WK21 - We Have a New Leader

"I've been waiting for this moment..." 

Some were wondering if this day would come; to be quite honest, I thought it was a tad out of reach, given the lead Sitch had built up. But lo and behold, the day is upon us, spawned by astronomical player performances and ebbs and flows. Sitch is no longer atop the rankings in Tri-Hard!

"It is a sad day," said Sitch, spoonful of rice in hand. "I held on for as long as I could. Really, I did. But the effort just wasn't enough. Effort is so important. That's why I profess it so strongly in my program, Bitch-It's-Sitch!™ --- "

That's enough, Sitch. That's PLENTY enough.

Mr. Ronald (fucking) Burgundy now leads Tri-Hard!, knocking Sitch down to second place for the first time in 11 weeks. Burgundy is ahead of Sitch by a fraction: 5.50 fantasy points, to be exact.

"Great Odin's Raven that's close," said Burgundy, popping a mini bottle of champagne to toast this mid-season triumph. "I'm not celebrating yet, as I know there is still plenty of hockey left to play, but I am happy to finally see my team perform the way it should."

Indeed Burgundy. Indeed. Let's take a look at the visuals, courtesy of the stats machine:

Burgundy was this week's top bread earner, collecting 163.35 fantasy points. Honourable mention goes to Safari, who picked up a respectable 126.10 fantasy points. Burgundy can thank Devan Dubnyk for a solid goaltending week, as well as most of his forwards and defensemen, who all turned in balanced scoring performances.

As stated previously, Sitch's streak of weeks at number one has ended. He spent an incredible 11 weeks atop the Tri-Hard! rankings. For shits and giggles, here are some oldskool tracks that spent 11 weeks at number one on Billboard:

"One Sweet Day" - Mariah Carey & Boyz II Men (December. 9, 1995)

The 90's were all about white t-shirts etc. eh? (see "I Want It That Way" - BSB)

"I Love You Always Forever" - Donna Lewis (August 31, 1996)

This might have been the worst title for a song (also the mushiest), but then I had to take a step back and remember that music from the 2000's are even worse. At least Donna Lewis spelled the title of her song correctly, with 'reasonable' grammar, as opposed to these gems: the use of extra R's in "Dirrty" - Christina Aguilera (2002) and "Hot In Herre" - Nelly (also 2002), bad grammar in the song title "The Way I Are" - Timbaland (2007) and "Lonely Day" - System of a Down (2005) which used a double superlative, "the most loneliest day in my life" in the in the chorus. Good times, good times!

"Torn" - Natalie Imbruglia (April 25, 1998)

What happened to this girl?

 And of course, Mrs. Safari's favourite:

"Independent Women" - Destiny's Child (November 18, 2000)

Let's not forget one of the greatest 11's of all time:

But to hell with streaks. All we are about is the present. And presently, Burgundy is in charge.

Can you say nose dive? Sitch still leads PPGP, but it's down to 3.54 (previously 3.59). Dick Burns is now a stone's throw ("Ouch!" said a lynx) away from overtaking the PPGP department; he sports a 3.50. Burgundy is humming steady at 3.46.

"Humming is much more fun when you have a moustache," said Burgundy. "You can really feel the vibrations in the hairs."

Last but not least, the rainbow. We're starting to see fewer rows of green; every select-GM seems to be evening out. A mix of greens, yellows, oranges, and reds across the board.

"Sitch still has games in hand, so I am aware that this lead is not safe by any means. In my opinion, this 'Burg Surge' of mine also came at the expense of unfortunate health circumstances for Sitch; his team has been plagued by Inuits."

Inuits?

"Uh... yeah, Inuits," said Burgundy. "No? Wait... (looks at PromptApp)... In-u-... Inj-u...Oh! Injuries! I meant injuries!" 

Wise words, dick.