Key games this week in Semi-Pro…

Scare Tactics (5-2) vs. Bad Ass Apes (4-3) – Not a must win for the Apes, but a win would put them in the top of the pack.

Trogs (3-4) vs. Panhead (3-4) – Too early to claim “must win,” but getting to .500 with 6 games left is much sweeter than needing to win out. Gotta give props to Panhead with three straight wins after starting 0-4.

Thews40 against Wolverines fan – Both 5-2 with 7 games left, a win will prolly net a playoff berth.

Shiznit (3-4) vs. slambodians (4-3) – Once again, too early to claim “must win” here, but Shiznit needs this one.

Frozen Tundra (1-6) vs. Slayer (4-3) – Climbing the ladder means being above the bottom 4, so there’s always incentive.

KSU70 (1-6) vs. Cincy slammers (4-3) – Again, climbing the ladder means something, but winning out from here is possible… not probable, but possible.

Good luck


PS - This board is lacking in smack. Anyone wanna do their divisions feel free... and, um.. er, bring it.

All-Pro Standings:

DO Jaded's 5-2 792.1
J2V 4-3 912.7
Gopher 4-3 889.0
Tomfin2000 4-3 881.7
sirloinsofbeef 4-3 846.2
LosGatosEnFuegos 4-3 841.9
Bronco Billy 4-3 795.1
MikesVikes 4-3 716.1
popeye 3-4 783.2
BS Miscreant 3-4 742.4
Half Hennessy 2-5 710.2
BigMikeinNY 1-6 764.7

This week's matchups...

BS Miscreant (3-4) vs. J2V (4-3): BS certainly needs the win worse than J2V does... dropping to 3-5 would be devestating, considering nine teams are currently ahead of him in the standings. J2V leads the league in scoring, so a loss would only drop him so far. BS has Palmer and NEP Defense on byes, but he's got Hasselbeck and Dallas D, so not much lost there. Meanwhile, J2V has only D. Ward, Maroney, and Watson missing, so both teams appear to be at or near full-strength. The NOS-ATL game will be key in this matchup, with several players factoring in... BS has Bush, Colston, and Carney, while J2V has Brees and Turner going for him. There is also a matchup between young, up-and-coming Philly WR's... J2V has the advantage there as well, with Jackson going against BS's Maclin. Early predictions point to J2V cruising to a victory, which would potentially put him atop the division standings, with a DOJ loss.

Half Hennessy (2-5) vs. BB (4-3): No sense in beating around the bush... this IS a must-win for HH. Unfortunately, for him, it's not looking likely, with both QB's (Brady and Cassell) on bye this week. Other than that, he's only missing Mendenhall, but has several options to replace him. The good news is that BB is severely hampered with bye-week issues of his own... Portis, Betts, L. Johnson (not that he would have played this week anyway) at RB, as well as WR's Ochocinco and A. Bryant. He will still be able to piece together a lineup this week, but will quite possibly be forced to rely on production from both MIN RB's (AP and Taylor). Another key component in this matchup is that the two owners could potentially pit opposing defenses against each other... Houston (vs. BUF) for HH, and Buffalo (vs. HOU) for BB. This could be the low-scoring defensive battle of the week... both the NFL matchup AND this fantasy battle. Too close to call, and HH does have Chicago as another defensive option, but it could very well come down to which defense scores big this week.

LosGatosEnFuegos (4-3) vs. DO Jaded's (5-2): The interesting thing about this matchup, and this division in general, is that six of the seven teams at 4-3 have actually outscored division leader DO Jaded's (5-2) for the season. In other words, DO needs to keep coming up with W's if he expects to stay at the top of the standings... A loss could drop him from first place to the middle of the pack, essentially. LGEF is missing only Benson due to a bye, whlie DOJ has three Steelers sitting this week... Ward, Holmes, and the PIT Defense. Early indications are that LGEF has a fairly significant advantage at WR this week... Not only is DOJ missing the Pittsburgh duo, but he needs Anthony Gonzalez back sooner, rather than later. However, DOJ has an advantage in several other positions, at least on paper, and is probably a SLIGHT favorite. Should be another very good matchup, though.

Tomfin2000 (4-3) vs. Popeye (3-4): Tomfin has outscored Popeye by nearly 100 points this year, and appears to be a favorite in this week's battle as well. Neither team is missing much, in terms of byes, with the exception being Randy Moss for Popeye. That said, Popeye should be able to field a fairly potent lineup this week, so it could be much closer than it appears on paper. Both teams definitely could use a win, but Popeye needs one worse, if he wants to stand a chance at making the post-season.

Gopher (4-3) vs. Mikes Vikes (4-3): At first glance, all indicators appear to be in Gopher's favor... third in the standings, 2nd in points, missing nobody but K. Faulk, going up against a team that has scored almost 25 less points per week, and is also without Cooley, Bowe, and Wallace this week. Easy win, right? NOT SO FAST, MY FRIEND... Taking a closer look, several of MV's players have VERY favorable matchups this week. Ryan @ NOS... He's going to have to throw all day. LT vs. OAK and Barber vs. Seattle... the perfect recipe for big days on the ground, including a few scores, by both guys. Collie, Harvin, Hester... all have fairly nice matchups, and should see several balls thrown their way. In other words, this should be a barn-burner. It could very well come down to Tomlinson vs. Sproles... whichever back comes up big could make the ultimate difference.

BigMikein NY (1-6) vs. Sirloinsofbeef (4-3): In BigMike's defense, his team is not nearly as bad as the record indicates. He's without Roethlisberger and Santana Moss this week, but has Romo and a few WR options to replace them with. Sirloins is without Welker and H. Miller, but he's stacked at WR, and has Keller to fill in at TE. Early advantage goes to Sirloins, who has the Arizona defense ready to light up Delhomme and the Panthers. BigMike needs an unexpected big week from somebody like Devery Henderson or Lee Evans, in order to have a chance.

But, but ... I have Peyton!?


Nice write-ups Gopher. Thanks. Believe me, I'm feeling the pressure.

If anyone blinked, they missed my rule at the top. Getting 5.4 points from my two WRS, in a PPR league, isn't going to cut it. GONZO, Hurry back!!!

I would've won if I didn't pull Favre out of my lineup. Now I need Ryan to match Favre's production tonight. Probably will get the yards but not the tds. MNF is way too unpredictable.