A lot of people consider the number 13 to be unlucky but not everyone.  Croatians, Italians and Chinese all consider the number to be a lucky one.  One thing is for sure, week 13 will be memorable.

For those who watch Letterkenny, you’ll have heard of the Native Flu.  A lot of the hockey players are scared to play the Natives so they come down with a case of the “flu” before the game starts.  First it was the Spartans and now it’s the Renegades who have the “Cobra Flu”.  Half their team has come down with the flu in advance of their game against Cobra Kai.  When asked for a statement, Captain Theo Blanchard did not return our calls.

The D-Mentors will have a different look to them tonight as they welcome Sam Modarresi to the team.  The addition of the playmaker will mean someone else needs to move forward to score goals.  Having played the D-Mentors they’re full of players who can score and if attendance is strong they can beat anyone.  The Barons were brought back down to earth last week in what can only be described as a mauling. However they’re first place for a reason and they’ll look to show it tonight.

Spartans have the unenviable task of taking on high flying Clubber Lang, who represent the bear in the picture above.  The addition of John Altinian is a game changer though and they’ll be full of confidence as a result.  Attendance and form have been missing in recent weeks and they need to turn it around.  It might not be the best time to face Clubber Lang though.  Watching their performance against Barons last week was like this:

Cobra Kai and Spartans kick-off week 12 in the Toronto Champions League.  Fourth vs Sixth doesn’t exactly resonate with the word champion, but they’re going to play anyway.  The previous 2 meetings have gone the way of the Blues and there’s no reason to think that this one won’t.

Playing at the same time will be Renegades and D-Mentors.  Fernando Ayala was quoted as saying “I’ll power past Pelipenko tomorrow night, just like I do at the annual CN Tower stairclimb.”  Ivan responded with “bro, do you even lift?”

Primetime has an intriguing match as Clubber Lang looks to stop the Barons.  Much like the White Team from 2014/15, Clubber Lang look a different side after the break.  They’ve got a potent offense and them teal shirts sure are purdy.  Barons remain the team to beat this season and there just might be no stopping them.

Barons FC sit atop the TCL standings with 22 points.  An impressive 5-2 victory over the Spartans answered any questions around how they’d deal with the loss of Winnett.  Ash Connor has been making bold claims to Sam Shareski and Ivan Gojmerac about the upcoming match against Cobra Kai.  His multiple unprovoked attacks have been largely ignored by the Cobra Kai duo on the 3rd floor.  “We’ll respond to his aggressive behavior on the pitch” said Shareski.

Clubber Lang look to upset D-Mentors in the other 6 pm matchup.  Dan Newman and Prem Chattani had a verbal exchange at the pre-game press conference.  Newman said “this game will be like England vs Scotland, you’re Scotland.”  Prem responded with “Remember Braveheart my jolly good fellow.”

In the primetime match, Renegades take on Spartans.  With a win they could climb as high as second place depending on how D-Mentors do.  The cameras found Natasha Trabulsey who said “this is a good warm up match for next week when we face D-Mentors.”

The winter season kicks off tonight as 6 teams begin the race for the playoffs.  While every team will make the playoffs, finishing first in the regular season is still something to play for.  The quarter finals will be:

• 1st vs 6th
• 2nd vs 5th
• 3rd vs 4th

The semi-finals will see the 3 quarter-final winners along with a wild card team.  The wild card will be determined by the QF loser who came closest to winning.

1. Points
   • losing on penalties is considered a draw for the purposes of wild card determination
   • eg. 1 game goes to penalties but the other 2 are decided in regular time – the team who loses in penalties gets the wild card
2. Goal Difference
   • if 2 or more teams lose on penalties, goal difference in the shootout is the decider
   • if nobody loses on penalties, goal difference in the QF games is the decider
3. Goals Scored
   • If neither of the above 2 are sufficient, then the highest scoring loser will get the wild card
4. Coin Toss
   • If none of the above 3 are sufficient, a coin toss will determine the wild card

Last season’s playoffs saw some upsets as the 5th ranked Maestros beat the 2nd ranked OTPP United.  In fact, Maestros made it all the way to final and only lost on penalties.  Finishing first place is a great accomplishment but doesn’t guarantee anything in the playoffs!

The transfer window opened on January 1st with some big moves taking place.  The rumours were true and in a record transfer fee of 75 beers, Andrew Winnett is moving to Clubber Lang.  Winnett will no doubt help Clubber Lang, but the impact of his departure from Barons is cause for concern for Captain Callahan.  “Who can forget the quick decline of the Gunners in 2014/15 once Winnett left?  I’ve reached out to my bro Dave Ashton to ask him how I should handle this and he’s given me some tips.  We’re good”.  It’s not all bad news for the Barons as Kosta Zabashta is joining the team, having recently returned to the league.  Welcome back Kosta!

The Renegades were also working hard to secure a striker.  Theo Blanchard showed a shrewdness that would make JP Morgan jealous when he signed Neil Carey from D-Mentors.  The move is a bit unsettling for this writer who thinks the strong got stronger.  The D-Mentors used the funds from the sale to sign 2 new players in Alex Salcedo and Greg Kielbiski.  Welcome to the league gentlemen!

The remaining teams also signed new players.  Joining the Spartans is Hossein Haider.  Lastly, Cobra Kai signed Hamid Mirhashemi, who has played a few games in the league already, back in December.  Hossein and Hamid are welcome additions to the league.

See you on the 18th!

Fall Champions Crowned

Congratulations to Barons FC who clinched the title of Fall Champions last week.  They won an impressive 19 of 24 points having only lost one time.  The goal differential of +19 is unprecedented and that was fueled by the leagues top 2 goalscorers, Seamus Lynott & Andrew Winnett.  If history is any indicator, they’re favourites to make the final come April 26th.

Christmas Break

After this week’s matches, the league takes a break for the holiday season.  Action will resume on January 18th, giving everyone a full 3 weeks of rest.  It’s during the break that the team captains get together to assess the first half of the season.  One of the founding principles of the league is to ensure balance between the teams.  This is key to sustaining the league as everyone wants to stay competitive right until the very end.  In addition to team strength, we also consider team attendance.  This year has been more challenging because there’s a larger field and it’s hard to play a game with anything less than 8 players.  Some people hold positions in the company that require a lot of travel and therefore can’t attend all the games.

There will be player transfers in order to achieve both a competitive balance and a stable attendance record for all teams.  We appreciate that people like to play with their current teams and that nobody likes to move mid-season.  However to ensure the health of the league, changes need to be made.  Thank you in advance for your support of this very important balancing phase. 

Renegades v Cobra Kai

If we had a second division, this game would involve two teams fighting relegation.  The first time they met was on November 2nd and it was Cobra Kai coming out 4-3 winners in a tight match.  Those were the “good days” for the Snakes as it’s been 5 straight losses after that.  Their injury problems have not gone away as Gojmerac, Guler and Trojanowski are all set to miss another match.  Upstart Fernando Ayala has scored in each of his last 3 matches, 2 of which the Renegades have won.  Good for them.

Spartans v D-Mentors

The Spartans will look to derail D-Mentors as they vie for title of Fall Champions.  D-Mentors will hope the Barons slip up in the next 2 weeks so they can snatch the coveted title from underneath them.  Having drawn 1-1 earlier in the season, this game promises to be another close one.  Both teams are ambitious, both teams are physical.  A lot of thugs.

Barons v Clubber Lang

A Barons win coupled with a D-Mentors loss/draw will earn them the honour of Fall Champs.  They’ll join an illustrious club that includes Real Deal from 2014/15 and Maestros FC from 2015/16.  The former went on to be champions and the latter were finalists, only losing out on penalties.  Being Fall Champs matters.  Clubber Lang welcomed back Alex Wong who scored a hat-trick last week.  He’s fixin’ to do it again, and Captain Callahan looks scared.  He’s definitely scared.

Cobra Kai v Clubber Lang

Clubber Lang came out 1-0 winners when these teams met in November.  The two teams are tied on points and goal differential and both are looking to move up in the standings.  The game marks the return of Alex Wong who will don the captain’s armband for the first time.  Cobra Kai will look to spoil his debut but they’ve got a whole slew of injuries.  They’ve been going through turbulent times after a good start and they need to get back in the win column.

Barons v D-Mentors

The only thing that’s going to stop the Barons is the re-shuffle at the break.  While we’re all super happy that they’ve run the table and outscored their opponents 26-10, the rest of us want something to play for other than second place.  The D-Mentors are the closest team to Barons in the standings and they’ll look to close the gap on Wednesday night.

Renegades v Spartans

The Renegades are looking to make up for their 5-0 loss the Spartans earlier in the season.  With the goalkeepers being on rotation going forward, it takes a big burden off of the team.  With a win they can climb out of the basement.  The Spartans are getting better and better as the season goes on.  They’ve been changing tactics and having success.  Second place is within reach.

Spartans vs Barons

These 2 teams fought to a draw a couple of weeks ago.  There must be a winner tonight as neither team will be satisfied with anything less.

Clubber Lang vs Renegades

Clubber Lang won the first meeting of the season and the Renegades want revenge.  Will this be the first win of the season for the Renegades?

Cobra Kai vs D-Mentors

Cobra Kai will be looking to exorcise the demons of the recent past.  Their 8-4 loss a few weeks ago was tough to take but the D-Mentors are ready to dish out more pain.

Barons (WWWD) vs Cobra Kai (WWLL)

Barons FC are the only team yet to taste defeat this season.  Last week saw a small chink in the armour as they dropped their first points of the season in a 1-1 draw with the Spartans.  Captain Callahan has established a standard of excellence and his Barons will not be happy with anything but a win on Wednesday night.  Cobra Kai have two in a row and need to get their season back on track.  Captain Gojmerac will be unavailable for at least two weeks, being sidelined with an injury.  This will not deter the snakes though, they’re ready for the battle.

Renegades (LLLL) vs D-Mentors (WDLW)

How in the world are the Renegades 0-4?  Losing goalkeeper Charles Yang before the season was a devastating blow and if they had him they’d surely be higher up in the standings.  They’ll be hoping that Brett Baker is healthy this week so that he can establish control in the midfield.  The D-Mentors are brimming with confidence after last week’s performance.  They currently sit in second place and are aiming to topple the Barons from their perch.

Spartans (LDWD) vs Clubber Lang (LLWW)

The Spartans felt they should’ve beat the Barons last week.  Not having watched much of the match, I can’t say whether I agree or disagree.  What I can say is that not a single player on the Spartans has ever embellished about anything so I can only believe them.  Clubber Lang isn’t impressed and Captain Hughes thinks that by half-time, RonalDuy will be saying this.