1997 Playoff Previews

A contingent of "new" owners will battle for the right to claim this year's Erie League championship.

Just one charter member club is in the field, as Jim Damicone's King Salmons come in at 7-6, seeded number seven. Veteran clubs such as the Hostile Omish, the Assassins, the Bonecrushers, and the Atomic Punks (who failed to make the playoffs for the first time in owner Keith Kuratko's tenure) will instead compete for the title of Consolation champion.

Rounding out the rest of the field will be the Callouses, the tournament favorite and 1997 recipient of the Bradley Rzyczycki Regular Season Points Champion trophy; Captain Tripps; the Midnight Vigilantes, champs in '95; the Donikers-DTL, runners-up in '95 and '96; the Gargoyles, champs in '94; LTP; the King Salmons, champs in '93; and the Cosmic Monsters, runners-up in '94.

Although three owners (Kirk Pavelich, Storm Thomas, and Jim Damicone) will try to become the first participants to win two titles, this will mark the eighth consecutive year a champion has failed to repeat. Actually, that issue was decided weeks ago thanks to the dismal season turned in by the 1996 champion Psychedelic B's and their owner Bryan Vince (pictured right).

As for which teams might be favored because of a current hot streak, the Callouses would appear to be the only candidate since they won three games in a row, the longest current streak in the league. The 1996 champion Psychedelic B's were on a five game winning streak when they won the title while the 1995 champion Midnight Vigilantes had been victorious eight straight weeks heading into their Fantasy Bowl championship.

In terms of scoring averages, the Callouses rank first with 80.07 points per game while Captain Tripps is second at 78.3 points a game. Jim Damicone's King Salmons bring up the rear in this category, averaging just 55.5 points per week.

Keith Kuratko (pictured to the left with girlfriend Dana Vince) would seem to be the odds-on favorite to take the Consolation Bowl tournament, seeing as how his Atomic Punks squad has averaged 76.1 points a week -- better than five of the eight playoff teams.

"This whole league's bullshit!" Kuratko said. "There's something wrong when my team, which averaged almost 80 points a game, doesn't make the playoffs. It's a travesty!"