While Rivalry Week may have brought us only one close game, it was an intense battle. Both a copy of FIFA 06 for XBOX and a playoff spot were at stake for Kevin, and while by Monday night, Dave's playoff hopes were wiped away, he still had a chance to play spoiler.

Instead, a Donald Driver fumble propelled Kevin into the playoffs and shut the door on Allen.

The playoff field is set: Rob, the only Blingaleague member to make the playoffs all three seasons, takes on Kevin, while Ed and Derrek meet for the third time this year.

Weekly Recap

Babel def. Ed, 135.11-87.65: Babel claimed the Old-School Timberwolves hat in convincing fashion, propelling himself to the fourth-highest point total in the league. More on this below.

Rob def. Pulley, 102.43-81.45: Rob won the Clash of Hatred solidly, taunting Pulley, "No claiming you threw this last game because you were jockeying for draft position, Pulley. You lost it because your team is inferior."

Derrek def. Allen, 123.66-72.70: D left little doubt as to who deserved the playoff spot of this duo. For the second time in three years, Allen finishes as the top non-playoff team.

Matt def. Mike, 129.99-109.99: Mike puts up a good effort, but couldn't win to grab the final playoff spot. Instead, thanks to Babel's team's fine effort the past two weeks, Mike falls to tenth place.

Rabbit def. Pat, 103.67-63.77: Rabbit reaches double-digit wins with a thorough whipping of Pat, who's team picked a bad week to lay an egg.

Kevin def. Dave, 104.67-103.46: Dave has only Donald Driver to blame. Well, not really, but Driver's fumble on Monday night was the difference here.

Weekly Awards

Team Blangums (Top Score): Bavaria Tatzelwurms (Babel) topped last week's score, posting a 135.11.

Slapped Heartbeat (Low Score): Cincinnati Bungles (Pat) stumbled across the finish line with a 63.77.

Start of the Week: Kevin's faith in Brandon Jacobs paid off, as the Giants' RB put up 25.77 points.

Misplay of the Week: I'll give Allen a pass on his play of an inactive DeAngelo Williams, as his best benched RB (Ahmad Bradshaw) scored only 2.70 points. However, I will give this award to him for sitting Roy Williams and his 20.00 points, while his three starting WRs - Terrell Owens (4.13), Jerricho Cotchery (9.07), and Laveranues Coles (3.33) - didn't even add up to that many points.

Current Standings

1. Rabbit+ (10-3)

2. Matt+ (9-4)

3. Rob* (8-5)

4. Ed* (7-6)

5. Derrek* (7-6)

6. Kevin* (6-7)

7. Allen (6-7)

8. Pat (6-7)

+ First-round bye

* Playoff spot

Upcoming Week

BYES: (1)Rabbit, (2)Matt

(3)Rob v. (6)Kev

(4)Ed v. (5)Derrek

Season Summaries

Allen Clark (Optimus Prime), 6-7, 1272.73 points:

Positives: Peyton Manning was stellar, as usual, as well as Robbie Gould. Allen was quick to recognize that both the Saints and Jets would have good seasons.

Negatives: Allen's gamble of an all-Panther backfield was sunk due to the team's disappointing season.

Pat Gawne (Cincinnati Bunlgles), 6-7, 1233.54 points:

Positives: Ray Rice was a monster, and looks to be an excellent keeper candidate. Pat also shrewdly drafted LeSean McCoy to handcuff Brian Westbrook, which paid off when the latter missed the last few weeks.

Negatives: Matt Ryan was a big disappointment, and Pat's WRs were inconsistent throughout the season.

Mark Babel (Bavaria Tatzelwurms), 5-8, 1326.73 points:

Positives: Thomas Jones surprised everyone by having a good year even though he's older than Bobby Inglese, and Percy Harvin emerged as the best rookie WR and an excellent keeper option.

Negatives: Kurt Warner was inconsistent and Jason Witten had a down year. Babel suffered through two separate four-game losing streaks. Mark's 1326.73 points were good for fourth-most in the league, the highest finish for a non-playoff team in Blingaleague history.

Mike Romor (Orton hears a Boo), 5-8, 1310.52 points:

Positives: Matt Schaub was a top-tier fantasy QB for the first six weeks or so, Joseph Addai had a good rebound year, and Hines Ward is still going. Mike also traded for Miles Austin before all his explosion weeks were over.

Negatives: Michael Turner was having a decent year until his injury killed Mike's season. Calvin Johnson's injury was devastating all year.

Dave Fultz (PLAYOFFS?!?!!), 5-8, 1247.70 points:

Positives: For the first time in team history, Dave didn't finish in last in either record or total points! Lee Evans had a surprisingly good year. Donald Driver had a career renaissance.

Negatives: Julius Jones was a disaster, and Matt Forte was a huge disappointment, leading to RB woes all season for Dave.

Adam Pulley (Pullman's MondSquad), 4-9, 1146.59:

Positives: Jamaal Charles had a couple good weeks as a late-season pickup.

Negatives: Steve Smith disappointed, Clinton Portis disappointed, and Tony Gonzalez was just kind of meh. Pulley was forced to start Johnny Knox as his #2 WR most weeks.

Closing Thoughts

Your humble editor would like to apologize for leaving Matt off of last week's list of Blingaleague members with recent life-changing events. Matt, along with his lovely Andrea, recently moved into their new home in Bloomingdale. I have seen the place, and I approve.

Additionally, based on the final records and point totals of the six non-playoff teams, I can report the following odds for winning the first pick of next year's draft:

Adam Pulley => 27.73%

Dave Fultz => 18.15%

Mike Romor => 17.28%

Mark Babel => 17.06%

Pat Gawne => 10.16%

Allen Clark => 9.62%

It was an excellent season, in my opinion; ten teams were alive for playoff spots going into rivalry week, and the last playoff spot was decided by just over one point in the Dave-Kevin rivalry. Good luck to everyone moving forward!

I am also very happy that you guys like the newsletter. If anyone ever wants to add sections or contribute something, feel free; the more involved, the better!

Vaya con blingums,

Eddo

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