CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK: Red Headed Step Child

Despite a draft that yielded jack and crap in the first two rounds, Mike Mintz finds himself one win away from hoisting this bad boy:

Let's see how Mintz got here:

Mike goes to 1-0 with a beat down of Bry.  A very nice point total from his WR's and believe it or not, Matt Schaub leads the way.  Important to note, that Mikes running backs, his first two picks, both sucked, and would the rest of the year.

A tough loss here for Mike Mintz, who I believe lost in a stat correction, but don't hold me too that b/c all the weed has killed my memory.  It's clear here that Mike Williams Tampa Bay let Mike down, who would've thought that?  1-1.

A narrow defeat followed by a narrow Mintz Award victory.  We can see the downfall for Schaub starting here but a nice pickup putting Black Wes Welker in over Mike Williams Tampa Bay.  CJ Spiller still sucks.  2-1.

A championship preview where Mike got smoked by Hill.  Here Phil Rivers makes his first appearance though over Schaub, a move that would change Mike's season.  2-2.

Another close game but Mintz just narrowly misses.  He started Schaub out of necessity and this would be the start of the Bench Schaub campaign in Houston and it cost Mike.  His search for solid RB play continues, and would go on for the rest of the year,  2-3

Here's where Mike takes down the Commish and just about ends my season.  But this isn't about me, so let's note that this is where Pierre Thomas makes his first appearance, a subtle but solid move that would pay off as Thomas is Sean Peyton's most trusted back.  The win gets Mike back to .500.  3-3.

Mike falls back under the .500 with a loss to Ferencz.  CJ Spiller and T-Rich were given one last chance to prove their worth and failed miserably.  Actually more than miserably and despite solid QB play from his championship starters, Dalton and Rivers, Mintz falls to 3-4.

Mike catches Lacy In Your Facey on the right week and easy wins despite a below average point total, although we're well into bye weeks so that's part of the reason.  This is the first week in the first 8 that Mike got some decent RB play, and amazingly enough it came from McFadden. 4-4.

Mintz moves above the .500 mark for the first time since he was 2-1.  Another key addition makes his debut as Keenan Allen puts up 26.8 and becomes Rivers' go to receiver.  5-4.

Mintz completes the regular-season sweep of Bry and moves two games above .500 in a win that pretty much locked up a playoff spot for Mike.  Pierre Thomas comes thru huge for Mike in an otherwise down week to get him the win. 6-4.

Mintz ran into the buzzsaw that was Flames when he was at his peak.  An 80-point loss might have led to some overconfidence by Hemrick as they would rematch in the semi finals.  6-5.

In danger of falling back to .500 and having to fight for playoff spot in Week 13, Mintz puts up the best week of his season, making a statement that his team is a player in this league.  His potentially dominant WR's all realized that potential, and again some great QB play including a nice Carson Palmer play led to the rout.  7-5.

The second of their matchups went like the first as Hill again takes down Mike Mintz.  Will Hill make the same mistake as Hemrick and take Mike too lightly now? Fortunately for Mike, his win the week before made this game meaningless.  7-6.  On to the playoffs:

The general consensus is it's hard to beat a team 3 times in one season, but Mike laughs at that.  Bry, who's season was falling apart going into this match, could not put up a fight against Mike who won easily.

In the semifinal we see Mintz get his revenge on Hemrick.  

Again Pierre Thomas, Keenan Allen, and Phil Rivers, all waiver wire additions, figure prominently in this win and in getting Mintz to the finals.  This week has seen some more pickups.  Is it enough?  Well we don't see a whole lot of domination in these scores, but Mike is peaking at the right time and just needs to find the right combination for one week.  Will he? We'll find out Sunday.