Remember when a young, untested Tom Brady took over for Drew Bledsoe as the New England Patriots quarterback in the third game of the 2001 NFL season?
Skeptics wondered if Brady, who was a part-time player in college and the fourth QB on the Patriots depth chart, would ever reach the heights of Bledsoe, who had been the first pick overall in the draft for the Patriots in the same year the team hired future Hall of Famer Bill Parcells as their head coach.
More than 17 years and five Super Bowl championships later, it’s safe to say Patriots head coach Bill Belichick made the right call in replacing the popular Bledsoe with the up-and-comer Brady even after Bledsoe returned to full health.
Even Bledsoe himself can’t argue with the results, especially since Brady helped to get him a Super Bowl championship at the end of the 2001 season vs. the St. Louis Rams.
My turn to talk about CI Fantasy Football…
This is all a long way of saying I’m taking over the responsibility—nee, the honor—of keeping our loyal readers updated of the goings-on on the pretend gridirons across this great AV industry, better known as the CI Fantasy Football League.
And, in an example of burying the lede, I waited until the fifth paragraph to tell you the last undefeated team among our 54 entries this season tasted defeat for the first time when the La Grange Perfect Pixels fell to 5-1.
I knew I heard the sound of a champagne cork popping—or maybe that was my chances of a third straight CIFF league championship going poof with my second straight loss.
Here’s the rest of what happened in Week 6.
| Group 1 Commissioner: Ray Lyons | Wins-Losses |
| Diversified | 5-1 |
| Speco Technologies | 4-2 |
| Waveguide | 4-2 |
| Z-Wave | 4-2 |
| Savi Controls | 4-2 |
| T1V | 4-2 |
| Canon Projectors | 3-3 |
| Vanco | 3-3 |
| My Team’s Better (CI) | 3-3 |
| DigiDaybook | 2-4 |
| Digital Projection | 0-6 |
| Brand Definition | 0-6 |
CI Commissioner Trash Talk: Week 6 proved to be an exciting one. Diversified set a new season high with 190 pts as they moved to 5-1. We did have a matchup that qualified for the “pillow fight of the week,” with Team T1V beating Team Digidaybook 114.8-77.
Other winners included Z-Wave (151 pts), yours truly (146 pts), Vanco (132 pts) and Savi Controls (122 pts). Still two teams without a win. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Any trades out there?
| Group 2 Commissioner: Shawn Tobin | Wins-Losses |
| Banner Clique (CI) | 5-1 |
| La Grange Park Perfect Pixels (NEC) | 5-1 |
| Winning as a Service (AVI-SPL) | 5-1 |
| Team Mercil (SureCall) | 4-2 |
| Magic Skol Bus (Klipsch) | 4-2 |
| HDBaseT-Pain (AVI Systems) | 3-3 |
| TecNec Titans (TecNec) | 3-3 |
| Run Like a Gurley (Premier Mounts) | 2-4 |
| WC BigTime (D-Tools) | 2-4 |
| Team Wicka (LG) | 2-4 |
| Team Shelby (Viewsonic) | 1-5 |
| Team Stang (Windy City Wire) | 0-6 |
CI Commissioner Trash Talk: The 1972 Dolphins are once again popping champaign after Team Shelby took down the only remaining undefeated team, the La Grange Park Perfect Pixels, in the upset of the year.
The decision by LGPPP to start Deshaun Watson (5 pts) over Jameis Winston (31 pts) cost him a shot at the undefeated season. Other winners this week included Team Mercil, TecNec Titans, Winning as a Service, Magic Skol Bus and Banner Clique.
| Group 3 Commissioner: Craig MacCormack | Wins-Losses |
| A Case of the Mondays (Matt Camps-NETECH Corporation) | 5-1 |
| Rolls Royce (Jim Caldwell-Maximus Control) | 4-2 |
| Team Guhl (Jennifer Guhl-ANC) | 4-2 |
| Mac Daddies (Craig MacCormack-CI) | 4-2 |
| Team Sansivero (Gina Sansivero-AtlasIED) | 4-2 |
| The Lukes O Hazzard (Luke Jordan-EAVI) | 3-3 |
| Team Durham (Scott Durham-Yorktel) | 2-4 |
| Guns N Rosens (James Ballard-Orbis) | 2-4 |
| Team Means (Jimmy Means) | 1-5 |
| Team Donnelly (Ryan Donnelly-Third Coast Tech) | 1-5 |
CI Commisioner Trash Talk: We have a new league leader as A Case of the Mondays has leapfrogged Rolls Royce and Mac Daddies and taken sole possession of the top spot. Team Guhl and Team Sansivero are now in prime position after they beat Rolls Royce and Mac Daddies, respectively, to send those two previously undefeated teams to their second straight losses.
Team Donnelly also ensured no one in Group 3 will end the season without a win, toppling Team Means for their first win of the season.
You’d be mad too if you forgot to put a kicker in your CI Fantasy Football lineup.
| Group 4 Commissioner: Tom LeBlanc | Wins-Losses |
| Skol Vikings (AVI Systems) | 5 – 1 |
| Can You Diggs It (Human Circuit) | 5 – 1 |
| Team Pearson (CTG) | 4 – 2 |
| Team Luisi (Diversified) | 3 – 3 |
| Team LeBlanc (Commercial Integrator | 3 – 3 |
| Team Wells (CCS Presentation) | 3 – 3 |
| Philly Special (Ovation) | 2 – 4 |
| Team Ackerman ( Rock-It Audio Video) | 2 – 4 |
| Team Gasparo (Wyrestorm) | 2 – 4 |
| Ypsilanti Jesses (Midtown Video) | 1 – 5 |
CI Commisioner Trash Talk: The parity that existed in this division as recently as two weeks ago seems to have dissipated. Skol Vikings and Can You Diggs It?! both delivered commanding wins in Week 6, creating separation from the league with their matching 5-1 records.
Can You Diggs It?! and Skol Vikings notched the leagues’ two highest Week 6 point totals with 153.7 and 144.8, respectively. As for me, my controversial strategy of not starting a kicker in order to psych out my opponent didn’t work.
| Group 5 Commissioner: Chelsea Cafiero | Wins-Losses |
| 2 Gurleys One Cup (Database Works) | 5-1 |
| The Evil Empire (Rock Electric) | 4-2 |
| Team Schutzer (Opt Online) | 4-2 |
| Nebraska Taco Corp (Schaefers TV) | 3-3 |
| Bitter Donkey’s (InfoCor) | 3-3 |
| Smiling Mallards (InFocus Tech) | 3-3 |
| Mr. McGibblets (CI) | 2-4 |
| Team HiBoost (HiBoost) | 2-4 |
| South Central Mud Dogs (Electrosonic) | 2-4 |
| Team Wynn (Thomas Communications) | 2-4 |
CI Commissioner Trash Talk: The results of Week 6 has your favorite Commissioner depressed. With 5 players on Bye and 3 listed as “questionable,” she had only a prayer of winning this week – until 2 Gurleys One Cup came in with an insane 173.3 points. Yes, this trash talk game is weak after this loss.
The Evil Empire and Team Schutzer picked up two more wins to sit at the top just under 2 Gurleys (5-1) at 4-2 each. The rest of the league has some butt-kicking to do in the next few weeks if they want to have a shot at the title.
