2009 3/4 Pole

Four games remain in the 2009 season. Half of which will be division games as everyone ends the season with one. Amazingly no one has clinched anything and no one is completely eliminated from playoff hopes (even if some might be a bit delusional).

If the season ended today, the playoff seeds would be:

1. Malleus (7-3, Middle Division Champ)

2. Mimes (6-4, Left Division Champ)

3. CAPO (5-4-1, Right Division Champ)

4. Bill (6-3-1)

5. Drow(6-4)

6. Rednecks (5-4-1)

The division races and predictions:

Middle:

Malleus and Bill are seperated by 1/2 game and will meet the last week of the season with a potential #1 seed on the line. Neither can clinch anything this week.

Rednecks are lurking just a 1.5 games behind Malleus and have a date with Bill week 13.

Old No. 7 is on the verge of having to give up on a division title. A loss and Malleus win this week would lock them out. However, a wild card spot is still a possibility.

Prediction: Both Rednecks and Old No. 7 are probably good for 2 more wins over their last 4. Bill has an easier remaining schedule then Malleus but it could very easily come down to that last game and I've got to give Bill the slight edge right now.

Left:

Mimes and Drow are locked in a virtual tie atop the division and like their counterparts in the Middle Division can look forward to a final week showdown. Both teams also face more difficult schedules then Lagers and Beavers so those teams can not be counted out yet. The deciding factor for these two teams may be which one can turn their recent poor play around quicker.

Lagers face a very interesting schedule that matches them up with teams playing very similar to Lagers. Lagers could run the table, lose out, or any where in between and I will not be surprised.

Beavers actually have the easiest of the schedules remaining in this division and I would not rule out a 4-game winning streak to end the season and launch Beavers into the playoffs or even to a Division title.

Prediction: I think (hope?) Drow are most likely to finish strongest and edge out Mimes and a resurgent Beavers for the division. I think Mimes and Beavers will finish at 7-7 and Lagers will finish 6-7-1 or so.

Right:

Go schedule makers! The top two teams in the Right are also on a collision course for a game the last week of the season that could easily decide the Division title. I would not be surprised if the Right Division did not win another game outside their division this year so this will be all about the division games and any cushion CAPO have so far. That also makes it unlikely that a Right Division team will be in contention for a wild card.

Prediction: It really should all come down to the last game of the season between CAPO and Ramjets (only 1/2 game behind), unless Ramjets stumble this weekend and CAPO do not. Or someone gets a win over a non-Right Division team. I'll give CAPO the edge right now to win the division with a 7-6-1 record after beating Ramjets the final week of the season. Ramjets would finish 5-7-2 while Hamburglers and Flannel could easily play both the last week of the season and again the next week in the Toilet Bowl. Flannel could end up with 12 loses if they lost-out.

Prediction Summary:

1. Bill (9-4-1, Middle Division Champ)

2. Drow (8-6, Left Division Champ)

3. CAPO (7-6-1, Right Division Champ)

4. Malleus (9-5)

5. Rednecks (7-6-1)

6. Beavers (7-7)

Mimes also finish 7-7 but get swept by Beavers in this scenario to lose out on the playoffs.