Sorry that I missed game 7. Too much going on. But we are back with the last game of the first half of the season. Following this game, I will put out playoff predictions for Zeta. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Here are this week's games...
DECATUR STALEYS (6-1) vs Port Moresby Scallywags (5-2)
This will be a great battle as we continue to shape who are the strongest teams and who are just good teams. The STALEYS have had 3 pretty easy weeks in a row, but now they will face a worth adversary. But they have played several good teams so far this season and proved their contenders by only having the one loss to the Komodo Dragons. Port Moresby faced their real first tough Zeta competition last week and lost in a close battle, but their 5 turnovers to 3 by the Skulls was too much to overcome. What it did prove is Port Moresby definitely belongs in the top group of Zeta. So this should be a great game. Will it be the bastion of brainpower of the STALEYS GM team or will it be the powerful offense of the Scallywags taking the victory? Turnovers have played a big part this season in many key games and may very well decide this game as well, but those are pretty hard to predict. They are pretty even in both throwing and creating interceptions. PMS has fumbled more, but they have also forced more fumbles. Hmmm, I don’t know that helped. Also, this game is close enough that a missed FG could determine the outcome. Looking at the kickers, both have missed 3 so far, but Daniel Schoonover with the Scallywags has only missed on long ones. I’ll give the slight edge in a hard fought contest to Scallywags as long as they can hold onto the football. Port Moresby by 3, 34-31.
Honolulu Skulls (6-1) vs An Album Cover (4-3)
Honolulu continues their quest to move back up to AAA. They are tied for the conference lead and have played several of the top Zeta teams. An Album Cover has fought back after 3 initial losses to show they are a good team. However, they have not beat any of the top teams to prove they belong in the same group. I think the AAC will find out why the top teams are where they are this week when they face the power of the Skulls on both offense and defense. Honolulu will continue their winning ways and stay on top of Zeta at the midway point of the season. Honolulu by 17, 34-17.
Christmas Islanders (5-2) vs Suva Sparklets (0-16)
Christmas has come into AA and showed that they are a competitor. In fact, they are definitely one of the top teams. After defeating Devonport and Komodo back to back, they will have to gimmes back to back. They’ll reach the midway point of the season at 6-2 and continue their winning ways from there. In fact, they only really have 2 tough games left. As for Suva, I have given them a new name, the Sparklets. They are planning on joining the YMCA league in the village next season. They have managed to score 9 points this season, but I don’t think they’ll score any this game. Christmas by 150, 150-0.
Komodo Dragons (5-2) vs Devonport Devils (4-3)
Hmmm, this is an interesting one. These are the two teams that gave the top two teams (DECATUR and Honolulu) their only loses. Then the Dragons and the Devils both lost to the Islanders because of turnovers. I guess D mascots beat S mascots, but lose to I mascots. That sounds about right for the logic of the GLB sim engine programming. I don’t have a GLB crystal ball to see what happens when two D mascots play each other. In the end, I think these two teams are very close and game planning could make the difference (hopefully not turnovers). Let’s see, Komodo lost to the Skulls by 27, Devonport beat them by 10. Looks good for the Devils. Oh wait, they both played the STALEYS too. Komodo beat DECATUR by 10, Devonport lost to them by 20. Great. How about Christmas… Komodo lost by 10, Devonport lost by 9. All I can determine is this game is probably going to be pretty important when it comes time to hand out playoff rankings. These two teams are just too even, so I call this one as a EVEN line.
Fiji Rage (5-2) vs Dayton Gunslingers (1-6)
This game is not nearly as lopsided as their records would indicate. Fiji only has 2 losses, but they have really only faced one top team. Dayton is an okay team; not a team that will only win 1 game. That doesn’t mean that I think the Gunslingers will pull out a win, but they will be competitive. The Rage have fallen from their early season place a little bit, but they are still a good team and will take care of business this week to stay in the playoff hunt. Fiji by 11, 35-24.
Alaska Wild (3-4) vs Ayers Rock Krakens (3-4)
Alaska is having their best season, at least in the last couple. They are making some noise and are still a dark horse in the playoff hunt half way into the season. Ayers Rock has found the AA life a little more difficult, but are making a respectable showing. They have a difficult second half of the schedule and will find it very tough to make the playoffs, but a win over the Wild will show they are a good team and should put them in my top ten. This is another very close game, but I’ll give a slight edge to the Wild. Alaska by 9, 30-21.
Samoa Savages (3-4) vs Rochester Iroquois (2-5)
Samoa has slipped from where I thought they would be to start the season. They are still a good team, but I thought they would be making more noise. Rochester on the other hand, I thought would be a good team and they have proven otherwise. They have managed two wins now so it doesn’t look so bad, but those were against the bottom two teams. The Savages will be victorious against the Iroquois and move to 4-4. They will remain in the playoff hunt, but they will be riding that bubble all the way through game 16. Samoa by 8, 35-27.
Dunedin Drones (3-4) vs Lexington Cruise Lines (0-7)
Dunedin has struggled in AA Zeta, but they won’t be struggling today as they ride the Lexington Cruise Lines. The Drones may only have 3 wins so far, but they have played a number of the good teams. They have a long shot at getting to 8-8 and be a dark horse to make the playoffs, but it is a long shot. Their loss to Dayton really hurt their chances. The key for them will be how they do against the middle teams. They aren’t going to pull off any upsets against the top teams this season, but if they can defeat a few of the middle teams, they may have a shot. As for Lexington, they will be sailing away from AA again and back to a port in A. Dunedin closes out the first half of the season with a win by 29, 45-16.
That is it for week 8. That brings us to the halfway point. As expected, this is a tough and balanced conference. Will any team make it to the end of the regular season with just 1 loss?
DECATUR STALEYS (6-1) vs Port Moresby Scallywags (5-2)
This will be a great battle as we continue to shape who are the strongest teams and who are just good teams. The STALEYS have had 3 pretty easy weeks in a row, but now they will face a worth adversary. But they have played several good teams so far this season and proved their contenders by only having the one loss to the Komodo Dragons. Port Moresby faced their real first tough Zeta competition last week and lost in a close battle, but their 5 turnovers to 3 by the Skulls was too much to overcome. What it did prove is Port Moresby definitely belongs in the top group of Zeta. So this should be a great game. Will it be the bastion of brainpower of the STALEYS GM team or will it be the powerful offense of the Scallywags taking the victory? Turnovers have played a big part this season in many key games and may very well decide this game as well, but those are pretty hard to predict. They are pretty even in both throwing and creating interceptions. PMS has fumbled more, but they have also forced more fumbles. Hmmm, I don’t know that helped. Also, this game is close enough that a missed FG could determine the outcome. Looking at the kickers, both have missed 3 so far, but Daniel Schoonover with the Scallywags has only missed on long ones. I’ll give the slight edge in a hard fought contest to Scallywags as long as they can hold onto the football. Port Moresby by 3, 34-31.
Honolulu Skulls (6-1) vs An Album Cover (4-3)
Honolulu continues their quest to move back up to AAA. They are tied for the conference lead and have played several of the top Zeta teams. An Album Cover has fought back after 3 initial losses to show they are a good team. However, they have not beat any of the top teams to prove they belong in the same group. I think the AAC will find out why the top teams are where they are this week when they face the power of the Skulls on both offense and defense. Honolulu will continue their winning ways and stay on top of Zeta at the midway point of the season. Honolulu by 17, 34-17.
Christmas Islanders (5-2) vs Suva Sparklets (0-16)
Christmas has come into AA and showed that they are a competitor. In fact, they are definitely one of the top teams. After defeating Devonport and Komodo back to back, they will have to gimmes back to back. They’ll reach the midway point of the season at 6-2 and continue their winning ways from there. In fact, they only really have 2 tough games left. As for Suva, I have given them a new name, the Sparklets. They are planning on joining the YMCA league in the village next season. They have managed to score 9 points this season, but I don’t think they’ll score any this game. Christmas by 150, 150-0.
Komodo Dragons (5-2) vs Devonport Devils (4-3)
Hmmm, this is an interesting one. These are the two teams that gave the top two teams (DECATUR and Honolulu) their only loses. Then the Dragons and the Devils both lost to the Islanders because of turnovers. I guess D mascots beat S mascots, but lose to I mascots. That sounds about right for the logic of the GLB sim engine programming. I don’t have a GLB crystal ball to see what happens when two D mascots play each other. In the end, I think these two teams are very close and game planning could make the difference (hopefully not turnovers). Let’s see, Komodo lost to the Skulls by 27, Devonport beat them by 10. Looks good for the Devils. Oh wait, they both played the STALEYS too. Komodo beat DECATUR by 10, Devonport lost to them by 20. Great. How about Christmas… Komodo lost by 10, Devonport lost by 9. All I can determine is this game is probably going to be pretty important when it comes time to hand out playoff rankings. These two teams are just too even, so I call this one as a EVEN line.
Fiji Rage (5-2) vs Dayton Gunslingers (1-6)
This game is not nearly as lopsided as their records would indicate. Fiji only has 2 losses, but they have really only faced one top team. Dayton is an okay team; not a team that will only win 1 game. That doesn’t mean that I think the Gunslingers will pull out a win, but they will be competitive. The Rage have fallen from their early season place a little bit, but they are still a good team and will take care of business this week to stay in the playoff hunt. Fiji by 11, 35-24.
Alaska Wild (3-4) vs Ayers Rock Krakens (3-4)
Alaska is having their best season, at least in the last couple. They are making some noise and are still a dark horse in the playoff hunt half way into the season. Ayers Rock has found the AA life a little more difficult, but are making a respectable showing. They have a difficult second half of the schedule and will find it very tough to make the playoffs, but a win over the Wild will show they are a good team and should put them in my top ten. This is another very close game, but I’ll give a slight edge to the Wild. Alaska by 9, 30-21.
Samoa Savages (3-4) vs Rochester Iroquois (2-5)
Samoa has slipped from where I thought they would be to start the season. They are still a good team, but I thought they would be making more noise. Rochester on the other hand, I thought would be a good team and they have proven otherwise. They have managed two wins now so it doesn’t look so bad, but those were against the bottom two teams. The Savages will be victorious against the Iroquois and move to 4-4. They will remain in the playoff hunt, but they will be riding that bubble all the way through game 16. Samoa by 8, 35-27.
Dunedin Drones (3-4) vs Lexington Cruise Lines (0-7)
Dunedin has struggled in AA Zeta, but they won’t be struggling today as they ride the Lexington Cruise Lines. The Drones may only have 3 wins so far, but they have played a number of the good teams. They have a long shot at getting to 8-8 and be a dark horse to make the playoffs, but it is a long shot. Their loss to Dayton really hurt their chances. The key for them will be how they do against the middle teams. They aren’t going to pull off any upsets against the top teams this season, but if they can defeat a few of the middle teams, they may have a shot. As for Lexington, they will be sailing away from AA again and back to a port in A. Dunedin closes out the first half of the season with a win by 29, 45-16.
That is it for week 8. That brings us to the halfway point. As expected, this is a tough and balanced conference. Will any team make it to the end of the regular season with just 1 loss?
Last edited Mar 10, 2009 11:18:25
