Hertha: “We promised to say something about KFC as well, didn’t we?”

Günther: “We certainly did. I took a look at the North division, and here is what I found. At the stat of the season it was a situation were all the four teams were pretty close in tv. Unicorns and Foxes were both at 1670, with Universe at 1620 and Cardinals at 1520. With some losses, particularly to Unicorns and Foxes, they are still pretty close with only 120 separating Foxes at 1620 at the top from Cardinals at the bottom with 1500. They are pretty close in points as well, with Foxes at five and the rest at four, although Cardinals have one less match played. These facts makes it very difficult to guess about what will happen. Losses of key players will likely become critical here. Nevertheless, we need to make some predictions, and believe that this may be the season of the Foxes. They had a very good squad last season but took too many losses. They look good this season as well, and we believe that despite their loss against the Unicorns, they could make it to the top this time. They will be followed to the door by the Unicorns, though. And Universe and Cardinals , even though we expect them to be third and fourth respectively, will not be far behind either. Very likely, the second place team from this division will also take a wild card place. Some interesting matches to follow would be Universe vs Unicorns in week 5 and Universe vs Foxes in week 9. Also, Cardinals meet their divisional opponents in week 6, 7 and 8 and we will be interested in seeing what they can do.”

Hertha: “Indeed. The East division is also packed with talent. Sluggers started out as the highest ranking team in KFC at 1780, and Thunder not far behind at 1730. Then came Gunners at 1640 and Bandits at 1500. Losses have so far been heavy for Sluggers and Bandits, though, while the other two teams are strengthened. Pointwise so far it’s Thunder and Gunners with five, Sluggers with four and Bandits with two. We think it will become a struggle between Gunners and Thunder, both teams coached by DLE veterans who have been away for a while but is now back as head coaches again. They will collide head-on in week 4, so stay tuned for that match. The winner, if there is one, is likely to be the winner of the division, and our bets are on the Gunners. We do think that Thunder will take the other wild card, though, so two teams from the West as well.”

Günther: “Next up is the South division. Starting with the Scimitars ranked the same as Sluggers at 1780, and the other three a distance away from such a lofty score, with Eagles at 1590, 49ers at 1500 and Razorbacks down at 1360. Not much in the way of losses for these teams so far, as they are all still within 60k of their starting rank. Razorbacks have even improved to be currently at 1440. Pointwise, they are lacking a bit so far, though. Razorbacks and Scimitars are at three, 49ers have only one and Eagles second to last in the League with no points in three matches. We think this division will be between Razorbacks and the Scimitars, but think that Scimitars is the better team. Razorbacks will surely fight, and the teams meet head-on in week 7 for an exciting game, but in the end the better squad and more depth in player material will show up to favour the Scimitars. It is not likely that a wild card will be available for the second place winner. We expect 49ers to come third and Eagles fourth, although both teams will show more quality than they have so far.”

Hertha: “And that leaves us with the West division. Home to the Superbowl champions from season 4 onwards, this division has pretty much set the standard for DLE. However, this season they may not look as good as normal, at least not on paper. Thunderbolts and Patriots both started at 1760, with Griffins close at 1650 and Classics at 1590. Losses have been heavy to the Griffins and Thunderbolts, though, with killer blitzer Ronnie “Nott” Lott gone from the Thunderbolts and excellent linos Edwards and Bouncer lost for the Griffins. One would think that this opened the path for another Patriots divisional championship, but the points so far tells a different story. Patriots have four points, but so has the Classics and the Thunderbolts, and the Griffins have two. We expect the Classics to have a realistic chance to fight the Patriots here, and we will get a quick answer as Patriots visit Middenheim in week four, and then hosts the Thunderbolts at home in week five. We do expect the Patriots to come out on top in the end, though, with Classics second and some points shy of a wild card spot. Thunderbolts third and Griffins fourth closes up the predictons.”

Günther: “Nice. So we have Foxes, Gunners, Scimitars and Patriots as divisional winners, and Unicorns and Thunder for the Wild cards. That should wrap up our predictions for this season.”

Hertha: “Right. Uhm. I was just looking at our predictions last year… They don’t look so good, Günther. For SHC we had Crimson Cascade, Rangers, Buccaneers and White Wolves, and with Legion and Knights for the wild cards.”

Günther: “Right. So none of the divisional winners was correct. Knights did become divisional winner, but only the Rangers were among the wild cards. So not very good.” (sighs)

Hertha: “For KFC we predicted Unicorns, Thunder, Scimitars and Patriots, and with 49ers and Universe as wild cards. That looks better, right?”

Günther: “Indeed. That was 5 out of 6! So maybe people should listen more to our predictions about KFC than those we made two days ago about SHC?”

Hertha: “Well. We are but predictors, and predictions are a dangerous territory, especially when you have to be precise. Its way easier to predict the past than the future, although even predicting the past is no mean feat!”

Günther: “So it is, for sure. Well, for SHC we can hardly do worse. On the other hand, for KFC we can hardly do better… So maybe we should not post this last part…?”

Hertha: “Too late, Günther. We already did. So now your reputation is ruined forever!”

Brought to you by Hertha Wendlinger and Günther Schiele, Carroburg Tageszeitung.