New York Sharks win World Bowl; British Columbia wins Maple Leaf Cup

Congratulations to the 2015 La Lega World Bowl Champions the New York Sharks.  New York capped a 14-2 regular season with playoff victories over Barcelona and Stockholm and a 67-57 World Bowl XVII victory over Metallurg Petropavlovsk-Kamchatksy.

British Columbia claims the Maple Leaf Cup with a 72-44 victory over Calgary.

New York and British Columbia will join Anchorage (UWFFL Bowl XV Champion), Hartford (UWFFL Bowl Finalist qualified since Anchorage already qualified as UWFFL Regular Season Champion), Charleston (2014 Developmental League Champion),  Pontiac (2014-15 Division II Champion), Minnesota (2013-14 UWFFL Bowl XIV Champions* - they received spot that returning Champions League champion would have received if this wasn't the first Champions League) and St. Joseph's (2014 AAIFA Champion) in the first annual UWFFL Champions League.  Play begins in a few weeks, stay tuned for details.

Division II National Championship - Little Rock vs. Pontiac

Yesterday we brought you the Promotion Bowl -- a consolation game between the two losing semifinalists to decide the third UWFFL Division II squad to get promoted into the top-flight this fall.

Today we will look at the two teams that have already punched their tickets to promotion to the UWFFL, the semifinal winners Little Rock and Pontiac, and see which one will be crowned Champion of Divsion II for 2014 in the NyQuil Division II National Championship.  Last year's Division II Champion, the Anchorage Orcas went 18-0 in the Premier League this year and completed the first undefeated season in UWFFL history.  Both of this year's finalists will be able to challenge the Orcas in UWFFL Premier next season, but first they must decide this title.  

The Little Rock Diamondbacks went 8-5 in the Metro South Conference, but after three victories as the underdogs in the Metro South playoffs and a national semifinal win over Youngstown, they find themselves at 11-5 and in the title game.  Their opponents, the Pontiac Prowlers, went 11-1-1 in the regular season, won their league championship and defeated British Columbia in the other semifinal.  Who will win the Championship?  It's time for you to help us decide!

Promotion Bowl - Youngstown vs British Columbia

Due to various reasons, the UWFFL Fall 2014 season has gotten extended well into the Spring.. no matter, Champions must still be crowned.  

We congratulate the Anchorage Orcas, who defeated the Hartford Whalers 226-176 in UWFFL Bowl XV a couple weeks ago.  Great thanks go out to all of you who voted in the Championship game, it was a great turnout!

Now it is time to determine what teams will be promoted into the UWFFL from our Division II for next fall.  There were four league Champions in Division II:  Youngstown won the Eastern Association, Pontiac won the Central League, British Columbia won the Pacific Coast Conference and Little Rock won the Metro South Conference.  Three of those four teams won their leagues in only their first year at the Division II level after being promoted from the Spring Developmental League last year.  

Unfortunately there is only room for three of the four league champions to be promoted into the big league for next season.  The winners of the national semifinals, Little Rock and Pontiac, clinched their spots for promotion to the big league and will meet tomorrow in the NyQuil Division II National Championship.  The two other semifinalists, Youngstown and British Columbia, will meet today in a sort of "consolation game" - The Promotion Bowl in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

...and if that's not enough UWFFL fun for you, head on over to uwfantasyfootballleague.com and you can also cast your vote on two La Lega quarterfinals matches, and we'll be back tomorrow with the Division II Championship.

UWFFL Bowl XV - Anchorage Orcas vs Hartford Whalers

UWFFL BOWL XV

By Rob Holecko, Andrew Seagraves and Robert Kramer

Twelve teams started the season, six made the playoffs and only two now remain.

In an exciting season where veteran squads slugged it out with upstart sides and two of those upstarts find their way into UWFFL BOWL XV!

Anchorage and Hartford were both promoted into the Premiership after each team won the BCS and Eastern Association titles respectively last season. This season they picked up where they left off winning their respective divisions and earning first round byes.

Hartford took to the waters and navigated through ports far and wide to finish with an 11-5 record. Ahab and Crew defeated UWFFL stalwarts such as the Flying Fleet, the Storm, Timberwolves and Reign Fire to prove their mettle and earn a spot in the Grand Finals. Their White lids, jerseys, and green pants propelled them to a wonderful season. For the title match they will be decked out in a new mono-green kit as they take on the Pod from Alaska.

The Orcas swam the seas in a furious frenzy ending the season with a 16-0 mark. The team with the two-toned hats had some great matches against top notch talent and defeated all comers. The find themselves on the brink of history as they enter this Title Tilt. They are going with their White jerseys, black pants and white stockings in their game against the Whalers as they try to complete a perfect season.

With the best record, the Orcas had home field advantage for the game, and therefore choice of uniforms. Was it gamesmanship for the Orcas to choose to wear white to force the Whalers out of their favored white unis? Or is it just a smart and savvy bit of team management as the team from the great white north faces its’ biggest challenge in the biggest game of the year?

Anyway, this one is sure to be a classic matchup that will go down in the annals of UWFFL history. And now it’s time to vote, as you decide the winner of UWFFL BOWL XV!

Division II - National Semifinals

Division II Conference Championships

Eastern Association Championship:

Metro South Conference Championship:

Central League Championship:

Pacific Coast Conference Championship:

Eastern Association Semifinals

Today there are two Eastern Association semifinals, as St. John's takes on Staten Island and Toledo battles Youngstown.

Central League Semifinals and Metro South Re-do

Greetings and Salutations!

by Andrew Seagraves

The UWFFL is getting into weekend two of our UWFFL Minor League Playoff schedule with the semi-finals of the Central League and a make up tilt from the Metro South semifinals today.

The Central League had a stout slate of teams with the final week of play helping extend OKC's season into the playoffs. Dallas, Iowa and Pontiac proved to be the class of the league and were rewarded with the top three spots in the brackets. In the stretch, it was a two-horse race between Rapid City and Oklahoma City with OKC overtaking the Badlanders with a win to secure the final spot and a chance at post-season glory.

Now on to Part Two of the Central League season and the first sockdollager will pit the Division II stalwart Dallas Outlaws against the ever improving Iowa Corn. 

Dallas and their counterparts, the Prowlers and the Corn, have all held the number one position in the league since the beginning of the season. The Outlaws were one game away from the Premier league last season losing to the Vancouver Seawolves in the PCC Championship game. This season, the Lone Star Banditos are trying once again to make it into the Bigs doing little to their look from last year. This stasis has proven to be a solid choice. The Outlaws are keeping with their standard White lids, Blue jumpers, white pants and blue socks as they take on the Corn.

The Corn have planted acres of new crops and yielded success with their new togs this season. Iowa debuted this season's new digs in the 2014 Peppermint Bowl against the Giraffe and the Field of Nightmares has not been the same for their opponents. The Victory Kernels have been one of the few success stories where a change will do you good. For their fray with Dallas they have changed their look a bit adding green epaulets featuring their UCLA stripes at the edges. Along with their new shoulder accoutrements they are bringing out their Green lids, White guernseys, athletic gold britches and green socks.

The other cynosure clash in the Central League playoffs pits the Pontiac Prowlers against the Oklahoma City Superbeasts. 

The Oklahoma City Superbeasts may have moved locations yet didn't make any major changes in the way they look. They stayed with their standard Black, Purple and white livery and with that they are doing all they can to get back in the Big Leagues. In their final game of the season they faced the tough Duluth Ice Dragons and the battle of the beasts favored OKC. This win secured their golden ticket for the finals. For their matchup against the Prowlers they are going full Yeti with black lids.

~ ~ ~

From the Metro South Conference, the Florida Geckos and Missouri Magnetic will face off in a do-over of last week's semifinal (and this time we promise not to call them Swordfish).  The Geckos have tweaked their white aways with green pants while the Magnetic are doing their best Argonaut impersonation with light blue jerseys, dark blue TV patches and white lids and pants.  The winner of this game will advance to the MSC Championship game and face Little Rock who pulled out a squeaker last week against Charleston, 58-56.

In La Lega action: Metallurg PK will travel to Auckland to take on the Kaumoana, The mighty Lokomotiv are making way to Sydney to face the Spiders, and the surprising Stockholm Lutefisk will face the Horses of CSKA in Moscow.

The Premier League will see the undefeated Pod of Anchorage try to stay that way as they face the Ponies in the stables of Minnesota, the Nasty Ship Slaughter will make port in San Diego to square off against the Storm and the Reign Fire will be throwing back to their 1962 championship season with their "My Heart in San Francisco" jerseys against the Texas Timberwolves in Austin.

That'll do it for this week and we look forward to see y'all next weekend, where we will close out the Division II Conference Semifinal Round on Saturday and focus on a big day of Premier League action on Sunday as teams get ready for the playoffs.

Final 2014-15 UWFFL Division II Standings

Here are the final standings for the four UWFFL Division II Leagues for the 2014-15 Season:

Metro South Conference Semifinals

Jeremy Baxter's Charleston Navigators have been a hot team this year.  First they won the Spring 2014 UWFFL Developmental League title and breezed into Division II competition, finishing first in the MSC with an 11-2 mark.  They will host the #4-seeded 8-5 Little Rock Navigators, also a 2014 D-League graduate, in the first semifinal. Little Rock is wearing their gold lids with white jerseys and brown pants, while Charleston is wearing their standard white helmets, blue jerseys and white panted home uniforms.

In the other semifinal, the #3-seeded 9-4 Florida Geckos will travel to the 9-3-1 second-seed, the Missouri Swordfish.  Florida, last year's Division II National runners-ups, get a second chance this year to move on up to the big leagues, but their first step will be to get past the upstart Swordfish, yet another 2014 D-League graduate.

The Geckos are wearing their white road unis with green pants with their redesigned 2014 helmet, while the mix-and-match Swordfish are pairing a white helmet with a sleek baby blue alt and white pants this week.  It is sure to be a barn-burner in the Show Me state when this one kicks off.

note: corrected graphic that was sent later after voting began -----  should have read "Magnetic" not "Swordfish"!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Also this weekend the AAIFA, the UWFFL's "experimental indoor football league" is having it's championship game.  The St. Joseph Couriers will face off against the Sarasota Spitfires at 6 PM Eastern this evening, and it is sure to be an exciting deal.  As I'm sure you all know, there is nothing more exciting than indoor football, and that holds true even if it is imaginary indoor football.  And now we'll get to find out who will take home the James B. Dineen AAIFA Championship Trophy.

To learn more about the AAIFA, check out their Google+ page here.  You can go there for an in-depth break down of the game and read "5 Reasons Why Sarasota Wins the AAIFA Championship" or "5 Reasons Why St. Joseph Wins the AAIFA Championship" and much, much more.  

The AAIFA matches aren't determined by voting for uniforms -- game outcomes are determined by randomizers, algorithims, lucky eight balls, slide rules, mice eating peach cobbler and dice rolls, or at least one or two of those things -- however if you were voting for them by uniform, which team would you vote for?  Sarasota or St. Joseph?

With the Missouri Swordfish in the MSC semifinals and St. Joseph in the AAIFA Championship, today has shaped up to quite possibly be the biggest weekend for imaginary sports in the Show Me State ever, or at least since Larry Fuller's team, the "Ain't No Hasselbeck Girls" in his Independence, Mo., fantasy football league came from 51 points down in a 2002 game when Shaun Alexander had a big day.

With that, we'll see you next week, and let us be among the last to wish you a Happy New Year's.

St. Joseph Wins Inaugural AAIFA Title

Couriers Outrun, Outlast Spitfires, 62-47, Become First Ever AAIFA Champions

FINALS
                                      1       2      3       4       F
St. Joseph (11-4)    20     14    14     14    62
Sarasota (9-5)         13     13    14      7      47

Amway Arena 
WEATHER: INDOORS
ATTENDANCE: 11160
PASSING
WEATHERLY  {STJ) - 41 COMPLETIONS ON 48 ATTEMPTS FOR 428 YDS , 8 TD, 1 INT
DELONI  {SAR) - 22 COMPLETIONS ON 33 ATTEMPTS FOR 231 YDS , 2 TD
RECEIVING
THUBBINS-DECLAUDE  {STJ) - 17 CATCHES, 193 YDS , 2 TD
VALENTI  {STJ) - 10 CATCHES, 199 YDS , 2 TD
STEINN  {STJ) - 10 CATCHES, 67 YDS 
MCKINLEY  {STJ) - 2 CATCHES, 17 YDS , 1 TD
WESTON  {SAR) - 6 CATCHES, 88 YDS 
SIMPSON {SAR) - 12 CATCHES, 107 YDS , 1 TD
MAYBERRY  {SAR) - 3 CATCHES, 22 YDS
RUSHING
MCKINLEY  {STJ) - 21 CARRIES, 81 YDS 
METCALF  {SAR) - 20 CARRIES, 76 YDS , 3 TD
LEMON  {SAR) - 11 CARRIES, 78 YDS , 1 TD, 1 FUM
KICKING
MALINOWSKI  {STJ) - 2-4 FG, 8-8 XP 
WEGGERHOFFER   {SAR) - 4-5 FG, 5-5 XP 
DEFENSE
MARTINSSON  {STJ) - 7 TACKLES, 1 SACKS
POWERS {STJ) - 6 TACKLES
KENNEDY {STJ) - 7 TACKLES, 1 SACKS, 1 FUM REC
SILVA  {STJ) - 9 TACKLES, 1 SACKS
PACE  {SAR) - 9 TACKLES
JONES   {SAR) - 9 TACKLES, 1 SACKS, 1 FUM REC
WOODS   {SAR) - 9 TACKLES
PATRICK  {SAR) - 7 TACKLES
TURNOVERS
STJ- 2 (1 INT, 1 FUM)
SAR - 1 (0 INT, 1 FUM)
INJURIES
SAR DEFENSE LB JONES- SHOULDER, OUT 1 GAMES
STJ DEFENSE DB KENNEDY - BACK, OUT 2 GAMES
TOTAL OFFENSE
STJ - 575 YDS (428 PASSING, 147 RUSHING)
SAR - 385 YDS (231 PASSING, 154 RUSHING)

Eastern Conference Re-do & PCC Semifinals

Hello, Happy New Year, and Welcome!... to the first week of the playoffs for the minor league levels of the UWFFL.  Four qualifying teams in each of the four Division II Conferences will compete for championships as well as for the right to be promoted into the Premier League next fall.  A pair of semifinal matches will be held each day both this weekend and next.

But first a little housekeeping.  Last week's regular season game that we had an error with the uniform choice needs to be replayed today before the playoff participants will be decided in the Eastern Association.  

St. John's is again wearing a black-over-yellow combo, while the Brooklyn Uni Watchers are eschewing their normal green pants for a seldom seen mono-white combo at home this week.  If St. John's wins, they will claim the final playoff spot in the Eastern Association, while a Brooklyn Uni Watcher win would mean that the Swisshelm Express of Pittsburgh will grab the final spot.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Now on to the post-season games...  

Today we present the Pacific Coast Conference's two semifinal matches.  

The top-seeded British Columbia Lumberjacks (10-1-2) will host the #4 seed Salt Lake City Spikes (8-4-1) and the #3 Calgary Alpines (10-2-1) will head up to Yellowknife to take on the second-seeded other team also called the Lumberjacks (11-2).  Will both Lumberjack teams advance and will there be another Big Brown Axe face-off in the PCC title tilt in a couple weeks?  Or will there be upsets on tap for either Salt Lake or Calgary?  Only way to find out is by voting here and now!

The Spikes will be wearing their standard road fare, sand helmets, white jerseys and sand "britches", while the B.C. L-jacks will be in their usual Christmas-y red and green at home.

The Alpines, who have been known to prefer white at home now and again, get to remain in their standard duds on the road, pairing the white jerseys with their red pants, while the YKL L-jacks are wearing their "rosewood and cream" home uniform set.

So there's your two Div.II Conference Semifinals matches for today, tomorrow the Metro South Conference playoffs will take center stage.