The Sims Stereco make the franchise's first Championship Week appearance when they visit the Eastern Division Champion and top-seeded Pimps. The Stereco scored a Monday Night come-from-behind upset over the P.W.O.P. last week in earning their first ever playoff win. Moreover, Sims is the hottest team around, winners of five straight, including a Week 10 win over the division champs. To their own credit, The 9-3-1 Pimps became the first Eastern franchise ever to repeat as division champs and are making their fourth straight Championship Week appearance.

Sims is peaking at the best possible time. Even though Mike Vick may have taken a statistical step back last week, the rest of the team has continued to improve. Terrell Owens proves he's one of the league's truly elite receivers on a weekly basis, and Ricky Williams comes in on the strength of consecutive 200-yard rushing games. Yet the true key for Sims may be in their Giants' defense, who followed up a dismal minus(1) game with a game-breaking 23-point effort last week. The Stereco will need at least a solid game from its defense if they're to have a shot at getting past The Pimps.

Despite having a well-deserved week off for defending their Eastern Division title, The Pimps come limping into Championship Week. Most noticeably, Mark Brunell and Jerome Bettis have been slowed with late-season injuries. Thankfully, The Pimps all-star receiving triumvirate of Rod Smith, Jerry Rice, and Peerless Price is at full-strength, which could be bad news for Sims. Throw in the league's second-best defense in Green Bay, and Eastern Champs could have enough to derail the Stereco Express. And just to be safe — The Pimps haven't lost a game at home all season (5-0-1).

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Jody's Colossal Waste of Time storms into Bockville this weekend, making a triumphant return to Championship Week after missing the playoffs altogether last season. Jody dismantled the sixth-seeded Anderson Brewmeisters at the Vortex last week, setting up this stirring 2-vs-3-seed meeting with the Western Champion Thomas' Bock Boys. Both clubs finished the regular season at 9-4, but Jody went an impressive 5-0 against the West, including a 34-17 victory over the Bock Boys last month. Despite their inter-divisional success, it's the Wild Card C.W.O.T. who find themselves on the road to meet up with the Champion of the West.

After losing its final two games of the regular season, Jody rebounded with one of the greatest Wild Card efforts in league history to discard the Brewmeisters. Deuce McAllister, in particular, had a banner day, proving his worth as the third-overall selection in this year's draft. With Quarterback Aaron Brooks still bothered with a bruised shoulder, the C.W.O.T. will likely pound the ball with McAllister and Eddie George all day long. Besides keeping up with such an unrelenting offense, Thomas should also beware Jody's unforgiving Dolphin defense, which has a knack for raising their game to new highs during the playoffs.

Expect nothing short of chaos at Bockyard Stadium this week. The Bock Boys are pumped about winning their first division title and are still riding the high of routing the Profiteer$ in the season finale. Priest Holmes has been the team's offensive lead all season, and that won't change now. Number 31 will get the ball plenty of times, but he'll need backup support from Antowain Smith and Daunte Culpepper, who've struggled with consistency all season. As a result, Thomas' Eagles defense will need to be that much better at containing the C.W.O.T., a challenge for which they certainly seem capable of having held their last two opponents to a combined 23 points. Indeed, this one promises to have its share of flashy plays and brutal hits, with the survivor heading to San Diego for Super Bowl VI.

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