Beast of the West, Beast of the East
Yukon, Grand Rapids lock up divisions with a week to go
Despite losing four in a row, the Eugene Levies still had a chance to win the Western Division, but needed a win over the streaking Yukon Icebreakers to do it. They put in one of their best efforts of the season, despite being decimated by injuries. Still, it was not enough for a determined Icebreaker squad, who scored a season-high 161 points to earn a division-clinching victory and lock up a first round playoff bye. All but one player reached double-digits for Yukon (8-4), led by Rudi Johnson's 23 points. David Carr led Eugene's (6-6) charge with 29 points.
Meanwhile in the East, some controversy came about as Jeff's lineup did not come in until after 8:00 pm on Sunday, resulting in the randomization of some of his lineup. Unfortunately, one of the key omissions was LaDanian Tomlinson and the Greased Lightning escaped with a 103-84 win. "I feel genuinely bad about the way this turned out," said Nick of the showdown between the top two teams in the league and the top two running backs. "Tomlinson would have won the game, but I discussed the situation with the associate commissioner and the rules are the rules. "I really hope we get another chance to play again in the playoffs and settle things properly. Grand Rapids improves to 10-2 and Standale falls to 8-4.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Ironwood Cox 122 Alaskan Assassins 78
Mike's team set up a showdown for the #3 seed with Jeff next week by knocking Alaska out of the playoff chase with a 122-78 win. The Cox improve to 8-4, led by Lamont Jordan's 25 point performance while Alaska (4-8) was led by a duo of Johnsons (Brad and Larry) who both scored 22 points.
Climax 69ers 98 Crazy Jimmies 90
For the second straight week, the Crazy Jimmies gave a playoff-bound team a good challenge, but came up just short in an 8-point loss Climax. The win clinches a playoff berth of the 69ers, who improve to 7-5 with the win. The Jimmies lost their 11th consecutive game after opening the seaosn with a win. Steve McNair scored a game-high 29 for the Jimmies while the victorious 69ers were paced by the Miami defense, who scored 23.
Whooping Llamas 91 Muskegon Mudhens 90
After nearly dealing Alaska a near death blow in last week's game against Alaska, the Llamas finished the job against Muskegon. Matt Hasselbeck and Jamal Lewis each scored 20 for the Llamas while Peyton Manning and Jeremy Shockey also got 20 for Muskegon. Both teams currently stand at 4-8 and out of the playoff chase.