Week 14 Newsletter
Letter from the Commish:
Two down, two to go. Both the Greenback Iguanas and the Retreads locked up spots in this year’s playoffs. The Retreads guaranteed themselves the #1 seed while the Iguanas are guaranteed of the #2 seed. The Strange Highways missed their opportunity at advancing as the Natural Mystics continued their late season strong play by being the spoiler once again (having defeated Grande To The Party in Week 11) and defeating the Highways. The Highways can still advance with a victory next week. A loss leaves them pulling for a Revenge loss to the Mystics. As for the wildcard spot in this year’s playoffs, what once seemed elementary has suddenly become much more complicated as the result of losses by both the Palace of Swords and Grande To The Party. Here’s how everything shakes down (and please, if you’re in a Week 15 game that has playoff implications, do the right thing and phone in a lineup this week):
So, entering the final week of the year, half the league is either in the playoffs or still clinging to playoff hopes. And this was received on the wire moments ago:
LAS VEGAS-(AP) Bookmakers in Las Vegs have pulled The Re-Treads/Grande to the Party game off this week’s board. Several bookmakers said the overriding factor in this decision is Coach Will’s inability to win when it counts.
Reaction has been shared across the country. Said one Michigan bookmaker, " Grande has about as much chance of winning this week as the state of Michigan does convicting Jack Kevorkian"
There is no truth to the rumor that Dr. Kevorkian was spotted leaving the Party house with a video camera and several body bags.
With the end of the season approaching, many individual and team season records are starting to fall. As always, a comprehensive listing of broken records appears toward the end of the newsletter.
The Commish thought it noteworthy to mention that all the Week 14 winners lost in Week 4 the first time these matchups appeared on the schedule. Of course, this is excepting the Party-Norris matchup which resulted in a late tie thanks to two 2nd half Mark Chmura TD catches. It just reminds us how difficult it can be to defeat the same opponent twice in a season. Perhaps that’s something to think about entering the Week 15 rematches.
Go deep, I’ll throw it!
-The Commish
Iguanas Scale The Heights; Clinch First Crown In Franchise History To Advance To Second Season
After losing in Week 13, the Greenback Iguanas were somewhat concerned entering their Week 14 showdown versus division rival King of Dogs. However, after exploding from the chute to score 24 points in the first hour, the Iguanas were never threatened and won 55-33 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score. The Iguanas were led early on by Marshall Faulk who scored a running TD and a receiving TD a piece. Antowaine Smith scored a TD while Vinny Testaverde accounted for 17 points including a cheap QB sneak for a TD that replays showed should not have counted. Still, the Iguanas had more than enough to win on this day. One bad piece of news for the Iguanas was the loss of starting WR Michael Westbrook for the season with a neck injury. With that, the 2nd WR spot for the Greenbacks becomes a little bit weaker. The Dogs put up a good effort but their luck finally ran dry. Kordell Stewart continued his season-long struggles, getting shut out. Adrian Murrell scored twice to lead the Doggies while Terrell Owens continued to shine with another TD catch, this one from RB Terry Kirby. The Iguanas’ win allowed them to split the season series with the Dogs after they lost the first game in Week 4 by a 37-33 score.. In that game, Robert Holcombe scored 12 points for the Dogs. While Marshall Faulk played another good game, scoring 8. At 7-7, the Dogs are eliminated from playoff contention and will now try to finish above .500 with a victory next week over PMS. The Iguanas will tune up for the playoffs with a game against the 2-11-1 Bone Club.
King of Dogs 33 55 Greenback Iguanas
Stewart 00 QB 17 Testaverde
Murrell 12 RB 02 Sanders
Avery 00 RB 12 Faulk
Owens 06 WR 08 J Smith
F Sanders 00 WR 00 Westbrook
Sharpe 06 TE 00 Walls
R Moore 00 U 06 A Smith
N Johnson 09 K 10 Longwell
Steelers 00 D 00 Falcons
Bone Club Secures League’s Worst Record As PMS Splits Season Series Behind Flutie To Moulds TDs
It’s a sad day in Mudville. Coach Young’s once proud Bone Club has been relegated to the scrap heap of history after dropping its league record 10th straight ballgame 37-25 to PMS. The loss gives the Clubbers a 2-11-1 record, the worst in the league in ’98. No one seems to have heard much from Coach Young the past month. Lineups are not being called in. Messages with the front office are going unreturned. A section of the stadium came crashing down during yesterday’s game but fortunately no one was hurt in the accident. PMS won without doing much damage on the ground. Jerome Bettis continued to be a disappointment in ’98. In fact, only three PMS players scored. Eric Moulds accounted for 14 points while Mike Hollis had 13 and Doug Flutie 10. The Bone Club got 8 points from Ed McCaffrey, 6 each from Rickey Watters (who’s played better of late) and Carl Pickens (there’s been a Carl Pickens sighting) and 5 from Jason Elam. The PMS win was revenge for a 44-22 loss earlier this season to the Bone Club. In that one, Carl Pickens scored 14 points and Cris Carter 6. Nobody who scored in Week 4 for PMS scored this week. Carney led the Week 4 scoring for PMS with 10 points. Cris Carter left the game with a calf injury, the severity unknown. PMS improved to 5-9 and will close out their 1998 schedule next week against the King of Dogs while the Bone Club winds up with the playoff bound Greenback Iguanas amid hopes of snapping their 10 game skid in what many league observers are speculating could be the last league game for this once proud franchise.
Bone Club 25 37 PMS
Moon 00 QB 10 Flutie
Watters 06 RB 00 Bettis
Vardell 00 RB 00 Bates
Carter 00 WR 00 Morton
Pickens 06 WR 14 Moulds
Glover 00 TE 00 Bruener
McCaffrey 08 U 00 Chrebet
Elam 05 K 13 Hollis
Chiefs 00 D 00 Patriots
Revenge Keeps Hope Alive Behind Moss’ 20 Pts.
Montezuma’s Revenge continued its late season surge with a 46-26 win over the Stanley Steamers in Cheatem division action Sunday. Trailing 26-15 during the 3 o’clock games, the Revenge began their comeback with 2 John Elway TD passes and 400 yards throwing and capped the victory with another 3 TD catches from rookie sensation Randy Moss. It marked the 2nd week in a row that Moss had hauled in 3 touchdowns. The Steamers were hampered by the loss of QB Marc Brunell very early in the game. Garrison Hearst, Herman Moore and Freddie Jones all did their best to pick up the slack, scoring 8 points a piece.. The first matchup between these teams was a 25-22 Steamers win. Randy Moss also socred in that game for the Revenge. At 7-6-1, the Revenge finds itself in a virtual tie with the Strange Highways. Due to tiebreakers, the Revenge must win their Week 15 game against the Natural Mystics and pray for a Stanley Steamer upset of the Highways to clinch the Cheatem division title. However, with the sudden struggles being felt by Grande To The Party and the Palace of Swords, the Revenge could now make the playoffs as a wildcard team if they win while both the Swords and Party lose next week. The Swords and the Revenge would both finish with records of 8-6-1 but the Revenge swept the Swords in two games this season.
Stanley Steamers 26 46 Montezuma’s Revenge
Brunell 00 QB 11 Elway
Hearst 08 RB 00 Allen
Alstott 00 RB 06 Fletcher
H Moore 08 WR 20 Moss
Brooks 00 WR 06 McCardell
F Jones 08 TE 00 McGee
Bruce 00 U 00 B Davis
Stover 02 K 03 Cunningham
Panthers 00 D 00 49ers
Mystics Repay Highways For ’97 Heartbreaker In 36-18 Upset, Leaving The Division Up For Grabs
The Natural Mystics spoiled the champagne celebration ready to go in the Strange Highways’ locker room. Their 36-18 victory atoned for a similar upset by the Highways against them in 1997 and allowed Montezuma’s Revenge to live for another week in the Cheatem division. The Mystics had balanced scoring with Trent Green, Jamal Anderson and John Hall all scoring 8 points. Starting wideouts Raghib Ismail and Oronde Gadsden each caught a TD pass. The Highways’ only scoring was 10 points from K Jason Hanson and 8 late points from QB Brett Favre. Favre’s production was in sharp contrast to his 22 points against the Mystics in the teams’ first matchup earlier this season, a 47-16 Highway victory. Jerry Rice had 14 in that game. The Mystics unveiled seven new starters against the Highways compared to the last time these teams squared off. The spoiler Mystics, 5-9, will play Montezuma’s Revenge next week while the Strange Highways will try to sew up the division against the Stanley Steamers, a team that shut out the Highways 22-0 in Week 10.
Strange Highways 18 36 Natural Mystics
Favre 08 QB 08 T Green
Jabbar 00 RB 00 E Smith
Dunn 00 RB 08 J Anderson
Rice 00 WR 06 Ismail
Irvin 00 WR 06 Gadsden
Ty Davis 00 TE 00 Dudley
Alexander 00 U 00 Levens
Hanson 10 K 08 Hall
Raiders 00 D 00 Ravens
Retreads Capture Dewey Title In First FFL Season 80-39; Swords Continue To Accept Party Charity
The Retreads jumped out of the gate running, getting quick TDs from Fred Taylor and Joey Galloway along with 16 points from Steve Christie to jump start their way to a commanding victory over the Palace of Swords and capture their 1st division title in their very first year of existence. At 11-3, the Retreads will tie the Natural Mystics (’97) and Crawling King Snakes (’96) for the best ever season record with a win next week. Terrell Davis added 18 points while Taylor finished with 14 as did Galloway. The Seahawk defense scored again, giving both the Seahawks and the Retreads 64 defensive points for the year. Both tie records set last year by the Broncos and the Greenback Iguanas. One thing must be said about this year’s Palace of Swords. No team has ever been involved in so many high scoring games in one season. With their 80-39 shellacking at the hands of the Retreads, the Swords are the 1st ever team to surrender 80 or more points in back to back games. They’re the 1st ever team to both score and allow (next week) over 600 points in a single season. In fact, they’re the 1st team to ever give up 600 or more points in a year. They have a small chance of leading the league in both points scored and points allowed and of having the highest scoring team of all time to counter what is already the most points allowed all time. They’ve done this in the league’s toughest division. They’ve done this despite a season ending injury to James Stewart and recent injuries to Antonio Freeman and Jermaine Lewis. They’ve done this despite losing starting QB Brad Johnson for all but three games to date. In the first encounter between these two teams, the Swords defeated the Retreads 72-46 behind 32 RB points by the Swords. Terrell Davis and Fred Taylor had 8 points each for the Retreads in that game. The Swords still find themselves 8-5-1 and clinging to the tiebreaker lead over Grande To The Party for the wildcard spot in this year’s playoffs. A win next week locks up the berth while a loss opens the door for either Grande To The Party or for Montezuma’s Revenge to sneak in.
Retreads 80 39 Palace of Swords
Bledsoe 06 QB 18 Cunningham
T Davis 18 RB 00 P Holmes
Taylor 14 RB 06 Morris
Mathis 06 WR 00 Freeman
Galloway 14 WR 06 Martin
Cleeland 00 TE 00 Coates
D Holmes 00 U 00 M Edwards
Christie 16 K 07 Del Greco
Seahawks 06 D 00 Packers
’69 Cubs…Er, ’98 Party Chokes On Twenty Point Lead; Rebounds To Salvage Tie Versus Norris
The once 8-2 Grande To The Party almost dropped its 4th consecutive game Sunday by a 56-44 score to the spoilers from the NFC Norris but 2 late Mark Chmura TD grabs salvaged a 56-56 tie. Coach Will inserted a 2 TE offense in hopes of shaking up his team after more intense practices did not work. The Party got 12 points from J.J. Stokes and 8 each from Steve Young and Keyshawn Johnson to lead the Norris 46-20 late in the 3:00 games. However, Tim Brown scored twice and passed the 100 yard mark late in the Raiders game. The final capper came from Leroy Hoard's’2 TDs and the leg of K Gary Anderson on Sunday night. Together, they accounted for 24 points. The Party has yet to win since their losing streak began in Week 11 with their upset loss to the Natural Mystics. The tie marked the 3rd time in four weeks, and 2nd in a row, that the Party failed to take advantage of a loss by the Palace of Swords to wrestle a hold onto the wildcard lead. The Norris was led by Tim Brown’s 14 points and 12 each from resurgent Leroy Hoard and K Gary Anderson. A total of 32 Norris points came from starters who were in the 4th quarter of their respective games. Grande To The Party won the first meeting between these teams by a score of 48-27 behind Derrick Mayes’ 18 points. Tim Brown was shut out in that game. The Party has failed to win games in which they’ve scored 33, 35, 42, 56, and 57 points. Their only low point totatl this season was their 21 against the Mystics Week 11. The free falling Party must win its Week 15 game versus the Retreads and cross their fingers for a victory by the NFC Norris over the Palace of Swords to backdoor their way into the playoffs. The way both teams are playing of late, each will probably lose. If the Party is successful in defeating the Retreads and if they’re successful making it to the playoffs, their reward is a 2nd game in two weeks against those same Retreads.
NFC Norris 56 56 Grande To The Party
Plummer 04 QB 08 Young
Dillon 06 RB 06 Martin
R Edwards 06 RB 06 George
T Brown 14 WR 08 K Johnson
R Smith 02 WR 12 Stokes
Drayton 00 TE 00 Santiago
Hoard 12 U 12 Chmura
G Anderson 12 K 04 M Anderson
Broncos 00 D 00 Jets
This week’s additions to the FFL Record Book:
Swami Sez:
The Swami finally rebounded for his best showing in almost a month. With last week’s 4-2 record, he’s now sitting at 47-35-2, an all-time best mark. With one regular season week to go, there’s four key games on the slate. They’re all in the Cheatem and Howe divisions. Additionally, the MNF game this week is the Detroit Lions vs. the San Francisco 49ers and all of us in the league last year can remember how pivotal last year’s Week 15 MNF game proved to be. Just a sampling of players involved in this year’s Week 15 MNF affair (and in key FFL games) include Steve Young, Jerry Rice, J.J. Stokes, Garrison Hearst, the 49ers defense Jason Hanson and Herman Moore. Let’s take a look at the key FFL games first along with the Week 6 results:
King of Dogs 24 Greenback Iguanas 45
PMS 22 Bone Club 22
Stanley Steamers 22 Montezuma’s Revenge 21
Strange Highways 00 Natural Mystics 20
The Retreads 55 Palace of Swords 34
Grande To The Party 33 NFC Norris 26
Strange Highways (7-6-1) vs. Stanley Steamers (6-8)
Power Ranking: Strange Highways 8; Stanley Steamers 11
The Highways are playing for the Cheatem division crown. It would be Coach Widtfeldt’s 3rd division championship (not counting a possible division title in the fire-infeting 1994 lost record season). The Highways were shut out in the 1st meeting between these two teams, only the 2nd time in league history that a team has been shut out. That won’t happen this week. The Steamers have an injured Marc Brunell at QB (most likely out) while Isaac Bruce has not played in six weeks. Brett Favre should have a big game against the Bears after a mediocre performance in Week 14. Jerry Rice and Jason don’t play until MNF. The same goes for the Steamers’ Garrison Hearst and Herman Moore. Warrick Dunn goes against Buccaneer teammate Mike Alstott in this one. Look for the Highways to win only their 4th game in the last eleven. But it will be enough to put them into the playoffs---at least for a week.
Montezuma’s Revenge (7-6-1) vs. Natural Mystics (5-9)
Power Ranking: Montezuma’s Revenge 6; Natural Mystics 10
Montezuma’s Revenge is actually ahead of the Strange Highways in the power rankings, going a combined 26-7 versus all the league the past 3 weeks (the Highways are a combined 5-28 during that same period of time). Meanwhile, the improved Mystics are a combined 18-15 over the past 3 games. While both teams are hot, John Elway and Randy Moss are the difference makers in this one. If the Mystics should come out on top, it’ll be in large part due to its running game. The Revenge is predominantly a passing team of late although they’ve got several serviceable running backs who could have solid performances. All in all, the Revenge are playing for a possible playoff berth. There’ll be no Revenge in Week 15 for the Mystics.
The Retreads (11-3) vs. Grande To The Party (8-5-1)
Power Ranking: The Retreads 1; Grande To The Party 2
A rematch of the two top teams in the power rankings and two of the top three scoring teams in the league. The difference is that the Party has not won since defeating the Palace of Swords in Week 10 while the Retreads are aiming to tie the league’s best all-time mark at 12-3. Either team is capable of winning this one. However, two things sway the Swami in the Retreads favor. First off, they are the much more consistent team week in and week out and, second, as we all know (repeat after me) Coach Will couldn’t win a big game if it meant a free lifetime pass to his favorite health club. With that said, the Retreads are tuning up while the Party is turning out.
Palace of Swords (8-5-1) vs. NFC Norris (6-7-1)
Power Ranking: Palace of Swords 3; NFC Norris 4
It’s as simple as this: a Swords’ win in Week 15 puts them into the playoffs. Of course, as badly as the Party has played the past four weeks, even a loss might not be the end of the world if it weren’t for the hard charging Montezuma’s Revenge. The possible returns this week of Jermaine Lewis and Antonio Freeman would be a welcome sight for Coach Pedersen this week. Barring that, the Swords need Randall Cunningham, Tony Martin, Ben Coates and at least one running back to step up. The Norris has relished its spoiler role, holding the Party to a tie last week, slowing down the Greenback Iguanas in Week 13 and hoping to have a say this week. Cory Dillon and Robert Edwards are primed for big days while Leroy Hoard should continue to be a spark off the Norris bench. Tim Brown has also come to life of late. The Swami has gazed into his crystal ball and seen the future. Since nothing is ever quite as it seems in this league, the Norris shall pull off the upset in Week 15 and set off an interesting chain of events involving the Party and Montezuma’s Revenge. Someone will go home disappointed when all is said and done.
King of Dogs (7-7) vs. PMS (5-9)
Power Ranking: King of Dogs 7; PMS 12
Things are much more tame in the Dewey division this week. the King of Dogs are playing to finish above .500 in their 1st year in the league. PMS is just playing out the string on the heels of last season’s 11-4 finish. In truth, there’s not a lot separating these teams. Both can have trouble scoring. But if the Dogs can keep Flutie to Moulds in check, they should prevail and finish the ’98 season on an up note.
Bone Club (2-11-1) vs. Greenback Iguanas (9-5)
Power Ranking: Bone Club 9; Greenback Iguanas 5
The Bone Club, losers of ten straight games, close out the ’98 campaign with a contest against the playoff bound Greenback Iguanas. The Bone Club will probably once again start Warren Moon despite his not having played in three weeks for the Seahawks. Cris Carter’s status is questionable at the time of this printing. The Iguanas shouldn’t have much trouble closing out the regular season with a win, their tenth, giving them their best ever regular season record in 3 league seasons.;