2008 Playoff Preview

by Tom Fischer
February 14, 2008

For the second time in three years a team with a losing regular season record has made it into the playoffs. In 2005, the Hungtington Blizzard made the playoffs with a 79-83 regular season record. Now in 2007, the Tampa Bay Storm (formerly Hill Valley) has made the playoffs, also with a record of 79-83. They will face off against the Philadelphia Phantoms, who repeated as the Northeast Division Champs winning 105 games. Philadelphia will be without the league's homerun king Albert Pujols for the entire playoffs. Other key players, Johnny Damon and Aramis Ramirez, will also miss the playoffs entirely.

The North Shore Lobsters finished the season with a 99-63 record winning the Atlantic Division by 20 games over the Tampa Bay Storm. They will face off with the Algonquin Indians who finished a distant 12 games behind Philadelphia in the Northeast Division. Both North Shore and Algonquin have been in the playoffs before and will put their experience to good use to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

In the Western Conference, perennial juggernaut Omaha will face Syrup City in the first round of the playoffs. Syrup City tied with Ogden for the final playoff spot, and won a one game playoff between the two teams. The Biscuits will try to upset the two time Dauvray Cup Champs but theirs is a long road indeed. The Royals have now won their division four years running and they have won two Dauvray Cups, the only team to accomplish that feat in league history.

Another perennial winner, The Regina Cyclones had a change of ownership this season but still managed to win their division for the third time in five years. Regina will face off against division rival Eureka in the first round of this year's playoffs. The Crabs never went away all season and finished just one game behind the Cyclones so it should, as always when these two teams meet, be a great series.