Expanda-Draft Updates

The mid-season expansion draft is underway.

If possible I will post updates here.

1. NotaTurtle - Illinois (Big 10)
   
2. Musashisan - Penn State (Big 10)
   
3. Phunmunki - California (Pac 10)
   
4. HippieD - Nebraska (Big12)
   
5. ProgressMedia - Utah State
   
6. Gunz - Missouri (Big 12)
   
7. The CEO - Northern Iowa (MVC)
   
8. Jaybird - Robert Morris (NEC)
   
9. Jutdog - Utah (MWC)
   
10. Babblemur - VMI (Big South)
    
11. Akaoni - Michigan (Big 10)
    
12. Boaris - Providence (Big East)
    
13. Boaris - Austin Peay
    
14. Akaoni - South Carolina (SEC)
    
15. Babblemur - Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun)
    
16. Jutdog - Rhode Island (A-10)
    
17. Jaybird - Buffalo (MAC)
    
18. The CEO - Oral Roberts (Summit)
    
19. Gunz - Cincinatti (Big East)
    
20. ProgressMedia - E. Tenn St. (Atlantic Sun)
    
21. HippieD - Arkansas Little Rock
    
22. Phunmunki - Maryland (ACC)
    
23. Musashisan - Western Kentucky
    
24. NotaTurtle - UW Milwaukee (Horizon)
    

After these two rounds there is one more *optional* round to dump a team and take a different team, or just pass. (Example: Babblemur might dump Charlotte as being worthless for further points and instead take North Texas on the off chance that they might win their conference (6 points) their conference tournament (4 points) and go to the NCAA Tournament (4 points)).

Drop & Add Round

1. NotaTurtle - Pass
   
2. Musashisan - Drop Oregon (Pac 10), Add Oregon St (Pac 10)
   
3. Phunmunki - Pass
   
4. HippieD - Pass
   
5. ProgressMedia - Pass
   
6. Gunz - Pass
   
7. The CEO - Pass
   
8. Jaybird - Pass
   
9. Jutdog - Drop San Diego, Add Weber State
   
10. Babblemur - Drop Charlotte, Add Holy Cross
    
11. Akaoni - Pass
    
12. Boaris - Pass
    

Conference Breakdown Part III The Minors

Three cheers for the little conferences, full of little players and funny looking players and really tall players from foreign lands! The 14 seeds, the 15 seeds, the 16 seeds and the play-in gamers! Hoorah! Hoorah! Hoorah!

America East
Phunmunki picked Vermont (5-2, 14-6), The CEO picked Boston U. (5-2, 10-9). They both sit tied at the top of the A-East along with Binghampton (5-2, 12-7) with Albany right behind (4-3, 12-8). This conference is a crap shoot, let Phunmunki and the CEO shoot the crap here.

Atlantic Sun
Phunmunki has the Belmont Bruins (8-2, 12-7), who should have run away with this conference but instead is facing stiff competition from East Tennessee State (9-1. 15-5) and Jacksonville (9-1, 11-8). I actually considered taking Jacksonville, and both the Jacksonville Dolphins and the E. Tenn St. Buccaneers are worth a look.

Big Sky
Phunmunki again holds the Portland State Vikings (6-1, 15-5), favorites to win but Weber State (6-1, 12-8) are breathing down their necks and beat them once already.

Big South
VMI, the Virginia Military Institute (8-1, 16-3) is the team I wish I would have picked instead of Charlotte. They beat Kentucky, they beat Richmond, they lost to Virginia, they beat Winthrop. They have got to be favorites to take the Big South and go dancing, with only Radford in their way.

Big West
NotaTurtle bet the bank on Cal St. Northridge (4-3, 7-10) and lost. Long Beach St. (5-1, 10-8) have taken the lead in the Big West but Pacific, Davis, & Riverside all will compete in the little Big West Tourney.

Ivy League
Jutdog's Cornell (2-0. 12-6) should wrap up the Ivy. Don't bother with Yale or Columbia this year.

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC)
Siena Siena Siena. The CEO took Siena (10-0, 16-5) in the third round for this reason alone - Siena will win the MAAC. Hell they might go a round or two in the Big Dance.

Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)
ProgressMedia bet on Morgan State (5-2, 10-10), who did manage to beat Maryland and Depaul, but in conference just lost to Hampton tonight and earlier to Florida A&M. They should be putting this away but instead find themselves tied up with Bethune Cookman, Norfolk State and Hampton. MEAC is poison, I'd stay away from it.

Northeastern
The CEO's Mount St. Marys (5-2, 11-9) is still the best horse in this race with wins over Boston and American but they have been streaky. Fortunately for them they have won six straight to match their six straight losses in December. Despite this Robert Morris (8-1, 13-7) are giving them a run. Robert Morris plays Pittsburgh Feb. 2 so do me a favor and don't give Boaris the free 2 points because you won't beat Pitt for 5 points.

Ohio Valley
I never understood Progress Media's pick of Murray State (5-4, 10-9). Austin Peay (8-1, 12-7) and Tennessee-Martin (7-3, 14-6) have much better chances of winning the OVC Tourney.

Patriot
Progress Media's American University (3-1, 11-7) is still the favorite here but is getting a run from Holy Cross (4-1, 9-11) who just beat American last week.

Southern
Progress Media can count on Davidson (9-0, 16-3) getting an at-large bid in the unlikely chance they lose their conference tourney. You can go maverick and consider Charleston (7-2, 15-4) who has played a tough schedule and is playing hard ball but you won't get an at-large bid.

Southland
Jutdog's Stephen F. Austin (4-1, 12-5) are still favorites but Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is putting up some good numbers (5-0, 11-9) and could make a play for the Tourney Spot.

Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC)
Jaybird's Alabama State (6-0, 9-7) are solid and favorites to win the possibly worst conference in Division I. They may be the only team with a winning record when the chips are all counted.

Summit
Jaybird's North Dakota State (8-1, 14-5) was on my short list. They are dominating Summit League play, giving Oral Roberts (8-1, 10-11) some competition for a change. Oakland is the only other team that might challenge.

Sun Belt
The CEO took Middle Tennessee State (6-3, 12-8) and have found themselves in a competitive conference against Western Kentucky (7-2, 13-7) and Arkansas Little Rock (7-2, 14-6), either of which has as much a shot as the Mid Tenn Staters.

Independents
None will dance. Chicago St. (10-9) has played well.


Summary - all these potential picks are a gamble. If they don't win their conference tourney they are a wasted pick.

Western Kentucky (Sun Belt)
Austin Peay (Ohio Valley)
Arkansas Little Rock (Sun Belt)
Charleston (Southern)
VMI (Big South)
Albany (America East)
East Tennessee State (Atlantic Sun)
Texas A&M CC (Southland)
Weber St. (Big Sky)
Robert Morris (Northeastern)
Jacksonville (Atlantic Sun)
Long Beach St. (Big West)
Binghampton (America East)
Oakland (Summit)
Oral Roberts (Summit)
Tenn-Martin (Ohio Valley)
Holy Cross (Patriot)

BOARIS MUST DIE!!!

Boaris breathed fire on everyone this week and proved that he is the one to beat. Going 14-2 he picked up 34 points, with only Jaybird coming close at 27 pts (13-1, not bad!). Not only is Boaris running away in the points category to take a 30 point lead over Akaoni and Babblemur, his teams are stepping it up in league play and turning out to be the best spread out there. Check this out:

• #4 Pittsburgh (6-1, 18-1) - proving to be in contention for the best team in the best conference, they are beating everyone up, with their only loss at Louisville.
• #6 Oklahoma (5-0, 19-1) - stomping all over the Big 12 led by potential player of the year Blake Griffen, their only loss at giant killer (and current loser) Arkansas.
  
• #16 Butler (9-0, 18-1) - destroying the competition in the Horizon but sure to get an at-large bid even if they lose the conference tourney. Wins over Xavier and UAB, their only loss at Ohio St.
  
• Kentucky (5-0, 16-4) - making a strong play for SEC champs, winning big games on the road.
  
• Virginia Tech (4-1, 14-5) - sitting in second place in the ACC is a BIG deal. They beat both Miami and Wake on the road, and have won 9 of their last 10.
  
• Stanford (3-4, 13-4) - Stanford went into Pac-10 play 10-0, but have finally found some competition. A tough schedule this week (at USC and UCLA) should put them in their place.
  
• St. Joseph's (4-0, 11-7) - they struggled early but have hit their stride in conference play. They've lost against some of the best (Texas, Alabama, Creighton, Villanova, Siena).
  
• Miss St. (4-1, 14-6) - so far holding their own in the SEC.
  

As for the rest of us... Jaybird had a great week going 13-1 and netting 27 points. Akaoni and HippieD picked up 20 points each, Babs and the CEO took in 17, Jut 16, Phun 15, ProgressMedia 14, Gunz only 10 and Musashisan and Notaturtle seemed lucky to get the 8 points a piece they did.

TEAM OF THE WEEK: Virginia Tech (Boaris) dealt #1 Wake Forest their first loss of the season and followed it up with a gritty win in overtime at Miami. Nice job, VT! Bastards!

COMING UP THIS WEEK: Wake v. Duke on Wednesday. Tennessee v. LSU might be good on Wednesday as well. Gonzaga v. St. Marys on Thursday is a must see game. Many others look interesting but is the Big East starting to separate into the top dogs and the mutts?

Conference Breakdowns Part 2 : Mid-Majors

Mid-Majors

There is no official definition of a "Mid-Major" conference, so for our sake the mid-major's include conferences that might actually have an at-large bid rather than only the automatic bid, or whatever I feel like including.

Atlantic 10 - Why?
An unexplainable 7 teams were drafted from the A-10, while a realistic 2 or 3 teams might actually go to the NCAA Tournament: Xavier (Phunmunki) and Dayton (Akaoni). For the other five, winning the conference regular season will get them 6 points, but winning the conference tournament (4 pts) is about the only ticket to success. Of course beating each other up helps, and St. Joseph's (Boaris) is off to a 4-0 start. Temple (Jutdog) might be able to make a case for an at-large bid (2-1, 10-7) if they beat up 'the rest' starting with Charlotte on Saturday. For Richmond (HippieD), St. Louis (Musashisan) and Charlotte (Babblemur) they have got to win the A-10 tourney if they want in the Big Dance. Are there any teams left in the A-10 worth drafting? Rhode Island has played a good schedule and has 5 games left against other players, none of them Xavier, but at 1-3, 12-7, they aren't getting an at-large bid.

Colonial - Competitive
The CAA is hot hot hot! George Mason (HippieD), Virginia Commonwealth (The CEO) and Northeastern (Jaybird) are all 7-1 in conference play, Old Dominion (Gunz) is 4-4 and likely going nowhere. George Mason's only conference loss was by 1 to Northeastern earlier this week. They play VCU on Saturday. VCU & Northeastern play early next week. Winning the conference is important, winning the conference tourney is critical, because the odds of two teams coming out of the Colonial this year is unlikely. If George Mason (7-1, 14-4) wins the regular season but loses in the tourney they might get an at-large. Any expansion draft teams in the Colonial? No. Drexel (5-3, 9-8) if you are really really desperate.

Conference USA - Yawn
C-USA could be a one-bid conference this year. Memphis (Gunz) is the only team that could get an at-large bid. UAB (Jaybird), Tulsa (Babs) and UTEP (Turtle) will have to get an automatic bid to get to the NCAA Tourney. All three have played good schedules but haven't done what it takes to be in the top tier. Are you thinking about taking Houston (3-1, 12-4)? Think again. Crappy schedule and not getting an at-large bid and not winning the conference tourney.

Horizon - Scrappy
Butler (8-0, 17-1) should be an at-large bid for Boaris if they don't get the automatic from the Horizon. Unlike C-USA Butler has some competition. Jutdog's Green Bay (6-2, 14-6) has stepped up since losing their first two games of the season, beating Cleveland St (Turtle) and Milwaukee. Cleveland St. (4-5, 13-8) couldaben a contender for Turtle until losing their last 3 games but they could be a force in the conference tourney. Same for Wright St (5-3, 11-8) who has won 9 of their last 10 after starting the season 0-6. UW-Milwaukee (7-2, 12-7) is definitely worth drafting, but no others I think.

MAC - Still Up in the Air
Miami (OH) for Gunz is 3-1, 10-6 over all, and should be the favorite to win the 1-bid MAC this year. They have lost to some of the best teams in Basketball (UCLA, West Virginia, Dayton, Pitt, Xavier) and beaten Temple, Wright St., and Milwaukee. But they are going to have to win the MAC and take the auto bid. Kent State (1-3, 8-10) has been disappointing for NotaTurtle, and Western Michigan (3-1, 6-11) has bounced back from their 2-8 start. The MAC may be worth a look for expansion draft teams, particularly Buffalo (3-1, 11-5), and Ohio (3-1, 10-7) who has already picked off Miami (OH) once already.

Missouri Valley - "Look At Us!"
Northern Iowa (7-1, 13-6) is surprising everyone by taking a two game lead in the competitive MVC, and should be at the top of draft consideration lists. However ProgressMedia's Illinois State (5-3, 16-3) is the team that could qualify for an at large bid if they don't get the automatic. Babblemur's Creighton (5-3, 15-5) could be a bubble team, especially if they can win 8 or 9 of their next 10 games and make a good run in the tournament. Akaoni's Drake (4-4, 13-7) and Gunz' Southern Ill (4-4, 9-10) are going to need an automatic bid at this point. Obviously UNI should be drafted, and Bradley (5-3, 11-8) and Evansville (4-4, 12-6) may be worth considering as well.

Mountain West - Too Early to Tell
The Mountain West is still shaking out, with the four teams currently owned still in the running along with two teams that haven't been drafted. On top right now is TCU (4-1, 3-6), who beat UNLV and Texas Tech and lost to BYU. Then there is Utah (3-1, 12-6), who beat Gonzaga & LSU and lost to San Diego St. Both TCU and Utah ought to get drafted. Babblemur's San Diego St. (3-1, 11-4) is in the running to win the MWC, as well as Phun's BYU (2-2, 14-4) and HippieD's UNLV (3-2, 15-4). Akaoni's New Mexico (2-2, 11-8) is showing signs of weakness, but in the end winning the MWC Tourney is probably the only ticket to the NCAA Tourney for any of these teams other than maybe Utah.

West Coast - Wrapped Up
ProgressMedia's St. Marys (5-0, 18-1) and Phunmunki's Gonzaga (4-0, 13-4) are in. Jut's San Diego (4-1, 12-8) is out. St. Marys first game against Gonzaga is next week, worth watching for sure. Stay away from the West Coast for drafting teams, Portland (3-1, 12-7) ain't worth it.

WAC - Won't Someone Pick Utah State?
No one picked Utah State (6-0, 18-1), no one picked Boise State (4-2, 13-5), both of which have a better chance of winning the WAC than Phunmunki's Nevada (5-1, 12-7). No one else is competitive in the WAC at this point. Utah State could even be an at-large bid at this rate, they should be an early draft pick.

All in all the "mid majors" have some competitive races and some good unpicked teams.
Summary - who to consider drafting:
Utah (MWC)
Utah State (WAC)
Boise State (WAC)
TCU (MWC)
Rhode Island (A10)
Evansville (MVC)
Bradley (MVC)
Buffalo (MAC)
Northern Iowa (MVC)
Southern Miss (C-USA)
Houston (C-USA)
Ohio (MAC)
Drexel (C0lonial)
Portland (WCC)
Milwaukee (Horizon)

Conference Breakdowns Part 1 The Majors

The Majors

With the mid-season draft fast approaching, and conference play under way, I thought I would look at the conferences, potential tourney teams and potential draft picks.

The Majors (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, Pac 10) are worth 7 points for winning the regular season and 5 points for winning the conference tournament.

Big East - The BEAST

9 teams could potentially go to the Big Dance. All nine are owned by players. Could a tenth team go? Providence at 4-2 in the Big East, 12-6 overall? I would say not unless they win the tournament. The Big East will be a blood bath, Notre Dame and Villanova have lost 3 games already. Marquette and Louisville have managed to go 5-0 so far, but that won't last. UCONN, Pitt or Louisville have to be considered the favorites at this point to take the regular season and/or the conference tourney, but it is anyone's guess at this point. Providence would be a risky pick for the expansion draft if you want another Big Dance team but they will get plenty of chances to score some big points against 4 Top 10 teams.

ACC - Nothing to See Here, Move Along

North Carolina was supposed to run away with this season but now that they have proven to be mortal even the ACC is up for grabs. Duke, Wake, North Carolina are shoe ins for the Tourney and the favorites to win the ACC for sure. Miami, Clemson and Florida St are looking like they are tourney bound but I don't think any one of these three have shown that they are killer teams. Clemson and Florida St. especially have not a lot of showcase wins. What about Virginia Tech (Boaris) who just knocked off Wake Forest? Or Boston College (Gunz) who beat North Carolina at NC? Boston College at 2-3, 12-6 overall doesn't have a strong enough case yet, but Virginia Tech could make a strong case with a few more big wins and both teams will have the opportunity to get them. Maryland is worth considering for the expansion draft just for the opportunity to score against Top 10 teams but they are likely NIT bound barring some big big wins.

Big Ten - Seven Dancers?

Illinois (4-2, 16-3) and Michigan (3-4, 13-6) are the two "woops" in the Big 10, as in someone should have picked them. Gunz gets the "Crystal Ball" award for taking Minnesota (4-2, 16-2). These three teams may well be joining Michigan St, Purdue, Wisconsin and Ohio St in the Big Dance. But then again, why Michigan given Penn St (4-3, 15-5)? Better wins, thats why. The Big 10 just doesn't have a Powerhouse Team like the Big East and ACC. Michigan St coulda but the loss at home to Northwestern...? Nonetheless I think Michigan St (Babblemur) is the favorite to win the regular season but the conference tourney will be a crap shoot. Expansion draft teams: Illinois and Michigan for sure. Penn St... nah.

Big 12 - Sooners or Later

Shitty pun, I know, but Oklahoma (4-0, 18-1) has turned into the best second round pick anywhere for Boaris. Preseason favorite Texas (ProgressMedia) will still challenge for the Big 12 championship, and Kansas (Jaybird) and Baylor (NotaTurtle) are likely locks for the NCAA tourney. Texas A&M (Akaoni) entered conference play with a 13-1 record and has gone 1-3 since. Still Tourney bound? Oklahoma St (HippieD) was a gamble pick that seems to be paying off, especially if they can survive the rest of the season and make it to the NCAA as predicted. Look for six teams tourney bound from the Big 12, and OSU and Texas A&M are going to have to beat back free agents Missouri (3-1, 16-3) and Nebraska (2-2, 12-5) if they want in. Which of course is a nice segue to the expansion draft: Missouri and Nebraska should both be given consideration, with Missouri as a very strong option.

Pac 10 - Still a Major Conference, Really

Okay, for some unexplained reason EIGHT teams from the Pac 10 were picked by players. Of the two that weren't, one (California) just happens to be on top of the conference standings, making the Pac 10 a big WTF. Here is what is clear: UCLA (Turtle), Washington (Akaoni), Arizona St (Babblemur) and California (Unclaimed team) are locks for the NCAA, and will be fighting it out for the conference tourney and regular season champ. Oregon (Musa) and Arizona (Progress) should be jettisoned as useless teams. Stanford (Boaris), Washington St. (Musa) and USC (HippieD) are NIT bound unless they get some big big wins and finish in the top 3 or 4. For the expansion draft California should be a top pick (unless you have UCLA, ahem, Turtle).

SEC - Fluster Cluck

9 of these 12 teams were drafted. The three that weren't are Georgia (0-3, 9-9), Auburn (1-3, 11-7), and South Carolina (2-2, 13-4). I guess the gamecocks might be worth drafting... But seriously, of the nine teams picked out of the SEC is there any chance that more than 5 will go to the Big Dance? But which five? Or will there be six? I think the SEC is really hard to judge. Tennessee (Musashisan), Kentucky (Boaris) and Florida (Akaoni) should be in, and ought to be in the running to win the SEC. Mississippi St (Boaris as well) looks like a contender, and what is up with LSU (CEO) who is now 3-1, 15-3 overall, but with a weak schedule. Arkansas (Gunz), if they start winning conference games, could fight their way into contention as well. Alabama (Jaybird), Ole Miss (Turtle) and Vandy (ProgressMedia) may have to win the SEC Tournament to go dancing. I think there is no clear front runner in the SEC. As for the expansion draft - well, there is always South Carolina...

So in summary, for expansion draft consideration I would include from the Majors:

California (Pac 10)
Illinois (Big 12)
Missouri (Big 12)
Michigan (Big 10)
South Carolina (SEC)
Nebraska (Big 12)
Maryland (ACC)
Providence (Big East)

Looks like we'll all be digging into the mid majors and below for our expansion teams!

week ten

This is a good time for your teams to beat other players teams, especially if they happen to be in the Top 10. Boaris expanded his first place position and Jutdog moved on up with strong showings this week.

Boaris took home 30 points out of 35 possible showing that his teams can deliver. Sure, Pitt lost to Louisville, but Oklahoma is dominating, Butler is dominating, and Mississippi St is rising high in the SEC. Even Kentucky, Virginia Tech, and Stanford are doing well, and if St. Joseph's at 3-0 in the A-10 is his worst team look out.

Jutdog''s Louisville and Wake Forest are becoming a formidable 1-2 punch for the former basement dweller, carrying a squad of mid majors that could give him 3 more champs in the Horizon (UWGB), Ivy (Cornell) and Southland (SF Austin). Jut took 29 of 30 points, losing only the Temple UMASS game - amazing.

The rest of us chugged along - Akaoni 21, CEO 18, Babs 16, Gunz, Hippie, Progress & Phun all at 14, Jaybird and Turtle at 13, and Musa at 11 despite the Georgetown win over my Syracuse. Come on, people!

Ｍｏｒｅ　ｌａｔｅｒ

Rivalries Heat Up - Do or Die Time

Week Nine saw a lot of parity, but Gunz and Jutdog stepped it up with some big wins.

For the week:
Gunz: +21
Jutdog: +20
Jaybird: +18
Akaoni & The CEO: +17
Babs, Boaris & Hippie: +16
Turtle & Phunmunki: +15
ProgressMedia: +12
Musashisan: +9

Duke is the Team of the Week, beating Virginia Tech (Boaris), Davidson (Progress) & Florida State (Musa) for nine points. Honorable mentions to Wake Forest (Jut) for knocking off North Carolina, Arkansas (Gunz) for knocking off Texas (Progress), and Notre Dame (Gunz) for knocking off Georgetown (Musa).

Week 10 Showdowns:
Oklahoma (Boaris) & Texas (Progress) in the Big 12 on Monday night!
Syracuse (Babs) & Georgetown (Musa) in the BigEast Wednesday - look out!
Georgetown (Musa) vs. Duke (CEO) on Saturday - Boom!
Wake (Jut) vs. Clemson (Musa) in the ACC Saturday - Splash!
UCLA (Turtle) vs. Arizona St. (Babs) for the Pac 10 - POW!
Boston U (CEO) and Vermont (Phun) face off in the whatever league - Swish!

Geeky Game Stats and Other Babble
Less than 50 points separate Notaturtle (107) from Babblemur (153) and there is still lots of time for things to shake up. In fact I went ahead and counted how many games each player has against other player's teams:

Musashisan: 73 games
Boaris: 73 games
Akaoni: 66 games
Babblemur: 64 games
Gunz: 61 games
NotaTurtle: 58 games
HippieD: 52 games
Jaybird: 48 games
Jutdog: 44 games
ProgressMedia: 44 games
The CEO: 42 games
Phunmunki: 31 games

This doesn't include post-season, but there are still a lot of points to be earned. But how will each player do? Lets take a look at how they have done so far against other player's teams:

Babblemur: 24-13
Boaris: 24-16
ProgressMedia: 20-15
Akaoni: 20-18
Jutdog: 22-20
HippieD: 15-14
Gunz: 17-17
The CEO: 14-15
Jaybird: 14-18
NotaTurtle: 13-20
Phunmunki: 9-19

Some fun rivalries:

• Akaoni is 5-0 against brother NotaTurtle
• Babblemur is 4-0 against Akaoni
• NotaTurtle and The CEO are the only players that have never played each other. That will change when Miami faces Duke and Mississippi takes on LSU.
• Jutdog is now 3-1 against brother Jaybird, but 1-2 against brother CEO. Jaybird beat CEO in their only confrontation.
  
• Jutdog has played more games against other players than anyone else.
  
• NotaTurtle is 4-0 against Musashisan.
  
• Boaris & Babblemur have 5 more games against each other. Boaris has won 2 of 5 so far.
  
• Musashisan vs. the Top Dogs: Boaris plays Musa's teams 11 more times, Babblemur plays Musa's teams 10 more times, Akaoni plays Musa's teams 9 more times. Since a lot of these games are against Iowa, Oregon, Washington State, Florida State and St. Louis, I think it is safe to say that Boaris, Babblemur and Akaoni are going to be tough to knock off the top of the board.
  
• Phunmunki is story book non-confrontational. She has only one team in a Major Conference, Wisconsin, everyone else is mid-major or below. 3 of her teams are alone in their conferences (Portland State, Belmont, Nevada), and Vermont is alone with Boston U. Gonzaga has two other foes, and BYU has 3. Xavier, favorite to win the Atlantic 10, strangely will get to beat on six other players in an unusually large field of competition in the A-10: Richmond (Hippie), Temple (Jut), St. Joes (Boaris), Dayton (Akaoni), St. Louis (Musa) and Charlotte (Babs).
  
• Jaybird and The CEO face off 8 more times: North Carolina vs. Duke in the ACC; Villanova vs. Marquette in the Big East; LSU vs. Alabama in the SEC; VCU vs. Northeastern in the Colonial. Good rivalry here.
  
• Speaking of Colonial, George Mason (HippieD) is 5-0, Northeastern and VCU 4-1, Old Dominion (Gunz) is 2-3. This is going to be a competitive league...
• In the Horizon, Butler (Boaris) is off to a 5-0 start, with competition from Green Bay (Jut) 4-1, Cleveland St. (Turtle) 4-2, and Wright St. (Akaoni) 3-3.
  
• In the Missouri Valley, Illinois St. (Progress) has finally crapped out losing 2 straight games. Drake (Akaoni) now leads at 4-1, Creighton (Babs) 3-2, Southern Ill (Gunz) 2-3.
  

Hugs & Kisses

Akaoni, Gunz and Jutdog

Week Eight went to Akaoni (23 pts), Gunz (22 pts) and Jutdog (22 pts), who outpaced the competition to move up in the charts. Phunmunki took the biggest hit, taking in only 12 points.

Akaoni got a good performance from Washington, which beat both Morgan St. and Wash St., as well as Dayton over George Mason, Drake over Southern Ill, and Wright St. over Cleveland St. in some Hot Horizon Action. Going 13-2 for the week, Akaoni further pulled ahead of the pack and solidly into third place, closing in on Boaris (17 pts) and Babblemur (15 pts).

Gunz had a huge boost from the Boston College upset of #1 North Carolina, netting 5 pts, but lets not forget Boston College also took down Sacred Heart and San Fancisco earlier in the week, making Boston College the Team of the Week. But wait! There's more! Gunz also had Arkansas knock off #4 Oklahoma on Tuesday! Gunz is the Official Giant Killer, logging his third and fourth defeats of Top 10 Teams, twice as much as any other player. (Minnesota beat #9 Louisville in Week 7, and Notre Dame beat #6 Texas in Maui...)

Jutdog took 22 points mostly off of 6 wins against other players (out of 8), including Cornell over Boston U., San Diego over Miss St., Green Bay over W. Mich, Ohio St. over Iowa, Wake over BYU, and Louisville over Kentucky. He took advantage of other players chumps. He continues to move up in the charts, moving into a tie with Musashisan.

The Standings can be broken into:

• the Top Dogs (Babblemur, Boaris, and Akaoni) who are within 10 points of each other but 12 points ahead of any others;
• the Pack (Gunz, ProgressMedia, Musashisan, Jutdog, The CEO), who are all within 10 points of fourth place;
  
• the Suckers (HippieD, Jaybird, Phunmunki, NotaTurtle), who are struggling to keep up with the pack.
  

Week Nine has some great games, and Saturday could really shake up the score board. In the Big East Notre Dame knocked of #9 Georgetown tonight, and on Tues. West Virginia plays #5 UCONN. Some intra-league matchups are up including Arkansas vs. #7 Texas, Davidson vs. #2 Duke, and Kansas vs. #8 Michigan St. Michigan St. also faces Ohio St., and on Sunday #3 Duke and #4 Wake Forest get it on.

Interim Draft

It seems some people are unclear about how the interim draft is working this year. Here's a recap of the rules, along with proposed draft dates:


INTERIM DRAFT RULES:

- Each player must draft 2 additional teams.

- Draft order will utilize snake method, with pick 1 going to last place point earner (as of draft date)

- A voluntary third round will take place following the 2-round draft, in which one team from the original roster can be dropped and a new team picked up. All existing points from original team will remain. Order will continue snake method from round 2.

- Points will begin to be earned by the new teams on February 2, and new points will no longer be added for the discarded team effective February 2.


PROPOSED DATES:

Draft begins the morning of Thursday, January 29. The draft order will be based on the standings following all games on the 28th. Be ready to pick, as we need to get the rounds done between that Thursday and Sunday. Picks can again be made by phone or email.


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