RhinoVision - Week #14

North Division Wildcard

How about a little history? The Elephants own this series 7-2 and this season these two teams split their games. Playoffs anyone? Well the Elephants are going for the 5th straight year and have a playoff record of 5-4. Additionally they have advanced to the Cross-Dressed Championship the past three seasons only to be a bridesmaid each time! That has got to SUCK! And the Beavers? Well they were here in 1998 as the division leader, but lost to the Elephants after having a first round bye. And that's it 0-1.

So what's the scoop on this year's matchup? Well the Rhino has watched the Beavers struggle to stay afloat all season, and they barely made the playoffs. So they should be thankful to even be here this season. Meanwhile the Elephants stomped their way through the first half of the season, but struggled down the stretch. And if it weren't for some really questionable coaching in the final regular season game, they would have a bye this week and the Rough Riders would be here! So looking at the strength of each teams player match ups, the Rhino see the Eager Beavers with an advantage in every category except the Wide Receivers. That's assuming that the Elephant's coaching staff doesn't muck it up! But this week it doesn't matter as the dark horse prevails...

The Rhino says...Eager Beavers win by +4.

South Division Wildcard

We all know how this one should come out, but you never know. The Young Guns lead this series 4-2-1 over the Invaders and the Gunners made their only playoff appearance last year which they lost to --you guessed it, the Invaders! The Invaders are the defending Cross-Dressed Champions, and as such deserve a certain amount of respect. They have a 4-3 playoff record from appearances in '95 and 97-99 as well as possession of that valuable Joe Barbie trophy for their efforts last season! OK, can we move on now? This is one of, if not the worse team in the league this season. Last year's glory is just a faded memory now. There has been much grumbling about the playoff structure --and this might be a good argument for revamping it, but this is the nature of the beast. Deal with it. Sometimes the best teams don't get what they feel they deserve.

Shall we get back to the task at hand? The Rhino has looked at the player matchups and it doesn't look good for the Invaders, even it you look through the most rose colored glasses. The Young Guns personnel is simply better in all aspects of the game. The Invaders one bright spot, Jamal Lewis of Baltimore has an NFL bye this week. Could it get any worse? I doubt it. OK, one positive not for them...the Invaders do have the better kicker! Pray. Pray real hard...

The Rhino says...Young Guns win by +9.