Halfway through 2001 and we have just 1 8-0 team and one 0-8 team. The Oklahoma Outlaws are 8-0 with a 2 game lead on Memphis for the Southwest division and a 2 game lead for the #1 seed. It seems strange to mention the top 2 teams in the Southwest without mentioning Houston, but the Gamblers would be a wildcard team if the season was over. The 9 time champs currently sit 5-3.

Speaking of champs, our defending champions San Jose had a rough start to the season, going 2-3 before their current 3 game winning streak. The SaberCats are now tied with Los Angeles atop the Pacific with 5-3 records after beating them in OT today. Honolulu is right behind them at 4-4.

Portland and Michigan have 2 game leads in their divisions, and if the playoffs started now, these would be the seeds:

1) Oklahoma
2) Michigan
3) Portland
4) San Jose

5) Memphis
6) Houston
7) Los Angeles

In the National Conference only 1 division is close as Orlando and New Orleans have 2 game leads while Pittsburgh has a 3 game lead in the Atlantic. Philadelphia has a 1 game lead on New Jersey in the East, plus a win over the Generals.

New Orleans has scored the most points in the league (269) and allowed the fewest (50).

The current playoff seeds for the National Conference:

1) New Orleans
2) Orlando
3) Pittsburgh
4) Philadelphia
5) Shreveport
6) New Jersey
7) Jacksonville

The Florida Blazers are tied with Jacksonville at 5-3 but MFN shows them as just missing the cut at #8.

Willie Graham of New Orleans and New Jersey's Antonio Martinez have been battling for the league passing lead all season, with Graham currently leading by 10 yards. They are the only 2 above 2000 yards, and thet are half of the QBs with double digit TD passes. Graham leads the way with 17, followed by Raymond Settles (14) of Oklahoma and Kenneth Anderson of Memphis (13). Martinez is 4th with 11 scoring tosses.

We also only have 2 players on pace for 1000 receiving yards, Pittsburgh's Agustin Fiecke (50-595-2) and San Jose's Ivan Humphrey (44-546-1). Fiecke's 50 catches is 2nd behind the 52 of Wayne Ross of Memphis for the league lead. Three players are tied with 5 TDs receiving, 2 from New Orleans (Douglas Jordan and Benjamin Jones) and Arthur Reina of Oklahoma.

We have 9 RBs on pace for 1000 yard seasons and several more are almost there. Pittsburgh and New Orleans have 2 RBs each over 500 yards so far but it's Shreveport's Scott Randall leading the league with 809 rushing yards, well ahead of the 711 by 2nd place RB Larry Martinez from Pittsburgh. Three RBs are tied with 6 TDs to lead the league in that department: Steven McCurdy (NO), Jeffrey Richins (SJ), and John Gates (SHR).

We have had 12 kickoff return TDs so far with Armand Lyman of Pittsburgh returning 2 to lead the league. Oklahoma's Patrick Clark has the only punt return TD this season.

The record for most FGs in a season is 50 by John Bazile of Washington back in 1985. I bring that up because Michigan kicker Jonathan Ruch already has 30 FG at the halfway point, in just 31 attempts. Jacksonville's John Dean has 24 FGs for 2nd place.

Not much to say about punters other than it looks like punts inside the 20 are up across the league. Over the course of a full season, it's usually rare to find a punter with 50% of punts inside the 20 but a quick scan shows several hovering near that mark right now.

The record for tackles in a season is 147 and we've only had 7 players ever get 140 or more tackles in a full season. This year we have 2 on pace to break the record and a third just off the pace. Fred Gargano of Los Angeles has 80 tackles already while Robert Francis of New York has 74.

The non McKeon sack record is 33 and nobody is on pace for that, but we do have 5 players with double digit sacks, led by Portland's George Miles (13). Pittsburgh has 2 of the other 4 players on the list.

We also have 4 players with double digit hurries, with Pittsburgh's Edward Linch appearing on both lists with 12 sacks and 11 hurries so far.

New Orleans' Kevin Higgs and Michigan's Russell Washington are tied for the league lead with 6 INTs each. San Antonio's William Daugherty is next with 5.