Team Video, CNN and WTTG Remain Undefeated
The first round of divisional games brought some significant light to the potential wild-card races while surprising Team Video, mainstay CNN and increasingly dangerous WTTG are the only remaining unbeaten teams in the MMSL.
Focus turns sharply to the Aspen Hill and Burning Tree races because the shape of those divisions is quickly meaning bad news for some wild-card hopefuls. Those two divisions have a shot at three teams each making the playoffs, absorbing four of the six wild-card berths. That means some teams groping along (namely The Gazette, Post.com, National Press Club) need some sweeps this week, heading into the halfway point of the season.
For Team Video, defeating defending Aspen Hill champ Comcast SportsNet this week is a huge leg up for either a division title or wild-card berth. Team Video now has a two-game lead as the SportsNuts and steady Atlantic Video have critical, playoff-bearing non-division games this week against ABC News and WTTG, respectively.
Meanwhile, the defending champs got untracked at Burning Tree, where USA Today feels much better, along with AOL, after securing sweeps. The Washington Times lost twice and now has serious work to do because of the increasing lack of potential wild-card berths. But Burning Tree is very capable of having three playoff teams.
At Veirs Mill, WTTG knocked off WRC for the lead, and the Original Peacocks and previously unbeaten Philibusters suffered their first losses. But Channel 9 came so close to tossing an enormous monkey wrench into things, where they came up just short of stunning Fox 5. Still, The Retired One's off-hand observation recently that WTTG is progressing toward worthiness of Championship Sunday might have some fruit.
It was a wild and interesting day at Wheaton Forest, where Post.com holds the slimmest of leads despite losing to The Gazette, which promptly lost to the Post, which won twice to leap from last place to one game out. Say wha? This division, among Post Co. teams, is proving to be a bloodbath and all we can do is follow it week-by-week, result-by-result. No analysis today will hold forth.
At Layhill, AP's sweep of the City Paper and Press Club gives the Flash the lead--for now. But the division is still wide open. Even for winless City Paper. The problem is, the way matters are going elsewhere around the league, winning the division might be the only chance for a team at Layhill to reach the playoffs.