Due to travels, this week’s recap is a little abbreviated. The column will be back to normal next week.

First off, I want to apologize to the Clowns for jinxing their perfect season. On second thought, I’m not sorry. No one wants to see someone else run the table. Just like everybody else, I’d like to be the first team to reach perfection, yet the closest I’ve come is stopping the Isotopes in MFL’s inaugural season. The Storm have also now officially entrenched themselves as a large thorn in Las Vegas’ side. They are now 3-1 in the team’s last 4 meetings. This after the Clowns dominated them for so long. The Storm even now have an off chance at winning the division, although that is still quite unlikely. For all intents and purposes, the White Conference will shake out just like last year, with the Clowns earning a bye, while the Isotopes and Storm battle it out in the Wildcard round.

Even after this week though, the Black is still very much up for grabs. The Rockets have pretty much won the East, but the Piranhas, Sharks, Outlaws, and Longhorns are still very much battling it out for the final two spots. If the season ended today, the Piranhas would take the Southern Division crown while the Sharks would sneak into the wildcard spot, but despite only two games remaining, every possible combination of those five teams is still plausible.

Clowns (10-1) vs. Storm (9-2): 68-91

If Eli can keep anywhere near this level into the playoffs, Golden State definitely has a chance to repeat. The younger Manning took to the air this week against Las Vegas throwing for 384 yards and 3 touchdowns. His receivers didn’t hurt him either, led by free agent sensation Mike Sims-Walker’s 91 yards and a score. The Clowns will look to redeem themselves this week against the Slayers.

Outlaws (6-5) vs. Sharks (6-5): 57-76

New Orleans continued their hot play of late gaining their 5th straight victory to grab the lead in the wildcard hunt over the rival Outlaws. Aaron Rodgers and Percy Harvin led the assault this week, buoyed by a solid performance from the ground game and defense. Both of these teams will be fighting hard for that wildcard spot during the last 2 weeks. The Outlaws face a near do or die game against the red hot Piranhas this week. Don’t count the Longhorns out yet either.

Longhorns (5-6) vs. Thunderbirds (2-9): 81-78

The Thunderbirds have actually shown a lot of improvement lately, led mainly by Brady’s resurgence back to near pre-injury form and Sidney Rice’s emergence into an elite receiver. But even that wasn’t enough to stop the hard fighting Longhorns who were able to keep their playoff hopes alive for at least one more week. Terrell Owens, who finally decided to show up, was the MVP of this game for Philly. Not that Drew Brees’ standard brilliance hurt. However, they still to win out to have any chance at a playoff berth, meaning they need to beat Washington this week, followed by a very strong New York team in Week 13.

Mustangs (3-8) vs. Piranhas (7-4): 68-74

The Piranhas won their 5th straight to maintain the division lead and nearly clinch a playoff berth behind a spectacular game from old man Favre’s 4 touchdowns. Vernon Davis added a fantastic end zone grab, while LeSean McCoy continues to improve week by week. It all comes down to these next 2 weeks for Palm Beach though as they have to play both division rivals, St. Louis and New Orleans, needing to win just one to clinch their first playoff appearance.

Isotopes (8-3) vs. Predators (2-9): 90-56

Dragons (4-7) vs. Wolfpack (6-5): 33-42

Slayers (4-7) vs. Mountain Katz (7-4): 56-77

Rockets (7-4) vs. Warlords (2-9): 72-64