Wild Card Week 2008 kicks off from Saint Arnold Stadium, where the 3rd-seeded Anderson Brewmeisters host the 6th-seeded Irwin Hellions. All four 2008 wild card teams finished the regular season with 7-6 records, but tiebreakers have given the defending Super Bowl Champion Brewmeisters home field advantage as they welcome the Hellions back into the playoffs following a two-year absence.

Somewhat shockingly, this is only the second playoff meeting between these two storied franchises. Each has three Super Bowl titles, which when combined has accounted for more than half of the league titles awarded to date. The Brewmeisters stormed out to a rousing start upon entering the league, winning back-to-back Super Bowls in 1998 and 1999. Irwin then stepped up to claim the next two in 2000 and 2001. The Hellions clipped the Brewskies in Super Bowl VIII (2004) to break the tie, but Anderson evened it back up with a Super Bowl victory last year. Adding to their credentials, both clubs have played in one other Super Bowl (each, coincidentally, losing to the Raze: Irwin in 1997 and Anderson in 2006). All told, there have played 29 playoff games between them, making it all the more shocking that their paths haven't crossed more often in the postseason.

They last met on the field in Week 9, and Anderson thumped the hosting Hellions 35-23 at Purgatory Field. That game, however, actually reversed the fortunes of the two clubs for the season's final month. Irwin went on a three-game tear, putting itself in position to win the West before conceding the title with a Week 13 loss at Piana, whereas Anderson posted a mirror opposite record of 1-3 down the stretch, including losing its last two heading into the playoffs.

The major spark fueling Irwin's late-season surge has been DeAngelo Williams. The second-round pick in this year's draft sat out the Week 9 matchup against Anderson, but has since posted scores of 10, 12, 10, and 17. For a franchise that has lacked explosiveness at the halfback position, Irwin seems to have found its man. From the other sideline, the historically dangerous LaDainian Tomlinson is suffering his worst year as a pro, averaging less than 7 ppg. Whatever's been ailing LT has also spread to throughout the locker room, as the champs have been the new model of inconsistency. Three times the Brewmeisters have posted the week's high score, but three other times they've posted the lowest, including Week 13. This game quite simply could come down to which Brewmeister squad decides to show up.

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The second Wild Card games comes to us from The Vortex, where the 4th-seeded Jody's Colossal Waste of Time hosts the 5th-seeded Abstract Machines.This matchup also features the only Wild Card Week competitors to enter the postseason with wins, as the AM's come in riding a three-game winning streak and Jody is coming off a big home win over Anderson. With identical 7-6 records, Jody was awarded home field advantage thanks to a Neutral site Week win over the Machines at tiny Warrior Stadium in Bulverde, Texas.

This will be the third ever playoff meeting between these two clubs. The Machines rolled up Jody 35-21 in the 2005 Super Bowl, and then the C.W.O.T. exacted a small amount of revenge with a home-cooked 41-39 Wild Card victory the following season. Although they did not meet in the playoffs last year (the Machines were destroyed by P.W.O.P. in the first round, who in turn were crushed by Jody in the second), it's nice to see them back on the same field in 2008. They are, after all, staples of the playoff bracket, as Jody is making its fourth straight trip and the Machines their sixth. (four straight as the No. 5 seed, for what that's worth.)

These clubs sport obvious differences from their playoff tussles of years past, beginning with their quarterbacks. Gone are Tom Brady (via injury) and Carson Palmer (via trade). The Machines now rotate between Matt Cassel and Chad Pennington, while the C.W.O.T. seems to have found their new leader in Aaron Rodgers. Jody has been bogged by injuries elsewhere, however, and last week's win over the Brewmeisters snapped a three-game skid and secured their playoff spot. The Machines went through similar hard luck earlier in the season, actually losing five straight before before winning five of their last six to qualify for the playoffs (and actually content for the division title).

The Mechanical Ones have been one-and-done in the two years since their Super Bowl IX win. Can they keep that late-season momentum going, or will the home field mojo of the C.W.O.T. (5-1 at the Vortex) send them home once again?

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For the first time in twelve seasons, the annual Draft Bowl has its first repeat matchup. The Sims Stereco and The Pimps – who, coincidentally, met in the Draft Bowl just last year – get a second shot an one another with the first overall pick in next year's draft on the line. It's rather surprising that the Stereco and Pimps have landed as the bottom two seeds once again, given they had the first two picks in this year's draft. Yet Darrin McFadden's gimpy toe has kept him from being productive for the Stereco, and the Derek Anderson era of The Pimps was very short-lived. These draft misses contributed to both franchises finishing with worse records in '08 than last season.

This will be the Stereco's fourth career trip to the Draft Bowl, which is second only to P.W.O.P.'s five (see chart below). Of more concern is that it's the Red & Gold's third trip in four seasons, with an increasingly more improbable 2006 Championship Week appearance mixed in. To be fair, there are big names on the roster, a la Brees, Jacobs, and Fitzgerald, and that kind of foundation should lead to greater things. Yet for the second straight season, a non-existent start doomed the Stereco's playoff hopes from the outset; they're a combined 2-11-1 in the first seven weeks of the past two seasons. Sims has finished both years relatively strong, however, going 3-3 down the stretch. That was certainly encouraging enough last year, but nothing came of it. Will history repeat itself?

The dry spell for The Pimps is even longer. Although this is only their second Draft Bowl appearance since 1997, it's also their fourth straight year to be M.I.A. from the playoffs. With the exception of perhaps quarterback, The Pimps need help across the board. Like Sims, three great players – Kurt Warner, Adrian Peterson, and Randy Moss – does not a team make. But also like Sims, they too have played better football in the second half of the season. Can they get past the Stereco to claim their first ever Draft Bowl victory? Recent history suggests "no", as they've failed to beat the Stereco in seven straight meetings (six losses, one tie).

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