Week 11
Irwin, Jody roll ahead
The Hellions and C.W.O.T. post big divisional wins to inch closer to their respective titles while the streaking Banshees sweep The Pimps. All this and more in...

The Week That Was in Fantasy League Football

The Irwin Hellions overcame an inspired performance by the Abstract Machines to sweep the season series and retain a two-game lead in the Western Division. The Machines, playing without star running back Marshall Faulk made a game of it Sunday afternoon, scoring enough points to keep it close while letting their St. Louis defense put the wraps on Irwin. The Hellions' league-best Buccanneer defense had its worst outing of the season, being easily bested by the Machines' Rams squad 15-5. Irwin entered Sunday night's game behind by seven points, but the Machines' Marvin Harrison couldn't keep the lead against the Hellions dynamic ground duo of Edgerrin James and Curtis Martin, who secured the win with a combined 20 points. The win moves Irwin ever-so-close to its second consecutive Western Division title, while the loss drops the Machines to a dangerous record of 5-6 on the playoff fringe.

For only the second time in eight meetings, Jody's Colossal Waste of Time walks away from a battle with the Anderson Brewmeisters as the victor. It was a tight game that was ulitmately decided on Monday night as the C.W.O.T.'s Tim Brown bested the Brewmeisters' Ed McCaffery 9-3 in head-to-head combat. While Anderson's Mike Vanderjagt (11 points) outdueled fellow placekicker Martin Grammatica (10 points) and his two 50+ yard kicks, the best matchup was on defense. Jody's Miami squad came on with authority once again, topping a strong outing by Anderson's MightyTitan defense 21-15. With the win, Jody (7-4) climbs into sole possession of the Eastern lead while Anderson (5-6) drops its second straight to find itself currently on the outside looking in with regard to the playoffs.

Brandon's Yellow-bellied Overweight Banshees continue to do the improbable, downing The Pimps for the second time in three weeks and finishing divisional play with a very respectable 4-4 record. Runningbacks Jamal Anderson and Lamar Smith (combined 21 points) held their own against The Pimps' backfield of Ricky Watters and Jerome Bettis (combined 22), but the game was won by the Buffalo defense - fresh out of unemployment - signed a day earlier by Brandon to replace the bye-stricken Redskin squad. The Bills proved their worth, handily besting The Pimps' Packer unit 22-5. The loss is the nightmare-ish fifth straight for The Pimps, who find themselves out of first place for the first time this season. Possibly even more frightening, with their fourth consecutive win, the once 1-6 Banshees now trail The Pimps by a single game in the playoff hunt.

The Raze's New Orleans defense attoned for a disappointing 6-point performance last week by mauling The Players for 31 points against as Piana avenged an early-season loss and bounced back into the win column. Charlie Garner led Piana's offense with 10 points while, not surprisingly, Jeff Garcia led The Players with 13. The win moves Piana to 6-5 and keeps them two-games back of Irwin in the West. The loss is historic for The Players. First, their ninth loss ties their 1997 campaign (3-9) for most losses in a season. Second, The Players' current six-game losing streak is the longest in franchise history. The silver lining is that, for the third time in four years, The Players are guaranteed to have one of the top two draft picks, having locked their place in this season's Draft Bowl.

Kurt Warner. Kevin Dyson. Joey Galloway. Rahib Ismail. And now Ricky Williams. All former or current members of the 2000 Sims Stereco that have sustained severe or season-ending injuries. This week, the crippled Stereco had only four members of their team post points in a rout by the Bock Boys. Thomas, to its credit, wins consecutive games for the first time in franchise history. The Stereco have now dropped three straight and might need a miracle to find the win cloumn again before season's end. Never has the league seen such an uncontrolled collapse, and one can only offer sympathy. Unless you're the Bock Boys, then you beat the ever-living tar out of helpless team to better your playoff chances. God Bless America.