Let's jump right in to this thing... Week 1 of the 8 on 8 indoors at Wall 2 Wall Soccer was a blast. The competition for the league championship should be tight. There was only 1 close game Friday night, and that was the Cowboys vs. Legion of Doom, one of my choices as game of the week. This one started out strange, as several of the Doom and Cowboys players were late showing up. Doom's QB, who used to play for Karma (more on that in a minute), pretty much just ran at-will on the first series. The game evened out after that. Plenty of hard-hitting action, with Legion of Doom coming out on top in the end 28-18. Very entertaining game to watch.

Now, about Karma. I'm not sure what's going on with this team. They seemed to be hitting their stride in the indoor 7 on 7 league, winning back-to-back championships, the first team in the CFFL to accomplish that feat in any style of play. Now that the spring seasons are here, Karma, as a team, is nowhere to be found. Most of the players can be found quite easily, however, on many other teams. Here's the rundown as I can tell:
Legion of Doom - 1 player
Cowboys - 2 players
Tigers - 3 players
Falcons - 3 players
While I think it hurts the league to lose one of the better teams, it also helps the league to have all these talented players spread out and helping other teams get better. As long as they're still playing ball, I guess that's all that matters.

Now on to the 8 on 8 outdoor league. The race for the conference titles got a little clearer this weekend, but the championships in both conferences are still up for grabs. One bad weekend is all it will take to end someone's championship dreams. My game of the week in this league, Vikings vs. Patriots, didn't turn out as I had hoped. The Patriots started strong and stayed with the Vikings throughout the first half, but in the second half, the Vikings turned on the afterburners and put the game away. I give credit to the Patriots for never giving up, but on this day they were just out-gunned. Final score, 30-12, Vikings.

There were 2 important conference matchups this weekend. In the North Conference, Run 'n Gun was to face the Warriors. The Warriors only had 3 players show, so this one was a forfeit. Some players from other teams decided to play with the Warriors so everyone who had made the drive could play some ball. Run 'n Gun picked apart the pick-up squad, but I'm sure everyone had fun. In the North Conference standings, Run 'n Gun moves into second place with the vicory to put them at 1-1(1-3) behind Rapid Fire 1-0(3-0).
In the South Conference, there was somewhat of an upset when the Tigers defeated the Cowboys 30-12. The Tigers were hitting on all cylinders, and the Cowboys just couldn't figure out how to counter. To me, it didn't seem like the Cowboys I normally see on the field. Maybe it was fatigue left over from the previous evening's game against Legion of Doom, or maybe they just had some players missing, but either way, the Tigers get the win and take full control of first place in the South Conference. The Tigers are 2-0(4-0) and looking strong with one conference game left to play, vs. the Vikings in Week 6.

There were no 4 on 4 games this week, due to Sports Plus being closed for the weekend. All of the games that were supposed to be played have been rescheduled.

Ok, on to my games of the week. There are several games that look great on paper this week in both 8 on 8 leagues. I like all these games, so rather than just pick one or two, I'll cover them all, but just hit the highlights.
8 on 8 Indoor
Cowboys vs. 5 Stars - 9:00 PM - Matchup of differing styles here. The Cowboys have some speed, but what they have more of is size. There are some big fellas on this team, and they really like to hit people. 5 Stars, on the other hand, is a converted 4 on 4 team, so they're top-heavy (no pun intended) on speed. 5 Stars is borrowing the offensive line from Rapid Fire for this league, to add to their bulk. I think this will be a fast-paced, high-scoring game.
Tri-State Falcons vs. Cincy Tigers - 10:00 PM - The Falcons are the defending D division champions from the fall 2002 season, and are returning most of the players from that team. As I pointed out above, they've also added some talent. From what I've seen they look to beat you with sheer numbers, if nothing else. I've never seen so many players from one team on the sidelines. The Tigers will have to be on top of their game, and attack early and often. I think the team that plays more aggressively will win this one.
8 on 8 Outdoors
Rapid Fire vs. Tigers - 11:00 AM - First place in the North Conference vs. First place in the South conference. This could be a preview of the league championship game, if the standings hold steady. Both teams are playing well, and they know each other and their tendencies very well. Lots of former teammates on both sides of the ball in this one. Should be a fun game with a lot of points scored.
Cowboys vs. Rapid Fire - 1:00 PM - It may look like bias when I put my own team in the game of the week list twice, but when we're playing two of the best teams in the other conference, how can I not? This game, like every other game the Cowboys play, should be physical. Since the conference championhips are both still up-for-grabs, this has the pontential to be a league championship preview as well. Look for a lower-scoring defensive battle here.

Finally, this week I'd like to introduce a new feature. I'm going to start listing a team website of the week. This might not be a weekly feature, due to the lack of websites in our league, but I will also list websites from other teams around the nation as well. To start it off this week, check out the Rapid Fire website, http://rapidfire.kmccarty.net. Feel free to leave a note on the message board. If your team has a website and you would like it listed here, be sure to send it to me via email. And don't forget to send in your questions for the monthly Q & A!

Until next week, keep your flags on!