Late with these and I'm going to be on vacation the next week so not sure I'll have time to keep up with them for a few games.
WEEK 2 RANKINGS & PREDICTIONS (R = USPL rookies this season, WL = i'm sure you can figure it out)
WESTERN
1 Chicago Hedgehogs (WL) - Tough loss for the Hedgehogs as they were up 12-6 early in the 4th before giving up a 107 yd td return to fall behind 12-13. The Aggies went on to score again 4 minutes later to seal the win in a tough game for both teams. Won't drop them for this loss though. A close to the Aggies still holds more weight than a big win over a lower ranked team.
2 South Georgia Growl - Tied up at 3 with the Hounds, SGG took the game completely over in the 2nd half putting up 58 points to the Hounds 7.
3 Tulsa Storm - Went into the 4th up by 7 before ripping off 21 unanswered points.
4 5th Masterminds - 5th falls short after heading into the half tied up at 17. Gave up 3 straight TDs to ATKM before getting any points on the board near the end of the 4th.
5 Vancouver Lions - Big shutout win to get off to a great start – and eliminate most of the survivor participants.
6 Monmouth Evil Monkeys - Shocking loss to Denver as the 9'ers hit the game winning FG with 1 second left in regulation.
7 Stormwind City Gryphons - Solid win over the Crocs could be a positive sign that the Gryphons have made some strides this offseason.
8 Canton Bulldogs - An ugly win but all that matters is the W in the end. Will need to play much better against 5th next week.
9 Covington Black Knights - Big win over SEXY but that's not saying much right now.
10 Bay Area Bombers - Bad loss to the Fury and with the Lions up next it won't get any better.
11 Inner City Fieldsmiths (R) - Didn't get anything done against the Oppressors but the next 2 games may go a little better for them.
12 Sin City Spoilers - Drawing the Mice in week 1 is not something anyone wants and the loss was expected.
13 Arkham Asylum Jokers - Big loss to the Diggers could be a sign of a very rough season ahead, again.
14 Michigan Mutants (R) - Big shutout win but there's a reason I ranked Midwest 16th in the East so nothing's been proven yet.
15 Felicus Feline Generals (R) - Fell hard to the Demons with an offense that struggled and didn't even gain 150 yards. The next few weeks could be ugly.
16 Philadelphia Knights (R) - Blown out and unless the roster gets an overhaul soon I won't be writing much else in this space shortly.
EASTERN
1 College Station Aggies - Sorry Mice and Men but beating the West's top team gets the Aggies some more respect this week.
2 South Otto Fragile Porcelain Mice - With their toughest games coming later in the season the Mice could be on the way to a long undefeated stretch.
3 All The King's Men - Damn solid win over 5th and like the Mice, the toughest games won't come til later in the season.
4 Las Vegas Gold Diggers - Came up big but week 3 will really be the measuring bar.
5 Oakland Suppressors - Big win but can they do it again with the Diggers up next?
6 Punxsutawney Groundhogs - An ugly loss to Canton but they can bounce back the next 2 weeks.
7 "The Combine's" Tennessee Fury (R) - Took down a decent squad and get the Hounds next before they have to face one of the toughest squads in the conference.
8 Gulf Coast Crocs - Dropped their first game and with ATKM and the Mice coming in the next 3 weeks they could be in a hole pretty early.
9 Atlantic City Affliction - Shutout the Knights but that means nothing right now. Next up are the Aggies and that will be a much harder game.
10 Denver Giant 9'ers - Took a last second FG to get the win but it was a huge upset. If they can keep it going the next 2 weeks they should be climbing the charts a bit more.
11 Nashville Hounds - An expected loss to ATKM. Can they turn it around against the Fury next week?
12 Wala Wala Drunken Shriners - Wasn't expecting much against Tulsa and now they get a Denver team that just knocked off MEM.
13 Hell's Demons (R) - Big win but I wasn't expecting much out of the Felines this season anyway. We'll see how next week goes.
14 Philadelphia SEXY Demonik - Tough loss to Covington leaves a lot to be worked out for this squad.
15 OffTopica Grace (R) - There was nothing graceful about the loss to the Lions but maybe they'll fare better against Midwest next week.
16 Midwest Warbirds (R) - Big loss and the schedule hasn't even gotten rough yet.
WEEK 2 PREDICTIONS
Week 1 results: 11-5
Covington vs Sin City - Could go either way but I'll place my bets on the Spoilers this time.
Bombers vs Lions - Lions shouldn't have too much trouble.
Canton vs 5th - 5th gets back to winning.
Mutants vs SGG - No shot for the Muties.
MEM vs Felicus - If MEM drops this one there's going to be a lot to question.
Philly Knights vs Hedgehogs - Knights aren't ready for this.
Jokers vs Fieldsmiths - Another one that could go either way but does it really matter with both teams heading in the same direction.
Aggies vs ACA - Good opportunity for ACA to step up but after the Aggies took down the Hedgehogs I just don't see this ending any way except with an Aggie win.
Demons vs Groundhogs - Ugly week 1 for the Groundhogs while the Demons took apart a low ranked team. Which one of these teams will be exposed this week?
Hounds vs Fury - Just like what the Fury got done week 1. Thought about this as the GOTW but went in a different direction.
Suppressors vs Diggers - Diggers can't afford to drop a game like this. It's what separates the great teams from the good ones.
ATKM vs Crocs - The Men are still one of the top 3 teams in this conference and that will be proven again this week.
Grace vs Warbirds - Don't think either team will go far this season but this is a game to help avoid demotion later.
Mice vs SEXY - Nothing sexy about this match-up.
Wala vs Denver - Will show whether Denver's win over MEM was a fluke. For now, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Gryphons vs Storm - Alright, so there weren't too many "sexy" match-ups this week but I thought this game was intriguing. The Gryphons are looking to make some noise. Tulsa is a solid team that should be playing for a top 4 seed. This could be an ugly game or a showcase for Stormwind to show how much improvement they've really made this season.
WEEK 2 RANKINGS & PREDICTIONS (R = USPL rookies this season, WL = i'm sure you can figure it out)
WESTERN
1 Chicago Hedgehogs (WL) - Tough loss for the Hedgehogs as they were up 12-6 early in the 4th before giving up a 107 yd td return to fall behind 12-13. The Aggies went on to score again 4 minutes later to seal the win in a tough game for both teams. Won't drop them for this loss though. A close to the Aggies still holds more weight than a big win over a lower ranked team.
2 South Georgia Growl - Tied up at 3 with the Hounds, SGG took the game completely over in the 2nd half putting up 58 points to the Hounds 7.
3 Tulsa Storm - Went into the 4th up by 7 before ripping off 21 unanswered points.
4 5th Masterminds - 5th falls short after heading into the half tied up at 17. Gave up 3 straight TDs to ATKM before getting any points on the board near the end of the 4th.
5 Vancouver Lions - Big shutout win to get off to a great start – and eliminate most of the survivor participants.
6 Monmouth Evil Monkeys - Shocking loss to Denver as the 9'ers hit the game winning FG with 1 second left in regulation.
7 Stormwind City Gryphons - Solid win over the Crocs could be a positive sign that the Gryphons have made some strides this offseason.
8 Canton Bulldogs - An ugly win but all that matters is the W in the end. Will need to play much better against 5th next week.
9 Covington Black Knights - Big win over SEXY but that's not saying much right now.
10 Bay Area Bombers - Bad loss to the Fury and with the Lions up next it won't get any better.
11 Inner City Fieldsmiths (R) - Didn't get anything done against the Oppressors but the next 2 games may go a little better for them.
12 Sin City Spoilers - Drawing the Mice in week 1 is not something anyone wants and the loss was expected.
13 Arkham Asylum Jokers - Big loss to the Diggers could be a sign of a very rough season ahead, again.
14 Michigan Mutants (R) - Big shutout win but there's a reason I ranked Midwest 16th in the East so nothing's been proven yet.
15 Felicus Feline Generals (R) - Fell hard to the Demons with an offense that struggled and didn't even gain 150 yards. The next few weeks could be ugly.
16 Philadelphia Knights (R) - Blown out and unless the roster gets an overhaul soon I won't be writing much else in this space shortly.
EASTERN
1 College Station Aggies - Sorry Mice and Men but beating the West's top team gets the Aggies some more respect this week.
2 South Otto Fragile Porcelain Mice - With their toughest games coming later in the season the Mice could be on the way to a long undefeated stretch.
3 All The King's Men - Damn solid win over 5th and like the Mice, the toughest games won't come til later in the season.
4 Las Vegas Gold Diggers - Came up big but week 3 will really be the measuring bar.
5 Oakland Suppressors - Big win but can they do it again with the Diggers up next?
6 Punxsutawney Groundhogs - An ugly loss to Canton but they can bounce back the next 2 weeks.
7 "The Combine's" Tennessee Fury (R) - Took down a decent squad and get the Hounds next before they have to face one of the toughest squads in the conference.
8 Gulf Coast Crocs - Dropped their first game and with ATKM and the Mice coming in the next 3 weeks they could be in a hole pretty early.
9 Atlantic City Affliction - Shutout the Knights but that means nothing right now. Next up are the Aggies and that will be a much harder game.
10 Denver Giant 9'ers - Took a last second FG to get the win but it was a huge upset. If they can keep it going the next 2 weeks they should be climbing the charts a bit more.
11 Nashville Hounds - An expected loss to ATKM. Can they turn it around against the Fury next week?
12 Wala Wala Drunken Shriners - Wasn't expecting much against Tulsa and now they get a Denver team that just knocked off MEM.
13 Hell's Demons (R) - Big win but I wasn't expecting much out of the Felines this season anyway. We'll see how next week goes.
14 Philadelphia SEXY Demonik - Tough loss to Covington leaves a lot to be worked out for this squad.
15 OffTopica Grace (R) - There was nothing graceful about the loss to the Lions but maybe they'll fare better against Midwest next week.
16 Midwest Warbirds (R) - Big loss and the schedule hasn't even gotten rough yet.
WEEK 2 PREDICTIONS
Week 1 results: 11-5
Covington vs Sin City - Could go either way but I'll place my bets on the Spoilers this time.
Bombers vs Lions - Lions shouldn't have too much trouble.
Canton vs 5th - 5th gets back to winning.
Mutants vs SGG - No shot for the Muties.
MEM vs Felicus - If MEM drops this one there's going to be a lot to question.
Philly Knights vs Hedgehogs - Knights aren't ready for this.
Jokers vs Fieldsmiths - Another one that could go either way but does it really matter with both teams heading in the same direction.
Aggies vs ACA - Good opportunity for ACA to step up but after the Aggies took down the Hedgehogs I just don't see this ending any way except with an Aggie win.
Demons vs Groundhogs - Ugly week 1 for the Groundhogs while the Demons took apart a low ranked team. Which one of these teams will be exposed this week?
Hounds vs Fury - Just like what the Fury got done week 1. Thought about this as the GOTW but went in a different direction.
Suppressors vs Diggers - Diggers can't afford to drop a game like this. It's what separates the great teams from the good ones.
ATKM vs Crocs - The Men are still one of the top 3 teams in this conference and that will be proven again this week.
Grace vs Warbirds - Don't think either team will go far this season but this is a game to help avoid demotion later.
Mice vs SEXY - Nothing sexy about this match-up.
Wala vs Denver - Will show whether Denver's win over MEM was a fluke. For now, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Gryphons vs Storm - Alright, so there weren't too many "sexy" match-ups this week but I thought this game was intriguing. The Gryphons are looking to make some noise. Tulsa is a solid team that should be playing for a top 4 seed. This could be an ugly game or a showcase for Stormwind to show how much improvement they've really made this season.
