The Sims Stereco host Jody's Colossal Waste of Time in the first of two Eastern Division battles kicking off the second half of the season. The C.W.O.T. are the second-hottest club at the moment, having won three straight, including last week's Neutral Site win over the feisty Machines. The Stereco are racing in the opposite direction, having now dropped four straight following a loss to the Hellions in College Station.

If there's to be hope for the Stereco in this one, it's this: Jody's top two point producers – the Bears defense and quarterback Aaron Rodgers – will be sitting this one out on bye. J.T. O'Sullivan will get the nod at QB, while the defense is still TBD. And odds are Steven Jackson may find himself back in the lineup given his wasted 18-point effort last week. The Stereco, meanwhile, are hoping for big numbers of their own from Drew Brees, who has been hit-or-miss thus far this season. He was a "miss" last week against Irwin (just 3 points), but the good news there is that Brees has yet to have two bad games in a row. And when he hits this season, he hits big, to the tune of 11-plus points.

victims of the bye week:
Jody – QB Rodgers, DEF Chicago
Sims – RB Pittman, DEF Green Bay

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Don't look now, but the Super Bowl Champs may be on tilt. A week after being slapped down by the surging Naughty Figs, their kicker (who had been averaging 9.8 ppg) failed to get the three points on Monday night needed to down the rival Bock Boys. Now, the third-place Brewmeisters head into a potential lion's den to meet The Pimps, who have just snapped an eleven (!) game losing streak.

Anderson just isn't the same this year. Manning, Tomlinson, and their Charger defense have – in an understatement – failed to meet expectations. The Pimps are glowing having taken down the West-leading Profiteer$ in Idaho last week. Now they turn their attention to winning their first divisional game since Week 4 of last season. (Care to guess who that was against? Anderson, of course!) Unfortunately for the Feathered Ones, their biggest playmaker, Adrian Peterson, will be sitting this one out on bye. At least Anderson won't have to worry about kicker Matt Prater choking this one away; he's out on bye as well.

victims of the bye week:
Anderson – K Prater
Pimps – RB Peterson, RB Young, REC Royal

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Pirk's Wicked Oil Profiteer$ try to shake off last week's stunning loss to The Pimps when they return home to host the sliding Piana Raze. P.W.O.P. had won five in a row and built a two-game lead in the West before losing last week, which cut their lead over Thomas and Irwin in half. At 2-5, the Raze aren't really a threat to suddenly compete for the division title, but they're not yet ready to concede a playoff berth either.

The Raze have a deep roster, but that depth has been the biggest culprit in their downfall. Having too many choices has crippled the coaching staff, which has had a hard time starting the right combination of players in a given week. When these teams met in Week 5, Piana had two starters post zeros en route to a four-point loss. Can they possibly put the right combination together, and if so, will it even matter? Profiteer rookie Steve Slaton had a career-best 11 points against the Raze in Week 5, and Philip Rivers – now forced into the starting role after Tony Romo's injury – has been the most productive player in Oil Town this season. Can Pirk rebound and bury the Raze, or will they fall to a losing club for the second consecutive week?

victims of the bye week:
Piana – QB Orton, RB Forte
P.W.O.P. – K Crosby

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The Irwin Hellions host the Abstract Machines at the Hellhole in the last of the Haves vs. the Have-nots for Week 8. The poor Machines are finding new, painful ways to lose. A week after coughing up sure win against Piana with a negative defensive score on Monday Night, the Machines put up the second-best point total of Neutral Site Week only to see their opponent (the C.W.O.T.) put up the week's best. Irwin survived a late rally to defeat the Stereco last week and now sit only a game back of the Profiteer$.

The individual Machines came up big last week, with seven of eight starters scoring between seven and nine points. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to prevent the AM's fifth straight loss. The good news for them, however, is that they're playing the team from which they scored their last win (way back in Week 2). The Hellions have done pretty well for themselves since that hurricane loss, going 3-2, but that may be somewhat deceiving. Those three wins came against the other three Have-nots, while Irwin dropped games against two contenders (Thomas and the FIgs).

victims of the bye week:
Machines – RB Grant, REC Berrian
Irwin – none

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The only Week 8 game featuring a pair of Haves is also the Game of the Week, as the 4-3 Thomas' Bock Boys host the 7-0 Naughty Figs. Both clubs posted Neutral Site Week wins, with the Figs routing Piana by 20 and the Boys nipping the Brewskies by 1.

The Figs set some history last week, becoming the first franchise to start a season 7-0, besting The Pimps' previous best seven-week mark of 6-0-1, set in 2002. This is an impressive feat considering the Figs have only made the playoffs once in their previous eight seasons. Perhaps the most impressive stat: with six weeks still remaining, 2008 is already the second most successful campaign in Fig history. One more regular season win and they'll tie their franchise best mark of 8 (set in 2004).

Bound forever with the Naughty Figs are Thomas' Bock Boys. They are the only two expansion clubs in FLF history, and just as the Figs' lack of success is well known, so too is the remarkable accomplishments of the team from Bockville. Four Championship Week appearances, two Western Division titles, and one Super Bowl victory puts Thomas ahead of even some of the Old Guard.

The shoe does, however, appear to be on the other foot in 2008. Thomas enters this week's contest as the underdog, standing as the next team in line with a shot at slowing down the Mighty Figs. Can they drop their expansion brethren, or will they become just another notch on the Figs' historic 2008 belt?

victims of the bye week:
Figs – QB Cutler, REC Marshall, K Longwell, DEF Minnesota
Thomas – REC Driver, REC Jennings

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