It's too early to talk about home field advantage but this feels like a good time for a rundown of the division and wildcard races.

First the American Conference...

Pacific Division

San Jose leads the way at 10-1 with a 3 game lead on Honolulu. The SaberCats offense now ranks 8th in the league to go with their 2nd ranked defense and will clinch the division with a win over Honolulu tonight. The Hawaiians are 7-4 and would currently be the #7 seed. They have the #6 offense and #7 defense but a negative 6 turnover margin hasn't helped. Los Angeles sits 5-6, 2 games out of a wildcard spot while Southern California has been eliminated.

West Division

Portland and Denver are 9-2, tied for the West lead but the Storm own the tiebreaker thanks to a season sweep of the Gold. Neither team has an imposing remaining schedule so I'd be surprised if one of these teams didn't make the playoffs. They have reached 9-2 in different ways however. Portland has a minus 10 turnover ratio but make up for that with the 3rd best offense and the #1 defense in the league. Denver has the 23rd ranked offense but they are +11 in turnovers and have the #5 defense. Arizona sits 5-6, 2 games out of the playoffs while Oakland has been eliminated.

Southwest Division

Houston may have lost eventual Hall of Fame QB Tony Dean, but unfortunately for the rest of the league the Gamblers find themselves as one of the best teams in the league with a 10-1 mark. They have the #1 offense in the league to go with the #3 defense, and their only loss was to the defending champion New Jersey Generals. Oklahoma sits 2 games back at 8-3, and have the #4 offense and #8 defense but have a very tough remaining schedule. They have yet to play Houston so they have 2 with the Gamblers, 1 with Honolulu whom they are battling for a playoff spot, division rival Memphis and a game against the defending champs. Good luck with all of that, if you come out of that with a playoff spot, you earned it. Memphis is 5-6, 2 games out of the wildcard while San Antonio is 3-8 and still alive.

Midwest Division

Hmmm...Michigan started off slow, losing their first 4 games but don't look now. These Panthers obviously don't have Jeff Fisher as HC as they've won 7 in a row to take a slim one half game lead on Chicago. The Blitz are 6-4-1 and have an easier remaining schedule than Michigan. The Blitz have a tie on their record so unless the Panthers have a tie in their final 5 games, Chicago's sweep of Michigan won't be needed as a tiebreaker. Michigan says stats don't matter, as their offense is ranked 22nd, defense 25th. They lead the league with a +16 turnover margin though. The Blitz are 20th in both offense and defense. Detroit is 5-6 while Cleveland is 4-6-1 and are still alive.

Now for the National Conference...

Southeast Division

Orlando has won 6 in a row for an 8-3 record and a 2 game division lead. The Renegades have the #10 offense and #18 defense and an unimposing remaining schedule. Jacksonville is 6-5 and their remaining 5 games are all against teams within 1 win/loss of 6-5, including 2 with division rival Florida. The Blazers are also 6-5 with a similar schedule as the Bulls. Jacksonville has the #11 offense and #9 defense while Florida's offense is #16 and the defense is #4. Tampa Bay is 2-9 and still alive.

South Division

Georgia and Shreveport are tied at 7-4. Georgia won the first game 18-10 in Week 4 with the rematch set for Week 15. The Steamer have the slight schedule advantage and their offense/defense ranks are #19/#12 while the Force have the #5 offense and #17 defense. New Orleans and Birmingham are both 3-8 and still alive.

Atlantic Division

Only 7 teams have scored less than the 125 points of the Baltimore Stars, yet they find themselves 7-4 atop the Atlantic. The Stars offense is ranked #27, defense #10 and they are just +1 in turnovers, so how are they winning? Baltimore is 6-1 in 1 score games, so they must be doing the little things right. Washington is 6-5, 1 game behind but that Week 1 thumping of the champs seems like so long ago. The Federals are ranked #15 in offense and defense with a +10 turnover margin. Charlotte is still alive at 3-8 but their 2 year winning season streak is gone as the best they can finish is .500. Pittsburgh is 1-10 and counting the days until the 2000 Draft.

East Division

New Jersey started the season 2-2 but have won 7 in a row to once again take command of the East. The Generals have the #2 offense and #11 defense, and barring a total collapse should make the playoffs to defend their championship. Do they have what it takes to three-peat? New York is 6-5 and in the thick of the wildcard race. The NY Stars have the #7 offense, #21 defense, and a +10 turnover margin. Philadelphia is 3-8 while Boston is 2-9. Both teams remain alive for a playoff spot.

Three weeks left in the regular season and we're starting to see playoff spots claimed. Let's check out the scenarios.

American Conference

Clinched Division: San Jose

Clinched Playoff Spot: Portland, Denver, Houston, Oklahoma

In the Hunt: Michigan, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Arizona, Memphis, San Antonio, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit

San Jose has clinched the Pacific and has a 1 game lead for home field advantage and the BYE. The West will be won by either Portland or Denver while the Southwest will belong to either Houston or Oklahoma. Whichever teams don't win the division will be wildcards.

Michigan has a 1.5 game lead on Chicago for the Midwest and have 1 more win than the contenders for the 7th seed.

Speaking of the 7th seed, there are 8 teams fighting for it. Honolulu and Los Angeles lead the way with 7-6 records, then Chicago is right behind them at 6-6-1. Memphis is 6-7 while Cleveland is 5-7-1. Arizona, San Antonio, and Detroit are all 5-8, still mathematically alive but they'll likely need to win out and have multiple teams collapse to hurdle all the teams above them.

In the National Conference, only the New Jersey Generals have clinched a spot so far. We have 9 teams fighting for 6 available spots and 3 of the divisions have real tight races.

National Conference

Clinched Division: New Jersey

In the Hunt: Orlando, Jacksonville, Florida, Georgia, Shreveport, Washington, Baltimore, Charlotte, New York

New Jersey has won 9 in a row after a rough start to the season and they look on track for home field advantage again.

Southeast

Orlando has a 1 game lead on Jacksonville for the division. Florida is still alive for the division, but it's a longshot.

South

Georgia and Shreveport are tied for the division lead and play each other Week 15.

Atlantic

Washington has a half game lead on Baltimore for the division lead and they play each other Week 15.

East

New Jersey has won the East but New York is just a half game out of a playoff spot.

For the wildcard list below, I did not include Orlando or Washington, as they currently lead their divisions.

Wildcard Standings

1) Georgia/Shreveport 9-4
2) Jacksonville 8-5
3) Baltimore 7-5-1
4) New York 7-6
5) Florida 6-6-1
6) Charlotte 5-8

The races are starting to be settled, though there are still some good wildcard/division races. I'm not sure how Cleveland and Chicago are eliminated as 8-7-1 would get in before 8-8. There is no guarantee any of Honolulu, Los Angeles, or Memphis gets to 9 wins. Honolulu does play Memphis Week 15 and a Hawaiians win should give them the #7 seed thanks to their sweep of Los Angeles. If Memphis wins, they will scoreboard watch to see what the Express do.

American Conference

Clinched Division: San Jose, Houston, Michigan

Clinched Playoff Spot: Portland, Denver, Oklahoma

In the Hunt: Honolulu, Los Angeles, Memphis (Cleveland and Chicago???)

San Jose needs to maintain their 1 game lead on Houston as a tie goes to the Gamblers. Michigan will most likely be the #4 seed. One more Portland win or Denver loss and the West will belong to the Storm thanks to their season sweep of the Gold. Oklahoma will be a wildcard while the #7 seed is up for grabs.

Tiebreakers for #7 seed

Honolulu swept Los Angeles
Memphis beat Los Angeles

Honolulu clinches with a win over Memphis

If Memphis wins, they need to beat Oklahoma Week 16 or hope Los Angeles loses 1 of their final 2 while also hoping Cleveland and Chicago also lose 1

Los Angeles needs to win their last 2 games, have Memphis beat Honolulu and then lose to Oklahoma while Honolulu loses to Shreveport

In the National Conference, I don't know how Jacksonville is in while Georgia is not, but that's what MFN says. They didn't play each other and the Force have a better conference record. New Jersey is the only team to clinch their division but Washington can join them with a win over Baltimore this week. Orlando has a 1 game lead on Jacksonville while Shreveport leads Georgia by 1 game.

National Conference

Home Field: New Jersey

Clinched Playoff Spot: Orlando, Jacksonville, Shreveport

In the Hunt: Washington, Baltimore, Georgia, New York

Only 1 of the above teams will be eliminated and Washington will clinch the Atlantic by beating Baltimore. A Federals win would also punch Georgia's ticket as 9 wins would then be enough. Baltimore would then have to hope New York loses to Philadelphia and New Jersey while they win Week 16 to get in.