Last year, an epic quarterfinals round led to a lackluster pair of semifinal games. This year's semis will find it hard to be worse than the quarters.

Quarterfinals Recap

Babel def. Mike R., 80.31-71.76:

Oh, how the mighty fall. As noted last week, Bernie was in first or second for the first twelve weeks of the season. Now, he's done, thanks to a man who is no stranger to having a stellar regular season undone in week fourteen.

Babel did everything he could to lose this one. His high score was 16.55, provided by Carson Palmer, and he had only four players with more than ten points. But Mike had only three, and as a result, Babel's magical run will continue into the semis. This is the fourth time in five years that the #6 seed has won at least one playoff game.

Ed def. Derrek, 107.11-85.65:

This one was tight for a while, but by the time the Sunday night game started, I had a pretty safe lead. Brandon Marshall (27.33) and Adrian Peterson (29.53) essentially canceled each other out, as did Brandon Pettigrew (0.00) and Larry Fitzgerald (0.27). It was the secondary players - Ben Roethlisberger (23.35) and Ray Rice (20.10) for me, Colin Kaepernick (16.55) and Darren McFadden (12.80) for D - that decided this one.

Draft Lottery

The odds for getting the #1 overall pick are:

Richie: 27.75%

Rob: 17.53%

Pulley: 14.14%

Pat: 11.04%

Kevin: 10.13%

Schertz: 9.54%

Allen: 4.96%

Dave: 4.9%

Weekly Awards

Team Blangums: My 107.11 was the best score this week, but was worse than everyone in the 2011 quarterfinals.

Slapped Heartbeat: Mike R.' season ends with a whimper, as he closes with 71.76.

Dud of the Week: The Pittsburgh defense scored -3.00 for Derrek. The reason this is funny is escaping me at the moment. Perhaps one of you could help me out?

Season Postmortems

Derrek Drenckpohl (D's Nuts, 8-6, 5th/6th):

This might have been the most Derrek-y year that D has had yet. He was near the top of the standings all year, but never really seemed to be one of the best teams. He made the playoffs, but lost in the quarterfinals. He had plenty of Vikings on his roster. I think we can pencil Derrek in to play in one of the quarterfinal matchups next year.

Expected wins: 6.876 (regular season).

Mike Romor (Bernard's Bullies, 11-3, 5th/6th):

Mike can either celebrate his first-ever playoff berth, or lament that he didn't fulfill the promise of one of the most impressive regular seasons we've yet seen. Why do I feel like he'll (rightfully) be angry at Chris Johnson? He'll have some interesting offseason decisions, as Demaryius Thomas, Matt Ryan, Torrey Smith, and Jordy Nelson are among his keeper options.

Expected wins: 9.151 (regular season).

Semifinals Preview

Harrison Hammers (Matt, 11-2, #2) vs. Half of a Horse (Ed, 9-5, #4):

Matt leads all-time series, 5-2.

Matt and I have been among the top four teams this year all season, so it's no surprise we're here. Matt made a great call in waiting on Peyton Manning so he could load up on RBs early, and it paid off all year. I made a great call in keeping Brandon Marshall, who's been the #1 Blingaleague WR through fourteen weeks (slightly ahead of Calvin Johnson).

For the fourth straight year, either Matt or I will be playing for the Sanderson Cup. Last year, Matt defeated me handily in the semis. I'd like to return the favor, but I think the Hammers are just too strong.

Pick: Harrison Hammers.

Pralines & Dick (Rabbit, 12-1, #1) vs. Artifish Inteligents (Babel, 7-7, #6):

Rabbit leads all-time series, 4-1.

Who has played Matt and me these past three Blingabowls? Why, Rabbit, of course. This time around, his semifinal opponent is a relative newbie.

Babel hasn't made it this far since 2008, when he was upset as the #1 seed by Pulley. Can he follow Matt's precedent last year, and reach the Blingabowl from the #6 spot?

His work is cut out for him. He's got Calvin Johnson, but the Cardinals are still somewhat tough on receivers. Carson Palmer could have a big day against the Chiefs, though.

And Rabs has a slightly unfavorable matchup for Tom Brady, who plays the 49ers.

This one might come down to the Bengals-Eagles Thursday night game. Babel's got BenJarvus Green-Ellis, while Rabbit's got A.J. Green.

Pick: Pralines & Dick.

Sunday Huddle

Sunday Huddle is on hiatus, as I'll be at the Bears game this Sunday.

Closing Thoughts

Enjoy the early edition, guys!

Eddo

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