Okay, the rankings are updated and available at:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pOUigrsS32wIOhEjLVhzCBQ The only good thing about me running out of time to get them done is that now that we are up past Week 6, they should start to steady out and give us a better picture of where the teams really stand relative to each other. (And congrats to the Rented Mules who come in at 6th in the East and 12th overall for their rise to the upper half).
The Rankings Summary for the WESTERN conference:Rank Team - Rating (Change from last week)1 Listowel Huskies - 14.549 (--)
2 Saskatchewan Wolf Pack - 14.366 (--)
3 Ogopogo Lake Monsters - 13.284 (--)
4 Westwood Bruins - 13.036 (--)
5 Québec City Dirtbags - 12.660 (+1)
6 Memphis Maulers - 11.885 (-1)
7 Gaffney Indians - 11.715 (+1)
8 Laval Lumberjacks - 11.485 (+1)
9 Tradewest Battletoads - 10.782 (-2)
10 B.K. Thunderbirds - 10.686 (+1)
11 Thunder Bay Sabertooths - 9.702 (-1)
12 Grise Fjord ^^^Kodiaks^^^ - 6.873 (--)
13 Saskatchewan Limas - 4.846 (--)
14 Montreal Ice - 4.699 (+1)
15 Bologna Towers - 4.548 (-1)
16 Hawkesbury Foxbirds - 3.936 (--)
The Rankings Summary for the EASTERN conference:Rank Team - Rating (Change from last week)1 Antioch Inferno - 14.773 (+1)
2 Quebec Quasars - 14.372 (-1)
3 Hamilton Lightning - 13.253 (+1)
4 Lancaster Hustlas - 13.020 (-1)
5 Nova Scotia Snakes - 12.920 (--)
6 Yellowknife Rented Mules - 11.802 (+1)
7 Niagara Assassins - 10.777 (-1)
8 S.W.O. Swamp Donkeys - 10.209 (+1)
9 Lincoln Lucky - 9.709 (+1)
10 Halifax Fighting Irish - 9.349 (-2)
11 Toronto Storm - 8.607 (--)
12 Westlake Rams - 7.296 (--)
13 Sackville Waterfowl - 7.087 (+1)
14 Sacramento Terror - 6.487 (-1)
15 Miami Mini-Perfection - 4.482 (--)
16 Winnipeg Wolves - 4.439 (--)
UPCOMING GAMES OF THE WEEKWestern Conference - I could have gone with
Gaffney vs. Saskatchewan (the Wolf Pack variety), but I'm instead going with:
Laval vs. Listowel - I don't really know if these two teams consider the other their main rival, but it seems like they always have close games that make this the one to watch this week. Each team had one win in their head-to-head meetings last season, with the Huskies taking a 1 point victory in Week 14, and the Lumberjacks avenging that loss with a 2 point victory in the second round of the playoffs. While Laval has maybe been a little disappointing with two losses in their first three games this season, a win against would sure make the Western Conference up for grabs.
Eastern Conference - There are probably other games to watch, but the best of the bunch this week seems to be:
Nova Scotia vs. Quebec - The Snakes loss a few weeks ago to the Lucky maybe took some of the drama out of this one, but any game between an undefeated team and a once-beaten team should still provide plenty of entertainment. In looking at common opponents, the odds seam to favor the Quasars, who not only beat the Lucky, but also generally have a higher margin of victory against their other common opponents (excluding the Fighting Irish who had huge roster changes between Weeks 5 and 6). Nevertheless, were the Snakes to pull it off, I wouldn't consider it a huge upset.
Snoozer of the Week - How about...
Antioch vs. Halifax - I'm not sure what's going on with the Fighting Irish, but with 22 CPU players, it looks like they are destined to begin their descent to towards the bottom of the league. That starts this week with the beating they will take from the Inferno.