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[B's vs. Masons] [LTP vs. Monarchs] [Punks vs. Bonecrushers] [Diamond vs. Omish]

Vince's B's would be just another top seed to drop a
first round game if they had played anyone other than a bonehead last
week. Kirk Pavelich's Midnight Vigilantes could have upset the league's
top team if he had simply started TE Wesley Walls, a decision Pavelich has
made nearly all season. Instead, Vince's club advanced to the
conference semi-finals with an 82-77 win and will take on first year
participant John Thiem and the Masons. The B's, a 16-point favorite,
are now 12-1. They have scored 1,244 points on the season, an average
of 95.69 per contest. Thiem's club qualified for the final four of the
All-American Conference by holding off Storm Thomas and the Gargoyles
98-87, despite playing the game without a defense. The Masons are now 9-4
with 1,107 points scored, an average of 85.15 per game. Both owners will
have a close eye on this week's St. Louis-New Orleans game as the B's are
led by Rams QB Kurt Warner and WR Isaac Bruce while the Masons counter
with St. Louis RB Marshall Faulk. Vince's all-time record now stands
at 40-31 (.563), including a 5-3 mark over the course of four post-season
appearances. The Psychedelic B's were the 1996 Fantasy Bowl Champs.
Thiem's all-time record is now 9-4 (.692), including a 1-0 post-season mark.
Vince's squad has now won six consecutive games while the Masons have
been victorious the last three weeks. This is the first meeting between
the two clubs, either in the regular or post-season.

Jones should also be watching the rest of the playoffs
from home but instead sits in the final four thanks to a lineup
blunder from his Round One opponent. LTP held off Jody Barth's Couch
Potatoes 81-74 as Barth started WR Eric Moulds - off last week due to
the bye - instead of WR Rod Smith, whose 10 points would have changed
the outcome. LTP is now 10-3 with 1,076 points on the year, an average
of 82.76 per game. Szydlowski's Monarchs left no doubt that they belong
in the semi-finals by hammering Matt Rzyczycki and Captain Tripps 104-63.
The Monarchs are now 8-5, having scored 966 points on the season (74.3
per contest). LTP's success can be attributed to a balanced attack, as
no less than nine players on the roster have scored at least 100 points.
The big gun for Jones' squad in recent weeks has been WR Jimmy Smith
(150 points), whose play has been improving as Mark Brunell's does.
The Monarchs are led by free-agent pickup Steve Beuerlein (226 points)
and two players acquired in a trade with the Midnight Vigilantes which
was originally considered to be a bad deal. RB James Stewart (150 points)
and WR Germane Crowell (145 points) have turned out to be key components
of Szydlowski's championship drive. Jones' all-time record now stands
at 30-26 (.536), including a 4-1 post-season mark. LTP won the 1997
EFFL title. Szydlowski's all-time record now stands at 17-13 (.567),
including a 3-1 post-season mark. The Monarchs finished in third place
in the 1996 playoffs, their only other year of existence. This is the
second trip to the playoffs in four years for LTP while the Polish Monarchs have
advanced to the post-season both times during their two years. LTP
is riding a one game winning streak while the Monarchs have been
victorious each of the past three weeks.  LTP leads the all-time
series 2-0, including a 72-36 win in week eight. The two teams have
never met in the playoffs.

The last two times Kuratko's teams have advanced past
the first round, the semi-final round proved to be the end of the road.
However, this year's version of the Atomic Punks appears primed for
a run all the way to the Fantasy Bowl. Thanks to a 97-75 whipping of
Jim White's Screaming Eagles, Kuratko's club advanced to the Browns
Conference Final Four sporting an 11-2 record. The Punks have scored
1,178 points (90.61 per game) on the season. Bell's Bonecrushers, one
of the hottest teams down the stretch, upset the two-seeded Morticians
and Dave Mortland 91-66. The win marked the seventh win over the course
of the last ten games for one of the EFFL's charter members. The Punks
are loaded with talent, as they carry a roster with two 200 point players -
QB Kurt Warner (265) and RB Edgerrin James (225) - and six other players
who have cracked the century mark. The scary thing with Kuratko's club
is that they've done all this with all-world back Fred Taylor spending
most of the season dealing with a hamstring problem. Three big names
have lead Bell's squad to success in 1999 - QB Peyton Manning (239 points),
RB Eddie George (182 points), and WR Randy Moss (140 points). Kuratko's
all-time record stands at a league best 92-65 (.586), including a 13-10
mark in nine seasons worth of playoff trips. Kuratko's club won the
league's first title as the Punishers back in 1990. Bell's all-time
record is now 80-69 (.537), including a 6-9 record over the course of
eight playoff appearances. The Punks enter riding a five game win streak
while the Bonecrushers have won five of their last six. The Bonecrushers
lead the all-time series 7-4, despite dropping a week 7 contest to the
Punks by a score of 94-59. Amazingly, the two teams have never met in
fantasy tournament action despite being in the league together for ten
years. Bell's club did knock off Kuratko's for the 1997 Consolation
Tournament Championship, 63-60.

Could this be the year everything finally falls into place
for Black Diamond GM Joe Nunney? Things are sure looking good, especially
with his Black Diamond squad racking up 218 points (109 per game) over
the last two contests, including a 104-81 thumping of Jim Damicone's
King Salmons in first round action. To go along with his 7-6, White
Division champion team, Nunney deserves most of the credit for building
the powerhouse Psychedelic B's in the All-American Conference as he was
the one to sit in for an absent Bryan Vince on draft night. Black Diamond
has now scored 988 points (76 per game) on the season. Kuratko's 1999
Hostile Omish team is shaping up as one of the better ones in franchise
history. With a victory this week, the Omish will reach the 10 win plateau
for the first time since 1994. Amazingly, despite carrying an all-time
record of 79-54 (.594), last week's 102-76 victory over Paul Labonte's
Shadow Bandits marked the first time in franchise history that the Omish
have won a first-round game in the Fantasy Bowl Tournament. Black
Diamond's recent success can be attributed to the improved play of
RB Corey Dillon (130 points) and WR Darnay Scott (116 points) as well
as the free agent acquisition of QB Jeff George, who has amassed 146
points (24.33 per game) in just six weeks of action. Kuratko's club
is also riding a QB hot streak, as Jeff Blake has compiled 75 points
(25 per game) over the last three contests. The Omish have also relied
on steady performances by RB Emmitt Smith (170 points) and WR Isaac
Bruce (162 points). Nunney's all-time record now stands at 26-43 (.377),
including a 3-1 post-season mark. The Omish finished in third place in
the run for the 1994 league title while winning the 1996 Consolation
Tournament championship. Nunney's squad enters riding a two game win
streak while Kuratko's club has won three in a row. The all-time series
is tied 2-2. The two teams have never met in the post-season.

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