The thirteenth season of Fantasy League Football kicks off this weekend with a battle between the Anderson Brewmeisters and the defending Eastern Division Champion Naughty Figs. (Yes, you read that right.) This Brew/Fig contest is the only Week 1 matchup featuring two playoff teams from a year ago. Coincidentally, it's also the only matchup featuring the two teams from Championship Week that didn't advance to the Super Bowl.

Indeed, Anderson made it back to penultimate week of competition for the third straight year, but a 41-29 loss to Thomas kept them from making a third straight trip to the Super Bowl. Peyton Manning, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Brian Westbrook are all back to make another run, but everyone is wondering if they can continue to keep their production totals among the league leaders. Despite not having had a losing regular season since 2003, consecutive 7-6 campaigns might have the Saint Arnold faithful a tad concerned.

The Naughty Figs were the story of the 2009 regular season. Not only did they win their first ever division title, they did so in record fashion, becoming the first team to ever go 8-0 in division and 12-1 overall. That improbable storyline went up in smoke during Championship Week, however, when the Figs choked away a 27-15 decision to the Colossal Waste of Time. They didn't take the loss personally, however, and actually traded away their Steeler defense and a 2010 pick to Jody in exchange for Frank Gore and Roddy White.

The FIgs essentially ran away and hid with the Eastern Division title last year, besting the second-place Brewmeisters by five whole games. And yet the current Naughties must be itching to get back on the field and prove that their 2008 was no fluke.

victims of the bye week: none

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The second Eastern Division bout of Kickoff Weekend has Jody's Colossal Waste of Time visiting The Pimps. Jody made some history last season by appearing in – and losing – its sixth Super Bowl. The C.W.O.T. certainly know what it takes to get there, having reached the Big Game in three of the last four years (and in half of the all of the Super Bowls to date), yet that first League Championship continues to elude the Pewter & Black. Jody certainly has the talent to make another run, but they've been slow starters of late, having dropped their last three season openers.

Looking to extend Jody's Week 1 misery are The Pimps, who enter 2009 with the pressure of sporting the longest current playoff drought in the league (four seasons). On top of that, they've been in the Draft Bowl each of the last two years. After losing to Sims in the 2007 Lesser Bowl, The Pimps knocked off the Stereco last year and selected Beanie Wells with the first overall pick earlier this month. Wells will get the start alongside Adrian Peterson this week as The Pimps look to start 1-0 and erase the memory of last year's 0-6 beginning.

victims of the bye week: none

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The first interdividional contest of the new season pits the Abstract Machines against the Sims Stereco. Both clubs had their seasons end during Wild Card Week last year, with the Machines falling to Jody in the playoffs and Sims getting rolled by The Pimps in the Draft Bowl.

Following an 0-5 stretch in the middle of their season, the Machines won five of their last six last year to finish at 7-6 and claim a Wild Card berth. It's a pretty remarkable feat considering they lost Tom Brady for the season in Week 1. They enter 2009 with three quarterbacks on the team – a healthy Brady, Matt Cassel, and the very veteran Brett Favre – to insure last year's catastrophe doesn't happen again. The Machines have the current longest active playoff streak at six seasons, and with Brady back at the helm you have to like them for a seventh.

Much like The Pimps, the Stereco head into the new campaign with a return to the playoffs on their mind. Two straight Draft Bowls have left the Stereco feeling a bit insignificant, but change is in the air. They traded for halfback Chris Johnson and drafted rookies Donald Brown, Mark Sanchez, and Percy Harvin, evidence of a commitment to youth. With Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald already in the fold, the Stereco seem to be just a couple of players away from contention once again.

victims of the bye week: none

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The Irwin Hellions meet the Piana Raze at En Fuego Field for the first of two Western Division battles in Kickoff Weekend. These two last met in Week 13 of last season, when the 3-9 Raze upended the 7-5 Hellions 38-33. The loss was a costly one for Irwin, who could have clinched a Western Division title and a bye with a win. Instead, the Hellions dropped to the No. 6 playoff seed and were booted by the Brewmeisters during Wild Card Week.

This is not to say the Hellions 2008 campaign was an unsuccessful one. Quite the contrary. Last year marked the return of the Hellions to the playoffs following a two-year absence, and they were just that one win away from their sixth division title. Irwin used the draft to boost depth at runningback, signing Derrick Ward and Ray Rice. Lots of youth at the position will hopefully balance the age of the receiving corps and quarterback platoon.

The Raze are hoping to have hit bottom last season, just two years removed from their Super Bowl victory. Piana arguably had one of the best drafts ever last year (Chris Johnson, Jonathan Stewart, Matt Forte, and DeSean Jackson), which ultimately translated into the league's highest 2009 offseason salary instead of wins. The Raze did manage to finish '08 in strong fashion, crushing the Brewmeisters 73-26 in Week 12 before upsetting the Hellions to double their win total and keep them out of the Draft Bowl.

victims of the bye week: none

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The defending Super Bowl Champion Thomas' Bock Boys kick off their title defense under the lights in Bockville against Pirk's Wicked Oil Profiteer$. These two put on what can only be described as the Game of the Year in Week 13 of last season, when the final minute of the Jaguar-Texan Monday Night Football matchup ultimately decided the game and the Western Division Champion. Thomas claimed the crown with a 30-29 victory before knocking off Anderson and Jody en route to its second Super Bowl title.

The 2008 Profiteer season was a tale of two halves. They won five of the their first six games and seemed to be a certain lock for the playoffs. The tides turned quickly, however, and they dropped six of their final seven to finish with a losing record and out of the playoffs. Poor defensive play was a big part of P.W.O.P.'s collapse, and Pirk addressed the issue directly in the draft, using two first round picks on the two best defenses available. It was a move that caught many owners off guard and sent them scrambling. It also sent a message that the '09 Profiteer$ had learned from their '08 mistakes.

The Bock Boys have rightfully basked in their Super Bowl victory and consecutive Western Division Titles. Although names like Garrard, Barber, Williams (Ricky, that is), and Jennings may not strike fear in opponents' hearts, they're getting the job done. (Impressively, they were the only club in the regular season to hand the Figs a loss.) And now there's a little slice of history for the champs to chase this season: no team has won back-to-back-to-back division titles since the Hellions did from 1999 to 2001. Can Thomas continue its reign of the West, or will the younger Pirkle correct its flaws from a year ago to unset his father? The FLF: Where drama happens.

Let the games begin.

victims of the bye week: none

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