Months later, Wade continues to wear the same Championship T-shirt every day, as he takes the Commissioner Barnes Trophy on a world tour. The Commissioner may be upset about this year's outcome, but that's not going to stop the Power Rankings from doing its job. Which, of course, is to give our opinion on the final state of the WFBL, even if you really didn't ask for it. So, for those of you still paying attention:
Team, Rank, (Previous), Record
1 (1) 104-71-5 The Sundancers couldn't have asked for more of a fairy tale ending to their 2009-10 campaign, setting a new franchise record for wins by beating Zermatt in Concludings. Not even the Commish attempting to cancel the season wrap-up articles could rain on their victory parade.
2 (2) 92-81-7When the A-Boms lose championship games, they do it big. Despite yet another Concludings appearance, this time with a team of rookies and misfits, the result has to be seen as a disappointment. Four straight trips to the Concludings are no consolation to only coming home with two Commissioner Barnes trophies.
3 (5) 101-81-7Twin Falls defied all odds by not only beating wonder boy LeBron James in making it to the Wasatch Concludings, but actually putting up a fight against Park City. The amazing part was it all happened with Kobe half a world away, pouting it up for Udorn. It's apparent that as long as Adams is running things in Twin Falls, Gator fans can expect to compete.
4 (3) 97-86-6We can spend all day talking about the Igs' obvious lack of green-hue discernment, but rumblings in Maracaibo have fans and players blaming coach Hopkin for their season-ending meltdown, as he "abandoned" them for his honeymoon. As for scheduling his wedding during the playoffs, Hopkin, points out that the Igs would have choked either way, so he might as well be on vacation while it happened.
5 (4) 91-90-8LeBron keeps talking about "opting out" of his final year in Rigby so he can "test the free agent waters". We're not sure what he's talking about, since that's a term that hasn't been used since the old days of the now-defunct NBA. Sorry, your majesty, there's no way Rigby's not keeping you around for another playoff run.
6 (6) 91-95-3Udorn seems to have the old "securing the final playoff spot after dealing with a myriad of injuries then losing to Maracaibo in the first round" routine down pat. In all likelihood Kobe will get a second chance to help break this cycle next year.
7 (7) 97-87-5The New York Kings missed the playoffs by half a game, this is true. But if you look at it the way college football purists do, the entire season is basically a playoff. So from that perspective, the New York Kings advanced to, what, the 19th round of the playoffs? Not bad!
8 (9) 89-98-2For the first time in a couple years, the Salt Lake SnowBees were relevant on the final day of the regular season, coming within a blowout loss to Rigby of making the playoffs. Before that, they kind of slipped in and out of relevance throughout the season. Things are looking up for next year, though, amid rumors that the WFBL playoffs may expand to 96 teams instead of 6. Most bracketologists predict that this change will improve Salt Lake's playoff chances from "long shot" to "bubble team."
9 (8) 88-94-7Nephi took a big step back this season, falling to 9th place after their surprising 5th place finish in 2008-09. So who will still be around to help right the ship next year, Amar'e or Rondo? If we were them, we'd want to cut ties with the wrong half of the infamous Amar'e/Bosh debacle.
10 (10) 85-97-5His last name notwithstanding, Jason Kidd isn't getting any younger. Neither is Kevin Garnett, whose erstwhile nickname, "The Kid" is now used only ironically. And while Marcus Camby often acts like a baby, he is not one. So if the Richmond Butchers are going to improve on this season's disappointment, they might need to start looking for players who aren't old enough to have played against Larry Bird and who think Dr. J is the name of a generic-brand cola. Just a suggestion.
11 (11) 82-101-6Most collective bargaining agreements in professional sports give an obvious advantage to either the players or the owners. In the NFL, for example, the salary cap and rules against guaranteed contracts clearly favor the owners. In Major League Baseball, there is no salary cap, so players can and do exert their will on ownership. The WFBL is unique in that its labor agreement benefits no one. That's right, by allowing only one guaranteed contract per year and forcing all the other players back into a draft, the WFBL manages to limit owners' ability to keep players while at the same time giving players zero control over where they play. The one advantage to this system is that it gives ne'er-do-well teams like St. George to wipe the slate (mostly) clean every year. The U-Dogs seem likely to shake off all of the dead weight on its roster not named Dwight Howard and wait for Dwyane Wade, Pau Gasol, Deron Williams, and Carmello Anthony to fall into their lap. Easy!
12 (12) 75-108-6Winless over their final nine weeks including the playoffs, the hapless Tigers never even escaped the bottom rung of the consolation ladder. Big surprise. For those counting at home, that's three last place finishes in five years.
