Week 8 Match-ups

	Chargers (4-3) vs. JYDs (4-3)
	***Matchup of the week***  This is a match-up pitting the #2 teams in the NFL and CFL against each other, both of which are three games behind the division leader.  The Chargers have a nice winning streak, but the potential loss of McNair may leave them starting Jake Delhomme against a normally dominant Seattle Defense.  The JYDs got a big win last week as Priest Holmes came alive, but they will be without one of their starting studs as Marshall Faulk will be on a bye (along with 5 other members of their team).
	Marauders (2-5) vs. Phatbacks (2-5)
	The Marauders have won two in a row, and look to make it three when facing their 3rd opponent who scores in the bottom third of the league.  The Marauders might get a good game from a few of their players as KC's Trent Green takes on the weak Colts Defense while the flipside of that puts Edgerin James on the KC defense.  Should be a big week from those two.  The PhatBacks look like they have a stud of a running-back in Ruben Droughns, and with Emmitt Smith playing like he's 22 again, are finally getting a solid running game together.
	Rynos (7-0) vs. SmackDownSister (3-4)
	Just when SDS gets rolling, he has to face one of the best teams in the league.  The Rynos have a very balanced team, and will have some tough decisions on who to start - Leftwich or Brady, Henry vs. McGahee, and the #1 ranked Baltimore defense vs. the explosive Philadelphia Eagles or the solid Bills defense vs. the Arizona Cardinals.  SDS does not have as many questions, but with two top performers (McNabb and Westbrook) playing against that Baltimore D, it will be tough to have a really big week.
	StiffArms (4-3) vs. Hitmen (2-5)
	The StiffArms lost a heart-breaker last week as he watched Chad Johnson score a big TD against their defense that knocked them out, and one game down on the division leading Rynos.  This week they get Clinton Portis back, and with Thomas Jones up against the weak San Fran defense, may have solid production out of their RBs again (last week more than 22 points from backups).  The Hitmen need to start winning now to keep their post-season hopes alive, as they don't want to fall any further behind the Hooligans and SDS.  This week they've got two of their top receivers on a bye, and another two up against the Atlanta defense, although you never know what that's going to bring.
	Assassins (7-0) vs. Hooligans (4-3)
	The #1 team in the CFL and the #1 team in the XFL go head to head this week.  The Assassins have a conundrum on their hands as they have to start Big Ben Roethlisberger at QB who is up against their Patriots Defense.  The Hooligans lost last week, but still have the lead in the XFL.    This week has a bunch of question marks with Martin & Griffith going up against top ranked rush defense, but Brett Favre playing against the Washington defense may be able to carry the team.
	Ketchup Hotdog (3-4) vs. Quiet Storm (0-7)
	Poor Quiet Storm.  A loss last week to the 2nd worst team in the league, and this week they play the highest scoring team in the league looking for revenge after a 2 point loss last week.  KH still has serious WR troubles as Isacc Bruce will be on a bye, and the rest of their WRs except for Javon Walker are injured or limited.  That might be all QS needs to end their losing streak, since this week they'll have the five players they were missing last week playing (Coles, Johnson, Barlow and Davis).

Transactions, Week 8

• Chargers drop Morton.Anderson and add the Arizona defense for $1

• StiffAmrs drop Jerry Rice and add FB Brad Hoover (car) for $2

• JYDs drop the St. Louis defense and adds the New York Jets defense

• JYDs move Mike Alstott to IR and add Steve Christie

• The Hitmen trade Jermain Wiggins to the Assassins for Brandon Lloyd.

• The StiffArms trade David Carr, Warrick Dunn and Joey Galloway to the JYD's for Jeff Garcia, Larry Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald; the StiffArms then drop Brad Hoover (making the league's shortest acquisition).

• Ketchup Hotdog Re-signs Jeff Reid and drops John Kasay

• Quiet Storm adds Stephen Davis to IR and activates Aquan Boldin

• QS adds Brad Hoover off waivers and drops David Terrell.

• Hooligans add Dorsey Levens and drop Leonard Henry

• Rynos add Eric Parker and place Terry Glenn on the DL

• Rynos add Jabar "Jar-Jar" Gaffney and release Justin Fargas.

• Chargers drop Jake Delhomme and add Joey Harington (McNair not eligible for IR)

• KH drops Boo Williams and adds Drew Bledsoe Carson Palmer

Polls

We currently score fantasy points to two digits (e.g. 87 rushing yards = 4.35 fantasy points).  Usually these are rounded in chunks (heavily downwards) so 87 rushing yards would equal 4 fantasy points and 99 rushing yards would also equal 4 fantasy points.  The advantage to using rounded numbers is that it (1) gives an easier-to-relate-to number and (2) can result in ties (which is cool).  The advantage to the fractional method is that it gives a better distribution of fantasy points.  What do you think we should use next year?

Week 8 Results (Preliminary Finals)

	JYDs 88 Chargers 57		PhatBacks 93 Marauders 73		Rynos 79 SmackDownSister 78
The JYDs knock off the Chargers and move to 5-3, only 2 games behind the division leading Assassins. Priest Holms had a huge game again scoring 3 touchdowns to go with over 200 total yards totaling more than 27 fantasy points on his own. The Chargers' had a tough day with Amos Zeroue and the Cardinals defense both generating nothing positive (-3.95 combined) but Marvin Harrison had a huge game for them with over 100 yards and two touchdowns.		The PhatBacks had their best week of the year with over 80 points and end the Marauder's win streak at 2. Peyton Manning had a phenomenal game  (although he lost) with over 475 and five touchdowns (only 1 point short of the record for this year) while both Plaxico Burress and Tony Gonzalez scored two touchdowns each. The Marauders had a great day from both Ahman Green and Rod Gardiner who scored two touchdowns each, but it just wasn't enough.		The Rynos remain undefeated and take over top spot in scoring in the league with a very close win over SmackDownSister. The Rynos had great games from their two running backs who combined for over 300 yards and four touchdowns while Antonio Gates also scored two touchdowns. SDS came up just short losing by only 1.21 points, although it's not quite as close as Ryan's playoff loss 2 years ago when he lost by 8 yards. Both David Givins and Keyshawn Johnson scored two touchdowns, and the Bears had a big game on Sunday night, but were one takeaway short of the victory.
	Hitmen 77 StiffArms 34		Hooligans 75 Assassins 41		Ketchup Hotdog 56 Quiet Storm 53
The Hitmen get a win for the first time since week 3, and move into a tie for 2nd place in the XFL (2 games behind the Hooligans). The Denver pair of receivers benefited from a big performance by Jake Plummer combining for over 300 yards and two touchdowns. The StiffArms had a bad week  (new record for fewest points) as only David Akers put in a solid performance with three field goals while the Broncos defense, Thomas Jones and Roy Williams combined for -1 fantasy points.		Headline - THE ASSASSINS LOSE!!! The Assassins suffer their first loss of the year at the hands of the XFL leading Hooligans. The Hooligans were lead by Mushin Muhammed who had over 100 yards and scored two touchdowns and Terrell Owens who had over 100 yards and scored one TD. The Assassins had their worst week of the year as the vaunted Patriots Defense and Fred Taylor combined for almost 0 fantasy points.		Ketchup Hotdog keeps moves up one in the CFL with a win over the Quiet Storm, but falls short of leading league scoring for the first time in a few weeks. KH's MVP Tiki Barber once again lead the team with over 100 yards and two touchdowns and Jeff Reid scored two field goals and kicked four extra points. Quiet Storm made it close, and the team looks to be catching on. Chad Pennington was their leading scorer with about 200 yards and three touchdowns.