Well we have reached the end of our 17th year. Wow, I can't believe some of us have been doing this for 17 years (and some even longer). Congratulations to the Quiet Storm on their 3rd Championship! Congrats too all the other Elite Teams as well. To those of you below the Elite Line, I wish you all better luck next year. If you have an idea for something new, let me know and we'll see if I can add it. The league's url is http://swffl.50megs.com .

  That little pre-draft analysis I did predicted 2 of the 4 Elite Teams including the Champ. That makes it 21 of 48 (44%) over the past 12 years. 50% is not a true bench mark for this number. Since only 4 of 10 teams make it, 40% is a better bench mark. So just by picking 4 names out of the hat at the beginning of the year, I should get 40% of the Elite teams. My projection system is hitting at 44% which is slightly better than random drawing so therefore it is validated and I will continue doing it.

  Because I have some space I will give out some fantasy awards: 2004 MVP: Steve Smith (Alexander and Palmer get honorable mentions), Bust of the year: Randy Moss (many first rounders did not make it through the year due to injury, of those that did: McGahee gets honorable mention, Surprise of the Year: Carson Palmer (runner-up: Eli Manning and Neil Rackers), Most disappointing NFL Team (from a fantasy perspective): EAGLES (though injury and stupidity wiped out the major studs), Most dominate NFL Team: GIANTS, The Man is an Island:Tom Brady.

  Norm (my estimates) was 4 of 5 in week 17 making him 35/70 or 50% on the year. Spock was 2 of 5 in Week 17 making him 38/70 or 54% on the year. Spock wins the annual battle of the Oddsmakers.

  There were no Monday Game - I am going to miss "ABC's" Monday Night Football.

  The Black & Blue Attack completed the season sweep of the Jelly Beans. They also scored their 4th and most important helmet of the year. The "W" allowed the Attack to keep a hold on that last Elite spot. The loss cost the Beans the title (as the Quiet Storm also lost) and 2nd Place (as the Dream Team won). That is a costly loss. Foster Kasay and Kennison led the Attack. The Beans wasted a brilliant performance by Tiki Barber.

  The Good Fellas avenged their early season loss to the Quiet Storm. The Fellas "W" did little for their standings position, but they get to say they beat the Champ in the last week. The Storm sort of backed in to the Championship as there 7 game winning streak was snapped. If the Beans had pulled out their game there would much head-scratching going on in Storm headquarters (lost by 10 and the QB acquired specifically for this week tosses a 0 - sure he got hurt but still you expect that pickup to produce some points). The Fellas were led Portis and Bell. The Storm was led by the RAVENS of all things. The RAVENS were terribly disappointing most of the season and when you toss in the fact that their selection cost the Storm the selection of Larry Johnson it would seem that the RAVENS owed the Storm one. However, the truth is the Storm won most of the games after they lost Priest, in fact they only lost their first game w/o Priest and their last game (this week) without Priest. They won all 7 in between. Once again congratulations to the Storm on their fine season.

  The Secane Tsunami avenged their early season loss to the Black Revenge. The Tsunami was led by the PANTHERS, Galloway and Bettis. The Revenge wasted a nice performance by Randy Moss. Moss has been a disappointment for most of the year, but if you need one break out week from your #1 pick I suppose week 17 is the week you want it.

  The Dream Team completed the season sweep of the M. Takers and (with an assist from the Black & Blue Attack) jumped into 2nd place. The Dream Team also grabbed the 2nd place consolation prize. We were just second place everywhere. The Dream Team was led by everybody's number 1 pick next year (and this week's MVP) Larry Johnson. The Takers were led by Reggie Brown of all people. The Takers tried to turn Faulk and Brown loose on Norm and Butch and it almost worked, but they left a lot of points on the bench.

  The "Game of the Week" honors go to the contest between the Body Shop and the Bull Dogs and the Body Shop. This was the closest game on the docket, and even though it did not involve a Elite Slot, I gave it "GOW" honors. The Bull Dogs completed the season sweep of the Body Shop as Steve Smith led the way. Smith led the Bull Dogs to the top position on the Total Points list. Unfortunately that honor and a buck might get you a cup of coffee. The Shop was led by Burress and Moulds. This was probably one of only a few times where the Dogs' WR's got outscored by their opponents. With a 3 point loss there usually are a couple of bench players that would have made a difference, and this game is no exception.

CHATTERBOX:(Get Quotes in by Monday Night)
Dream Team (Norm): Suspiciously Absent!

BEST & WORST OF WEEK 17

MVP: Larry Johnson (41) Dream Team       Best on Bench: Kerry Collins (27) Black & Blue      Low Scorers: M. Takers (44)    Coaching Efficiency: High: Bull Dogs (96%) Low: M. Takers (46%)

Top Rostered Players By Position (Rostered Players Only)
QB - Palmer(244),Brady(209),Bledsoe(197),E. Manning(196)
RB - Alexander(253),L. Johnson(226),Tomlinson(196),Barber(176)
WR - Smith(275),Fitzgerald(211),Boldin(211),Holt,S. Moss(204)
PK - Rackers(184),Feely(170),Wilkins(146),Kasay(144)
ST - BEARS(160),GIANTS(153),PANTHERS(150),STEELERS(143)