Guys,

For those of you that missed it, the teams that participated last night played some good and hard fought games.  However, out of the pool of four teams, only two would advance.  The Finals will feature La Familia part deux (3) vs. Out of Town (4).  Not to take away anything from the two teams that lost...Real Detroit had a heck of a season having played solid all the way through and attained the second best season record and winning percentage (8-2, 80%) in CAL history (1st: Men In Black, 7-1, 87.5%, Spring 2004) and Lionheart fought back from the brink of elimination to secure their spot and second seed ranking in these playoffs. 

Lets look at the matchups:

Captains: Ray vs. Alex- as captains, both have been to the finals, Alex has more titles (3-0 in finals), Ray (1-1 in finals) is better on offense, both are equal on defense.  Advantage: EVEN, LF2/TOT

High Scorers: John vs. Nate- John is a guaranteed 20pts/gm player, but Nate is the kind of guy that at any given point can drop 30 on you...both guys shoot a lot and have a shoot first mentality (John more than Nate), but both are all over the floor.  Nate is a better defender, and has more to do with involving his teammates.  Advantage: Nate, TOT

Size/Post Presence:  Fadi/Ray/Ziad vs. Jeter/DP/Jeff N- Off the bat, Jeter & Co. take the advantage on rebounding, post presence and size (~750lbs-TOT vs. ~630lbs-LF2 that's alotta meat).  However, offensively Ray has been having a great season and Fadi is playing up to his usual level of ball, Jeter/DP are a close second in points, but haven't done as much offensively for their team as their counterparts have.  Regardless of that, high percentage shots and rebounding will determine the winner of this game.  Advantage: Jeter/DP/Jeff N, TOT

Guards: Nate vs. Joe- Both are solid hard-nosed defenders, that come to play every game. Nate is an established scoring machine (and homosexual, j/k Nate, I found that I was complimenting you too much in this post so I had to bring you back down to earth for a minute before your head explodes, you fag), however in both previous meetings where he scored 29 and 30 points, his team lost b/c no one else was able to contribute or shoot as much, this could be his demise.  On the opposite end, Joey is also a proven scorer, but does more to get his teammates involved, where balanced scoring has helped his team take both victories in the season series against TOT, and if he can get this win, he will be a sure thing for MVP.  However, you have to look at experience as well, Nate is 1-1 in the finals and has an MVP trophy on his credentials to back it up.  Whereas Joey has an 0-3 record in the finals with three different teams.  Advantage: EVEN, LF2/TOT

X-Factors: Mike vs. Kalvin- Both are good 3-pt shooters, and both have consistently good defense.  The only thing Kalvin does better than Mike is finishing his lay ups, but Mike is much stronger and a little more physical.  Which ever one of these two can come up with clutch three pointers, their team will win or at least increase their chances.  Advantage: EVEN, LF2/TOT

Season Series: LF2 won both games winning 59-47 and 57-51, but nothing is guaranteed in the finals.  Advantage: LF2

After tallying up the scores TOT takes the advantage with 4pts to LF2's 3pts.  The only things keeping me from giving the complete edge to TOT is that LF2 had their number during the regular season, and have a balanced scoring attack.  This will be a close one and definitely a game to watch! 

Who will win it?  Will it be Ray's La Familia, who as a captain is making his third straight trip to the finals and looking for back-to-back championships?  Or, will it be Alex and his Out of Town team who looks to get his second title as a captain and 4th overall, as he has never been beaten in the finals.  Be sure to tune in Wednesday June 21st to find out!