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And the pigskin parade is on! |
A-Rod apologist Dennis Nicholson gets
thumped by Scott Beall. |
Da Bears! ...
Travel and job concerns took a toll from 2011's record attendance.
One nice improvement, on a wise request by Don, was to move the
draft to the tiered seating of the Hopewell Room. With more room,
seating for all, and a nice, relaxed atmosphere to conduct what
many say is one of the highlights of the tourney, the draft!
The top teams were bid up quickly with the top seeds of New England,
Pittsburgh, and Baltimore going for 10 or more points above their
tournament rating.
John Conlon's Ravens upset seven-time champ Harry Flawd's
Steelers in the opening round of the AFC Heat to send shockwaves
through the field. It was a fierce back and forth game with failed
4th down gambles, missed FG's and late turnovers.... all leading
to OT. Pittsburgh held on their first defensive series to force
a punt only to have their returner downed in the end zone for
a game-winning safety. Other tightly contested first round games
included: Ron Pisarz's Jets topping Barry Shoult's Raiders 35-28,
Bill O'Neal's Dolphins over Joe Yaure's Chiefs 23-20, Ryan Friedman's
Patriots over Paul Gaberson's Bills 32-31, and Mike James' Chiefs
over Brian Conlon's Ravens 31-28.
John Conlon's Ravens continued their winning streak in the
second round over Ryan's Patriots 35-21. Bill O'Neal gave up
the lead late, only to score with :30 left to defeat Chris Palermo's
Jaguars and defending champ Jacob Hebner's beloved Broncos downed
Greg Courter's Titans 15-13 as Doug Porterfield, Mike James,
Vassilli Kyrkos, and Terry Coleman also advanced.
Round 3 had Bill topping Doug's Colts 31-8, Mike defeating
John's Ravens 37-21, and Terry scoring early and often in a rout
of Vassilli's Raiders 45-14, with Jacob rounding out the final
four.
Jacob led his Broncos over Bill's Dolphins 39-27 in one semifinal,
while Mike James toppled Terry's Jets, 32-7. The AFC title game
was a back and forth affair, and in the end, the defending champ
earned a return trip to the Super Bowl with a 26-24 victory over
Mike's Chiefs. However, this was not to be the last we would
hear from Mike James.
The NFC Heat drew 32 managers vying for a shot at Jacob in the
Super Bowl and there were a lot of early fireworks. Derek Landel's
Rams introduced Bruce Reiff's Saints to the wonderful world of
point spreads, 45-39! John Welage's 49ers beat Greg Courter's
Bucs 44-39, and to top them all, Joe Yaure's Packers broke the
scoreboard while holding off Brian Conlon's Falcons 55-51! On
the other end of the spectrum, Steve Scott's Redskins took a
break from RA tiles long enough to pin a 9-3 loss on Mark Love's
Seahawks. Bruno Passacantando's Eagles defeated Tom Knapp's Cardinals
24-13, and Terry Coleman continued his impressive run with the
Falcons, beating Joshua Coyle (TB) 41-27.
Round 2 winners were Harry Flawd's 49ers over Terry's Falcons
24-18, Bill O'Neal's Rams over Andy Lewis's Bucs 27-16, Bruno,
31-6 over Dennis Nicholson's Cowboys, Steve Scott over Jordan
Flawd's Saints 36-14, and Mike James' Bears in a tight one over
Derek Landel 14-10. Chris Palermo, Joe Yaure, and Ron Pisarz
also advanced.
Round 3 found eight teams left, and nothing closer than an
11-point spread to worry about. Mike downed Chris 30-6, Bruno
beat Ron 31-17, Joe ran roughshod over Bill 65-38, and Harry
beat Steve 34-23. It was more of the same in the semifinals,
as Mike whupped up on Bruno's Eagles 38-14 and Harry picked off
four passes in a 38-24 win over Joe's Packers. So the NFC title
game came down to the Bears and 49ers, with the Bears getting
a 17-point spread. Harry cut the lead to 17-13 late in the first
quarter, stopping the Bears O and moving the ball fairly easily.
But the Bears D stepped up in the 2nd quarter, getting two turnovers
and scoring to push the halftime lead back to 11. The Bears got
two more turnovers in the second half to put it away 44-27, and
earn a rematch with Jacob.
Mike James was a newcomer to the tourney although he plays online
Paydirt in a league with Ron and Bill, so he knows what
he's doing. Defending champ Jacob Hebner was looking to start
his own dynasty. The spread was 5 points, but Mike totally shut
down Jacob, allowing only a Bronco FG, in a relatively easy 24-8
win as he took his first WBC title while amassing an overall
record of 10-1! It would appear the Flawd dynasty has found some
competition with the first back-to-back non-Flawd champions since
1995.
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Daniel Long, who has some firsthand
knowledge of football, exchanges pleasantries with football official
and Paydirt GM and one-man dynasty Harry Flawd. |
WBC newcomer Mike James tops off his
10-1 tournament performance with a convincing 24-8 win over defending
champion Jacob Hebner's Broncos. |
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