.
• The Retreads broke the record for most running back points in a season, surpassing the old record of 230 by April’s Supercuts in 1995. The Retreads are now at 241 and counting.

Swami Sez:

Yikes! The Swami has gone into a nosedive similar to that of the Palace of Swords. Wiping his hands off from a 2-4 debacle, he attempts to make sense of the changing landscape. Here’s what he and his 42-28-2 record see for Week 12:

King of Dogs (6-5) vs. Grande To The Party (8-4)

Power Ranking: King of Dogs 7; Grande To The Party 2

The Party has to snap out of its zombie-like state soon before the Party is completely over for 1998. Expect it to happen this week.

Strange Highways (6-5-1) vs. PMS (4-8)

Power Ranking: Strange Highways 6; PMS 11

The Highways are in desperate need of a victory, having gone 2-5-1 since their 4-0 start. PMS appears to be the perfect tonic for what ails ‘em. Brett Favre gets a choice matchup against Philly while Jerry Rice will get the Giants. On paper, the talent says "Highways." In terms of matchups, the paper says no different. Take the Highways.

NFC Norris (5-7) vs. Greenback Iguanas (8-4)

Power Ranking: NFC Norris 4; Greenback Iguanas 5

It continues to amaze the Swami that the Norris is #4 in the power rankings, # 5 in league scoring and 5-7 on the scoreboard. Frankly, the Swami doesn’t see a lot he likes in this lineup. While the Iguanas looked like winter was coming and the rock was getting cold, they put together a nice game last week. Whether or not it’s nice this week, the Norris better find scoring from other positions besides QB and K if they want any chance at winning again before 1999. We like the scaly ones.

Bone Club (2-9-1) vs. Natural Mystics (3-9)

Power Ranking: Bone Club 8; Natural Mystics 10

Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum square off for the 2^nd time this year with the Mystics having taken the 1^st contest. Since we all know how difficult it is to beat the same team twice in the same year, it seems a logical choice to pick the Bone Club. Besides, the Swami has invested too much in the Club to stop now. One of these weeks, they’re bound to pay off. Go with the Club hoppers.

Montezuma’s Revenge (5-6-1) vs. Palace of Swords (7-3-1)

Power Ranking: Montezuma’s Revenge 9; Palace of Swords 3

The Revenge are only #9 in power rankings yet are but one game behind the Highways in the Cheatem playoff picture. Ugh. Simply put, the key to this game is whether or not the Highways get any running game. Even a minimal rushing presence should be enough to fend off the Revenge. Without it, the other positions need to play big, especially Antonio Freeman who has been doing his best Claude Rains impression of late as the Invisible Man. But go with the Swords.

Stanley Steamers (5-7) vs. The Retreads (10-2)

Power Ranking: Stanley Steamers 12; The Retreads 1

The #1 and #12 ranked power teams. The poor Steamers, pre-season contender, have become the closest thing to the KC Chiefs on offense. The Retreads…well…Swami is almost getting tired of talking about them. Let’s just say it would take a big bet to make a little money. The Retreads to win.

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