After last week's complete lack of scoring, teams didn't need to do much to impress me this week. But, some of you really outdid yourselves.
In the Sagebrush Division Championship, the Golden Tate Warriors continued to dominate their divisional counterparts. And that might be putting it lightly.
While writing my Commish's Picks last week, I couldn't help but imagine the Chief Sticky Balls would score a lot of points. Their starting roster is as solid as any in the league and their matchups looked favorable. And, I wasn't wrong. The Balls scored 152 points - enough to beat any team in the league last week...except for the Golden Tate Warriors.
Not only did the Warriors score enough to beat the Balls and punch their ticket to the Championship Game, but they also topped their league-leading high score for the season. Way back in week 14, the Warriors took the highest score honors with 175 points. This week, they surpassed that to finish with 183 - an incredible performance. That's an average score of 179 pts/gm over their last two contests.
It probably didn't surprise many to find Deebo Samuel and Davante Adams turn in 50 combined points, but what might have shocked you was the performance of Kyle Pitts. In his previous eight games, Pitts had only averaged 4.4 pts/gm, so you can imagine the Warriors delight when he showed up with his first double-digit game since week 7.
In the Cactus Division Championship, Who Is You did what reigning champions should do; they gutted it out and earned themselves a return trip to the Championship game to defend their crown. I'll be the first to admit that when the playoffs began, I thought You looked like the #3 seed. I didn't expect them to make a strong showing in the postseason. But, through the first two rounds, they've looked more like the team that turned it on late last season to win the title. Doubt them at your own peril.
If their victory over Thundabuddies wasn't impressive enough for you, consider that they did so without two of their best players: Austin Ekeler and Dalvin Cook. That is a lot of scoring to try to replace and I'm sure I wasn't the only skeptic.
But, find replacements You did. Both Justin Jackson and Sony Michel stepped in and delivered incredible, and perfectly timed, outings. Michel had over 130 yards rushing and a TD while Jackson scored a pair of TDs that fit perfectly with his 162 total yards for the week.
With Ekeler now reactivated and eligible to play, Who Is You will be monitoring Cook's situation carefully to see if he's able to suit up for this week's Championship game. If he can't, You will need to figure out a suitable replacement. But working through injuries doesn't appear to have been a problem for them lately.
Congratulations to Golden Tate Warriors and Who Is You on winning their divisional titles. Both teams have done exactly what they needed to do. But, before they celebrate too much, there's still one more step they'll need to take...
Which team will be the 2021 Sagebrush Cactus League champion? Will Who Is You be the first team to win back-to-back titles, or will the Golden Tate Warriors complete one of the best season's in league history by winning the ultimate prize? I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to good contest.
In the battle for 3rd Place, the Thundabuddies will take on Chief Sticky Balls. While it's obvious that both would rather be playing for a title, I think it's safe to assume they'll put on a good show for us in hopes of winning their league fee back. It's entirely possible that this game features the highest scores of the week.
Among the teams in the Consolation Ladder, there was only one that topped the 100-point mark; the NH Bounty Hunters. The rest of the teams simply reminded us all why they're there in the first place.
This sets up an interesting matchup between those two this week for the highest honor that either is eligible for: The SCL Participation Award. Can the Bounty Hunters defeat the king of the Consolation Ladder, Christian McMingle, and claim the $100 prize for being the first last-place team?
Lastly, I'm working on some changes for next season. I think you're really going to like what I will unveil later this week. Stay tuned...
PIGSKIN PICK'EM
The NH Bounty Hunters finished the week with 13 wins and picked up a game on the leader, Badazz Bri, but sitting 20 games out, it's too little, too late. Chief Sticky Balls kept pace with Bri to remain 3 games off the lead while Christian McMingle fell two more behind leaving them 4 wins out. With two weeks left in the contest, it looks like this might be Badazz Bri's to win provided they don't blow it.
COMMISH'S PICKS
Another two-win week puts me further into the hole for my playoff picks. Clearly you guys don't understand how this works. Nevertheless, I still have one more chance to finish with a perfect 6-0 in my picks.
Good luck this week and thanks again for playing this season!
-- Commish
PS: Be on the lookout for an invite to our SCL Playoff Fantasy League that will be sent out in the coming week.
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