There seems to be a bit of confusion about a certain rule so I'd like to take a moment to clear it up.
If you've read the Official Sagebrush Cactus League Rules, you would've seen it clearly explained in S.C.L. Code §1.4 - Get Off Your Ass: "You must start a full roster of active players each week." This is not optional and the penalty for violating it is forfeiture of your matchup.
"Can I violate the league rules to win my matchup?" - Illiterate League Owner
So, you can imagine my surprise when one of our league members asked, ridiculously: "Can I sit my D/ST and guarantee a win?"
Upon hearing such an absurd request, I replied, sarcastically: "Of course!" To my astonishment, this owner took me seriously and almost blew it. Since when did anyone in this league ever take me seriously?
The owner initially removed their D/ST from their starting lineup at kickoff, but I caught it quickly and made them restore it. While technically this may have been a violation, I could not bear to punish them because that level of stupidity seems like punishment enough. Yes, sometimes pity gets the better of me.
Fortunately, this sitting-your-defense-to-guarantee-a-win scenario doesn't come up very often, but if you ever feel the need to ask if I'll allow it, I want to make it crystal-clear that the answer is, and always will be, no.
You cannot purposely leave an empty slot in your lineup. Ever.
You cannot start a player on bye. Ever.
You cannot start a player who is ruled out at least 48 hours before kickoff. Ever.
For the good of the league, you must play a full lineup each and every week, cross your fingers, and hope for the best like the rest of the clowns in this league.
Punishment for violating this fair-play rule is death...er, forfeit.
Now that we've addressed that, let's get on to more important work.
Can you guess which team scored the most points this week? If your answer is "whatever team played Badazz Bri", you'd be correct. It's incredible that we don't even need to know which team it is, just that they're playing Bri.
Hit Em With The Hein!!! and Pork Chop Express continued their winning ways this week. Hein!!! remains undefeated, built a two-game lead in the division, and has now put together a couple of good weeks in row - a trend they'll need to continue. Their last 4 opponents have a combined record of 7-17 while their next 2 opponents have a combined record of 8-4 and look like serious playoff contenders. If they get caught sleeping over the next few weeks they could risk a blemish on that perfect record.
If you've been paying any attention, you've probably noticed Pork Chop Express is one of the hottest teams in the league right now. Sure, they're not undefeated, but they just overtook Who Is You for 1st place in the Cactus division and they're the 2nd highest scoring team in the league over the past 3 weeks. Oh, and they haven't lost since week 2. But similar to Hein!!!, their next 3 opponents are all 4-2 so they'll want to keep this train rolling.
Another thing I noticed this week was a bit of a resurgence from the Sagebrush division. After getting embarrassed in week 4, they were able to even things up with a 4-2 performance in week 6. Now that the rivalry is heating up, weeks 8-11 are going to be a lot more interesting...especially week 8 as you'll learn below.
I can tell that we're approaching the half-way point in the season because everyone is now constantly emailing, texting, and calling to ask me: "Commish, what are the odds I win the league?"
Well, maybe not everyone. OK, no one has. But, I'm going to tell you anyway because I know you were getting ready to ask.
Ladies and gents, I give you my annual Week 6 Analysis:
If you're 6-0...
Congratulations, you're the champion. Well, almost. Of the 4 teams in SCL history that began their season undefeated, all of them made the playoffs and earn a 1st round bye. However, one of those teams (Kid A, 2006) failed to win the championship. For those of you not up to date on your league history, Kid A is Baby Got Dak. In 2006, they won their 10 games and then lost their next 6 in a row, including the playoffs. So unless you're Baby Got Dak and you're 6-0, congrats!
If you're 5-1...
It is safe to say you can go ahead and book your plane tickets for the playoffs. Only once in league history has a team started a season 5-1 and missed the playoffs (Carson City Facepalmers, 2014). Better still is the fact that you basically have a 50-50 shot at earning a 1st round bye and a better than 20% chance at winning it all. Not too shabby.
If you're 4-2...
There's a good chance you'll make the playoffs. An 86.1% chance, to be precise. Of the 36 teams that started the season 4-2, 30 of them made the playoffs. Beyond that, though, your chances of advancing drop dramatically. But if by some miracle you can pull off gaining entry to the Championship game, you're still more likely to lose it than win.
If you're 3-3...
You're not in this league. Maybe this is the site you were looking for?
If you're 2-4...
You have a little less than 30% chance of making the playoffs. And if you do make it, there's only a 5% chance that you'll make the final round. Thirty-six teams have started the season 2-4 and only 2 have made it to the Championship game (Singletary Sallys, 2010 and Nostril Damus, 2006). However, even if you do make the Championship game, you won't win...guaranteed.
If you're 1-5...
You're Baby Got Dak and your odds of making the playoffs are slim. In SCL history, 24 teams have started their season 1-5 and only 2 of them turned it on to make the playoffs (Baba Booey, 2015 and Los Perros Locos, 2009). I would, however, point out that Baba Booey was the beneficiary of a very poor Sagebrush division in 2015. They made the playoffs despite finishing the regular season 5-8, so unless the wheels falls off in the Cactus division, I wouldn't count on it.
If you're 0-6...
There's always next season. Four teams have gone win-less through the first 6 weeks of their season, and not a single one of them was able to turn it around and make the playoffs. Thanks for playing and don't forget to get your league fees turned in.
Here's the full table:
But there's one more thing you all need to be aware of: Week 8. In 14 seasons, only once has a team lost their week 8 matchup and still gone on to win the championship. Once.
You're probably thinking, "I hope I play Badazz Bri in week 8!" Well don't because I already looked into it and none of the current playoff contenders are that fortunate. That bit of luck belongs to Baby Got Dak. Who knows, maybe they will make the playoffs after all?
My worst week yet, 1-5. Apparently the Sagebrush division was a little miffed that I picked so many Cactus teams to win this week. Well played, Sagebrush. Well played.
That's more like it. Not a single team scored more than my Waiver Wire Team this week.
Good luck in week 7!
-- Commish
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