The quest for World Bowl XVIII begins tonight with Wildcard Weekend. It's odd for me to not be participating but best of luck to the 12 teams who do get to play in January. Whichever teams make it will certainly have earned it as there are no easy outs.

American Conference Wildcard Round

Memphis Showboats (12-4) @ San Jose SaberCats (12-4)

Point Spread: San Jose -3

Memphis: Offense 6th Defense 12th
San Jose: Offense 12th Defense 5th

Playoff Records: Memphis 22-6 (5-0 World Bowl) San Jose 1-2
Last Playoff Appearance: Memphis 1990 San Jose 1990

Head to Head: Memphis is 1-0 vs San Jose in the playoffs and the last regular season game was Week 10 of this year, with Memphis winning 38-22

Injuries: Memphis 3 probable, 1 doubtful San Jose 7 probable, 4 questionable

Prediction: San Jose 22 Memphis 19

If I was only factoring in this league, I would pick Memphis to win based on recent success against San Jose. I am in several leagues with hollyhh2000 and he has been on a roll in several leagues, as I think he has won 3 or 4 leagues just this month. He will say his luck is due to run out, and it very well may, but I think not until next week against Houston or Portland. They avenge last season's playoff defeat to the eventual champs with a great defensive effort tonight.
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Denver Gold (12-4) @ Michigan Panthers (12-4)

Point Spread: Michigan -3

Denver: Offense 7th Defense 15th
Michigan: Offense 4th Defense 4th

Playoff Records: Denver 6-8 (0-1 World Bowl) Michigan 4-6
Last Playoff Appearance: Denver 1989 Michigan 1989

Head to Head: This is the 3rd playoff game between these teams and they split the first 2. Last regular season game was Week 10 of 1990, in which Denver won 28-22.

Injuries: Denver 3 probable, 1 questionable, 1 doubtful, 1 injured reserve Michigan 4 probable, 4 questionable, 1 doubtful, 1 Out

Prediction: Michigan 24 Denver 23

I expect both teams to be able to move the ball between the 20's but the Panthers top 4 defense should be able to force red zone FGs and pull out a close victory at home.

National Conference Wildcard Weekend

Pittsburgh Maulers (10-6) @ New York Stars (12-4)

Point Spread: New York -1

Pittsburgh: Offense 18th Defense 22nd
New York Offense 14th Defense 3rd

Playoff Records: Pittsburgh 7-7 (0-1 World Bowl) New York 5-6
Last Playoff Appearance: Pittsburgh 1983 New York 1989

Head to Head: First ever playoff meeting. New York defeated Pittsburgh Week 4 of this season 31-13.

Injuries: Pittsburgh 3 probable, 5 questionable, 1 doubtful New York 7 probable, 1 doubtful

Prediction: Pittsburgh 19 New York 17

The New York win in Week 4 was against a different Pittsburgh team. That team was on it's way to a 1-5 start before winning 9 of their last 10 to get to this point now. The Maulers, despite less than stellar stats, just find ways to win and I expect that to continue at least 1 more week.
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Baltimore Stars (12-4) @ Tampa Bay Bandits (10-6)

Point Spread: Tampa Bay -2

Baltimore: Offense 8th Defense 7th
Tampa Bay: Offense 9th Defense 27th

Playoff Records: Baltimore: 11-8 (0-2 World Bowl) Tampa Bay: 6-9 (0-2 World Bowl)
Last Playoff Appearance: Baltimore 1990 Tampa Bay 1989

Head to Head: 34 combined playoff games for Baltimore and Tampa Bay yet this will be their first playoff meeting. Baltimore defeated Tampa Bay in Week 16 of 1990 34-13.

Injuries: Baltimore 4 probable, 3 questionable, 2 doubtful Tampa Bay 7 probable, 2 questionable, 1 doubtful

Prediction: Tampa Bay 27 Baltimore 23

Tampa Bay has lost 5 consecutive post season games with their last win coming in 1980. If Melvin Driggers thinks about that too much, he'll be the QB to throw the killer INT but Jon Snow isn't exactly careful with the ball either. I'll say Driggers throws 1 early but makes up for it with a late TD to Thomas Whitley to advance.

American Conference Divisional Round

Memphis Showboats (13-4) @ Portland Storm (15-1)

Point Spread: Portland -4

Memphis: Offense 6th Defense 12th
Portland: Offense 3rd Defense 1st

Playoff Records: Memphis 23-6 (5-0 World Bowl) Portland 8-8 (1-0 World Bowl)

Head to Head: Memphis is 2-1 vs Portland in the playoffs. Portland beat Memphis 31-10 in Week 16 of this season.

Injuries: Memphis 2 probable, 1 questionable, 2 doubtful Portland 2 probable

Prediction: Portland 34 Memphis 17

Portland has been either #1 or #2 all year in the commish ranks and have revenge on their minds as it was Memphis who beat the Storm in last year's Conference Championship Game, costing them a chance at back to back titles. The Showboats have the talent to play with Portland but I think Willis, Roqumore and Robinson will be too much to handle.
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Denver Gold (13-4) @ Houston Gamblers (13-3)

Point Spread: Houston -4

Denver: Offense 7th Defense 15th
Houston: Offense 1st Defense 6th

Playoff Records: Denver 7-8 (0-1 World Bowl) Houston 18-5 (4-0 World Bowl)

Head to Head: Denver and Houston have split 2 previous playoff games. Denver defeated Houston 34-28 in Week 3 of this season.

Injuries: Denver 2 probable, 2 questionable, 1 doubtful, 1 Injured Reserve Houston 3 probable, 3 questionable

Prediction: Houston 35 Denver 31

Both teams have prolific offenses and QBs that can take over a game, as well as big play skill guys. The Gamblers play a little bit better defense than Denver and they have Tony Dean and all of his big game experience. That will matter in a nail biter of a game.

National Conference Divisional Round

Pittsburgh Maulers (11-6) @ Washington Federals (13-3)

Point Spread: Washington -13

Pittsburgh: Offense 18th Defense 22nd
Washington: Offense 5th Defense 10th

Playoff Records: Pittsburgh 8-7 (0-1 World Bowl) Washington 8-10 (0-2 World Bowl)

Head to Head: This is their first playoff meeting. Washington defeated Pittsburgh 22-19 in Week 16.

Injuries: Pittsburgh 4 probable, 5 questionable, 1 doubtful Washington 4 probable, 2 questionable

Prediction: Washington 23 Pittsburgh 6

This prediction is based on Pittsburgh QB Will Allison not playing due to injury. If Allison plays, I still think Washington wins, but by a slimmer margin. His foot is at 30%, so Clifford Saul will likely have to play regardless. Pittsburgh lacks the playmakers on offense to score much with a backup QB unless their defense creates turnovers, and it's asking a lot to limit the Federals offense with a banged up defense.
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Baltimore Stars (13-4) @ New Orleans VooDoo (12-4)

Point Spread: Baltimore -1

Baltimore: Offense 8th Defense 7th
New Orleans: Offense 2nd Defense 2nd

Playoff Records: Baltimore 12-8 (0-2 World Bowl) New Orleans 9-12 (0-2 World Bowl)

Head to Head: Baltimore is 1-0 against New Orleans in the post season and in Week 3 of this year, defeated the VooDoo 16-14.

Injuries: Baltimore 7 probable, 2 questionable, 1 doubtful New Orleans 1 probable

Prediction: New Orleans 42 Baltimore 30

Which Bruno Wilson will show up for New Orleans? We know the VooDoo will likely air it out and go for it on some 4th downs and we know Wilson is our version of Jameis Winston circa 2019 Tampa Bay Bucs. I think New Orleans will win as long as Wilson has more TD passes than INTs, although to be fair, Jon Snow isn't exactly Mr. Ball Security either.

I apologize for missing the Conference Championship previews. I missed the boat on that one. I was trying to get the blog finished Friday when the stupid, inappropriate comments were made and my mind went to how will I handle this instead of doing the preview. If there were no NFL on Sunday I probably would have realized I didn't do it, for the record I would have picked Portland over Denver but idk who I would have picked for Pittsburgh/New Orleans.

World Bowl XVIII

New Orleans VooDoo (14-4) vs Portland Storm (17-1)

Point Spread: Portland -8

New Orleans: Offense 2nd Defense 2nd
Portland: Offense 3rd Defense 1st

Playoff Records: New Orleans 10-12 (0-2 World Bowl) Portland 9-8 (1-0 World Bowl)
World Bowl History: New Orleans Lost World Bowl III 45-0 vs Detroit, Lost World Bowl VII 34-23 to Memphis Portland Won World Bowl XVI vs Baltimore 34-20

Head to Head: First World Bowl against each other, New Orleans defeated Portland 27-9 in Week 10, 1988 in their last regular season game.

Injuries: New Orleans 6 probable, 3 questionable, 1 doubtful Portland 1 probable, 3 questionable

Prediction: Portland 31 New Orleans 19

The American Conference is 14-3 in the World Bowl and New Orleans is 0-2, although Smirt wasn't around for those losses. Both teams have Top 3 offenses and defenses and are two of the most successful GMs in all of MFN. Games like this often come down to turnovers and I think that Bruno Wilson is more likely than Oscar Willis to throw multiple INTs, so I'll pick Portland to be victorious.

I'm pulling for the Voodoo. Dorey deserves a ring!