playoff semifinals

Cat Success vs. Taxmen.

Winehausfrau vs. Cavalry.

Good luck to all (especially moi).

Remember, there's a Thursday and a Saturday game this week.

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playoffs are set

#1 seed -- Catastrophic Success

#2 seed -- Winehausfrau

#3 seed -- 9th Mississippi Cavalry

#4 seed -- Taxmen

#5 seed -- Shiners

#6 seed -- Steel Curtain

Week one:

Cat Success, Winehausfrau have byes.

Cavalry (3) vs. Steel Curtain (6). Winner gets Winehausfrau.

Taxmen (4) vs. Shiners (5). Winner gets Cat Success.

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about that quarterback rating nonsense

If you saw the Monday night game, you heard them go on and on about Drew Brees' perfect passing rating of 158.3. Bet you're wondering what that number means. Here's an equation for it, where C is completions, Y is yards, T is touchdowns, I is interceptions and A is attempts.

You can read more about the history of the passer rating at www.nytimes.com/2004/01/14/sports/pro-football-the-nfl-s-passer-rating-arcane-and-misunderstood.html.

Silly me. I always thought the best measures of a QB were a) making the plays when it matters and b) winning. Especially b).

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the saints and all dat

You won't hear the commish gloating about the Saints' perfect record -- 42 years of mostly putrid play will do that to a person. Besides, the commish married into a family that has a collective 15 Super Bowl rings (Steelers 6, Cowboys 5, Patriots 3, Jets 1). Still, it's somewhat salivating to think about New Orleans hosting a NFC championship game against Brett Favre and the Vikings, and then -- dare we dream? -- a Super Bowl matchup against the Colts and Peyton Manning, New Orleans-born and son of a beloved Saint.

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playoff picture

Just one more regular-season week, and then the playoffs get going. Here's how it'll work:

6 teams in playoffs.

Top two seeds (division winners) get byes.

3 seed plays 6 seed. Winner plays 2 seed.

4 seed plays 5 seed. Winner plays 1 seed.

As things stand right now, the playoff teams would be: Cat Success, Winehaus, Cavalry, Taxmen, Steel Curtain and Weapons. The only other team with a chance to get are the Shiners.

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thursday game this week

Not that anyone's roster is littered with Jets and/or Bills, but just a heads-up that they're playing early.

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standings update

The balance of power is definitely with the Wily Veterans division this year, with 5 of the 6 teams having winning records. Compare that to the Brash Upstarts division, where only Winehausfrau has managed to win more than she's lost.

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trade deadline is Nov. 28

So there's still time to approach Catastrophic Success with an offer, if you're up to dealing with someone who lists their "needs" as none. (Easy to say from their perch atop the Wily Veterans division.)

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playoff update

If I'm remembering right, 6 teams will make the playoffs -- the top 3 in each division, with teams seeded 1 through 6 and the division winners getting a first-round bye. Playoffs start in week 14, just a couple of games from now.

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thursday games

There are 3 of them. Set lineups accordingly:

   * Green Bay at Detroit

   * Oakland at Dallas

  * N.Y. Giants at Denver

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