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ON THE WRONG TRACK
Fairfield, CT (Reuters) - When the fans punched their ticket to ride the New England Express this year, no one thought the ride was going to be a nightmare. Heading into the weekend's action, they were hoping to turn things around by playing divisional opponent, Buffalo. A win would at least have them still alive and fighting. Instead, they got doubled up and are dead last in the AFC East, with a 1-4 record and 0-3 in the division. No one on the team or in the stands for that matter could believe how bad the team was playing against Buffalo. Just two weeks ago, they dominated visiting San Diego and looked as if they turned the corner. It was just another stop on the way to no playoff town. The team is just letting to many teams, score to often and New England isn't showing much fight. With the 14th ranked offence in the league, you're not going to win many games. Their next stop is Denver. Despite equal records, Denver is not a walk in the park. They are averaging over 41.8 pts a game, and New England is allowing just about that much. If you're on this train, you may want to get off the next stop. ANARCHY REIGNS SUPREME Wednesday, October 10, 2012 Tempe, AZ (AP) - After a big loss last week to the league leading Tiger Sharks, the Anarchy recovered quite well in defeating their division rival the Warriors. In front of a home town crowd, the head coach took matters in his own hands to shake things up, and put in rookie Brandon Weeden and it paid dividends. The team rallied around the rookie and won 38-33. Sitting at 4-1, and leading the division, the Anarchy haven't seen this kind of success in a long time. With the faltering of regular favorites, Oakland and Washington, they are poised to take the division. With only the Kingpins hot on their tails in the divisional race, the Anarchy should be able to keep them at bay. The Anarchy visit Philadelphia this coming week and take on the up and coming, Steel. WE'RE IN MIAMI TRICK
Miami, FL (AP) - When the fans looked at the schedule at the start of the season, they believed the team would be 2-2 heading into Division Rivalry week. When the opened up with a win against Denver the rest of the games looked a lot easier. Last week, they faced another season surprise in the form of the Anarchy in Arizona. Both teams entered the game undefeated at 3-0.&nbs; In a statement game between the two division leaders in the AFC, Miami came out on top by doubling up on their opponents. This sent a strong message in the conference that the road to the Iron Bowl would have to go through them. Miami hasn't started the season 4-0 since the 2009 season. That year was the last time they won the division. It was only a short while ago, but if the fans remember, they also lost game 5 that year and finished 9-5. It's not a bad finish or a bad record, but you can bet they'll be doing their best to cheer on their Tiger Sharks in a home game this week to keep the streak alive against divisiona rival Philadelphia. This game is a crucial game because Philadelphia is 3-1. A win will cement Miami as the top team in not only the division, but the conference after this week. A loss, then Philadelphia would take that honour as they move up into first place with tie-breakers and knocking down only 4-0 team left in 2012. This game is going to be quite vicious, so don't be surprised if you see some blood in the waters. BAD BLOOD Sunday, October 7, 2012 San Diego, CA (Reuters) - When realignment occurred back in 2006, no one ever thought a new rivalry would emerge, especially between these two teams. Back in 2006, San Diego was the only team that remained in the division, seeing the bulk of the division, Oakland, Arizona and San Francisco move to the AFC and shifted Denver and Seattle from the PFC North and Las Vegas from the AFC South join San Diego. That very same year, San Diego made their first playoff appearance. Their first of five straight. During that five year run, only Denver and San Diego represented the division in the playoffs with San Diego only winning one of the five division titles during that stretch. Denver made the Iron Bowl in 2006 and 2007, winning it in 2007. San Diego made their lone Iron Bowl appearance in 2009 and won it. Now these two meet in an unfamilar position where they are struggling in a tight division and barely clinging to playoff hopes early on. Denver is a surprising 1-3, and San Diego is 2-2 and is only on top of the division over Chicago and Las Vegas who are also 2-2, based on defeating both of them. Be sure to tune in because there is still a lot of bad blood between these two foes, and once they kickoff, you won't want to leave your seat! BIZARRO GFL
Hamilton, CA (CP) - It's only been three weeks and anyone who knows football, knows that something is backwards in the GFL. Arizona, Florida and Miami all have 3-0 records, Oakland and Denver are 0-3, plus Chicago leads the PFC West! Something wrong indeed. Let's look at how crazy this is. The last time Miami was 3-0 to start a season was 2009, but have been facing season trying to battle to make the playoffs. Arizona's situation is worse as the last time they were 3-0 to start was back in 2005 and last season they started 0-5! Florida changed hands recently, so their history is kind of short with the new management. Oakland and Denver, the two franchise tied for a league record nine division titles each, have they even ever started 0-3 in their history? Well they did and it's only been once and even that is hard to believe. Oakland started 0-3 back in 2009 and is the last team to have made the playoff with an 0-3 start so they can turn this ship around. Denver's last 0-3 start was back in 2003 and they missed the playoffs. Considering it was almost a decade between 0-3 starts, this team is still in pretty good shape. As any fan who watching right now and scratching thier heads wondering what is going on, I'm sure the fans on the other side of the field for so many years are finally happy to see things turn around. THE SKY'S THE LIMIT Thursday, September 17, 2012 Chicago, IL (AP) - If you said the the SkyScrapers would be on top of the PFC West after three weeks, many would have said "I think there is something in the air going around in the windy city because you're high!". This past weekend, rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III and company are making it happen. After the first week when the SkyScrapers lost 43-40 to the Riot, the coach made an immediate change at the quarterback position, taking out Alex Smith and starting the rookie. The papers were having a field day as the writers were claiming the team would have a new head coach in two weeks. Turns out the coach knows more football than the writers because since RG3 took over, the SkyScrapers are now 2-0 with him leading the charge. Griffith III was asked after the game what he felt about where the team was going now that he is the starting quarterback, "I just wanted a chance to prove myself and I will do what I can to help this team win. It's not all about me. We have some great talent and I am just one piece of the puzzle." Everyone knew that after he was selected second overall in this year's Entry Draft that he would inevitably be the quarterback of the future for this franchise. Apparently, that time is now. IT'S STILL A WIN
Baltimore, MD (Reuters) - In one of the most exciting opening Monday night's in recent history, the defending Iron Bowl Champion, Baltimore Bruisers started the season off just the way they wanted. Feeling the pinch from the salary cap and having to make difficult decisions, the Bruisers are doing whatever it takes to keep them wins coming. Having to let go of Joseph Addai this past off-season and picking up Kevin Smith at the free agent deadline before the playoffs last season, they are seeing the results they wanted. Wins don't have to be big, just a win. Smith has been a huge contributor and last night's game is a clear indication the team knows how to get the right pieces in place to get them points when they need them. He scored twice and the team looks just as strong as last season. Smith made these comments after the game, "I was just looking to play again and last year just before the playoffs, this team took a chance in signing me and I was given a chance to play for such an amazing organization. Even won an Iron Bowl last year and I am going to do whatever I can to repay them and give them back-to-back Iron Bowls." The win is huge because it was against Dallas, a divisional opponent and the Bruisers now sit atop the division with the tie-breaker and will face another division opponnent, Mississauga (1-0) next week. Coming out with another win will be a great start. CONVINCING WIN Tuesday, September 11, 2012 San Diego, CA (AP) - It's what the Scorpions were looking for, a really big game from their players and get off to a hot start in the divisions. Playing a division opponent in the opening week is always tough because there is a lot of pressure to win. A loss puts you in a deep hole early because it's not just 0-1, it's like being down 0-2.&nsbp; A divisional loss gives your divisional opponent the tie-breaker advantage that you need to make up later on down the road by evening up the series, or winning one more game than them by the end of the regular season. The Scorpions and Gamblers have been building a rivalry and it's getting more heated with every game. Both teams were close all the way through the third quarter. It was in the fourth quarter when Scorpions running back, Ray Rice took over.&nsbp; Rice turned it up a notch by scoring twice, leading the team to a 61-41 win. Not only did the Scorpions win and lead the division, the remainder of the division lost their games and they are now the only team that is 1-0 in the division. The Scorpions play the 1-0 Spectres this coming week, who shocked the Dirtbags in their home opener. PLACE YOUR BETS Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Las Vegas, NV (Reuters) - The Gamblers are heading into their eighth season since the relocation from Pittsburgh back in 2005. All eyes will be on quarterback Matthew Stafford and newly drafted wide receiver, Victor Cruz. The Gamblers have been looking for answers and trying to acquire the right pieces to make the playoffs. With a great quarterback in Stafford that has finally gotten into a groove the past two seasons, and a tight end that showed promise with Vernon Davis who also improved with time, they are betting a lot on Victor Cruz to take them a step further. The best season the club has had thus far since the move, was 8-6 in 2008, their only winning season. That season, they missed the playoffs because of a heavily competitive conference where three teams had 10 or more wins, plus six of the eight teams had winning records. If you were to look at the roster, the biggest concern could be the running back position this year. They do not have a solid running back that can carry the load to ease the pressure from the passing game. Look for Davis and Cruz to be double teams because there is to ground threat to make defenses worry. This team needs to make a move by way of trade or signing if they want to be stronger offensively and make teams respect them as a contender for at least a wild card. There is no doubt that the Gamblers have the odds stacked against them this season and are hoping that with a chip and a chair, they can still play with the bigger stacks in the conference this year and make the playoffs. BREES & CO. LOOKING TO REPEAT Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Hamilton, ON (CP) - Drew Brees is back for another season under centre for the Bruisers and with very little changes in the offseason, you can bet this team will be a strong contender to win the Iron Bowl again and become the first franchise to win four Iron Bowls. It was a momumental season for the Bruisers in 2011. They won their third Iron Bowl, only the second franchise to ever accomplish the feat. The Bruisers started the season with two straight losses and people began to worry immediately because this was certainly quite rare. Team recovered by rattling off eight straight wins and began to contend for the PFC East Division title with the restructured Dallas Dawgz who were the surprise of the league last year. Come playoff time, the team was very strong and never appeared to waiver. In their seventh Iron Bowl appearance, the most by any club, they defeated the Warriors to become the 2011 Iron Bowl Champions. This offseason, they made very little changes to their roster. The two biggest moves were releasing running back Joseph Addai who was first round selection by the club back in 2006, and Randy Moss who came out of retirement was let go. Moss has spent his entire career with the Bruisers and was drafted back in 1998, also a first round selection. As difficult as those two decisions were, and the fan outcry was strong, the team just does what it needs to do to win games and bring back the Championships. Winning is what makes people forgive and forget. History has shown us, with seven Iron Bowl appearances, three Iron Bowls and six division titles, the Bruisers front office knows how to make the right moves. |
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