Week 9 finds only one more bye week left. There is still a real tight pack near the top (6 5-4 teams). The team at the bottom is starting to lose touch with the leaders. Don't forget the web-exclusive "Weekly Previews" and "Free Agents List" when making those starting lineup changes or making that acquisition that puts you over the top. If you have an idea for something new, let me know and we'll see if I can add it.

  If you need me to mail the Notes, give me a call, I think we can avoid the postage, one way or another, if not I will mail you a copy of the notes. It is cheaper and also much quicker to go electronic. The league's url is http://swffl.50megs.com .

Key Matchups to watch this Week

  The Jelly Beans will try to complete the season sweep of the Body Shop in a battle of Elite teams. The Good Fellas will try to avenge their large early season loss to the Black Revenge. The Quiet Storm will try to repeat their early season thumping of the Dream Team. The Secane Tsunami will try to repeat their week 1 victory over the M. Takers in a low scoring affair. The Bull Dogs will try to avenge their early season loss to the Black & Blue Attack.

  Spock was also 3/5 this week making him 20/40 (50%) on the season. He retains top billing and his locks appear above. Norm was 2/5 this week making him 21/40 (53%) on the season and his lines (my estimates) are below:

  Two games were over on Sunday. The other 3 were in the Monday night madness zone. In fact the winner of all 3 these games went into Monday night loosing.

  The Body Shop defeated the M. Takers with Vinatieri to spare on Monday night. The Shop was led by an MVP performance by Alexander. The VIKING-heavy lineup of the Takers did not seem to perform any better without Culpepper. The Takers left a decent supply of points on the bench, but even the best lineup could have only managed a "L" in a tiebreaker.

  The Dream Team defeated the Black Revenge, with newly acquired Reggie Wayne going on Monday. Wayne turned tight win into mild blowout. Larry Lohnson led the Dream Team's Sunday contingent. The Dream Team may have won the game in Week 9, but they lost their first round pick due to stupidity. T.O. and Ricky Williams (another Dream Teamer) should co-author a book on how to "Lose Millions as a Superstar Athlete" or "Stupidity: It is not just a poor man's disease".

  Of the games decided on Monday, the easiest one to call was the contest between the Bull Dogs and Jelly Beans. The Dogs carried a 2 point lead into Monday against the Beans, Brady and Branch. Basically, the Dogs only shot was Patriot Team Bus accident on the way to the stadium. The Beans won easily and went on to capture their second helmet and sole possession of first place at 6-3. The Bull Dogs loss dropped them to 4-5. Interestingly, If the Dogs had won they would have been at the top of an 8-way tie for first. Instead they are in 6th place. Never saw such a big swing on the outcome of one game.

  The Good Fellas, Peyton Manning and Vanderjagt overcame a 16 point lead against the Secane Tsunami and Corey Dillon. Manning and Vanderjagt were the only Fellas starters to clear double digits. A PANTHER start and a Chris Brown start could have snapped the Tsunami losing streak. Did I not hear that there might be some heads rolling in Tsunami HQ if Chris Brown scored and Dillon didn't.

  The "Game of the Week" honors go to the contest between the Quiet Storm and Black & Blue Attack. The Attack, Harrison and James overcame a 19 point lead against the Storm. Although the final score 78-59, a lot of those Attack points were scored late in the fourth quarter (yardage bonuses and a garbage time TD that really wasn't necessary). Harrison wound up leading the Attack squad in points. The Storm was led by Palmer and Coles. Both teams join the crowd at 5-4. Both teams surpassed the 90% coaching efficiency. This either means these teams are very tuned in to their rosters or they really don't have much depth. I will let you be the judges on that score.

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

BEST & WORST OF WEEK 9

MVP: Shaun Alexander(36) Body Shop       Best on Bench: PANTHERS (20) Secane Tsunami      Low Scorers: Secane Tsunami (39)    Coaching Efficiency: High: Jelly Beans (98%) Low: M. Takers (56%)

Top Rostered Players By Position (Rostered Players Only)
QB - McNabb(146),Palmer(131),Bledsoe(120),Favre(118)
RB - Tomlinson(140),Alexander(134),James(86),Bell(85)
WR - S. Smith(175),S. Moss(127),Galloway(110),Gates(108)
PK - Rackers(116),Feely(89),Tynes(81),Brown,Bironas(76)
ST - COLTS(85),BENGALS(80),FALCONS,BEARS(79)