The Sports Page        

Volume 11, Issue 11         The On-Line Newsletter of the Erie Fantasy Football League         December 19, 2003

Vigilantes, Stonehenge to battle for title

Pavelich seeking 4th title in first ever clash of #1 seeds

One team raced out to an 8-0 record, leaving his Browns Conference competitors in the dust. The other dropped an opening weekend game to the defending conference champion and then responded by winning 13 of their next 14 contests.

For the first time in Erie League history, the championship will be decided in a show down between the two best regular season teams, as Fantasy Bowl 14 marks the first time two number one seeds have had the opportunity to face off for the big prize.

By virtue of Stonehenge's 93.70 to 72.60 victory over the red hot Gridiron Gods and the Midnight Vigilantes furious rally and 3.65 point triumph over the Psychedelic B's, Fantasy Bowl 14 will pit owners Jamie Roush (pictured left) against Kirk Pavelich (pictured right), as each battles for the right to be called Erie League champion - and collect an additional check for $400.

Roush, who last week collected $300 for winning the Browns Conference, said he plans to use additional winnings to benefit his family.

"I'm going to Disneyland!" Roush said. "Just kidding. I have a 3-year-old and a 4-month-old so the cash will come in handy for Christmas."

Meanwhile, Team Bud GM Jody Barth has been critical of Pavelich's Vigilantes ever since Barth's second-seeded team was bounced in the first round by the No Limit Ballers.

"New rule in Erie Fantasy Football Fight Club -- You will not make TRADES with Midnight Vigilantes in the year 2004," Barth recently posted on the league's message board. "Yes, I traded him Brad Johnson, one of the most efficient QBs. As soon as traded him to Pav, he sat down and took a dump on Mason's forehead. Masons is the 'bitch' that is getting a cut in the action if Pav wins -- not me. Ahmad Green for Travis Henry and Aaron Brooks. The infamous trade!"

Pavelich, speaking with tongue firmly in cheek, said he wouldn't have much money left even if he wins the championship and the additional $400 this week.

"Well my $300 winnings from last week have to go to John Thiem for 'giving' me Ahman Green in a trade," Pavelich said. "Then I'm sure I owe some money to the guy who traded me Brad Johnson. Never mind that I built my team around two guys I drafted (RB Priest Holmes and WR Marvin Harrison) and one I snagged from the waiver wire (QB Chad Pennington).

"In all seriousness, I hope I win so I can go to my wife and kids and ask them to pick out a nice big gift for putting up with my hours on the computer this season," he added.

Although Roush said he has enjoyed the many victories this season, he feels his work isn't yet done.

"It's always fun to win but there's no time to really celebrate until maybe after this week," he said. "Really, this year is no different than any other. It's just my luck was better than others."

Pavelich said he would relish this championship more so than the previous three.

"I remember getting criticized last year that the only reason I was winning championships was because I was the one taking the phone calls on transaction night," Pavelich said, who stepped down from the role last year. "Who was taking phone calls this year? Oh yeah, it was the guy who stocked his team with that ridiculous Peyton Manning for Rod Garner swap."

Roush said he believed three components led to his team's success this year.

"I drafted a strong team and made some nice pickups along the way," he said. "Staying away from injuries helped too.

"I knew that I had a pretty strong team, especially with my running backs," he added. "My wides were a big question though....still are! But I picked up (WR Peter) Warrick and that helped. I knew I would be competitive and if the cards fell right that I could make it this far.  I always go in thinking that I at least have a chance.

Pavelich agreed that a strong draft would only go so far. He said he felt free agent moves and trades were what put teams over the top.

"I don't think we'll ever see a fantasy champion who follows the Joe Nunney pattern of not making a move the entire season," Pavelich said. "To be successful, you really have to scour the waiver wire. I came out of the draft with a solid team, but I was never really satisfied with my team until I was able to pick up Pennington and WR Steve Smith.

"Of course the trades helped a little," he added, "although it wasn't like I got the top rated QB in the league for the 34th ranked WR or the #7 RB for a couple of rookie wide outs. People like Barth might scoff at John Thiem's acquisition of Aaron Brooks from me. But I can tell you I was sure wishing I had him last week when Brad Johnson was scoring 11 for me while Brooks was throwing 5 TDs on Sunday night. Plus, if Brooks can keep it together, John has a nice buy next year for one unit."

This week's game will be the first ever matchup between Roush and Pavelich in the Erie League.

"I've been quiet this season and it's worked so far," Roush said. "I'll stick with the silent treatment and see if it works again this week. No locker room material here. The Vigilantes are strong enough without that. It should be interesting though. It will be a push with McNabb and Holmes and you have Harrison and I don't so...........we'll see what happens."

Pavelich agreed that the contest will likely come down to the wire.

"This should get real interesting on Monday night, especially if Jamal Lewis can get Jamie the kind of points he did the first time he played the Browns," Pavelich said. "I don't usually like to watch the Monday night games, especially if I'm trying to pull out a victory. But I have a feeling I'm going to need as many points as possible from Ahman Green that night. It should be a good one. Best of luck Jamie!"

Keith Kuratko - Guest Prognosticator - Fantasy Bowl XIV Preview

     Well, here it is. After 12 regular season games and 3 weeks of playoffs, we started off with 24 teams with one goal and we are down to 2 teams about to reach that goal. The All-American Conference will be represented by Kirk Pavelich's Midnight Vigilantes while that other conference will be represented by Jamie Roush's Stonehenge. First of all, let me recap last weekend's action.  In the All-American conference finals, Midnight Vigilantes pulled out a close victory over the Psychedelic B's, 108.85 - 105.2. I said to take the Vigilantes straight up and give up however many points it was. Won the SU pick, lost the ATS pick. For those non-gamblers out there, SU means Straight Up and ATS means Against the Spread.  Vince, I didn't think your team had it in you. I tip my hat to you and your team for a wonderful season and a great playoff run. That was a nice move to insert Northcutt into your starting lineup. Don't know what your reasoning was but it was a great move. As for that other move suggested on the message board about having Rudi Johnson in there instead of Faulk (posted on the message board by Team Bud GM Jody Barth), well I think you pretty much stated the obvious in your response. No one, and I mean NO ONE, would have had Rudi Johnson in their starting lineup over Marshall Faulk or even Shaun Alexander last weekend. As for the other game, I picked Stonehenge SU and ATS and they came through on both ends with an astounding 93.7 - 72.6 victory over the Gridiron Gods. Now onto the game preview.
     The Midnight Vigilantes are making their fourth appearance in the Fantasy Bowl, winning Fantasy Bowls 6, 11 and 12. Can he make it 4-for-4? I believe so. Stonehenge is making his first Fantasy Bowl appearance after spending his first two years in the league in mediocrity with a two year record of 14-14. These two teams share a couple of starters, QB Donovan McNabb and RB Priest Holmes. So the question is, can Stonehenge's receivers step up to the challenge and put up enough points to compete with the Vigilantes receivers? Only time will tell. The other question is what will Stonehenge do about his second RB? Does he start Jamal Lewis going against the Browns woeful run D and hope that he gets 300 yards this time around or does he start the rookie running back that no one seems to be able to stop
in Rudi Johnson? Starting opposite of Priest Holmes for the Midnight Vigilantes will be Ahman Green, playing against the Oakland Raiders, who by the way decided to show up for a game this year as they beat the Baltimore Ravens last weekend. By the way, that game, GB vs. OAK, is on Monday Night Football, and I am guessing that the Fantasy Bowl will come down to Ahman Green on Monday night.  I'm sure both participants will be up late watching that game. To me, the RBs are a push so what about each team's receivers. We know that the Vigilantes will start Marvin Harrison, Rod Smith and Steve Smith. But Jerry Rice decided to come out of hibernation last week to post 10.8 pts. With this being the Raiders last home game of the season and possibly Jerry's last home game as a Raider and being on national TV, will Jerry Rice go out with a bang for the Raider Nation? We'll just have to wait and see what the Vigilantes will do with their starting lineup. As for Stonehenge, could his receivers be any more of an enigma? After a Pro Bowl season, Plaxico Burress has been very, very inconsistent. Jamie, I feel for you. I, myself traded for this dud at the beginning of the season and he just doesn't produce on a weekly basis like a stud receiver should. Quincy Morgan is another one that has not met preseason expectations. All you have to do is look at the Browns offense and that explains it all. Peter Warrick
has been playing well of late and if the other two can produce points in the double digits then Stonehenge will have a chance. If not, then the Monday night game really won't matter much except to the fans of Green Bay and Raider Nation. Both teams do have good defenses-Vigilantes with Baltimore, though they did lay a big, fat goose egg last weekend, and Stonehenge with Tampa Bay.
     I am expecting this Fantasy Bowl to be close, but not close enough to take the 9.6 points. I think that the Midnight Vigilantes will win their unprecedented fourth Fantasy Bowl and will squeak by Stonehenge by 10 pts. Congratulations to both participants for making it this far and good luck to both teams.  Remember, in week 17, the winner of this game will face the winner of NCFFL Fantasy Bowl game between Hoosier Daddy (Dave Bell) and the Ludicrous Leprechauns (Mike Kuratko) for the right to be called the Ultimate Fantasy Bowl Champs for 2003. Good luck to everyone involved. Happy holidays everyone!

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

"Dear Guest Prognosticator: I noted your comment in reference to my ass kicking last week. I believe it was something like 'I might not make the regular playoffs, but at least I would field a competitive team.' Excuse me -- but that's an oxymoron! If your team was competitive you would have been, like me, PLAYING instead of WATCHING! If memory serves, I believe I was responsible for half of Stonhenge's losses this year and I took out the defending champ. Yes, I lost and so will 10 other guys. Like you, I had a stand in for the draft, but unlike you, I'm not bitch-slappin him for my loss. You sound like Storm Thomas. You can avoid blaming others for your failures by showing up at Fucking Draft!" A grumpy Dave Bell, owner of the Bonecrushers, responding on the message board to last week's guest prognostications by Keith Kuratko.

"Ouch!!  Bitch slapped from 2000 miles away." Psychedelic B's GM Bryan Vince's response to Bell's post.

"Joe Horn speaking, is this Bryan? Yes! Did you know that if you had started Rudi Johnson over Marshall Faulk you would be playing for the Erie Fantasy Football Championship? OUCH!" Team Bud owner Jody Barth's message board post, regarding Bryan Vince and the B's conference final loss.

"Maybe Joe called Sherlock Holmes to let him know he found your pea size brain underneath the goal post pad. The search is over Mr. Watson!! If you wanted to try and poke fun you should have used Dennis Northcutt getting tackled by the freakin' punter, Shaun Alexander getting a TD catch called back or Peyton Manning getting pulled after the 3rd quarter but Rudi Johnson over Faulk? Start Johnson, who didn't even start, over a guy who averaged over 100 yards and 5 TD's in the last 3 games? I have an idea, why don't you try and get out of the first round then give some advice. It must physically hurt to walk around that stupid!!” Vince's message board response to Barth.

"Or make fun of the fact that Tim Couch gets sacked on the last Browns play and then Faulk rushes for 21 yards, and Hines Ward has a 30 yard pass called back... Then Vinny would not have even been in this game with Pav. It is all part of second round playoffs.” LTP GM Don Jones' message board response to Barth.

FINAL INTERNATIONAL RANKINGS

Erie League vs. North Coast Fantasy Football League (NCFFL)

Note - The champions of these leagues will square off in Week 17 in Ultimate Bowl 3

CLICK HERE FOR BACK ISSUES OF THE SPORTS PAGE:

• Erie League set to kick off 14th season! (July 16, 2003)

• Football is back as Erie League kicks off 2003 (September 14, 2003)

• Roush continues to roll, trash talk minimal (September 28, 2003)

• Controversial trade, Donkey pictures, finally get smack started (October 5, 2003)

• All-American, Browns Conference square off, series tied at 24 (October 12, 2003)

• Despite conference best 6-1 mark, Vigilantes deal four players (October 26, 2003)

• Hard Attack GM elected to school board, blasted by fellow owners (November 16, 2003)

• Several divisions clinched, others owners scrambling to get in (November 22, 2003)

• Field of 16 is set as Erie Leaguers battle for Fantasy Title (November 25, 2003)

• Eight teams still alive with the chance for an Erie League title (December 6, 2003)

• Conference finals are now set (December 13, 2003)

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