Here they come, spinning out of the turn

New smiley Kirsten below...

Diablo clinches first playoff spot

OK, let me get this out of the way.

The Diablo Spawn clinched a playoff spot last week with a 326-297 victory over Cancun. Diablo's 17-5 record is the best in the NIBL, and Danny's magic number for clinching the West regular season title is 1. All that's left for the Spawn is beating RobReed's Plainfield squad to the tape for the best over record in the NIBL and the first pick in the playoff draft.

Dos Battles Royale

This is the week Rip City has worked hard for, and won 9 in a row for... a Western conference grudge match with bitter rival, the West Chicago WifeBeaters. A Rip City win by at least 5 nibls would give the Rippers the tiebreaker and second place in the West. 

It sure seems likely. The Rippers have been north of 310 for each of the past 6 weeks. West Chicago is headed in the other direction and has only reached 300 nibls once in same time span.

It almost seems too easy. But let's not forget... Rip City was fucking 4-9 when RobTriol started his streak. At week 13, West Chicago was the opposite: 9-4.

In the East, the top dogs square off as Aruba travels to the tornado-swept wasteland of Plainfield. The PlayMakers are 16-6; the Thong are 14-8. In their first matchup, Plainfield shocked the home fans in Aruba with a 360-338 victory. 

A betting man would expect this game to be a high-scoring affair as well as Aruba (324 nibls/game) and Plainfield (309 nibls/game) lead the NIBL in scoring by a wide margin. In fact, Diablo is the only other team in the league averaging more than 300 nibls a contest.

In comments to the local media, RobReed seemed nonplussed by the upcoming matchup, "You guys really care about this stuff," he declared sarcastically. Well, with a two game lead at the top of the toughest conference in NIBL history, I guess RobReed's apathy has, at the least, been well-earned.

When asked about Plainfield's indifference toward their upcoming game, Aruba owner Bill Krieger said, "He wasn't so apathetic at 0-13 in his rookie season. All you have to do is mention his selection of Toni Kukoc in the first round and tears well up in his eyes. He's a big baby."

Sounds like some another fun NIBL week coming right up.

yow, bill

PS - Go Cub!