English Upset

WORLD LEAGUE – In a rare alignment of standings and the regular season schedule in the World League, the top two teams in both conferences were scheduled to face each other in Week 5.  The League showcased both of the games in a double-feature edition of the Premier World Match for the final week of divisional games.  In the Eastern Conference, the undefeated AF#4 Scandinavian Stars were attempting what would have been a league-first single season sweep of division rivals against the one loss Old England Patriots.  Ironically, the Patriots were in the exact same position last season, with 4 wins when they were defeated by the Stars in Week 5 by just 3 points.  This time around, Scandinavia was considered to be massive favorites, with predictions of a victory by over 30 points, but the Patriots didn’t follow that script, turning in an 89-63 upset win to deliver the Stars their first loss of 2017.  Both teams are now 4-1 with the Stars controlling the conference by just 21 points.  The win closes the gap on the pair’s all time history with Scandinavia’s 4 wins to England’s 3.

In the Western Conference, the AF#22, 3-1 Buenos Aires Blue Dogs were favored over the 3-1 Mexico Aztecs, but not by nearly as large of a margin.  Despite being 10 point underdogs and having bye week troubles both at the kicker and wide receiver positions, the Aztecs managed to not only turn in a victory, but did it with the second highest score of the week, beating the Blue Dogs 104-84.    Mexico advances to 4-1 with sole control of the West, but the 2016 defending champion Dacusville Devils are right on their heels, moving up into second in the conference after holding off a Monday night comeback attempt by New Orleans to beat the Acadians 99-96.  After a slow start, the Devils are now 3-2 on a 2 game win-streak and have just moved into first in the league in the total scoring category.

In other action across the league, the Eastern Conference expansion franchise, Milan Wild Boars captured their first ever World League victory, demolishing Dublin Bay 116-70 with the highest score of the week.  The win allows the Boars to slide up a notch in the standings, leaving the Prawns in last place in the midst of a 4 game losing streak.  Jerusalem beat London Falling, 72-69 in a thrilling finish that puts the Cheeseheads solidly in 3rd.  The West’s expansion squad, Rox’s Cali Rox beat City of Champions convincingly, 97-65 to capture their second consecutive victory and move up inito 4th place.  Week 6 begins cross-divisional play in the league, with several big games on the schedule.