Sept. 4, 2008
Lizard Lick, NC (AP): It's that that time of year again... playoff fever has hit USA A6, and as usual, the Eastern Conference fields a bracket deep in quality teams.
In the conference's most hotly contested final week yet, five Eastern teams entered the cross-conference matchups with playoff hopes riding on the day's outcomes. The Arlington Avengers, 8-0 and flying high at midseason, finished the regular season on a 6-game losing streak, despite a valiant effort against the Barbarian Horde. A loss by New England, though, allowed the Avengers to sneak in as #7 seed. After slow starts, two other teams -- Lizard Lick and Buffalo -- hoped late-season surges would assure their place in the playoffs. Neither team had it easy in Week 16, however, as each team faced a daunting 13-2 opponent. Buffalo put up a tremendous fight against Chicago, but their playoff hopes appeared dashed following a 52-38 shootout loss. Thanks to some convoluted tiebreakers, however, Lizard Lick's upset of the Demolition not only gave the Lizard Lickers the East's #6 seed, but also allowed Buffalo to hold onto the #8 seed, despite Sconnie's greatest efforts to jump them for the final spot.
The Washington Slashers (15-1) have stood atop the Eastern Conference standings all season long, stumbling just once, a close loss to the PTT Villagers in which the Slashers squandered a 15-point 4th Quarter lead thanks to 3 late turnovers. Washington leads the conference in scoring, so if the Buffalo Daggers (9-7) want to walk away from today's game with the upset, they'll need to bring that same offensive firepower on display in their season finale with the Hedgehogs.
The Tennessee Fury (14-2) gave the ball away 7 times in their Week 16 loss to the Bugeaters. That the Fury could lose the turnover battle 7-2 and still post a respectable 26-10 loss to the West's #1 seed, though, tells you just how tough this team from Tennessee is. With their Round 1 opponent, the Arlington Avengers (9-7), riding out a 6-game losing streak, it may take another turnover-plagued day for the Fury to lose their playoff opener.
The longest current winning streak in the East belongs to its #3 seed, the PTT Villagers (13-3), who recovered from a 2-3 start to win their last 11 games. Their matchup today could be interesting, however, as it comes against one of the only teams to beat the Villagers this season, the Lizard Lick Lizard Lickers (10-6), who rolled to a 30-0 win in Week 1. Was the season-opening egg laid by the Villagers simply an example of first-game jitters, or does Lizard Lick have PTT's number? We'll find out today.
The 4/5 game, as expected, features a showdown of two very evenly matched teams, as the 4th-seeded New Orleans Fanboys (12-4) take on the Memphis River Rats (10-6). The Fanboys had to come from behind in the regular-season meeting, rallying from a 30-28 4th Quarter deficit to win 35-30. The Fanboys had a home-field advantage to carry them to victory on that day, and they have it again today, so the River Rats will have to dig deep if they want to advance.
On paper, the matchups in the Eastern Conference today may be the best we've seen in the league's three seasons. Will that translate into upsets? In each of the preceding seasons, the Eastern champ has gone on to capture the league title, so beyond team pride, the pride of an entire conference will rest on the shoulders of one of today's winners. Who will step up to carry that burden?
Lizard Lick, NC (AP): It's that that time of year again... playoff fever has hit USA A6, and as usual, the Eastern Conference fields a bracket deep in quality teams.
In the conference's most hotly contested final week yet, five Eastern teams entered the cross-conference matchups with playoff hopes riding on the day's outcomes. The Arlington Avengers, 8-0 and flying high at midseason, finished the regular season on a 6-game losing streak, despite a valiant effort against the Barbarian Horde. A loss by New England, though, allowed the Avengers to sneak in as #7 seed. After slow starts, two other teams -- Lizard Lick and Buffalo -- hoped late-season surges would assure their place in the playoffs. Neither team had it easy in Week 16, however, as each team faced a daunting 13-2 opponent. Buffalo put up a tremendous fight against Chicago, but their playoff hopes appeared dashed following a 52-38 shootout loss. Thanks to some convoluted tiebreakers, however, Lizard Lick's upset of the Demolition not only gave the Lizard Lickers the East's #6 seed, but also allowed Buffalo to hold onto the #8 seed, despite Sconnie's greatest efforts to jump them for the final spot.
The Washington Slashers (15-1) have stood atop the Eastern Conference standings all season long, stumbling just once, a close loss to the PTT Villagers in which the Slashers squandered a 15-point 4th Quarter lead thanks to 3 late turnovers. Washington leads the conference in scoring, so if the Buffalo Daggers (9-7) want to walk away from today's game with the upset, they'll need to bring that same offensive firepower on display in their season finale with the Hedgehogs.
The Tennessee Fury (14-2) gave the ball away 7 times in their Week 16 loss to the Bugeaters. That the Fury could lose the turnover battle 7-2 and still post a respectable 26-10 loss to the West's #1 seed, though, tells you just how tough this team from Tennessee is. With their Round 1 opponent, the Arlington Avengers (9-7), riding out a 6-game losing streak, it may take another turnover-plagued day for the Fury to lose their playoff opener.
The longest current winning streak in the East belongs to its #3 seed, the PTT Villagers (13-3), who recovered from a 2-3 start to win their last 11 games. Their matchup today could be interesting, however, as it comes against one of the only teams to beat the Villagers this season, the Lizard Lick Lizard Lickers (10-6), who rolled to a 30-0 win in Week 1. Was the season-opening egg laid by the Villagers simply an example of first-game jitters, or does Lizard Lick have PTT's number? We'll find out today.
The 4/5 game, as expected, features a showdown of two very evenly matched teams, as the 4th-seeded New Orleans Fanboys (12-4) take on the Memphis River Rats (10-6). The Fanboys had to come from behind in the regular-season meeting, rallying from a 30-28 4th Quarter deficit to win 35-30. The Fanboys had a home-field advantage to carry them to victory on that day, and they have it again today, so the River Rats will have to dig deep if they want to advance.
On paper, the matchups in the Eastern Conference today may be the best we've seen in the league's three seasons. Will that translate into upsets? In each of the preceding seasons, the Eastern champ has gone on to capture the league title, so beyond team pride, the pride of an entire conference will rest on the shoulders of one of today's winners. Who will step up to carry that burden?
Last edited Sep 4, 2008 13:21:40
