Season 13-Déjà Vu All Over Again For Christine and Freddie T in BFL Finale

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Déjà Vu All Over Again For Christine and Freddie T in BFL Finale

Christmas-Weekend Showdown Brings Rematch of 2005 Championship Battle



COCOA BEACH, Fla. (DECEMBER 25, 2008) - A rematch of 2005's record
championship showdown between Christine and Freddie T will highlight the
final weekend of play in the 13th annual season of the BFL this Christmas
weekend. Final Week 17 pick sheets are due by Midnight on Christmas Day -
today for all of you Scrooges out there - and are posted and available now
at www.marcusblade.com< http://www.marcusblade.com/>.



Christine and Freddie T took the 2005 BFL title fight down to the wire in a
record finish that saw them enter the final weekend of play separated by one
thin point. When it was all said and done, Christine narrowly edged Fred for
the title and became the first BFL Champion to win after leading the
standings for the first and only time of the year at the end of the season.



The pair of former BFL Champions will go at it again in 2008's finale as the
only two players realistically still in the running for this season's title.
This time around, however, Christine cruises into the final weekend with a
solid 17-point lead over Fred, 1357 to 1340. Although the lead is not
insurmountable -as 2007's wild final weekend proved - Fred has his work cut
out for him if he is going to prevent Christine from earning her second
title.



Unlike 2005, when she was an underdog until the end, Christine has been the
BFL's 2008 pacesetter for the last month. She took the championship lead
after Week 13 and hasn't posted a weekly finish lower than ninth since then.
In total, Christine has a total of 11 top-10 weekly finishes and placed out
of the top 12 only twice, with the highlights being a pair of third-place
showings in Weeks 3 and 15. She has been in the top five of the season
standings all year and has been no lower than third since Week 4.



A second Christine title would be even more impressive in that this is just
the second time she has played in the BFL. After winning it all as a rookie
in 2005, Christine became a one-and-done wonder and disappeared the last two
seasons. She is clearly back in a big way, however, and just might be
batting 1000 when it comes to BFL titles by Sunday night.



Freddie, the 1997 BFL Champ, has what it takes to catch Christine but needs
to show up with nothing short of his A game in Week 17. He led the season
championship once after a third-place finish in Week 12 but has trailed
Christine in second place since Week 14. Like his championship rival,
Freddie's weekly performance has been impressive with seven top-10 finishes
and only three showings outside of the top 15. His best weekly showing was
second on the opening weekend of play, and his season's worst result of 18th
is one better than Christine's lowest weekly score of 19th.



The BFL pays out to the highest three finishers in the championship, which
means the remaining players in the top five - Mrs. Backmarker (1328 points),
Sparky (1322 points) and ddking (1314 points) - all need to keep their focus
in the final weekend. Battling for the top-three podium is familiar
territory for the Mrs., but her typically consistent season was once again
just slightly too conservative to challenge for a weekly win or the title.
Her best weekly result was third in Week 7 and her steady play has kept her
third in the championship for the last two weeks.



Surprisingly, Christine, Fred and the Backmarker all failed to score a
weekly win, but the same can't be said for the impressive Sparky and always
competitive ddking. Sparky won Week 5 and twice led the season standings
for a pair of weeks, including Weeks 10 and 11, before Christine and Fred
jumped to the front. The King won Week 2 and appeared to be an early title
contender, but he never quite put together a championship run. He did lead
the standings in Week 6 but a string of double-digit showings from Week 8
through Week 13 essentially knocked him from championship contention.



Speaking of championship contention, BFL stalwart DOUBLE T seemed set avenge
last year's tough, final-weekend title loss and came out of the gate like a
rocket. He won the opening week, finished second in Week 2 and led the
championship for the first month. Another win in Week 9 put him back in the
championship lead for the second time and fifth total week of the year, and
the championship that slipped away for Double in 2007 appeared to be his for
the taking.



Not so fast. Amazingly, Double missed the Week 11 picks deadline and his
championship bid - like Freddie and House of Cain last year - was gone in an
instant. He recovered from the shock to win for a league-high third time
last weekend, but it might be a little bit longer before the sting of what
might have been goes away. Despite the mistake, Double was still one of the
best BFL players in 2008 and you can tag him now as a title favorite for
2009.



The year's only other repeat weekly winners were impressive newcomer Carrie
(Weeks 8 and 11), premier formula player Home Girl Lana (Weeks 7 and 15) and
reigning two-time BFL Champion ATOM (Weeks 4 and 13). Of this trio, only
ATOM managed to sniff the title chase recently, but his current ranking of a
distant sixth in the season standings is the highest he has been all year.



ATOM will not have to worry about any championships this season but he would
be worried if he missed this opportunity to wish all of you a Merry
Christmas and Happy Hanukkah. Have a great New Year as well and be sure to
pass on your thanks to Marcus (Marc Matlen) Blade and Karen (AKA Kip)
Tardich who, as you know, are the people that do all of the real work in the
BFL. Thanks to all of you for playing and making the BFL the great league
that it is.



Good luck on Sunday and enjoy the Holidays!