THE RETURN OF THE PEERLESS PURPLE PENGUIN PROGNOSTICATIONS (PPPP): WEEK TWO!!!
New season guys, and although I have to say that I’m somewhat disappointed to be still in BBB, this IS a great league with a bunch of terrific guys so there’s a large part of me that feels very comfortable here. At least I know the season will be fun!
The usual rules apply---only Eastern teams are involved since I have no idea what’s going on out West. These are all based on subjective opinions and are subject to debate (although I now have a helmet for my feathered little head to protect me from those meanies in Lincoln who threatened to drop kick my head last season! )
Lots to do before the first game, especially with the game occurring on Day One, so the PPP was late last “week.” However, we didn’t do too badly, so maybe we should fight the deadline doom every week if we’re going to be 8-0. For those of you who missed it:
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Lincoln-27 Jax Beach-12: Lincoln is strong again with an outstanding QB in Chris Morrison and depth and talent everywhere......with passing now nerfed by Bort, I'm wondering if anyone will catch a PASS against Head Shot this year! Jax Beach made significant strides last season and was a very respectable team that got off to a rocky start and couldn't recover. This year, they seem to have a lot of inactives and not much depth, and even with the improved running game AI, against Lincoln that's just not gonna cut it. ACTUAL RESULT: Lincoln-24 Jax Beach-17
Roswell Invaders-20 Richmond-6: Two teams that are rebuilding and both with players with levels around 19-20. This should be a very competitive game (and when was the last time you heard THAT in a game involving the Empire?!). The new Richmond owner gets an initiation to the league that is not as unpleasant as it could be (they could be playing Appalachian). Roswell only has 2 CBs, but none of the Richmond's WRs break the L20 ceiling. OTOH, Roswell has L24 HB Syco Nixhex behind a starting OL that outlevels Richmond's starting DL by an average of nearly 4 levels. Again, considering the improved rushing Sim AI, got to give the Invaders the edge here, but here's the most important part---RICHMOND IS IMPROVING!!! Can't tell you what a welcome development that is! Welcome to the league, CDavis!!! ACTUAL RESULT: Roswell-70 Richmond-30
Atlanta Purple Penguins-16 Saginaw Spirit-14: Saginaw always give me fits. No matter what it looks like on paper, we usually barely squeak by with a win. This year I think it'll be no different. I'm very concerned about "Some Guy", the Spirit's L26 TE, but I think the rest of my squad can match up with Saginaw. It's no secret that the Penguins depended heavily on the pass last year. We'll see how effective they are with the new Sims. ACTUAL RESULT: Atlanta-42 Saginaw-0
Appalachian Lycans-42 Texas Domination-13: If the old Texas Domination were intact, this would have easily been the game of the week. Both teams have proud traditions of winnning, but Texas has been sold and is rebuilding. Appalachian has been aggressively recruiting and has fantastic results to show for it. This is a very good team that got very much better!!! My personal favorite for the Conference Championship! L27 and L26 DTs, L25 L26 and L26 LBs, and a L26 and L27 duo at safety! This is a defense that has the potential to DOMINATE!!! It's so good, it overshadows an offense with L25s at WR, TE, and OG plus a L26 FB clearing the way for HB Matthew Forte. I'm not looking forward to playing these guys later on this season, and all I can say to MikeyW is that it's not going to be this way every week! ACTUAL RESULT: Appalachian-73 Texas-7
Sin City Showboats-21 South Bend ShamRockers-6: South Bend acquired a lot of talent last year, but it seems to have dissipated over the off season. Their roster is peppered with "Inactive" labels and the talent level is middling peppered with a few standouts. Not sure how they're going to sustain a drive for success. Sin City looks to be nicely balanced and prepared for the season. Although their starting roster's talent level is only a bit better than South Bend's, they have better depth and who knows if those inactive players have even distributed their skill points yet? I hope this is just a beginning-of-the-season-chaos thing and not a harbinger for the future, because if it is, our friends from Indiana may be in for a long season. ACTUAL RESULT: Sin City 24 South Bend-10
Louisville Baby Kittens-28 Cleveland Buckeyes-17: I don't know if it's my faulty memory or what, but it seems to me that Lousiville's overall talent level has somehow dropped over the off season. They're also very thin at CB which makes them a bit vulnerable. OTOH, the still have last season's MVP and OPY, Kamikaze Kitten and Kyle Kortnue and I'm sure they haven't forgotten how to throw TD passes. Games with Louisville have the potential to become shootouts, so Cleveland may be able to build some success offensively. Not quite enough to win this one, but enough to make it a respectable game. ACTUAL RESULT: Louisville-61 Cleveland-0
Red Bank Thundercats-24 Houston Armageddon-21: Second verse, same as the first. I wondered last year whether Ryan DeAngelis was a good enough QB to win considering he was a lower level than many other BBB starters. His answer was a spanking delivered to my previously undefeated Purple Penguins in the second round of the playoffs. I guess that answered that question. Behind a punishing running game, Red Bank advanced to the Conference Finals last year, and they look even BETTER this year!!! They've improved their talent and depth at WR and CB, and are solid up and down the lineup. Clearly this is a team that is expected to be in the thick of things at the end of the year. Houston is virtually a mirror image of the Thundercats, but with just a tad less depth. That is the difference that I'm going to use to call this game, because these two teams are just too close to call. ACTUAL RESULT: Red Bank-48 Houston-10
River City Ransom-13 Syracuse Samurai-33: Don't know much about the Samurai, but they have a lot better talent coming down from the A leagues than I expected. Four L26 players, including the QB and eight L25s are a lot better talent than most teams in our league except Appalachian. How this team got relegated is beyond me! But they're here, and first up is River City which has stabilized its lineup and has players and depth at every position. Unfortunately, talent wise, they just can't match up with the Samurai so I predict a successful debut for Syracuse today. ACTUAL RESULT: Syracuse-14 River City-3
OK, just beat the deadline as the game results won't come out for another 45 mins or so. I guess you could call this the "Better Late Than Never Edition" of the PPPP.
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Leaving the Peerless Purple Prognosticator’s Production of Predictions Positively Perfect! (Why am I beginning to feel like Mary Poppins?)
Season Results: 8-0
Week One Results: 8-0
And heeeeeeeere we go!!!!
(8) Louisville Baby Kittens(1-0) at Richmond Empire (0-1)-----Richmond’s game occupies its traditional #8 position this week, but this is not the same team that we’ve come to know and abuse. Last week the Empire scored 30 points—more than four times its entire offensive output for the ENTIRE SEASON last year!!! Yes, it was a 40 point loss, but things are looking up in southeastern Virginia. The big question is whether the team will still be there to rebuild---new owner may mean relocation for the hapless Empire. This week, though, it should be the same old story. Louisville proved last week that they are still the same high powered octane offense that torched the league all last year and it would be a minor miracle if Richmond was able to stop them. No, check that, it would be a MAJOR miracle---think feeding 5000 hungry people with 5 loaves and 2 fish.……..LOUISVILLE- 87 RICHMOND-10
(7) Atlanta Purple Penguins (1-0) at South Bend ShamRockers (0-1)-----The resurgence looks to be over in South Bend. This week, the ShamRockers have 12 out of their total 42 players inactive including their starting HB, FB, C, CB, SS, LB and both OTs. That’s not good news even with the tandem of L24 QB Papa Dynamite and L25 WR Ethan Schlueter and L24 WR Joseph “Crazy Joe” Gallo ready to go. Like the old saying goes, can’t throw too good while you’re on your backside. The defense has to make do with a L9 (no that’s not a typo) DE on one side, which is unlikely to strike fear into the Purple Penguins OL. This could get ugly unless the ShamRockers have a trick up their sleeve.……..ATLANTA-49 SOUTH BEND-7
(6) Houston Armageddon (0-1) at The State of Texas Domination (0-1)-----Houston got a nasty welcome to the new season care of last year’s conference semi-finalists, Red Bank, but they’re still a very tough team. Standout OT Marquis Robertson and leading rusher Wickey Woods are two L25s that lead the offense and the only defensive starter that’s not L20 or above is ROLB Linden Theleez. Texas is populated with CPU players except for Ervin Baldwin, the L22 LT. A solid deep team versus a gutted rebuilding one. It’s not hard to figure out who’s got the advantage in this battle of Texas……..HOUSTON-45 TEXAS-0
(5) Sin City Showboats (1-0) at Cleveland Buckeyes (0-1)-----Sin City (as Las Vegas) started off last season strong but faltered down the stretch. This season they still have good talent, good enough to overwhelm the Buckeyes. Cleveland’s top skill players are L17 (QB Diego Borda) and L19 (HB Ryland Rage)---good players, but not enough to be consistently competitive in BBB #7. Maybe they can boost later, but at this point, the Showboats have a clear cut advantage at almost every position………SIN CITY-31 CLEVELAND-13
(4) The River City Ransom (0-1) at Saginaw Spirit (0-1)-----River City has been aggressively recruiting but their talent level still falls a bit short of Saginaw despite L25 LOLB Sweat Mouton and L23 HB Larry Flanders. No other starters are above L20 except two OL, and the starting CBs are both in the teens. This could be a problem with L24 Jimmy Wallace making his home season debut. Saginaw is coming off a surprisingly one sided loss to Atlanta, but still possesses a strong defense with solid players at every position with the possible exception of RDE. If River City is going to win, they’re going to have to find a way to target the right side of the Saginaw defensive and offensive lines where Saginaw sends out players who level in the high teens. I’m not convinced that degree of precision is possible in GLB..…..SAGINAW-28 RIVER CITY-10
(3) Jax Beach Juggernauts (0-1) at Syracuse Samurai (1-0)-----Following a successful BBB#7 debut against River City, Syracuse faces the team that made one of the strongest late season pushes a year ago. Jax Beach is led by L21 QB Dick Pepper and especially by L24 HB Stefano C. Sharp who, if memory serves, was the conference’s leading rusher last year. While the Juggernauts aren’t deep, they have excellent talent in key positions including a pair of L23 OTs Yuuno Yuuvonit and Chunkie Monkey to protect Pepper as he tries to throw to L24 WR Tyrone Shoes. But Syracuse boasts monster talent in L26 QB Jonas Finnegan, L25 HB Eddy Meggett and L25 WR Tyler Kidd. Couple this with a right side of the offensive line that goes L25 C, L24 RG, L24 RT and that spells trouble for the Floridians. Jax Beach has to hope to exploit Syracuse’s most glaring weakness---its CBs which are L17 and L18 but backed up by two L26 safeties. Despite my respect for the job they did late last season, I think this talent gap is too much for the Juggernauts to overcome..……..SYRACUSE-27 JAX BEACH-10
(2) Red Bank Thundercats (1-0) at Roswell Invaders (0-1)-----Red Bank has consistently solid talent up and down the lineup and has shown time and again their ability to develop effective game plans. Roswell only has 7 out of 22 starters above L20 and none of them is in the defensive secondary. The Invaders only hope is that Red Bank either abandons their powerful running game and is unsuccessful passing, or doesn’t take advantage of the weakness of the pass defense and stubbornly sticks to the run. Yes, I know those are contradictory statements, but I want to be able to use one of them in hindsight so I can say “I toldja so” on the off chance that the Thundercats lose. I said “off chance” but it’s about as “off” a chance as my high school play is “off” Broadway. Thundercats roll (What was their battle cry anyway?).……..RED BANK-38 ROSWELL-12
(1) GAME OF THE WEEK: Appalachian Lycans (1-0) at Lincoln Freedom Warriors (1-0)-----Most of the games this week pitted teams at different talent levels against each other. This game makes up for those (apparent) mismatches. We get treated to an early season showdown between two very legitimate championship contenders and I expect a defensive struggle. Appalachian’s defense is loaded with talent that is just unreal. Seven of their 11 defensive starters are L26 or more!!! By comparison, the offense is solid but not as spectacular. Lincoln doesn’t seem to have the same level of talent, but their tradition of outstanding CB play looks to continue this season as their stable of CBs are L25, L23, L22, & L21. If they can keep the game close with their defense, this game could hinge on a single big play and that makes it anybody’s ball game. This is an important one, too, as it may become a significant factor in tiebreaking later in the season if these teams are fighting for playoff seeding. A feast for the GLB connoisseur is in store, I respect both teams, but now that I have my helmet, I can choose fearlessly (as well as peerlessly).……..APPALACHIAN-20 LINCOLN-10
Now that the initial disappointment of last season’s playoffs have (somewhat) dissipated, it’s good to be back with you guys again, it’s good to be doing the PPPP, and it’s good to be playing some FOOTBALL!!!!!
New season guys, and although I have to say that I’m somewhat disappointed to be still in BBB, this IS a great league with a bunch of terrific guys so there’s a large part of me that feels very comfortable here. At least I know the season will be fun!
The usual rules apply---only Eastern teams are involved since I have no idea what’s going on out West. These are all based on subjective opinions and are subject to debate (although I now have a helmet for my feathered little head to protect me from those meanies in Lincoln who threatened to drop kick my head last season! )
Lots to do before the first game, especially with the game occurring on Day One, so the PPP was late last “week.” However, we didn’t do too badly, so maybe we should fight the deadline doom every week if we’re going to be 8-0. For those of you who missed it:
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Lincoln-27 Jax Beach-12: Lincoln is strong again with an outstanding QB in Chris Morrison and depth and talent everywhere......with passing now nerfed by Bort, I'm wondering if anyone will catch a PASS against Head Shot this year! Jax Beach made significant strides last season and was a very respectable team that got off to a rocky start and couldn't recover. This year, they seem to have a lot of inactives and not much depth, and even with the improved running game AI, against Lincoln that's just not gonna cut it. ACTUAL RESULT: Lincoln-24 Jax Beach-17
Roswell Invaders-20 Richmond-6: Two teams that are rebuilding and both with players with levels around 19-20. This should be a very competitive game (and when was the last time you heard THAT in a game involving the Empire?!). The new Richmond owner gets an initiation to the league that is not as unpleasant as it could be (they could be playing Appalachian). Roswell only has 2 CBs, but none of the Richmond's WRs break the L20 ceiling. OTOH, Roswell has L24 HB Syco Nixhex behind a starting OL that outlevels Richmond's starting DL by an average of nearly 4 levels. Again, considering the improved rushing Sim AI, got to give the Invaders the edge here, but here's the most important part---RICHMOND IS IMPROVING!!! Can't tell you what a welcome development that is! Welcome to the league, CDavis!!! ACTUAL RESULT: Roswell-70 Richmond-30
Atlanta Purple Penguins-16 Saginaw Spirit-14: Saginaw always give me fits. No matter what it looks like on paper, we usually barely squeak by with a win. This year I think it'll be no different. I'm very concerned about "Some Guy", the Spirit's L26 TE, but I think the rest of my squad can match up with Saginaw. It's no secret that the Penguins depended heavily on the pass last year. We'll see how effective they are with the new Sims. ACTUAL RESULT: Atlanta-42 Saginaw-0
Appalachian Lycans-42 Texas Domination-13: If the old Texas Domination were intact, this would have easily been the game of the week. Both teams have proud traditions of winnning, but Texas has been sold and is rebuilding. Appalachian has been aggressively recruiting and has fantastic results to show for it. This is a very good team that got very much better!!! My personal favorite for the Conference Championship! L27 and L26 DTs, L25 L26 and L26 LBs, and a L26 and L27 duo at safety! This is a defense that has the potential to DOMINATE!!! It's so good, it overshadows an offense with L25s at WR, TE, and OG plus a L26 FB clearing the way for HB Matthew Forte. I'm not looking forward to playing these guys later on this season, and all I can say to MikeyW is that it's not going to be this way every week! ACTUAL RESULT: Appalachian-73 Texas-7
Sin City Showboats-21 South Bend ShamRockers-6: South Bend acquired a lot of talent last year, but it seems to have dissipated over the off season. Their roster is peppered with "Inactive" labels and the talent level is middling peppered with a few standouts. Not sure how they're going to sustain a drive for success. Sin City looks to be nicely balanced and prepared for the season. Although their starting roster's talent level is only a bit better than South Bend's, they have better depth and who knows if those inactive players have even distributed their skill points yet? I hope this is just a beginning-of-the-season-chaos thing and not a harbinger for the future, because if it is, our friends from Indiana may be in for a long season. ACTUAL RESULT: Sin City 24 South Bend-10
Louisville Baby Kittens-28 Cleveland Buckeyes-17: I don't know if it's my faulty memory or what, but it seems to me that Lousiville's overall talent level has somehow dropped over the off season. They're also very thin at CB which makes them a bit vulnerable. OTOH, the still have last season's MVP and OPY, Kamikaze Kitten and Kyle Kortnue and I'm sure they haven't forgotten how to throw TD passes. Games with Louisville have the potential to become shootouts, so Cleveland may be able to build some success offensively. Not quite enough to win this one, but enough to make it a respectable game. ACTUAL RESULT: Louisville-61 Cleveland-0
Red Bank Thundercats-24 Houston Armageddon-21: Second verse, same as the first. I wondered last year whether Ryan DeAngelis was a good enough QB to win considering he was a lower level than many other BBB starters. His answer was a spanking delivered to my previously undefeated Purple Penguins in the second round of the playoffs. I guess that answered that question. Behind a punishing running game, Red Bank advanced to the Conference Finals last year, and they look even BETTER this year!!! They've improved their talent and depth at WR and CB, and are solid up and down the lineup. Clearly this is a team that is expected to be in the thick of things at the end of the year. Houston is virtually a mirror image of the Thundercats, but with just a tad less depth. That is the difference that I'm going to use to call this game, because these two teams are just too close to call. ACTUAL RESULT: Red Bank-48 Houston-10
River City Ransom-13 Syracuse Samurai-33: Don't know much about the Samurai, but they have a lot better talent coming down from the A leagues than I expected. Four L26 players, including the QB and eight L25s are a lot better talent than most teams in our league except Appalachian. How this team got relegated is beyond me! But they're here, and first up is River City which has stabilized its lineup and has players and depth at every position. Unfortunately, talent wise, they just can't match up with the Samurai so I predict a successful debut for Syracuse today. ACTUAL RESULT: Syracuse-14 River City-3
OK, just beat the deadline as the game results won't come out for another 45 mins or so. I guess you could call this the "Better Late Than Never Edition" of the PPPP.
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Leaving the Peerless Purple Prognosticator’s Production of Predictions Positively Perfect! (Why am I beginning to feel like Mary Poppins?)
Season Results: 8-0
Week One Results: 8-0
And heeeeeeeere we go!!!!
(8) Louisville Baby Kittens(1-0) at Richmond Empire (0-1)-----Richmond’s game occupies its traditional #8 position this week, but this is not the same team that we’ve come to know and abuse. Last week the Empire scored 30 points—more than four times its entire offensive output for the ENTIRE SEASON last year!!! Yes, it was a 40 point loss, but things are looking up in southeastern Virginia. The big question is whether the team will still be there to rebuild---new owner may mean relocation for the hapless Empire. This week, though, it should be the same old story. Louisville proved last week that they are still the same high powered octane offense that torched the league all last year and it would be a minor miracle if Richmond was able to stop them. No, check that, it would be a MAJOR miracle---think feeding 5000 hungry people with 5 loaves and 2 fish.……..LOUISVILLE- 87 RICHMOND-10
(7) Atlanta Purple Penguins (1-0) at South Bend ShamRockers (0-1)-----The resurgence looks to be over in South Bend. This week, the ShamRockers have 12 out of their total 42 players inactive including their starting HB, FB, C, CB, SS, LB and both OTs. That’s not good news even with the tandem of L24 QB Papa Dynamite and L25 WR Ethan Schlueter and L24 WR Joseph “Crazy Joe” Gallo ready to go. Like the old saying goes, can’t throw too good while you’re on your backside. The defense has to make do with a L9 (no that’s not a typo) DE on one side, which is unlikely to strike fear into the Purple Penguins OL. This could get ugly unless the ShamRockers have a trick up their sleeve.……..ATLANTA-49 SOUTH BEND-7
(6) Houston Armageddon (0-1) at The State of Texas Domination (0-1)-----Houston got a nasty welcome to the new season care of last year’s conference semi-finalists, Red Bank, but they’re still a very tough team. Standout OT Marquis Robertson and leading rusher Wickey Woods are two L25s that lead the offense and the only defensive starter that’s not L20 or above is ROLB Linden Theleez. Texas is populated with CPU players except for Ervin Baldwin, the L22 LT. A solid deep team versus a gutted rebuilding one. It’s not hard to figure out who’s got the advantage in this battle of Texas……..HOUSTON-45 TEXAS-0
(5) Sin City Showboats (1-0) at Cleveland Buckeyes (0-1)-----Sin City (as Las Vegas) started off last season strong but faltered down the stretch. This season they still have good talent, good enough to overwhelm the Buckeyes. Cleveland’s top skill players are L17 (QB Diego Borda) and L19 (HB Ryland Rage)---good players, but not enough to be consistently competitive in BBB #7. Maybe they can boost later, but at this point, the Showboats have a clear cut advantage at almost every position………SIN CITY-31 CLEVELAND-13
(4) The River City Ransom (0-1) at Saginaw Spirit (0-1)-----River City has been aggressively recruiting but their talent level still falls a bit short of Saginaw despite L25 LOLB Sweat Mouton and L23 HB Larry Flanders. No other starters are above L20 except two OL, and the starting CBs are both in the teens. This could be a problem with L24 Jimmy Wallace making his home season debut. Saginaw is coming off a surprisingly one sided loss to Atlanta, but still possesses a strong defense with solid players at every position with the possible exception of RDE. If River City is going to win, they’re going to have to find a way to target the right side of the Saginaw defensive and offensive lines where Saginaw sends out players who level in the high teens. I’m not convinced that degree of precision is possible in GLB..…..SAGINAW-28 RIVER CITY-10
(3) Jax Beach Juggernauts (0-1) at Syracuse Samurai (1-0)-----Following a successful BBB#7 debut against River City, Syracuse faces the team that made one of the strongest late season pushes a year ago. Jax Beach is led by L21 QB Dick Pepper and especially by L24 HB Stefano C. Sharp who, if memory serves, was the conference’s leading rusher last year. While the Juggernauts aren’t deep, they have excellent talent in key positions including a pair of L23 OTs Yuuno Yuuvonit and Chunkie Monkey to protect Pepper as he tries to throw to L24 WR Tyrone Shoes. But Syracuse boasts monster talent in L26 QB Jonas Finnegan, L25 HB Eddy Meggett and L25 WR Tyler Kidd. Couple this with a right side of the offensive line that goes L25 C, L24 RG, L24 RT and that spells trouble for the Floridians. Jax Beach has to hope to exploit Syracuse’s most glaring weakness---its CBs which are L17 and L18 but backed up by two L26 safeties. Despite my respect for the job they did late last season, I think this talent gap is too much for the Juggernauts to overcome..……..SYRACUSE-27 JAX BEACH-10
(2) Red Bank Thundercats (1-0) at Roswell Invaders (0-1)-----Red Bank has consistently solid talent up and down the lineup and has shown time and again their ability to develop effective game plans. Roswell only has 7 out of 22 starters above L20 and none of them is in the defensive secondary. The Invaders only hope is that Red Bank either abandons their powerful running game and is unsuccessful passing, or doesn’t take advantage of the weakness of the pass defense and stubbornly sticks to the run. Yes, I know those are contradictory statements, but I want to be able to use one of them in hindsight so I can say “I toldja so” on the off chance that the Thundercats lose. I said “off chance” but it’s about as “off” a chance as my high school play is “off” Broadway. Thundercats roll (What was their battle cry anyway?).……..RED BANK-38 ROSWELL-12
(1) GAME OF THE WEEK: Appalachian Lycans (1-0) at Lincoln Freedom Warriors (1-0)-----Most of the games this week pitted teams at different talent levels against each other. This game makes up for those (apparent) mismatches. We get treated to an early season showdown between two very legitimate championship contenders and I expect a defensive struggle. Appalachian’s defense is loaded with talent that is just unreal. Seven of their 11 defensive starters are L26 or more!!! By comparison, the offense is solid but not as spectacular. Lincoln doesn’t seem to have the same level of talent, but their tradition of outstanding CB play looks to continue this season as their stable of CBs are L25, L23, L22, & L21. If they can keep the game close with their defense, this game could hinge on a single big play and that makes it anybody’s ball game. This is an important one, too, as it may become a significant factor in tiebreaking later in the season if these teams are fighting for playoff seeding. A feast for the GLB connoisseur is in store, I respect both teams, but now that I have my helmet, I can choose fearlessly (as well as peerlessly).……..APPALACHIAN-20 LINCOLN-10
Now that the initial disappointment of last season’s playoffs have (somewhat) dissipated, it’s good to be back with you guys again, it’s good to be doing the PPPP, and it’s good to be playing some FOOTBALL!!!!!
Last edited Aug 3, 2008 18:46:35
