Probably going to be a bit less wordy, as it is the weekend and all. However, here is the Week 5 version.
Oceania Power Rankings
Championship Contenders
#1 - Walking Dead (4-0) - Tough game against Razorback in Week 4, but like we have for the last two months, we found a way to win when it matters. We also picked up another ranked win against a WL team in the GLB tournament.
#2 - Dirty Island Gurupies (4-0) - Man these guys are good. They took care of business against a cupcake, then put a hurting on a good WL team in the GLB tournament. Truthfully, with the way the season is lining up, they probably will end as the top seed. They have home field for their games against WD and Razorback.
#3 - Razorback Nation (3-1) - These guys showed that they are a contender and can compete with any team in OPC. They also got a nice GLB tournament win over a WL team. They have another tough test in two weeks.
#4 - Brantford Smoke (3-1) - Brantford moves up a spot based on my uncertainty on what to take from the Sumatra - OTM game. They have a top 4 looking resume so far, with only the close loss to Dirty Island.
Middle kid syndrome
Last write-up I claimed that the drop off from the top to the middle was pretty big. I'm not as certain about that now. I still think these teams have their work cut out for them though.
#5 - Sumatra Seahawks (4-0) - A win is a win. However, Sumatra really did not beat Offtopica by much, which makes me wonder if they are a true contender. They haven't really beaten anyone that is all that good yet, so it is hard to tell if they are worse than I thought....
#6 - Offtopica Miracle (2-2) - ....or if Offtopica is just better than I thought. It is probably a bit of both. My last write-up got some activity out of Yello. With the help of three awesome Canadians, I told him to show me, don't tell me about how good his team is. To his credit, he just about did that, coming within 7 of beating Sumatra. I'm still not sold on OTM being any sort of championship contender, but they definitely deserve a bit of a jump in the rankings.
#7 - Gold Coast Michelin Men (2-2) - GCMM benefits from OTM's jump in ranking and a solid win over Fiji. Unlike the NCAA football voters, I'm not afraid to make significant changes early on.
#8 - Asau Assassins (3-1) - The Assassins won the battle of Asau, as predicted
That gives them a nice jump, as I seem to have had the Asau teams reversed in the rankings.
Who knows...I'll just pull names from a hat
These next teams all have questionable resumes and have not played enough of the middle of the league to really tell who is best. This is my guess with some attempt at logic behind it.
#9 - Paris Smexies (1-3) - When this team loses, they really take a beating. However, their schedule has been very tough early...alot tougher than the next few teams...and they appear to have the better win. Taking into consideration who they have played, it's hard to say they are definitely worse than the next few teams, so they get the nod on SoS.
#10 - Asau Kings (2-2) - Snakes claims it was lack of tagging. That's probably true. However, a loss is a loss, and there is that whole decline thing. Thus, the Kings get dropped.
#11 - Banzai Pipeline Nites (3-1) - A soft opening schedule with a loss to the Kings kind of forces me to drop BPN quite a bit, even with the win. They can rebound back with a win over a familar foe this week.
#12 - Gridiron Avatars ~ Luminescent (1-3) - They smacked the worst team in OPC. That is not really why they moved up tho. I just am unimpressed with the rest of the league, so Gridiron gets a small bump for at least showing signs of life this week.
Something stinks around here and it ain't me
Not much to say about these last 4. They looked pretty unimpressive this past week.
#13 - Offtopica Grace (0-4) - At least they know they will have a win by week 6.
#14 - Fiji Ventures (2-2) - Losing big to the middle of the pack.
#15 - Guam Chamoros Rising Sun Devils (0-4) - They will get a win eventually....right?
#16 - Mothball Mobsters (0-4) - Team note says it is Chemistry hurting them. Chemistry might cost you 20 points, but when you are losing by over 100 to non-playoff teams, you got alot worse issues than Chemistry.
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Oceania Week 5 Game Picks
Razorback over Fiji by 70+
Offtopica Miracle over BPN by 24
Asau Ass. over Offtopica Grace by 42
Asau Kings over Mothball by 140+
Gridiron over Guam by 35
Brantford over GCMM by 42
Dirty Island over Paris by 80
GotW - Walking Dead over Sumatra by 21
Oceania Power Rankings
Championship Contenders
#1 - Walking Dead (4-0) - Tough game against Razorback in Week 4, but like we have for the last two months, we found a way to win when it matters. We also picked up another ranked win against a WL team in the GLB tournament.
#2 - Dirty Island Gurupies (4-0) - Man these guys are good. They took care of business against a cupcake, then put a hurting on a good WL team in the GLB tournament. Truthfully, with the way the season is lining up, they probably will end as the top seed. They have home field for their games against WD and Razorback.
#3 - Razorback Nation (3-1) - These guys showed that they are a contender and can compete with any team in OPC. They also got a nice GLB tournament win over a WL team. They have another tough test in two weeks.
#4 - Brantford Smoke (3-1) - Brantford moves up a spot based on my uncertainty on what to take from the Sumatra - OTM game. They have a top 4 looking resume so far, with only the close loss to Dirty Island.
Middle kid syndrome
Last write-up I claimed that the drop off from the top to the middle was pretty big. I'm not as certain about that now. I still think these teams have their work cut out for them though.
#5 - Sumatra Seahawks (4-0) - A win is a win. However, Sumatra really did not beat Offtopica by much, which makes me wonder if they are a true contender. They haven't really beaten anyone that is all that good yet, so it is hard to tell if they are worse than I thought....
#6 - Offtopica Miracle (2-2) - ....or if Offtopica is just better than I thought. It is probably a bit of both. My last write-up got some activity out of Yello. With the help of three awesome Canadians, I told him to show me, don't tell me about how good his team is. To his credit, he just about did that, coming within 7 of beating Sumatra. I'm still not sold on OTM being any sort of championship contender, but they definitely deserve a bit of a jump in the rankings.
#7 - Gold Coast Michelin Men (2-2) - GCMM benefits from OTM's jump in ranking and a solid win over Fiji. Unlike the NCAA football voters, I'm not afraid to make significant changes early on.
#8 - Asau Assassins (3-1) - The Assassins won the battle of Asau, as predicted
That gives them a nice jump, as I seem to have had the Asau teams reversed in the rankings.Who knows...I'll just pull names from a hat
These next teams all have questionable resumes and have not played enough of the middle of the league to really tell who is best. This is my guess with some attempt at logic behind it.
#9 - Paris Smexies (1-3) - When this team loses, they really take a beating. However, their schedule has been very tough early...alot tougher than the next few teams...and they appear to have the better win. Taking into consideration who they have played, it's hard to say they are definitely worse than the next few teams, so they get the nod on SoS.
#10 - Asau Kings (2-2) - Snakes claims it was lack of tagging. That's probably true. However, a loss is a loss, and there is that whole decline thing. Thus, the Kings get dropped.
#11 - Banzai Pipeline Nites (3-1) - A soft opening schedule with a loss to the Kings kind of forces me to drop BPN quite a bit, even with the win. They can rebound back with a win over a familar foe this week.
#12 - Gridiron Avatars ~ Luminescent (1-3) - They smacked the worst team in OPC. That is not really why they moved up tho. I just am unimpressed with the rest of the league, so Gridiron gets a small bump for at least showing signs of life this week.
Something stinks around here and it ain't me
Not much to say about these last 4. They looked pretty unimpressive this past week.
#13 - Offtopica Grace (0-4) - At least they know they will have a win by week 6.
#14 - Fiji Ventures (2-2) - Losing big to the middle of the pack.
#15 - Guam Chamoros Rising Sun Devils (0-4) - They will get a win eventually....right?
#16 - Mothball Mobsters (0-4) - Team note says it is Chemistry hurting them. Chemistry might cost you 20 points, but when you are losing by over 100 to non-playoff teams, you got alot worse issues than Chemistry.
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Oceania Week 5 Game Picks
Razorback over Fiji by 70+
Offtopica Miracle over BPN by 24
Asau Ass. over Offtopica Grace by 42
Asau Kings over Mothball by 140+
Gridiron over Guam by 35
Brantford over GCMM by 42
Dirty Island over Paris by 80
GotW - Walking Dead over Sumatra by 21
