5 teams now sit at 4-0 and 3-1. Barring unforeseen acts of God (Dallas pulling the plug on Emmitt?), these 5 look primed to lock up playoff spots over the next 10 weeks. Ali's Heirs to the Ayatollah and Wang's Fire in the Hole both continued their undefeated ways. HTTA moved to 4-0 with a scrub win over Joebob. FITH won its 4th as all 7 starters scored. Two powerful 3-1 teams are right on the heels of the top two. Tim's Carpet Bombers and Cals' Fresh Squeezed are the 2nd and 3rd highest scoring teams - at 51.3 and 47.3 respectively. Kevin's Minnesota Nice rounds out the group of above-.500 teams at 3-1, 37.8.
Richard's The Everyday Tokers is still winless - the first win is always the toughest. Who among the 10 2-2 and 1-3 teams will make a move for the 3 remaining postseason berths? That's why we play the games!

STATISTICS

Highest scoring team: Heirs to the Ayatollah - 51.5 ppg
Lowest scoring team: TheArmchairQBAdventurePlayset(tm) - 23.5 ppg
Toughest defense: Minnesota Nice - 21.8 ppg
Softest defense: Curly Back Hair - 47.0 ppg
League scoring average: 36.3 ppg
Teams with most 50-yard bonus pts: HTTA and CBotR, 42
Team with least bonus pts: The Everyday Tokers, 21
The Charles Oakley Division took 3 of 4 contests from the Anthony Mason Division, while the Patrick Ewing Division and the John Starks Division split their 4 matchups.
Enough random babbling... on to WIR #4!

****************************
**** GAME OF THE WEEK ****
****************************
All Jacked Up 30
Fresh Squeezed 64

Cals' squad nearly posted the highest score in the League for the 2nd week in a row. Can anyone stop The Juice?!? Cals' aerial assault (led by IBruce's 15) totalled 42 points. Jamal added 9 via light armor, and Stover boomed 13 pts of damage from offshore. Clark received EGeorge's 2nd 9-pt game of the season. Tiki and Slim also contributed - while vINTy lived up to his name with 3 INTs against the Bucs.

vINTy 4 tiki 6 egeorge 9 warrick 0 pickens 6 fjones 3 edinger 2
blake 6 jamala 9 smack 0 isaac 15 crowell 9 jackie 12 stover 13
----------------------------------------------------------------------
%$!@#& 39
Merry Munching Merkins 35

This is what Monday Night RFL Madness is all about! %$!@#& led Mmm 24-18 heading into Monday night's action.
After a not so interesting 1st half... Gary's Edgerrin had 50 yds, and Vesh's Vanderjagt had 3 PATs: %$!@#& still leads by 6, 27-21.
Then all hell broke loose!
Edgerrin catches a TD in the endzone that gets called incomplete, gets reviewed, and stays incomplete due to a "lack" of irrefutable evidence. Vanderjagt kicks the FG. Vesh now down by only 3.
Vesh's Dilger drops a TD pass in the endzone, Vanderjagt kicks another FG (4 less points than what Vesh should have had!), the game is now tied at 27 (and Vesh has the bench pts edge).
Edgerrin busts loose for 60 yards on a shovel pass. %$!@#& recaptures the lead at 30-27.
Edgerrin carries the ball to the Indy 4, Pollard gets hurt, Dilger comes back in... and Dilger catches the 4-yd TD pass! V'jagt's PAT makes it 34-30 for Mmm!
The Colts are leading 36-14 at this point, so with 7 minutes left in the game... you'd figure that they'd call off the dogs, right?
Wrong! Indy let the dogs out one more time! Edgerrin scores on a 14-yd run (and hits the 150-yd level on the same play)! %$!@#& recaptures the lead at 39-34. V'jagt boots one more PAT to bring Mmm within 39-35 at the end.
Whew! Dilger's dropped TD would have meant a 39-39 tie, with Vesh getting the W due to bench pts!
Scrub Loss for Vesh (1-2) as Vesh's bench outscored Ali's bench 21-18:
Mmm - trichardson 9 schroeder 9 vinatieri 3
HTTA - rice 15 rison 3 culpepper/rsmith/moe X

kitna 3 ejames 15 rhett 6 morton 9 stokes 0 bjornson 0 seder 6
bj'son 6 duce 3 dillon 0 tibrown 3 aconnell 6 dilger 6 v'jagt 11
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Curly Back Hair 28
Fire in the Hole 44

Curly Back Hair surged to the early lead behind Little Charlie Garner's 18, but Garner made the critical mistake of taunting FITH and their home crowd by urinating on the hose logo at midfield of the FIRE STATION. Emmitt took matters into his own hands by punching Garner in the head, and Emmitt's teammates followed his lead by coming from behind to claim sweet victory. [too bad the Cowboys didn't have the sack to do it in real life] Stephen Davis and Shawn Jefferson also pointed for Adam.

rc'ham 0 sdavis 3 garner 18 rocket 0 jefferson 3 mitchell 0 mare 4
kerry 3 emmitt 6 stewart 9 mathis 3 mcknight 6 sharpe 6 wilkins 11
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Heirs to the Ayatollah 35
Na Brown's Boys 25

Ali's HTTA had to suit up against Joebob without QB Culpepper and RB Robert Smith. Joebob's Boys were coming off a 26-pt victory in Week 3. No problem for Ali... Backup QB Garcia put up a dozen - while Wayne, Jacquez and Al combined for 20. Ali also survived a sub-par preformance from Marshall. Bettis continues to surprise for NBB, but Joebob could only muster 3 total points from the passing game. Chris Dudley suited up for Joebob at TE. Does anyone really think that Sylvester "the cat" Morris "the cat" will score another TD all season?
Scrub Win for Ali (1-0)

garcia 12 mfaulk 3 randerson 0 chrebet 6 green 3 wycheck 0 delgreco 11
chandler 3 levens 3 bettis 9 ed 0 smorris 0 dudley X nedney 10
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Carpet Bombers 65
TheArmchairQBAdventurePlayset(tm) 15

There's simply no stopping Carpet Bomber QB Warner. Warner, averaging 13.5 ppg, single-handedly matched Stan's entire team's output this week. Jimmy Smith single-handedly outscored Stan. TyroneW also notched 15. TyroneD was held scoreless (again). Longwell booted in 17 for good measure. Rod continues to deliver for The Armchair Quarterback Adventure Playset (tm), and Steve McNair scored his first 3 of the season... but Rickey Dudley remains tied with Chris Dudley in RFL2k TE pts.

warner 15 tyrone 15 lsmith 0 jsmith 18 herman 0 tyrone 0 l'well 17
mcnair 3 dayne 0 jallen 3 rod 6 horn 0 dudley 0 akers 3
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TheDeterminedSpermWhichSquirmLikeWormsWithFirmSternPerms 44
Nasty Pimps 27

The young and brash Nasty Pimps surged to the early lead behind Terrell Owens' 15, but Owens made the critical mistake of taunting The Determined Sperm... and their well-respected GM Dave Brodkin. Brodz devised a masterful set of halftime adjustments, and The Sperm shut down the Pimp Daddies in the 2nd half - while Tony Gonzalez awoke to combine with Mike Anderson for the come-from-behind victory. Alstott had a costly 2nd half fumble that essentially swung all mo away from Shiv's team.

banks 6 mand'son 12 beasley 0 harrison 12 trbrown 0 tonyg 12 lindsey 2
favre 6 alstott 3 priest 3 hakim 0 towens 15 roland 0 daluiso 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Crazed Beagles on the Run 46
Black Ops 27

Black Ops finally got both Terrell Davis and Fred Taylor in on a mission together. Fred showed that he was still suffering a little shellshock, and Terrell went MIA. Monday Night Madness never really materialized in this game. Peyton poured it on with 21 for Wally's Beagles to overrun Fred's 3. Snoopy is on Fire also received strong performances from Marvcus Robinson and The Polish Kicker - to help overcome JoePa's blackjack from Torry Holt. Terry Cummings played at TE for Wally.

peyton 21 dunn 3 kfaulk 3 marcus 9 freeman 0 terry X j'kowski 10
gannon 0 tdavis 0 ftaylor 3 boston 0 holt 21 sloan 0 hanson 3
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Everyday Tokers 20
Minnesota Nice 48

Richard's TET fell again as pEnis was demoted to "starting" FB in the Bears' one-back offense. Keyshawn also did himself with 1 catch for 1 yard against the Jets. Kevin's CMartin helped complete Keyshawn's coup de grace with the HB pass to Chrebet for the Jets' game-winning TD. MN Nice also received a combined 30 from Ricky, Darrell and John. Travis Taylor filled in nicely for the Tokers, but Terrence Wilkins' 12 points went wasted on Richard's bench.

brunell 6 enis 0 kaufman 3 ttaylor 6 keyshawn 0 bubba 0 gramatica 5
jake 0 cmartin 15 rw''ms 9 sanders 3 jackson 9 alex'der 0 carney 12
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Playoff Positioning:

A rule that makes the League Office a little unsettled is The Official RFL Playoff Position Tiebreakers. In particular, the fact that tiebreaker #1 is Total Points Scored - ahead of tiebreaker #2, Head-to-Head Record. Perhaps I will propose to flip-flop these 2 before next season.

For example... let's say that Clark and Joebob finish the regular season tied for the #8 spot at 7-7. Clark has beaten Joebob 18-13 during the regular season, but Joebob has outscored Clark 300-290 over the course of the regular season. Who deserves the right to get drubbed by Steamroller winner Ali in the quarterfinals? The guy who won between the white lines head-to-head one weekend? Or the guy who proved to have the better team over the course of 14 weekends? What if Joebob's team just happened to have 3 of his star players out on a bye week during his game against Clark? What if Clark's entire roster has gotten through their bye weeks heading into the playoffs - while Joebob will be forced to sit a couple of his stars due to byes during the playoff weeks?

Scoring Comparison:

Last year:
QBs: 5.48 ppg per QB
RBs: 4.08 ppg per RB slot
WRs: 3.15 ppg per WR slot
TEs: 1.37 ppg per TE
PKs: 7.46 ppg per PK
League scoring average: 27.1

This year:
QBs: 5.95 ppg per QB
RBs: 5.77 ppg per RB slot
WRs: 4.98 ppg per WR slot
TEs: 1.91 ppg per TE
PKs: 6.98 ppg per PK
League scoring average: 36.3

It looks like the 50-yard rule has quite nicely boosted RB scoring (#1 *AND* #2 RBs) almost up to the QB level. And WR scoring (#1 and #2 WRs) has become more of a factor. TE scoring has also increased accordingly. Dare I say that the 50-yard rule is a success - so far?!?

*************************************************
RFL GM Profiles: Richard Aguilera, GM, The Everyday Tokers
*************************************************

Richard Aguilera is one of 2 new GMs gracing RFL in year 2000. With this week's GM Profile, we will try to give his RFL brothers a *SOUL* to go along with Richard's name/face.

RFL Week in Review Editing Staff: Please tell everyone about your connection to RFL.

Richard Aguilera: I am the player/manager of the Sony Softball team. Wang is a player on my team, but not a "key" player. So when Wang got me into RFL, I figured this was his way of asking for less pine time... but I dole out playing time based purely on cash money.

RFL: Tell us more about the Commish's softball playing abilities. Just how bad is he?

RA: Well... you would think that he could hit with power - judging from the "big"ness of him. But Wang is purely a banjo singles hitter - when he's not grounding out into double plays or popping out in the infield. At least he can field a little bit. He's no gold glover, and he has very little range... but he can usually catch balls that find their way into his space. His arm... like a wet ramen noodle. His footspeed... like he's pulling a sled - and all the sled dogs, too.

RFL: Enough about Wang, what was your strategy in the Draft?

RA: Picking #8, I was quite happy to see Randy Moss fall into my lap there. In the 2nd round, the 7 picks before mine were all RBs. I didn't really want another WR in the 2nd, but there just wasn't RB talent worthy of a 2nd round pick at that point. I was happy to get Brunell in the 3rd. I think he can bounce back with numerous TDs - passing AND rushing - this year. Then I had to get my RBs. Enis and Nap Kaufman isn't the best RB duo in the League, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve to shore up this area. I'm happy with Bubba at TE and Gramatica at PK - especially since the Gramatica pick threw Joebob off his game!

RFL: You are a Cowboys fan. [Interviewer chuckles.] Now that Galloway got hurt in Week 1, and coming off the crushing last-minute defeat to Arizona in Week 2 - and the *crushing* loss to SF this past weekend... what do you think of the 'Boys playoff chances this year?

RA: [Richard appears downtrodden.] The Cowboys are looking pretty weak. I guess they'll be battling the Pats and Bengals for the right to draft Drew Brees or Michael Vick next year.

RFL: After the Commish dropped the ball regarding grub for Draft HQs this year, you and your lovely wife Lisa stepped up to the plate with the pizzas. Explain this chain of events.

RA: Well... judging from the Commish's lack of softball skills, I had serious doubts about his ability to run RFL. By taking action in acquiring the necessary Draft sustenance for the group, I wanted to show that I am capable of also taking over as Commish #3 - if need be.

RFL: If you could change any rule in RFL, which would it be?

RA: There are a few. For one... I'm not a big fan of the new 50-yard rule. I think that 100 for RBs, 75 for WRs and 50 for TEs might be the way to go. A rule change I would have liked to have seen passed was the 3WR/1RB option. And maybe one "off-the-wall" rule change would be to change the playoff teams from the top 8 in the entire League to the 4 division winners - and either the top 4 remaining or the 2nd place teams from each division.

RFL: What is your favorite Sony product?

RA: A lot of people seem to like the robot dog. But during my last trip to Tokyo, I acquired these 2 prototype robot "humans." They are about 3 feet tall, they fetch beers from the fridge, and they kick 30-yard FGs when you hit them on the top of their heads.

RFL: What is your favorite lunch/day in the Sony cafeteria?

RA: Wednesday - BURRITO day!

RFL: If Wang comes to you with "Robert Chancey for Travis Taylor," what will you say?

RA: @#$% NO!!!

RFL: Well said! Welcome to RFL!!

This has been an RFL interview. The rights to all proceeds made from this interview belong to the RFL WIR and exclusively to the RFL WIR.
********************************************************
SEASON POINTS LEADERS
*********************
QB
54 Kurt Warner (Carpet Bombers)
39 Peyton Manning (Crazed Beagles on the Run)
33 Daunte Culpepper (Heirs to the Ayatollah)

RB
66 Marshall Faulk (Heirs to the Ayatollah)
54 Edgerrin James (%$!@#&)
45 Curtis Martin (Minnesota Nice)
41 Mike Anderson (The Determined Sperm Which Squirm...)
39 Stephen Davis (Curly Back Hair)
39 Charlie Garner (Curly Back Hair)

WR
60 Jimmy Smith (Carpet Bombers)
41 Terrell Owens (Nasty Pimps)
36 Rod Smith (TheArmchairQBAdventurePlayset(tm))
36 Isaac Bruce (Fresh Squeezed)
36 Torry Holt (Black Ops)
30 Marvin Harrison (The Determined Sperm Which Squirm...)

TE
18 Jackie Harris (Fresh Squeezed)
18 Shannon Sharpe (Fire in the Hole)
15 Wesley Walls (Na Brown's Boys)
15 Jay Riemersma (Crazed Beagles on the Run)

PK
40 Jeff Wilkins (Fire in the Hole)
36 Matt Stover (Fresh Squeezed)
33 Ryan Longwell (Carpet Bombers)

be sure to check:
The RFL Season Point Leaders page
...for an expanded list of scoring leaders.

JoePa	Advantage	Vesh
DMcNabb		BJohnson
TDavis		DStaley
FTaylor		CDillon
DBoston		AConnell
THolt		BSchroeder
DSloan		KDilger
JHanson		MVanderjagt

These 2 perennial powerhouses (JoePa is coming off a loss in last year's Aglione Bowl; Vesh is coming off a Steamroller runnerup season) are both struggling this year. The loser of this game will most likely be snubbed when big dance invites are handed out after Week 14.
Black Ops finally has their running game getting into game shape. Fred looked healthy against the Colts. Terrell finally played against KC, but word is that he's still gimpy.
Merry Munching Merkins is still smarting after Dilger's drop on Monday night. But what is Vesh going to do? Start Brady over Dilger?!? We'll believe it when we see it.
Due to TDavis' gimpiness, Black Ops will need the receiving partners of Boston & Holt to come up big. But the way Warner likes to spread his love... Holt probably won't get the big numbers again this week.

**** Mmm mmm good: Merry Munching Merkins by 3 ****

©1999-2000 RFL Inc.
All rights reserved.

Revised: September 26, 2000