It is now week twelve and time for many teams to take a little breather, as most of this week's matchups are quite uneven. The game of the week will still be as exciting and unpredictable as ever, but the rest of the top teams should be looking at pretty easy wins.
Berlin Hounds from Hell vs Kazakhstan Dragons: The Dragons put themselves back into playoff contention with a resounding defeat of the Triforce. While I predicted Kazakhstan to win that game, I could not have foreseen the lopsidedness of the score. By the same token, I had no idea the Bucks would keep it so close against Berlin last week. Three top contenders have given the Hounds a bit of a scare this season, but it is likely that a couple of those teams utilized bonus tokens to try and gain an advantage. This is a strategy that will unfortunately not do any good in the playoffs, since those bonuses have no effect in the postseason, but as we all have experienced, anything can happen once the regular season has ended. As for this game, the Dragons aren't likely to be able to give the Hounds as much of a game as other teams have, and Berlin will come away with another win.
Hill Valley Deloreans vs Warsaw Wolfpack: In what should be another rather predictable game, the Deloreans will travel to Warsaw to lay a beating on the 2-9 Wolfpack. Both teams are coming into this game having defeated a relatively easy opponent, although the Beersteins gave Hill Valley a better than expected game. Warsaw is not the team that will knock Hill Valley down a peg, however, so there isn't much to look forward to for the Wolfpack fanbase. Another home loss will have even the most loyal fans crying out for new leadership.
Mombasa Wombats vs Prague Beersteins: The aforementioned Beersteins will face another difficult opponent this week as they play host to the Wombats. Given their high level of play against the Deloreans, Prague may be able to sneak away with a surprise win this week, but I have my doubts. The Wombats have too many important games ahead of them to drop a game that they have been counting as a probable win. Picking up wins this week and next week is vital if they want to maintain any hope of hanging on to a low playoff spot. Mombasa gets the win.
Czechoslavakia Mates vs Secretville Offtopics: The Mates pulled off a huge overtime upset of the Lions to keep their playoff hopes alive. With only one contender yet to face in their schedule, they should be able to enter the first round in decent position, perhaps even coming up with the five seed with a little help. Secretville is unfortunately in no position to offer an upset, and will send Iffler out to do the wig-dog dance at halftime to at least give their fans something to laugh at. It will be the only high point of the game as the Mates stomp them into the turf this week.
WhatsMatta U Fighting Elk vs South City Chiefs: The Fighting Elk are on a four game winning streak that is making a huge difference in their chances to sneak into the postseason. Despite winning their past two games, the Chiefs are looking at elimination very soon, with three more top eight teams still ahead on the schedule. This will be a last chance for the Elk to come up big before tackling a tough finish themselves, and they will take advantage of it. South City is not competitive enough this season to come away with a win this week, even against a team that is playing down to their level.
Bratislava Butchers vs Cypriot Freedom: After giving the Offtopics an ass-whooping that was strictly about revenge, the Butchers travel to Sunset Boulevard to give the Freedom another harsh defeat. This stat building game should put OT Bile Ba well ahead of the pack in picking up the Pancakes trophy for the league, the only Butcher in contention for an individual trophy.
Maribor Triforce vs Maladorous Football Beavers: The Triforce get some small redemption this week with an easy win against the Beavers. It will be a much needed break before a tough game against the Deloreans. They also have the dubious privilege of being the last team to face the Hounds as they most likely will be looking to complete a perfect regular season.
Zeta Conference Game of the Week - Macedonian Lions vs Jefferson City Bucks: The importance of this game for both teams cannot be overstated, as it could mean the difference between a home playoff game or traveling to someone else's house. That said, it will be much more important for the Lions to come away with the win, as they still must face the mighty Deloreans in a few weeks, a game they will most likely not win. A Jefferson City win this week firmly cements their fourth place spot until week sixteen when they must defeat the Wombats to play at home in the first round. A Lions win throws a few tie-breaker scenarios into effect, particularly after the Hill Valley game. In week ten's preview, I described the Lions as still being a wild card, an unknown that hadn't faced many top opponents. Now that they have lost two straight to playoff-bound teams, we may be seeing the truth about the Lions: that they aren't as good as they appeared. This week is their chance to prove that assumption wrong, but it will be Jefferson City that proves themselves this week, handing Macedonian a third straight loss.
Mostly predictable games, like I said, but still a couple of interesting matchups to watch for, and another huge spotlight game this week. As always, I could easily be wrong about the whole thing, plenty of teams could still play spoiler, and Kutzy could still accidently screw up his AI and end up with a loss. Not likely, but anything is possible.
Berlin Hounds from Hell vs Kazakhstan Dragons: The Dragons put themselves back into playoff contention with a resounding defeat of the Triforce. While I predicted Kazakhstan to win that game, I could not have foreseen the lopsidedness of the score. By the same token, I had no idea the Bucks would keep it so close against Berlin last week. Three top contenders have given the Hounds a bit of a scare this season, but it is likely that a couple of those teams utilized bonus tokens to try and gain an advantage. This is a strategy that will unfortunately not do any good in the playoffs, since those bonuses have no effect in the postseason, but as we all have experienced, anything can happen once the regular season has ended. As for this game, the Dragons aren't likely to be able to give the Hounds as much of a game as other teams have, and Berlin will come away with another win.
Hill Valley Deloreans vs Warsaw Wolfpack: In what should be another rather predictable game, the Deloreans will travel to Warsaw to lay a beating on the 2-9 Wolfpack. Both teams are coming into this game having defeated a relatively easy opponent, although the Beersteins gave Hill Valley a better than expected game. Warsaw is not the team that will knock Hill Valley down a peg, however, so there isn't much to look forward to for the Wolfpack fanbase. Another home loss will have even the most loyal fans crying out for new leadership.
Mombasa Wombats vs Prague Beersteins: The aforementioned Beersteins will face another difficult opponent this week as they play host to the Wombats. Given their high level of play against the Deloreans, Prague may be able to sneak away with a surprise win this week, but I have my doubts. The Wombats have too many important games ahead of them to drop a game that they have been counting as a probable win. Picking up wins this week and next week is vital if they want to maintain any hope of hanging on to a low playoff spot. Mombasa gets the win.
Czechoslavakia Mates vs Secretville Offtopics: The Mates pulled off a huge overtime upset of the Lions to keep their playoff hopes alive. With only one contender yet to face in their schedule, they should be able to enter the first round in decent position, perhaps even coming up with the five seed with a little help. Secretville is unfortunately in no position to offer an upset, and will send Iffler out to do the wig-dog dance at halftime to at least give their fans something to laugh at. It will be the only high point of the game as the Mates stomp them into the turf this week.
WhatsMatta U Fighting Elk vs South City Chiefs: The Fighting Elk are on a four game winning streak that is making a huge difference in their chances to sneak into the postseason. Despite winning their past two games, the Chiefs are looking at elimination very soon, with three more top eight teams still ahead on the schedule. This will be a last chance for the Elk to come up big before tackling a tough finish themselves, and they will take advantage of it. South City is not competitive enough this season to come away with a win this week, even against a team that is playing down to their level.
Bratislava Butchers vs Cypriot Freedom: After giving the Offtopics an ass-whooping that was strictly about revenge, the Butchers travel to Sunset Boulevard to give the Freedom another harsh defeat. This stat building game should put OT Bile Ba well ahead of the pack in picking up the Pancakes trophy for the league, the only Butcher in contention for an individual trophy.
Maribor Triforce vs Maladorous Football Beavers: The Triforce get some small redemption this week with an easy win against the Beavers. It will be a much needed break before a tough game against the Deloreans. They also have the dubious privilege of being the last team to face the Hounds as they most likely will be looking to complete a perfect regular season.
Zeta Conference Game of the Week - Macedonian Lions vs Jefferson City Bucks: The importance of this game for both teams cannot be overstated, as it could mean the difference between a home playoff game or traveling to someone else's house. That said, it will be much more important for the Lions to come away with the win, as they still must face the mighty Deloreans in a few weeks, a game they will most likely not win. A Jefferson City win this week firmly cements their fourth place spot until week sixteen when they must defeat the Wombats to play at home in the first round. A Lions win throws a few tie-breaker scenarios into effect, particularly after the Hill Valley game. In week ten's preview, I described the Lions as still being a wild card, an unknown that hadn't faced many top opponents. Now that they have lost two straight to playoff-bound teams, we may be seeing the truth about the Lions: that they aren't as good as they appeared. This week is their chance to prove that assumption wrong, but it will be Jefferson City that proves themselves this week, handing Macedonian a third straight loss.
Mostly predictable games, like I said, but still a couple of interesting matchups to watch for, and another huge spotlight game this week. As always, I could easily be wrong about the whole thing, plenty of teams could still play spoiler, and Kutzy could still accidently screw up his AI and end up with a loss. Not likely, but anything is possible.
