2009 JBL Power Rankings...

I don't know what it was today but I decided to come up with some offseason JBL power rankings. Who is the team to beat in 09/10? I had to factor in a bunch of different things to do this...
1) Where did the team finish last season?
2) Who are the keepers the team is bringing back?
3) What is the history of the team over the last 5 seasons?
4) What is their draft night performance like?

So...with those factors (and my personal opinion) I have come up with the JBL Power Rankings as of August 26th. Now, these could really change in 5 days when JBL offseason trading begins...and if any teams make trades then I can update the Rankings. What I think I'll do next time is invite 4 other owners in the JBL to rank the teams as well and come up with a cumulative score.

So, here we go...quick hitter time...

12) Expansion Team - whoever this is gets the #12 spot. He'll likely have no JBL experience and therefore cannot be expected to be ranked higher than this.

11) Yuma Thurmans - Pat's been out of the league for a long time and he's starting from scratch. He'll have to earn a higher ranking after draft night.

10) Boston Pancakes. Trev is an original JBL'er going back to 1991. That being said, his JBL fortunes probably resemble the Clippers history. He did have a 2nd place finish in 2007 - but his last place finishes in 08/09 and 06/07 certainly drag his ranking down.

9) Bangkok Fighters - Every year Rick gives us the same guarantee - a JBL title. Well his last 5 years look like this...7th, 8th, 7th, 3rd, 7th....throw in the fact he only has 2 keepers and history is not on his side and he comes in at #9.

8) Arctic Circle Jerks - Chris is coming off a 5th place finish last year and has a solid group of keepers coming back. His last five years (5-11-3-9-9) make him a hard team to predict.

7) Idaho Udapimps - I like the way the Idaho squad has improved over the last 5 seasons. He finally cracked the top 4 last year. But was that a fluke? His previous four years (6-10-12-12) certainly seem to indicate it may be. However, Tuna has 4 solid keepers and will be looking to improve again in 09/10.

6) French Lick Balls - Chris had a rough 08/09 - finishing 8th. However, his previous 4 years (5-5-5-6) seem to indicate he's always in contention. I like his 2 keepers for 09/10 and think this could be the year he pushes hard for the money.

5) Brussels Muscles - Tim has major action with Benny on the 09/10 season. It's win or go home time. Brussels has 3 great keepers and always prepares well for the draft. His 5 year run (6-3-4-11-5) shows he can contend with the big boys.

4) Juan de Fuca Yo Mamas - I'm gonna say that the 08/09 version of Juan was like Haley's comet or a Benny orgasm - it only happens once in a blue moon. His 5 year history (9-4-2-6-3) sports 3 money finishes. Throw in the offseason potential break-up debacle forced on them by the League and this team will be motivated to show the JBL that the 3-headed monster is back!

3) Chilliwack Offs - I know the rest of the Pershick's will think this is too high for the farming community team, but Benny has some strong history on his side. His last five seasons (3-9-8-10-1) only has 2 money finishes but he was the last team to win (2004) the JBL title other than Seoul or Golden (so that has to be worth something). Throw in 4 solid keepers and a new Excel draft program that worked wonders last season and I think Benny is worthy of the #3 seed.

2) Golden Showers - After coming off a 2nd place finish in 08/09 Golden is already preparing for the JBL draft. His last 5 seasons (2-1-1-2-4) clearly shows Johnny lives and breathes the JBL and NBA and is concerned that his 6 year old isn't reading that well yet but can name all the starting rosters from the Western Conference teams.

1) Seoul Brothers - The defending champs should always get the #1 seed going into the following season. Over the last 4 seasons, Golden and Seoul have won 2 titles each. Seoul's five year run (1-10-6-1-2) is very impressive and it looks like he will have the mighty Lebron coming back for 09/10. This is your team to beat folks....for now.

So guys...whadda ya think? Should Chilliwack be lower? Should Idaho be higher? What would your rankings be? And will these change after September 1st when the trades begin? Will there actually be any trades? I can't wait to find out...

And remember....the JBL Draft is scheduled for October 24th...less than 2 months away. Study hard.