You know, I had almost forgotten how much it sucks to play on a muddy field in the rain. Not only do you end up getting nasty from head to toe, but the smell! Good grief! I made the mistake of leaving my cleats in the car after the game Saturday. On Sunday, for some reason, the interior of my car had the smell of stagnant swamp water. The smart-alecks among you will probably say that it's not that much different than the normal smell of my car. Take your shots, I don't care.

Games of the Week Results

8 on 8 Indoor
5 Stars vs. Tri-State Falcons - The 5 Stars displayed a balanced running and passing game in route to a 34-18 victory over the Falcons. Luckily for the Falcons, they get an immediate rematch this Friday night. I'm sure that the Falcons will be playing with a renewed intensity this week, so the 5 Stars had better show up ready to play.

8 on 8 Outdoor
Cowboys vs. Team Cincinnati / Vikings - Team Cincinnati / Vikings triumphed over the Cowboys in the battle for second place in the South Conference. These two teams will meet again in the first round of the playoffs, when it really counts.
Run 'n Gun vs. Rapid Fire - What can I say? We (Rapid Fire) got spanked, 26-0. Although I made some excuses at the field as to why we lost, I won't make any here. We flat got outplayed. Congratulations go out to Run 'n Gun, who with this victory earned the North Conference championship, and will recieve a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Standings
Well, the 8 on 8 outdoor league regular season has finally wrapped up. All of the playoff seedings are finalized, leading up to what should be an outstanding single-elimination tournament. The 8 on 8 indoor league keeps inching ever closer to finality, so it's time to see if anyone has mathmatically sealed their fate. Pay attention, there might be a pop quiz later.
8 on 8 outdoor
North Conference
I'm going to start off with a correction from last week. I had originally written that Run 'n Gun would have to beat Rapid Fire by 17+ to win the conference championship. That was WAY off. Run 'n Gun only had to win by 9+ to win the conference. Run 'n Gun winning by 26 removed any doubt as to who won the conference championship, however. So, the final conference standings look like this: 1) Run 'n Gun 2-1(4-3) 2) Rapid Fire 2-1(5-2) 3) Patriots 2-1(3-4) 4) Warriors 0-3(0-7).
South Conference
The Tigers locked up the South Conference championship last week, so there was no real drama this week as far as playoff implications. With the Vikings win over the Cowboys, the final standings are as follows: 1) Cincy Tigers 3-0(6-1) 2) Team Cincinnati / Vikings 2-1(5-2) 3) Cowboys 1-2(4-3) 4) Bengals 0-3(1-6)

With the regular season finished, it's time for the playoffs. We're skipping a week to allow for Memorial Day weekend, and then we're back at it on Saturday, May 31st. Here's how the outdoor playoffs shook out:
Game 1 - #N2 Rapid Fire vs. #N3 Patriots - 9:00 AM
Game 2 - #S2 Team Cincinnati / Vikings vs. #S3 Cowboys - 10:00 AM
Game 3 - #N1 Run 'n Gun vs. Game 1 winner - 11:00 AM
Game 4 - #S1 Cincy Tigers vs. Game 2 winner - 12:00 PM
Championship Game - Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner - 1:15 PM (or 15 minutes after the completion of game 4)
See the main page for a printable bracket.

8 on 8 indoor
The 5 Stars continued their dominance this week with a convicing victory over the Tri-State Falcons. The 5 Stars remain in first place, undefeated at 5-0 with 2 weeks left in the regular season. The Cowboys (3-2) are in second place this week, followed by the Tri-State Falcons (3-2) in third, Flossin' (3-2) in fourth, the Lobos (1-4) in fifth and the Titans (0-5) in sixth.
With a win this week, the 5 Stars can wrap up the regular season championship. As it stands, the top 4 teams in the standings still have a shot at the regular season championship. For example, say the 5 Stars lose their final 2 games to drop to 5-2, and the Falcons win their final 2 games to improve to 5-2. The Falcons and 5 Stars would be tied at 5-2, and would have split their regular season meetings. That means it would come down to the point differential. Whichever team had the most points scored against the fewest points allowed (points for - points against = point differential) would come out on top. In the (highly unlikely) instance that the point differential for both teams is the same, then the team with the highest points scored gets the decsion. Let's look at another possibility. Say the 5 Stars lose their final 2 games to drop to 5-2, and the Cowboys win their final 2 games to improve to 5-2. If these are the only two 5-2 teams, then 5 Stars wins outright, since they swept the season series with the Cowboys. However, if Flossin' also ends up 5-2, it gets a little tricky. For Flossin' to finish 5-2, they have to beat 5 Stars. That would mean that a) 5 Stars beat the Cowboys head-to-head and b) the Cowboys beat Flossin' head-to-head and c) Flossin' beat 5 Stars head-to-head...it turns into one big circle, and the championship comes down to points. Actually, this scenario is the only way possible for the Cowboys to win the regular season championship. Dizzy yet? Thought so.
All eyes should be on the Falcons/5 Stars game Friday night, as it sets the tone for the rest of the standings.

CXFFL 4 on 4
Hey! Look! A 4 on 4 report! The 4 on 4 contingent of 5 Stars has been hounding me about the lack of 4 man coverage, so I hope to make up for that this week. Lots of happenings in the 4 on 4 world this week. The regular season wrapped up this past Sunday night, and, as expected, 5 Stars dominated again. The 5 Stars have finished their second consecutive undefeated regular season, a feat which is unprecedented in the CFFL. The Replacements made an impressive run to finish in second place at 10-2, but they just couldn't overcome 5 Stars. The Cowboys finish in third on a 7-5 record, a respectable finish to the season. The standings are rounded-out by Wildout (3-9) in fourth place, the Spiders (2-10) in fifth place and the Destroyers (2-10) in sixth place. The field is now set for the playoffs.
The playoffs will be held this Sunday, May 25th at Sports Plus. Here's how it breaks down:
Game 1 - #2 Replacements vs. #5 Spiders - 7:00 PM
Game 2 - #3 Cowboys vs. #4 Wildout - 7:30 PM
Game 3 - #1 5 Stars vs. #6 Destroyers - 8:00 PM
Game 4 - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner - 8:30 PM
Championship Game - Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 winner - 9:00 PM
See the main page for a printable bracket.

Games of the Week
8 on 8 Outdoor
No games to detail this week, as the outdoor league is taking Memorial Day weekend off. The outdoor league will continue next weekend with the single-elimination playoffs. I'll give full detail of the playoffs in next week's column.
8 on 8 Indoor
5 Stars vs. Tri-State Falcons - 9:00 PM - The rematch of last week's game of the week. Will the Falcons come out firing on all cylinders? Will the 5 Stars be able to continue their balanced attack? Each team now knows what to expect from the other, so there should be no surprises in this game. Whichever team learned more lessons last week will come out on top.

CFFL Weekly Poll Results
This weeks' poll question was "What is the best style of flag football?" Forty-eight votes were cast, and here are the results:
1. 8 on 8 full-contact - 35 votes
2. 4 on 4 - 9 votes
3. 7 on 7 touch - 4 votes
4. 7 on 7 screen - 0 votes

Website of the Week
I'm gonna pimp some products this week. For those who haven't seen them before, check out the Aculeus 5 receiver's glove from Active Sports products. This glove has a web between the thumb and forefinger which acts to protect from hand injuries. The A5 glove is the official glove of the CFFL and USFTL. Visit http://www.a5football.com/ for more information.

Enjoy Memorial Day weekend! Please remember to pay tribute to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our way of life. Without them, and the countless others have served or are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces, none of this would be possible.

Until next time, keep your flags on!