Week 9 finds all but 2 teams within a game of a money spot. So, for the most part, at the midway point, it is very competitive. We had another incident of a player picked up, while on waivers. Please make sure that the gut you are picking up has not been cut in the last 48 hours. The Dream Team won, and the EAGLES did not play, but the COWBOYS lost and that is almost just as good. Therefore, I think we will have an upbeat version of the notes.

  The old web (http://swffl.50megs.com) has updated archives and historical records. I will also add some web-exclusive. Send any ideas to me and I will see what I can do.

Key Match-ups to watch this Week

   The Roxborough Wranglers will try to keep that money line in sight by avenging their early season loss the Black & Blue Attack. In a family affair, the Good Fellas will try to complete the season sweep of the Jelly Beans. The Dream Team will try to keep those penthouse digs by sweeping the Money Takers. The Black Assassins will try jump over that Money Line by sweeping the Body Shop. The Croatans will try to stay in the battle for a money spot by avenging their week 1 loss to the Fightin’ Irish.

   Norm was 3 of 5 last week, making him 18 of 35 (51%) on the year. He regains top billing. Spock was 2 of 5 last week, making him 19 of 35 (54%) on the year. His locks are below:

RW  -9 BB (257)     BA -16 GF (244)
GF -11 JB (263)      C  -9 FI (255)
DT -12 MT (272)

   There was only 1 game decided prior to Monday night. The other 4 (well at least a couple) had a little Monday night madness.

   The Money Takers had the W in the bag and still had Lamb playing in Monday night against the Fightin’ Irish. The Takers were led by Action Jackson (welcome back), Dawdle and Nacua (welcome back) and Loveland (welcome to the NFL rookie). The Irish were led by Stafford in the loss and although they did have a couple of better options on the bench, they would have changed the outcome.

   The Croatans carried an 84.2-point lead into Monday night against the Black & Blue Attack, Harrison, Pickens and Ferguson. The Atack Monday nighters performed well but they fell short. The Croatans built up the big lead with nice performances by Jones, Higgins and LaPorta. The Attack was led by Maye Monangai and Harrison in the loss. The Attack had some better options on the bench, but they would not have flipped the script.

   The Black Assassins, McBride and a 99.5-point lead were way too much for the Jelly Beans, Knight and Williams on Monday night. The Assassins were led by London, Moore, Bowers (welcome back) and an MVP performance by Caleb. The Beans got a nice performance out of Goff as they failed to reach triple digits. The Beans were hit hard by the BYE and injuries, so their bench had a lot of goose eggs. The 2 players that did have points on the bench were better options than the starters but they would have fell well short of changing the “L” into a “W”.

   The closest game and in most weeks, this would have been Game of the Week was between the Roxborough Wranglers and the defending champion Body Shop. The Wranglers and Prescott overcame a 10.7-point lead by The Shop and Aubrey on Monday night. It truly appeared that the fantasy gods were inflicting their wrath on the Shop. Aubrey missed FG opportunities because of coaching decisions and fumbles in makable FG territory. They also teased the Shop by keeping Dak oof the board for much of the game. Per haps the lowest blow was the wide left attempt to tie the newly minted longest FG record. The Wranglers were led by Adams in the victory. The Shop was led by Dart in the loss that could have been avoided if the Shop starts Pierce or Doubs over Olave.

  The "Game of the Week" honors go to the contest between the Dream Tean and and the Good Fellas. GOW decision – it was not the closest game (still in single digits) but it was the only game between the top 2 teams in the standings. The Dream Team and a 17-point lead just barely held off the Fellas and Ryland on Monday night. IN our scoring system all it would have taken was a 52-yard FG and there was a point where the CARDS had a 4th down in 50+-yard FG range. The CARDS optioned to go for it on 4th down and failed. Fortunately, the next time they got the ball it was kneeling time. The Dream Team was led by Run CMC and Pittman in the battle for the top spot. The Fellas were led by Allen, Smith-Njigba and Kincaid in the loss. The Fellas had better options on the bench and they would have put the Fellas back in 1st place.

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

BEST & WORST OF WEEK 9

MVP: Caleb Williams (45.8) Black Assassins       Best on Bench: Joe Flacco (44.6) Fightin’ Irish      Low Scorers: Jelly Beans (99.5)    Coaching Efficiency: High: Croatans (99%) Low: Dream Team (80%)

Top Rostered Players By Position (Rostered Players Only)
QB – Mahomes(242.5),Maye(232.1),Herbert(230.9),Nix(220.3)
RB – Taylor(240.3),McCaffrey(227.2),Robinson(186.8),Achane(180.0)
WR – Chase(196.0),S-Njigba(185.0),Nacua(168.6),Pickens(167.4)
TE – Ferguson(130.4),McBride(129.6),Kelce(118.0),Warren(117.4)
PK – McLaughlin(135),Aubrey(129),Boswell(124),Pineiro(118)
ST – PATRIOTS(68),LIONS(64),BEAR(62),TEXANS(60)

IR: BB-Burrow; RW-Hunter; JB-Evans, Strange; GF-Waller; MT-Hampton, Reed; BA-Tillman; BS-Benson