The Ragining Polaks disappointed in the championship game in a way that was unforeseen. The team overachieved early and took control of first place before heading into a small tailspin. The ship was righted when Buszka made several key trades including the mega-blockbuster deal that brought LaDanian Tomlinson into town. From that point until the the championship game the team had rode the coattails of a record-setting season by LT. He failed to score a touchdown during the championship game. Reggie Wayne, another team leader was also shut out of the endzone and only posted 2 points for the game.
The Polaks may have had a shot to win the game if not for a very-questionable coaching decision made by Head Coach Tom Caughlin. In a pre-game decision, he opted to sit out last year's MVP and former-touchdown record holder Shaun Alexander in favor of Indianapolis Colts' rookie running back Joseph Addai.
"I do not regret my decision," Caughlin said after the game. "If I could do it again I would probably make the same decision. Addai is an explosive and titillating running back who can put up some big numbers. Alexander was facing the ferocious Chargers defense who shutdown LJ last week. I was almost certain that Shawne Merriman was going to break Alexander in to pieces."
It may have made sense at the time, but the decision to sit Alexander appears to be one he will regret.
"It was apparent that the on-field leadership of the team was not in sync with the quality of the players our franchise fields," Buszka said. "We are extremely disappointed in that leadership, namely and specifically, Head Coach Tom Caughlin. He's a moron. We should have known that. He sucked with the Giants, but for some reason we thought he could at least run a fantasy football team. I guess we were wrong. After the season he will be fired. There is no doubt about that"
Caughlin is infamously known for taking a talented New York Giants team in the 2006 NFL season and running them into the ground through air-headed coaching maneuvers characterized by play-calling which seemed to avoid involving key players in the game plan as much as possible and offensive conservatism that makes the religious rite seem like left-wing wack-jobs.
Aside from poor coaching on behalf of the Raging Polaks, the Seadogs played spectacularly in their own right. They scored 94 points by Sunday night to open up an nearly-insurmountable 54 point lead over the Polaks who posted a meager 40-point total. Ladell Betts did his best LT impression by scoring 25 points. Larry Johnson bounced back from last week's eight-point showing with 19 points. Larry Fitzgerald and Robbie Gould added 15 each. Recent pick-up Tim Rattay was insignificant, but didn't hurt the team.
The victory for the South River Seadogs of Cambridge comes off a second-place finish in the last two year's playoffs. As for the Raging Polaks, despite the loss they had a solid year. The second-place finish was the teams best ever surpassing a fourth-place finish last year and a sixth-place finish in 2004 and a 12th-place finish in the inaugural season in 2003.
"I am thrilled with the direction our franchise is going," Buszka said. " We have shown constant improvement, especially on my part. I have made some questionable draft choices, but have always made up for it with super-beast trades. Frankly, if it wasn't for a bone-headed coaching decisions - the decision to bench Alexander made by Caughlin - we had a real shot at winning the championship. If I can keep doing a better job each year then the other teams in the league need to watch out. Every year that goes by, I become a better GM. Some even consider me to be a wizard, of sorts. I will step up my game another level and hopefully bring a title to this franchise. By the way, did I mention Caughlin is gone - yeah, he sucks really bad."
Buszka, also the commission of the FFL will be stepping down at the end of the season. There is no certain sucessor, but league insiders speculate the position will be awarded to either Joe Casa or Joe Casa. Any move would be subject to a vote by the league general managers (or usurped by a power-hungry soon-to-be-commissioner). Should the draft order follow suit with this-year's finish the Raging Polaks will recieve the second-to-last pick in the first round while the Seadogs will be rewarded with the last pick. However, with the inevitablibity of a new commissioner, there is the possibility that the draft-order will be randomized to fairly accomodate the new influx of teams for next year as several of the FFL's teams have gone bankrupt and will be replaced by new owners.