Northern Fins – going up!

SUPER 16 – After the Week 10 Game of the Week in the Super 16, the Eagle landed and the Northern Fins are flying high…for now.  With a final score of 220-194, the Miami franchise advanced to a 7-3-0 record and first place in the East Division – 3rd overall.  They also have amassed a substantial points total over division rival Eagle has landed who drops to a 6-4-0 record.  The battle for the East is not yet over, however, as the pair will have two more match-ups to sort the race out in the final two weeks of the season, and at least one of those matches is going to be a must-win for the team that becomes Division Champs.  First, though the Eagle is faced with a must-win next week vs Geno’s Jaw Breakers (2-8-0), a team they beat in Week 4, while the Fins will face their toughest match all season when they take on the League #1 Who Dat Saints next week.

The Who Dats are coming off an important divisional victory over BIGDOGINTEX, beating them 210-165 and improving their record to 8-2-0 as the league’s best.  The post season door is closing quickly for the Big Dogs, who now must win their final three and hope for either a points advantage or at least 1 loss by the New Orleans squad.  The Saints, on the other hand, can secure the division title with a win against the Northern Fins and a BIGDOG loss next week (mathematically, they cannot yet secure just a playoff berth any other way).  The biggest news in the South Division, though, is the demise of the Tweety Birds of Prey, who, in their 185-195 Week 10 loss to Houston have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.  The championship odds for every other eventual playoff team just skyrocketed because of it as the 3-time Super Bowl Champions fall out of the running.  Just eight points back from first overall in total season points, the schedule has done to the Birds what the other 15 teams in the league have been unable to do.

In another important Week 10 game, the Los Angeles Super Chargers defeated the BYE Week disadvantaged 1 Eye Til I Die 186-129 and take a a 3 game lead on the West Division.  With a 7-3-0 record, the Chargers now have a major advantage over both 1 Eye and SF’s BowMen who are now both 4-6-0 after BowMen lost 183-215 to the Firebirds.  Facing off with those Firebirds in Week 11, Los Angeles can secure the West Division title with a win and a loss by both the Oakland and San Francisco franchises;  Arizona is already mathematically eliminated.

The North Division is shaping up to be a real horse race this year, as usual.  The Dawg Pound still holds the advantage, 7-3-0 and ranked #2 in the league, their 236-169 Week 10 victory over the Indy-structibles eliminated the Colts franchise from the post season, but the BEARMINATORS have suddenly made things very interesting.  The Chicago franchise, the only S16 team to have won a Super Bowl other than Birds of Prey, have now won 3 in a row and 5 of their last 6, including head-to-head wins against the Dawg Pound and Motor City.  They defeated the Kitties 210-179 in a surprise Week 10 upset, which ties both teams up with matching 6-4-0 records, just a single game back from the Dawgs.  Being the #1 scoring team in the league this season, the Brownies still have a significant points total to fall back on for a tie breaker, but they must finish the season vs the BEARMINATORS and the Kitties in Weeks 12 and 13 after first facing off with Steel Curtain this weekend.

If the regular season were to end today, the Who Dat Saints, The Dawg Pound,  Northern Fins, and Los Angeles Super Chargers would be the 2016 Champions of their divisions, and all 4 of those teams have a favored path to accomplish that result.  That makes the Wild Card race the more exciting aspect of the run up to the post season this year, and the teams in the hunt are BEARMINATORS, Motor City Kitties, Eagle has landed, and BIGDOGINTEX.