Well 2 more teams got knocked out of the national tournament, leaving III.7 with just 12 representatives. on the balance, as expected, the difficulty setting got cranked up a notch for most teams this week. only walnut, north carolina and marshland get a free pass against cpu's. this week does look eerily similar to last week, in that there appears to be a few decent matchups in which this league should be heavily favored, one very closely contested matchup, and one in which our league-mate should get obliterated. As the odds work out, next week's cup games will likely be a real test for most, if not all of our remaining competitors. So, enjoy this week while you can, if you can. Let's take a closer look:
Snake River Panthers (d3. 270) vs UniqueLegacy (d4. 1310)
The Legacy's game shape is atrocious, but a 68k player makes them a threat. Snake River is going to have to play really well to pull this one off, but i say it's possible. wil03030 is a good manager and can sneak some really nice wins, plus the Panthers have some really good young talent. I like legacy to take this one at home, Legacy -10.5.
dang888 (d3. 387) vs Hampton Havoc (d4. 1152)
The Havoc are a porous d4 team, but their manager is active. That alone gives them a decisive advantage, despite their woeful game shape. dang888 won't go down without a fight in this one, but I like the Havoc on the road, -2.5. Should be tight.
Baker Street Irregulars (d3. 136) vs Washington Warriors (d4. 1126)
Washington is at least in good game shape, but they are not a good ball club. Absent any 5 figure salaries, Baker Street is sure to wipe the floor with them. I don't suspect they'll even try to field a competitive team, or make an honest defense. Baker -67.
LambdaLambdaLambda (d3. 134) vs Phoenix Redbirds (d4. 842)
The Redbirds aren't completely awful. Their players are in good game shape, and they have a shooting guard that can light up the scoreboard. On the other hand, that shooting guard will be up against the one and only Rodolfo Martinazzi... maybe. Even if not, I take it Lambda will save enough minutes to comfortably get by this team. I like Lambda -29.
Philadelphia Phantasm (d3. 150) vs Volcanoes (d4. 636)
The Volcanoes are a pretty average d4 team. You can't sleep on them. Philly is coming off an impressive win against West Side, and have the formidable Baker Street coming to town on Tuesday. Are they going to save some minutes to get by the Volcanoes, or will their lack of depth hurt them too much? I'll go with Philly -11.5, but I'm going to place them on upset alert.
BucsBlue Lob City (d3. 111) vs Molalla (d4. 610)
Molalla is a very good d4 team. They're poised to promote. That is, they would be, if not for their questionable team management. For as deep a team as they have, they have a lot of mismanaged minutes and pretty poor game shape. BucsBlue are amongst the best benches in the league, and their team is in... pretty good shape. Lob City -41.
West Side Tigers (d3. 137) vs jack be nimble (d4. 478)
This is a real test for the tigers. jack is an outstanding d4 team, and they are fantastically well managed. If they weren't stuck in such a cut-throat d4 league, they'd almost undoubtedly gain promotion in almost any other league. Seriously, that is one absurdly good d4 league. They're awfully impressive for a franchise that have only been existence for 7 seasons, is all I'm saying. jbn features a mix of veteran bigs and young guards, along with a well rounded, solid bench. In fact, they spend more on their bench than does West Side. That doesn't bode well for the Tigers, freshly coming off a loss and trying to maintain control of the tough great 8, who are not likely to make concessions minutes-wise. I'd be remiss if I considered Tigers underdogs, as they're clearly the far more talented team, but this will be one to watch for sure. Tigers -6.5