The Irwin Hellions return to the site of last year's Super Bowl victory - the Louisiana Superdome - to do battle with their Super Bowl opponent of two years ago, Jody's Colossal Waste of Time. The Hellions limp into the contest with a 3-3 record having been thumped by the Stereco last week. Jody, a game better at 4-2, is also looking to rebound following a close loss to The Pimps in Week 6.

The Hellions are hurting, both on the field and in the loss column. Troy Brown, Chris Chambers, and Curtis Martin have all missed action this season due to injury. The notorious lack of depth in the Hellion roster has contributed to their three early season losses, and Irwin is already only a single "L" away from equaling last year's total. The C.W.O.T. are off to a stellar start to 2002 and look primed to return to the playoffs. Aaron Brooks and Deuce McAllister weren't around when the Hellions beat Jody in Super Bowl IV, but Eddie George and Tim Brown certainly were. You can bet the C.W.O.T. veterans have instilled the newcomers with an even stronger desire to take down the defending champs. The Big Easy is ready to rock.

victims of the bye week:
Irwin - REC Brown
Jody - RB George

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Now forming at the North end of Kyle Field, an interdivisional showdown between the 3-3 Sims Stereco and the 1-3-2 Abstract Machines in College Station, Texas. Both clubs are coming off Week 6 wins and are looking to build some momentum. Just don't look for one to truly pull away from the other; since the league's inception, the Machines and Stereco have finished adjacent to one another in the postseason seeding each and every year: in '97, Machines 5, Sims 6; '98, 7 and 8; '99, 5 and 4; '00, 7 and 8; '01, 5 and 6.

Despite these close finishes, the Abstract Machines have dominated the series with Sims 6-2-1. This doesn't deter the 2002 Stereco, however, who sport a new look offense led by Drew Bledsoe, Michael Vick, and a rejuvenated Ricky Williams. The Machines have some offensive weapons of their own - namely Marshall Faulk and Marvin Harrison - and will be looking to take advantage of a porous Stereco defense.

Victims of the bye week:
Machines - RB Dillon
Sims - REC Toomer, REC Shockey, DEF N.Y. Giants

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Pirk's Wicked Oil Profiteer$ and the Anderson Brewmeisters head out West to the Bay Area for their Neutral Site Week clash at Oakland's Network Associates Coliseum. P.W.O.P. enters this contest having won two straight to break back above .500, while the Brewmeisters have managed to do just the opposite, dropping their last two games and falling a half game below the even mark.

The Profiteer$ are off to a great start in the historical reference of the franchise. Besides not starting the season 0-3 for the third straight year, P.W.O.P. sits only a half game out of first in the West heading into the season's halfway point. The same cannot be said for the Brewskies, who already sit a full three games back of The Pimps in the East and are likely resigned to fighting for a Wild Card berth. Offense shouldn't be a problem for these two clubs, and their respective defenses had their breakout games of the season last week. Should those performances carry over, the Bay Area should be in for a heck of a show.

Victims of the bye week:
P.W.O.P. - QB McNair, K Nedney
Anderson - REC Mason

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The season's best and worst will collide atop blue Astro Turf this week when the 0-5-1 Piana Raze and the 5-0-1 Pimps descend on Bronco Stadium in beautiful Boise, Idaho. Just how different are these two franchises? The Pimps have reached Neutral Site Week without incurring a loss for the second time in three seasons, while the Raze seem primed to make a bid for their third Draft Bowl appearance in four years.

Between cutting Charlie Garner right before the season and the Kurt Warner fiasco, Piana's 2002 campaign has been a nightmare. No FLF team has even won less than three games in the regular season, so maybe the Raze are due. For the defending Eastern Division champs and current division leaders, this is clearly flagged as a trap game. With the Stereco looming in Week 8, The Pimps will need to stay focused on the task at hand in Boise. Given they've won four straight against the Raze, this shouldn't be a problem.

Victims of the bye week:
Piana - QB Brady, RB Barber, DEF New England
Pimps - none

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Thomas' Bock Boys and the Naughty Figs will forever be linked in FLF lore as the league's only two expansion teams. 32 regular season games into their respective histories, the two clubs travel to The Swamp for Neutral Site Week's Game of the Week.

Thomas has proven to be the more successful franchise to date, having won 19 of those 32 regular season games and making playoff appearances in each of its first two seasons. The Figs have struggled by comparison, winning only 13 of 32 in the regular season and have yet to make the playoffs, instead settling for a Draft Bowl win in 2000. The first half of 2002 has been no different; Thomas sits atop the West at 4-2 while the Figs sit in the East's basement at 2-4.

So why care about this one? Any given Sunday, my friend. Despite the statistical differences, the Figs have split the two games with the Bock Boys, and claimed an 18-14 victory just last season. An upset here would keep the Figs in the playoff hunt and move them an inch closer to catching their expansion sibling's success. Yet the first-place B-Boys have their own motivation to crush the Figs. Not ones to sit on their hands, the B-Boys have their sights set on the franchise's first ever division title, and they can't afford to let these interdivisional opponents trip them up down the stretch. There'll be a party in the swamp tonight.

Victims of the bye week:
Thomas - RB Smith
Figs - REC Branch

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