Fourth-and-Goal (Div C) – Week 9 – FlagPlus Football League

FOURTH-AND-GOAL (DIV C) – WEEK 9

G.M. Kolethras

Wednesday July 20, 2011

The Longest Week

The final 10 games of the season will take place this week. While the playoff teams have already been decided, the positions of said teams are far from set in stone. With 3 three-way ties in the division (Rude Bwoys/The Commission/FOTC, Longhorns/Rip and Run/Falcons, Spring Cleaning/X-Men/Predators) the final playoff tree will not be decided until the final whistle is blown Sunday night. Even teams on the outside looking in have the ability to drastically change the outcome of the playoffs; no game is irrelevant this week.

If They Started This Week

Here’s what the playoff tree would look like if they started this week. Remember, the site is not to be counted on for tiebreaking rankings.

– Conference A:

The Commission (6-3)
Flight of the Conchords (6-3)
Rude Bwoys (6-3)
Eagles (5-3-1)
Rip and Run (5-4)
Falcons (5-4)
Longhorns (5-4)
Sphinx (4-4-1)

– Conference B:

Park-X Streets (7-2)
Mysterious and Magical Men (6-2-1)
Spring Cleaning (5-4)
X-Men (5-4)
Predators (5-4)
Kardiac Kids (4-4-1)
FAs (3-4-2)
G.O.A.T. (3-5-1)

An Interview with Joe Birds

This week, I had the opportunity to interview MMM coach and famous recluse Joe Birds. Birds, usually a man of few words, enlightened me and showed me exactly how he and his teams are connected.

GK – Did you seek out the Dirty Birds, or did they come to you?

JB – Dave Hurley, GM of the Patriots at the time, came down to my home in Peachtree, Georgia and he pretty much stalked my family and I until I agreed to take the job. But I’m glad he did, and the rest is history

GK – Tell us about how you motivate your squad before important games.

JB – Before every game I just remind my players that I’ve pissed away all my money, believe it or not. I chased off anyone who’s ever loved me. And lately, I can’t even stand the face I see in the mirror… that really gets them going.

GK – MMM were the early favourites to win this Spring’s championship. How do you approach this when coaching your squad?

JB – Through the first few weeks everything looked to be right on track, but after a couple of losses I sat the boys down and said “You boys are doing all that you can do. Anybody can see that. Win or lose… We gonna walk away from this season with our heads held high. Do your best. That’s all anybody can ask for.” Before I could even finish that last sentence, Jason Bishara shot out of his chair and said “No, it ain’t Coach! With all due respect, you demanded more of us. You demanded perfection!” From then on I knew we had a resilient squad.

GK – You have a very exclusive group. How do you go about recruiting new talent?

JB – I don’t recruit new talent, new talent recruits me. Any additions that have ever been made to my teams have had to beg for the right to play for me.

GK – There are individuals in the league who claim to have never seen you at a single game. Are they incorrect, or is this testament to the calibre of your coaching?

JB – To those players I’d have to say, I’ve never seen them either.

Quick Picks

This will be the final week for the often-wrong Quick Picks. As of next week, this segment will be replaced with an in-depth look at each playoff matchup. So soak in what will be the last time you see my predictions that are based on nothing more than intuition. Enjoy.

Eagles vs. Les Franciscains – Eagles

The Commission vs. No Names – The Commission

Flight of the Conchords vs. FAs – FAs

Kardiac Kids vs. Predators – Kardiac Kids

Rip and Run vs. Sphinx – Rip and Run

Mysterious and Magical Men vs. Rude Bwoys – Mysterious and Magical Men

Falcons vs. Longhorns – Longhorns

X-Men vs. Spicy Meatballs – X-Men

G.O.A.T. vs. Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies – Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies

Park-X Streets vs. Spring Cleaning – N/A

Goodnight and Good Luck

Well, that’s a wrap. As usual, you can not send emails to me at [email protected]