at the midway point of the season, i'd like to try my hand at these rankings as well, with a little something extra:
1. bucsblue - leader in point differential, clear cut number 1. not to say they can't be beat, but they're the clear favorite for promotion.
2. lambda - last year's finalist, another strong season. 9-2 ain't no joke, especially when you've been handling your business in the cup as well. very impressive team.
3. flamengo - they have a ton of money and a ton of players, and a deep, talented team. very high point differential, some very impressive wins, also still in the cup.
4. frosty - said this before, i'm starting to believe in this team. i've beaten the teams i should beat, and i'm 3 wins away from my preseason goal. i still think i'm overachieving at this point, and as soon as people start taking me seriously, i'm pretty sure i'm pretty screwed. still in the cup though.
5. philly - really solid squad, some splashy acquisitions. they're a real contender. their starting 5 is as good as any, and they beat bucsblue on the road. they've had a very good season, despite being injury-stricken for most of it. they can ball.
6. baker - impressive wins, and confusing losses. not sure what to make of this team, i've had them ranked as high as 3rd, as low as 7th. they've also had some tough breaks and super close games against very good teams. upper-echelon team, but how serious of a contender are they?
7. nyc - at least 1 really good team is going to miss the playoffs in the great 8. they had a rocky start to the season, but have been on an absolute tear, winning all of their last 5, including wins against baker and flamengo. let's see if they can win a big one against bucsblue this next game. solid squad, contender imo.
8. warhawks - another really, really confusing team, akin to baker. they dropped a game to a team with a manager who hasn't logged on since october. how do you even do that? they have the payroll and arena size and finances it seems, but i feel this team is sometimes mismanaged. their game shape is pretty poor. that, however, is very likely the result of being in the cup for so long. we'll see if he can regain early season form, i suspect he will.
9. snake river - hot start, getting progressively worse with worse game shape. i want to rank them lower, but there's just nobody i can rank higher than them. if he recovers game shape for the playoffs, and maybe makes 1 splashy purchase, he might be a contender.
10. west side - some really nice wins, and some really nice players. the poster-child of consistently inconsistent. it's like there's an unwritten rule that says the tigers can only win 1 game a week, no matter what. they are, however, still in the cup, which has undoubtedly contributed to their inconsistency. spnkix has his team in very good game shape as well. he's well within striking distance of a playoff spot. it'll be interesting to see how this team goes from here, as he will almost assuredly be losing in the cup this week to the #1 ranked team in the country.
11. walnut - dropped 3 straight, and their last 3 wins were against the bottom 3 teams in the league respectively. small market team, but has 1 impressive win against baker. considering weekly salary, job well done by their manager.
12. north carolina - early season hopefuls and newcomers, they've struggled of late, losing 6 of their last 7. injuries and game shape plague this team. game shape will probably improve with them losing in the cup.
13. strong arm - some really tough losses, close calls. this is a decent squad, and if they had their relegation series right now against north carolina, i'd put money on them to win. they have a good chance to win 3 of their next 4, maybe threaten west side for the 6 spot if they falter. they have a favorable schedule the rest of the way, in fact. plenty of hope here.