The wise guru has observed the 2007 season, and will now recognize the achievements worthy of recognition...

[iec47eef]Best fantasy value:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]RB Monty Boyd[/bec47eef], Detroit - Boyd only cost $23, but he has outperformed every running back in the "Salary Cap Challenge" by posting 42 points through week 7 (next highest is 23 points).

[iec47eef]Best finish:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]Las Vegas[/bec47eef] against Shreveport in week 2. Las Vegas won the game on a 44 yard TD pass from Lenny "Jackpot" Olsen to Thad Gerald with only 9 seconds on the clock.

[iec47eef]Biggest broken streak:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]Tulsa[/bec47eef] - Tulsa was 0-8 all-time against Fargo until week 1 when they defeated the Boxcars 28-24. Fargo has never recovered and is now the CFL's only winless team at 0-7.

[iec47eef]Biggest upset:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]Long Beach Calibri[/bec47eef] over the Anchorage Wolfpack, week 3: Long Beach (0-2) fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter against Anchorage (2-0), but rallied to a 21-13 victory after shutting out the Wolfpack offense in the second half. The biggest play of the day was made by backup safety Billy Roffmann who returned an interception 79 yards for a touchdown.

[iec47eef]Most improved team:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]Cleveland Flats[/bec47eef] - Cleveland is 4-3 after finishing 3-13 last year. One reason for the quick turnaround is quarterback Ernest Lorenzo, acquired during the offseason from El Paso. Lorenzo is on pace to set career highs in passing yards, touchdowns, and passer rating (currently 3rd in the league at 98.5).

[iec47eef]Best single game performance:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]WR Kelley McCaleb[/bec47eef], Anchorage: McCaleb set a CFL record in week 7 with 293 receiving yards. He finished with 3 touchdowns and 9 catches total. He currently leads the league in TD receptions (10) and receiving yards (923).

[iec47eef]Worst individual performance:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]QB Clarence Gomez[/bec47eef], Seattle: Gomez is the backup for Charles Dever, and was forced into the lineup when Dever went down with an injury against Honolulu. Gomez didn't complete a pass until his 17th attempt, and finished 3-24 for 63 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs.

[iec47eef]Best clutch field goal:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]K Alfred Luzar[/bec47eef], San Antonio: Luzar kicked a 56 yard field goal in the rain with 17 seconds left in the 4th quarter to give San Antonio a 16-15 victory over Memphis in week 5.

[iec47eef]Best offense:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]Honolulu[/bec47eef] - Honolulu leads the league in scoring with 220 points, and they have scored at least 20 points in all of their 7 wins. The only team who has been able to slow them down has been Sacramento, who gave the Blue Pacific their only loss in week 3.

[iec47eef]Best defense:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]Santa Cruz[/bec47eef] - Santa Cruz has only allowed 88 points all year, and posted a shutout in week 7 against Huntington Beach. The stars this year have been their defensive tackles: Harold Stoltzfus and Andrew Thom who have combined for 50 tackles, 17 assists, 6 sacks, and 22 hurries.

[iec47eef]Best home field advantage:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]Cleveland[/bec47eef] - The Flats are 4-0 at home this year, including a week 8 victory over division leader Detroit. Cleveland is 0-3 on the road.

[iec47eef]Most pleasant surprise:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]RB Rob West[/bec47eef], Albany: Rob West was a 2nd round draft pick out of Mississippi State and only rushed for 260 yards in his rookie season despite starting 5 games. This year he has 656 yards and 6 touchdowns.

[iec47eef]Biggest overachiever:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]DE Randy Irwin[/bec47eef], Anchorage: Irwin is a solid player but is not regarded as a superstar. He is making a name for himself for the Wolfpack this year, getting 6 sacks in only 4 starts.

[iec47eef]Biggest underachiever:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]DE Motormouth Vazquez[/bec47eef], Durham: Motormouth still can't put up any decent stats - he has 2 sacks so far this year. His career total in 56 games is 16.5 sacks which is less than the single season record that he promised to break several seasons ago.

[iec47eef]Most likely to be accused of performance enhancing drugs:[/iec47eef] [bec47eef]RB Alexis Rounds[/bec47eef], Sacramento Dragons: Rounds has 987 rushing yards through 8 games, putting him on pace for 1,974 yards for the season. His previous best was 1,169 yards in 2004.

Very nicely done...

I hadn't realized that I was winless on the road.

Very cool.

_________________
Former GM, Boston Panthers
8-8,8-8,8-8,7-9,7-9,4-12,10-6,10-6,11-5,11-5

Excellent!