The End Isn't Only Near....
Rambling heading into the '04 Championship...
So here I am, sitting on my couch in Houghton (well, actually, 1 of our 4 couches -- gotta love college house living rooms) watching what I believe to be the best Wing Wing episode ever, which for those of you who care is 'Posse Comitatus'. Kind of weird, but this is the 3rd straight day I've seen this episode on either Bravo or the WB. And since my brothers constantly call me a nerd, you guys are going to learn what 'Posse Comitatus' means.
What does "Posse Comitatus" mean?
- "A Reconstruction Era criminal law proscribing use of Army (later, Air Force) to 'execute the laws' except where expressly authorized by Constitution or Congress." (Posse Comitatus Act)
"SEC. 15. From and after the passage of this act it shall not be lawful to employ any part of the Army of the United States, as a posse comitatus, or otherwise, for the purpose of executing the laws, except in such cases and under such circumstances as such employment of said force may be expressly authorized by the Constitution or by act of Congress." (Posse Comitatus Act of 1878)
So, pretty much clear as mud after reading that four times. So, let's move on to fantasy football cause its way too late in the day to think...
The 2004 BIGFFBL Championship.... "11-4 Little Bastards vs. 9-6 Wong's LD's"
So how did we get here....
In the semifinals, the Bulldog Champion Little Bastards faced off with the Bison Champion Flying Hellfish. The 'Fish had consistent scoring almost across the board with Plummer putting up 13, Dunn going for 19, Edge hitting the end zone and getting 15, Jimmy Smith having a big game on the tundra for two dozen, Marvin scoring once against Ray-Ray's D for 18, Antonio Gates getting almost the max points possible off a single catch for 14, kicker Stover with 5 and the Patriots only grabbing 7 against the Dolphins on Monday night. For the Bastards, McNabb was held down by the Cowboys D and only had 10, but Freddy (22), Westbrook (19), Musin (29) and Mason (27) got 'er dun. Add in an off day 7 for Gonzo (7), 3 for his kicker in the Cleveland snow and 15 more for the NY football Giants D.....that adds up to a 132 - 115 win for the B's. Going into Monday night though, this game wasn't over....Suomala was down by 24, but with the New England D going up against Miami's Dolphins, there was hope. Then the Pats mailed it in, only got the 'Fish (Suomala's 'Fish not Florida's) 7, thus making another great Hellfish season come to an early end by one of the Carlsons.
On the other side of the bracket, wildcard #1 seed Little Red Horse took on Husky Division Champion Wonger's LD's. Jason had nice output from the majority of his guys with Trent Green and Curtis Martin leading the way with 26 and 25 respectively. Holt added 15, but when your only other guy in the double digits is your kicker, that is a sign of trouble in this league's playoffs. Feely hit for 10, but Duece, Clayton and Philly only got 9 a piece while McMichael managed 6. As for Wonger, Corey Dillion was once again the man for NE with another 2 TD game going for 26...but Wong didn't have the consistent scoring that the other playoff teams did. Thomas Jones had 14 against the Texans, Driver 19 against Del Rio's Jags, and only 6 for Crumpler, 3 for the Steelers and a big goose egg for Akers. That leaves Wong's #1 WR and QB. Those guys were, Terrell Owens and Kerry Collins. We all know what happened to TO, but he did still put up 4 for Wong and every point mattered in this matchup. But the story of Wong's squad this week was Kerry Collins. Yea, that Kerry Collins. He had 42. That was enough to make up for the lack at other spots and give Wong a 114-109 win over the LRH.
So our championship faces two guys against each other who have both not only been there before, but both already have one of the good trophies sitting on their team page. Jonny C is making his second championship appearance and is looking to go 2-0 in the big games and add to his 2000 championship. Mr. Wong is appearing in his 5th championship game....which is by far the most in league history. He has had luck half the time there going 2-2 with championship wins in the years before and after Jon won his in 2000.
So, what are the keys to this matchup? Well, as I've mentioned before, it always seems like T.O. plays a part in our league championship in one form or another. This year proves to be no exception. With Owens out of the lineup, Wonger will have to go with 2 of either Peerless, Keyshawn or Driver. Although, it is amazing to note for those of you bitching about not enough transactions, Wonger has not made a single one yet, and just to drive home the point that drafting can be done well, here is his roster:
Hasselbeck - Starter
Delhomme - Starter
K.Collins - Starter
Dillon - Starter
T.Jones - Starter
S.Jackson - Occasional Starter
K.Faulk - 3rd Down Back
T.Owens - Starter (till now)
P.Price - Starter
Key.Johnson - Starter
Driver - Starter
Crumpler - Starter
Jolley - 2nd TE, who cares
Akers - Starter
Janikowski - Starter
So for Wong, I expect to see his choice of QB make the difference. Hasselbeck has Arizona at home this week which sounds like a pretty good deal, but then you see that Collins and Oakland travel to Kansas City which has 50-49 written all over it. If it were me, I'd stick with the hot hand in Collins (weather dependent of course).
As for Jon, he and the LB's have become the 1st BIG team to win 10+ in the regular season 3 times....and he's been here 1 season less than the original 7 teams. As opposed to Wong, Jon has used up his FA's which helped him get thorough the middle of the year, but the guys he drafted have been getting all his starts in the postseason run of 8 straight wins (and 11 out of 12). Jon's current roster looks like this...
McNabb - Starter
Rattay - Starter
Warner - Backup
F.Taylor - Starter
Westbrook - Starter
W.Green - Occasional Starter
M.Moore - Benched
D.Mason - Starter
K.Robinson - Suspended
M.Muhammad - Starter
Stokley - Starter
Gonzalez - Starter
Witten - Starter
Wilkins - Starter
Kaeding - Starter
So what does all this mean? Well, it sure seems like the teams that make it farther are the ones that have guys that are wearing a helmet on Sunday afternoon. And as for my predictions for Jon's success this week....its all gonna rest on which WR's he goes with. Mason will play at home against Denver, Muhammad is on the road to Tampa and Stokley is at home for a big game against the Chargers.
So as for a prediction, I think Jon's team has the consistency and firepower to take this. Then again, Wonger always seems to pull that rabbit out of his...well...let's say hat. Philly still has a need to win at least one more and the game on Monday will be a huge one to watch to see who will win the BIGFFBL '04 title.
Enough of that....let's hit up a Christmas Top Ten list before
signing off....so from the snowed in, North Poleish, home office in Houghton,
here is tonight's top ten list....
Top Ten Signs You're at a Bad Office Christmas Party...
10. Eggnog smells suspiciously like Liquid Paper.
9. Anyone caught under mistletoe gets choked by Ron Artest.
8. Because of "corporate downsizing," Santa is only 120 pounds.
7. Only food available is something called "North Pole Oysters"
6. Last time you saw this much sucking up was on the famous Paris Hilton videotape.
5. Christmas tree is just the fat mailroom guy in a green sweater.
4. For the 16th year in a row, the Canadian band leader has passed out in the eggnog.
3. Thanks to the alcohol-free punch, not a single ass gets photocopied.
2. Boss offers to give you a raise, and he's not talking about money.
1. It's held every single year.....on July 23rd.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE.... have fun, be safe, give me a call if you're gonna be in Duluth....
Need I say more?
BIGFFBL senior writer Jeremy Carlson (TEQ) sounds off whenever he feels like it on www.bigffbl.com