[quoteb729a6e="Fonzie"][quoteb729a6e="TurfToe"]Trade him to Vegas, he will definitely get more carries! [/quoteb729a6e]

I'm sure he would.

'Tis still strange though. I wish I could get the ball in his hands more, but the coach seems to have a mind of his own. Perhaps your "associates" from Las Vegas have provided him with some incentives to keep Holliday's carries down? Hmmm...[/quoteb729a6e]

I wish I had...the only plot I had cooking was to market some of that illegal stickum spray in the Tucson area but actually replaced the contents with some goop that my friends at Spiffy Lube gave me. Might explain some of the handling issues last year - Cheater!

_________________
ROF Division Champions: 2039 - 2043, 2045, 2047, 2054, 2056 - 2060, 2063, 2066-2067
WFC Conference Champions: 2018, 2041, 2042, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062-2063
CFL Champions: 2018, 2041, 2057-2058, 2060, 2062

2008 week 5 comparison:
[bbbf1145]Rushing:[/bbbf1145]
Liszkiewicz - 26 carries, 117 yards, 0 td, 0 fmbs
Holliday - 20 carries, 84 yards, 1 td, 0 fmb
Spearman - 20 carries, 77 yards, 2 tds, 1 fmb
Terrell - 4 carries, 6 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
[bbbf1145]Recieving:[/bbbf1145]
Liszkiewicz - 0
Holliday - 1 catch, 3 yards
Spearman - 2 catches, 10 yards
Terrell - 0
[bbbf1145]Returns:[/bbbf1145]
Liszkiewicz - 3 kr, 52 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 0
Terrell - 0

Liskiewicz's 117 yards helped Seattle drop Don Terrell's Long Beach from the ranks of the unbeaten, 17-13. Terrell wasn't much of a factor, rushing 4 times for 6 yards.

Alan Spearman and Hartford also knocked off an unbeaten team, as Spearman rushed for 77 yards and 2 tds in a 31-20 victory over the Durham Bulldogs to move to 4-0 on the season.

Drew Holliday was solid, rushing 20 times for 84 and a td, but it wasn't enough to beat the defending champs as Tucson lost a close one to Denver 31-28.

It was the Polish Express's third 100 yard game this season and fourth for his career. He is off to a great start and currently is on pace to rush for over 1870 yards this year, which would more than double his previous best season of 909 two years ago. He is currently 2nd to Arthur Brady in rushing yards and his 4.89 ypc is tops for backs who have carried over 80 times so far this year. (Interestingly enough, the only other backs with over 80 carries that are averaging over 4 ypc are Drew Holliday with 4.54, Arthur Brady with 4.29 and Alan Spearman at 4.10.)

2008 week 6 comparison:
[b0e7ed99]Rushing:[/b0e7ed99]
Liszkiewicz - 19 carries, 80 yards, 1 td, 0 fmbs
Holliday - bye
Spearman - 16 carries, 25 yards, 0 tds, 1 fmb
Terrell - 7 carries, 33 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
[b0e7ed99]Recieving:[/b0e7ed99]
Liszkiewicz - 1 catch, 9 yards
Holliday - bye
Spearman - 4 catches, 34 yards
Terrell - 2 catches, 10 yards
[b0e7ed99]Returns:[/b0e7ed99]
Liszkiewicz - 2 kr, 44 yards
Holliday - bye
Spearman - 0
Terrell - 0

It was a bit of a slow week for the backs. As a group they averaged just 3.28 yards per carry as two lost, one won and one had a bye week.

Alan Spearman and Hartford managed to stay unbeaten, pulling away in the 4th quarter to top Baltimore (2-4) 24-17. The Bombers shut Spearman down as he carried 16 times for just 25 yards (1.56 ypc) and a fumble. He did make some plays receiving the ball, catching 4 passes for 34 yards. The Hartford Attack and Charleston Monitors are the only unbeatens left.

Seattle's Burt Liskiewicz continued his pattern of going over 100 yards every other week, this week unfortunatly being the off week. He was relatively effective, running 19 times for 80 yards and a touchdown, but it wasn't enough as Anchorage (3-3) beat Seattle 23-15. Seattle outgained Anchorage but only managed one touchdown. The loss dropped them to .500.

Don Terrell's performance off the bench (43 yards of offense) was one of few bright spots as Long Beach had an off day in pretty much every phase of the game in a 31-7 loss to Boise (5-1). Despite the loss, Long Beach still leads their division with a 4-2 record.

2008 season comparison:
[b0e7ed99]Rushing:[/b0e7ed99]
Liszkiewicz - 139 carries, 667 yards, 3 tds, 5 fmbs
Holliday - 81 carries, 368 yards, 5 tds, 1 fmb
Spearman - 98 carries, 362 yards, 4 tds, 4 fmbs
Terrell - 36 carries, 159 yards, 1 td, 1 fmb
[b0e7ed99]Recieving:[/b0e7ed99]
Liszkiewicz - 9 catches, 66 yards, 1 td, 1 drop
Holliday - 4 catches, 22 yards
Spearman - 11 catches, 120 yards, 2 drops
Terrell - 3 catches, 15 yards
[b0e7ed99]Returns:[/b0e7ed99]
Liszkiewicz - 2 pr, 5 yards, 15 kr, 253 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 0
Terrell - 0

Liszkiewicz remains second in the league in rushing, trailing only Arthur Brady. Seattle may be disappointed with their 3-3 start, but Liszkiewicz's production has been great so far.

Holliday has been solid, though he hasn't had as many attempts as in past years. He already has 5 touchdowns and just one fumble.

Spearman has been decent, but other than his one big day against New Orleans has mostly been contained. It hasn't mattered to Hartford, who are rolling along at 5-0.

Terrell remains solid off the bench. He is currently averaging almost a yard more per carry than starter Sherman New (4.41 to 3.58), so it'll be interesting to see how much longer he rides the pine.

2008 week 7 comparison:
[b61d0272]Rushing:[/b61d0272]
Liszkiewicz - 24 carries, 147 yards, 0 td, 3 fmbs
Holliday - 27 carries, 119 yards, 1 td, 1 fmb
Spearman - 12 carries, 45 yards, 0 tds, 0 fmb
Terrell - 4 carries, 27 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
[b61d0272]Recieving:[/b61d0272]
Liszkiewicz - 5 catches, 45 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 1 catch, 8 yards
Terrell - 1 catch, 5 yards
[b61d0272]Returns:[/b61d0272]
Liszkiewicz - 3 pr, 22 yards, 2 kr, 38 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 1 kr, 18 yards
Terrell - 0

Liszkiewicz fumbled 3 times and lost 2 to overshadow a pretty great performance in a 20-14 loss to Huntington Beach (4-2) that dropped Seattle to 3-4. He put up an amazing 252 all purpose yards in the loss, including 192 in total offense. It was his 4th 100 yard rushing game of the season and 5th of his career. Seattle is 3-2 when Burt is over 100.

Hartford keeps rolling along, beating Boston (2-4) 27-10. Spearman wasn't much of a factor with a little over 50 yards of offense, but his team remains unbeaten.

Holliday looked like the old Holliday this week as he rushed for 119 in Tucson's 31-14 demolition of El Paso (3-3). While it was only Holliday's second 100 yard game of the season, it's already the 15th of his career. Tucson is 13-2 in such games and this victory extends their winning streak to 10 straight when he runs for over 100 yards.

Terrell's Long Beach squad dropped their third straight, losing a tight one at home to Oregon (4-3 ), 23-20. Don carried 4 times for 27 yards off the bench.

[quote5fb306d="timmynausea"]Terrell's Long Beach squad dropped their third straight, losing a tight one at home to Oregon (4-3 ), 23-20. Don carried 4 times for 27 yards off the bench.[/quote5fb306d]Wow. Do. We. Suck.

2008 week 8 comparison:
[b8f8f420]Rushing:[/b8f8f420]
Liszkiewicz - bye
Holliday - 26 carries, 96 yards, 0 td, 1 fmb
Spearman - 20 carries, 95 yards, 1 td, 0 fmb
Terrell - 5 carries, 35 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
[b8f8f420]Recieving:[/b8f8f420]
Liszkiewicz - bye
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 2 catches, 48 yards, 1 td
Terrell - 0
[b8f8f420]Returns:[/b8f8f420]
Liszkiewicz - bye
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 1 kr, 17 yards
Terrell - 0

Drew Holliday's 96 yards were not enough as Vegas (5-2) kept Tucson out of the end zone to get the 10-6 win. It was a huge win for the Rounders as they pulled it off without Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen and now take a one game lead in the division.

Spearman and Hartford absolutely destroyed Tampa Bay (1-6) 34-0 to remain unbeaten. The defense pretty much stole the show, setting a single game record for yards allowed (94). Spearman did his part, though, with 143 yards of offense including a 43 yard td reception.

Don Terrell was the leading rusher for Long Beach outrushing starter Sherman New 35 to 33. Unfortunately two red zone trips only produced 6 points, and they've now dropped their 4th in a row to fall to .500. They're only a half a game behind Huntington Beach, though, so the division is still totally up for grabs.

The polish fumbler took the week off, and will be in for a running back duel vs. Alexis Rounds and Sacramento next week.

2008 week 9 comparison:
[b6e91278]Rushing:[/b6e91278]
Liszkiewicz - 31 carries, 122 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
Holliday - 17 carries, 74 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
Spearman - 15 carries, 39 yards, 0 td, 1 fmb
Terrell - 21 carries, 69 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
[b6e91278]Recieving:[/b6e91278]
Liszkiewicz - 2 catches, 15 yards
Holliday - 1 catch, 2 yards
Spearman - 1 catches, 4 yards
Terrell - 0
[b6e91278]Returns:[/b6e91278]
Liszkiewicz - 1 pr, 6 yards, 2 kr, 32 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 1 kr, 22 yards
Terrell - 0

None of these guys scored this week, yet they still managed to go 3-1 as a group.

Don Terrell gets his first career start, rushing for 69 yards in Long Beach's crucial win over Anchorage (5-4) that snaps their 4 game losing streak. He didn't have a great game, but he was solid and they got the win.

Burt Liszkiewicz goes over 100 yards again as Seattle gets a much needed win over Sacramento (3-5). This time he tallied up 122 yards on a career high 31 carries. He's having a great year, this is his 5th 100 yard rushing game on the year, and the 6th of his career. This is also the first time he's gone over 100 in back to back games. He'll need to keep up that kind of production to keep Seattle in the playoff picture. The win slides them back up to a .500 record of 4-4.

Drew Holliday was effective running the ball, but Milan Hogan's passing took over as Tucson came back from a 17-7 halftime defecit to beat Tulsa (3-5) 24-17. Holliday rushed for 74 yards on a lower than usual 17 carries. The win puts Tucson in a three way tie for first with Las Vegas and Honolulu in the Ring of Fire division. That might be end up being the best division race in the league this year.

Alan Spearman got stuffed as Atlantic City (3-5) shocked Hartford to give the Attack their first loss on the season. Spearman only managed 43 yards of offense on 16 touches, and it wasn't enough as A.C. pulled out the 20-17 win. Spearman is still the second leading rusher in franchise history, now trailing Toby Radke by just 54 yards.

As I mentioned in the week 9 thread, I'm at my wit's end with the coach. I have Holliday's PT cranked up to 9, yet he only got 17 carries compared to his backup's 8 carries. Fucker.

Great job as always timmy!

_________________

Ring of Fire Division Champions - 2009, 2011-2026, 2028-33
Western Conference Champions - 2011-2013, 2016, 2017, 2019-2022, 2024, 2025, 2028, 2033
CFL Champions - 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2025

2008 week 10 comparison:
[bd0468bc]Rushing:[/bd0468bc]
Liszkiewicz - 24 carries, 118 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
Holliday - 23 carries, 69 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
Spearman - 18 carries, 65 yards, 0 td, 1 fmb
Terrell - bye
[bd0468bc]Recieving:[/bd0468bc]
Liszkiewicz - 2 catches, 17 yards
Holliday - 2 catches, 19 yards
Spearman - 3 catches, 38 yards
Terrell - bye
[bd0468bc]Returns:[/bd0468bc]
Liszkiewicz - 2 kr, 57 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 1 kr, 23 yards
Terrell - bye

Liszkiewicz went over 100 yards for the third straight game. Unfortunately Seattle failed to turn it into a win as Santa Cruz (3-6) surprised the Thunderbirds 16-13. 2 Charles Dever interceptions were probably the difference. The loss drops Seattle to 4-5 and further reduces the margin for error down the stretch if these guys want to finally make the playoffs.

Spearman and Hartford, however, rebounded from their loss last week to topple Charleston (8-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten. Spearman's 107 yards of offense helped to ensure that no team will go 16-0 in the CFL this year.

If the season ended today, Drew Holliday and the Tucson Toros would be out of the playoffs for the first time since 2004. Their loss to Fargo (5-4) this week knocked them out of the wild card spot. Holliday got a few more carries than he had in recent weeks, but failed to do much with them, rushing for only 69 yards in the loss.

Don Terrell had the week off, but a Huntington Beach loss (5-4) moved Long Beach into the lead in their division.

Playoffs? Playoffs!? Seattle isn't going to the playoffs this season. Not with a run oriented offense. The top three rushing attacks (of which I am second) in the CFL have a combined record of 7-20. The top three in the NFL so far this season? 13-5. Ah well, that's life, I suppose. Gotta take my lumps and figure out what does work, because this Seattle team is turning into a bunch of overpaid slackers. And that includes the fumbler who has somehow managed to kick the ball in front of him for over a thousand yards.

I know, I know, we need to take care of the ball better. Once that starts happening, maybe we'll win a few games here and there...

_________________

2008 week 11 comparison:
[b4c7e58a]Rushing:[/b4c7e58a]
Liszkiewicz - 23 carries, 120 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
Holliday - 21 carries, 144 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
Spearman - 15 carries, 122 yards, 2 tds, 0 fmb
Terrell - 14 carries, 53 yards, 1 td, 0 fmb
[b4c7e58a]Recieving:[/b4c7e58a]
Liszkiewicz - 7 catches, 64 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 2 catches, 15 yards
Terrell - 0
[b4c7e58a]Returns:[/b4c7e58a]
Liszkiewicz - 3 kr, 61 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 1 kr, 15 yards
Terrell - 0

Don Terrell got his second career start, rushing for 53 and a td as Long Beach won the crucial battle of the Beaches over Huntington Beach (5-5) to take sole possession of the lead in the division with a 6-4 record. Long Beach scored 17 points in the last 6 minutes to take the 24-20 win.

Spearman had his second 100 yard day of the year, carrying 15 times for 122 yards in a 47-19 thrashing of a good New York (7-3) team. The victory makes Hartford 9-1, tied for the best record in the league. It was the seventh 100 yard game of Spearman's career. Hartford is 7-0 when he goes over 100 yards rushing.

Holliday and Tucson got a big win, 37-7, over Arizona (1-9). Holliday rushed 21 times for 144 yards in the win. This extends Tucson's winning streak to 11 in games when Holliday goes over 100. Overall they are 14-2 in such games.

The Polish Express went over 100 for the fourth straight week, and already the seventh time this season, in a much needed win over division rival Oregon (3-7), 23-21. Burt is now 10 yards away from going over 3000 rushing yards for his career. The win brings Seattle back up to .500 at 5-5.

[quote829e693="Fonzie"]As I mentioned in the week 9 thread, I'm at my wit's end with the coach. I have Holliday's PT cranked up to 9, yet he only got 17 carries compared to his backup's 8 carries. Fucker.[/quote829e693]I'm kind of curious if the Toros' misfortune with Hogan will now lead Holliday to get more carries.

[quote4828ed2="daedalus"]I'm kind of curious if the Toros' misfortune with Hogan will now lead Holliday to get more carries.[/quote4828ed2]

I am too. I won't be changing the gameplan much, if at all, since it seems that my instructions to the coach are routinely ignored anyway.

Not to mention that without Hogan our season is pretty much shot anyway, so we might as well see what the backup QB (Daryl Cassidy) brings to the table. I'm hoping he gets used "normally."

Aside: what is it with the name "Daryl" in this game? I've got two of them on my roster: Cassidy and backup RB Daryl "He Who Steals Holliday's Carries" Bradley. I looked at the rosters of the teams alphabetically close to me (Tampa Bay and Tulsa - 'cuz I'm too lazy to look through all rosters) and they both have one Daryl as well. Strange how frequently that unusual name pops up.

_________________

Ring of Fire Division Champions - 2009, 2011-2026, 2028-33
Western Conference Champions - 2011-2013, 2016, 2017, 2019-2022, 2024, 2025, 2028, 2033
CFL Champions - 2011, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2025

2008 week 12 comparison:
[bb244d9c]Rushing:[/bb244d9c]
Liszkiewicz - 12 carries, 55 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
Holliday - 21 carries, 178 yards, 2 tds, 0 fmb
Spearman - 19 carries, 66 yards, 0 tds, 0 fmb
Terrell - 17 carries, 115 yards, 1 td, 0 fmb
[bb244d9c]Recieving:[/bb244d9c]
Liszkiewicz - 2 catches, 20 yards
Holliday - 2 catches, 7 yards
Spearman - 2 catches, 15 yards
Terrell - 2 catches, 13 yards
[bb244d9c]Returns:[/bb244d9c]
Liszkiewicz - 2 kr, 53 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 0
Terrell - 0

Drew Holliday had the best day of his career, carrying 21 times for 178 yards and 2 touchdowns in a blowout victory over Tampa Bay (2-9). With Hogan out, teams will really be able to key on stopping Holliday. He has passed the first test. This also extends Tucson's winning streak to 12 when Holliday is over 100 yards. They are now 15-2 lifetime in those games.

Liszkiewicz had less than 17 carries for the first time all season, carrying 12 times for 55 yards. His team was victorious, however, beating Boston (3-8 ) by a single point, 21-20. It ended his 100 yard rushing streak at 4 games, but more importantly kept Seattle's playoff hopes alive. They're above .500 for the first time since week 5.

Spearman was relatively unspectacular, rushing for 66 yards, as Hartford whipped Anchorage (6-5) 34-0. Spearman may be seeing more carries soon as Hartford lost their top wideout, Tony Jolin, for the rest of the season.

Don Terrell had his first 100 yard game, carrying 17 times for 115 yards. Unfortunately, Albany (6-5) won the game, 27-20. Long Beach still leads the division.

2008 season to date comparison:
[b6a8daec]Rushing:[/b6a8daec]
Liszkiewicz - 253 carries, 1229 yards, 3 tds, 8 fmbs
Holliday - 216 carries, 1048 yards, 8 tds, 3 fmbs
Spearman - 197 carries, 794 yards, 7 tds, 5 fmbs
Terrell - 97 carries, 450 yards, 2 tds, 1 fmb
[b6a8daec]Recieving:[/b6a8daec]
Liszkiewicz - 27 catches, 227 yards, 1 td, 2 drops
Holliday - 9 catches, 50 yards
Spearman - 22 catches, 248 yards, 1 td, 2 drops
Terrell - 6 catches, 33 yards
[b6a8daec]Returns:[/b6a8daec]
Liszkiewicz - 6 pr, 33 yards, 26 kr, 494 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 5 kr, 95 yards
Terrell - 0

The Polish Express is still second to Arthur Brady. Holliday and Lizkiewicz have broken the 1000 yard mark, and there's a chance all 4 could surpass 1000 this year.

Liszkiewicz and Holliday are tied for the lead in yards per carry with 4.85. Don Terrell is second with 4.63 and Alan Spearman is 19th with 4.03.

2008 week 13 comparison:
[bc2f91a7]Rushing:[/bc2f91a7]
Liszkiewicz - 11 carries, 49 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
Holliday - 39 carries, 105 yards, 1 td, 0 fmb
Spearman - 13 carries, 78 yards, 1 td, 1 fmb
Terrell - 17 carries, 72 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
[bc2f91a7]Recieving:[/bc2f91a7]
Liszkiewicz - 3 catches, 25 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 2 catches, 15 yards
Terrell - 0
[bc2f91a7]Returns:[/bc2f91a7]
Liszkiewicz - 1 kr, 22 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 2 kr, 51 yards
Terrell - 0

Holliday and Terrell went head to head in week 13 as Tucson (8-4) traveled to Long Beach (6-6). It was the usual Long Beach game - relatively low scoring and close. In fact, it was 3-0 at halftime and tied 3-3 at the end of the third. Without Milan Hogan at QB, the Toros didn't have much of an air attack so they gave it to Holliday 39 times (his previous career high was 28 ). It eventually paid off as he scored on a 3 yard run in overtime to get the victory. Holliday's yards per carry wasn't pretty at 2.6, but he did break 100 and extended the winning streak to 13 when he is over 100. Terrell was productive, though he didn't get a ton of carries. Long Beach still leads their division in a race that will likely come down to the final week.

Liszkiewicz didn't get a ton of carries as Seattle was playing catch up most of the way in a tough loss to a surprising El Paso (7-5) team. A 17 point 4th quarter comeback to tie the game at 31 with 2:17 to go was nullified by a 24 yard B.J. Sutton field goal as time expired that gave El Paso the 34-31 victory. The loss drops Seattle to 6-6 and a game behind El Paso for the second wild card spot.

Spearman was decent in a limited role as Hartford blew a 24-3 lead to lose to Detroit (8-4) 30-24. Spearman only carried 13 times but managed to rack up 78 yards. Even with the loss Hartford is tied with Charleston and Boise for the best record in the league at 10-2.

2008 week 14 comparison:
[bdbfc75b]Rushing:[/bdbfc75b]
Liszkiewicz - 23 carries, 73 yards, 2 tds, 0 fmb
Holliday - 17 carries, 78 yards, 1 td, 0 fmb
Spearman - 19 carries, 94 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
Terrell - 10 carries, 45 yards, 1 td, 0 fmb
[bdbfc75b]Recieving:[/bdbfc75b]
Liszkiewicz - 2 catches, 13 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 2 catches, 12 yards
Terrell - 1 catch, 17 yards
[bdbfc75b]Returns:[/bdbfc75b]
Liszkiewicz - 2 kr, 50 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 3 kr, 82 yards
Terrell - 0

In another battle of the backs, Seattle (6-7) and Liszkiewicz went up against Spearman and Hartford (11-2). Liszkiewicz scored twice on 73 yards against the CFL's top run defense, but Spearman's crew was too much in the second half. Spearman tallied 106 in offense and 82 in kick returns in the 31-26 victory. The win clinches the division for Hartford (they'd win the tiebreaker with their sweep of New York), and the loss makes Seattle a long shot for the playoffs.

Don Terrell only carried 10 times for 45 in a massive blowout win at Cleveland (4-9) 38-7. Long Beach went with Urrutia and the passing game and it paid off as he threw for 287 yards and 4 touchdowns on just 26 attempts. The win keeps Long Beach a game up in their division. Their game against Sacramento next week is crucial.

Drew Holliday and Tucson fell short at Charleston (11-2), 14-10. Tucson maintained their wild card spot and are still a game behind Honolulu in the ring of fire. A win would have solidified their playoff spot. They will get QB Milan Hogan back for the final home stretch against Honolulu, Durham and the week 17 matchup with Las Vegas.

2008 week 15 comparison:
[bc6fcf5c]Rushing:[/bc6fcf5c]
Liszkiewicz - 23 carries, 108 yards, 1 td, 1 fmb
Holliday - 17 carries, 68 yards, 1 td, 0 fmb
Spearman - 13 carries, 52 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
Terrell - 12 carries, 61 yards, 0 td, 0 fmb
[bc6fcf5c]Recieving:[/bc6fcf5c]
Liszkiewicz - 2 catches, 18 yards
Holliday - 3 catches, 13 yards
Spearman - 1 catch, 9 yards
Terrell - 2 catches, 25 yards
[bc6fcf5c]Returns:[/bc6fcf5c]
Liszkiewicz - 1 kr, 30 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 0
Terrell - 0

In what amounted to an early playoff for both teams, Anchorage (7-7) battled Liszkiewicz and Seattle (7-7). The Polish Express and his teammates rose to the challenge. Lizskiewicz went over 100 for the 8th time this year with 108 and a td on the ground. Seattle used great starting field position (avg. start was their own 46) to secure the 27-20 victory and keep their playoff hopes alive. They will need help to get in, and they'd have to make it on tiebreakers.

Hogan is back. Tucson (9-5) destroyed Honolulu (9-5), 38-6, to complete their first ever sweep of the Blue Pacific and secure themselves the top spot in the Ring of Fire. Holliday was solid with 68 yards and a td, but Milan Hogan made his return from injury a grand one going 20/25 for 225 and 4 tds. The Ring of Fire race isn't over as Las Vegas and Honolulu are still in contention. The Toros control their own destiny at this point, though.

Hartford (11-3) has clinched their division, but a surprising loss to Atlantic City (5-9) this week may have cost them home field advantage in the playoffs. Spearman was a non-factor as the Phantoms beat the Attack for the second time this season. Hartford suffered another blow in the injury department, losing starting CB Damon Freeman for the rest of the year.

Long Beach (7-7) lost a crucial game to Sacramento (7-7) that leaves the door wide open in the San Andreas division. Don Terrell got off to a good start, running for 61 on his first 12 carries, but sprained his lateral knee ligament and is now questionable for the next month. I'd expect Sherman New to carry the load in the meantime. Amazingly, Long Beach still controls the division on the tiebreaker, but their game this week with Detroit (8-6) and Sacramento's game with Albany (9-5) are both huge.

Ugh. He finally starts then goes on to hurt himself. Annoying.

2008 week 16 comparison:
[b2dcdcbe]Rushing:[/b2dcdcbe]
Liszkiewicz - 20 carries, 79 yards, 0 td, 1 fmb
Holliday - 29 carries, 124 yards, 1 td, 1 fmb
Spearman - 15 carries, 63 yards, 1 td, 0 fmb
Terrell - injured
[b2dcdcbe]Recieving:[/b2dcdcbe]
Liszkiewicz - 4 catches, 35 yards
Holliday - 1 catch, 15 yards
Spearman - 6 catches, 75 yards
Terrell - injured
[b2dcdcbe]Returns:[/b2dcdcbe]
Liszkiewicz - 2 kr, 49 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 4 kr, 90 yards
Terrell - injured

It was a huge week, with all 4 games having playoff implications and a couple of teams with their season riding on this week.

Don Terrell sat out injured this week, but his Long Beach team got it done without him. They got an impressive 20-17 win at Detroit (8-7) that keeps them ahead of Sacramento in the division on a tiebreaker, and also puts Detroit in a tough spot. Assuming their strength of victory tiebreaker holds up, a road trip to Santa Cruz is the only thing that stands between Long Beach and the playoffs.

Burt Liszkiewicz and the Seattle Thunderbirds fell just short of the playoffs yet again. Liszkiewicz had over 100 yards of offense, but Seattle was shutout in the second half and New York (10-5) got the win. This is the third year in a row that Seattle has just missed the playoffs.

Alan Spearman had good numbers with 138 yards of offense on 21 touches and 228 all purpose yards, but an interception return for a td was ultimately the difference as Boise (13-2) handed Hartford their second straight loss, 23-16. The loss knocks Hartford out of the race for the top seed in the conference, but they have clinched a bye with the number 2 seed.

The streak is over in Tucson. They had won 13 in a row when Drew Holliday was over 100 yards, but failed to do so this week for the first time in just over 2 years. Holliday ran for 124, but Durham (10-5) got the win in overtime, 29-23. The loss drops Tucson a game behind Honolulu in the division and makes their week 17 matchup with Las Vegas that much bigger. The Toros still control their own destiny.

2008 season comparison:
[b2dcdcbe]Rushing:[/b2dcdcbe]
Liszkiewicz - 330 carries, 1538 yards, 6 tds, 10 fmbs
Holliday - 318 carries, 1423 yards, 12 tds, 4 fmbs
Spearman - 257 carries, 1081 yards, 9 tds, 6 fmbs
Terrell - 136 carries, 628 yards, 3 tds, 1 fmb
[b2dcdcbe]Recieving:[/b2dcdcbe]
Liszkiewicz - 38 catches, 318 yards, 1 td, 2 drops
Holliday - 13 catches, 78 yards, 1 drop
Spearman - 33 catches, 359 yards, 1 td, 2 drops
Terrell - 9 catches, 75 yards
[b2dcdcbe]Returns:[/b2dcdcbe]
Liszkiewicz - 6 pr, 33 yards, 32 kr, 645 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 14 kr, 318 yards
Terrell - 0

Liskiewicz is wrapping up a career year, but the result is the same for Seattle.

Drew Holliday needs 99 yards in week 17 to tie his single season best.

Alan Spearman was solid, but didn't get as many touches as last year.

Before the injury, Don Terrell was looking pretty good as the starter in Long Beach.

2008 week 17 comparison:
[bba4ed0a]Rushing:[/bba4ed0a]
Liszkiewicz - 18 carries, 109 yards, 1 td, 0 fmb
Holliday - 29 carries, 141 yards, 3 td, 2 fmbs
Spearman - 21 carries, 87 yards, 1 td, 1 fmb
Terrell - injured
[bba4ed0a]Recieving:[/bba4ed0a]
Liszkiewicz - 5 catches, 42 yards
Holliday - 3 catches, 37 yards
Spearman - 2 catches, 30 yards, 1 td
Terrell - injured
[bba4ed0a]Returns:[/bba4ed0a]
Liszkiewicz - 1 kr, 20 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 1 kr, 18 yards
Terrell - injured

Tucson came into week 17 needing to win to keep their season alive. A win would put them in the playoffs and a loss would keep them out. Divisional rival Las Vegas (8-8 ) came to town for a high stakes game, and Drew Holliday exploded for 178 yards of offense and 4 touchdowns to embarrass the Rounders in front of God and everyone, 38-17. It was Holliday's 7th 100 yard game of the season, and his 141 rushing yards this week made this his best season yet in that regard with 1564 for the year.

Long Beach was without Don Terrell as they choked in week 17 to end their season.

Liskiewicz had another 100 yard day, going for 151 yards of total offense in a meaningless game against Boise (13-3). Seattle did earn their third straight non-losing season with the victory this week.

Spearman had a decent game as Hartford beat Boston (4-12), 19-13. Alan scored twice on just over 100 yards of offense as the Attack wrapped up a solid 12-4 regular season and head into the playoffs among the favorites to win it all.

2008 season comparison:
[b593160e]Rushing:[/b593160e]
Liszkiewicz - 348 carries, 1647 yards, 7 tds, 10 fmbs
Holliday - 347 carries, 1564 yards, 15 tds, 6 fmbs
Spearman - 278 carries, 1168 yards, 10 tds, 7 fmbs
Terrell - 136 carries, 628 yards, 3 tds, 1 fmb
[b593160e]Recieving:[/b593160e]
Liszkiewicz - 43 catches, 360 yards, 1 td, 2 drops
Holliday - 16 catches, 115 yards, 1 td, 1 drop
Spearman - 35 catches, 389 yards, 2 tds, 2 drops
Terrell - 9 catches, 75 yards
[b593160e]Returns:[/b593160e]
Liszkiewicz - 6 pr, 33 yards, 33 kr, 665 yards
Holliday - 0
Spearman - 15 kr, 336 yards
Terrell - 0

Liskiewicz had by far the best year of his career, and Drew Holliday had his best year by a smaller margin. This was the second time Holliday has gone over 1500 and the third straight year he has been over 1300 yards rushing.

Spearman had a slight sophomore slump, getting less carries, rushing yards and touchdowns than he had last year.

Terrell saw a little more action this year, starting several games before getting injured.



Career comparison:
[b593160e]Rushing:[/b593160e]
Liszkiewicz - 811 carries, 3463 yards, 17 tds, 21 fmbs
Holliday - 1004 carries, 4424 yards, 37 tds, 21 fmbs
Spearman - 590 carries, 2423 yards, 21 tds, 15 fmbs
Terrell - 239 carries, 1038 yards, 7 tds, 3 fmbs
[b593160e]Recieving:[/b593160e]
Liszkiewicz - 71 catches, 626 yards, 6 tds, 7 drops
Holliday - 56 catches, 354 yards, 4 tds, 1 drop
Spearman - 72 catches, 786 yards, 3 tds, 5 drops
Terrell - 19 catches, 141 yards, 1 td
[b593160e]Returns:[/b593160e]
Liszkiewicz - 16 pr, 105 yards, 95 kr, 2042 yards, 1 td
Holliday - 3 pr, 25 yards
Spearman - 22 kr, 493 yards
Terrell - 0

Holliday still is the leading rusher by a little under 1000 yards, and has a huge lead in rushing touchdowns as well.

Spearman is a more productive reciever than any of the of the other backs, having more yards in two seasons than Holliday and Liszkiewicz have had in 3.

Liszkiewicz now has over 2000 yards in kick returns. That's a lot of production that doesn't get as much notice.