Fearless Predictions - Season Finale

There's still time to vote on the Nate Washington and Christmas football polls (both of which will close tomorrow) and the lineup poll (which will close Sunday). In the meantime, it's time for one last set of predictions for the Landshark Maniacs fantasy football league. Again, these are two-week matchups, so week 17 will be in play here, too.

Last week's predictions went 4-1, raising our season record to 41-29. The only miss was the win by the Southern Rebels, our opponent in the final round. Here's hoping the Rebels don't hold that against us.

Let's start with the ninth-place matchup between the Houston Wreckin' Crew and Ravens Fan T Sizzle. In this game, it will be important to mind your Ps and Qs--that is, the "probable" and "questionable" statuses throughout both lineups. This matchup will hinge on Michael Turner, who could put up big numbers for the Crew or injure himself on his first carry and put up a doughnut (as he did in last week's game against the Pigskin). My guess is that Turner will show up for the last two weeks and fuel a victory for the Crew.

Next is the seventh-place match between the D.C. Destroyers and T-bay jacks 151rum stumblrs. Both sides have plenty of players fighting for playoff spots, but the most intriguing player is Chris Johnson, who is chasing a postseason bid, a 2,000-yard season and possibly Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record. Since the Titans need to win both games to get into the playoffs, they'll be motivated to feed Johnson the ball early and often. That will mean big fantasy points for him and a victory for the Destroyers.

The fifth-place match for the title of Best Landshark Maniacs Team Not to Make the Playoffs (yes, I just made that title up) pits the People's Pigskin against the Southern Rebels. Which team is the pick here? Let me give you a hint: In the immortal words of Terrell Owens, "I'd love me some of me."

In the playoff consolation game for third place, we have the Hawaiian Surfriders facing Tinks Revenge. As of this writing, the Surfriders have not selected a kicker, but it probably won't matter. Ray Rice is a contender for fantasy football find of the year, and his team is in a "We need to win both games to get into the playoffs" situation, so he'll get the ball early and often. The Revenge gets the win and the proverbial bronze medal.

Finally, we have the Landshark Maniacs championship game, Northeast Dragons vs. Big Lough O. One thing that's striking about this matchup is the proliferation of 1s and 2s under the "position rank" column. We can honestly say that the two best teams are meeting for the title. (Note to college football fans: We used a playoff to get here. We did not need a fraudulent set of polls and computer numbers. Remember: Playoffs rule.)

Anyway, it's hard to find a player who won't be in a position to put up a ton of points over the next two weeks. Even Drew Brees has a reason to keep slinging the ball in the fourth quarter. (The New Orleans Saints have not wrapped up home-field advantage.) The difference here may be the wide receivers. Given the choice, I'll take Brandon Marshall, Andre Johnson and Vincent Jackson over Roddy White, Terrell Owens and even Wes Welker. As a result, I'll take the Dragons to win it all.

We'll be back tomorrow with poll results. Have a merry one.