Inside the Redzone, Finals Edition

AND THEN THERE WAS ONE! Another season is almost over (All Star Game is this Sunday) and this past weekend, the champions of their respective divisions were crowned. Therefore I would like to congratulate PTC Stomp, G-Men and the Kings for getting it done. You all were the best of the best in Spring 2008 and should cherish this moment because it is a very special feeling to be a FlagPlus Football champion. For some this was their first championship; namely Adi Sharma and a few other Kings, the entire G-Men team and some of the PTC Stomp players, so I am sure they are a little more happy than those who have been here before.

And for the finalists, hold your heads up high because being in the Finals is still a great accomplishment. Simply put, you are that much closer to winning it all so use the off-season to do whatever it is you need to do because before you know it, the Winter 2009 season will be around the corner. A good way to cope with a long off-season depression (I had one from Spring 2007 to Winter 2008) is by focusing on the NFL season, which is right around the corner, and also the fantasy drafts. For the rest of the teams who either got knocked out early in the playoffs or didn’t even get a spot in the postseason, it is obvious that you need to work on a few things; however, don’t fret because there is a long off-season ahead so time is definitely not of the essence for you guys.

A reminder to everyone that the All-Star Weekend will take place this Sunday. It is a great opportunity to see some of the best players in this league showcase their talent so don’t miss this chance.

TEAM MVP

Since this is my last article, I have decided to quickly name the Team MVP, in my opinion, for every team in FlagPlus Football.

Division A

Kings: Carmine Pollice

Rainmakers: Ryan Kastner

Hot Boyz: Kishon Thompson

Monarchs: Mike Roy

Shockers: Gary Bloomfield

Titans: Nick Arsenault-Hum

Gladiators: Alex Lever

49ers: Nareg Yessayan

Division B

Buckeyes: Nathan Taylor

Falcons: Simon Richard

Nixon’s Renegades: Robby Robinson

KGP Champs: Phil Cutler

Ballerz: Mathew Thibault

X-Factor: C. Bakratsas.

Organized Chaos: Rostyn Castleton

Strangers: Rochdi Benabdelkader

G-Men: Paul Kamel

Thundering Herd: Tom Cesari

Filet Mignon: Mike Manoukian

Outlaws: Der. Daoust

Predators: Mike Majeur

Fun In The Sun: Rick Cummins

Division C

Terminators: Gino Di Fazio

Flying Weasels: David Faucher

West Side Connection: Godfrey Abu

Gators: Dave Dasilva

Slugs: Kirby Short

Peacocks: M. Caltagirone

First Blood: Adriano Simonetta

PTC Stomp: Scott Mironiwicz

Chaos: Eugene McLaren

DIP: E. Giraud

Cobras: Jean-Francois Trudeau

La Resistance: T. Bergomi

Bandits: Corey Belliveau

Cowboys: J. Moodie

SPRING 2008 RECAP

Best Game Of The Year:

Division A: Rainmakers vs. Monarchs, Conference B Finals

Division B: Strangers vs. G-Men, Week 4

Division C: DIP vs. Chaos, Conference Semi Finals

Best Catch Of The Year:

Garrett Taylor’s (Buckeyes) game winning TD catch against the Nixon’s Renegades in the Conference Finals. Honorable mention goes to Tony Tabet’s (Kings) one handed catch on the sidelines.

Best Pick Of The Year:

A player from DIP made one of the best interceptions by diving for a ball that was under thrown and using one hand to make sure it doesn’t touch the ground while also securing it. Unfortunately, I have no idea what his name is, so if anyone could enlighten me, I will insert it here.

*As an added bonus…

Top Ten Stories Of Spring 2008:

10. Anthony Daponte reinvented the hit TV show’s (The O.C) theme song by changing the lyrics so it reflected his Division B team, Organized Chaos.

9. Rainmakers making it to the Finals in only their second season in FlagPlus Football, while hearing it from Monarch Nation after their win over the Monarchs in an intense overtime battle.

8. Patrick Chenard shows his great 40 yard dash time by rushing and knocking down Phil Cutler after a catch.

7. PTC Stomp, the only team to go undefeated in Spring 2008 season.

6. Underdogs DIP beat the heavily favored Chaos team for their first ever playoff win.

5. The infamous “ROYAL RUMBLE” between the G-Men and the Buckeyes that led to suspensions.

4. Kings going 3-0 against the Hot Boyz (2 regular season wins and 1 playoff) including the Conference Finals, which propelled the Kings to the Finals and the franchise’s second Spring championship.

3. Monarchs winning over the Shockers in Week 10 by just enough points to clinch Conference B title and a first round bye.

2. Filet Mignon beating the Strangers, for a second straight time, to advance to Conference Finals.

1. Moe Khan finally bringing some girls to the stands to show everyone that he is indeed a ladies man and truly deserves the Moe Khan award (also securing a 1-0 lead in the Heptathlon against Robert Campana).

Winter 2009 Season Preview

The talks and signings are already underway as Moe Khan has already announced that he has signed Andre Knights to the MTL’s Finest roster. This leads me to believe that Winter 2009 season will showcase some great intensity and talent in Division 1 because joining the Montreal’s Finest will be the Demons (led by Carmine Pollice and Rochdi Benabdelkader) and the two-time defending champions Hurricanes. Of course, there is still CLR Forces, Wolverines and a few others teams who will be putting in a solid roster. And who knows what will happen with Notre Dame. There is a rumor that McGill might also enter their team in Division 1. All in all, it promises to be the best football we have seen.

Moving on to lower divisions, there will be many great teams returning such as Monarchs, Phoenix, Shockers, Kings, Nixon’s Renegades, Falcons, Buckeyes and the list just goes on…Furthermore, having more knowledge about the relative abilities of each team, expect the highest level of parity seen in this league to date. As a result, all divisions will (hopefully) be formed equally. It has already been stated that a new statistic will probably be added to the defensive categories, the pass defended. And most interestingly, expect a full website redesign, with individual player pages, all-time statistics and some other stuff the league is keeping secret even from me.

Now that Spring 2008 has come and gone, it’s time for my last words; this season gave us a lot of great memories and a few sour ones, however it was another successful season for FlagPlus Football and the future looks brighter than ever. I would like to thank everyone for their support for my articles and I hope it was as much fun for you to read as it was for me to write. A special thanks to Daron Basmadjian for taking the time to edit my articles, especially when they were submitted late, you did an excellent job. This is where it comes to an end so for one last time, this is Rehan “J.J.” Sarwar wishing everyone a great off-season full of NFL Football, Fantasy Drafts, Drinking, Eating and if there is some time left, do some work too; I’ll catch you next season, Inside The Redzone.